Minute Meditations

[hofelina]

God's Fidelity    

What causes us to complain that God has lost interest in us often depends on our strange ability to close our ears to his word, to shut our eyes to his enticing beauty, to padlock the entrance to our hearts so we cannot receive his love.

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God's Promise    

God painted a rainbow in the sky to assure us he would always love us without reserve. That visual aid teaches us about God’s faithfulness and invites us to practice fidelity in return.

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God's Loyalty    

God “burns up” with the passion of loyalty to his friends. And every human being on earth is God’s friend to whom he pledges fidelity.

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The Balm of Forgiveness    

The best cure for betrayal is a healing love from the heart of the betrayed. The effective healing of the hurt inflicted by the unfaithful arises from the balm of forgiveness in the soul of the innocent partner.

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Loving Fidelity    

Loving fidelity is the healing response to thoughtless infidelity. Loving forgiveness is the cure for heartless rejection.

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Renewal of Love

There is always a healing balm in God, ready to soothe and renew a love relationship that has died.

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Live In Me, Oh God    

You are the desiring of God. God desires through you and longs for life and love through you and in you.

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Transform Me, Oh Lord    

Jesus has come to transform people, not to exclude them. He has come for the seeming losers, and not to create a country club for the supposed winners.

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Joyous Certainty    

Forgiveness is not some churchy technique or formula. Forgiveness is constant from God’s side, which should become a calm, joyous certainty on our side.

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Seconding the Motion    

God is always much better than the most loving person you can imagine, Jesus is saying. It is not that we pray and God answers. It is that our praying is already God answering within us and through us.

[hofelina]

Unconditional Love    

You are to love with the same kind of love that God loves you, which is total unconditional love. This is the summit and goal of all Jesus’ moral teaching, and we cannot possibly follow it apart from divine union. The egocentric or separate self is incapable of this kind of love.

[hofelina]

Mirror God's Blessings    

Receive God’s compassion and you will be able to be compassionate. Do not receive negative judgment from God, and you will not be judgmental yourself. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Give and it shall be given to you

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Patience    

Humble God, make us like you. You do not lord it over us, but wait patiently for us to change. May we do the same with our brothers and sisters on the journey.

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Bask in God's Graces    

Good God, the creator of light and darkness, You who move the sun and the stars, move us into the place of light, a light so large that it will absorb all the darkness.

[Lorenzo]

Lord, help to clear our minds this day, and to fix our thoughts on our responsibilities to this day. May we be able to perform accordingly to the gifts you have given us, and with absolution in your promises in our life. May we always be confident and justified in you, always. Amen.

[Lorenzo]

Lord, please have mercy on the dying, the dead, and those who are ill. Make all of us an instrument of your greater glory. Provide for us o Lord, and may we all provide for one another. In brotherly love and unity. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

[hofelina]

God's Great Mercy

God of Compassion, Mother and Father of all Mercies, do not let us shame ourselvesâ€"or the wonder of your nameâ€"by living outside of the wondrous loop of your forgiveness and mercy.

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Imitating God    

God of all names and all love, give us hearts to include all that you are willing to include, to forgive all that you so easily forgive, and to join you in doing something truly "new" on this earth.

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Overcoming Evil    

Warrior God, Crucified Christ, teach me how evil is really overcome. Do not let me be part of the problem, but the beginning myself of the answer.

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Keep Me Humble

God of all Light and Truth, just make sure that I am not a blind man or woman. Keep me humble and honest, and that will be more than enough work for you.

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Thriving Spirituality    

The key to unfolding a deeper way of living is a thriving spirituality. This is the path that gives us some answers and brings us to fulfillment.

[hofelina]

Authentic Christianity    

The human person is both spirit and body, and while certain spiritualities have emphasized one over the other, authentic Christianity sees the body as a needed expression of the spirit, and the spirit as a life-giving reality in relation to the body.

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Give Yourself to God    

If we’re still breathing, God is giving us the time we need to truly be given over to him.

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You Complete Me    

Jesus shows us how to be fully human. All deity and all human, he shows us that a truly complete person is one who is in a life-giving relationship with God and others.

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Christ In Us    

Christ in us does not negate our unique personality, nor does he eliminate our singular contribution to the human experience. The opposite is true: Christ in us enables us to be the fullest and most authentic versions of ourselves.

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Humility    

Brokenness enables us to truly be humble, which in turn enables us to look for help. Christ said that the meek shall inherit the earth and that he came to call sinners, not the righteous.

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Straight & Narrow Path    

Only the Lord can enable us to do battle successfully; only he can bind up our wounds and heal our battle scars. True joy and peace are on the straight and narrow path that Jesus shows us.

