 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
We are saved by faith in the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. It
is as a reward of faith, that the Lord granted the graces of his miracles to those who
believed in Him.
[Luke 7:50]
Jesus is alive, He is the same yesterday, today and forever [Hebrews 13:8]. The mission of the apostles was to spread the faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God, the Word incarnate, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Our faith in Him is perfect in our Catholic Church and in baptism we are called to be apostles of the Lord, to proclaim his message to all the nations.
We are justified by faith in Our Lord and Saviour and by our works of faith [James 2:24]
Faith is like a fire that needs to be fuelled constantly, prayers are like fuel to that fire, the more we pray and seek the Lord, the more we experience the fire of His Love in our hearts.
People enter periods of aridity in the faith due to lack of prayer, but if we pray constantly then we somehow receive constant grace to be in the Presence of God.
Psalm 147:11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Our religion is based in our hope in the promises that the Lord has made. We hope in God, we put all our trust in Him because we know that His Word is integrity and truth, we have the Holy Spirit within us as a pledge of the promises of God, and the Holy Spirit continually yearns within us to possess God [Luke 1:45].
When we have faith, faith is complemented by our hope and trust in God, this hope can be fed by our interest in the things of God. By study of the Holy Scriptures, we obtain knowledge of God and we learn to hope in Him [2 Timothy 3:16]. We realise who we are and we start depending on our hope in God.
We become the source of hope for the hopeless when we can transmit our faith to them, therefore we are responsible for this gift that the Lord places in our hearts.
We can not claim that we love, but that God loved us first [1 John 4:19], so if we love, we allow the Love of God to pass through us either back to Him in adoration or to others as the Lord commands.
God is Love [1 John 4:8], and we are called to become like Him. We are the vessels of His Love, we must love one another as He has loved us.
Our Love is contaminated with self love, many people only love those who love them because they expect something in return. Carnal love is wrong too, since many times a man says to a woman I love you, meaning only physical love. There is only one true love, the Love of God.
There are three kinds of love:
friendship [from the Greek word file] which is a give and take
relationship, where one is faithful as long as the other is faithful, there is an interest
binding that kind of love.This love is mainly superficial.
Carnal love [form the Greek word eros] is part of the love between husband and wife, this binds the friendship of a couple and contributes with its unitive value in the sacrament of matrimony. Outside marriage it is a sin.
Sacrificial love [from the Greek word agape] is the love consisting in being prepared to suffer for another person, like a mother for a son.
Greater love than this no man has, that a man lay down his life for his friends. [John 15:13]. To love God and to love our neighbour is the greatest commandment. Jesus loved us so much that He died for us, so that we could live.
We require to love God with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength because this way we give ourselves totally to Him [Matthew 22:37]. If we can do this for another person, we can die as martyrs.
God created the world out of His love for us, because He has made us temples of His Holy Spirit. God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that we could be saved by believing in Him.[John 3:16]
No one has seen God, but everyone who loves has God within Him, and God's love is perfected in Him [1 John 4:12] He who doesn't love doesn't know God because God is Love [1 John 4:8]
For Charity we understand the love of God working in us directing us to help others directly with our time, money, counsel, understanding, compassion and support.
By giving alms, we purify ourselves and atone for many sins [Acts 10:31]. Our charity for others is shown also in our kindness, if we can not assist others for any particular reason, we have the duty to pray for them.
God is eternal Charity, His Charity is a fire of goodness burning with desire to reach out and touch, His generosity is infinite because He is Love and Love is for all.
|
|
|
|
|
The
Work of God
www.theworkofgod.org