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Written and created by My Mother Rose.
“Even when alone be cheerful, remembering always that you
are in the sight of angels.” St Therese of Lisieux
Do you ever ask for a sign? John 6:24-35 What sign will you
give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Two weeks
ago, I watched the movie signs with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, and I thought
to myself, “what if we do receive signs and we don’t recognize it or we don’t realize
a sign when we feel it, see it or hear it?” Then I thought of all the angels and
saints, the Holy Spirit or any Spirit who can spiritually communicate with any
of us and those signs we sometimes get such as numbers 111, 222, 333, or
feathers, coins, animals like butterflies or birds and the list goes on for
example feeling warmth, a tingling sensation, a gentle breeze, flickering
lights, clouds and lovely scents, music and I have to add babies and usually my
children or any child.
Possibly you don’t ask for a sign, but God is giving you one
anyway, is this the sign you have been hoping for, longing for and if so, how
strong is your faith and your trust? So,
what are the signs we receive from God? God uses nature, he communicates often
in dreams, God will use his words from the bible, gospel, scripture, and he
sends messengers, angels or someone into the world and we have one great
example of who was sent into the world, Jesus! Jesus who is the bread from
heaven and we call this bread manna which can be grounded into flour and turned
into bread, and it is also known has heavenly food, food that feeds us and gives
us spiritual nourishment.
Now, I believe in signs I believe there is a presence in our
mix and maybe I am just crazy, tired, stressed but what I have felt is so
strong that it makes me want to run a million miles away, it makes me nervous because I am not worthy or good enough to be
in the same presence of this enormous spiritual figure and what I believe I
know of this presence is that it only wants me to encounter the ultimate love a
love that is so powerful but why am I so afraid? I have waited a long time to
be loved and here it is trying to cling to me, trying to embrace the imperfect
human and creature I am. All I can hear is “do not be afraid for I am with you
always.” As Saint Padre Pio and Saint Francis de Sales says, angels are
constantly in our presence and are constant companions of our journey and even
though they maybe mute and not seen they are witnesses of our everyday lives so
behold them frequently in spirit. Every time we are at mass we are with the
angels, we join in prayer and with our spirits, we lift them up to the Lord and
give thanks and if you think about this is our agreement to the Father in
heaven who is the bread of life, we say this with our lips and believe and think
with our hearts that God is constantly with us, loving us, guiding us and
assisting us. Remember, Jesus walked where angels trod, He is the Son of God.
Psalm 91:10-11 Upon you no evil shall fall, no plague
approach where you dwell. For you has he commanded his angels, to keep you in
all your ways.
P.S. Keep watch, listen and feel those signs from God, he always delivers us out of any trouble or evil ways.
May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope
Written and created by My Mother Rose.
‘God provides he comes
through for each of us.’
I went to Adoration and
while I was in there by myself I stood up in front of the tabernacle and my
eyes were drawn to the fish, makes sense fish represent a time for silence, a
time for preparation. While I was staring at the fish, I could not help but
think about the Gospel reading and the small boy with five barley loaves and
two fish and how Jesus gave thanks and provided enough loaves and fish for
everyone and there was enough for leftovers and for them to fill twelve hampers.
After that thought, I turned to look at the window behind me and written on the
window it says ‘I am the bread of life’ meaning what we consume is a source of
spiritual nourishment and a symbol of God’s continuous provision for our lives.
I love fish and chips
we usually eat it most Friday’s or I might make salmon casserole which is
delicious and even though these meals are so good do they really satisfy our
hunger? Do these meals make us feel good about ourselves? I would have to say
sometimes but I really believe what we are hearing this weekend in the Gospel is
about how hungry we are to be with God or how hungry we are for God’s
provisions in life we are human after all and we all have needs and concerns with
family, work, finances, social and private life and here is the thing at times
when we feel as though we are not fed or we feel his absence and distance which
is created by us, we can feel less satisfied, loved or as though what we contribute
is not generous enough or worthy. Here is the Good News, we are all called to
the supper of the lamb, we are all called to live in one Body, one Spirit and
into the one hope because after all there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
and one God who is Father of all, through all and within all Ephesians 4:1-6. Lately,
I have felt lost, confused and as though I really have no place in a parish or
in a church and so if I have no place does that mean I have no place in the
Kingdom of Heaven or any part in the Body of Christ? I feel this way because I
really have had a rough journey it hasn’t been easy and I really do not
understand how people can be so dishonest, hypocritical, unkind, impolite and insincere
and why it is so hard for some to remember and understand that we are all
hungry for God’s provisions and I asked this question while I was in Adoration
and standing in front of Jesus and I heard the verse Isaiah 29:13 ‘The LORD has
said: Because this people approach me only in words, honors me only with lip-service
while its heart is far from me and my religion, as far as it is concerned, is nothing
but human commandment, a lesson memorized.’
A couple of weeks ago,
I heard in a homily we might experience rejection when we preach the word of
God and this might be true, but I believe the worst rejection comes from those
who say they believe in Jesus not so much from non-believers or non-Christians
rather from other believers, leaders, priests, followers of Christ or in other
words Disciples of Jesus Christ. When I talk about God to someone who may not
know or understand or believe in God, they do not reject him as such they most
likely would love to have a debate or a real discussion on the subject. Here is
the thing and some words that I hope can feed your hunger right now and fill
your heart with the same hope we all hold onto, in Luke 10:16 it says, ‘Anyone
who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.’ and Galatians 3:28 it
says, ‘and there are no more distinctions between Jew and Greek, slave and
free, male and female, but all of you are one in Christ Jesus.’ God loves us,
knows us, protects, provides for us, and needs us as much as we need him, I think
he needs us more or he wants us to need him more. I think this week we challenge
ourselves to see God’s provision even if it is not what we are hungry for, it
is something better and greater, remember he is close to us all especially
those who call on him, call on him from the heart.
