Author name: Sani

John 5:5-6

Patient Endurance

“One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be well?’”

Reflection:

Only those who have been crippled for many years could understand what this man endured in life. He was crippled and unable to walk for thirty-eight years. The pool he was laying next to was believed to have the power of healing. Therefore, many who were sick and crippled would sit by the pool and try to be the first to enter it when the waters were stirred up. From time to time, that person was said to have received healing.

Jesus sees this man and clearly perceives his desire for healing after so many years. Most likely, his desire for healing was the dominant desire in his life. Without the ability to walk, he could not work and provide for himself. He would have had to rely upon begging and the generosity of others. Thinking about this man, his sufferings and his ongoing attempts for healing from this pool should move any heart to compassion. And since Jesus’ heart was one that was full of compassion, He was moved to offer this man not only the healing he so deeply desired but so much more.

One virtue in the heart of this man that would have especially moved Jesus to compassion is the virtue of patient endurance. This virtue is an ability to have hope in the midst of some ongoing and lengthy trial. It is also referred to as “longsuffering” or “longanimity.” Usually, when one faces a difficulty, the immediate reaction is to look for a way out.

As time moves on and that difficulty is not removed, it’s easy to fall into discouragement and even despair. Patient endurance is the cure for this temptation. When one can patiently endure anything and everything they suffer in life, there is a spiritual strength within them that benefits them in numerous ways. Other little challenges are more easily endured. Hope is born within them to a powerful degree. Even joy comes with this virtue despite the ongoing struggle.

When Jesus saw this virtue alive in this man, He was moved to reach out and heal him. And the primary reason Jesus healed this man was not just to help him physically but so that the man would come to believe in Jesus and follow Him.

Reflect, today, upon this beautiful virtue of patient endurance. The trials of life should ideally be seen not in a negative way but as an invitation to patient endurance. Ponder the way you endure your own trials. Is it with deep and ongoing patience, hope and joy? Or is it with anger, bitterness and despair. Pray for the gift of this virtue and seek to imitate this crippled man.

Source: https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2024/03/11/patient-endurance-3/

John 5:5-6 Read More »

Saint Constantine II

Profile

Constantine was born a Scottish prince, the son of King Kenneth II of Strathclyde. Constantine led a life of vice until his conversion, possibly after hearing the evangelizing preaching of Saint Columba and Saint Kentigern.

Constantine was married, and the father of at least one son, and briefly king of Stathclyde. Widowed, he abdicated his position, founded a monastery at Govan on the river Clyde, became a monk there, and evangelized the region.

Constantine became a priest. He was an abbot of a monastery in Govan, Scotland as well. Martyr.

Older martyrologies have entries for Constantines of Strathclyde, of Cornwall, and of Rahan, Ireland; they run the details of their lives together, and they could have been one, two or three people.

Died

  • bled to death in 874 in a cave near Crail after his right arm was cut off by Danish pirates
  • considered a martyr in Scotland for defending his Christian land against pagan invaders

Canonized

  • Pre-Congregation

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-constantine-ii/

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John 4:46-48

Faith in All Things

“Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.’”

Reflection:

Jesus did end up healing the royal official’s son. And when the royal official returned to discover his son healed, we are told that “he and his whole household came to believe.” Some came to believe in Jesus only after He performed miracles. There are two lessons we should take from this.

First of all, the fact that Jesus performed miracles is a testimony to Who He is. He is a God of abundant mercy. As God, Jesus could have expected faith from those to whom He ministered without offering them the “proof” of signs and wonders. This is because true faith is not based upon external evidence, such as seeing miracles; rather, authentic faith is based upon an interior revelation from God by which He communicates His very self to us and we believe.

Therefore, the fact that Jesus did signs and wonders shows just how merciful He is. He offered these miracles, not because anyone deserved them but simply because of His abundant generosity to help spark faith in the lives of those who found it hard to believe through the interior gift of faith alone.

