It’s a scary proposition to give up the image you have of God, and to allow the Holy Spirit to come upon you and reveal that these images of him are not real, and to surrender that and to say, “Lord, I just want to know who you are.” Metanoia is a continual process. It’s not just one conversion, but it’s a journey of discovering who Jesus is. |
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Each one of us needs to wrestle with this question personally: Who do you say that Jesus is? We’re going to stand before the Lord someday, and he’s going to ask us, “Who am I?” At that point we can’t say “the pope says,” or “the Catechism says,” or “my priest says,” or “my parents say...”
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Looking back on it all, I realize what was most important about the time I spent with Fulton Sheen. It was not the interesting places I visited or the fascinating people I met, but the lessons my uncle taught me about living. He taught me not by his preaching but by his example. He was always understanding, forgiving, and generous with others—and not just with material things. He encouraged me to act in the same way. He wanted me to give of myself (as he gave of himself in imitation of Christ), and he often reminded me that the simple gifts of a visit, a smile, and a kind word ‘can do wonders’. |
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My uncle’s generous reputation preceded him, and often people came right up to him on the street and asked him for money. He never refused them, even when I suspected that they weren’t being honest about their needs and were taking advantage of my uncle. Sometimes I would ask, ‘What if that person’s not telling the truth?’ His reply was always the same: ‘I can’t take that chance.’ |
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The danger is quite real that souls habituated to constant technological stimuli will never be silent with themselves, never alone in a receptive manner, and so never able to discover God in a personal encounter of prayer. |
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Jesus often expressed deep emotion, compassion, sorrow, frustration, and even righteous anger. So we should never be afraid to reveal our true feelings to him. He understands human emotions, because he experienced them. |
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The miracles of Jesus need no defense. Even his enemies found they could not deny or explain them away. They are an essential part of the Gospel. To ignore or downplay the miracles of Jesus is to rob the Gospel of its unique power. |
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Concern for ourselves will diminish and even disappear when our desire is directed toward giving ourselves all to God. |
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If you live like the world and you take sin, relationships, our Father, and His Church lightly, you’re saying that Jesus’ death on the cross was in vain. We are to become the new man, renewed in our minds and living in Christ. |
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Do you ever feel lonely, unloved, unforgiven, or unworthy? Take a look at the cross. You are loved. Jesus would have done it if you were the only person, because he loves you enough to make the supreme sacrifice. |
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