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Opinions expressed by Brother Bubba are solely his own and are not intended to reflect the opinions of the Order of the Legion of St. Michael, it apostolates, members, benefactors, or constituents.
I can never listen to this song without weeping. I can barely type this.
We begin Holy Week in celebration of the great amazing grace granted to us by the voluntary sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on the Cross and His resurrection that allows us to defeat death and spend eternity in God's friendship.
Recall the famous verse, "For God so Loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
John Newton, an Anglican priest, wrote the hymn, Amazing Grace. It is an amazing song especially when one know how it was written. The words of the hymn are:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed.
When we've been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise Than when we'd first begun.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found Was blind, but now I see.
John Newton was a slave trader, a most evil trade. On a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer the ship through a violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his “great deliverance.” He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him.
For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. “Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’tis grace has bro’t me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” He continued in the slave trade for a time after his conversion; however, he saw to it that the slaves under his care were treated humanely.
He repented of his evil trade and in such regret and penance for his sins wrote this amazing hymn of the amazing Grace offered by God to him, a mighty sinner. I can relate in that I have been a mighty sinner, a chief of sinners, lost and dead. That God could or would reach down to me and save me from myself, through a miracle save my life, and to give me a vision of hell and the death of my own soul is so humbling as to be beyond words.
When I go to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament I cannot help but to lay prostrate on the floor before my Lord. It is the only place I belong when before my Lord God, the God of the Universe and my Creator. It is only by His grace that I am alive; it is only by His Grace that I may someday embrace Him in paradise.
This is the week that we celebrate this great grace, this Amazing Grace, oh how sweet the sound of those words. I was deeply lost into darkness, but now I am found by a loving and merciful God. Oh God, my God, my love, help me to not disappoint you and to live out my Love for You. Forgive me when I fail, which is most of the time.
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