Blog Post 12/31/2023 - As the Calendar Year ends take some time to reflect on what really matters.

 

As the Calendar Year ends take some time to reflect on what really matters.

 

 

Is Jesus Christ the primary focus of your life?   

Do you recognize Jesus in the unseen people in our world?  Read St. Matthew’s Parable of The Sheep and the Goats:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’  “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

 

May your new year be blessed, and May God Be Praised.

 

Blog Post 12/30/2023 – Our [true] Home

 

Our [true] Home

“Here we do not have a lasting city; we seek a home that is yet to come.” [Hebrews 13:1]

As we continue our Christmas Celebrations, may we not forget that we are only passing through on earth heaven is our true Home.

 **

 

May God Be Praised.

 

 

**You can find Kelly Latimore’s work at https://kellylatimoreicons.com/

Blog Post 12/29/2023 – Count your Blessings.

 

 

Count your Blessings.

Today spend some time reflecting on the many blessings God has bestowed upon you.

 

 

 

May God Be Blessed.

Blog Post 12/28/2023 – An Insight into Living as a Disciple of Jesus Christ.

 

 

An Insight into Living as a Disciple of Jesus Christ.

 

“While gathering and managing the goods of this world with one hand, hold fast with the other to the hand of your heavenly Father.”  [St. Francis de Sales]

 

Reflect on how to balance living in this world while preparing for the next.

 

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 12/27/2023 - Questions to Consider?

 

Questions to Consider?

 

Where do you notice God’s presence in your life right now?

How can your “wandering” help you on your journey of the heart?

 

May God Be Praised.

 

Blog Post 1/26/2024 – The Long View

 

 

The Long View

 

One day the Jesus will wipe away every tear when each sunset, and each heartache will become a sunrise and the eternity of joy will surround us.  Lord, let Your light be my guidance and scatter my darkness.   Your light is light itself.

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 12/26/2023 - Eyes, ears & heart

 

Eyes, ears & heart

Lord, You have given me the eyes of faith to know You and ears of faith to hear Your Word, please give me the heart to live Your Gospel.

Listen as you pray for the Spirit to come upon you:

Spirit of the Living God

With your eyes, ears and heart let God “use you.”

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 12/25/2022 Christmas Day, The Prince of Peace, come let us adore Him.

Christmas Day, The Prince of Peace, come let us adore Him.

 

An Irish Christmas Blessing

“May you be blessed with the spirit of the season which is peace.  The gladness of the season, which is hope, and the heart of the season which is love”

 

 

 

 

May your Christmas be blessed and may God Be Praised.

 

 

 

 

Blog Post 12/24/2023 – 4th Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve

4^th Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve

Advent the Season of Preparation where 1. Hope, 2. Peace, 3. Joy and 4. Love strengthen our conviction that the Son of God did, in fact, come and will come again.   

 

 

 

Today is, also, Christmas Eve we look forward with great anticipation to celebrating the Year of Grace, 2024.

 

 

May God’s Grace fill you and guide you today and every day. 

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 12/23/2023 - Transition from Fall to Winter

 

 

 

 

Transition from Fall to Winter as Advent Draws to a Close.

 

 

 

Teilhard de Chardin prayed, “Above all, trust the slow work of God.  We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay ….  Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.”   [Patient Trust]

 

As Advent draws to a close spend a little time strengthening your patience with everyone, especially with the Lord in answering your prayers.

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 12/22/2023 - The Little Prince and Wasting Time with God

 

 

The Little Prince and Wasting Time with God

We learn that we should do something practical, we learn that increasing our wealth [economic wealth] should be our primary focus.  Prayer, religion, helping others is a waste of our time, centering our life on God  is simply not productive.

Read and ponder this short insight from Antoine Saint-Exupery’s novella, The Little Prince, “It is the time you wasted with you rose that makes it important.”  Reflecting on your prayer life [the rose] by this world’s values is a waste of time, yet in the spiritual realm “what is important is wasting time” with God.  For we who center our lives on God, we know prayer builds our relationship with God.  Fidelity to prayer is fundamental to progress in the spiritual life.

Maybe these the Five Salesian Spiritual Principles can help us reflect on our prayer life.

1. listen to the heart

2. commit

3. perfect freedom

4. belonging to God

5. ordinary things

We live ordinary lives that belong to God, so in perfect freedom let’s commit to listen with our heart (including our soul and our will) to God and live our life for His glory.  To finish your Advent preparations take some time to read The Little Prince.

 

May God Be Praised.

 

 

 

Blog Post 12/21/2023 – Prayer a Refresher.

Prayer a Refresher.

The Answer is found in the Shema (meaning “hear”), so we can hear God.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.   

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

How - Be faithful in loving the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.   If you do that the world will be a better place and you will be a better person.

 

May God Be Praised.

 

Blog Post 12/20/2023 - What is Enough for you?

 

What is Enough for you?

Listen with your heart, mind and soul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxg-qBhZ7M8

 

 

What is “enough for you”?

“Give me nothing more than your love and grace.  These alone, O God, are enough for me.”

