True Value!

So valuable to heaven is the dignity of the human soul

that every member of the human race has a guardian

angel from the moment the person begins to be.

~Saint Jerome~

The question I ask myself today is what value do I place on my life.  Do I even understand that I have worth?  Do I ever consider that I am a treasure and that the way I live my life either corrodes  or polishes this treasure?

Consider that silver teapot you were given by your grandmother.  It is beautiful.  But the trouble is it requires diligence to take care of it.  If it sits too long in the air without use it tarnishes.  So, you have to get the silver polish and clean it until it sparkles.  You are the one given the responsibility to oversee and protect it since your grandmother  loved you.

You see I am a treasure.  I am that teapot.  When I neglect to follow the ways of God, I become tarnished.  I forget that I have value and worth.  In order to repair any damage or to remove the tarnish that I have acquired through the neglect of my soul I must take out that "polish" and restore the shine I once had.

How do I do that?  I know what it is that causes the problem.  I avoid it.  If because of circumstance beyond my control I cannot avoid it, I must apply a thick coat of prayer that will be a buffer.  Then in order to repair what has been broken I ask for forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  

I see that my guardian angel is at all times my "buffer."  She often, without my realizing it, diminishes the tarnish by guiding me past difficulty.  I truly believe this and as I reflect on who I am and where I have been I see that this gift from God for my journey here on earth is part of my treasury.  I know that I am responsible for who I am and who I am becoming, but it is good to know that I have partner that will help me reduce the tarnish and renew the luster of this life I have been given.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Cleaning Out Small Spaces...

Is it as hard for you as it is for me to part with things?  I love a good mystery.  Any book really but mysteries in particular.  I love Agatha Christi, Mary Higgins Clark, and Anne Perry.  I am especially fond of Diane Mott Davidson who writes delicious mysteries set in my native Colorado.  She takes me home as I sit in my chair here in Indiana.

Giving up or parting with things I find dear is challenging.  The excuse I'll read it again is just that, an excuse.  Indeed, I've had all these books for years and I've not returned to any of them.  I simply buy the next.  So why save them.?

I read the verse offered by Saint Francis de Sales and find myself asking,  "How do I bring forth good fruit when I do not share what I have to offer?"  So if I hoard these books and no one has the opportunity to avail themselves of them then what good are they?  So I intend to take them to the library.

The same could be true of my soul.  If I simply do nothing, if I hoard my talent, time, or treasure what good are they to me.  If I never intend to use them they become worthless and a terrible waste.   So clean out the small spaces I will.  I will share what I have with others as Providence guides.  I will not hoard those things he has provided but share them so that I can "bring forth good works seasonalby and with discretion."

~~~^j^~~~

Wishing all a grand weekend 

and

Thanks be to God!