Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name:
You are mine.
You are precious in my eyes
And honored, and I love you.
I have called you by name:
You are mine.
You are precious in my eyes
And honored, and I love you.
God is never outdone in generosity. He longs to give us the desires of our hearts.
When I was looking into colleges as a senior in high school, I was recovering from a torn ACL. I had only a few small offers to play college ball, and I wasn’t really sure what degree I wanted to pursue. After having my senior year of travel softball, volleyball, and basketball taken away from me, I deeply desired to play college softball. I also desired to stay close to home and to play for a school I would take pride in representing. Not only was I concerned with athletics but I also knew that I wanted to pursue a degree which would enable me to help others. I loved speaking at retreats, organizing Sisters in Christ meetings, writing about meaningful things, and having heart to hearts, and I desired to find a career path that would incorporate similar tasks. I believe that God has a specific and unique mission for all of us. God attracts us to our mission through the deepest desires He places in our hearts. He also equips us with specific and unique gifts, talents, and opportunities. Along the way, He guides and strengthens us with His grace along with the prayers of others to fulfill our mission. Throughout my time at Nicholls, it has become evident that this school as well as all the people I have encountered here are part of my mission. Many of my deepest desires have been fulfilled here. I was able to play college softball for great team. I was able to earn a degree in Secondary English Education. I was able to speak at retreats, lead Bible studies, assist in creating Verso L’Alto (a Christian student-athlete group), enter discipleship, and become a discipler through FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). Through the grace of God and the prayers of many, my will has been strengthened, my intellect has been sharpened, and my heart has been soften here at Nicholls. I will be forever grateful that God has led me to this university, which has provided me with many graces, opportunities, and lifelong friends. As I have mentioned before, God longs to give us the desires of our hearts. The Lord is never outdone in generosity. He will provide if we let Him.
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I hope all dads treat their daughters like mine treats me. My future husband definitely has some huge shoes to fill. I am so thankful for the life my dad has provided for me. Not only has he set the standard high for my future husband but he has also given me a glimpse of the love my Heavenly Father has for me. It’s absolutely mind blowing to think about how my earthly daddy’s ability to love me is only a shadow of God’s ability to love me. If an earthly father’s finite love is capable of filling my heart so much, I can’t help but think that my heart would absolutely explode if my Heavenly Father fully revealed His infinite, unconditional, eternal love to me here on earth.... But maybe God thought of this. Maybe God knew that our weak, flawed human hearts would not be able to handle Him revealing Himself fully to us here on earth. So maybe that’s why He gently calls us. Maybe that’s why He reveals Himself to us little by little. Maybe God is a perfect gentleman who pursues our hearts at the perfect pace. Maybe He has our hearts figured out and knows exactly what we need. Maybe He has designed His plan to reveal Himself to us keeping in mind that He must be gentle with our human hearts. Maybe that’s why He chose to give Himself to us in the form of something so small and simple as bread and wine. Maybe He uses this mystery, the mystery of how a small piece of bread can substantially change fully into God, to intrigue our human senses, to draw us closer to Himself, to pour His grace on us, and to reveal Himself more and more to us with each reception of His body and blood. Maybe He uses this thing called Communion to allow Heaven to touch Earth. To literally give us His body. To literally nourish our bodies and our souls. Maybe God is a genius and knows what He’s doing. Maybe we’re just pee wee little humans who are taking a while to figure it all out.
So all dads out there reading this, love your daughters and give them a glimpse of the Father’s love for them. Turn their hearts toward our Father through your example of His love. Dads, love your daughters to the Father. So many times I find my head flooded with lies. I let my emotions dictate my thoughts. I let the shortcomings of earthly people and things reflect God. I model Him after flawed human beings. I forget that even the deepest human love I have ever felt is only a shadow of the way God loves me. I forget that the most overwhelming joy I have ever felt is merely a glimpse of what God desires to give me now and forever in eternity. It’s hard to imagine a flawless love. It’s hard to imagine a truly fulfilling joy. So my emotions tell me to settle. My emotions tell me to use a quick fix. My emotions tell me that it’s not worth the wait. That this is good enough. That instant gratification is fulfilling. But my intellect reminds me of the truth. My intellect reminds me of how many times God has come through.
