REVIEW -- #295 from Aug. 27, 2014

 #295   Wed. Aug. 27/14  10:15am, St. Theresa’s before the Blessed Sacrament

What a beautiful day on which to contemplate Me, Your Saviour.

Let not a second pass that is not directed to My Thanks and Praise.

Give all your time today to Me right now and tell Me that each second of this time is offered to Me in thanks and praise.

We know the surrender prayer, yet it does not bring in thanks and praise.

“O  Jesus, I surrender myself to You, take care of everything.”

It could even be said in a very joyless, resigned voice.  But said with thanks and praise it takes on a new joyful voice.

We should be so grateful that we are able to willingly surrender all our plans to Him to care for as He sees fit.

Do not do it as a penance.  No. NO.  But rather as a great relief that this day, this new holy day of Creation you are not responsible for!

Whew!   What a load off your mind and heart.

You see, the surrender prayer is not taking on stuff, but leaving all the stuff in God’s Hands.  

It makes you more aware that every minute of the day you are dependent on Him.  A rock of dependency.  

Whatever He brings into your life is right and good.

Now it is easy to be grateful when something good comes into your life.  

But I tell you it is ALL good if you have surrendered ALL of you to Me.  And that calls for a leap of thanks and praise. 

Why would you thank God for something in your life that does not appear good to our human senses/intelligence?

Yet if you have willingly given your day to the Lord, then ALL is good, and all deserves our thanks and praise because it is God we are thanking and praising for His Constant Presence in our life.

Guard yourself against false prophets that may try to deflect you from this joyful mission of surrendering yourself to Me each day and being thankful and gracious that I will, I can, I want to lead you through each day. 

Do not sacrifice My Worth for your plans.  

Stay open and focused on accepting My Will in your life minute by minute.

Remember it is very easy to accept the good moments as coming from Me.  

Now I ask you to ask Me for the Graces to accept even the not so good moments as coming from the Fullness of Me.

What appears bad to your human senses still has My Hand on it.  

It always has had My Hand on it BUT now you want Me to give you the Graces so that you can see My Hand on it. 

And then thank and praise Me for it.

Unless you have the Graces to see My Hand on the so called ‘bad times’ you will not be inclined to thank and praise Me for having been there and that My Hand was on it.

You need Special Graces from Me to grow in this Grace of thanks and praise in the bad times.  

So don’t hesitate to ask Me and I will let them flow over you.

“Lord give me the Special Graces so that I may ‘see’ You and thank and praise You in the ‘bad times.’

You are not just thanking and praising Me for being with you in the ‘bad times’, but that My Hand is all over this ‘bad time’.  

I am in charge of this ‘bad time’.  I have allowed this ‘bad time’.

We want to think that God does not bring about ‘bad times’, yet if we believe that He is the God of ALL time, ALL circumstances, then we have to acknowledge that He has either caused it or allowed it.  

AND still we will offer thanks and praise to Him for ALL.

It is difficult for us to get our head around, but I assure you I have the Graces for you to be able to accept this fact and be thankful for it.

Otherwise we are crying “where were you God?” --- which is a hopeless prayer.

We need to learn to cry out, even through our tears, “thank You for being there and having your Hand ALL over it Lord.”

In this prayer there is still hope, there is still a recognition in the supremacy of God over ALL, over ALL of Creation.

So do not hesitate to ask and ask and ask again for the Special Graces by which you will understand My Hand is over ALL and thus you will be brought to your knees in praise and thanksgiving.

Practice it in small circumstances.  You break a favorite dish --- “thank and praise You God.”  

Sounds almost foolish, eh?, but it is not.  Get to see My Presence in every instant of your life.

Do not let the first thing out of your mouth be “oh, how stupid of me to break the dish”.  Rather “praise and thank You God for Your Presence in my life.”

You know that we usually praise Him in good times.  Now, we are to learn to praise Him when it looks cracked and broken.  Make sense?

Stop chastising yourself and the circumstance and start praising and thanking Me.

Go now, take Me with you.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.  The one and only prayer you need know.