Tag: jesus

🌿”A Single Seed”🌿

by leggogrego

In biology, we learned that a single seed— a plant embryo —can take hundreds and even thousands of years to germinate, remaining in its dormant state and surviving off its own internal food supply, or endosperm. In life, sometimes when we say a prayer or make a sacrifice of love, we may wonder whether it has any real and lasting impact in the world…

Yet God, being all-knowing and all-loving, and indeed outside the parameters of time and space, can order His angels and saints to collect these selfless, sacrificial acts of ours and await the precious, perfect moment when a soul who needs them most will be most open to receiving their efforts and effects. 

For some, the conditions for their true conversion of heart might be a certain tragedy or failure in their life, such as loss or addition. For others, it may be a victory or blessing, such as holding their firstborn child or finally finding a lifelong prayer answered. But regardless, no prayer, no sacrifice, no labor of love of ours, no matter how small or slight, is never lost! Our Lord eagerly awaits, eternally saves, and eventually uses each and every one. 

Like a single seed that can someday become a tall tree and bear the most abundant, delicious fruit for years and even centuries to come, we truly will only know what difference we made in this world, in this life, until the next world, the next life. But until then, we must truly strive, like the generous sower, to keep planting seeds of love, all while staying rooted in the good soil of trust, having the faith of a mustard seed to be able to move mulberry trees, and indeed, mountains! Though the heavenly workers may be few and earthly rewards, far between, the harvest will be abundant in the Kingdom of God for all, and indeed, for all eternity! 

So if you have yet to see or feel the fruits of joy and peace of your own prayers and sacrifices, don’t get down or give up! Like Our Mother and Queen, whom we celebrate today, on this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, never, ever stop loving and listening, giving and forgiving, believing in the Good and, indeed being Goodness Itself, and soon, very soon, you too will see the astonishingly amazing things God is doing for your own soul, as well as those of your friends and family, throughout all of the universe and for all of history, in and through your simple, subtle “yes” answers to Him, again and again! 

For as St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once famous put it, “The fruit of silence is prayer; the fruit of prayer is faith; the fruit of faith is love; the fruit of love is service; and the fruit of service is peace.”And in the words of God the Father Himself recently revealed to a modern—day visionary:

“Children, do not allow the spirit of discouragement to overshadow your prayers. Be united – good against evil. Victory is still within your grasp if you continue to pray. satan’s real victory is in stopping your prayers and aborting your faith in prayer. Every ‘Hail Mary’ makes a difference and weakens satan. He does not want you to comprehend this. 

This is why I tell you, as long as you pray, you are chipping away at Satan’s overall scheme of things and winning many small victories. Often you do not see the effects your prayers have upon evil efforts. If you pray your whole life and save just one soul, your life is victorious. However, I tell you, many rosaries save many souls – souls you will not meet until the next life.” 

“God’s Love For Every One Of Us” (A Poem!) JMJ

by leggogrego

As big and broad as the cosmos and constellations of all creation,

As burning and blazing as the sun and stars of the nighttime sky,

As boundless and bountiful as the sands and shores of the sweeping seas,

And as beautiful and blissful as a bridegroom being betrothed forever to his beloved bride!

This is all but a glimpse, a glint, a glimmer of mere dust…

Compared to God’s utterly surpassing yet eternally lasting Love for every one of us!

As bright and beaming as the lights and luminaries of the city streets,

As tall and towering as the clouds and cliffs of the wide countryside,

As fresh and fragrant as the fruits and flowers of the forest fields,

And as precious and priceless as a little baby boy or girl being born in the morning light!

This is all but a hint, a hunch, a hunk of mere dust…

Compared to God’s entirely infinite yet interiorly intimate Love for every one of us!

As verdant and vibrant as the vineyards and vistas of the summer’s valley,

As mystical and mysterious as the mists and moths of the winter’s moonshine,

As glowing and glorious as the jewels and gemstones of the golden jungle,

And as holy and heavenly as hands and hearts holding close through both life’s lows and highs!

This is all but a trace, a touch, a tad of mere dust…

Compared to God’s all-consuming yet ever-renewing Love for every one of us!

As swift and speedy as the birds and butterflies of the dawning bog,

As vibrant and varied as the settings and seasons of space and time,

As colorful and captivating as the fish and frogs of the evening fen,

And as sensational and celestial as the sanctuaries and shrines that contain all things sacred and divine!

This is all but a part, a piece, a pinch of mere dust…

Compared to God’s ultimately unconditional yet invariably invincible Love for every one of us!

As pure and pristine as the snowflakes and sleet of the arctic shores,

As colossal and capacious as the caves and coves of the coastal hillside,

As copious and continual as the rainfall and riverflow of the tropical rainforest,

And as powerful and perpetual as the moment and miracle of forgiveness which enfolds souls with internal delight!

This is all but a flash, a flicker, a fragment of mere dust…

Compared to God’s ubiquitously universal yet profoundly personal Love for every one of us!

