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| We do not want to strike out for all eternity!!! |
As followers of Christ we believe in
the following with respect to our final end!
God creates us out of love; He loves us with an infinite and unchangeable
love. He wants to be loved in return. However, love is a two-way street that
demands a response of love! This implies freedom or liberty. Now freedom can be
either used to render God honor and glory and praise; or freedom can be abused.
The nature of sin is simply that: the abuse of the freedom that God has given
to us! God never coerces our will or forces us ever, but respects our freedom
till the very end.
Love for God is not measured so much
by feelings and emotions and sentiments. Rather, love for God can be measured
by our willingness to obey God in all that He asks of us; this often implies
the cross and suffering. Why? Because to deny our own will is exceedingly
difficult due to our innate pride that we carry with us from the moment of our
conception with the effects of Original Sin.
Jesus put it clearly: “If you
love me then keep my Commandments.” Once
again: “Not all who say Lord, Lord will
enter the Kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father.” Satan denied God’s will saying: “I will not
serve.” Likewise, Adam and Eve said “no”
to God by eating from the forbidden fruit. May we say “yes” to God in obedience
and attain our ultimate goal---HEAVEN!
Three short suggestions that could
prove invaluable in our spiritual life so that we can arrive safely home to
heaven. The only thing that really matters in life is to get to heaven. Jesus
said: “What would it profit a man if he
gain the whole world and lose his soul. What can a man exchange for his immortal
soul?”
1.
NO TO SIN!!! Our mortal enemy number one is SIN. The two worst things in the world are the
following and the last is by far the worst: committing a Mortal sin, dying in
mortal sin! Saint Dominic Savio’s motto was” “Death rather than sin.” If you
have the tragedy of committing a mortal sin, never despair but trust in the
infinite mercy of God. However, run to the confessional as soon as possible and
do not delay. It is so true that God’s mercy is infinite and it is His greatest
attribute. Still to postpone, hold-off and procrastinate in renouncing our
mortal sin is the sin of presumption. By presumption we mean we are presuming
that God is going to give us a longer life. On this point there is no
security! We could die this day, this
hour this very second—only God knows the day and the hour! A good confession is
dying to sin and rising to new life. It is the celebration of the Paschal
mystery in our own life: we die to sin by confession and rise to new life in
the state of grace through repentance, confession, and absolution. Praise God
for His infinite mercy!
2.
LIVE EACH DAY AS IF IT WERE OUR LAST! The saints lived by this axiom! Listen to
these wise proverbs. “Do not put off for
tomorrow what you can do today.”—especially conversion from sin to the love and
following of Christ. The Rule of Saint
Benedict exhorts us: “Think about death
twice a day.” This is a holy reminder of our mortality and the shortness of
life. The Psalmist admonishes us with these words on the ephemeral character of
the human plight with these words: “Our
life is like the morning flower that rises in the morning but dries up and dies
in the evening.” Finally, a modern Chilean Jesuit Saint Father Alberto Hurtado
coined this impressive adage: “There are
two places where we can rest: the cemetery and heaven.” Wow!!! In other words, let us work hard now because
we have all eternity to rest with God. Finally Jesus Himself in the Parable of
the Rich fool, sharply rebukes the rich man for accumulating and saving and
living it up because that very night he would be destined to die and where will
all of his possessions go? Today, probably to Uncle Sam or Obama care! But “Who”
cares about that!!!
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Breathe forth from your soul the Hail Mary
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3.
BREATH OF OUR SOUL: THE HAIL
MARY!!! Beyond doubt love for Mary is
key to growing in love for Jesus, in growing in sanctifying grace, living
purity, and persevering in grace and attaining to our eternal reward in heaven.
Saint Louis de Montfort asserts: “Mary
is the quickest, shortest and the most efficacious path to Jesus.” In other
words, she is the shortcut to the Heart of God and Heaven. As breath is
essential for the functioning of the lungs; so prayer is essential for the life-breath
of the soul. Now the prayer that Mary loves most is of course the HAIL MARY!
Better yet, Mary loves the Rosary or even many Rosaries! The more we say the
Hail Mary and the Rosary with love and devotion, the more Mary loves us in
return. Finally, in those last moments
of our life, when often the devil launches his last attack upon our soul, the
Blessed Virgin Mary will be there to defend us against the evil one so that we
can die in the loving embrace of Jesus, Mary and Saint Joseph. Simply the name of Mary makes all tremble, as
we are reminded by Saint Louis de Montfort!
In conclusion, let us calmly look at
the purpose and meaning of our life, our immortality which means that one day
we will die, and humbly beg for the grace to renounce sin in all forms, colors
shapes and types; let us live each day loving God totally and live each day as
if it were our very last. Finally, let us live constantly in the presence of
the Blessed Virgin Mary praying the Hail Mary with our soul the way the lungs
breath in and out air! If done, our eternal destiny will be HEAVEN!!!
