Waiting in Peace – Everyday Blessings – Joyful Submission – Our Gift . All are themes covered by Lynn L’Heureux in her weekly reflection for Vincentians.
Dear Vincentian Family: This is such a beautiful time of year. It is a season of love for one another. My favorite liturgical time is Lent and Easter, however Advent and Christmas are a very close second. I love the sense of giving that people have and always wish it continued all year. It is a time we see many emotions, some good, some not so good. “Prepare the way of the Lord.” (Mathew 3:3) A special gift to the world is with us, prepare. Pray for all non believers; for those who have fallen; for our children; for the suffering; the prisoners; the lonely, the sick and especially for one another and our clergy and religious. Lord help us prepare and make our paths straight for all who are on our path. Amen
Waiting in Peace – Advent is a time to wait. First we wait in hope never losing it and giving it to others. Then we wait in Peace. Peace may cause a few more problems. We pray and strive for peace all the time, but sometimes we go a little off the road, especially during Advent when we try to balance everything. Christmas comes whether we are ready or not, just prepare your heart and soul, everything else will fall into place. It can be difficult to find hope in difficulties. Some of the people we see, I often wonder how we give them their hope back. We need to call on the Trinity to restore hope and peace. Peace is an amazing gift. We have Jesus to teach us about forgiveness. Forgiveness is not about excusing transgressions, it is about choosing not to live with hatred. Isn’t that peace? We must constantly discern our troubles and strife and find a center and the center is usually Christ who humbles. We don’t always have to be right. We are called to be ready, willing and lovingly serve as an apostle to those in need placed before us.
Everyday Blessings – God has great plans for us today and every day. Make each day a blessing, because it truly is. One of our blessings is we are called as Vincentians to love one another and the suffering Christ in each person. We are called to serve Christ in each person. This is our vocation, it is the reason we get up each morning, and we are called to serve. We receive God’s love and share it with others. God has a plan for each of us each day. It is one of our blessings. There are so many. Live out God’s mission for you and feel the loving embrace and blessings. Our work is simple and we strive to be humble. Our greatest joy comes from having God with us in our service, serving Jesus in others and smiling because of that calling. “Your greatest joy should not come from all you do in His Name, but from the fact that He knows your name. (Lk. 10:20). I am always so grateful to our Young Vincentians who respond to the call to serve others, unselfishly and freely. We not only need them during this season to give us energy, but all the time. Thank you God for the blessing of our young Vincentians.
Joyful Submission – We know God has great plans for us today; we just have to say “Yes” and submit with joy to His great plans. Sometimes we are not sure of where they are going, however, know He will be with us all the way as we do His will. The road to sainthood is doing the will of God, even if we have doubts. When we submit, we have the Holy Spirit resting in us, helping us along the way. We experience true peace when we submit. Struggling against him is not comfortable and does not bring the peace we long for and peace does not depend on bringing an end to struggles with others in our family and in our work. We walk with our Lord and peace comes from within in spite of the turmoil around us. Peace comes to us through our love and submission to God and in receiving the gifts of the Trinity. Peace comes when we walk with, talk to and serve Jesus each day. We bring the Eucharist with us in joyful submission to His will. There is no turmoil greater than the Peace of our Lord.
Our Gift – The Eucharist is our most sacred gift. It wraps everything into perfection if we believe. Our greatest gift is the Son – His birth, death and resurrection. The gift of Jesus in the Eucharist is the most powerful weapon we have. Take it with you each day and share the love of this gift with those around you. If you get angry, think of the Eucharist and anger will turn to love. It may not clear up a situation, but your heart will soar with the love of God. The real presence of Christ in the little wafer is the best gift without question. Celebrate the gift and share its love with everyone, letting your actions speak volumes of Christ’s love for all.
If you have a chance read the story of a Franciscan Bethlehem and if you have the opportunity to see a play on it, you will experience joy. Spend some time before the Blessed Sacrament if you can and cherish each Eucharist. Visit www.famvin.org/en for a wonderful Advent journey learning of the Vincentian Family. You are all in my prayers. We spent a good deal of our vacation doing Vincentian work and sharing a meal in the home of one of the Cuban families. This family had the true peace of God even if their lives are in a state of oppression. Such joy and family love. Pray for all who have lost hope in storms, wars and political oppression.
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: Canada, gift, L'Heureux, SVDP
