PRESENT WEEK'S GLIMPSE OF GOD

GLIMPSE OF GOD FOR THE WEEK OCTOBER 4, 2026

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, and John and I  celebrate our 28^th wedding anniversary.  Today, John and I joyfully celebrate 28 years  of marriage, I say 28years of a wonderful life where it seems like an extended honeymoon because we are still learning, appreciating, growing, laughing, finding humor, and having fun.  I am still humbled when I can say my husband…it’s so cool.  It has been 28 years of God showering His many graces and gifts upon us. His graces of strength, wisdom, consolation and courage, as we were invited to carry our own crosses as well as to assist others who were also carrying heavy crosses. The gifts of friendships, strengthening of old and the gift of new ones. The blessing and gift of both the Sisters and the staff at Assisi House. And a special prayer of gratitude to God for His awesome, pawesome gift of  unconditional love exhibited through both Carmel and Cannoli. It is always a time of blessing, and as I reflect on our wedding anniversary and the feast of Saint Francis. I lift my mind and  heart in gratitude as I can’t imagine my life without the gift of my faith lived out by receiving the sacraments of the church, the love of John, the blessing our home, the gift or our selfless and likeminded family members and friends, and our unconditionally loving and crazy pets. 

I realize that the Sisters at Assisi House, my Husband John, and my likeminded friends and family, are gifts from God given to me so that I can live out my prayer to  become a peacemaker, and as I do, I am becoming more of  my best self, the person that God created me to be and have the potential to become. John is very instrumental of me becoming my best self, the person God created me to be. In and through his selflessness, he always raises me up and supports me so that I can stay standing and not be hindered by another to be or feel defeated. He is God’s instrument of love, peace, healing and humor to say the least. As we celebrate the gift of marriage, covenant and grace filled love. Having such great friends in the Sisters, is also a  mirror image of how we are all called and striving to become peacemakers, our best selves, the persons that God created us to be and have the potential to become.  We are called to walk in the spirit of St. Francis,  which means that we are all  walking together, hand in hand with God, and not running ahead. or making others stumble. We walk in the spirit of humility, peace and compassion of St Francis and our Mother Mary so that when we feel or think that we cannot continue, they are there to remind us that no matter how or what happens, our Yes to God , His love for us and His knowing of our heart, will see us through as Mary’s FIAT did.

I thought it appropriate that we reflect on the Prayer of Saint Francis. As a daily reflection I propose that we think about what is required to bring about true peace and what we allow to distract or deny us experiencing peace and allowing God to touch our life with His gift of harmony, lasting joy, and deeper love. As we pray the prayer of Saint Francis, I would invite you to think of and how we, you and I, allow distractions, anxieties, emotions, to interfere with what God wants to give us, what we pray for, or ask to have granted us. being so that you can truly be a builder of God’s Kingdom here on earth and God’s instrument of peace in your world.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

SUNDAY - Where there is Hatred, let me sow love,

We all want to be a more loving, compassionate, and caring person. BUT we all have been injured in some way or have injured another. As we live each day and strive to be peacemakers, our best self, the person that God created us to be and have the potential to become, there can be distractions that want to hate and keep us from being a more loving person.

What is the distraction that keeps you from being more loving? Other’s opinion of your experience and how you should respond to it? The unpopular view on loving your enemy but getting even instead. The color of one’s skin, their religious views, their educational or social status, jealousy? The devil only wins when we allow these views to dominate our attention so that we can form a greater and more deeper hatred and then justify it. When we truly strive to be our best self as God knows we want to be, the distraction comes more like a thorn in the side that only when we seek His grace, can it be removed.

MONDAY - Where there is Injury……pardon,

When we pray to be merciful and truly desire to be, yet we are distracted by our hurt or the pain that it caused, our humanity dwells on the hurt and we get lost in it. We are not intentionally turning away from God or love, but rather, we get stuck in the hurt and are distracted from the course of pardon,reconciliation, and mercy that we originally started on.

What are the distractions that keep us from following through with pardoning another or seeking pardon after an injury? Is it a momentary sense of pride, big ego or sense of discouragement or despair? What is your injury and how do you see it being healed? Who has caused you injury or who have you injured and what does pardon look like? A phone call, a personal visit, a letter? When we pardon another or seek pardon from another, we can only then begin to recognize what God is trying to show us in them and in our self:

P – The present or gift they are to us and we are to others, A – The admiration that we have for them and they have for us, R- How we are called to Reverence them and our self as God’s beloved child, D – How we strive to become more determined and resolute in our desire to be Christ like, and how we can better recognize that same quality in others and through our distractions, gain a greater strength to overcome the temptation to give in or give up. O- How we are called to have an open mind and heart so that we can recognize the love that shines forth in our desire to pardon, and seek pardon from, another, N- Being nice is a natural attribute that helps us be the authentic person that we have been created to be, makes people want to be around us and we choose to be around. 

TUESDAY - Where there is Discord……unity,

Where is there discord in your life and how disjointed do you feel because of it? Discord or conflict seems to make our worse self emerge and our best self remains hidden. Most people do not like conflict and do whatever it takes to avoid it, while others thrive on causing conflict and find happiness when others do not feel united or at peace.

