Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Love and Prayer, JPII

"Yes, God alone is our true and unfailing support, just as love and prayer are the only sure spiritual levers with which it is possible to lift up the world."- Pope John Paul II (1994)

I don't think we have any doubt that the world needs to be lifted up.  That is for certain.
But how are we supposed to do that?

With Prayer and Love.

John Paul II states it very clearly, with prayer and love.  John Paul II has seen what we are up against, he has experienced our world, he know what we face and he still says that it must be met with prayer and love.  Not worry, anger, arguments, hate, frustration, war, protests or ignorance.  But with prayer and love.

Instead of worrying, say a prayer.
Instead of arguing, show them your love. 
Instead of letting anger build up inside of you, pray for peace.

For it is with love and prayer that we can lift up the world.

If we want to enact some real change, which we must, we need to pray and love.  

So often I worry about problems in the world today.  Then I get angry about them.  Maybe I will argue about the topic with someone.  Soon I will get frustrated because I feel like I can't do anything to fix the problems anyway.  This is not the way to lift the world.  The world can be lifted through love and prayer.  And this is something that I can do.  I can treat others with love. I can share God's love with others, and I can pray.  Pope John Paul II is giving us a sure response to the world around us.

Last night while waiting for the new year to start the topic of new years resolutions came up.  I am not a big fan of new years resolutions because I often forget about them or they become irrelevant, but wouldn't it be great if I could remember this all year.  

That prayer and love are the secrets to lifting up the world.

To help myself (and others) remember this I am going to start a weekly series about people (saints, friends, family) who lift up the world with prayer and love.

Hope you will join me on a journey to lift up the world through prayer and love.  (If you would like to add to this series send me an email at seashore3612 at yahoo dot com.)

Joining in with Jen and the women of Soli Deo Gloria