Intentions of the Holy Father for April

Ecology and Justice. That governments may foster the protection of creation and the just distribution of natural resources.
Hope for the Sick. That the Risen Lord may fill with hope the hearts of those who are being tested by pain and sickness.

My Cup Runneth Over... But Not Yet

For a while now, I have felt that God was not calling me to a very apostolic life, but rather to more of an inward-looking life, almost heremetical while still keeping up with all the day-to-day things of life in the world. Lately though, I've begun to feel as if that's changing. An ice thawing on the surface, or a fire smouldering in the middle. It's hard to say. Different seasons give different activities.






I'd like to help develop the young adult community in my area.
I'd like to help with youth ministry in my parish.
I'd like to spend more time with the very poor.
I'd like to produce brochures and pamphlets to aid the faithful.
I'd like to...

I'd like to be so full of the love of God that it would run and even splash over in a hundred directions. But there are still other things to be done, it seems. First things first. That's prudence in a nutshell. Obstacles need to be cleared away. Any attempt at apostolate that springs from our own desires, much moreso from our own ideas, is bound to sputter and run out of gas - if it even gets that far.

But what could waylay or obstruct an apostolate born out of the will of God, known to us because of the close conformity of our will to His, and powered by His Holy Spirit? More and more I think that he might have some great plan, or some little plan, for me, for someone else, for whomever - but not yet. There are times of life when we must wait.

The seed isn't wasting time by waiting through the winter. I say that because a wise friend of mine once said that a vocation is like a plant in that it needs time to grow inside of us. The same is true, it seems, whether the call spans the scope of one's life, or simply affects the use of one's free time for the next few months. The little seedling is God's loving call to us bundled together with our loving response. If it is of God, in any event, the call won't go away. Right now I feel something stirring in me. Could it be a seedling trying to sprout forth? But there are still rocks and maybe thorns in the way. I'm working at clearing them away for God as fast as I can. Well, really, it's probably him working to clear them away as fast as I will let Him. In any event, it happens during prayer. Lots of prayer.

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my will.
All that I have and am You have given to me,
and I surrender it now to be governed entirely by Your will.
Your grace and Your love are wealth enough for me.
Grant me these, Lord, and I shall ask for nothing more.

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