Seeking Divine Mercy
About Faith
Have you ever questioned what has gone wrong that we have evolved into
the society we have become today?
Do you think it sad but normal to hear on any given day that several people
have been murdered in a shopping mall, school or on a public street, or by one
of our children who perhaps afterward committed suicide, violently ending his
or her own life? Have you taken the time to stop and think about it?
Can you assure yourself it will never happen to your son or daughter? That
they will never become the victim or the cause of such an act?
A large number of us seem to claim there
isn’t the time to really think about it because of the hustle of daily life.
Some of us blame God for the negative events that occur in our lives but
curiously we never seem to blame satan’s
influence. And how often do we sincerely thank God for anything let alone every
gift we have been given? Do we thank Him for our health, friends, our spouse
and loved ones, those prior relationships we have had with those who have
passed, the gifts we have received and the talents we have been given? Do we
realize that although we may be able to strengthen those gifts or talents, we
do not control the decisions of others who judge us by our talents and
abilities when it comes to our progress in society? Do we thank God for the
Gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, and do we Thank His Son for all He suffered for
our eternal life?
There are those who avoid attending
church to worship our Lord because they are only willing to selectively accept
parts of the churches teachings while rejecting the doctrines they don’t agree
with as though God’s word is flexible and we only have to live by what we find
convenient. Have you ever heard someone claim they are a “Christian” but
believe in “the right to choose”? Choose what… and why don’t they ever finish
the sentence? A person either believes in God or doesn’t... Regardless of the
“denomination” of Christian faith, either one is truly a Christian or not,
there’s no middle ground other than that place satan
would have us occupy.
To some, practicing their faith is too inconvenient “… it’s what is in
your heart that counts so practicing your faith as the Church Teaches is not
important as long as your intentions are good and you treat others
“appropriately.” This is misguided to say the least.
In the Old Testament, God, through the Holy Spirit, handed down His Word
to the prophets, and in the New Testament, His Son our Lord, Jesus Christ,
brought the Father’s Word to fulfillment. This isn’t a coincidence. These were
the prophecies the prophets were proclaiming, the coming of the Messiah, His
life, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection from the dead. This is the
substance of God’s Promise and the teachings and doctrines of the Catholic
Church and it is historically attested to for 2000 years. How many Christians,
including those of the Catholic Faith, regardless of denomination read The Holy
Bible in it’s entirety as they should or really know how to interpret it?
What are we teaching our
children? What priorities and example do we display to them that they will
eventually grow and live by. Consider the following;
A description of which society?: a culture of immorality, all
but totally abandoning the institutions of marriage and family values,
principles of life in procreation along with the general acceptance of abortion
and contraception, unwavering acceptance of divorce, social and legal
acceptance of homosexuality, newly established fellowships in paganism,
genocide against the unborn more commonly out of convenience preceded by
uninhibited promiscuity and negligence, a consistent growth in the rate of
multiple and mass murders both within families and among the general public,
murder/suicides; the adoption of “legally” accepted devaluation of life of
senior citizens within society reducing their access to medical procedures
based on economic valuation under adopted standards established by politicians
determining value of life proportionate to age and estimated longevity or
“human monetary worth”, with the option to “assist suicide” for those refused
medical treatment based on age while growing ever closer toward selective
euthanasia.
Watch video, “Wounds of Humanity”
This is our society as it has perverted
itself over the last 50 years, but it goes much further than that. It is something
written over centuries upon centuries quoting historic accounts of another
society as well. It is taken from a historic account of the Social adoption of
perverted practices of the Caligula Society during the 1st century
In the not so
distant past, parents made sure the time was set aside for their children to be
educated not only “right from wrong” but also the practice of their family’s
faith. A parent saw to their children’s knowledge of God, and understanding of
respect and morality. There are those who do continue these teachings today but
how many can from their heart honestly say that? How many of our children are
nearing or have reached adulthood without any real knowledge or faith in God.
Or do we find it just barely possible to teach what we think is “right and
wrong” with the time we have? How many of us once had God in our own lives but
lost awareness over time?
Divorce and often
its end result, single parenting was nowhere near as prevalent as it has become
today. According to today’s outlook, divorce often seems to offer a more
convenient alternative to the responsibilities of working on a marital
relationship, its commitments and sacrifices. Unplanned Pregnancy? Again,
according to today’s outlook, abortion
often seems to offer a more convenient alternative to the responsibilities of
parenthood. Taking the time teaching our children about faith and God, ethics
and morality? Programs and cartoons on DVDs and TV or “kids networks” often
seem to offer a more convenient alternative to the time it requires fulfilling
these responsibilities because “we just don’t seem to have time.”
