Following Christ's Teachings

Think of the Spirit of God’s Love. In the Acts of the Apostles we hear Peter, our first Holy Father, proclaiming the universality (Catholic actually means Universal) of God’s Redeeming Love; in fact, if any souls are, finally, excluded from Heaven it will be solely due to their having knowingly refused God’s Loving Embrace, an invitation which continues to the very end of each life on Earth. God respects our free-will; He will not force us. Saint John, calls us to love one another as God loves us; God doesn’t just love us. He is Love itself, shown most clearly in His sending of His Divine Son to suffer and re-open the way to Heaven. Christ’s words to His Disciples re-emphasise His Loving Sacrifice of Himself on the Cross and the message that it is in obeying God that we not only prove our love for Him, but stay safe in His Arms, protected from evil.
 
Parents will readily understand this; you would move heaven and earth, surely even risk your lives, to keep your children from harm and they, hopefully, will grow to realise that they are safest when they (maybe reluctantly at times!) allow themselves to be guided by your ‘do’s and don’ts’; as they grow up they come to understand the great love which, sometimes, means that Mum and Dad will say ‘no’ or will insist that such and such be done, knowing better than their offspring what lies behind things which may appear very attractive.
 
It may, sometimes, be hard to convince others of the rightness of the more challenging Teachings of Jesus, however we need look no further than His own example; when certain of His followers decided to desert Him, unable to accept His Central Teaching on Holy Communion, His Body and Blood as our Food of Life, He did not water things down but asked the Twelve who remained, “Will you also go away?”. May Love help us pursue the Truth, come what may!