Whispers – Daily Mass Quotes begins after this Intro.
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Elijah’s Whisper – My Whisper
Then the LORD said (to Elijah), “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD – but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake – but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire – but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
1 Kings 19:11-13
Why are YOU here, beloved?
Was it to discover magnificent colors? Was it to find colorful music or awesome videos? Was it just curiosity? Was it accidental? Were you really looking for God, for Hope, for true LOVE somewhere in this menagerie we call the web?
Or were you just hiding in a cave, waiting on the Lord to Whisper in your ear – a Word – LIFE! Life, it’s in You! And YOU are beautiful in the Eyes of God, no matter what the world may say or think.
You are Loved!!
Every day the Lord whispers in our ears – Words of HOPE, Words of LOVE, and maybe not even words – just His JOY in our hearts.
Let’s follow the Scriptures of our daily Mass and see if we can catch those Words – simple but beautiful – Whispers to the Wind . . .
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Every Picture links to a video, website or
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August 31, 2014
(22nd Sunday Ordinary Time A)
The Prophet Jeremiah said, “I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.” Jer 20:7-9
The LORD has got a way of ‘burning in our hearts,’ beloved. Sometimes it’s just hard to live with Him and even harder to live without. But in it all, we just cannot bear to hold it in any longer. Praise be to our God and Joy!
St. Paul said, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” Rom 12:1-2
We offer our hearts and our minds. We offer our voices in Word, our feet and hands in action and our very lives for Him.
Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Mt 16:21-27
For Jeremiah, Paul and all the Martyrs it was a life and death situation. For many in China, Iraq and Africa, standing up for their faith is a daily life and death situation. If you live in a country where you have the free right to worship as you please – are you willing to offer your body to stand up for that FIRE in your heart? Are you willing to pick up whatever cross you may bear and sing His praises anyway. It truly is a life and death situation. And that life may just belong to someone you sincerely love. Let them know!
Here’s one to end the Awesome month of August,
“Filled With Your Glory” Starfield . . .
August 30, 2014
After telling a long and heart-rending parable, which tested three people’s thought processes and financial creativity, Jesus left the crowd with a perplexing moral. He said: “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Mt 25:14-30
From that story, we can come to as many variations in message as the mind can imagine.
Some think that the money, or talents, that the three people were entrusted with, symbolize our (God-given) talents and how we use or do not use them.
Some may take the money literally, meaning, if we don’t take risks, our earnings will never grow. Yet the risk may mean loss as well. Do we enjoy each day as it comes – and let the future worry about itself? Or do we stash every penny away for a paradise retirement, under the principle of “delayed gratification,” only to die before we ever get to enjoy the reward?
Then on the other hand, Jesus may have been talking about the Kingdom, the Gospel message. Do we hold the promise, the love, the joy of Jesus solely within our own hearts, or do we share Him with everyone we meet (evangelization)?
If we have Jesus’ love in our own hearts, to bring us peace and joy, then Jesus tells us that we MUST share that love. Otherwise, eventually we’ll lose Him ourselves, through our own greed or self-preservation. Sometimes sharing Jesus may be a risk. Sometimes the reactions of others may even hurt us. But sometimes we may never see the longer term impact, the miracles His message may have on others, caused by our sharing of this great Gift He has given us. In this case, the giving – of as much as we have to offer – can truly make us rich!
That’s a pretty awesome concept, beloved –
a pretty awesome Truth!
August 29, 2014
(Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist)
(See also this link to August 2 – Whispers)
St. Paul said, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Cor 1:17-25
Want to see a beautiful illustration of this Truth? Watch the movie “God’s not Dead.” It’s the story of how a young Christian defends his faith in a faithless (or backboneless) classroom, before a supposed atheist teacher who is actually an agnostic. God is quite powerful in Word and it’s always interesting in the end to see the foolishness of the supposed “wise” revealed.
Peace, beloved!
August 28, 2014
(St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. . . . be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Mt 24:42-51
Most of us tend to think Jesus is necessarily speaking about death. And, yes, we do need to be prepared for death at all times, for we do not know exactly when we will die. We apologize to God with every slip of the tongue. We help others wherever we possibly can. We go the extra mile: giving, praying and consoling. We avoid pride and we give God the credit for everything good in our lives and thank Him for the times we are chastised or challenged that help us to grow.
