It’s easy to get focused on what’s missing in our lives, but when we regularly take time to reflect on what we have and give thanks to God we give Him glory and we develop an attitude of gratitude that promotes joy and peace.

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.” Revelation 11:17

The day is coming when the Lord Jesus will reign on earth, meanwhile we must allow Him, if we truly love Him, to reign in our lives, in the sanctuary of our hearts as Our Lord and Saviour!

I woke up this morning thinking about how beautiful the sunshine is. I awoke to hear the birds singing as I thanked God for the peace of the quiet countryside in which I live. Some people awake to sounds of war. How privileged we are to live in places where we are not persecuted for our faith and are not threatened by violence or terror! Let’s give thanks to God for this peace and let’s ensure that we pray for those who are victims of war, violence and terror. Let’s pray for the victims and let’s pray for the perpetrators of violence as we remember the instructions of Our Lord Jesus, “Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

Let’s take a moment right now to pray that the Holy Spirit helps strengthen people who are victims of violence and war. Holy Lord please give them courage and let them take refuge in Your Sacred Heart where they will be comforted and strengthened by Your infinite compassion and love. Please rid the perpetrators of violence of the demons that are at the root of so much pain, destruction and brutality. May Your Holy Spirit God enter into them to cause them to grieve their sins and turn away from hatred, vengeance and evil once and for all.

I don’t think we can properly give glory to God until we begin to acknowledge His great providence and blessings. It is easy to take for granted the things that we have. Most of us have never known the pain of hunger or the discrimination related to race, gender or even religion. As a woman I have been treated fairly in the workplace; I received equal pay for work of equal value.  It was only once, early in my career, when I recall a man touching me inappropriately and winking at me. I decided to be merciful and I told him calmly that if he ever did that again I would report him and he never touched me again!

In so many places in the world being female is cause for so much suffering. In Nepal if a woman is raped or assaulted the perpetrators are not punished, they aren’t even arrested. In Turkey, there is no protection for women being abused; there are no shelters or help for women in these dangerous circumstances. Source: http://www.rainbo.org/discrimination-of-women-throughout-the-world/ Women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults, and access to education is especially a problem in Afghanistan and parts of Africa where terrorist groups that oppose female education attack many schools.   Source: UN

There are over 100 million Christians being persecuted just because they believe in Jesus. They worship God in underground churches because it is considered illegal to be Christian. In North Korea thousands of Christians have been imprisoned, tortured and killed. “Christians try to hide their faith as far as possible to avoid arrest and being sent to labor camps with horrific conditions. Thus, one’s Christian faith usually remains a well-protected secret, and most parents refrain from introducing their children to the Christian faith in order to make sure that nothing slips their tongue when they are asked.” Source: Open Doors

It’s hard for those of us who have not experienced this type of persecution first hand to imagine it. We send our children to school believing they will be safe, protected by competent teachers and administrators. But for children in too many parts of the world going to school is not a given. There are many humanitarian organizations trying to help ensure that children get access to education and if you can afford to help them, I would urge you to do so. I have and I personally believe that education of children, with an emphasis on human rights for all people, is an important way to fight terror and violence.

Food, education and healthcare are for many of us in the developed world easy to access, but they are not easy to access in many parts of the developing world.  So we must do what we can to help equalize human access to essential basic needs in both the developed world and the developing world. How? By supporting humanitarian organizations, by trying to advocate for our government leaders to provide necessary funding and programs and by praying to silence the forces of evil that want to ensure that our children remain ignorant, hungry, disease-prone and easy prey for terrorist organizations.

If all we do is say thank you to God for providing for our needs and for helping us to achieve our dreams but we never think of helping someone else in need are we really living in a spirit of thanksgiving?

True thanksgiving must give back! True thanksgiving is a Spirit of Caring and Sharing. It is not selfish; it is generous.  I went to a wedding of a dear friend this weekend.   It was the first time I attended a wedding where the bride and groom chose to give to a charity instead of giving out wedding favours.  My dear friend, only 25 years old has stage IV Breast Cancer and she made a donation helping women fighting this disease.  I am inspired by her fight to live and her gracious generous nature.  It’s easy to take our health and our wealth for granted but we should be grateful for our ability to pay our bills and have a home, clean water and clean air for so many people struggle economically.

One of the things that keeps people poor, disadvantaged and suffering is terrorism. Take a look at Nigeria where over two million people are displaced because of the terrorist organization Boko Haram.

