“FOR THIS PURPOSE I HAVE COME.” MK 1:29-39

Humbly submit your will to God (thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn,
he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons
throughout the whole of Galilee. Mk 1:29-39

If there is one thing I have learned in trying to establish a good prayer life, it is how distracted we are from our purpose. God made us for a purpose and with a mission. Today, Jesus says, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” God wants us to know His will for our lives. He wants us to know our purpose. How do we find out God’s will for our lives? One of the best answers I have found to that question is prayer. It is important that we practice prayer to grow in a relationship with our Creator, Savior, and the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a necessity to enter into the Kingdom of God.  Prayer must become a habit.  The best answer I have found in doing God’s will is in the book “He Leadeth Me” by Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. While in a POW camp in Russia, he finds the true meaning of doing God’s will.

He shares, “We had to learn to look at our daily lives, at everything that crossed our path with the eyes of God; learning to see his estimate of things, places, and above all people, recognizing that he had a goal and a purpose in bringing us into contact with these things and these people, and striving always to do that will–his will–every hour of every day in the situations in which he had placed us. For what other purpose had we been created? For what other reason had he so arranged it that we should be here, now, this hour, among these people? To what other end had he ordained our being here, if not to see his will in these situations and to strive to do always what he wanted, the way he wanted it, as he would have done it, for his sake, that he might have the fruit and the glory?”

“The simple soul who each day makes a morning offering of “all the prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day”–and who then acts upon it by accepting unquestionably and responding lovingly to all the situations of the day as truly sent by God–has perceived with an almost childlike faith the profound truth about the will of God.”

“The temptation is to overlook these things as God’s will. The temptation is to look beyond these things, precisely because they are so constant, so petty, so humdrum and routine, and seek to discover instead some other and nobler “will of God” in the abstract that better fits our notion of what his will should be. Just as it is the temptation faced by everyone who suddenly discovers that life is not what he expected it to be. The challenge lies in learning to accept this truth and act upon it, every moment of every day. The trouble is that like all great truths it seems too simple. It bears the hallmark of all divine truths, simplicity, and yet it is precisely because it seems so simple that we are prone to overlook it or ignore it in our daily lives. Like every divine truth , moreover, it is far from simple of execution. Its very simplicity renders it at once almost impossible not just of credibility but of human achievement, for our poor human nature is too easily distracted.”

Simple doesn’t mean easy! If Jesus took time to go to a deserted place early before dawn to talk to His Father, we too are called to imitate Jesus in prayer. Prayer is not easy but training ourselves in it establishes a meaningful relationship with God, the heart’s greatest desire. Prayer is where we wrestle with God about every part of life we struggle with and need answers. We are seeking the Truth, ultimately God himself. We have a spirit that needs to be nourished and illuminates our bodies’ actions to do the will of God in our every day lives. Seek to do God’s will in the simple acts of charity each day with those He put around you.

Today’s challenge: Take time to make a deserted place where you can pray in silence in your home at the same time every day to create a habit of prayer. “Do each act throughout the day with great love.” St. Therese of Lisieux

Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO

Suggested ways to pray: 1. On your knees in front of a crucifix (sounds simple but when is the last time you have been caught praying in front of your crucifix on your knees)

2. Rise with the words of the Our Father as your first thoughts

3. Personal Prayer-Talk to God like you are texting a friend

4. Silence with the Scriptures-Write reflections down, the Holy Spirit is fully alive in you ready to tell you what Christ wants you to know in each moment of your life, Come, Holy Spirit

5. Adoration-find a spiritual book to read, God speaks loud in Adoration bring a pen and notebook

6. Rosary-Devotion to Mary is essential, a daily rosary and Marian consecration have been the greatest tools for my battle with sin/Satan and drawing closer to Christ

7. Read a book on the Eucharist before you go to Mass or while at Mass

8. Watch Pope Francis General Audience so you know what Christ on earth in the person of the Pope is saying to you.

9. Stations of the Cross

10. Liturgy of the Hours-daily if possible

11. Keep a spiritual book in the car, on your nightstand, wherever you sit to relax in the evening

12. Devotion to St. Joseph