I want to thank Judy, mom of ten and super sweet manager of several blogs including BENMAKESTEN and A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings (both in my sidebar of favorite blogs) for interviewing me for her Daily Blessings Special Feature blog. It was both a thrill and an honor! You can find that interview at the following link:
dailyblessingsinterviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/welcome-to-mrs-anne-bender.html
Sunday, August 9, 2009
House of Love
It is not at all uncommon for Mary to cry,
but this time,
I could tell that she was really hurt
and not just looking
for attention.
As I snuggled her in my arms,
to offer her comfort and love,
I sang a lullaby to her
that I hadn’t sung in the
eight years since she was a baby.
John and Jack heard me singing
and they came to comfort
Mary as well.
They gave her hugs and kisses.
She was surrounded
by the love and care
of her devoted family.
A look of pure
contentment
fell upon her face
as she drifted off to sleep
in my arms.
This is the house
of love, Lord.
It is filled with Your
Holy Love
as we strive to
follow your example.
Amen.
but this time,
I could tell that she was really hurt
and not just looking
for attention.
As I snuggled her in my arms,
to offer her comfort and love,
I sang a lullaby to her
that I hadn’t sung in the
eight years since she was a baby.
John and Jack heard me singing
and they came to comfort
Mary as well.
They gave her hugs and kisses.
She was surrounded
by the love and care
of her devoted family.
A look of pure
contentment
fell upon her face
as she drifted off to sleep
in my arms.
This is the house
of love, Lord.
It is filled with Your
Holy Love
as we strive to
follow your example.
Amen.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Parched
branches snap
under my feet and I think
I could break
just as easily
my prayer is dry
my soul is parched
I need to be drenched
with the consolations
of Your sweet love
my Jesus
fill me
until I overflow
quench my thirst
for You
under my feet and I think
I could break
just as easily
my prayer is dry
my soul is parched
I need to be drenched
with the consolations
of Your sweet love
my Jesus
fill me
until I overflow
quench my thirst
for You
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Torn to Shreds
In honor of the Feast Day of St. John Vianney, a story about forgiveness in remembrance of the Saint who spent countless hours in the confessional...
When my son Justin was preparing to make the Sacrament of First Reconciliation, he was quite nervous as most children are the first time they confess their sins, and as some people are every time they confess their sins. Part of Justin’s nerves were due to the fact that he thought he might freeze up in the confessional and forget the sins he needed to confess. His remedy for this fear was to write all of his sins down on a piece of paper, tuck it in his pocket, and pull it out if the need arose.
Sure enough, as nine-year-old Justin sat face to face with the priest, he drew a perfect blank about what he wanted to say. So, he pulled that paper from his pocket and “read” his sins to Father. After he received absolution, the priest asked to see the list of sins. As Justin handed the paper to the priest, Father immediately tore the paper to shreds. He told Justin, “This is what God has now done to your sins. God has torn your sins to shreds; they are gone forever. You should completely forget about them.” What a wonderful symbolic action on the part of this priest! Justin left the confessional just beaming!
I need to frequently remind myself of the lesson Justin learned that day, because although I know that my sins are permanently absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, my good old Catholic guilt won’t let me forget them. I keep trying to pick up those scraps of paper and glue them back together again. I keep trying to tell myself that my sins are so bad I can never be redeemed. How that must hurt Jesus to know that I can’t seem to accept his forgiveness wholeheartedly, that part of me continues to hang on to my sin. I need to remind myself over and over again that God loves me, right here, right now, whether I am sinful or redeemed from the state of sin. He longs to pick up those scraps of paper that have been torn to shreds and burn them in the fire so there will be no way I can try to pick them up again.
Dear, sweet, forgiving Jesus, help me to remember that my sins, once confessed and forgiven with the blessing of absolution, are no longer mine to hold on to, they are now yours to do whatever it is you wish with them. It was a precious gift of love when you took my sins upon yourself through the suffering you endured on the cross. Help me to show my appreciation for that gift by forgiving myself as you forgive me. Amen.
