Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be His own

I was going to write something substantial today.  I am left now with writing something which is, indeed, substantial, but there won't be much writing to it.  It is not something that I feel able to say too much about.  It is, however, as substantial as anything can be.

God loves us.

I have a cycle that I follow in going through the Mysteries of the Rosary.  There used to be three sets of five, all reflecting on Our Lord's life, death, and Resurrection:

• The Joyful Mysteries
• The Sorrowful Mysteries
• The Glorious Mysteries

Pope John Paul II, noting that there were none that meditated on Jesus's adult life, added:

• The Luminous Mysteries

In order to spare you the geeky mathematics I use, I will just tell you that I have a formula I use to decide which mysteries I pray on a particular day, in such a way that I go through them all equally.

This morning I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries:

1. The Agony in the Garden. Fruit of the Mystery: Sorrow for Sin, Uniformity with the will of God
2. The Scourging at the Pillar. Fruit of the Mystery: Mortification, Purity
3. The Crowning with Thorns. Fruit of the Mystery: Contempt of the world, Courage
4. The Carrying of the Cross. Fruit of the Mystery: Patience
5. The Crucifixion. Fruit of the Mystery: Salvation, Forgiveness

Look, I have nothing to say that, if you are a Christian, you have not read dozens of times - how amazing it is that God, seeing us lost, turned against Him, wallowing in our sins and miseries, 'sent' (strange word) His Son to die for our sins; raised Him for our justification; promises us eternal life if we will only believe Him, trust Him, love Him, live in His love for us and for the world.

God loves us.  It seems incredible to me, but there is no other way I can see it.  He loves us not for what we are, but ... well, He just loves us.  Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus a man, facing the Cross - could only have done what He did because He loved His Father, and His Father loves us - so He loves us.  There in that agony was the critical moment.  "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass for Me - yet not My will, but Thine."

I have pondered all day what to write and can do no better than this - because I cannot express it.  I went to Mass this morning, and at Mass, between the First and Second Readings - followed by the Gospel reading - is the Psalm.  The cantor chants the verses of the Psalm.  Between each section of, usually, four lines, we respond.  Our response today was:

     "Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be His own"

God loves us.  God grant us the gift of loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength - and our neighbour as ourself.