May the Healing of the World Be Our Goal!

We know that the world is full of hate. So many people suffer because so many of us have lost the message of the Lord. We, His disciples, are called to be His presence in the world! May we be part of the healing that the Lord desires.

May we be part of the healing of the Earth!

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 18:21-35, and we will concentrate on,

“And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”
Matthew 18:33

The Lord is merciful, and because He is our example of proper human interaction, we must go forward with mercy to everyone!

When we experience the hate of others, and we know we are doing our best to be loving, we are called to live what Jesus said on the Cross, “Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing!” St. Luke 23:34

We do not know what people have been through, and they may not see a problem with what they are doing, too. However, we live supernatural lives, and showing hate to those who hate us does not make the world a better place.

We are in the love business!

We control our relationships with others. We lead by example. That example comes from our relationship with the Lord. So when we experience hatred, pause, pray, and respond in truth with love.

We live in the world, but we respond to things in the world with Divine Wisdom.

Please be the change in the world that Jesus wants to see!

Please help heal the world by forgiving those who hurt you!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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The Lord Wants to Be with Us!

Praying together with our family, friends, and colleagues, the Lord will make Himself present to us.

Prayer is the answer! When we involve the Lord, our situations will improve.

Today, our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 18:15-20. We will use the following for our meditation,

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:20

We all need a Savior; the One who has been prepared for us is our Lord Jesus Christ! Many of our problems would be resolved if we involved the Lord at the beginning of our struggles.

Prayer brings the Lord into our situations. Pray before we enter into the issue at hand, pray with the people involved in the process, and pray after the discussion. I believe that prayer will help us find the approach we need to embrace if all involved are open to the Lord.

Prayer leads to prayerful responses to life situations. Prayer can bring peace to difficult interpersonal circumstances. Prayer opens our hearts to each other and reduces the power of our individual egos.

Prayer works for me. It helps me understand others and live in loving relationships. It also keeps me from being unkind.

Bring everything to the Lord in prayer and see how your life improves.

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Embrace the Cross, It Was Made For You!

True peace is found in finding one’s cross and the person, however flawed one might be, who is the true self.

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 16: 21-27, and we will pray,

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24

The self that we present to the world is often not who we truly are. Expectations put great pressure on us, and appearances do matter. However, we must not let that change who we truly are as a follower of Christ. Somehow we must find the balance between what society expects of us and the Lord we serve.

We are called to be saints in the world as it exists! I am not able to tell anyone how to do this; this is our cross, and it is made especially for each of us.

What would Jesus do in our situation? This is our ongoing question wherever we are in life, and it is our way to peace. This is the call of St. John the Baptist: be the best person you can be in the job that you are doing.

For example, at the office, when people are tearing down the reputations of others not present, do not participate in the reputation assassination. Learn to walk away from things that are not appropriate to the love of the Lord.

We can make the world a better place if we are true to ourselves and to the Lord we serve.

Embrace the Cross and bring Heaven to Earth! Please struggle with me to do this!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/6bbd47472

What Does The Lord Mean To Us?

Our answer to this question determines how we live.

Today our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 16:13-20, and we will pray over the verse

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Matthew 16:15

Jesus asked this question to His disciples, and He asks us the same question. We must be careful how we answer it because that answer reveals to us how we ought to live.

Understanding our relationship to the Lord helps us understand who we are and how we live our lives. Jesus gives us a framework that sets the boundaries for how we interact with others. It also determines how we set our priorities. Living the life of having Jesus as our Lord and Savior could be a death sentence. Everyone in the Portion we have today would struggle with persecution, and most of them would experience martyrdom.

We have to really believe that Jesus is Lord because our lives depend on it.

If we join Peter in his proclamation, we must live the life that that entails. It means putting Jesus first in our decision-making. It also means we must treat people as the Lord would!

But it also means that, no matter what we have to go through, we will have the peace that the world cannot give. It also means that we have the love that changes us, those we encounter, and creates a ripple effect that brings Heaven to Earth!

Please choose Jesus as Lord and be the change you want to see in the world!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/89c6e9569

Call On the Lord; He Will Help You!

Persistent prayer is powerful!

Happy Sunday!

Today our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 15:21-28, and we will concentrate on,

But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
Matthew 15:25

Prayer is our connection with the Lord and the means of dealing with every situation we face.

In our verse this week, we have a Gentile mother whose daughter was in serious condition. The mother needed help that only a miracle could provide. Yet she did not have access to the miracle because she was not Jewish. That did not keep her from being persistent in coming to Jesus. Jesus would heal her daughter because this mother had great faith.

The Lord is still available to us as He was to this mother. Are we persistent in our prayers? Praying is the way to the Heart of the Lord, and He will see us through every situation. However, we must have faith in Him.

