Heart

“It is not necessary to have either a keen intellect or great knowledge to go to God, but simply a heart resolved to apply itself to Him and for Him, and to love only Him.” (Brother Lawrence, “The Practice of The Presence of God”, page 43).

Mary's Foretaste of the Resurrection (Guercino)

I have many talents.  God has provided them to me.  All my intelligence, beauty, strength, diligence and pretty much anything good and decent about me is a gift of God and in no way an indication of my own merit or strength.

All of my weakness is simply an indication of all the things that I am not so good at arranging.  After all, I am also lazy and proud and angry and hateful and mean and envious and a myriad of other sins.

And I have been reflecting on these.  After all, if I were to rely on my own merits to achieve the dream that God has for my life, I would end up lost and alone.  Instead, God allows me to give things a go and to try to make changes for the better.

When I consider the example of the Saints I can be quite overcome by despair.  I have only to think of Saint Therese or Lisieux, whose confessor told her that he did not believe that she had ever committed a mortal sin, to see my own shortcomings.  I certainly have committed (and confessed) many mortal sins in my lifetime.

And this is big – really big. 

You see there are two types of sin – venial sins and mortal sins.  And while all sin must be confessed and atoned for prior to our death so that we can be saved, venial sins are the smaller offences.  If a soul has committed a venial sin, that soul may still receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist and in fact, the Sacrament itself will allow the soul to atone for its sin – as this is a small matter (like perhaps swearing or a small lie).  While these things are wrong, they are not things that will cause a soul to be damned without the hope of salvation through time in Purgatory.  But a mortal sin is something else entirely.  A mortal sin – as the name suggests – is a sin that kills the soul.  A soul that dies in the state of mortal sin will be damned to hell eternally.  A soul in this state must NOT receive the Sacrament of Eucharist, as this is painful and offensive to God – as this soul has rejected God and then places Him inside it even despite that offence.  This is like rubbing salt into a wound and is a terrible thing for God – placing Him in the midst of our sinfulness.

Brother Lawrence writes in “The Practice of The Presence of God” at page 43, “It is not necessary to have either a keen intellect or great knowledge to go to God, but simply a heart resolved to apply itself to Him and for Him, and to love only Him.”

And I have been thinking about that today.  For it seems that I must try harder to love God with all my heart – for that is the only way to remain conscious of mortal sin.  And that is the only way to reach heaven – and God eternal…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.

 I have many talents.  God has provided them to me.  All my intelligence, beauty, strength, diligence and pretty much anything good and decent about me is a gift of God and in no way an indication of my own merit or strength.

All of my weakness is simply an indication of all the things that I am not so good at arranging.  After all, I am also lazy and proud and angry and hateful and mean and envious and a myriad of other sins.

And I have been reflecting on these.  After all, if I were to rely on my own merits to achieve the dream that God has for my life, I would end up lost and alone.  Instead, God allows me to give things a go and to try to make changes for the better.

When I consider the example of the Saints I can be quite overcome by despair.  I have only to think of Saint Therese or Lisieux, whose confessor told her that he did not believe that she had ever committed a mortal sin, to see my own shortcomings.  I certainly have committed (and confessed) many mortal sins in my lifetime.

And this is big – really big. 

You see there are two types of sin – venial sins and mortal sins.  And while all sin must be confessed and atoned for prior to our death so that we can be saved, venial sins are the smaller offences.  If a soul has committed a venial sin, that soul may still receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist and in fact, the Sacrament itself will allow the soul to atone for its sin – as this is a small matter (like perhaps swearing or a small lie).  While these things are wrong, they are not things that will cause a soul to be damned without the hope of salvation through time in Purgatory.  But a mortal sin is something else entirely.  A mortal sin – as the name suggests – is a sin that kills the soul.  A soul that dies in the state of mortal sin will be damned to hell eternally.  A soul in this state must NOT receive the Sacrament of Eucharist, as this is painful and offensive to God – as this soul has rejected God and then places Him inside it even despite that offence.  This is like rubbing salt into a wound and is a terrible thing for God – placing Him in the midst of our sinfulness.

Brother Lawrence writes in “The Practice of The Presence of God” at page 43, “It is not necessary to have either a keen intellect or great knowledge to go to God, but simply a heart resolved to apply itself to Him and for Him, and to love only Him.”

And I have been thinking about that today.  For it seems that I must try harder to love God with all my heart – for that is the only way to remain conscious of mortal sin.  And that is the only way to reach heaven – and God eternal…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.