Tuesday, November 2, 2021

525,600 minutes

In the musical "Rent," the lines from the song, "Seasons of Love" speak about 525,600 minutes of love that we all can experience in our lives. (“You know that love is a gift from up above. Share love, give love, spread love. Measure your life in love”). The song reminds me how blessed I am to have learned the way of love. How blessed I am to be able to share my love and my appreciation for the people that come into my daily life.

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul writes, “for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8-10). It makes me wonder if all people in the world know and appreciate the commandments. “You shall not kill.” “Love does no evil to the neighbor.” If only all people truly knew and lived the message.

Psalm 112 speaks to the “delights” in following God’s commands. I see the delight as a challenge for myself, to not only live my life, being mindful of God’s commands, but to be an example in my daily interactions with my wife, children, grandchildren, and with friends and neighbors.

Finally, in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 14:25-33) I get the message that all of us can be burdened with our own humanness, in making a mistake, in not taking action, and in general, not being “perfect.” God knows about our imperfection and is asking us to recognize our own “crosses” and to seek God’s counsel and guidance as we struggle daily to love, to welcome, and to share our blessings and understanding regarding the gift of love in all the 525,600 minutes of the year.

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"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.

Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy".