User:Nickthevick/sandbox

WHAT IS LOVE?
 * "I want to know what love is - you've just got to show me!"
 * "It's respecting me for what I am, who I am."
 * "It's respecting you for who you are, for where you are."
 * "It's wishing good to you, without regard for my own gain."

SMILING: "If you start with a smile, it will come back to you." But you can't just smile in order to be smiled at - it doesn't work. A true smile shines confidence and real engagement. You know whether yours is a true smile or not. But there are many false ones out there, waiting for you to feel good and fall into their trap... because they want to use you for their good: they don't love you.

HOW CAN I BE SURE OF SOMEONE'S LOVE? You cannot be sure. Ever. Even with the ones you love most. Why not? Why aren't people trustworthy? Because all humans alive are sinners, with (to some extent) selfish, prideful motives in everything they do. Sainthood isn't not having any of these wrong motives. It is a path of struggle against them, of denying oneself for the good of another, again and again and again.

SO I CAN NEVER BE OPEN?? By your own strength and insight, no.

WHY DOESN'T GOD HELP ME? He will not treat you as his puppet. He respects you utterly, unlike any creature in the world. He is silent, he bows before your freedom, refusing to impinge on it, waiting for your permission. He wants your TOTAL freedom! Besides...

HAVE YOU TRIED HIM YET? That is, have you searched for Him, called His Name, confessed your need of Him and asked His help with all your heart? (Jerem. Not half-heartedly, keeping reservations, since these will prevent Him (in His kindness) answering your need. He will NEVER force you to do anything.

WILL HE LOVE ME? He certainly will let you know how much He loves you, BUT he might ask you to give up some things, which He knows are destroying you.

MUST I LOVE HIM BACK? God wants to be loved! Sacrifices may be suggested to you, as a sign of some little love for Him, who first and infinitely loved us. He won't compel you (see later). But through your life with Him, you will gradually find yourself "falling in love with Him", and will want to make little acts of love for Him.

WHAT IF I CAN'T GIVE SOMETHING UP? This is very likely, since the reasons for our unhappiness are precisely those things to which we have given power over us. They have entered our lives and taken some control away from us. But if we tell Him what we are possessed by (I don't need to list all the "addictions"...) and ask Him to deliver us from them, then HE WILL ACT. Stories of joyful liberation are countless.

IN THAT CASE, WHY ARE SO MANY CHRISTIANS STILL SINNING? Because, remember, we still have our freedom! We are FREE to love, not COMPELLED to love, since this would not be love at all. God leaves the path open to say NO at any time. He is not possessive in this respect! Many of us are so fearful that, like the Israelites in the Old Testament, we easily forget God and how much we depend on him, leaving the door wide open to fall back into pride, greed, selfishness and the rest...

SO WHAT HOPE IS THERE? The Church has been given the Sacraments, to help us to stay true to God on our journey through a dark world. A Sacrament is "both the sign of AND the means of conveying" the spiritual truth it signifies. The Sacraments do not guarantee a sin-free life. But: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will free us from our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

CAN I START RIGHT NOW, OR DO I NEED A PRIEST? You can start right now, but you will probably also need to talk to a priest. Talk to God in your heart, tell Him you want to make a new start and that you need His help. Tell Him you want to know Him better and receive his power in your life.

WHY DO I NEED A PRIEST? Unfortunately you will very quickly encounter doubt, finding other explanations than God's giving, for all the good things that happen to you. When you can find a priest who "hears confessions", he will become in that moment the representative of Christ's body on earth, the Church for you. By confessing your sins to him, you bring your darkness into the light, naming aloud the things which have bound you, so that in Christ's name the priest can declare objectively and in the name of the Church that you are forgiven, "a new creation" (2Cor 5:17), "no longer in condemnation" (Rom 8:1).

IS THAT IT? HOW DO I MAKE UP FOR MY SINS? In one way we can never make up for our sins, since they consist of turning away from God, which (especially for a practising Christian) damages the Church and the rest of the human family. We can and should do all we can to put right any actual damage to others (REPARATION), and the Priest will also impose some small sanction to demonstrate our sorrow to Him and to ourselves (PENANCE). However, in the end we rely on the Sacrifice of Jesus who bore all our sins in His body on the Cross. As a part of receiving our forgiveness, we should look at Him on the Cross, willingly being hurt by our sins precisely so that we could be free. Then be immensely greatful! Many people take up voluntary penances, but it is important to discuss them with your confessor, since obedience is sweet and often less demanding than our own judgement (or perhaps I should say, pride!). Then:

LEAVE THE REST TO GOD and be at peace, resolved to love with the love He gives you. Then you will know what love is!