In merging your heart and mind with the heart and mind of the Higher Power, a oneness of purpose results, which only those who experience it can even dimly realize. Priceless beyond all earth’s rewards is that union. There is no bond of union on earth to compare with the union between a human soul and God. You should strive for a union between your purposes in life and the purposes of the Divine Principle directing the universe. It has everything we alcoholics need to arrest our illness. Its value has been proved by the success it has had in helping thousands of alcoholics to recover. It has taken from these what it wanted and combined them into the program which it considers best suited to the alcoholic mind and which will best help the alcoholic to recover. The Alcoholics Anonymous program has borrowed from medicine, psychiatry, and religion. By living a spiritual life, by asking God for help, I have learned to love, care for and feel compassion for all my fellow men, and to feel joy in a world where, before, I felt only fear. God, as I understand Him, has given me answers to the whys that kept me drinking for twenty years. Spirituality was what I had been seeking. When new in the program, I couldn’t comprehend living the spiritual aspect of the program, but now that I’m sober, I can’t comprehend living without it. “Almighty and eternal God, thank you for loving me so tenderly.The spiritual life is not a theory. Draw near and let him love you, renew your strength, and give you just what you need to soar on eagles’ wings (Isaiah 40:31). The Lord of the universe is your personal friend. God’s loving invitation echoes in Jesus’ simple words from today’s Gospel: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). But right now, he’s asking you to lay down your burdens at his feet and let him, the eternal God, strengthen and comfort you. That’s all part of his glorious magnificence. He has the resources to take care of everything. Your loving Father knows all your concerns. In the hustle and bustle, what have you forgotten to plan or do? How will you get through this first Christmas without a departed loved one? How can you keep those prickly relatives from offending each other during Christmas dinner? Perhaps at this point in Advent, you are feeling worried or weary. No matter how weak we feel, he delights in encouraging us. He knows us inside and out, and he never tires of listening to our thoughts and prayers, our desires and disappointments. This is wonderful news! Even when we feel hidden and disregarded, we are infinitely precious to our God. So his knowledge includes everything about us. But Isaiah reminds us that because our Lord is the eternal God, he can see our past, present, and future at once. After all, “His knowledge is beyond scrutiny” (Isaiah 40:28). In today’s first reading, Isaiah contemplates the immensity of the One “who has created these things” (Isaiah 40:26), and he comes to an unexpected conclusion: “He gives strength to the fainting for the weak he makes vigor abound” (40:29).Įncountering our Creator’s immensity might naturally make us feel that he is aloof and far removed from our lives. We might have witnessed long-estranged brothers embrace or gazed at a newborn baby. Maybe we looked at the starry heavens on a clear night or watched ocean breakers surge onto the shore. We’ve all likely caught glimpses of God’s great power. Not a subscriber? Subscribe for only $12 (Save $4). Subscribers: Please log in to view the Mass readings. DAILY MASS READINGS AVAILABLE WITH A SUBSCRIPTIONĪccess daily Mass readings, meditations and articles, as well as special resources, by becoming a subscriber or logging in.
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