With that said, it’s important to understand that we should work to develop our faith without relying upon external signs. Imagine, for example, if Jesus would have never performed any miracles. How many would have come to believe in Him? Perhaps very few. But there would have been some who came to believe, and those who did would have had a faith that was exceptionally deep and authentic. Imagine, for example, if this royal official did not receive a miracle for his son but, nonetheless, chose to believe in Jesus anyway through the transforming interior gift of faith.

In each one of our lives, it is essential that we work to develop our faith, even if God doesn’t seem to act in powerful and evident ways. In fact, the deepest form of faith is born in our lives when we choose to love God and serve Him, even when things are very difficult. Faith in the midst of difficulty is a sign of very authentic faith.

Reflect, today, upon the depth of your own faith. When life is hard, do you love God and serve Him anyway? Even if He doesn’t remove the crosses you carry? Seek to have true faith at all times and in every circumstance and you will be amazed at how real and sustaining your faith becomes.

Source: https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2024/03/10/faith-in-all-things-2/

John 4:46-48 Read More »

Fourth Sunday of Lent

First Reading 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people 
added infidelity to infidelity, 
practicing all the abominations of the nations 
and polluting the LORD’s temple 
which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, 
send his messengers to them, 
for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.
But they mocked the messengers of God, 
despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, 
until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed 
that there was no remedy.

Their enemies burnt the house of God,
tore down the walls of Jerusalem, 
set all its palaces afire, 
and destroyed all its precious objects.

Those who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, 
where they became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons
until the kingdom of the Persians came to power.

All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: 
“Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, 
during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest 
while seventy years are fulfilled.”

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, 
in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, 
the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia 
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, 
both by word of mouth and in writing: 
“Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 
All the kingdoms of the earth
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, 
and he has also charged me to build him a house 
in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, 
let him go up, and may his God be with him!”

Responsorial Psalm Psalms 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (6ab)  Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon
    we sat and wept
    when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
    we hung up our harps.

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

For there our captors asked of us
    the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
    “Sing for us the songs of Zion!”

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

How could we sing a song of the LORD
    in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
    may my right hand be forgotten!

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

May my tongue cleave to my palate
    if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
    ahead of my joy.

R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

Second Reading Ephesians 2:4-10

Brothers and sisters:
God, who is rich in mercy, 
because of the great love he had for us, 
even when we were dead in our transgressions, 
brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved —, 
raised us up with him, 
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 
that in the ages to come 
He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace 
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, 
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; 
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works 
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.

Verse Before the Gospel John 3:16

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Gospel John 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, 
so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, 
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish 
but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, 
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, 
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, 
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world, 
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light, 
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, 
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

Source: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031024-YearB.cfm

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Saint Attalas of Bobbio

Profile

Attalas was a monk at Lérins, France and Luxeuil Abbey. He helped Columbanus build the abbey in Bobbio, Italy.

Attalas served as its abbot from 615. During Attalas’s abbacy, most of the monks stood out against the severity of the Columbanian Rule. His monks included Saint Valery and Saint Blitmund of Bobbio.

Born

  • in Burgundy, France

Died

  • 627 of natural causes
  • interred next to Saint Colombanus in the church at the abbey of Saint Colombano, Bobbio, Provincia di Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  • re-interred in 1482 in a stone sarcophagus in the crypt of the basilica of Saint Colombano built over the site of the old church
  • altar, crypt and shrine were refurbished and the re-opened to the public in 1910

Canonized

  • Pre-Congregation

Patronage

  • Bobbio, Italy
  • Luxeuil-les-Bains, France

Representation

  • abbot near a mill with his staff in hand
  • abbot with a nearby chair
    with Saint Columbanus

Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-attalas-of-bobbio/

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John 3:14-15

Seeking the Full Truth

“Jesus said to Nicodemus: ‘Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.’”

