1st. Sunday of Advent

Guard your heart. Mt. 24:37-44

How many people lock the doors of their house?

How many people have cameras now?

How many people have alarms ?

Because one never knows;

When a thief might come.

So we guard our house. 

But we do not guard our hearts. 

Death is a thief who comes to steal our life when we least expect him. 

Noah tried to warn everyone about the flood

St. Paul told everyone to Wake Up!

Jesus said we do not know the hour or day 

So Guard your heart!

Because one never knows. 

As St. Paul said 

Do not let promiscuity, or drunkenness or rivalry into our hearts. 

Do not let bitterness or anger or envy in. 

They are thieves who steal our Peace and leave our hearts broken. 

Guard your heart!

Do not let just anything or anyone into your heart,

Do not give it away for a passing pleasure. 

For where your heart is,

There is your treasure. 

Friday 34th week of Ordinary Time

 Clouds Dn. 7:2-14

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now,

From up and down and still somehow,

It’s clouds illusions that I recall,

I really don’t know clouds at all. 

Clouds are like life,

They come in all shapes and sizes   

They portent sunshine and blue sky or storms. 

But one Day, Christ will come on them. 

riding the wind

His clothing will be snow bright bright 

And His hair white as wool;

With flames of fire 

And thousands upon thousands of angels will accompany Him 

And He will bring Salvation for His people,

And Judgment for all the others. 

Next time you look at a cloud therefore;

Take a closer look. 

Thanksgiving Day

At every Thanksgiving we stop and give Thanks for all our blessings. 

At every Mass we give Thanks “Always and Everywhere.”

Stop and think about that for a minute. 

Do we give Thanks Always and Everywhere 

Or only when when things are going right. 

And when the sun is shining in our life. 

But when things are going horribly wrong 

And the storm clouds of life are rolling in,

We dont’. 

On the night Jesus was betrayed. 

On the night before He was scourged;

Crowned with thorns and crucified, 

What did Jesus do?

He gave Thanks. 

Jesus gave Thanks to His Father Always and Everywhere.  

So at grace before Meals give thanks to God always and everywhere;

For the good times and the bad;

Whether home with family

Or away. 

For if Jesus can, we can too with His grace. 

Wednesday 34th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 Hated by all Lk. 21:12-19

Who doesn’t want to be liked?

At school, at work, on the street,

Everyone likes to be liked. 

But at what cost?

What are we willing to give up so that others like us?

Jesus tells us that if we follow Him, we will be hated. 

Because He does not follow the world and what it likes. 

We will either be loved by Jesus and hated by the world,

Or rejected by Jesus and loved by the world. 

The choice is ours. 

Tuesday 34th Week of Ordinary Time

 No Stones left. Lk. 21:5-11

The world learned nothing from the Tower of Babel. 

It just keeps building bigger and better buildings, stadiums 

High rises and homes. 

And Jesus tells us that the day will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone. 

It will all come falling down. 

So what are we building in our lives?

Build a spiritual house not made of stones,

But made of Faith, Hope and Love. 

For these are the things that will endure,

And the greatest of them is Love!

Monday 34th Week of Ordinary Time

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”

Deliver Them From Purgatory

My Jesus,
by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine agony in the Garden,
in Thy scourging and crowning with thorns,
on the way to Calvary,
in Thy crucifixion and death,
have mercy on the souls in purgatory,
and especially on those that are most forsaken;
do Thou deliver them and purify them;
call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in paradise.

The Feast of Christ the King

 

Remember me! Lk. 23:42

Everything God created was good. And then God placed all of creation in humanity’s hands. And that is when everything fell apart. 

Adam and Eve sinned against God

Brother killed brother, in the story of Cain and Abel And pride and greed; Lust and envy; War and division; Flooded the earth. And God had one of two choices; Wipe everything out and start all over again; Or restore it; Because God so loved the world’ He chose to restore it; By sending His only Son;The Resoration therefore begins with Christ. 

Everything was created through Him in the Beginning And everything will be restored through Him in the End. Christ offers us a New Creation; A Kingdom where there will be no more death or mourning; Suffering or pain; Division or war. 

Where every tear will be wiped away. 

But how does one enter this Kindgom that Jesus offers?

Does it require endless prayers and penance;

Does one have to be a saint?

None of this is necessary. 

All one has to do to enter the Kindgom of Heaven. 

Is say to Jesus;

Remember me!

The Presentation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

As a child, Joachim and Ann took Mary to the Temple 

where they presented her and consecrated her to the Lord. 

In the Presentation, Mary placed herself in God’s hands

and God did great things in her;

She became the Mother Of God. 

Because Mary presented herself in the Temple, 

She was able to later present Jesus in the Temple. 

It all begins with the gift of oneself to God. 

We may give money or other sacrifices to the Lord,

But what the Lord really desires is ourself!

