Increasing Our Desire for God
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In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks about Purgatory.
Matthew 5:23-26
So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
What is the price of sin – the consequences of sin? It is two-fold: Grave sin deprives us of communion with God therefore makes us incapable of eternal life. Jesus removes that with Baptism or later with Confession. The second consequence of sin is a disordered attachment to the things of this world which manifests itself in the deadly sins: pride, vain ambition, envy, sloth, anger, greed, gluttony and lust. These prevent us from the complete union with God in heaven. We should remove these vices in this life but if we don’t then God in His mercy will remove them in Purgatory.
The CCC speaks of Purgatory (1030)
All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
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Faustina was taken to Purgatory and allowed to speak to the souls there who said their greatest torment was longing for God (Diary 20). Their desire for God was the purifying fire – purging away every disordered love that stood between them and God.
Diary 1185-86 This evening, one of the deceased sisters came and asked me for one day of fasting and to offer all my [spiritual] exercises on that day for her. I answered that I would. From early morning on the following day, I offered everything for her intention. During Holy Mass, I had a brief experience of her torment. I experienced such intense hunger for God that I seemed to be dying of the desire to become united with Him. This lasted only a short time, but I understood what the longing of the souls in purgatory was like.
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Here is the key: we travel to God by our desire.
So, if we want to possess God in this life and immediately after death, then the most important thing is to increase your desire for God.
We increase our desire for anything by thinking about it so spend more time thinking about God and Heaven.
After that, fast. If we glut ourselves sick with physical things, we’ll have no appetite left for spiritual things.
We travel to God by our desire. What do you desire most?
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We travel to union with God and avoid purgatory by increasing our desire for God in two ways: by spending time thinking about God in prayer; and by fasting from the things that have made us so full we are not hungry for God.
Lent begins this week. So, let’s start formulating our plan now to organize our day so that we spend more time thinking about God that our desire for him may grow.
The things you put in your schedule you are more likely to do. The things you leave to chance you are less likely to do.
So, what do you need to do about your life’s schedule to put in more time thinking of God in prayer?
Let’s begin to formulate our plan for Lent now.
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We are not spiritually hungry, and we do not desire God enough because we are filled to the gills with things of this world.
What do we need to cut out or cut back on this Lent?
Less screen time; maybe we have too much work; maybe we are devoting too much time to our kids activities…where is there too much in your life that is causing you to have too little time with God and in relationship with others?
What do we need to cut out or cut back so our desire for God will grow?