Reach Paradise

Thank you for another great post Michael! I hope y...

2012-02-14T19:20:28.596-05:00

Thank you for another great post Michael! I hope you and your family have had the best Saint Valentine's Day ever! God bless you!

Michael, I read this book, too and I started prayi...

2012-02-13T23:13:46.471-05:00

Michael, I read this book, too and I started praying the examen after reading it. I agree that is is a beautiful way to grow closer to God. God bless!

Thank you for this great advice Michael. I agree. ...

2012-02-12T11:18:17.448-05:00

Thank you for this great advice Michael. I agree.

God bless.

Victor, Karinann and Kathryn: Thank you so much ...

2012-02-12T09:36:13.904-05:00

Victor, Karinann and Kathryn: Thank you so much for your thoughts. I love reading them.

As for me, I struggled with which scene I would love to go back and see.

As much as I would love to see the nativity scene, and Jesus getting baptized ... I think I would have to choose the Wedding at Cana. To see that first miracle ... to experience how it all happened ... to watch an adult Jesus with his mother and friends ... to hear what He said, and watch how He acted. But it was a really tough choice!

God Bless you.

Hello Michael! I tried to leave a comment yesterd...

2012-02-05T17:08:11.730-05:00

Hello Michael! I tried to leave a comment yesterday but I'm not sure it went through. If you get the other one, just ignore this comment!

I would choose to be at the visit of the Magi because I would love to be with the Holy Family. It would be such an honor to be in the presence of Our Lord and Our Lady and see St. Joseph care for them!

Thanks for this meme, and I posted about it and linked back here.

A blessed Sunday to you!

Michael, just this past week I was crying to a fri...

2012-01-29T20:55:11.690-05:00

Michael, just this past week I was crying to a friend because a few years ago he complimented me on my spiritual growth and I was sure he was right, that I had grown by leaps and bounds, but as I was speaking with him last week I realized that I was probably even further behind than I had been a few years ago.

I suppose it's impossible to ever feel that we are growing in holiness when we keep learning more about our sinfulness.

Your post here as well as all of the above comments are very comforting! Thank you for writing this!

To pick one of these events, I think I would have ...

2012-01-29T19:22:59.387-05:00

To pick one of these events, I think I would have liked to have been witness at Jesus' Baptism, to follow the Baptist's command to "Behold the Lamb of God." Would I have understood John's words? Would something in me have recognized Jesus as Messiah? Who can say, but I would have liked to have been baptized in that water after Jesus who surely blessed it with His presence.
Thanks for the thought provoking meme, Michael and God bless.

What a difficult question Michael. What would it ...

2012-01-29T14:46:54.122-05:00

What a difficult question Michael.

What would it have been like to be present at the time Jesus walked this earth? Not just these three scenes you depict, but all the time.

More important, how would we have reacted?

Wopuld we have believed in Him and followed Him? Or would we be doubtful and un-believing? What about the threat of being arrested and possibly killed if we followed Him? Would we really have risked our lives for Him had we been there then?

How about today? We believe in safety where we live. What if we were threatened for our Christian beliefs?

Michael, your post has really set me thinking. Thank you.

P.S. I would have liked to have been at Christ's Baptism and witness the Holy Spirit.

God bless.

Thanks for all your comments! Always nice to hear...

2012-01-29T09:11:16.483-05:00

Thanks for all your comments! Always nice to hear what you are thinking.

And glad you liked the video!

God Bless.

Great post. I think as we grow closer to God, we s...

2012-01-25T14:00:10.713-05:00

Great post. I think as we grow closer to God, we see ourselves more as sinners. The bright light of God makes the sins clearer to us! St Teresa of Avila used to say she was the worst sinner in the world!
And we go to church because we need to. Not because we are perfect.
We just need to trust that God loves us the same today as yesterday. His love for us never changes.

Michael, I,too, can totally relate to your paradox...

2012-01-23T09:26:09.618-05:00

Michael, I,too, can totally relate to your paradox. Every time I wake up I ask that I do it better today than yesterday.

Great post, great video.

Michael, I can definitely relate. I think that par...

2012-01-22T14:23:05.358-05:00

Michael,
I can definitely relate. I think that part of it is the stripping God does to us and for us, to help us see who we really are in His eyes. The truth of ourselves can sometimes be painful, but trusting in God's love for us will keep us going forward toward Him.
I love this song by Jason Gray; I have heard it a few times this week. Thanks for sharing it here.
God bless.

