JB Lifestyle

Last week in the Gospel, we are given the story of the blind man who was healed by Jesus. Physical blindness is a terrible affiliction but spiritual blindness is much worse and it can take many forms! Often times we are blind to our own imperfections and focus on the perceived imperfections of others! No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. Why do we keep forgetting that? If we could only see ourselves in the mirror of God's light, oh how we would realize just how imperfect we are and just how much our actions affect other people. There is also the blindness caused by selfishness! We hold people in contempt and do not permit our hearts to be moved by the suffering of others. Just like the crowd who tried to drown the blind man's plea, we shut or eyes and minds to the needs of others. How cold our hearts have become and we forget that the greatest poverty that exists is a heart devoid of love! There will always be people trying to keep you down. Be like that poor...

In the world of today its all about "quid pro quo". In otherwords do something for me and i will return the favor. We even try to build our relationships and professional contacts based on what the other person can offer you. Its very sad indeed and we even think we can do the same with God but how very wrong we are! God sees the human heart clearly and can read your intentions. He knows your deepest desires and needs but he cannot be bribed or manipulated like human beings. We want so many things and are often envious of the sucess of others. Sometimes we even think we deserve to be happier than others because we have tried our best to be "good". The Lord gives as he wills and he will continue to do so. He will still bless those who seem to be wicked in our eyes and those who seem just! We are all sinners first of all and no one is just before God! He does not owe us anything! He has already paid the price for our salvation with his blood. Seek God with a...

Mother Theresa is quoted as saying those wise words. They are truly words to live by especially in our times today. We focus so much on oursleves, our feelings and our desires. Everything seems to be centred on ME. How selfish and contemptuos we have become. We no longer care for anyone but ourselves and our own happiness! I think we need to give untill it hurts and then give some more. I know its hard because we are selfish in our natures but it is not impossible. Remember to try to put yourself into the life of the people you encounter everyday. We cannot fully understand what someone is going through but we can show compassion to those in less fortunate circumstances than our own. Our local priest reminded me in his homily this week that no one is too poor to give anything. Neither is there a wealthy person who doesn't need anything! Our lives are intertwined for a reason. We are meant to help each other. Pope Francis recently said that wealthy people who horde their r...