The Broken Cross – Embracing the Desert
The Broken Cross – Healing in Christ – Embracing the Desert – Welcome Everyone – The themes Lynn L’Heureux reflects on in Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast – Tuesday April 8, 2014
Dear Vincentian Brothers and Sisters: It seems so much is happening. We need to pray more for each other and especially for the service we bring in His name. Make your world a better place each day. Choose to make it better and it will happen with God’s help. We need to have a resurrection in our lives and change in our own area. If we change each small space, we will slowly change the world. Make a difference through prayer, joy, love and smiles and know it is God’s plan, not ours that works. Trust in God, He has a better plan!!!
The Broken Cross – God sends us messages all of the time, we just have to pick up on them. The cross is very powerful. I have seen it bring strong men to tears and non believers into believers. There are many stories of the Cross. Last Sunday, I arrived at church to have someone tell me the cross was broken. She said it fell three times. (Later the real word was it broke in 3 places) I like the first story. I told our parish priest it seemed appropriate it fell three times as Jesus did and it was a wonderful reminder to us we need to pick up the cross. It was broken into three pieces and put together for the Mass with crude twine. Once again this was such a gift of how we need to carry the cross in our brokenness and our journey through our wind down to the Resurrection. We have to be the cross to others in not only in our service to those in need, but to all we meet. We should focus on making our cross by living it every day. See the brokenness in others; know the crude attire of some is the cross. We embrace the cross in our life and live it for others. Know the power of the cross always. I enjoyed and embraced the broken cross in my brokenness and use its power to serve God more. God speaks to us clearly in scripture and in Church teachings, but He speaks to us louder in what we call coincidence. The broken cross spoke volumes to me. I never look at the cross as death, but as a sign of ultimate love and hope and forgiveness.
Healing in Christ – Do you believe Christ heals? Yes, of course you do. Sometimes when you are really sick it is hard to put trust in the words as often as we say them. Our Holy Mass instituted in part at the last supper is the ultimate gift from God along with His Son. Every time we go to Mass it is a healing, if we open ourselves to it. Today, my SSVP Conference had a Mass offered up for my intentions. It wasn’t easy to go, but I would not have missed it. The opening song with the words, “How can I stop from singing”, started my healing. The readings were written for me at that moment in my life and one I have been reading over and over. The homily captured all of me. Father announced the Mass was offered for my intentions and renewed good health. I immediately felt better. The Eucharist and prayers leading to it are the ultimate and I was totally immersed in the healing. The healing is not just for health, but for everything which makes us sad and unproductive. It is a gift, we really need to unwrap it. Salvation is ours, reach up and thank our God for this wonderful plan. We know we are a Vincentian family and in church during mass, we are the family of the Church, the family of God and we partake in the Eucharist together. It is joyful to be a part of this family. Thank you for the Holy Mass the Eucharist and all healing.
Embracing the Desert – Come to the desert for awhile. You are never alone. We have the Trinity and all the angels and saint to help us journey through our dessert. We are continuing our journey to the Resurrection and it is coming soon. Our time in the dessert is helping us to be resurrection people. With Jesus we can turn bad into good and beautiful blessings. It is not about dwelling on pain and sufferings. Yes, we all suffer with pain. I encourage you to offer your pain as a sacrifice of joy to Jesus in your desert journey and feel the healing, if not of pain, you will feel the healing presence and joy. Invite the Trinity to our pain. It is a privilege to suffer during Lent. Make it a joyful privilege. God will heal your heart. A quote from- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. “Blessed are they who wear themselves out for Charity.” Lord, give me a generous heart, always ready to give freely without counting the cost. God bless the Vincentian heart.
Welcome Everyone! – Being Catholic calls us to welcome. Becoming a Vincentian impels us to welcome everyone. This gives us dignity and those we welcome. There is a lady from Romania who comes to my church and speaks no English. She only comes for a couple of months at a time to visit her daughter. We hug every time and we are best friends. How do I know? I feel the love! Our smiles met, we used sign language, but mostly hugs. I see God in her and she sees Him in me. We do the same with the broken Christ in prison or the bitter Christ who is homeless and the suffering Christ in despair. He loved all and we are called to do so as well. Welcome the stranger; show your smile and love. Follow the example of Jesus. Welcome all people, regardless of circumstances, odours and how they look. They are created in the image of God and He loves us equally. Reach out in love to all, regardless of where they are spiritually and where they live.
Blessings,
Lynn
Lynn L’Heureux is Special needs co-coordinator & Advisor of the Society of St Vincent de Paul Calgary Alberta Canada.
Her newsletter is translated into 3 languages, hopefully soon to be 4. They have a group which brings the prayer into China and it is translated into Mandarin and other Chinese dialects.
Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Vincentian Day of Prayer and Fast (English and Spanish) by sending an email to calgaryssvpadm@gmail.com
Tags: Calgary, Canada, L'Heureux, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, SVDP