I Take off the MASK!

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To discover that you are loved is the center of all existence. And when we are filled with this total and delirious love, little by little, we grow and love in turn. That gradualness in our journeys is a sign of the infinite tenderness of God. – Chiara Corbella Petrillo, A Witness to Joy

Love has a certain element of tenderness, which alone pierces through the heart and binds us more intimately than any force in the universe ever can.

It isn’t violence that can break through our hearts. It isn’t force that binds us and keeps us together. Only tenderness has the power to accomplish what the fullness of love desires to do. Tenderness that approaches us little by little, and handles our feelings with the deepest affection and delight. Tenderness that is willing to wait for the right time until we are ready and we are no longer afraid.

O, the great tenderness of God that seeks and that patiently waits for His beloved. The kind of love which alone can touch us in our frailty and in our brokenness, mending our wounds, healing our deepest pains.

God’s love is quiet, yet it is strong. And its strength moves in its tenderness that never fails.

“Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will respond there, as in the days of her youth… It will be in that day,” says the Lord, “that you will call me ‘my husband,’… I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in loving kindness, and in compassion. – Hosea 2, WEBBE

Only love can heal our desire for vainglory because only by being secure in God’s love can we finally stop from seeking the praise of men. – Jocelyn Soriano

Criticism from other people may cut through our heart even more painfully than physical wounds. Hurtful words echo long after they have been spoken. And the hurt they cause remain long before we are healed.

Humiliations can cause us terrible sufferings in that they remind us of the shame we feel within. Shame for our weaknesses. Shame for all our wrongdoings.

No wonder then that we often try to cover up our imperfections so we can avoid being shamed again. We try to lift up our self-esteem, to gain the praise of men, to convince everyone that we are worthy of approval and honor.

Sadly, such attempts only last for a while. Sooner or later, someone says a careless word and all the glory we have sought instantly disappears. As we were brought high, so were we cast down ever more painfully.

We need to find true healing for our lack of self-worth and our desire to be accepted and loved. And the solution is not so much as to pretend to be who we are not, but to know that God already loves us for who we truly are.

It is not our self proclaimed righteousness and perfection that would claim for us the affection we desperately want. We need only to look at the One who has compassion for our weakness, and who alone can lead us to gain the beauty we desire.

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” – Luke 6, NRSVCE

Let us look at ourselves in Jesus, my dear, as our mirror, in Jesus who led a hidden life. All His infinite majesty was hidden in the shadows and silence of that modest little workshop in Nazareth. So let us, too, make every effort to lead a completely interior life, hidden in God.– Padre Pio

There are some good things we must do openly so that men may see and praise God. There are deeds that must be done in the light so we can reach those who are in the dark.

But there are some deeds that are better done in secret, good deeds that need to be seen by the holy eyes of God alone. For it is in being hidden that their value is preserved and their purity is unstained, and they become worthy of God’s reward and praise.

When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Most certainly, I tell you, they have received their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. – Matthew 6, WEB

Sometimes, God gives us burdens so He can give us wings. – Jocelyn Soriano

I tried to escape your burdens, Lord. From troubles, I tried to flee. Little did I know they would strengthen me. Little did I know they would set me free.

For the burdens you give are sweet, Lord. They are sweet because You carry it with me. And the burdens you give are light, Lord. They are light because you turn them into wings to carry me!

When I see that the burden is beyond my strength, I do not consider or analyze it or probe into it, but I run like a child to the Heart of Jesus and say only one word to Him: “You can do all things .” And then I keep silent, because I know that Jesus himself will intervene in the matter, and as for me, instead of tormenting myself, I use that time to love Him. – St. Faustina, Divine Mercy In My Soul (1033)

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (WEB)

He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might. Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; But those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint. – Isaiah 40, WEBBE

Give me eyes to see beyond the mask of things: to see beyond weakness so I can find strength, to see beyond the disfigured, so I can find beauty and to see beyond the darkness so I can find the light! – Jocelyn Soriano

The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore see whether the light that is in you isn’t darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly full of light, as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light. – Luke 11, WEBBE

Give me eyes to see the true. Beyond the temporary, let me see the eternal. Beyond the darkness, let me see the light.

Give me eyes to see what’s within. Beyond what’s frail, let me see what’s strong. Beyond the disfigured, let me see what’s lovely and pure.

Give me eyes to see what’s precious. Beyond the sacrifice, let me see the love. Beyond the tears, let me see a joy that lasts.

Give me eyes to see for I have long been blind. I have stumbled and I have lost my way for I have followed paths not leading to life.

Let my eyes be opened so I may see. And beyond all the gloom and drudgery and misery, may I find hope to guide me, courage to strengthen me and compassion to heal me from this day forth and always.

TO LOOK USING GOD’S OWN EYES

I pray I could learn
to look at people,
the way God sees each one of us –

to be able to forego the little mistakes,
maybe even the big ones

to be able to see weaknesses
turned into strength

to know something’s hurting
and yet know that the hurt
would be healed in time

to look beyond judgment
to see with an understanding heart
to see what’s beautiful
to appreciate what’s good

to not measure anybody’s destiny
with their present plight

but to see real hope for everyone
the way God sees us

To know that orphans
have their Father

To know that those imprisoned
have One who will set them free

To see how the poor
will one day bask in God’s abundance

To see the brokenhearted
in days when God Himself
will cradle them upon His lap
To be able to see with God’s own eyes
is to see with gladness,
with hope,
and with a love so strong
it could never ever fail!

“Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave.” – Pope Benedict XVI