Jesus had wished that the joy of his disciples might be complete (John 15:11 and 16:24). Today I thought about how he had called me, revealed himself to me, taught me daily, and given me so much joy, and the fact that I am going to him for all eternity, my joy is more than being complete!
Monday, May 17, 2021
**We Are Not Alone
We do not physically see God, but he is with us always. So we are never alone. This makes you happy or afraid, depending upon your relationship with him. If you are happy that he is always present, then you should rightly rejoice, for you must be on good terms with him. If you are afraid that he exists and is watching you, you need to be concerned, for you must be trying to hide your sins. Then he is exactly the one you need to set you free from sin.
***Our God of Joy!
My friends, you may not believe in the Lord Christ Jesus, but it is impossible not to feel the joy once you believe in him. In him are love, light, hope, and the best possible news. A gloomy Christian is not a true Christian. We who believe in him rejoice and exult in him, as we head for heaven where we'll be glad for ever!
***Achieving Purity of the Soul
Purity and charity are two separate things. We must "strive" for purity first and at the same time always do good deeds. It is much better to become as pure as possible in this life to please the Lord and reduce or even bypass our suffering in purgatory. Pure souls enjoy special peace and joy from the Lord. Seeking union with God through the Holy Eucharist is the path to attaining purity of the soul. We'll have to meet the Lord anyway, so we might as well look as best as we can before the meeting.
Sunday, May 16, 2021
**Jesus' Final Instruction for Us
The last instruction we give before any departure is usually what's most important to us. Today is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus gave this instruction to his disciples: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned." This should be easy enough for us to remember.
**Pathetic Recipients
This is an image I had this morning when I was taking the walk. God's mercy is like a rain shower falling upon us, yet some of us do not feel a single drop of it. How pathetic can you be?
**Loved by an Omnipotent God
Time is of no barrier to God. He can make you see all you've done in your life in a few minutes when the illumination of conscience comes, and he can heal all the wounds you suffered in the past. You could say that everything is like an instant to him. You could also say that since he exists forever, time stands still for him. Anyway, our omnipotent loving Lord knows everything about us, and we should rejoice for that alone.
***Going All the Way with God
Every day, not just Sunday, is a holy day. We are to worship God every day and be holy at all times. Again, with God it's all or nothing. If you love him, then love him with all your heart. If you abandon yourself to him, then go all the way. If you believe that he is leading you to heaven, then don't ever drag your feet. "Here I am" and "Here I come" are what the Lord wants to hear from us.
Saturday, May 15, 2021
*****Time Getting Late!
Another Fr. Corapi video, a little bit longer, but as good as always, telling it like it is.
*The Guide We Need*
In today's Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." Don't you see that we have all sinned and gone astray, and Jesus is exactly the one who can lead us back to the Father?
***All About Love (God)
I was going to post the message that I love God because he first loved me and that I serve him because he has first called me. God's love is so great that all we need to do is to remain open to him. John who considered himself to be the disciple whom Jesus loved writes beautifully about love in 1 John, his first epistle. I am going to reproduce all the relevant verses below.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
We have Christians today who rightly hate evil but wish that the evildoers go to hell. That clearly cannot have come from God who is love.
Friday, May 14, 2021
****Don't Live in Sin
Just thought I had posted my last message for the day, I saw this short YouTube video by Fr. Corapi. It came out today, but it does seem to be an old talk. Never mind, the message is clear and good that I wish more priests would teach like that. So I am making this one my last post.
*****Alone with God*****
Do you realize that we live among billions of people on earth, but only how each of us relates to God matters? Forget about all the other people, for basically you and God are alone. That's because he knows all about you, more than you want to know. And he'll be your judge at the end of your journey through this planet and has the power to save you for all eternity. So he's the only one relevant to our existence and the only one we need to live for. Love him and we are fulfilled in every way.
*Fulfillment of Prophecies
Today is the Feast of St. Matthias, who was chosen to take Judas' place in the apostolic ministry. In the first reading from Acts 1, Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers and sisters and said that the Scripture had to be fulfilled concerning Judas and quoted verses from the Psalms as proof. Since the coming of Jesus as the Messiah had already been fulfilled, you can be sure that the Second Coming and final judgment will happen too.
**Two Rules to Remember**
A good rule to follow is never do anything that you know would make you regret or lose your peace if you did it. In addition, never forget to do anything that would make you regret or lose you peace if you didn't do it. A case in point: a parent dies suddenly and the children finally realize that they should have looked after their parent a lot more when he or she's still alive, but now it's too late.
***Humility Urgently Needed**
In whatever we do, God looks at our heart, our motivation. Know that anything we do to boost our ego or appeal to our vanity does not come from the Lord. Humility is what he wants to see in us, for he is most humble himself. Without humility, we'll never know how great God is!
*****Praying in Peace
We must never stop praying. The Lord hears every prayer from us. We may not know when and how he's going to respond to us, but respond he will. Our role is to trust in him and not be concerned about what's going to happen next. Pray hard, but remain in peace. To live by faith is most beautiful, for it shows that you are with the Lord.
**Praying for Souls in Purgatory
Purgatory has changed my perspective. I now see us who follow the Lord on earth, the souls in purgatory who are heaven bound, and those who are already in heaven all belonging to the same Lord. We are one big family, loving God, supporting each together, and united as one. To learn more about souls in purgatory, read about Padre Pio. I'll always remember this incident. One night in 1944 the friars heard loud voices coming from downstairs saying "Viva Padre Pio." The superior told the doorkeeper to let those people out and lock the door properly. The doorkeeper went downstairs, didn't find anybody, and the door was double-locked as it was supposed to. He went back to report. The superior was puzzled and went straight to Padre Pio asking if he knew something. "Oh! Those were soldiers who had died on the battleground, and came to thank me for their salvation."
The best known prayer for souls in purgatory I know of is the one by St. Gertrude. According to tradition, She was told by Our Lord that each time she piously recites it, 1,000 (or a vast number of) souls would be released from their suffering in purgatory. Of course, you can always pray from the heart in your words. Here's St, Gertrude's prayer for the souls in purgatory.
Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, for those in my own home, and in my family. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)