Fourth Sunday of Easter

*picture from http://osucatholicsinfo.blogspot.com

They stood before the throne of the Lamb...

"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they stand before God's throne and worship Him day and night in His temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them. They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

(From the Second Reading for this Sunday)

Sometimes it seems difficult to think about the life beyond earth. At times, it doesn't seem real. Sure it's Heaven, but will it really be that great? We won't be able to do anything but praise God for all eternity, 
and that sounds pretty boring, doesn't it? 

Heaven will be even better than anyone could ever imagine. God's abundant beauty and excruciatingly brilliant glory will be revealed to us, and we will see Him face to face. It will be even more amazing than we could ever hope for.

Susan Tassone put it wonderfully in her book Thirty-Day Devotions for the Holy Souls: "St. Theresa of Avila received but a passing glimpse of the hand of our blessed Lord and went into ecstasy. St. Francis heard an angel give one touch of a violin, and the saint nearly died of pleasure. The mind of man cannot comprehend eternity."

There will be no more war, no more sadness, no more hunger. 
No more tears, no more heartbreak, no more struggles. 
We will rest in His arms for all eternity.

By the way, eternity is forever. A thousand years seems like a long time, but multiply that by infinity and you will get eternity. It's such a long time that our minds cannot come close to understanding it.

When we spend time thinking about our lives and about eternity, our priorities just fall into place. Our lives are nothing in the timeline of eternity. Each breath we take totals up to a tiny gasp. It's no wonder God doesn't really need us and our love. He just wants us, 
more than we could ever imagine.

I encourage you to spend some time thinking about eternity and your priorities in life. What do you spend the most time on? What does all your energy ultimately go into?

Father Larry Richards, an AMAZING priest, once said something like: At the end of your life, God will give you exactly what you want. If you want God above all things, you will go to Heaven. But if you want anything else other than God, you will go to Hell. (sorry, I'm just paraphrasing)

His words have always made me think more about my own life and its direction. I think it's important for us to do everything with the mindset of eternity and to think "Will doing this bring me closer to God?" and "By doing this, will it bring me closer to Heaven?"

So I encourage you to think about this for your own life. I pray that you will find some way to draw nearer to God so we will all be together in Heaven, praising God for all eternity.

Divine Mercy Sunday

*picture from http://thedivinemercy.org/mercysunday/christswords.php

Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. This special feast hasn't always been around. In fact, it's very new. Pope John Paul II announced at Saint Faustina's canonization on April 30, 2000, that the Feast of Mercy would be celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter.

Jesus appeared to Saint Faustina and told her many amazing things about His mercy and His love. If you want to read them all, you can read her Diary - Divine Mercy in My Soul. It's only more than seven hundred pages. Seven hundred pages seems a bit insane, but once you get started reading it, you won't be able to put it down! Her words will blow you away and deepen your faith and love for Christ. I can assuredly promise you this because I've read about half of it and that's the way it affected a sinner like me! I also believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, and I know He can work through the written Word of Christ. Your life will be changed. Get the book.

Here are some quotes from her diary. The following words were said by Jesus Christ Himself to Saint Faustina. The words in italics were written by Saint Faustina.

• My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. 

• The flames of mercy are burning me. I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them!

• Tell My daughter, that I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls. 

•  Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. 

• If souls would put themselves completely in my care, I myself would undertake the task of sanctifying them, and I would lavish even greater graces on them. There are souls who thwart My efforts, but I have not given up on them; as often as they turn to Me, I hurry to their aid, sheilding them with My mercy, and I give them the first place in My compassionate Heart.

• I remind you, My daughter, that as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour (in the afternoon), immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners.

• My daughter try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that your duties permit it; and if you are not able to make the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore in the Most Blessed Sacrament My Heart, which is full of mercy.

•  My daughter, that when I come to a human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay any attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things.

• Now you shall consider My love in the Blessed Sacrament. Here, I am entirely yours, soul, body and divinity, as your Bridegroom. You know what love demands: one thing only, reciprocity.

• Amid the greatest torments, I fix the gaze of my soul upon Jesus Crucified; I do not expect help from people, but place my trust in God. In His unfathomable mercy lies all my hope.

• And I understood that the greatest attribute of God is love and mercy. It unites the creature with the Creator. This immense love and abyss of mercy are made known in the Incarnation of the Word and in the Redemption [of humanity], and it is here that I saw this as the greatest of all God’s attributes. 

• Great love can change small things into great ones, and it is only love which lends value to our actions.

• In whatever state a soul may be, it ought to pray. A soul which is pure and beautiful must pray, or else it will lose its beauty; a soul which is striving after this purity must pray, or else it will never attain it; a soul which is newly converted must pray, or else it will fall again; a sinful soul, plunged in sins, must pray so that it might rise again. There is no soul which is not bound to pray, for every single grace comes to the soul through prayer.

For more information, visit www.thedivinemercy.org. To learn how to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, go to www.divinemercychaplet.org.

Have a blessed Divine Mercy Sunday! 

*picture from http://reclaimingourchildren.typepad.com/lumina_a_ray_of_light_aft/2011/10/feast-day-st-faustina.html

"Whatsoever You Do..."

This is kind of old news (I guess about a week old), but it still gets to me. I am still so blown away by this humble man.

  

By the way, this is the POPE. Our holy Father, the man we faithful Catholics tend to think is the closest to Christ. So I guess he is following Christ's example in the best way, by serving the least of these and 
washing the feet of prisoners.

This picture inspires me so much. But it also makes me somewhat ashamed. If this is what our amazing and most Holy Father is doing, something so humble, then shouldn't I, someone so much lesser than our Pope, 

be doing something even more humble? 

Food for thought. And this amazing Pope is already changing the world through his inspiring humility and passion for Christ. May he continue to take our breath away. May he be a perfect and holy example of a faithful follower of Christ. May he continue to inspire us through his words and actions. May he continue to be a wonderful shepherd and lead us to Christ. May he help the Holy Spirit kindle the burning fire of Christ within us, so that we all may be the light of Christ to a world in need of hope and God's love.

Let us pray for our Holy Father!

 

  

*pictures from http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/346743