Tag: #staugustine

New – New Starts, New Beginnings, New Creations

It’s a new year, did you make any resolutions? Why is it that we tend to make new commitments, new promises, about what we are going to do, and who we are going to become at the beginning of the year? We give so much power and influence to the new year. Why do we do that? Does turning the calendar page on the new year really bring with it new opportunities or do we simply view the new year as a new start?

There is nothing magical about a new year. But we open ourselves up for change, for improvement, for betterment at the beginning of each new year. We make resolutions, we make promises. We will eat healthier, we will work out, we will drink less, we will spend more time with family, we will watch less television, we will spend less time on social media, and the list goes on. I, too, have made a mental list of things that I want to work on in the coming year, and things that I want to improve.

My son is starting the new year in a new home.

It is good to have something to strive towards, to work for; to have goals. Some of my goals include reading and writing more, using social media less, keeping a good work/life balance and establishing boundaries, eliminating and removing things that disturb my peace or steal my joy, being mindful of my personal health and wellness, and living an unhurried and fulfilling life. I am approaching 2023 as A Year of Slowing Down.

A Year of Slowing Down is a book by Alan Fadling that my husband and I have committed to reading together in this new year. Now we could have started this book at any time, but we chose to start on January 1. Beginning today (it is January 1 as I type this) was almost prophetic. The first reflection is “Rest is Holy” and today just happens to be Sunday – a day of rest.

I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to rest, I mean really rest. I am typically distracted by the things I need to do, so I never really rest. Rest usually only comes after exhaustion sets in, when I simply cannot do anymore. But that is not truly rest. That’s more like recovery. Real rest requires us to slow down, to stop measuring our output, to center ourselves, and enjoy the goodness of God. Saint Augustine writes in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” That’s real rest, but it requires a trusting relationship with Christ.

While there is nothing magical about the changing of the calendar, it does serve as a springboard for new beginnings. It is the springboard for me to learn to live in an unhurried manner and to learn to rest, truly rest. While there is no power in turning the page of a calendar, there is power in Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians it is stated; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!” What a wonderful sentiment for beginning the new year.

Maybe you haven’t made any resolutions for 2023. If you didn’t, it really doesn’t matter. Every instance is an opportunity for a new beginning. We don’t have to wait until a new year, a new month, a new week, or even a new day. What is the next step God is calling you to take?

You can start right now and become a new creation. Yes, it takes work (bible study, prayer, and openness to God) and trust (surrender of your will to God), and even rest (which comes when you recognize how God is moving in your life and you allow yourself to enjoy God’s goodness). What is God calling you to in this new year? Maybe a deeper relationship with Him, maybe more trust, maybe more openness, maybe more rest and unhurried time with Him.

I hope that whatever God is calling you to, you are open to experiencing His abiding love and faithfulness and find rest in Him in 2023. Please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.

Whenever You’re Ready

I am constantly amazed that it took me over forty years to really discover God, to embrace my faith, and to realize the power of prayer. Over forty years. That’s essentially half of a lifetime, assuming that I will be fortunate enough to live that long.

I often think about what I was doing for that first half of my life, how I was living, how I treated people, what my thoughts were, what I believed, what I didn’t believe, and I wonder why it took God so long to open my eyes. Then today I read about St. John of God. Today is his memorial.

In his early life St. John of God turned away from the Lord, but in his forties he received God’s mercy. The closing line of a reflection that I read about St. John of God is as follows; “He saw that in his early life he had turned away from the Lord, and, moved to receive his mercy, John began his new commitment to love others in openness to God’s love.” St. John of God is the patron saint of Booksellers, Firefighters, Heart Patients, Hospitals, Nurses, Printers, and the Sick.

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-of-god

Impressive, isn’t it? I mean here is a guy who really had no religious convictions his entire life. St. John of God, or Juan, as he was known, grew up working as a shepherd. (There is a little bit of irony there). He lead a “wild and mispent youth” and became a soldier and a mercenary. And then he had a vision. God spoke to him.

