Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

With the help of a friend, it was brought to my attention how much I have failed to give God all of me. All He wants is my love. This is not just the “I go to Mass every Sunday because I have to” or the “I pray my daily prayers because it is part of my routine but I am really just going through the motions” kind of love. No, this is the kind of love where I go to adoration and sit with Him in silence, not because I am expecting anything out of it or because I expect to feel a certain way after I have prayed. This is the kind of love where I sit and just be in the presence of God because I love Him. I should not expect to always gain some feeling, some reward, or some sort of accomplishment from the time I give to Him.

A love such as this takes time and discipline but mostly an open heart. It won’t be easy. There will be times when we feel empty and prayer is the last thing we want to do. It may not feel like God is even there, but He is. It is in these times that we show God our faith, our devotion to Him, and our willingness to give of our time in order to gain something far greater than we can fathom. That is the love God wants. That is the love God expects from each and every one of us. He wants all of you. He wants you to pray, to read the scriptures, and to receive the sacraments. Through these we gain tremendous amounts of blessings and grace. When our focus is prayer everything else falls into place.

He has given each of us an incredible gift of love through His precious son Jesus. Through our Redeemer, we are able to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. But we cannot just expect to enter heaven without effort, without trying to give back to God as much as we are capable of in return. One way to give back is to love others, and to help others cultivate a relationship with God just like the disciples did.

Upon returning from World Youth Day, I took away the conviction to “Go and make disciples of all nations,” as Matthew 28:19 says. We can often take our Catholic faith for granted. But as Pope Francis said, he needs us. The Catholic Church needs every one of us. We must live out our faith, not just by words, but through our actions. Pope Francis said, “Go, serve, and don’t be afraid.” I have taken that to heart. I often get scared of putting myself out there. Scared of what others will think, scared of not saying the right thing, and scared of backlash from others. But in all my fears, I forget that God is always there; He never leaves. And by praying with Him out of perfect love, I can gain the confidence and ability to overcome all that stands in the way.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:18-19

Infinitely impossible

John 15:16 -
 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 

How beautiful His word is. Yesterday I was talking with a friend "Bob" who seemed as though he was up against impossible odds in achieving his dream. He made the comment that the chances of him succeeding kept getting smaller with every small obstacle. Then I got the urge to tell Bob something to comfort him but I was a at a total loss as to what I should say. So I just kinda said my own little quick prayer and started talking hoping God would know what to say. He did. 

This is some of what I remember saying:

Bob do you have any idea the likelihood of you ever coming into existence? Think about all of the hundreds of generations that came before you. Now consider that each month during the few days of ovulation, there is a 25% chance of a woman becoming a mother. Bob do you understand the implications of that fact. It would be more likely for you to win the lottery ten times in a row than for you to come into being!  It is 100% impossible that you are even here now. The chances of you ever taking your first breath were infinitely improbable.  Yet here you stand. Well, do you think that maybe God doesn't give a hoot about how impossible something seems? 

Our God is not confined by statistics or chances. He breathes the impossible into life everyday! So Bob I charge you with this; leave your dreams in His miraculous hands. And if you are faithful to His will and prayerful for your goal He will reward you in ways you will only be able to describe as impossible.  

Leave it at the Cross

World youth day was an amazing experience. One I will never forget. The preparation, fundraising, friendships, experiences, traveling, churches, and people, everything! I will forever hold onto the memories and friendships this trip has given me. There are plenty of stories I could tell you all about, and probably some I should keep to myself... but there are also many moments that were indescribable. There were some moments that words just can't do justice. But I do have a lot of moments I want to share and so picking one to talk about was really tough. The people I met, the sessions, the closing Mass, the universal church, the Pope, I could blog about all of these. But the thing that impacted me the most at World Youth Day was the Cross. 

I've always had a difficult time putting together in my head that the Jesus I talk to everyday is the same Jesus that died on the Cross for me. In my eyes its a strange problem to have and I didn't know why I couldn't connect with the Cross like other people did.  So many people really cling to the Cross and connect to Jesus through it. I wanted that. Before WYD, I prayed that I would understand the Cross better. I said this prayer so early before WYD that I forgot about it once I got there. 