But maybe, beyond death, Jesus is also speaking about the here and now. Maybe Jesus will come in opportunities right before our eyes. The poor man on the street corner begging for some money to buy some food; or the child quietly standing in the corner of the room, with no friends to play with; or the mom or dad so burdened with work or money issues that the kids are neglected. Maybe Jesus is there, seeing if we are prepared to offer a buck, or a listening ear, or an encouraging word, which might sound pretty simple at the time, but in reality, has the possibility of changing the whole world.
So stay awake, beloved! Be prepared!
He WILL come,
maybe when He’s least expected!
August 27, 2014
(St. Monica)
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.” Mt 23:27-32
Jesus told his disciples and he tells us that we are to Love our neighbor as ourselves. He spoke of giving and not counting the cost. He spoke of forgiving and not holding a grudge.
And he told us that above all, we are to do these things with all humility; because what we’ll find, is that when we live our lives in service to others, instead of purely for ourselves alone, there will be many people who will come back to us in gratitude. The trick and the challenge then, is not letting that gratitude go to our heads, but instead, we are to pass all the credit on to God and on to Jesus.
This is where, over many, many years, the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ time had gone wrong. They began to believe that it was they who deserved all that credit, all that gratitude. And then as their pride grew out of control, they began to insist that sacrifices be made by others that they neglected to make, themselves. And before they knew it, they were making themselves gods, that everyone else had to worship. And in the process, they used the pretense that it was supposedly all done for the sake of God.
Everyone knew that the Pharisees were out of line. Yet, they were deathly afraid of saying anything about it, because they knew that they would be expelled from the Synagogue if they did. But, you see, beloved, Jesus wasn’t afraid of those false leaders. Instead of cowering to their will, Jesus chastised their behavior by calling them Hypocrites: what they said and what they did were totally opposite things, because they fell into that trap of sin we call pride.
Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Monica. Monica was a devout Catholic mother of three children. When her oldest son fell away from the faith and into that same trap of pride as the Pharisees, Monica prayed her heart out that he would undergo a conversion. She entrusted the life of her beloved son into the hands of Jesus. And out of the hands of Jesus, St. Augustine became one of the greatest Catholic theologians of all time. And St. Monica died a happy mom, with the peace of the knowledge that God, in His great Wisdom, always hears our prayers when they’re offered for the Glory of His Name.
Amen!
August 26, 2014
St. Paul wrote to the Church in Thessalonica,
“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word.” 2 Thes 2:1-3a, 14-17
Interesting Scripture readings these days. While Paul is exhorting the Thessalonians with encouragement, Jesus is chastising the Scribes and Pharisees for allowing themselves to fall away from the LORD, in His Name, for the sake of their own power, authority and benefit.
Sometimes beloved, we may think we are being so holy, so good, and yet at the same time, we are actually neglecting Jesus in others. Sometimes we have to look at ourselves from the inside out and not the other way around.
What is it that I’ve done or can still do today to serve Jesus – in deed or word? Maybe it’s as simple as speaking little Whispers to the Wind. Maybe someday someone will notice. Anyone . . . And then again, maybe they won’t. But maybe someday we’ll hear them say – “Thank you Jesus for speaking to me through those Whispers!” And in the process that very blessed soul will have made my day too!
May our loving God bless you always beloved. And may Jesus encourage you with strength, focus and love in every breath you take, with every deed you do, and in every word you speak!
Peace and all Joy!
August 25, 2014
Paul wrote to the Church in Thessalonica:
“We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thes 1:1-5, 11-12
PRAYER, WORTHINESS, FULFILLMENT,
for You, beloved.
by the GLORY, GRACE and WILL,
of God.
And not only for us, beloved, but for all the world.
Especially those who are lost!
Please bring them home Lord!
WE PRAY!
August 24, 2014
(21st Sunday Ordinary Time A)
Jesus said to his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him, “. . you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” Mt 16:13-20
Identifications.
Jesus is the Christ and Peter is the Key Holder.
There have been many different interpretations of these words throughout the ages. Was Peter the rock or was it the place on which Jesus was standing? Was Peter the first pope? Is Peter the one standing at the gate with the three questions that will or will not let us into heaven, or were the keys just for his own private entrance? Is the Catholic Church the “true” Church?
Funny how we humans can tend to twist words to mean whatever we want them to mean. We find excuses like translation differences, cultural differences and writing genre differences, all to justify whatever we want the words to mean for us. So let’s start our own church and cut out whatever we don’t acquire a taste for from that old one.
