Humility Opens our Eyes – God is Calling You – True Friendship – God Loves All

Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast – Tuesday June 23, 2015

Dear Vincentian Family: You are in my prayers this week. Some of you may be traveling and I pray for safe trips and relaxation. I pray for your wellbeing and your service to others. Please pray for each other and for those in need. We also pray for priests, deacons, bishops and our dear Pope Francis and also for our seminarians. For the humility to see Jesus in the ordinary, we pray to the Lord. Creator and King, your ways are not our ways. Teach us to call for your peace and stillness in our storms, to trust the way you bring calm out of chaos. Amen.

Humility Opens our Eyes: Humility allows us to see the extraordinary in ordinary life, Christ in the poor and each other. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” God’s words to Job are such good medicine for us. We as Vincentians carry on to build on the foundation to make things better for those in need. We are called as Vincentians to help complete the job begun by God. We are called! So often we resist and fight the circumstances of our lives, blocking grace where we are because we are too busy wishing for God to show up in another way. In the midst of the storm, the disciples wake a sleeping Jesus, accusing Him of not caring they will die. Of course, Jesus calms the storm and they are in awe that nature obeys Him. It is interesting His words to the weather also apply to our hearts: “Peace! Be still!” In the stillness we can stop and root ourselves in the presence of Jesus, we will serve well. Look for Christ and find peace. It is time to look in the mirror again. For the new people, just go to the mirror and thank God for His beautiful creation – YOU! You are a miracle. This is how Paul can say everything God has touched is a new creation. We are where we are supposed to be and God is with us and in us. We must bring Him to others by our service and our love. In our humility grace will be poured out for us and those we touch with His presence

God is Calling You – You have good fruits to share; God has been nurturing their growth. In everything happening to you, God nurtures new growth. God is truly calling us this week to walk our faith. Something is going to happen and it will be like an explosion, but a very inward one. God will give you the opportunity to touch someone’s life with His love. Watch for it and believe.

God has been preparing you for a long time, but somehow, today this week is your turn to do something. You are like the seed in last Sunday’s Gospel passage. Life’s circumstances have fertilized you, watered you, and tilled your soil. Over time, the seed sprouted, the plant grew, and the flowers began to produce good fruit. You are the good fruit and are called to help others prune their gardens. Following Jesus, while sometimes being a challenge is always the right path. The Lord will transform us and others on our path. We are ready, whatever happens we know God has ensured we have good fruits to share; God continues to nurture our growth. You are ready! Go forth to serve those in need. How has your faith grown? How can you use it to serve others?

True Friendship – Some judge friendship by the number of friends they have…instead of by the number of friends they’d die for. Prayer is the truest sign we know—even against what we may feel—we always have the Father’s attention and the Son’s support. We pray always for our friends. This is true friendship. Prayer is the true sign we are living the divine life, the gift of love that has come to us from above. God gives us our friends and time and distance doesn’t ever change our love for them. The Holy Spirit travels between us. When we go on vacation, they come too, in our hearts and sometimes they are physically there. We go not to run away, but to get the necessary rest we need from our service to those in need and from our daily tasks. We all know God is with us and we being Vincentians will often help others when on vacation. We seem to pray more deeply and we have very clear answers in our conversations with God. He always prepares us. True friendship!

God Loves All – His Word teaches everything we need to know. Blessed are the Vincentians, who know how to be silent in order to listen to the Word of God, they shall take the Word to resound in the hearts of all. God grades on the cross, not the curve, and He loves everyone and always forgives. However, I think He prefers ‘fruits of the spirit’ over ‘religious nuts!’ (I just had to put this one in.) It is like you can catch more bees with honey than running around them. We know as Vincentians, our ride is sometimes rough, and we always have a safe landing. We can’t buy this love, although it is more valuable than diamonds and gold. It is given freely – just ask. We will want to serve better with His love. Loving God means work and the work is wonderful for us and those we serve. The best mathematical equation I have ever seen: 1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given.   This is the greatest love. He died for us, so we could live in love and joy and share this love and joy. We are truly blessed by the love of God.

Blessings,

Lynn