You Can’t Share What You Don’t Have

March 24, 2014 by blmaluso 6 Comments

“You can’t share what you don’t have.”

Those words, spoken to me by my priest during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, pierced through the haze I had been experiencing, and truly touched my heart.  I had confessed that I  should be sharing Jesus and his merciful love with others; that I should be doing more.

I was at the point where I knew what I should be doing, but wasn’t so sure how to carry it out.

That’s when he enlightened me by saying “You can’t share what you don’t have.”  When the words found my heart, there was an immediate feeling of shamefulness and confusion.  “I believe in God…I have faith, and try to do the right things.  So what does he mean?”

When confession was over, and Father gave me absolution, my spirit felt at peace.  At the time, I had no idea that my faith life would change so drastically over the next two years.

Spiritual reading  started to become  a natural part of my life.  It seemed as though I would come across the exact book I needed at particular times of need.  There was so much to learn.  Through rosary meditations and prayers, my relationship with Jesus started to grow in an intimate way for the first time.  Now that our relationship was growing, he started to reveal my areas of weakness.  As I felt closer and closer to the Lord, you would think I would feel more righteous and sin free.  However, as I am sure you already know, things worked a different way.  More and more sins were being revealed to me.  There was a big difference in my acknowledgement of those weaknesses and sins.  Where before, I would feel hopeless and self accusing, now as I became aware of them, I confessed and repented of them.  I learned to turn all of myself…including my sins and weaknesses, over to the Lord.

My eyes and heart started opening to all of the people around me, who were experiencing darkness, pain, suffering, loneliness and were walking around in the  same  haze I was once in.

The Lord filled my heart with a comforting, deep, intense love that helps me to understand some of the needs of the people I interact with daily.  He is helping me to learn to listen for his voice…and to take a step in faith to share his love in some way, according to the need.

I have found that the more time I spend learning about Jesus, and just being with him, the more my heart overflows with love for those he places in my life.  And I have found that the love doesn’t come naturally for me…it flows through me from the one source of mercy and pure love.

That kind of love only comes from Jesus.  And you can’t help but share it!

 

1 John 4:8 – He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 Peter 4:8 – And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 – And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: