Made of Clay! :)

We're all so fascinated by clay! It can be molded to form whatever shape you want! You can spell with it, you can make bowls out of it! You can paint it! You can mush it about in your hands, you can knead it, you can roll it, you can flatten it!! It's so pliable, and it seems as though the simple act of holding it in your hand opens up so many possibilities for what you can make!!!

What a fitting analogy this is for our relationship to God! We are the clay, we are molded and shaped so as to be vessels fit to carry Christ into the world! Yet, we were given free will, such that we can choose the shape of our vessel - God did not fire us in a kiln into the hardened vessels that He needs. We are all wet clay, in various forms. Some are vases, some are bowls, some are cups. But we all have a wet, moldable shape that He gives us the power to change with our free will!!

God's Will is done regardless, and He will use wet bowls if necessary, but the water might get muddied and dirty from the wet clay. We may often think we are strong on our own because we can hold water, but we do not know the potential for strength we truly possess in ourselves until we are fired in the kiln!! If we put ourselves into the kiln, though, the sanctifying fire of His love will keep us strong and sturdy, and we are enable to be TRUE vessels of His life-giving water!! We will discover who we REALLY are in Him, and even when we regress back into moldable clay, we will understand that we were made and formed for greatness in Him.

And we were given some of this creative power, too!!! The children that grow up in families, those who are learning, those who are curious and always seeking God - we help one another to find the correct shape that best enables us to do God's Will! We understand that we are not vases because our friends teach us about bowls, and we know that we are pitchers because our family members are cups. Our communities help us to define who we are by being who they are - what a beautiful design of Our Father in Heaven!! :)

Every day, we are called to serve the Lord, Our God, and every day, we are given the clay of our time, our energy, and our CHOICE to do with as we please. Let us pray that this day and every day, we choose to create something beautiful for God, a veritable and functional work of art, so that He can fire it in the kiln of His love and use it to bring about His Kingdom!!

In the Love and Peace of Christ through Mary!,
Christina :)

The Phoenix and the Dove

Lately I have been contemplating a LOT on the Holy Spirit and how we are inspirited by both fire and peace at alternating times. There are times when we are angered by injustice, times when we feel complete peace when surrounded by nature, times when we are made uncomfortable by situations and are prompted to act. This is all the Holy Spirit, but taking different forms in our lives!

Think on the phoenix and the dove. Both are birds, both have supernatural associations. Phoenixes are associated with rebirth, wisdom, fire, passion, and faithfulness. Doves are associated with meekness, peace, love, gentleness, and softness. There are times when we are inspirited by both simultaneously, times when we are aware of one but not the other, and times when neither are felt, but are still there.

I would like to argue that fire is a purifying gift of the Holy Spirit. We live in a sinful world, full of injustices and ignorance. Our hearts were made for God, and the fire of our love for Him will burn away all impurities! This is why we can often feel a sense of peace after righting a wrong, doing a good deed, or going to Confession. There is peace in the calm after the storm, in the quiet contemplation after the fire. In the charred remains of our hearts and souls after the fires of our sufferings, we find that we are reduced to the basics in our hearts and souls, and God can truly work and live in us like He did in Mary!!

Lord, let us feel the fire of injustice, let it enter our hearts that burning desire to know you and serve you!!! In its wake, we ask for the peace of your Kingdom, that you might make in us a dwelling place as you did in Mary, Our Mother and Your Mother!

In Christ through Mary,
Christina :)