Sunday, April 28, 2013

Taste of new book in May 2013 - A Healing Rosary


Here’s a look at the Introduction and a sample mystery in my new e-book, A Healing Rosary, which will be available on Amazon in May 2013. 
Introduction
Our Lord desires for each one of us to know Him intimately in His Triune form.  He wants to bring us to the joy and peace of wholeness in Himself, His Holy Spirit and Our loving Father.  Our Lord wishes to pour into our hearts true love for Him, trust in Our Father’s will for us, and the wisdom and fire of His Holy Spirit so we can walk more confidently in faith with Him.   
One simple way to begin allowing the Lord more fully into our hearts, minds, and spirits is to pray the Rosary.  As we meditate on each mystery, we become more fully aware of how Our Lord lived His life and sought to please His Father in all that He did.  What a marvelous example of faith and trust.    
Through the Rosary Our Lord becomes more real to us, more human.  As we meditate on both His humanity and divinity we grow in our understanding of how He wishes to lead us through His Holy Spirit to a deep and childlike relationship with His Father, Our Father. 
The Rosary also gives us a wonderful example of trust and faith in Our Lady.  It is inspiring and helpful to meditate on how she allowed Our Lord to fully manifest Himself in her life.  She humbly embraced all that God asked of her and through her example we can learn how to trust and walk a more complete faith walk.
Sample Mystery: 
The Wedding at Cana
On the third day there was a weddingin Canain Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.  When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”  And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?  My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,each holding twenty to thirty gallons.  Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.”  So they filled them to the brim.  Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it.  And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”  Jesus did this as the beginning of his signsin Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him. (John 2:1-11 NAB) 
Pray the Our Father.
There is no virtue traditionally associated with this mystery, but might I suggest trust in God? 
The Psalmist wrote, “I trust in the Lord, my soul trusts in his word.” (Psalm 130:5)  Trusting the Lord is having complete confidence in Him, in His word, in His promises.  It is relying and depending on God’s love, mercy and grace to provide for all of our needs.  “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:7) 
Reflection: 
Trusting the Lord with all our plans, our hopes, and our dreams can be difficult.  We can believe in our minds that He cares for us and desires for us to know Him, love Him and serve Him so we can spend eternity with Him in heaven.  But believing with our heart and soul, completely, with utter conviction, that’s the hard part.  We know that He has promised us eternal life if we love Him above all and love our neighbor as ourselves.  “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself…do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:27-28)
Trusting is just not easy.  It means letting go of our best laid plans, control over how our life is going to be, and letting God choose what will happen and when, believing that He always has our highest and best interest at heart.  “In God I trust without fear.” (Psalm 56:5) 
Sometimes it feels like we are falling, falling, falling and we are afraid no one will be there to catch us.  But the truth is, God is there and will catch us.  He will not only catch us but also hold us close to His heart and protect us, even from ourselves.  “Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you”(1 Peter 5:7) and, “trust in the kindness of God forever and ever.” (Psalm 52:10)
Remember, trust is a gift and a grace.  It grows with use.  So put it to good use for there is no one we can trust in more than God.  “Guard this rich trust with the help of the holy Spirit that dwells within us.” (2 Timothy 1:14) 
Visualization:
Imagine yourself standing in your living room and it fills with blinding light.  Suddenly before you is Jesus of Mercy.  His hands are extended towards you and He says, “Steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.”(Psalm 32:10)  You want to trust Him with everything, but so many in your life have let you down.  You decide to take a leap of faith and say, “Jesus, I trust in You.”  As you say this you begin to share with Him your hopes, your dreams, your plans.  Jesus listens carefully to all you have to say and says,May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.” (Jude 1:2)  He blesses you and you feel His peace permeating you, filling you to overflowing.  You can feel a new sense of trust as the rays of His mercy and love penetrate your whole being.  You look at Him and say, “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you.” (Psalm 118:28)  “Thank you, Jesus, I do trust in You.”
“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7) 
Pray the Hail Mary 10 times, the Glory Be, then the Decade Prayer.

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