"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." Luke 9:58-59

Happy Feast Day!

Reflection:
The most difficult thing for us humans is to give up our comfort zone. What we have gained through the years is mostly material in nature. Jesus calls to us daily to "Follow me," to leave what we have behind to sell off what we owe and make our home with him. Since Jesus has nowhere to rest his head we wonder where our new home will be then.

Jesus is everywhere and busier than we could ever be, that is why he has no place to rest his head. He is on call 24/7, ready to receive us when we say yes and follow him. He gave up far more than we will ever give up , just to free us from sin. His job is one we are afraid to take on. One that entails being on call 24/7 too. But we forget that he shares the yoke with us.

Since we are not Divine in nature, we do have a place where we can rest our heads, to refresh ourselves. The only place that we know of that we can go to and see Jesus, is the Tabernacle where he temporarily resides waiting for us to visit. He is ever present in the Blessed Sacrament where he is able to touch each and every one of us personally when we let him in.

In the reading we are given examples of excuses we give to not follow Jesus. Let the dead bury the dead he says, because they have no life unless it is lived in God.

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. Luke 9:54-56

Reflection:
Have we ever gone on vacation with all the best plans laid out, to find we are not welcome because of where we come from or who we are. With it marring the time we will be spending there. In those moments don't we want to do as the apostles asked of Jesus, to send down fire to consume them. Or wish problems on those who didn't quite treat us the way we wanted them too. We don't have Jesus rebuking us as the apostles did or rebuking those who did not receive us either. But we read instead of how Jesus moved on to another village.

It's not always easy when a pre-paid vacation spot can cause so much distress. But in the long run if it can be done then moving to another hotel or Town would be worth it. For the sake of not ruining the plans that were made.

Should this scenario have happened to anyone, the one thing that does happen is how we turn out to be complainers. All because our vacations were ruined by unwelcome people. Even for the best Christians complaining is at it's best then, without realizing what we do.

So next time we take a trip and things are not up to par move on to another place rather than bring ourselves down to the level of being unchristian by getting angry or complaining, think about Jesus and his journey to Jerusalem and not being welcome on his way there and how he moved on to another village. Are we not to imitate him? Then let us do so.

"Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!" In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God. Job1:21-22

Reflection:
Ever feel like Job at times, when we think nothing is going smoothly in our lives. Put yourself in Job's place for a few minutes while reading what has been taken away from him, to test his faith. See how much easier your life has been. And for some, not all have had it easy or good, yet their faith is right on the mark.

Why is it that some people are put to the test like Job. We read about it today, how God mentions his servant Job and how upright he is, and satan wants to prove that he will blaspheme God when he loses all. But Job after all he has lost and endured at the hands of satan came through with flying colors. He did God proud in his test.

Do we endure our trials this way, with utmost faith in God. To know that he too surrounds us with his heavenly angels to watch over and protect us. Do we actually understand that when things begin to happen it is not bad luck or, being negative that brings about the trouble, but the test of how strong and faithful we are.

I did a test myself about the situation I am going through. I used every positive thought to bring about results that would make a change in my circumstances. Tell you what I learned, being positive had nothing to do with it, but faith did. And faith in surrendering my will to God's will brought a peace in my trials that I never had before.

When God calls and you answer, you will find things changing in your life that will not always please you. When I look back when he first appeared and took over my life, I did not surrender as well as I thought or accept his call very gracefully. I think a part of me was resentful of the fact that I lost a way of living, where I lost the freedom to do as I please. There are many things I could list and tell you what was taken away, and how it has taken me time to accept that I am being prepared for a new life. And when it all started I thought how very much my life seemed to resemble Job's, and I look toward God and say to Him I love you with all my heart do with me as you will, may yours be mine and mine be yours, I surrender it all to do your loving will.

I came across this article "Last of the LaSalettes" while browsing Spirit Daily. I was saddened that their Order has not found new faith or members for awhile in the United States. These Priests and Brothers answered the call to help Reconcile the World for our Heavenly Mother.

What this article speaks about a Shrine that is located in Enfield, New Hampshire which is not far from White River Junction, Vermont, I remember the times we would go on pilgrimage. How it was always busy with people visiting from all over. I also remember there used to be a Seminary across the street and also a campground. Which both are gone now. They are across from a lake with a beautiful vista of the surrounding mountains. This is one place I have always loved to go to. In the fall it is beautiful beyond belief and well worth the ride when out for leaf viewing in the fall foliage.

It is a hope that life will be renewed at the Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette, where a visit to Holy ground is truly a treasure.

"Moses, my lord, stop them. "But Moses answered him," Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!" Numbers 11:28-29

Reflection:
Moses had it right, "Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!" What a world we would be then. But we do have those who are given the spirit of the Lord to do his will, to guide, and nurture our faith. We have them in our Priest who call our Lord in the Eucharist for us to witness to the faith. Without their sanctified hands how would we have blessed bread or be blessed daily, to be sent out to witness our own faith in the Risen Lord.

Does jealousy arise in the ranks of the religious just because our Lord has bestowed his spirit on one more than the other. Just as we too in our own lives, do we get jealous because God's spirit dwells within one rather than another. Yet we do encounter these things, because we would all like to be part of God's special plan.

If only they really knew what being part of his spirit entails. To be set apart from others, to fight a constant battle with the enemy and win the battle daily for the kingdom of God. This is part and parcel of being part of God's spirit along with the love that he alone gives to a soul. His spirit is not about power, but about an endless love. It is to be enveloped in peace. "Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"