Surges of the Heart and Looks Turned Toward Heaven

 

I love St. Therese of Lisieux’s definition of prayer found in (CCC 2558). She says, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” The beauty of prayer as described by St. Therese of Lisieux, and by the Church, is that the “surges of the heart,” the simple looks turned toward heaven,” come spontaneously to those who are humble enough to acknowledge their dependence upon the loving and merciful care of a Heavenly Father.

Prayer is a gift from God to those humble enough to acknowledge dependence upon His love and mercy and respond with praise and thanksgiving (CCC 2559). It is a covenant relationship with God as we come into communion with the love of the Trinity and our brothers and sisters in Christ (CCC 2564). Effective prayer stems from the heart. “According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.” (CCC 2562)

Jesus, Our Friend

 

When you come to know Him, and grow in your relationship with Him, you will soon realize He is the most trusted, loyal, and faithful Friend you’ll ever have! He may be the only true friend you'll ever have!

The Big Bang - Who was there before it? Who put it all into motion?

 

The creation of the vast universe, billions upon billions of galaxies, containing billions upon billions of stars, the universe in which we live upon this tiny planet we call earth, is an awesome thing to ponder!

Unlike a man-made bomb, which explodes into existing space, the “Big Bang” explosion created even the space into which it exploded and expanded. Space did not yet exist.

Today, astrophysicists estimate that the temperature of the entire universe at just a tiny fraction of a second after the “Big Bang” explosion was 1000 trillion degrees Celsius. Even the cores of the hottest stars in today's universe are much cooler than that. As mere humans, we lack the ability to begin to even imagine the intensity of such force, energy, and heat!

Man looks to science for proof of God’s existence. But science has its limits.

With regard to the “Big Bang” theory, science has the authority to tell us how things are only from the moment of the explosion until today. Science has no legitimacy, no power to tell us anything about what happened or Who was there prior to the explosion. It cannot tell us why the explosion took place in the first place. That is the province of religion and spirituality, and the legitimate authorities on that subject are the great saints and prophets, and all to whom God has revealed such knowledge.