As God’s beloved sons and daughters, we are called to walk with each other and not place a stumbling block on their path. We are called to build each other up and not tear each other down.  There are times when we find our self in the midst of a conflict, or a disagreement with another and it is during those times when God calls us out of our self, and our will, and seek to know better what His will is for us. We cannot live when we are dis-united or separated from each other. No one is an island. God created us to be in relationship with Him and others. We are all God’s beloved sons and daughters.  Jesus died for all of us, He overcame death: yet as He lived, he loved those who tried to diminish compassion, deny love, cause dissension, create discord, deny truth and He loves them and us anyway.

WEDNESDAY - Where there is Doubt……faith,

It is easy to doubt when things are not clear to us. When we feel as if we are traveling a road or journey with more questions than answers, more uncertainty than certainty, we sometimes doubt the direction and purpose that we are going.  It is in and during those times when our faith can be our greatest strength and our hope strongest reason to place one foot in front of the other. With faith there cannot be fear. Faith overcomes fear and makes us better and stronger people. You have a great faith that is being challenged, yet without the challenge your faith can not grow stronger. Even Jesus called out to His Father on the cross, “My God, My God, Why have your abandoned me? He doubted yet HE trusted and believed that God, His Father, was with Him and had not abandoned Him. Can we say the same, Do we want to?

THURSDAY - Where there is Despair..…hope,

There is a saying that despair or misery likes company. We sometimes want our pain to become the pain of others, or we want to be the center of attention by sharing and dwelling on our pain so that we can gain the sympathy of others.  We allow or choose to let sympathy be the distraction and joy to remain on the outskirts. We are afraid to allow joy to enter in and permeate our being. This can be a momentary or temporary experience or one that requires professional help. When it is a temporary experience, the distraction that enters in is sometimes shame, guilt, or self-loathing where we choose not to allow God to touch our heart, and in that choice, we lose sight or let go of hope and any form of healing or wholeness. Healing requires trust and an openness to what God has in store for us, it will being us a newness of life, give us hope, and that can sometimes makes us afraid where we go backwards and not forward. Are you or someone you know experiencing a temporary sense of despair due to life stresses, a heavy cross and difficult challenges? Can you allow the hope that God offers you to enter into your being and change you, bring you out of the despair that you feel into a true sense of joy and a renewed hope?

If you are experiencing a lasting sense of despair and hopelessness, what is causing you to be in despair? Why do you feel hopeless? Have you sought help and guidance or are you to ashamed to? God wants to offer you his healing so that you can become whole again. Can you let Him? Trust Him? Walk with Him into the uncertainty of what healing, and hope will look like?

FRIDAY - Where there is Darkness…….light.

When things appear dark or are dark, we can become frightened and unable to move. Darkness can be seen as a reason to be afraid and not take any steps towards light. When we enter a dark room the first thing we reach for is the light switch, when the lights go out we look for candles and flashlights, these are mini quick fixes that calm our fears and allow us to move forward. But in our spiritual life, there doesn’t seem to be a quick fix when we are in the spirit of desolation and darkness. The spiritual sense of darkness has a deeper meaning and significance, which I cannot really use this glimpse to elaborate on. So for the sake of this reflection I will keep  it to less intense reasons why we find ourselves n the dark.. When we are experiencing spiritual darkness, we tend to feel as if God has abandoned us due to our sinfulness and how far from the truth is that conclusion. God never abandons His children. it is us who abandon Him because of our shame, anger, injury, betrayal, or self-loathing. We choose to walk in the darkness of fear and false conclusions. It is then that God is right there waiting to show us the light of His love in and through the passion, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, the light, and the life. Without Him we walk in the darkness of sin and get lost in despair, discouragement, and defeat. When He is our light, we seek to be reconciled to Him and others so that we can become a greater reflection of His light in our world.

SATURDAY - Where there is Sadness……joy,

Sometimes when we are sad, we cannot or are unable to recognize the joy that God has in store and is waiting to share with us.  When we lose a loved one, or experience the death of a relationship, or the financial burdens outweigh the financial blessings, we can become sad and not allow any joy to penetrate our being. This is not what God wants for us. Joy to the World is a song that we sing during the Christmas season, yet when Christ died for us, He gave us true and lasting joy not just to sing about but to realize is ours as He opened the gates to paradise and the promise of eternal life for all who believe. Joy doesn’t deny the sadness but rather gives us hope that the sadness will not defeat us or overwhelm us if we believe that it is a temporary experience that will make us stronger, whole and healed builders of His Kingdom here on earth.  What is taking away your joy and being able to be joyful and joy filled? Whose joy have you spoiled by your own stress, jealousy, anger, or frustration? How can you restore your joy or that of another? Do you think that you can you do it on your own? Remember, with God, His Son our Savior Jesus Christ and the intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary, all things are possible even finding and restoring joy.

Next week’s Glimpse of God will continue with the conclusion of the Prayer.

I invite you to we reflect on the prayer and conclude with the Amen. Allow your desire and faith, your AMEN, to permeate your being so that you can truly be a builder of God’s Kingdom here on earth and God’s instrument of peace in you