As I was sitting in adoration last week, God spoke through my intellect reminding me of this: Jesus, You love me. You want to fulfill my deepest desire. You want me to totally surrender my trust to You. Jesus, You want to make me pure and holy. You want to transform my heart. To watch me grow. To fill my heart. To watch it overflow. You want to surprise me. You want to bring me to my knees in thanksgiving. You want to give me Your body. To lay down Your life for me. You want to be there for me. You want to pursue my heart. You want to adore me. To gaze at Your little girl in awe. You want to hold my hand. You want me. You want all of me. You want every part of me. You want my wounds, my insecurities, my fears, my flaws, my failures. You want to heal me. You want to restore me. You want to make me new. You want to be my savior. You want to save me. To speak to me. To touch me. To hold me. You want to feed me. You want all of me. You want to wow me. To make me fall in love with You. You love me. You love me more than I could ever understand. You love me for me. You love everything about me. You desire me. You adore me. You appreciate who I am. You value me. You think that I am worthy. That I am more than enough. You desire for me to let You in. To let You love me. To let You pursue me. To let You give me the desires of my heart. To let You pour Your grace over me. To let You overwhelm me with Your peace. To comfort me. To bring everlasting joy. You desire me. Y o u w o u l d d o a n y t h i n g f o r m e. After a long day of student teaching, a PD seminar, practice, and a few errands, I stumbled into the chapel running a few minutes late for Adoramus. I was late because of course I had to bake myself some cookies after dinner. As I was kneeling in the dark chapel in front of Jesus, my mind kept wandering to my stomach. I must admit that I had a few too many cookies, and I felt like I was busting at the seams. Instead of allowing this feeling to become a distraction, my one too many cookies gave me a little food for thought. Here’s what I wrote in my journal tonight:
My body and soul are both extremely needy. I am constantly craving something. I often feel hungry. I often feel empty and lonely. This hunger, emptiness, loneliness, and silence can be uncomfortable. But these uncomfortable times are full of beauty and can become very fruitful... If my hands are too full, I will not be able to feel Jesus’s touch. If my heart is too full, I will not have an ache, a longing, a hunger for Jesus. I will not have a want to be filled. It is good to feel emptiness. It is good to feel hunger. It is good to feel need. If I am never alone, I will never be able to feel God’s company. If I am never in silence, I will never be able to hear God’s voice. If I am never in need, if I am never struggling, if I am never helpless, I will never meet my Savior. Yes, joy, love, beauty, truth, and all that is good points is to Jesus, but there is something about our weakest days and our loneliest hours that awaken the cry of our hearts, the longing of our souls, the need in our lives for a Savior, for a Deliverer, for a Love beyond any on this earth. These times expose a hole that demands to be filled. That demands attention. That demands for us to go in search of someone to heal us, to renew us, to restore us, to satisfy us. This is where we meet Jesus. The Way. The Truth. And The Life. The Bread come down from Heaven to ceaselessly satisfy our raging appetites. The Bread come down from Heaven to heal every wound, to break every chain, to restore, renew, and refresh our souls. To breathe new life in us. To awaken our senses. Not only to awaken our hopes and dreams but to fulfill our wildest dreams and to satisfy our deepest desires. If we never dream, never hope, never pray, how can God make our dreams come true, fulfill our hopes, and answer our prayers? If we are never hungry, if we are not in touch with our hunger, if we never feel our hunger pains, we can never experience the satisfaction of being filled with the sweetest food known to man: the Body and Blood of Jesus veiled by the appearance of bread and wine. Veiled only as an invitation to taste and see the goodness of the Lord, as an invitation to believe, to trust that this tiny piece of what looks like bread is truly, literally, substantially, Jesus, present in the flesh. Jesus, given to us by our good good Father. Jesus, given to us as nourishment to carry us through this life to the next. Jesus, given to propel us into perfect union with God in eternal life. This is what I am made for. This is what makes my heart burn. This is what gives me purpose. It is absolutely crazy to believe that the God of the universe has given us the presence of Jesus in something so simple and ordinary as a piece of bread. Sometimes we go out looking for something extraordinary to happen, so we can "find God." But all too often God makes Himself known to us through very ordinary things. We don't have to go out searching. God's presence can be found in all things at all times. It seems like we're always praying for a miracle in this situation or that situation, but isn't it a miracle today right now that you and I can take a breath? Isn't it a miracle that we can walk and talk and smile and say hello? Aren't we all living breathing miracles? Call me crazy, but I believe that although under the appearance of bread, this host is substantially Jesus. I believe that God makes Himself available to us here on earth in the Eucharist. I believe that when I walk into the adoration chapel, I am looking at Jesus in the flesh. I believe that when I receive the Eucharist during mass, I am receiving the Body of Jesus Christ. I believe that by His grace and His gift of Himself, He will one day welcome me into Heaven to live in absolute perfect joy forever My sore loser nature automatically shouts it every time my beer pong opponent successfully sinks their last shot.
