RANDOM THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, by Deacon Sam                                     

“Does my life resemble the life of Christ?" we each ask ourselves. It should. We are all children of a heavenly Father. We are more than human – we are each a temple and God lives in us. Jesus calls each of us to be like Him. Christ is in us – he inhabits us. If we live by his example of loving as He does, our resemblance to God would be uncanny.

God so loved the world He didn't send us a "link". He sent us His Son. It behooves us to attend Mass in person whenever we are able.

There are 8 billion people on this planet – with our faith we believe that God is close to each of us. He always has us in His sight, knows every breath we take and draws each of us to Him every second of every day. We are never alone. We are each chosen by God to be His special child. He never stops loving us unconditionally and he's always ready to give us His strength and His help. We respond to Him with faith and hope, praise Him for his goodness, and give Him our “Yes” to do His will on earth – to love as He loves, live as He showed us how to live, receive His gifts and then generously enrich others with the gifts He has given to us. We need to make and keep God as the priority in our life and refuse to allow busyness or distractions to consume us. May each of our lives be productive in the service of God.

St. Thomas Aquinas prayed:
Grant me, O Lord, a mind to know you, 
a heart to seek you, 
wisdom to find you, 
faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and 
Hope of finally embracing you.

True happiness is found in Christ - not in the world. We are all encouraged to be the light of Christ for others. Jesus wants us all to ‘be open’ to others – the vulnerable, the needy, the hurting; ‘be open’ to the concerns of others and to the urgings of our consciences; ‘be open’ to seeing the face of God in others.

Jesus is more than a prophet or teacher - He is the eternal Word of God. All things came into being through God. "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us". The whole of the Christian story is part of the manifestation to the world of the person of Jesus – a God of love. "Who sees me sees the Father," Jesus says. We see God in His relationship to us - God transcends anything we could ever imagine. "If we think we understand God, it is not God that we understand," says St. Augustine. If we have an ongoing and deepening relationship with God, God will be in us and we will be in God. We should seek God in the core of our being. To be a Christian is to be in Christ and to share in some way in His mission to bring justice to our world and to give light to those who live in darkness.

Atonement. Making amends for the damage to another person caused by our sins.
1) Say you are sorry to God
2) Confess in the Sacrament of Reconciliation that you have been uncharitable to
         another person
3) Make amends: try to rebuild a relationship you have hurt, strengthen it with
          love and regain the other person's trust.

Jesus's death on the cross won pardon for the guilty, freedom for the oppressed and healing for the afflicted. It made possible our freedom to live as sons and daughters of God. God gives us new life and the pledge of eternal salvation. God wants us to take up our cross daily and draw closer to Him.

"Dear God, I give you my heart that you may love in me and that I may grow in you."

As God's children we cannot be indifferent to the poor and the marginalized. If we say we want to help others we have to put our words into action. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving – their purpose is for us to get closer to God. Our actions need to be Christ centered – I have my being in the name of Christ and I can do, with love, peace and good-will, what He wants me to do.

Prayer - helps me realize I am dependent on God;
Fasting – when I fast, I can share what I have with others;
Almsgiving – God has given each of us gifts and talents and I can share these with others.

"Our perfection does not consist of doing extraordinary things, but to do the
 ordinary well."                           
                                            St. Gabriel Possenti