(My personal message to all my relatives especially to the seniors in our Lim clan.) The Church’s greatest spiritual teachers point out that the fullest and most holy lives are those lived with a regular acknowledgement that our time on earth is limited and each moment we have is precious. St. Philip Neri, pointed out (in a phrasing that has been borrowed many times by inspirational publishers): “The best way to prepare for death is to spend every day of life as though it were your last.” And Thomas á Kempis, 15th-century author of “The Imitation of Christ,” one of the best-known Catholic books of spirituality, noted: “Happy is the man who keeps the hour of death always in mind, and daily prepares for it.” Let us consider using what little time we may have to ensure a better chance to save our soul. Since the majority of us are Catholics, it is our duty to save our souls and that’s why we should all consider the seriousness of this matter of saving our souls. After all, as Catholics, we are required to live a Christian life, pray daily, participate in the sacraments, obey the ten commandments, and accept the teachings of Christ and his Church. We are all aging, and time is short, we never know when we will be called by God to be judged. Don’t dwell in regrets or grudges, what has passed has passed, forgive and look forward to better utilizing our time in prayer and sanctifying our souls. There is little time left since we do not know when will be that day. We cannot afford to do this at the last minute as it will be too late. Why did we become Catholics if not to be able to save our souls, to enter heaven after death; and we also hope to “see” our loved ones and those who had gone before us and be with them again in heaven. Was it not providential that grandfather Lim Cheng Teik was converted and became Thomas Lim, and eventually many of his children and grandchildren became Catholics too? His demise on December 8 on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, is a sign that he died in the care of Our Lady (it is what we can hope for). It could be due to the prayers of grandma, Maria Tan Eu See, who was providentially baptised before she passed away. Only God knows. If we recognize these as special graces, then we should be thankful for this great grace of our conversion to Catholicism and show our gratitude to God by diligently obeying His Commandments and the teachings of the Church, and duly do all we can to save our souls. “But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth.”- Revelation 3:16 The final judgement is still made by God and one’s salvation is subjected to the merits earned during our lifetime. It is our Catholic duty to do all we can and not take God’s merciful graces for granted. What is being proposed to you, which is earnestly urged of you, is to spend more time doing the following to better ensure one’s salvation. You may be doing it already, which is good, nevertheless the following below helps to better keep our souls sanctified and earn the merits required to go to heaven:
Know that Almighty God is infinite, a pure spirit, is perfect and divine. His kingdom is pure and divine. Thus nothing impure can enter it. We being His creatures, are finite, have a body and a soul. No matter how we try to make up for our sinfulness, (as in offering sacrifices like pagan practices of old) we can never make up for them because we are finite and God is infinite. This is why God out of His love and mercy, sent Jesus Christ His only Son, who is also God and infinite, to be the worthy sacrifice, to die on the Cross to make up for all the sins of man in order that we may have salvation. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is seen as the ultimate act of love and self-sacrifice. In Christianity, it is seen as the cornerstone of the faith, as Jesus willingly gave up his life to pay the price for the sins of mankind and to reconcile them to God. Jesus' death is also seen as an act of atonement, as his death is believed to have paid the price for the sins of mankind and to open the door to salvation and eternal life. Although just one drop of His precious blood is enough to save all of mankind but He chose to shed all of it to show His great love for us. When Adam and Eve committed Original Sin, they were chased out of paradise, the gates of heaven were shut; and only after the sacrifice of Jesus, the gates of heaven opened again. Jesus established the Church, the Mass and the Seven Sacraments so that with these, His baptized children will have all the help to save their souls.
“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” John 20:21-23. We confess our sins to a priest because that is the method of forgiveness that God established. The Almighty alone has the power to forgive sins, and the Son of God granted that authority to His Apostles, His priests. The priest is God’s representative and witness. He is a mediator of God’s mercy and forgiveness.
“Let us thank God for having called us to His Holy faith, It is a great gift, and the number of those who tank God for it is small.” - St. Alphonsus Liguori. We humbly pray that almighty God continue to provide us with the necessary graces to be holy, doing His holy will for His glory.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph Pray for us. |
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AuthorAn artist, entrepreneur, a loving family man, 30 years a Catholic traditionalist upholding traditions for the love of God. Shop for Catholic giftsArchives
January 2024
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