Category: Heaven
The radiant joy of God’s presence
“Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.” (Psalm 34:6)
Joy creeps into our lives as we develop an intimate relationship with the Lord in prayer. Like the early Christians, God created us to display his presence through our happiness and joy so that the world will see that something is different. We are radiant with joy because God loves us. This transformation comes through the indwelling presence of God himself. These moments of radiant joy help us cultivate the habit of practicing the presence of God.
God’s presence dwells within us from our formation in the womb and then removes our original sin at our baptism. That sacrament eventually opens the door to the Eucharist, where we receive him ever more fully. Jesus calls us into a relationship with him through our baptism and shares his dynamic presence with us through every sacrament.
Friar’s Corner: Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
We have been created to find our fulfillment and peace only in knowing, loving and serving God. It is an unmistakable fact of experience that human beings will be restless and searching until they have surrendered their lives totally to God. We have been created with a God-shaped hole, or vacuum, in our hearts, which can only be filled by Him who created us. It simply won’t work to find true happiness and fulfillment in anything or anyone else. St. Augustine expressed it this way: “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You,” O God.
Our Journey to Know and Love Jesus Christ
My second reason to write is to let you know how we came to accept Jesus in our hearts, and how He became a big part of our lives. Jesus led us into his light, away from the darkness of sin, and we became a new creation as some say, “born again,” and we learned a new way of living our lives. Looking back to the beginning of our spiritual life, Our Lord chose to use sadness to get the attention of Marjorie and me. Our son Anthony was our first child, born November 30, 1969, and died on October 18, 1978, from Leukemia. He died in five days. The doctors told us that the autopsy indicated that he would have suffered much in a couple of weeks since his appendix was close to giving a lot of trouble. To add sadness to our broken hearts, it was my birthday when he died. Three days later began the change of our life together. I understand in many situations like ours, people will pull away from God, thinking HOW can God do this to us, etc.
Friar’s Corner: Jesus is our resurrection and new life
As this virus spreads, many will be called from earthly life. Let us get our life in order and be ready to go with Jesus if he comes for us. Get on the web and look up some definitions of what the scriptures say about heaven and what the church has developed since then. Read stories about people who had departed this life and were sent back. They tell us some wonderful stories of what is on the other side and “not to be afraid of death.”
Friar’s Corner: More of Jesus!
Many in the world have tried to take God and sin out of our dictionary and life. We see the effects of this in the world-wide havoc each day in our news. We see it in wars, killings, natural disasters, alcoholism, misused sex, drugs and negative power. God has a different plan to defeat temptations quickly and effectively, living close to Jesus and his plans as revealed by his Holy Spirit.
Featured Favorite: God Knows
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.
Friars Corner: Getting closer to Jesus
St Paul tells us, “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Every day of our life is nearer to our personal judgment at the end of our life on earth. Advent gives us time to adjust our life schedule. It is “winter cleaning” not spring cleaning which is for Lent. In Matthew 24 we find similar words, in the days of Noah before the flood, we hear, “They (the people of Nineveh) did not know until the flood came and carried them all away…So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” So my brothers and sisters, hopefully, we will meet one day in heaven. This Advent let us look at our daily schedule of events and find a little more time to get closer to Jesus. He will bring you more joy and other wonderful gifts. Every day in prayer has its own gifts.