-It has been said that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond. There is much in life that we can’t control and many people allow this fact to sour their life. “This the day the Lord has made” and we can choose to live it well. Don’t give away your joy--decide as much as you can to live this day happy. Life is far too short to let irritations take away our happiness. Relax. Learn to overcome evil with good. Don’t make a big thing out of something small.

-The truth of the Cross is a symbol for our lives. Suffering will happen to all of us. It is then that we can say “thank you Lord for your blessings. God I may not be able to fix my problem but I accept your will and trust that you will provide.”

Thank you Lord—may my sufferings bring me and my loved ones closer to You;

Thank you Lord—use me for the good of others.

-Everybody’s life is a story with a beginning, middle and an end. It seems that all the great things that happened in Abraham’s life happened at the later time in his life. In the last part of our lives we can impart wisdom, live life without bitterness but with hope, offer forgiveness, pray. We can all live in peace because we have the promise of everlasting life. There is great potential for spiritual growth as we age and pass through the transitions of life.

-Jesus wants us to make each of us a blessing on this earth and it is up to each of us to allow this to happen. Jesus is our greatest mentor – He strengthens our faith and does not disqualify us if we make a mistake. We are all people under construction – works in progress – to become what God wants us to be. God loves us, challenges us, pushes us, and sharpens us in difficult times. We pray with confidence that we are on the road to completion with Jesus as our guide.

-Have you ever felt the healing touch of Christ in your life? At times we are troubled by our problems or the burdens of our loved ones. God always wants to know what we need through our prayers so we may get His healing. It is God’s desire that we profess our faith in Him in our words and actions. God wants us to have hope, prosperity and good health even when we turn away from Him. He wants us to have all that is good in Him. We are challenged by these questions:

Am I alive in Christ?
Do I believe Jesus is the center of my life?
Am I willing to share what I have with those who have less?

-The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. Think of it – for people we love we are merciful but for those we don’t love we demand justice. Justice is crucial for our well-being and essential to human life to protect us against those who would abuse and harm us. Murder, genocide, etc, are examples of life without justice and mercy. Jesus asks us to be merciful as His father is merciful. Mercy and compassion are not signs of weakness. Both mercy and justice are necessary for a wellbalanced human life under Christ our Lord. We might want to live in the lap of luxury but our heart needs to be rooted in the love and life of Jesus.

-If you want to change the world you have to look at yourself and your weaknesses and change yourself first. We are all called to proclaim the Good News. God can and does use anybody so that we can work in the need of the world. As people of faith and integrity, we are brought together by God to make His kingdom on earth better. Whatever our gifts, our talents, or our abilities may be we are called to lead all people into His heavenly kingdom. God can do great things with our smallness if we allow him.

-Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf, saw the world through her touch. The greatest calamity, she said, is for people to have eyes but not see. We can have confidence in God’s providential care for us. He gives sight to the unseeing and lifts us up with His mercy and love. Jesus is always much more than we can grasp or comprehend. We are asked to love God and His creation. May we all be filled with hope and move through our life with courage especially when we are confronted with the challenges of life.

-Some people say that the longest road on earth is from the rational mind to the heart. The road to God involves our being peacemakers. Pick your battles carefully and prayerfully. Rise above daily drama and take personal responsibility for your role in tense moments. Look at your shadows, find your blind spots and be aware of your shortcomings. Put the best interpretations on someone else’s words. Winning is about having a peaceful heart. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Love others who are different from you. When you love your enemy, does that person continue to be your enemy? Those who we think should not be loved are still loved by God – God’s love is indiscriminate. Jesus wants all of us to break the barriers of us – vs – them. To break the cycle of violence and hate may we all expand our hearts and love as God loves.

-Read Genesis 24. This passage tells a beautiful Old Testament story of ‘Love at first sight’ between Isaac and Rebecca.

-It is interesting to me that as we age we begin to remember long-forgotten things from the past. When I was a child growing up in Buffalo, New York, one of the local radio stations frequently played the catchy tune from the “Pebbles and Bam Bam Show” titled “Open up your hearts and let the Sunshine in.” What a great message made greater, I believe, if we change the word ‘Sun’ to ‘Son of God.’ Jesus is the Light of the World. God who loves us rejoices with us, empathizes with us. Our challenge is to remove anything in our life that prevents the Light of Christ from shining through to us. Perhaps anger, fear, bitterness, too much busyness, unforgiveness, etc., are preventing us from being fully exposed to God’s awesome light. God wants His Light to shine on us – making time for prayer, scripture reading, meditation on the mysteries of the rosary, attending Mass and celebrating Eucharist, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, etc., will help us build and sustain our relationship with God. We can decide to do what is necessary to eliminate those obstacles in our life which keep the Light of God away from us. “Open up your heart and let the light – from the Son of God and also the sun-shine in!” 


-I recently finished reading the book “The Shack” by William Paul Young. Don’t be put off by the title – I found this to be a wonderful read – a faithfilled experience of God. You may find this book to be as amazing as I did. If you have read it before, it is definitely worth reading again.

-In this liturgical period of Ordinary Time, may we all realize that we are not “ordinary” – but special, in God’s eyes and sight and heart.