You see, beloved, the Catholic Church is a HUGE organization. It is the original Church founded by Jesus and initially led by St. Peter. Is it perfect? By no means. We have been through lots and lots of errors and corrections. But we ARE still and always will be led by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us that the gates of the netherworld will NOT prevail against us. That’s the end of the story! And whatever we want to make of the time between now and then – God gives us the free will to do. It’s as black and white as the letters in the Book!
And God is the writer and God is the interpreter.
And Jesus says, Listen and Come!
August 23, 2014
Jesus said to His disciples, “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Mt 23:1-12
The third law of Newtonian Physics states that: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
The reaction to exaltation is humility.
The reaction to servitude is leadership.
The reaction to hatred would be love.
If we want eternal life in the Kingdom of God,
we have to die in the world of mortality . . .
hmmmmm . . .
August 22, 2014
(Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
After the LORD had revived in body and spirit the dead, dry bones of an army of people, He told the prophet Ezekiel to pronounce to the people of Israel, “I will put my spirit in you that you may live,” Ez 37:1-14
Ever get to feeling like just a bunch of “dry old bones,” beloved? Work’s going nowhere, TV’s boring, nothing new, need a boost! Come back to the Lord. He will place His Spirit within us and bring us LIFE again. Trust in the Lord and we WILL find hope and Life and Joy again!
August 21, 2014
(St Pius X, Pope)
The LORD said, through the prophet Ezekiel,
“I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
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 . . .” Ez 36:23-28
The Giving!
Now, have we accepted?
Jesus concluded His parable of the wedding invitees by saying, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” Mt 22:1-14
The Invitation.
Now, have we come?
And have we come prepared?
If we’ve been chosen, and we all have been invited, beloved, our Lord will wash us over (through Baptism) and give us the power of the Holy Spirit to guide, direct and lead us to that Heavenly Banquet with God forever!
Jesus is Lord!
August 20, 2014
(St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church)
Jesus told a story about a landowner who hired out workers for his vineyard. He hired them throughout the day and at the end of the day, he paid them. But the people who worked the longest complained: ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Mt 20:1-16
Jesus elucidated on the topic of yesterday – being first or last; deciding by our worldly system of justice what God should and shouldn’t do. Sometimes, beloved, we just have to let it go. We just have to forget about what others think, or how much they make, or what they look like – which drives us crazy when we try to be so much better than everyone else. We are all better than all of them, in our own way.
In God’s eyes!
So let’s not to worry about first or last – just getting there!
And place the worry in Jesus’ hands.
He will take care of that for us!
August 19, 2014
Jesus said, “everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Mt 19:23-30
It’ll all be worth it – but maybe just not according to our (worldly) system of justice: First in gets the best seat. Scrape and scrounge and beat and trample to be that first one in! You see, God doesn’t care who’s first and who’s last – just that we all get there! In Jesus’ example, He was talking about the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews thought they were God’s special chosen people – and they were, until the lost their focus and destroyed the very one who came to save them. So although they may have been first, it was the Gentiles who came after them, who DID believe in Jesus, and ended up first into His Kingdom.
You see, beloved, it always gets back to FAITH. If our faith is strong enough to give up – even the huge things, then Jesus says we WILL inherit eternal life. And no greater Glory is there, beloved. No greater King!
August 18, 2014
Jesus said to the young man seeking eternal life, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mt 19:16-22
Some people have a very hard time fasting. And not just from food. Can we fast from smoking, or TV, or cursing, or drinking? Can we fast from texting, or internet, or hatred, or jealousy, or selfishness? Maybe when we think of all those things we are so addicted to, fasting from food might not be all that hard. We are a people who love our habits. No, none of it is easy. But Jesus never said it would be easy. He DID say that it would be worth it though. What are we willing to give up to gain “eternal life” beloved? Maybe if we start small, we can work our way up to whatever it is that keeps us from being 100% for Jesus.
And in place of a habit directed to self,
we can begin a new one
directed to others!
“Come, follow me!”
August 17, 2014
(20th Sunday Ordinary Time A)
The woman, a foreigner, pleaded for Jesus to help her daughter. Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” Mt 15:21-28
How great then, is our faith, beloved?
Do we still hang on to it even when we might be surprised by the initial outcome of our requests? When it might get worse instead of better? When the solution is not immediately obvious? When all the world seems to be against us? “Wait a minute, God! I’m your child too! I may mot be the perfect saint. But I am the clay in Your hands. Strengthen me. Mold me. And I’ll hang on in faith. For even the dogs deserve the scraps. We LOVE You.”
“Let it be done for you according to your wish”
– and God’s will!
August 16, 2014
Jesus said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Mt 19:13-15
Children in trust, Children in obedience, Children in Love.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and all your strength –
Just like a Child!
