One who offers all up to God has nothing left to complain about.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
God's Plan Unfolding
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 24 at Mass, the resurrected Lord appeared to his disciples and told them that everything written about him in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled. And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day." Jesus came and fulfilled the numerous prophecies concerning the promised Messiah. It is clear that God's plan can take millennia to unfold. But we can be certain that the unfolding is continuing and Jesus' Second Coming will be here in time.
Handling Sorrows
A Christian shares the same joys and the same sorrows with Christ. The sorrows all have to do with sin ~ he is sorry that both he and the world offend Christ. If someone offends him out of malice, he sees that person basically offending Christ. United with the Lord in his suffering, he offers all his sorrows up to him.
Hope Ever Present
Since a Christian can always have his sins forgiven when he repents to Christ, hope is ever present for him.
Ultimate Rest
Yesterday's Communion experience. I savored my ultimate rest in Jesus, my refuge, from whom I hold back nothing and to whom I let go of everything. How I wish that everyone would experience this rest.
Reason Christ Not Accepted
Jesus has redeemed us by his blood so that we might be delivered from sin and have eternal life. I don't recall hearing people directly objecting to this message, because I believe that they basically know that they are sinners. If they haven't accepted the message yet, it's because they are not ready to give up their sins yet.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Know Your Blessings
Everything that draws you closer to God, no matter how painful or distasteful, is a blessing from God. Cherish it.
God's Time
Everything is God's. So is time. Every second you spend is his time. Therefore, don't waste any of it and spend it for his glory, and your life will be beautiful in his sight.
Be Bold in God
We need to be bold in God and with God. After all, he is our loving Father. If you need help, ask him with all your heart. If you love him, don't hesitate to shout it out. Pussyfooting around him is just as bad as hiding from him.
Crying to Mary
The prayer Hail Holy Queen we say in concluding the Rosary contains these two lines: "To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears!" The other day after reading all the tragic news happening around the world, I finally felt those two lines as I cried to my Mother from my heart.
Jesus Beautifies
Communion time thought. We mind our physical appearance; but if we want our soul to look beautiful, Jesus is the one to go to.
Most Special Death
People die. Some die and we say "So what?" because we don't know a thing about them. Some we feel sorry for even if we don't know them. And we are grateful to those who have died for our country. Then Jesus has also died, moving many of us to the point of even willing to die for him in return! Apparently, his death has awakened us to God's love for us and our need for salvation. Therefore, the death of Jesus is unique, most special, earthshaking, even celebratory, because it greatly glorifies God.
For the Sake of His Name
In today's 1st reading from Acts 5 at morning Mass, a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin had the Apostles flogged, ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, and dismissed them. The Apostles rejoiced that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. To suffer dishonor and feel worthy and even rejoice . . . I don't think any cause other than for the sake of the name of Jesus could possibly have made it happen. It only shows that God can truly win our heart and our soul.
Highest State for Us
The best state for us to exist in is to be one with Christ. If you love the Lord and want to be holy, this must be your goal, your end. Aiming for anything less is not good enough for him or even for you. Go directly to him to tell of this desire for rapid progress. I'd like to recommend the spiritual classic He and I by Gabrielle Bossis again in case you did not read about it in my posts of 2013. The book reveals intimately how God desires to be one with us.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Jesus Most Satisfying
Communion experience. I felt the intense, burning love of Christ. Nothing else could possibly have made me feel so peaceful and content. I was grateful, but right off couldn't think of something special I'd like to offer him, so I continued enjoying him.
Viewing Your Enemies
If your enemies have sinned against you, do not view them as evildoers but as ones who do not know the Lord yet. Therefore, feel sorry for them and pray for their conversion.
Jesus Challenges
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all recorded this statement of Jesus: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." He again challenges us ~ are we to take him seriously or not? He does not force us nor does he leave us alone ~ he cares about us by challenging us. This is why I believe in him. To ignore him is to ignore the one who created us! To reject him is to reject the one who loves us!
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