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He Gave His Only Son

"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

John 21:29

• There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.


• The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.


• In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)


• It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.


• The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.


• I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?


• I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.


• Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.


• If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

~Mother Teresa~

Everyone has different perspectives when looking at life. I was talking with a friend recently about where we've been and how we've gone through our own lives. We've known each other for 30 years, we shared good times and bad, births, death, marriages, and divorces.

She was commenting on the struggles she felt that I've overcome in my life. One of them that she brought up was being a single parent. How hard it seemed to be, from her view, to be both father and mother. I must admit that probably more than a handful of times over the years I've felt like that, but mostly, I think God had His hand in all the events of my life. The blessings I've received from being "both parents" far outnumber the fact that I was a single parent.

I'm not saying that the way God wants family to be, a mother and a father, is not the way it should be. But I do feel that sometimes it just can't always work out according to His plan. Our free wills can allow making the wrong decisions not always to follow His way. Because of His mercy we can be forgiven.

My friend's perspective showed that we can look at the same situations from completely different aspects. I've enjoyed having the opportunity to be involved so completely with my child. I know having a father's views and input would have shaped the correct outcome, as God wants us to raise our children. But I don't look at the last 20 years as a hardship. I feel God blessed me with angels, graces, and love to do the best job possible with the situation.

By praying constantly to see the good side, the positive outlook, of every situation we can receive graces we never expected. Jesus' cross took our suffering and minimized them to something we as humans can deal with as we travel through our life. The different ways we all choose to look at it does shape us. Let's choose the right attitude.