Formula for peace & joy
I. Introduction:
In this world there are countless situations that cause us to lose peace and joy. Some of them include concerns about job, health, wealth, relationships, injustice, and spiritual well-being. Even when everything is going well, we worry, because we live in a world full of uncertainties. In addition, many of us are slaves to pride, fame, power, money, greed, drugs, alcohol, entertainment, gluttony, and lust. All of them also cause us to lose peace and joy, because they make us envious, revengeful, fateful and restless. Furthermore, they never satisfy us.
God created us in his divine image by giving us the ability to express his pure and sacrificial love; which is gentle, unconditional, sacrificial and humble. This frees us of hate, revenge, greed, lust and envy. This in turn brings us, peace and joy. Unfortunately, we rejected His love and chose selfishness and pride. Therefore, to help us overcome sin and re-kindle His sacrificial love in our heart, He took a human form, and freely accepted death on the cross for our sins. His sacrifice for us restores peace and joy in our heart by enabling us to love and trust God completely, accept His will unreservedly, love and forgive our enemies, and seek the good of others in everything we do, think or say. The aim of this book, therefore, is to bring us close to God, trust Him, love our fellow human beings, and have His peace and joy for all eternity.
II. KNOW & LOVE GOD
What is God? God is a spirit, who is omnipotent and omnipresent. His Spirit encompasses the whole universe and beyond to infinity. We cannot see him because he is not matter. His Spirit is the dynamic force of love, with infinite intelligence and energy. His love and mercy are limitless, and His creativity is way beyond our understanding. He created the universe (matter) by combining force and energy, that emit from Him. This is why when an atom is split, it disappears into force and energy. His Spirit holds us together as a human family, propels us to perform acts of pure love, and gives us the energy and desire to persists in our mission. He also is the life of the universe; and without Him, everything that exists will disappear into nothing. His power is visible in the endless universe He has created.
What is matter? We consider matter as real, because we can see and feel it. However, atoms that make matter are 99% empty space and 1% energy held together by a force, both of which emit from God. Furthermore, atoms exist, only as long the binding force holds it together. If the binding force is disrupted, matter will disappear into nothing, and release force and energy. Similarly, when the binding force that holds a planet together is removed, it becomes nothing and forms a black hole. In short, the reality is in the invisible force and energy that emit from God, and all created things represent God’s presence.
Who created the universe? An infinitely complex universe can’t come into existence on its own. It requires an infinitely intelligent creator. A single authorship of all creation is obvious by the fact, that, there is similarity of design in creation. For example, there is similarity in structure of atoms, solar systems, and living cells. All have central nucleus (sun in the case of the solar system), surrounded by substructures, such as, electrons in the case of an atom, planets in the case of a solar system, and organelle in the case of a living cell. Furthermore, what we call as natural laws, instincts, evolutionary processes, and properties of matter are all highly intelligent programs in creation. Even in the smallest creatures we see extremely complex programs that enables ants without a structural brain to build complex castles under the ground, bees to build complex geometric beehives. Furthermore, everything in nature has capability to reproduce and repair.
How do we know that Jesus is God? Deep within our heart we long for pure love. This indicates that the nature of our creator is pure love. Jesus, therefore, is God, because through his teachings, healings, and sacrifice on the cross he expressed the perfection of pure love. Even though we rejected and betrayed him through our sins, he did not give up on us. He ministered to sinners and freed them from sin. He taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who hurt, offer the other cheek if struck on one, if someone takes our cloak away give them our tunic as well, and if someone borrows something from us do not ask it back. He healed the sick; gave sight to the blind; restored motor function to the paralyzed; raised the dead to life; fed the hungry; proclaimed the good news about God’s undying love for us; freed us from the slavery of sin through His sacrifice; and meekly accepted the most painful death on the cross to save us from eternal damnation. He also resurrected from the death, because death had no power over Him.
How to understand the Holy Trinity? It is impossible to explain how there are three persons in a single being of God, because we think of God as a finite material being. However, God is not matter. He is the Spirit of love, that encompasses the limitless universe, and beyond, to infinity. He as a total being is the Father. He took a human form in the person of Jesus, His son. His substance, which is the Holy Spirit, encompasses the Father and the Son. God’s love has a spectrum of three expressions. These expressions include: the love of a father, the love of a redeemer, and the love of a counselor. Each of these attributes is a person in God, because they are distinct attributes of God’s indivisible love. In a very simplistic way, they are like spectrums he can unionguv of 3 colors in a single beam of light. Jesus emphasized His oneness with the Father when he told Phillip, “I and my Father are one, and if you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). Similarly, in Genesis 1:26, God refers to Himself as us, and Isaiah (9:6), referred to God as Son, wonderful Counselor, and everlasting Father.
Where is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is the presence of pure love. It is not something that is visible on the outside, because it is a spirit within our hearts. Its effects are visible through its expressions of humility, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, sacrifice, charity, purity and selflessness by human beings. The greatness and glory of His kingdom was expressed by Jesus on the cross, who freely accepted the most painful death, to heal those who sinned against Him. His kingdom is perfectly present in heaven, where God’s pure love is expressed by all, at all times. Even on earth, the kingdom God is growing within us, due to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
Is God visible? Though God is a Spirit, He can take visible forms. He appeared as a burning bush when he first appeared to Moses; He took the appearance of a pillar of cloud to lead the Israelites to the promise land. God finally stooped down to us and took a human form in the person of Jesus, to reunite humanity with God. He lived amongst us as a common person and showed us that God is meek, humble, forgiving, gentle, compassionate, sacrificial, and selfless. He did this through His teachings, healings, miracles, and finally through His most painful and humiliating sacrifice on the cross. Through his resurrection He showed us that when we abide in true love, death has no power over us. The repentant thief next to Jesus on the cross, saw Jesus as God, because of the perfect love Jesus expressed. This enabled him to repent and receive eternal life.
God has also been made visible in the many other ways. At transfiguration, God, as Jesus, was dazzling and bright. Paul saw Jesus as a bright light, that blinded him and drew him to the truth. I personally know a person very close to me who saw God as a bright blinding light that enveloped him with pure love and sent him into tears of joy for several hours. During this experience he clearly saw the distinction between good and evil, and repented for his sins. It also changed His life forever.
How is God the light of the universe? No one can see light. However, when it gets reflected after falling on objects, it makes everything visible and shows us the truth. Similarly, we cannot see God. However, when his light, which is true love, was made visible on the cross, it enlightened the whole human race, and shows us the truth, that God is Love, and His love is sacrificial, unconditional, and eternal.
Can we hear God? If we stay still and remember that God is God, and trust him, we will hear his Holy Spirit in our heart when we are deciding between good and evil. In this conversation He will give us all the reasons to follow the path of pure love. The path He gives us is narrow and least traveled, because it needs selflessness, sacrifice, and total trust in Him. It is also associated with suffering, because to love, requires sacrifice. However, if we remain faithful, in the end, we will be in the most brilliant light of God’s love.
How are we related to God: All Human beings is created equal in the image and likeness of God; and all of us the imprint of His Spirit on our souls. We, therefore, are God’s created children, precious to Him, who are capable of unconditional loving others. Furthermore, because of God’s Spirit is within us, all humans are temples of God’s Holy Spirit, and equal. We, therefore, have the ability to express God’s pure love, forgive and love our enemies, and sacrifice our life for those who hurt and betray us. This distinguishes us from all other God’s creation.
Our soul draws life from God. Since God’s life is love, and to love is a choice, we have a choice between accepting or rejecting His life. If we accept His life which is eternal, our life will continue, after death, and we, like Jesus, will receive a glorified body in heaven. If we reject his life, God will still give us the opportunity to accept His life, right up to the very end of our life on earth. If our final decision is, no, we will become lifeless and lonely for all eternity in a black hole, which is devoid of love and light.
What is our purpose in life? God created us in His own Divine image and imprinted His spirit in our heart; so that we can be His children, love Him, live His life, be holy like Him (1 Peter 1:16), and share in His peace and joy for all eternity. Therefore, our purpose in life is to love God, and serve our fellow human beings in a spirit of selflessness, sacrifice, purity, humility, forgiveness, and charity. Furthermore, we must respect and protect all human lives. To love God, we must commit our entire life to Him, by unconditionally accepting His will in all matters of our life. Fortunately, this should be easy, because Jesus has set an example for us to follow. Furthermore, God wants us to partner with him in his work to heal wounded souls and grow in faith and wisdom. He, therefore, physically moved out the way (ascension), so that we could follow His Spirit that dwells in our heart and mature in faith.
What is the fundamental law of God’s creation? The working of God’s spirit in creation is often called as nature; and the laws He set in nature, are called natural laws. God gave humans dominion over His creations so that we can participate in His life. However, our pride, selfishness and greed has resulted in evil in the world, affected the nature adversely, and resulted in diseases and disasters.
Everything that God has created expresses God’s love, in which one entity combines with an opposite entity, and loses its identity to form a new entity. Therefore, elements, molecules and compounds come into existence by union of positive and negative charges; conception of a new human being occurs through union of male and female; and electric light is produced by union of positive and negative charges. When this rule is rejected and bonds within atoms are broken, it can result in catastrophic nuclear explosion. Similarly, in humans, when reproductive physiology is desecrated by same sex activity, contraception, surrogate motherhood, and in-vitro fertilization it causes breakdown of the moral fabric of the society, resulting in divorce, abuse, violence, pornography, abortions, greed, indifference towards others, selfishness, and infidelity.
III. LOVE ONE ANOTHER
What are human beings? Human beings are the most important creation of God because His Spirit is imprinted in our hearts. We can, therefore, unconditionally love others as God does. Furthermore, we must love others because everyone is a child of God, our brothers or sister in God’s family, and we all share a common Spirit, which is the Spirit of God. This makes all of us precious and equal in the eyes of God. Furthermore, like God, we also have the ability to love those who hurt and hate us, and bring them healing through our prayers, thoughts, words, actions, and sacrifice.
How to love others? Love is the spirit of God that unconditionally seeks the good of others. Therefore, to love, we must love God first. To love God, we must keep His commandments; and obey and imitate His love expressed on the cross, by surrendering our own desire, sacrificing our own interest, and unconditionally seeking the good of others. Furthermore, our love for God must be total. We can’t love God and love the ways of the world at the same time; because God’s way is surrender, sacrifice, purity, mercy, forgiveness, and charity, while the world’s way is money, power, revenge, greed, selfishness, lust and pride.
Since the Spirit of God is imprinted on our heart, it should be natural for us to love. Due to our sinfulness, we usually turn a deaf ear to God. However, if we love God and truly want to do His will, we will hear His voice and remember His sacrifice for us on the cross. We will then deliberately reach out to others in love. To love therefore is a deliberate decision.
Love forgives by being merciful, and by making total sacrifice in the process of healing those who have hurt them. Love will never condemn or give up on them, and always has hope. Furthermore, love expects nothing in return for the acts love, and be even willing to die for them. The reward for performing acts of love is to have the honor and joy of helping others and being coworker in Jesus’ work.
