The Path to Eternal Fulfillment Through Suffering and Faith
Offertory
"Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice..."
Summary of Headings
- The Inevitability of Suffering
- Our Purpose and God's Design
- The Role of Original Sin
- Fulfillment in Heaven
- Christ's Passion and Teachings
- The Apostles' Journey
- The Sacrament of Love
- Forgiveness and Self-Understanding
- Saint Peter and the Church
- The Importance of Mass and Sacraments
- Devotion to Our Lady
- Conclusion and Encouragement
The Inevitability of Suffering
Dear faithful, life is one of crosses, is one of suffering, and it cannot be in vain. It cannot be in any other way. It is impossible for us to live a life that is completely void of suffering. Even if somebody were to pursue completely a life of luxury and of pleasure, there is still even a suffering in that. The suffering of emptiness. The suffering of going completely against what we were made and created for. You have heard it said. Many times. That quotation of Saint Augustine. He says, Lord, my heart is restless until it rests in thee.
Our Purpose and God's Design
So, what happens when God creates us, he creates us with a specific purpose. Okay? And that purpose has for its end, for its final home, for its final complete fulfillment of God himself. It's a wonderful thing. How God could create a creature. And this creature can only be satisfied completely by himself. And that is the case with the angels and with man. Okay? That cannot be changed. That cannot be altered.
The Role of Original Sin
So, in this valley of tears, and we suffer because of, ultimately because of sin, because of our own rebellion, because of our own saying no to God, which is what sin is, ultimately. We have original sin. And our nature is not destroyed. Okay? As the Protestants will say, is not destroyed. But it is wounded. Okay? And we have to realize that we are sick. Okay? Because of this, we are sick. Even though we are baptized and this original sin is washed away and we become temples of God and we have that sanctifying grace, we have the three theological virtues, the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, we're still sick. Okay? We are still sick.
Fulfillment in Heaven
And it's going to be throughout this life that we need to use the means that God gives us so that he can sanctify us and to receive us into our happy home forever. Not just for ten years. Not just for a lifetime. But forever. And when we get to heaven, we will be completely fulfilled. Okay? Yes, there will be saints up there, but we're not going to spend our eternity saying, oh, I wish I was up there. Or I wish I did that. None of those no regrets in heaven. Okay? You know, think of it as, you know, like a glass of water that is filled up. Right? Glasses have different size, but they all can be completely filled up. And they're filled up with God. There's every soul in heaven is completely happy and will be so for all eternity. And that joy of heaven and that peace and that fulfillment constantly grows throughout all of eternity. Okay?
Christ's Passion and Teachings
So that's what we've been designed for. And if we try to pursue anything else, we're only going to find frustration, frustration and death and ultimately eternal death, which is, which is damnation. Okay? So, um, in, in the words that we find today in today's gospel, these are the words of our Lord before he suffered. Okay? He's come to the end, um, of, of his, of his, of his apostolate. Okay? And he's about to lay down his life. Now try to appreciate this moment.
The Apostles' Journey
Try to appreciate our Lord. He has gone through, he has made his prophecies that he is going to be crucified. He's going to be spat upon. He's going to be crowned with thorns. He's going to be betrayed. He's going to be put to death. And finally, as he always reminds his apostles, but after that on the third day, I will rise again. So the apostles have heard this. Okay? A number of times. They haven't quite understood our Lord. They haven't quite understood our Lord. They haven't quite understood our Lord, his love for. God and for our nation.
The Sacrament of Love
Even before they, completed petition of the Version of the explicit scriptures, uh, wanted for, for our nation to come. But here's, here's the thing, as we go on and then the yoke of our name on the back stands, and people are thinking that this wasn't a good case. They just were just wasting time. They just didn't do their job anymore. They made little bit of dust out from everything they were eating out to be cooked from inside It was corrupt, but they didn't respect the mission of the Messiah. They measured � má genre of a messiah. Because nobody wanted. And then in accepted but did trim theisu him and him himself. than national domination, which is sin.
Forgiveness and Self-Understanding
Our Lord came to deliver us from sin. The apostles didn't quite understand it, but our Lord knew that he was coming. This is the day before he would die. And he is giving his apostles some last instructions. But this one little sentence that our Lord mentions is indicative of our Lord's forbearance of his mercy and of his wisdom. He says, so at these moments, he's saying, now I must go to the Father. So now they're hearing these words. Now, you must remember for the better part of two years, two and a half years, pushing three years, our Lord has spent his time with these apostles.
Saint Peter and the Church
And starting from the very beginning, when our Lord would just awaken in their hearts this desire to be part of the work of redemption, to the point where they would see and witness the miracles that were going to happen. The miracles of our Lord. At one point it says, when our Lord is in Galilee, that they saw him and they brought all of their infirm and their sick, and they brought them all to our Lord. And it says in the gospel, and our Lord cured them all. The apostles see this. Then the apostles see the very learned and powerful men and the Pharisees. And he sees some that have good faith, but most of them not. And now they criticize our Lord. And attack the apostles.
The Importance of Mass and Sacraments
And each and every time, our Lord, whether it is by silence or by a wise word, or by a parable, he puts to silence foolish men. And the apostles are so proud to stand in the shadow of our Lord. And not only that, but our Lord himself, he gives them the power to do miracles and to cast out demons. Okay? It's amazing. It's really amazing. And now our Lord is going to institute, the sacrament of his love. Okay? And he says, with desire, I've desired to do this. Okay? The apostles don't have a full understanding of this great mystery that they are going to witness.
Devotion to Our Lady
Not only at that moment, but finally later on, the arrest of Christ, and finally his imprisonment, his scourging, his crowning with thorns, the insults, the blasphemies, and finally the way of the cross. I'm culminating in his passion and death. They don't understand these things yet. Okay? I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Okay? You know, sometimes in just the normal building of relationships, a father must, to a son, or a peer to a peer, to a peer. There are times that, that we can't just say it as it is sometimes.
Conclusion and Encouragement
Okay? Somebody can't bear it. You have to develop that relationship, and you have to show this individual that, that you love them, that you care for them. And it's only then will you be able to, to tell them maybe what would be very difficult for them to bear. And our Lord, the sacred heart of Jesus, he has this appreciation and the understanding of miserable people. And that's what we're going to do. That's why he encourages them. I have many, I'm going, okay? And where I'm going, you cannot come. But I have many things to tell you. You can't bear them now, but I will send the Holy Ghost. You don't want me to go, but I tell you, just trust me. It is better that I go, because the Holy Ghost will come. The spirit of truth. And he will remind you of all the things that I told you.
Sometimes we get stressed out when somebody gives us instructions and we're like, slow down. Let me, I want to make sure I get all these instructions. I got to remember all this. And our Lord says, don't worry. I've made provision for the weakness of your minds even. I will send the Holy Ghost and he will remind you of all the things. He's not going to say his own thing. He's going to remind you of the things that I told you. So our Lord, he understands our needs. He understands our weaknesses. And he wants to be there at each moment. So he wants to be there for us at each moment.