As strong and steady as the waves and whirlpools of the ocean waters,

As serene and sublime as the silence and stillness of the starlit sunrise,

As soft and sweet as the pears and peaches of the vastest pastures,

And as breathtaking and baffling as every last blink and heartbeat in the being of each human life!

This is all but a sliver, a splinter, a speck of mere dust…

Compared to God’s always ascending yet never-ending Love for every one of us!

Indeed, nothing — not even everything together — could ever be better

Than the One who made everything from altogether nothing but dirt and dust…

Because everything is merely nothing but a dim and dreary reflection

Of nothing less than the everything of God’s love for every one of us!

Verse:

Seeing and Believing in the Many, “Mini” Miracles All Around and Within Us!

by leggogrego

Every time, it seems, that I have the audacity to judge someone, even if only interiorly and ever so slightly, it isn’t long- give it maybe a week or so- before I myself experience a similar struggle, insecurity, or weakness. Indeed, God really knows how to humble me! And He is constantly reminding me that even though with Him, anything and everything is possible, without Him, the Source and Summit of All Life and Love, Goodness and Grace, Power and Perfection, I am and can do absolutely nothing.  

This became ever more abundantly clear to me, when yesterday, I ended up cutting my right index finger on accident, causing it to bleed quite quickly and profusely. Yet of course, after washing it off and wrapping it up with plenty a paper towels, I couldn’t help but reflect upon the fact that just a few days before, I had witnessed someone else inadvertently cut their finger with a pocket knife while trying to open a bag of- of all things- mac and cheese! (The Lord really does have a sense of humor, doesn’t He?)

But believe it or not, it gets better. Or rather crazier. Just a few hours before my “incident” or “injury,” I actually was ironically just teaching a biology lesson about how blood, specifically the red and white blood cells (and even platelets, which help with clotting, and may be imputed in individuals with hemophilia) therein, are produced in the bone marrow of our skeletal system! And to top it all off, when I went to Mass yesterday, the Gospel just so happened to be about the woman who was hemorrhaging blood for 12 years before simply yet boldly reaching out to touch the cloak of Jesus, upon which she was finally, fully healed and her flow of blood immediately, entirely dried up!  

Now, call me crazy (I probably am, at least somewhat!), but all of this sounds like more than mere coincidence. To me, it’s just one of the many, “mini” miracles all around us- such as the essentially perfect conditions that allow for life to exist in the cosmos, in our galaxy, and on our planet- and indeed within us- like the constant steady stream of fresh, oxygenated blood our hearts are tirelessly pumping into every blood vessel and even cell of our incredible complex yet simply beautiful bodies for us to even “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Perhaps the problem is not that there’s any shortage of proof of the supernatural in every present moment for all of us, it’s that we’ve become too skeptical, cynical, and ultimately, self-absorbed to simply stop and rally recognize and even rejoice in all of it, much less praise and proclaim it to the rest of the world. 

But…why? Why can’t we be like little children who seem to be endlessly enchanted and “foolishly” fascinated by every little detail of both our universe as a whole and our day, with all the people and places and possibilities it holds, from the smallest centipede scooting down the sidewalk to the Dora the Explorer band aids that somehow make any “boo boo” feel much better and heal much faster? In other words, why can’t we accustom ourselves to becoming active contemplates, everyday mystics, and above all, child-like, grown-ups, by increasingly developing an inner disposition of awe and wonder toward all of life’s numberless wonders, no matter how supposedly insignificant, seemingly incidental, or surprisingly inconspicuous? Why can’t we truly and totally trust that the same God Who created and carefully sustains everything that we see (and everything we don’t, from the hairs on our heads and cells in our bodies to the experiences of our lives and the emotions in our hearts), descended to our Earth as one of us and even died on a Cross because of us, so as to ransom and redeem every one of us…not withholding even every last beat of His Heart and drop of His Precious Blood? 

Albert Einstein once famously said that there are two ways of looking at the world. One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is… I don’t know about you, but especially after yesterday, I hope and pray that everyday, I can start to see and believe that everyone and everything is not a random coincidence, or worse, useless nuisance, but rather, as divine incidence, heavenly gift, and even “mini” miracle…even if it means needing a band aid every now and then!

Verse:

“We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

-Romans 8:28

Quote:

“I have designed your life in such a way that you can live it in each moment with me. I have all that you need for every moment of time.”

-Jesus to Anne, Apostle of the Returning King

Prayer: “Eternal Father, I trust in Your loving Will for me.”

“Do not be quick to question circumstances and events of the day, but see My Will in every present moment. Carry in your heart and upon your lips, the ejaculation, ‘Eternal Father, I trust in Your loving Will for me.’ This little prayer carries with it- peace. I send an angel to assist you when you believe.” “I, your Eternal Father, desire this be made known and be made popular.” -God the Father (see: holylove.org)

Poem: “Everything That Is” by “Little Gregory” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAlBfD4lfQs