Free Will Interference

A lot of Catholics are familiar with St. Gertrude's prayer for the souls in purgatory given her by our Lord. According to tradition. the Lord promised her that 1000 souls would be released from purgatory each time it is said devoutly. The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well. Here are the words: 

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen."

I am thinking that the reason this prayer is so effective in releasing souls from purgatory is that these souls are already heaven-bound and therefore no free will exists to interfere with our prayer request. In the case of praying for the living, the Lord will have to bring their free will in line for our prayer to be answered.

Why Limit Yourself?

        Why do you limit yourself to seeking pleasure and enjoying beauty on this earth only? Soon your life will be over. Instead, seek joy and enjoy beauty in God and you'll find them uplifting and more satisfying, continuing into eternity.   

Ultimate Living

        The truth is that God is love. The tragedy is that many do not know it through misguidance or misunderstanding. If God is love, then there's nothing for us to fear. The most enlightened life is to open yourself entirely to him, sharing all your feelings, thoughts, intentions, desires . . . everything that's in your heart ~ yes, in total union with him. This liberates your spirit. Using my favorite adjective again, I say, this is ultimate living.

Greatest Transformations

     (1) Incarnation ~ God assumed the human form in Jesus Christ to spread the good news of salvation among us.

      (2) Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor ~ Peter, James, and John witnessed this when Jesus' face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared to converse with the Lord.

     (3) Transubstantiation ~ the elements of bread and wine change into the body and blood of Christ when they are consecrated in the Eucharist during Mass.  

    (4) Our transformation by the Holy Spirit ~ the Lord wipes away all our sins, transforming us into new creatures holy and pure, fit to enter heaven.

Most Perfect Prayer

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples to pray the Our Father. This is indeed the perfect prayer. It shows us how to approach God and what to ask from him. It teaches and shapes us. It defines our ideal relationship to the Lord. If we would just say this prayer with all our heart with persistence, it should turn us into holy saints in the end. 

Words over Bread

        Today's Gospel Acclamation from Matthew 4.4: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. We must regard the words that come from Jesus to be much more important than the bread we eat. The bread only sustains us temporarily, but the words of the Lord lead and guide us to eternal life.

Rock vs. Straw

        When you abandon yourself in God, he becomes your rock of refuge, your stronghold, and you are ready to face eternity. Those who hold onto whatever in the world for security are grasping at straws, literally or figuratively speaking.           

Loving Jesus

        Today I feel that I love Jesus for having taken away my sins.      

Jesus "Is" Everyone!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25 at morning Mass, Jesus made it clear that whatever we did for one of the least brothers of his, we did for him, and whatever we did not do for one of the lease ones, we did not do for him. Fr. P in his homily pointed out that when Paul was threatening the early disciples of the Lord, Jesus spoke to Paul, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Obviously, when we hurt anyone, we hurt the Lord! We cannot love the Lord without loving all our brothers and sisters.

Something to Cheer About:

        That we can actually become saints!       

Mercy, Key to Inner Peace

        This morning the Lord made me see that he is full of mercy, and if we are merciful to others, we shall have inner peace. Like the Lord, we would be forgiving and loving everyone with never any hatred of others.

Embracing Suffering

        Communion experience. The Lord made me see that if I want to embrace him, I must embrace him as the one who suffers. It is in embracing the suffering he sends my way that I shall have peace. 

Facing the Lord

        One who is not ready to deal with his own conscience is afraid to look at himself. Essentially, he hides from God. But since the Lord sees and knows everything, that person is both a coward and a fool. Turning to and baring yourself to God is the first step in letting him clear up your conscience to set you free.

Clear, Straight Call

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 1 at Mass, Jesus came to Galilee to proclaim the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." This call is for everyone, coming straight from God! Do you hear him? Answer this call and you are on your way to heaven.

A Picture of Life in Water

        I had this image in my mind this morning at church before Mass began. I saw everyone in the world floating in one somewhat rough sea. Those who followed the Lord looked quite calm, knowing that they were safely attached to him by some strong cord and would be pulled out of the water one day. Other followers of weaker faith were attached to the Lord too, but they were not quite aware that the cord could get stronger or weaker, depending upon what they do in the water. The rest who did not follow the Lord seemed to enjoy the water the most ~ they frolicked, splashed water on others, and even tried to drown them. What's sad was that they did not know that if they continued to behave so, they'd be left in the sea struggling to stay afloat for all eternity.         

On Being Fearless

        Have no fear of anything that is false, for God is not with those who propagate falsehood. Fear the truth instead, but this fear is more respect than fear. Nevertheless, one who is one with the Lord becomes fearless because he knows that God is his Father and his soul will always be safe.

Understanding God

        As followers of Christ, we need to realize that God is constantly teaching us, shaping us, testing our faith, consoling us . . . with the sole purpose of drawing us into deep union with him. We need also know that God will always defend our soul against evil because we are his.

All Sins Are Sins

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus said, "I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners." Since God is holy, before him we are all sinners. To think about whether I am a bigger or lesser sinner than someone else is pointless. That's why God asks us not to judge anyone, and the saints consider themselves to be most wretched before God. What's important is that we realize our own sinfulness and repent to the Lord, then all our sins are forgiven!