May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope.
Written and created by My Mother Rose.
Affirmations are when we act or express through speech or in
writing what we are affirming to be true, you could say it is like making a
statement or a declaration. This week as we listen to the readings and Gospel,
we are first affirming that we are present in that moment our ears are opened
to hear a message from God. ‘I am here Lord to listen and learn from you.’
Secondly, I wanted to say this I was wrong, and I need to apologize after
reading so much about Mary Magdalene I have come away with knowledge and
understanding the importance of adoration and the meaning of contemplating Jesus,
especially in the Blessed Sacrament, in stillness and in silence. If we think
about it when we are in the presence of Christ that is when we are being instructed
or sent out on a mission and when we go out and even if we have been successful or not,
we always come back to the presence of Jesus Christ to listen for more instructions,
more wisdom and knowledge to undertake another important mission.
What is your mission? What is God calling you to do? Are you
listening to his instructions and directions?
For example, my mission is to love God, Jesus, myself, and others
with all my mind, heart, soul, and strength. It is also a mission and a
blessing to express my faith and hope with you all and that God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception
of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten
the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what
rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit. Ephesians 1:17-18.
I think in today’s world how lucky and blessed we are to be
able to depend upon the presence and existence of the Holy Spirit in our lives as
we all know Jesus lives on and is dwelt among us and that is important to
remember when we are instructed and called to go out and proclaim the Word of
God or to heal the sick we don’t have to be afraid or disheartened he is with
us always. But to consider a time when Jesus was alive and he sent out the
twelve disciples all they had was his words, his teachings and guidance and
possibly they felt his presence. I think of that quote or saying that goes
something like this. ‘No matter where you are, I will always be with you in
spirit.’ I say to my children pointing towards their heart, ‘I will always be
right in here.’ Meaning, the wisdom and love I bestow upon them will be there always.
I want to leave you with this thought, we are not on a
mission to please God, to please man or woman which can drive anybody into exhaustion
or frustration but rather our mission is to journey with God, we are all called
for this mission and journey. God walks with us and is amongst us and if only
we took the time to listen and I cannot stress how important it is to sit,
breathe and listen to God who whispers silently into our hearts, souls, and
minds. Our missions are not supposed to be complicated; our missions are to
bring hope, joy, love, compassion and faith into our own lives and the lives of
others we are not expected to do the impossible but to do what is necessary in
our own time. There is no set time, God is patient and bears with us, now if
only you would listen to St. Peter who suggests, be sure, then, you are never
spiteful, or deceitful, or hypocritical, or envious and critical of each other 1
Peter 2:1-4. We are chosen and precious
to God, sometimes when we are angry, annoyed because our mission is not going
the way we want it to go we forget it is not only our mission it is a mission from
God, but a God who wants to be with us and maybe when we feel this way we return to God in adoration and contemplation. Remember love is always ready to
excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to
an end 1 Corinthians 13:7. He is ready to instruct are you ready to listen and go?
May God bless you all on this mission and journey, Women of
Faith and Hope.
Written and created by My Mother Rose.
Ephesians 2:10 We are God’s work of art, created in Christ
Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it.
'I love you but I need to learn to love myself, like a bird it has to learn to fly before it leaves the nest.'
Welcome Women of Faith and Hope to 28 Days of True Love with
God. I will share words from God that help us to understand and help us to know
how loved, beautiful, transformed, chosen and radiant we are over the months of
August and September.
I feel as though it is important that we continue to grow in
love whether that is from the Mary Magdalene Novena which I truly believe has opened
the flood gates of love, love that has flown straight into our hearts, our lives,
and the lives of others because for a while now I have felt strongly and
convinced that God is asking me to love others as myself but to also self-love
and I know there are ways to self-love without feeling guilty. You see, God
loves us, and we accept his love by accepting who we are and who we are meant
to be. The bible does indicate that self-love is ok, we are to care for
ourselves, we are to respect ourselves and we should really have a sense of
self-worth. I really like this quote by St. Gianna Beretta Molla “The secret of
happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what he is sending
us every day in his goodness,” if you remember I shared a little about her last
year in “Mothers who are Saints.” I have to say before we go on this journey
for 28 days that I am most grateful for my children, my family, friends, Women
of Faith and Hope and strangers I meet on a train, bus, sitting on a seat
outside the shops, or while I am waiting to pick my children up from school.
I know my sins, I know the things I have said and done am I
sorry, yes, but no distance or silence is going to make any pain I have caused go
away. Believe me if I could I would go back and make better choices or include God in those
decisions but I can’t go back and change the past, I can learn
from the past and I can try and grow in faith, hope and love and be the best
version of myself for myself, my children and my family, friends, Women of
Faith and Hope and those who I hurt so much. That is why my hope for the next 28 days
is that we grow and become more confident, we can take a step back and realize
what makes us happy in our life? What do we like about ourselves and what has
changed? Also have we set new goals for the year ahead or are we planning on
living moment by moment? I believe we can start by saying our first goal is to
love who God says we are and truly believe it with all our hearts and really we could say this journey is to recognize a love we have for ourselves as well as a love we may have for others.
“Love God, love Jesus, love yourself, now you’re able to
love others.” Author Unknown.
May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope.
Written and created by My Mother Rose.
This September let us investigate Godly characteristics. What do I mean? Well, we all have a characteristic, attributes a feature that bel...