Reflection:

The line quoted above concludes a dialogue that Jesus had with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin. This is the first of three times Nicodemus is mentioned in the Gospel of John. The second time he appears is when he reminds the other members of the Sanhedrin that a man must be first heard before he is condemned. The third time was when Jesus was killed and Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.

Jesus was not accepted by most of the Pharisees and within the Sanhedrin. For that reason, Nicodemus was taking a risk by going to him at night to talk. But Jesus clearly senses faith in the heart of Nicodemus, which is why when Nicodemus asks Jesus about His teaching, Jesus answers him. Unlike the other Pharisees, Nicodemus was not trying to trap our Lord; he sincerely wanted to understand.

At the beginning of this dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, Nicodemus professes the beginning of faith in Jesus when he says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Interestingly, Jesus then speaks to Nicodemus in figures of speech, saying that one can only enter the Kingdom of God when they are “born from above” and “born from water and the Spirit.”

Nicodemus tries to understand but fails. Jesus then gently rebukes him by saying, “You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?” (John 3:10). Jesus then goes on to speak further in symbolic language and figures of speech, concluding with the beginning of today’s Gospel quoted above when He speaks in a veiled way about His coming crucifixion.

One thing that is important to understand from this dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus is that Jesus’ language is veiled in symbolic language because, even though Nicodemus was on the right path, he was not yet ready for the full revelation of the Gospel. He could not yet fully comprehend all that our Lord came to reveal. Thus, Jesus spoke in veiled language and invited Nicodemus to keep seeking its hidden meaning.

In our own lives, we can come to God and want Him to speak clearly and definitively to us, revealing His perfect will for our lives. But often He doesn’t. Why? Because God knows we are not yet ready for the full truth. When He speaks to us and when we gain insight in one way or another, this is good and reveals we are on the right path. But the Gospel, in its fullness, is so radical and so demanding that most people are not yet ready for the full truth. Therefore, in His compassion, God gives us only what we can handle at the moment. But this humble truth should encourage us, as it did Nicodemus, not to give up and to continue opening ourselves to the fullness of the Word of God.

Reflect, today, upon how open you are to the fullness of God’s Word. What would happen if God were to reveal to you, by an immediate personal revelation of divine knowledge, all that was in His sacred mind? Would it be too much for you to handle? Yes, it would be. But that humble admission is an important step toward that very goal. Humble yourself, today, more fully before the mysterious Word of God and pray that you will continue to be changed and open so that the clarity of God’s truth will more fully penetrate your soul.

Source: https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2024/03/09/seeking-the-full-truth/

John 3:14-15 Read More »

Saint Frances of Rome, Religious

Patron Saint of motorists and widows; Invoked against the death of children; Canonized by Pope Paul V on May 29, 1608

Frances was born into an aristocratic family in the Eternal City of Rome near the famed Piazza Navona. From an early age, she was drawn to God and responded with much generosity. At the age of eleven, she told her father that she wanted to become a nun, but her father had other plans for her life. He informed her that he was giving her hand in marriage to Lorenzo Ponziani, a wealthy aristocrat who was a commander in the papal army.

Frances struggled with her father’s decision and brought her concern to a local priest. After listening to her, the priest said to her, “Are you crying because you want to do God’s will or because you want God to do your will?” She quickly responded that she wanted God’s will, and the matter was settled. At the age of twelve, Frances was married.

Soon after her marriage, Frances was expected to assist her mother-in-law with the family’s social calendar. She was to help plan and host parties, engage in frivolities, and attend numerous public meetings. Since all she longed for was a life of solitude and prayer, the social expectations placed on her wore her out and she became gravely ill. The illness lasted for months and left her on her deathbed at a tender age. As she lay dying, she had a vision of Saint Alexis, a holy monk who fled an arranged marriage to pursue his vocation, who told her that she could choose one of two options, to recover or not. She deferred to the will of God and was immediately healed.