On Friday night Pope Francis led us in Stations of the Cross and it was through those stations that God answered my prayer. Stations were pretty distracting. Volunteers were moving about, people were talking, and even trading items with us. It wasn't the most reverent stations I've ever been too but at the same time it almost was. I can't describe it, it must have been one of those moments where God gives you the grace to understand. There were so many reasons that I wouldn't haven been able to take anything from the experience, but God remembered my prayer, even though at this point I had still forgotten it myself! I can't explain it, but from then on I understood the passion so much more. After praying the stations I felt like I almost witnessed the passion firsthand. I felt a personal connection to His passion and Cross in a way I hadn't before. I better understood what Jesus went through for me. The Cross had touched my heart. Pope Francis then said "No one can approach and touch the Cross of Jesus without leaving something of himself or herself there, and without bringing something of the Cross of Jesus into his or her life." He then asked us to answer three important questions before we left World Youth Day. He asked, "What have you left on the Cross? What has the Cross of Jesus left for you, in each one of you? Finally, what does the Cross teach us?"

Pope Francis then went deeper into the three questions. He said that "With Christ crucified, evil, suffering, and death do not have the last word, because he gives us hope and life: he has transformed the Cross from being an instrument of hate, defeat and death to being a sign of love, victory, triumph and life." I think that sounds pretty awesome. Nothing in my life can be labeled as something that can't be changed for the better. Because if Jesus can transform the cross, He can transform the crosses little and big in my own life. He can transform my fear to courage, my sins to forgiveness, my worldly ways of thinking into heavenly ways. But to pick up this new transformation I must first place it at the Cross and leave it there. And then remember to pick up what the Cross has given me back in exchange. In Brazil I left fear at the Cross and I received courage. Fear of what others think of me was really plaguing me and when Pope Francis asked his first question, "What are you going to leave on the Cross?", I knew immediately that I didn't want fear anymore. Once I truly left fear at the Cross, I had so much more courage. I really recommend everyone to do this and believe it! Jesus already died on the Cross, place your problems on the Cross, stop carrying them around and give them to Jesus!

I wear my cross that I was given at WYD everyday now. It's a constant reminder to me of what I left behind and what I received. It reminds me of what Jesus did for me at Calvary. And it reminds me of Pope Francis' words to us, "There is no cross, big or small, in our life, which The Lord does not share with us." The Cross teaches me that beautiful things can come out of suffering and that I am never alone in that suffering.

I'm placing the link to Pope Francis' speech at the bottom of this page. I encourage you to read it and answer his questions on your own after praying about it. What are you going to leave at the Cross? What is the Cross giving you? What does the Cross teach you? 


Pope Francis' Stations of the Cross Speech

The Pope's Words from August 4th's Angelus in Rome

I can't think of a better way of putting my thanks and hope for those I met and led at World Youth Day. These are the words from our Holy Father this morning:

I also want to emphasize my gratitude, my deep gratitude, to the Brazilian people. A great people, the people of Brazil, a people of great heart. I won’t forget their warm welcome, their greeting, their affectionate gaze, so much joy! They are a generous people. I ask the Lord to bless them greatly.
I want to ask you to pray with me, that the young people that participated in World Youth Day will be able to translate this experience into their daily journey, in their everyday conduct; and that they will be able to translate it in the most important choices of their life, responding to the personal call of the Lord. Today in the liturgy the provocative words of Qoheleth resonate: “Vanity of vanities . . . all things are vanity” (Ecc. 1, 2). Young people are particularly sensitive to the emptiness of meaning and values that surrounds them. And they, unfortunately, pay the consequences. On the other hand, the encounter with the living Jesus, in the great family that is the Church, fills the heart with joy, because it fills it with true life, a profound goodness that does not pass away or decay: we have seen this in the faces of the youths in Rio. But this experience must face the daily vanity, the poison of emptiness that insinuates itself into our society based on profit and having [things], that deludes young people with consumerism. The Gospel of this Sunday reminds us of the absurdity of basing their happiness on ‘having’. “The rich man says to himself: ‘My soul, you have many good things stored up . . . rest, eat, drink, be merry!’ But God says to him: ‘You fool, this very night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’” (cf. Lk 12, 19-20). Dear brothers and sisters, true wealth is the love of God, shared with the brothers. That love that comes from God and makes us share among ourselves, and makes us help one another. He who experiences this does not fear death, and receives peace of heart. Let us entrust this intention, the intention of receiving the love of God and sharing it with our brothers, to the Virgin Mary.

