Good Day Everyone! Today is First Friday and the Second Friday of Lent!
The next First Friday will be the GOOD FRIDAY!!!! And there are exactly 30 days till Easter!! Praise GOD in HIS GOODNESS TODAY!
That is what the focus is today — HIS GOODNESS!!!
We say Good Day — which came from the word GOD! It came from saying Good Bye — did you know that? Which really means God be with you!
In Kenya the people there always pray when someone enters a house and always prays on leaving! Asking for God’s blessing – always! It is so beautiful!
So God alone is GOOD!
Today we offer this Friday in Lent as a sacrificial day — a day to do penance – a day to pray and fast and offer up our sufferings as a prayer and to unite them with the ONE acceptable sacrifice – Jesus on the Cross!
Here is the question today as we meditate on the cross and JESUS’ Sacrifice and Suffering…
If God is so good why do we have to sacrifice and suffer?
So here is what people struggle with —
1- they don’t really understand what we are doing by sacrificing and denying ourselves today!
2- they don’t know why we suffer!
So if God is sooooo Good! Then why did Jesus have to die? — why do we sacrifice and offer up things–
- and why would a God who is so Good allow people to suffer? Why do good people suffer?
I was at the gym this morning and saw nothing but horrific news of murders and assaults — especially the story of the girl in San Diego who was attacked and killed while going for a run in a nearby park– and you can see from her family and all who knew her— she was such a good girl!
WELL first answer — it’s a mystery! We will find out what it was all about when we get to heaven —
BUT through Revelation we can see that it is because God is so Good!
I am going to address #1 today and #2 tomorrow!
First thing we must do is look toward heaven –
God is so good that He provided- Himself – His Son to BE the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins — so that we could BE together with Him in heaven forever — AND so that we could be united with HIM now through Jesus Christ and forever in heaven!
He did for us what we could not do for ourselves — provided the only acceptable sacrifice to God for all sin!
Why? Not so that we would not have to do it — but so that we could do it in through and with Him –
Do what?
Offer the only acceptable sacrifice!
We as Catholics are in the business of redemption — for ourselves? NO!
What is the greatest commandment that we learned in Mark 12?
To LOVE God with all our our mind, heart, soul and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves –
We must love ourselves so that we would want eternal life — and so do good for ourselves — and we must love our neighbor so much that we want eternal life for them just as much as we want it for ourselves!!!
St. Teresa of Avia said,
“To pray for those who are in mortal sin is the best kind of almsgiving. For the love of God, always remember such souls when you pray.”
WOW and it is lent — this is an almsgiving to pray for souls most in need of God’s MERCY!
We as Catholics have been given the gift of prayer, sacraments, sacrifice, suffering — as a way to work hand in hand with the LORD JESUS for the salvation of souls!
Make no mistake good Christian — we must be about the business of saving souls — we are co redeemers with Christ –
God designed salvation so that we would participate in it — working with JESUS — and so on Friday — we remember — we make present — HIS SACRIFICE —
and since we are in the body of Christ — we – as a prayer — make sacrifices and deny ourselves and offer things up — by not complaining when things happen that we didn’t plan for — and each instance and each moment of this day becomes a prayer to the one true God –
The GOD- MAN who gave the ultimate Sacrifice on Calvary!!
Our sacrifices join together with the LORD’s today and souls are saved —
We must remember that what we do matters today — if it comes from the heart — the littlest things matter!
Don’t let this day slip away — be mindful!!!
Let’s share together this idea of sacrifice — there is great joy in knowing that we have been given this great and GOOD gift — JESUS CHRIST and the opportunity to enter into HIS PASSION!
And let’s go to OUR LADY the QUEEN of SACRIFICE and SUFFERING and ask her to lead us to JESUS!
Don’t forget tonight or sometime today — Station of the Cross! Pray it on the computer if you need to!!!
May God open your eyes and give you the gift and grace of sacrificial living today!
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