The Shema & the Creed

Today in the first reading at Mass we had these beautiful words from the Book of Deuteronomy. This has become known as the “Shema” prayer that Jews pray every - it was the first Jewish Creed. 

When it refers to the “the LORD is our God, the LORD is one” this would have originally referred to the divine name of Yahweh - the personal name of the One True God revealed to Moses. So the Shema prayer acknowledges that there is only One God and He is Yahweh, all other ”gods” are false gods. 

For us Christians, Jesus revealed to us that God is a Trinity of persons - Father, Son & Holy Spirit. But it is still ONE God, the “Three in One & One in Three”.  It is interesting to note that for the early Christians their catchphrase was “Jesus is Lord” - they were confessing the divinity of Jesus. Etymologically Jesus means “Yahweh saves” and this is why Jesus is the manifestation or the face of God the Father revealed to us in His beloved Son. 

When we pray the Creed we still say “I believe in ONE God” and then it is divided into 3 parts regarding the Father, the Son & The Holy Spirit. So for Christians our “Shema” is the Creed. 

The beauty and mystery of Christianity is that the Trinitarian nature of God does not take away from him “Oneness”. As it says in the Catechism: # 234 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin".

CCC 222 Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.

CCC 223 It means coming to know God’s greatness and majesty: “Behold, God is great, and we know him not.”1 Therefore, we must “serve God first”.2

CCC 224 It means living in thanksgiving: if God is the only One, everything we are and have comes from him: “What have you that you did not receive?”3 “What shall I render to the LORD for all his bounty to me?”4

CCC 225 It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men: everyone is made in the image and likeness of God.5

CCC 226 It means making good use of created things: faith in God, the only One, leads us to use everything that is not God only insofar as it brings us closer to him, and to detach ourselves from it insofar as it turns us away from him:

My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you.

My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you.

My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.6

CCC 227 It means trusting God in every circumstance, even in adversity. A prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus wonderfully expresses this trust:

Let nothing trouble you / Let nothing frighten you

Everything passes / God never changes

Patience / Obtains all

Whoever has God / Wants for nothing

God alone is enough.7

1 Job 36:26.

2 St. Joan of Arc.

3 I Cor 4:7.

4 Ps 116:12.

5 Gen 1:26.

6 St. Nicholas of Flue; cf. Mt 5:29-30; 16:24-26.

7 St. Teresa of Jesus, Poesias 30 in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, vol. III, tr. K. Kavanaugh OCD and O. Rodriguez OCD (Washington DC Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1985), 386 no. 9. tr. John Wall.

Delight in the Lord

As I was praying the Office of Readings, I came across this in the psalm and couldn’t get my mind off of it. 

How often do we take DELIGHT in the Lord? 

Often we feel troubled, burdened, so we go to God as our refuge and help. We might make little prayers to him out of a sense of obligation or as a way to feel like we are “ticking a box” as a kind of spiritual insurance policy…. But delighting in God? 

Some might read this and think that this can be seen as some type of Prosperity Gospel, where the desires of our heart are seen as a type of reward, usually financial. However, if we really think about it - the deepest desires of the human heart are for intimacy, connection, understanding… Love. 

This is what the Gospel offers us - that Divine Intimacy where through Jesus we can share in the life of the Blessed Trinity. 

So today I invite you, spend some time delighting in God. Find in him your joy, and see how he fills your heart with his blessings.

Battle of faith - following your vocation

Faith can be a daily battle. Sometimes we can feel discouraged and feel like there’s no point in going against the world, that it’s easier to just give in. 

But God has a plan for each and every one of us. A unique and special calling - if we just take the time to listen to Him, open our hearts and be obedient to the call. That is our vocation, our path of holiness so that we may always dwell in the house of the Lord. 

Holy stubbornness - the gift of perseverance

I wanted to share this with you all to help encourage you if you are struggling or finding it Hard to persevere…

As some of you who know me personally may be aware, I am living as a hermit and in the process of trying to be recognised as a hermit by the Diocese I live in as a hermit under canon law and be affiliated with the Carmelite Order (O.Carm) as a lay hermit. I have spent the past 5 months trying to get a meeting with my Archbishop to discuss my petition, as the Carmelite Secretary General in Rome has requested that I need a letter of approval from my Archbishop. 

After 5 months of multiple emails being ignored, I submitted my formal letter of petition with 5 written references and all my documents. A few weeks ago I was finally able to meet with our Auxiliary Bishop who was delegated by the Archbishop. The meeting went really well, i felt listened to, respected and acknowledged. However ever since the meeting I have started having some health issues which the doctors can’t work out what is wrong with me and trying to tell me it’s psychological because all my tests are saying my health is fantastic. 

So this has been causing me to feel frustrated, disheartened and to begin to experience a loss of fervor in my prayer life. I had sent a follow up email to the Archbishop’s secretary regarding my approval letter for my affiliation with the Carmelites but then was ignored again. So I started to feel it was all a waste of time. 

However, I am stubborn and so I continued on. Praying when I can, continuing work, interceding for people with sexual addictions (which is my “charism”) and yesterday finally wrote my testimony regarding my journey with SSA, loneliness, anxiety and depression. In spite of all my let downs and weaknesses, I still remained resilient and persevered. This is what myself & my fellow hermit Sr Ellen Jones-Carney refer to as “Holy Stubborness” 😂 

Today God gave me a surprise. 

I received an email from the Archbishop’s secretary with my letter of approval to be affiliated with the Carmelite Order. Praise God!!  In spite of my weakness, lack of faith and beginning to doubt - God is always faithful! Then to top it off, this evening during Vespers in the Divine Office (Friday 8th October) this was the scripture reading. 

If that is not a sign from God then nothing wise is! 

I want to encourage you to remain “stubborn” in your walk with God, follow the promptings and desires he has given you, don’t lose hope and continue to persevere in doing his will. God will reward you when the time I right!!