" 5 When a man is guilty in any of these, he shall confess the sin he has committed, 6 and he shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin."
-Leviticus 5:5-6 (cf John Bergsma, Jesus and the Old Testament Roots of the Priesthood, p 57
"I personally hold that there are saints in heaven who would not be in heaven if they had not sinned mortally. Sin is sometimes a necessary purification for our pride." (p 163)
As long as there is a hint of self-satisfaction in us, we will not be able to feel the full impact of grace (that flows from divine mercy). Jesus came to call sinners, not the good guys. We can tell him, 'I'm that sort of guy that you've became man to save. The sort of man you're looking for.' ... I am an obvious case for the Lord. The tougher the case I am, the more interest he has in the job. The more difficult it is to make me a saint, the more glory he gets from the power of his grace.
"God planned this world to be glorified by his mercy and grace. His grace is almost synonymous with His mercy. Merit and justice belong to the next life. This life is a time for mercy. I would go as far as to say, and I would not like to be quoted theologically on this because it needs proper expression, that God never punishes individuals in this life. Rather, he only corrects them. He will come down on you like a ton of bricks sometimes, but it is not just to take it out on you. It is to correct you and to give you a chance for making up for what you lost.
"His punishments in this life, if we can call them that, are always corrective and medicinal. They are planned to repair what you have lost by your infidelity or your sins. He never judges us in this life; he saves us. Our whole union with God in this life is based on the fact that we are sinners and he is saving us from our sins. I dare to say that your sins are the most effective means you have of affecting divine union. They draw down the mercy of God.
"Our Lord insisted that he came to look for sinners, not for saints (Mk 2:17). For lost sheep (Lk 15:3-7). For prodigal sons (Lk 15:11-32). I think you can find some of these headings in which you could put yourself."
-Eugene Boylan, Partnership with Christ, p xx
"There is one thing you cannot do. You cannot kneel before the Lord and not catch our Lord's eye." (p 155)
"The fact that you consecrate 30 minutes for doing nothing else except kneeling there is an act of divine worship." (p 158)
"Think of mental prayer as a holocaust to God. You get nothing in return. But without that holocaust, we will never be able to hear the word of God at any other time of the day." (p 161)
-Eugene Boylan, Partnership with Christ, p 155, 158, 161
"God glorifies himself by His justice in the next life. But in this life, God glorifies himself by His mercy. ...
God's plan was that where sin abounded, grace might more abound (Rom 5:20)... The more mercy He shows, the more glory He gets. Therefore, logically, the less claim you have on God's goodness, the more glory He gets from giving you mercy.
...
The worse we are, the more reason for having confidence in God our Savior."
-Eugene Boylan, Partnership with Christ, p 35
"We have to be humble and admit the truth about ourselves. By refusing to admit this truth, we put ourselves outside the special enclosue where God is looking for us. It is only when we have labeled ourselves as sinners and people to be saved, that he can get at us."
-Eugene Boylan, Partnership with Christ, p 46-47
As over 700 people shelter in the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, Suhail Abudawood, an 18-year-old Catholic parishioner, offers his spiritual testimony about the experience of Christian hope in the midst of war.
23 October 2023
By Suhail Abudawood – Gaza
Hello everyone, I am Suhail Abodawood. I am living in Gaza, and I am 18 years old.
On October 7th, the war has started. I will not talk about politics. I will talk in a spiritual way. I was dreaming at first, but then, I realized that this was not a joke.
We left our homes and went to the Parish, the Holy Family Church (Catholic Church), because I know that we are safe and secure in my Lord’s hands, Jesus Christ.
I am praying and fasting in the Church right now, and I strongly believe that is the right time to develop and improve my vocation in this sad and tough condition, by praying the Rosary and attending the daily Holy Mass and meditating with great faith and that God will rescue us from the war.
I pray in the church every day, and every time I pray I hear a loud sounds of rockets bombing in a place not far from the church. But when I embrace my faith, everything that interrupts me disappears.
As Saint Carlo Acutis once said: “Heaven has been waiting for us forever.” ❤️
We are waiting for our salvation with a big heart and we always know that Christian hope is the strongest hope ever.
Our Lord Jesus will rescue us from these tough days, and we believe that as long as we are with Jesus with our hearts, we will be always in a safe place and lasting security.