Be a source of healing love

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Today Jesus teaches us that we should receive from him the power of healing love. It is a human love that reaches out to others forgetful of self.

Friday 30 October 2020

Be a source of healing love

 

Gospel

Luke 14:1-6

'Is it against the law to cure a man on the sabbath?'

Now on a sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. There in front of him was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees. ‘Is it against the law’ he asked ‘to cure a man on the sabbath, or not?’ But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away. Then he said to them, ‘Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a sabbath day without hesitation?’ And to this they could find no answer.

Prayerful reflection

They didn’t have the power of healing that Jesus had. Is it because they did not have the love that Jesus had? True love is a healing ointment and brings comfort and consolation. Jesus had that and has it still. In his life as a man, he was so one with God, that his love was a healing love. He would give his life for one in need. Would he not long to heal a man who was suffering with dropsy? In his love he had the wisdom to see that all of God’s laws are for the good and the wellbeing of human beings. He alone kept the  Law of God that day.

Let us come to the Lord in silent prayer and  in his presence receive the grace to love others as he does. Through our love let us bring consolation and joy to others. Through our union with God in Jesus let us be the channels of his healing too.

Put God first in your life

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

The rulers and dictators of this world pass away like the grass in the field. Only God remains for ever. Jesus fixes his sights on God and follows the mission given by him. In this he teaches us too, that to follow the will of God is the way to peace, happiness and salvation in this world and the next.

Thursday 29 October 2020

Put God first in your life

 

Gospel

Luke 13:31-35

It would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem

Some Pharisees came up to Jesus. ‘Go away’ they said. ‘Leave this place, because Herod means to kill you.’ He replied, ‘You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that today and tomorrow I cast out devils and on the third day attain my end. But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.

‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! So be it! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you say:

‘Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!’

 

Prayerful reflection

Notice how Jesus will not deviate from the mission given him by his Father. The Pharisees may have warned him in good faith that Herod wanted to kill him as he had John the Baptist. Jesus fixes his eyes on the will of God. In some mysterious way, God governs the affairs of men. We can rely on him. We too must keep our eyes fixed on God and do his will, regardless of what men say or do. Men are no more than the grass in the field, which springs up in the morning and fades by evening. The greatest of emperors and dictators are just passing shadows. We have seen plenty in our lifetime. As the psalmist says they are like the cedars of Lebanon, but then we look again and they are nowhere to be found. God and his visible likeness, Jesus, are the only permanent Beings. By following them, no matter what happens, we receive eternal glory as did Jesus himself.

We will have this faith if we model our lives on his.

 

Jesus founded his Church on the Twelve Apostles

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Today the Lord tells us that we are built on the Twelve Apostles. They are his witnesses and supremely to his Resurrection. Through the experience of the Resurrection of Jesus, these ignorant, fearful, and unreliable men were transformed into the indomitable witnesses to Jesus. They willingly and happily died for the truth of their witness.

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Jesus founded his Church on the Twelve Apostles

 

Gospel

Luke 6:12-16

Jesus chooses his twelve apostles

Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.

 

Prayerful reflection

The leaders of the Jews have rejected Jesus as the Messiah. He now founds the new people of God. They too like the people of  God of the Old Testament are founded on the Twelve. There were twelve tribes of Israel and so Jesus chooses the twelve to be the foundation stones of the new people of God, his Church. His Church is founded on the Twelve Apostles. They are the witnesses to his Resurrection and they hand on the Sacraments that Jesus instituted to continue his saving work throughout the ages until the end of time. the greatest of these is the Holy Eucharist. Through the Holy Eucharist faithfully handed on to the Church by the Apostles we are able to meet Jesus, live with him and be the sheep of his flock. From the moment of the Ascension the apostles have broken bread, which is the Biblical word for our Holy Eucharist. May we believe in and treasure Jesus in the Eucharist.

