Why Temptation 

Meditation of the Day 

an excerpt from Manual for Spiritual Warfare by Saint Catherine of Sienna,

pages one hundred fifty-nine through one hundred sixty.

I've appointed the devil to tempt and to trouble my creatures in this life.

Saint Catherine of Sienna reports that our Lord said to her, I've done this not so that my creatures may be overcome, but so that they may overcome, proving their virtue and receiving from me the glory of victory, and no one should fear any battle or temptation of the devil that may come to him, because I've made my creatures strong, and I've given them strength of will, fortified in the blood of my son.

Neither the devil nor any other creature can control this free will because it's yours, given to you by me. By your own choice, then, you hold it or let it go if you please. It's a weapon, and if you place it in the hands of the devil, it right away becomes a knife that he'll use to stab and kill you.

On the other hand, if you don't place this knife that is your will into the hands of the devil, that is, if you don't consent to his temptations and harassments, you will never be injured by the guilt of sin in any temptation. Instead, you'll actually be strengthened by the temptation as long as you open the eyes of your mind to see my love, and to understand why I allowed you to be tempted, so you could develop virtue by having it proved.

My love permits these temptations, for the devil is weak. He can do nothing by himself unless I allow him. So I let him tempt you because I love you, not because I hate you. I want you to conquer, not to be conquered, and to come to a perfect knowledge of yourself and of me.

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We imitate Christ’s death by being buried with him in baptism. If we ask what this kind of burial means, it means making a complete break with our former way of life, and our Lord himself said that this cannot be done unless a man is born again. In other words, we have to begin a new life, and we cannot do so until our previous life has been brought to an end. When we wish to reverse the direction of our lives there must be a death, to mark the end of one life and the beginning of another. It is a reversal from the old to the new. Staying the same is not salvation. Choose to turn and give your life to Christ. 

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He had no power of himself to die for us: he had to take from us our mortal flesh. This was the way in which, though immortal, he was able to die; the way in which he chose to give life to mortal men: he would first share with us, and then enable us to share with him. Of ourselves we had no power to live, nor did he of himself have the power to die.

In other words, he performed the most wonderful exchange with us. Through us, he died; through him, we shall live.

The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves.

He loved us so much that, sinless himself, he suffered for us sinners the punishment we deserved for our sins. How then can he fail to give us the reward we deserve for our righteousness, for he is the source of righteousness? How can he, whose promises are true, fail to reward the saints when he bore the punishment of sinners, though without sin himself?

Brethren, let us then fearlessly acknowledge, and even openly proclaim, that Christ was crucified for us; let us confess it, not in fear but in joy, not in shame but in glory.

The apostle Paul saw Christ, and extolled his claim to glory. He had many great and inspired things to say about Christ, but he did not say that he boasted in Christ’s wonderful works: in creating the world, since he was God with the Father, or in ruling the world, though he was also a man like us. Rather, he said: Let me not boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14, RSV2CE)

Those with Jesus are called Chosen and Faithful!

I want to be your chosen and faithful Jesus! Help me. 

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and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. (Revelation 13:8, RSV2CE)

the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel (Revelation 17:8, RSV2CE)

There are people definitely not in the book of life from before the earth began. God knows who is His. 

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3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and wonderful are your deeds,

O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways,

O King of the ages!

4 Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord?

For you alone are holy.

All nations shall come and worship you,

for your judgments have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:3–4, RSV2CE)

Learn the song!

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READ

and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water.” (Revelation 14:7, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

Fear God

Give Glory to God

Judgement has Come

Worship Him

Fear not being on God’s side. He deserves All Glory, I am nothing but a clay jar made of dirt. All good I have and do was gifted to me by Him. Judgement has come, we are sinners and need salvation, it is found in Jesus! If you reject the only sacrifice by admitting your sin, asking for mercy, & choosing to serve and worship God, you cannot be saved. 

PRAY

God, I am a sinner. I believe you came to save sinners. I do not want to be on the wrong side! I know you are creator! All Glory goes to you. You are good and give good gifts to me. I accept that I am a sinner, I accept I need salvation. I accept Jesus is the sacrifice for my sin. I accept I need mercy and grace. I accept I want to serve and worship you. I believe you have a plan for me. Help me my God do it and bring you glory for your amazing salvation for sinners. Amen. 

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READ

3 and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are chaste; it is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes; these have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are spotless. (Revelation 14:3–5, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

There is a new song in heaven before the throne of God. The new song can only be learned by those redeemed from the earth. These people are not defiled, chaste, and follow Jesus wherever He goes (even to dark and hard places to find his lost). These people are the first fruits of God and Jesus. No lie is in their mouth! They are found spotless. 

PRAY

Jesus, I pray to learn the new song sung before the throne. I pray to be redeemed. I pray to be chaste, follow you, not ever lie, and be spotless. I know it is not in me. I plead for your mercy grace and faith to persevere all the way home. I want to be a first fruit for you. Amen. 

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READ

and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. (Revelation 13:8, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

There are people who are not written in the book of life. They have not been there since even before creation. God knew before He even created who would accept and who would reject. He still created them. He creates good. We choose evil. They have purpose. All things will work for the good of those who love God. Do not fear anyone or anything. Pray pray pray. 

PRAY

God, I pray to be in your book of life. I pray Jesus is the Lamb that took away MY sin. I pray for faith and grace. Help me God to be yours forever!

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Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (Revelation 12:17, RSV2CE)

REFLECTION

The Devil is angry with Mary. The Devil makes war against her offspring. Her offspring are those who keep the commandments of God. Her offspring are those who bear testimony to Jesus. 

I am Mary’s child. Mary is Christ’s mother. I am baptized into Christ. I by grace keep the commandments of God. I by grace bear testimony to Jesus who is my Lord and King. The Devil is at war against me because I am the child of Mary and Jesus. He is trying to destroy my ability to keep the commandments and to destroy my testimony of Jesus. 

PRAY

Holy mighty, Holy Immortal, Have Mercy on Me and give me grace to see the schemes and walk in your way to be free from them. Help me by your grace stay faithful to your commands and give testimony to your name! In your name Jesus I pray. Holy Mother, pray for me. Amen. 

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Christ is at once priest and sacrifice, God and temple. 

He is the priest through whom we have been reconciled, 

the sacrifice by which we have been reconciled,

the temple in which we have been reconciled, 

the God with whom we have been reconciled. 

Hold fast to this and never doubt it: the only-begotten Son, God the Word, becoming man offered himself for us to God as a fragrant offering and sacrifice.

In this sacrifice there is thanksgiving for, and commemoration of, the flesh of Christ that he offered for us, and the blood that the same God poured out for us.

By this sacrifice he is proclaimed as already slain for sinners, as the Apostle testifies: Christ died for the wicked at a time when we were still powerless, and when we were enemies we were reconciled with God through the death of his Son.

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"Smashing the ego" involves dismantling the false self—characterized by pride, defensiveness, and selfishness—to foster humility, connection, and spiritual growth, often cited in recovery as abandoning the need for control. This process is not about self-destruction but reducing arrogance, practicing service, and overcoming a "specialness" that isolates. 

Key Aspects of Ego Management:

• The Nature of Ego: It acts as an instant reactor to the world, often creating a "false perception of the true self" that is impatient, defiant, and narcissistic.

• 12-Step Perspective: The "deflation of the ego" is crucial for recovery, shifting from self-centeredness to finding freedom through humility.

