People Come, People go.

 

“Some people come in our life as blessings. Some come in your life as lessons.”

 Mother Teresa

 I love this week’s Gospel reading I have loved listening to the Gospel of Mark I feel as though many are listening to the word of God and hopefully, they are proceeding to put those words into action and not keeping them as thoughts or ideas. Reading scripture is not always easy sometimes we have to reread it repeatedly to understand the message of God I guess we are lucky that we can research and gather information that we might have missed so we come to know the meaning of the passage we are reading from.

Someone once said to me “You cause division, that is why I don’t choose you for me.” Not very nice right anyway they might not choose me, but God chooses me and so does fate and destiny there are no accidental meetings in life somehow God orchestrates and plans according to his purpose. I truly do believe there is always a reason for two people to unite here on earth and it’s not necessarily to have a romantic relationship it could be a good friendship or a soulmate connection which can help bring out a true authentic self. A few examples I am constantly reminded of is the relationship between St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi, Jesus, and St. Mary Magdalene and St. Mary Mackillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods and I am sure there are more examples but each one of those relationships weren’t physical or based on romance but what did draw them close was the passionate love of God.

‘So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’

Mark 10:2-16

The hardest thing though is when you must let go and move on from that person and that might be because you’re not ready or they’re not ready to recognize or proceed with the connection and there is always someone left hurting. This is when we put more of our trust and faith in God because he knows our beginnings, middles, and endings our future is in his hands. Maybe this is our invitation to become more welcoming to those people who come and go from our lives and treat them as blessings sent down from the Kingdom of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

‘There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven.’

God knows us, he wants peace for our lives not evil, he searches our hearts and knows our deepest desires nothing can be hidden. God knows what works, what doesn’t just as he knows who should be united and who shouldn’t there is always a reason behind God’s plans. Where my heart goes, I really must follow and that is sometimes hard for people to understand, and I feel so tired of fighting God and trying to convince myself and others that there is nothing going on but what God wills for my life because God sends people into our lives exactly at the right time, and it is all about God’s timing and purpose. I’m just thankful for all my memories, experiences, lessons, and blessings, go in peace Women of Faith and Hope and love and be kind always.

Proverbs 19:21

‘Plans multiply in the human heart, but the purpose of the LORD stands firm.’

 

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose.

Words of Grace from our Saints.

 

The Grace of God day 6

 

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose

The grace of God day 5

 May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose

The Grace of God day 4

 2 Peter 3:18 Instead, go on growing in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory, in time and in eternity. Amen .

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose. 

The Grace of God day 8

 

I believe we are to end our grace journey in front of station 8 when Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem and, I wanted to finish with this quote from St Teresa of Avila, “Why must we want so many blessings and delights and so much endless glory all at the cost of the good Jesus? Shall we not at least weep with the daughters since we do not with the Cyernian who helped him carry his cross?”  We weep for Jesus because we are guilty and ashamed well, I know that is why I weep and if that is the case why and how can I be asking and wanting more isn’t his grace enough? We started our grace journey with the cup of life and now we end with Jesus on the cross let us not neglect or give up the grace of God we have received.

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose.

The Grace of God day 3

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose.
 

His Grace is Enough.

I wanted to start with this verse, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 for our grace journey however I feel as though God has another idea for us Women of Faith and Hope. We all know his grace is enough for us and when we are at our lowest and in our darkest moments that is when we see his power. However, sometimes I don’t understand why? But I do know he loves us and wants to be with each one of us. We are quick to blame and complain when we are hurting or upset, and we forget what we are going through he went through it too and as Women of Faith and Hope we must somehow remember that it’s all for Christ’s sake. It doesn’t make sense that we should suffer or put up with so much, but it is our mission to continue Jesus’ work here on earth remember ‘thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ When it says, ‘he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty, this made me think of all the blessings I have received consider your own blessings and I think this is a verse that helps us to understand who we reach out to and help first and that is the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the lonely, the low in spirit, those who are overlooked and those who sit in the back row, the naked and the prisoner. We become poor Women of Faith and Hope for the sake of another, and we bring faith, hope, and love to all and this is a mission and I have said this before church is not just in a building, no church is in you, it’s in me we are the church, church is everywhere because we are a temple for the Lord. So, let us not ignore or disregard the grace of God because he will deliver us out of sin, repent! Believe in the Good News, his grace will take us many places and on different paths that will lead us all to that favorable time, the day of our salvation.

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose

The Cup of Salvation.

 Titus 2:11 You see, God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory of our great God and savior Christ Jesus. He sacrifices himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope.

Written and created by My Mother Rose. 

Mystery of Faith.

 

The Cup of Life.

Matthew 20:20-23 The mother of Zebedee’s sons makes her request

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your Kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said, ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my father.’

Matthew 20:24-28 Leadership with service

When the other ten heard this, they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

Great means many things we might describe a person, or we might say ‘great job playing football.’ But being great means, it comes with some great responsibilities especially when we are talking about following God. As I was researching, I found this quote and wanted to share it with you all.

“We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it.” Henri J.M. Nouwen

We start our journey through grace looking at the cup a cup filled with sorrows and joys. How can we ever repay the Lord for drinking and draining a cup of God’s wrath which transformed into the cup of life? 

