Lenten Journey: Joseph, the Dreamer

"Jacob loved Joseph more than any other of his children... But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him." Genesis 37:3-4

A couple of years ago, I attended a conference in Orlando. This was not a business conference. It was a "Women of Faith" conference. I wasn't sure what to expect. I had attended many retreats before but they were all small affairs in comparison. This conference was to be held at an arena and it would be attended by hundreds of women. I honestly have to say that I was a bit skeptical.

I went with a group of Emmaus sisters, about 18 of us. We had assigned seats on the floor. I looked around at the multitude of women present, at the stage, at the lights and I asked myself, what am I doing here? I almost felt as if I was in a concert. But as soon as the first person grabbed the microphone, I was blown away. To see so many women together, from different backgrounds, different religions, different nationalities... Everyone praising one God, together in unison, was truly overwhelming in a marvelous way.

There was music, prayer and testimonies. One of my favorite testimonies of the weekend was given by Max Lucado, author and minister. His testimony was based on Joseph's story. He wrote a book which I highly recommend: "You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for your Turbulent Times." I've read the book twice and Joseph has become one of my favorite characters from the Old Testament.

Remember Leah and Rachel, the two sisters we met a few days earlier in our journey? Joseph is Rachel's oldest boy. He was born approximately 1900 years before Christ. His birth is mentioned in Genesis 30:22-24 but we really meet him 17 years later.

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

His story is so important in God's plan of salvation that it covers fourteen chapters in Genesis. There is a lot we can learn from Joseph so I think he's going to stay with us for a few days.

The story of Joseph starts pretty much the same way as Leah and Rachel's story. There is jealousy and rivalry between Joseph and his brothers and their father has a lot to do with it, just like their grandfather was the culprit of the troubled relationship between Rachel and Leah. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son and Jacob did not even try to hide it. Jacob could have really used some serious lessons on parenting. Jacob treated Joseph better than all the rest. He even made him a special colorful tunic. We can only imagine the brother's disgust when Joseph pranced around in front of his brothers with the elegant robe that he had received from their father. The robe proved to the brothers that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them.

Those of us that are parents of more than one child know what fine line we walk in order not to cause animosity and resentment between our children. When I first became a mother of a boy and a girl exactly twelve months apart, I thought that in order for them to get along, I had to treat them exactly the same. If I bought one thing for one, I had to buy something for the other one. But I soon realized that was not the answer. First of all they were totally different and second, children by nature are going to be jealous of each other. Parenthood is probably the hardest profession and it doesn't come with instructions. We learn as we go and we make many mistakes along the way. What I've learned in the past 26 years as a mother of three, is to love them all equally and individually, to respect them for who they are, not to compare them because they are totally different and to teach them by example because that is the only way they learn.

Joseph did not do himself any favors in his relationship with his brothers. He often went to his father to gossip about his brothers. So if he was a tattletale then no wonder there was so much tension and hatred against him. And then, to add insult to injury, Joseph began to dream. In his brothers' eyes, the dreams were pretentious. In two different dreams, Joseph saw his brothers bowing down to him. When Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers, perhaps not very wise from him, his brothers despised him even more. They thought Joseph was arrogant and delusional. If Joseph had been humble, maybe his brothers would have treated him differently.

In the ancient world, dreams were usually thought to come from God and they were taken very seriously. But to his brothers, these dreams were a sign of grandeur from a boy who was spoiled by his father. Therefore, the brothers assumed these dreams were not inspired by God but by Joseph's own egocentric aspirations. But these dreams would prove to be from God, as a prediction to the future.

Tomorrow we will see what happens when jealousy and envy take possession of a person's heart.

God Whispers

I'm running a bit late this morning so instead of the usual posting for our Lenten Journey, I would like to share this video that my mom shared with me:

Have a blessed Friday.

Lenten Journey: Get on Your Feet

"As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead." James 2:26

Rahab believed in the one true God and she did something about it. If she had known and believed but done nothing, her faith would have been worthless and she would have died like everyone else in Jericho. Faith alone would have done her no good. It was her faith, combined with her actions, that justified her before God.

