Love Prevails!: Magnify GOD!

My People,

Good Morning! I would like to begin with the words that I came across and which is kind of a prayer:-

Lord, may I be a shining light for all the world to see, Your goodness and Your love displayed as You reach out through me. –Sper-

Have a Blessed Easter!

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Day 29^th March, 2015 – 10:15 am mass at Mt. Carmel’s I hear this person sing and what a wonderfully soothing voice he has. And my heart in its oneness with God is made to realize God’s awesomeness.

Every talent is a song of praise that needs to be sung. We need to push people understanding that if we have been given a position in the earthly terms, then we are not there to warm up the chair, but we are there as Christians for the sole purpose of helping a person to reach the place where God intends for them.

God has blessed each one of us, every one accordingly and for the right reasons. When we recognize an individual and help them reach what they are destined to be and where they are meant to be, we tell God we trust Him and not the circumstances. When we recognize talent we magnify God. God is the one who has placed that skill in the person just like God has placed that skill in the person who sang that beautiful hymn. To me that was God being magnified. Each one of us has that something that can magnify God, but do we?

Let me like Mary say, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord’.

I got love – the love is Jesus in me.

I got patience – the patience is Jesus in me.

I got family – my family is Jesus in me.

I am – everything that Jesus in me is.

Day 1^st April, 2015 – I felt gloomy since the 30^th of March and it followed the next day too. I went for confessions but felt too many blocks on my path, but no matter what it was, God was with me. At confessions, I told the priest that I was really depressed. But when I stepped into the Church it all vanished. When I was speaking with Him I told Him I know Jesus is here. He told me priests are Jesus, I replied yes they are. Jesus comforted me.

Our Priests, they work so hard. It’s not easy to stand the whole mass while we as a congregation sit for most of it.

For instance on Palm Sunday when the Passion Narrative (the Gospel) had to be read, being the longest, I saw Fr. Alvaro celebrate the Saturday and Sunday mass as well. How very wonderful!

Fr. Ashlyn, when he conducts the Bible study class, stands for 1hour and 30-45 minutes. When one stands for 10-15 minutes one feels that they have stood too long. Imagine teaching while standing, I know he will be modest and say what you would expect of a priest to say, but humanly speaking there is no gain. All for God-is the motive.

Fr. Lenny - I wouldn’t change anything about him. The world is too complex we need people who make you realize how beautiful simplicity really is.
Fr. William did the feet washing of the 12 men and I looked on with amazement at the humility as he proceeded in doing so.

Often I hear people so quick to judge the priests, but how hard it is to walk in their shoes. Unimaginable, but talk is cheap!

Thomas needed physical confirmation that Jesus had risen from the dead. He insisted on first hand contact with the risen Christ and that was supplied. Jesus tells blessed are those who can express faith even without the physical evidence. We all wrestle with unresolved issues and wonder why God has done things the way He has. We long for clarity into the purpose of God's will for our lives. How blessed we are, when even in the midst of great uncertainty, we can affirm that Jesus is our Lord and our God.

Day 2^nd April, 2015 – Maundy Thursday, 11:00 pm-12:00 pm During this hour, I felt the presence of Jesus very strongly.

Below lines are part of the lyrics of a song, I do not clearly remember. My thoughts are when you love someone, you love them deeply and its not just today, but forever. Love and Heaven-what a wonderful feeling.

Together forever and never to part
Together forever in my heart
And don't you know
I would move Heaven and earth
To be together forever with you.

When you watch the one you love from a distance and you catch his gaze towards you, for that moment and after you know forever that you are loved by him. As you leave, for the first time you feel that fire burn your heart and that burning brings in a new sensation of loving, it brings into remembrance all the good moments in life and you realize that your life is forever changed. Nothing will ever be the same.

I now completely understand what it felt for the Disciples of Jesus when they walked the road to Emmaus. Their hearts burned with the realization of the love of Jesus. When you come to understand you understand the meaning and the depth of the Eucharist.

The Disciples were loved by Jesus, but when Jesus was crucified, they were terrified. Often in life when we lose someone we love, our entire process comes to a natural shutdown. The apostles experienced it. Jesus knew they were fearful, for He knew them. He walked with them-and they did not recognize Him, He talked with them melting away their hearts and bringing it to burn even more with love, and when it was time for Jesus to break the Bread-He wanted them to come to remember by themselves, not with His telling them. When He broke the bread everything came back to them, they realized now that Jesus broke Himself for all-out of love. Every-thing that Jesus had ever told them made perfect sense. Jesus did not just break Himself for all and His apostles, but He came back to them-to tell them how much He loved them and He would be with them forever-they remembered and in remembrance they were strengthened with a love that is worth dying for.

If you understand the depth of the Eucharist – you never will ever be the same

Now the devil wants souls for himself. Jesus feeds Himself to us to strengthen us against the fight with the enemy. Because we have the mark of Christ, we will be tormented, but we will stand and win on the strength of Christ.
By His death on the Cross Jesus paid the sin debt once for all. The victory over sin has been won for ever. Through His finished work-His death on the Cross and His Resurrection-sin has no power over our life. The Battle has already been won. Satan has already been defeated.

