 Accepting the fact that we cannot have it all is a necessary condition for

experiencing real peace. To get what you want, you should know what you must
give up before you get it. Every choice entails a renunciation. We lose our peace
of mind when werefuse to give up those things that do not fall within the ambit of
our choice.

 Wealth can make you feel secure, independent, and comfortable, but it
hides rather than reveals your real identity. Notice how rich people
disguise themselves so as to be unrecognizable in public.
 St. Augustine writes that peace is “the tranquility of order.” We experience
peace when we set our priorities right, when we decide based on real
values, unafraid of the renunciation such decision entails.
 Let us humbly request Jesus to put our lives in order, to help us make decisions
based on authentic values and a right sense of priorities, and to stand by these
decisions no matter what happens.
 The late, Karl Menninger, a famous psychiatrist who had treated hundreds of
patients with mental disorder once wrote: “Disturbed people pay me for advice
and comfort, but after many years of doing my work, I realized that many
physical and psychological diseases are the result of habitual sins that people
refuse to confess.  Absolution is still the best solution. And it is FREE!”
 No matter what a big mess we have made of our lives, we still cannot lock Jesus
out. Even in our gloomiest and darkest nights, He is with us as the Spirit that
comforts us.  Comfort comes from the Latin word “fortis” which means strong, or
brave.  The Spirit of the risen Jesus strengthens and enables us to cope with
every failure and sins of our past. He transforms us into a new creation. Today,
Mercy Sunday, let us welcome the Holy Spirit in our hearts and experience joy
and peace.
Fr. dela Rosa