Like a sparrow in a hurricane - Tomorrow's reading reflection

Recently on a very windy day, I was sitting in the sun room of a retreat center.  The wind was howling and snow flurries were not falling exactly but blowing in all directions.  It was very chaotic outside and I was feeling chaotic inside.  As I continued to sit, a blue jay alighted in the magnolia tree outside the window.  He sat very still in the wind and then suddenly began to call out. He was close enough that I could see him move when he was talking.  He stayed for a long time, still and content in the midst of chaos.  It was not hard to notice God calling me in creation that day.  This moment of grace, of peace in the midst of chaos, moves me forward on my journey to wholeness and holiness. It has invited me to be attentive to the world around me, the person in front of me and the God within me.

How is God calling you to holiness today?

(Adapted from Amy Hoover)

Worries drown in prayer- Tomorrow's reading reflection

Worries can be the mother of discouragement and isolation. Prayer is a meeting with God’s grace that reinvents my spirit and my graced life.

(Adapted from Larry Gillick, S.J.)

Let Him do his thing - Tomorrow's reading reflection

We are not slogging through a narrow gate on our own.  We are not aiming for the narrow gate to claim a short-term win for self-discipline or glory. When we journey with Jesus through the narrow gate, we work with him to open the world around us to its kingdom potential.  

Not only that but he also provides an advocate to pray with us and for us. Relish in the thought that our relationship with Jesus brings powerful prayer on our behalf, constantly.  What a thought!  Recognize that if you are in a Christian community of some sort, you also have your brothers and sisters in Christ who also have this supernatural prayer assistance, and one of those individuals may very well be praying for you right now.  

We don’t have to have answers or even know the right questions to pray.  God knows we are often confused and don’t know what to pray for ourselves and for others.  So... just give him the time- and let him do his thing.

(Adapted from Sue Crawford)