.....From the Prayers of the Pauline Family

 God you see that our trust is not based on human actions.

Through Your mercy may the Apostile of the Gentiles protect us against all adversity.

Through Christ our Lord, AMEN.

www.vocations-holyfamily.com

Today’s Gospel (Mt 13:44-46) is short but it is full of meaning:

“Jesus said to his disciples:

 "The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."

We should understand that whatever we have in this world is temporary.

No matter what riches we acquire they will turn to dust. No matter what contentment we find it will be short lived.

We should give up all attachment to worldly things in order to find the Kingdom of God.

That is where our only real treasure lies. That is where we will find eternal happiness.  That is what we are called to.

www.vocations-holyfamily.com

I was listening to a program on Relevant Radio today about “offering it up”.

We cradle Catholics have heard that most of our lives, it means offering our sufferings, pains, tears, all of our trials  to God in reparation for……

I learned today that we can even offer past sufferings.

 I think it was Father Rocky on Inner Life that was saying when we think about those past sufferings we are making them present and they can be offered as well.

We can offer these things for any cause our hearts or minds tell us have a need.

I offer mine in reparation for the misuse/abuse that takes place daily in the media of social communication.

Being a Consecrated Secular with the Holy Family Institute of the Pauline Family whose main apostolate is spreading the Good News of God through the media, it seems fitting to do so.

I offer them for my family, especially my oldest daughter and my son who are have medical problems right now.

And I offer them in thanksgiving for Sister Mary Peter Martin who celebrated the 50th anniversary as a Daughter of St Paul this July. (She has written some great books, one I really like is Tender Mercies.)

Offering our lives to God we trust that He will hear and answer us.

www.vocation-holyfamily.com

Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

They had to be people faithful to God in all things to raise their daughter to be the future Mother of God.

I know life in those days was very different from ours but it’s interesting to think of them as Grandparents to Jesus and all the things that meant.

Did Grandfather Joachim teach Jesus the Jewish law?

Did Grandmother Anne sing Him to sleep when He was an infant?

Someday I hope to talk with them in person to learn about our Master when He was a child.

www.vocations-holyfamily.com