PASSION OF CHRIST

This afternoon I attended the First Friday celebrations in our Church in Wicklow.

The Readings covered the whole Passion and Death of Christ, followed by the solemn presentation of the Cross and Holy Communion.

Our Church, St. Patrick's is quite a big church and it was packed with people.  Quite impressive to see so many people of all ages,  willing to be there and in a way to thank God for the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

Perhaps, some of the tragedies that have happened recently in this troubled world of ours helped to move people towards their belief in the Presence of God and give an awareness of how we are supported by Grace each day of our lives. 

I was conscious of this and glad to be able to take part in this awareness of God's Presence.

As people we are so free, free to love or to hate.  Maybe even worse, free to be indifferent to the needs of  others.

God, being Love, will never force us against our free will.

Therefore, it takes a powerful act, such as the Passion of Christ to move us towards Love.

Peace of Mind

To be at peace with ourselves is such a wonderful thing...  no anxiety or worry, just a willingness to face the challenges of life with grace and positivity.

This sounds almost beyond our human capacity.  We may well have become accustomed to fretting and worrying about life in general, yet this is not how we are meant to be.

We are above all a spiritual being with a human body.  

Our main objective is to allow the spirit to rule.

Can we do so?  Well, this is a challenge and it becomes easier when we are willing and able to develop ourselves spiritually.

For the Christian mind, we believe we are created to love and honour God.

How we do this is by allowing the best in us to guide us.  Allow the Light in and keep far away from all that is Dark.

Our Peace of Mind is like a compass that guides us and protects us from straying away from our true selves.

When we protect ourselves and live in the Light, then no darkness can cloud our judgement or cause us to lose sight of all that is good and wonderful.

We are created to Love.  Our Peace of Mind will guide us towards all that is loveable.

PROGRESS

It's encouraging to believe that we are making progress.  

Changes are happening and we are part of the new steps being taken.

They may be only baby steps and yet this is how we make progress, one step at a time.

Perhaps what might encourage us at times is to observe children, especially a baby learning to walk for the first time...

The innocence of the child protects it from feeling unable to face the challenge in question.

A child simply attempts to walk, then relies on the Parent to help out.

It might even try to run along and without the protection of the Parent, it would surely fall.

At times, we are like a child who is learning something for the first time, yet if we truly believe that our loving Parent is close at hand, then we have nothing to fear.

God will always be at our side, willing to give a helping Hand if we allow Him to be part of our lives.

This is the essence of wisdom, to make progress knowing that God is with us.

Love a little...

At times we may feel unable to respond with love to a situation or person.

The fault lies in our expectation that we can just love at any given moment, which can be true.

Yet, it's important to remember that we are not perfect and we do and will make mistakes.

God has no problem with our imperfections, only with our lack of love.
So, simply said,  Love a little.  It can mean a lot.

God loves a trier...

We can be faced with challenges in life and may feel unable to surmount them.

When and if this happens, it's good to realise that our feelings however real they might appear to be, often fool us

If I am unwell or overtired, then my feelings will portray an image of reality that is unreal.

A good example I experienced once was when I had a  head-cold. This made me feel unwell and all I wanted to do was curl up under the blankets and sleep it off.

Now, this can be a good remedy so I don't discount it, yet at the same time, a friend came along and invited me to go on a trip on his boat.  

I looked out at the sun shining and the sea sparkling and I was sold on the idea.

It was a beautiful trip and I totally forgot all about my ailments, so much so that my head-cold practically disappeared.

It's our choices that create reality for us.  God so loves a trier, someone who is willing to forge ahead and leave feelings and problems behind.

I may not succeed in what I try to do, yet I will be happy to try.

The Divine Artist

It can be an artistic challenge to look at life and what we see around us, differently.

Each day God will present His beauty to us, especially in nature and also in the everyday images that we may take for granted.   A pier, viewed from a different angle can surprise us.

Look and admire!

Dealing with Weakness...

I suppose most if not all of us at times, will and do suffer.

It may perhaps be mental challenges / physical challenges / spiritual challenges.

Whatever way the cross comes into our lives is the way we will experience pain and distress.

It's not part of God's plan for us to suffer.  We are loved by God more than we could ever realise.

Yet, the cross will be presented to us and suffering will follow.

Perhaps this could be the secret of how not to suffer, or at least to minimise pain...

Embrace the Cross.  Go forward with courage rather than run away from what is causing us to suffer.

We know we are not perfect and there is a Divine Plan in our being imperfect.

We become aware of our need for God and how much we are supported by Grace.

Dealing with Weakness is a learning process.  

Let's be patient and allow time to teach us the true value of Weakness.