Know - Grow - Go

The backdrop to accepting change with grace, and to being filled with Grace through the process of change, is recognizing and relying on a God who doesn't change - a God who is more powerful than the storm, and who cares for each of us, and who we can trust.

Memento mori – remember that you must die. Remember that your life here is passing. That, ultimately, you’re accountable only to God. That you have a destiny beyond this world.

We have a community around us, we have sacraments, we have the Word of God, we have the Holy Spirit - all of these equip us so that we are ready for whatever comes our way. We don't need to fold over or give in or give up. Instead, we hold true to Jesus Christ - a faithful presence in a less-faithful world.

The Father is my loving Father. I am His beloved child. You are his beloved child. And he is indeed well pleased with each of us, not because of anything we’ve done, but because of who He is.

Continue to pray the words from Fr. Hans last week: "Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit." We need a renewal of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives in order to be everything that God needs us to be.

As we prepare for the celebration of Pentecost next Sunday, here are three simple words to say over and over again: "Come, Holy Spirit!" When I am comfortable: "Come, Holy Spirit!" When I am afraid: "Come, Holy Spirit!" When I don’t know what to say: "Come, Holy Spirit!"

This is how we will be a Faithful Presence and Influencers for Jesus: through the courage and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to say that prayer hundreds of times this week! "Come, Holy Spirit!"

We often think of faith as a comfort and a refuge, and it is. But that’s not the goal of faith. It’s more the by-product. Faith, first and foremost, calls us not to comfort, but to courage. To dare. Sometimes even to risk. And in all of that to trust.

God’s love doesn’t protect us from difficulties or shield us from suffering. What it does do is encourage us – literally put the courage into us – to embrace life with hope, painful or frightening as it may be sometimes; to seek out the lost and heal the hurting; to serve God in whatever way He gives us, with the gifts He gives us.

Deacon Brett reads a portion of the poem below at the end of his homily; it is attributed to Sir Francis Drake.

Even though we know absolutely that Jesus loves and knows each of us by name, we also know that he loves everyone throughout the world. Communion is not just about each of us individually and Jesus - it is about Jesus and every person, all of God's people. Communion reminds us that life isn't just about "me" - we see life from God's perspective, as all of creation is connected together in God's grand design.

Say the following out loud: "God has a special place in His heart for me." It’s true. God also has a special place in His heart for each of our family members and friends and so on, but let’s not lose sight of how He loves each of us individually, because He’s able to love all of us that way. Each of us is the most important thing in the world to God, and that’s possible because He’s God.

For today, I just want to leave you with this truth: Jesus loves you. Jesus values you more than he values his own life. Jesus treasures you in his heart. Jesus cherishes you. You are the most important thing in the world to Jesus.

All world religions speak in some way about mindfulness, about living lives that are looking beneath the surface and asking, "What's happening on a deeper level? How might God be involved in what's going on?". Take the time to do that in the simple, daily things - like prayer before meals, morning prayer, giving thanks to God in the evening - and don't just do them mechanically. Be really wide open to the beauty around, the beauty within, the people you see, and think about that intermingling of the visible and invisible - that we can be awakened to that deep, spiritual sense that is surrounding and permeating us every moment of our lives.