This Little Light of Mine

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Martha
Bernini's Holy Spirit at Saint Peter's Basilica

Bernini’s Holy Spirit at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, 2011

“You are the light of the world.”  Matthew 5:14

Christmas lights are brightly shining.  Everywhere we look there are decorative blinking street lights, store lights, and in our own homes there are tree lights and candle lights.  They have a special glow.  They bring a smile to our face and joy to our hearts.  They light up our life!

When we feel the joy of these beautiful lights, we take on a warm glow.  We smile more, we share more, we love more.  We make those around us feel our joy too!  Each of us in our own unique way are a Christmas light.

God sent His only Son, Jesus, to become the Light of the world.  He is the true gift of Christmas.  If we have prepared our hearts to receive His gift we will become lit from within.  Like the Christmas lights we see everywhere, we will be visible to all.  Our faces will shine brightly with smiles that are bigger and warmer than ever before.  Our hearts will radiate the warmth of our love to all we come in contact with.

“You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Men do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket.  They set it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, your light must shine before men so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father.”  (Matthew 5:14-17)

Yes, in our own unique way, each of us is a Christmas Light!

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We Are No Accident

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Martha

450px-Alba_sugli_Appennini_001For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will  and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13

In the popular Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, a man gets to view life as if he had never been born.  He discovers that things would have been quite messy without him, especially for those he loved.  He discovers that he had made a difference, that people’s lives were better because he existed.  I believe this movie is so popular because each one of us longs to know that we make a difference, that we matter.

At Christmastime, we see how Jesus entered the world as a babe in a lowly manger, and yet, His life and death left an imprint on the world which has lasted over 2,000 years.  How was this possible?  It wouldn’t have been if He was merely an accident, or merely human, but Jesus was both man and God.  His imprint is not just in worldly time and space, it is Eternal.

We are no accident either.  We have been placed in the world by God, himself.  He created us in His image and likeness.  We enter this world in our mother’s womb, and we live and breathe in our orbital path, ever waiting to be returned to our Eternal destiny.  We are human; we are mortal.  And yet, we are Divinely inspired, we are Divine Love.

During Advent, let us remember, like Jesus, we have been placed here, in our orbit, at this exact moment in time.  We are no accident.  Our lives matter, especially to those who love us.  What will our imprint be?

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Thansgiving

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Martha

Images in Public Domain

Wishing all a very Blessed Thanksgiving.  I will be taking a break this week.  Stay safe and be blessed until I return. :))

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Wrought; Hammered

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Martha

Sacred Heart“Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”  Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”  John 20:27-28

     Wrought: beaten into shape by tools, hammered (Merriam-Webster)

     Wrought, not a word often used in today’s conversations, but a word with great significance for me.  A beautiful prayer that I pray daily ends in this way: “Praise be to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation, to It be glory and honor forever.  Amen.”

     I have a great affinity to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and His Wounded Hands.  The prayer mentioned above is one of two that I faithfully and sincerely pray every morning consecrating myself to His Sacred Heart.  One of the prayers is printed on a beautiful Holy Card.  The front of the card has the traditional one line affirmation:  “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You.  Above the affirmation is one of my favorite images of Jesus.  His Sacred Heart is exposed and He is holding out his hands, open with palms up, wounds exposed.  When I look at this image I have a sense of home.  It is where I want to run when I am in need spiritually, to run to those loving, hammered Hands that wrought my salvation.  It is where I am always moved to tears in thought of the great love and sacrifice made on my behalf.  It is where I am replenished by His Infinite Divine Mercy, where I am made whole again.  In His hands I find complete solace.

     This beautiful Holy Card serves as my reminder of all that has transpired so that I might share in Eternity with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is an earthly reminder of a heavenly thing.  (For those who are not Catholic, or who find this hard to understand, who think it is idol worship, I assure you it is not.  I do not worship the card, I only worship Our Lord.  Think of it in the same way a picture of one of your family members reminds you of happiness and love shared, whether they are living or deceased.)

     I recently came across another beautiful prayer written by Charles deFoucald.  It seems that Jesus understands my affinity for His Hands and allowed me to find this prayer, providing even more inspiration for me.

     Prayer of Abandonment (Charles de Foucald)

I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.  Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all.  Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.  I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul; I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands, with reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.

     And, in 1 Peter 2:24, this beautiful verse, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

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A Matter of Life and Death

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Martha

Jesus rebuking Satan“Before man are life and death, whichever he chooses shall be given to him.”  Sirach 15:17

     Each man has a free will, a choice to do good or evil.  And, the difference between the two?  Life or death!  When evil or wrongdoing rules our lives we are dead, dead to Grace.  When goodness or truth rules our lives we are alive, alive to Light.

