The expression of our faith gives God’s love flesh, and this is because of what we hope for, a hope for what is reserved for us in heaven, a hope for that eternal life we long for.
We can check ourselves on a daily basis, to see if our hearts are open in faith to the one who is going to save. Do we trust that he will? (We may have our days where we are not so sure, but that’s on us, not on him.) When we can actually say to ourselves, yes, I believe that he did come and did save us, this then opens us to many more things in the day that would not be present otherwise. We then have the capacity to love people past our own limitations. And that is all for the hope of what he has promised.
You see, the love draws people to us here, and draws us to them in union. That’s the hope. As children, we tended to imagine eternal life as an individual thing: you have your own house that you furnish however you like, and that you live in, alone. That’s not heaven. (It might be hell, but it’s not heaven.). Heaven is where you are joined to everyone, perfectly. And faith in Jesus Christ each day opens our hearts to love for one another, which begins to build our hope for eternal life.
--Adapted (slightly) from Fr. Pat’s homily,
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Image source: Simon O’Rourke, Giant Hand of Vyrnwy, Lake Vyrnwy, Wales, https://paulcoletravels.com/2020/12/31/the-real-life-giant-hidden-in-the-welsh-woods/
Quotation source
No comments:
Post a Comment