• Methods for Reduction:

◦ Service & Humility: Engaging in, simple, or menial tasks helps diminish self-importance.

◦ Mindfulness: Observing ego-driven thoughts without immediately acting on them.

◦ Admitting Limitations: Acknowledging that you don't have all the answers and embracing vulnerability.

◦ Active Listening: Allowing others to speak without defensiveness or judgment. 

Rather than total destruction, experts often suggest managing the ego to achieve a healthier sense of self-esteem without the negative effects of arrogance or over-identification

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You told me I am a receiver not a grabber of grace. I cannot grab the apple (first sin) because I decide it is good. Especially when I was told not to. I am to pray and ask what to do and wait for you to tell me when and how. You want to direct my life. 

Religious especially create disciplines that keep them ensconced in their ego thinking they are doing the right thing. But are we listening? The Pharisees were obedient but far from his heart. My heart must break for what breaks his and his heart breaks for sinners. We know not what we do. 

Sinners (all men) need to see they are sick in mind following harmful destructive thoughts and actions. 

Ego is the core problem of all things-we think we know best. We think we know Who, What, When, Where, Why. We see darkly and our understanding is jaded by my own experiences. I actually cannot understand at all. 

Only God sees it all. I must let him be God and leave all to His judgement who is absolutely just. He wants forgiveness and reconciliation. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Jesus paid for all the sins of the world. 

• Who? (Character) - Who is involved in the story? This includes the protagonist, antagonist, or key figures.

• What? (Plot/Action) - What is happening? This refers to the core event, conflict, or problem.

• Where? (Setting) - Where does the action take place? It defines the location.

• When? (Time) - When is the story occurring? It specifies the time, date, or era.

• Why? (Motivation) - Why is this happening? This explores the cause, motive, or reason behind the events

You God, know all and have the best plan. You are guiding the world towards you. We are all broken by our trauma and the world, flesh, & devil. We can listen or reject your directions and helps of grace. You have made a way. You are not forceful or coercive, you offer, but do not manipulate. We have to hear and choose your will and your way. 

We are weak and fall continuously, but keep getting up! Even the perfect God Man pleaded for it to pass and fell three times carrying his cross, how much more my weak soul battered by evil internally and externally. Falling is not the end, giving up would be. 

The way, truth, & life is in, with, & through Jesus Christ my God! I must choose to give my life to Christ, forsake my freedom for his direction, know suffering is in the plan, never give up, believing he loves me, and gave his life for me, to be one with him forever. I am in Christ part of his actual body and blood. 

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God Showed us we are Loved: I must choose to believe and accept it. 

People don’t feel loved because they view how someone treats them as whether they’re lovable or not. People feel love or worthless based on how others treat them. The flesh world and devil is attacking them so they feel unloved and worthless. 

People also are envious deep down and don’t want you to feel loved because they don’t feel loved. This is how the enemy perpetuates the evil in our world. I have to choose to believe and feel loved based on what Jesus has said and done not on what others say and do to me.

I am to treat others as brothers that are beat up by evil and do not understand their worth. I do not have to be angry at their malice, I need to feel pity for them. Pray for them to be healed by the Savior so they stop perpetuating evil and to pray for myself to let God handle all malice from them so I too do not perpetuate evil and malice. He is a just judge that sees all things. 

Jesus Christ, the God man himself came to earth showed us humility and love, died on the cross to pay for all my sin, called me to himself, offers me the Holy Spirit so I can live a holy life and be free from evil and then be able to live with him forever. There is no greater love than this. 

I must choose to believe and feel the love based on what he’s done for me. He has shown me how much he loves me. I have to choose to accept it. Love is action not feeling and Jesus acted!! 

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Life as an obstacle course:

Life is an obstacle course and I am to get through it to heaven. 

things do not happen to me. They happen around me. I do not have to be angry at the obstacles. They are there for a reason. My job is to get through the course. The obstacles are not there to happen to me. They are part of the course, and I have to separate myself from them knowing they are the course not attacking me. 

I am not to stay and play on a jungle gym. I am to go over it. if a tree falls I am not to get upset that a tree fell in front of me. I am to get over it and through all the way to heaven, not looking around, but looking straight at Jesus walking through all the obstacles of this life to get to Jesus. 

stop looking around and wasting time on what is happening around and get through it.

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When the All-holy Virgin had completed the fourteenth year after her birth and was entering her fifteenth year, after having spent eleven years living and serving in the Temple of Jerusalem, the priests informed her that, according to the Law, she could not remain in the Temple but was required to be betrothed and enter into marriage. 

To the great surprise of the priests, the All-holy Virgin answered that she had dedicated her life to God and that she desired to remain a virgin until death, not wanting to enter into marriage with anyone! Then, according to God’s providence and inspiration, Zacharias, the high priest and father of the Forerunner, in agreement with the other priests, gathered twelve unmarried men from the tribe of David, so that they might entrust the Virgin Mary to one of them to preserve her virginity and care for her. 

She was entrusted to Joseph of Nazareth, who was her kinsman. In the house of Joseph, the All-Holy Virgin continued to live as she had in the Temple of Solomon, occupying her time with the reading of sacred Scripture, prayer, godly thoughts, fasting, and handiwork. She rarely went anywhere outside the house and showed little interest in worldly matters and events. She spoke very little to anyone, if at all, and only when necessary. She is most often associated with Joseph’s two daughters. 

When the fullness of time had come, as prophesied by Daniel the Prophet, and when God was pleased to fulfill His promise to the banished Adam and to the prophets, the great Archangel Gabriel appeared in the chamber of the All-holy Virgin. This occurred, as some Church writers have related, precisely at the same moment that she held open the book of the Prophet Isaiah and was contemplating his great prophecy: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son!" (Isaiah 7:14). Gabriel appeared in all of his angelic brightness and saluted her: Rejoice, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee! (Luke 1:28), and the rest, as it is written in the Gospel of the blessed Luke. 

With this angelic annunciation and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Virgin, the salvation of mankind and the restoration of all creation began. The history of the New Testament was opened by the words of the Archangel Gabriel: Rejoice, thou that art highly favored. This shows that the New Testament signified joy to mankind and to all created things. Therefore, the Annunciation is considered not only a great feast but also a joyful feast.

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When we speak with God in prayer we do not separate the Son from him, and when the body of the Son prays it does not separate its head from itself: 

it is the one Saviour of his body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who prays for us and in us and is himself the object of our prayers.

He prays for us as our priest, 

he prays in us as our head, 

he is the object of our prayers as our God.

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To the fearful, St Augustine’s words can be of help: “Leave the past to the mercy of God, the future to the providence of God, the present to the love of God.”

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What if she had said No?

The question may strike you as irreverent. How dare I suggest that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven, Tower of David, and all the other titles, could have left us in the lurch like that? 

But what if she had?

Could she have said No? You might say that of course she couldn’t, she was far too holy — but you would be guilty of demeaning and dangerous sentimentality. It is demeaning because it turns Our Lady from a free human being into a sanctified automaton. The whole glory of the Annunciation is that Mary, the second Eve, could have said No to God but she said Yes instead. That is what we celebrate, that is what we praise her for; and rightly so.

