A voice says, “All mankind is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it….Though the grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it, the word of our God stands forever.”
Christ tells us:
John 15:9
"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Live on
in my love.”Thomas a Kempis tells us: How blessed are those who know how good it is to love Jesus and to despise themselves for His sake. Jesus wills to be loved alone above all other things and we must forsake all other loves but His. The love of creatures deceives and fails, but Jesus’ love is ever faithful and enduring. Those who cling to creatures will fall with them; but those who always cling to Jesus will stand firm forever. Love Him and keep Him for your friend; for when all others forsake you, He will not leave you nor let you perish in the end. Sooner or later you must be separated from all creatures, whether you will it or not. Remain close to Jesus in life and death, committing yourself to His faithful keeping. When all others fail you, He will keep you. However, your Beloved is of such a nature that He will not accept a divided heart; but will have it for Himself alone and will reign there as a king on his throne. If only you could empty your heart of every creature, how gladly would Jesus come and dwell with you. All those other things in which you placed your trust besides Jesus, you can consider as almost a complete loss. Put no trust in, nor lean upon, a hollow reed. If you only observe outward appearances, you will soon be deceived; and if you seek consolation or benefit from others, more often than not you will suffer loss. But if in all things you look to Jesus, you will most certainly find Him. To seek yourself is to find yourself – but to your own destruction. If you do not seek your Lord, you do more harm to yourself than do all worldly temptations and all your enemies (The Imitation of Christ, edited by Clare Fitzpatrick, Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1985).
Prayer: O Lord, You who penetrate my whole being and
the most secret depths of my soul, You see that I desire you alone and long
only for the fulfillment of Your holy will, paying no heed to difficulties or
sufferings or humiliations or to what others might think (Diary, 1360 as found
in Mercy Minutes, Rev. George Kosicki,
CSB, Marian Press, 2008).
My thoughts: “I can’t
believe he did that to me. I can’t believe he betrayed me. I trusted him and
look what he did with my trust. I cannot believe he let me down.” Have any of these statements ever crossed
your lips? They have mine, and I can tell you I have been really hurt by my
fellow man on several occasions. Does that mean I should build a wall around
myself and let no one enter my heart? No, of course it doesn’t. What it does
mean, however, is that there is only one true friend in this world, and that is
Jesus. He is pure love. He has no selfish motives, nor is He after any personal
gain at my expense. He will never betray me or use me. He wants me to be with
Him forever. He loved me enough to die for me. He will reign in my heart to the
extent that I will let Him, and He asks only one thing: that I love Him above
all else. I may have to help Him bear the cross, and I may be asked to suffer
some humiliation, since loving Him and following Him is mocked in this world, but
I count that as nothing compared to the joy and peace that comes with finding a
true friend. St. Thomas a Kempis is right: Jesus’ love is ever faithful and
enduring. Let us give Him our hearts, and allow Him to give us His in return.
Our Prayer to God: Today, let us picture ourselves standing in
front of Jesus. He is smiling at us, and has extended his arms to receive us as
a dear friend. Let us run into those arms, and feel the warmth of true love.
Then let us whisper to Him, “I will be faithful to you forever.”
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