What an EXTRAORDINARY day... It is the last day of this beautiful YEAR OF FAITH- a year of reflective prayer, heart-felt rejoicing, and joyful thanksgiving to God for the amazing gift of faith...But why? Why faith? Is it really such a gift? When God created the universe out of nothing, He formed man in His very own image and likeness. He made us BECAUSE of love, IN love, FOR love. And since God first breathed into man the Breathe of Life -His very own Spirit- He has been reaching out to man from the depths of His own eternal Love. God has been seeking after the heart of man...He has been revealing Himself through the beauty and grandeur of nature, through His faithful fatherly care of the People of Israel, and finally in the culmination of sending His very own Son to us. Truly, God gave HIMSELF to us. The fullness of the Divine, the King of all Creation, the Almighty maker of the Universe - comes to us, AS one of us. To walk as we walk, talk as we talk. To laugh, to love, to suffer, to work, to rejoice, to weep, to learn, to live. God has come to speak our language - to speak right to us. He has always been reaching out to us, He has always been speaking to us...the question is HAVE WE BEEN LISTENING?? God is not emotion or intense religious feeling, He is not loosely defined spirituality, He is not a wonderful thought or inspiring philosophy. Although these are sometimes the wonderful result of Gods presence - they arent Him. God is a Person - 3 in fact. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit reaching out to us, piercing through the darkness of our world, cutting through the noise and distraction, removing the cloud of confusion, breaking through the walls of our self-centeredness...reaching us in the only possible way we could be reached - IN LOVE. Our only response to this REALITY- part of the greatest Truth we could ever discover in this life... is FAITH. And this is where the magic happens. Faith is a GIFT - meaning it is GIVEN by God...to everyone!! We ALL have this gift. God has formed EVERY human heart to respond in Faith to His life-transforming Love! Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, agnostic, anyone from anywhere of any religious background...we have ALL been given the gift of faith by a God who is so deeply in love with us! Love and Faith are ALWAYS bound together. Love is what we look for- Faith in God is how we find it...Although we dont always understand it, we know we need it. Although we sometimes try to deny it, He never denies us. Although we try to ignore it, Love will not be made silent. JESUS CHRIST LOVES YOU...LIKE A LOT...A REAL LOT...This Truth is etched in the very depths of our heart- written by the hand of God using the pen or pencil (more like permanent marker!) of FAITH. As Pope Francis (coolest man alive, right?!) formally closes the Year of Faith, let the LIFE OF FAITH begin anew! Let us rediscover the truth of who we are and who were meant to be. We are destined for real HAPPINESS- never let the world tell you otherwise. We are made to enjoy the fullness of life, by coming to understand the true meaning of it. All this comes from God, and He gives it all to us through FAITH. Therefore, let us embrace the Faith. Let us come to know Jesus Christ - AS HE IS. The King of the Universe and the King of our Hearts. Let us allow Him to renew within us the gift of FAITH. Let us not be afraid to encounter God in a real and PERSONAL way. Dive deeper in relationship with Him, especially if you have never done so before - SPEAK to Him and then allow Him to speak right back to you. LISTEN. As He always has and always will - He is reaching out to you. He has been waiting your whole life, for you to take just one step closer to Him. Life is a journey made in Faith. Let us walk TOGETHER - together in Christ.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 04:20:43 +0000
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