This sentimental view is dangerous too. If we believe that the most important decision in the history of the world was in fact inevitable, that it couldn’t have been otherwise, then that means it was effortless. Now we have a marvellous excuse for laziness. Next time we’re faced with a tough moral decision, we needn’t worry about doing what is right. Just drift, and God will make sure that whatever choice we make is the right one. If God really wants us to do something he’ll sweep us off our feet the way he did Mary, and if he chooses not to, it’s hardly our fault, is it?

So Mary could have said No to Gabriel. What if she had? He couldn’t just go and ask someone else, like some sort of charity collector. With all the genealogies and prophecies in the Bible, there was only one candidate. It’s an alarming thought. Ultimately, of course, God would have done something: the history of salvation is the history of him never abandoning his people however pig-headed they were. But God has chosen to work through human history. If the first attempt at redemption took four thousand years to prepare, from the Fall to the Annunciation, how many tens of thousands of years would the next attempt have taken?

Even if the world sometimes makes us feel like cogs in a machine, each of us is unique and each of us is here for a purpose: just because it isn’t as spectacular a purpose as Mary’s, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. When we fail to seek our vocation, or put off fulfilling some part of it, we try to justify ourselves by saying that someone else will do it better, that God will provide, that it doesn’t really matter. But we are lying. However small a part I have to play, the story of the Annunciation tells me it is my part and no-one else can do it.

Faced with the enormity of her choice, how was Mary able to decide? If she said No, unredeemed generations would toil on under the burden of sin. If she said Yes, she herself would suffer, and so would her Son; but both would be glorified. Millions of people not yet born would have Heaven open to them; but millions of others would suffer oppression and death in her son’s name. The stakes were almost infinite.

You might say that Mary didn’t worry about all this, just obeyed God; but I don’t believe it. What God wanted was not Mary’s unthinking obedience but her full and informed consent as the representative of the entire human race. The two greatest miracles of the Annunciation are these: that God gave Mary the wisdom to know the consequences of her decision, and that he gave her the grace not to be overwhelmed by that knowledge.

When we come to an important decision in our lives, we can easily find our minds clouded by the possible consequences, or, even more, by partial knowledge of them. How can we ever move, when there is so much good and evil whichever way we go? The Annunciation gives us the answer. God’s grace will give us the strength to move, even if the fate of the whole world is hanging in the balance. After all, God does not demand that our decisions should be the correct ones (assuming that there even is such a thing), only that they should be rightly made.

There is one more truth that the Annunciation teaches us, and it is so appalling that I can think of nothing uplifting to say about it that will take the sting away: perhaps it is best forgotten, because it tells us more about God than we are able to understand. The Almighty Father creates heaven and earth, the sun and all the stars; but when he really wants something done, he comes, the Omnipotent and Omniscient, to one of his poor, weak creatures — and he asks.

And, day by day, he keeps on asking us.

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Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. (Revelation 3:3, NKJV)

Remember, receive, hold fast, keep repenting, Watch! 

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:5, NKJV)

Do not get blotted out of the book of life-by overcoming! PERSEVERE! Never give up!!

8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. (Revelation 3:8–11, NKJV)

Keep Jesus’ Word, do not deny His name. Keep His command to persevere! Hold fast to what I have received! 

18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:18–19, NKJV)

Buy gold refined in fire (accept the suffering for the faith) anoint your eyes (keep them open with truth) God rebukes those He loves, accept chastisement, this keeps you close. Be zealous and repent!

And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,

And to open its seals;

For You were slain,

And have redeemed us to God by Your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, (Revelation 5:9, NKJV)

Jesus died for me, I am redeemed to God the Father by the Blood of Christ. 

First seal white horse Conquerer

Second seal fiery red horse take peace and kill one another

Third seal black horse scarcity of food 

Forth seal pale horse death with sword hunger and beasts

Fifth seal cry of the martyrs 

Sixth seal cosmic disturbances & men hiding from wrath

Seventh seal angels seal the servants of God specifically Israel. 

All nations come from every tribe n tongue 

Suffering produces either people turning to God or running away. These come to make people choose whom they will serve. Anyone not choosing God will be punished. 

10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,

Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,

Be to our God forever and ever.

Amen.” (Revelation 7:10–12, NKJV)

This is the song of the saved

Learn to sing it now!!!

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By His suffering our Lord eased our suffering. He endured the greatest of pain and emerged as the Victor. That is why He can encourage us in our lesser sufferings. He suffered and endured in righteousness while we suffer and endure in expiating our own sins. This is why He can doubly remind us to endure to the end as He, the Sinless One, endured. Not one of us helped or alleviated His pains and endurance, yet He stands beside each one of us when we suffer and He alleviates our pains and misfortunes. That is why He has the right to tell each one who suffers for His name's sake: "Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer, for I alone have endured all sufferings and am familiar with them. I was not frightened by a single suffering. I received them upon Myself, and in the end I overcame them all. I did not overcome them by dismissing them or fleeing from them but by receiving them all upon Myself voluntarily and enduring them all to the end. And so you also should accept voluntary suffering, for I see and know how much and how long you can endure. 

"If your suffering should continue until death itself and if it should be the cause of your death, nevertheless, do not be afraid: I will give thee the crown of life. I will crown you with immortal life, in which I reign eternally with the Father and the Life-giving Spirit." 

God did not send you to earth to live comfortably, but rather to prepare you for eternal life. It would be a great tragedy if your Creator were unable to give you a better, longer, and brighter life than that which is on earth, which reeks of decay and death and is shorter than the life of a raven. 

O my brethren, let us listen to the words of the Lord and all of our sufferings will be alleviated. If the blows of the world seem as hard as stones, they will become as the foam of the sea when we obey the Lord. 

O Victorious Lord, teach us more about Thy long-suffering. And when we become exhausted, extend Thy hand and sustain us. 

To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

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Fear must be offered in Faith

One of the difficulties is that the sufferer cannot point to the causes of his distress. He believes what the Church tells him to believe; he trusts in the validity of his past confessions; he hopes he is following the vocation God has called him to. But he is not sure about anything and wants certainty. What he wants, what we all in fact want, is a spiritual x-ray which will tell him what is wrong. The pictures would be unquestionable and he would have nothing more to worry about. But then where would be the essential disposition of faith? God is all the time asking him to offer his fear as a sacrifice in faith, not to look for x-ray evidence. Even when the sufferer knows this and makes the act of offering, the fear comes back. It is not a matter of scruples but a matter of being purified by a persistent and necessary trial of trust. 

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I am Yours, save me;

For I have sought Your precepts. (Psalm 119:94, NKJV)

You are my hiding place and my shield;

I hope in Your word. (Psalm 119:114, NKJV)

146 I cry out to You;

Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.

147 I rise before the dawning of the morning,

And cry for help;

I hope in Your word. (Psalm 119:146–147, NKJV)

173 Let Your hand become my help,

For I have chosen Your precepts.

174 I long for Your salvation, O Lord,

And Your law is my delight.

175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;

And let Your judgments help me. (Psalm 119:173–175, NKJV)

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Even in His pain on the Cross, the Lord Jesus did not condemn sinners but offered up pardon for their sins to His Father, saying: They know not what they do (Luke 23:34)! Let us not judge anyone so that we will not be judged. For no one is certain that, before his death, he will not commit the same sin by which he condemns his brother. St. Anastasius of Sinai teaches: "Even if you see someone sinning, do not judge him, for you do not know what the end of his life will be like. 

