The past few weeks I’ve been resting in this beautiful verse from 1 John 4:16-
For we have come to believe and to know the love God has for us.
It’s so simple. You’ve probably read through this passage before and skipped right over it. Today, I invite you to rest in it. To ponder the enormity of what this could mean if we actually did it.
What if we actually came to believe and to know the love God has for us, all the time?
What if we truly trusted that this love was present to us and available to us wherever we are, however we are?
Imagine what the world could be like if we rested on this firm foundation.
Imagine the peace and the resolve and the love-force we could bring to this world and to every situation.
What’s holding you back from believing and knowing this love?
What’s blocking you from living in it today?
What if you decided to be bold enough to trust this one precious truth today?
Morning Blessings Danielle to Your Family and You . . .
A week and a half ago Wednesday, while meeting with both Fathers Rolf and Aric from my suburban Minneapolis Catholic Parish, I inquired if they had ever (in their life)encountered a “sinner.” And continued, “Why do we dwell on Original Sin, when you know it’s not true. Why don’t we celebrate the Gift of Life and the many daily invitations to Love we receive from the Lord each New Day. Can it not be said, that during our (relatively) short earthly faith journey that it’s our “Gift of Humanity” that possibly offers our only opportunities to love physically?”
A Spiritual advisor I was asked to seek . . . A copy of “Original Blessing” found its way to my door this past Tuesday! Go figure . . .
I am often chided about my middle name, Perpetua which was legally added to mine on Valentine’s Day 2017 (a birthday blessing for, and in honor of, Anna (Tepmah) German’s birth – she known as the “White Angel” of song to Poland and Russia). Those closest to my heart are beginning to believe, “Is it possible Perpetua really did raise Christine?” My maternal grandmother used to say, “Who raised this child, it surly was not us?” If I may . . .
Vibia Perpetua
181 CE – 7, March 203 CE
My Dearest Perpetua,
You touched my heart as a four year old, and always will. You introduced me to Our Lord, His Mother and His Father(s) and to your faith family. All have remained in my thoughts, and eventually in my prayers, since our first encounter that memorable day in May. Thank you for continually uniting me to everyone special to you . . .
I can only imagine the difficult moments your family, your loved ones, and your friends experienced upon knowing, that after the arrest of your companions, you responded to the officer’s warning, Be careful, next time that could be you, with conviction, “They are me!”
A recurring thought is that kind and gentle words, shared from the heart, can be welcome and meaningful. However, words often seem so inadequate. Prayer so powerful though often silent. How do we summon the faith to share the emotions that consume our heart, our mind and our soul?
Words cannot fully describe our emotions. During difficult moments, we often rely on our faith, often questioning the same faith, when we ask “Why God, why?”
As your family, loved ones and friends gathered to support each other, all of the wonderful moments and memories they shared were truly a celebration of your life. Jesus called you home to be with God. While you received your reward for a life of love and caring, your faith, your humility, and your courage continue to inspire to this day – your gift of life, an inspiration to all.
I first shared during my Uncle Jerry’s Memorial Mass eulogy (1992), “. . . the most precious gift we will ever receive is our gift of life. Our life is a gift from God. It is a precious gift that we do not have to earn or save for, a gift that we do not have to study and pass a test to receive, a gift that is not a prize we must win, and a gift that does not come as a reward for emeritus service or performance. Our precious gift of life is a gift that is given freely and with one request. A request that we reverence, nurture and share our gift with everyone we encounter, share our gift with all of creation. It is a simple request that we often have difficulty sharing easily and openly.”
At my Father’s Mass of Christian Burial (2001), I implored everyone gathered in honor of my father, to be passionate with their words of remembrance. Honor your loved ones with your own words of loving memory; and with a simple promise. Promise you will always remember them by weaving their special gifts into the fabric of your life. Promise them that with each new breath you draw and step you take you will honor them with your words and with your actions. During your life’s journey continue to be aware of all of God’s children. Share your loved one’s Smile and Spirit with everyone you meet, if only for a few seconds, a few minutes, a few hours or for a life time.
For it is in giving that we truly receive. God is always there to give us strength and comfort. At this moment, He is holding your loved one in His arms. As you fulfill your promise, family and friends who knew one so loved may often say of you. You remind them of your precious loved one, of their love and compassion. One so honored is loved by many, loved by God. Continue to be their and His, presence in the world.
Dearest Perpetua, you remind me each morning the words spoken during my Father’s Memorial Mass that Monday were inspired by the Holy Spirit and will forever join me to the Monday in the coliseum at Carthage were you, and your companions, gave your lives to Christ.
You have touched, and continue to touch, many hearts, including your dearest Tertullian’s.
Tertullian was a powerful thinker and writer of the early third century in Carthage (near Tunis today). In this selection, from The Soul, Tertullian gives a rare glimpse of charismatic experience in worship.
“Since we acknowledge spiritual charismata, or gifts, we too have merited the attainment of the prophetic gift, although coming after John [the Baptist]. We have now among us a sister whose lot it has been to be favored with sundry gifts of revelation, which she experiences in the Spirit by ecstatic vision during the sacred rites of the Lord’s day in the church: she converses with angels, and sometimes even with the Lord; she both sees and hears mysterious signs; some hearts she understands; and to those in need she distributes remedies.
Whether in the reading of the Scriptures, or in the chanting of psalms, or in the preaching of sermons, or in the offering up of prayers, in all these religious services matter and opportunity are afforded her of seeing visions.… After the people are dismissed at the conclusion of the sacred services, she is in the regular habit of reporting to us whatever she may have seen in vision (for all her communications are examined with the most scrupulous care, in order that their truth may be probed).
“Among other things,” says she, “there has been shown to me a soul in bodily shape, and a spirit has been in the habit of appearing to me; not, however, a void and empty illusion, but such as would offer itself to be grasped by the hand, soft and transparent and of an ethereal color, and in form resembling that of a human being in every respect.” This was her vision, and for her witness there was God; and the apostle most assuredly foretold that there were to be spiritual gifts in the church.”
Many of my fondest memories are of people I have had the pleasure to meet. Whether just a smile, a nod of acknowledgement, a pleasant hello, a brief encounter or a lasting relationship, everyone adds something to our lives and some will add more than others.
Throughout life, I believe it has been sharing that has benefited me the most and not necessarily sharing any gift or talent I may possess. My greatest blessings have come from sharing a moment with another person. Everything we say to another, do for another or accomplish on behalf of another is initiated by our willingness to share a moment in time. When our Spirit allows another person to feel comfortable in our presence, so many wonderful experiences are possible – silence can be enjoyed, listening can be rewarded, words can be appreciated, a message can be heard, tasks can be accomplished, relationships can be reinforced or mended, events can be defining, love can be made, the possibilities are endless. It starts with sharing a moment, sharing a moment together; nothing has value unless it is shared.
I am unable to express how blessed and honored I am that our hearts are forever joined by more than our names. With each new breath I draw and step I take, you and Jesus are ever present in the faith journey we share . . .
Hugs, Bright Blessings, and Love, – Christine Renae Perpetua Charles
Hugs, Bright Blessings, and Love to your Family, your Loved Ones and to you, Danielle . . .