FAITH

 

THE LOVE OF JESUS FOR US

 There will never be a shortage of words. Words are plentiful because talk is cheap. It’s easy to make a promise. Keeping a promise is an entirely different matter, as this Sunday’s gospel makes abundantly clear.

There are over a billion people on the planet who have solemnly promised to live a life of loving service to God. For that is what baptism and confirmation mean. Millions renew this promise each Sunday. That’s what saying the creed and receiving communion mean. But what do our actions say? Sadly, most baptized Christians have lifestyles that don’t quite match the words they profess.

Actions speak louder than words. The tongue often lies. But body language never lies. It reveals our true trajectory, our real priorities.

God’s Word is more than words. His Word is so substantial that it is a Person, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. And this Word was not satisfied to say “I love you.” Rather He leapt into action, stripped Himself of glory, assumed the form of a slave, healed the sick, and washed feet. The last and ultimate word of the Word was the Cross, the most eloquent love letter ever written, the final PS of a 33 year life of love in action. (Phil 2:1-11)

- Marcelino D'Ambrosio, PhD

PRAY, PRAY AND PRAY

“My beloved Redeemer,
how much did it cost You to raise me from the ruin,
which I brought on myself through my sins?
What can I do without Your grace?
I can do nothing but pray
that You will help me
but even this prayer comes
from the merits of Your suffering and death!
O my Jesus, help me!”

FUNDAMENTAL FACTS

 “Life is passing.

The days chase one another; time is flying.

Childhood has become a distant memory.

Perhaps youth and manhood have also passed and gone and we find ourselves on the threshold of old age.

All those days, months and years that have passed were gifts of God.

He gave them to us for our benefit and sanctification.

But what use have we made of them?

Have we laid up treasure for eternal life?

And, if we have not done so up to now, for what are we waiting?

Let us remember the old saying, that we should never put off till tomorrow, what we ca do today.

Today there is still time to turn from sin, regain sanctifying grace and lead a life of Christian perfection.

But tomorrow?

What do we know about tomorrow?

Tomorrow is in the hands of the Lord and we do not know if the Lord will grant us further time to make amends!

Do not say, therefore, that you will change tomorrow, that tomorrow you will turn away from the path of sin and begin to lead a holy life.

For not alone does time pass but, it often betrays us!

Our Lord tells us that the judgement will come at a time when we least expect it.

The time that is gone will never return; the future is uncertain; there remains, only the present.

But the present is equally uncertain; it is something that passes and, every moment could be the last of our lives.

How many whom we have known, were taken away suddenly in the flower of their youth …

Is that not a warning to us?

Let us do good while we have time; let us gain merit now, for eternal life. Amen”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

THE EFFECTS OF PRAYER

 

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

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THE GRACE OF GOD

“God has endowed us with wonderful corporal and spiritual gifts, creating us after His own image with powers of intellect and of will.
More than this, He has raised us to the supernatural order by communicating to us, His grace, which enables us to live His own life and to share in His divine nature, as His adopted sons.

Grace is the greatest gift which God has given us.
It enlightens our minds and moves our will to obey His commands and to perform actions which merit an everlasting reward.
It is an entirely supernatural and gratuitous gift.
For this reason, we cannot merit it but, we should continually pray for it because, it is absolutely necessary if we are to do good and to merit Heaven.
Our first ancestor, Adam, was endowed with this gift by our Creator.
Unfortunately, by original sin, he lost it for himself and for his descendants.

We cannot complain to God about this loss, since grace is an entirely supernatural gift which is in no way, due to our human nature.
For the same reason, we cannot merit it on our own.
But God, being infinitely good, as well as, infinitely just, sent His only-begotten Son to redeem us from sin and to grant us His friendship once more.

We should be very grateful to God for this extraordinary favour and should unite our efforts to the divine action of grace, in the performance of good works, which will enable us to merit everlasting life.”

Antonio Cardinal Bacci

ETERNITY IS WHAT MATTERS

ACCEPTING THE WILL OF GOD

MAKING LIFE EASIER AND NOT HARDER

We should always try to relieve others from whatever seems to weigh them down, just as Christ would have done in our place. 

Sometimes this will mean our doing some small act of service. At times it will mean giving a word of encouragement or of hope. at others we will help someone to glance up at the Master so that he comes to see his situation in a more positive light; it may be a situation which had seemed to overwhelm him simply because up till then he had felt he must face it alone.

We should think too of those aspects of our behaviour with which sometimes, without really meaning to, we make life a little harder for others ... our whims and fancies, our rash judgements, negative criticism, an lack of consideration for others, an unkind word ...