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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~

Most of us will face difficult times in our lives; it's a fact of our humanity. These crosses we all bear can blindside us or we can have warnings that they lay ahead. Either way, how do we handle them when they show up in our journey on earth? Do we go to our friends for guidance, our families, or our priest? These are all good places to turn for shoulders to lean on but where should we go first? Do we handle these situations with anger, with grace, with quietness, or with despair? Do we lose track of where the focus should be?

When times of darkness come upon us it is essential to yearn for the assistance we can only receive from Heaven. It is easy to be praising God when all is good in the world and in our lives and it's easy to give Him all the credit. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. Do we really believe that? Do we rely on Him to handle our problems? Yes, God wants us to be prudent (wise) and do what is right. But does this mean we should be above asking Him for help and blessings in our times of need? Do we want to handle our trouble by ourselves, play God, or demand our time limits for answers and then wait for our lives to get back to normal before turning to Him again? Are we running the ship or are we letting Jesus run it in all areas of our lives?

Quote after quote in the bible guides us in ways to handle our crosses:

Ruth 2:12
May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

Job 22:23
If thou wilt return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, and shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle.

Jeremiah 29:12-13
Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord.

Sirach 2: 7-11
You who fear the Lord wait for his mercy; do not stray, or else you may fall. You who fear the Lord trust in him, and your reward will not be lost. You who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy. Consider the generations of old and see: has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed? Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord and been forsaken? Or has anyone called upon him and been neglected?

Matthew 7:7-8
" Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Revelation 3:20
'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

It's easy for me to say, "I have to take care of this situation or that problem, I'll handle it this way or that way", but when I stop and say, "wait, what is it that I'm to do first", that's when I turn to Jesus and Mary, that is when I find the comfort, peace and answers I need to go on carrying my crosses. Remember always, Jesus is there to comfort and help us through the good times and the bad.