God Is in the Details of Your Life

So often

we find ourself weighed low

beneath the details of life.

We wonder if we are

making the right decision about this

or if we are doing what is best

in handling that.

We think,

and we fret,

and we worry,

and we wonder . . .

and in doing so,

we often forget that

God is in the details.

He who designed water from a lake

to evaporate to the sky

only to return as rain to water the earth

is here working in the details of your life, too,

causing one action

to prepare the way for the next,

one step at a time,

all in His perfect timing and perfect way.

He who breathed the stars into being

and then orchestrated their orbit,

along with that of the sun and moon

and a million other celestial wonders,

is here orchestrating every single detail

of that which concerns you, too –

delicately considering all involved

and intertwining it all in heavenly fashion.

He who designed the metamorphosis

of a lowly caterpillar into a glorious butterfly

is here, too,

in the details of all

that is changing around you, –

gently,

miraculously,

amazingly,

creating something new,

that no doubt

will be unlike anything you’ve known before,

but beautiful in its own way.

Trust Him.

God is in the details.~❤

~Stacy L. Sanchez / Heartprints of God


The Rosary in a Year – Day 23 – Creator of Heaven and Earth

Were you there when he laid the foundation of the Earth? Fr. Mark-Mary brings us this pertinent question from the book of Job as we reflect on the Apostles Creed that we pray every Rosary. He explains that this question, far from being accusatory, is a promise of care from the Lord, a promise that we can trust in God to be God. Today’s focus is “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord, ” and we will be praying one Our Father, three Hail Marys, and one Glory Be.

https://www.youtube.com/@TheRosaryinaYear


The Catechism in a Year – Day 142 – The New Heaven and the New Earth

What will happen to humanity and the entire universe at the end of time? Fr. Mike shares with us the joyous hope of the new heaven and the new earth that awaits us after the Last Judgment. We learn that “at the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness,” and all of creation will be redeemed and renewed. There will be no more weeping, mourning, nor pain, for death shall be no more. Fr. Mike invites us to hold on to this hope as we struggle on this side of heaven and await this great promise. Today’s Catechism readings are paragraphs 1042-1050.

Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/Du13k-DScKs


The Catechism in a Year – Day 46 – Heaven and Earth

God created heaven and earth — all that we see and all that we don’t see. We learn that the earth is filled with men and many things we can see, but our faith tells us that there are many things on earth that we cannot see, including the presence of God and angels. Fr. Mike explains how human beings are spiritual and corporeal creatures, but angels are immortal, purely spiritual creatures. He tells us more about the role of angels and how, possessing intellect and will, they too are created to glorify God. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 325-330.

https://youtu.be/-i09ICCOSuo

Minute Meditation – Connected to the Earth

When you see yourself as a part of the greater whole, you not only give greater honor to the whole, but you also gain a healthy perspective on your own significance. This is just one of the many gifts that Creation has to offer us. Growing a garden, taking meditative hikes, and increasing your environmental stewardship are all ways you can find your place within the whole. Getting your body, soul, and mind in tune with the natural world can have significant benefits to your quality of life. You are not an isolated creature, not a mere accident tasked with going through life on your own. Your physical body is an integral and natural part of the planet you are on—one where your actions, attitudes, and even your thoughts impact the whole.

Stepping out into nature can remind you that you are not the center of the world. In relation to both the splendor and suffering of the earth, the way you feel about your physical appearance truly is a very small thing. You are part of something so much bigger—something so much better than the number on the tag of your pants. Animals delight in their life without ever considering their shape or size. Plants do their work of photosynthesis without self-consciousness. Spending time in Creation—and finding your interconnectedness to it—invites you to stop taking yourself so seriously. Step outside and let nature heal you. Appreciate the way your body connects you to the primal longing to belong— and belong here, you do.

—from Luminous: A 30-Day Journal for Accepting Your Body, Honoring Your Soul, and Finding Your Joy
by Shannon K. Evans

//Franciscan Media//


Daily Meditation – By Accepting Our Sufferings, We Spare Ourselves Much Harder Ones

“By accepting the sufferings ‘offered’ by life and allowed by God for our progress and purification, we spare ourselves much harder ones. We need to develop this kind of realism and, once and for all, stop dreaming of a life without suffering or conflict. That is the life of heaven, not earth. We must take up our cross and follow Christ courageously every day; the bitterness of that cross will sooner or later be transformed into sweetness.”— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 49

//Catholic Company//


Feast Day – August 22 – Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary


The Story of the Queenship of Mary

Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1954. But Mary’s queenship has roots in Scripture. At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of my Lord.” As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, she is closely associated with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship. We can also recall that in the Old Testament the mother of the king has great influence in court.

In the fourth century Saint Ephrem called Mary “Lady” and “Queen.” Later Church fathers and doctors continued to use the title. Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as queen: “Hail, Holy Queen,” “Hail, Queen of Heaven,” “Queen of Heaven.” The Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown as well as numerous invocations in Mary’s litany celebrate her queenship.

The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption, and is now celebrated on the octave day of that feast. In his 1954 encyclical To the Queen of Heaven, Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God, because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work, because of her preeminent perfection, and because of her intercessory power.

Reflection

As Saint Paul suggests in Romans 8:28–30, God has predestined human beings from all eternity to share the image of his Son. All the more was Mary predestined to be the mother of Jesus. As Jesus was to be king of all creation, Mary, in dependence on Jesus, was to be queen. All other titles to queenship derive from this eternal intention of God. As Jesus exercised his kingship on earth by serving his Father and his fellow human beings, so did Mary exercise her queenship. As the glorified Jesus remains with us as our king till the end of time (Matthew 28:20), so does Mary, who was assumed into heaven and crowned queen of heaven and earth.

//Franciscan Media//


Minute Meditation – One With the Earth

As the Genesis creation story points to so poetically, we are literally made up of the Earth—every molecule of our being ultimately came from the Earth. We are children of Earth, flesh of the Earth’s flesh and bone of her bone. We are not some aliens that fate dropped onto this planet to make shift. We human animals are native to this place and have co-evolved with the Earth for millions of years. We may have isolated and insulated ourselves with technology, but deep in our collective psyche, deep in our instinctual drives and our inherited knowledge, we know that we belong. True, it can sometimes be a contentious relationship. The Earth can be cruel and unforgiving, and survival can be a struggle. But it is the struggle of family, not contention between strangers.

— from the book Making Room: Soul-Deep Satisfaction through Simple Living
by Kyle Kramer

//Franciscan Media//


Meditation of the Day – We Will Never be Free of Trials & Temptations While on Earth

“We will never be free of trials and temptations as long as our earthly life lasts. For Job has said: ‘Is not the life of human beings on earth a drudgery?‘ (Job 7:1). Therefore, we should always be on our guard against temptations, always praying that our enemy, the devil, ‘who never sleeps but constantly looks for someone to devour.‘ (1 Pet 5:8), will not catch us off guard. No one in this world is so perfect or holy as not to have temptations sometimes. We can never be entirely free from them. Sometimes these temptations can be very severe and troublesome, but if we resist them, they will be very useful to us; for by experiencing them we are humbled, cleansed, and instructed. All the Saints endured tribulations and temptations and profited by them, while those who did not resist and overcome them fell away and were lost. There is no place so holy or remote where you will not meet with temptation, nor is there anyone completely free from it in this life; for in our body we bear the wounds of sin—the weakness of our human nature in which we are born.” — Thomas á Kempis, p. 31

//The Catholic Company//