Confinement
Now that we are restricted in our freedom, confined to our homes,
the biggest difficulty in the weeks to come will be boredom, and
the feeling of being imprisoned.
Today that made me think of the people that are in prison,
confined in a cell.
They, like us, still have things to do that brings a shape or a frame
to the day, but still, if we can not go out and be with other people,
we are imprisoned.
So what do we do?
There is a limit to how much television we can watch,
(or at least there should be), and we cannot spend all day in front of
the computer either.
Personally I always say: "if you cannot go out, go in"
Read the Bible, meditate on it, and pray the prayers of the Church.
Look inside yourself.
It is an opportunity for you to get to know yourself better, because there is
a depth to us humans that can only really be discovered by disassociating
ourselves more or less from the outside world.
"Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The Kingdom of God does not come with observation; neither will they say, 'Look, here.' or, 'Look, there.' for the Kingdom of God is within you."
(Luke 17, 20-21 New Heart English Bible)
Some people say that they only believe in things that they can see,
and since they cannot see God they do not believe in His existence.
As an argument it is very weak, since gravity for example, is not
something that we can see either, but it is not advisable to disregard
the reality of it's existence!
To the naked eye a virus is also invisible.
We can affirm that what we can see with our eyes are limited.
But what we can see with the eyes of our soul when we adhere
to the Word of God and put it into practice, is something so beautiful
and so powerful that you know that you can overcome any challenges
that comes your way.
Because you will know without any doubt, that you are not alone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBdG85iIyaE
The unexpected
These days we see that our life does not belong to us,
and that we never know what awaits us in the future.
We make plans, but at any moment, our life can be disrupted,
it can be turned upside down.
Everything can change very fast, one day it might just be the basics that counts; life, health, food.
Earthly life is short.
We are vulnerable on earth, but afterwards; what awaits us?
Our instincts and our intelligence tells us that life goes on after death,
in another state, in another dimension.
It is important to prepare for this departure.
Behind the screen of illusions, lies, denial and sin, is the Truth.
Jesus is the Truth, The Way that leads to Life.
He enlightens us, he forgives us, he loves us. He is God.
He is not far, He is near, always Present.
To heal or not to heal
The effects of family of origin
In my family there was denial, lies, betrayal, harshness, shame, absence of love and security, all of which had serious consequences.
The effects of dysfunction: Sin, is darkness.
It is the intelligence that is affected, also cohesion and natural inner stability.
In this state, how can a person be expected to become truly autonomous,
and to make good decisions?
It is impossible. And this kind of life always ends badly.
Thank God, that in my heart, I always believed that I would be healed.
It was this belief that always drove me to search, to search further and further, until I would find.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
(Matthew 7, 7-8)
and the NLT Bible version:
“Keep
on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and
you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.
(Matthew 7, 7)
My faith in Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, is what has healed the wounds of my soul,
restored my life, and filled it with love.
"Our faith life is a grace or a gift that brings us into a personal, loving union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
"Faith seeks understanding and is a friend of reason. Faith as a grace or gift from God makes it possible to gain some understanding of all that he has revealed to us, including the totality of his plan as well as the many mysteries of faith."
"Faith is a free, human act. Faith is a gift of God which enables us to know and love him. Faith is a way of knowing, just as reason is. But living in faith is not possible unless there is action on our part. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to make a decision to respond to divine Revelation, and to follow through in living out our response."
(https://www.catholicstand.com/the-critical-difference-between-faith-and-belief/)
“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen”
(Heb 11:1).
It is often through frightening and challenging situations, where our faith in God is tested.
We might profess that we believe in Him, but do we really trust Him?
We have an active part to play in this, we have to dare to trust in Him in situations when we see clearly that our own capacities are not enough. We surrender to Him.
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 143).
"Man’s faculties make him capable of
coming to a knowledge of the existence of a personal God. But for man to
be able to enter into real intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal
himself to man and to give him the grace of being able to welcome this
revelation in faith.
(https://www.catholicstand.com/the-critical-difference-between-faith-and-belief/)
We were not created for comfort, we were created for greatness!
When we are faced with something that we do not want; a sickness, a loss of any kind, heartbreak, or when we find ourself in a desperate situation where we do not know what to do or how to even get through the day, or maybe when it is more vague, just a slight feeling of miscontent, boredom, emptiness, it is the right moment to try something that maybe we have never tried before.
Almost everybody is conditioned to manage the complexities of life themselves. Sometimes we have to seek professional help, but God, the Source of all life, perfect and powerful, are very often not sought out.
It is the humanity of Jesus that gives us the key.
It is the link between Him and us.
Since He is also God, is it not reasonable to take the risk, to let go of ourselves,
even for a while,
and just TRUST?
It does not render us passive, on the contrary.
To lean on God, to live in a conscious dependency relationship with Him, to surrender in every situation, to live in his presence, translates itself into eternal life, which starts here on earth.
People who live with serious illness, who live in constant incertitude, who do not have frames of references for how to live, because the previous thoughts that motivated their actions are no longer possible, they might find themselves living in a situation that feels like an empty space.
My heart goes out to any person that suffers, and God do not create suffering, but in those conditions, if He is sincerely called upon, He will show his power, and He will fill that empty space with good things.
That is the truth.
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
(Psalm 34:18 New International Version (NIV)
Completely surrender, saying: "I am week and powerless, I need your help;
JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!"
TRUST Him, give him everything of yourself.
Crosses, if accepted, are means, proposed to us, to move into close relationship
with God.
Jesus showed us that by his death, freely accepted, on The Cross: the Tree of Life.
Catholics who will always look for an easy way out, who are always relying on their own resources, or who put their full trust in professional people to always know what is best for them, have missed out on the biggest treasure of the Catholic Faith, the Power of the Cross.
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