Many avoid anything that interferes with
what is considered most convenient and self-gratifying while pursuing
ambitions. They have detached themselves from God with an ever-growing
distance. In the process we have unwittingly abandoned our souls and
persistently risk the salvation of our children for our own goals. We have set
materialism on a pedestal like the golden calf and have abandoned God and the
value of family in setting our individual priorities. Most often it is
self-pride and ego that is the underlying forces demanding satisfaction. Pride
and ego are also spoken of in The Holy Bible as the foundation of sin.
What are our Priorities? How many people
stand in lines for hours or camp out for days to purchase toys or tickets for
sporting events or shows and we’ll buy them because we “have to have them”. Yet
how many Christians are there who rarely if ever go to worship let alone raise
their children taught in the knowledge of their faith and love of our Lord?
How many of those under the age of eighteen who have
taken lives before taking their own were raised in a family practicing their
true Christian faith or at least knew of Our Lord? And what will you take with
you of this world when you leave this life behind? Is the limited time we spend
on earth more precious than the eternal life we are offered by our Heavenly
Father?
Let us wake up to
our own individual weaknesses and return to our faith and to our Lord, Jesus
Christ, before it is our own lack of recognition or ignorance that awakens us.
We need only turn around to Him with an open heart and invite Him in. His love
for each of us is more than we could ever comprehend and His forgiveness
transcends all wrong. Let us seek
knowledge of Him, which will increase our admiration, and love for Him. Learn
how to pray once again or even for the first time so that we may teach and in
turn save our children. We can reach salvation through His Divine Mercy,
forgiveness and love. We need only learn to love Him in return.
Jesus said to His disciples…
“…Just as the living Father sent
me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will
have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down
from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this
bread will live forever."
These things he said while
teaching in the synagogue in
Since Jesus knew that his
disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock
you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was
before?
It is the spirit that gives
life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit
and life. But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus knew from the beginning
the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said,
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless
it is granted him by my Father."
As a result of this, many (of)
his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied
him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve,
"Do you also want to leave?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are
the Holy One of God." (John: 6,
57-68)
. . . . .
If there were those
who could stand personally before our Lord yet because of their limited ability
to understand be so weak as to disbelieve in Him and walk away, how could we
not realize our frail nature to disbelieve, refuse to accept and walk away, and
with that realization learn from the disciples who walked away and remain as
those who had true faith, the apostles who remained?
When it comes to choosing God
through our faith as our priority, humanity is frail. In our earthly way, we
are beings of a physical nature and relate to that which is of a physical
nature. To relate to something that is without physical substance or is of a
super-natural existence is difficult to comprehend in our finite minds. We
require proof or evidence. Absent of either of those, all we have left is
faith.
In relationships, whether faith
in our friend, our husband, wife, doctor, preacher, priest, or our Lord,
without faith, there cannot be a true, confident relationship. Yet no test of
faith can exist where all the answers are known. There, knowledge and
discernment replace true faith. In any relationship, regardless of whether it
is with another person or our Lord, faith must exist in whomever the object of
our love may be in order for the relationship to survive because unlike our
Heavenly Father, we cannot know what is to come in the future to know where a
relationship will lead us. So it is that our faith is weak and frail yet even
more so with our Lord who we cannot easily relate to due to our physical nature
and His super-natural being. We fall easily, giving up on what we cannot
encounter with our limited senses.
Some
think it would be so much easier to have faith in our Lord if we could see Him even
once. But the reality is, to see Him just once could never be enough. Our
desire to see Him and be with Him would then become incomprehensible. Anyone
who has ever experienced love knows the strongest desire is to be with the
person you love and separation tormenting.
So why can’t we be with Him now you may question? To skip this physical
lifetime, which would be necessary in order to be with our Lord, would cancel
out all that we would experience, most importantly, all that influences us in
the exercise of our God given gift of free will. To be able to choose freely to
know Him and love Him as He desires or proceed on our own path just as we
choose to enter or avoid any other relationship. Faith to trust, love and
devote oneself in that ultimate relationship with Our Lord. The closer we come
to knowing Him the stronger our faith, trust, Love and devotion can grow. When
weakness seems to become overwhelming, remember the Apostles who lived and
walked with our Lord and knew and loved Him so strongly to suffer the
persecutions, tortures and deaths they suffered for not silencing their faith.
What could create such an unwavering devotion but He, who is the Truth? We must
always be vigilant of our human weaknesses as they are the open doorways to the
master of lies and it is he who would benefit from our failure.
May
we always seek strength through the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome our
weaknesses and not abandon our Lord Jesus Christ.
