12/18/2020

Joy to the world! Peace on earth and goodwill among men!

We always think of these wishes in a human and worldly way. But that thinking is just wishful thinking. It is however a very good prayer. Nothing wrong with asking for peace, especially the peace of Christ.

The thing is that Christ came to save the world and light up the way for us so that we can be with Him in heaven. That is the real Joy to the World and Peace on Earth and Goodwill among Men. That is what we should celebrate with the Nativity of Our Lord.

12/9/2020

Mary wants us to remember!

I went to the National Shrine of the Miraculous Medal for Mass on 12/8/2020, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In his homily, the priest addressed this question: Why did Mary instruct St Laboure to have the invocation on the Miraculous Medal begin with these words, "O Mary conceived without sin?" He said that Mary cherished the blessing of being conceived without sin more than any other blessing. I believe that is true because being conceived without sin was the only way that she could be blessed by being the Mother of Jesus.

But I also believe that there is another reason. I have commented many times that I believe that Genesis 3:15 is the most important verse in Scripture. I refer to Genesis 3:15 quite often and as it relates to Father's question, the answer is that Mary's Immaculate Conception is the fulfillment of the promise made by God. In Genesis 3"15, God promised Mary to the world and told the world that she would be the mother of His Son. Mary wants us to remember that with her Miraculous Medal.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

11/27/2020

Inspiration for this commentary
taken from St. Mother Teresa's
Marian consecration in the
33 Days to Morning Glory - A
Do-It-Yourself Retreat by
Fr Michael E Gaitley, MIC

I Thirst

When Jesus said, "I thirst" while on the cross, He was not asking for a drink. That is to say that He was not wanting wine or anything else to quinch His human thirst.

No, Jesus was thirsting for us. Jesus wanted so much for us to understand and appreciate the fact that he was about to take His last physical breath because of His love for us. He wanted us to know and understand that when it was all said and done, that our resurrection would be available only because of His sacrifice and His defeat over death.

Jesus wanted us to love Him as much as He loves us or at least Jesus wanted us to be sincere in giving all of the love that we can in our humanity. That means that Jesus wanted to be number one in our hearts and without any equal. Jesus still wants that from us and will never stop wanting that. Jesus also deserves no less.

Jesus said, "I thirst" and Jesus will always thirst because Jesus wants to be with us and Jesus wants us to long to be with Him more than anything else that we can even begin to concieve. 

Jesus wants us to love and thirst for Him as much as He loves and thirsts for us. That is not an easy thing for us to do but Jesus wants us to at least try.

9/29/2020

"I am able to love you as if you and I were the only ones in the universe." 
- from Jesus Calling, 9/29

Imagine that! I get to have Jesus all to myself! It does not get any better than that. Jesus is all mine. Its just Him and me. What a beautiful blessing and it is all mine!

Selfish? Not at all. Everyone gets to enjoy that very same blessing and only those who refuse it fail to experience it.

9/29/2020

"The human mind is the pinnacle of My creation, but so few use it for its primary purpose--knowing Me."
- from Jesus Calling 9/29

In order to use our minds for their primary purpose, we must learn to make everything that exists in this world and in this life secondary to achieving an eternal life in God's Kingdom. That is the only way that we will get to know Jesus.

9/7/2020      A reflection on "Jesus Calling," 9/6/2020

Without our free will, there is no life.

We go to heaven because of our faith and our choosing to be with God.

Without that choice, there is no heaven.

Therefore, without a free will, there can be no heaven.

Without heaven, there is no life.

That is why our greatest gift is our free will.

This human life is nothing more than our God-given opportunity to use our free will wisely.

7/11/2020
"We cannot comprehend the power that a pure soul has over God.

It is not the soul that does God's will, but God Who does the soul's will." -- St. John Vianney

Whatever happens to us will be the result of a decision that we make. If we decide, deep down in our soul, to be with God in heaven, He will take us there.

4/18/2018

Don't Think: Just Follow!

A herd of sheep will follow the shepherd by choice without even giving it a thought. OK, one may argue that they really follow the shepherd by instinct. One of the Merriam-Webster online dictionary definitions for instinct is: “…to make a complex and specific response to environmental stimuli without involving reason.” Interesting. Maybe sheep have more since than some of us. After all, if sheep can follow their shepherd without involving reason, why can’t all of mankind follow Christ who is our Good Shepherd whether we acknowledge Him as that or not. Jesus does not give it a thought. Jesus shepherds us because He loves us. We should follow Him out of our love for Him and faith in Him—without even giving it a thought!

