I think you can tell that I am super fired up today. I just had to call my dad about plans for this weekend, and my dad picked up the phone. You have no idea how this still is the most amazing thing, because my dad could not hear and you could never have a conversation on the phone with him, and now it is possible since his cochlear implant! I was struck while talking to him that here is the man that is responsible for my amazing journey into the Church that I love, love, love, love, love!!! I shared that thanks to our ability to talk with him now I have discovered even further back how he heard the call to the ministry while on guard in the army in the Philippines! One more God-moment - speaking of the Holy Spirit to my dad and his answering it! The constant movement of the Spirit in my life thanks to my parents faith and listening to the call... so out of this world/amazing/life-changing/ earth-shaking/too much to keep inside!!! It comes pouring out like a flood to crash over many in my path... beware the dam has a small opening and the trickle will turn into a river - much like the story in the Bible from Ezekiel 47... the trickle from the base of the Temple goes out to the size of a river with the Tree of LIFE growing at it's banks!!! I was close to tears as I thanked my dad - "Thanks, Dad, for listening to the Holy Spirit all my life!" "Your welcome." So thankful!!! He has no doubt that he has listened and answered HIM!
The Gospel today is from John 21 - when Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves him and to feed his lambs and sheep. How I burn to evangelize my Truth with others, Lord, and I love to share my stories far and wide. John came with me last night, and came down this morning for breakfast and shared morning prayer together saying; "Your talk was like chicken soup for the soul all connected and with the theme of The Holy Spirit. It was very good to hear, and your enthusiasm woke me up and held my interest even though I was tired." There is so much to share, and I am afraid I ran on a bit long, but got a lot of people saying that they enjoyed it all. How I love to be able to share my story/journey of Faith/Family Farm and LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT!!!
How, Lord, do we feed your lambs or tend your sheep? By listening to the Spirit and even more by asking the Holy Spirit to do its' work in and through us as we totally die to self! I can not imagine how hard it was for my dad to leave the Protestant ministry and join the Catholic Church! Yet, a few years later the Lord blessed him with an amazing ministry in the Catholic Church as he became a Permanent Deacon with the first class of Deacons in the Archdiocese!!! He did everything he had done as a Protestant minister - he married, baptized our kids and gave some amazing homilies over the years! Knocked our socks off with the Truth and led me and my family deeper into the Kingdom of God! How do we evangelize this to all those in our lives? How do we leave all behind and "follow me?" By seeing with eyes of Faith and listening to the Holy Spirit fill us with all that it True and LIGHT and LOVE and LIFE! How do they know us to be followers of Christ and His Body/Bride, The Church? By our fruits they will know us!
Jesus, there is just too much filling me this day of journey!!! Sharing that blessed narrow path carrying my Most Cherished Cross with others fills me with such JOY!!! I am wanting to shout from the mountaintop for the world to hear... "Our Lord Lives... His Spirit is alive and active and on fire with LOVE for all the world! He wants to come into our hearts, minds and souls... let go of all that comes between us and Him!!! All that glitters in this world is pointless and passing and will lead to darkness and death... come into His Marvelous LIGHT and see the Truth that will set us free to find all the Fruits of His Spirit and may that grain of wheat fall into the ground and die and bear fruit a hundred fold!!! John 12:24 If Life is overwhelming and hard - do not run away from it but embrace that Cross and find the LIFE everlasting that we are given since Christ suffered and died for our sins and then sent His Holy Spirit to allow us to "feed my lambs and tend my sheep." " I thank and praise you Lord to the hightest heavens - Hallelujah is the highest praise!!! Psalm 100 from mass today is a grand Hallel psalm!!! "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being praise his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." I will never forget all you have done for me my Lord!!! It is pouring out of me and all around me better be able to swim in the flooding river, and after over 3 inches of rain yesterday that is true for some around us here! Jesus, we trust in YOU. Amen and Hallelujah
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
Dom Mauro Guiseppe Lepori writes about "Do you love me?" and Jesus giving St Peter the keys to the Church:
"Everyone was asking Peter for everything, and Peter responded to everything and to everyone. But he also responded by asking for everything from the Lord Jesus, who gave him his Spirit, the Spirit of the Father... Ever since Jesus had begged for his love - 'Do you love me?' - Peter lived by begging for his own, begging for everything from him. For this reason, the immense demands of the mission that Jesus had entrusted to him was not a burden. Everything was embraced in the exchange of love with the Lord, and it was a delight to hear himself called by the Lord in the voice of the poor, the sinners, all the people in distress. It was a gift to be able to answer the Lord over and over again: 'You know the I love you!' in every word he spoke, every action he performed, every step he took.
He no longer said, 'I lay down my life for you!' He simply said, 'Take me!' " Dom Mauro
So powerful and true are these words for us as we embrace The Church and reach out with our hands as hers and go down the path with our feet as Hers!
As we traveled to my speaking engagement last evening we listened to Christian music and this came on! I wept at the words and knew that they had to spell it "Hallelujah" - meaning giving God the highest praise!!! Our Little Sister Hallel was close to me as I shared and how can I leave her journey out? - it is part of mine!
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