Lumen Fidei Digest

This is probably the best report on Pope Francis' Encyclical. here it is printed and in mp3:


This is Philippa Hitchen's report: 
Announcing the forthcoming publication of his first encyclical, Pope Francis described it as a work of “four hands”, begun by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, who passed on his draft for the new pope to complete. The document certainly continues many of Benedict’s favourite themes, from the complementarity of faith and reason, to the joy of a personal encounter with Christ. Firmly situated in the Year of Faith, it’s also set in the context of the 50^th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, which re-established the central role of Faith at the heart of all human relationships.
Divided into four chapters and a short introduction, the encyclical sets out to show how Faith in the Risen Christ can lead us beyond the narrow confines of individual existence into the all-inclusive community of God’s love. Rather than the notion of ‘blind faith’, which impedes scientific progress and must be kept to the private sphere of personal convictions, we’re called to rediscover the light that can guide all people from the darkness of selfish desires towards a more just and fraternal world, grounded in the faithful promises of God the Creator.
The first chapter takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the Old and New Testaments, from Abraham, who first hears God’s call, through the Israelites travelling towards the light of the Promised Land, to Jesus’ death on the Cross, the ultimate act of God’s love for humanity. The more we are touched by the transforming power of that love, writes the Pope, the better we are able to understand our relationship to all our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Chapter two insists on the essential link between Faith and Truth, without which our beliefs seem nothing more than a fairy story, an illusion of happiness, unable to sustain us when the going gets tough. Contemporary society, the encyclical says, tends to see technological progress and individual pleasure as the only objective truth, viewing any broader questions about the origins of our existence with deep suspicion. Without love in our hearts, truth becomes cold, impersonal, oppressive, unable to transform the lives of others. But by listening, seeing and believing in Christ’s presence in our lives today, we can broaden our horizons and find better ways of serving the common good. The light of our faith in Christ can also contribute to a more fruitful dialogue with non-Christians and non-believers, showing how all those who search for God or seek for truth will be welcomed and illuminated by that light.
The third chapter of the encyclical centres on the Church as the place where the light of faith is safeguarded and transmitted from one generation to the next. Through the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, through profession of the Creed, praying the Our Father and obeying the Ten Commandments, the Church teaches the language of faith and draws us into the Trinitarian relationship of love, so that ‘whoever believes is never alone’. The final chapter focuses on Faith and the common good and shows how the light of faith can promote peace and reconciliation, and teach respect for God’s creation. The encyclical also considers those areas illuminated by Faith, starting with the family based on marriage, understood as a stable union between man and woman. Faith, writes the Pope, cannot eliminate suffering in our world, but it can accompany us and bring a new sense of hope in God’s love. The encyclical ends with a prayer to Mary, Mother of Jesus and icon of faith, who can lead us into the light of God’s love. (Reprinted from http://www.news.va/en/news/the-light-of-faith, 7/6/13).

Here are some great links to accompany your read through the Pope's First Encyclical!


The Actual Encyclical, Lumen Fidei 
The Official Summary from the Vatican
First Things
Jimmy Akin

Lumen Fidei: Faith and Reason

The first encyclical of Pope Francis is out. Lumen Fidei, theLight of Faith, was released on Friday on the internet in various languages. It is a rich document, and as the Catholic Church continues its Year of Faith, we will be gnawing on it through November (and onward) until we reach the marrow.

What once was called light has now become associated with darkness (Lumen Fidei 3). Since the 18th century, when the Enlightenment took off and placed Reason as a god, or replaced God with human reason. Reason was the only light. Faith what what kept us in the "Dark Ages", whatever that was supposed to mean. Reason and faith became asunder. Faith was darkness. Reason was the light.

What's the result? Reason, instead of being freed from faith's chains to seek truth, limits itself now believes that truth is subjective, and the only truth we agree on is how technology can make our life more comfortable and easier (LF 25). Reason no longer aspires to great heights of thought. And Faith, instead of being the light that shines forth, becomes the dark cave that Neanderthal men still crawl back into when faced with life's difficult questions like "Who am I? How am I supposed to live? What gives my life meaning?" Now we are all in the dark.

Pope Francis calls to us:  "There is an urgent need, then, to see once again that faith is a light, for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim" (LF 4). Faith is a light, as well as reason. They both shine out to aid man make sense of this life. Faith and Reason were never meant to be at odds. St. Peter wrote "Always be ready to give a reason for your hope (1 Peter 3:15)" and like the great saint/philosophy St. Anselm wrote, we have a faith that seeks understanding. I believe, and I seek to understand what I believe. Only Faith, "I just believe" is not good enough. And only reason: I don't have any use for church, is just as bad. We need both if faith and reason are to brighten our way as human beings searching for truth in the material world and in the transcendental.

