Thoughts encourageing our love of Jesus

47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them:b 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.” Luke 6:47-49 CSB

In fact, we know by experience that we are not meeker and gentler towards others, except when we feel an increased tenderness towards Jesus Christ.
But since we cannot constantly experience this tenderness, we must prepare ourselves, in our mental prayer, to bear the crosses that may befall us. This was the practice of the saints; and so they were ever ready to receive with patience and meekness injuries, blows, and chastisements. When we meet with an insult from our neighbor, unless we have frequently trained ourselves beforehand, we shall find it extremely difficult to know what course to take, in order not to yield to the force of anger;

There are storms and troubles that affect us, that are from our own making. THere are others that come because we believe something that is hard for others to understand. Either way, the storms will shake and rattle us to the point where we think we are going to collapse.

It is not a matter of if the storms come, it is a matter of when they will come.

ANd I don’t care how strong your personality is, your pateince, and your endurance, if you aren’t planted in something, if you are not surrounded by something, then you will fall, and fail.

Building a house on roeck means that the supports go down into the rock, and therefore the supports are firmly in place. THe building may shake and grown, but what holds it together is stronger than than the buildings materials itself – the strength is in the rock it is built on and surrounded by.

DeLigouri saw this as well. When we are surrounded by conflict, but those who lack tenderness, our natural strength would rail against it. But strengthed by the tenderness of Jesus, we can work from that strength, we can love those who opress us, we can bear our crosses, we can even deal with our chastisements, whether they are valid or not.

This is what it means to be in Christ… and it is our precious hope.

Let us encourage each other to hold to this – knowing He will hold to us. Amen

Alphonsus de Liguori, The Holy Eucharist, ed. Eugene Grimm, The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus de Liguori (New York; London; Dublin; Cincinnati; St. Louis: Benziger Brothers; R. Washbourne; M. H. Gill & Son, 1887), 396–397.