God Loves You!

In case you've forgotten...

THE LOVE OF GOD (reprinted from Catholic Answers)

God has not abandoned us, because God is love. He loves the world he made, and he loves us, broken though we are.

God loves us so much that he sent his only Son to become one of us and to save the human race.

His Son was born in the village of Bethlehem two thousand years ago. He grew up to become the most important person in history: Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Christ.

In his ministry, Jesus traveled the hills of Galilee and Judea. He taught the word of God, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and even raised the dead. In every way, he demonstrated God's love for us and his desire to heal us spiritually as well as physically.

Jesus opened the way for us to have eternal life.

For Jesus, the way was a costly one. He traveled the road of sorrows, and it ended with his death on a cross. Jesus was willing to suffer and die for us because his death would enable us to escape from our sins and to live with God forever.

Though he was God in the flesh, Jesus let himself be whipped and spat on and crowned with thorns. He let himself be crucified, with nails driven through his hands and feet. He offered his life as an act of love for us--an act so perfect, so pure, and so valuable that it paid for the sins of the whole world.

This was something only God could do. No matter what we might do to atone for our sins, we are merely finite creatures and never could pay for our offenses against the infinite holiness of God. But God could pay for them-- and, because he loves us, he did.

After the Crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead. The Resurrection serves as a sign of what is waiting for all who turn to God. One day Jesus will return, and those who have loved God will experience their own glorious resurrection, the overthrow of death, and eternal life in the love of God.