Heart of Jesus, Salvation of all who Trust in You
“Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.(Rom 5:5) “For this we toil and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those who believe.” (1 Tm 4:10)
“And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” (Mt 9:2)
How nice to our hearts is this invocation. It opens before us the wonderful horizons of eternal happiness. Whoever trust in Christ will not be ashamed forever and will be saved. The salvation of our souls is what we are most interested in. This is the only necessary good for which all other goods are irrelevant. Will we achieve them? Certainly, if we trust in the Savior.
Hope is one of the three virtues that we call theological and without which a Christian cannot be saved. Hope is especially important to us, poor sinners on pilgrimage through the difficult paths of mortality. Hope is a star which gives us courage and leads us to the distant heavenly homeland. How hard our life would be if we had no hope that we would ever receive a reward from God in heaven! If we weren't sure that we could deserve this prize through honest life and good deeds. Walking on this earth we can look with trustful eyes to haven.
In the Old Testament, we often come across beautiful statements about hope and trust. "He [God] is only my rock and my salvation, my fortress, so I will not be afraid. [...] Rest only in God, my soul, for my hope comes from Him" (cf. Ps 62:3, 6) - says the psalmist. In the New Testament, in the Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul writes: " Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us " (Rom 5:5). And in the Letter to Timothy he explains: "we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those who believe.” (1 Tm 4:10).Our hope is based on a firm foundation because on the promise of God who is faithful to his word, God is all-powerful and full of love, so he wants and can easily fulfill what he promises.
Jesus, dying for us on the cross, gave us eternal salvation. It was given to us. You just have to accept this gift. And for that you need trust. Forgiving the sins of a paralytic, Jesus first calls him to trust. It happens that after committing some sin, we lose confidence in God's Mercy. We wonder if God can forgive this sin. And Jesus answers today: "Trust." He is a forgiving God.
To trust someone means to be sure that he/she will not let us down. We can certainly trust Jesus completely. He will never leave us and let us down. Trust is associated with faith not only in God, but more for God. Jesus said: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mt 16:16). Faith gives us salvation.Whoever believes and trusts can be sure of salvation.
We live in a time of mercy. Jesus revealing himself to Saint Faustina ordered to write on the image the words “Jesus, I trust in You”. He wanted these words to become a prayer of everyone who approaches his mercy. These words are a confession of trust and faith in God's mercy. Let us thank Jesus today for his mercy.
LIVE THE WORD!
Each of us can say: Jesus is all mine. He died for me and gave me everything as if I were the only one in the world. Not only Jesus was thinking about me on the cross, but now in heaven he thinks about me and cares for my good.
Although there are billions of souls, the Sacred Heart of Jesus can embrace everyone. Therefore, I am not an atom lost in the ocean of this world. I have a Savior who loves me and knows me personally, who accompanies me everywhere with love and constantly looks after me.
Examine your trust in God. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george