I am amazed at how God speaks to me in ways that He probably has all along but I have been too distracted to hear Him. I have been thinking quite a bit about how long it has taken me to dig more deeply into my faith and wondering why it had taken so long for that journey to begin. I mean, I was in my mid-forties when I really began my journey back to God. And then I read about St. John of God and the fact that he was in his forties when he returned to God. And he is not the only one to make this later in life revelation. There is also St. Augustine (who just happens to be one of my favorite saints), St. Mary of Egypt, St. Angela of Foligno, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and many others.

“There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future.”

– St. Augustine of Hippo

What I am realizing through all of this is that: 1. it is never too late to begin your journey of faith, 2. it doesn’t matter what your past has been like, God is waiting for you to return to Him, 3. you have to be open to God in order to hear Him, 4. prayer is very powerful and you don’t realize how powerful until you actually start praying, 5. everything happens in God’s time, not ours.

No matter where you are on your journey of faith; maybe you haven’t even begun; just remember, it is never too late. God is waiting for you to reach out to Him, to talk to Him, and to listen to Him…whenever you are ready. And today, please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.

St. Monica and St. Augustine

Tuesday August 27, 2019 was the feast of St. Monica. As I mention before, I am not well versed in the Catholic Saints, but I have learned a great deal about them this past year. To tell you how ignorant I am concerning saint’s lineage, I did not know that St. Monica is the mother of St. Augustine. Let’s just say I have soft spot for St. Augustine.

The Bishop said the mass on Tuesday morning and in his discourse about St. Monica during the homily he said these two words – “bold determination.” You see, St. Monica did not have the easiest of lives. She was married to a pagan with a terrible temper. Her pagan mother-in-law lived with them. Apparently, she had a terrible temper too. She bore 3 children. Her son, Augustine, was wayward and rebellious and lived a carefree life style. But St. Monica prayed for them. She prayed for her husband and mother-in-law, and for her son, Augustine. St. Monica prayed for 17 years for her son’s conversion. 17 years – that is bold determination.

This past week I prayed the Novena to St. Monica and have really been reflecting on her patience, her faithfulness to prayer, her determination, and her trust in God. I know that when I pray, I do tend to expect immediate results. And when I don’t get them, I tend to think that God might not have heard me.

I can’t imagine what St. Monica might have thought or what she might have felt after decades of praying for her husband, mother-in-law and son. But she persisted, she continued to pray, to ask for the conversion of her family, to offer up her trials, struggles and suffering to God.

What a model of patience, faithfulness and determination. I marvel at her endurance. St. Monica never gave up hope. She trusted God and He eventually answer her prayers. Her husband and mother-in-law both converted to Christianity before their deaths. Her son converted at the age of 31 and became one of the greatest scholars and saints of the Church. That is the power of prayer.

I can relate to St. Augustine. We were both a little wayward and we both had our conversions later in life (mine a little later than his). We know St. Augustine’s mother prayed for his conversion; I am grateful to those who prayed for my conversion and to those who continue to pray for me. I can certainly attest that I would not have gotten here – at this very juncture in my life – had it not been for prayer. I was pretty set in my ways and really had no intention of changing paths. But God had other plans.

The Bishop closed out his homily by saying that “God’s grace will heal all things.” Think about that for just a moment. That is profoundly beautiful and completely true. The sad thing is that most of us, me included, are not always open to experiencing God’s grace. We think we can handle things on our own, that we don’t need help – so we don’t ask, or that it just easier if we keep our problems to ourselves. Or maybe we think prayer doesn’t make a difference or that we don’t need God. But prayer does make a difference, and God desperately wants to help us. But He wants us to ask Him for help. Again, He doesn’t want to intrude.

You how nice it is to be invited to a party or to a wedding? Or that feeling you get when a friend invites you to lunch or to just take a walk? You feel important, somebody wants you to be part of their special day. You feel wanted, somebody wants to spend time with you. You feel like you matter. The same is true with God. He wants to matter to you. He wants to spend time with you. He wants to be part of your life. God wants to be invited. Will you invite Him into your life?

Today, remember that God’s grace will heal all things, so open yourself up to experiencing that grace. Invite God in. Please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.