The Gift Of Self is the greatest gift we can give to God. 

For when we give ourselves to God,

God can do great things in us. 

On this feast of the Presentation Of the Blessed Virgin,

Let us place ourselves in her hands,

So that through her Intercession and example,

God may do great things in us!

Thursday 33rd week of Ordinary Time

 Recognizing our savior. Lk. 19:41-44

Masada was the last stronghold of the Jews. 

But the Romans surrounded it;

And built a palisade and besieged it. 

And did not leave a stone upon another

If only they had recognized Jesus as their Savior

It could have all been different. 

Instead they sought to save themselves. 

We are surrounded by the world

And all of its evils;

And we will be besieged by suffering; pain and loss. 

And neither will we escape;

Unless we recognize Jesus as their Savior only One who can save us. 

Wednesday 33rd. Week of Ordinary Time

God will give back 2Mac. 7:20-31

The Mother in the book of Maccabee’s what about to lose her 7 sons to the executioner. 

But she was not about to lose her Faith. 

She knew that it was not her who gave her sons the breath of life;

It was God who shapes each one’s beginning

And in His mercy will give them back their life and breath. 

If we remain Faithful as she was;

Then one day all that we love 

Will be given back to us;

From the God who gave them life in the beginning. 

Dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul

Peter and Paul

Peter and Paul are two sides of the same coin. 

The coin of Faith on which the Church is built. 

This is why a church is built on the remains of Peter and Paul

In Rome where both were martyred. 

St. Peter’s Basilica on the Vatican hill where Peter was martyred upside down on a cross,

And at St. Paul outside the walls where St. Paul was beheaded. 

Our churches may not be as famous as these,

But they are just as important,

As long as they too a built on Faith. 

Monday 33rd week of Ordinary Time

 St. Elizabeth of Hungary. 1207-1231

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a queen. 

And was rich beyond compare. 

Yet St. Elizabeth embraced poverty 

and gave all of  her riches away so that she could care for the sick. 

In what are we rich?

Money?  

Love?

Time?

Talent?

Friendliness?

Whatever we are rich in,

Give it away and become even richer in Christ.

33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

 Tumbling Down Lk. 21:5-19

The Temple was the most magnificent building in the ancient world. 

Made of the cedars of Lebanon; 

gold and ivory;

Marble and stone and jewels. 

With votive lamps burning brightly throughout. 

There was nothing like it. 

And Jesus tells the people;

“Look around you!”

The day will come when there will not be a single stone left upon another.”

Look around!

At this beautiful church. 

The day will come when not a stone will be left upon another. 

Look around!

The day will come when everything you have worked for will come tumbling down. 

Look around,  For this world and everything in it will pass away. 

And a new world will come when Christ returns in all His glory. 

So what are we to do?

Just sit around and wait for it all to come tumbling down?

No one knows when the end will come

So St.  Paul tells us to work quietly until then;

By earning the food we eat   

And not being concerned with what others are doing. 

So that when the Lord comes 

He will find us not being busy bodies;

But instead busy doing His Most Holy Will. 

Saturday 32nd. Week Ordinary Time

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” 

Catechism of the Catholic Church 1030
Eternal grant unto them, oh Lord, and the perpetual light shine upon them by their souls, and all the souls of the faithfully departed through the mercy of God rest in peace amen

Friday 32nd Week of Ordinary Time

 The Handiwork of God. Wisdom 13:1-9

No one has seen God;

But we have seen His handiwork. 

If one sees a painting;

One knows there is an artist. 

If one reads a book;

One knows there is an author. 

If one sees a building;

One knows there is an architect.  

One only needs to look at the sun and the moon;

The rivers and oceans;

The hills and valleys;

The birds and animals;

To know there is a Creator. 

Who made it all. 

Thursday 32nd Week of Ordinary Time

 The Kingdom of God is among us. Lk 17:20-25

Take a look at the world and one can become rather depressed

As we are surrounded by war, violence, division, greed, envy and revenge. 

But do not despair!

The Kingdom of God is among us. 

A kingdom that is within us

A Kingdom of Justice,Peace and Love.

And while the kingdoms of this world come and go

The kingdom of Jesus, they will have no end 

So seek first the kingdom of God.

And I will be given to you even now and in the world to come  

Wednesday 32nd Week of Ordinary Time

 Giving Thanks Lk. 17:11-19

Ten lepers were cleansed and only one came back to give thanks. 

At the thought of it we may be scandalized at how ungrateful the other 9 lepers were. 

Until we stop and think about our own lives. 

Do we ever fail to realize all that God has given us and done for us?

Did our family, friends, life and everything we have just accidentally fall into our laps

Or were they lovingly given to us by our Providential God?

On the Last Day our eyes will be opened

And we will be overwhelmed when we see and understand all that God had done for us and given us. 

And it will take all of Eternity to Thank God,

For all that He has done for us.