Prayer. It changes us. We may not always see it at first but later we learn that prayer strips us of all the things that we do not need to be carrying around with us for the journey. I call it excess baggage. Its time to get rid of the things that weigh us down. And when we do we can breathe easier and live happier productive lives. Layer upon layer this excess weight is stripped from the core of our being that sets us back instead of bringing us forward. When we are dedicated to a life of prayer we are allowing God into our life in a deep and meaningful way so that he is able to enter in and when he does and when we cooperate with his grace, he can then remove the branch in us that is no longer bearing fruit. And that is a really good thing. Praying the Rosary, helps us to meditate upon the Sorrowful, Joyful, Glorious, and Luminous Mysteries. When we pray the rosary we are reminded about what our Lord endured for the sake of our soul. The praying of the Stations of The Cross, are also a great reminder of the love our Lord had for all humanity. We can never fully grasp his pain but he so loved the world he suffered greatly for our sinfulness, our weak nature, he knew we would be a fallen race. We take this time in Lent to sacrifice, fast, pray, and remember our Lord. Let us give him our time alone in adoration, at mass, at home within our very own prayer room, and meet Him in the silence. We can also think about ways we can better serve our neighbors, family, friends, who may need assistance during the next forty days of Lent. When we think of helping the helpless, clothing the homeless, feeding the hungry, we are helping, clothing, and feeding God. For God is living inside of everyone walking the earth. We are all eternal beings, every single one of us will go on to live forever. That was and is God's intention, when he first created us. Today at mass our pastor said something profound, and thank goodness I had written it down, otherwise, I would have totally forgotten his message and I always want to share what he talks about during his homily. He said;" Lent is about RETURNING TO CHRIST & DYING TO SIN. Wouldn't it be great if we could take to heart this message that was given and all of us would return to the church and live holy and happy lives. That would be amazing. Today I saw so many people fill the church pews, for Ash Wednesday. My hope and prayer tonight is for every person that attended our church gives their entire life back to Christ by deciding to become daily communicants. We would have an amazing world of people doing the Lords work. Oh how I wish to see this happen in my lifetime. Men and women desiring to serve, we would see in our life time the next generation of saints. That would be incredible. Think of the great progress we would have because everyone started to genuinely care about their neighbor. We have forgotten to extend the olive branch. We have to begin again. And when Jesus lives within the heart and soul and body and mind of everyone he has created, we will set the world on fire with his goodness and his love that will be everlasting.