For the next forty years, Frances embraced her marriage with her whole heart. She loved her husband and he loved her. Her humble affection and devotion to him were so great that it has been said that during those forty years they never once had an argument.

Though drawn to a life of prayer, Frances often said, “A married woman must, when called upon, leave her devotions to God at the altar to find Him in her household affairs.” One story relates that, while praying the psalms, Frances was called away four times to tend to family affairs before even being able to finish the prayer. Upon returning to begin a fifth time, she found the words of the psalm written in gold as a sign that her fidelity to the duties of her vocation was pleasing to God.

Though Frances was wealthy and of the noble class, she embraced a personal life of simplicity, bodily penance, fasting, and prayer. She abstained from meat except for rare occasions. She would often exchange the delectable food of the nobility for the food of poor beggars, usually receiving from them dry and moldy bread. She dressed in coarse garments, never fine linen, and often wore a hairshirt that irritated her flesh.

Frances and her husband had three children, two boys, and one girl. When a plague afflicted the city of Rome, one of her sons and her only daughter died at an early age. This personal suffering led her to join her sister-in-law to begin an informal outreach to the sick and poor. The women regularly visited hospitals, nursed the sick back to health, distributed food to the hungry, and were ministers of the compassion of Christ.

Frances exhausted all of her own money and possessions to care for those who were suffering. When her money ran out, she began to beg other wealthy families for more. Eventually, some holy noblewomen in Rome were inspired to join Frances and her sister-in-law in their work.

In the year 1413, when Frances was twenty-nine years old, her husband was exiled from Rome by invaders, his property was seized, their home destroyed, and their only living son was detained as a hostage. Through it all, Frances called to mind the sufferings of Job and prayed with him, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!” (Job 1:21).

Within a few years, the situation was resolved, and her husband was able to move back to Rome and regain his possessions. But the chaos led Frances to turn the ruined family home into a hospital to care for the sick. One of those whom she cared for was her husband, who had suffered greatly during his exile. He was broken more in mind than in body, but her loving devotion helped him heal. During this time, it is said that she began having visions of her guardian angel, who frequently spoke to her and gave her advice. These visions continued for the rest of her life.

By 1425, Frances and other holy women in Rome were working hard to care for the poor and infirm. To help this work flourish, Frances organized a lay association of Benedictine Oblates for single and widowed women. The women who joined did not take formal religious vows nor enter a cloister, but lived together, embraced the Benedictine spirituality under the direction of a local monastery, and gave loving service to the poor and ill. Though still married and unable to join the oblates, Frances did receive the consent of her loving husband to live the rest of their marriage in abstinence from intimacy. They lived this way until Lorenzo’s death in 1436.

The next year, now widowed at the age of fifty-two, Francis walked barefoot through the city to the monastery of oblates she had founded and prostrated herself on the ground before the oblates, begging for admission. She was admitted and soon after was named the superior.

The desire for religious life that she felt at the young age of eleven was now realized. For the next three years, she devoted herself to the holy work of her community. When her guardian angel informed her that her mission was complete on earth, she joyfully surrendered herself to death. In 1925, Pope Pius XI declared her to be the patron saint of automobile drivers because it was said that her angel always went before her, lighting the way, as headlights illuminate the way for a car.

Saint Frances loved and served God as a wife, mother, and religious. She learned to embrace God’s will over her own. Her selfless living enabled her to discover God’s will in each evolution of her vocation and to serve Him in the way in which she was called. As we honor this holy woman, ponder your own vocation and commit yourself to serving the will of God in the way that gives Him the greatest glory here and now.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/march-9-saint-frances-of-rome-religious/

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Luke 18:9-10

Being Justified by Mercy

‘”Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. ‘Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.’” 