 

Tuesday 27 October 2020

 

Gospel

Luke 13:18-21

The kingdom of God is like the yeast that leavened three measures of flour

Jesus said, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.’

Another thing he said, ‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God with? It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’

Prayerful reflection

God is God. We, humans, often make plans and dream dreams but are never able to realise them. We are only human, after all. God’s ways are not our way, his thoughts are not our thoughts, but he is thee almighty and all loving God. He works out his plan, even though we might think it is lost completely. When the Jews saw Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians, their sacred Temple razed to the ground, their priesthood and sacrifices abolished, they must have thought in despair that all was lost. Yet God was still in charge and working out his plan for the salvation of the world. Likewise no doubt the apostles, very ordinary and little educated men, must have thought ‘what can we do?’ Surely, they could do nothing but they were not alone. God was with them. Like the seed planted in the field, things start small, but God is at work all the time and he will realise his plans.

 

 

 

 

God thinks only of the good of people

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Jesus in today’s reading puts aside human quibbles about the meaning of the law of the Sabbath in favour of reaching out in a timely fashion to one in need. To show love to others is  the fulfilment of all God’s laws.

Monday 26 October 2020

God thinks only of the good of people 

 

Gospel

Luke 13:10-17

Was it not right to untie this woman's bonds on the sabbath day?

One sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who for eighteen years had been possessed by a spirit that left her enfeebled; she was bent double and quite unable to stand upright. When Jesus saw her he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are rid of your infirmity’ and he laid his hands on her. And at once she straightened up, and she glorified God.

But the synagogue official was indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, and he addressed the people present. ‘There are six days’ he said ‘when work is to be done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the sabbath.’ But the Lord answered him. ‘Hypocrites!’ he said ‘Is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the sabbath and take it out for watering? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years – was it not right to untie her bonds on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his adversaries were covered with confusion, and all the people were overjoyed at all the wonders he worked.

 

Prayerful reflection

Jesus has come to liberate us totally. This liberation began wile on earth, but it was not completed then. the complete liberation will come with the inauguration of the Kingdom of God of which he will be all in all. Today he shows the supreme value of the human person. Doing good to human beings, reaching out to those in need is the purpose of God’s Law. This is precisely what God wants us to learn to do.

As Jesus asked on another occasion when the man with the withered hand was in the synagogue: is it right to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath? Naturally it is the will of God that we do good on the Sabbath. Here was this poor woman who had suffered for eighteen years with this affliction. Now Jesus sees her on the Sabbath. Is it right to leave here in her pain till the following day because this is a day of rest? Would that not be an evil thing to do?

Likewise, for us, reaching out to those in need with love is the fulfilment of the Law of God.

Love God in deeds among people

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Today Jesus tells us that if we love God, then we will love everyone we meet.

Our love for others is the touchstone of our love for God.

Sunday 25 October 2020

Love God in deeds

 

Gospel

Matthew 22:34-40

The commandments of love

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

 

Prayerful reflection

Of all the 613 commandments contained in the Old Testament which is the greatest? The Pharisee thought that Jesu would fumble, but he does not. He goes to the heart of the matter. It is to love God with everything we have.

We need to remember just what we are. Most of the time, we forget and live in a world of illusion. The illusion is that we are something. The reality is that we are nothing. God in his love created me from nothing. He has not only created me but given me everything I am and have. I have earned nothing and so cannot boast. It follows then, that since God out of love has given me everything, including my very existence, I should turn to him in gratitude. He loves me with infinite love. That means he desires my happiness with a desire that knows no bounds. For my happiness, he is happy to leave all his divine prerogatives and be born and live as a slave and die on a cross. If I realise this, then I will love him with everything I am and have.