And it earned her a place in the "Faith Hall of Fame." Her name is mentioned along with Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and many others in Hebrews chapter 11 which is considered the "Faith Chapter." "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly welcome to the spies." (Hebrews 11:31) God chose her, a sinful woman, forgave her sins and now her name is mentioned among the group of God's champions.

If we have faith but do nothing about it, our faith is worthless. Rahab is giving us a powerful testimony. We must act. God is asking something of each one of us. If we hear His call but don't do anything about it, then our faith is pointless. God doesn't need us sitting down on the couch doing nothing. He needs men and women on their feet, with courage and trust in Him, to help Him make this world a better place.

The salvation of Rahab and her whole family is dependent on Rahab's actions. But there is a huge problem. When thousands of Israelite warriors invade Jericho, how will they locate and save Rahab and her family? The spies tell Rahab that her salvation depends on three things:

1-She must "bind a scarlet cord in the window." (Joshua 2:18).

2-She must gather her family into that room.

3-The entire plan must be kept a strict secret.

If she fails to do these three things then the Israelites are free of their vow to Rahab and she and her family will perish along with everyone else.

Rahab quickly and secretly binds the scarlet cord in her window. The scarlet cord is a symbol of the blood of Christ. We are saved by the blood of Christ just like Rahab was saved by the scarlet cord.

Rahab will eventually marry Salmon, one of the two spies she saves. He paid her back for the life he owed her by giving her his love and marrying her. Salmon was from the tribe of Judah so Rahab, the harlot, marries into one of the most important families of Israel and becomes an ancestor of our Lord. How awesome is that. And all because she placed her trust in the one true God. If God qualified a harlot and made her part of His plan of salvation, how can we doubt His plan for us. God is capable of doing great things through us, we just have to allow Him. And who knows, maybe one day our names will also be listed in the "Hall of Faith."

Lenten Journey: Be Courageous

"Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

As we continue our journey towards Easter, we encounter a woman of great courage.

The Story of Rahab

The Israelites are ready to occupy the Promised Land under the command of Joshua. It is approximately 1400 years before Christ. Joshua secretly sends out two men to scout the town of Jericho. The two men arrive in Jericho and find a place to stay in the house of a harlot or prostitute.

The Bible doesn't tell us how or why they end up at the harlot's house but I'm pretty sure it was not a coincidence. It was all part of God's divine plan. Rahab, the harlot, was in God's mind as He designed the whole plan of salvation. She is one of only five women that are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). Rahab, the harlot, is an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

God sees the heart and answers prayers. Rahab was willing to turn from the false gods and idols of her people. She was ready to convert to this new God who had brought great blessings upon the people of Israel. God saw that her heart was ready and He gave her the opportunity to be used as His instrument. And she did not let Him down.

God also sees our hearts and He has a plan for us. Are we going to be courageous like Rahab and allow Him to transform us? Or is this just going to be another Lent where nothing changes in our lives? Are we willing to turn from the false gods that are keeping us from fulfilling God's plan for us? The first thing we need to do is recognize what is the false god that is creating an obstacle in our relationship with God. It could be the love of money or possessions. It could be gambling or an addiction. It could be pride or the desire for power. It could be an obsession with sensual pleasures. It could be the false idea that we don't need God.

It takes courage to get out of our comfort zone, pick up the cross and follow Jesus. Rahab is a great example to follow. She has courage and thus becomes a hero.

News travels fast and the king of Jericho soon hears that there are two spies in his land. He hears that they are staying with Rahab so he sends her a message to hand over the men. She hides the men on her roof and lies to the king to protect the spies.

This is one of those times when lying is not a sin. Rahab is a traitor in the eyes of her own people, but she is a hero in the eyes of God. She lies to her pagan king but she protects the men of God and their sacred mission. Therefore, she is blessed for her courage. God grants mercy to those who respect God's will and take care of His people. 

Rahab is no fool. She tells the spies: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us..." (Joshua 2:9) Rahab is quick to pledge allegiance to the true God now that she knows who He is. Rahab sees the truth and turns from the pagan god to follow the truth. By doing so, Rahab saves herself, her family and is even part of the Messiah's family tree.

