Reading is Fundamental

Since going back to church I have made it a mission to try and read a least a small passage of the Bible each night before I go to bed. I have been doing this for some time now and I have made it all the way to Leviticus. This is huge for me, I have never been able to get past Genesis before this. Before reaching this part of the Bible, I was given some advise to "prepare for Mass" by taking my Sunday Flyer from church, where they post the next weeks readings, and take the time to read these a head of time about a few days before the next Sunday. To read it thoroughly and let the words really sink in. This is supposed to let you find a connection with what is truly being said in each reading.
You may be thinking (like I was) "I go to church every Sunday now, so why do I need to do this?"
I did not take any real pay too much attention to this, until I realized that there are so many distractions going on during Mass, even ones we may not realize. There are sometimes (more often than not almost every weekend in my case) that there is a hyper or crying child while the readings or homily are taking place, you may find yourself noticing someone else in church you haven't seen in a while and your mind gets distracted, or many other things may be going through your head as well.
Well, before I today, when I planned on reviewing next weeks readings, I found myself reading Leviticus 4, which talks about sin offerings. I was reading through, thinking since this was from the Old Testament I wouldn't really find much relevance to today's church and myself, but boy was I wrong.
This was the first time I got an overwhelming feeling of "wow" followed with a few chills, I must admit. This talks about offering a animal "without blemish" and how the animal and blood will be used for sacrifice for this sin.
This truly made me think of the way that Jesus, the Messiah and a man "without blemish", without sin, was used in the same way as a sacrifice for all of man-kinds sins. This made me appreciate Jesus and the sacrifices that God has made for us and the the love that he continues to show us through out time.
I know now, that the Bible and the readings that are used in the church are just one way that God uses to connect with us and to try and make us see things that way that they truly are.
Another thing I wanted to add that happened a few days after this as well. I was in my car having my nightly talk with God on my 10 minute drive home from work. At this time, and as often as I can though out the day, I always say "Thank you God". I thank him for my family, my friends, my job, and everything that he has given me and the world. This comes very naturally now, and I like to try to make it a part of every day, as many times a day as I can. One thing came it to my head that I do not believe I have ever said or realized before, and it felt so profound for me and filled me with such feeling that I had to take the words and say them out loud as well "I love you God". Those words have never been uttered from my lips before that I can ever remember. The absolute love and awe I felt at that moment was so over powering, it was a high like I had never felt before. This was just the other night, and I want to try and make it a part of every night to come, most people find it easy to thank God for all that he has done, but do we ever take the time to remind him that we love him as well?

If there is anyone else out there who is reading this, or any of my future posts, and is either struggling with their faith and needs someone to share their fears and doubts with, or anyone who just wants to share words of encouragement and faith so that everyone can hear, please don't hesitate to leave a note on this blog. This is not just for me, but for anyone who needs to know that they are truly not alone out there and someone else may be going through the same things that they are now, or have gone through the same things in the past.

Thank you all of listening and Gold Bless!