We are all called to be saints

Revelation 14:12-13

Here is what sustains the holy ones who keep God's commandments and their faith in Jesus.  I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," said the Spirit, "let them find rest from their labors, for their works accompany them."

We are all called to be saints,

How much I would like to be and I am not,

Because I would also like to rest

In the lap of our Lord.

We are all called to be saints,

To obey the Father's commands

And faithfully follow my Jesus,

That following him gives us eternal life

And happiness already from today.

We are all called to be saints

To resist the evil temptation,

That without noticing it puts in the way

Because he does not want our salvation.

We are all called to be saints,

How far from that ideal I feel today

Step by step I keep getting up

If I don't know where I'm going, I follow the cross.

We are all called to be saints

For he loves us all and has created us all

To reach heaven and be happy

Here, there, even in purgatory

So that upon reaching salvation

We will rest in Him

And be His heaven

The house in which we will live

For centuries. 

Hallowed be Thy name

 Hallowed be Thy name

Through the green meadows, - along the banks

of the sea, over the waters, cerules and depths

through the bright spaces in the sky

burning desires

pass, they pass again, - God, what a poem

to Your name - holy and by trembling

in soft air

for you the great heartbeat of the universe.

Rest

 

I want to rest in You

Oh, Eternal and Uncreated Good

Yes then here on Earth

Even if at my earthly end

I want to rest in You

Even at the end of each day

And every week

You are my rest

My source of peace

I miss you if I go away

Of your sacred commandments

Don't you despise this crazy woman

Come to my heart,

Let me rest in Your goodness,

When the heart is already tired.

Because we do not rest

Until we rest in You,

Until I find you Lord

In every moment, in every human being

Princess

  August 23, 2019

Sometimes I feel guilty about a poem I wrote for another blog, where my name is God's princess when I proclaim His Word at Mass. Yesterday I felt that way. It's because it's my turn to proclaim at Mass. But God, who loves us so much, reminded me of something. Some time ago, I read on Facebook the true story of a girl who asked a priest if the Virgin Mary was actually our mother. The priest said yes. She asked again, "Is she a queen?" The priest replied, "Yes." At that moment, the girl smiled and said to her mother, "It's true, it's true, I am a princess!" Then God made me feel better; every woman is a princess of God!

A Memory

There are memories that often come to us with the help of images, sounds, words, or scents. Experiences that remain etched in our memory, waiting for something to awaken them. 

 Remembering God in the diary of our lives may seem difficult for those who don't initially believe in Him, but for those who do, it's enough to wake up, to open our eyes. God is the creator of all things, and everything we have is thanks to Him, beginning with life itself. Still, sometimes I feel the need to see God, something that reminds me of Him, that makes me feel His presence, and I wish I had some religious image nearby. And then I wonder, what is God the Father like? And I remember Jesus' words when he says that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father. And they are one true God, together with the Holy Spirit. And God in His simplicity is Love, pure, divine Love, as the priest told us this Sunday, Agape: Love of understanding. And then comes my other memory, an image that I have engraved in my memory with everything and the feeling it awakens in me, of feeling cherished and loved by God. It's an illustration from the catechism I studied for my First Communion. In this drawing, we see a large circle like a host, but in gold, yellow, and white. From this circle, a hand extends to a girl who stands in front of Him and who, to me, also seems to be leaning her hands toward this divine hand. Obviously, it represents the hand of God, who is always there to help us, who never leaves us, and to whom we say the now. 

As Saint John Paul II says, we must draw near not only in prayer of petition, but also in praise, in contemplation, in joy and in sorrow. Recalling this image reminds me, in turn, of the presence of Christ in the Consecrated Host, and how He, God, is always there, always.

This is the image:

It says: God is our Creator, knows everything, loves us, makes us his children and can do everything. God is our Father, good and loving, who has no end.

Away with the Wind

 

On the lawn of a public garden, in the warm spring sun, amidst the tender grass, the robust, toothed leaves of dandelions had sprouted. 

One of them displayed a magnificent yellow flower, innocent, golden and serene like a May sunset. 

After a while, the flower turned into a "showerhead": a light sphere, embroidered with feather crowns attached to seeds that were tightly packed in the center of the showerhead.

And how many conjectures the tiny seeds made. How many dreams the breeze made at dusk, when the first timid crickets sang their serenade.

"Where are we going to germinate?"

"Who knows?" Yes.

"Only the wind knows."

One morning, the showerhead was grabbed by the invisible and strong fingers of the wind. 

The seeds were attached to their small parachute and flew away, caught by the air current.

"Goodbye... goodbye," the little seeds greeted each other.

While most landed on the good soil of orchards and meadows, one, the smallest of all, made a very short flight and ended up in a crack in the cement of a sidewalk. 

There was a hint of dust deposited by the wind and rain, so small compared to the good, fat soil of the meadow.

"But it's all mine!" the seed said to itself. 

Without a second thought, he snuggled up tight and got to work on the roots.

