First Comes Desire

"It is God who makes you not only wish but also carry out what pleases Him." - Philippians 2:13

I attended a Divine Mercy Holy Hour tonight and after the service, the priest asked my friend if he wanted to be a priest. My friend smiled at him not knowing how to respond politely. For most of us, the thought of being a nun or a priest is out of the question, but God will never call you to do anything you don't have a desire to do first. This is how it is with all things in our lives. When I started to look for God and find ways to serve Him, I had the desire for it first, before I ever did anything about it.

So many of you might feel in your heart that there is something you want to do for the Lord and don't know where to start. Maybe you want to read during Mass, maybe you want to volunteer to help the poor or at a soup kitchen, or maybe you want to teach religion classes to children studying for their First Communion or Confirmation. Whatever you feel in your heart you want to do, God wants you to do as well. Pray about it, ask God to show you the path and lead you in what to do next. In this way you'll see that whatever road God leads you on, He'll lead you with love and never out of obligation.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, You know the desires of my heart. I want to follow You and serve You. Give me the desire to work for Your Kingdom and let me follow what You have put in my heart. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

Be Holy

"God has called us to live, not in impurity but in holiness." - 1st Thessalonians 4:7

Up until a couple of months ago, I thought that to be holy I had to be pretty much a nun. I thought holy people were those that lived in monasteries praying all day or those like Mother Theresa that dedicated their lives to helping the poor. They were the saints and the rest of us were poor sinners. I was so wrong. Holiness is a call to try to integrate God into all we do in our every day lives. It doesn't necessarily mean praying 24/7, but acknowledging God in all we do. We can be holy and chaste in a marriage if we honestly give of ourselves in complete love to our partner. We can be holy in our friendships if we serve our friends out of respect and dignity. And we can be holy with ourselves if we take care of our souls, keeping them pure and protected from the things we know can only bring us harm. The bottom line is that we can all be holy if we imitate Jesus who all through His life set an example by the service He gave to others. Holiness is in trying to follow this example. And please know that it's ok if you can't forgive today, as long as you're trying to in Jesus' Name. It's ok if you haven't given up on that addiction today, as long as you keep on asking God for help. It's all about the journey - knowing God is calling us for holiness and trying in all the big and small things to get there one day at a time.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, in Your love for me You have called me to be pure and holy like You. I'm so far from it now, but please look at the desire in my heart and bring me a few steps forward each day. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Responding to the Call of God

"You did not choose me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bear much fruit, fruit that will last." - John 15:16

It's a conscious effort to look for God everyday but you need to remember one thing, Jesus has chosen you and has called you by name, you specifically today. Those times you got the urge to pray eventhough it had been a while and that time you opened up the bible out of curiosity, that was the Lord working in you to draw you to Him. Jesus has chosen you, you are so important to Him. He has given you gifts and special abilities He hasn't given to anyone else and He's counting on you to bear fruit, to do His work here on earth. Think about who you can help today, think about what you can do to give hope to someone who needs it. How can you bear fruit and spread the love and truth of God to those that need it? There is no escaping the Lord and this is what you were put here on earth to do, don't disregard the call. You have no idea the wonders that God is preparing to work through you if you open your heart to do His work! This isn't like the work you do in school or at your job in which the ends benefit material things, but these works mean not only the salvation of your soul, but through you others will know and love God too. You will be preparing the paths for others to know the Lord and renew their hearts with His love. You will help bring the joy of the Lord to others and give them a new hope because you said yes to the Lord's call.

Today's Prayer:
Thank You Lord Jesus for calling me to be Your servant. I accept Your call with all my heart and with all my soul. You are my King and I want Your will to be done in me. In Your Name we pray, Amen.