Blip No 100!

This isn't my usual sort of blip. Normally I write few words but this time I want to give you a view into another side of me and my life.

What inspired me to pick this particular photo was my reading the Diary of St. Faustina this morning and it occured to me to take a photo of the Divine Mercy image that I have on a table beside my bed. I can say with certainty that this saints diary is among the most influential, life-changing, mind-blowing books that I have ever read.

Faith is something very difficult to talk about. For many non-believers, faith is a form of insanity, a disease of the mind resulting from years of false indoctrination. Faith is an inner conviction that's very hard to explain. If I ever lost my faith, the bottom would fall out of my world and I'm not sure I'd ever recover. I don't want to give the impression that I'm a holy Joe who looks down his nose at lowly sinners. I believe we're all sinners, maybe not to our minds but compared to the infinite holiness of God, we certainly are.

The Christian life is a very difficult and often painful road but a life lived for God brings immense peace to the soul. And that's why I haven't been at peace for quite a while now. I haven't avoided those things which keep God at arms length (ie sin). I haven't prayed enough and lived to serve God. But I've made up my mind to turn back to Jesus Christ, change my ways and become less selfish and more loving.

In the past, when I did make a real effort to do God's will, I experience a joy and peace that nothing but God can give and I want to return to that path and regain what I've lost and more importantly make an effort not to offend God with my selfish ways.

I haven't always had strong faith and I consider it to be a great gift from God. Like many teenagers, I drifted away from Christ and the sacraments of the Church and walked down several spiritual dead-ends. After a trip to Lourdes in 2004, I received a truly amazing gift of faith that has had a revolutionary impact on my life and world-view.

I don't mean to come across as preachy and I know this is a big turn off for a lot of people. But I would like to finish off by saying that what St. Faustina's diary has taught me is that God's mercy is without limit and that not a single person on this planet is beyond forgiveness no matter how sinful a life they may have lived. God's mercy is greater that our sins and to deny this is an insult to the infinte Mercy of God. We all need to leave the darkness and come into the Light of Christ and experience His love and peace.

[End of Sermon]

I told you this blip was going to be different! :-)