Day 3^rd April, 2015 – 3 hour agony, Fr. Gilbert. I have covered some of the things mentioned by Fr. Gilbert in this topic.

Day 4th April, 2015 - The Passo-service in the evening and a 30 minute talk by Fr. Leslie which was bold, confident and words direct from the heart.

When in Church, I happened to see Fr. Leslie entering the Building. It was not that I looked out on purpose, but the Spirit of God, showing me that He brought Fr. Leslie in.

I remember Fr. Leslie's first year, and how for the Passo-service he actually was one of the 2 people who climbed the ladder to carry Jesus down the Cross.

In this circle of Life, we may feel alone in our time of pain but we never are. As we walk through the fire God brings us safely to a place of His peace.

The strength to hold on is to having the knowledge that what is impossible for us is never impossible for God. We aren’t going to completely understand the ways of God and the best news is we don’t have to. All that is required is a complete surrender to His will no matter what the condition. Jesus trustfully surrendered His life into the hands of His Father.

Trusting that God will work everything out can be a difficult task as the shadow of the enemy is all over. God is ‘The Alpha & The Omega’ (The Beginning & The End). He is the source of all that is good and He withholds nothing good from those who love Him. God is bigger and stronger than all of the evil. Jesus defeated death and made us more than conquerors in the battle of this world.

It is ‘The cross of Jesus Christ - The truth’ that sets us free and gives us victory in every area of our life. He paid the ransom of His life with an everlasting love, to pay our debt of sins. Amen.

Magnify means “to make bigger.” Most of us make our problems seem rather bigger than it is. If we only begin to see God, then all our problems will seem too small and we would begin to glorify God (magnify God) knowing well that our problems wont last and knowing that His Word is bigger than any problem.

“All things are possible to him that believeth” Mark 9:23.

The key to staying full of God is a thankful heart. To glorify God, you must be thankful. As you thank Him, you’re reminding yourself what He has said and done, which magnifies Him.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits”. Psalm 103:2

Humility is the understanding that we don’t accomplish things on our own. We need to, humbly remember the good things God has done with thankfulness in our hearts.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations”. Psalm 100:4-5

Every time you are tempted to complain about a problem, DON'T. Enter into God’s presence thanking Him for His goodness. When you do you’ll find that the natural desire to complain will cease, and the problem will disappear. When we continue to talk about our problem it persists. Persist on talking about how big our God is and not our problem. Magnify God!

The Word of God comes alive when you can picture it in your mind. When the Bible says you’re healed, you’ve got to meditate on that truth until you see yourself healed.

When we fail to be thankful and glorify God, our imaginations automatically begin to work against us. We need to use our mind to agree with God’s Word and see ourselves the way God sees us. Magnify God!

The Scripture makes it very clear that the attitude of our heart is far more important than our actions.

Jesus said in Matthew 23:25-26, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.”

The Lord is more concerned about our heart than He is with our actions.

“A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things”. Matthew 12:35

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man”. Mark 7:21-23

When our hearts become hardened or insensitive to God, they automatically become controlled by our physical senses. If people want their behaviour to change, they must allow God to change their hearts.

It is easy to boast in our accomplishments and take pride in them. But there is a place to be thankful for what God has done through us. We must always remember, that it is the cross which is our ultimate ground of boasting. Because of the cross, God has brought meaning to our lives. Therefore whatever glory is due it is where it belongs – at the feet of the crucified Christ.
Jesus in obedience to His death on the Cross magnified His Father.

Each day we live-we live by faith and it is by this faith we decide to let Christ’s life flow through us.

Paul says in Philippians 2:5, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus”. Christ did not hold on to His divine privileges but in all humility took on a human body and died the shameful death of a criminal. Jesus humbled Himself unto death, and showed us the path in which we too must walk.

How often we question what God is doing in our lives. There are many reasons why God does not always explain. His explanation may not make any sense at the time, and sometimes it may be that clarity does not even come in this life time.
What we do know is that Christ laid aside His majesty in order to serve humanity. His death is the supreme example of His servanthood: the fulfilling of the will of God His Father. Thus becoming servant HE stooped to the lowest depths for us. If He could be obedient even to death on a cross, that is reason enough to follow suit.

Day 4^th April, 2015 – 8.00 pm. Easter Vigil Fr. William, Fr. Ashlyn, Fr. Alvaro, Fr. Lenny & Brother Linford.

Gospel-Fr. Alvaro & Homily-Fr. Ashlyn. You should have heard Fr. Ashlyn speak on what an Amazing God we serve. God is always amazing us with His awesomeness. Fr. spoke with a convicton and zest that made me want to give him a standing ovation. But I did the next best thing I applauded to God. Fr. Ashlyn magnified God!

He spoke, I write. All we want to do, if I say you, if I say I .... Magnfiy God!

What an Amazing God we serve!

Heaven is the way it feels in our hearts when we love someone.

Heaven is the way it feels in our hearts when we know deep down inside that we are loved back.

If this feels like Heaven, how truly wonderful Heaven IS?