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Emptiness    

Emptiness given to Christ becomes life-giving; emptiness without Christ leads to despair and hopelessness. Emptiness given to Christ allows us to finally be filled!

[hofelina]

Loving Sacrifices
   
Being conscious of our weakness, frailty, and vulnerability allows us to reach out to God in prayer, to express our love for him through sacrifice, and to spend ourselves for others in love.

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Selfless Love    

In looking on the one we love, we actually begin to see ourselves in new and healthier ways and are freed from the constraints of self-interest.

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Deeper Appreciation    

Fasting symbolizes our ever deepening hunger for God and ensures that our sights stay fixed on eternal life and makes us appreciate more fully all the goods of the earth and the goodness in one another.

[hofelina]

Giving Alms

While giving alms may sometimes require contributing what has been earned through human labor, the gift of oneself is of greater value. After all, the debt incurred by sin wasn’t paid in the currency of the world but in the flesh of Christ.

[hofelina]

Bending Our Will

Lent is a time when we can shatter the deceptions of Satan by holding fast to the righteousness of Christ. Lent is a time for seeing that all of creation is good for guiding us to a greater knowledge of God.

[hofelina]

Genuine Prayer    

Ongoing conversation with God opens us towards others without force, resentment, or the expectation of reward, while being attentive and responsive to others carries us right back to God. At the final judgment many will be shocked to learn that every facet of their lives had become prayer.

[hofelina]

The Greatest Wonder    

In Christ God speaks to each one of us, not at us. Jesus is the definitive sign and greatest wonder that has ever come forth from God, because he brings us into perpetual conversation with God.

[hofelina]

God's Redemptive

As Jesus went about the three years of his public ministry, doing the bidding of God, he was announcing something unimagined and unexpected. In him God “repented of the evil that he had threatened.” God wants no one to perish but wants everyone to return to him and live.

[hofelina]

The Church Community


The Church reminds us that we are not orphans but members of God’s family. Through her maternal care and wise instruction, she builds up strength within us. She relentlessly reminds us that we are the handiwork of God and that he will never forsake us.

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Centering Prayer    

Centering our lives on the gravitational pull of Christ makes us open and responsive to others. There is no hesitation in trying to do whatever we can for someone, even if all we can do is pray.

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Expand My Heart

It is only charity that can expand my heart. O Jesus, since this sweet flame consumes it, I run with joy in the way of your NEW commandment.

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Shining Light    

The light of the Transfiguration isn't exclusively for Peter, James, and John but for all men and women, that we might no longer be afraid of our fragile, fallen humanity but might get up and go where the Lord is leading us.

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God Forgives!    

God does not judge, nor does he condemn; God forgives! The proof of this is in the full measure of good gifts that he has poured into our laps through Jesus his Son.

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The Perfect Prayer    

Let’s not overlook the Eucharist as Christianity’s most perfect prayer and primary pathway leading us as a body of believersâ€"and as individualsâ€"into union with God.

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Dependence on God    

Like Christ himself, we should not hesitate to recognize our dependence on God and pray for our daily needs and, of course, those of our neighbor.

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Gift of Love    

Leading a good moral life is not the cause of God’s loving me, but the consequence of God’s loving me. God’s gift of love comes before my task of responding to it, and not the other way around.

[hofelina]

Singing Praises

Jesus, I need your help to reach my final fulfillment in your Kingdom. Stay with me to the endâ€"until I can join in singing your praises with all those saved by your love.

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Supernatural Intimacy    

We have direct access to God because the Father and Son have made a home in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have a supernatural intimacy with the Trinity.

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Supernatural Ability

We have the supernatural ability to overcome the self-indulgence that leads us to serious personal problems. With the Holy Spirit’s aid, we can say no to the temptations that lure us into serious wrongdoing.

[hofelina]

Opening to Christ    

That Christ takes the initiative in establishing a personal relationship with us does not mean that we must remain passive. We don’t need to do much, but we can do some things to open ourselves to him and prepare ourselves to encounter him in the sacraments.

[hofelina]

The Grace of God    

Grace can arrive like a trombone blast or glide in unannounced, unnoticed, and unprayed for. It is God’s greatest indication that he loves us and wants us to be united with him in every facet of our lives.

[Lorenzo]

The Grace of God    

Grace can arrive like a trombone blast or glide in unannounced, unnoticed, and unprayed for. It is God’s greatest indication that he loves us and wants us to be united with him in every facet of our lives.

Yes, indeed, Manay. Thank You Manay for sharing this beautiful one.

