Lynn L’Heureux reflects
It is all Temporary – Sharing Pain – A Personal Journey – Are you Happy?
Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast – Tuesday November 19, 2013
Dear Vincentian Family: My prayer for all of you is for peace, comfort and joy in your families. I know you are all praying for the victims of storms and especially in the Philippines. Reach out in any way you can, and especially in prayer. There are many Filipino people in my city and I know how they are hurting. God is with them and they reach out to Him for comfort. It is the Filipino way. I pray for each of you by name, I pray for the conflicts in your life and your vocation as Vincentians. May this day and your week be special as you seek God in your every action. Lord take every worry from each person and take the problems into your hands. Amen.
It is all Temporary – We have to remember, everything belongs to God. We can covet many things and they may bring us temporary joy. We can surround ourselves with material things and it will be good for awhile, but they are only temporary. Here today and gone tomorrow. Sometimes we make too much of things and words and power. None of this lasts, it is temporary. Unless we put our works, words and actions into God’s hands and do His will it will not last and we will not be happy. Our earthly thoughts and gains are all temporary; the real thing is in the Lord. Seek God’s help. Do not look for rewards. The real reward is doing His will, not what we think it is, but His will. True happiness comes from joyfully doing what God has called you to do, not temporary satisfaction, but everlasting joy. Happiness never depends on our material worth. Happiness is doing what God calls us to do and being who He calls us to be.
Sharing Pain – Sometimes we question why we have pain and why we still have it after prayer. Jesus had unbelievable pain. The cross and God’s love is always with us. Jesus taught us through pain. We can do the same as we visit those He places before us. Sometimes they are our co-workers. Our pain could make us strong to deal with unpleasant things, but always to help others in our service. Sharing one’s pain is not in sympathy, but in empathy for others. We often do not understand or are understood, but one thing most of us have in common is pain. We may not wear it on our sleeve, but we can share it always in our compassion for one another. Challenge yourself with something you know you could never do, and what you’ll find is that you can overcome anything, by always being in the Lord’s presence and sharing His pain with yourself and others.
A Personal Journey – Sometimes we treat prayer as an answer to getting our way. Prayer is not meant for winning the lottery. Prayer is really an understanding of God’s plan for us. We have to enter into it with a willingness to listen to His plan. It is an exercise of piety and silence which makes God happy. We should not use prayer and Scripture to criticize or get even. This is pointless. Prayer is a journey to freedom and a requirement for entering heaven. Jesus came to teach us how to love. We know love is not just a feeling; it is a plan, a heavenly plan and is part of our journey. Our journey includes forgiveness. When we forgive we have to let go of our feelings, our ego and sometimes our identity. I truly believe we know God better when we forgive. He died for our sins and forgives us all the time. Can we even know God at all, if we do not forgive? Carrying a grudge is a death that eats at us daily. It is not in God’s plan. Our journey in life is toward sainthood, pleasing God and journey toward our heavenly home.
Are you Happy? – I think I’ve told you before how our 4 year old grandson always asked, “Are you happy?” I reminded him of the statement a few days ago and three years after he was fascinated with knowing our happiness and he laughs and says, “Who wouldn’t be happy!” Wow what a statement. My husband and I adopted saying this to each other learning from our 4 year old grandson. It is a joke, but it also makes us sit and identify our happiness and pray for what has made us this way. We often take simple things for granted and they often are the very things we should be most grateful for. I think for most of us finding our calling as Vincentians is simply in the words, “How can I help?” We follow Jesus as the disciples did and we serve Him in others. We are witness to Him and we are filled with joy as we fill others with joy. One experience I had this week was extremely unpleasant and then God placed another before me. My granddaughter came to stay for a few days and she really needed help with her religion homework. The very difficult questions were on “The Sermon on the Mount.” My granddaughter does not go to Church and had difficulty with the assignment. The Beatitudes and Salt and Light theory are my absolute favorites. We broke the Gospel open and she became excited. She asked me what the Sermon on the Mount meant to me and I answered holiness. She asked her dad and grandpa and was amazed at the answers. Our session ended with her wanting to do something in the Church. I told her about the new Youth Group and her eyes lit up. This was a very happy day, thanks be to God.
Have a great week. I leave you with a quote from Saint Josemaria Escriva, “You will become a saint if you have charity, if you manage to do the things which pleases others and do not offend God, though you find them hard to do.”
Blessings,
Lynn
Lynn L’Heureux is Special needs co-coordinator & Advisor of the Society of St Vincent de Paul Calgary Alberta Canada
Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast (English and Spanish) by sending an email to calgaryssvpadm@gmail.com
Tags: Calgary, L'Heureux, SVDP