Of course, I can show my love by praying to God and so I should. But how can I show my love in my daily life as I go about my daily chores? God is not visible and so I cannot give him anything, nor can I show my love directly. However as God loves me, so he loves each person. By loving those whom he loves with infinite love, then I can show my love. So, in the first reading, we are instructed on how to love. We are to care for all those who are in some way deprived. We are to be the living image of God, making him visible to others, especially those who suffer.  This is to love God by loving his children

 

Saturday 24 October 2020

 

Gospel

Luke 13:1-9

'Leave the fig tree one more year'

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this, he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’

He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig around it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’

 

Prayerful Reflection

Obviously, the ones who came to Jesus thought that the people they mentioned were sinners and so were punished. Jesus does not deny that they were sinners but declares that they also are equally sinners. They need to repent while there is still time.

The parable of Jesus stresses that we must show fruit in our life. It is the fruit of obedience to God’s will. We know when we are not obedient, when we sin. God has given us our conscience. We are to listen and with the grace of God repent. God is merciful. But there will come the day of judgement one day. We do not know when that will come. It may come suddenly as with the people Jesus mentions. We may be given more time, but one day it will surely come. Are you ready? Loving obedience has its consequences, eternal life. Sin too has its consequences, eternal death. The choice is ours now.

 

Can you interpret your life?

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Today the Lord Jesus warns to interpret the times in which we live. The most important thing is to interpret the time we have been given in this world. What is it all about?

Friday 23 October 2020

Can you interpret your life?

 

Gospel

Luke 12:54-59

Do you not know how to interpret these times?

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?

‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’

 

Prayerful reflection

“How is it you do not know how to interpret these time?” Do we know how to interpret our own life and situation?

We believers are a privileged group. We know that God has made us for himself, that he wants us to live with him forever. Then you may ask, why did he not create me in his very bosom, so that when I first opened my eyes, I would see him in all his glory? Why did he create this universe where he is in no way visible, nor can we in any way grasp him by any of our senses – sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing. For those who only go by these senses, then he doesn’t even exist. Why did he then put me in this world so full of evil, such as war, killings, sickness and distress of all kinds?

The starting point of everything and the end of everything is Love. First, it is God’s love for us. Of courses, how can we know the love of a God who is in no way accessible to us. He lives as the Bible says in ‘unapproachable light.’ Yet he created the universe out of love. Then he created each human being uniquely. There may be billions of human beings, among them all there is only one me. God loves each person so much that he wants what we can only describe in the poverty of human language as an eternal nuptial relationship.

To prove his love for us, the unseen God of the universe actually became a human being and lived among us, just like any of us. He was so ordinary that no one except one, that we know of, recognised him as Son of God while he lived. That person was Peter. In Jesus God invites us to repent of our sins and be reconciled with God the Father. Jesus shown his extreme love by willingly undergoing the Passion and then Death on the Cross. He could do no more. He gave his life in such a cruel and brutal way so that we could live. He offered his life in reparation for the sins we have committed.

God’s love is sure. His is pure love. He gets nothing, but I get everything. He gives himself. But what about my love? How can I prove my love for him? How can I offer him pure and unadulterated love? In this world of darkness, sin, pain and suffering – all of human making – I can live for God. I can recognise his love in Christ Jesus and live for him, praying and doing his will even though the whole world goes against me.

I can make him and his will, the only treasure I desire and happily forfeit everything in the sure hope that when this time is over I will be able to give myself to him. Love is to give and to give myself to the beloved. I can make God my beloved as he has made me his. This life becomes an engagement and the next become the nuptials.

Are you on fire?

 

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Jesus is not a soft person who can be pushed around. He is strong and demanding of himself and those who wish to follow him. For the sake of his love for God his  Father he was willing to suffer his Passion and Death. Those who follow him are to walk in his footsteps.

Thursday 22 October 2020

Are you on fire?

Gospel

Luke 12:49-53

How I wish it were blazing already!

Jesus said to his disciples:

1.      ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth,

2.      and how I wish it were blazing already!

3.      There is a baptism I must still receive, and

4.      how great is my distress till it is over!

