When we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us through the treasures of God's words to us in these readings from the
Liturgy for March 11, we may find ourselves faced with an invitation to listen to the Will of God and if we do this with humility
and obedience we will begin to understand what His gaze sees when He looks at us. God sees us as His "treasured possession" and He wants
to set us "in praise and in fame and in honor, high above all nations" . (Deuteronomy 26).
I remember many years ago, a woman said to me, "YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD" . I'd never heard such words
and their impact on me was profound. These words in Deuteronomy remind me of that moment ....to be God's
"treasured possession" whom He wants to set up in "praise and fame and honor, high above all the nations". Makes
me feel like I'm a member of a Royal Family. And this is exactly what we are if we are "A CHILD OF GOD"... members
of a Royal Family.
God asks that we allow Him to robe us in Himself. St Augustine once said that God's deepest desire is the Divinisation
of our souls. In other words, He desires that we give Him permission to draw us into Himself, make us so close that "the two
become one flesh, so that they are no longer two but one" ( Mark 10:8 )
We have to stand in awe at such a desire. If I were one with God, it would mean that my life would change forever because I would
love like Him; encourage others the way He did; be obedient as He was; take on the burdens of others as He did; walk in His
footsteps; start to look like Him.
Would not that be a wonderful, transforming, miraculous thing! Like you, I sincerely want to give our Savior His Heart's desire...to
give Him my soul. But when life is harsh and bills need to be paid and the car won't start and dear friends are ill, I get so busy taking
care of business and being anxious about what tomorrow might bring that I forget about the Will and Desire of our Loving Lord.
How do I stop to ask..."Are You running with me, Lord?". How can I be endlessly aware of His Presence in every moment of the day
so that I can allow Him to work in my soul to make us "one"?
To walk in the Lord's Way, to allow Him to transform me into Himself, I have to first of all find Him where I am right here, right now because
right here and right now is exactly where He Wills me to be. I have to learn to live IN THE PRESENT MOMENT!
St Therese of Lisieux once reminded us of an astonishing fact...
"If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient, but I only look at the present, I forget the past,
and I take good care not to forestall the future." ... because God has not yet given us the graces for the future so if we go there in our minds,
we go alone and we become paralysed in our fear!
So to walk hand in Hand with God, giving him permission this very moment to unite my soul to His own I can do small things to walk His Way:
I can listen without interrupting (Proverbs 18 )
I can speak without accusing (James 1:19)
I can give without sparing (Proverbs 21:26 )
I can pray without ceasing (Colossians 1:9 )
I can answer without arguing (Proverbs 17:1 )
I can share without pretending (Ephesians 4:15)
I can enjoy without complaint (Philippians 2:14 )
I can trust without wavering (Corinthians 13: 7 )
I can forgive without punishing (Colossians 3:13 )
I can promise without forgetting (Proverbs 13:12 ).
He will teach me how to love when love is not shown.
( Matthew 5:43-48 )
When I ask humbly for his grace to be drawn into His Divine Will right now, in this present moment, to walk in His Way, I allow Him to change me,
let me share His countenance, and He will robe me in Regal Clothing, make me His "treasured possession" and shower me with "praise and fame
and honor" in His Mighty Love.