(I don't want to lose! I long to stay alive! I want the fun and games to continue! Even though my beer pong skills haven't earned the win, I NEED REDEMPTION to win the game) This typical college experience seems to be the epitome of our earthly/worldly culture, yet it points to one of the most significant truths of existence: Our souls long for redemption. Our hearts were created to be fully satisfied by God and the joy of being in complete union with Him in Heaven(closes we get to this Union on earth is by receiving Him in the Eucharist in COMMUNION). We want to win the game! We want to triumph! (Our yearning to win the game of beer pong points us to a yearning to triumph in life and make it to heaven) But our beer pong skills as well as our flawed human nature fails us. We cannot earn/work our way into Heaven. We NEED redemption. We NEED a Redeemer. Redemption: the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt. We NEED our debt, our beer pong loss, our sins to be cleared. (In order to triumph$ There is no other way except by REDEMPTION that we have a shot! It may seem absolutely crazy to compare beer pong to the redemption freely offered to us by God, but we as humans love analogies. We learn and understand by relating to things. Even Jesus taught using parables. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to Him, 'They have no wine.' •John 2:3•
"Mary's emphatic statement at the wedding feast of Cana- 'They have no wine'- was a prayer. That prayer was answered in a way that was likely far beyond her expectations- some 150 gallons of choice wine! Mary simply brought her concern to Jesus, without specifying how or when he should respond. When we make a prayer of petition we often mention how we would like our prayer answered, but sometimes I like to imitate Mary's Cana-style of praying. Instead of telling the Lord how and when I would like my request answered, I just express what's on my mind and trust that Jesus has a better answer than I. If a little child has an earache, the child does not designate the cure but just cries out for a parent, who will know what's best to do. If we have that same deep trust in God, we can express our hurts, fears, or any of our concerns and feel assured our loving God will know what is best to do." •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Today's Gospel is also the perfect example of how we pray {through} Mary. We can tell Mary what's on our mind. (We have no more wine) Then Mary brings our problem/petition straight to Jesus and allows Him to fix it. (By turning our water into wine) We don't pray TO Mary because just like in this Gospel, Mary doesn't fix our problems. Mary comforts us and brings us and all of our struggles to Christ, the ultimate fixer! My prayer tonight: Momma Mary, I am running out of wine. Amen What if this whole God thing is real? What if everything the Catholic Church teaches turns out to be the TRUTH? How different the world would be if we lived as if we truly believed every word of it. What if today was our last day and tomorrow we die to find ourselves face to face with God?
Well, I decided a long time ago that I am buying into this whole faith thing, but today I am reaffirming my decision. I want to live as if it's all true because frankly I've been really doing my research over the years into my Catholic faith, and it makes a heck of a lot more sense than how the secular world explains things. The deeper I dig into my Catholic faith the more I can affirm that it is truth. I'm definitely not claiming to have zero doubt at all in my faith life, but I can tell you one thing for sure: I would much rather put my faith in God than in this world. This world doesn't come close to satisfying the deepest longing of my heart, which can only mean 2 things. Either... 1.) I was created with this aching, longing, yearning heart just to get disappointed for the rest of my life. Or 2.) I was not created for this world alone to satisfy me. I was created for much much more. I was created for eternal union, eternal joy, eternal love with God in Heaven to satisfy my heart forever and ever. Today I choose option #2 At the mention of my hometown, Pierre Part, my heart is filled with love, and my whole being is put at ease because the truth is that I am a small town girl in love with the little paradise of Pierre Part, Louisiana. My hometown is very special to me because of the community spirit blossoming from within, the beauty it upholds, and the adventurous childhood it has allowed me to experience.
