"Render unto Cesar"
Daniel, Chapter 3, Verse 90
Bless the God of gods, all you who fear
the Lord; praise and give thanks, for his mercy endures forever.
God gave
the land of Israel to the Israelite's as an eternal possession; land could be
leased to pay debts but it always reverted back to the family who owned it. In
a similar way Christ has given the possession of your eternal soul back over to
you through His mercy; after you leased it out to the evil one. Do not fear or be dismayed to take possession
of it.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let
the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. (Luke
4:18-19)
The way we take possession of our
soul is by the way of purification. A man in possession of his soul seeks to
live in such a way that he does not lose ownership of his soul. He strives to place first things first and he
endeavors to follow God’s holy Will in his life. Conversion means turning to
God (Beatitude Meditation) and keeping the four last things in our mind when we
are tempted: Death, Judgment, Heaven and hell. Immediately after death we will
be judged and our private judgment will be repeated on the Day of Judgment;
when all men will know us for what we are. If we have done our best and
followed Christ’s commandments (if you
love me you will keep my commandments) we will join Him in Heaven but if we
have ignored His commandments and refused to make use of His help (via the
church sacraments) we shall be condemned to hell. [1].
Therefore; strive to love God in your daily life and make use of His grace.
When you fall, immediately make a prayer in honor of the Wound of His Holy
Shoulder making use of His grace in the sacrament of confession at the earliest
opportunity and receive Holy Communion.
O Loving Jesus, meek
Lamb of God, I miserable sinner, salute and worship the most Sacred Wound of
Thy Shoulder on which Thou didst bear Thy heavy Cross, which so tore Thy flesh
and laid bare Thy Bones as to inflict on Thee an anguish greater than any other
wound of Thy Most Blessed Body. I adore Thee, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise
and glorify Thee, and give Thee thanks for this most sacred and painful Wound,
beseeching Thee by that exceeding pain, and by the crushing burden of Thy heavy
Cross to be merciful to me, a sinner, to forgive me all my mortal and venial
sins, and to lead me on towards Heaven along the Way of Thy Cross. Amen.
Imprimatur: Thomas D.
Beven, Bishop of Springfield
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