The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Going towards Life
1) Trust. When you start walking along the path to Jesus; getting to know Him; you’ll also be walking along a path of self-discovery. This path demands trust, courage, and tolerance to pain, because getting to know God entails getting to know yourself. Trust in the Lord because this path with God is an adventure, and if He truly enters your life and you really let Him in, He will illuminate a lot of darkness in you. Trust in God because the time may come that you many even feel disappointed with yourself, and trust Him because there will be moments when you have to make decisions and changes. You won’t be able to live the same way you used to live.
2) Courage. The path requires courage because it is an unknown road that requires faith. Sure, at first, we are super excited, but then that impulse and that motivation for the things of God, begins to decline. It might even be happening to you now with: going to mass, reading the Gospel daily, listening to audio reflections, praying the Rosary, among other things… And fear might also appear. But a courageous person is the one who moves ahead and does things even in fear.
3) Tolerance to pain. In the process of discovering yourself there are also painful moments, where you must see and accept your limits and miseries. This can be very painful – it’s hard to forgive ourselves sometimes, but “what is not accepted cannot be redeemed”. If you don’t tolerate the pain that the discovery process entails, you’re not going to do it. Remember Saint Augustine’s prayer: “Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know you; the more I know God the more I know myself.”
Christian life is a process and when you meet Christ there is true change in you and there’s a different path to follow. You see that what you thought your life was supposed to be like, well, that’s not how it’s meant to be; and you start to see things you didn’t see before. This takes time because in meeting Jesus Christ, and getting to know Him, a Christian goes through a process. If it were not that way, we would be falling into religious fanaticism and that’s not good. Of course, when you know the love of God and you are aware of everything that changes in your life, you want share this with your family and loved ones; but be careful ! You can invite others to have the experience that you had, but you cannot transfer your experience to them. It is a personal experience. The Eucharist does that. The Eucharist lights the fire of God in your heart. But it’s a process which is not easy. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
And remember Heaven, with Jesus, is our goal!
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God Bless You!
