This is a good one. You should read it.

Deeper in Christ - Conversion Story of Chris Birkbeck

Into a brothel...

Check out my sister's latest blog post.
It's pretty awesome.

http://asmallsnippet.blogspot.com/2011/08/night-in-brothel.html

Our Scars are too Painful?

America is scarred by the actions perpetrated by an evil man,

but let us not forget that those scars are borne by another.

He not only bears those scars, but the scars of every evil

that has ever been and ever will be perpetrated.

The pain of those scars in unbearable to any

other man - no soul could survive them but His.

There are scars on his back,

on his hands,

his feet.

Our own sin draws the precious blood

that drips from the crown upon his head.

Yet He still loves me,

who drove the nails into his hands and feet;

you,

who crowned him with a crown of misery.

He. still. loves. us.

Refusing to love our enemies is a complete rejection of everything for which He stands.

Will we follow His example, or will we stand pridefully before Him and claim that OUR scars were too painful to love?

When One You Love is Distant

omneshonesetgloriaeest.blogspot.com

Have you ever had somebody you love distance themselves from you? Maybe it was your child. Maybe it was your husband or wife, maybe your boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe it was a close friend. Maybe it was someone else for whom you cared deeply.

How did it feel? Were you hurt? Confused? Did you want to fix it? What would you have given to just be near them again?

Take a moment and reflect on this.

…Seriously, do it. Then keep reading…

Stretch your arms out for an embrace and see them turn their back. You show them the perfect sign of love, and they reject it. You are confused and hurt. Now tie yourself to a pillar and allow them to beat you incessantly. Place a crown of thorns on your head and allow that person to nail you to a cross. Can't imagine such a thing? You're right; it's unfathomable. Praise God somebody already did that for us.

The agony inflicted upon Jesus when we turn from him is a million fold worse than any pain of separation we could ever endure. Whenever you feel yourself getting distant from Him, imagine the pain you felt when someone you loved distanced themselves from you. Imagine that pain, and then consider how much more painful it is for Christ. Then embrace Him. He showed you the perfect sign of love. Accept it! Nothing can make him more joyful than receiving your love daily!

Real Presence!

Holy Thursday Mass is my second favorite of the year, after Easter Vigil. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrates the institution of the Eucharist, the greatest gift ever given to mankind. In the Eucharist, we are able to receive Jesus Christ, body, blood, soul and divinity, into our human bodies.

Stop. Stop and seriously think about that for a minute.

"What wonderful majesty! What stupendous condescension! O sublime humility! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble Himself like this under the form of a little bread, for our salvation"

-Saint Francis of Assisi

I can still remember the first time Jesus came to me in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I never knew what true freedom was until that beautiful encounter. Never can I go back; His Presence is all-consuming, and brings a joy unfathomable unless experienced.

Let's give thanks for this wonderful gift and pray that it is bestowed on every person in this world!!

Give Me Your Gifts

Give me your gifts and lift me up, oh Holy Spirit, my advocate promised to me by Christ himself. I am often cast down, defeated, and broken; often blind and insensitive even to those I love; often caught up foolishly in that which is passing away before my eyes. Spirit of truth, when this road is long and weary and I am fearful and tired, lift me up on your eagle wings so that I may not fail utterly those whom you have given me in this life to influence, to help and to support. Give me your wisdom at every stage of my journey that I may know that you alone make all things new and good an beautiful. Then I shall be a blessing to others and cease to be an obstacle to them and a burden to myself.

-Fr. Benedict Groeschel

Justice and Mercy

"We have always struggled to understand how God can be just as well as merciful. Indeed, the mystery of God is that he can be both to the highest degree. But we cannot. God's mercy does not make him less just. His justice does not make him less merciful. But we have to struggle to prevent mercy from becoming lack of justice, and justice lack of mercy."
Henri Nouwen