God has a plan for each one of us but we must pledge allegiance to the true God. In His plan we may have to suffer. In His plan we will be challenged. But God promises that He will remain by our side. We just need to be courageous. 

Lenten Journey: Stay inside the Ship

"'I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.' And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'" Genesis 9:11-13

My favorite part of Noah's story is the rainbow. I absolutely love rainbows. Seeing a rainbow in the sky always brings me joy and peace. It's a sign that everything is going to be fine. After every rainfall, a rainbow is nature's most splendid sign that the storm has ended. It is the same with life. A few years ago, I was going through a very difficult time in my life. I went to Siesta Key with my family, and I remember sitting at the beach and praying: "God, when are things going to get better?" I looked toward the horizon and there, among the clouds, was a perfect rainbow. It was God's way of letting me know that the storm was coming to an end.

Many times, when we are going through a difficult time, we may feel the temptation to jump off the ship. But to jump ship means that we have stopped trusting God and life without Him will lead us to certain death. Noah stayed inside the ark even when I'm sure he was very tempted to jump out. We must remain inside the ship even when we think God has forgotten us or abandoned us. Soon we will see the rainbow and we will know that the storm is about to end.

The flood lasted forty days and forty nights. This was a time of cleansing, to wash away all the sins from the earth and destroy all the evil. The forty days of Lent are also a time of cleansing, of reflection and of asking forgiveness for all our sins. It's a time of penance, a time to cleanse ourselves from attachments to those things that take our focus away from God so that ultimately on Easter Sunday we may rise with Christ anew, recommitted to a close relationship with Him who created us in His image.

Noah, through his faithfulness to the Father, became the instrument through which God saved not just Noah but his family as well. In following God's command to bring the animals on the ark so they could multiply once again upon the earth, Noah also became the instrument through which creation itself was renewed. Noah became the symbol of a new beginning.

God is asking each one of us to become His instrument. During this Lent, He is asking to allow Him to renew us. But in order to do this, we have to cleanse ourselves from all those worldly things that are in the way of our relationship with God. There are a lot of obstacles that are keeping us from a full relationship with the Lord. God wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us. God destroyed all life on earth during the flood because of the wickedness and evil ways of humanity. He wants to deliver us from sin. It is the only way that we can have a full relationship with God.

And He is asking us to stay inside the ship and to trust Him, especially if we are in the midst of a storm. Look towards the horizon and search for the rainbow. The storm will soon come to an end.

Lenten Journey: Be Obedient

"Noah did all that God commanded him." Genesis 6:22

We keep moving back in history towards the beginning of creation. And in this journey back in time, we encounter Noah.

The Story of Noah

Noah is a man of obedience, purity and simplicity. His biggest virtue is that he is obedient and he does what God tells him to do. Noah spent many years following God's instructions to build the ark. He filled it with all the animals as instructed by God. He then entered the ark with his wife, his three sons and their wives. Eight human beings and hundreds of animals. They must have been very busy, only eight persons tending to all these animals. And they were inside the ark for a full year. It must not have been easy.

I can imagine that the seven days waiting for the flood to come must have also been difficult. They were probably filled with tension. But Noah persevered in his faith. He trusted God and he waited. Just as we are required to do today.

We have to trust the Lord. We have to be obedient. We have to wait. For me, the waiting is the hardest part. I tend to get very impatient. When I pray to God for discernment or for a solution to a problem, I don't know how long is going to take for God to respond. I start to doubt, to question and to wonder whether He is paying attention. Eventually, I surrender to the Lord. I know that He is in control and things will happen in His time, not mine. I place my trust in the Lord and He teaches me to be patient.

When Noah enters the ark with his family and all the animals, he also had to place his trust in the Lord. God is the one who will steer them, protect them and guide them.

God is also steering us, protecting us and guiding us. All He is asking is that we trust Him and that we are obedient to His commands. As we wait, we will grow in the virtue of patience.

Lenten Journey: Surrender

"We can only learn to know ourselves and do what we can - namely, surrender our will and fulfill God's will in us." St. Teresa of Avila

After Rachel and Leah are both married to Jacob, a competition ensues between the two sisters to see who can give more sons to Jacob. "When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren." (Genesis 29:31) Because Leah is unloved, God takes pity on her and blesses her with sons, but He closes the womb of Rachel.

