by The Face of Grace Project | Oct 28, 2020 | Presence
There but for the Grace of God go I. This is an old saying from my childhood that our American culture lost long ago. Perhaps it is time to bring these sayings back, as they situate us within our spiritual reality. Do we go through our day recognizing the Sacred among us?
If we each made a renewed effort to go through the day recognizing God who is already present to us, how might the world change?
I choose with my free will to go through my day looking at God looking at me, permitting Him to show me the Sacred around me. I much prefer His perspective. đ
by The Face of Grace Project | Oct 18, 2020 | Presence
Our time here on earth is our probation for entrance to Heaven, and that path to Heaven is hoed only by sincere mercy. It makes sense, then, that forgiveness is a process not an act. Yet how to take that first step can be confusing and even fearful. Each situation, each act, creates knots in our heart and our life. The process of forgiveness is one of untying those knots.
by The Face of Grace Project | Oct 14, 2020 | Presence
Autumn is the perfect season for change: a transition from warmth to cold, from sunny days to clouds. A solitary leaf dances effortlessly when it falls from the tree. And our attention is placed upon the color and grace of the changing leaves, the eye-catching beauty. But once shed of all its finery, why do we ignore the tree? When stripped down to their trunks and limbs, we can see the treeâs true shape. Each is a unique shape too, a personality of sorts. There is a type of beauty in the barrenness found nowhere else in creation.
I pray that, as the leaves turn from green to gold and the trees fall barren, that I too will change my colors, let go of whatever inhibits me from following God, and be barren.
by The Face of Grace Project | Oct 11, 2020 | Presence
When I go to prayer with my agenda, it is like an orchestra that is simply a collection of noisy instruments wanting to be heard. When God works in the soul, it is like a conductor bringing together beautiful music, having already cleaned the instruments and tweaked their tuning. He brings them into one voice: His.
So, when I begin to pray I ask myselfâŚwho is setting the agenda?
by The Face of Grace Project | Oct 4, 2020 | Presence
In the small elementary school of my childhood, there was a bench outside the principalâs office where the âbadâ kids sat after school. As soon as class was out at 3:30, they headed to the Goof-Off bench and sat. Their moms were called and told to expect them to be late coming home; the kids were told to stay there 30 minutes, and everyone went home including the Principal and staff. Amazingly, the kids sat on the bench as required!
We obeyed because we accepted that there are natural consequences for our actions. It would frankly be stupid to think otherwise, and even as kids we knew that. We built steadfastness when accepting our natural consequences. Own it. Do it. Learn from it. Move on.
Do I accept consequences today?
by The Face of Grace Project | Sep 27, 2020 | Presence
Nowadays there is much made of discerning spirits and discerning Godâs will (which are two different things), and opinions abound on the Internet. Discernment isnât as much a matter of sitting in prayer waiting for a lightning bolt of wisdom to come. That too often is a psychological consolation. Real discernment is the product of honest conversation with God.
Honesty is the tough part. It seems easier to rationalize our seemingly âgoodâ choice, and the conversation with God can become a series of âIâ statements. We forget that Jesus isnât in the âIâ statements and Godâs will doesnât need rationalization.
by The Face of Grace Project | Sep 23, 2020 | Presence
The word endurance is used throughout the New Testament, particularly by St. Paul. It is a differentiating feature of Christians. Yet if I were to examen my day at this very moment, how much of it has been consumed by fear? In what ways is fear driving my decisions, emotions, perspective and relationships? How is fear beginning to alter my understanding of my faith?
by The Face of Grace Project | Sep 2, 2020 | Presence
âThe same word in Hebrew (âabad) means work, service and worship. For the chosen people these three activities constituted a worship of God that was one and the same.â (Thierry Maertens OSB)
How can I transform my work into worship?
by The Face of Grace Project | Aug 30, 2020 | Presence
The reason the early Christians were known by their love is because they were vessels of His love. Jesus is counter cultural, and to be His Christian we must be too. We must be Love.
by The Face of Grace Project | Aug 26, 2020 | Presence
As a young adult I began hearing people talk about the family of choiceâour friends. The notion is that we get to choose our friends and they become our family. The implication is that we donât get to choose our real families and so we are âstuckâ with them. An assumption is that we can cease being part of the birth family when we replace it with enough friends. This, of course, is false. While harm is never Godâs will, belonging to our family is His design for our salvationâit is our family of Gift. He also would not place us into circumstances without the grace needed to thrive in holiness.
Faith is the gate through which grace enters. We must personally decide whether to be a grace vessel or a grace blocker. There is no partiality in God. He can only give of Himself 100%. The reason we do not receive the effects of that 100% is in us, not Him. I cannot change the past but I can change me today, asking God that I may truly desire they (and I) bask in His glory in Heaven.