Attraction and affinity by themselves are not love, because they depend on looks, behavior, talents, and several other factors. They can, therefore, fade away. True love, on the other hand never dies, because it is unconditional and a deliberate act of obedience to God’s command to love. It actually gets better over time because true love has no limit. That is why we find that there are bitter divorces even among couples who were at one time thought to be madly in love with each other. On the other hand, there are couples who had arranged marriages, who stayed faithful to their marriage vows in spite of many trials, hurts, and tribulations.
Love always seeks the interest of others. Love, therefore, is not about getting something, winning over someone, or being loved, or fighting for our rights; rather, it is about giving of oneself unconditionally to others in a process of helping them. The reward for expressing love, is have to the honor of helping other human beings and being in sync with God.
What is pure love? Pure love is life of the living God in our heart, which constantly persuades us to do righteous acts. Unlike emotions, such as hatred, anger, jealousy, greed, which develop as reactions to our experiences in life, love, because it is unconditional, does not develop as reactions to life's experiences. It is present in us because God created us in His own image. Life’s experience teaches us that if there is fire in a building, get out of it as quickly as possible to save our life; or if someone hurts us, fight back to severe justice, and then stay away from that person to protect our self; or if we have a good life, enjoy it. Yet we find that there are missionaries, who have left their good lives and gone to dangerous parts of the world, to help people in need. Sometimes, they even helped those who had killed their family members or friends. We also know about fire fighters who rushed into life threatening areas, to save lives of people whom they did not know; people who have forgiven and befriended people who tried to kill them; soldiers who carried injured enemy soldiers on their back to a medical facility to bring them help; and people who have been faithful to their spouses in spite of abuse, betrayal, and unfaithfulness.
Charity is the very heart of love. Charity of thought is to think about others’ interest over our own, be non-judgmental, have respectful thoughts for others and look at them as God’s children and our brothers and sisters. Charity of words is to say only what helps others, and say it with love, compassion, and humility. Charity of action is to serve others without expecting anything in return; consider their needs over our own; and serve them without discriminating based on friendship, age, abilities, sex, or ethnicity. Furthermore, it is also to forgive by writing-off what our offender owes us, and by sacrificing our self-interest to heal their spirit. We must always remember that, although we betrayed God by our sins, He died for us on the cross, so that we may have eternal life.
Those who express pure love never seek reward for their acts of love (Matthew 5:46). To them, to love, is a privilege and a gift from God, because in loving they get a chance to participate in the life of God. In other words, in loving others, they are loved; because they enter the life of God, who is love. They are, therefore, exceedingly thankful to God, for performing acts of love through them. Furthermore, they see Jesus in every person they can help; and feel honored to have the opportunity to help them.
The ability to unconditionally love others is the most precious gift from God to us because it gives us the ability to enter His life. This gift is the gift of His own life, which He gave us by dying on the cross for our sins. It is the only gift that is real, because it is the only gift that gives us eternal life. To keep this gift ever alive in our heart, he makes His sacrificial body and blood ever present to us in the Eucharist. The bread and wine that He gives us at communion is his flesh and blood (John 6:51) that he sacrificed on the cross, to bring us life. This gift evokes an intense desire to forgive and unconditionally serve others. To accept this gift worthily we must repent for our sins and have complete faith in God’s sacrificial love for us.
Since God is love, those who exercise love, trust God, and live His life. This gives them hope in themselves. and others. In addition, those who exercise love, share a common spirit, which is the life of God. Love therefore unites people.
Charity is love, and love requires sacrifice in the process of unconditionally seeking the good of others. Most of us are charitable with money, volunteer work, and providing clothing, food, and emotional support to the needy. Some people go a step further and stay celibate in order to offer their whole life to serve people who are physically and spiritually needy. The most difficult and greatest charity is the forgiveness expressed by Jesus on the cross, in which he sacrificed His own life to bring healing and eternal life through repentance, to us who repeatedly hurt and betray Him.
How to become less selfish? We will become less selfish and seek the interest others over ours if we internalize God’s infinite love for us, which he expressed on the cross. We must also remember that we are all children of God, who are created as brothers and sisters in God’s image. Furthermore, we are all on a journey on this earth to our father’s house, supporting each other in every possible way. In addition, God, is the only reality from whom we draw life, and everything else we own, want and need are passing away.
What make our actions good? Our knowledge, inspiring speeches, fight for social justice, donations to charities and missions’ works are nothing, if it is not done out of pure love, which is the selfless, sacrificial, meek, and free of malice and pride. Furthermore, because pure love is unconditional, it does not expect anything in return. On the other hand, if our acts of love have any form of self-directed motive, such as name, fame, legacy, or tax incentive, it is not an act of love.
Love is not reciprocal. It is a one-way street. Those who express it will love, even if the other party hates them, treats them badly, or are indifferent to them. In fact, when we love someone who is totally indifferent to us, the purity of our love increases; because such love has absolutely no string attached. This is precisely what Jesus did. We crucified him by our sins; and he sacrificed his life for us.
Faith in God: God is love (1 John 4:8). Therefore, to have faith in God is to have faith in the true love, which He expressed on the cross. His love is redeeming, forgiving, sacrificial and unconditional. To have faith in His love, to believe in it enough to repent for our sins and accept this love as our life. Furthermore, to have faith in God is also to believe that all the problems in the world can only be solved through his love. When we have this faith, we have eternal life, because we have accepted the God, who is the source of life.
Love always has hope: Because love is unconditional, it does not depend on the situation. Love, therefore, never gives up on others, it is patient, it always has hope, it never gets weary, and it is eternal (1Corinthians 13:7). It never condemns another person and is always faithful. It can even make an evil person good. God, therefore, never gives up on us. He, therefore, sacrificed His life to save us from sin. Furthermore, although He knew that Judas would betray Him and become a total failure, He still gave Him a chance to change by including him in His inner circle of His friends. However, if we reject God and persists with a sinful life, we bring condemnation on our self, because without God there is no life.
What is the limit of love? Christianity is more than just keeping the commandments, or avoiding what is wrong or sinful, or trying to prove one’s opinion by searching the scriptures. It is about following Jesus (John 5; 39-40) by living His life of sacrificial and all-forgiving love; in which we go out of our way and give of our self completely to love and serve others, including those who hurt and offend us. Furthermore, since true love is unconditional, it is limitless, and it goes beyond friends and relatives. In addition, when we accept Jesus as our life, to unconditionally seek the good of others will be the only thought on our mind.
Jesus accepted the cross because He loves us. Jesus came into this world to preach good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom to those who were enslaved by sin and release from darkness for those who did not know the truth about the love of God (Luke 4:18 & Isaiah 61:1). In keeping with his mission Jesus freed those oppressed by sin, forgave sinners, healed the sick, comforted the broken hearted, fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind, healed lepers, raised the dead and proclaimed the good news (Luke 7:22) of forgiveness through repentance. He was killed because the world did not like His mission of pure love, forgiveness and non-violence. He freely accepted the cross, so that the love he expressed through his sacrifice will reignite true love in our hearts. True love in our heart makes us repentant, repentance cancels our sin by healing our soul.
What does it mean to be born again? Our soul gets its life from God. Therefore, when we reject God by choosing evil, our soul becomes lifeless and spiritually dead. We will therefore, call evil as good and compassionate, chastise the righteous, and promote perverse acts as normal. On the other hand, when we recognize the truth about love in the pure love Jesus expressed on the cross, and repent for our sins, with a firm commitment to live Jesus’ life, we begin a new life in Christ. This is, what it means to be born again.
Just as the Israelites had to look at the snake on the pole to receive bodily healing, we have to look at the king of the universe on the cross to be saved from sin, that causes eternal death. His love made visible on the cross heals our soul by making us repentant and holy.
Love and forgiveness go hand in hand, because true forgiveness requires sacrificing of our feelings of hurt, and healing of our offender, which are both expressions of love. Furthermore, to express love, towards those who hurt us, is to make Jesus’ love visible to them. It, therefore, will remove bitterness from their hearts and fill it with repentance. Repentance will heal their soul and bring them back to God.
When we express true love, we will never feel like a victim, because our concerns will only be for others. Furthermore,we will always be a healer, and be on a mission to love and serve God and our fellow human beings. Furthermore, when others hurt and persecute us, we will be concerned about the hurt they are causing their own souls by their acts, rather than the hurt they caused us. Furthermore, we will not seek reward for the good acts we perform. On the contrary, we will see the opportunity to serve others as a gift from God; and will joyfully thank God for that gift. To us, then, God’s will, will be the joy of our life.
Love is never about ME; it is always about others; because love is the spirit of God that unconditionally seeks the good of others. Those who unconditionally love others, therefore have complete trust in God. They are, therefore, never concerned about themselves, and take delight in caring for others, especially those who hate them. They are also willing to sacrifice their life and self interest in the process of helping others. Their faith in God frees them of fear, anxiety, greed, and hate. Furthermore, if we live for ourselves, our life will last as long as we are alive. On the other hand, if we live for others, it brings us eternal life, because pure never dies. Furthermore, the love we express towards others will bring them healing.
True Love is always associated with pain and suffering because it requires selflessness, humility, and sacrifice. Furthermore, true love holds back nothing. It will, therefore, enters situation to help others, although it knows that it will encounter pain and suffering. The good news is that it brings us peace; because when we love unconditionally, we are in sync with God. This frees us from hate, greed, lust, jealousy, and pride. Furthermore, it brings us joy because it gives us an opportunity to partake in God’s work. Most importantly, we bring joy and hope to those who are suffering. We should, therefore, quietly bear all the sufferings and pain that come from such work and find peace and joy in knowing that God is with us, and with his help we will overcome all our difficulties.
What is redemptive suffering? No one wants to suffer. However, redemption came through the suffering of Jesus on the cross; because His suffering makes us realize what true love is. From our own experience we know that to do good for others, we have to go through hardships and suffering. However, suffering, when accepted in the spirit of love brings us endurance, endurance brings us hope, and hope brings us joy. Furthermore, suffering makes us humble, and humility makes us trust God, and trust in God makes us kind, gentle, charitable, and forgiving. In other words, there is no redemption without suffering. Redemptive work started with Jesus on the cross. We too have to join Him and carry our cross. In marriage, therefore, we must unconditionally serve our spouse and the children, and bear each other’s short comings and the suffering that come from it. The end result of this love, is, peace and joy that comes from God.
How good is our good works? Irrespective of how good our work is, if it has even the smallest element of selfishness it, is not charity, because love and selfishness can’t coexist. Though work with selfish motives may help people financially and socially, it will not heal the spirit of the sufferers, because healing of the spirit only comes from the spirit of God, which is through pure love. Therefore, to maintain purity of love in our charitable work we must keep it a secret and thank God for giving us the opportunity to be a partner in His work.
Fruits of pure love: Pure love brings life to those whose spirits are dead from hopelessness and despair. It frees us of hate, jealousy, and revenge, and enables us to see goodness even in those who hate us and are despised by others. To express pure love, is to completely trust God, and the eternal life he gives us. Therefore, pure love frees us from fear of death. It also gives us the certainty about the undying love of God for us. This takes worries and anxiety out of heart; because we know that God is always with us, and with Him at our side, everything will be okay in the end. Then, even if tragedy should strike us, we will dwell on the love of God for us, and, not on our tragedy. We must, therefore, pray with a sincere heart to have pure love in our heart; and repent for the times we did not choose to express pure love.
