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By św. Charbel Makhlouf,
At the moment of death only love will count. What will most frighten the sinner at the moment of his death–and cause him the deepest regret–will be his lack of response to the God’s boundless love.
God and His Kingdom exist. Every person is called to have a part in this kingdom by uniting himself in love with God. There is but one Way to this kingdom, and that is Jesus Christ, True God, Who became True Man. The way of growth in love is an arduous spiritual ascent. We are called to love one another, disinterestedly, unconditionally, to the very end, never counting the cost. In order to grow in such love, we need to draw from its Source, which is Jesus Christ. Everyone without exception can draw from this source through prayer and the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Only Jesus can free us from all our sins, problems, and worries. He suffers greatly when a person redeemed by His blood, falls into sin. God desires us to be free and happy. Yet people seek happiness where they will never find it on earth, in material goods and other people. Perfect happiness can be found only by uniting ourselves in love with Christ. At the moment of his death, the sinner will most fear his lack of response to the boundless love of God, and he will lament it deeply. All those who sin, are in a state of spiritual death, since by sin they destroy in themselves the capacity to love and willingly sever contact with the life and love, which unites them with God. Love is the one treasure that we can amass during our earthly life and keep for ever. After we die, wealth, fame, power, social position, and all other forms of material success will remain behind in this world. At the moment of death only love will count. Those who stand before God without love will bear the consequences of their sinful choices and selfish behavior. It will be a real and appalling experience of the death of a soul an entire life ruined. Love must reign in our hearts, and humility in our minds. Arrogance always leads to sin; hatred and lack of forgiveness – to eternal damnation. We must pray and repent. Let us pray in the depth of our hearts, and God will hear us. Let us open the gates of our hearts to Christ, that He may dwell there and bestow upon us His gift of peace. Let us always remember to pray with our hearts, sincerely, with trust, not only with our lips. The sound of frogs will reach God sooner than empty words that do not flow from a man’s heart. In our prayers let us listen to the voice of God. Alas, few are they who listen and hear His words, and still fewer those who listen, hear, and put them into action. So let us listen to what God constantly says to us in so many ways. Let us strive to hear Him speak and carry out His will to the very end. Every person is a lamp of God. His task is to be a light in the darkness. God created every lamp with a clear, transparent window, through which the light may shine and illuminate the darkness of the world. Yet we forget about the light and care only for the window. We color it, we decorate it, and it becomes clouded and dim, no longer allowing the light to shine through. That is why the world finds itself plunged in so much darkness. The windows of our lamps must once again become clear and transparent, that our light may shine out to the world. That is why every time we fall into sin, we must go to Confession, that we may remain in a state of sanctifying grace. The above article was published with permission from Miłujcie się! in November 2010
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