Father Frank Pavone is highly active in the pro-life movement to END abortion and is the National Director of Priests for Life. He wrote this book titled, Ending Abortion, Not Just Fighting It. It is a compilation of essays he has written from his pro-life experiences. I just cracked it open, read 2 pages, and had to share. He begins by talking about "The Warrior Soul."
I'm sure that some of you have felt very strongly about something that you either wanted to change or wanted to stay the same. And you probably wanted to DO something about it, right? Then, time goes by and maybe it doesn't seem as important as it used to and we begin to let other things in our lives become more important. We begin to lose hope for our cause and kind of "give up."
Well, we could do that, or we could develop the
WARRIOR SOUL:
While this is not 'fanaticism,' it is total dedication, to the point of being willing to give one's life in the cause. 'Fanaticism' means that, except for the one focus we have, our personality shuts down and we disconnect from reality. The 'warrior soul,' on the other hand, devotes all of his fully functioning personality to his cause, and it is precisely because he is connected to reality that he sees that cause as all-important.
Social change doesn't come through committees and boards. It comes through warrior souls. It's something like what Scripture tells us: 'The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers' (1 Jn 3:16).
I have to admit that I have been in the mode of the one who has let other things get in my sight of ending abortion. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I have given up, but I feel that my passion has slowly dwindled. I felt compelled to pick up this book today and I'm so glad that I did. It was a great way to start the New Year. To ask God to work through me to end abortion. To guide me down the path of righteousness. To recommit myself to the pro-life movement. To try to become a "warrior soul" for the unborn babies that can't protect themselves. They need us now more than ever.
Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year. Show all posts
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Satisfaction
So what is holiness? Well, in my last post, Mother Angelica told us that it's not perfection. So what IS it?
WHOLLY SATISFIED
Our Lord said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness, they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). Today what is holiness? Holiness is that image of Jesus in your heart that shines on your face and tells your neighbor that there is more to come, and it's better than this life. It makes you so free that you can laugh at the world and what it has to offer. Others look at you and ask, "What do you have? I want it."
-Mother Angelica, LITTLE BOOK of LIFE LESSONS and EVERYDAY SPIRITUALITY
"Holiness is that image of Jesus in your heart that shines on your face and tells your neighbor that there is more to come, and it's better than this life." I highlighted that in my book. I love that and I read it over and over. It all comes back to the love that we have for Jesus and allowing that love we have for Him to shine through in our lives. How do we do that? By living like He lived, by letting Him do His work through us. If you think of it this way, it really makes me feel free because I really don't have as much control over my life as I thought. And if it's God that has control, then I'm OK with that!
WHOLLY SATISFIED
Our Lord said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness, they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). Today what is holiness? Holiness is that image of Jesus in your heart that shines on your face and tells your neighbor that there is more to come, and it's better than this life. It makes you so free that you can laugh at the world and what it has to offer. Others look at you and ask, "What do you have? I want it."
-Mother Angelica, LITTLE BOOK of LIFE LESSONS and EVERYDAY SPIRITUALITY
"Holiness is that image of Jesus in your heart that shines on your face and tells your neighbor that there is more to come, and it's better than this life." I highlighted that in my book. I love that and I read it over and over. It all comes back to the love that we have for Jesus and allowing that love we have for Him to shine through in our lives. How do we do that? By living like He lived, by letting Him do His work through us. If you think of it this way, it really makes me feel free because I really don't have as much control over my life as I thought. And if it's God that has control, then I'm OK with that!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Look of Holiness
In lieu of the upcoming New Year, I have more thoughts to share. After I put the kids in bed for their afternoon nap, I sat down with Mother Angelica to learn more. And it just so happens that her nuggets of info can be directly applied to the New Year. Oftentimes when we create New Year's resolutions, we look towards being a better person: losing weight, being kinder, not yelling so much, staying away from negative people.... Well, I thought I would share with you Mother's thoughts on what it looks like to be Holy:
THE LOOK OF HOLINESS
Holiness to most people is looking holy. They think a holy person is one who never loses his temper. Oh please! They think a holy person never feels impatient. Well, there is not an Italian born who is patient, and since there are more Italian saints than any other nationality, there must be something about being impatient that makes you holy.
