"For thus says the Lord God: Look! I myself will search for my sheep and examine them. As a shepherd examines his flock while he himself is among his scattered sheep, so I will examine my sheep. I will deliver them from every place where they were scattered on the day of dark clouds. I will lead them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and every inhabited place in the land. In good pastures I will pasture them; on the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down on good grazing ground; in rich pastures they will be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest...oracle of the Lord God." (Ez 34, 11-15)
In the life of St. Augustine, we see a great sinner become a great saint. As he writes the Confessions, he was conscious of the fact that he sinned and that it was only by the mercy of God that he was saved from evil. Thus, he came to realize that evil resulted from the misuse of his own free will.
During this Lenten Season, as our Lord reaches out His hand to us, allow Him to carry you to those higher places where He can nourish your soul. Take time to meet Him in prayer; place all your cares before Him and seek His Face.
God knows our soul and the level of sanctity that He desires for us. The only thing we need to do is to love Him and cooperate with the graces He is desires to give us. God will do the rest. The more we love Him, the more He will bestow His grace upon our soul.
This Lent, let us desire to come closer to God and love Him with all our heart.
"But what do I love when I love my God? Not material beauty or beauty of a temporal order; not the brilliance of earthly light, so welcome to our eyes; not the sweet melody of harmony and song; not the fragrance of flowers, perfumes, and spices...it is not these that I love when I love my God. And yet, when I love him, it is true that I love a light of a certain kind, a voice, a perfume, a food...but they are of a different kind that I love in my inner self, when my soul is bathed in light that is not bound by space; when it listens to sound that never dies away; when it tastes food that is never consumed by eating; when it clings to an embrace from which it is not severed by fulfillment of desire. This is what I love when I love my God."
~ St. Augustine
A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone in comparison-your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. Jesus said, "Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!"
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