Open the Door to Your Heart

One of my fellow jail ministers, George, likes to use the painting “The Light of the World” by William Holman Hunt to make the point of inviting Jesus into our hearts and lives. It’s a wonderful way to illustrate that WE must ask Jesus into our lives. Our Lord never forces himself on us, but is always waiting for an invitation to open the door to our heart. In this podcast, Tony talks about opening that door.


Scripture: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” — Revelation 3:20


Reflection: Are you opening the door to your heart? Have you made the first move to meet Jesus waiting at the door of your heart? Do you see the symbolism in the painting?


*The Light of the World (1853–54) is an allegorical painting by William Holman Hunt.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Two Dollars and a Bus Pass

 It was a cold winter day and I decided to stop at the local fast food restaurant for a roast beef sandwich and a coke.  Although it wasn’t yet one o’clock, the restaurant was nearly empty and I was the only person in line. In this podcast Tony talks about what happened next, and how it changed his view of generosity. Scripture:   When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a widow putting in two small coins.  He said, “I tell you truly, this poor woman put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.  Luke 21:1-4 Reflections:   What can we learn from the poor widow in the gospels?  Do you find that the people who have little and more inclined to share what they have than people with more?  The young girl didn’t have much but she offered to share what little she had.  H...
Read more

Be Passionate

I am a passionate person. I live life passionately. I am passionate about my marriage, my family, friends, my work, my writing and speaking , fishing, golf, and most importantly, I am passionate about my Catholic faith.  In this podcast Tony talks about the importance of passion. Scripture: He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it:You shall love your neighbor as yourself. –Matthew 22:37-39 Quote: “It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind.” – T.S. Elliot Reflections: What are you passionate about?  Are you passionate about your faith?  What drives your passions?
Read more

In All Things Give Thanks

In this podcast, Tony discusses giving thanks as an important element of Christianity.  He uses the beautiful writings of St. Rose of Lima to better understand God’s amazing grace.  The feast of St. Rose of Lima is celebrated this Saturday, August 23rd. Quote: “If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighed when they are distributed to men.”   –From the writings of St. Rose of Lima “ Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: ‘Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men t...
Read more