The delights of our hearts cause joyful proclamations. This is when they shine brightly with the love of light. Achieving such a state takes patience and perseverance. Christians yearn for this bliss. There must be goals set to arrive at this place on our journey of life. This is when we view the world as a place of goodness. By being just and holy exemplify the happiness with which we are blessed. These Christians have a passion for social justice and champion the rights of the underprivileged. And the wind of Pentecost greets these reformers. They may not necessarily be an Evangelist-in-chief, but humble devotees to the Christian faith.

Joseph Conrad (1857–1924), a Polish born novelist observed, “I remember my youth and the feeling that it will never come back any more – the feeling that I could last forever, outlast the sea, the earth and all men; the deceitful feeling that lures us on to joys, to perils, to love, to vain effort – to death, the triumphant conviction of strength, the heart of life in the handful of dust, the glow in the heart ….” Conrad captured brilliantly a joyful life of youth showing a young heart giving vent to deep feelings.

Joyful Changes

There are temporal joys. People may experience hills of unexpected peaks mixed with undulating valleys. It takes patience to weave the right feelings in having hearts of joy. This flame of hope many people try to embrace and sustain. In accomplishing these goals, call for an encounter with beauty itself. There’s nothing more trustworthy in achieving these goals through reading and studying the Word of Truth. By this belief the teachings of the Good Shepherd will come alive in all its brilliance. Such a mission we’ll need to pursue our objectives faithfully. That calls for being witnesses of our faith. An Argentinian poet and novelist Ricardo Guiraldes (1886–1927) remarked, “If you are really a gaucho, you can’t change, because wherever you go, you’ll go with your soul leading the way.” What people become are based on their experiences in life.

A Pure Heart

Having a pure heart best expresses fulfillment. Fruits of patience bring about changes in the deepest recesses of our being. These goals call for courage in a believer’s heart. And peace awaits such seekers of this precious gift. In hopes of securing the highest good, people should endeavor to walk confidently in faith. They must not be afraid of doing good, nor view it like some in the world do, as a sort of weakness. Our greatest truths are expressed by the Holy Spirit. While accomplishing tasks Christians ought to view themselves as athletes for Christ. In the course of their lifetime they must be prepared to run marathons. Their faith is alive in every turn encountering Jesus Christ. By doing so, they will be rubbing shoulders and touching the flesh of Christ himself, through the poor and hungry. Matthew 22:37 quotes Jesus: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Christ’s love is purest and all encompassing.

Angels of Light

People with joyful hearts are undoubtedly lights in the world. They should never lose hope concerning this truth. Just think about doing justice and everything will fall into place. This is the foundation of abundant goodness best expressed in the creation we love. Christians adore the beauty of God himself. In all divinity, he’s the true incarnation we glorify. Reading and contemplating on the Gospel is an eye-opener to believers. By prayer seeds of hope are spread around the world. This is accomplished through the flame of our faith, the joy of our hearts.

Robert Burns (1759–1796), a Scottish poet wrote:

The golden Hours, on angel wings

Flew o’er me and my Dearie;

Was my sweet ‘Highland Mary.’

True angels of light represent the best in life. ‘Highland Mary’ may well be likened to Holy Mary, Mother of God, and being the joy of our hearts.

The delights of our hearts cause joyful proclamations. This is when they shine brightly with the love of light. Achieving such a state takes patience and perseverance. Christians yearn for this bliss. There must be goals set to arrive at this place on our journey of life. This is when we view the world as a place for our common good. In being just and holy exemplify the happiness with which we are blessed. Christians have a passion for social justice and champion the rights of the underprivileged. The wind of Pentecost greets these reformers. They may not necessarily be Evangelists-in-chief but humble devotees to the Christian faith.

Joseph Conrad (1857 – 1924), a Polish born novelist observed, “I remember my youth and the feeling that it will never come back any more – the feeling that I could last forever, outlast the sea, the earth and all men; the deceitful feeling that lures us on to joys, to perils, to love, to vain effort – to death, the triumphant conviction of strength, the heart of life in the handful of dust, the glow in the heart ….” Conrad captured brilliantly the life of youth. He showed a young heart giving vent to deep feelings.