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 12/19/2023 – Sincere Repentance & the Art of Kintsugi

 

                                                  Sincere Repentance & the Art of Kintsugi

Here is a terrific insight from a homily written in the second century “We should repent of our sins while we are still on earth. When a potter is making a vessel and it becomes misshapen or breaks in his hands, he shapes it again; but once placed in the oven, it is beyond repair. Now the clay in the craftsman’s hands is an image of ourselves, and it teaches us that, while still in this world, we must wholeheartedly repent of sins committed in the body and make it possible for the Lord to save us while there is time. When we have left this world, we shall no longer be able to repent and confess our sins.”

May we repent of our sins because we love God and are sorry for failing to properly respond to the Lord’s love.

Maybe this powerful observation from the Japanese art of kintsugi can help us best prepare for Christmas and beyond.  Kintsugi is the art of precious scars and a parable of healing and reconciliation.  The word kintsugi is made up of two Japanese words: “golden” and “repair.” It’s the technique of repairing broken ceramics or pottery by joining the fragments together with liquid gold, liquid silver or lacquer dusted with powdered gold. 

Through the art of kintsugi, what was once broken becomes whole again, Jesus offers us the same in the Sacrament of Reconciliation [Penance], He calls us to allow His Grace to mend the broken within us. 

Could this be your final preparation for Christmas?

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 12/18/2023 – Surrender to God

Surrender to God

Lord, my God fashion my heart and my will to do Your Will this day, direct my hands to do  Your work.  Let the splendor of Your love, mercy and compassion shine on the world through my actions today.

 

                                                        May God Be Praised.

Blog Post Homily Cycle B 12/17/2023

 

Homily Cycle B 12/17/2023

 

 

 Readings

 

The Cartoon, above, appeared the day after Thanksgiving, it depicts a father & son on their front door step and seeing a pile of Amazon boxes, the caption reads: “Looks like the Christmas Season has begun.”   

In our culture that is often the case. Buying Christmas presents is O.K., it isn’t bad in and of itself. But to be clear I am not bringing a message from the Chamber of Commerce rather I am bringing a message from the Halls of Heaven.

Ponder the Empty Crib, it reminds us that Jesus has already come, He will come again, BUT now in Advent 2023 where is HE?  What does our crib have in it?  Money, Credit Cards, Alcohol, material things of all sorts, or our stock portfolio? 

What fills the crib of our hearts? 

Advent reminds us to prepare for Christmas we need to fill the crib our lives, with the Lord, then and only then will we be ready for Christmas.

Advent is a Season of Hope.

What do you hope for: An Eagles Super Bowl win, the Phillies capturing the 2024 World Series, Taylor Swift performing at this year’s Musikfest?  None of these are bad BUT Advent reminds us to Hope in the Love of Jesus - for His Promises to be fulfilled.  Advent reminds us that Hope is a Divine gift for each one of us.

We sang in our Responsorial “My Soul Rejoices in My God” as we should especially today  Gaudete Sunday.

Our liturgy reminds “Rejoice in the Lord, always,” as Christians our Hope is in Jesus Christ, the one from whom we receive the gifts of grace, forgiveness and everlasting life.  Hope is a Divine virtue that is at the foundation of Christian life, it “… allows us to firmly trust in God's promises of eternal life and the means to obtain it.”  (Magisterium [AI])

Maybe this story can aid us in our Advent preparations, our Advent perspective.  God's time clock is different from ours as Little Jimmy learned one day as he was laying on a hill in the middle of a meadow on a warm spring day.  As the puffy white clouds floated by Jimmy thought about their shape.  Then, Jimmy began to think about God and said out loud  "God? Are you really there?"

To his astonishment a voice came from the clouds. "Yes, Jimmy? What can I do for you?"  Seizing the opportunity, Jimmy asked, "God? What is a million years like to you?"  God responded, "A million years to me, Jimmy, is like a minute."  "Oh," said Jimmy. "Well, then, what's a million dollars like to you?"  "A million dollars to me, Jimmy, is like a penny."  "Wow!" remarked Jimmy.  "You're so generous... may I have one of your pennies?"  God replied, "Sure thing, Jimmy! Just a minute."  Jimmy wasn't ready for that response.  [Sermons.com Getting Ready]   And neither are we. 

God gives time on earth to prepare to be with Him in Heaven.

The powerful and poignant Advent hymn In a Bleak Midwinter concludes with this line “What shall then I give Him, I will give my heart”.

Henri Nouwen prayed, “Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas….”  In today’s Collect, Msgr. Sacks gathered our prayers with his “O God …enable us … to attain the joys of so great a salvation & celebrate them always with … glad rejoicing ….”

For a few minutes, in silence, reflect on what you truly Hope for, what you are willing to give the Lord? And what you are preparing for this Advent.

 

May God Be Praised.

 

Blog Post 12/16/2023 – Join and Pray

Pray

Today join me and pray: “Father, we adore You.  You Who gives us hope and life through Your Son, Who has given us the dawn of this day, Who has poured out faith, hope and love upon us, so our hearts and eyes can be always raised to our creator, Who wants us to be with Him for all eternity.”
 

Lord, hear us.

 

May God Be Praised.