Summary: One day my mother received a very nice copy of the New Testament in Spanish. She began to read. Feelings pent up for so long began to overwhelm her. She had been unable to find what her soul craved. She had done good works and served in church. She had made promises to God. She was a faithful worshiper at Mass. She confessed regularly to her priest. And yet, despite it all, something was still missing. She did not have peace. My Mom began to read the New Testament. So deep was her reverence for Jesus, even in her searching, that she read it on her knees, knowing it to be holy. After only a few chapters in the Gospel of Matthew, she came to the Beatitudes in Matthew, chapter 5. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” she read, “for they shall see God.” She read this verse of blessing, full of beauty from the mouth of Jesus. She read it—and despaired. It was as if the book were speaking to her. That’s it, she thought, I will never see God. I know that I do not have a pure heart. As she was praying in despair, she felt something strange. She felt the Lord speaking to her. My daughter, she felt Him say, you are mine. You are forgiven. In that moment, my mother was born again. Can I ask you something? Have you personally experienced that new birth? Have you received Jesus Christ into your heart and life? This is Luis Palau.
