Category: Right Path

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2 Years Since You Were Called Home

2 years ago, you were called home. Not your home on earth, but the home we all strive for and hope to obtain. In the days that followed, I came across this song below which helped me somewhat understand your being called from us. It was a revelation to me that we are not here for what is here on earth, but for what we look forward to being a part of in the next life with Christ. I realized then that you knew this already, and you had prepared yourself for what was to come.

Building 429 – “Where I Belong”

Not long after Christmas, I purchased “Day by Day with St. Francis”, short, daily meditations with a quote about St. Francis by St. Bonaventure, a reflection on that quote, and a prayer from scripture pertaining to it. Evan loved St. Francis so I decided to get it. As God would have it, March 31st meditation brought me back to reflecting on Evan’s life. His devotion to Christ and the Eucharist that he practiced as an Altar Server for many years, his devotion to the Blessed Mother through praying the Rosary, his devotion through the Chaplet of St. Michael the Archangel, as well as his devotions to St. Stephen (his confirmation Saint) and St. Francis.

From “Day by Day with St. Francis” March 31st

The above meditation, coupled with the meditation for today, April 2nd, tied up everything in a perfect package for me. I know he was prepared for his untimely death. I did not see that until after he was gone, but I knew he had been taking the steps needed to become closer to Christ. It became even more evident when I read some of his journal entries, as well as some of his essays for school. He was more prepared at 17 than I have ever been in my 50 years. I am not saying that he was a martyr, but I know he would have been without any hesitation. That was how strong his faith in and love of Christ was. I pray that I still have enough time left to reach the levels that he did in my own faith, before my time comes.


From “Day by Day with St. Francis” April 2nd

We do not know the day or the hour, but we must always be ready. Preparation is the key to being ready when we are called home. Thank you Evan, for showing that to me. I was truly blessed to be chosen as your father on earth. It is an honor to call you son.

Let us pray. Father, grant us the strength each day, to live our lives in Your honor, to follow Your path to the best of our ability, and to be prepared when our time may come. Help us to stand firm in our faith for You and not be swayed, so that we may be greeted with arms wide open into Your House for all eternity. In Your Name we pray. AMEN.

You Are in My Prayers,

Scott

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What Troubles You?

(Excerpt from the movie “David and Goliath : Battle of Faith” — Samuel in bold type, David in normal type)

“What troubles you?”

“What troubles me is God chose me for a greater purpose. Why did God choose me?”

“God teaches us not to judge a man by his height or his appearance. Man looks at these external qualities, but…God judges man by that which cannot be seen. The truth within his heart.“

“How am I to measure up to God’s standard if I am not the best?”

“A warrior is not a sword, nor a shield. Nor is he the sum of his strength or training. You want to be perfect. But you never will be. Every warrior inevitably faces defeat. You will fight and you will lose. It’s what’s inside a warrior’s heart that makes him fierce and makes him powerful. While God desires us to be perfect…He does not expect it. All He asks is that we keep on trying…to always keep going, to be strong…to be forged like iron. We are meant for so much more than this existence. What He has promised is glory beyond imagination. Even though we are not perfect, even though we are undeserving of His grace. So what does God want for you? He wants you to answer those questions that burn inside of you. Am I prepared for the next battle? Do I have what it will take? When the answer to those questions is yes, and you have faith in your heart, then it’s time to boldly face the enemy. And life will be filled with dangers. At times it will seem like you’re alone in a field of lions, all hungry to spot your weakness, prowling, waiting to attack. At that moment, when all is against you and you begin to doubt yourself and you fear that you are not ready, that you’re not prepared, listen for that voice inside of you, inside your heart, the voice that says you are ready, you are prepared, you have given everything…for that is the voice of God. Abandon your…your fears and doubts, for when God is with you, no one can stand against you.”

Inspirations and signs come in many forms. Today, for me, it came while watching the movie above. Maybe it started the night before while watching the movie “Samson” which ended leading up to David facing Goliath. It actually may have started the night before while watching “Jesus:His Life”. The past 2 months have been very busy for me. I was making excuses about not having time to write. In actuality, I was starting to feel that I had taken on too great a task by trying to handle this blog and being caught up in my own selfishness. This excerpt from the movie was the kick that I needed to get myself back on track again, to have faith that God is with me and will give me the strength and provide me with the words to share. He let me know that even when I stumble, for I am nowhere near perfect, He still loves me and forgives me. He wants me to continue to strive toward that ultimate goal.

Forgive me for being away for the past couple of months, and pray for me that I may continue to push away those doubts and fears, and keep my trust in Him.

Let us pray. Father, You are our rock and our salvation. In times of weakness, it is Your strength that carries us. It is through you that all we seek can be found. You are the answer to all of our questions, as we seek to do your will and live our lives for Your greater glory. In Your Name we pray. AMEN.

God Bless You All,

You Are in My Prayers,

Scott

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Filling an Empty Vessel

“God gives His gifts where He finds the vessel empty enough to receive them.”—C. S. Lewis

My soul was becoming empty. I was going through the motions of life, thinking that everything was fine, when in actuality, I was distancing myself from Christ. I was living a lie, lying to myself and to my God. I strayed from the path I was originally set upon and deviated my course to one that was centered around me. By doing so, I continued to empty my vessel, and as a result there was much room for God to give gifts to me. My vessel had become empty enough to receive them. I am grateful and thankful that I have been given the opportunity to see that now. It took being at my lowest to be able to accept and realize how much I needed God in my life. Don’t wait for that day to come, for it may be to late. Let God fill your vessel. Accept Him into your heart and into your life.

