Leave the Past to God’s Mercy

Working hard on my life in prayer and discernment. On third month of zero TV and TV news and not missing it at all. Still, trying to improve my understanding of how God wants me to be is difficult. Again in this post, I share my readings and thoughts.

In what does your life consist except two things:

Active Duties; and

Passive Circumstances.

The first is under your control; these do in God’s name. The second is outside your control; these submit to in God’s name.

Consider only the present;

Leave the past to God’s justice [Mercy],

The future to his providence.

Perfection of personality does not consist in knowing God’s plan, but in submitting to it as it reveals itself in the circumstances of life.”-Archbishop Fulton Sheen; The Seven Words of Jesus and Mary

Knowing God’s Will takes time and prayer. Of course we know the general basics of God’s Will. The 10 Commandments, “Love they neighbor”, “Do unto others…”, and following the example of the way Jesus lived His life are the guidelines we should follow. But what do we do when we have a specific decision to make or come to the proverbial “Y” in the road?

When in doubt, just follow God’s general rules until we determine specifically what we are to do. Frustration or fear may lead to anger – a sin in itself when acted out. Held in anger leads to depression. Held in depression leads to anger. If God does not answer our prayers, or more likely, if we fail to hear God’s whisper, we need to pray for patience and understanding. Seldom do we need to make a decision immediately without giving time for prayer and reflection. While waiting for specific understanding, just follow the general rules.

Sometimes, knowing when to act is more important than knowing how to act. – Sheen

For me, this is hard because I tend to act first on emotion. “Feelings” have not served me well in my life and I must try harder to avoid decisions made on my feelings.

Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is “timing” it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.   – Fulton J. Sheen

Patience is hard for me. With my prayer, I shall do better.

Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them.   -Fulton J. Sheen

Author: Robert Denoncour

God granted four loving children and sixteen grandchildren. That is a lot of gifts for which I am most grateful.

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