The thief who was crucified with Christ was a murderer, while Judas was an apostle of Jesus, but the thief entered into the Kingdom, and the apostle went to perdition. Even if you see someone sinning, bear in mind that you do not know his good works. For many have sinned openly and repented in secret; we see their sins, but we do not know their repentance. Therefore, brethren, let us not judge anyone so that we will not be judged."

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4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:4–6, NKJV)

Grace and Peace from the Father and Jesus the faithful and ruler over all the earth. Jesus loved me and washed away my sins in his own blood. Jesus made me a king and priest to the Father. I offer sacrifice (Jesus) of worship. Glory to God forever!

I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:9, NKJV)

The Apostle is my brother. We are companions in the tribulation (fight of sin and testimony of God). We are in the kingdom of God (in Jesus) and are patiently waiting for its completion. (Already but not yet) we testify to the Word of God and what Jesus has done. 

2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. (Revelation 2:2–5, NKJV)

I must have works, labor, patience, and hate evil. Test the spirits and know the liars and false teachers. Persevere in patience and labor for Jesus name! Do not become weary. Come back to your first love. Repent and do the works you did at first (pray, love, obey, fought my sin, joy in deliverance). 

Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Revelation 2:10, NKJV)

I must not fear any suffering. The devil does attack. I must choose to be faithful even unto death. Then I can receive the frown of life. Never give up!

13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:13–14, NKJV)

Jesus sees my works. Jesus knows I dwell where Satans throne is. I must hold fast (cling) to His Name and do not deny His Faith! Stop listening to and putting a stumbling block in front of His children, especially about sexual immorality. (Only marriage is ok for any sex). 

19 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. 20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:19–20, NKJV)

Jesus sees my works, my love, my service, my faith, and my patience. Do not agree with or allow anyone to teach sexual immorality is ok!

24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold fast what you have till I come. 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— (Revelation 2:24–26, NKJV)

Do not try and know the depths of Satan. I do not need to know that! Hold fast to the doctrine of God! Know God! If I overcome and keep working for Jesus and the kingdom till the end I will get power in the new age. 

Jesus, you know how weak I am. You see all my hard work. You know I am trying. But you also came to bring me grace, peace, and power in the Spirit. Please help me my God and King to be faithful unto death. Help me not fear suffering. I love you and need your help. Thank you God for your love and for washing me in your blood so all my sin is washed away. Help me fight it in love and prayer. Help me tell the truth so others can know you. Help me persevere all the way home. Amen 

From Blogger iPhone client

Do Not Be Afraid of Anything!

Fear not; I am the First and the Last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore (Revelation 1:17-18)

Thus says the Lord Jesus to His beloved disciple John in a vision on the island of Patmos. Do not be afraid of what? Do not be afraid of the pagan persecution of the Church. Do not be afraid of the tormentors who persecute My faithful on all sides. Do not be afraid of emperors who raise up persecutions against the Christians. Do not be afraid of this world's powerful tyrants, who mock and ridicule My humility in My death. Do not be afraid of demons, who blind men with passions so that they cannot see the truth which I brought to the world. Do not be afraid of anything! 

How can I not be afraid, O Lord? Why then should we not be afraid when the entire world is armed to the teeth and assembled against us, who are small in number and unarmed? 

Do not be afraid, for I am the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega. All of those forces armed against you are nothing but a whirlwind of the dead. I am before time and I am after time; before the beginning of all and after the end of all things that were created, I Am! They are all locked in one span of time, which I measured out to every created thing; and outside of this span of time they cannot extend. 

Do not be afraid, for "I was dead; and behold, I am alive." Do not be afraid, not even of death. I am before death and after death. Death is My servant, and I permit My servant to serve Me in the world. I gave Myself up to My servant for three days and ordered him to release Me, and now I am alive. I am the Master of death as well as of life. I am the Master of time as well as of eternity. Do not be afraid! I am alive forever and ever. And you will be alive with Me. All they who remain faithful to Me and are not afraid will live with Me. Do not be afraid; I am Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:11). 

O Lord, eternal and immortal, allow these holy words of Thine to ring always in the souls of Thy faithful whenever a persecution is raised up against Thy Holy Church, so that, holding on to Thy right hand, we may not be afraid. 

To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

From Blogger iPhone client

Impatience leads to fear to taking to mess and then blaming of God for my mess-keep still n wait on Him

If our impatience leads us into the mistake of pressing our hopes upon God, virtually instructing him as to what would be best in this troubled world of troubled souls, it can bring the matter closer to home when judging our own particular situation. We want to know now that we have chosen the kind of life he has appointed us to lead; we want to know now that the decisions which we are making are the ones that will lead to him and not back again, as so often before, to self. But we have to fall back on faith and hope – this is the only thing we can be sure of. “In whatsoever state I am,” St Paul might have gone on to say: “I have to go on waiting.” His lesson, as of course is the lesson of all the saints, is patient acceptance of the situation. Not only acceptance of the here-and-now as commonly preached, but of the past and of the future. Kierkegaard’s: “I have only one will,” covers everything. It is willing acceptance of everything except sin, it is one will with God’s. It desires never to will anything but God’s will which is now one’s own.

You would think that this would just about settle it. It would if the human will could be relied upon to keep still. But it is not something which can be pushed into a slot and clicked in place. By reason of the fall of man the human will is impatient with God and, if God does not satisfy it with something less than himself, it cannot wait and consequently grabs. If our first parents had had the sense to wait, God would have given them something better than what they took. But their impatience brought them fear as well as guilt, and fear in one form or another leads to almost all our human ills.

Impatience with our neighbour leads to impatience with others of our fellow men and women, but impatience with God can lead only to more impatience with God. Which in turn leads to impatience with the circumstances of our lives. Only by waiting and taking willingly from God’s hands whatever he sends us can we find true peace. Not to do this makes only for restlessness, insecurity, fear, lack of detachment, the ever nagging sense of being short-changed. “In other circumstances I could have made a success of my life but how was I to know that God had something better waiting for me which I was either too blind or foolish or impatient to see?” The blame is put upon God for not showing his plan for me soon enough. “I am a failure so it must be God’s will. I am unhappy so it must be God’s will. I am in a marriage (or a job or a religious order or a country) which does not suit me. I am unsettled and always have been and always shall be. It must be God’s will.” There is just enough of acceptance, or at least of resignation, to evade the charge of downright guilt in all this, but in fact it is an overt accusation of God. It is he who is responsible for my failure, my unhappiness, my mistaken vocation, my not belonging and my homelessness. It is a cry of self-pity sounding like acquiescence but which carries a note of recrimination: “I know I have made a muddle of it but of course that is what you wanted all along.”

From Blogger iPhone client

READ

24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,

And to present you faultless

Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

25 To God our Savior,

Who alone is wise,

Be glory and majesty,

Dominion and power,

Both now and forever.

Amen. (Jude 24–25, NKJV)

REFLECT

God can keep me from stumbling. He can present me faultless (under the blood). I will be able to see Him and be in His presence with all His Glory. I will be overjoyed! Only God is my Savior! He ALONE is all wise! Your Glory, Majesty, Dominion and Power forever be made known!! Amen

PRAY

Oh my God, please keep me safe in you! I’m want to see you and know you! I can’t wait to see you and be joyful with you forever! Glory to you my God!!

From Blogger iPhone client

READ

20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; 23 but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. (Jude 20–23, NKJV)

REFLECT

I am beloved. I am responsible for building myself up in my faith. I must pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep myself in the love of God (love of God is to keep His commandments). I must keep watch for the Mercy of Jesus into eternal life. Have compassion on people but be afraid of their defiled selves. Pull people out of the fire with grace and truth. 