Faith is a light. But as we see in our own lives, faith will not answer every question. It is not this bright light that reveals all secrets. At least not in this life. But neither will reason alone. When Faith and Reason are joined, we set out to discover new horizons, and this light penetrates our whole life. And this light is not so much like the powerful shining Sun, but more like a lantern light that guides our steps through the darkness.

Pope Francis makes this analogy when talking about how faith will not explain everything, especially not the mystery of pain and suffering:

Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light (LF57).

No, faith is not darkness. It is light. A small light, but still brilliant and strong enough to lead us to truth, to "the One who is Truth." And this light "is capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence (LF 4). Not as a blazing Sun, but as a lantern light that is shared by all who believe, which is passed on, and must be passed from generation to generation. Mary is our model for passing on the light. When she said yes in faith, she conceived faith and joy. And just like the Mother of God, when our own spiritual lives bear fruit we become filled with joy, which is the clearest sign of faith’s grandeur (LF 58). 

May our lives be filled with the faith that illumines our path.

An apropos poem by Blessed John Henry Newman:

The Pillar of the Cloud

{156} LEAD, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom

Lead Thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home—

Lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene—one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou

Shouldst lead me on.

I loved to choose and see my path, but now

Lead Thou me on!

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,

Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

{157} So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still

Will lead me on,

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone;

And with the morn those angel faces smile

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

At Sea. June 16, 1833.

Wholly Love

I struggle to love God as much as I should. Even at points of my life when my prayer life is thriving, I’m going to mass, and I’m loving others, I still sense there is something more. I still lack loving Him completely, with my whole self. There are days that all those actions I just mentioned are extremely easy to do, and there are days when I fail to do any of them because it simply seems more difficult. But then there are days when it seems difficult and I still do one or two of those things, and those are the days in which I love the most. Those are the days that I’m reminded of what loving God truly means.

The Bible tells us the greatest way in which we can show love, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” –John 15:13. Before, I read this passage and I understood that Jesus’s love for us is the greatest because He laid down His life for us; which is completely true. Jesus did show the greatest love for us by dying on the cross. But today, I read this passage and God spoke to my heart by putting my name in place of where I typically place Jesus’. The greatest love I can show God is by laying down MY life for him. That’s big.

What does that mean to lay down my life for Jesus? It means total self-sacrifice and surrender. It means letting go of my plans, my comforts, and my selfishness. It means totally emptying myself. Which sounds pretty painful and difficult, right? I think so. But that’s what makes the process so beautiful. In our efforts to totally empty ourselves, God watches lovingly while we show Him how much we truly do love Him by doing things that are not easy for us to do. And then even more beautiful, is what happens as a result of our self-emptying, we become filled with Him. In emptying ourselves of the things that fill us up and chain us down, we become free to love God and others with our whole heart. At this point “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” –Galatians 2:20. Which is amazing! This is our goal of discipleship! To do what Christ does and become more and more like Him. This is where discipleship begins; we must first lay down our lives to follow and love Him.

In Mass, about a week ago we read in the Gospel about the “would-be followers of Jesus.” These men could not follow Jesus or love him fully. Why? They could not lay down their lives and give everything away. One of the men had an obligation to burry his dead father. Burial was a sacred duty in ancient Judaism, and is still today, very important! But Jesus uses this importance of burial to display an even greater importance on following Him. He tells the man, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” –Matthew 8:22.

Following Jesus is the most important thing. Even more important than our family and friends! The “would-be follower” couldn’t do it, but Jesus’s apostles could. Were these men any greater than the would be follower? It’s doubtful. The apostles were typical fisherman, nothing special or holy about them. But because of their immediate “yes’” to Jesus and emptying of themselves, they became filled with Him, special and holy. These are the men that gave everything to Jesus, their families, plans, and jobs. And because of this gift of self, they were able to love Jesus completely with their whole selves. These are the people who I look up to and strive to be like. I can’t wholly love God until I fully give Him my whole self. Will it be hard? Extremely. But that’s why it’s so beautiful. Will it be worth it? Absolutely.

“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and all my will—all that I have and possess. You, Lord, have given that all to me. I now give it back to you, O Lord. All of it is yours. Dispose of it according to your will. Give me love of yourself along with your grace, for that is enough for me. “

–St. Ignatius of Loyola