     God created each of us giving us full reign over our lives.  We cannot blame Him when we choose to live outside of His Grace.  We cannot blame His rules, His commandments.  He gives us these as a roadmap to Life Eternal with Him.  For some of us, the choice is extemely hard.  Evil is charming, evil is tempting, evil is addictive.  Goodness is difficult to achieve, but it too can be charming, tempting, and addictive.  With evil comes penalties; with goodness comes rewards.  However, both the penalties and the rewards are eternal.

     The choice is ours and we must understand the magnitude of our choice.  It is a matter of Life and death.

     “The eyes of God see all he has made; he understands man’s every deed.  No man does he command to sin, to none does he give strength for lies.”  Sirach 15:19-20

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Keep Me Close

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Martha

charles-bosseron-chambers-sacred-heart-of-jesusJehu greeted him and said,”Are you in accord with me, as I am with you? ” “I am.”  2Kings 10:15 

     As mentioned in previous posts, I keep a personal spiritual journal.  I spend time in Stillness before Our Lord and write down everything that is ‘said’ or occurs during that time.  The journal is called “Journey Through The Stillness.”  I am always amazed and awed.  I must also point out here, when I reference the material in the journal, I never take credit or claim authorship of any words I feel have been imparted to me by Him.  That said, I leave you in His hands and ask that He guide your thoughts and responses to what I share.

     Early on in my spiritual journey, my writings were a little disjointed, as I was fighting with the idea that He would choose me to work through, unworthy sinner that I am.  Let’s just say I was, and still am, in training.  My writing may have seemed disjointed, but, to me, the messages to be written down have always been very clear and unmistakable.

     I am always trying to figure out how to remain in His presence throughout the day, not just during The Stillness.  He has often offered wonderful gems of advice for doing so.  On January 15, 2010,  He said, “Keep Me close by looking for and seeing me in others …LOOK for Me; SEE Me.”  And, on January 18, 2010, He said, “Hear the birds?  Pay attention.  You miss so much when your don’t pay attention!  I have many smiles for you.”  That God sends me smiles is something I have believed for many years, and this confirmed it. 

     Jump forward to June 22, 2010, and He says, “… you have always had bits of conversation with Me during your day.  You think of Me and it turns into a conversation.  You see a bird, or an animal, or just see my beauty in nature and right away your thoughts turn to Me.  As you say, I send you smiles.  It is true; I look for and relish little things that bring you joy.  Practice this also with other people, Martha.  You smile a lot.  When they smile back, learn to see this as Me smiling at you.  It will help you to better see Me in others.” 

     By now, you may be thinking I am a bit crazy, and that is okay with me.  I probably am!  However, I have found His remaining words to be quite profound.  He continues on, “When you see Me in others, you will love them even more than you already do.  They will know then, that it is Me smiling through you.”  He smiles and then ends with this, “Actually, Martha, it will be Me smiling at myself in them.  Think on this.” 

     I have always said God has a sense of humor!  Imagine it!  When you and I smile at each other, it is really Jesus in me smiling at himself in you; and Jesus in you smiling at himself in me.  If only all of us could learn to see each other in this way, our world would be a much better place for everyone!  When you smile at someone tomorrow, I bet you can’t help but think of this.  The key will be to conitnue on doing so.  He is in you, and He is in me, so let Him shine forth… SMILE!

“I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.”  Mother Teresa

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The Emptiness of The Abyss

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Martha

409px-Jesus_Rescuing_a_Lamb_Caught_in_Thorns“The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction.”  Revelation 17:8

     When the things of this world are not enough, or even too much, we are left feeling empty, drained of all energy.  We lose our desire, desire to achieve, desire to love, desire to put forth any effort toward anything.  The emptiness is an abyss.

     The abyss can become a hole so vast that it can be much too difficult for us to bridge.  When it is too wide and too deep to bridge, it must be filled.  How?  One shovelful at a time.  With what?  With thoughts, words, and actions from another world; His.  It is this world that created the abyss.  It is this world that has left you so empty, so drained of all energy.  It is His world that will fill it, if you let Him.