I have been in seemingly impossible situations, yet through prayer and prayerful action, I am here to write this today.

I live on the power of prayer!
And I share the means of peace with you. Life has its struggles, yet with the Lord’s Help, we will prosper.

Be persistent in prayer and wait on the Lord.

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/5afe834a9

Grab Onto The Hand Of The Lord!

Be not afraid! Trust the Lord even when going through troubling times! The Lord is able and will save us!

Peace, be still!

Today, our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 14:22-33, and we will meditate on

“When he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
Matthew 14:30

St. Peter, as he was growing in the Spirit, took a leap of faith and entered stormy waters to join the Lord. But his faith failed him, and he began to sink.

Peter shows us what to do when we see ourselves sinking: we must call on the Lord and reach out to Him!

We are never alone in our troubles. The Lord is always available to us!

Peace, be still!

No matter what we are dealing with, anxiety is a waste of time!

Prayer is the answer and the means of connecting with the Divine, who can help us find solutions to our problems.

Total trust in the Lord! He will see us through whatever we are going through!

Sunday Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/bdd6f4d83

Let The Lord Use Your Gifts!

There is no end to what the Lord can do with what we give Him!

In our Gospel Portion (St. Matthew 14:13-21), we see how the Lord can use what we give Him for His honor and glory.

We will concentrate on

“They said to Him, we have only five loaves here and two fish.”
Matthew 14:17

The disciples realized that they did not have much to give to the Lord; however, they trusted and gave what they had, and the multitude were fed with tremendous leftovers. What we give to the Lord, the Lord will multiply for His purposes.

The Lord will do the same today if we give Him what we have. We must never think that what we can give to Him is not enough. The Lord is still in the miracle business. Each day we have something to give to Him. Let the Lord use it according to His will and His way, and allow Him to transform us and our world.

Sunday Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

The Lord Is Our Treasure!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

What truly is important to us directs our lives. As followers of Jesus, He must come first, and then everything flows from this relationship.

Our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 13:44-52, and we will delve into,

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Matthew 13:44

Jesus gives us this parable to help us understand our relationship to Him. There are so many things available in the world that it can be difficult to prioritize. However, we must have some focus; otherwise, we will keep running after things that harm us. The Way of Jesus brings that focus we need to live an orderly life.

Love is the answer!

If we are followers of Jesus, then the treasure beyond all is the love that has been revealed in the life, passion, and death of the Lord. If He is our treasure, then we live according to the example that is revealed in Jesus.

We love our family and friends. We work with various individuals throughout our lives, but the way we treat everyone is founded on the treasure we hold dear, Jesus!

May we be faithful followers of Jesus and may we love as He loves!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/29e7ade74

We Can Be Good Wheat!

How we live determines who we are. In every kind encounter we have with others, the Lord sees and will keep us as “Good Wheat”.

Our Gospel Portion today is taken from St. Matthew 24-43. We will concentrate on

“Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Matthew 13:30

What does it mean to be “Good Wheat? I would suggest it is to be what the Lord has planted. Jesus started the whole process when we entered into a relationship with Him. It continues every moment of our lives until He calls us to Himself. If we are faithful, we will be with Him forever!

Let us never forget that forever begins right now!

It is our choice to be faithful with our thoughts and actions.

Kindness always matters, regardless of who we are encountering. It also requires us to be kind to ourselves. We create a culture of kindness around ourselves as Jesus did and is doing in the here and now through us!

Weeds will try to choke us, but with Love Divine, they cannot be victorious over us! If we are faithful, then Jesus will strengthen us through all the enemies of His Word who will attempt to do to our mission as His “Wheat”.

Today, be faithful, and every day, forward! Eternal union with Jesus is one day at a time!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Be Good Soil!

May we keep ourselves receptive to the Lord and His Word!
May we live The Word and bring Heaven into the world!

We have been given a tremendous and honorable task. But if not us, who else would do the job?

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 13:1-23, and we will pray over it.

“As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Matthew 13:23

Becoming and remaining good soil, that is, being receptive and using The Word in our daily lives, can be very challenging. We are called to be countercultural. Hate and/or indifference seem to be normal attitudes and behaviors in the world. However, we truly cannot be followers of Jesus if we behave with hate and indifference.

The Lord is ever present, and He sees all. Hence, even our thoughts must be aligned with the Lord’s Word! We must align our thoughts and actions with Jesus so that we live by “What would Jesus do?”

Be the change we want to see in the world!

It can be disheartening to see how people treat each other, and it is awful to experience hate from people who one assumed would treat you like Jesus. But we remember that for the first three hundred years of the followers of Christ, persecution and death of Jesus’ beloved community were a daily possibility. We must be like them and let nothing that people do to us change who we are and to whom we belong.

Be good soil and let nothing people do contaminate what The Lord has created in us!

Have a beautiful Lord’s Day!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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