The Eucharist is where all of my heart’s deepest anger, dreams, frustrations, hopes, longings, regrets, sadness, and sorrows collide in a supernova of grace within my soul and God reminds me of what’s to come if I die faithful to Him and His merciful love.
I never realized how much of a blessing, grace, honor, and privilege that God bestowed on me by allowing me to be raised by a father and mother that love with a servant’s heart until a short while ago. If I may dare to express such a thought, I think they’re the most perfect parents that He could have possibly chosen for me that I don’t think that He could have placed me under the care of better couple than His adopted daughter and son that He granted me the tremendous honor and privilege of being a son to.
PATER NOSTER, I glorify, praise, and thank you from the depths of my being for gracing me with your children that I am blessed beyond measure to call “Dad” and “Mom” that continue to reveal You and Your love to and for me. Please raise me to be like them who You continue to mold into the image of Your Son, Jesus who is my God, King, Lord, and the Lover of my soul.
How many true friends do I really have?
How many friends would lay down their lives for me?
That number is almost always inflated until something really happens and then you realize, “I don’t think so.” “I guess not.” “All these men who I thought would come to my aid … where are they?”
How many people are there to whom I can open up my heart and soul with total trust?
This is hardly a plea to be able to do this with a lot. If you [have] two guys you can do this with, that’s an incredible gift. One’s a great gift. I don’t want countless people I can bear my soul to, but I better have somebody or I’m alone …
If I were to die today, how many people would really care for more than a few days? How many would come to my funeral?
How many lives were changed in a positive way by my friendship?
How many persons were reconciled, converted, or grew in the life of the Church as a result of my friendship? How many people came to know the Lord through me?
How many will I bring with me? I’m not supposed to come alone.
Are my friendships a fundamental part of my prayer life?
Do I really pray for my brothers?
Do I really talk to the Lord about my friends? Do I plead on their behalf with him?
Do we pray for our friends? Are they an essential part every day? Do we care about their needs?
How many would I lay down my life for?
Our jobs as Christians is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.
… Want to shake people out of their complacency. … Want to [get them to] examine their lives and say, “Am I living God’s will, or am I living my will?”
God took the initiative and made peace with His enemies. Think about this:
The one most offended by our sin is the one taking the initiative. Those He could not even look at He gathers to Himself.
So now the next obvious question to ask is “how?” How can a holy God who cannot even look on wickedness bring sinners to Himself? And here’s the sad fact about human nature:
We get overly familiar with things so that we get used to them.
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God sends His only Son into the world as a man so that He could die in order to pay the penalty for our sins.
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Familiar, right?
That’s the Gospel. I believe God intends for that to fall fresh on us today.
Women are so smart. The following quote is from a seventeen-year-old girl that called in to the show “The Doctor Is In” on Ave Maria Radio. May God bless her richly with more of Him for wanting Him most above all else.
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“The thing is that I want God to be number one in our relationship because I believe that … two people together is not a relationship unless God’s in it and He’s number one.”
