Eternal Life, Perfect Love, and Infinite Wisdom

We desire three things in the depths of our soul: Eternal Life, which excludes any kind of sickness, defect or disorder; Perfect Love, whereby we are in complete harmony with God and those around us which brings us the joy of living in praise and service of God and others; and Infinite Wisdom, whereby we know and behold the nature of the divine majesty of God, ourselves as a reflection of God, and all the mysteries of the universe.

God has given us our life as a gift! Through our father and mother, God immediately created our spiritual soul made in God’s image and likeness so that we might love God above all things, for God is the source of our natural life, and the source of Eternal Life that comes to us through our supernatural family – the Catholic Church. Through our baptism and our confirmation, which opens us up to growing in God’s grace through prayer, service, study, evangelization and through the other sacraments, we can be filled with missionary zeal and gratitude.

God is the source of true love! When you are in love you want to spend time with your beloved, or with someone who loves your beloved as much as you, and you both want to help your beloved in any way.

Am I saying that Jesus Christ and his Bride the Church can be helped by us? Yes, because when we love God we then desire to serve him by being Christ to others. God wants us to use our God given gifts and holy desires to lead people to God and his Church where Eternal Life, Perfect Love and Infinite Wisdom can be fully found. God cannot force us to use our gifts for his glory and the salva-tion of souls, he wants us to freely choose to use our gifts where the Church and human family are most in need.

Since God became man in Jesus Christ, who then depended upon Mary and Joseph to care for him, we must care for the grace in our souls by turning to God the Father and Holy Mother Church, to Mary and Joseph and the other Saints in heaven, to nurture the life of God within us. We do this by practicing our Catholic faith: daily prayer, especially the Lord’s prayer, ―Our Father, who art in heaven, attending weekly Mass, where we hear Jesus’ words ―Do this in memory of me. And serving those in need for Jesus said, ―since you did this to these little ones, you have done this to me.

That is why we hear Jesus say in today’s Gospel, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” Jn. 14:23

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, dwell within us by virtue of our baptism and by keeping God’s word, which is the life of Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ is the Eternal Word of the Father that has taken on our human nature through the womb of Mary, and now he is present to us in the Holy Eucharist through the hands of an or-dained Catholic priest.

There is no greater source of peace than living this Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised his Apostles at his Last Supper dis-course; but also promises this divine gift to all of us disciples who work with the Apostles and the bishops of today as they celebrate the Holy Mass, a re-presentation of the Last Supper – the First Mass.

Jesus said to his Apostles, and through them to us, ―Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.‖ Jn. 14:27

It is praying from the depths of our heart that we can overcome all trouble and fear. For at the depths of our heart dwells the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

For those who recently were confirmed or soon will graduate from high school or college, the greatest gift you can receive is the knowledge that by keeping God’s word, the Word made flesh who is Christ in the Eucharist, you can know God’s love for you, and how to respond in love, which will lead you to Eternal Life, Perfect Love, and Infinite Wisdom.

Fortunately, we already have a taste of that heavenly life in our family and friends who sincerely strive to live the Catholic faith. As my classmates and I were part-ing ways at my high school graduation, 1984, I remember a friend sharing with me a song whose lyrics still ring in my heart and soul:―Friends are friends forever, when the Lord is Lord of them. And a friend never says never, be-cause the welcome never ends.‖

Thank God for his unconditional love that is waiting for us to respond in turn with dedicated love, whereby we find salvation. It is much like our mom and dad’s love, who wish that their children love God and them more and more, in return for the life they gave and sustained, and the supernatural life that they gave us to be sustained by our devotedly living the sacramental life of grace.

This is the life of increased saving grace, happiness and vision: to see that our families and our country would be forever united and blessed with Eternal Life, Perfect Love and Infinite Wisdom – Holy Communion with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – of which the saints from every nation and time enjoy for all Eternity.

Peace in the Risen Christ,

Fr. Thomas McCabe