HOT for Christ

Last year when we organised a NightFever event in our parish, there were a few organisational issues which really tried my patience.  Fr Stephen, the Soli House chaplain who was there with his team,  just said to me "you get graces for being obedient". It was a blessing on the evening and has really blessed some of my relationships the last few weeks.

I have been reflecting on this the last few days and so text Fr Stephen to thank him for this.  He currently has a girls school on retreat at Soli and text me back to say that he told them tonight to be HOT for Christ: humble, obedient and trusting.

I struggle massively with all 3 of these things in both my relationship with God and with other people.  I think this is simply because it involves an acknowledgement of my own weakness, my own littleness.  This can be painful but often because I forget to put it in its proper context.  I often lose sight or never fully grasp my immense dignity and value as a child of God.  I cannot even begin to imagine the love He has for me as His beloved daughter.  This is made visible and magnified tenfold, in my relationships with other people.  Admitting my weakness and having the grace to say I don't know it all and could do with some help is not the done thing in culture and is a real insult to my proud and stubborn nature.  To be obedient means to have humility to respond to what is being asked of you, it also means trusting that the other person knows best.  Being HOT for Christ and being HOT for other people are entwined.  To make strides in HOTness, a life rooted in prayer is essential.  I am learning this more and more.  To be HOT towards other people, you need to spend time with your Father in Heaven and come to know and believe whole-heartedly in your supreme worth as His beloved daughter.  This relationship with our Abba, our daddy, radically changes how we respond, interact and react with others.  When your peace and security comes from a deep relationship with the Lord, humility, obedience and trust comes alot more easily. I can this see this in my own life, particularly in the way my relationships suffer because I have neglected time spent with God.  I need to keep reminding myself that to be HOT, I need to learn from the Master and that means spending quality time with the Lord in prayer.

One thing I need to learn to recognise and respond to with more HOTness this year, is the divine touch on my life through the lives of the people the Lord has placed on my journey to keep my feet on the ground, my eyes toward heaven and my heart in His hands. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear my prayer!

"The true Christian obeys his parents, his teachers, [and] his superiors because he sees in them God Himself,

Whose place they take."

Don Bosco