16/07/2024

I have often faced the thought of dying with great fear as I have known, even as a child that sin was as a seemingly inescapably a part of my being as my head is a part of my body. 

The Old Testament treats sin and its punishments as part of human life on Earth the and "after-life" as a continuum from "Abraham's bosom" to the torments of Dives, the rich man, which were made much worse for him by an awareness of the delights being experienced by Lazarus, the poor man whose earthly needs he had ignored.

Jesus has left us with no doubts that individual human freedom can choose for itself  everlasting joy. 

Many have speculated about this but no matter how great our intelligence no one can truly know the Father, Son and Holy Spirit until he brings us into his presence and we are all judged on how well we have used, not our human talents in this world, but the Mercy that is the sign of the cross. 

Jesus also left us with no doubts that our individual human freedom can also choose to ignore the Mercy that is the purpose of his Incarnation.

This too has caused much speculation but no matter how great our intelligence and knowledge we cannot think our way out of the hard truth that Jesus, the supreme being, had to undergo unimaginable suffering to bring this Mercy to all mankind. 

The most wonderful part of being alive is to know, love and serve and that the crumpled, helpless and desiccated old thing that some of us become can  pass through the gateway of death to live a new life face to face and filled with the Love that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus has made it quite clear that we are free to choose or refuse Mercy. He has also made it quite clear that by refusal we choose to challenge Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is Jesus who unequivocally reveals that Hell really does exist and teaches us on the Cross what Our Father has done to help us save ourselves from its clutches. 

Hell is not only truly Horrific it is also unending  and it is to bring us security from this foul result of our making wrong choices, it is we who choose to sin, that Jesus bled out on the cross to become a lifeless disfigured, naked, humiliated, corpse. A corpse accepted into the arms of the mother who had fulfilled her mission and was heart broken in her sorrow. 

Dear Lord, I try to pray by praise, by petition and by penance. You have absolutely no need of praise but I do need to be aware "How great thou art". You resist no legitimate request for help in this world but always know what is best for the petitioner. I hope that I face up to whatever penance is needed to erase the guilt of my sins. May Mary, Your Mother and ours lead all the Saints in the heavenly chorus in a petition that will shake all sinners out of the clutches of this world so that  we accept your Mercy to find forgiveness from sin and so be able finally to join the Holy Souls in the perfect penance of Purgatory.