Shepherd of Faith

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That at the name of Jesus……..

January 3, 2019 / / 0 Comments
Jesus
….every knee shall bend!
At the name of Jesus

That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2: 10-11)

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? This was the question asked today as I listened to Pray As You Go. It was a prompt used to help listeners reflect on Phil 2:1-11.

Humility 101

My first thought was: there is victory in humility! Boy, humility keeps coming up in my meditation. God’s trying to tell me something for sure. This verse tells us although He was in the form of God – He did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. One translation says – something to be exploited (like the “dropping names” I mentioned in my last post).

Let that sink in: He was divine and yet He willingly “stooped” to our level. Willingly He suffered, despite the fact that He had the power to change His circumstances. HUMILITY 101!

Victory is ours

The result of His humility? FOR THIS REASON God raised Him to the highest place……..EVERY KNEE SHALL BEND……..EVERY TONGUE PROCLAIM THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!!!!!

Notice it doesn’t say SOME knees shall bend nor SOME tongues proclaim. He is victorious! No matter what the state of affairs in the world and in your personal life, being a disciple means having hope. Hope in the fact that ultimate victory is our inheritance. It’s what we are promised!

Being humble is quite difficult, isn’t it? The world with all its expectations and demands wants us to equate humility with loss, weakness and failure. Scripture, however, tells us just the opposite – humility leads to gain. It gives us strength and ultimately leads to victory. How is that possible? Because when we are humble we surrender our wills to Christ who is all-powerful! If He is for us, who can be against us?

More than I imagined

Contemplating this verse reminds me of a time in my life where I felt defeated and weak because I felt I had lost a battle I never intended to lose. My pride made me lose sight of how God was working in my life. In that instant, I literally heard Jesus speak to me: “ha, YOU feel defeated! How do you think I felt?

It was at that moment that I surrendered. I recognized my smallness and the insignificance of my “defeat” as compared to Jesus. I realized it was okay to let others “win.” I was open to God’s plan even though it seemed to be pushing me in a completely different direction than I had planned for myself. God was plucking me from Lynbrook, further away from my family and gently placing me on a mountaintop in Warwick. It all happened so fast.

Many of you know the story of my move from Lynbrook to Warwick. You understand what I mean when I say it is the best move I have ever made. It has changed my life and blessed me with so much inspiration, human and natural!

I’m still working on my humility. Some days are better than others but reading this verse today gives me hope. Here’s something I read during my advent prep: I can’t, you can, you promised!

Let’s make that our prayer today and everyday as we work toward complete humility. I CAN’T, YOU CAN, YOU PROMISED! Give it ALL to God. God bless you!

To Jesus through Mary – what?

January 1, 2019 / / 2 Comments
to Jesus through Mary
To Jesus through Mary!

To Jesus through Mary is what many Catholics imagine when praying the Rosary or thinking about Jesus ‘ first miracle, the wedding feast at Cana. The phrase seems to imply that Mary is our conduit to Jesus or that without Mary we can’t “get” to Jesus. In a sense, that’s true. Think about what our lives would be like if Mary had said no – but that’s not what this post is about.

I recently contemplated what the phrase REALLY means for me. So, on this Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, I wanted to share some thoughts on that.

My Advent Journey

During my morning meditation several weeks ago, I was joyful because Christmas was a little over a week away and my Advent preparation has been amazing. I’ve been journeying through Advent with Mary through a book called Rejoice: Advent Meditations with Mary. The meditations helped me to truly focus on Mary’s wisdom. I was reminded of how she studied and prayed with scripture and how she pondered things in her heart. Mary possessed a strength, confidence and trust that allowed her to accept God’s will for her life. She was unwavering in her faith. Mary was a powerful example of discipleship for her son and she should be a powerful example for us!

So how do I translate “to Jesus through Mary?” What does it mean for me? Of course, through baptism we all begin to develop a relationship with Jesus and yes, we can go straight to Him in prayer. But for me, this phrase is more about how we become more like Him rather than how we approach Him in prayer.

A great example

As all mothers are examples for their children, Mary was an example for Jesus. Although Jesus was divine, He chose to become human for our sake. In His humanity, He chose to remain humble, as His mom was. He didn’t “drop names” to get what He wanted or to change the outcome of certain situations. Instead, He chose to remain human and follow His mom’s example of humility and trust in God.

Jesus was divine and thus, perfect – no doubt. His supernatural gifts came from the Father. But when He chose to become human He became subject to the same trials and temptations we are. Worse, He was subject to massive persecution. Despite all that, Jesus remained steadfast in faith. His faith was unwavering because He trusted in God’s promise. Sound familiar? Where do you think that came from? It came from His mother.

To Jesus through Mary?

So when I hear “to Jesus through Mary” now I think: How can I become more like Jesus? By looking to Mary, Jesus’ prime, shining example of humility, faith, strength and trust. In His humanity – He was who He was and how He was because of the example He had in His mother, Mary.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen! What a gem, scriptural in nature and the background music of the rosary.

Happy New Year! May this year be one of abundant blessings, good health and tremendous spiritual growth. Step out of your comfort zone this year – stretch yourself beyond your perceived limits. Remember God loves you and He’s with you every step of the way! God bless you!


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