There was a time when religion seemed to play a larger part in regulating people’s emotions. It may even be claimed by some that it came to a point when this resulted in suppressing one’s emotions in order to avoid occasions of sin.

As a result, many people view religion as something that goes against our human nature. It was seen as something that hinders not only one’s freedom but also one’s happiness. Do we not have negative stereotypes about the saints? Many people see the saints as those who hardly smile, those who repress their feelings and who could hardly relate to our humanity.

These days, however, many people are attracted to religion or spirituality because of the good feeling that is evoked in them. People cry out of gratitude for miracles that happen to them. We hear stories hear and there of those who have believed in God because they were touched by a certain sermon, a line from a book or a scene from a religious film. Instead of an unapproachable God, we try to imagine a friendly God who can laugh with us and who will never look angry or frightful no matter what we do.

But is this latter approach, the correct view? In my opinion, both extremes fail to show the true role of emotion in our spiritual life.

The first one failed to see that God respects our humanity and that emotions aren’t evil by themselves. Saints need not be sad all the time. They can also be filled with joy! In fact, their joy is something beyond the happiness the world could feel.

On the other hand, the second view of placing too much emphasis on feelings fail to show that spirituality is much more than the happy emotions we wish to maintain at all costs. We can be sad and still have hope and peace. We can cry without losing the joy of God’s salvation.

Our spiritual life includes all of our humanity, including our emotions. But there is something even beyond the emotions we desire to feel. Love is like that. The kind of love that can only come from God Himself, the source of all goodness, beauty and joy!

There was a profound lesson I’ve learned while watching the Korean Series “Hellbound” on Netflix. In the said series, people who have committed serious sins were given notice by an angel of the exact time that they will be taken into hell. When that time comes, dark beings come to kill the person in a horrifying way for all to see. Since people don’t know where those beings come from, they assume they’re from God and they form a sort of religion out of it saying it is God’s justice to bring righteousness on earth.

While we may think that such events could transform people and make them turn away from evil, just the opposite happens. Each person assumes he or she has the right to judge other people and even take upon their own hands such judgment. More people become evil instead of being good.

The series made me think of the reason why God has not shown the torments of hell to those who are still living. Maybe now we think that showing it to the world would change people, and even St. Jacinta, one of the children in the apparition at Fatima who saw hell once said:

“Why doesn’t Our Lady show hell to sinners? If they saw it, they would not sin, so as to avoid going there! You must tell Our Lady to show hell to all the people.” — Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words

But God’s wisdom is such that He knows what is best for us. God knows that even showing hell to people won’t change people’s hearts. In a way, it could even make people more stubborn in their sin.

Why then has He shown hell to many saints? Perhaps the saints don’t need to see it to believe in heaven and in God. They already have the faith. They were shown hell so they could make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. They have also been chosen as witnesses to tell people about the truth. And as in all matters of faith, it is up to people whether to believe or not. This is not the same as actually showing people the horrors of hell.

In the book Revelations to St. Bridget, we get a more direct reason why God does not show hell to people:

“For if I wanted, I could speak my words so that the whole world hears them. I could also open up hell so that everyone may see its torments, but this would not be justice, since all men would then serve me out of fear, when they should serve me out of love. For no other than the one who has love shall enter the kingdom of Heaven.” — Jesus to St. Bridget of Sweden

Heaven is not about fear as it is about love. We may be able to avoid some sins out of fear of punishment, but that does not establish a loving relationship with God. And only that kind of love could ever save our souls and give us joy for all eternity.

“If My death has not convinced you of My love, what will? …There are souls who despise My graces as well as all the proofs of My love. They do not wish to hear My call, but proceed into the abyss of hell. The loss of these souls plunges Me into deadly sorrow. God though I am, I cannot help such a soul because it scorns Me; having a free will, it can spurn Me or love Me. You, who are the dispenser of My mercy, tell all the world about My goodness, and thus you will comfort My Heart.” — Diary of St. Faustina

“It is not because I have been preserved from mortal sin that I lift up my heart to God in trust and love. I feel that even had I on my conscience every crime one could commit, I should lose nothing of my confidence: my heart broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the Arms of my Saviour. I know that He loves the Prodigal Son, I have heard His words to St. Mary Magdalen, to the woman taken in adultery, and to the woman of Samaria. No one could frighten me, for I know what to believe concerning His Mercy and His Love. And I know that all that multitude of sins would disappear in an instant, even as a drop of water cast into a flaming furnace.”? St. Therese Lisieux of Lisieux

I was reading Mother Angelica’s book “What is Heaven?” when I came across a Bible passage that touched my heart like it never did before. Here is the Bible verse:

“Behold, God’s dwelling is with people; and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away.” — Revelation21:4, WEBBE

Out of the said passage, the sentence that stood out for me the most was, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

I can’t remember how many times I have read that passage before, but this time, I was struck how it speaks so much about the tenderness and love of God. Is there any other god who would do such a thing? How many mighty kings would wipe away the tears from the eyes of their people?

It is not only that God is All Powerful and He could very well take away our pain, but that He is also Infinitely Merciful that He would do so for His people.

In my mind’s eye, I see a Father who cares so much for His children and who seems to say, “Don’t cry anymore. I am here. Everything will be alright.”

I can also see a Lover who sees and feels the hurts of His beloved. At long last, He could tell her, “Our time apart is over. I’m here and we could finally see each other face to face.” He then wipes away her tears ever so gently, and her face shines with a joy so radiant it could only come from grace.

