It has taken me quite awhile to share this, and somehow this Sunday morning I managed to find a good 10 minutes to put pen to paper, or rather keyboard to computer. This phrase:"Put Love first in all things" was shared with me by one of the priests during reconcilliation the night prior to Maundy Thursday. It places alot of things in perspective for me. In the readings that night, St john says to put God first in everything that we do. This is something that I have been guilty of not doing. I have allowed the busyness of everyday to rule my life and have been a slave to life.
Father shared that God is Love, and so to put God first in all things is really asking us to put Love first. It will be a challenge for me since I have trouble placing God as the master of my life, though I sincerely and wholeheartedly have that desire to, but I find myself being drawn into the worries and concerns of this world ever too often, and losing that focus on God, on Love.
Since that healing and enlightening session that night, I have set out to put Love first in all things. It has been a trying journey though, since I have no control over the actions and words of others. Also, as I look back at these times, I realised that I may not have responded in the most loving manner. It is in these moments that I feel I need to focus more on "Put Love first in all things". This has been my personal motto during this Easter time and I pray that as the matters of this world overwhelms me, calling for my attention, I will still be able to include Love in my dealings with people and in situations, no matter how impossible it may seem.
May God be our strength and may His grace sustains us always, that we may put Him first in all things, with the assurance that He will make all things right in His Time.
Last Sunday was the beautification of Pope John Paul II. As I strolled into church, I noticed a portrait of our late pope occupying the area beside the seat of the celebrant. It brought back fond memories of my blessed time at the WYD in Toronto. The mysterious thing is that, looking at the portrait brought a sense of calm and tranquility to me. It is something that has eluded me in the busyness of daily life.
I pondered about how our late pope would start any day, any task or work with prayer and I envisioned myself doing the same, picturing this same experience of tranquility as I work through the week. This would be the reminder I needed to be aware that God is in charge of every day of my life. Beyond the struggles, the difficulties, He is in control and I need to work with Him to get through anything.
Mass began and Father shared about how we need to perservere in our faith throughout the daily struggles that we face. Struggles will continue to be a part of our lives and we need to keep the faith, for only in doing so will we experience growth. I think most of us are afraid of growth, because it takes us out of our comfort zone. I myself face that inertia all the time and I would rather keep the status quo than to act on something that would be the right and necessary thing to do.
Everyday brings with it challenges that surprise us all the time but I realised that to keep the faith throughout our struggles would be impossible without including God in our lives. Somehow, all things work out well when we cooperate with Him. It is with this conviction that I set out to always include Him in my daily tasks this week, to seek Him first in all my plans and decisions.
Lord, help me to grow as I struggle through the challenges of life. Pray for us dear Papal father that we will strengthen our faith and draw people towards God as plough through what life throws at us.
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