Love and selfishness: Selfishness is about money, power, revenge, self-gratification, and lust. Love is about selflessness, humility sacrifice, forgiveness, purity of body and mind, and charity. Selfishness is fearful because it is self-centered. Love is fearless because it is selfless and trust God completely (1John 4, 17-18). Selfishness is sterile because it does not go beyond self. Love is life giving, because it dies to self (Ephesians 5, 1-5) so that others may have life (John 15, 14-16& 1John 3, 16)). Selfishness condemns others because it fails to see goodness in them. Love is always forgiving because love sees goodness in others. Selfishness produces anxiety and turmoil, because it is out of tune with God. Love produces peace and tranquility, because it is in unison with God (1John 4, 9). Selfishness makes us defensive and suspicious of others. Love enables us to trust and understand others. Selfishness makes us depressed. Love makes us resilient. Selfishness makes us accusative and oppressive. Love makes us forgiving and compassionate. Selfishness is revengeful. Love is forgiving. Selfishness is destructive. Love is life giving. Selfishness makes our soul lifeless. Love gives eternal life to our soul. Selfishness results in despair. Love brings hope to the hopeless. Selfishness has value for only those human beings from whom they can gain something, they therefore do not mind killing unborn babies. Love has value for all human beings, including those who are helpless and the unborn. Selfishness is always associated with hate because it thinks only about itself. Love cares for all human beings and dislikes none. Selfishness is arrogant, proud, and conceited. Love is gentle, humble, and gracious (1 Cor. 13, 4-8).
IV. KNOW THE TRUTH
What is the truth? God’s love is the only truth; because He is the only reality, and everything that exist comes is created and sustained by His love. Furthermore, it is the only truth; because it is pure, unchanging, sacrificial, unconditional, meek, forgiving, and eternal.
Truth is eternally pure because it is from God. Truth therefore does not exist when there is false accusations, slander, and revenge. These evils come from hate. Hate is condemnation of others because of pride, selfishness, and total disregard for human life. The worst hate crime is to destroy human life in the womb, which is often performed by crushing the baby’s head and then sucking out the brain.
This truth is seen in those who love God. They are pure, holy, moral, sacrificial, charitable, and follow God’s natural laws. They, therefore, have peace and joy. On the other hand, everything that is popular, glamorous, self-centered, money oriented, immoral, and sinful comes from rejecting God. It therefore lead to violence, immorality and perversions, which in turn leads to hate, turmoil and violence.
Truth divides people, because Truth has no gray zone. Therefore, we cannot water down the truth out of a false sense of sensitivity or compassion. However, true compassion is to look at the eternal life of others, point out their obvious error(s) (if we see any) (Luke 17:3), and tell them the truth in a firm but charitable way. In the end truth will always prevail because truth never dies and is infinitely more powerful than evil.
God’s faithfulness is the only reality: Everything we see, and feel, did not exist at one time, and will disappear at some stage. On the other hand, the Love of God is eternal, because God is eternal, and He is always faithful. His love, therefore, never dies. He showed the depth of his love when he took a human form and died on the cross to free us from sin. Similarly, God’s love is unchanging because it is unconditional. It will, therefore, always be faithful. It will never give up on others, even when there is no hope or there is hurt and betrayal. This love was expressed on the cross by Jesus with the following message: “I will not give up on you my friend, irrespective of how badly you treat me or betray me or even kill me. The more you hurt me, the more I will love you. I will give up everything, including my own life to bring you eternal life.”
The undying love and mercy of God showed us by accepting the most painful death on the cross, sets our heart on fire and enables us to forgive and love our enemies, pray for those who hurt us, offer the other cheek if hurt on one, lend to the needy and do not ask it back, and bring healing to those who hurt us, through prayers and acts of sacrificial love. Furthermore, we will always seek the good of others, speak only about the good we see in others, never divorce our spouse even if there is betrayal and infidelity, and accept hurt and loss rather than suing our fellow human beings.
Love is truth, because true love never dies. Furthermore, if we have love in our heart we will not lie about others. Truth and love, therefore go hand in hand. On the other hand, hate and lie go hand in hand, because hate is rejection of God, who is the truth. Hate comes from selfishness because hate is opposite of love. Those who have hate in their heart, have no regards for others. They will therefore lie and condemn others; support, perform or have abortion, and reject the natural order of God.
Everything God has created, is in love and for love. Only the law of love that God has put in our heart, is true law. This law never changes. All other laws come from the evil one, and they enslave us in fear. Furthermore, they change from time to time to benefit those who enact them. Furthermore, many keep such laws, not because of love, but to hide behind these laws. The law of love is written on our hearts, and it was made visible on cross of Christ. If we are humble and contrite, we will see it.
Just as truth is found in love, love also is found in the truth, and to state the truth is to love. To go along with, and promote the false, such as perverse sexual and gender behaviors, out of sensitivity or false compassion, is not love; because when we live in the false, we reject God’s love expressed in the procreative functions of human beings. Furthermore, by going along with it, we encourage those suffering from it to continue with their harmful behavior.
Why must we be truthful? When we abandon our integrity and do not speak the truth in order to be in-woke with the society, we may have a lot of friends, and be in harmony with them. But when the rubber meets the road and their self-interest is on the line, they will all abandon us and work against us to protect their own interest. On the other hand, if we speak the truth, we may cause division and be scorn of many. However, our truthfulness will help many to know the truth and have abundant life.
V. HAVE FAITH
Faith is complete trust in God. God is love; therefore, faith in God, is faith in the pure love God expressed on the cross when he freely accepted pain, suffering and death to bring eternal life to those who betrayed and sinned against. This love is free of violence, hate, anger, jealousy, lust, greed. It is selfless, sacrificial, and pure. If we truly have faith in God, we will express His love towards all our fellow human beings, especially those who hate and hurt us. Furthermore, to have this faith in God is to know that all our problems in life can only be solved through His love. It is also to accept God’s will unconditionally, even when we do not know what it is. We do not have to struggle to have this love because it is imprinted on our spirit. All we have to do is to surrender our will completely to God and tell Him to do whatever He want with our life. When we have this faith, laws become obsolete, because all good laws are based on this faith.
We can trust God because he loved us enough to die for our sins. Furthermore, He is infinitely wise and resourceful. We can, therefore, always trust Him to do what is best for us. When we trust Him, we allow him to help us. Since God is love, to trust God, is to believe that His love is the only way to live; and have absolute trust, that through love we can overcome all obstacles in life.
To trust God and pray for help, means, to leave the outcome of the situation completely in God’s hands. This gives control of the situation to God; thereby, permitting Him to help us. On the other hand, when we pray for something, but want the results according to our own design, we are refusing to give control to God; thereby, rejecting his help.
Who gives us faith? The Spirit of God is the faith giver. Since His Spirit is imprinted in our heart, it is natural for us to have faith in God. However, since God is love, and to love is a choice, to have faith, is to choose to open our heart to God’s Holy Spirit and accept His love and will. We often get distracted by the wealth, pleasure, technology, power, revenge, and pride the world offers us. These things lead to every kind of evil that condemn us to eternal death. Jesus, therefore made it easy for us to come back to Him, by showing us true love through His meekness, mercy, selflessness, undying forgiveness, purity of love, and sacrifice on the cross. Furthermore, He sent His Holy Spirit to help us stay faithful to the Truth.
Does God answer our prayers? When we do not get what we ask for or receive the opposite of what we asked for, we doubt God’s ability or desire to help us. However, God always answers our prayers. He answers them in such a manner, that, it will make us a people with greater faith and love. Therefore, He may not give us exactly what we asked for, or He may delay granting our petition, or may even allow tragedy to come upon us (like He did to Job). However, we should remember that he has already given us the only gift we really need, namely, the ability to selflessly love others. This ability is the life of God which gives us eternal life. This is the only treasure that cannot be destroyed, not even by death. If we accept His will, the sufferings of world will be nothing compared to the heavenly peace and joy that awaits us. We should, therefore, trust God, accept God’s will without even knowing what it is, and (in our heart) ask Him to do whatever He feels is right for us.
Sometimes, everything seems to go wrong in life. We pray, but it does not make a difference. In fact, it seems like, as we intensify our prayer, our problems increase. We feel that even God has abandoned us. As our problems increase, our prayers seem to become lifeless, and we cease to feel the presence of God. However, this is the time when our heart can find victory in God because this is the time when we are most likely to become humble and surrender our will to him. This allows us to accept God’s help; and turn our life around. We should, therefore, seize this opportunity by surrendering our will totally to God. This means that we are open to whatever God asks of us; and at all times live for God, by focusing our attention on the needs of others, rather than our own. Furthermore, we must keep this resolve alive in our heart by constantly meditating on God's love for us. We must accept the fact that, if the world and everyone in it fails us, God will never fail us; because in his infinite love, he sacrificed his life for us. Furthermore, God is the only reality, and without Him everything else is nothing.
Is there faith without works? To have faith in God, is to make love our way of life. Therefore, if our works are out of pure love, it is done with faith. It is therefore redeeming. On the other hand, if our works have even a hint of selfish motive, it is without faith and void of redemptive power, because there is no redemption without faith in God’s love. Furthermore, if we say we have faith; but do not express it by our actions, we truly do not have faith; because faith in God is to embrace his love, and his love is expressed through actions. This is precisely why God took a human form and expressed his love through his acts of mercy, forgiveness, and sacrifice on the cross.
Why is there suffering in the world? God gives a free will so that we may choose love. Unfortunately, when we reject love, which keeps the universe in harmony, the balance in nature is disturbed. This results in natural disasters, pain, and suffering. The world family is God’s orchestra. He is the conductor, and we are the players. If we are not in sync with God, music becomes noise and brings suffering in the world. To clean our hearts of evil and accept love, God showed us pure love by accepting the most painful death on the cross to bring us eternal life. Furthermore, He gave us hope by overcoming suffering and death through his resurrection. Furthermore, He gave pain and suffering redemptive value by showing us that they can purify our hearts by making us kind, compassionate and humble. This helps us to build endurance and character. We must, therefore, embrace suffering without fear, knowing that it will make us a better people. In addition, we must always keep in mind that the suffering of the present is nothing compared to the glory that awaits those who trust Him (Romans 8:18).”
Does God allow evil? God does not allow evil. Evil is to reject, disrespect, or disobey God. It is also to kill, mistreat, misuse, or objectify human beings, who are God’s crowning creations. God wants us to be holy like Him, because He loves us, and wants us to share in His peace and joy that comes from holiness. Holiness is the ultimate expression of love, and to love is a decision. God, therefore, cannot force us to be holy. When we reject God, we bring evil and disasters of nature in the world. This affects everyone, including those who are righteous. God, however, does not want evil. He, therefore intervened by sacrificing His life on the cross, to bring us forgiveness of sins through repentance, and godliness. This process is changing many hearts and eliminating evil. Though for us who live in the finite, the process has not yet been completed, in God’s time, who lives in infinity, the end point has already been reached. Furthermore, our pain of the present life, irrespective of how great it is, will be completely nullified by infinite joy we will experience with God for all eternity. In addition, in the present life, Jesus is with us in our sufferings by taking upon Himself the suffering of the entire world on the cross. Furthermore, he gives us hope for what is to come, by showing us the reality of the future through his resurrection.