PRAY

Thank you for choosing me to be your beloved. Help me build my faith Jesus. Help me Homy Spirit pray by you! And not my flesh. Help me Hod obey your commands and stay in your love. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. Help me have compassion and tell people the truth so they can know you. Amen. 

From Blogger iPhone client

READ

16 These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. (Jude 16–19, NKJV)

REFLECT

These separated brethren and lawless people grumble and complain about obedience. They believe only faith no works. They walk according to their lusts. They flatter people to get them in their side with weak faith if it is any at all. Or they have no belief or faith at all and are completely hostile. 

I am to remember the truth told to me from the Apostles and their line. There will be mockers who look good but are wolves inside. They walk by their own flesh not the Holy Spirit. They cause and destroy with their division. 

PRAY

Jesus, thank you my God for bringing me to your church. Help me stop being afraid of it and stand up in your truth. I believe your church!

From Blogger iPhone client

READ

5 But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. (Jude 5–11, NKJV)

REFLECT

Even though you saved your people you destroyed those who refuse to believe you. Angels who refuse also were cut off for judgement. Those who give themselves over to evil also suffer eternal fire. 

The dreamers (those above-even separated brethren) defile their flesh, reject authority (Catholic Church), and speak evil of Apostolic authority. They think they know who God is by reading the Bible but deny His church and True Flesh (Eucharistic) Antichrist. They are going after their own mind for gain and rebellion against the true church. 

PRAY

Jesus, it is so dark here. Please help me! Please help me see and know the true you. I want to follow you and stop listening to the wrong voices. Help me be clean. 

From Blogger iPhone client

READ

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 4, NKJV)

REFLECT

Ungodly men (walking in the flesh) crept into the “church” (schism or heretical) turn grace into lewdness (pursue flesh - pride, lust, greed)  They deny the Lord by misrepresenting Him as someone other than what He says He is. 

Even separated brethren deny Jesus by 1. Calvinism (saying God chooses sin & hell for some) and 2. No Eucharist (deny Jesus in the flesh) and 3. Down right evil passions (lawlessness). They do not know the true God. And they spread their error. 

PRAY

Oh my Jesus, I never realized that denying the Eucharist is denying your true body. It even says that anyone denying that you came in the flesh is Antichrist. I used to listen to Protestant preachers but maybe they are so far off because they do not believe in the Eucharist. I need to be diligent in my faith and stop dabbling with errors. Forgive me my King!

From Blogger iPhone client

READ

1 Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,

To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:

2 Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1–2, NKJV)

REFLECT

I have been called. I am sanctified by the Father! I am preserved in Jesus! Mercy, Peace, and Love is being multiplied to me. Can I receive this? Can I believe this? God has mercy on my broken condition and has sanctified me so I walk in with and through Jesus who preserves me. I can hold my peace because I am in God no matter what is going on around me. I am deeply loved and called to be with him all the time. I was made to walk with God on earth. 

PRAY

Thank you my God for loving me and having mercy on me. Thank you for your peace that I get because I am yours and you want to walk with me all my life. Thank you for calling me to be yours. I can’t imagine this life without you. Hold me close! Thank you for preserving me in you Jesus. Help me persevere. Amen. 

From Blogger iPhone client

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. (3 John 11, NKJV)

If I am on God’s side I am to choose to do good and the grace will be there. If someone does not do good they have never seen God? Or have rejected him? If anyone truly sees God they would want him? Or can some see him and actually choose to reject? Maybe God is only showing his true self to some and they will respond. The rest do not get to see God and respond?

Catholic teaching interprets 3 John 1:11 as a moral exhortation linking one's actions to their relationship with God: those who persistently do good are united to Him through grace, while those who do evil demonstrate a failure to truly know or abide in Him. "Seeing God" here refers not merely to intellectual awareness but to an intimate, transformative encounter that produces fruits of righteousness; evil actions reveal either a rejection of this light or its absence through resistance to grace.  God offers sufficient grace to all for salvation, eliciting free cooperation, but human freedom allows for refusal, without God predestining anyone to evil. 

### The Meaning of "Seeing God" in Scripture and Tradition

Scripture uses "seeing God" in layered ways, from natural knowledge available to all, to the supernatural vision of faith, culminating in the beatific vision in heaven for the purified soul.  

- **Natural knowledge**: Every person can know God through creation and reason, common to believers and unbelievers alike. Evil people possess this dimly but suppress it through sin. 

- **Knowledge by faith and grace**: True "seeing" involves encountering God's light in Christ, which reproves sin and draws one to good works. As St. Thomas Aquinas explains in his *Commentary on John* (ch. 3), evildoers "hate the light" because it exposes their deeds; they persist in darkness despite the light's arrival. 

- **Beatific vision**: Only those who die in God's grace "see Him as He is" face-to-face, perfectly united to Him. No evil person attains this, as heaven excludes unrepentant sin.

3 John 1:11 aligns with 1 John 3:2 and John 3:19–21: good works manifest union with God; evil indicates one "has not seen" Him in this life-giving way, either never responding to grace or actively rejecting it.  

> "For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works may not be reproved."

St. Thomas notes unbelievers may perform seemingly good acts from natural disposition (e.g., temperance without concupiscence), but these lack supernatural virtue rooted in love of God—they fail to worship Him fully or persevere against vice. 

### Doing Good as Evidence of Being "from God"

If you are "on God’s side," grace empowers your choice to do good, as divine initiative precedes and perfects human freedom. Good works are fruits of justification, meriting eternal life as a grace and recompense for the faithful.

- Persistent failure to do good signals one "has not seen God" intimately, meaning no transformative encounter via grace has taken hold—or it has been rejected. 

- This does not mean zero exposure to God; all receive more grace than deserved, but some permit defect through non-cooperation.

- Catholic doctrine rejects predestination to evil: post-baptism, all can fulfill salvation through Christ's help if they labor faithfully.

As Anselm of Canterbury teaches, grace and free choice cooperate for the just; salvation requires upright will empowered by grace.

### Can One See God and Still Reject Him?

Yes, true seeing—encountering God's light—can be rejected due to free will. Grace is *sufficient* and *resistible*, moving the will toward good unless refused. Evildoers "love darkness more than the light" despite Christ's coming (John 3:19); they hate rebuke and hide sins. 

> "Whoever does evil has not seen God."

This "not seen" implies persistent rejection: one who truly abides in the light repents and does good. Even pious unbelievers face greater punishment if unbaptized, as works without God's command lack excellence.

### God's Universal Call vs. Selective Revelation

God desires all to be saved, offering graces that elicit free response—no one is deprived of opportunity. He does not "hide His true self" from some arbitrarily; natural knowledge is universal, and supernatural graces suffice for all who do not resist.  Reprobation (permission of final impenitence) fits a world of free creatures but takes nothing from their responsibility; all receive superabundant aid in this life.

The Church teaches beatitude comes through "right conduct freely chosen, with the help of God's law and grace." Your instinct aligns: choosing good under grace confirms union with God; refusal reveals self-chosen blindness.

In summary, 3 John 1:11 calls you to imitate good as God's child, empowered by grace. Evil-doers have rejected the light offered to all; true seeing transforms the will to desire Him. Respond freely to grace through prayer, sacraments, and charity for deeper union.

