Take and Receive

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
     my memory, my understanding
     and my entire will—
     all I have and call my own.
You have given all to me;
     to you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace;
     that is enough for me. Amen.

— St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, #234

This prayer is also known as a “suscipe”. Suscipe is a Latin word meaning “to uphold” and refers to Psalm 119:116.

Uphold me, O God, according to your word and I shall live; do not fail me in my hope.

Ma.gnolia

[ma.gnolia]

I’m trying an experiment that will be available only on the main page of this weblog. At the bottom of the sidebar, I have added a section called “Bookmarks”. This is a collection of links to other places on the internet that I feel that are worth noting. I am hoping to focus on other weblog postings that have moved me (I plan on being picky), but almost anything is likely to appear.

I tried this before with a mini-weblog approach, but got tired of maintaining it. I recently discovered this new, free, online service called Ma.gnolia. It does the whole tagging thing to organize and classify bookmarks and links, but it also adds a community dimension with groups and contact lists.

You can view all of my bookmarks listed at Ma.gnolia.

Note: The “Bookmark” section in the sidebar may or may not be visible. It all depends on the server load at Ma.gnolia.

The God Who Loves You

[book cover]

Throughout most of Lent, nearly all of the quotes that will appear in the “Quote of the Day” above come from a book I most highly recommend. The book is Peter Kreeft’s The God Who Loves You. It is a wonderful blend of theology and mysticism, of left and right brain thinking, of the head and heart, that dwells deep into the mystery of God’s love.

The first chapter, “The Twelve Most Profound Ideas I Have Ever Had”, is available free online.

If you ever doubted that God loves you—truly, deeply, honestly, genuinely, completely, unconditionally loves you—even with all of your faults and sins—then read this book! (And then look at His Cross.)

Fasting and Feasting

Lent should be more than a time of fasting. It should also be a joyous season of feasting. Lent is a time to fast from certain things and to feast on others. It is a season to turn to God:

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ indwelling them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the uniy of all life.
Fast from apparent darknes; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on divine order.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on non-resistance.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-conrn; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxity; feast on on eternal Truth.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; feast on entusiasm.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorrow; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer that undergirds.

— William Arthur Ward

Recommendation: Pick three that speak to your heart and work on those this Lenten season. Pray about them. Ask for specific graces to transform, like “God, I ask for the grace to feast on phrases that purify others and myself, and for help to abstain from words that pollute.” God always answers prayers for grace, but be open, He often does not answer them in the way you expect.

Yet He Chose to Create Me

Something to reflect on this Lent:

So God must have foreseen all my sins and rebellions against Him, all the trouble I would cause Him, including the hell of Calvary. Yet He chose to create me. (The word foreseen is not perfect in this context, for it seems to put God into time. But it helps to get across the point.)

God knew that I would be like Adam and Peter and Pilate, and even Judas. He knew that my sin would necessitate His crucifixion if His love was to be successful in winning my soul. In the act of creation He saw the Cross. Yet, knowing the infinite price to Himself, He still chose to create me. He loved me despite the nails I put into His own body. He prayed for me from the Cross and said, “Father, forgive them.” (Luke 23:24) even as I crucified Him. What crazy love is this? It is love itself. It is love of the Author who chose to create a story with His own hellish agony in it, so that He could create a story with my heavenly joy in it.

— Peter Kreeft, The God Who Loves You

Wow!!! … Thank you Father … I am so sorry for my sins … Have mercy on me … All is gift … You still are creating me … Jesus, I am so glad You died for me … I love You …