God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him may not die but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

We are so bombarded today from all sides to believe that everything in life can be possessed, experienced and fulfilled here and now and in this life. Yet we still feel lonely, isolated, non-fulfilled. We live with an absence in our life. We are always in a rush and hurry.

Without God, without living faith and relationship with our Creator we are disjoined at the heart of our being. We are lost and unhappy because we don't have contact and are cut off from the source of our being. St. Augustine rightly said "My soul cannot find rest, till it rests in You, O God." This living without God has led our age into all sorts of aberrations. To live without God is to abandon our real destiny. Without God we seek all sorts of false approaches to life: drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, and sexual immorality that characterize our American life-style.

Return to God! Be converted and live! Jesus calls us to know our God. He reveals the Father because He is the Son. Through Him we receive the Holy Spirit of God. God does not wish the death of a sinner, rather that he or she be converted and live. Psalm 50 opens for us the prayer of the repentant David:

O God wipe out my offense...wash me...cleanse...let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness...turn away your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt. A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast em not out from Your presence, and Your Holy Spirit take not from me. Give me back the joy of Your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me...

Jesus calls us: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon your shoulders and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for My yoke is easy and My burden light. (Matthew 28:30). In the parable of the lost sheep there is joy in finding the one lost sheep. Jesus teaches "I tell you, there will likewise be more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent." (Luke 15:7) Jesus himself is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). He promises us life and protection. "My sheep hear My voice, and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them out of my hand."

Jesus willingly laid down His life for us so that we might have access to the Father. He founded His Church through His apostles to proclaim His message and the forgiveness of sins. On the night of Resurrection He gave them authority in His name to proclaim forgiveness: 

"On the evening of that first day of the week, even though the disciples had locked the doors of the place where they were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood before them. 'Peace be with you,' He said. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. At the sight of the Lord the disciples rejoiced. 'Peace be with you,' He said again. 'As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.' Then he breathed on them and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; If you hold them bound, they are held bound.'"

It is to the apostles and to the Church that Jesus has given the power to forgive sins in His Name.

If you have never known Jesus through faith and baptism, then repent, call upon the Lord Jesus. Be instructed in faith and be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in Chrismation.

If you have been baptized and then have turned away, the Church provides a second baptism in the Sacrament of Penance. Repent of your sins, confess your faith in Christ, ask for forgiveness of your sins and receive the forgiveness of sins through the laying on of hands and the prayer of the priest in the name of Christ and of the Church.

"Then I saw new heavens and a new earth. The former heavens and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no longer. I also saw a new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God, beautiful as a bride prepared to meet her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne cry out: 'This is God's dwelling among men. He shall dwell with them and they shall be His people and He shall be their God Who is always with them. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the former world has passed away.'

The One Who sat on the throne said to me, 'See, I make all things new!" Then He said, "Write these matters down, for the words are trustworthy and true!' He went on to say: "These words are already fulfilled! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To anyone who thirsts I will give to drink without cost from the life-giving water. He who wins the victory shall inherit the gifts; I will be his God and he shall be My son. As for the cowards and traitors to the faith, the depraved and murderers, fornicators and sorcerers, the idol-worshippers and deceivers of every sort -- their lot is the fiery pool of burning sulfur, the second death!'" (Revelation 21:1-8 )

COME, LET US WORSHIP AND BOW BEFORE CHRIST. O SON OF GOD, RISEN FROM THE DEAD, SAVE US WHO SING TO YOU: ALLELUIA!

last updated 13 February 2000 Copyright © 1999-2001, St. Thomas the Apostle Church