Monday, March 25, 2024

Every Cross is Unique

 Palm Sunday

Each of us has a cross to bear; that cross is not the same for any two.  The difference between our crosses is due to God’s will toward each of us.  Our Lord said: “If any man will follow me” let him take up his cross (Mk 8:34).  He did not say: “Take up my cross.”  My cross is not the same as yours, and yours is not the same as any other.  Every cross in the world is tailor-made, custom built, patterned to fit one and no one else.

That is why we say: “My cross is hard.”  We assume that other persons’ crosses are lighter, forgetful that the only reason our cross is hard is simply because it is our own.  Our Lord did not make his cross; it was made for him.  So yours is made by the circumstances of your life, and by your routine duties.  That is why it fits so tightly.


Our Lord deals separately with each soul.  The crown of gold we want may have underneath it the crown of thorns, but the heroes who choose the crown of thorns often find that underneath it is the crown of gold.  Even those that seem to be without a cross actually have one.  There are as many kinds of crosses as there are persons: crosses of grief and sorrow, crosses of want, crosses of abuse, crosses of wounded love and crosses of defeat.


God does not give us a cross then turn his back to let us manage on our own.  He gives us a cross and because he loves us gives us the help we need to manage that cross and turn it into a blessing that will benefit us for all of eternity.


God is present in our Adoration Chapel and ready to help you with your cross.  All you have to do is show up, ask him for his help, then place all your trust in him. 


www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi



Monday, March 18, 2024

 “I thirst”

“One day Our Blessed Lord said to the multitude: ‘If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink’ (Jn 7:37).  But on the cross, he, from whose fingertips toppled planets and worlds, he who filled the valleys with the song of a thousand fountains now cries, not to God, but to man: “I thirst” (Jn 19:28).  The physical pain of being nailed to a cross, lingering for hours without food or drink beneath an Oriental sun, the parched dryness that came from the loss of blood, now expresses itself not in peevish impatience but in a simple declaration of thirst.

There is nothing in the whole story of the Crucifixion which makes Our Lord seem so human as this one word.  And yet that thirst could not have been only physical, for the Gospel tells us that he said it in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.  It, therefore, was spiritual as well as physical.  God was on the quest for souls, trusting that one of the trivial ministrations of life, the offering of a cup in his name, might bring the offerer within the sweet radiance of his grace.  The Shepherd was still out after the sheep, at the moment when he was giving his life for the flock!” (Seven Words of Jesus and Mary - Fulton J. Sheen)


Have you this lent through your prayers and/or actions been able to quench the ‘thirst’ of Our Lord?  Even a little?

He waits patiently for each of us to come to him.  Why not visit him in the chapel?


www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi 





Monday, March 11, 2024

Easter Blessings

 Are You Ready For The Blessings Of Easter?

Pope John Paul II reminded us in an encyclical that the church draws her life from the Eucharist.  Christ promised to “remain with us always, until the end of time” (Mt 28:20), and that promise has been kept in the Eucharist.  Here at IHM, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is an important daily practice and an inexhaustible source of holiness and blessing for the parish and for those who personally participate by spending time in our chapel each week.


“If in our time Christians must be distinguished above all by the act of prayer, how can we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual conversation, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love, before Christ present in the most holy sacrament?” (Pope John Paul II).  Eucharistic adoration is a primary source of strength, consolation and support, both spiritually as well as physically.


The season of Lent is set aside to help us prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Easter.  Take advantage of the opportunity given through Eucharistic Adoration.

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi

Monday, March 4, 2024

Pray In His True Presence

Face-to-Face with God

Praying silently before the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Chapel is a time to speak intimately with Our Lord, who makes himself present to us in a uniquely intimate way.  As an audience before the King of the Universe and the court of heaven, we ARE listened to, assisted, and graced with his abiding love.  (DCN Bob Calleja - Divine Child/Dearborn MI)


So if you ever wonder if Our Lord hears you when you pray why not visit him in the chapel where he is truly present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity and praying sitting face-to-face in his presence you know he cannot help but hear your every word.


www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi




Monday, February 26, 2024

Follow Me ... Now!

 Lent Is A Time To Follow Him


“As Jesus walked on from there, he noticed a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.  Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.”  (Matthew 9:9)

“Follow me,” Jesus says, and Matthew does so at once.  What a radical response!  Would you and I do the same?  Would we drop everything straightaway to follow a man we knew little or nothing of?  Probably not.  Yet Matthew does so, as do Andrew, Peter, James and John.  (Matthew 4:18-22)


Every day, Jesus passes through our lives and calls us to follow him in ways both big and small.  The example of the Apostles challenges and encourages us to respond promptly to Jesus’ call.  Do we?


You might ask, “Where do I meet Christ in my daily life?  I do not perceive his presence or hear him calling me.”  Yet he is there.


He calls us to be faithful to our daily prayers when we don’t feel like praying.  He speaks to us through Sacred Scripture or a passage from some spiritual work.  He invites us to grow in the spiritual life through an invitation to spend time with him in the Adoration Chapel.”

 (Amber Kinloch - St Josephs’ Shelf)


How will you respond to his invitation?


www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi




Monday, February 19, 2024

Motivation Reinforced

 Motivation Comes From Being In His Presence

W
hen we visit Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration he rejoices over all that we are doing for him.
  He never says, “It’s not enough. 

You need to do more.”  He never says, “You need to serve me more.”  He never says, “You’re not faithful enough to me.  You need to work harder.”  Rather, he blesses us and pours out his love on us, knowing that this is enough to compel us.  He tells us how pleased he is with us, and that experience of God’s pleasure motivates us to lay down even more of our lives.  To put it more simply, his love for us calls more love out of us.  It may be hard to believe, but Jesus is even more eager to be with us than we are to be with him!
Renew your motivation by spending time in the Adoration Chapel.

                                                                   If you give God a chance He will win!
                                                        www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi



Monday, February 12, 2024

This Could Be Your Best Lent Ever

If you’re still looking for an idea of what to do this Lent that would be pleasing to God, and beneficial to your soul, now might be a good time to honestly ask yourself that question and trusting in God see what ideas come to the surface.

If in the past you haven’t been too successful with Lenten resolutions you might want to take a new approach.  If before it was you who decided what plan of action to take - this year you might want to ask God for his input.


If you decide to ask God you should begin by separating yourself from the noise and clutter of this world and sit quietly in his presence.  You can do this anywhere; you don’t have to be in church or the adoration chapel.  God is always with us; so find a quiet place where you can simply turn your mind to God and ask him as a friend what he would like to see you do to grow spiritually in this time before Easter?


The hard part is now to be quiet and listen.  Remember any conversation is not a monologue but an exchange - we must not do all the talking but must also be good listeners.  At the same time you need to place your trust in God - He will not lead you astray. 

See you in the Adoration Chapel this Lent.

www.adorationpro.org/ihmmi