There is a popular Spanish saying, "la suerte de la fea la bonita la desea." It means that pretty women desire the good fortune of ugly women. This is what happens to Rachel. She is the pretty sister, the one loved by Jacob and yet, she can't conceive children. At this point, she would give anything for Leah's good fortune who has been able to conceive four sons for Jacob.

From Genesis 29:32 to Genesis 30:24, we have a long procession of sons and one daughter, birthed by the two competing sisters and their handmaids. It was very common of the times that if women couldn't bear children, they would resort to handmaidens to sleep with their husbands in order to increase their offspring. After Leah is blessed with four sons, Rachel is dying of envy because she was not able to give Jacob any children. The emotions run high. The competition is palpable. Not to be out done, Rachel asked Jacob to sleep with her handmaid Bilhah and Bilhah gave birth to two boys.

This only intensified the rivalry between the two sisters. Leah had stopped having children, probably because Jacob had stopped coming to her bed. When Leah saw that Rachel had given two sons to Jacob through her handmaid, she asked Jacob to sleep with her handmaid Zilpah and she too gave birth to two more sons. But this did not satisfy Leah. As if to rob more salt into Rachel's wounds, Leah herself brought Jacob into her bed and she gave birth to another two boys and one girl.

Finally, God takes pity on Rachel and she bears two sons for Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin. They are the two most loved sons by Jacob. Even though God blessed Leah, the unloved, and she bore more children than the other three women combined, she still could not win her husband's love. After the birth of her first three sons, each time Leah hopes that her husband will love her because of it. "Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction, surely now my husband will love me." (Genesis 29:32) But after the birth of each son, not a word was heard from Jacob. When God blessed her womb a fourth time, something happened inside Leah's heart. "When she gave birth to a son she said, 'This time I will praise the Lord'" (Genesis 29:35) She finally surrenders her will to God.

Leah's focus turned to the Lord and God was able to fulfill His will in her. Thousands of years later, the messiah would be born through Judah's lineage. It was Leah who gave birth to Judah. It was also Leah who gave birth to Levi, who would become the father of the line of priests. Leah was not blessed with physical beauty, but she was indeed blessed by God. Unloved my men, she was deeply loved by God.

A lot of us may have much in common with Leah. We may be focusing on trying to be beautiful like Rachel to gain love and acceptance from a spouse or significant other. Or we may feel unloved and unaccepted by a parent, a sibling, a son, a daughter or a friend. Leah learned to put her focus on God. Rachel dies shortly after giving birth to Benjamin and God eventually turned Jacob's heart to Leah. While Leah was waiting all those years for God to turn Jacob's heart to her, she never gave up hope. During all those years that she was unloved, God continued to bless Leah. During all those years that Leah was unloved by her husband, God never stopped loving her. 

If we are walking in Leah's shoes, there is great hope for us. But we have to give God time to answer our prayers. Leah waited, and God answered her prayer. Leah could have become bitter because she was unloved, but she did not, and God rewarded her patience. God will reward our patience if we keep our hearts and our life focused on Him and not on the world. But we have to learn to surrender our will to God so He can fulfill His will in us.

Lenten Journey: Forgive and Embrace

"If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother (or sister) has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother (or sister), and then come and offer your gift." Matthew 5:23-24

Today we are going to meet up with two sisters. These are not the famous sisters from Jesus' time. These sisters lived approximately 1900 years before Christ. We meet them in Genesis 29. Here's the link to their story: Genesis 29

Leah and Rachel were as physically different as night and day. Rachel was beautiful and lovely while Leah is simply described as having weak eyes (Gen 29:17). Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, falls head over heels in love with Rachel. He told Laban, the sisters' father, that he would serve him seven years in exchange for Rachel's hand. Laban agreed but at the end of the seven years, he played a trick on Jacob. At the end of the wedding ceremony, Jacob thought that he was spending the night with Rachel but Laban had cunningly substituted Leah in her place. When Jacob discovered the deception the following morning, he was furious. He did not love Leah, he was in love with Rachel. Laban made another deal with Jacob. At the end of the seven-day marriage ceremony, he could marry Rachel in exchange for seven more years of service.

