We have quickly reviewed the
Sacred Sacraments of the Holy Church. Christianity has no objective
other than that: “holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb.
12: 14). The only objective of these seven sacraments is to sanctify
your being for Christ so that He becomes everything in your life.
By becoming everything, the Lord does not annul your ordinary natural
life be it studies, work, success, marriage, the begetting of children,
and such like. What is meant is that all these should be sanctified in
the light of Christ and that the Holy Spirit work in you so that your
life might have another flavor to it and a beautiful meaning.
Simply, your finite and earthly life gains an infinite and heavenly
dimension. Imagine with me that your life opens up to the Lord Himself,
to eternity, to immortality, to the things of the spirit and of heaven.
Believe me, your life will have a new taste, and a desire for the
Kingdom and for your eternal heritage will be born in your heart.
You will not be content to be lost in the dust and in what is made of
dust, or to be lost with those who are lost in the crowd of worldly
life!
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Beloved
brother, |
I beg you to review your
accounts! All that is on earth will perish, and all that is in heaven is
permanent! “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and dust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and
where thieves do not break in and steal” (Mt. 6: 19, 20).
These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ for your life, so I beg you
to listen to them and to ponder them well. For this is a truth that we
often lose sight of because of our earthly preoccupations and our
temporal and narrow aspirations. “For what is a man profited if he gains
the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in
exchange for his soul?” (Mt. 16: 26).
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In Truth,
Is there a price for one moment in eternity?
Or even for one moment of certain happiness?
Or even for one moment of certain health?
Or even for one moment of assured life?
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Dear
brother, |
Reconsider your life now.
Commune in silence with your deep self, and pay attention to your deep
seated needs. In the depths of your self, beneath the surface of your
physical needs for food and drink, or your psychological need to play
and be merry, beneath your instincts, and your intellectual needs to
read, learn and acquire knowledge and culture, you will meet your soul
and discover its need for God!
You need to find Jesus Christ in the depths of your being! He is in the
ship of your life, which is tossed by high waves. All that you need to
do is to call Him and say: “Master, I perish”, and immediately He will
rise and save you from the waves of life and the pressures of sin.
Would that you experienced what St. Augustine did when sin had
embittered his life. He then heard the words of the Gospel “now it is
high time to awake out of sleep for now our salvation is nearer than
when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand.
Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the
armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and
drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh,
to fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 13: 11 - 14). After that, St. Augustine met
the Lord, repented, was united to Him, and became a monk, then a bishop,
a saint, and a Christian philosopher. He said to the Lord: “Where were
you, O Lord, when I was panting for You? You were in me.... deeper than
my depth, and higher than anything that is high... You were with me...
but to my misery, I was not with You.”
Dear reader, let us begin; let us grow in Christ, and may the Lord be
with you.
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My Lord
Jesus Christ, |
How do I repay You for all
You have given me: the blessings of the Mother Church, the Spirit
dwelling in it, the Lord Jesus Christ seated on its throne, who was
crucified out of love for it, the holy and life-giving sacrament,
worship, praise, the fellowship of the saints, fellowship in service,
love, effort, money and time?
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My Lord
Jesus Christ, |
My loyalty
to Your Church is no less strong than my loyalty to You, for it is
impossible to separate Christ from the Church, or the Church from
Christ. You are the Head, and it is Your Body. And I, miserable man, am
one of its members. So grant me the essence of Your love, the work of
Your Spirit, so that I may become a living, fruitful member and servant. |
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