Recently one of the Nigerian girls abducted by the terrorists was freed and she got to tell her story.

“Now married to one of the militants, she said she could not escape. She said she feared she would never see her mother again and whenever she was alone she would spend up to an hour on her knees, praying that she would be rescued.

Although she told her captors that she had accepted their religion, inwardly she held on to her Christian faith.

She knew what could happen to her if she did otherwise, as she had witnessed the gruesome killing of another girl for refusing to convert to Islam. The militants buried her waist-deep in the ground and the other captives were made to stone her to death.” Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36653222

Friends of Jesus – we may say we are grateful this is not happening to us or to one of our immediate family members and friends, but IF WE FAIL TO PRAY for these oppressed people (regardless of their religion) we will fail to give God glory. “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14

There are more than 60 million people – one in 122 persons –  displaced globally – more than at any time in the past 70 years.  Source: UN Refugee Agency

“This tells us something deeply worrying about the peace and security of the world. The average time a person will be displaced is now nearly 20 years.” Source: Angelina Jolie Pitt, UN Refugee Agency Ambassador

Imagine spending the next 20 years of your life living under a tent in a refugee camp!  I understand that there are global concerns that terrorists are now hiding among civilians trying to immigrate to peaceful countries.  Perhaps governments should use lie detector tests to screen out terrorists and accelerate immigration for refugees.  How can we expedite immigration of orphan refugees?  These are important questions we need to think about and ask God to help us with.

Jesus died so that we can one day live in a peace and joy that we cannot imagine. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

How often do you read and study the Word of God?  How privileged are we to be able to read the Word of God in English!  How many people in the world do not have access to a Bible.

Now a really big question:

How often do you thank Jesus for dying for you?

How often do you think about how much Jesus suffered to open the gates of heaven to you and me and everyone who will believe in Him?

I think this story of St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most powerful ones I have ever heard about this great saint.

People used to see St. Francis of Assisi crying and they used to ask him why he was crying. St. Francis used to say, “I am weeping over the pains and insults of my Divine Master. But what grieves me most is that men for whom He suffered so much never think of the torments He endured.” Source: Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ

“He who desires”, says St. Bonaventure, “to go on advancing from virtue to virtue, from grace to grace, should meditate continually on the Passion of Jesus. There is no practice more profitable for the entire sanctification of the soul than the frequent meditation of the sufferings of Jesus Christ.” (Source: Meditations on the Passion of Jesus Christ, Saint Alphonsus de Liguouri)

St. Paul of the Cross wrote “The remembrance of the most holy Passion of Jesus Christ is the door through which the soul enters into intimate union with God, interior recollection and most sublime contemplation…” (Source: St. Paul of Cross, Spiritual Diary)

The Virgin Mary said to St. Faustina, “Be courageous. Do not fear apparent obstacles, but fix your gaze upon the Passion of My Son, and in this way you will be victorious.” (Source: Diary of St. Faustina 449)

Jesus said this to St. Faustina:

“I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation.” (Diary of St. Faustina, 186) “There are few souls who contemplate My Passion with true feeling; I give great graces to souls who meditate devoutly on My Passion.” (Diary of St. Faustina 737)

I know I have received great graces in meditating on Our Lord’s Passion and I want to share these graces with you by encouraging you to meditate on the Passion of Christ each day!

By contemplating the Passion of Christ we enter into a deeper spirit of thanksgiving as we thank God for loving us so much that He would send His Son to die for our sins!

At 3pm, in your local time zone, stop if but for a few moments to pray and remember the Passion of Christ. Three o’clock is the time Jesus died on the Cross for our salvation.  At this time, I encourage you to see your Saviour Jesus Christ on the Cross for you suffering, longing for your love and let His love transform you as you pray for the salvation of all souls!

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

I love You so much Jesus! You are my heart’s desire! You are my first love and my greatest love! Without You there is no love. Hold me close to Your heart Jesus! My soul longs for You, my God!

Learn more about A Peaceful Revolution in the Name of Jesus Christ here. This is a Peace Movement and a Mercy Movement that stops to give thanks to Jesus for dying for our salvation at the Hour of Mercy, 3pm (in our local time zones). We stop at the time Jesus died for us to pray for all souls as we remember the Passion of Christ. Think of the power of our united prayer and the glory and thanks we can give God, as we pray for those most in need of God’s mercy and love and remember the greatest the love the world has ever known and will ever know, the love of Jesus Christ!