Our Journey – God our BFF – Created to be Like Christ – How do we Grow? 

Vincentian Day of Prayer & Fast – Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Blessings my dear Vincentian Family:  Make a difference today.  Smile always.  I teach the kids a smile is a prayer from God and they all come up to me with a big smile in Church.  Remember you are so blessed.  Lynn

Our Journey – Before we were born God planned our lives.  From infancy we were destined to be servants to those in need.  It is no accident we were chosen to be Vincentians.  God’s calling for you was to be filled with joy.  His purpose for you and me is to share this joy with others and to lift the fallen up from their poverty.  This often takes time with many joyful visits to them.  We did not plan this, God in His wisdom and Mercy planned this and planted seeds to show us the way to a Vincentian life.  We have to look in the mirror and say to ourselves, “It is not about me!!!”  For everything above and below, visible and invisible got started by Him.” (Col. 1:16)  We must read Scripture and pray to know what God has in mind for us.  Focussing on ourselves is self-indulgence and will never reveal to us God’s plan or purpose for us.  Our life is in His hands and He called us to be servants; to serve Him in the poor.  God is leading us and we as Vincentians must follow Him.  (And if you want Him to laugh; tell Him your plans.).  We must look for the light and know all good things start with Him and find the successful purpose in Him.  We are God’s Plan.  It is not about us.  It is not about me!  Always look for God to lead the journey.

God our BFF – God wants to be Best Friends with us.  I know the title may seem a little flippant, but it is today’s language, especially for the young.  Think of ways to remind yourself to talk to God throughout your day.  Build the friendship.  Practice becoming a good friend.  Adam and Eve and many saints and holy people, like blessed Frederic Ozanam, Pope Frances, Saint Louise de Marilac, Blessed Rosalie Rendu, your guardian angel and every Vincentian has a friend in God.  To know God is to know His Word.  Take His Word into your heart and live it.  Tell God each day you want to be His friend.  God gives us many gifts; we accept them and should always acknowledge them.  One of the best gifts He gave us, first is our life and second is His Son Jesus. This gift secured our Salvation, and the best gift from Jesus was death on the Cross, leaving the Holy Spirit with us.  Jesus left us a message to tend to His flock and we became Vincentians to do this.  We Vincentians accept the gift of Jesus, Son of God and the Holy Spirit, who along with God are the Trinity.  We are lifetime friends and by His call we serve those in need with love, mercy and joy.  It is the same way we serve God.  We see the face of Jesus/ God in those in need who are all His people.  We serve His people, His friends in His name with Mercy.  We bring His Love, friendship and Mercy with us on every visit to all in need: in our hospitals, addiction centres, in their homes, prisons or on the street.  These are all loved by God and He is asking us to serve them and show you care.

Created to be like Christ – Know one thing, we are not accidents.  We were created to be Christ like by God and to do His will and we know He will never abandon us.  Ask yourself, “In what area of my life do I have to ask for the Spirit’s power to be like Christ?”  We know we are not always good. We need you God to help make us better; to love others more, especially those in need. Help us God to trust you more and always turn to you for answers and guidance.  We truly want to make a difference.  From the beginning of time God’s plan was to make us like His Son, Jesus.  This is our destiny.  We often need great help for this.  He wants us to be Christ like in our service and treatment of others, especially the poor and so He led us to the Society to become Vincentians and servants of the poor.  We must ask ourselves, “How loving are we?”  “Do we judge?”  “Do we respect their culture?”  We are there to lift them from their poverty by collaborating and getting them into programmes.  We may at times arrange for loans paid back with little or no interest.  Do we listen to know more as Jesus does?  Call on the Holy Spirit and know the Holy Spirit has the power to make things happen.  This may seem hard to you, so we need to pray to the Holy Spirit in trust and listen to the teachings and things will happen.  The minute you said “Yes”, the Holy Spirit is doing his work and using his power to guide and change you.  Becoming like Christ does not happen overnight.  It can be a long, slow process.  Jesus wants us to serve His sheep and love like Him.  It is a long process but He truly wants us to serve as He did.  Our transformation will be in heaven.  This is a great privilege and is our destiny.

How Do We Grow? – “Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.  Then you will be able to know the will of God, what is good and is pleasing to Him and what is perfect.” (Romans 12:2)  Ask yourself:  “What is one area I have to stop thinking my way and start thinking God’s way?”  As Vincentians we aim to become disciples.  This is our growth.  Every visit we make to the poor, every decision we make is our service as disciples.  We are Christ serving Christ in every person; including our fellow Vincentians.  When we know it is Christ we are serving, we truly grow.  This is especially true when we also show this love to our enemies. This growth is how we make a difference and our growth is rich with love, respect, justice, mercy and joy.  Our growth and example is richness and love to each person in our midst and will also make others grow.  There are two parts of spiritual growth; “work out” and “work in.”  Your responsibility is the “work out” and the “work in” is God’s call.  “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2)  When we grow, we can help others grow.  Take our growth to all we serve and show them your love and care always.  Each visit will make you grow more.  Celebrate your growth in the Trinity and make the best of your gifts to all.

Blessing, Lynn