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Will You Be My Child This Lent?

3/5/2014

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God longs for us to rise with His Son this Easter

God has a wonderful gift for us this Lent.

Sadly many of us will refuse to open it, and eye it instead with suspicion. But God affords us the opportunity to learn about His gift before accepting it. 

And then we have two choices:

a)      accept God and be happy - forever
         or
b)      reject God and live in misery - forever.

Doesn’t it make sense to check that gift out?

What Is This Gift? 

Even if you don’t make to the end of this post, go to http://fathersloveletter.com/ and watch the video. Its message is uncomplicated and beautiful. 

And it describes the Gift.

You will meet a God who desires to lavish His love on you. A God Who is your Father, and wants you to know that you were not created in error or by accident. You were created by Him on purpose and for a purpose. You are His child - if you accept Him as your Father.

Abba, Daddy

If you have, or are around children, you’ll understand how wonderful it is when they reciprocate your love.

But how do you feel when they turn their backs on you, because you’re ‘old-fashioned’ and ‘don’t know anything’? 

It’s tough, isn’t it, to watch rebellious children head for disaster because 'they know best’? As youngsters we may have been down that road ourselves, and know from experience that it leads to destruction.

If only our children would heed us, and stay on the right path, how much better their lives would be!

God feels the same way when we insist He is ‘old-fashioned,’ ‘doesn’t understand us’ and is therefore 'irrelevant' to the 21st Century.

But when we turn from our godless ways, come back to Him and follow His commandments, God rejoices that we have chosen His gift. Confession is a wonderful way to start accepting His gift this Lent.

(Aren't we thrilled when our children abandon their reckless ways and apologize to us?)

Just as loving offspring heed their parents because they don’t want to hurt them, we as children of God obey Him because we don’t want to upset Him. We want to be His ‘special treasure:’

“Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.” (Exodus 19:5). (My italics.)

Whatever We Ask...

Note the 'if you will obey me' above. God needs our co-operation in order to shower us with His blessings.

When children are disobedient, destructive, anti-social and selfish, do we encourage this behavior by granting them their every wish?

Of course not!

In the same way, God will not reward bad-living by granting sinful wishes.


To obtain His help, we first need to repent of hurting Him, work on changing our bad habits and destroy unhealthy attachments. This will lead to our wanting the right things.

Then:  “…. whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). (My italics.)


Through His commandments and Holy Scripture, together with the Sacraments and teachings of the Church, God Our Father offers us a step-by-step guide for right living, so we can be with Him in heaven.

He even sent His Only Son to set us the example of right living!

God waits for us with love and longing. Will we use His guide this Lent and let Him lead us, His children, to our redemption through His Son this Easter?

Further reading: 

If you still need convincing to become a child of God now, here is a powerful and sobering testimony!

http://www.markmallett.com/blog/the-seven-seals-of-revolution/#more-4958  
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Divine Mercy Sunday or How to Dispel Despair

4/3/2013

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Our despair is Satan's greatest joy



When life is going badly and there seems no way out, it's easy to fall into despair.

Yet Christ's Easter message is: "Don't despair!" 

Repeat After Me..

We proclaim that message every time we recite the Apostles' Creed: Jesus "rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father....I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting."
 
There's no despair here.

But perhaps constant repetition has dulled our attentiveness to the reality of what we're saying: that Jesus suffered horribly for our sakes so that we might rise up from death and  have eternal life.

We are made in God's image and destined to be with Him in heaven. Christ asks us not to let earthly setbacks throw us into misery and distract us from that goal.

God loves us. If he puts suffering our lives, it's to turn our thoughts away from the world and back to Him and His infinite mercy.

But  fighting off despair and trusting in God's mercy is tough.

Judas Versus Peter

Despair is Satan’s most powerful weapon against God. He rejoices whenever he succeeds in separating us from our hope in Christ (see 'Hope versus Hope' in my last post). He thus sabotages our salvation and adds our souls to the ranks of those destined for hell.

Judas of Iscariot committed the ultimate sin when he despaired of forgiveness for betraying Jesus, thus cutting himself off from future happiness with God.

Peter denied knowing Christ three times, after having just said that he loved Him and would do anything for Him. But in contrast to Judas, he wept bitterly and repented over his betrayal. 

