Have you ever considered the following questions:

How can we have true fellowship with the Holy Spirit?

How is true fidelity to God achieved?

How is passion for God and for His holy works sustained?

I write today not from a theoretical perspective, but from a deeply personal one. I would like to give you a glimpse into my own spiritual journey in the hope that it may inspire you to have a deeper faith in God, a greater trust in the mercy and love of Our Lord Jesus and a true fellowship with the Holy Spirit that restores your soul and renews your life.

Here’s my short answer to all the questions above.

Everything good depends on God and on our willingness to truly trust Him, love Him and be His.

My spiritual conversion began with a conversation with God. God gave me an extraordinary grace so that I could be truly His and because this grace is so extraordinary I know that it was not intended only for me. So today I share it with anyone who is willing to listen.

This extraordinary grace was given to me in a mystical conversation I had with God. God spoke to my heart and asked me a question. God asked “what is love?” To this, I answered “love is a feeling.” To my reply, Jesus said, “wrong”. So I wondered if love is not a feeling what is it. Jesus answered “love is a choice”.

God wanted me to understand that we prove whether or not we are loving people, by the choices we make, not by the emotions we may or may not have.

Jesus made a choice called LOVE when He chose to die for us on the Cross. Jesus incarnated and surrendered to the will of God the Father when He chose to pay the price of our sins. It was the mercy of Our Lord Jesus that paid the price of divine justice and while you may already know this truth, this truth will not change your life or permit true fellowship with the Holy Spirit and allow for a deep personal relationship with Our Saviour Jesus Christ until the love of God truly penetrates your heart.

Years ago I was learning to pray the Rosary and I was reluctant to meditate on the Sorrowful mysteries because that required that I walk to Calvary and spiritually experience the Passion of Christ. I was afraid to really think about how much Jesus suffered for us. I was afraid to see the price of my sins and the sins of all humanity on that Cross, so to encourage me Jesus spoke again to my heart. He said, “honour me”. I realized that I had to honour the great sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus by remembering it, by meditating deeply upon it and so I began to meditate on the Passion of Christ and now I continue to pray and meditate on the Passion of Our Lord everyday at 3pm, the time Jesus died for us. I encourage you to stop everyday at 3pm, if but for a few moments, to remember your Saviour Jesus dying on the Cross for you. I also urge you to honour Jesus by praying and meditating on His Passion everyday and in this way the love of Our Lord Jesus will penetrate your heart.

I think it was St. Padre Pio that said, “prayer is the key that opens the heart of God” and to this I would humbly add, “and the Passion of Christ is the key that opens the human heart to the great love of God.”

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

When we see Our Holy Saviour, Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, brutally tortured and crucified for our sake, His love penetrates and circumcises our heart.

“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” Deuteronomy 30:6

And how did God fulfill this promise? He sent His Son into the world to die for us!

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13

Meditating daily on the Passion of Christ has changed my heart, my mind and my life. It has changed my priorities and my choices.

Recently my family moved into a new community. We bought a house that is called “timber frame construction”. This style of construction consists of large pieces of timber crafted into beams that hold up a cathedral “church-like” wooden roof. As I write this I am sitting in front of a large wooden cross in my living roof that sustains the house. On that Cross I see Our Holy Lord suffering and I cry as I grieve that so many people still do not know Him and love Him as He deserves to be loved.

Friends, I am not a theologian, just a sinner that Jesus saved through His amazing grace. Jesus saved me by helping me to understand how much He loved me and His love penetrated my heart when I began to meditate on His Passion.

Jesus proved His love for us by making a difficult choice, a choice to die for us. We can go through our life without really being conscious of the choices we are making, but a deeper Christian faith and life where we are witnessing to our faith involves a deep spiritual awareness. We must consider carefully the choices we are making and the words we are using and ask ourselves are we truly allowing the Holy Spirit to live in us and work through us.

Obedience and fidelity is not made possible through God’s law, it is made possible through God’s love. We must allow God’s Holy Spirit to penetrate our hearts so that we can begin to live a life of grace. We must become quiet enough to discern God’s voice speaking to our conscience.

I fell in love with Jesus on the Way to Calvary and I suspect you will too. Fidelity is a natural outcome when you are in love, but fidelity is challenging when you are not.

Let the Passion of Christ circumcise your heart and don’t let a day go by without talking a walk to Calvary to remember the choice Jesus made that proves how much He loves us!  LOVE IS A CHOICE! May our every choice give God glory!