Thursday, December 10, 2020

He will lead us

It’s hard not to have questions and concerns in today’s uncertain world. Everything is made even more difficult with our fast-paced lives. As Christians, who isn’t confused on how to approach life and all its issues? Our recent election is just an example of how complex today’s issues are and how challenging it can be to know what’s right and what’s wrong.

To help me understand a little better, I usually turn to the Word of God and reflect on how the Holy Spirit is trying to guide me. For instance, in Isaiah we hear the "Lord will tell you what is good," and then we hear the Lord telling us "He will lead us on the way to go" (Isaiah 48:17-19). The Psalms are just as clear, follow the Lord, and have the light of Life (Psalm 1, John 8:12). The Bible is filled with the Lord telling us to follow Him, that He is the way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:1-14).

So why do we struggle so? Are we afraid to follow him? We shouldn’t be. Doesn’t He repeatedly remind us, "be not afraid"? Maybe the truth is, we want to lead, not follow. We think we have a better understanding of our lives and what we need. We don’t want to change our viewpoints. We just need His help. That’s the way most of my prayers sound. Here is what I need Lord, please help make it happen. We’re tempted to think we know what God wants and we end up not really sure what we want or where we’re going. Like the children in the Gospel (Matthew 11:16-19), not happy with or sure about anything we see. That’s not following the Lord. That’s not surrendering to Him. To follow Him we need to seek Him, to know more about Him, to trust Him.

This Advent, this year of faith, let’s truly seek Him in prayer, in the sacraments, in front of the blessed sacrament, in reading the Bible or other spiritual books. Let’s listen to Him more by slowing down, taking time out from the rush of life. Then can we begin to recognize Him, to see where He’s leading us, and what He wants of us. Then we’ll begin to know the peace and joy that can only come from following Him, and then, maybe our descendants will be as numerous as the grains of sand on the shore of the sea, and we can yield fruit in due season (Isaiah 48:17-19).

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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".