This humble admission of guilt and belief in Christ’s forgiveness wiped his slate clean. Peter's faith and hope restored his good standing with God and ensured his redemption.

Judas allowed Satan to deceive him into despairing of Christ's love: Peter believed in Our Lord’s mercy and was granted it.

Who would you rather be?

But What Use Is God's Mercy When I'm Suffering? 

Blessed Sopocko, confessor and spiritual director of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska has this to say about despair in his book God is Mercy (Marian Press, 1965, p. 81):

“Despair is passion arising in us because of the impossibility of escaping evil. The name covers not only the feeling of despair itself, but also the inclination to it. ... It is opposed to hope and trust, so much so that while hope enlightens, despair kills. ... (my italics)

“The causes of despair can vary. Temporal or spiritual misfortunes, incurable illness, loss of respect and honor, financial ruin, threat of inevitable danger, etc. Under the influence of such disasters there follows a terrible depression which takes away all energy, paralyzes the nerves, renders clear thinking impossible, and even impedes breathing and the normal circulation of the blood, so that the brain is not supplied sufficiently with oxygen and ceases to function sufficiently. ...

“If we search for the very first, deepest cause of despair, we always find a lack of trust in the Mercy of God. ...”  (My italics)

(Taken from What Is Divine Mercy? By Dr. Robert Stackpole)

But why is it that when things are going badly, we find it the hardest to trust in God?

Because we want control over our lives. We want to know exactly what lies ahead, we demand concrete proof that our bad situation will end and quickly.

‘Show, don’t tell!’ is the usual advice to story writers and we feel the same way about God. Don't tell us that all will be well, through the Scriptures, don't tell us that we must trust in You: show us a reason to trust you by performing a miracle!

For some reason, God's amazing miracle of resurrection on Easter Sunday often isn't good enough for us. We're doubting Thomases who want to see it for ourselves, not have to believe writings from 2000 years ago.

Unfortunately faith means believing without seeing, and we must have blind faith if we’re to attain the goal for which we were made, namely to be with God in eternity.

Dispelling Despair Through Divine Mercy
 
Since despair comes from believing things will never get better and that we are alone in our misery, the antidote is complete trust in God’s love for us. (See 'Christ's Strategy' in my last post.)

Dr. Stackpole says, regarding the benefits of trusting in God:

"It opens the door to all the graces and blessings He wants to give us.” (My italics.)

We mustn’t hang ourselves with despair, like Judas. Instead we must trust in God’s mercy and be raised from misery to happiness.

....Which Leads Us to Divine Mercy Sunday

This weekend, Catholics will celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday (Feast of Mercy).

God’s mercy is not confined to this one day of the year – it is available every single day of every year! – but there are certain graces to be obtained on that day.

Here is entry 699 of St. Faustina Kowalska’s diary, in which Christ makes clear his desires for Divine Mercy Sunday. This entry is very long, but if you read it, you'll feel overwhelmed by Christ's love for you.

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

(Even if you've not been to Confession for 60 years or more, you may feel that it's worth going now, before next Sunday. :) I promise you, priests are kind in the confessional: they are there to help us make a good confession, not beat us up over our sins!)

Christ also revealed to St. Faustina the extraordinary graces available to those who devoutly receive Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday:

I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy (1109).  

Whoever approaches the Fount of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (300).  

The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion will obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment (699).

Click here for further information on how to prepare for Divine Mercy Sunday 

Are God’s Graces Confined to Catholics?

No!

I know that we Catholics are considered arrogant because we believe that Catholicism is ‘the one, true faith.’
 
We make no apologies for this belief.
 
Christ instituted the Catholic (i.e. universal) Church 2013 years ago. All other Christian faiths are man-made spin-offs. (I now cheerfully await an onslaught of angry comments!) The Sacraments of our faith make the Christian life easier for Catholics.  We certainly don't believe that non-Catholics are doomed to the eternal fire of hell.



The important thing is to trust in God’s mercy and humbly ask Him to forgive our sins. Christ longs for us all to come to Him – Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

We will stop feeling despair when we realize that Christ is always walking with us.


Postscript: Whenever I find myself teetering on the edge of despair, I quickly recite this prayer, over and over again:

‘Eternal God, in Whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence, submit ourselves to your Holy Will, which is Love and Mercy itself.’ Diary 950

I hope it helps you, too.