[hofelina]

Burning Love    

Sufferings, adversities, failures and suspicions that have come my way are splinters that keep alive the fire of my love for you, O Jesus. â€"Sr. Faustina

[hofelina]

Guide Me, Jesus

Lord, I open my heart and mind to you. Speak, just as you spoke to your adrift apostles during their slow-motion awakening to your booming reality. With your voice directing my path, I have a wayâ€"your way.

[hofelina]

Acceptance    

Acceptance of even the worst of crosses would lead to unanticipated, wonderful experiences of God’s loving goodness. He suggested that we fully embrace our pain, present it at the foot of Christ’s cross, and pray daily for a patient acceptance of his divine will.

[hofelina]

Jesus’ Promise    

As we notice where our hearts are most deeply drawn while pondering our life’s direction, we may be able to hear and believe Jesus’ ultimate promise: “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

[hofelina]

We Are One Body

When we gather for Eucharist, and for other communal prayers, our prayer takes on a different character. Now the prayer must bear the burden of expressing common faith in a way which will help to unite everyone gathered.

[hofelina]

Sacrificial Gift    

When Jesus instituted the Eucharist at a meal, the Last Supper, he forever linked a basic human activityâ€"eating and drinkingâ€"with the sacrificial gift of himself. This sacrifice is his love, poured out for us on the cross.

[hofelina]

Faith in Action    

I continue to walk this journey of my faith, firmly believing that it’s like any journey or trip. It’s a journey during which I’ll get lost at times, but keep going because I know the destination is worth it.

[hofelina]

Word Became Flesh    

Two thousand years ago the invisible love that is God became visible by vesting himself with the flesh of a virgin and dying on a cross for the incredible reason that he loves each and every one of us.

[hofelina]

Our Mission

Evangelization is a mission for all Christians, the highest expression of Christian love. It is a faith-filled response to the fact that the whole value of any human life depends upon hearing and putting into practice the Good News.

[hofelina]

Teachers of Love    

The fact that Christianity is a religion of love makes every evangelizer the teller of a love story, the singer of a love song. By example as well as by words, evangelizers must be teachers of love.

[hofelina]

Go Quickly!

With so many in the world still waiting to be evangelized, we have to run hard and run to win, looking forward to the finish line, looking forward to meeting in glory, spending eternity with the church made perfect by the blood of the Lamb.

[hofelina]

God’s Will    

When we surrender to God’s will, we start a journey to peace, contentment and holiness. But first, we must surrender.

[hofelina]

Living in the Present

We cannot control or predict what God has ready for us. It’s far better to enjoy each chapter of our lives than to look back on past happiness or long for an unlikely future.

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We are Unique    

We are each a prism of God’s light; each soul brings color and dimension that no other soul can create.

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Setting an Example    

Lord, send us forth now as your anointed ones to live our vocations as beacons of light. May our lives light the way for all those we meet.

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The Gospel of Life    

In the name of God: respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness!

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Evangelizing Others    

Jesus sends you out with the powerful message of his paschal mystery, with the truth of his cross and resurrection. That is all he gives you, and that is all you need.

[hofelina]

Salt of the Earth

Look to Jesus, the living One, and repeat what the Apostles asked: “Lord, teach us how to pray.” Prayer will be the salt that gives flavor to your lives, and leads you to him, humanity’s true light.

[hofelina]

Overcoming Fear

Jesus, help us to overcome our fear and discover that you are our loving Redeemer, full of God’s power and love, the model for humanity and the key to our meaning as human beings.

[hofelina]

True Reverence

The person who puts God before all else truly possesses a proper fear of God, that is, a true reverence and appreciation of the one who created all things.

[hofelina]

Open Our Hearts

Oh, Jesus Lord, risen from the dead and no longer under death’s power, we hear you knocking at the doors of our hearts. Help us open our hearts to your immense loveâ€"a powerful love which drives out all fear.

[hofelina]

The Ultimate Sacrifice    

At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross through the centuries until he should come again and in this way to entrust to his beloved Bride, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection.

[hofelina]

Growing Stronger

Oh God, giver of life and healer of hearts, when we are faced with suffering or illness, help us to see such challenges, not as times of disgrace, but rather as times of grace and potential growth.

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Staying Focused

We ask you, gracious God, to help us to become more aware of the gift of your presence. Keep us from getting so caught up in our activitiesâ€"or in our rush to accomplish thingsâ€"that we lose sight of the immensity of your love and care for us.

[hofelina]

Always Room    

Whether your faith is newly minted, slightly out of practice, or decades old, your faithâ€"our faithâ€"is the only ticket you need to the family banquet. Join us for Mass: There’s always room at this table.