August 15, 2014
(The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Definition:
4. Christ overcame sin and death by his own death, and one who through Baptism has been born again in a supernatural way has conquered sin and death through the same Christ. Yet, according to the general rule, God does not will to grant to the just the full effect of the victory over death until the end of time has come. And so it is that the bodies of even the just are corrupted after death, and only on the last day will they be joined, each to its own glorious soul.
5. Now God has willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be exempted from this general rule. She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body.
44. Thus, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
_____________________________
In St. John’s vision, A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Rv 11:19a – 12:10
The queen takes her place at your right hand in gold of Ophir.
Ps 45
So many glorious images of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
She is undefiled, the ‘ark’ of the New Covenant (Jesus),
our Mother, our Church.
Through her glorious Assumption and Jesus’ divine Ascension, we have such indescribable Hope for eternal life, body and soul, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, in communion with all the saints and our loved ones, that Santa Claus, our highest promotions and even winning a grand lottery – pale in comparison.
Blessed be our God!
August 14, 2014
(St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr)
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Mt 18:21-19:1
Boundless, limitless, no holds, no conditions, straight from the heart – FORGIVENESS!
As we have been forgiven, by God, constantly!
As Jesus forgave the very people who nailed Him on a cross!
That’s LOVE!
August 13, 2014
(Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus)
Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Mt 18:15-20
Jesus defined the importance of Church community today. We gather to make decisions, to settle conflicts, to support one another and even just to pray. As that community of believers, we are assured that when we are together, Jesus is there among us. And that doesn’t mean that He’s not there when we’re alone. But in community we have sounding boards to our prayers. We have diversity in our thoughts and we have that spirit of calm when chaos may be overcoming us. Together we are open to reconciliation, unbound to the chains of hatred and sin and bound in love and forgiveness.
In Your Name we gather, Jesus.
Please be with us and lead us always
in the path of Your holiness!
August 12, 2014
It was clearly a ‘mom and dad’ teaching kind of moment today; Although the lesson could be associated with all human relationships as well (work, politics, church, etc).
The Lord GOD said to me (Ezekiel): “As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you: be not rebellious like this house of rebellion, but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.” Ez 2:8-3:4
And we’re quick to think of those kids we’ve spoiled so badly, with their temper tantrums at dinner time. Yet, before we get to the end of the reading, God continues, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.” ibid
Hmmm, maybe he wasn’t speaking about the kids not eating, but us! Maybe it’s really us who are called to undo the rebelliousness, to find the lost and convince them that this food really is quite sweet!
Jesus expounded on the theme saying, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.” Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
And then we’re really confused, because we thought it was the kids who are so rebellious. And we wonder, have the times changed so much from the time of Jesus, when kids truly were respective and humble? Maybe the answer is – Yes! But it’s not the kids who are to blame. It really is us! And then Jesus, like God to Ezekiel, moves the responsibility exactly to us, when he gives the example:
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? . . . In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.” ibid
You see, beloved, it’s not our place to moan and groan about the disrespect of others (especially children). But it IS our place to teach others respect by our example (how we show respect to them and to our superiors), by our loving care for “the lost ones.” And then bring them back home to the sweetness of the Lord!
May our loving God bless us all!
August 11, 2014
(St. Clare, Virgin)
The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of heavenly splendor, which he described as: “something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man. Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum; downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire; he was surrounded with splendor. Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day was the splendor that surrounded him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.” Ez 1:2-5, 24-28c
The Throne of the LORD – like Sapphire.
The Glory of the LORD – like a encompassing Rainbow.
The Appearance of the LORD – like Electrum.
The Foundation of the LORD – like Fire.
What a glorious, fearsome, powerful, almighty LORD.
OUR Lord, who loves us and who cares for us!
August 10, 2014
(19th Sunday Ordinary Time A)
The disciples were astounded by Jesus’ walking on water, by Peter’s walking on the water as well, and by the calming of the storm. They responded, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” Mt 14:22-33
I wonder sometimes, what does it take for us to finally come to the realization that Jesus truly IS the Son of God? It took Peter a denial and a resurrection. It took Thomas a finger in a spear wound. It took Paul a violent downfall and blinding light. If only we could see how He is here with every breath we take. How every time we enter into a car or a plane, it’s only by His grace that we arrive at our destination. And how even in our suffering He is there to bring us comfort and hope – that there is something much, much greater to come, and that we are only a little bit closer to finally being there!
Truly YOU are the Son of God!