What is true wisdom? God’s sacrificial love is the only reality, because it is pure, unconditional, and endless. To realize it, and accept His love as our life, is true wisdom. True wisdom is also to realize our own sinfulness and become contrite, sacrificial, selfless, humble, charitable, pure, peaceable, kind, gentle, sincere, proactive, and dependable. Then, our yes is yes, and our no is no, and our good works are done in secret. True wisdom comes from humility, because humility makes us contrite and opens our heart to God’s love. It also makes us realize that our achievements and good works are nothing compared to the infinite love of God.
How does faith save us? When we trust God, we accept His will in every situation of our life. This allows Him to help us, and frees us of anxiety, hate, jealousy, fear, lust and greed. Furthermore, the fact that we have faith in God, means we love God and want to live a sinless life. Most importantly, when we are in sync with God we reject sin, because we know that God’s way is the only truth. This saves our soul from death.
Who consoles us? We will find our true consolation only in God, because only God will always love us and be faithful to us, irrespective of how bad we are. Furthermore, he has already made the greatest ever sacrifice for us on the cross, to bring us redemption through forgiveness. Therefore, if we repent for our sins, and let God take control of our life, we are guaranteed to have His peace and joy for all eternity. Furthermore, we will peacefully accept sufferings in this life, because we will be convinced beyond any doubt that we will be united with God for all eternity in His kingdom.
VI. KEEP AWAY FROM SIN
What is sin? To sin, is to disobey God, pervert His natural order and break His commandments. When we sin, we go against God, His creation, our fellow human beings, and our self, through our thoughts, words and actions. God created all of us in His own image, so we can express His love and partake in His life. When we sin, we reject God by go against the spirit of God that is within us. This makes us spiritually dead, restless, and joyless.
All sins are against God, because all of them are against His love, His children, and his natural laws. When we blaspheme God’s Spirit by not following our true conscience, take His name in vain, speak against Him or reject Him, we sin directly against Him. Some sins are against our fellow human beings. They include, rape, molestation, murder, discrimination, abortion, hate, physical or mental abuse, character assassination, infidelity, and exploitation. Human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, sins against our body are profoundly serious. Some of the sins against our body include masturbation, fornication, pornography, same-sex activity, other deviant sexual activities, so-called sex affirming procedures, contraception, adultery, prostitution, and suicide.
Why does the Church have sinners? Christ came for sinners. Therefore, the Church, which is his body, is a hospital for sick souls. That is why we find sinners in the Church. Furthermore, since none of us are without sin, we all need the church to help us heal our souls and make our faith strong. Even, members of the church hierarchy are sinners, including all the apostles chosen by Jesus. However, we are guaranteed to be cured if we stay in the church, because Jesus is the physician of the church.
Causes for sins: Pride, selfishness, greed for money and pleasure, envy, failure to recognize the presence of the spirit of God in ourselves and each and every human life, indifference towards God and our fellow human beings, and lack of faith in God are major causes for sins. God’s commandments are all based on love. Therefore, if we have true love in our heart, we will not sin. Furthermore, because true love is unconditional, it will never die within us if we fully accept it. Unfortunately, our pride and selfishness make us disobey God. Furthermore, when we do not have complete trust in God, we feel very insecure. We, therefore, try to secure our life by going after money, power, lust, and fame. Unfortunately, they are totally devoid of love and morality. They, therefore, lead to every sort of sin and immorality; and creates a society in which killing of unborn children and promotion of sexual perversions is virtue. These evils adversely affect many and make their lives a living hell. Fortunately, Jesus has overcome sin and death for us, through His sacrifice on the cross. If we can honestly believe this, it will make us humble and contrite, which in turn will free us of sin.
Sins and crimes: Some sins are crimes, and some crimes are not sins. In many countries' fornication, adultery, sodomy, polygamy, mutilation of sexual organs of children, destruction human embryos, infanticide and killing of unborn babies are not crimes; yet they are mortal sins, because they go against human dignity and human life. On the other hand, in some countries good acts of going to church, reading the Bible, expressing your faith belief in public, praying, having children, or speaking the truth are crimes. In other words, evil is not always a crime, and crime is not always evil. We must, therefore, always follow the laws of God, which are all based on pure love.
How to avoid sin?
To avoid sin we must love God, and love others as God loves us. We must love God, because He is pure love, and the innermost longing of our heart. Furthermore, he sacrificed his life on the cross for us, although we sinned against Him. In addition, He told us to love our enemies, forgive them without any limitations, and pray for them. We must love and have utmost respect for others and ourselves, because we are all brothers and sisters, children of God, and temples of His Holy Spirit. Therefore, when we have temptation to sin against others or even our self, we must remember the above-mentioned facts. Furthermore, we must remember that we will profit nothing, if we win the highest honor, become the wealthiest person, or avenge those who hurt us; but lose our eternal life. If it is still difficult to avoid sin, give complete control of our life to God by asking Him to do whatever He wants to do with our life.
It is important to point out error others are committing. Sins condemn and destroy us. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to make others aware of their errors. Pointing out the evil is not condemnation or judgement; it is merely stating the facts out of pure love for them. Therefore, when Jesus healed and forgave people, he always told them to repent and sin no more. When we fail to the point out the evil others are doing, we condemn them by allowing them to destroy themselves through sins. Similarly, when we fail to recognize our own sins and refuse to repent for them, we reject God.
Slavery to sin is the only true enslavement because it can kill our spirit for all eternity and affect our ability to express pure love. On the other hand, although physical slavery affects our physical human rights, it cannot touch our spirit. Furthermore, it cannot prevent us from expressing true love that comes from the spirit. That is why in the Church there are 10 canonized saints who were slaves. Furthermore, although there was slavery during Jesus’ time, He only spoke against slavery to sin.
Worry is another form of enslavement which affects everyone. It can affect our peace and joy by making us feel irritable, short tempered, and depressed. Though it seems impossible to be free of sins and worries, because of uncertainties and temptations in life, with absolute faith in God, we can overcome them. If we realize that everything we feel and see, and call matter, is nothing more than energy held together by forces that emit from God, we will become aware of God’s power. Furthermore, if we believe that, because of His infinite love for us God accepted the most painful death on the cross to save us from sin, we will be confidant that irrespective of what happens in this life, in the end God will bring something good out of it. We must, therefore put complete trust in God, and let Him be the shepherd of our life.
True conscience can never be wrong; because true conscience is God talking to us; and His word is the only Truth. This truth never changes, because it comes from God. God can never change because He lives in infinity. Truth was fully revealed in the pure love Christ expressed on the cross. Unfortunately, because we are all sinners, we ignore the truth, create our own truth in the name of “changing with time.” This pseudo-truth then occupies our heart, making us think we are truly following our conscience. Some of the pseudo truths are abortion, euthanasia, contraception, fornication, divorce, artificial fertilization, and sexually deviant behaviors.
How to overcome hate? Hate is to condemn others in our heart and have disdain and indifference towards them. Hate is one of the worst spiritual diseases, because if we persist in hate, we will have no life, and will spend eternity in the black hole that is devoid of light.
There are many causes of hate; but the root cause is failure of to see others as children of God, our brothers and sisters, and temples of the Holy Spirit. It also results from our failure to recognize our own sinfulness, and the mercy of God towards.
To overcome hate, we must realize that we are all sinners, forgiven by the love of Jesus on the cross, and brothers and sisters, who are on a journey to our Father’s house. In this process we must help each other in love and compassion, surrender our will to God, and forgive one another without any limit. It is hard to do this when there is injustice and betrayal. However, if we look at the cross and ponder on how God forgave us through his sacrifice, it is possible to overcome hate through prayers, and the good deeds we do for those who hurt and betray us. We must recognize the fact that we too are sinners who need God’s help; and do something kind and generous for those we hate, out of pure obedience to God. If we focus on Jesus’ sacrifice and sincerely desire to do what He did and give control of our life to Him by accepting His will unconditionally, He will make it happen.
Is self-pity harmful? Self-pity is selfishness, because it is focused on self. It is, destructive to our mind and spirit, because it makes us anxious, depressed, sad, dejected, bitter, jealous, angry, and revengeful. On the other hand, when we focus on those who are suffering more than us, we will find peace, because it brings us in sync with God.
When others hurt us, they are hurting themselves, because their offense against us is a sin, and sin hurts their spirit by cutting them away from God. If our response to is take revenge and retaliate, we too cut our self from God. On the other hand, if we forgive them, and heal them through our prayers and acts of sacrificial love, we will find peace and joy during our hurt, because we will be one with God. Furthermore, our love for them may heal them and bring them back to God.
When Jesus was carrying His cross, he was not concerned about His own suffering. He kissed the cross and carried it without demanding any pity, because He was doing it out of love for us. Furthermore, when He met the women of Jerusalem, He was concerned about the suffering that was to come upon them, and not his own suffering (Luke 23:27-29). Similarly, he was concerned about the eternal life of those who were killing him. He therefore, forgave them (Luke 23:34).
The love Jesus expressed for us on the cross is infinite; because an infinite God stooped down to become a finite being and accepted the most humiliating death, so that, we, who betrayed and crucified him by our sins, may have eternal life. Because, infinite love, which is the glory of God, was expressed on the cross, the cross is the throne of God, and the crown of thorns is His Royal crown.
Why must we love our enemies? We must love our enemies because God loves them and died on the cross for their sins. Furthermore, we too are sinners like them, and are forgiven by God. Furthermore, the kindness, humility and love, God has put in our heart through his sacrifice on the cross, makes us see the hurt our offenders have brought upon themselves. This compels us to reach out to them. We also want the very the best for them, because they are our brothers and sisters, children of God and temples of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, it is always better to forgive than to condemn, because to condemn, is to express hate, and hate destroys our spirit and leads turmoil in our heart and in the world. On the other hand, when we forgive, it heals us and our offenders.
How to change the world? The battle between good and evil in the world is an ongoing process. However, the biggest battle is in our heart. Therefore, to change the world each one of us must aim for holiness. because with every good act or thought of ours, we are attacked by temptation. For example, when we help others, we are tempted to talk about it to show our righteousness, or we expect some praise or reward for it. Similarly, when see others do well in life, we are envious of them and downplay their achievement. If we are verbally attacked, we fight back. However, the battle can be easy to win if we realize that we are all brothers and sisters, and children of God; and keep our eyes always focused on Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Through His sacrifice Jesus triumphed over hate and selfishness, by loving those who hurt and betrayed Him. When we do what Jesus did, through his spirit in us, it is victory for the whole human race; because through the spirit of God we are all bound together as brothers and sisters.
Is war worth it? No one wins a war because, war destroys human lives on both sides; leaves countless people with physical, mental, and spiritual disabilities; creates orphans and widows; and tears families apart. Furthermore, war generates hate, revenge, cruelty, brutality, and murderous behavior. These evils are harmful to our spirit and deprives us of peace and joy that comes from God. Even when we fight for freedom or for a worthy cause, win, we will not have true freedom in our heart, because hate, anger jealousy, and revenge created by the war will linger in our heart forever; and it will be passed onto successive generations. Furthermore, when we win a war, it’s hateful and destructive methods get glorified. This promotes violence and hate as a means of solving our problems in life.