Joy Changes

There are temporal joys. People may experience hills of unexpected peaks mixed with undulating valleys. It takes patience to weave feelings in having hearts of joy. This flame of hope many try to embrace and sustain. To accomplish these goals call for an encounter with beauty itself. There’s nothing more trustworthy in achieving this by reading and studying the Word of Truth. By it, the teachings of the Good Shepherd will come alive in all its brilliance. This mission we’ll need to pursue our objectives faithfully. It calls for being witnesses of our faith. An Argentinian poet and novelist Ricardo Guiraldes (1886 – 1927) remarked, “If you are really a gaucho, you can’t change, because wherever you go, you’ll go with your soul leading the way.” Much of what people become are based on what they have been through in their life.

A Pure Heart

Having a pure heart best expresses joy. The fruits of patience bring about changes in the deepest recesses of our being. These call for courage in a believer’s heart. Peace awaits seekers of this precious gift. In hopes of securing the highest good, people should walk confidently in faith. They must not be afraid of doing good, nor view it like some in the world do, as a sort of weakness. The greatest truth is expressed by the Spirit of Truth. In accomplishing tasks every Christian ought to view himself or herself as an athlete for Christ. And in the course of their lifetime they must be prepared to run marathons. Their faith is in every turn encountering Jesus Christ. They will be rubbing shoulders and touching the flesh of Christ himself through the poor and hungry. Matthew 22:37 quotes Jesus as saying, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Christ’s love is purest and all encompassing.

Angels of Light

People with joyful hearts are undoubtedly lights in the world. They should never lose hope concerning this truth. Think about doing justice and everything will fall into place. This is the foundation of abundant goodness best expressed in this creation that we love. Christians do adore the beauty of God himself. In all divinity he’s the true incarnation that’s glorified. Reading and contemplating the Gospel is an eye-opener to believers. By prayer, seeds of hope are spread around the world. This is only accomplished through the flame of faith which is the joy of our hearts.

Robert Burns (1759 – 1796), a Scottish poet wrote:

The golden Hours, on angel wings

Flew o’er me and my Dearie;

Was my sweet ‘Highland Mary’

True angels of light represent the best in life. ‘Highland Mary’ may well be likened to Holy Mary, Mother of God, and her faith being the joy of our hearts.

Being a good person means different things to people. Some may consider helping others as important. It doesn’t matter what’s the nature of the help. It may mean bringing a meal to a friend when he or she is sick and giving a glass of water to a thirsty beggar. One’s reason for doing such an act is important in the scheme of things. Are you doing this service to be praised? Will you pat yourself on your back saying, “how wonderful you are?”

Some people consider themselves good because they willingly give to charitable organizations e.g., Salvation Army, the cancer society, mental health, diabetic association, Alzheimer, or cystic fibrosis groups. Others participate in “Walkatons” to raise money for finding cures. These people are often looked at as helping good causes.

A Trustworthy Character

It’s good to be helpful but another to be trustworthy. Are you reliable? Will you go that extra mile to help someone? Some people devote themselves to a cause and give their all. Do you feed the poor? How often do you distribute food through the local Foodbank? Or, do you do volunteer work at your church, hospital, or library?

We praise such acts that good people do. But are you honest? Do you cheat on your income tax? It’s known that some will inflate their numbers when it comes to charitable donations. It could be that they allow things to slip and didn’t keep adequate records of their gifts. Some people are known too, to fudge on their medical expenses. How do these misdemeanors apply to you? Are you still as dependable as you think you are? Are you a rock to others or merely shifting sand?

Goodness and Holiness

The Gospel says we’re all sinners. Some great saints are known to have lived tarnished lives. St. Augustine (354 – 430 A.D.), One of the Fathers of the Catholic Church previously lived in his youth in a rather rambunctious way. He was an intellectual but a wild man. In his autobiography Confessions he extrapolated on his troublesome deeds that he very much regretted. Still, he was saved by God, and much of today’s theology of the Catholic church was shaped by him.

