Saturday, March 30, 2013
Ne-Yo sings Truth
Super long post, but stay with me...its worth it. Completely discrediting the music video for it's unnecessary sexual imagery. Ne-Yo speaks truth (little does he know, well....maybe) of who God the Father is in his song "Let me love you".
I hope that most of us are familiar with this song. If not, turn on the radio or find it on youtube.This song however tells the real story of so many hearts in our culture. Here you have a heart that has been wounded, is broken and can no longer identify with whom he or she really is.
"A heart of numbness gets brought to life." There are areas in each of our hearts that have died. We carry this dead weight around, the burden of sin, and have some point or another believed the lie that we were meant to carry it for all eternity. AS IF WE'RE MEANT FOR THAT?! NO! You were created to be alive and full of life. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly - John 10:10. Jesus willingly placed all of the world's past, present, and future burden of sin upon himself. He knew of me before I was born. He knew every sin I was going to commit. The many times I would betray Him and cowardly turn the other way. He knew of the moments I would fail to love myself, others, and Him. And he went through that Passion for that very reason, to free me from sin...so that I may have the freedom to love and be loved.
"I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion..." Jesus to Saint Faustina
The Father's Love was made possible to know and experience through His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ on the Cross. It was only through His death, that the dead inside of me was reached and it was through the Resurrection that it was brought back to life! Let him take you there, let Him lead you.
"For every heart that beats"
He came "for every heart that beats"...He is asking you everyday: "Will you let me love you?"
Happy Triduum and Happy Easter!
I hope that most of us are familiar with this song. If not, turn on the radio or find it on youtube.This song however tells the real story of so many hearts in our culture. Here you have a heart that has been wounded, is broken and can no longer identify with whom he or she really is.
Much as you blame yourself, you can't be blamed for the way that you feel
Had no example of a love that was even remotely real
How can you understand something that you never had?
Ooh, baby, if you let me, I can help you out with all of that
I can see the pain behind your eyes
It's been there for quite a while
I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile
I would like to show you what true love can really do
When I got to the University of Vermont, I was invited by FOCUS missionaries to come often to the Catholic Center. So I hung around and began to go to Mass again every Sunday, then soon after I was going daily. I hadn't attended regularly since I was a little girl. And at this point in my life, I seriously doubted God's existence. If he exists, how could he had let so much bad happen to me? Why the brokenness of my family? Why the poverty? Why the suffering? My first Mass back, broke me down into tears. I have never encountered a priest who celebrated Mass so reverently and so in love that it seemed too good to be true. Three months in, I finally when to confession after 8 years and in Mass I received the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace, for the first time...in a really long time.
Now..."I would like to show you what true love can really do". There was Adoration (don't know...here) following Mass, and Love itself made its appearance. My heart literally burst into a flame. It was a warm, uplifted pressure in my heart that gave me the consolation I needed to keep striving forward in my search for God. Little did I know, it was God the Father who was searching for my heart all along to bring me to Himself for that moment. To let His daughter know how much he loves her and that my heartache isn't meaningless.
So in Mass, every time the priest breaks the Sacred Host at the Consecration, it is the heart of Christ breaking for you. "Girl let me love you". That is the God literally singing to you!! He wants to run and embrace you! All of you and not just the good things that you have done. His love is zealous and He thirsts for you.
There are so many situations that occur in our life where we have been hurt whether intentionally or unintentionally. I came back to the Catholic Faith when I was a freshman in college. A little back story though, growing up I had a very absent father. He was alcoholic, angry (but praise God never physically abusive), and before I was 10, my parents had already separated three times. The third time was final. I always sat around and wished my life was like that of the other families around me who seemed so whole. When I got to college, everything changed.
My heart was like the heart of that girl in the first verse. Did I believe in love? No. Did I hope that I would ever find it? No, not really. I didn't not want my hopes to crash and burn....again. So I kept very low expectations about life, myself, and others around me. My heart was closed, calloused from life's misfortunes and yet, He whispered to me and brought me to Himself. He knew of the pains that I carried with me.
I can see the pain behind your eyes
It's been there for quite a while
I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile
I would like to show you what true love can really do
When I got to the University of Vermont, I was invited by FOCUS missionaries to come often to the Catholic Center. So I hung around and began to go to Mass again every Sunday, then soon after I was going daily. I hadn't attended regularly since I was a little girl. And at this point in my life, I seriously doubted God's existence. If he exists, how could he had let so much bad happen to me? Why the brokenness of my family? Why the poverty? Why the suffering? My first Mass back, broke me down into tears. I have never encountered a priest who celebrated Mass so reverently and so in love that it seemed too good to be true. Three months in, I finally when to confession after 8 years and in Mass I received the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace, for the first time...in a really long time.
Now..."I would like to show you what true love can really do". There was Adoration (don't know...here) following Mass, and Love itself made its appearance. My heart literally burst into a flame. It was a warm, uplifted pressure in my heart that gave me the consolation I needed to keep striving forward in my search for God. Little did I know, it was God the Father who was searching for my heart all along to bring me to Himself for that moment. To let His daughter know how much he loves her and that my heartache isn't meaningless.
So in Mass, every time the priest breaks the Sacred Host at the Consecration, it is the heart of Christ breaking for you. "Girl let me love you". That is the God literally singing to you!! He wants to run and embrace you! All of you and not just the good things that you have done. His love is zealous and He thirsts for you.