It all sounds like a soap opera. After reading all this, I couldn't help but feel sorry for both Leah and Rachel. Leah was completely eclipsed by her younger sister. And her father placed her in a very difficult position. Now not only was she unattractive, now she was also unloved. Her husband Jacob only had eyes for Rachel. And Rachel had to stand back and watch her sister marry the man she loved. And even though she could eventually marry him, now she had to share her husband with her sister. Both sisters had to compete against each other for their husband's attention.

How many times have we felt like Leah, unloved and unattractive? How many times have we felt like Rachel, cheated by those we love? Leah married a man who didn't love her and Rachel had to accept her father's decision because during this period in time, women were treated as property. The wishes of a daughter were not taken into consideration when a marriage was arranged. Since both Leah and Rachel were under Laban's authority, they had to obey him. And the selfish father didn't love either one of his daughters, he only loved himself. He used both his daughters to keep Jacob at his service. Both sisters were manipulated by their father. And to make matters worst, by marrying both sisters to the same man, the father turned both sisters against each other.

I always wanted to have a sister. I remember as a little girl that I would dream of coming home from school and finding that the stork had left me a baby sister. All of my friends were paired up with sisters (Tere & Dulce, Ani & Lily, M. Jose & Inmaculada, Ana Mari & M. Luisa...). So when I was about 8 years old, I created two imaginary sisters. I never told anyone my secret, but in my mind, I had two younger sisters, Ana & Luisa. They were the perfect sisters because we never fought.

I guess because I don't have a sister, it's very difficult for me to comprehend when sisters don't get along. I don't understand the jealousy, competition and rivalry that is present in many sisters. But this is exactly what happened to Rachel and Leah. There is bitterness, envy and antagonism between the two sisters. They are in a bitter struggle to out-do each other and win the love of their husband. Tomorrow we will see the results of all this competition between the two sisters and how God intervenes.

But for today, my prayer is for sisters (and brothers) to get along. If you have a sister (or brother) and there is an unresolved issue, forgive and embrace. Call your sister (or brother) this weekend and breach the gap that is keeping you apart. Even though I don't have a sister, I have been blessed with many good friends that I consider sisters in Christ. I will make it a point to spend time with some of them this weekend.

During this journey I'm going to recommend some books that I believe will be good reading material for those that have the time to go a little deeper. Here's my first recommendation:
"Resentment to Forgiveness: A Gateway to Happiness" by Francisco Ugarte

Lenten Journey: The Lord Wins the Victory

"If now I have found favor with thee, then show me a sign that it is thou who speakest with me." Judges 6:17

It takes a while for Gideon to fully trust the Lord. He questions, he doubts, he wants proof. He wants to be certain that it is really the Lord's voice calling out to him. There is nothing wrong with asking God for a sign. Otherwise, how can we be certain that the voice we are hearing in our hearts is truly coming from the Lord? I actually went to talk to a priest about this a couple of weeks ago. I was very worried about my blog. I felt a big responsibility that what I was writing was truly inspired by the Holy Spirit. I wanted to be certain that I was not on the wrong path. He told me that the key to knowing whether the words were inspired by the Holy Spirit was humility. He told me to remain humble. If I allowed pride to invade my thoughts, then those thoughts were not coming from the Holy Spirit. But if I wrote with humility, then I didn't have anything to worry about. Humility comes from God. Pride comes from that other person which I will refer to in this blog as the enemy.

God has no qualms about giving Gideon a sign. The angel makes fire spring from a rock and then he vanishes from Gideon's sight. You would think this is enough proof but Gideon keeps asking the Lord for more proof. He puts the Lord to the test not once, not twice, but three times. It's fine to put the Lord to the test but we better be ready because God may repay us by putting us to the test. That is exactly what happened to Gideon. After the Lord proved to him without a doubt that it was indeed the Lord calling upon Gideon, the Lord tested Gideon's trust. Gideon had put together an army of 30,000 men to fight the Midianites. But the Lord doesn't want the Israelites to have a sense of pride that they were the ones that defeated the Midianites. He wants the Israelites to remain humble and give God the credit. He wants it to be clear that they know the victory came from God. So what does he do? He makes Gideon reduce his army to just 300 men. Now, that is a true test of trust. But Gideon trusted, and because of his trust, the Lord was able to accomplish great things through Gideon.

