I Take off the MASK!

Grief and Healing - Download the eBook

“For, in regard to that little of your will which you now willingly forsake, you shall forever have your will in Heaven. For there you shall find all that you will, all that you can desire. There you shall enjoy the possession of every good without fear of losing it… There no one shall resist you, no one shall complain of you, none shall obstruct you, nothing shall stand in your way: but every good that you desire shall be present at the same time, and shall replenish all your affections, and fully satiate them.” – The Imitation of Christ

Sometimes, you have to let go of the little things so you can gain what’s truly important. You have to learn to overlook many of your neighbors’ little faults as you want them to overlook yours.

We are not perfect yet and even with the best of intentions, we may not please everyone.

Let us learn to be more patient then as we try to see others in their best light.

The little sacrifices we make can add up to a big difference in our relationships. It is like oil that reduces a lot of friction in our daily life. It is like a little seed that will eventually grow into a sturdy tree where we can seek shelter beneath the fiercest storms.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Matthew 16:24, WEB

“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.” – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

We need to believe in happy endings once again. We need to believe that light can overcome darkness and that good will always triumph over evil in the end.

It is not wishful thinking. It is hope. And in times of despair and trouble, hope needs to be rekindled in our hearts.

We have learned much of the valuable things when we were children. We only need to remember once again, to see the world again with eyes that know how to dream and hearts that know how to fight to make such dreams come true.

The world we grew up to may be complicated, but the most important things remain simple, and heaven is always within the grasp of a little child.

Things are not perfect yet but they will be. Times are troublesome, but all such troubles shall end.

In God, we never hope in vain.

I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “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 from them 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.” – Revelations 21:3-4, WEB

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. – Isaiah 49:16, WEB

You are loved. Cast away every doubt and feeling of uselessness. Your worth is not determined by what other people say.

Look not on what you have done or failed to do. Look not on your weakness or your poverty. They tell nothing about how valuable you really are.

Look instead upon the cross, and there, see how Someone gave His life for you. See how much He suffered out of love for you.

If He deemed you valuable enough to be saved by His sufferings, why deem yourself unworthy to be loved?

See His wounded hands and believe. It is with such wounds that your name was forever engraved upon His hands.

“For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you.” – Jesus to St. Faustina

He said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” – Luke 2:49, WEB

Many times, we feel so troubled because we look for the answers in all the wrong places. We seek it in people who could never love us the way we wanted to be loved. We seek it in things that could never really satisfy the soul.

Why look for answers in all the wrong things and then ask God whether He really loves us?

Whenever we feel we have tried everything and looked everywhere, and still feel unsatisfied, let us try to find time for God’s presence. Let’s set aside every distraction from the world and seek God in prayer and silence.

God is waiting for us. Let us go then where He may be found.

Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart? – Saint Gerard Majella