When my son Justin was preparing to make the Sacrament of First Reconciliation, he was quite nervous as most children are the first time they confess their sins, and as some people are every time they confess their sins. Part of Justin’s nerves were due to the fact that he thought he might freeze up in the confessional and forget the sins he needed to confess. His remedy for this fear was to write all of his sins down on a piece of paper, tuck it in his pocket, and pull it out if the need arose.
Sure enough, as nine-year-old Justin sat face to face with the priest, he drew a perfect blank about what he wanted to say. So, he pulled that paper from his pocket and “read” his sins to Father. After he received absolution, the priest asked to see the list of sins. As Justin handed the paper to the priest, Father immediately tore the paper to shreds. He told Justin, “This is what God has now done to your sins. God has torn your sins to shreds; they are gone forever. You should completely forget about them.” What a wonderful symbolic action on the part of this priest! Justin left the confessional just beaming!
I need to frequently remind myself of the lesson Justin learned that day, because although I know that my sins are permanently absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, my good old Catholic guilt won’t let me forget them. I keep trying to pick up those scraps of paper and glue them back together again. I keep trying to tell myself that my sins are so bad I can never be redeemed. How that must hurt Jesus to know that I can’t seem to accept his forgiveness wholeheartedly, that part of me continues to hang on to my sin. I need to remind myself over and over again that God loves me, right here, right now, whether I am sinful or redeemed from the state of sin. He longs to pick up those scraps of paper that have been torn to shreds and burn them in the fire so there will be no way I can try to pick them up again.
Dear, sweet, forgiving Jesus, help me to remember that my sins, once confessed and forgiven with the blessing of absolution, are no longer mine to hold on to, they are now yours to do whatever it is you wish with them. It was a precious gift of love when you took my sins upon yourself through the suffering you endured on the cross. Help me to show my appreciation for that gift by forgiving myself as you forgive me. Amen.
Pondering Pages/Revelations of Divine Love
Joining with Lara at Holy Mothering in a weekly sharing of favorite books...
It's a classic, and I completely fell in love with this book. It came as a real surprise to me that I would feel so strongly about Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich because I thought it would be too challenging for me to understand. It's written in Olde English and I thought it would take forever for me to finish, but once I opened the pages, I couldn't close the book until I was finished. It was breathtaking poetry from beginning to end! Here are the passages that have remained embedded in my heart...
"I saw Him-yet the more I saw the more I needed to see. I had Him-and the more I had of Him the more I knew I lacked."
"For that contrariness is cause of our tribulations and all our woe, and our Lord Jesus taketh them and sendeth them up to Heaven, and there they are made more sweet and delectable than heart may think or tongue may tell."
"They that were His friends suffered pain for love."
"All His doings be easy and sweet, and to great ease bringing the soul unto the fair sweet deeming of our Lord God."
"I was left in heaviness and weariness of my life, and irksomeness of myself, so that scarcely I would have patience to live. Souls sometimes be in comfort and for profit of man's soul, a man is sometimes left to himself. Freely our Lord giveth when He will; and suffereth us to woe sometimes. And both are one love."
"For this is the cause why we be not all in ease of heart and soul; that we seek here rest in those things that be so little, wherein is no rest, and know not our God that is Almighty, All-wise, All-good. For He is the very rest."
Such beautiful poetry, such heart-felt prayers...I could rewrite the whole book for you here because I loved all of it! But, I will leave the rest for you to discover for yourself, if you haven't already. Enjoy!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Hands
"You need hands to hold someone you care for,
You need hands to show that you're sincere.
When you fear nobody wants to know you
You need hands to brush away the tears.
When you hold the brand new baby
You need tender hands to guide them on their way
You need hands to thank the Lord for living
And for giving us this day."