Michael, I completely can relate to this paradox y...

2012-01-22T13:44:09.938-05:00

Michael, I completely can relate to this paradox you describe! But, like you, I wouldn't turn back either.

After those times of conversion in our lives where we feel the presence of God's love in our hearts, it seems as though there always comes a time later where we start to feel worse, but where God is building our trust in Him, and so we learn to keep walking in faith.

This is a great song! Thanks for sharing :) God always touches my heart through music.

I know what you mean! Ignorance can be bliss and a...

2012-01-22T11:37:15.475-05:00

I know what you mean! Ignorance can be bliss and awareness doesn't always make us happy or feel pleasurable to us...yet in my experience, awareness of my sins and faults have developed into a deeper relationship with my Creator, which brings much more profound joy. Sounds like you've come to the same conclusion. My prayers are with you, dear Michael :)

The thing is ... we all feel like you've descr...

2012-01-22T10:26:42.662-05:00

The thing is ... we all feel like you've described from time to time. We feel distant, perhaps not living up to what He expects of us.

But as parents, don't we sometimes feel the same about our children when they let us down? Don't we love them all the same? Perhaps even more than before?

So does He love us ... when we fail Him time and again.

God bless.

Yep I know just how that feels. That is a beautifu...

2012-01-22T10:24:17.839-05:00

Yep I know just how that feels. That is a beautiful video, thanks for sharing.

You've summed up a lot of my struggle and resi...

2012-01-15T14:06:40.170-05:00

You've summed up a lot of my struggle and resistance so beautifully... I could very much relate to wanting things to be a fairytale... This perspective you've given us is so much more valuable and meaningful. Thank you so much.
Hope you're having a peaceful/rewarding Sunday :)

The thing is ... if we tell people the harsh truth...

2012-01-15T12:55:25.229-05:00

The thing is ... if we tell people the harsh truth: God visited us here on earth as a human.

Most people would find it difficult to believe.

Thanx for a great thought-provoking post.

God bless.

Thanks Michael, for visiting my blog regularly and...

2012-01-15T11:59:45.047-05:00

Thanks Michael, for visiting my blog regularly and for reading and reflecting upon the words posted there. I'm so grateful that you found meaning in Bishop Hying's words! It's a blessing to me to know him, to be influenced by him and to be able to share his wisdom with others.

Thanks Michael! May 2012 be a grace filled year f...

2012-01-13T15:57:29.862-05:00

Thanks Michael! May 2012 be a grace filled year for you and yours!

It's a sticky wicket. Thankfully, I don't...

2012-01-09T14:36:12.067-05:00

It's a sticky wicket. Thankfully, I don't live or hang out in Manhattan (which I know well enough --the bridges' window washers alone scare me and I hate being cold to anyone, not least of all to the beggars standing silently palm-upward inside the Burger King doors and to those who don't beg, who simply live on the steam grates or inhabit the last pews of St. Patrick's). Around here, the begging is minimal and well-disguised, but it's there, and sometimes it's not valid. So far, I give something if I have something no matter what. But not so in Manhattan --I'd have done the same as you.

I was depressed during Christmas and uplifted afte...

2012-01-06T16:11:25.203-05:00

I was depressed during Christmas and uplifted after! I celebrated Christmas with my boys New Years weekend! And we still have our decorations up. God bless!

Another great post Michael. I remember growing up ...

2012-01-03T19:26:25.631-05:00

Another great post Michael. I remember growing up we never took our decorations down until what my mother said was 'Little Christmas.' I miss those days. Today we are all in such a hurry to whisk Christmas away. Maybe that's how Christmas became referred to as a holiday, I don't know. I do know that I'm going to try to become much closer to God this year. I hope you and your family have good heath, joy, and many blessing this new year and always.

Interesting way to capture the after-Christmas fee...

2012-01-01T23:43:21.009-05:00

Interesting way to capture the after-Christmas feelings if our perspective has been skewed. Mine always is to a certain degree but it seemed less this year. I think the older I get, the more I realize when I'm teetering off balance in my Christmas focus. Thank you for the reminder and Happy New Year. May your 2012 be filled with joy, peace and the love of Christ!

A happy and blessed New Year, Michael! Another new...

2012-01-01T01:06:51.553-05:00

A happy and blessed New Year, Michael! Another new beginning on our raod to Christ :)