There will be moments in our lives when we will feel lost, overwhelmed, and stuck. We drift in between interactions, work deliverables, and difficult choices. We are busy, and yet, never fulfilled.
It is exactly in those times that we need to run back to God. We return to the God who is wise, loving, and faithful. He is the One who walks above the raging sea; the One who calms the storm.
In the last Mass, the priest reminds the people: Focus your gaze on Christ.
When we focus our gaze on Christ, we will see His hand working in our lives. It is only when we look to God that we begin to realize how much He has blessed us in the past. We see His generosity as we become aware of the blessings and relationships that we are thankful for, the experiences that fill us with joy, and the challenges that we have successfully overcome. We see how much we have changed in the course of a year, and how God has pulled us through.
When we focus our gaze on Christ, we will have peace because God goes before us. Building on our gratitude to God, He then reminds us that He is faithful to His promises. His plan is to give us a hope and a future: plans of prosperity and abundance for each one of us. And if we truly believe that God has our best interest and our happiness in His heart, then we will not be conquered by fear nor worry. In His hands, we can surrender all of our cares, dreams, goals, and struggles. Knowing that Jesus is the aim and direction of our lives is enough to push us through to a better tomorrow.
When we focus our gaze on Christ, He makes His presence known. God always meets us where we are. The Bible says that nothing can separate us from the love of God through Christ. He is Emmanuel, the God with us. The God who walked, dined, and laughed with us. He shared in our humanity, and restored it to Himself. And it is in the present moment, if we are mindful and open to Him, that we feel His comforting presence and His constant love.
The truth is that God loves you without any conditions. He loves you, not because you did good today. He loves you, and not despite your sinfulness. He loves you because that is who He is. He is Love, the well through which living water flows. By loving God more and more, we begin to have more love that we can share to others. His grace is the cup that overflows. And when we love, we love in the now. Not yesterday. Not in the future. We love now, and so the challenge has always been to show the proof of our love through our kind words, loving manner, and by small acts of compassion and mercy.
And so my prayer is that as we then try to focus our gaze on God, may He grant us: First, the grace we need to see the blessings and gifts He has given us. Second, the grace to trust Him fully and with firm hope in His promises. And third, the grace to be mindful and open to His Holy Presence in the present moment so that we can experience and share His love to others today.
Magis Catholic 
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