 

5.      ‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth?

6.      No, I tell you, but rather division.

7.      For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

 

prayerful reflection

Fire destroys. It separates the permanent from the transitory. It cleanses and it warms. It can drive mighty machines as in steam locomotives. Jesus baptises with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus himself was on fire with love for his Father. The fire of love will sacrifice anything and everything for the sake of the beloved and think nothing of it. Through the Holy Spirit Jesus wants to set his followers on fire with love for him. This is what happened to the weak and faltering disciples on Pentecost Day.

A person on fire for Jesus will sacrifice everything for him and think it nothing, even family relationships and indeed even his/her life.

Fire is total commitment because of our love for him.

Jesus looks for this kind of heat in his disciples. ‘You are neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. I will spit you from my mouth’ (Revelation)

Do you give food at the proper time?

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Every baptised person is a steward and servant of God. We are to give food to all the members of God’s household at the proper time. Blessed are those doing this when the Lord comes.

Wednesday 21 October 2020

Do you give food to God’s household at the proper time?

 

Gospel

Luke 12:39-48

The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect

Jesus said to his disciples:

1.      ‘You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come,

2.      he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house.

3.      You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’

4.      Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’

5.      The Lord replied, ‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?

6.      Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment.

7.      I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns.

8.      But as for the servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time coming,”

9.      and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk,

10.  his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.

11.  The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.

12.  The servant who knows what his master wants,

13.  but has not even started to carry out those wishes,

14.  will receive very many strokes of the lash.

15.  The one who did not know,

16.  but deserves to be beaten for what he has done,

17.  will receive fewer strokes.

18.  When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him;

19.  when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’

 

Prayerful reflection

All the baptised are stewards and servants of the Lord. They are to give food to the household of God. The whole world belongs to God and all people are his people. What food are the baptised to give? They are to bring people to the knowledge and love of God in Christ Jesus. In other words, they are to proclaim Jesus to the world. This is the food the world needs to give peace in this world and joy in the next.

We are to be about this work 24x7 until the Master comes. He comes to each of us when we die.

How can I preach Jesus to everyone? Many are not interested and others are hostile.

In a household, about which is the parable told by Jesus, everyone gets food, ut not all the same kind of food. A newly born will only receive his/her mother’s milk. Other food would even kill it. A sick person will receive food suitable to his/her sickness. Likewise, each will eat food according to their own physical situation. Likewise, in the spiritual realm.

All must be given the food they can digest spiritually, but all must not be given the same food – we do not proclaim Jesus to all people in the same way.

For some, we cannot even mention the name of Jesus. It would be like giving solid food to a new born. They would reject it outright because of their spiritual situation. They can ‘only be given milk’.

We must bring them to know and experience Jesus by being Jesus for them. In the Holy Eucharist we become one with him – it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Through their interaction with us, they must be impelled to say, ‘this person is like God.’ Through our relationship of love, kindness, generosity, and helpfulness we must create a new atmosphere. By our prayer for them, they will grow until they will be more open to listening to us speak of Jesus.  

Wherever we are and whatever we do, the baptised person should always be conscious that they are ‘giving the food at the due time’ – that they are always living so as to bring others to know, love and experience Jesus.

 

 

Be focused on the presence of Jesus

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Jesus will come to each of us unexpectedly. He is not a thief, but like a thief he comes without notice. We should be ready. However the truth is that he has already come and is with us. To get to know him in a personal way we need to focus on his presence.

Tuesday 20 October 2020

Be  focused on the presence of Jesus now

 

Gospel

Luke 12:36-38

Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.’

 

Is Jesus going to come or has he come already but we haven’t noticed him?

He has never left us. He is with us in so many ways. We think he is absent and so will come, because we do not have eyes to see him. Jesus isn’t real for us like other people are real.

