“I am the way, and the truth, and the life
No one comes to the Father
except through me”
Dear Friends:
Jesus knew his disciples were unhappy at the prospect of his leaving them. To alleviate their sorrow, he told them: ‘Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me’. By believing in him their hearts would find peace. They would have peace by believing in Jesus because they would come to the Father: ‘no one comes to the Father, except through me. The disciples had to make a choice. Would they believe in Jesus and find their peace, or would they remain with troubled hearts?
Like the disciples, we often live troubled lives. We are so absorbed by everything we have to do or cope with that we often forget the truth that our destiny is heaven. This should be the true source of our joy. We were created by the Father to be his children. Our first sin took us out of the plan of God designed for our good and blessing. Out of love for us, Jesus came to bring us back into the Father’s original plan. By His death and resurrection Jesus reconciled us to the Father. He took away the sins that separated us from him. He opened up the gates of heaven closed against us by our sin, so we could enter into heaven itself. We are on a journey to the Father. As Pope John Paul II said, ‘The whole of the Christian life is like a great pilgrimage to the house of the Father’. In faith we should keep our eyes fixed on heaven, longing a thirsting for it. Christ has promised to come back to take us there, has prepared a place for us in his Father’s house. This hope can overcome all the troubles that burden our hearts and fill them with confidence, joy and peace.
‘Father, I thank you for creating me to live forever in your presence.
In Jesus I can come to you freely. I can know you as my Father and see you face to face.
Teach me to put my faith in the truth of the gospel and the hope and life it brings’
Psalm 32(33):l-2, 4-5, 18-19
Have a Happy Victoria Day holiday on Monday!