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Mankind received from God the greatest possible gift: the life of God's own Son, on earth amongst us. And how was He treated, this gift from Heaven? Mocked, rejected, beaten, tortured and killed. If it were today, it would be the same.
Some Catholics who receive Christ in Holy Communion don't want to open their hearts and minds to Him, or His light might shine upon their sins and bad habits. It's as though they are heaping sacks of coal onto a trap door, to prevent Him from entering their lives; but in shutting Him out, they shut out His joy and peace too.
It is the Lord's dear wish that each child to whom He has given the gift of life will be brought up by it's parents to be worthy to inherit Eternal Life. It is tragic if children are made aware only of earthly life, and are led to believe that the purpose of life is to become rich, or to fill every moment with earthly pleasure.
If an Angel were to search the world looking for his God, Who had come to earth as man, the Angel might expect to see Him enthroned and adored. But no, he would have found the God-man in a dungeon, in chains, betrayed and tormented. What a picture this gives us of the sinful state of mankind.
Our Blessed Lady and Saint John were with Christ in His Passion not only to comfort Him by their presence. It was part of the Father's plan that they should be witnesses to Christ's last hours in order to share with all who love Him the last words He uttered, and the complete 'picture' of His dying and death.
A person who refuses to believe in God, when there is plenty of evidence for His existence, makes a barrier of unbelief, like a cloud, above him, which prevents the graces that God wishes to shower upon him from penetrating his mind, soul and heart.
Christ did not come to earth like a precious cargo from outer space, carried in a capsule that could be discarded. He was placed into the womb of His real Mother Mary, who then nurtured Him, gave birth to Him, taught Him, supported Him as He died, and was with Him and His friends after the Resurrection. From Heaven, she still helps us, His friends, today.
The lives of those people on earth who live according to God's laws are lived 'in the light'. They inhabit the 'City of God' on earth, which has at its centre a church, for the worship of the Father through Christ, in the Spirit. The light of Heaven shines down upon those lives, but others live in darkness.
Far above the City of God on earth, where people live who do God's Will, God the Father reigns, His hand held up in blessing, as He gazes upon all who love Him. God loves everyone; yet those who choose to live beyond the City, in the darkness of serious sin, did not receive that blessing; nor will they join the Saints in Heaven, unless they repent.
Those who love God and live according to His laws, following the Way made by Jesus, the Son of God, can rise up when they die to join the Father in Heaven, to share His glory, and to experience bliss at His heart, in the Communion of Saints. Those who rejected Him have rejected Heaven.
The Lord asks us all to speak the simple truth to evangelisers of various sects, and to be kind, yet, in charity, to tell them that their beliefs are mistaken. Real charity is to want them to see the truth about Christ and the Catholic Church, not to pay false compliments about false religions. Plainly, we should be well-informed about our Catholic Faith, before we take part in discussions.
During our life on earth, if we lift up our hands to God, He will draw us upwards towards holiness, through the grace of Christ and our trust. He will even draw us up as far as Heaven, when we die. If we refuse to trust in Him, however, or refuse to believe in Him, we shall slide into the pit, at death, by our own choice, with no-one to blame but ourselves.
Through the free gift of Divine grace, all that Christ out God did for us in His earthly life has been given to the Church to dispense. It all stemmed from His being made flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. As man, He preached the truth, suffered and died for our sins, rose up from the tomb, and by rising up to Heaven made a Way in which we can follow, by our union with Him in our Baptism: a union made stronger by prayer, sacraments, and good works.
When Christ was on earth as the God-man, suffering amongst sinners, and praying for us to be forgiven, it was as though His love for God the Father and for human beings was so great that His prayers could not fail to reach Heaven - thus ending the alienation of mankind. His prayers were heard and granted; and so it's as though He threw out a landline, so that not just He but all who trust in Him can follow His Way into glory.
The Church is like a house, where the faithful are happy. Only if people leave the 'cellars' of sinful behaviour are they free to follow Christ to Heaven when He calls them, at the end of earthly life. His is the only Way. To refuse His invitation is to be lost forever, unable to ascend to where the Saints live, in Eternal Bliss.
Many people live parts of their lives in a cellar, keeping hidden various thoughts or activities or memories which they do not want anyone to bring out into the light. These are precisely what need to be dealt with before a person can lead a carefree life in Christ, as if in the happy home above the cellars.
If we wish we could give to a beloved relation all the wisdom and goodness that we have received from God in a life-time, the best means is by encouraging them to receive Christ with devotion in Holy Communion. In Christ is His Divinity, wisdom, power, beauty, and goodness: more than enough to fill our hearts, if we open our hearts fully to receive Him.
Every day is a new day, in the life of a Christian, no matter how mundane or routine was the previous day. Each day stretches ahead like an area of countryside to be traversed - with no knowing what might happen. God can intervene in our quiet lives through people: through phone calls received, sermons heard, or through insights and requests offered by the Lord in prayer.
The great MIND of God, that made human DNA and the genome, cannot be understood by human beings; nor can the Godhead by pierced by thought alone. He should be adored; yet He has revealed Himself in and through His Son, God-made-man; and Christian mystics, through Christ, can see deep into the 'heart' of God.
In Lisieux, St.Therese was grateful to God, in every circumstance. We cannot dictate to God about when we will experience His love, and His glory, in earthly life. What is important is that we do His Will; and He who is good always trains His friends - and rewards them. A person like St.Therese who lived much of her life in spiritual darkness had a special vocation to show out naked faith, as well as love.
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