All must be fulfilled according to God's plans. He tells us all this in the scriptures.
It seems that even in our lives all must be fulfilled according to God's plans. Our lives are not our own. They belong to God and when we give ourselves over to Him fully, He does great things for us.
Happy Easter 2021!!
Thinking about how I take care of my body or not!! I try to exercise and eat right. The same is true of our soul! I must exercise it and eat right. Exercise for the soul is prayer and the food we need is the Eucharist. It seems to me that it's more important to exercise the soul that will live forever than it is to exercise the body which will someday die. And it seems to me it's more important to feed the soul than to feed the body! Again because the soul is meant to live forever.
I feel great contrition and sorrow for the many years that I neglected to take care of my soul and give God the glory he so deserves. I was so lost in the ways of the world that God was of least importance in my life. Only by His grace has my life been turned towards he who loves me and cares deeply that I be healed and come home to his heavenly kingdom. I asked him how he could love one such sinner as me and his answer was an analogy. He taught me that the sand and dirt of the ocean floor enter into the oyster shell and over much time become a precious pearl. All of us have sand and dirt from our sinful nature that needs to be transformed into a precious pearl. We can only do this by full repentance of our past lives and total detachment from any person, place or thing that is a cause of temptation and sinfulness. And this can only be done by opening ourselves up to God's grace and allowing his will to be done, not ours. Be open to his presence and great love!! God is LOVE!!
In the Old Testament, God is present and guiding His people. He is pouring out Hope and Goodness and Protection on all of them, punishing the wicked and blessing the good. He also promises to be with them always. He has Moses build the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle, with the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. All mankind worships God, though they often have times when they disobey or complain as we do today. But God is still with us, always! Visit any Catholic Church and God is present there in the tabernacle waiting for us to spend time with him. He is present everywhere, but spending time in adoration gives us quiet time to reflect and pray before His Real Presence. May we be blessed every day, or every week or every month to spend this time with He who loves us as if we were the only one to be loved. God bless!!
"Embracing the cross, Let us follow Jesus; He is our way and light Abounding in consolations."
St. Teresa of Avila, The Collected Works, Vol. three, Poetry, no. 20, pg 396
During this Lenten season, I need to meditate on the cross and embrace it. St. Teresa of Avila had a great devotion to Jesus and His sufferings. His passion and death on the cross. I desire to embrace the cross and have this great devotion to Jesus and all that He did for us. May each day be a walk on the path to the cross as we journey towards Easter and the resurrection! God bless us all!!
Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving
We think each day about how we will feed our bodies and exercise them as well. But do we think about this for our souls? Our souls need the nourishment Jesus sends us each day to feed our souls and keep them healthy so someday we can enter heaven fully alive! We feed our souls with the bread of life, the Eucharist that Jesus so generously left us. We exercise our souls with prayer, constant daily prayer. Without this daily exercise, we can fall, grow lax, and fail to serve God. Praying for you as I hope you are praying for me.
"O Lord, Father most merciful, receive, I beg You, Your prodigal child! I have suffered enough; I have long enough been the slave of Your enemies, which You put beneath Your feet; I have been long enough the plaything of false flatterers. I know that I must turn to You. When I knock at Your door, let me find it open; show me the way to come to You. All I know is that I must despise unstable and temporary goods to seek those that are stable and eternal." St. Augustine
We are all born into this world as sinners. It's in time we come to know the one and only true God who is absolute Love. We always have choices - to choose the sin in our lives or to choose Love where we find truth.
My early days and years were filled with sin and darkness. My mind was clouded and confused. I justified the sin in my life and wondered where God was. It was on the long journey seeking Him that I found Him and my confusion dissipated. I came to see and hear and know and love. The reality of my life became clear and questions answered. I know Love. Once we know Love, there is no going back. It would be a foolish thing to do. I walk not in darkness now but in the light trusting that He who loved me first will lead me where I need to go and do with me as He wills. I am blessed!!