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A Great Easter (and not because of the chocolate eggs!)

4/25/2011

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There was much for me to be thankful for this Easter.

The Planned Concert

On Saturday night my son drove off with his girlfriend to a concert four hours away, planning to come back that same evening. Behind my smile and “I hope you both have a good time” was deep anxiety that he would have an accident. He’s only nineteen and had just arrived home for Easter from college.

The Aborted Concert

An hour after leaving, he returned. “Must have forgotten the tickets, or his driver’s license,” I thought as I saw the car draw up. No. His girlfriend had checked the concert tickets en route: they were for October! (Luckily she thought it was funny.)

So instead of sitting at home fretting about them both, I spent a wonderful evening dining out with my husband, son and son’s girlfriend.

A Glorious Easter

On Sunday my menfolk surprised me by taking Easter seriously and dressing up in their smartest suits. I felt so proud sitting next to them in church! And during the whole of Mass I was giving God thanks for such a fantastic Easter.

(If I'm allowed to mention it, my horse also went well for me in the afternoon...)

Pushing Against that Stone

The Easter message began with a basketball analogy - the then Washington Bullets’ game in 1978. They were down by twenty in the fourth quarter and dispirited fans began streaming out of the stadium. They included our parish priest, a mere stripling in those days.

But suddenly people began running back to the game. The Bullets had made a comeback, and our priest returned to witness the final two minutes and the Washington team’s triumphant win.

His message to us is that we shouldn’t give up ‘before the fourth quarter is over.’ That is when God comes through for us.

When we feel trapped inside the tomb as was Christ, we must keep on pushing against the heavy stone that bars the entrance. God is on the other side, ready and willing to roll that boulder away if we remain confident in Him.  We Christians mustn’t give up, but hand over our problems and sufferings to God with complete confidence that He will resolve them for us.

Submission Ain't Easy

Have you noticed that when we need to do it the most, relinquishing control of our lives is the hardest to do? Handing over to God in our worst moments is the greatest test of our faith. The Devil works diligently on us at such times, trying to make us despair.

But complete submission to God is necessary in order for Him to work in our lives. It may be tough, but it’s absolutely worth it. That’s when we grasp victory in the fourth quarter.

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Easter Is Almost Here!

4/19/2011

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Almost: but first will come Good Friday.  Before we receive redemption, Jesus will suffer.

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

I’ve always had a hard time understanding why Jesus had to die in order for us to be saved.

Father Jean C.J. d’Elbée addresses this question in ‘I Believe In Love.'
He writes that, according to St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica, Christ’s  ‘death was, in itself, not at all necessary, but He shows the benefits which the Passion procures for us beyond our reconciliation with God.’

What Benefits?

One: Christ shows us how much He loves us, which urges us to love God back - thus perfecting our salvation.

Two: In submitting Himself to the Passion, Christ illustrated the virtues we need for our salvation, among them humility, constancy, justice and obedience.

Three: Christ’s Passion freed man from sin, which encourages us to avoid the occasion of sin.

Four: Christ endured great suffering, and can therefore assist those of us who are suffering. When we undergo pain, we know of Someone Else who did, too, even though He didn’t have to.

Father d’Elbée writes that, according to St. Thomas, ‘the death of Christ was not caused by sin, but by His love, on the occasion of our sin.’

Complete Love

Christ loves us so much, is so merciful and so desirous of our salvation, that He was prepared to do whatever it took to redeem and save us. ‘Jesus delivered Himself up out of love; God is love: the death of Jesus is the great revelation of that fact.’

Christ exhibited complete, 'crazy' love for us, because He deeply desires that we be united with Him in Heaven. I think such love is hard for us to comprehend because it's way beyond our limited, human understanding of the concept.

However, we are still capable of great love, and God desires that we offer it all to Him. He so wants to show us His mercy, but can only do this if we humbly respond to His love with our whole hearts.

(How) Are We Going to Respond?

Christ, a completely innocent man, suffered horribly and died an agonizing death for you and me.
 
It’s now up to us to show Christ how much we appreciate His sacrifice.

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    Hilary Walker

    A fanatic horse rider and writer of Christian Inspirational Fiction, who's beginning to understand that making it to Heaven is a tad more important than winning at horse shows.

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