Blog Post 11-30-2024 Jesus Calms the Storms of Life

"You must not abandon the ship in a storm because you cannot control the winds . . . What you cannot turn to good, you must at least make as little bad as you can."  St. Thomas More

Matthew tells us in his Gospel, “He got into a boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?” [Matthew 8: 23-27: The Calming of the Sea]

Today’s message from two great Saints, Trust in the Lord, He will guide you or carry you through life’s storms.

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 11-29-2024 Being a Christian is more than a name.

"It is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name." [St. Ignatius of Antioch]

Many years ago, Fr. David Knight asked this provocative question, “What five [concrete] things would change if Jesus Christ had never existed?”

A question worth pondering as we begin our Advent preparations and experience "Black Friday". 

 

May God Be Praised.

 

N. B. The First Sunday of Advent for the Liturgical Year 2025 [The Year of Grace] is Sunday, December 1, 2024

 

Blog Post 11/28/20214– Thanksgiving, The Tin Man and a New Heart

 

Today as we give thanks to God and our nation celebrates Thanksgiving Day may we remember those who have gone before us, those who are with us now and those who will come after us.  Enjoy the turkey and all the fixings but enjoy those loved ones with whom you share this day, in particular God.   

 

In a way we are like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz searching for a heart, the heart that God originally created for us, then sin enter the world and we became disorientated.  In The Wizard of Oz the Tin Man sought a heart, Jesus came to restore our heart to its’ proper cosmic direction – God.

“I will give you a new heart
and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.

I will put my spirit within you
and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.

You shall live in the land I gave your fathers;
you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.”  [Ezekiel 36:24-28]

Ezekiel’s prophecy anticipated the Messiah’s call to reorient our hearts and place God’s will first and foremost in our life.

May God Be Praised and your day be Blessed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blog Post 11-27-2024

 

St. Dominic offers us this advice, "Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes."

And, Mahatma Gandi recommends, “Live simply that others may simply live.”

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow, help someone in need today so they can celebrate Thanksgiving Day with a prayer of gratitude.

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 11-26-2024 Our Sorrow will turn to Joy

 

“When we are crushed like grapes, we cannot think of the wine we will become. The sorrow overwhelms us, makes us throw ourselves on the ground, facedown, and sweat drops of blood. Then we need to be reminded that our cup of sorrow is also our cup of joy and that one day we will be able to taste the joy as fully as we now taste the sorrow.”  [Henri J. M. Nouwen]

We believe that our sorrows will turn to joy because Jesus promises us that our joy will be complete.  Jesus is the Joy we will experience, we are blessed with occasional glimpses of that joy here on earth, it’s completion will be in Heaven.

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 11-25-2024 Meditate, Seek, Listen & Be Guided

 

“No one who follows Me will ever walk in darkness (John 8:12). These words of our Lord counsel all to walk in His footsteps. If you want to see clearly and avoid blindness of heart, it is His virtues you must imitate. Make it your aim to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ. Christ's teachings surpasses that of all the Saints. But to find this spiritual nourishment you must seek to have the Spirit of Christ. It is because we lack this Spirit that so often we listen to the Gospel without really hearing it. Those who fully understand Christ's words must labor to make their lives conform to His." [Thomas á Kempis]

Thomas á Kempis advises us to meditate on the life of Christ, to seek Christ, to listen to Christ. If we do that, I believe we will fall in love with Christ and allow Him to guide our lives.

 

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 11-24-2024 Reflecting on the Problem of evil and the existence of Good.

 

 

“Chesterton who remarked that the only problem more puzzling than the question of evil is the question of the good.”  [And Now I See: A Theology of Transformation by Robert Barron]

 

 

Parables of Goodness from the Gospel of Luke:

The Good Shepherd.

“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

The Lost Coin.

 “‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Lost Son.

“His father ordered his servants, quickly bring the finest robe, and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.”

 

Today praise God for His Goodness.

May God Be Blessed.