A saint who died at the age of 24, who was of exceptional holiness, is 18^th century’s St. Therese of Lisieux. She prayed to suffer for redemptive purposes and wrote the Story of a Soul, as a Carmalite nun steadfast in the faith. She because of her dedication to “the small way,” viewed people to be like “little children.” St. Therese thought this was the way to enter the Kingdom of God. As a doctor of the universal church she foresaw that through goodness the faithfulness of innocence would grow.

Well-liked People

To be a good person isn’t always how well-liked a person is, but how genuine is his or her heart in the eyes of God. This is being good, benevolent, and committed to the Christian faith. We must accept God’s will for us. This is to be pious and virtuous. In accepting Jesus Christ is to believe in Agathism – all things incline towards good. We are Agathists when our actions are well-intentioned and lead to personal growth in the faith.

God is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. His continual care is exercised over the entire universe and nothing is too big or small for him to do. Uniformity comes from God and we as his creatures don’t or won’t ever exercise absolute autonomy over what we do. St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556), a Spanish hermit, priest, and theologian, observed: “Above all, remember that God looks for solid virtues in us, such as patience, humility, obedience, abnegation of your own will – that is, the good will to serve Him and our neighbor in Him. His providence allows us other devotions only insofar as He sees that they are useful to us.” Mt 6:26 explains that God feeds the birds of the air and how much more will he not be concerned with us – the pride of his creation.

God has an infallible foreknowledge. Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662), a French mathematician, physicist, and Christian philosopher was assured, “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” This trust doesn’t relieve men and women of their god-given responsibilities in making choices.

Often we may even fail in a task that we undertake. We work hard in exploring that career which we prayed about but we still fail in finding that it’s good for us. Where’s God in all this? Robert E. Lee (1807 – 1870), an American soldier known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War, said, “We failed but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing.” People may not see this blessing clearly when it’s happening, but in hindsight we realize God is pointing us toward another career. This choice will best suit our special gift. Often we have to wait on God’s timing.

God’s providence is unlimited and we may be unable to fathom its true depth. Like Victor Hugo (1802 – 1885), one of France’s great poets, novelist, and dramatist, stated, “Blessed be Providence which has given to each his toy: the doll to the child, the child to the woman, the woman to the man, the man to the devil.” God shows us all special love and care. At the time we may not even understand it. We are blown away by his goodness, but like Job he might even allow evil to come our way. But for believers all things work for the good for those who love God (Rom 8:28).

During the rise and fall of nations God is always on the scene. This has happened in the biblical past and throughout history. Americans only have to reflect on the founding of their nation. John Adams (1735 – 1826), an American founding father serving as the second president of the United States, remarked, “I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.” What Adams observed is each day becoming more apparent. His statement was prophetic.

Citizens of the world are able to see the fulfillment of God’s purpose in his creation. Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948), a preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India, reasoned, “Providence has its appointed hour for everything. We cannot command results, we can only strive.” In the Western Hemisphere people are blessed with four seasons of the year. Every year seasons come and go – be it summer, spring, autumn, or winter. We do witness nations rise and fall. Yet, it is required that we work diligently to earn our daily bread and live righteously in the sight of God (Gen 8:22).

God is the supreme ruler of the universe and we must know our place in it. Do so, by discovering our gift, walking in his light, and adoring him. William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833), an English politician, and philanthropist reminded us: “My walk is a public one. My business is in the world, and I must mix in the assemblies of men or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me.” Life isn’t just happiness. It’s one of service to other men and women. Wilberforce embraced his calling and as a result of his tireless work the slave trade was abolished. God nevertheless is present in every aspect of our lives for we are his creatures he loves best of all. His providence is a great gift to us.

Otto von Bismarck (1815 – 1898), a conservative Prussian statesman wrote, “There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America.” Where there’s evil God is always blameless. Scripture is clear about this, although some of our actions are predestined by God (Acts 2:23). God in his providence may even bring evil as judgment against rulers, disobedient persons, and recalcitrant people. Daniel 4:35 makes clear God always does his will. Still, parts of God’s providence will always remain a mystery because our minds are finite, while God’s is infinite.