Lord Of The Dance

Jesus at Mary Queen of The Universe“Then David danced with all his might before the Lord.  He had on a holy linen vest.  David and all the Israelites shouted with joy and blew trumpets as they brought the Ark of the Lord to the city.”  2 Samuel 6:14-15

     If you know me very well then you know I love beautiful art; the sound of fingers sliding across guitar strings; lyrics that make my heart sing, smile, cry, etc. and old movies.  In my next life I want to dance!  In other words, I can be emotional and I often wear my heart on my sleeve.  Things touch me, what can I say!

     I only mention these things because I am going to share today from a book that touched my spiritual journey.  The book is entitled, “The Divine Embrace”, by Ken Gire.  He is a favorite author of mine because over the years, several times, I have gone in a bookstore not knowing what I needed and the Lord unmistakably directed me to one of his books.

     This particular book likens our spiritual journey to a dance, a dance with our Lord.  I fell in love with the analogy when I read the following excerpt.  “The Lord of the dance doesn’t want us worrying about our feet.  He doesn’t want us wondering about the steps ahead.  He merely wants us to feel the music, fall into his arms, and follow his lead.”  Take a minute just to imagine it; dancing with our Lord!

     It continues: “There are places he wants to take us on the dance floor, things he wants to show us, feelings he wants to share with us, words he wants to whisper in our ear.  This is what the divine embrace is –an invitation to a more intimate relationship with Christ, one exhilarating, ennobling, uncertain step at a time.  We have a choice, you and I.  And it’s a choice we make every day, throughout the day.  The choice is this:  We can dance.  Or we can sit it out.”

     Ken Gire goes on to talk about stepping on Jesus’ toes, or bumping into others on the floor, or making fools of ourselves.  He discusses how we let our fears keep us off the dance floor and end up missing the dance.  He then says, “There are two things I have learned from the divine embrace.  That perfect love really does cast out fear.  And that I would rather dance poorly with Jesus than sit perfectly with anyone else.”  Oh my.

     If you have followed along in my spiritual journey, you have seen me step out of my comfort zone many times.  I have done so when I have been asked to dance!  Each time I can honestly say I have ended up in His divine embrace.  It was very difficult to begin sharing my personal spiritual journal, and then building this website to write these spiritual blog posts.  I don’t know how many people really read and follow along.  I have had to learn over and over that it is not mine to know.  It is not about me, but about Him.  Even so, I can honestly say no matter what pain, what cost; no matter what He has called me to do, I wouldn’t have missed the dance.  And yes, I have stepped on His toes!

     In closing, I would like to share one more excerpt.  “… along the way we are given glimpses of the one we now love only from afar.  Something happens to us in those moments.  A shift in focus. … When we see Jesus, however briefly, however indistinctly, our hearts begin to ache.  In that moment and because of that moment, we love him more, at least we long to.  It is in those moments that we discover where the Lord of the Dance has been leading us all along –into a deeper love for him. … Jesus leads us in a dance that moves around his Father’s heart, in ever tighter circles, until at last we are so close to the love that is at the center of the universe that we feel it, every throbbing beat of it.  And when that happens, the beating of his heart and the beating of ours become one.”

     Hence, my “Journey Through The Stillness” and Martha’s Orbit and Orbital Buzz.  And, I am still dancing!  Everyone of us is invited to the dance.  Do not let fear stop you from stepping out onto the floor with the Lord of The Dance as your partner.  You will not be disappointed.

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Your Words, not mine…

    800px-Holy_Spirit_007 It is often said that one must stop and think before speaking.  A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whose words are you about to speak, yours or His?  The following is a 2010 entry from Journey Through The Stillness, my personal spiritual journal. 

April 16, 2010“Do not be self-righteous.  The work is MINE. You are the vessel.  My aching Heart within you is to serve as a reminder for you to pray for those souls who are lost and cannot come to me except through my Most Sacred Heart.  Your work is to spread My love and joy.  I will speak THROUGH you; you do not speak through Me.” 

          Prayer:  O, My Jesus, grant me humility and strength of resolve to go forth from your Sacred Heart within me to share your love and joy with all I come into contact with, especially, those souls who cannot reach You except through your infinite Divine Mercy and the unbinding love of your Sacred Heart.  Grant me the wisdom to know the difference between your words and mine.  Speak through me that others might hear.  I ask this in the name of your Most Sacred Heart. Amen.

 

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Who Is In Control?

