Our Lenten Opportunity

"Christ saved us according to His mercy, 

and renewing through the Holy Spirit."

~ Titus 3:5 ~

Our last Faith Reflection focused on the significant role Lenten sacrifice has in a renewal of our commitment to living our faith. In addition, Lent is also the perfect time to invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts to help us see and accept our opportunities for growth.

Change, even in small aspects of our life, can be a bit intimidating sometimes . . . or seem more like a bother, especially when you’re someone who is already mindful of living your life guided by faith.

Through our devotion to St. Jude, we know he is always ready to receive our prayers for help and our requests for intercession. As the Patron Saint of Hope, he can be the additional strength and support we need to continue to grow in how we live the Gospel.

We have our deep love and commitment to Christ in our hearts and our daily decisions. Part of living our faith is to reflect that love to the outside world, too. It is a way we are able to bring the Word of God to others . . . we share aspects of the Gospel by our example.

Our actions as a reflection of God’s love can be very small and still be extremely meaningful. We can impact many people’s day simply by treating everyone we interact with as people of dignity.

In gratitude for everything St. Jude felt Jesus had given him by inviting him to be one of His Apostles, he committed the rest of his life to sharing the Word of God with people anywhere he could travel. It certainly isn’t practical for most of us to try to follow St. Jude’s particular path, but his passion for Jesus and the Gospel does remind us he is especially aware of the grace we may need to venture a bit out of our comfort zone as we work to grow in our Catholic life.

Ask St. Jude to open our hearts to Lent’s riches for our souls. And through his intercession, ask him to also place your prayers of gratitude before God.

source: Faith Reflection @ http://www.shrineofstjude.org/

What do you want me to do for you?

Have you ever encountered a once in a life-time opportunity you knew you could not pass up? Such a moment came for a blind and destitute man, named Bartimaeus. He was determined to get near the one person who could meet his need. He knew who Jesus was and had heard of his fame for healing, but until now had no means of making contact with the Son of David, a clear reference and title for the Messiah. It took a lot of "guts" and persistence for Bartimaeus to get the attention of Jesus over the din of a noisy throng who crowded around Jesus as he made his way out of town. Why was the crowd annoyed with the blind man's persistent shouts? He was disturbing their peace and interrupting Jesus' discourse. It was common for a rabbi to teach as he walked with others. Jesus was on his way to celebrate the Passover in Jerusalem and a band of pilgrims followed him. When the crowd tried to silence the blind man he overpowered them with his emotional outburst and thus caught the attention of Jesus.

This incident reveals something important about how God interacts with us. The blind man was determined to get Jesus' attention and he was persistent in the face of opposition. Jesus could have ignored or rebuffed him because he was disturbing his talk and his audience. Jesus showed that acting was more important than talking. This man was in desperate need and Jesus was ready, not only to empathize with his suffering, but to relieve it as well. A great speaker can command attention and respect, but a man or woman with a helping hand and a big heart is loved more. Jesus commends Bartimaeus for recognizing who he is with the eyes of faith and grants him physical sight as well. Do you recognize your need for God's healing grace and do you seek Jesus out, like Bartimaeus, with persistent faith and trust in his goodness and mercy?

"Lord Jesus, may I never fail to recognize my need for your grace. Help me to take advantage of the opportunities you give me to seek your presence daily and to listen attentively to your word."

source: Kairos-EME, Don's Daily Email