to love and be loved by God

Monday, April 16, 2018 (6:54 a.m.)

Most Dear and Blessed Father God,

How I love You. I say it so often and it never loses its impact on me. I love You. Mm, yes, most dear and holy Dad, I love You.

Thank You for that honor. That privilege. To love and be loved by You. Mm, yes. Holy God, thank You that we were created to love and be loved by You. It’s a Truth I can barely begin to wrap my mind around.

Instead I sit. Still. Reading and taking in Your Word. Breathing deeply. Relaxed. Pondering.

Thank You Father. Thank You for such peace. Thank You that reading in The Message (Ephesians 2:1-6) I find my mind racing with hope, while at the very same time calm and protected.

“He Tore Down the Wall It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose His temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, He embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on His own, with no help from us! Then He picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.”

Your incredible love has done this for us. Your incredible love that covers our sins. Your incredible love that Pope Francis called Your “dream” for human beings. ‘… that we would know we are loved by You, that we would love You in return and that we would love one another.’

Before reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors on October 29, the pope went on to say, “In fact, we were created to love and be loved”. Oh blessed God, thank You for reminders of Your Truth.

Focusing his remarks that Sunday on his reading of Matthew 22:37-39, Pope Francis went on to say that “Jesus lived according to those two commandments. His actions were all motivated by what was essential, ‘that is, love.’”

Quoting from Catholic News Service, “‘Love gives energy and fruitfulness to life and to the journey of faith,’ he said. ‘Without love both life and faith remain sterile.’ True fidelity to God involves loving God and loving the other people He created, the pope said. ‘You can do many good things, fulfill many precepts, good things, but if you do not have love, they are useless’” [1 Corinthians 13:1-3].

Dearest, dearest God, thank You for Your perfect, authentic love. Teach me in practicing to use it well this day. I love You. Yes. I love You! Thank You Father. Use me I pray, to Your good and to Your glory. Thank You. Amen.

(522 words ~ 8:28 a.m.)