My mother, Carleen, is in surgery now having a heart transplant. She has been in for about 2 hours of the estimated 6 hour surgery. Please pray for her, for the donor’s family and for me as I wait in the hospital waiting room for an update on her condition.
(Source: home2rome, via dedicating-my-life-to-god)
A nun prays inside the Grotto at the Church of the Nativity by Michele.oliveira82 on Flickr.
Goodness I want to be a nun!
“Hearing nuns’ confessions is like being stoned to death with popcorn.”
― Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen †
(via acatholicvibe)
(Source: adaltaredei, via dedicating-my-life-to-god)
Today is Good Friday, the day our Lord died for us. This is we all know. He is the source of our life and our salvation. He loves us more than words could ever say. Between the countless Facebook statuses and Tumblr posts today, how could one not know? The question that I have today is are you an internet Christian or are you a servant of Jesus Christ? It is so easy to be an internet Christian. All it takes is a few keystrokes to google the perfect Bible verse and a few more to post it. It’s easy to quote Christian rock songs and post pictures of Jesus and of the saints. We can make beautiful professions of our faith and vows sweet as honey. All this is simple. The real effort comes in when we bring this into our real lives. True discipleship, as I see it, requires three things: love, effort, and faith.
Love is essential for all things. All good things are made good by being rooted in love. Love is a beautiful gift that God has given us. He has given us love and is the source of all love. He has also given us the ability to give and receive love. This is no small thing. The ability to give love helps us to fulfill God’s call to serve Him in the person of our neighbor. The ability to receive love strengthens us to fulfill God’s call in our lives.
My father told me when I was a little girl that anything worth doing requires effort. It is not always easy to love. Sometimes people hurt us. Sometimes people will hurt us. Sometimes people will work on our nerves. Sometimes people will simply drive us mad. Sometimes circumstance will hurt us and make it easy for us to be impatient with those around us. In times like this it takes effort to love these people, as we are called to do.
Faith is, in my opinion, the most critical element of discipleship. It is through faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved. It requires faith to accept the love of Jesus. The endurance to persevere in the effort of discipleship comes from faith. If we are to truly be servants of Christ and children of God, we must have faith. We must have the obedience of faithful servants and the trust of children. Faith makes it possible for us to follow Christ and be true disciples.
How beautiful is it that God gives us all that we need to be true disciples? We have but to ask and he will teach us to love deeper, exert greater effort, and live a life of deeper faith. The Lord desires to teach us. His love is so great that He would send His only Son to die for us to save us. If he would not withhold His own Son, why would he withhold the knowledge necessary to carry out His command? It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. One question remains. Are you willing to step up and live the call to be a disciple?
(Source: iwilltrustinyou, via dedicating-my-life-to-god)