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United in Christ    

As many grapes are brought together and crushed to make the wineâ€"as many grains of wheat are ground into flour to make the one breadâ€"so we, although many, become one Body when we eat the one Bread.

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Finding God    

If Christianity is going to have any real influence on my life it must touch me in the ordinary and the routine. At Mass we use ordinary things: eating and drinking, standing and sitting, shaking hands and keeping quiet. In this ordinary stuff, I find God.

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Staying Focused    

Our belongings should not bog us down and make slaves of us. We should be surrounded with beauty, with things reminding us we are God’s children.

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Free Your Mind    

What affects our minds affects our spirits. God wants us to be as free as possible to love one another and to be creative, to fulfill our destinies as God’s children.

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New Way to Live    

It’s no fun to wander around in confusion, stumbling over piles of debris, working long hours and carrying heavy burdens of worry and non-forgiveness. It’s time we learned a new way to liveâ€"God’s way.

[hofelina]

Clear the Clutter    

Our lives today can be incredibly confusing and chaotic. Our culture does not help us, but our faith does. God wants so much more for us.

[hofelina]

Running the Race    

I could never go back to whom I had been in the past, so I stretched out my new legs and have been running the race ever since. I’ve fallen more times than I would like to admit, but the sacraments sustain me.

[hofelina]

Priesthood Icon    

If someone were to ask me for an image of the priesthood, I would describe John Paul II as he sat that day with his suffering and crippled body underneath Christ crucified. He is the priest whom I want to emulate.

[hofelina]

God's Representative    

Whoever has been given the privilege of standing before John Paul the Great knows that they were in the presence of a holy mystic, a beloved son of God who represented the Lord faithfully during his own early pilgrimage.

[hofelina]

Gifts For Us    

Blessed indeed is every soul who lived during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, for we received his love, wisdom and guidance, and now we reap the benefits of his intercession from Heaven.

[hofelina]

The Living Sign    

The community of Jesusâ€"and all the small communities that make up his churchâ€"is the living sign in the world of God’s power, his forgiveness, and his action.

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Healing Our Hearts    

The sacrament of reconciliation presents us today with the task of healing and transforming our own individual hearts, as well as cooperating in Jesus’ mission of healing and transforming the sinful and unfinished condition of the world.

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Growing in Grace    

Sin, in a sense, is basically ingratitude: our lack of response to the generosity of the loving Creator. The Creator calls us to life, growth, and wholeness.

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Becoming Whole

When we confess our sinfulness in the sacrament of reconciliation, our word of sorrow meets God’s word of forgiveness and that meeting blossoms into shalom, wholeness, peace.

[hofelina]

Be Beautiful    

Not only are we beautiful when we are good, but being good engenders a deeper sensitivity to beauty in all its forms.

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In the Moment    

Do we miss the “dancing” times because we are worrying about the “mourning” times that may or may not happen? Let’s not miss the dance because we are not paying attention to the present.

[hofelina]

Finding God at Work    

As disciples of Jesus, all of us are called to bring Gospel values of peace, justice, and love not only into our homes, but also into the workplace.

[hofelina]

True Love Story    

If there really is only one love story, then the journey into God, alone and together, is well worth the effort and sacrifices demanded of such a wonderful and mysterious adventure.

[hofelina]

Handmaid of the Lord    

Mary’s motherhood is manifested in a particular way in the places where she meets us: her dwelling places, places in which a special presence of the mother is felt. Mary’s spiritual motherhood is therefore a sharing in the power of the Holy Spirit of “the giver of life.”

[hofelina]

Sustaining Faith

Faith is a decision that each person must make for herself, but community is what sustains faith.

[grazie7y]

Heaven Awaits Us



We’re all wanderersâ€"they are, and you are, just as I amâ€"and we all want to go home, even when we don’t know there’s a home waiting for us.

[Lorenzo]

Lord Have Mercy



Lord, may you look inside us, our deep conviction of the faith, and not on the outward sinful body. Merciful Blood of Jesus, wash all our iniquities so that we may be made worth of thy promises....

In thy most holy name, we pray, the name above all other names. The Name of Jesus Christ who is Lord of All.


Amen.

[Lorenzo]

Heaven Awaits Us



We’re all wanderersâ€"they are, and you are, just as I amâ€"and we all want to go home, even when we don’t know there’s a home waiting for us.

Amen.

[grazie7y]

Changing For the Better    


The more I changed, the more I became myself. God was, and still is, finishing up his creation.

[grazie7y]

Learn to Discern

Once we’ve made the choice to get out of our comfort zones and be instruments of faith and justice, God takes over. We must learn to discernâ€"to listen in prayer to the Spirit’s instructions.