“THEREFORE, STAY AWAKE, FOR YOU KNOW NEITHER THE DAY NOR THE HOUR.” MT 25:1-13
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
Prayer Prompt before reading MT 25:1-13: Come, Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray, interpret the Scriptures for me so that I may know the Truth about who God the Father and God the Son are so that I may know who I am.
Today, Jesus warns us of the Second Coming of Christ, the Parousia. It can also be looked at as the end of our earthly life, a time we will be judged. Jesus teaches us that we must be prepared. The number one thing that business owners want from employees today is to show up every day on time and work hard.
To be prepared for something, we must train ourselves. Once we have trained ourselves it becomes habit. Jesus has given us all we need to be prepared. In contrast, what I have experienced in my life is no matter how prepared we are, Jesus just wants our heart. He gave His up for ours. It depends on whether we respond or not.
Love requires a response. He wants us to be vulnerable like He was on the cross for us, stripped naked, open arms, heart pouring forth, I thirst. He thirsts for our hearts and souls. I find the hardest decision I have ever made is to allow God to rule my life vs I don’t need God. Do I really believe? Honestly,I’m still working on it. Faith is wrestling with God about life and its purpose. Are you even wrestling?
This is where judgment becomes real. In that very decision because God is love. He just loves. He is not kicking, screaming, and yelling at all the sins we committed. His light reveals what is in the darkness of our hearts. We condemn ourselves. In the end, we can’t blame anyone else or put anyone else down to keep ourselves above them. It’s just you and God.
He will be there loving you and you will be watching the times in your life when you loved. It won’t be about accomplishments, money, material goods, popularity, or fame. It won’t be about sin, but what you did after you sinned which is bring it to the One who just loves and forgives.
First, what do we need to know to become vulnerable and give ourselves up. Jesus became Man, died for our sins, and rose from the dead. He restored our relationship with the Father. He became the new Adam and reversed what Adam had failed at. The Father has been longing for our friendship since the Fall. In doing so, He gave us baptism and the rest of the sacraments that give us the grace we need for the journey. We are called to be holy and have the means to do it through God’s grace.
We have an intellect, memory, and will to come to know God, serve Him, and then return to Him. We have the ability to fight Satan and grow in holiness. We can come to Jesus in the Eucharist every day. We can adore Him in the Blessed Sacrament. His mother, Mary, is tirelessly working to bring souls to Jesus’s most Sacred Heart.
She is the mediatrix of grace. We must come to her in our daily rosary and ask her to bring us closer to her Son’s Heart, be vulnerable. When we fall in sin and separate ourselves from God by our own free choice, Jesus is waiting for us in confession. Confession is hard. This is where we strip ourselves of our ego and face reality. I chose me over You and others. I was selfish.
The second thing Jesus teaches us to be prepared for Judgment day is to love. We are not to keep this great gift to ourselves, but share it like God did with us. We must forgive others. Enter each room and ask how we can help. Go outside of our comfort zone and help those on the fringes of society in our communities.
Jesus teaches us to be generous like God is with us. We are called to be missionaries in our own homes. We can get caught worshiping God by reading our Bibles, saying our rosary, or kneeling before a crucifix to thank Jesus in our homes. We can put our screens down and enter any room to help others.
We can become poor in some area of our life and sacrifice what we want for the good of another or to repay God and thank Him for all He has done for us, especially giving us life. None of it matters if others don’t see Christ in us because we became vulnerable and gave everything up for Him. We live to die-IHM Sister
Use the gift of time God has given us to love God and others. Let us take this opportunity to prepare ourselves for the Second Coming by going to Mass, extra prayer, and offering up a fast or sacrifice. You could make yourself poor in some area of your life. There are many other ways to be poor, but most importantly follow the advice of Luke 21:36 “Be vigilant at all times and pray, that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.”
After you have combated an area of your life that is leading you away from God, you will be strengthened for the journey. It takes a strong mind and will, but most importantly it takes a person willing to be stripped of everything and ask Jesus for help. His grace together with our will overcomes sin. The rewards are eternal. How close do you want to get to Christ? How holy is too holy? This is our time and our place to be a saint and be Christ for those around us. Be not afraid, become a saint! It’s what we were made for!
Be a servant, be a saint today!
#Christian YOLO
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