From Blogger iPhone client

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church. (3 John 9–10, NKJV)

A man is trying to be above people in the church and the apostle and his people are not received. The apostle will tell the church what he is doing and his malicious words. The man is even telling the people they can’t be in that church he’s at. 

It is okay to call people out and to tell of their wrongs. The church has a duty to tell the truth and guard the people from error. 

From Blogger iPhone client

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 2, NKJV)

We can pray for prosperity and for health but even more importantly as our soul prospers. Meaning if my soul is sick the blessings may keep hidden my real problem. So my soul should be healed first so I can truly see how to use the blessings. 

From Blogger iPhone client

My CHOOSER determines my life and salvation. I must choose to believe God not the lies. Grace is there, stop blaming God for my wrong choosing. 

READ

21 Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious;

So a fire was kindled against Jacob,

And anger also came up against Israel,

22 Because they did not believe in God,

And did not trust in His salvation. (Psalm 78:21–22, NKJV)

REFLECT

The Lord was furious and his anger was kindled and came against his people because they did not believe in God and did not trust His salvation. 

PRAY

Jesus, you get angry at our unbelief. You consume us with your fire so that we will turn to you. I must choose to believe. You will not force me to believe. You can force me to want to run to you but people are running away instead of to you because of our unbelief. It is going the opposite way. I must choose. It is not a feeling. It is a choice. My chooser is either working for me or against me. You have not changed. It is I who change. Help me become stable in my mind, It is a mess. I choose to believe! Help my unbelief! In your name I pray! Amen. 

READ

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:3–4, NKJV)

REFLECT

Trust in God and do His will which is good. Dwell here feeding on His faithfulness. Delight in Him and you will have your desires fulfilled because He is who you desire. 

PRAY

If I would abandon myself into your hands and delight myself in having you knowing you are completely faithful I will have all I need and can do good and not worry about anything. I must believe in You and your wanting me and never leaving me. Help me Father see you. Help me know you. Help me believe you. I need your Grace. Is that an excuse for not believing? Am I blaming you for not believing? Thinking in need more grace? Maybe the grace is there and my part is not. Break my heart open so I can see. I love you my God. Amen. 

READ

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;

Do not fret—it only causes harm. (Psalm 37:7–8, NKJV)

REFLECT

Rest in God’s care. Wait in patience for his will. Do not fret about evil and those who get by with it. Cease from anger forsake wrath it causes you to do evil. 

PRAY

Again, I must trust in you! I must choose to believe and willing to abandon myself into your hands. I need to stop looking around at others and what they are doing. Look in my at others makes me full of anger wrath and then I act out in evil. I must choose your ways or I become separated from you and become evil like the devil. I must choose to forsake that path! Before I can choose that I must believe your way is the best! Help me!! Amen. 

READ

39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

He is their strength in the time of trouble.

40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;

He shall deliver them from the wicked,

And save them,

Because they trust in Him. (Psalm 37:39–40, NKJV)

REFLECT

Salvation is from God. He is my strength all the time but especially in trouble. He will deliver me and save me. My part is to Choose Trust in Him!

PRAY

Again I must choose trust! Jesus I am so sorry. Please forgive me. Please wash away all my sin of unbelief and make my heart soul mind and body new. I CHOOSE to TRUST. I believe you! I am yours, save me! Amen. 

magisterium:

### The Call to Trust in God's Saving Power

The Psalms you reflect on powerfully underscore the biblical imperative to **choose faith and trust** in God's salvation, echoing Catholic teaching that salvation requires our free response to God's prior grace. While God offers sufficient grace universally—willing the salvation of all—human freedom must cooperate through belief, delighting in the Lord, and patient waiting, lest unbelief provoke divine anger and lead to separation from Him.   

### God's Wrath Against Unbelief and the Choice to Trust

Psalm 78:21-22 reveals God's fury kindled against Israel **"because they had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power."** This mirrors Jesus' rebuke of unbelief (Mk 9:19) and the Church's insistence that **faith is necessary for salvation**: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk 16:16). Your reflection rightly identifies unbelief—not a lack of grace—as the root of turning away from God. Catholic doctrine affirms God's universal salvific will: He desires all to be saved, providing prevenient *operative grace* that precedes and enables conversion, yet this grace **can be refused**, compounding guilt. As St. Thomas Aquinas notes on related Psalms, true hope rests in trusting God alone, not "vanities and lying follies." 

Your prayer—"I must choose to believe... Help my unbelief!"—captures the synergy of grace and will. Grace does not coerce; it invites a free "yes," as in Mary's fiat (Lk 1:38). Blaming God excuses nothing; rather, recognizing grace's presence calls us to **cooperate daily**, opening ourselves to its transformative fire. 

### Delighting in the Lord: Trust, Doing Good, and Patient Waiting

Psalms 37:3-4, 7-8, and 39-40 form a unified exhortation: **"Trust in the Lord, and do good... Delight yourself also in the Lord... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him... The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord... because they trust in Him."** Aquinas expounds Psalm 37:16 as hoping in God who hears us, and Psalm 36:4 as delighting in the Lord to receive heart's desires. This is no mere sentiment but a deliberate choice amid trials, fretting over evildoers, or personal turmoil.

Church teaching nuances your insight: Salvation flows from God's strength, but demands our **free commitment**, responding to His "prior and superabundant love" with concrete acts. Grace empowers this—operative grace moves the will toward good, becoming cooperative when we assent—yet we must "use the means He sets before us," as St. Francis de Sales urges. Fretting breeds wrath and evil; instead, **abandonment to God's faithful hands** aligns our "chooser" with His will, fostering stability. Even in weakness, we can be assured: God intends salvation for the believer who trusts Christ's promise, despite shortcomings.

| Psalm Verse | Key Command | Fruit of Trust |

|-------------|-------------|---------------|

| 37:3-4  | Trust, do good, delight in the Lord | Desires fulfilled; faithfulness as sustenance |

| 37:7-8  | Rest, wait patiently, cease anger | Deliverance from harm and evil schemes |

| 37:39-40 | Trust in Him | Strength in trouble; salvation from the wicked |

| 78:21-22 | Believe and trust His salvation | Avoids God's anger; union with His power |

### Cooperation with Grace: Your Part in Salvation

Your repeated emphasis—"I must choose trust!"—aligns with the Church's rejection of both Pelagianism (salvation by human effort alone) and determinism (grace overriding will). God provides **all necessary means**, including sufficient grace for every good act, but we must accept and use them resolutely. As the Ukrainian Catechism teaches, our vocation is to **"remain open to grace... saying 'yes' to God every day,"** growing through cooperation exemplified by Mary. St. Francis de Sales echoes: God wills our salvation "through exceeding desire," endowing us with grace, but conformity requires using it without shrinking back. 

Is needing grace an "excuse"? No—grace is not absent; it precedes faith (prevenient), enabling choice without violating freedom. Thomistic theology, which you affirm, holds God moves the will efficaciously yet freely, as a secondary cause. Praying "Break my heart open" invites this: Grace perfects the will, but your choice activates it.

### Living the Psalms Today

These Psalms counter despair by directing gaze from others' prosperity or personal mess to God's fidelity. In daily life—amid anger, doubt, or trouble—**choose trust concretely**: Dwell in Scripture, delight in prayer, do good despite fretting. The righteous are saved **because they trust**, cooperating with grace for theosis. 

