General Discussions

Behold, Jesus our Good Shepherd, stands at the doors of our hearts and knocks (Rev.3:20).

Our blessed Lord is standing at doors of our hearts that may have never been knocked on before. Doors we may never have known that we had. His standing there and knocking is bringing our attention to things we may have not known before about ourselves and others, about the Church, our nation and what is going on throughout the world.

Sometimes the more we know, the more overwhelming things can become. We can be struck by a sense of insecurity. What formerly was leaned upon as a source of safety and stability can suddenly begin to feel so uncertain. As children of God amidst a hurting Church in crisis we can feel fatherless, anxious, confused and discouraged.

During such turbulent times in which the faith of so many of us is being tested, temptations seem to present themselves stronger and more frequently than ever before, and the devil seems to be let lose like a raging lion – I need to remind myself of our Lord’s Word:

BE NOT AFRAID

PEACE BE WITH YOU

YOU ARE LOVED

YOU ARE SAFE

YOU ARE STABLE – IN MY EMBRACE.

He is inviting us to a new humility & surrender, to trust enough to open new doors of our hearts to Him that He may open up new doors of His Heart to us!

“If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me” (Rev.3:20).

The Lord is inviting us to a divine intimacy that can bring healing where there has been hurt, hope where there has been heartache, calm where there has been chaos.

Amidst the unmanageability of what is going on around us and most of which is out of our control, we welcome Him who is still King seated upon the Throne. We welcome Him who alone is bigger and stronger than the problems we see around us and the wounds we discover inside ourselves & families. He alone is our peace, our security and safety. He alone is worthy of being seated on the Throne of our hearts, possessing of all our trust and hope for restoration.

“I love You, O Lord, my strength… my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Ps.18:1-2).

Our Savior to whom belongs all authority in heaven and on earth, and who promises to be always with us, today and always (Mt.28:18, 20), is the same God who addressed Job out of the storm (Job 38:1). The same Lord who allowed him to endure a relentless ordeal of debilitating pain and excruciating suffering, only to rescue him before reaching the point of having a total breakdown, and then blessing his latter days more than his earlier ones (Job 42:12). It is He who addresses us in these days as the God who makes all things new (Rev.21:5).

Let us remind ourselves that the salvation & power of God are ours! We are anointed with the Authority of Jesus to overcome the accuser, to conquer his lies that scheme to infiltrate our knowledge of the truth or keep us stuck in mistakes & sins of the past. At the foot of the Cross, where there exists no sin that cannot be blotted out by the Blood of the Lamb, and no repentant sinner that ceases to be loved by the One who came no to condemn but to save, there we gain the courage to conquer. There we receive from Him who was slain, the words to slay our enemy (Rev.12:10-11); and from His Pierced Side, the Living Waters to restore our souls.

The salvation & power of God are ours! The All-Merciful One is in our midst! I must remind myself of this! No matter how reckless and irreparable the mess may seem in comparison to what I can handle left to myself. The fact is that we are not alone, not abandoned or left as orphans, to fend for ourselves. We are anointed with the Authority of Jesus to become more than conquerors through Him who has loved us and who makes all things work out for the good of those who love Him (Rom.8:28, 35-39).

In these unprecedented times in our Church & world, many of our personal lives have been visited by unprecedented tests to our faith, and battles that have often seemed way beyond our ability to handle. I renew my trust with you, in the abundance of Jesus’ Divine Mercy which surpass the merits and desires of those who entreat Him. I renew my faith in His word with you, that He whose power is at work within us, IS ABLE to do far more ABUNDANTLY than all that we ask or think (Eph.3:20).

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will grant you your heart’s requests. Commit to the Lord your way; trust in Him, and He will act” (Ps.37).

May our Compassionate Lord deliver us from our fears and teach us to “follow Him by bearing the cross which divine providence has sent us to purify us” (Magnificat). And may our Blessed Mother Mary of Mount Carmel, “fill us with the courage to face life’s sufferings, certain in the secure embrace of divine providence” (Magnificat).

With a humbled and grateful heart, I leave you with words from our Good Shepherd’s Sacred Heart:

I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS

I WILL LEAD YOU

I WILL REFESH YOU & GIVE YOU COURAGE

FEAR NO EVIL

YOU ARE AT MY SIDE

YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS IN ME WHO STRENGTHENS YOU

I WILL SUPPLY WHATEVER YOU NEED

WAIT UPON ME

I WILL PROVIDE

YOU WILL LACK NO BLESSING

ONLY GOODNESS & KINDNESS SHALL FOLLOW YOU -

ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE.

ALL THINGS WILL WORK OUT –

FOR A GOOD GREATER THAN YOU KNOW NOW.

MY LOVE WILL DO THIS.

I HAVE PREPARED THE WAY FOR YOU

NOTHING IN YOUR LIFE – ESCAPES MY MERCIFUL EMBRACE.

BE STILL & WAIT UPON THE LORD