Are we willing to place our trust fully in the Lord to the point that we will do whatever He asks of us? Do we trust that He will win the victory for us? No matter how small the army, the Lord will gain the victory. No matter how small we feel, the Lord will win the victory. All we need to do is remain humble and let God lead the way. Place your trust in God and He will be able to accomplish great things through you. 

Lenten Journey: Trust the Lord

"I will be with you." Judges 6:16

After Gideon complains to the angel, the Lord tells him that He will deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. But there is a catch. God is asking Gideon to be the deliverer: "Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian." (Judges 6:14) Gideon is not thrilled with this turn of events. Gideon was asking God for deliverance but the last thing that he expected was that God would pick him to be the deliverer. Gideon doesn't like this answer. He doesn't like the call of the Lord. He doesn't want to be called.

This sounds so familiar. Just like Gideon, I also didn't want to be called. I kept hearing the Lord's voice asking me to spread His message and I kept tuning Him off. I didn't want to be inconvenienced. And just like Gideon, I also felt unworthy. Gideon doesn't consider himself a man of valor. He doesn't see himself as a warrior. He is from the weakest tribe and he is the least in his family (Judges 6:15). Gideon is the lowest man on Israel's totem pole.

During this Lent, the Lord is going to call you. How are you going to answer Him? Are you going to ignore His call? Are you going to think that you are unworthy to do what He is asking of you? I also felt that there were many persons much more qualified than me to spread God's word. But the truth is that most of the time, the Lord doesn't call the qualified. Instead, He qualifies the called. In Gideon's case, when the Lord calls Gideon "you mighty man of valor" (Judges 6:12), the Lord could see the future and He knew what could be accomplished through Gideon. The only thing that He asked of Gideon was his trust and in return He promised, "I will be with you." (Judges 6:16)

The Lord can also see our potential. He knows what the future holds and all He is asking of us at this time is that we trust Him. Even if you are going through a very difficult time right now, don't turn your back on God, trust Him. There is something better in your future and He has a plan for you. He knows your potential. He knows what you are capable of. Just trust Him. And I promise you that He will be with you during the journey.

Lenten Journey: The Lord is with You

"The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor." Judges 6:12

I met Gideon last week and I felt in love on the first sentence. The story of Gideon takes place approximately 1100 years before Christ. The Israelites are under the oppression of the Midianites, a nomadic tribe who is constantly attacking Israel. Gideon is an Israelite and when we meet him, he is at a wine press, below ground, hiding from the Midianites. An angel of the Lord appears to him and greets him in a very strange way: "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor." (Judges 6:12) The greeting is strange because first of all, the young man is under oppression and fighting for survival, so the Lord doesn't seem to be with him. And second, Gideon is hiding so he doesn't seem to be a very courageous man.

Gideon's response to the angel is a complaint: "Pray, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this befallen us? And where are all his wonderful deeds which our fathers recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian."  (Judges 6:13) 

Oh, how I can relate to Gideon. I complain to the Lord all the time. I want things my way and I don't trust that the Lord's way is better. I want God to answer my prayers NOW and I get impatient when He makes me wait. And that is why I felt in love with Gideon, because he complained to the Lord. He was not embarrassed to tell the angel exactly how he felt. Many times we feel exactly the same way. We feel that God has cast us off. He has turned His back on us. Bad things keep happening. Our health or the health of a loved one is frail, we have lost a family member, someone that we considered a good friend has betrayed us, we are having some financial difficulties or we are having some serious issues with our kids. Where is God in all this? Why has He abandoned me?

Gideon felt the same way but in reality, it was not God the one that had turned His back on Israel but Israel the one that had abandoned God. "The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord." (Judges 6:1). It is the same today in 2015 as it was 3,000 years ago. When things are going well, we feel that we don't need God and we turn our backs on Him. We forget to praise Him, we forget to visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament and sometimes we don't even have time to go to mass. But when things get rough, then we remember God and we accuse Him of abandoning us.

