A soul in love with the Beloved

St John of the Cross is such a wonderful teacher in the spiritual life. You can see that when you fall in love with God, nothing else will ever be able to satisfy you - only God himself. 

I pray that today you will be able to fall deeper in love with Jesus and grow in Divine Intimacy with the Beloved

Adoring the Bridegroom of your soul

When you love someone you want to spend time with them. How then can I not sit with my Beloved who is mine and I am his (Song of Songs 2:16) who loves me and gave himself up for me? (Galatians 2:20). 

Jesus, I love you 

Friendship with God

Friendship with God is something that is often overlooked in our spiritual life. Yes we believe in God and we follow the teachings of Jesus - but often we keep God at a distance, a formality. But do we see him a a friend? 

Jesus calls us his friends “ I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 

In the Old Testament the prophets or righteous men were often called the “friends of God” but this was something rare. Jesus call us ALL his friends, because by knowing him, spending time with him and being intimate with him he then brings us into relationship with the Father. 

A friend is someone you trust, want to spend time with, you look forward to seeing them. Is this how you see God in your spiritual life? 

Take some time today to spend with God as your friend and companion because he wants to spend time with you

Catholic spirituality must be based in the sacraments

I cannot stress this enough. Any other form of mysticism that teaches “union with the divine” or your “divine inner self” is not Catholic. As Catholics our union with God must always flow from prayer and the sacraments, this is authentic catholic spirituality and mysticism. Anything else is counterfeit. 

We have been blessed with the Catechism, writings of the saints and more specifically approved Doctors (teachers) of the Church, and of course the Bible itself. Stick with the basics.

Prayer as resting at the feet of Jesus

Prayer can be a struggle, often we over complicate things more than they need to be. We can be scared to pray or not have the time to pray. But ultimately prayer is about relationship - spending time with God and talking to him, as well as listening to him. Saying “I love you” and the sitting in his presence allowing yourself to feel loved by him in return. 

Often throughout the day when I’m struggling with my anxiety or feeling frustrated I try to take a moment, breathe in and say “Lord you know I love you, help me to love you more” and then just relax in his presence. 

Prayer is not about lot of words and saying the right things, it is about purity of heart and having the right intention. Take some time today to tell Jesus you love him and then rest in His healing presence.

Spiritual Retreat - a time to Rest in the mercy of God

Today is the end of my spiritual retreat, it has been an interesting 5 days where nothing went as planned but in Providence it’s all been what I needed. 

The day I arrived here I was still feeling stressed, flustered and trying to wind down. I was planning to join the monks in the oratory to pray all the hours of Divine Office everyday and to have my meals with the monks too. But when I arrived I started having stomach issues and I think I’ve had some sort of gastro for the first 3-4 days, so most of my time has been spent sleeping or on the toilet. So my retreat has not been as “pious” as I was planning it to be. 

I had been meeting with one of the monks every morning for a spiritual retreat and he had given me Conferences 9&10 of St John Cassian to read, as well as the Letter to the Hebrews for my Lectio material. 

In Hebrews 4:9-11 I came across the Rest that we are called into when we are obedient to God. So this was my reminder from God that on retreat I am allowed to rest, relax and recover in His Presence. I don’t need to be getting up at 5am to pray with the monks every morning, so long as I am praying in my room and being close to God, then I can still relax and rest. As a hermit I am not called to live as a Benedictine Monk and this is ok, my vocation is different and I need to learn to be able to Rest in God. 

Then because of the mask mandates being extended to the Wheatbelt Region, the Abbot decided to suspend any visitors being able to eat with the monks in the refractory. So I had to have my meals in the dining room with the other guests here. 

Only I would be able to find myself in a Catholic Monastery in a remote area having dinner with 3 other ladies who all happen to be Evangelicals! So over dinner we ended up passionately discussing spiritual warefare, being prayer warriors and intercessors. Praise God. Wonderful lively chats but I had planned on having silent meals. So after 2 days with them, they have now been invited to come along for my renewal of vows as a hermit. I even managed to get time to discuss with them the importance of silence and contemplative prayer from the perspective of the Desert Fathers and Catholic tradition. 