    

Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, (Basilica of St. Mary over Minerva) taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011

Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, (Basilica of St. Mary over Minerva) taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011

Prayer is often about control.  We don’t always ask, but instead, we tell God what we need, what we want, and how He can make it happen.  In truth, prayer should be a relinquishing of control.  Prayer should be our giving up, our giving complete control to God and His outcomes.  When we do, we often find our prayers are answered in ways we could never have imagined, ways even better than we thought possible.  Are you ready to let God have control?  If so, then let us pray…

You own me, My God, mind, body, and soul.  I am Thine, and it is Thine I wish to be.  I beg of You, Lord, make my heart like unto Thine, and then, do with me as Thou wilt. For Thou art The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and Thine is The Kingdom and The Glory forever.  Amen.

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Busy, Busy, Prayer

800px-05_Tentaciones_de_Cristo_(Botticelli) Temptations of ChristO Lord,  You know how busy I must be this day:  If I forget You, Do Not You forget me.  (Prayer of Sir Jacob Astley before the battle of Edgehill)

    Most of us lead very busy lives.  We may have the best of intentions when it comes to our faith and prayer habits, but at times we succumb to the world, to our overly full schedules and to do lists.  Sometimes we have no choice.  Some of our busyness is due to responsibilities and obligations beyond our control, such as caring for someone sick or elderly, caring for our children and family, or responsibly completing job duties.  At times like these we must learn to bring prayer, and Jesus, with us.  We must learn to have a dual focus, one on that which must be done, and the other on Jesus Christ.  It takes a conscience effort to accomplish this, ever reminding ourselves to focus.  As we do, we become more proficient at it and are able to feel God’s presence as we go about our busyness.

     Sometimes prayer time is meant to be mobile, spontaneous and adaptable to a given situation.  Jesus is ever there, waiting to help us do His bidding.  Persevere, bring your heartfelt prayers with you wherever you go.  Ask Him not to forget you, even if you forget Him.

     Blessings to each of you as you strive to be that person God has intended you to be.

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Our Personal Pain and Suffering

422px-Ecce_Homo_(Joan_de_Joanes)_-_0507“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him..”  Hebrews 5: 7-9  

     We often hear that our personal pain and sufferings are trials that we must go through to bring us to God.  We also hear how much God loves us and wants us to come to Him.  These images often bring mental conflict, even mental anguish, as we try to reconcile the two.  Some of us get it, while others fight it, and still others rebel against it by denying God and His sovereignty over us.

     Even those of  us who get it can’t often understand the why of it because we are in personal grave emotional or physical pain.  Rationally we hear Jesus saying He loves us, but emotionally we hear Satan saying how a loving God would not cause us such pain and suffering.  It is not until we are brought to our knees before Him in total desperation, and then lifted up in total ecstasy through God’s merciful love, that we understand what was necessary to bring us to Him.  

     God’s command to us is to love one another as He has loved us.  And often, to bring us to Him, He uses others.  In His infinite wisdom, He knows there are times when we cannot come to Him on our own because we are blinded by our personal pain and suffering.  It is at these times we need people who believe to help us believe by showing the love of Jesus in ministering to our pain.

     God uses pain and suffering to not only bring us to Him, but to also bring us together in His Name.  We become as one with Him when working together for the common goal of bringing ourselves and others to Him.  He works all things to the good of those who love him…  “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  Romans 8:28

     While easy to write about, not so easy to live through, and not so easy to recognize and know how to help others with.  However, this doesn’t mean we ignore, give up, or don’t try.  If we are suffering, we must pray even if we don’t feel it in our heart.  He knows and responds even to this kind of prayer.  We need to ask for help to believe and trust in Him.  We need to ask Him to send us the help from others we may need.  If we are not the one suffering, we still must pray.  We may be the believer who must help someone else believe by loving them through Jesus.  We need to pray for discernment in knowing who is in need, wisdom in knowing how to help, and for courage, strength and compassion to do what is needed.

     We have liturgical seasons throughout the year, such as Lent, Advent, Easter and Christmas, that provide special times of penance, reflection, and then of rejoicing in the birth or rising of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Not all are able to recognize His saving grace and feel His risen joy in their hearts because of their personal pain and suffering. 

     We pray:  Help us Jesus to find You in our own hearts, and to help all others to also find You in their own hearts.  Grant us all that is needed to do your will.  We ask this in your most Holy Name, Jesus Christ Our Risen Lord.  Amen.

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Lord, You Are Grace

Ruins at Corinth, Greece, 2012, taken by Martha Wiggins

Ruins at Corinth, Greece, 2012, taken by Martha Wiggins

Lord, You are Grace.

Forgive me, Lord, when I take for granted all that I am, all that I have, and all that I ever hope for, when all are only through your grace and not by my efforts.

Thank you, Lord, for the grace of faith.  Help me to be ever thankful and offer all praise and glory to you.  You are the Lord of grace.

     We have all heard the saying, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”  We need to understand that all is by His grace.  Everything.  Accept His grace in your life, thank Him for it, praise Him for it, and let it work within you.  In doing so, you will find your own efforts complete where otherwise they may have been lacking.  Through His grace, you will be made whole.