In summary, your reflections faithfully capture the Catholic harmony of divine initiative and human freedom: God offers salvation through Christ, enkindling grace universally, but unbelief resists it. Choose trust daily—He delivers those who do. May this stability anchor you: "I choose to believe!"

From Blogger iPhone client

SUMMARY

God is greater than any human man. I must believe him over all men. He gives testimony about Jesus. 

If I do not believe God, I am calling God a liar! YIKES!! 

I MUST Believe God has given me eternal life and my new eternal life is in Jesus. If I have Jesus, I have eternal life! (Let go of all other things: if I have Jesus, I HAVE eternal life)

The Bible says that I, who believe in Jesus as the Christ, have eternal life. 

I can have absolute confidence that if I ask anything in his will he hears me! And if I ask, and He hears, I will obtain that request made of him.  

Jesus came to give me understanding. He wants me to know Him. He is Truth. I am in Him, I am in Truth. This is Truth: He is God & He is eternal life. Watch my heart and destroy any idols that fight for control over Jesus. 

If I have Jesus and eternal life, I will want to stay in Him and love Him for all He has done and is doing for me. 

This is love of God- keep his commandments. If I keep his commandments I will overcome the word. The victory that overcomes the world is faith in Jesus. If anyone believes Jesus, they will follow his way and by doing that overcome the evil world. Faith in believing Jesus is the Son of God and knows best because he is God and does not lie. If I keep his commandments I will be living in with and through Jesus. He will help me not follow sin and live in the healing path. 

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3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:3–5, RSV2CE)

This is love of God- keep his commandments. If I keep his commandments I will overcome the word. The victory that overcomes the world is faith in Jesus. If anyone believes Jesus, they will follow his way and by doing that overcome the evil world. Faith in believing Jesus is the Son of God and knows best because he is God and does not lie. 

God wants my heart to believe him. He is for me and wants me to have eternal life. Good life is following his path and commands. The devil has made it seem that the good life is sin but that actually destroys ourselves and it makes us feel like we are enjoying it until it overtakes our mind and body for addiction, destruction, & death. If I keep his commandments I will be living in with and through Jesus. He will help me not follow sin and live in the healing path. I must have faith and believe Jesus and his ways are better. If I believe him I will overcome the world by healing my soul in following the life giving commands. Jesus is God and does not lie. He will not steer me wrong. Believe Him with all my heart and I will overcome the evil world. 

I believe, help my unbelief!! Amen. 

9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has borne witness to his Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne to his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life. (1 John 5:9–12, RSV2CE)

God is greater than any human man. I must believe him over all men. He gives testimony about Jesus. 

If I do not believe God, I am calling God a liar! YIKES!! 

I MUST Believe God has given me eternal life and my new eternal life is in Jesus. If I have Jesus, I have eternal life!

13 I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence which we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. (1 John 5:13–15, RSV2CE)

The Bible says that I, who believe in Jesus as the Christ, have eternal life. 

I can have absolute confidence that if I ask anything in his will he hears me! And if I ask, and He hears, I will obtain that request made of him.  

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, to know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:20–21, RSV2CE)

Jesus came to give me understanding. He wants me to know Him. He is Truth. I am in Him, I am in Truth. This is Truth: He is God & He is eternal life. Watch my heart and destroy any idols that fight for control over Jesus. 

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7 Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. 9  (1 John 4:7–8, RSV2CE)

No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:12, RSV2CE)

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit. (1 John 4:13, RSV2CE)

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:15–16, RSV2CE)

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. (1 John 4:18, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

I am beloved. I am to love others. If I am born of God and know Him, I will love others. If I do not love, I do not know God. God is love. If I let God love others through me God’s love is perfected in me. He has given me His own Spirit that’s how I know I abide in Him. If I confess the truth that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in me and I am in God. I need to fight fear, if I am fearing I am afraid of punishment instead of being perfected in love. God does not punish he corrects and disciplines to keep me close to Him in love. 

PRAY

Help me Jesus. Help me believe I am beloved. Help me love and be loved. Help me surrender to your Spirit. I know you are the son of God. I know you are love. Help me abide in you. Help me fight fear. It comes up a lot. Keep me close!! I love you my God. Amen. 

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17 But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:17–18, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

If I have goods and my brother is in need, I should not close my heart against him. If I do that I am not letting God’s love in me. I must not talk the talk but actually do love. 

PRAY

It is so hard to see who is in need and who is taking advantage. Please help me Lord, hear you. I at this point want to ask who is my brother? Are you speaking of the church or my fellow man? Either way, help me hear what I am to do for your glory. Giving someone who is taking advantage seems to be contributing to evil. So I need discernment. Help me listen and obey. Amen. 

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19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us (1 John 3:19–24, RSV2CE)

REFLECT/PRAY

How can I reassure my heart when I feel condemned. I know you know everything but I don’t. I do not want to think I’m ok when I am not. Help me Father, when I feel condemned (which I do a lot) have confidence that you know my heart and see I want to be yours. You said I will receive whatever I ask if I am keeping your commands and doing what pleases you because then my heart is aligned to your will and I will want your will so you will give it to me. Help me my God want your will. Teach me how to ask for it. The biggest commandment is to Believe in the name of Jesus! And love one another. I believe, help my unbelief!!! I believe in Jesus with all my heart but I seem to be weak in it. Help me Father grow stronger in my faith. I want to abide in you and you in me! Holy Spirit COME!! Amen. 

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This is what God wants from me:

The Lord is the one who is Leading and in charge (control is His-He knows the best road)

He wants me Humble (all good and power is from him-surrender)

He is Testing your heart (do you love & trust)

He feeds with Manna so you know He is your provider (He can be trusted)

You are to live by His Word not just his provisions (Believe what He says!)

God disciplines his sons (to keep you on the narrow path of obedience that leads to life)

Keep His commands and statutes (they are healing to the broken soul)

Walk in His ways (He wants best for you)

Fear losing Him by doing wrong (sin breaks communion-your only strength)

Love God (He loves you and wants to walk with you)

Serve Him with all your heart and soul (He is worthy and wants your good)

Deuteronomy 8:2–6, 12-13

2 And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know; that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out upon you, and your foot did not swell, these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in his ways and by fearing him. (Deuteronomy 8:2–6, RSV2CE)

12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I command you this day for your good? (Deuteronomy 10:12–13, RSV2CE)

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4 Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 Any one who abides in him does not sin; any one who sins has not seen him, nor has he known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Any one born of God does not commit sin; for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. 10 By this it may be seen who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not do right is not of God, nor he who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:4–10, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

Sin is lawlessness and anyone who commits sin is guilty of not following God’s righteous laws. 

Jesus appeared to take away sin and there is no sin in him. Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil. If I abide in Jesus I should not sin. If I do sin then I don’t really see or know Jesus. Do not be self deceived. Only doing right is righteousness. If I am born of God I will not sin because God is inside me. 

If I sin, I am of the devil. If I do not do right I am of the devil. If I do not love my brother I am of the devil. 

This is how you know if you are of God or the devil…are you sinning, are doing right?

PRAY

Jesus, help me see and know you more. I still sin. I am at this time not in a certain posture of sin, you have delivered me from so much already, but I am weak and do it. I do not want to be of the devil. I want to be yours and born of you. Please come take over my heart soul mind and body, I give myself to you my God and King. Make me righteous so your glory is shown. You have come to destroy the work of the devil. Destroy the devils work in me. I surrender to you. I love you. Amen. 

