Finally, Pope Francis speaks of faith tested by doubts.
“The devil puts doubts in us, then life happens along with its tragedies: ‘Why does God allow this?’ But a faith without doubts cannot advance. (…) The thought of being abandoned by God is an experience of faith which many saints have experienced, along with many people today who feel abandoned by God, but do not lose faith. They take care to watch over the gift: ‘Right now I feel nothing, but I guard the gift of faith. The Christian who has never gone through these states of mind lacks something, because it means that they have settled for less. Crises of faith are not failures against faith. On the contrary, they reveal the need and desire to enter more fully into the depths of the mystery of God. A faith without these trials leads me to doubt that it is true faith.
Category Archives: Good Quotes
Faith
Faith is a personal act – the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone.
You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from other and should hand it on to others
Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith
HOWEVER, we could be in this situation which Jesus our Master said “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith”?
Let us try to understand. In what does the lack of the disciples’ faith consist, as contrasted with Jesus’ trust? They had not stopped believing in him; in fact, they called on him. But we see how they call on him: “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” (v. 38). Do you not care: they think that Jesus is not interested in them, does not care about them. One of the things that hurts us and our families most when we hear it said is: “Do you not care about me?” It is a phrase that wounds and unleashes storms in our hearts. It would have shaken Jesus too. Because he, more than anyone, cares about us. Indeed, once they have called on him, he saves his disciples from their discouragement
“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith”? Faith begins when we realise we are in need of salvation. We are not self-sufficient; by ourselves we founder: we need the Lord, like ancient navigators needed the stars. Let us invite Jesus into the boats of our lives. Let us hand over our fears to him so that he can conquer them. Like the disciples, we will experience that with him on board there will be no shipwreck. Because this is God’s strength: turning to the good everything that happens to us, even the bad things. He brings serenity into our storms, because with God life never dies.
Why are you afraid? Have you no faith”? Dear brothers and sisters, from this place that tells of Peter’s rock-solid faith, I would like to entrust all of you to the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, Health of the People and Star of the stormy Sea. From this colonnade that embraces Rome and the whole world, may God’s blessing come down upon you as a consoling embrace. Lord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies and comfort our hearts. You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: “Do not be afraid” (Mt 28:5). And we, together with Peter, “cast all our anxieties onto you, for you care about us” (from Urbi et Orbi 2020)
to the mercy of
Definition of to the mercy of
: without any protection from (someone or something one cannot control)
The Courage
The courage to swim against the tide
Deciding to follow Christ puts us “against the tide.” Do not be discouraged, but persevere, the Lord walks with us.
The courage to be happy
The courage to be disliked
Hope needs patience, the patience of knowing that we sow, but it is God who gives growth. (Pope Francis)
That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted (Hebrews 2, 18)
In difficult and dark moments let us find the courage to say: “Blessed are you, Lord”. Let us praise the Lord: this will be so good for us. (Pope Francis)
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, when we invite Him into our wounds, anoints our painful memories with the balm of hope, because the Spirit restores hope.
This would stop beating myself up for mistakes; just try it again
Discovering my weak spot
Act as if everything depended on you; trust as if everything depended on God.
Dear young people, let us not give up on great dreams. The Lord does not want us to narrow our horizons or to remain parked on the roadside of life. He wants us to race boldly and joyfully towards lofty goals. #takeupthecross https://t.co/RG9dMvwXEt
The Magi
God often uses those things most familiar to us that are part of our daily life to send forth His calling. Recall, for example, that many of the Apostles were fishermen, and Jesus used their occupation to call them, making them “fishers of men.” He especially used the miraculous catch of fish to clearly indicate to them that they had a new calling.
This reflection sent me on Sunday can be seen in the Epiphany. God used a special language to speak to the Magi by the bright star which was only understood and seen by them.
I learnt that God’s call to people will be according to their knowledge or education … culture… value and lifestyle … jobs …
He calls all of us and his greatest desire is to be with us
I really love the story of the Magi because I learnt many interesting things about them last Sunday
I really want to ask the Magi whether they were disappointed when they found Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
It seems I got the answer: able to “see” beyond appearance. With Saint Paul, then, let us “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:18).
But what did the Magi actually see? They saw a poor child and his mother. Yet these wise men from far-off lands were able to look beyond those lowly surroundings and recognize in that Child a royal presence. They were able to “see” beyond appearances. Falling to their knees before the Babe of Bethlehem, they expressed a worship that was above all interior: the opening of the treasures they had brought as gifts symbolized the offering of their own hearts”
Good Quotes
As the Good Shepherd, Jesus, according to Pope Francis, ‘is attentive to each one of us, he seeks and loves us, addressing to us his word, knowing the depths of our hearts, our desires and our hopes, as well as our failures and our disappointments. Daily Reflection 05/03/2021
Jesus is the eternal Word of God, who has always thought of us and wanted to communicate with us. #Angelus
“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” St. Francis of Assisi
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