The Sex Pistols
I'm floored every time I think about how strange it is that these lovely words come from a punk rock band that symbolizes the exact opposite of love and peace. But in this song, I think they have captured a very meaningful representation of an important part of our bodies. I've been thinking about the power we hold within our hands. We can reach out to others with an embrace or a handshake and offer our love and friendship. Or, we can strike others, lash out in anger through physical violence and obscene gestures. Holding our hands open in front of us resembles the openness of our hearts, the welcoming we desire to both give and receive.
I have been remembering my dad's calloused hands from years of hard work and repeated daily diabetes testing. I can picture my mom's arthritic hands, gnarled and swollen with pain. I recall with great joy the sweet sensation of my own babies hands wrapped around my finger. All of these hands bring feelings of joy mingled with sadness. But perhaps the hands which have been the most meaningful to me throughout my lifetime, are the beautiful hands of a priest as he caresses the bread within them and through his touch, this simple food becomes God Himself. What a miracle each and every Mass contains through hands which are devoted to God.
I thank you Lord, for the gift of our hands. Help us to use them with great care, remembering that they can carry your love to the world, or they can shut the world out of our lives. I pray that when we hold our hands in prayer to you they will become more holy, more gentle and more loving. I pray that others will see and feel you in the tender touch of our hands. Amen.
You need hands to show that you're sincere.
When you fear nobody wants to know you
You need hands to brush away the tears.
When you hold the brand new baby
You need tender hands to guide them on their way
You need hands to thank the Lord for living
And for giving us this day."
The Sex Pistols
I'm floored every time I think about how strange it is that these lovely words come from a punk rock band that symbolizes the exact opposite of love and peace. But in this song, I think they have captured a very meaningful representation of an important part of our bodies. I've been thinking about the power we hold within our hands. We can reach out to others with an embrace or a handshake and offer our love and friendship. Or, we can strike others, lash out in anger through physical violence and obscene gestures. Holding our hands open in front of us resembles the openness of our hearts, the welcoming we desire to both give and receive.
I have been remembering my dad's calloused hands from years of hard work and repeated daily diabetes testing. I can picture my mom's arthritic hands, gnarled and swollen with pain. I recall with great joy the sweet sensation of my own babies hands wrapped around my finger. All of these hands bring feelings of joy mingled with sadness. But perhaps the hands which have been the most meaningful to me throughout my lifetime, are the beautiful hands of a priest as he caresses the bread within them and through his touch, this simple food becomes God Himself. What a miracle each and every Mass contains through hands which are devoted to God.
I thank you Lord, for the gift of our hands. Help us to use them with great care, remembering that they can carry your love to the world, or they can shut the world out of our lives. I pray that when we hold our hands in prayer to you they will become more holy, more gentle and more loving. I pray that others will see and feel you in the tender touch of our hands. Amen.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Being Christ
“Each of us may be the only Christ that another person ever experiences. How vital it is that we live our faith well.”
Fr. Don Hying
Jesus,
There have been times when I’ve desperately needed someone to be You for me, but I couldn’t find anyone to fill Your shoes. How lonely that felt!
There have also been times when someone stepped in for You most magnificently and through them, I was renewed.
So I wonder, when have I been Christ for others? How well do I live my faith? Forgive me Jesus, for in this regard, I know that I fail miserably.
I need you Jesus. Come to life for me. Be resurrected in my soul today so that I can exist for You alone, and bring You to the world around me.
Amen.
Fr. Don Hying
Jesus,
There have been times when I’ve desperately needed someone to be You for me, but I couldn’t find anyone to fill Your shoes. How lonely that felt!
There have also been times when someone stepped in for You most magnificently and through them, I was renewed.
So I wonder, when have I been Christ for others? How well do I live my faith? Forgive me Jesus, for in this regard, I know that I fail miserably.
I need you Jesus. Come to life for me. Be resurrected in my soul today so that I can exist for You alone, and bring You to the world around me.
Amen.
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