Heart of Jesus Reflections (Advent): 3rd Week / Joy Through Sacrifice

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By Laura Marie Durant

Heart of Jesus Reflection:

Jesus, in Your Heart You show me the way to true love.
Through a spirit of sacrificial love the Father sent You into the world. From the moment You came into this world Your Heart beat with great love for us. You knew the way to our hearts, hardened by our woundedness and sin, would be difficult and painful for us, so through Your example of sacrifice and total gift of self, You showed us the way to heavenly joy...

Thoughts to Ponder this Third Week of Advent

In today’s Gospel passage, we hear a message to those who wish to know “what they must do.” John speaks to each with regards to their own personal journey to Jesus. For each, the changes they must make are unique, but the goal is the same – to empty themselves of that which is preventing Jesus to enter into their lives fully, so that He can fill them with heavenly joy.
Ask Him to help you where is it hard for you to give all of yourself and these blessings back to Him, and ask that He transform your heart, so it is filled with the same sacrificial love of His Heart. Then, ask Him to show you how He wishes you to use your time, treasure and talents He has given you...
...If we allow Him, God uses these gifts He’s given us to bring His love to others. Where we have more than enough food, material things, money or where we have been given great talents or are in roles which give us the ability to affect the lives of others for good, we should first give thanks to God for the great confidence He has placed in us by bestowing these gifts on us. Then, we must offer all these blessings back to Him, so He may show us how to use these gifts as He wishes us to.
In areas where we are lacking, are in need, are at the mercy of those around us, or are weakened by a chronic condition or illness, may we have the grace to thank Jesus for giving us the chance to share in His Passion. We have been given the chance to come to know Him more deeply and to trust in Him that He will supply the strength and courage we need to endure the trials we face on this earth.
Our blessings cannot truly give us joy unless we know Jesus and how He wishes us to use them for His Glory. This is because until we know how God wishes us to use them, we are at great risk for using them only for ourselves!... 


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