-Mother Angelica
Doesn't that take the pressure off?? God knows what's in our hearts, and I think as long as we strive for that perfection by learning from our mistakes, then we will be OK. We must put our love for Him above all else and everything else will follow. I have felt it happen in my life, and while I don't feel that I have that COMPLETE trust and COMPLETE love for Him yet, I feel it increase each and every day that I see His works in my life.
He and only He has a plan for us. So we can make our resolutions for the New Year, but know that whatever we have planned may not work out and that's OK because it's not about what we want. God may have other plans for us....
THE LOOK OF HOLINESS
Holiness to most people is looking holy. They think a holy person is one who never loses his temper. Oh please! They think a holy person never feels impatient. Well, there is not an Italian born who is patient, and since there are more Italian saints than any other nationality, there must be something about being impatient that makes you holy.
-Mother Angelica
Doesn't that take the pressure off?? God knows what's in our hearts, and I think as long as we strive for that perfection by learning from our mistakes, then we will be OK. We must put our love for Him above all else and everything else will follow. I have felt it happen in my life, and while I don't feel that I have that COMPLETE trust and COMPLETE love for Him yet, I feel it increase each and every day that I see His works in my life.
He and only He has a plan for us. So we can make our resolutions for the New Year, but know that whatever we have planned may not work out and that's OK because it's not about what we want. God may have other plans for us....
Happy New Year
Good morning!!
Well, the New Year is almost here and I suppose we're all wondering what we're going to have as resolutions. It's so hard. There are so many things that we want to "change" aren't there? And we make the resolution, work on it for a few weeks, and then we're back to our normal routines and we never achieve our goal. Happens to me ALL THE TIME!!
So I would like to make a suggestion if I could. I went to Mother Angelica's book and continued to read a few tidbits. And do you know what it was about? Love. Love for God. Love for Jesus. Love for the people around us. How about THAT for a resolution? Is that something worth sticking to? Creating a deeper love for God? She quotes Scripture and explains that we all need to strive for that. And what better way to show that love than through our children?
THAT KID OF MINE
The greatest evils today are fear and lukewarmness. Jesus said, "I wish you were hot or cold, but you are lukewarm and I will vomit you from my mouth" (Rev. 3:15-16). We have a fantastic amount of lukewarmness in the world today, because we don't see Jesus in the Present Moment. Every moment you are meeting Jesus face to face.
Some woman told me the other day, "Are you telling me that mean kid of mine is Jesus?" Yes, hidden in that kid is Jesus. It is your duty to bring Him out with love, patience, and compassion.
Pretty cool huh? Our children are a pretty good place to start. If we can't see Jesus in our own children when they are being "mean," how are we going to see Jesus in our neighbor when he/she is being "mean?" Or in the next driver over when they cut us off? Or in the customer service representative who could care less about our problems? I think that creating a deeper sense of love for Jesus by loving our children, husbands, and neighbors as we would love Jesus would be a great way to start the New Year. How about you?
Well, the New Year is almost here and I suppose we're all wondering what we're going to have as resolutions. It's so hard. There are so many things that we want to "change" aren't there? And we make the resolution, work on it for a few weeks, and then we're back to our normal routines and we never achieve our goal. Happens to me ALL THE TIME!!
So I would like to make a suggestion if I could. I went to Mother Angelica's book and continued to read a few tidbits. And do you know what it was about? Love. Love for God. Love for Jesus. Love for the people around us. How about THAT for a resolution? Is that something worth sticking to? Creating a deeper love for God? She quotes Scripture and explains that we all need to strive for that. And what better way to show that love than through our children?
THAT KID OF MINE
The greatest evils today are fear and lukewarmness. Jesus said, "I wish you were hot or cold, but you are lukewarm and I will vomit you from my mouth" (Rev. 3:15-16). We have a fantastic amount of lukewarmness in the world today, because we don't see Jesus in the Present Moment. Every moment you are meeting Jesus face to face.
Some woman told me the other day, "Are you telling me that mean kid of mine is Jesus?" Yes, hidden in that kid is Jesus. It is your duty to bring Him out with love, patience, and compassion.
Pretty cool huh? Our children are a pretty good place to start. If we can't see Jesus in our own children when they are being "mean," how are we going to see Jesus in our neighbor when he/she is being "mean?" Or in the next driver over when they cut us off? Or in the customer service representative who could care less about our problems? I think that creating a deeper sense of love for Jesus by loving our children, husbands, and neighbors as we would love Jesus would be a great way to start the New Year. How about you?
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