I Take off the MASK!

Grief and Healing - Download the eBook

God does not love the crowd,
but the person
within the crowd.
He may attract a multitude,
but what truly matters to Him
is if you could let Him in your heart.
-Jocelyn Soriano

God loves you as you. He loves you with all that He could possibly give from Himself. It is a love that is more intimate than the love between spouses, a love more personal than the love of a mother for the child in her womb.

God’s love is personal. It is not a mere universal force that cannot think or speak on its own. It is not a mere power that we can manipulate at will.

Believing in God’s love requires more than knowledge. True belief needs to be expressed in an authentic relationship that changes us because we have known just how much we are valued and loved.

God knows your name.
And had you been
the only person who needed
to be saved,
He would still have
died on the cross
for you.

Look up at the sky!
Who created the stars you see?
The one who leads them out like an army,
he knows how many there are
and calls each one by name!
-Isaiah 40:26, GNT

The high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray, because he himself is also surrounded with weakness. Because of this, he must offer sacrifices for sins for the people, as well as for himself. – Hebrews 5:2-3, WEB

Many times, it takes much suffering before people are changed. We see it with those who have undergone much difficulty and have become stronger than they were before. We see how many have become gentler and more loving because they now understand better the sufferings of others around them.

If we only knew the burden each one is carrying everyday. If we only felt the judgment and condemnation they experienced. Maybe we could be more forgiving. Maybe we could avoid judging so quickly or being overstrict with our demands.

We could be among those who can make the burdens of others lighter. Or among those who give them comfort and hope.

By suffering we are purged as with fire, and as with true gold, we shine out better. We love more deeply and tenderly than ever before.

By patience a ruler is persuaded.
A soft tongue breaks the bone.
-Proverbs 25:15, WEB

We often think that gentleness is weakness, but in truth, gentleness is real strength. It takes great power to control oneself, and only those who have this strength can be patient with the faults and weaknesses of others.

Gentleness also moves us in such a way that violence never could. Oftentimes, no matter how harshly we urge someone to do what we want, we could never move them to do so. However, once we control our temper and speak in such a way as to respect and value the feelings of others, people start to listen to us in a way they never did before.

This is because it is better to influence others through compassion rather than through force. By force, things are done with much resistance and only out of fear of punishment. With love, people are moved from within their own hearts and thereby act strongly because they act according to what they believe in.

There is a power in gentleness we must discover. It is a power that touches hearts, a power that changes people from within the depths of their soul.

A God who became so small could only be mercy and love. – St. Therese of Lisieux

God is strong, and because He is strong, He can be gentle to us who are weak.

Imagine a father who holds his newborn son. Imagine what great care he takes so as not to harm his fragile baby. In the same way, God is gentle with us, and takes great care that we do not break with His loving touch.

Because we cannot yet bear to see Him as He is, He became a little child. He became the most helpless of all so that we can approach Him and not be paralyzed by our fears. Even today, He hides as though with a veil that we may be drawn to Him not by fear, but by love.

God is gentle because He is love. He is as strong as a lion, but He chose to be meek as a lamb, a lamb that dies and sacrifices Himself for us to give us life.

What need therefore have we to fear? God’s love is strong. And because it Is strong, God’s love is merciful and tender and kind.

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 11:29-30, WEB

“Never be so busy as not to think of others.” – Mother Teresa

In our busy days, we can be so caught up with our tasks that we forget how to treat others with kindness and gentleness. When other people get in the way, asking for help, or needing our attention, we can quickly brush them off or even get a bit angry and rude.

However, soon after we have accomplished our business, we may feel that we have not been as happy or satisfied as we expected to be. We may even feel empty within, unable to identify what it was we lacked.

The reason is such that it isn’t usually the things we aim for that can satisfy our souls. Even the things we get to buy for ourselves can’t really give our souls joy.

What can make us happy is a life filled with love, and in order for love to bloom, we need to practice gentleness.

Gentleness takes time, like a seed that slowly grows, or a tree that bears fruit in due season.

There is a certain rhythm to nature that speaks about tenderness. We can see it in the way a butterfly lands upon a flower, or in the gentle breeze that blows the grass.

We too, can learn tenderness. We can start by taking the time to smile, to breathe for a moment, or to merely pause for a while and look at others with the tender look of love.

Blessed are the gentle,
for they shall inherit the earth.
-Matthew 5:5, WEB