-A heart is a symbol of love. In the Easter Season, the symbol of the Paschal Candle shows us the love of Christ and also His light the Beacon – that He is for all of us. We look to the light of Christ to lead us to heaven and to the fullness of God’s love forever.
-Love is the unifying principle that gives purpose to all that we do. In our very busy lives, we frequently find that we can become dispirited – it is then that we look for a value that can keep us focused. This value is the love of God that we accept, return to Him, and, radiate to others. We converse with and listen to God in prayer. When we speak to Him as often as we can, we find ourselves growing more in His love.
-A brief word about gossip – Don’t. If you hear a word against your neighbor (e.g. they lie, they cheat, etc.) let it die within you. Love covers a fault. Love says someone messed up but I am not going to add to his/her pain. Don’t let other people fill you with a bunch of trash – our ears are not garbage cans. Be a person of honor. Be generous with your mercy. Instead of talking about others, pray for them.
-As followers of Jesus, we are charged to bear witness to Jesus and all He has done. Sometimes, however, we forget to bring our religion to the moral discussions of all that is going on in the world – injustice, inequality, racism, climate change, etc. As soon as some people hear anything about religion, they refuse to listen. But our lives should speak clearly with courage, patience, peace and love – our actions should be rooted in our inner peace, our respect for the dignity of all persons, our willingness to selflessly help
others and our abiding hope for a better future. We want to buiare called to serve and not to be served, to be sacraments of Christ, mirrors of His goodness and love, imitators of Christ. We bear ld a more humane and compassionate world. Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in our hearts. We more effective witness by what we are and what we do.
- I recently came upon a passionate poem written by S.M. Lockridge, an African-American Pastor. I think it is amazing. Check it out. It is titled:
“It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.”
-Our character is often developed during the dark places of our lives- times of loss, times of sickness, etc. During those times we find ourselves praying more, listening to God more, re-evaluating our priorities. We draw closer to God and don’t complain so much about small matters. The dark times toughen us and bring out the best in us: trust, humility and patience get developed. Our faith is stretched; our confidence in God increases and our spiritual muscles develop. We recognize our dependency on God who sustains us throughout the difficult and stressful times with His strength and love. We are fragile human beings – all that is good comes from
God. Persist in faith especially when nothing seems to be changing and when life doesn’t seem to make any sense.
-God speaks to us in different ways. Are we tuned in to hear Him? God’s spirit lives within us – are we listening? Trust your intuition; trust your gut; pay attention to what you are feeling. Take time to turn off the noises of the world and be quiet. God speaks to us in a soft voice, a whisper. Pay attention. Let our spiritual ears be open to the voice and wisdom of God.
-Ephesians 2:10 “God has made us what we are.” God breathed His very life into us when He made us. We are unique and original. Our value comes from God our Creator – we are each children of God. In humility, may we all be proud of who God made us to be. -Turn your fear into faith, your worry into worship and your panic into prayer.
-Psalm 59:16-17
“I will sing about your strength every morning, I will sing aloud of your constant love. You have been a refuge for me, a shelter in
my time of trouble. I will praise you, my defender. My refuge is God, the God who loves me.”
-God created the world from nothing and added to it natural beauty and people made in His image and likeness – then sin came. The world of human society includes the natural world. God came to save the world but the world is affected by the evil we create. God came to challenge the world that has gone astray. We have two (2) worlds: one that is natural and beautiful and the other that is sinful. Our sin lies in not recognizing values-we must care for each other and for our natural world. We are a polarized world. Our challenge is to live in a world with its contradictions and find solutions to the problems of the world. God chooses us to discern the ways we can lift up the contradictions to an integral truth. With the grace and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we can find solutions, save the natural world and preserve the life of human beings from birth to death. With Christ as our guide we can work together to live well in this world and save it. Sadly there are those who love the darkness of the world and shun the light. Jesus invites us to keep our focus on God – to remain centered on God in our daily prayer. Our children can reap the generational blessing of our actions. Living a life of charity and integrity is a much greater legacy to leave our children and grandchildren than money. People in our family lines will see God’s goodness because of how we live our lives.
May all the St. James Parish Family – and all our dear ones – feel the love, the joy and the presence of Jesus in our lives. Amen.