And we love you Jesus!
.
(Culminating a week of Scriptures on Faith –
this song/presentation was also worth linking to:)
August 9, 2014
The prophet Habakkuk, perplexed by the evil of the world asked the LORD, “Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence while the wicked man devours one more just than himself?”
Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision
clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late . . .
The rash man has no integrity;
but the just man, because of his faith,
shall live. Hb 1:12-2:4
FAITH,
it IS worth it!
August 8, 2014
(St. Dominic, Priest)
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Mt 16:24-28
Lost for the Lord;
sometimes it’s painful, sometimes joyful, but always hopeful.
Someday, beloved, we will be found.
So stay lost in His Love, forever.
August 7, 2014
The LORD said through the prophet Jeremiah, “No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” Jer 31:31-34
He WILL be known!
And when they say they don’t know, maybe, don’t always believe them. They may just be stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that inside they really DO know Him.
Jesus said to Peter, who was rebuking Jesus for telling him about His pending passion (because Peter still had a vision of Jesus being a ‘worldly’ king), “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Mt 16:13-23
You see, beloved, there is more to Jesus as our King than fixing our worldly ills, than giving us those (maybe unnecessary) needs and wants. Jesus forgives. Jesus loves. Jesus consoles. And Jesus strengthens us to fix our own needs, with our own resources. And when they can’t be fixed, He gives us the courage to accept and move on. Even through death itself, WE MOVE ON. And we have faith that thus it will be. And He will be waiting for us there with open arms on the other side!
Get behind me Satan.
Jesus is in Control!
August 6, 2014
(Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord)
While Peter, James and John were on the mountain with Jesus, “a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’” Mt 17:1-9
The Glory of the Lord shone with a brightness too bright to look at. A love too huge to imagine. That’s what we have to look forward to, beloved. Can’t wait!
________
And a big happy birthday hug to my beloved wife Mary Ann.
I love you honey!
August 5, 2014
The LORD said, “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.“
Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
Israel would come back. Jerusalem would be rebuilt. And a once tight relationship between God and His people would be restored. If we ever feel lost and broken, beloved, this is a good verse to always remember – We DO belong to God! And He will take care of us!
August 4, 2014
(St. John Vianney, Priest)
Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Mt 14:22-36
If you’re going to test the Lord, you had better be ready for His answer. It may just be exactly what you asked for.
FAITH!
August 3, 2014
(18th Sunday Ordinary Time A)
St. Paul said, “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.” Rom 8:35, 37-39
We ARE Inseparable from Christ’s Love, beloved!
What an Awesome Gift!
What an awesome Life!
August Homily Link: Nourished with Joy
August 2, 2014
“Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” Mt 14:1-12
Boxed in!
King Herod was in quite a dilemma. To begin with, he was in an adulterous relationship with his brother’s wife, Herodias. And then, John the Baptist designated himself (or God did) as Herod’s conscience. He was truly a thorn in Herod and Herodias’ sides. So Herod had John arrested – probably at Herodias’ nagging . But in the process Herod began to break down and found John’s words quite intriguing.
Unfortunately, a few too many beers, a wild party and a dancing girl, all brought Herod directly into this boxed-in dilemma. He liked John, but he made a vow to the girl and he certainly didn’t want to look like a hypocrite to his underlings. Boy that woman was crafty! So John’s head it was. Dang it all! Probably shouldn’t have messed with that witch in the first place!
And now – with a triply guilty conscience, here was John back to haunt him – in the Person of Jesus Christ . . . As the plot continues to thicken!
Message being, beloved, always stay clean in the first place!
August 1, 2014
(St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)
Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” Mt 13:54-58
Funny, how when they think they know you, it’s really they who know you least. In Jesus’ own home town they were ready to kill him for speaking the Words of God, His Father.
The prophet Jeremiah found the same thing. When he spoke for God trying to get the people to turn away from their evil, that they may live happier lives, the people insisted, “You must be put to death!” Jer 26:1-9
Several years ago, I tried to start a business in my own home town. It was the, rather unique business, of dying carpets. And it was really quite amazing! But getting the local people convinced that it was as awesome as it was, was like pulling teeth. In the meantime, I had jobs from Texas to Chicago, and inquiries from Seattle to New Jersey. We even trained a new franchisee in Dubai, UAE. As a result, very few mighty deeds were performed in Columbia! Oh well. All ‘colored’ water under the bridge!
Jesus said, “Ephphatha!”, Be opened! Mk 7:34
Even to your own neighbors!
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Happy August, beloved!
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