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Whatever God wants.Do you know what the Agony in the Garden was all about? Jesus knew what was coming - He knew about the Cross and everything that came with it. And in His humanity He was afraid. Jesus knows what it is to be afraid, to see a path He did not want to take. But He did what no one else could do and He surrendered perfectly to His Father's Will. As bad as the Cross looked, He knew the glory that would come from obedience.
That total trust in the Father's plans is difficult to understand and even harder to emulate. But that is the goal of our prayer and everything we have gone through this Lent. Believe that God is with you, have confidence in His ability to act, and total trust that whatever He wants is better than we could ever imagine. -
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Family Wisdom: My ways are not your ways.
The saints are our extended family in faith, and we have the great gift of learning from both their experiences and their mistakes. This week, consider what the story of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin can teach us about surrender to the will of the Father.
Louis and Zelie are best known as the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, and for being the first canonized married couple. In addition to St. Therese, their four other daughters all entered cloistered religious life, with multiple causes for sainthood now open. Though they are not so well known as St. Therese, Louis and Zelie both played a role in her simple faith that has touched millions.
That wasn't part of their plans.
Louis intended to become a priest but was rejected due to poor Latin. Zelie tried to join a convent herself but was not accepted by the order. They had set their hearts on serving God through priesthood and consecrated life - excellent plans! - only to find that they seemingly were not good enough. Rather than feeling rejected and losing faith, they surrendered themselves to the path God set before them and were blessed with a family of saints.
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Pray
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Phrases to repeat this week
"Jesus, I surrender myself to You. Take care of everything."
"Not my will but yours be done."
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"Jesus, I trust that Your plan is better than anything else."
From the Litany of Trust
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Psalm of the Week
Psalm 9
"Those who know your name trust in you; you never forsake those who seek you, LORD."
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Read
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In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart, the Journal of a Priest at Prayer.
"It is not by privileges, special graces, or mystical experiences that souls are perfected in love; it is by a total adhesion to My will, and by a real death to all that is not My will. This life of yours will pass away quickly. In the end, you will take comfort in one thing only: in the "Yes" that you will have said to My love for you, and in your adhesion to My will as it will have unfolded minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day in your life.
Tell Me, then, that what I will, you will. Tell Me that all that is outside of My will for you is so much rubbish. Ask Me to cleanse your life of the accumulated rubbish of so many years. Ask Me to make you clean of heart and poor of spirit. Seek nothing apart from what My Heart desires you to have. Ask only for what My Heart desires to give you. Therein lies your peace. Therein lies your joy. Therein lies salvation and glory."
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The Catechism #2735-37
Did you know that Part IV of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is all about prayer? While it continues to convey essential teachings of the faith, like the first three parts, Part IV has the feeling of spiritual reading and is an incredibly fruitful way to enter into the Catechism.
"Why do we complain of not being heard?
In the first place, we ought to be astonished by this fact: when we praise God or give him thanks for his benefits in general, we are not particularly concerned whether or not our prayer is acceptable to him. On the other hand, we demand to see the results of our petitions. What is the image of God that motivates our prayer: an instrument to be used? or the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Are we convinced that 'we do not know how to pray as we ought'? Are we asking God for 'what is good for us'? Our Father knows what we need before we ask him, but he awaits our petition because the dignity of his children lies in their freedom. We must pray, then, with his Spirit of freedom, to be able truly to know what he wants......Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer.
God wills that our desire should be exercised in prayer, that we may be able to receive what he is prepared to give."
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Act
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Stop Worrying.
Anxiety is contrary to surrender because it is often excessive concern about what we cannot control. When you feel drawn to worry, make a willful act of surrender: "Jesus, I surrender this to You - take care of everything."
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Ask for Help.
On a similar note, sometimes worry makes us turn in on ourselves. We forget that we don't have to do everything on our own. Really, we can do nothing on our own! Ask for help from those around you, and especially ask for help from the Christ who makes all things possible.
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Participate in the Triduum Liturgies
It's more than Easter Sunday! Try and make it to more of the Triduum liturgies - Mass of the Lords Supper, Liturgy of the Passion, Tenebrae, Stations of the Cross, or the Easter Vigil. Participate fully in these liturgies and let yourself be drawn in. Witness the Lord's surrender and learn how to imitate Him.
Triduum Schedule
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