In front of the crack in the cement was a leaning, scribbled-on bench. A young man often sat on that very bench. He was a young man with a tormented face and a restless gaze.

Dark clouds weighed on his heart and his hands were always clenched into fists.

When he saw two jagged, tender green leaves pushing their way through the cement, he laughed bitterly: "You won't make it! You're just like me!" and stepped on them with his foot.

But the next day he saw that the leaves had risen and become four. From that moment on, he couldn't take his eyes off the stubborn and brave little plant. After a few days, the flower appeared, bright yellow, like a cry of happiness.

For the first time in a long time, the grieving young man felt the resentment and bitterness weighing on his heart begin to melt. 

He raised his head and took a deep breath. He slammed his fist on the back of the bench and shouted, "Of course! We can do this!"

She felt like crying and laughing. She touched the small yellow flower head with her fingers.

Plants feel the love and kindness of humans. For the brave little Dandelion, the young man's caress was the most beautiful thing in life.

Don't ask the Wind why it brought you here.

Even if you're drowning in cement, work from your roots and live.

You are the message.

- Bruno Ferrero -

From: "Solo il Vento lo Sa", by Bruno Ferrero, Ed. Elledici.

Grow Christian

 

Look, oh Christian, at the precious plant

when touching the ground with its stem

It grows, grows and rises

as if it wanted to rise to heaven.

Look in its nest at the shy chick

when it can barely flap its wings

but it grows and grows until one day

dares to challenge the clouds with its flight.

See how it is born, calm and noisy

 the crystalline and placid stream

that becomes passing through the ground

in a powerful and fast-flowing river.

Watch the sun rise in the East

with a weak light, radiant, beautiful

that changes its star glow

in a brilliant, diamond-like light.

And you who have such a holy vocation

to live next to God up there in heaven

you have to grow like the plant

you have to grow like a chick.

YOU have, like the sun, to be fiery,

illuminating the world with your light

like the stream in the deep sea

turned into a river it drains gently.

Grow Christian, grow, it is your task,

watch all nature grow;

you have to reach the height

of the immense Rabbi of Galilee.

José María Castillo.

I am not moved, my God - Saint Teresa of Avila

 

 I am not moved, my God, to love Thee 

by the Heaven Thou hast promised me; 

nor am I moved by fear of Hell 

to cease for that reason to offend Thee. 

Thou art what moves me, Lord; 

it moves me to see Thee 

nailed to a cross and scorned; 

it moves me to see Thy body so wounded; 

I am moved by the insults and death 

that Thou undergoest. 

I am moved, in sum, by love for Thee, 

and so greatly, that, 

even if there were no Heaven, 

I would love Thee, 

and even if there were no Hell, 

I would still fear Thee. 

Thou dost not have to give me 

anything to make me love Thee, 

for even if I did not hope 

for what I do hope for, 

I would love Thee just the same.

Prayer to my Guardian Angel

 

Angel

 Server of God

 Assigned to protect us

 You give glory to God

 At all hours

 You free the soul from danger

 Angel

 If you have to guide me

 Don't let me lose the way

 Keep me from all sin

 Give light to my thoughts

 Care in all my words

 Warn me of my actions

 Keep misfortune away from my house

 As God has recommended you

 Angel

 Guardian angel

 Pray for me,

 Fight the fight

 To the enemy of the soul

 And so I can be carried

 On time marked by God

 To contemplate Jesus

 Love that gives life to the soul

I have a God

 I have a unique God, nothing and no one compares to Him. I have a God who reveals Himself to me, I have a God who becomes flesh, I have a God who becomes poor. I have a God who forgives me, and always forgives me.

I have a God who loves me "without makeup," and that reassures me. I have a God who gives me Life, because I don't have any. I have a God who doesn't judge me, doesn't overwhelm me, doesn't call me to account, but encourages and comforts me along the way. I have a God who waits for me, as long as it takes. I have a God available, at all times and always. I have a God who always gives himself to me, every day. I have an incomparable God; no one and nothing compares to Him. Amen.

(Jacobo Espinos)

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 “[On the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary], we are contemplating a little girl like every other, yet at the same time the only one who was ‘blessed among women’ (Luke 1:42). Mary was the immaculate ‘Daughter of Zion,’ destined to become the Mother of the Messiah.”

- Pope St. John Paul II

Isaiah 43:1-4

1

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine.

2

When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not drown. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the flames shall not consume you.

3

1 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in return for you.

4

Because you are precious in my eyes and glorious, and because I love you, I give men in return for you and peoples in exchange for your life.

Reflection:

We are valuable in the eyes of God, so much so that he wanted to redeem us and not let us get lost in sin, so much so that we belong to him, and so he takes care of us, because we are his, there is no need to fear, he is always with us, having already paid a high price for our soul: Jesus on the cross paid the price of our redemption, to give us a second chance, and even more, as long as we allow ourselves to be transformed by Jesus and repentantly return to the Father.