The best defense is to negotiate, and even give to the opposing party a little more than what they asked for, because they too are children of God and our brothers and sisters. This will profit both sides by preventing deaths, destruction, hate, revenge, and endless war. This will also create friendship and trust between the two sides, which will prevent further wars.
The greatest war we will ever fight is the war within our heart, when we have to choose between good and evil. Because we all have the spirit of love imprinted on our heart, most people will want to choose good. Unfortunately, we are greatly tempted to choose evil because it is attractive, it is the easy way out, or it is pleasing to the senses; while good requires sacrifice, selflessness, and forgiveness, which are foreign to the world. Sometimes we want to choose good, but we choose evil to be in sync with the society, or we feel that we cannot solve our problems through love. Unfortunately, we can never find peace and joy through evil, because we are created to be good. Furthermore, evil has no life. It, therefore, brings death to our spirit. It also leads to hate, violence, and despair. We must therefore remind ourselves that the power of love is infinitely greater than the power of evil, because God is love. We should, therefore, eliminate evil through our sacrificial love towards our enemies. This may involve offering them the other cheek if slapped on one and giving them more than what they asked for. This effort is worth it, because only love will bring us lasting peace and healing.
What is the unforgivable sin? Through his sacrifice on the cross Jesus brought forgiveness to the whole human race. However, to accept it, we must be sorry for our sins with a firm resolve to never sin again. To be sorry for our sins we must be humble and acknowledge that we have sinned. Therefore, when we refuse to accept a sin as sin by turning a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit (our true conscience) and refuse to repent for our sins, we sin against the Holy Spirit. This sin does not get forgiven, because it lacks contrition.
VII AIM FOR HEAVEN
Heaven is a place where everyone is completely in sync with God. Heaven, therefore, is free of evil and suffering. It also the place where God’s presence is fully experienced. Furthermore, since its residents are in sync with God, they all have eternal life.
How to enter heaven? If we are humble and contrite Jesus will take us to heaven. “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”. (Luke 23:43). These are the words of Jesus to the repentant thief on cross next to him. It will also be the words to us if we are humble and contrite of heart.
God created us in his own divine image by putting his spirit of pure love within our hearts. He thus made us His created children, so that we can spend all eternity with Him in heaven. This means that we are created for heaven. God, however, cannot force us into heaven, because heaven is a place of pure love; and to express love is a choice. Therefore, to accept heaven as our eternal home, we must choose the pure and forgiving love of God as our way of life. Unfortunately, because of our pride, and selfishness we ignored God’s invitation to love, and embraced the sinfulness, pride and selfishness of the world. Because of His infinite love for us, God did not give up on us. To rekindle pure love in our heart and make us repent for our sins, God took a human form in the person of Jesus and accepted the most painful death on the cross for our sins. All we have to do is to repent for our sins, live a life of pure love, and surrender our life completely to him by giving permission to do whatever he wants with our life. We should then, do and pray for what we think is right, but accept whatever God gives us. Since we live in a world where technology and money are gods, it is difficult to surrender our will completely to God. However, if we look at God’s unconditional love expressed for us on the cross, His infinite power and intelligence that created the universe, and the reality that without God everything we see and feel will disappear into the black holes, we will trust Him. We will still have suffering and temptations in this life on the journey to heaven. However, we will overcome it, because we have given God the charge of our life.
What happens on the last day? At the last moment of our life on earth, those who have completely accepted the infinite love of God expressed on the cross, and lived it, will see the glorified Jesus come and receive them into heaven. For those who sincerely wanted to accept His love and are sorry for their sins but have not completely got rid of their pride and sinfulness, will get a glimpse at God’s pure love. This will penetrate their souls with intense pain for offending God, and make then repent, and reject all their worldly attachments. After this they will enter heaven. For those who are proud and refuse to follow their true conscience and repent for their sins, and reject God and/or His life, become lifeless and enter the black hole where there is total darkness and isolation. We must be prepared for death at all times because the hour of that happening is unknown to us. Therefore, the process of humility leading to repentance must be an ongoing process, throughout our life.
VIII. BE JUST
What is Justice? Only God is just because He is pure love, sinless, sacrificial, and selfless. To be just, therefore is to think, talk and do what is godly. Since God is pure love, to be just is to have a life of pure love. Pure love is selfless, sacrificial, and charitable. Therefore, true justice is unbiased, selfless, charitable, and always takes every step possible to make the offender a better person through discipline, compassion, and love. This is precisely what Jesus did to the repentant thief on the cross next to Him. Through the love he expressed on the cross, he put repentance into the heart the repentant thief on cross next him.
Justice of God is not about eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth or about my rights; rather, it is about mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and healing through acts of sacrifice and charity. True justice is seen on the cross, on which, God in the person Jesus, willingly accepted the most painful and humiliating death; so that those who were killing him may repent for their sins and embrace true love. Therefore, true justice does not condemn or sue others. On the contrary, it exercises mercy by forgiving others, and by sacrificing self to help them to recover from their weaknesses. Jesus told us to love our enemies and do good to them, if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. Furthermore, if someone takes or borrows what is yours, do not ask it back (Matt. 5:38-40); and forgive others without any limit. Similarly, St. Paul teaches us that, the fact that we have legal disputes amongst us, means that we have morally failed; furthermore, it is better to be wronged or robbed than to sue another person (1 Cor. 6:7). These teachings are totally contrary to modern day practices. This shows us how distant we are from God’s justice, which is pure Love.
What law should we follow? In the Old covenant, because people feared God, they followed the letter of the law. It was, therefore, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Lv. 24:20). In the New Covenant, we live by the Spirit, because the Spirit of God is active in our hearts (2 Cor. 3:3), and we follow the laws because we know and love God. We must therefore, (Matt. 5: 39-40; Luke 6: 30; Matt. 5: 44) fight evil with love; help those who hurt us; give to everyone who asks, and do not demand back what others have taken from us; love our enemies; and pray for those who persecute us. Jesus showed us that to love and forgive, is not only to give up resentment or claim we have against our offenders, but also to heal them by compensating for their wrongdoings through our love and sacrifice for them.
Jesus showed us true justice. When a woman was being stoned to death for committing adultery, he asked those without sin to throw the first stone. To the repentant criminal on the cross next to Him, he took him to heaven that very day. To the soldiers who were mocking, spitting, scourging, and killing him, he forgave them and died for their sins on the cross.
When we are hurt, we suffer from the pain and insult. If we do not forgive and hang on to the hurt, the hurt will increase as the time goes by and result in hate, which takes peace out of our heart and destroys our soul. On the other hand, if we forgive with love in our heart, it will not only heal our spirit, but also brings us peace and joy. The love we express in forgiving others also heals and brings repentance to the offenders, because God is love.
Social justice is to treat all people equal irrespective of their age, sex, race, or abilities, and give them equal opportunity to reach their full potential. Although our bodies come in varied sizes, shapes, colors, and abilities, we are equal, because our inner most being (our soul) is created in the image of God. We must, therefore, respect and love each and every human being, as we respect and love God. Unfortunately, because of our pride, envy, prejudice, greed, hate, revenge, and selfishness many of us have either forgotten God, or have rejected Him. This results in social injustice in many forms.
There are many forms of injustices in the society, and all of them are important, however, the worst form is killing of innocent unborn babies in the million (60 million) worldwide, annually. Furthermore, although it is the worst form of injustice, it is legal in most countries. This shows that our present-day society is morally bankrupt.
Although laws and value-based education can reduce injustice, injustice will continue, until everyone loves God and sees His presence in every human being. This will happen when we meditate on the facts that we are all temples of God’s Holy Spirit, and Jesus died on the cross for each and every human being. Therefore, drawing people to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is the key to bringing social justice.
How should we treat the rich and arrogant? It is easy to take care of those who love us and those who are poor, humble, and needy, because we do not feel threatened by them. It is, however, difficult to love those we judge as arrogant, hypocrites, racists, and wealthy. We often feel threatened by them and envy them. We even blame them for all the evils in the world. However, they too are our brothers and sisters that have spiritual and emotional needs like everyone else. Furthermore, we have no right to judge them as bad because we too are sinners. Even those who do evil acts cannot be shunned. God helps everyone; especially those whom the world considers as hopeless. He is with them till the end, doing His best to bring them back to Him. Jesus, therefore, did not condemn the tax collectors who were wealthy and cheaters, or the prostitutes. He healed them of their sins and brought them back to God. Wealthy people have more suffering than the poor because their wealth takes them away from God. Poor people, on the other hand have many physical needs, but because of their humility they are spiritually rich and closer to God. We must therefore never forget the rich and the arrogant.
When we admonish someone, we point out the obvious fault or the evil they are doing in order to make them aware of the fault, repent for it, and come back to the truth. The idea is not to condemn them, but to help them correct the wrong they are doing. When we judge another person as evil, we try to read their mind and condemn them as evil. When we do this, it shows hate in our heart. In other words, devil (the accuser) condemns those who sin and makes them to despair. On the other hand, though God can judge us, because He is sinless, and can read our mind, does not condemn us, because He is love. On the contrary, He came into this world in human form and accepted the most painful death on the cross, to bring us forgiveness of sin through repentance; thus, saving us from condemnation that our sins bring.
Though, it is an act of love to admonish those in errors, only the spirit of love in our action will change them, because love is God. Furthermore, our peace does not depend on what others do; it depends on how we respond to their actions and to our relationship with God. If we respond in the spirit of Christ’s healing love, we will always have peace in our heart, because it involves putting our complete trust in God. It will also affect those in error positively because they will see and feel God’s love in our actions. Therefore, in addition to pointing their errors in a charitable way, encourage them by mentioning the good we see in them. This will encourage them to do better and help us overcome the resentment we have against them.
Do we judge others? It is common for us to judge people as obese, tall, smart, stupid, friendly, quiet, outgoing, hardworking, or lazy. Most these judgements are based on observations and are not necessarily with hateful intent. On the other hand, if we judge others as evil, selfish, bad, sinful, it is judgmental and hateful, because none of us is without sin, and we cannot read what is in their mind. Unfortunately, in the recent years we have people who viciously attack and cancel others as evil or racist for political reasons, while at the same time they advocate the worst atrocity of abortion.
IX. WORSHIP GOD
How to worship in spirit and in truth? Many of us worship God through our prayers, songs of praise and sacrificial offerings in an effort to thank and please God. But God desires mercy, and a humble and contrite heart, which results from worshiping God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). To worship in spirit and in truth is to bring our spotless spirit to God and make an unconditional (truthful) offering of our life to him, as a thanksgiving (Eucharist) for all he has done for us. Unfortunately, we are incapable of making this offering because we are sinners. Therefore, Jesus, who is pure and sinless, on our behalf, made an offering of his body and blood on the cross, to the Father, by freely accepting the most painful death our sins inflicted on Him. The love Jesus expressed on the cross for us, makes our heart humble and contrite. This is a pleasing offering to God. Furthermore, Jesus made an offering of His eternal sacrifice under the appearance of bread and wine (Matthew 26:26-28) to the Father, as a thanksgiving (Eucharist), on the night before He died, and asks us to consume his sacrificial body and blood with a humble and contrite heart (1 Corinthian 11:29) so that we may have His life in us (John 6:51). Furthermore, He asks us to do this as often as possible so that His Spirit will always dwell in our heart (memory) (Luke 22:19). Furthermore, when the Holy Sacrifice of the mass is offered throughout the world, it fulfills Malachi’s prophesy (Malachi 1:11) which states, “from the rising of the sun to its setting, in every place a pure sacrifice will be fulfilled Furthermore, the reception of His body and blood is an intimate communion (1 Cor. 10:16) with Jesus, and the mass is the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 5:6) in which Christ unites with us.