Reflection:

This Scripture passage introduces the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. They both go to the Temple to pray, but their prayers are very different from each other. The prayer of the Pharisee is very dishonest, whereas the prayer of the tax collector is exceptionally sincere and honest. Jesus concludes by saying that the tax collector went home justified but not the Pharisee. He states, “…for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

True humility is simply being honest. Too often in life we are not honest with ourselves and, therefore, are not honest with God. Thus, for our prayer to be true prayer, it must be honest and humble. And the humble truth for all of our lives is best expressed by the prayer of the tax collector who prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

How easy is it for you to admit your sin? When we understand the mercy of God, this humility is much easier. God is not a God of harshness but is a God of the utmost mercy. When we understand that God’s deepest desire is to forgive us and to reconcile us to Himself, then we will deeply desire honest humility before Him.

Lent is an important time for us to deeply examine our conscience and make new resolutions for the future. Doing so will bring new freedom and grace into our lives. So do not be afraid to honestly examine your conscience so as to see your sin clearly in the way God sees it. Doing so will put you in a position to pray this prayer of the tax collector: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

Reflect, today, upon your sin. What do you struggle with the most right now? Are there sins from your past that you have never confessed? Are there ongoing sins that you justify, ignore and are afraid to face? Take courage and know that honest humility is the road to freedom and the only way to experience justification before God.

Source: https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2024/03/08/being-justified-by-mercy-3/

Luke 18:9-10 Read More »

Saint John of God, Religious

Patron Saint of hospitals, nurses, firefighters, booksellers, alcoholics, and the sick; Canonized October 16, 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII

Saint John of God was born in the village of Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal to middle-class, faith-filled parents. According to his early biographer, John was abducted from his home when he was only eight years old and taken to the town of Oropesa, Spain, more than 200 miles away. In Oropesa, John found himself homeless and alone. He met a good man named El Mayoral who gave him a job as a shepherd and a place to live. John worked hard until he was twenty-two years old, never returning to his parents’ home.

El Mayoral wanted John to marry his daughter, but John wanted to see the world. He joined the army of the Holy Roman Emperor and battled the French. During his service, he was assigned to guard some captured clothing that went missing. John was accused of theft and condemned to death, but others intervened and he was released. Frustrated with military life, John returned to El Mayoral’s farm where he worked for another four years before entering the army once again to fight the Turks for the next eighteen years.

Upon the completion of his military service, John decided to return to his home country in Montemor-o-Novo to learn what became of his parents. After much searching, he found one of his elderly uncles who informed him that his mother died of heartbreak after his abduction and that his father joined the Franciscans and advanced in holiness. John said to his uncle, “I no longer wish to stay in this country; but rather to go in search of a way to serve Our Lord beyond my native place, just as my father did. He gave me a good example by doing that. I have been so wicked and sinful and since the Lord has given me life, it is fitting that I should use it to serve him and do penance.”

John began an interior search for the best way he could serve God and decided to journey to Africa, to ransom himself to the Muslims in exchange for their prisoners. On the journey, he met a knight and his family who were destitute and unable to care for themselves. The knight begged for John’s help that John gladly gave by working and giving them his earnings. When one of John’s fellow workers fled to Muslim territory and converted to Islam, John began to despair, thinking he should have done more for his friend. After seeking counsel from a Franciscan monastery, he decided to return to the mainland of Spain for the good of his soul.

Upon his arrival, John threw himself into a life of prayer, made a general confession, and tearfully went from church to church begging God for the forgiveness of his sins. To support himself, he began to buy and sell religious pictures and books as a traveling salesman. He found this to be spiritually rewarding and fruitful for the salvation of souls. Eventually, at the age of forty-six, he set up a small shop of religious items at Granada’s city gate.

Soon after, the great preacher Saint John of Ávila came to town to preach a mission. John was in attendance and was so moved by John of Ávila’s sermons, and so keenly aware of his own sins, that he started running through the streets like a madman, shouting for mercy. He returned to his shop and destroyed every book that was not religious, gave every other religious book and picture away to those passing by, gave away the rest of his possessions, and continued crying out in the streets that he was a sinner. “Mercy! Mercy, Lord God, on this tremendous sinner who has so offended you!”

