Receive His Peace

"Peace be with you; I give you my peace. Not as the world gives peace do I give it to you." - John 14:28

Wake up in the morning, another day, same routine. Got to get to work. Driving to work… traffic, someone cuts you off. On the train, people shoving and you're standing because someone's got their feet on the only seat left. Get to work, deal with the boss and co-workers… always people trying to get over on you. After work, arguments with your family and friends. And what is the peace the world gives us? Get mad and get even? Show people you don't care about them? And then have a drink to wash it all away?

This isn't the peace of Christ. Jesus would wake up and deal with apostles that never got anything right. So many people calling on Him without ever giving Him a chance to take a break; everybody needed something from Him! Jewish leaders on top of Him, criticizing even the best of His work.

What is the peace of Christ? The peace of Christ means knowing your life has a bigger purpose and remaining in that mind set. He came to do His Father's work. No matter what people said or did to Him, He never let it get to Him because He belonged to the Father, who judged Him for what was in His heart and would reward Him for what was in His heart. You belong to the Father as well. God sees your actions. God understands, and in the midst of all of your routine, God is with you. God will lead you out to where you will find comfort and be restored. Hold on to the peace of Christ.

Today's Prayer:
Jesus, sometimes the day zooms by me and leaves me worn out. I can't find comfort in the world and need Your peace more than anything. Please help me to trust in it. In Your Name we pray, amen.

While In The World

"For everything in the world - the craving of the flesh, the greed of the eyes and people boasting of their superiority - all this belongs to the world, not to the Father. The world passes away with all its craving but those who do the will of God remain forever." - 1st John 2:16-17

Being young, it is so easy to get carried away by the things around us. We always admire those with status, those who drive nice cars and can buy expensive things. There's certainly nothing wrong with these things, but never let them define who you are. The person you are should have nothing to do with wealth or how fly your kicks are… one day you will leave all these things behind. Instead, focus on what truly defines who you are - your faith, your values, your morals, and these all come from God. While you're young, have fun and get to know all you can, but remember these things never last long. A wise person builds up what's inside and what can be carried over when this life is over.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, in my youth, help me to appreciate and get to know the world around me, but please never let it define who I am or be central to my life. Help me build on my faith so that I can grow in You. In Your Name we pray, amen.

Ever Feel Ashamed of Admitting You Pray and Follow Jesus?

"If the world hates you, remember that the world hated me before you. This would not be so if you belonged to the world, because the world loves its own. But you are not of the world since I have chosen you from the world; because of this the world hates you." - John 16:18-19

I find it really interesting how I can tell someone that this weekend I got really wasted and hooked up with some random person at a club and then didn't even remember any of it. They would probably be like, "haha, awesome!" But if instead I said, "I spent the weekend praying. I went to church, prayed the rosary and spent time with Jesus who loves me and also loves you," that person will most likely make a face and give me a dry "oh…cool," and then think I'm out of my mind.

This is what Jesus meant when He said that the world hates us. By the world He meant those that don't believe in Him or those that refuse to believe and live according to their own desires. But we are of God. We were chosen and have chosen to live according to His will, therefore our actions must be different and for that we will be made fun of and mocked. Whether you see it or not, Satan will incite those in the world to hate us, to try to bring us down and make us believe that we're losing out by following God. There are more people that will knock us down because we don't want to follow the pleasures of the flesh (drugs, sex, alcohol) instead of encouraging us to follow the faith. It's part of our nature to want to be cool, to want to be liked, and our hope in God can die so easily by having others make fun of us for admitting we want to pray and go to church and follow the commandments. So many of us feel ashamed to even admit we really love Jesus. Sometimes, even I'm embarrassed on the train to pray and make the sign of the cross in front of others, but in Luke 9:26, Jesus says, "If someone feels ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in His glory and in the glory of His Father with His holy angels."

So, you know what? I don't care what people think about me, even if they want to think I'm crazy or a hypocrite. I don't care if anyone thinks I'm boring because I'd rather spend a Saturday night at home praying to my Lord instead of being out in a club. I love the Lord, my God, no matter who tries to put me down, and I will not be embarrassed or ashamed of the fact that I know He has called me and I pray that you act each and every day with the same conviction to proclaim that the Lord, our God, is your savior!

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, forgive me for the times I have ignored You out of embarrassment. I choose today to let others know of my love for You no matter if they mock me or put me down. You have given me more joy than anything else. Help me to stay firm day after day. In Your Name we pray, Amen.