Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Don't lie to yourself

God is good. God is always good. God is present. God is always present. God is forgiving. God is always forgiving. God is caring. God is always caring. God is loving. God is always loving. God is merciful. God is always merciful. God is beautiful. God is always beautiful. God is almighty. God is always almighty. God is. God always is.

My sister, my brother, don't lie to yourself. God has asked you to love Him with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. God has asked you to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Are you doing what God had asked you to do? Don't lie to yourself. If you are not, start right now. 

Start with the first. Tell God to give you the grace to love him. Tell him to give you the grace to thirst for him. Tell God to enlighten your heart and mind so that you can understand your limitations and become humble. Without humility you can do nothing. Tell God to speak secretly to your soul in a love language that you do not need to understand. Tell God to give you the grace to know his will and the strength to do his will. Tell God to give you the grace to love him with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. 

My sister, my brother, love your neighbor as you love yourself. God showed you in His Gospel who your neighbor is. Think of the person that is giving you the hardest time. Think of the last person you would ever want to see. That is your neighbor. Love him and you will be able to love all your other neighbors. You can do nothing without God. He himself said so. So tell God you need the grace to love. Remember that you are not better than anyone and that you are in need of God's love and forgiveness. Humility is the key to love and love is the key to everything of value. 

You love your neighbor in wanting them to have peace and joy and in wanting God to dwell in their hearts. You love your neighbor when you see him as God's child loved by God more than a mother loves her infant. You love by giving of yourself and God alone is the judge of how great or not so great is what you give.

My sister, my brother, don't lie to yourself. If you are not doing God's will in loving him and loving your neighbor as yourself, you are living in darkness and there is no life in you.   Every act you do, every thought you think, and every state of being you find yourself in must be engulfed with God's grace. 

My sister, my brother, with God everything is possible. Christ is God's ultimate gift of Himself. With Christ in us, we live as God intended us to live: good, present, forgiving, caring, loving, merciful, beautiful, strong, and real. 

"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love." [1 John 4:7-8]