I know to whom I belong. I am the Lord’s and in the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta, “ I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”
I am fiercely, wholly, and extravagantly loved by Him.
It is incomprehensible when I try to comprehend what exactly this type of love means for me and my life. This leads to a struggle. How do I love Him who loves me so much? Him who gives me so much?
The greatest gift we have is the Eucharist. It is the source and summit of our faith. Jesus loves us so much that he gives himself to us in the Eucharist to spiritually nourish us on our journey. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that “Christ has not left us without his bodily presence in this our pilgrimage, but he joins us to himself in this sacrament in the reality of his body and blood.”
That is worth reading again.
I can physically be united with Jesus through the reception of the Eucharist.
I can love Jesus, and be loved by Him in receiving the Eucharist. Is there any better way to love Jesus than to be physically united with Him?
If I have learned one thing in life it is that relationships take work and must be intentionally nurtured. If you’re like me, your time is often in high demand, and there never seem to be enough hours in the day. Carving out quality time for the most important relationships in my life truly is an act of love.
I have found that daily scripture reading and a weekly hour of adoration provide the best way for me to spend some quality time with my number one person, Jesus.
Do you sometimes wonder where to start? There is never only one right way, but here are some suggestions. Prayerfully reflect on the daily blog entries brought to you by Bellator Society. Subscribe to the Blessed is She daily devotions sent straight to your inbox. Pick a book of the Bible and commit to reading a chapter a day.
I promise you won’t be disappointed with the fruits you will see from these endeavors. The Lord will show up and speak to you! There is no better way to encounter Jesus than by spending time in His physical presence through Adoration, and by encountering him in the living Word of the Scripture.
The Lord is great and worthy of our praise.
One of my favorite ways to pray is to sing songs of adoration, praise, and worship. I don’t claim to have an amazing voice, in fact, more than one child has told me to please stop singing as it hurts them. However, I find nothing lifts my soul quite like belting out my favorite praise songs on my Amazon worship list. If singing isn’t your jam, try praying the Psalms out loud. So often if our words fail us, we need only look to the beautiful words of Scripture to express the longings and desires of our hearts. Praising and singing words of affirmation to God about the truth of who He is moves my soul to the heights and opens up the floodgates of love within me.
As a parent, there is nothing quite as fulfilling as observing one of my children discovering a talent he or she has and then employing that gift in service to another.
I think it must warm the Heart of Jesus to watch us develop the charisms He has given each of us and then use those to share His love and build up the Kingdom of God. I like to think that each time I make a sacrifice, whether through my time, talent, or treasure, I am loving Jesus. When I make a gift of myself to others, I am not only loving them, but also loving and serving Christ.
The beautiful gift about loving Jesus, is that the more we strive to love him with our whole heart, the more our hearts are transformed by his love. The more we are transformed by His love, the better we are able to share that love with others. So how do I love Him who loves me so perfectly? I think the answer is to make love the center of my daily life, to ensure that all I think, say, and do is motivated by love. First love of Jesus, and then love of others. This is not a love based on pure emotion, but a love that requires me to step outside of myself, outside of my circumstances, and to truly seek and will the good of others. That is a beautiful love indeed.