Inspiration for today"s thought came from the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, cycle b, 4/22/2018, John 10:11-18

There Is Life After Death

3/12/2018
We live in this world so everything that we do is done in this world. Even though, many of us are fully aware and believe that there is heaven and hell, we think and plan everything for this world. When we plan for what will happen when we die, we think and plan for what will happen in this world—we write a will.

Everything is for this world because we are too short sighted in our thinking to see beyond that which is right in front of us. If we cannot see it or hear it or taste it or touch it or at least smell it, we are not prepared to believe that it exists. But there is much more to our existence than what we experience in this world—this life.

God is very persistent throughout all of Scripture in trying to make us understand and believe that there is so much more ahead—something more valuable, more magnificent and so much more full of joy and peace than our human minds can even begin to conceive.

Elijah prayed over the widow’s son asking God to put the breath of life back into the son. God heard Elijah’s prayer and granted his request. Elijah carried the son to his mother and said, “See, your son is alive.”

We could take this event in Scripture and have many countless discussions on different topics of what God’s message is here. For now, I just want to make one point—there is life after death. We should be no less eager to prepare ourselves for that life than we are in preparing that which we consider to be most important in this life. If we do nothing to prepare for the next life, we will not have a next life—heaven. Instead, we will have a second death—hell.

Inspiration for today’s thought came from 1 Kings 17:20-23 as printed in the monthly publication of Give Us This Day for March 12, 2018.

Who Can You Count on the Most?

3/10/2018
So, think about it. Who can you count on the most? Is it your mother…your spouse or significant other…your child…your best friend? Is it someone else whom you place the greatest of trust in like a pastor or advisor? The answer is that there is no one on earth who you can always count on at all times, no matter what. No! You have to go beyond this life and into the next in order to fine the One and only One who you can count on the most at all times. That One is God, Almighty!

Inspiration for today’s thought came from Psalm 37:23-24
23 The valiant one whose steps are guided by the LORD, who will delight in his way, 24 May stumble, but he will never fall, for the LORD holds his hand.

There Is Only One
To Count On!

2/23/2018

Take a look at what is going on in the world today. It is so very depressing. It just seems that everything is wrong. Politics in our country and around the world is completely messed up. So many people can’t seem to figure out what sex they are. Too many people have no respect for sex at all. Too few people have any respect for others. Too few people respect life. By the way, if you are going to declare yourself to be Pro Life, then you should be in total support of any and all programs and ideas that better the living. What is this insane idea that we cannot afford funding entitlement programs as we really should?

Try practicing the Corporal Works of Mercy. As soon as you take a look at them, you will begin to see that as a society which is supposed to be the leader of the free world, we are doing virtually everything wrong.

In order to do more things right, we need to spend more time paying attention to God. He is the only One who can save us from the chaos that the evil one has brought down on us. God is trying to get our attention. Consider the weather and global warming for example. Yes, God is talking to us and we should listen because He is the only one that we can count on.

The inspiration for today’s thought came from the paraphrase of Psalm 12:8 in the Morning Prayers for 2/23/2018 in the book “Give Us This Day”—“It is you, O LORD, who will keep us safe, and protect us forever from this generation.”

Why P.U.S.H.
Why Pray Until Something Happens?

2/22/2018

Why should we continue to PUSH? Is it because God is proud and vain and narcissistic?

How can we even consider such terrible things? How can we even conceive such terrible things? Oh, how the evil one takes over our minds filling them with his evil lies.

The truth is that the more we pray, the more our minds are filled with thoughts of God. The more that God is on our minds, the less that evil thoughts even have a chance to be in our minds. That is when our minds are open to God. That is when our hearts will open up to God. That is when God can and will bring us to Him.

The inspiration for today’s thought came from the book “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young--devotion for 2/22/2018—“Your awareness of your constant need for Me is your greatest strength…The emptiness you feel within will be filled either with problems or with My presence. Make Me central in your consciousness by praying continually…Use My Name liberally, to remind you of My Presence. Keep on asking and you will receive.”