Prepare Your Heart To Meet The
Prince
By: Eric Gajewski
2 Paralipomenon
(2 Chronicles) 12:14
But he did evil, and did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.
But he did evil, and did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord.
People
prepare everyday. We prepare for dinner,
to go out on dates and even for work the following day. This time of year many are preparing for
summer vacations. We prepare our bodies
to go the gym and yet how many honestly prepare properly to receive Our Lord at
Holy Mass? Furthermore, how few wake up
these days and prepare their hearts as if this were their last day? A lot of thought seemingly goes into all of
these secondary items and yet our salvation depends upon how we disposition our
hearts unto God.
A
couple prepares extensively for their wedding day and yet so many Catholics do
not take time out to prepare their hearts before receiving Our Prince. We are eager to go on vacations to go on that
hot date on the weekend and yet “bummed out” when we have to drag ourselves
into Church! Who is a Lover of God these
days when God is being pushed out of the society on a daily basis? Holy
Religion is laughed at and mocked just as Our Lord was in His days. We are not wanted here because we do not
belong here. Yet, is not the woman eager
for her Wedding day? Is she not ready to
consummate with her beloved? How much
time and effort does she prepare her mind, heart , body and soul for this
intimate meeting? And yet we slumber
along like zombies into Mass. We drag
our sluggish rear ends into Church so we do not sin. Is this Love?
Is this all we can muster up after all Christ has done for us? Can you imagine if we showed up like this to
that hot daye on the weekend you have? How
much more so will Christ turn from us if we do not prepare properly. Indeed, we sin if we do not prepare
thoroughly. We sin greatly when we eat
unworthily of Him.
When
we approach the Church we enter Mary, our Palace mystically speaking. We are entering into His Life through her own
eyes as she saw Him. It is to be silent
and we are to meet Him in the solitude of our own souls. Yea, we seek pardon for our sins but this is a
place of protection. A Place where two
hearts meet at the foot of the Cross.
Therefore, we meet Him in thanksgiving and praise. Ever been to a dinner party where someone was
complaining about every last detail of the get together? How much worse is it in the House of God
wherein he has you invited you in to His very own Heart?
Modern
man bounces around from place to place seeking to “possess” things. Too many people place their dignity upon the
things they can acquire in this life but what about God? These people who chase a dream in this life
will wake up in an eternal nightmare in the next. Ever thought about possessing God first? And after possessing God did not God say He
would add unto you all those things?
True Love is lost in this world which is dominated by self in control
and manipulation. God does not want to
manipulate us He wants to guide our souls to heaven our End and yet how often
do we complain and resist because the going gets tough. It is imperative we stay the course and persevere
unto the end thus we need His Precious Blood in order to continually grow in
Selfless Love.
We
seek to be in the presence of our friends, family and all those cool
celebrities we see these days but what about God? We get excited when we get tickets to Heinz field
to go see the Steelers play but our faces look like a reprint of the Book of
Lamentations when we enter into the Presence of God at Mass! And even worse when we get to Mass we get
distracted and wonder if the Steelers will cover the spread today. Where is your heart O’ sinner! Do you not see the signs of times written
upon the clouds of the skies? Who wants
God anymore in a modern world filled with gidgets and gadgets producing artificial
happiness? Does anybody get truly
excited to be in the Presence of the Living God anymore? If the honest answer to this question is no
then you need to break away for a while and get your priorities straight. Find your own island and begin that spring
cleaning which is so desperately needed within.
Detach from all earthly things and re-open the portal of your heart to
Christ. Your house is not your own even
it is His.
Modern man likes "his God" like he likes his food.....FAST
Five
minutes of preparation before receiving Our Lord is not enough! Without prayer we are a rudderless ship out
on the seas of life where we will be tossed to and fro. Center your heart, your life and home around
the Sacred Heart. Stay inward and turn
from man as often as you can and pray.
Pray and live with purpose.
Obviously Our Lord would have not left behind these Sacraments if they
were meaningless to Him. This is His
House of peace and yet so many are still looking “on the outside” for peace of
mind in pills, partying and Pabst (beer).
Do we prepare our hearts for the preaching of the Word? Are we ready to receive this Word much like a
wife is ready to receive her husband on their wedding night? Do we come to Mass poor in spirit? Poverty and humility go hand in hand and God
will refuse the arrogant especially in His own House. Do you unite your heart in inward pain with
His? For Pain is His Passion’s love song
playing in this House. You are not alone
therefore offer it up and soldier on for grace endures all things even pain. O’ Sinner! Do you seek spiritual perfection
or is this just another routine you feel you must go through? Is that love?
Where hast thy love gone? Where hast thee hidden it? Is it lost amidst all your modern toys and
technologies?
After
a long weeks of getting praise from men it is a good idea to perhaps now give
praise to God. We get caught up in the
tunnel vision of this life and forget we were made to simply praise and
contemplate God in the end. But modern
man cannot stay glued to his seat to long.
He is restless because his life is first inwardly disordered. We get to His House and our minds are elsewhere
because our hearts are first elsewhere.
Our treasure is not here sadly for the most part. Should I continue on with the lack of
patience we demonstrate at Mass? We want
the priest to hurry so we don’t miss the football game or party we must get
to? How painful is this to Our Lord whom
we claim is our Beloved. Only one hour a
week for some peole and they do not have the patience for even that one
hour! It is truly pathetic and further
demonstrates our hearts are not with His.
How do you dress O’ woman during the week and especially during
Mass? Do you dress immodestly and sell yourself
as a child of the devil or of the King?
This
is a hospital for us sinners and what patient is trying to leave without first
being wholly cured? How do people try to
leave without first getting the remedy for the ailment as sinners? We are to petition and plea to God but we do
not make good use of our time here. We
are to keep His Passion as our own and yet we are not persistent. We are not like that high school girl who
will stop at nothing to make that boy her own.
Our bones are dried out and we are full of ourselves thinking we are
sufficient even in His own House. Yes,
the women will persist all week in hunting down that 500$ pair of shoes and the
men will hunt down the last Mercedes on the lot but when it comes to God….”who
has time, right?” This is the mantra of
modern man. Take time out today to see
how you can better prepare your own heart for Mass but even further how you can
get structure into your spiritual life so that you can continue to grow in God’s
grace. Where your heart is there also is
thy treasure and sadly modern man has so many things piled up in his treasure chest
it has sunk to very bottom of the sea. You
want to make progress in the virtues you say yet you are unwilling to give away/detach
from those things which impede your growth. Therefore, in reality, you do not
Love anybody but yourself in the end and self is the enemy of God. Let us get to it now brethren for the time is
“late in the day” and our salvation drawest nigh.