At the Holy Sacrifice of the mass, we re-enter Jesus’ eternal sacrifice on the cross, which He offered to the Father the night before He died, to bring us forgiveness of sins through repentance. He asked us to offer this sacrifice as often as possible to keep His Spirit alive in our heart. Furthermore, He told us that unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we will not have life. We can enter His sacrifice, because it is infinite; and therefore, is present through all ages at all times. Therefore, the priest, in the person of Jesus (the high priest) offers this sacrifice at mass. We through our baptism and repentance for our sins can join Jesus during this offering. Paul tells us that we cannot share in His sacrificial meal unworthily, because in doing so we bring condemnation upon ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:27). We must therefore confess our sins and be truly repentant for them. In addition, if we have hated against anyone, we must first reconcile with them (Matthew 5: 23-24) before participating in offering.
How do we believe in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist? Since God made the Universe out of nothing, he can take any form He wants. For example, Moses Saw Him as a burning bush. Later on, He took a human form as Jesus. During Jesus’ discourse on eating His flesh and drinking His blood (John 6:51), he said, that the bread he gives is his flesh. After that some people stopped believing in Him. One of them was (Judas) who later betrayed Him (John 6:64) and walked away from the Lord’s Supper (John 14:30). The other apostles did not leave, although they probably did not fully understand, how the bread would be His flesh (John 6:51). They simply accepted it in faith, because they believed that Jesus had the Words of eternal life and was the Holy One from God (John 7: 68, 69).
To participate in the Lord’s Supper and receive his body and blood, is to have communion with Christ. This is what it really means to have personal relationship with Him. This is what we are made for. It makes us part of His family. Then His Father is our Father, His mother our mother and His house our house. Oneness with Christ brings us salvation because He is the only source of true goodness. Furthermore, Eucharist is the love of God made visible through his sacrifice on the cross
Although it is possible to have spiritual communion with the Lord in meditation and intense prayers, perfection of communion can only occur when there is, both physical and spiritual communion. Therefore, although the prophets and holy people of the Old Testament did have spiritual communion with God, God had to come in the physical person of Jesus to bring us salvation.
When we love someone, we are not content with mere phone conversation; we also desire physical communion, because we are both, physical and spiritual beings. Furthermore, holiness is not only spiritual but also physical; because God took physical form (in the person of Jesus) to make us holy; and, because expression of God’s love (by human beings) requires the physical acts. We, therefore, need both, spiritual and physical union with God. This union occurs when we receive the Holy Communion in a humble and contrite heart.
What is prayer? Prayer is communication with God, in which we listen to his voice and respond to it by our thoughts, words and actions. During prayer we can express our thankfulness to God for the love He expresses for us; our contrition for the hurt we caused Him by our selfishness; and our confidence in Him in times of trouble.
In our prayers we must meditate on God’s love and forgiveness for us, which He expressed by dying on the cross to compensate for offenses we committed against Him. This should help us to bring love and forgiveness in our heart for those who offend us. Our prayer should also be to make our joy, suffering and desire known to Him, because He is our best friend. It should also be a time to surrender our will to God and accept our total dependence on Him. Furthermore, it should also be a time to plan for further actions to do God’s will.
Our prayer can also be to petition God for favors. God already knows what is good for us and will do what is best for us. We must therefore trust Him and accept whatever he gives us. However, it is OK to persists in our prayer when we do not get what we asked for, as long as we leave the final decision to God. When we continue to pray, even when we do not get what we asked for, we express even stronger faith in God. This faith helps us to have peace and joy by making us aware of God’s love for us. Prayer is important for peace because prayer brings us in communion with God. In this communion we let His spirit permeate our heart. This makes us one in spirit with Him. This brings peace.
God is constantly speaking to our spirit. His voice is the ardent desire in our heart to unconditionally love others and be merciful and forgiving towards them. His yyytvoice is also the sense of comfort and consolation within our heart in times of trouble. We often fail to hear Him because the turmoil of the world distracts us. However, if we free our self of all distractions, we will hear Him and feel His love.
Is there difference between God of the new and Old Testament? Some people feel that God may not be as loving as we think, because, in the Old Testament He is often portrayed as violent, jealous, and vengeful. It is, however, important to remember that, although the authors of the Old Testament were divinely inspired, they wrote down the truth in the language of their times. For example, if they saw a person having seizures, they described them, as being possessed by demons. Similarly, when they saw bad things happen to people who went against God, they described it as revenge or punishment from God. Jesus showed us the true face of God when he freely accepted the most painful and shameful death on the cross, for us, who betrayed him and hurt him; so that we may be forgiven of our sins and receive eternal life. He showed us that God is humble, merciful, all-forgiving Father who never condemns us or gives up on us.
How do we recognize the presence of God? God is love, and Love is a spirit. Love therefore cannot be seen. Love, however, can be experienced through acts of love. The following are some examples. Soldiers who carry enemy combatants on their shoulders for medical care. People who stay faithful to their marriage vows although their spouses have hurt and betrayed them. People who go out of their way and even put their life on the line to help those who have hurt them. People who give away everything, including their own desires, and go to countries that are devoid of basic sanitation and comfort in order to bring the good news of God’s love for them. We can also experience the presence of God when we ponder the infinite sacrifice God made for us on the cross and reenter it at the Holy Sacrifice of the mass. We find His Spirit within our heart if we just stayed still and looked deep into our heart. He is there as our conscience that prompts us to sacrifice our own interest and reach out to those around us. He is there as our faith, which enables us to see good in our self and in others; and gives us the surety that in the end love will always prevail.
X. FORGIVE
To be forgiven means to be cleansed from the stain of sin. To remove the stain of sin, we must reject sin and embrace God. This requires true repentance, and a firm commitment to never sin again. It also requires we love one another as God has loved us. We will then forgive others by bringing them healing through our acts of pure love.
In order to bring us repentance, Jesus shows us true love through his sacrifice on cross. The good thief on the cross, next to Jesus, saw it, and repented for his sins.
To forgive is not only to give up any claim or resentment we have against our offenders; but to wipe away their offenses (which is to heal their spirit) by bringing a change in their heart (repentance) through our expression of sacrificial love towards them. Jesus did this by dying for us on the cross. Jesus, therefore, tells us to love our enemies, help those who hurt us, pray for our persecutors (Luke 6: 27-36), and forgive without limit. If we do not forgive each of our offenders from our heart (Matt. 18, 35) and sue them (1Cor. 6:6) we do not have His Spirit in our heart. Furthermore, it is better to be wronged, than to sue others.
When we sinned against God, we rejected the life he gave us. This brought us death. God, however, did not give up on us. He lowered himself to take a human form in Jesus and accepted the most painful death to bring us life. During his suffering and death Jesus forgave his persecutors (Luke 23:34) and was concerned about the suffering they would bring upon themselves by their sins rather than his life own suffering (Luke 23:28). We too must reach out to our offenders, stoop down to them, and bring them healing, because the stain of sin in their heart is more harmful to them than the hurt, they caused us. Most of us have great difficulty forgiving others, although we know that it is the right thing to do. In such a situation we must remember that we are sinners who need God’s forgiveness. We must meditate on the passion of Christ and at each stage remember the suffering He bore to bring us forgiveness. We must keep in mind that only love can heal wounds and bring peace. If we still have difficulty forgiving others, we should do it deliberately out of obedience to God’s command. We can do this by offering special prayers for our offender’s intentions and go out of our way to do something good for them. This opens our heart to God’s love and makes forgiveness part of our life. If this does not work, surrender our life totally to God by asking Him to control it; and in our heart, accept whatever God wills, without knowing what it is. Furthermore, we must remember that dwelling on the hurt is more harmful to us than the hurt itself, because it eats us up from within with hate and revenge.
We should forgive without a limit. If we do not forgive each of our offenders from our heart (Matt. 18, 35) we do not have love of God in our heart. When people hurt us, we feel we have lost something. This makes us vengeful and hateful. We demand compensation to take revenge and get back something in exchange for what we have lost. However, if we realize that God's life in us is our only true treasure (which no one can take away from us), and that everything else is temporary (and therefore worthless), we will never feel we have lost anything and have resentment. Furthermore, if we believe in Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we will want to show the same mercy to others.
Punishment for offenses: Some people feel that if they forgive their offenders, they will get away with the wrong they have done and continue to hurt others. However only love can change hearts and makes us good. When people avoid evil because they are afraid of the consequences, they have truly not changed. They, therefore, will continue to do wrong whenever they have an opportunity. On the other hand, when people avoid evil, because their hearts are changed, they will not do evil even when they can safely do it. Some people may need punishment to open their eyes to reality. But it is up to God and the people He has appointed as authorities who need to deal with that. The aim of punishment should be to improve them, and not to take revenge or receive compensation. Furthermore, punishments should be given with compassion. Merely dumping the offenders in jail has no benefit. They should be rehabilitated and made to work and pay back what they owe.
Can we be forgiven, if we refuse to forgive others? To be forgiven is to be healed of all evil in our heart. through contrition. Therefore, we must get rid of hate and revenge from our heart before we seek forgiveness for our own offenses against others.
Are wars ever won? Although people go to war as a means of self-defense, wars can never bring us freedom from sin; and freedom from sin is absolutely needed to bring us peace and joy. Furthermore, because war involves deliberate violence and killing of human beings, which goes against our human spirit, it causes severe physical, mental, and spiritual trauma to soldiers and the victim’s war. In addition, it perpetuates evil and hate, instead, of eliminating it. Jesus, therefore, did not fight against the evil of slavery and persecution of his people by the Romans. Instead, He redeemed us from the slavery to sin, through his teachings, forgiveness, compassion, and sacrifice on the cross. Furthermore, when soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Jesus told Peter to put away his sword. Therefore, Christians did not fight back when the Romans persecuted and killed them. Furthermore, they knew the suffering and death they were facing were nothing compared to the eternal peace and joy that awaited them. This was great witness to Romans and other pagans, who later on embraced Christianity.
How to love our enemies and overcome hate? 1)Remember that we are sinners, and our offenders are our brothers and sisters with God as our father. 2) Look at the cross and see how Jesus forgave and healed us by dying on the cross for our sins. 3)Surrender our will to God without holding back anything and pray for deliverance from hate and revenge. 4)Out of pure obedience to God do something that is an act of sacrificial love for our offenders.
When others hurt us, they hurt themselves more than they hurt us, because, by hurting us they hurt their own soul, which deprives them of peace and joy. Mercy is to set aside our own pain and suffering, and bring healing to those who have offended us, through our acts of sacrifice on their behalf. Initially they will be suspicious that we have an ulterior motive. However, if we persist in our goodness without any expectation, our love for them may heal them, by making them repentant. To have mercy, however, is not to go along with the wrong others are doing, because the wrong they are doing will destroy their spirit. Therefore, we must point out their errors in a charitable way without judgmental comments.
