A HEART OF LOVE |
Dedicated to the memory of Mother Teresa
Joy can multiply itself in a heart that overflows with love. The joy of Jesus will be my strength - it will be in my heart. Every person I meet will see it in my work, my walk, my prayer - in everything. Keep the light of Christ always shining in your hearts. Only he is the Way to be trodden. He is the Truth we must speak out. He is the love we must love. In order for love to be genuine, it has to be above all a love for my neighbor. Love for my neighbor will lead me to true love of God. Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. By transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God himself, with Jesus our Lord. To be a Christian is nothing other than to give of oneself for the sake of Christ. God so loved the world that he gave us his Son. That was the first act of self - giving. Where God is, there is love; and where there is love, there always is an openness to serve. How can I show my love, since love is manifested in actions? I will not miss any scraifice, any gesture of sensitivity, any word.... Doing the smallest things out of love... I will always sing about it, even though roses are to be taken care of in the midst of thorns. by Therese of Lisieux To be able to do something beautiful for God, we need Jesus. Each one of us needs to encounter Jesus. Without him, we can do nothing. Jesus must be brought to every man and woman. Jesus is the answer. Let's be willing to smile at one another, because a smile is the beginning of love. And once we begin to love one another, the desire to do something for one another more naturally follows. The chance to share our love with others is a gift from God. May it be for us just as it was for Jesus. Let's love one another as he loved us. Let's love one another with undivided love. Let's experience the joy of loving God and loving one another. Jesus wants to pass on to us the opportunity to give of ourselves to him, so we could turn our love for him into living deeds. To accomplish that, he became the hungry one, the naked one, stripped of all earthly goods and comforts. Christ is hidden under the suffering appearance of anyone who is hungry, anyone who is naked, anyone who is homeless or dying. "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomes me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me" † Matthew 25:35,36 I hope the day will come when Christians may become the carriers of God's love to everyone. The poor are great people worthy of love. Do you know the poor who live next door to you? Poverty is not only to be hungry for something to eat, to lack clothing, or not to have a home. Poverty is even greater when it is a poverty of the heart. Let's love one another; that will accomplish miracles. A Christian is someone who gives of himself. We have to learn to do this. You need to learn how to give, not to give because you have to give, but because you want to give. We need to have a life of prayer to be able to give like that. Jesus wants us to give of ourselves every moment. You have been taught by those who have given their whole lives to Christ. By their teaching and personal example, they have kindled the light of Christ in your lives. The time has come for you to likewise kindle the same light of Christ in the lives of those around you. Give! Give the love you have received to those around you. You must love with your time, your hands, and your hearts. You need to share all that you have. This is the only condition that Christ really places on us: "Love one another as I have loved you." And we know very well how much he has loved us! He died for us! We all need to pray, to sacrifice, to be totally open to God. Then he can use us as he sees fit. People are hungry for God. Do you see that? Quite often we look but we don't see. We are all passing through this world. We need to open our eyes and see. Never has the world had a greater need for love than in our day. People are hungry for love. We don't have time to stop and smile at each other. We are all in such a hurry! Pray. Ask for the necessary grace . Pray to be able to understand how much Jesus loved us, so that you can love others. We must convert our love for Christ into deeds. We must express Christian love in concrete, living ways. Pray that we don't spoil the work that God has given us, and that it continues to be his work. Let us bring love and compassion to win the world, to bring the world the gospel of Christ. Let us all bring the good news that God loves the world. |
NEVER ENOUGH TIME |
I knelt to pray but not for long I had too much to do I had to hurry and get to work For bills would soon be due So I knelt and said a hurried prayer And jumped up off my knees My Christian duty was now done My soul could rest at ease All day long I had no time No time to speak of Christ to friends They'd laugh at me I'd fear No time, no time, too much to do That was my constant cry No time to give to souls in need But at last the time, the time to die I went before the Lord I came, I stood with downcast eyes For in his hands God held a book It was the book of life God looked into his book and said "Your name I cannot find I once was going to write it down... But never found the time." Author Unknown |
THE HANDS OF THE MASTER |
I see his hands on the rocky shores of Ireland all over the western plains in the ever growing forests in the gentle soothing rains I feel His hands on a sorely troubled heart and upon my head in prayer so when I get to sleep I'll feel I'm in His care I know his hands will be there when I stumble to carefully raise me up to see that I am nourished and when thirsty fill my cup ~Marguerite Ellen Bell~
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I WISH YOU ENOUGH |
Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. The airline had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, "I love you. I wish you enough."
She in turn said, "Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad." They kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?" "Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?" "I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead, and the reality is, the next trip back will be for my funeral," he said. "When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, "I wish you enough. May I ask what that means?" He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down for many generations within my family. My parents used to say it to everyone." He paused for a moment, looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. "When we said 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following: I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough 'Hellos' to get you through the final 'Good-byes'. Then he walked away. I really loved this story. I think too often we expect our lives to be perfect - taking for granted all of the "inconveniences" that come our way. God never promised us a perfect life. But he does promise to always be with us through our trials and tribulations. We all need to remember the bad things are as important as the blessings in life because they help to develop character and hopefully bring us closer to God. How would we appreciate joys in life without sorrow. |
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