And I saw the river over which every soul must pass to reach the kingdom of heaven and the name of that river was suffering: and I saw a boat which carries souls across the river and the name of that boat was love. beautiful!
Lee, There are sufferings that come uninvited into our lives, and the opportunity to unite them to the Cross where they become redemptive is always there. For myself in this season of Lent, however, it is the words of Jesus in the Garden that challenge me the most, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." I must do violence to myself in order to deal a death blow to complacency and live out a genuine love. I shall first attempt to model myself after the children of Fatima who exemplified the beauty of self-denial for the sake of souls. And then I must set aside the time used for pursuing my wants and concretely reach out for the sake of others. May this embrace of suffering bring joy to the Heart of Jesus and healing to mine. St Francis of Asissi, pray for me! As another John wrote: 1John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
But I think that's what this Lent is all about, at least for me. We climb up a boulder of a hill and feel we have achieved something really wonderful only to slide down the other side and find that there is another and another to be scaled. I was blessed early on this Lent and did violence to myself to snap myself around and the fruit is that my eyes ( of my heart ) were opened so I am clamoring for the movement of the Spirit and much more sensitive to it than before. (I sincerely believe in fasting.) Although with that comes the "fire" as well. I got torched yesterday...slapped by two who are very close and dear to me. But in that awful place I found my only way out was really to love. There was a huge message there for me...Love God with all your heart. Ah, another boulder.
I was walking down the road with the dog the other night and a fire of love touched my heart, exquistiely painful. Filling me with a huge longing and hunger for heaven. It reminded me of something St Tereasa of Avila said years ago of being peived throug hte heart by a shinning spear and at the end of it glowing embers of fire, pain of love within love. For God is the only one who in filling our hearts cause them to hunger more. I hadn't felt this fierce fire for many years. For we walk in the desert of Gods love a place where the sun of Gods love burns with a great fire and I suppose its without doubt a place were we can get a touch of sunstroke!! :lol: St Paul of the Cross however was strong on emphasiing in his own writings the need to differntiate between the emotional and the will , that what we feel in terms of emotions ; that it is the will to love and be selfless that is the centre of the soul rather than the emotins. But at the same time it is good when God reaches down to embrace us for He is very great and we are very small and very little children nedd to be lifted up and hugged from time to time. But God's hugs are like no others hugs they can break ribs and.. Hebrews 10:31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
I love these reflections about the spiritual life for they fill my lukewarm soul with holy desires. Thanks Be to God
I think your encounter with Love was a direct response to :wink: the holy priest hearing your confession and the grace of having been immersed in Faustina's Diary.
The Holy Spirit, I think is a wind that blows where He will. I specially love Him for this; that He is a God of surprises. But one thing I have noticed is this; its at time when you feel most unworthy , when your nose is touching right down to ground that HE may well come and sweep us away in His talons. Look for instance at the story of the author of the hymn, 'Amazing Grace' His grace IS amazing. ]
I do understand that the movement of the Spirit is at the Father's will but I have to say "the run way was cleared".