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What A Relief!

graveyard-set_2823473“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1   

     I normally enter into The Stillness immediately following my morning prayer routine.  While personal obligations and responsibilities sometimes prevent me from spending time in The Stillness, I do spend time every day with Our Lord in His Word and in prayer.  If we are honest, most of us bring our personal agenda, or our list of needs, wants, and desires before Our Lord when we pray.  We may often ask for solutions to our problems and then head out for the day.  When we do this we miss something important.  We miss the grace of His relief.  In His relief we experience complete renewal and we can go forward to meet our day.

     The following is an entry from Journey Through The Stillness that fully explains…

August 12, 2010 – Today it is Jesus as I have known Him from the very beginning, my heavily robed, Jesus.  He takes me onto His lap where I can lean my head and rest on His shoulder.  As I do, I am going through my list of issues, my concerns, my perceived problems, and they are many.  As I do this, one by one they melt away.  Whether they are about my body, my health, my emotional hurts, my to do list, my inadequacies, my failures, my faults, my sins, my hopes and fears about myself or my loved ones and friends, one by one they slough off to the floor and I am empty.  And then He fills me.  He fills me with His compassion, His comfort, His peace, His joy, His love.  Now I am going through a quite different list.  It is one of blessings, of hopes and desires fulfilled, of gifts of love received, of security, of faith.  And when I rise from His lap, I am lifting up thoughts and praises of thanksgiving.  I am strong and the world waits.  I am ready to go forth with Him at my side, with Him IN me, for I am in Him and He is in me. 

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Come To Jesus Meeting

Resurrection Tapestry, Vatican Museum, taken by Martha Wiggins 2012

Resurrection Tapestry, Vatican Museum, taken by Martha Wiggins 2012

“Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.’  The paralytic rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone.”  Mark 2:11-12

     Living in the state of sin is a lot like being paralyzed.  We can’t move weighted down with he heavy heart of our sinfulness.  Before we can move we must recognize our sinfulness.  If we can’t see our sins we may not be paralyzed by them, but then we are also not made right with Jesus.

     Are there areas of your life that need perusal?  Maybe some are not as obvious but are still weighing us down, paralyzing us from moving forward to our best life, our best self.  Do you give your best to Jesus, or your leftovers?  How about your boss?  Does your employer get your best efforts or half-hearted do as little as I can efforts?  Do you spend your money on things of this world for self gratification or do you use it to help others in need?  Do you pray daily willingly and fervently or do you pray out of a sense of duty and obligation?  Are there areas such as gossip, lying, cheating, that are more obvious to you, yet still ignored by you?  If so, now is the time to set things right with Jesus.  Now is the time to examine and reorder areas of our life that might not be pleasing to God.  He longs for us to recognize, repent, and seek the forgiveness He has secured for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He is ready and waiting with infinite mercy for those who love Him and will meet you right where you are.

     Have a ‘Come To Jesus Meeting’ with yourself before it is too late.  Ask not only His forgiveness but also His help.  There is nothing He will not forgive.

     Prayer:  My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,  I know I have willingly and unwillingly offended thee.  I have failed to live my life in a way that glorifies You and reflects your Glory to all.  I ask for your forgiveness and mercy on my soul, and beg you to lead me in your ways that my heart may be pure and my soul sanctified through your loving Grace.  Let me sin no more.  I ask this in your most Holy Name, Lord.  Amen.

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A Heart Like Jesus

3c20016r Library of Congress Sacred Heart Image“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.”  1 Corinthians 15:10

     The following is an excerpt from a special spiritual communion prayer I use daily. 

“…visit me with Your grace.  Come spiritually into my heart.  Purify it.  Sanctify it.  Render it like unto Your own.  Amen.”

      As a reminder throughout the day I often pray this affirmation,  “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.”

     When we invite Him into our heart willingly we are surely to be transformed more and more into His image and likeness.  The beautiful words above never cease to touch me in profound ways.  Pray them with reverence.  Pray them slowly and deliberately.  Ponder what it means to have your heart rendered like unto His.

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Glorify and Rejoice

Statue of Mary at Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, (Basilica of St. Mary over Minerva) taken 2011

Statue of Mary at Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Italy, (Basilica of St. Mary over Minerva) taken 2011

 “And Mary said:  ‘My soul glorifies the Lord 
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful 
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed, 
for the Mighty One has done great things for me— 
holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, 
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; 
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things 
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, 
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever, 
just as he promised our ancestors.” Luke 1:46-55

     Does your soul glorify the Lord?  Does your spirit rejoice in God?   Like Mary, we are humble servants of the Lord.  Our goal is to glorify Him and rejoice in Him so that others might see all He has done for us, and in turn, recognize all He has done for them …for His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation.

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