For believers, the key to life is to make Jesus real and to become his friend. We can become an intimate friend, even a beloved spouse living in the peace and security of love.  We can have the experience of his loving care even now. If he is our bridegroom and we his bride, then he will show his love for us now and we will experience it.

How are we to make Jesus real? First we must believe his Word that he is present and that he will never leave us. We may have no feeling of his presence. That doesn’t really matter, though it is consoling if we have it. What really matters is that we know that he is present. We need then to continuously focus on the reality of his presence. ‘Lord, I believe that you are here, even though I cannot see or have any emotional experience of your presence’. Whether I see or feel his presence is not important. That he sees me is important and he will work miracles in my life according to my determination to believe.

Following the Holy Spirit’s inspiration keeping focused is the way to make Jesus real. He will do the rest.

 

 

Don't be a fool

 

Welcome to my blog. Pace be with you.

in yesterday's and today's readings the Lord Jesus teaches us profound truths for our daily life.

Monday 19 October 2020

Don't be a fool

 

Gospel

Luke 12:13-21

Fool! This very night your soul will be demanded of you

A man in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he owns, even when he has more than he needs.’

Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” So it is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in the sight of God.’

 

Prayerful reflection

There is a dispute in the family about inheritance – who gets what? One of the brothers seems to have grabbed the whole lot and won’t share it with his brother. The deprived brother appeals to Jesus to tell him to give him his share. But Jesus dismisses the request off hand. ‘Man (in the original) who made me your judge?’ He is not interested in the request.

Why not? Because possessions do not give us life security. Possessing property cannot give us the peace and happiness that we all desire. Nor can they prevent tragic accidents and many crippling diseases. Ultimately, they cannot prevent death. In the face of death, what is the value of wealth? Jesus does not condemn earning wealth and putting aside for the future. If everyone is poverty stricken, if no one has the ability to earn wealth, then how are the rest of us going to live. We all need jobs and an income to survive.

If we carefully read the parable Jesus gives, we will understand what is wrong. The rich man is clever, he has ability, and he can earn. This is admirable. But then look at what he says: what am I to do? I don’t have room for my crops. This is what I will do, I  and my is all we hear. He thinks only of himself. He is oblivious of others who, for instance, have worked for him and helped him earn this wealth. He doesn’t think of any one but himself and his own future.  He has wealth and so, it seems, he has everything life can offer. But has he? You fool, God says. You have forgotten one thing – your life is not yours and tonight you will die and then you will lose everything you have earned. Then what is your state? You go to God empty handed and you have not earned any friends who are with God and who will plead for you. you are poor indeed.

The teaching of Jesus is clear. Use your ability, earn as much as you can. But then keep what you need to live one. There is no need to live in penury. But what you don’t need share with those who do need it. In this way you will be rich in God’s eyes because you will be doing just as he does. Everything we have is his gift to us. He shares abundantly.

Sunday 18 October 2020

 

Gospel

Matthew 22:15-21

Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar

The Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap Jesus in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’

Prayerful reflection

‘Give to God what is God’s’. well, everything is God’s. I too am God’s. Why did he create me? He created me because he wants me. The amazing truth is that God created me especially because he wants me. He wants me as his own friend, to share an eternity with him in a loving union. It is a union which we cannot even imagine now. He wants me  so much that he was happy to humble himself and become a human being and even go so far as to suffer a cruel death on the Cross for my sake. This is the truth, whether I understand it or not. Everything I have he has given to me. What should I do? I should give myself to him as he has given himself to me. It is of course now in faith. Faith does not deny the reality, it just means that for the time being we cannot see it. God has chosen me and for a loving union I must choose him. I am given in this world the opportunity to love and choose him with freedom. If I saw God, then naturally I would choose to live in that glory and bliss, but would it be true love or looking to my own pleasure? God, like us who are made in his likeness, desire true love from those who claim to love us. By giving everything to God, we show him our love is not self-seeking but pure love for him. This pure love gives us the opportunity to experience the eternal embrace of God.