But God is merciful and He hears our cry for help. "The Lord is with you," even if you can't see him or feel him. He has a plan for you. Just be patient. As you begin this Lenten journey, be open to what the Lord has in store for you.

If you want to read the full story of Gideon, you can find it in Judges chapters 6 to 8. Here's the link:

The Story of Gideon

One Mile equals One Rosary

As we are about to begin Lent, we are probably thinking about what we are going to give up or what we are going to pick up. Lent is usually associated with sacrifice. No meat on Fridays and giving up those chocolates or that ice cream that we crave daily. But as I've gotten older and hopefully wiser, in addition to sacrificing something, I also like to pick up a good habit during Lent. Sometimes the habit sticks around for life.

I picked up one such habit a few years ago and I dragged my hubby into it. It stuck and we are still doing it to this day. We like to walk in the morning. We are blessed to live in a beautiful neighborhood so we don't even need to drive to go for a walk.  It only requires us to wake up before sunrise which for me is the most difficult part. But my husband is a morning person so he pushes me out of bed at 5:30 am. I'm a turtle in the morning so it takes me a good 45 minutes to get ready. But by 6:15 we are usually out the door.  We walk the first two miles with our dog and mostly in silence. Then we drop off the dog and we walk two more miles at a faster pace. By this time I'm fully awake and I become a chatter box.

A few years ago, at the beginning of Lent, I told my hubby that I was going to pray the rosary during Lent while we walked. I gave him the option of either joining me or I would just pray it quietly during our third mile. He told me to say it out loud, that he would pray with me.  We noticed that the rosary would take us exactly one mile. But little by little we began to add prayers to the mysteries. There were so many people out there requesting prayers that we would offer up one mystery for the sick, another one for the souls that had passed away, another one for the young, another one for the old, another one for our kids, and so on. Lent finished and we continued praying the rosary. Now the rosary plus all the prayers that get interwoven between the mysteries, take up our last two miles. And I think that my hubby actually enjoys it more than all my pointless chattering.

As you decide what to do for Lent, I encourage you not just to subtract the candies or the sodas, but also to add something of value to your day. If you like to exercise, consider adding prayer to the routine. If you spend a lot of time in the car, that's also a wonderful place to pray or change the radio station to religious music. Switch a romance or a mystery novel for some inspirational book or the Bible. There is so much we can do and it only requires one small change to our daily routine. And who knows, it may become a lifetime habit.

The first character we are going to meet during our Lenten journey is Gideon. If you want to read his story before we start, you can find him in the Book of Judges, chapters 6 to 8. Here's the link to chapter 6:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/judges/6

Lenten Journey Invitation

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."
                                                                                                           Mark 8:34

In less than a week, we will begin the 40 days of Lent.  I have been meditating about what I should do for Lent, other than the usual alms giving and sacrifice.  I have been praying about it and what I keep hearing in my heart is to meditate on different characters of the Bible.

I have come up with a list of about 40 Bible characters that could be part of our Lenten journey.  However, I can't promise that I will be able to post a daily meditation.  My regular profession is accounting and I'm in the middle of tax season, so I'm extremely busy.  But I will try to post as often as I'm able to.  Therefore, at this point, I don't know which characters will make the cut.  I will leave that in the hands of the Holy Spirit.

Some of the characters in my list are very well known (John the Baptist, Thomas the Apostle, Mary Magdalene...) but there are others that are not as popular.  The first character that will join our journey falls in this category.  His name is Gideon and I met him this week. I hope that you will enjoy reading and learning about him as much as I have.

Please feel free to invite your friends and family to join us in this journey.  You may share it on your Facebook pages or forward the emails you receive (if you sign up to receive the meditations by email).  I certainly don't want to carry this cross alone so I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you.

