On Being Chosen

We are chosen! The Lord tells us that we are sacred to Him and that we are peculiarly or particularly His own. God has set His heart on the Israelites and sets His heart on us today.  Today in the Church we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On the Cross Jesus’ side and heart was pierced for love of us. Out of his pierced side and heart flowed water and blood, the waters of baptism, and the blood that nourishes and sustains us, giving birth to the Church. With His pierced and sacred heart, Jesus understands the depth of human pain and suffering. And He draws all people, those who were chosen by the Lord, to Himself, to rest in the embrace of His Sacred Heart. We have been chosen because the Lord has set His heart on us, and it is because He loved us that He sent His Son, whose heart was pierced and from that heart came indescribable healing.  In His heart is unfathomable love, boundless mercy, infinite compassion, and unimaginable peace.

The pierced became the sacred. The wounded became the healing. Our pains and sorrows too can become joy and peace, if only we rest in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You have been chosen. You are chosen for love, peace, joy, and hope. Will you choose to be called His today?

Nothing to Fear

What strikes terror or fear in your heart? What weakness of yours paralyzes you and keeps from trying? What causes you shame and keeps you down?  What troubling event in your past haunts you and keeps you from living? We all have these things that make us question ourselves – am I worthy of this?  Do I deserve to be happy? I’m a bad person. What do they possibly see in me? 

What God sees when He looks at you is His beloved child. Aren’t you tired of living in fear?  Aren’t you tired of settling because somehow you don’t feel worthy of something better? Aren’t you tired of feeling undeserving of love and happiness?  It is time to rise up. Jesus died and was buried in the tomb. He descended into hell and then rose up out of the tomb on the third day. It is time for you to rise out from the tombs of your fears and shame.

There will be people who will doubt you, curse you, and reject you, but that is no reason to stay down. Jesus came to free you from all those fears. Whatever your past may be, it does not determine your dignity. You are a beloved child of God and this love ought to move you to conversion, seeking forgiveness for your wrongdoings and living a life of transformation. With God as our Father, Jesus as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit as our Advocate, there is nothing to fear.

Seeing What Is Hidden

In today’s world we always have the temptation to want to be seen and known. And sometimes we even portray someone we are not. Sometimes we do things or say things just to get noticed or to be praised, even when it’s not something that comes from our hearts. All this we do because we want to be heard and to be loved.

Sometimes we get misunderstood, and I think that’s one of the most distressing experiences because you mean well but it’s being taken as something else.  It’s a most horrible feeling. Even when those around us may misunderstand us, God does not. He knows our intentions. God sees all that we do and all our efforts, even when others can’t see them or refuse to see them, God sees them. God sees what other cannot see – God sees what is hidden, God looks into the depths of our hearts and then looks at us with the eyes of love, telling us, “I know. It’s okay, I know. I see you. I am here with you. I love you.”

At the end of the day, we do what we do because we hope to somehow feel noticed and loved. The truth of the matter is that we do not need to do anything out of the ordinary – God already notices us. However, if we seek the praise and notice of humans and root our happiness in that, then we will never truly be happy because what we truly desire human praise cannot give. What we truly desire is what is hidden, something only the Father and those in Him can see – the love of God. May we today ponder the mystery of what is hidden and strive to see what is hidden with the eyes of faith.