XI. PROTECT ALL HUMAN LIVES
What makes all human beings equal? Although our size, age, physical appearance, skin color, abilities, mental status, and intelligence are not equal, we are all equal, because our soul is created in the image of God, and His Spirit dwells within our soul to give it life. This also makes every human being the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Human soul begins at conception, because at conception the life of a new human being begins. Therefore, every human life from moment of conception is very sacred and must be treated with greatest respect. To do otherwise is to disrespect and reject God. To disrespect and kill unborn babies, who are the most venerable and innocent human beings, therefore, is the worst form of crime. A human embryo or fetus is a being (separate living entity) with human genes and human life. An unborn baby, therefore, is a human being. Since killing a human being is murder (USC 18,51:1111), abortion is murder. There are no exceptions for murder in the USC system. Therefore, reproductive rights or privacy become mute points. Furthermore, right to life takes precedence over all other rights because without life there are no rights.
Why is abortion the worst crime against humanity? Our creator gave mother the privilege to provide safe sanctuary in her womb to her developing baby as a sign of her deep love for her baby. Similarly, doctors have the vocation to heal and protect life. Therefore, when a mother and a doctor collude and kill a baby it is the gravest atrocity in human history.
It is estimated that 60 million innocent human beings are destroyed each year in the world by abortion. They are killed by burning them to death with chemicals or by tearing them apart or by sucking their brains and then crushing their skulls. It has killed more human beings, than all the wars combined in human history. Those who promote, and support politicians who promote and support it, become participants in the worse crime against humanity.
Most people realize that abortion is wrong; however, they do not want to force their belief on others. However, protecting the life of innocent human beings is our civic duty, and has nothing to do with our belief. We have laws against murder, although it is a religious belief that murder is wrong. In this case we do not say that we are imposing our belief on others. Others argue that a woman has a right to choose to not have a baby. They call this, “reproductive rights.” However, when a mother seeks abortion, she already has reproduced a baby; therefore, reproductive right is not an issue.
Killing of innocent unborn baby can never be justified. Some people justify abortion because the mother's health or life is in danger. Since every human life is precious, every effort must be made to treat both. Furthermore, rape or incest does not diminish the humanity of the unborn babies. Therefore, abortion can’t be justified. Many people want abortion to be legal and done by physicians because the mother could be hurt or killed in a back-alley abortion. This is similar to saying that since murderers could get hurt or killed in the process of killing their victims, we should make it legal for them get professionals to do the killing.
Right to life is the single most critical issue to humans, because without life we have no rights. Therefore, those who promote brutal killing of innocent babies, and then talk about other human rights have no truth in them. Furthermore, it is even worse when they try to justify abortion on the grounds of privacy. How can privacy be more important than an innocent person’s life?
An unborn baby is totally separate from the mother. Though a fetus is attached to the mother for nutrition and life support, it is genetically and physically totally different from the mother. As human beings we take care of our children, especially when they are small and totally helpless. Even animals do that. Therefore, argument about forced servitude is a mute issue. Furthermore, it is not legal to kill a family member because he/she lives in your house and is very burdensome.
Unfortunately, many politicians who claim to be devout Christian’s support and promote it. There is no greater treachery and villainy than this crime. It goes to the very heart of our existence in which our mother bears and protects her baby. Furthermore, without life there are no rights. Therefore, right to life, which is a right given to each human being by God, and all other rights are based on it. When we deny this right by promoting those who support abortion we go against God. Furthermore, abortion and destruction human embryos is the worst from of discrimination against the unborn. Furthermore, just as slavery was legal because selfishness had blinded us of the truth, today we have abortion because of selfishness.
Does capital punishment deter violence? Capital punishment is a chosen to deter others from committing violent crimes and to make criminals pay back for the crime they committed by their own life. Because, this form of punishment involves killing human beings, in imposing this punishment the society performs the same violent act it is trying to deter. In addition, it teaches the society that violence can be treated with violence. This increases violence in the society. Furthermore, since God is the author of all life, no one has the right or authority to kill another human being. In the old days, when it was not possible to securely imprison violent criminals, capital punishment was accepted as a form of self-defense. However, nowadays, when it is possible to securely isolate violent criminals from the society, there is absolutely no justification for capital punishment.
What are Euthanasia and suicide? Euthanasia and suicide are violence against human life. It is, therefore, a crime against God and humanity. Some people choose them because they feel hopeless or want to end their pain and suffering. However, irrespective of how bad our situation is, we can always find hope, because God loves us; and there is no greater joy, than to be loved by God. This joy will overshadow our pain and suffering in this life and bring us eternal life that is free of pain suffering. Furthermore, we can give our pain and suffering redemptive value by quietly accepting it as a sacrifice on behalf of others, so that the humility this sacrifice generates in us, opens our heart to accept God’s graces for us and those dear to us. Pain and suffering accepted in this spirit brings us endurance, endurance brings us virtue and virtue brings us hope. Many people feel that to live with pain, suffering and severe disabilities is undignified. However, our true dignity comes from God's love for us, and His life in us; and not from our social, economic or health status. Furthermore, human beings who are terminally ill or totally disabled, are also contributors to the society, because they bring out the spirit of love in the people who take care of them. This enriches the society by making it more compassionate and caring.
When a person is in coma, that person is still a person. We, therefore, must treat him/her the same way we would treat anyone else. To withhold nutrition or water or any other form of necessary care is euthanasia. Similarly, when there is a reasonable chance for cure, to withhold treatment is euthanasia.
XII. KEEP MARRIAGE HOLY
What is marriage? Marriage is a covenant of love between a man and a woman, in which each forgoes their own life to form a new life with their spouse. It is also union of two souls, because the soul is the essence of a human being and makes us capable of expressing God’s unconditional love. Because giving of oneself to another is an act of this love, and God is love, marriage is God’s love expressed in human relationship. God, therefore, is the binding force in the marriage. Because God is love and He is unchanging, this covenant is permanent. It mirrors God’s union with us, in which He put His Spirit in our heart. Furthermore, it is also a precursor of our own perfect union with God when we enter His Kingdom.
What is the physiology of marriage? Since life is physiological, to unite lives in marriage husband and wife must unite their physiologies. The only physiology in which two human beings can unite to form a union of life, is reproductive physiology. Since only a man and a woman have complementary reproductive organs to complete this physiological union, union of life can occur only between a man and a woman. Therefore, biologically (scientifically) marriage is only possible between a man and a woman; and union of reproductive physiology is the hallmark of marriage. In addition, through marriage a man and a women become complete, because without their physiological union in the reproductive process, human race will become extinct. Furthermore, just as, in the formation of a new compounds, two other compounds of opposite poles combine, so also, in the formation a new human being, two people of opposite sex unite.
Since the physiological purpose of reproductive union is to bring eternal joy 🥲 new human lives into the world and raising them in a family, reproductive (sexual) union is an act of love. When this act is outside marriage, the couple are abusing each other’s bodies by uniting their physiology without uniting their lives in marriage. In addition, they are being totally irresponsible to the potential children that can resultt from their act, by not having a full family unit for them. Paul therefore tells us that adulterers and fornicators will not inherit Heaven (1 Cor. 6:9).
In marriage neither party can bring forth a new human being by themselves; so that each complements the other to make one unit of life (Mark 10:8). This makes it a one-to-one relationship. Furthermore, since love in marriage is total giving of oneself to the other, it cannot be divided. For these reasons, one man marries only one woman, and one woman marries only one man.
Love and conjugal union: To love is to surrender our own will, sacrifice our own interest and unconditionally seek the good of others. Marriage, therefore, is a mission in which we surrender our own will to God by unconditionally accepting our spouse under all conditions, sacrifice our own interest and serve our spouse. This mirrors God’s mission for His people when He surrendered His will to the Father by taking a human form, sacrificed His own interest by accepting the most hurtful death on the cross to compensate for the sins we committed against Him. Furthermore, He serves us by healing us of our sins, comforting us in our brokenness and feeding us with His own sacrificial body and blood. In God’s communion with us, God shares His body and blood with us. In our communion with our spouse, we share our reproductive physiology with our spouse to form a common life, and freely accept children as gifts from God. When we do this, conjugal union becomes an act of love.
Is contraception against humanity? Contraception is to prevent conception of a human life. It is therefore against humanity. It is also against women’s health, because it interferes with the normal female reproductive physiology and hormonal balance.
Sexual union between husband and wife is act self-giving love, because it is physiologically a reproductive act. Contraception, therefore, by eliminating the very purpose of such a union, removes love out of it; making it a purely a selfish act, in which one uses the other for pure pleasure. It is like eating food, while putting a barrier in the stomach so that the nutritive value of the food is eliminated. Those who use it, therefore, abuse their bodies and convert marriage from a sacrificial and holy union to a selfish and sterile union. Furthermore, by going against the natural physiology, they are going against the creator of the physiology. Furthermore, when sex is used purely for pleasure, it makes those involved in the act, objects to derive pleasure from. This leads to divorce, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, pornography, and other forms of deviant and perverse sexual acts.
Children are God’s blessing (Psalm 127:3-5) and childbearing is a saving grace to women through which she may be saved (1 Tim. 2:15). Contraception, therefore, is rejection of God’s blessings. Furthermore, since contraception is against life, it is rejection of God's gift of life. This makes people numb when they destroy human embryos during IVF or kill their babies in the womb through abortion. It also increases divorce, because without true love it is difficult to sustain marriage. This creates a secular culture devoid of true love, leading to abortion, euthanasia, and murder. It also creates a culture that makes human being commodities for sexual pleasure.
Same sex couple do not have complementary reproductive organs or physiologies. Therefore, true sexual intercourse or marriage is impossible for them. Furthermore, any form of sexual activity which does not conform to physiological purpose of sexual union is perversion of the sexual act. Same sex activity is like using a lock to open a lock or trying to light a bulb using wires of same polarity. To get involved in this activity, therefore, is a grave disorder which is harmful to mind, body and spirit. People with tendencies to perform such acts are children of God and our brothers and sisters. We must therefore help them to overcome this disorder trough love and psychological treatment.
Adultery and fornication involve sexual union outside marriage. In both these situations the couples unite their bodies without uniting their life in marriage. These acts therefore lack true love. In addition, in adultery there is blatant betrayal of one’s spouse.
Masturbation is a non-procreative act that uses procreative element for self-gratification. In this act, therefore, procreative function is misused. Furthermore, this act is self-centered. This leads to anxiety, worries and self-pity.
Attempts to change one’s biological sex is a grave disorder. If a man thinks he is a tiger, he cannot be a tiger. Similarly, if a man thinks he is a woman, he can never be a woman. Our manhood or womanhood is genetically written on all the 37 trillion cells of our body; and it cannot be changed by law, medications, or surgery. To mutilate human beings through medications and so-called gender-affirming procedure is a crime on part of the physicians.