Your sister in Christ,
Christy Romero  

Poverty of Spirit

“If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21

I left Cuba when I was seven years old. I was too young to understand the magnitude of what was happening. My grandmother did a great job to prepare me for "the big adventure." I wasn't even sad to leave the few toys I owned behind because my grandmother had promised me that in Spain I would have many more toys. It was not the same for my parents. For them it was not an adventure. Imagine that everything that you own, your house, your car, your furniture, your jewelry, your clothing, your paintings... everything is taken away from you in the blink of an eye. How would you feel?

I totally understand now how my parents must have felt. After working so hard for years to pay off my house, if someone came knocking on my door to tell me that my house doesn't belong to me anymore, that it belongs to the government, I would be devastated. I would feel humiliated and cheated. But just like my parents and most immigrants had to leave all their possessions behind when they moved to a new country, it will be the same for all of us when we depart from this place we call home. We came into this world with nothing and we will leave with nothing.

God has been drilling this message into my heart in the past few weeks. I went to mass last Thursday morning and Father Bijou Vells, one of the priests at St Louis, said that "if we think of everything we possess as a loan, we would not have any trouble letting go of it." He said that "we need to live with a spirit of poverty," to the point that if we have to give away everything that we own, we will be fine because we know that our treasures are not here on earth, our treasures are waiting for us in heaven. Owning things is not a bad thing in itself. The problem is when we become so attached to our possessions that we can't imagine life without them. But if we use everything we own to glorify God, knowing that all our blessings come from Him, then we can fully enjoy what we have.

Father Bijou also told us that when we take an item to a priest for a blessing, that item is set aside for a holy purpose. If we ask a priest to come bless our homes, we must set aside our homes for a holy purpose. We must use our homes to worship the Lord from the moment we wake up until we close our eyes at night. And when we go to mass and we are blessed by the priest, we are set aside for a holy purpose. We have an obligation to go out into the world and spread the blessing we have received to others.

Our whole purpose on this earth should be to serve and glorify God with a spirit of poverty and humility. Everything we own should be used to serve and glorify God. And all our talents should be placed at God's service.

As we prepare to begin the Lenten journey in just one week, let us meditate on how attached we are to the things we own. Can we leave everything behind and follow Jesus if He asks us? Or like the rich young man, will we have a hard time detaching ourselves from our possessions?

Our Strength is in the Lord

"Love the Lord your God, and serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul."
                                                                                                                    Deuteronomy 11:13

When I was ten years old, I was living in Spain and there was a very popular doll named Nancy. She was the 1970s version of today's American Girl dolls. She came with different sets of clothing, shoes and furniture. I wanted that doll more than anything in the world. I must have been a good girl that year because the Three Kings left Nancy under the Christmas tree. Once I got her, I idolized her. I would take her with me everywhere. In my mind, she was real. When I moved to Miami two years later, I brought her with me. But Nancy was not popular in Miami. All the girls my age were into Barbie. It didn't take long for Nancy to lose its appeal. My new idols were Barbie and Ken.

It's very normal for children to fall in love with their new toys to the point that they idolize them. Unfortunately, many times as adults, we regress to our childish ways. We idolize our possessions. We idolize money. We idolize power. We idolize pleasure. We idolize sex. We idolize sports. We idolize our bodies. We create our own personal gods with the things of the world. We falsely believe that all these things are going to bring us happiness.

When things are going well in our life, when our bank accounts are full, when we are enjoying good health and we feel in top of the world, we have the tendency to turn our backs on God. Humans have an inclination to seek God only during difficult times. We don't need Him during prosperous times. Instead of using our blessings to give greater glory to God, we become complacent and we forget who is the source of all our happiness. The things of the world are like a magnet that attracts us, but the more we become attached to them, the more we distance ourselves from God.

When suffering comes knocking at our door, then we quickly remember God. It is during our most difficult times that we become humble and we realize that we cannot do this alone. It is when we are at the bottom of the pit, when our only option is to look up, that we cry out to God. Suffering turns into the best medicine for our spiritual dryness. It is through suffering that our spirits are healed. Suffering leads us to God. Once again we become faithful to God.

We have to remain faithful to God because our strength is in the Lord. Just like during childhood our old toys lost its appeal when replaced by a new toy, as adults the things that we idolize are only temporary. They don't bring us true happiness. True freedom and abundance can only be found in God.