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My heart is glad,
and my glory rejoices!
My whole being will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul comfortless,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forever and ever.
Psalm 16: 9-11

Nevertheless it is provided by the Lord that everyone may be saved. It is provided by the Lord that there should be a religion everywhere; and that in every religion there should be the two essentials of salvation, namely, to acknowledge God and to refrain from evil because it is against God. Divine Providence 328

Thought for the day

It is comforting to know what our common sense and our hearts tell us –that the Lord’s requirements to get to Heaven are pretty simple. It is comforting to know that the Lord does not punish us if we aren’t part of the “right” religion, or if we don’t join any religion at all.

The Lord’s requirements are to acknowledge Him and refrain from doing evil because it is against Him. Imagine what kind of world this would be if we all did that. Imagine our political system. Imagine our big business. Imagine driving down the road!

And perhaps just as important, imagine our lives if we put the Lord first in all things and tried always to do what His will was for us.

The truth is, we can have glimmers of a heavenly life here on earth. Daily prayer and asking the Lord to lead us and show what He wants us to do today will give us pieces of a heavenly life. What naturally follows is doing good for those around us, which in turn spreads heaven.

Take comfort in the fact that the Lord saves us all, if we want to be saved and are willing on a daily basis to seek and do His will.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for teaching me Your simple requirements for my own salvation. Thank you for your infinite mercy and ever present love and guidance.

I may not always lead a “heavenly” life and I may not always do Your will. But today I would like to try again and today I ask You to lead me.

As I go out today, help me to remember that You are my guide, my comfort and my friend. Help me to share those feelings directly or indirectly to all whom I meet today.