Last night I met another group of ladies over dinner who initially I wasn’t going to talk with, I was planning to eat alone on my table in silence while they are at theres. But one of the ladies seemed to get offended and they didn’t like that they thought they were leaving me out. So we ended up having a great discussion about many things regarding prayer, personal struggles, and I was able to share my testimony with them. One of them told me that she finds me so fascinating that I should have a podcast or something and give regular talks or interviews, and then tells me she is a social media marketer! 

So of course they have all been invited to my vows too,

The Lord works in mysterious ways. I am sad to be leaving today, but I’m also happy because I feel rested and relaxed finally. Most of all, I have been able to refocus on Jesus - fixing my eyes on Him who I love and who I know loves me back. 

As God spoke to me this morning in the Gospel at Mass :

“Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5:19‬ ‭

Rejoice in your salvation

Today you may have noticed your priest wore a pink or a “rose” vestment and if your Church has an advent wreath - the third candle would have been pink as well. This is similar to the 4th week of Lent (Laetare Sunday) …. The only two times in the liturgical year that a priest will ever wear pink/“rose”. 

The reason for this is that Lent & Advent are both penitential times of year. This is why the priest wears purple during this time and we don’t sing the Gloria during Mass on Sundays. It is a time to intensify and prepare for the mystery we are going to celebrate. 

Today is know as “Gaudate” Sunday - this comes from the entrance antiphon of the Mass for today, where we are told to Rejoice. This is highlighted by the opening prayer and especially the first reading from the prophet Zephaniah. As we await the Coming of Jesus, we await joyfully because we know that our God comes. 

The birth of Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of God dwelling amongst us and being in our midst. He remains with us hidden in the Sacraments, and will return again in glory to complete the Kingdom he has already started here in earth. 

Let us cry out with rejoicing - come Lord Jesus! 

———

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

Phil 4: 4-5
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.
Indeed, the Lord is near.

COLLECT

O God, who see how your people
faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity,
enable us, we pray,
to attain the joys of so great a salvation
and to celebrate them always
with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Share the testimony of the Gospel in your life

In honour of St Francis Xavier today, this is something I have learnt in the past few years… 

Do not be afraid to share your testimony with others. No matter how flawed or broken your spiritual life may be, people still need to hear your story of the Gospel in your life and the grace of God working through you. Not everyone is at the same place in their life, but your example could be the inspiration they are looking for. 

None of us are perfect, those people who pretend to be so are often hiding the biggest secrets. 

Be public with your witness to Christ and His mercy on your life. 🙏

Messianic Prophecy of the Hypostatic Union

During Bible study last night in my parish I had a very interesting insight regarding this passage… 

We were studying the symbolism and person of Melchizedek and this passage was brought up regarding the Messianic prophecy of Jesus’ priesthood and kingship - just as Melchizedek was a Priest & King. 

The interesting thing about this passage is it talks about a king on his throne and a priest next to him with the two of them in harmony or “peaceful understanding”. This can be interpreted allegorically to mean the Hypostatic Union of Jesus, fully human and fully divine. His Divinity represented by the King, and his humanity by the Priest - but their unity of “peaceful understanding” represents the two natures (human & Divine) in one Person. In theology this is called the Hypostatic Union. The temple of Lord that is referenced in this passage is the body of Jesus himself, just as Jesus tells us in John 2:19-22

Advent - awaiting the double Coming of Christ

Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent - the liturgical time that the Church gives us to prepare to celebrate Christmas, whilst also focusing on preparing for the Coming of Christ. The Church gives us this somber warning from the Gospel of Luke where Jesus tells us to be aware, be ready, remain vigilant for his coming so that when he returns we will be ready to stand before him. 

I love the open prayer for today where the imagery the Church gives us of running forth to meet and welcome Christ. As we begin this time of preparation for the Coming of the Lord - Advent, let’s us prepare ourselves through prayer, being vigilant, taking time to read scripture, perform the corporal & spiritual works of mercy so that with pure hearts we can be gathered together and welcome Jesus in the crib, in our hearts, and at his Coming on the clouds 

——————-

Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,

the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ

with righteous deeds at his coming,

so that, gathered at his right hand,

they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

– Amen.

Christ the King of the Universe and King of our hearts

I always find the direct bluntness of St Josemaria refreshing and challenging. 

If Jesus is not King in our heart then what is the point of trying to preach him or convert others? If Jesus reigns in our heart so much that his kingdom is present within us (Luke 17:21) then the reign of Christ will naturally start to overflow and bring other people under his sweet yoke. 

