Are you struggling? Tired? In pain? Discouraged? “I know from experience that God makes up for what is lacking with great generosity. He gives us inwardly what outward circumstances deny. With him and by him I must become more loving, strong, and peaceful, live the inner life more, and yet give myself generously to those I love and to all […]
All things are possible with God.
Readings for 12-13 Make straight the way of the Lord! All of the Readings for this Mass contain very important messages? 1st Reading from Isaiah IS 61:1-2A, 10-11—The Spirit of the Lord is upon me….bring glad tidings to the poor… 2nd Reading from 1 Thessalonians 1 THES 5:16-24—Are you all in? May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you ever discouraged? Gospel JN 1:6-8, 19-28—I am a voice crying out in the desert… We can only point to the Savior and remember it’s not “I.” We are not God. We don’t have all the answers. Paul’s wish for the Thessalonians echoes through the centuries to us today. May God make us perfectly holy in spirit, soul and body. That we may be preserved all the way to the end. Paul leaves out our mind in this Scripture. We don’t have to know all the answers. We need to trust that the God of peace himself will do all the work in us. Prepare: Read those Scriptures again. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will accomplish it. Let the Lord in so he can work in your life. Surrender. You will be amazed at what God can do in your life if you let him! By the way, it’s Gaudete Sunday, rejoice! and repeat! Experience […]
Brothers and sisters:May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelationresulting in knowledge of him.May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call…for us who believe…the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. St. Paul’s letter to the Church of Ephesus begins with the salutation to the saints (the holy ones who may be struggling) who are faithful to Jesus: Grace and peace to you! Isn’t God awesome? He blesses us with every spiritual blessing! We are in this family together! We who believe in the one who loves us. Jesus ascended into heaven and sent us the Spirit. What struck me most in this reading was that Paul’s wish for the holy ones of Ephesus was a gift of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Spirit is capital in the Mass Readings so I went on a Bible search (I have numerous versions) to see if this Spirit means Holy Spirit or the breath of life we all have. It’s probably all meant to be the same idea though. The Holy Spirit breathes life into every moment of every day. And the energy or the buoyancy we feel can depend on how open we are to this transcending peace it brings. Every day I try to keep my eyes open to the message or […]
Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit when he entered the desert. He set aside his divinity but he didn’t go alone to face the devil. Jesus answered each question with a Scripture. Why should he command a stone to be bread? Scripture says that we don’t live on bread alone. 2nd test was to give him the entire world, power and glory if he worshiped the devil. Jesus only replies with the 1st Commandment to worship and serve God alone. 3rd test is his mortality. Being fully human, Jesus would die if he jumped off the top of the temple. Of course, he is not fooled by the devil to think that angels would catch him and break his fall. He only tells the devil that he shouldn’t put the Lord, your God, to the test. Jesus faced our human temptations of hunger, glory and mortality. We keep our eyes on Jesus and the promise of Eternal Life. Nothing on earth can beat that! We, too, face our demons and mortality every day. With Jesus, our Lord, and the Holy Spirit, we can face our temptations and overcome them! One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. Mt 4:4b 2 Things to Take With You to Fight the Devil Holy Spirit – Be filled with the Holy Spirit. You are never alone! Just ask! Scripture – Jesus quotes […]
A good heart produces good. A good tree produces good fruit. A disciple is a good student that not only sits at the feet of the teacher but becomes like the teacher. We can only become the best version of ourselves by emulating the teacher. The saying that ‘you are what you eat’ is very true. What you put in matters! What are you doing to water your faith and grow in love? Lent begins in a few days. We can enjoy Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) but then we need to dig in and make some changes. Resolution Reset. You probably had goals at the beginning of the year. Did you evaluate the areas in your life that you could improve? It’s much easier to eat well and exercise when you have positive influences. Your attitude matters. That’s the spiritual side of the equation. What can you do to improve your spirit and mood? Confession (get that beam out of your eye) and spiritual reading can help to lighten the load. Read the daily Readings, get an app or join a bible/book study. Even better—get a friend to join you! Getting someone to walk with you is Jesus’ prescription. In Mark 6, he sent them out in pairs and said to keep it simple but do it! It changes everything! Based on the Gospel for Sunday, March 3, 2019 http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030319.cfm
In the power of the Spirit. In Luke Chapter 1 (LK 1:1-4; 4:14-21), Jesus returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. He goes home. Nazareth watches as he unrolls the scroll to proclaim the words of Isaiah on the sabbath. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me…He has sent me to proclaim…freedom. Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing. Jesus echoes Isaiah (Chapter 61:1) the prophet and announces to his hometown that he is the anointed one! Jesus has been victorious after being tempted in the desert and now he is ready to begin his ministry. The story continues in Chapter 4 with the question, Isn’t this the son of Joseph? The prophet Ezra in the 1st Reading (1/27/19) proclaims Today is holy to the Lord… when he reads from the scroll. Scripture is read in our Churches today from a lectionary and from the Bible in studies and classes. We are the hands and feet of Jesus now. Paul reminds us that we are the Body of Christ. Can we bring glad tidings to the poor, give sight to the spiritually blind and speak the truth that sets all of us free? Whoever has ears ought to hear. We just need to speak and act in love. Live holy. If we do, this can be an amazing year! Let us all live in the power of the Spirit. Based […]
A week ago I read the Sunday Readings for July 19 that focused on Christ’s peace and this was my summary: St. Paul says Christ is our peace. He will bring us together. We all have access to the Holy Spirit! We are brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. How can you make peace? Mark tells us how […]
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