What is wrong with divorce? Since God (love) is the binding force in marriage, it is permanent; and no human organization can dissolve it (Matthew 19:4-6). The only exception Matthew points out to, is, for illicit or unlawful union. Salvation comes from believing in the love God expressed for us on the cross and putting His love into action in our life. Therefore, those who honestly believe in Jesus’ sacrifice, which he made for us, who are unfaithful to Him, will stay faithful to their marriage vows even when there is hurt and infidelity. Furthermore, since God is the binding force in marriages, divorce is rejection of God. Remarriage after divorce therefore is adultery (Luke 16:18). Divorce produces hate, bitterness, hurt, hopelessness, revenge, and anger. It leads to eternal unrest in the spirits of the couple and affects everyone around them. Some justify divorce based on what we call “bad marriage”, and even say that there was no real marriage. However, since we are all sinners, no one makes a perfect commitment during the wedding. However, since God who is the binding force in the union, fills in, what is missing in our commitment. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16) because it destroys our soul.
How to heal a suffering marriage? If we believe that God can heal us, we can be sure that our inequities that prevent us from getting along with our spouse can be overcome. We must know that through marriage we participate in Christ’s mission of unconditionally serving our spouse through sacrifice. Furthermore, we must look at our spouse, not as our adversary, but as our better half, to whom we have committed out entire life to. Furthermore, our spouse in a child of God and temple of the Holy Spirit. We must, therefore, have greatest love and respect for our spouse. Therefore, when we have an argument with our spouse, we must exercise the generosity, understanding, forgiveness and the compassion of Christ towards our spouse. We will then find hope in hopeless situations, love where there is hate, peace where there is discord, and see the face of God in the pain and suffering of our spouse. This means that, if we let true love govern our thoughts and actions, we will love and forgive our spouse unconditionally. This will free us of hate and heal our relationship with our spouse.
Sometimes, the stresses of marriage may seem unbearable, especially if our spouse is alcoholic, abusive, mentally ill, or unfaithful. In such situations, we can stay faithful to our commitment; by remembering, how Jesus compensated for our wrong doings, when we were unfaithful to him and wronged him. Furthermore, when there is an argument with our spouse, we should surrender our will to God by not pushing our own opinion, staying quiet, and in our heart accepting whatever God wills. Then God will bring about a right resolution to the problem. Furthermore, we should continually pray and make sacrifices for the conversion of our spouse and ourselves. It may take a long time to bring healing to our spouse or our spouse may be unresponsive to love. However, like God, who never gives up on us, we too must never give up on our spouse. We must remember that true love comes only from God. We must, therefore, hang on to His love to find comfort in Him, and be courageous. In the end, when we die accepting God’s life, His peace and joy will dwell with us for all eternity.
What is wrong with artificial human reproduction? The very essence of human existence is love because we are created in the image of God (who is love) and are a product of God’s love expressed through our parents’ union of love. Conception, therefore, is the fruit of marital love. Artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, and cloning procedures, therefore, dehumanize human reproduction, by taking the act of unitive love out of it and converting it into a purely cellular process. This devalues the understanding of procreative love in marriage, thereby devaluing the meaning of marriage itself. This causes grave hurt to the institution of marriage which is the very foundation of society. Furthermore, unitive love, which is conjugal union in marriage, is inseparable from conception, because conjugal union’s only physiological purpose is conception; and conjugal union and conception are various stages of a reproductive process. Therefore, to have one without the other is to go against Love.
During in-vitro fertilization and cloning procedures, lethal violence is committed against many human beings, who (as embryos) are discarded. Some of these procedures also deprive the resultant human beings the dignity of knowing their origin (biological parents), causing them grave injustice and psychological trauma.
Biologically, our humanity is determined by our genetic makeup and not by our stage of development. Furthermore, an embryo is a stage in human development; just as infant, toddler, youth and adult are. Therefore, to justify killing of frozen embryos, because they are doomed to die from being discarded, is like killing prisoners in the concentration camp for research, because they are doomed to die.
What is wrong with extracting stem cells from live or killed human embryos? Human embryos and fetuses are human beings because they are a distinct living entity with human life. Destruction of human beings in their embryonic and fetal stages of life therefore is murder and gross violation of human right. Furthermore, 60 million are killed annually, and the killing is legal. It is, therefore, the worst atrocity in human history. Therefore, to use cell lines or tissue from these victims for research or for making vaccines is to have total regards for their humanity.
XIII, RULES F LOVE
1) To fall in love is to make the decision to unconditionally seek the good of others. When this decision is put into action it becomes an act of love.
2) Even those who do evil and hurt us are precious children of God, and our brothers and sisters. We must, therefore, love and serve them with all our heart.
3) Find good in others and help them to make it grow by making them aware of it.
4) Serve others without expecting anything in return. The reward for acts of love, is to have the honor of serving human beings.
5) Those who love, see God in everyone; and in turn become the face of God to others.
7) Seek nothing except to serve God and others; and desire nothing except to be one in spirit with God.
8) Love is the only weapon against evil. The more we are hurt, the more we must love those who hurt us; because the more they hurt us, the more they need healing (through love).
9) Peace in our heart does not depend on what happens to us, it depends on how much we trust God. We can trust God if we internalize the God’s love expressed on the cross.
10) If we do not forgive our enemies and persecutors as Jesus did on the cross, we will be devoid of peace and joy because we will be in a state of hate.
11) An idea which aims to severe others unconditionally, is an idea from God. Pursue it fearlessly to the end.
12) Think only of the love God has shown you and ignore the hurt others have caused you; because the joy that comes from being loved by God, nullifies all suffering.
13) Our love for God is equal to our love for those who hurt us the most. To love our enemy is to cleanse their offenses against us through our acts of sacrifice for them.
14) Love involves sacrifice, and sacrifice causes pain. Therefore, saints suffer a lot, but through their suffering they bring joy to others.
15) Hate hurts us more than the hurt that provoked the hate.
16) The greatest hate crime is to judge and condemn others; because it is character assassination; which is worse than bodily hurt.
17) Law without love is lifeless.
18) Only love can heal us and conquer death because true love never dies.
19) A true friendship is a friendship forever because true love never dies.
20)Enlightenment is to realize that true love is the only truth.
22) True love has no limit. We can, therefore, never love enough.
23) Always think about the good others have done to us; ignore the hurt they have caused us. If we must say something about others, say only what is good; this will take away hate from our heart and bring us peace.
24) It does not matter what you own or what position you hold, because in the end they will all be gone. We must therefore, cling to God, because His love will never die.
26) Surrender your will to God. Accept it even without knowing what it is; and have full confidence that it is the best for you.
27). Never dwell on the negative in others; look for goodness in them. This will bring you peace.
29) A person with simple faith in God’s sacrificial love knows God, while a person who trust in complicated theology makes pride his God.
30) It is our actions, but also what is in our heart, which determines our goodness.
31). It is good not to be perfect; because if we are perfect there is no room for improvement. That means we are dead. Similarly, it is good that we are sinners; because if we were not, we would not need Jesus.
33) Our worst enemy is the evil within our own heart because it takes us away from God. To eradicate evil, we must be in love with God.
34) The greatest war we ever fight will be fought within our heart. It is the war against our hate, selfishness, and pride. We can win this war only if we surrender our will completely to God.
35) Only the grace of God can change others and make them better; we cannot change them. We can, however, play a role in changing them by making them aware of the good that is within them.
36) Selfishness makes us proud; and pride makes us stupid, by making us delusional about our own abilities. Love on the other hand makes us humble; and humility shows us reality; and reality makes us wise.
38) Never feel like a victim when we are hurt, because no one can take away our only true treasure, which is the love of God for us. Therefore. always be a healer, especially to those who hurt you.
39) If we trust God completely it is simple to love others, because then we will not be worried about our own interest.
45)Those who hate us do not win unless we hate them in return. When we retaliate with hate, we become our own enemy because hate will destroy us. On the other hand, if we counter evil with love, we will heal our sprit, and also that of our offender.
46) Motherhood is the most important assignment for women, because without motherhood we would cease to exist.
47) If we have complete trust in God’s love for us, what others say or do, and what happens around us will not affect our peace; because the love of God for us is our most precious possession, which no one can take it away from us.
XIV. PRAY
What is prayer? Prayer is, talking to God. It can be a conversation in which we share our joys and sorrows with him, confess our sins, seek advice, thank him for a favor granted, ask him for a favor, or express our desire to come closer to him. God always has an answer to our question. He usually talks to us through our conscience, in which he may remind us of a scripture passage. To hear Him we must focus on the cross, because through the cross the reality of God’s love is revealed. To talk to Him, we must avoid noise and distraction.
Sometimes he may delay giving us answer. The best way to hear him is to be humble and contrite, because to be proud and impenitent is to ignore Him. Furthermore, when we petition Him for a favor, he may not give us exactly what we asked for, or may delay granting us the favor, however, he will always give us when and what is best for us. Therefore, if we get opposite of what we asked for, we must accept it in faith.
A prayer
Father! You are the desire of my heart and the source of my life. Thank you for creating me, giving me your life, and making me a member of your family. I am sorry for not trusting you, seeking self-interest, and depending on money and power to protect me. I am sorry when I chose revenge and hate to solve my problems, rather than choosing love. There are many temptations in the world that tend to take me away from you. However, you protect me and guide me against evil. Through your Son You have put your joy into my heart, so that even during suffering, I have peace. I know that with you as my father, there is nothing to fear. I can sleep at night, knowing that you will always defend me against evil. To accept your love by living your life is my only desire. Your love is, everything that is good., and all the riches of the world are nothing compared to it. Therefore, if I lose everything that come from this world, I have lost nothing.
Father! You always hear my prayer. Even before I have thought of my petition, you know it, and come to my help. When it looks like nothing is happening, you are at work doing what is best for everyone. Through Your Son Jesus, you showed me true love, when he gave me your own life and compensated for my wrong doings on the cross. When I rebelled against you in my selfishness, you were not concerned about your own feelings, but were concerned about the hurt I was causing myself by going against you. When I hated you (by hating other human beings), you maintained your love for me; when I insulted you (by insulting others), you humbled yourself and came into my life in order to help me; when I spat on you and mocked you (by speaking ill about others and ridiculing them), you gave me self-esteem by making me your son/daughter; when I hurt you (by laying heavy burden on others and taking them to trial), you took the burden of my sins upon yourself and healed my wounds; and when I killed you (by condemning others in my heart), you gave me your life.
Father! I want to be pure, holy and all forgiving, like you. I want to grow in truth and holiness and have your peace and joy. To do your will is my only desire because you are Love. Take my will and make it yours. Help me to cleanse myself of selfishness, so that I may accept the gift of your life to me; and make a pleasing offering of my life to you, by seeking always to serve others in love.
A hymn
O my God, you are love; you are the joy of my heart
In your love I will find eternity
You are my life’s only hope and desire,
In you alone there is truth and life
Only in your love can I find love for others,
Because you are the only source of love
When I wonder off in the darkness of selfishness
Your shining light leads me back into love,
When life’s challenges put doubts in my heart
You show me your face in your selfless love,
Lead me Lord to the life of your love,
So that your love will be reflected through my life
I need not know where I am going or what I am called to do, except to know that I am following you unreservedly.
I fear no woe except my rejection of your love,
So, strengthen my faith, through your undying faithfulness,
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your sacrificial life.
Which you offer us through your heavenly banquet.
