Reflections of a beloved son

Aren’t you tired of living in fear and anxiety? Aren’t you tired of feeling incompetent or not good enough? It is time to reject those lies. St. Paul went from persecuting the Christians to dying as one. He encountered the Truth, was moved by it, converted, lived the Truth, and was unafraid doing so. He was not afraid because he heard the Lord say to him time and again, “Take courage. I am here with you.” On our own we cannot cast out those fears that control us but with God we can cast out those lying voices that enslave us. We must not back down. We must go forward in Truth.   We must go forward for God is with us. Pray with me, “ Lord, I reject those lies that keep me from living in the freedom you won for me!   I reject the lie that I am not good enough.   I reject the lie that I am unlovable. I know I am loved. Now, teach me to live in Your truth. You say to me, “take courage,” and so I go forward and won’t back down .”

(Originally penned First Sunday of Lent, March 10, 2019) “ Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart…rend your hearts, not your garments ” (Joel 2:12-13). What came to your mind when you read the title?   How do you define brokenness?   What is sacred space to you?   How can brokenness be sacred space? Perhaps the term “brokenness” or “woundedness” can carry with it a negative connotation.   Maybe it means “messiness” or “trouble” or “guilt.”   No matter what your definition of “brokenness” may be, the reality is that we are all broken.   I am a broken man.   And, you too are a broken man or woman.   However, my brokenness is different from your brokenness.   One important thing we ought to remember is that we are not defined necessarily by our brokenness.   For one person, their brokenness could be the constant feeling of loneliness and the fears and insecurities that plague him or her.   For another ...

Come out and show yourselves!   This is what the Lord said to the People through the Prophet Isaiah ( Is. 49:8-15 ) in today's first reading.  Do we hide who we really are because we are ashamed of who we believe that we are?  Do we believe the lies about ourselves that the world drills into our minds?  God says to us: " Come out and show yourselves! " We must not believe in the lies what others and the world say about who we are.  Who we are is not based on any material thing.  We are not what we do.  We are not what we have.  We are not what others say that we are.  The essence of who we are is rooted in the Father.  We are children of God.  We are His beloved ones.  Our true identity lies in something that is eternal , and nothing that is temporal and limited .  If we root our identity in things that are not permanent and transient, we are guaranteed to get hurt and eventually find ourselves confused and sad.  ...