Are you undergoing a difficult time right now? Are you losing hope that things could ever change for the better? Lift up your eyes and look towards heaven. God sees you and God cares. God promises a day when He shall wipe all your tears away.

“Celibacy is not the absence of a passion; it is rather the intensity of a passion.”? Fulton J. Sheen

The problem with the single life is that no matter what you do, it will always seem insignificant. Even if you love, that love will always seem little as compared with what other people give.

For how can one ever match the love that parents give to their children or the devotion spouses render to the other? Even one’s love for God may fail to measure up once compared to the love of priests, nuns and other people consecrated to God.

But can a single person not love deeply, too? Is the love for one’s mother or sister or friend not among the kind that should be given due worth? Is love for God deep only if consecrated through a religious life?

I have been told that God loves little children. They are precious in His eyes even if they can’t accomplish something big, even if all they could do is give thanks for all the blessings they have been given and sit upon Jesus’ lap as they gaze upon His face.

Are we not like little children too, whose worth is never measured by what one can do or by how great one can be in the eyes of the world?

Being single is not a curse, it is a great gift from Him who wants you to be as free as you need to be to receive the fullness of His love.

There is a vocation for everyone. To some, it is to receive that love from a beloved spouse. To others, it is to receive it spiritually from their Heavenly Spouse. As for you, it is to be ever present before His gaze, as the sea before the face of the sky until that time when He draws you ever closer unto Himself in the same way as He draws the clouds to heaven.

“May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.”
?Teresa of Ávila

I grew up Catholic, but I’ve only recently found out what graces have been made available to us through several devotions that have been handed down to us by the saints. O, what great consolations for us who strive throughout our lives to fight the good fight for heaven.

While it is true that salvation is free and has been fully paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross, He has extended His grace and His mercy through various means. This is not to devalue what He has already done but to make it all the more available for us.

He knows how weak we are and how we need help at almost every instance of our lives. He also knows how forgetful we are and how we badly need instruments to remind us of the path He desires for our salvation.

Below are some of the devotions I would also like to share with you. Let us avail of them while we can and thank God for His providence and generosity.

The Scapular

“Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular Shall not suffer eternal fire!”- Our Lady of Mount Carmel to Simon Stock (July 16, 1251)

According to the Sisters of Carmel, these conditions must be met to receive the promise of the brown scapular:

1.To observe exactly what has been prescribed regarding material, color, and shape of the Scapular, that is it must be 100% brown wool in a rectangular shape.

2.To be enrolled in the Scapular by a priest.

3.To wear it continually.

Any priest can help enroll you to the brown scapular by using a simple investiture formula:

Procedure for Blessing and Investiture

The Rosary

According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary made the following promises to St. Dominic for those who will faithfully pray the rosary:

1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4. The Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.

6. Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenititude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9. I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters of my only Son Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

“The Rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the Rosary is beyond description.” — Fulton Sheen

The Joyful Mysteries

The Sorrowful Mysteries

The Glorious Mysteries

The Seven Sorrows of Mary

The Blessed Virgin Mary grants seven graces to the souls who honor her daily by saying seven Hail Mary’s and meditating on her tears and sorrows.

1. The prophecy of Simeon. (St. Luke 2:34, 35)

2. The flight into Egypt. (St. Matthew 2:13, 14)

3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple. (St. Luke 2: 43–45)

4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.

5. The Crucifixion.

6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.

7. The burial of Jesus.

The 7 Promises:

1.“I will grant peace to their families.”

2. “They will be enlightened about the Divine Mysteries.”

3. “I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.”

4. “I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.”

5. “I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.”

6. “I will visibly help them at the moment of their death — they will see the face of their mother.”

7. “I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy.”

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

“My daughter, encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one.” — Jesus to St. Faustina (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 1541 )

The Chaplet is prayed on ordinary rosary beads. Here are the prayers:

Our Father

Hail Mary

The Apostles’ Creed

Begin each of the five decades with:

“Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”

On the 10 “Hail Mary” beads, pray:

“For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

Closing prayer (three times)

“Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

Jesus, King of Mercy, we trust in You.

How to Pray the Chaplet

The Five Saturdays Devotion

“See, my daughter, my Heart encircled by thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you, at least, strive to console me. Tell them that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, in order to make reparation to me, on the First Saturday of five successive months, go to Confession, receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for a quarter of an hour, meditating on the … mysteries of the Rosary.” — Our Lady of Fatima to Sis. Lucia

The Nine Fridays Devotion

“On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: ‘I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under My displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, My divine Heart making Itself their assured refuge at the last moment.’” — Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

12 Promise of the Sacred Heart

1. I will give them all of the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their homes.

3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.

4. I will be their strength during life and above all during death.

5. I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.

9. I will bless every place where a picture of my heart shall be set up and honored.

10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.

11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.

12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant all to those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

The Feast of Divine Mercy

Here is the promise of Jesus to St. Faustina for all of those who will go to Confession and receive Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter Sunday).

“My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment…The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” — Jesus to St. Faustina, (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 699)

The Image of Divine Mercy

“I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory”- Jesus to St. Faustina, (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 48).

“In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand [was] raised in the gesture of blessing; the other was touching the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside at the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with awe, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus said to me, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world.” — Jesus to St. Faustina, (Divine Mercy In My Soul, 47).