Many thought John was a lunatic. Some good men brought him to Saint John of Ávila who heard his confession, counseled him, consoled him, and offered his continued guidance. But John was so deeply touched by the priest’s holy help that he wanted everyone in the town to know how sinful he was, so he ran through the streets crying out again and rolled in mud as a sign of his sinfulness. Eventually, two compassionate men took John to the local insane asylum for treatment.

The theory of the day was that those who were insane were best cured by locking them in a dungeon and torturing them continuously until they chose to abandon their insanity, and this is what happened to John. Saint John of Ávila heard of this and began communicating with John, encouraging him, and guiding him. He received every beating in the asylum with joy as penance and offered each sacrificially to God. Throughout, John exhorted the warden and other officers to treat the patients better.

When John began to exude a peaceful disposition, the warden was pleased and permitted him to be freed of his shackles. John showed mercy and compassion to others, performing menial charitable tasks and spreading God’s love. He thought to himself, “May Jesus Christ eventually give me the grace to run a hospice where the abandoned poor and those suffering from mental disorders might have refuge and that I may be able to serve them as I wish.”

After receiving permission to leave the asylum, John made a pilgrimage and had a vision of the Blessed Mother who encouraged him to work for the poor and infirm. Upon his return to Granada, he moved forward with his desire to open a hospital. Through begging, he was able to rent a building, furnish it, and begin seeking out the sick. He worked tirelessly to care for them, begged for food, brought priests to hear their confessions, and nursed them back to health. In the years following, John extended his mission of mercy to the poor, the abandoned, widows, orphans, the unemployed, prostitutes, and all who suffered.

Soon, others were so inspired by the work John was doing that they joined him. His companions in the work made up what would eventually become the Order of Hospitallers. In John’s life, the group would be only an organized group of companions, but twenty-two years after John’s death, the pope would approve this group of men as a new religious order. Among the many miracles that have been reported, the most notable was when John ran in and out of a burning hospital to rescue patients without being burned himself. 

Saint John of God is a shining example of God’s power. He was a sinner and was thought to be mentally ill, but God did incredible things through him. If you ever feel as though you have nothing to offer God, think of Saint John and know that the weaker you may feel, the more God can use you.

Source: https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/march-8-saint-john-of-god-religious/

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Mark 12:29-30

Hold Nothing Back

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

Reflection:

Why would you choose anything less than to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength? Why would you choose anything less? Of course, we do choose many other things to love in life, even though Jesus is clear with this commandment.

The truth is that the only way to love others, and even to love ourselves, is to choose to love God with ALL we are. God must be the one and only focus of our love. But what’s amazing is that the more we do this, the more we realize that the love we have in our lives is the kind of love that overflows and overflows in superabundance. And it is this overflowing love of God that then pours forth on others.

On the other hand, if we try to divide our loves by our own effort, giving God only part of our heart, soul, mind and strength, then the love we have for God cannot grow and overflow in the way God wants. We limit our capacity for love, and we fall into selfishness. Love of God is a truly amazing gift when it is total and all-consuming.

Each one of these parts of our lives are worth pondering and examining. Think about your heart and how you are called to love God with your heart. And how does this differ from loving God with your soul? Perhaps your heart is more focused on your feelings, emotions and compassion. Perhaps your soul is more spiritual in nature. Your mind loves God the more it probes the depth of His Truth, and your strength is your passion and drive in life. Regardless of how you understand the various parts of your being, the key is that every part must love God in fullness.

Reflect, today, upon the beautiful commandment of our Lord. It’s a command of love, and it is given to us not so much for God’s sake but for ours. God wants to fill us to the point of overflowing love. Why would we ever choose anything less?

Source: https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2024/03/07/hold-nothing-back-3/

Mark 12:29-30 Read More »