Girl let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself
Girl let me love you
I know your trouble
Don't be afraid, girl let me help
For any heart that does not know how to love itself, it becomes hard to open to the Father's love, let alone believe that it is there for you. He has loved you eternally, since before your birth. In the midst of joy and peace as well as, brokenness and despair. Sin is never a barrier for God. His love is infinite, and his mercy is like that of an endless ocean. His Love beckons you to open the door of your heart so that he can love you more and heal you. You begin to open your heart to Him, when you allow his grace to work in your life so that you may see the goodness of who you are amidst the beauty around you. It all leads you to Him, Beauty itself. He will unravel the rest of who you are to Him as your relationship grows.
But what if you can't open up that door? How? The Sacraments. Center you life regularly around the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist at Mass. The sacraments are a free gift from God given to us so that he can remain forever close to our hearts to transform them. "I will be with you always." That was His promise to us, and those promises are manifested in the Sacraments of the Church. The same life that poured out on the Cross, is same same life and spirit that literally pours out of the Sacraments unto your soul.
But what if you can't open up that door? How? The Sacraments. Center you life regularly around the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist at Mass. The sacraments are a free gift from God given to us so that he can remain forever close to our hearts to transform them. "I will be with you always." That was His promise to us, and those promises are manifested in the Sacraments of the Church. The same life that poured out on the Cross, is same same life and spirit that literally pours out of the Sacraments unto your soul.
Girl let me love you
And I will love you
Until you learn to love yourself
Girl let me love you
A heart of numbness, gets brought to life
I'll take you there
"A heart of numbness gets brought to life." There are areas in each of our hearts that have died. We carry this dead weight around, the burden of sin, and have some point or another believed the lie that we were meant to carry it for all eternity. AS IF WE'RE MEANT FOR THAT?! NO! You were created to be alive and full of life. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly - John 10:10. Jesus willingly placed all of the world's past, present, and future burden of sin upon himself. He knew of me before I was born. He knew every sin I was going to commit. The many times I would betray Him and cowardly turn the other way. He knew of the moments I would fail to love myself, others, and Him. And he went through that Passion for that very reason, to free me from sin...so that I may have the freedom to love and be loved.
"I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion..." Jesus to Saint Faustina
The Father's Love was made possible to know and experience through His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ on the Cross. It was only through His death, that the dead inside of me was reached and it was through the Resurrection that it was brought back to life! Let him take you there, let Him lead you.
"For every heart that beats"
He came "for every heart that beats"...He is asking you everyday: "Will you let me love you?"
Happy Triduum and Happy Easter!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
A Comenzar ("To Start")
"So we begin." At least that's how I feel most blogs ought to start in a cliche sort of way. But back to the introduction. My name is Paola Peña and I am Campus Missionary with FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Now, I know that pictures can speak a thousand words, so I have posted a video I made to show you all God's gift from the last few months to now.
For those unfamiliar with Latin, the name of this blog translates to "Father and Daughter." Since arriving to New London, CT early this January, my prayer seems to be centered around this theme. We most often hear that God is always at the door of our hearts, patiently waiting for us to let him in. But sometimes, that message gets lost up in my mind and takes awhile to travel down to my heart. Or perhaps, its just one of those days, "A dark night of the Soul" as St. John of the Cross would say. And so it becomes difficult to see through the fog that He really is there. My prayer in Adoration has been beautiful in these two weeks. God is always seeking for lost hearts and unceasingly pursues hearts waiting to be loved. Yet lately, I have never felt this more than knowing that he has been pursuing my heart like one who is my Father.
In the midst of all this your heart is saying: "I want to trust you completely, but I can't. I am so wounded what's the point?"
Your Father gently returns a reply and softly says: "You are my daughter. I want to be here for the little details in your life. I'm not just
here for the bigger things. Trust me with the everyday small things in
your life, and tomorrow it will grow into bigger things. Your efforts to love and listen, you're moments of impatience with others and with yourself, and even the moments you've forgotten Me, so I can remind you that I love you and am Always here.Your heart is
the same. Give me your heart little by little. Your wounds and pains,
one by one. Don't expect that you will give away you're whole heart now, and
that's all. Will you trust me first with the key to your heart? My daughter, I want to take care of you in the ways that your heart has always
desired to be loved. You deserve it because you are my daughter."
Well Dad, I'm here......
Until next time, Ciao and may our Father's Love be upon you
Blessings :D
For those unfamiliar with Latin, the name of this blog translates to "Father and Daughter." Since arriving to New London, CT early this January, my prayer seems to be centered around this theme. We most often hear that God is always at the door of our hearts, patiently waiting for us to let him in. But sometimes, that message gets lost up in my mind and takes awhile to travel down to my heart. Or perhaps, its just one of those days, "A dark night of the Soul" as St. John of the Cross would say. And so it becomes difficult to see through the fog that He really is there. My prayer in Adoration has been beautiful in these two weeks. God is always seeking for lost hearts and unceasingly pursues hearts waiting to be loved. Yet lately, I have never felt this more than knowing that he has been pursuing my heart like one who is my Father.
In the midst of all this your heart is saying: "I want to trust you completely, but I can't. I am so wounded what's the point?"
Your Father gently returns a reply and softly says: "You are my daughter. I want to be here for the little details in your life. I'm not just
here for the bigger things. Trust me with the everyday small things in
your life, and tomorrow it will grow into bigger things. Your efforts to love and listen, you're moments of impatience with others and with yourself, and even the moments you've forgotten Me, so I can remind you that I love you and am Always here.Your heart is
the same. Give me your heart little by little. Your wounds and pains,
one by one. Don't expect that you will give away you're whole heart now, and
that's all. Will you trust me first with the key to your heart? My daughter, I want to take care of you in the ways that your heart has always
desired to be loved. You deserve it because you are my daughter."Well Dad, I'm here......
Until next time, Ciao and may our Father's Love be upon you
Blessings :D
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