Transforming power of God

You doubt that God’s grace can transform you and give you new life? Meditate on the Luminous mysteries.  God transformed the human flesh that it may contain Himself, in the form of His Son, Jesus.  Jesus transformed water into wine.  Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God on earth, promising to give us new hearts that we will not lust nor give in to anger but truly love.  Jesus is transformed into the beatific vision, and we see Moses and Elijah transformed, in heaven.  Jesus transformed bread and wine into His body and blood that He may be united with us in the flesh for all time.  Believe!

Virtue of itself is useless

Little soul, do not let virtue become an end in itself. Virtue is nothing more than the means to gain Christ, Who is everything! Keep your eyes on Christ! You are upset you have fallen? Trust that He is helping you to grow closer to Him. Return your love of virtue to its proper place: behind Christ. Christ alone is our end. Abandon your thought that you can gain Him of your own accord; abandon your soul to Him.

Only You Lord

There is a story that while St. Thomas Aquinas was praying, Christ came and asked him what he would have; He would give him anything he desired. Thomas Aquinas said "Only You Lord."

This is how you must live. No matter what you are struggling with, or what virtue or grace you are asking for, you must remember that ultimately what you desire is Him. The only purpose of virtue is to get to Christ. Trust that He wants you to reach Him! In His time, following His way, you will be united with Him. It will involve trials and sufferings; keep your eyes on the prize and remember that you are struggling to gain virtue soley in order to gain Christ.

Know what you know

"Never let what you fear intrude on what you know.” –Native American saying

Never let your anxiety shut out your knowledge that God is Love.  Let your knowledge that God is Love shut out your anxiety.

1,000 things by 1%

You can't improve 1 by 1000%, but you can improve 1,000 by 1%.

Work on all virtues, and focus on small gains.  Very soon you will have gained a great depth of holiness!! If you focus on only one virtue and try to conquer it and perfect it before moving onto the others… your soul will be destroyed quite quickly.

Keep a prayer journal

Not only to record the things that God reveals to you, but also to record what you ask for.  In a month, or a year, go back and MARVEL at how God has answered them!!!!

True beauty frees from lust

"When beauty is recovered as purity and goodness, the person rejects pornography because there is no longer an attraction to it. The force of true beauty is great and can, even if slowly and imperfectly, replace the corrupt understanding of beauty," John Paul II,  Letter to Artists, no.16.

Men, you say you struggle with lust, but what you really struggle with is an understanding of beauty.  Discover true Beauty, and you will be freed from your lustful addictions.