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Saturday, May 8, 2010

My Daily Bread Book 1 Chapter 21 : Last Call for Our Honorable Politicians Before the Elections


Book One: The Way of Purification
CONVERSION
CHAPTER 21 Holy Fear of God

CHRIST: MY CHILD, if you desire to make progress along the way to Heaven, keep in your heart a holy fear of the Divine justice. It is only reasonable that you should be afraid to hurt yourself. When you bring sin into your life, you are making yourself an object of My justice. I, the Eternal Truth, cannot accept you as good if you have become bad by sin. Therefore, keep your earthly desires under control and refuse to surrender yourself to unnecessary or dangerous pleasures. This holy fear of My justice will help you to stay free of the slavery of earthly attractions.

2. It is not very wise to think only of having a pleasant time and to forget your spiritual needs. It is reasonable and good for you to be afraid of losing My graces. Without them you can never reach the perfect life and happiness of Heaven.

3. If your love of Me is not yet strong enough to hold you back from doing wrong, then let your fear of hell keep you from sinning. A man who lacks this wise and holy fear, will not go on doing good for long. He will soon fall into Satan's snares, as he becomes more careless in avoiding temptations. This fear is a holy thing because it is given by Me. It makes a man strong in the daily battle against his unreasoning and selfish desires.

4. Even the saints, with all their confidence in Me, had this fear of Divine justice. They knew the weakness and blindness of human nature. They were not less careful, nor less humble, because of their great virtues and many graces.

THINK: If my love of God ever fails to hold me back from sin, it will be because my self-love is strong at the moment. Yet, even then I can make a last effort against this misguided love by the thought of God's justice, which will deal with me as I deserve. It is a foolish man, indeed, who will refuse to consider the harm that can overtake him if he follows a certain path. This holy fear of God's justice is "the beginning of wisdom" because it guides men on to a holier life.

PRAY: My God, I do not want to presume so much on Your love as to forget Your justice. You will some day deal with each man according to his works. I desire to make good use of all the gifts which Your love daily sends me. May I never forget that I must one day account for my misuse of these gifts. This thought will help me to fight sin and to please You more in my daily life. Amen.

Monday, May 3, 2010

My Daily Bread Book 1 Chapter 20 (dedicated to our HONEST Filipino politicians running this May)

Book One: The Way of Purification
CONVERSION
CHAPTER 20 The Pains of Hell

CHRIST: MY CHILD, I have proved My goodness by My numberless gifts to men. They cannot mention a single good thing in their daily life which does not belong to Me. My love for them was proved by My earthly life of labor, work, suffering and prayer to obtain forgiveness for their sins. Anyone who takes time to think of what I deserve, cannot deny that he owes Me more than he can ever repay. Yet, in spite of My goodness and love, some people choose to walk away from Me. They refuse to follow My directions. As a result they fall into sin. Though I made them for Heaven, they shall never see it because they are refusing to do what it takes to get there.

2. Hell was made for the devil and his rebel angels. Man was made for Heaven. In refusing to live for Heaven, a man chooses to exist without Me. He shall have his wish - he shall join the rebel angels in hell. In refusing to follow My law, a man actually turns his back on Me as the fallen angels did. If he dies in this condition, he condemns himself to hell. The jury which convicts him is his own sinful life. I merely pronounce sentence on what he himself has chosen.

3. There is nothing on earth which can compare with hell. It is beyond all description. One must see it to know it. Though I may try to give you some small idea of it in this chapter, remember, this is a tiny and very imperfect idea of the real thing. Words fall far short of the reality which is hell. I make no threats here. I simply want you to face this fact: Unless you live for Heaven, you shall one day be in hell.

4. All the sufferings known to man are as nothing in comparison with the sufferings of hell. The wise man would rather bear any trial on earth than place himself in danger of hell. One single hour of hell will be harder than a hundred years of suffering on earth. In this earthly life people have some rest from their labors and trials. They get some measure of consolation from their friends. In hell, however, there is no rest, no consolation, and no friends.

5. The fires of hell will never die. There will be no end to suffering. One will find no comfort in knowing that he has been there a thousand years. He can never hope for an end to his tortures. All the other sufferings would be bearable if only the damned could hope for relief. Despair is hell's bitterest pain.

6. In hell a man will be punished through the same faults by which he sinned on earth. Each sin will have its own particular torment. The lazy will be forced to work continuously. The gluttonous will be tormented with extreme hunger and thirst. The proud will be filled with confusion, and the greedy will feel the pinch of miserable want.

7. And yet, the worst pain of hell is none of these. The people in hell would gladly bear all of this and much more if only they could hope for My friendship and love, no matter how long it might take, be it even a billion years from now. Their keenest torment is that they have forever lost Me, the Source of all true joy and perfect happiness. This suffering makes hell the home of despair and undying hatred.

8. My child, follow My Will in your daily life, and you need never fear hell. In fact you have every reason to be joyful and merry if you are following My commandments and using My sacraments. Do not condemn yourself to hell by refusing to obey My directions. I love you dearly. Do not prevent Me from taking you to Heaven.

THINK: Hell is a fact. Christ, Our Lord, pointed this out time and again during His earthly life. Whoever rejects this fact is simply denying the word of Christ. He is God. He proved His divine power many times during and after His earthly life. His word is truth. He preached the truth of hell and continues to preach it today through His Church and Holy Scripture.

PRAY: My Jesus, many find too hard a command in the words: "Deny yourself, take upyour cross, and follow Me." Yet a much harder command will be: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire." If I become so impatient with a little suffering now, how can I ever stand hell? I cannot expect to have unrestricted enjoyment on earth and still rejoice with You in Heaven. Therefore, dear Lord, that I may be safe from eternal punishment, let me do my best in bearing the burdens of this earthly life. Let me prefer to suffer on earth or even die now rather than commit a mortal sin. Amen.