What is it we want Women of Faith and Hope? Can we drink from the same cup Jesus drinks from? Life is precious and fragile, and I believe we are all doing our best and that is something we need to be proud of, we have finished our journey in self-love, and I hope you found love for yourself, and others and I want to add respect, a little respect for yourself and others goes along way. Respect is showing consideration towards a person’s or your own needs and feelings when we disrespect, we show no regard towards a person’s or our own feelings, rights, or well-being. I always thought respect was something we offered no matter what because you don’t know what someone is going through, now call me crazy, but I think respect is something we must work towards in our everyday relationships. 

Talking about relationships, Over seven weeks my husband and I attended a marriage course on Zoom and on the 11th of September we attended a marriage retreat, and we were asked to pray and say, "God, I choose to forgive," and you say the name you hear but I didn't hear a name I heard, "everyone," and straight away I went to the scene of Jesus on the cross and he says, "Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing" Luke 23:34.

I think about the many saints we have read and heard about but there is something about their lives that reminds me of the Passion of Christ, his sufferings, rejection, and his death I would also like to add their service to God and others because as we have heard in the Gospel a few weeks ago, Jesus sat down, called the twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all’ Mark 9:30-37. When we become a servant of all we should look to the saints and the life of Jesus they are our true servant leaders who attract people to God but to be a servant of all means we look around and see if there is a need and fill it. Someone recently said to me that right now in the world our faith is under attack, and we should be defending it not staying quiet, but I beg to differ because what the world needs right now is a lot of love, kindness, peace, and unity and for us all to look around and see a need and fill it. There is no need to fight, argue or bicker because the world doesn’t need that right now. If we choose to be first then we must except suffering, rejection, and death because we become the hands, the feet, the ears, and the voice of Jesus Christ here on earth and we partake in the cup of the new covenant of the Lord.

Exodus 6:6-7

Say this, then, to the sons of Israel, I am the LORD, I will free you of the burdens which the Egyptians lay on you. I will release you from slavery to them, and with my arm outstretched and my strokes of power I will deliver you. I will adopt you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that it is I, the LORD your God, who have freed you from the Egyptians burdens.

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose.

 

'Be opened to hear'

 

‘Ephphatha,” that is ‘Be opened.’

Mark 7:31-37

What are you opened too?

Hopefully you are opened to the countless and endless possibilities God has in store for you.

Are you opened to hear, see, feel, know, and understand?

Possibly you are opened to being yourself and believe me it’s difficult to be open and share a story, issues, the things that are put off time and time again.

But are we opened to listen to the Good News of the Kingdom and be healed?

Matthew 4:23

Are you opened to healing?

We all know God still performs miracles who doesn’t want to be a witness to the healing power of God. Loner wolf suggests, there are five different types of spiritual healing, 1. Physical healing (of the body), 2. Emotional healing (of the heart), 3. Mental healing (of the mind), 4. Spiritual healing (of the spirit or soul), 5. Holistic healing (of the body, heart, mind, and spirit). I believe Healing is a process of becoming healthy again when we talk about healing spiritually, we practice and experience renewal, balance and harmony with the Divine who is God our creator.

Now, I want to mention that if it is God’s will there will be healing, God wants us all to be healthy, happy and for us all to grow in faith but know it is God’s will to heal I wanted to also mention, healing is our own choice if we want to be free from pain and suffering then we need to say yes and be free. I was reading an article by Lesli White, ‘The Healing Power of Christ, Jesus Christ is the Master Healer, and He has a plan to bring healing to your life.’ This article suggested healing takes place in scripture and Acts is full of healing stories so if you find some time have a read of the Acts of Apostles.

How do we heal Women of Faith and Hope?

First, I think it is important to listen, listen to your body signals what are we hearing? Are we in pain, do we need to sleep? Also, it is important we hear one another and when we understand each other we can heal. I have an example, a couple of years ago I went to a Spiritual workshop which was being held in the Parish and I put my hand up to help heal a man’s foot and after we prayed and performed healing we moved onto the next person and we were put into groups and in my group one person was so determined to pray for this person’s heart but in fact it was her back that needed praying for so it didn’t result in healing because the person who was so determined to pray for the persons heart failed to hear or listen to the pain or listen to the woman we were praying for. Now, not everybody who has the gift of healing is going to be acknowledged.

Which brings me to the second reading this week, St. James 2:1-5, I realized it wouldn’t matter what I wear if I came beautifully dressed or in shabby clothes no one would ever take notice of me. Sometimes I feel as though I am fighting my way up the front to be with God but when I think about it, I like sitting up the back it reminds me when I was little, sitting up the back of St Margaret Mary’s Church in Townsville playing with my Great Aunties Rosary beads and starring at Jesus on the cross listening to the priest who was speaking in some sort of mysterious code about God who I had to know? Who was this he was talking about a man with long hair dark eyes and a beard, a man who made the deaf hear and the dumb speak a man who chose me, chose my children, chose my family, and chose you? I believe Jesus has a plan to bring healing to all our lives and it might not seem like that right now in the world, so I want to leave you with these words from

Isaiah 35:4-7

‘Say to all faint hearts, Courage! Do not be afraid. Look, your God is coming.’

May God Bless Always, Women of Faith and Hope

Written and created by My Mother Rose.