Every Little Desire, O Lord, You Know

O LORD, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar. Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, you know it all. Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me. (Ps. 139:1-5)

What do you want me to do for you?

Tell me, my Lord, that you love me.
Speak to my heart once again.
Cry out to me ever stronger.
I am breathless when faced with your love.

Lord I have nothing to offer.
To you I would bind myself forever.
You hear the Psalm of my heart, Lord:
"O, to live only for love."

It is true I am nothing in your sight;
I have neither strength nor voice, Lord.
But when you let your gaze fall upon me,
I bloom beneath your grace and love.

Give me a heart that is burning.
Make mine a voice that shouts love,
ceaseless in telling all others,
how much you love me, my Lord.
How much you love us dear Lord.

(Bishop William Giaquinta)

Abandonment to Divine Providence

Yes, my heavenly Father, always yes...
-St. Francis de Sales

Come to the Father...

The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I wish. You will sympathize with me because you will know what urges me on.

The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbor envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you, if then I should beg you to intervene on my behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you, still my real desire is to die. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, which is love that cannot perish.

~St. Ignatius of Anitoch

Oh, let this be the desire of my heart...!

Clothed in Glory

I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation,
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
So will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
(Is. 61:10-11)

Peace be with you

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows
in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...
We need silence to be able to touch souls.
Mother Teresa

Wellspring of Joy!

It is also through joy that we will be able to fulfill our apostolic oblation and be self-offering - a permanent, as well as a daily offering, as the essence of our consecration. An offering that permeates our intelligence, as well as our heart, that inspires all our steps and gestures. An offering that lasts through time, and that expands itself so that others, too, may receive the gifts of grace, and arrive at the wellsprings of water where they can draw water in abundance....

This will give us greater hope and joy, and will enable us to give hope and courage to everyone. We will become the sowers of hope that the Lord wants us to be not only for the Institute, but also for the entire world. “Let us open wide our hearts…That is to say, let us expand our love, so that many more people, and the whole world, may enter in and be welcomed by our embrace of love. To see and to love, to love and to see! To have a practical, broad, and sincere vision of love toward all brothers and sisters, and to receive them with understanding, tolerance and collaboration” (W. Giaquinta, Homily May 1, 1989).

(Giuliana, June 25, 2003)