“In times of desolation, God conceals Himself from us so that we can discover for ourselves what we are without Him.”—St. Margaret of Cortona

Don’t wait for those times of desperation to manifest themselves into your life. The Lord is there, always, waiting patiently for us to accept Him into our lives.

Let us pray. God, our Father, help us to accept the gifts that you offer to us openly and willingly. Let us see that we are nothing without you as a part of our lives. Fill our vessels to the point of overflow with Your love and grace. We are thankful for this, and for all the gifts that You graciously share with us, especially the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Whose Precious Blood has redeemed the world. In Your Name Always. AMEN.

God Bless You All.

You are in my prayers.

Scott

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Second Chances

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” — C. S. Lewis

Everyday is a new beginning, a chance for us to make amends for our past transgressions and start down the true path of the Lord.  As much as we would like to, we cannot go back in time to change what has already happened due to decisions that we have made.  We can, however, use the knowledge we have gained through our experiences to learn how we should be living, and by the power of our free will, make sure we don’t make the same mistakes twice.  God granted us the gift of free will so that we may freely chose to follow Him.  He does not force us into following, but He does give us more than enough chances to make that decision on our own.   

Let’s take Saul of Tarsus (later to become known as Paul), as an example of this.  Saul was a major advocate of the persecution of the early followers of Christ.  He was the only person from the mob that stoned St. Stephen who was named in Acts.  From that point on, Saul became dead set on the mission to eradicate those who spread the news or followed the teachings of Christ.  His name struck fear in those who remained loyal to Jesus, as he went house to house in search of the early Christians, dragging them into the streets and putting them in prison.  His life took a turn while on the road to Damascus.  He was given a second chance, when Christ confronted him.  This became his chance to start over, repenting his ways and beginning a life spreading the Word of God throughout the land.  He could not change the decisions of his past, but this was his opportunity to change the ending of his story.  From that point on, he became one of the strongest followers of Christ and leaders of His early Church.

We also have the same opportunity as Saul.  There is no time like the present to take the step that he took.  We do not know how much time we have left before we are called home or when Christ will return.  The choice remains with us and that is why we are granted with free will.  God may give us signs or instructions, a little push here and there, but it is still ultimately left up to us.  It is our choice to decide how our ending plays out.  To quote St. Pope John Paul II, “The future starts today, not tomorrow.”  Don’t miss out on the chance to start anew.  The past is just that, the past.  It cannot be changed or altered no matter how hard we wish or want it to be.  All we have left is the time from this point moving forward. The challenge for us lies in our free will to make the decision to start fresh and change the ending of our own stories.  

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” — J. R. R. Tolkien

Let us pray.  Lord, we ask that You help us today in making the changes that we need to in order to start our new life with You, thus enabling us to change the ending of our story.  Help us to see the things that we must change and grant us the strength to make those changes and the perseverance to stick with those changes.  We do this for Your Greater Glory.  In Your Name we pray. AMEN.

God Bless You All

You Are in My Prayers

Scott

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Where Do You Stand?

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.  It also depends on what sort of person you are.”     —C. S. Lewis

I am sure that I missed many opportunities to see and hear what the Lord was showing me or trying to tell me.  Little, subtle signs that I never realized were all around me.  I was so wrapped up in my own self-centered world that I was failing to see the signs I was being shown or the messages that were being sent to me.  Not everyone is lucky enough to witness a “burning bush” or “parting of the Red Sea”.  Unfortunately, for me, that “Wake Up!” sign was the death of Evan.

I was blind and deaf to the signs and calling that God was revealing to me.  I was not standing in the right place spiritually.  I was heading in the wrong direction, a lost traveler, wandering from the guided path.  I needed to get back on track and follow the correct route and remain there, heading in the direction I should have been going all along.  I had the preconceived notions that I was living as I should be, doing what I was supposed to do, and to some extent, I was.  But the fact of the matter is, I was only partially there.

Like a scrimmage at the first practice of the off-season, I was going through the motions.  The drive and desire was not fully there because I was not fully in the game whole-heartedly.  I went into it thinking I was better than I actually was.  I had been on the team for a while and thought I had it made.  I’m doing awesome, I got this.  Any coach who knows his players and what they are capable of doing, also knows the potential in those players and can see when they are not giving it their all.  Well, the coach blew his whistle and stopped practice.  He called me to the side and said, ” As you know, we have lost an important leader on our team.  He has graduated now and moved on to better things.  It’s time for you to step up.  I can see the potential within you.  Your teammates will be looking to you for guidance and strength.  But no more half-hearted efforts. I want you fully committed, 100% to the team.  I know you can do this, or I would not have pulled you to the side to have this talk.  I need you to be a leader on this team.  So tell me son…Where Do You Stand?”

Evan was called home.  I attended Manresa and received my pep talk.  The new season has begun.  I saw where I was standing and realized where I needed to be.

Let us pray.  Lord, as we go through this game of life, open our eyes and ears to see your signs and hear your calls.  Give us guidance to set our feet in the right direction, heading on the correct path.  Grant us the strength to be leaders of Your team and inspire others to join with us.  Most of all, Lord, help us to come to the realization of where we must stand to better live our lives and glorify You until our season ends.  In Your Name we pray.  AMEN.

God Bless You All,

You Are In My Prayers,

Scott