The little speck of land, barely on the map, named Pierre Part has one of the best communities. It possesses a simply welcoming and friendly atmosphere. It is one of the best places to be when a disaster occurs because the people of Pierre Part do not hesitate to offer their assistance and pull together as one for the good of all. If you were to knock on any given Pierre Partian's door, you will most likely be greeted with a "Come on in y'all!" and depart with a "Mais it's early, sha!" Although the Cajun accents may be a little hard to understand, the lively spirit of Pierre Part is clear through every handshake and hello. Through all my travels, which have been very many might I add, I have come across quite a few small towns such as Pierre Part, but I have never seen a more beautiful place. Pierre Part is blessed with the purest natural beauty because of our swamps filled with mossy trees and all kinds of God's creatures. It's very difficult for me to walk outside and not give praise to God for creating such a beautiful flourishing piece of land. Not only am I in love with my hometown because of the people and natural beauty, but also when I look back on memories made. I cannot help but be thankful for growing up in Pierre Part. I am definitely a barefoot type of girl, which makes my hometown the perfect place for a child like me to grow up. I'm almost certain that I have never spent a sunny day inside in my whole life. My family and I always enjoy fishing, picnics, back yard baseball, four wheeler riding, swimming, or some type of outdoor activity. If I had not grown up in my hometown, I'm not sure I would have turned out to be the fun loving spirited person I am today. I truly love my hometown so much that if it is in God's plan, I would be completely content in living the rest of my life in Pierre Part. Although it may be smaller than most towns, the loving spirit of the community as a whole is quite large. Not only is the heart and soul of Pierre Part beautiful, but also the scenery is definitely one of God's masterpieces. I am so blessed to be able to say that I am a full-blooded born and raised Pierre Partian. Each moment of our day presents an opportunity to grow closer to Christ. We can give extraordinary meaning to ordinary tasks by turning simple actions like putting on makeup into a prayer. If we can apply this concept to not only our morning routine, but to our entire day, just think how simple attaining sainthood could be. Here’s how we can grow in holiness even before we’ve had our coffee.
As you glob on your concealer, lift it up as a prayer to Christ like so: Lord you know each and every one of my flaws, yet you still love me. Thank you. You are my God, and I love you too. Next, as you sponge your foundation on, connect what you are doing physically to something spiritual: Lord cover my flaws with You. Let there be less on me and more of You. Here I am Lord, a canvas to paint Your story on. Powder: Lord, let your grace spread across my life as much as I spread this power around my face. Blush: Pour Your love out through me every time a smile lifts my cheeks. I offer each smile as a prayer for the one I have encountered. Let them see Your joy in me. Eye shadow: Let me look at life through Your eyes and see others how You see them. Eye liner: Sharpen my vision to be aware of Your presence all around me today in each and every moment. Help me to be more present to You and to others. Mascara: Open my eyes to those in need around me. Let me see all the little ways that You are calling me to be Your hands and feet. I offer up everything I do today for Your glory and honor. Lipstick: Holy Spirit, guide every word that falls from my lips. Let me speak the words that You need to be spoken, and let me restrain from allowing words not of You to cross my lips. Setting spray: Let all my actions be rooted in You. Let everything I do flow from Your will and not mine. No matter what words we use, each step of our usual makeup routine can turn our heart towards the Lord in prayer. Just think how much better our days can start out if it begin with making ourselves physically and spiritually beautiful. This method of doing small things with a greater purpose can translate to just about everything we do in our daily lives. The smallest tasks can hold the greatest spiritual weight if we allow the physical to connect with the spiritual. My challenge to everyone reading this article is to try this out next time you get all prettied up. It could set the tone for the rest of your day. Let me know how it goes, and share your ideas of other physical actions we can turn into spiritual prayers! |
Megan LandryJust thought I'd share a few of my thoughts... Archives
December 2018
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