     Where do you begin?  At this point, I am not going to say fall on your knees and pray; although that is always a good answer.  And besides, if you are empty, you have probably already done so.  Begin with your Bible; start with a prayer.  I have a simple one that I pray each time before reading in my Bible.  “Through your most Holy Word, Lord, I invite you into my heart.  Transform me according to your will.”  Say it; mean it.  Or, as I always tell my kids, own it.  Then begin reading.  Start with the Gospels, any one of the four.  Just read one or two verses, and let that be it for the day.  If something in them strikes you, or makes you feel something, jot it down.  Stick in on your fridge, in your pocket, or in your car.  Look at it during you day.  Think about it, ponder it.  Pray for wisdom about it.  If it won’t let go of you, do a little research on it to better understand it.  Satisfy or reconcile yourself concerning it.  Do this everyday.  Fill your mind with the Good News of the Gospels.

     Because the overall message of the Gospels is such an uplifting one, you will see your emptiness, your void, your abyss start to fill.  You will also find yourself desiring to spend more time in His Word, more time in meditative prayer.  Soon you will notice your abyss filling up with things of His world.  Soon your world will be transformed by His world.  Desire will return; desire to be all that you can be; desire to be all that He created you to be.

     “By reading in the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me.  The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green.  The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet.”  Thomas Merton

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Do You Hear The Birds?

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Martha

346px-Nativity_015“He was in the world, and through Him the world was made, yet the world knew Him not.”  John 1:10

     “White noise” such as ambient background music, a low hum, or a high pitch whine, is often piped into offices as a sound neutralizer.  It acts as a barrier to prevent private conversations from being overheard, and to allow employees to focus better by eliminating unwanted sound distractions.  At first the white noise might easily be heard by the employees, but soon fades into oblivion and they no longer know it is even there.

     In reality, our everyday lives are filled with white noise:  TV, radio, traffic sounds, mall music, conversations.  Go a step further and consider that even the thoughts running through our mind are white noise.  With all that noise and all those thoughts processing through our heads at any given moment, it is a wonder that we can truly focus on anything.  But, somehow we do.  We learn to ‘tune out’ what isn’t necessary.  The problem with tuning out things is that we often miss something important.  We might see the bird, but do we hear it singing?

     With the onset of Christmas decorations, music, and advertising starting earlier and earlier each year we may be experiencing a whole new type of white noise.  During Advent we might see the Christmas decorations.  We might hear the Christmas Carols, but do we experience their true meaning, their true joy, or does it become just white noise?  Do we focus on our hectic ‘to do’ lists or on the Christmas Season’s inner stirrings of our soul?

     Do we see the Christ child laying in the manger with the Star shinning brightly above as just a symbol, or a profound truth?  Has it become just white noise?  If so, we need to slow our pace, focus, and pay attention to the inner stirrings of our soul.  We need to listen to actually hear the birds singing, to hear the Spirit speaking to our heart urging us to prepare a room for Him.

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Sacred Heart Of Jesus

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Martha
The following is a beautiful prayer.  I have a special affinity for The Sacred Heart of Jesus.  He is IN me and I am IN Him…
 
 
An Act of
Consecration to The
Sacred Heart of JesusBy Saint Margaret Mary
Alacoque

 

I give myself and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, my person and my life, my actions, pains and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being other than to honor, love and glorify the Sacred Heart. This is my unchanging purpose, namely, to be all His, and to do all things for the love of Him, at the same time renouncing with all my heart whatever is displeasing to Him. I therefore take You, O Sacred heart, to be the only object of my love, the guardian of my life, my assurance of salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for all the faults of my life and my sure refuge at the hour of death.Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God the Father, and turn away from me the strokes of his righteous anger. O Heart of love, I put all my confidence in You, for I fear everything from my own wickedness and frailty, but I hope for all things from Your goodness and bounty.

Remove from me all that can displease You or resist Your holy will; let your pure love imprint Your image so deeply upon my heart, that I shall never be able to forget You or to be separated from You.

May I obtain from all Your loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Your Heart, for in You I desire to place all my happiness and glory, living and dying in bondage to You.

Amen.

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/sheart2.htm#ixzz1kboj5eDL

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Lord, You Are Protector

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Martha
Statuary on the facade of the Duomo, The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy, 2012, taken by Martha M Wiggins

Statuary on the facade of the Duomo, The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy, 2012, taken by Martha M Wiggins

Lord, You are Protector.  You are Shield.

Forgive me, Lord, when I think I don’t need anything or anyone.  Forgive me when I see myself as all-knowing and all-sufficient.

Thank you, Lord, for recognizing my foolishness and limitations, and sending my Guardian Angel to go before me, protecting me from the seen, unseen, and unforeseen.  Help me to always leave room for her as my shield, whether it be in that split second of hesitation on my part, or quick reaction to an instinct.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to protect me from myself.

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