As the concluding prayer for Mass today teaches us - when we take glory in being obedient to Christ and his commandments then we are already sharing in his kingdom now. 

May Christ the King, reign in my heart and yours!              ,  

———-

Having received the food of immortality,

we ask, O Lord,

that, glorying in obedience

to the commands of Christ, the King of the universe,

we may live with him eternally in his heavenly kingdom.

Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Trusting in Divine Providence - the patience of the Lord is salvation

This was the scripture verse for Morning Prayer in the Divine Office today. 

We can often get frustrated, hurt, angry, upset and loose our peace of soul when witnessing all the injustice in the world. This is a challenge for all of us who care and especially for us as Christians. It can make us doubt our faith or the goodness of God. 

But as Christians we also have the privilege of Divine Revelation given to us in scripture. What can often from our limited perspective look like allowing injustice or God “turning a blind eye” - can often be God giving time to situations or people to allow a greater good to come out of the evil (Romans 8:28). As it says below “consider the Lord’s patience is directed toward salvation”. 

We believe in Divine Providence - that God is the Creator of Heaven & Earth, he knows everything that is happening and because God is a Good Father, he is Goodness itself. Therefore anything God allows will ultimately be revealed as having a greater purpose. This requires an act of faith in our part - to trust in God & leave it in his hands. 

Ultimately God’s justice will prevail one day - on the great final day, the “Day of the Lord” - Judgement Day. On that day everything will be revealed and we will understand God’s plan of salvation. But in the meantime, while we wait for this we need to remain at peace with God. We need to continue to pray for ourselves and others, participate in the sacraments and read the Bible regularly so we understand what God has revealed to us. In this way we can remain in the hope that saves us (Romans 8:24) so we can at all times say with confidence- Jesus, I trust in you 

Don’t lose hope, focus on working out your salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) so that without stain or blemish we who seek after the Lord can rejoice in the midst of tribulation (Matt 5:12) as we find our joy in Him (Psalm 40:16)

Never give up on prayer - Jesus thirsts for you

Prayer is a war, it’s a daily struggle. 

If you’re struggling with sin or not praying, you can always turn back to God at anytime. Just say “Jesus I love you, help me”. As St Alphonsus Ligouri teaches, he who prays is saved. 

Never give up on prayer 🙏 

As the Catechism teaches us: 

2560 "If you knew the gift of God!" The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.

The hope of the pure in heart

Happy & Blessed Solemnity of All Saints. May the fellowship we share here in Christ through the Church be brought to the joy and glory of the Communion of Saints in heaven! 

In the 2nd Reading for Mass today we have this beautiful passage from the 1st letter of St John where he talks about us being the Children of God. What better way to emphasise who and what the saints are than this - God’s beloved children! 

All of us who are baptised have been reborn as Children of God, having our relationship to the Father restored through Jesus. We are all saints in the making if we persevere in the faith, loving God, following him as best as we can through the power of the Sacraments and living lives of purity. The purity we are called to is the ascetical life - denying ourselves to take up our cross to follow Jesus. Just as Jesus was just and righteous, so we too are called to be just and righteous in Jesus’ name. This is the great calling and mission we all have, the universal call to holiness. 

The word “saint” means Holy one. We know through our faith that the Saints in heaven have already been purified and see God face to face in the Beatific Vision. We too are called to this. That is why the reading says “what we will be has not been revealed” - because we are all still saints in the making! 

In the Creed we profess in believing in the “Communion of Saints” - this refers to the Saints glorified in heaven, those suffering in purgatory and those of us here still on earth, the Church Militant on its pilgrimage back to the Father. This is the totality of the Mystical Body of Christ - The Church. 

Our hope is to rejoice in heaven with all the Saints in the presence of the Holy & Undivided Trinity, sharing eternal life, bliss and happiness as we see God face to face. This has been the hope of all the saints and it is the glory of the currents saints already in heaven. 

Let us strive for the purity of heart that Jesus calls us to the in the Beatitudes that was proclaimed in the Gospel today at Mass, for the pure of heart shall see God. 

As the prayer after Communion for today says:

As we adore you, O God, who alone are holy
and wonderful in all your Saints,
we implore your grace,
so that, coming to perfect holiness in the fullness of your love,
we may pass from this pilgrim table
to the banquet of our heavenly homeland.
Through Christ our Lord