The first word— Do not come ready for a fight; come ready to surrender.

We often come to God ready for a fight rather than to surrender to His Divine Will. We are challenged to turn the table…enter into state of conversion…and “follow Him” who invites us into love.
We are reminded in our surrender that; we are blessed in the gifts of life and love given to us. Accepting these gifts is to surrender to the who I am and let go of the who the world tells me I am.
We are reminded of the blessings we are to God and to others. We are told by so many saints in history that God has no other hands, feet, mouth or presence than our hands, feet, words and presence in this world. Jesus sends his disciples (us) out to be a blessing. If I can recognize my surrender, my conversion and my blessing then I am able to freely share…my life with God and others.
We are reminded that we are beloved children of God. A beloved son or a beloved daughter born in baptism and called to the obedience of love. We are loved. Just because we are, we are loved by Our Father. I need not be other than who I am and to be in Him…with Him in doing His will.
We come to surrender—
in the sunrise and the sunset we become the blessed in these ever changing mosaics of love for us…for me
it is in the still water reflecting the light and in the rain drops that become the prism of the splendor of the rainbow of promise
in the deep dark pool of water drawing us to look into a mystery, into a greater
We come to surrender

The second word—It is about Invitation to see beyond ourselves

The invitation to confession and repentance (metanoia)
“Gaze upon the mirror each day, O Queen and Spouse of Jesus Christ, and continually study your face within.” St. Clare of Assisi

They say that in the recent study of the Tilma of Guadalupe in the eyes of Our Lady is the image of St. Juan Diego along with two other figures. I can imagine how Juan Diego gazing at the Blessed Virgin was lost in the eyes of love. The mirror of love our eyes become. “Gaze upon the mirror…continually study your face within” We know this feeling as the saying goes on earth of how we are lost in the eyes of our lover. How those in love gaze and see the very best of who they are in the eyes of their beloved. Lost and found at the say time…it is an invitation to see beyond ourselves.
When we are able to gaze into the eyes of Jesus, Jesus on the Cross and enter into the eyes of love and forgiveness, we can begin to see beyond our selves as our reflection is that of the purity of love…seeing ourselves as God sees us.
The conversion, metanoia, is to begin to be able to see the reflection of the beauty of Christ in each person, where in our eyes they become worthy and loved in the real image of Jesus Christ. It is about invitation and seeing beyond ourselves.
It is not a command….it is an invitation to follow Him….to see with the eyes of life
Do I see the flowers that radiate the colors and movement of joy?
Do I see the tree that becomes the home of a bird, a squirrel, an insect…of life?
Do I see the sky, still and full, quiet and unmoving?
Do I see the dirt full of potential, of life, of death?
Do I allow myself to be seen?
Do I see God?

“Words are powerful; never think they’re not. The gap between any word and what it describes is slider beyond measure—or it should be….Lies attack our perception of the world.” (p. 103-104)

God is so good. When we read the quote above we can remember the Word of God is in our hearts and should be on our tongue. Each word we speak should be one of bringing ourselves in closer union with God and with each other. The power of each word is the power to heal and bring peace. This is a truth even in the correction of neighbor or the calling out the hurt of society.
The Word of God is a Word of Love and as we hear in the Letter to the Hebrews it is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12) Truth is both liberating and painful. It is both joyous and troubling of heart when we stand against the lies of the world.
“Read will go on to say that the false “isms” of the world often look very similar to God’s call to follow him,, but they lie and bend and twist and distort little by little the true path and entrap the follower not in Love but in isolation and fear.
It is the 1% rule on the journey of life…if we begin our journey towards truth and life (God) and we take the 1% deviation, then by the end of the journey we may not be feet from our destination but hundreds of miles…but this is the gift of the “two-edged sword” of love and mercy…the correction of forgiveness, conversion, and truth turns us back to the true destination of our life. God.
In this we must be firm in our faith and in living and speaking our faith. as our Lord Jesus reminds us, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Prov 18:21)

quotes from “Annunciation: A Call to Faith in a Broken World”, by Sally Read