Finding Joy
IT can be difficult to read the writings on this website at times, particularly the Seven Year Trial which contains rather sobering events. That is why I want to pause and address a common feeling that I imagine several readers are dealing with right now: a sense of depression or sadness over the present state of things, and those things which are coming.
We must always remain rooted in reality. Indeed, some may think that what I’ve written here is alarmist, that I have lost my bearings and become a darkened, narrow-minded creature who dwells in a cave. So be it. But I repeat for all those who will listen: the things I have been warning about are coming toward us at the speed of a freight train. We are just beginning to feel it in the Western nations during this Year of the Unfolding. Two years ago, I wrote in Trumpets of Warning - Part IV a message of warning that there are coming events which will create exiles. This is not a word for the future, but a present reality for many souls from lands such as China, Mynamar, Iraq, parts of Africa, and even areas of the United States. And we see the words of Persecutionaggressively move toward silencing those who disagree with them… this, while apes are beginning to gain the same rights as humans—one of the tenets spoken of in the coming False Unity. unfolding almost daily as major governing bodies continue to not only push for "gay rights," but
It is just the beginning of the hard labor pains.
But above all, we must keep our eyes fixed on the Great Mercy which God is going to flood the earth with at some point during this present Storm.
THE ROOT OF OUR SADNESS
When Jesus told the rich man that he should go and sell everything, he went away sad. We may feel the same way; we see that our lifestyles are going to change, perhaps drastically in the coming years. Herein may lie the root of our sadness: the thought of having to lose our comforts and let go of our little "kingdom."
Whether or not times of radical change are upon us, Jesus has always demanded of His disciples a renunciation of things:
Everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33)
What Jesus means here is a spirit of detachment. It is not a question so much of our possessions, but where our true love and devotion lies.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. (Matt 10:37-38)
God, in fact, wants to bless us. He wants us to enjoy His creation and provide for all our needs. Simplicity and poverty of spirit do not mean destitution or squalor. Perhaps we need to reboot our hearts today. To again "seek first the kingdom of heaven" rather than the kingdom of earth. Mow the lawn. Landscape the yard. Paint the house. Keep things in good order.
But be willing to let it all go.
This is the state of soul required of the disciple of Jesus. In a word, such a soul is a pilgrim.
REJOICE! AGAIN I SAY REJOICE!
Rejoice this day for whatever good health you have. Give thanks this day for your life which will exist for all eternity. Give thanks for the gift of Jesus’ Presence in the Blessed Sacrament in our cities and towns. Give thanks for the flowers and green leaves and warm summer air (or cool winter air, if you live in Australia). Revel in His creation. Watch the sunset. Sit beneath the stars. Recognize His goodness written in the universe.
Bless the Lord for His infinite love for you. Bless Him for His mercy which has so patiently waited for us to repent. Give thanks to God in all your circumstances, good and bad, for His Divine Will orders all things for the good. And who knows? Maybe this is your last day on earth, and you are worried and anxious about the "end times" for nothing. Indeed, we are commanded to have "no anxiety at all" (Phil 4:4-7).
I pray for my readers each day. Please pray for me too. May we all be signs of joy to a world stumbling in sorrows.
Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying, "Peace and security," then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober. Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation. For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with him. Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do. (1 Thess 5:1-11)
First published June 27th, 2008.
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