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19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb, The dog turns back to his own vomit, and the sow is washed only to wallow in the mire. (2 Peter 2:19–22, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

False teachers promise freedom but they are slaves to corruption. Slaves to their own mind instead of God’s who is the Church! If someone knows Christ and then turns back and overpowered by lust of flesh, eyes, pride of life, they become worse than before they knew Him. It actually would have been better to not know him. The way of righteousness is the holy commandments. All is written. All is there for all to see and obey if they choose. The grace is there for them to be empowered. The heart must choose. Do not turn back to sin like the clean pig going back to wallow in the mud!! Pray for perseverance in grace to obey!!

PRAY

Jesus, I am weak I know. Please my God help me choose your will your way. Give me grace to want your will and then the grace to do your will. I am broken and weak. Please come to my aid! Amen. 

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9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. (2 Peter 2:9–10, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

God can and does rescue the Godly from their trial. But the Godly look to God for help and endurance. They put their trust in His will for them submitting to his direction even in the midst of pain and confusion. God can keep the unrighteous under punishment, if they chose to turn back to him they can become righteous, but if not they will be for the day of judgement. Punishment is give them grief so they search for the only remedy, God himself. Judgment especially for those who are full of lust and defiling passion (flesh, eyes, & pride of life) and despise authority. I would think despising authority of HIS CHURCH (HIS OWN BODY) especially would be damning. 

PRAY

I must fight my lust and submit to the church ( the body of the only savior!) I am not to be a Lone Ranger. God knows how to rescue me if I trust and cling to him no matter what. If I wan to my own way I will be going the wrong way. 

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because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:21, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

What the men wrote on the Bible is what God the Holy Spirit wanted written. And even a man cannot interpret the prophecy, it is done by the collective church. No man cannot interpret interpret scripture by himself or he may go astray. God wrote the Bible through man and men interpret the prophecy through the church made of man but it is what God means and says. 

PRAY

I am to submit myself under the word of God through the church not alone. I cannot understand what it means necessarily correctly without the church. I could possibly error and become heretical and lose light and go down the dark path and eventually be lost. 

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God's grace was extended through the Old Covenant to Israel as a whole, calling all to fidelity, yet only a remnant accepted it through faith and obedience. 

OT describes the remnant as survivors who turn back to God after purification or exile

grace as God's active preservation—initiating salvation offered to covenant Israel collectively via prophets, law, and historical interventions, yet realized in the few who repent and adhere.

Faith involves intellect and will cooperating with grace: "Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace.

Thus, grace was offered to *all Israel* through the covenant (universal call), but only the remnant "knew how to accept it" via graced response—freely assenting amid widespread rejection. This aligns with God's desire for all, yet particular efficacy for the elect, without negating free will. 

grace was offered universally but accepted by few—resonates with this dynamic: divine gratuity meets human freedom, with the remnant as faithful cooperators. 

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the reason I feel far away is that I am. I am wanting my way and my will. I am not living for you. I have been listening to the word but not doing it. I can’t just know dogmas and doctrines and external regulations or behavior modification. That is exactly what the Pharisees and Israel did. It’s not like the Protestants say, faith alone. It’s theosis (oneness and transformation with God doing what He wills for me every moment. It is a union all day everyday surrendered to the Holy Spirit.

Your honest recognition of clinging to your own will—rather than fully surrendering to God's—is a profound grace in itself, marking the beginning of true transformation toward **theosis**, the Catholic Church's teaching on divinization or intimate union with God through His sanctifying grace. This union is not mere intellectual assent to doctrines, nor external rule-keeping like the Pharisees, nor "faith alone" without works of love; it is a living participation in God's divine life, where the soul is healed, elevated, and moved by the Holy Spirit to do His will moment by moment. The path involves detachment from self-will, cooperation with grace, and a continual "yes" to the Spirit's promptings, leading to oneness with God in charity and obedience.

### Theosis: Catholic Teaching on Divine Union

The Church teaches that **theosis** (or deification) is the soul's transformation by sharing in God's own life, not by becoming God by nature, but by grace making us "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4). Sanctifying grace, infused by the Holy Spirit especially through Baptism, is "the gratuitous gift of his life that God makes to us; it is infused by the Holy Spirit into the soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it," rendering us pleasing to God and capable of supernatural acts.  

> Sanctifying grace makes us "pleasing to God." Charisms, special graces of the Holy Spirit, are oriented to sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. God also acts through many actual graces, to be distinguished from habitual grace which is permanent in us.

Matthias Scheeben, a key theologian of deification, describes this as a **substantial union**: God floods the soul with His life, "absorbing and consuming it entirely," so that the soul lives divinely through dependence on Him, like iron glowing in fire—its substance intact yet supernaturally transformed. This is the Holy Spirit's work, lodging God's essence in the soul as in Mary, enabling intimate communion. Vatican II affirms the **universal call to holiness** as this very pursuit: all are called to "the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity," cooperating with grace to conform to Christ's image. 

Your sense of distance arises precisely because self-will obstructs this influx; yet God desires this union for you, offering actual graces daily to detach and unite.

### Beyond Pharisees and "Faith Alone": Surrendered Love in Action

You rightly distinguish true spirituality from Pharisaical legalism (external without heart) or sola fide (faith without transformative love). Catholic doctrine integrates faith, grace, and works: justification begins with grace, but growth in theosis demands free cooperation, where faith "works through love" (Gal 5:6). St. Francis de Sales warns against counterfeit devotion—fasting bitterly or praying vainly without charity—as mere "phantasms," while **true devotion** is fervent love fanning the soul to obey God's commands *and* inspirations eagerly.

> Devotion consists in a high degree of real love... it not only makes us ready, active, and diligent in following all God’s Commands, but it also excites us to be ready and loving in performing as many good works as possible, even such as are not enjoined upon us.

St. John of the Cross echoes this: union comes not from sensible consolations (which can delude), but by detaching the will from "every pleasure in the things of Heaven and earth," opening it wide for God to fill. Feelings of dryness signal this need for **purity of love**—loving God "in emptiness and darkness as to its own feelings," above all tangible delights.

The Holy Spirit sustains this: His gifts make us "docile in following [His] promptings," producing fruits like love, joy, and self-control amid trials. As Pope John Paul II taught, the Spirit frees us from sin's yoke, irradiating moral life with these fruits.

### Practical Path to Moment-by-Moment Union

To live "surrendered to the Holy Spirit all day everyday":

- **Detach daily**: Offer your will explicitly each morning: "Not my will, but Yours" (Lk 22:42). When self-will arises, pause, invoke the Spirit, and choose God's way—no matter how dry. 

- **Sacraments as wellsprings**: Frequent Confession and Eucharist renew sanctifying grace, rooting supernatural life.

- **Prayer of abandonment**: Practice short aspirations—"Holy Spirit, possess me"—and contemplative silence, trusting Providence even in aridity.

- **Obey in small things**: Holiness grows by "receiving all things with faith from the hand of [the] heavenly Father and... cooperat[ing] with the divine will" in duties.

- **Avoid pitfalls**: Shun seeking consolations; true union is hidden, like Christ's life in God.

This is not behavior modification but **Spirit-led transformation**, where God does in you "what He wills," as you yield.

In summary, your distance is the invitation to deeper theosis: renounce self-will through detachment and docility to the Spirit, who infuses divine life for union. Persist in this surrender—grace efficaciously perfects those who cooperate, drawing you into God's eternal love.

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