Day 14 Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I am your host, Patti Brunner. This is day 14 of our series “Daily Meditations for Lent” and this is Tuesday of the second week of Lent. We have gathered words from the Lord shared during various Lenten seasons and will share these personal revelations and meditations for you to discern and contemplate each day during Lent.
During the 2nd week of Lent the Lord gave me a Word of Knowledge that overcame a fear that was in my heart that related to my father who died when I was very young. The next morning, I chose to open my heart and all my memories, and I asked the Lord to come in and dispel all fear. The Lord responded by saying, “My child, the density of my Love for you will penetrate all your past mistakes as you give them to me, and they will be absorbed and transformed. Dearest child, continue to wear Christ. Continue to place your love for my people as a focus for your life. Taking Jesus into your eyes, you will see the poor and the needy. They are there with Him. Seek out those who need to gain the grace to accept my promises. Speak my Word to them and they will be Mine.”
I don’t know about you, but as we progress through the second week of Lent, I struggle with distractions. St. Theresa says that even distractions can be a blessing when we are aware that they are. I would rather not even go there, even if coming back is supposed to be good for me. I am consoled by the revelations of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. One Lent their revelations gave me understanding of the value of trials and rejection, the value of letting go, and of surrendering your gifts on the altar. I am amazed at how easy it has become. The memory of my initial struggle is fading. The anxiety over my lack of ability to give it up is gone. I have become almost eager to release and be released. The Lord responded to me, “My Child, the definition of time requires the passage of that time. Yet in eternity all time is now and forever.”
Novenas are prayed over a passage of time in multiples of 9. It can be nine months, such as the 9 First Fridays of the Sacred Heart, 9 days or even nine hours. One time on a Tuesday of the 2nd week of Lent the Lord gave me the inspiration to think of Him as the Divine Physician giving us a prescription, an Rx to take daily for 9 days. These devotions the Church gives us are to help us when we are in need of ‘extra’ help to be healthy spiritually, and perhaps other ways too. And the neat thing is that we can take the Rx to benefit others!
One Lent the Lord gave me a vision of a long waiting line of intercessors who took turns with Simon of Cyrene helping the Lord carry the cross. It gave me a new perspective of the role of intercessor. Carrying the cross was so intense in that vision and painful that it could only be done briefly, yet, by the Spirit, each quickly took the place of Simon of Cyrene for a moment and were doing so eagerly. As soon as their brief turn was over they immediately got to the back of the line to wait to do it again! Praise God!
One Lent Dc. Clarence Leis invited my husband and me to be part of a team that ministered daily Holy Communion at the hospital and so we asked the Lord his will before undertaking a new ministry. The Lord answered by saying, “My Child, the desert is filled with many people in need, both young and old. I have called you, from among men, to serve man. I call you to serve the young. I call you to heal the infirm. I call you to talk to your generation, so that they might open their hearts and minds to Me, to my Love, to my Mercy, to my desire for their happiness, for them to be with Me in this life and the next. Dearest child, you seek guidance and wisdom to the “route”. Do you not know that I am with you in all things? My child, go forth among the Nations, healing the sick, raising the dead and comforting the sorrowful. Stand up to evil, stand up to evil, stand up and be counted among the righteous; for know that I Am your God and there is none beside Me. Flavor your ministry toward the young – but you may also reach out to any that are in need. And who is in greater need than those who are infirm and are not within my arms?”
On the Feast of Peter’s Chair on a Tuesday of the 2rd week of Lent the Lord told me, “My Child, the decision of each man, woman, child to accept the Kingdom of God as Truth, as the Way, as Life centers on a surrender of self for the benefit of others—including for the benefit of pleasing God. When one steps out of ‘self’ – whether ‘self-preservation’ or ‘selfish pleasure’ or ‘selfish wealth’ or ‘self-centered fear’ – the Kingdom can be attained. Being ‘one’ with the Lord requires you to ‘die to self’. It is only by being one with the Father that you can actually be the completely unique creation that the Lord intended at your creation. For it is then that you stop bending according to the wind of the world’s desire and judgement and you stand tall in the Light of Christ. The everyday living and choosing measure your potential for kingdom fruit. As you ‘produce’ this fruit, others are fed and enriched as the Kingdom also enters their lives.”
I heard the Lord say, “My child, as the hesitations in life approach you on a more frequent basis, look beyond the moment to the root cause. Does the enemy take delight in your torment? “Submit yourself to the Lord, resist the devil and he must flee.” These words by my Servant James are wise. Do not get “bogged” down by the ploys designed to steal your joy. Time is mine. I give it freely to all on earth to measure the day. Fear it not. It can stand still at the prophet’s request.”
Listen to these words from the Lord, “My Child, although the need of your family is your primary vocation, I have asked you to set aside your own desires to minister to my children. As you teach what you have been taught, as you share your witness, as you call upon Me and accept the fullness of my Spirit, lives are changed. You may choose any of these presentations. All are within my will for You; I will provide the grace. Continue the path I have set before you. The coming days will reveal your “true calling” I have called you to “take care of my people.”
The Lord has more to tell us this Lent about his plans for us. This is Day 14. We invite you to subscribe or follow and come back tomorrow for our Daily Meditations for Lent – Lenten Logos with Patti Brunner. Remember: “The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life.”[i] “Prepare for it, ready your heart.” The transcript of this episode is available at PatriarchMinistries.com/284. Come back tomorrow for more. With the Holy Spirit there’s always more. Amen
[i] 3/13/01
[i] Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraph 1085
