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.

https://gofund.me/b33b79acd

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.

https://gofund.me/63a1151ee

Compassion Always Matters!

However one is treated, never allow that behavior to change how you treat them and others.

Bring the Lord to all of your relationships! Live in the Kingdom of Heaven!

We can live like Jesus, but we must choose to do so!

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 11:25-30. We will concentrate on

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:29

The Lord has modeled for us Kingdom living. If we treat people the way Jesus wants us to treat them, we are true disciples of Him. Here is where we have the blessing. We have the inner peace that passes all understanding.

I have found that the greatest power available to me is Love Power. Love Power is invincible because it is Divine. It has allowed me to go through terrible situations without being destroyed.

Compassion always matters and changes the world. As St. Paul says, “Love never fails”.

When we give whatever is holding us down to Jesus and take on His Yoke, we can change from despair to hope.

Putting on Jesus helps us to move in peace no matter what we are going through.

Compassion always matters and transforms our lives into the Kingdom of Heaven!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/22659c2a6

Be The Divine Presence!

The more we read the Word and apply it in our lives, the more the Divine Presence is in our world! Be The Presence!

Happy Sunday!

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 10:37-42, and we will meditate on

“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.”
Matthew 10:40

Jesus left His followers in the world to continue His presence through encounters with humankind. Many have failed, but that is not our concern. Our concern is how we are presenting the Divine Presence now. Each day that we awake is a new opportunity to bring the Divine Presence into our world and into our lives.

Kindness always matters!

This is the motto I believe Jesus gave me. I share this with you.

Practice the pause!

Many times, I have encountered mean people; if I respond in kind, I fail before the Lord.

Act like Jesus instead of acting like the world!

Be the change that you want to see in the world and help bring about the Kingdom of Heaven in your midst!

Bring the Divine Presence in the here and now!

Sunday Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/a6575ff12

Praise The Father Creator!

The Lord is kind and merciful!

Happy Father’s Day!

Today we celebrate Fathers, both living and deceased, and those who provide the role of father wherever needed. This role is divinely modeled for us in the Father Creator who made us and provides for us. The Scriptures for this Sunday support our reliance on Father Creator. Our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 10:26-33. Let us concentrate on

“But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Matthew 10:30

The Lord sees us. He is always there for us. Though the world is often a scary place and people are often cruel, those who trust in the Lord will find the inner peace to deal with any situation.

Jesus wants us to live with the assurance that we are loved. The power of love can keep us going forward in our lives. It can get us through great sadness that otherwise might hold us down. The Father’s Love may be the only thing that keeps us from despair. The knowledge of this love can be the one thing that keeps us alive.

Jesus shares this knowledge of Divine Love for us, and He provides the doorway to it.

Our earthly fathers, when they truly live out that love, help us live this love first by loving ourselves and sharing it with everyone we encounter.

May the Lord bless our fathers, those who are still with us and those who have gone ahead of us to be with the Lord forever!

Happy Father’s Day!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/f8c2d813a

Be Teachable!

Truly live the words of Jesus!

This is a special Monday edition. The Gospel Portion for today moved me to write. Perhaps the Spirit is prompting me to say something about the following text.

“But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Matthew 5:39

Jesus is radical and at times He is hard to follow. But His disciples are called to live radically too. The Way of Jesus transforms us into “People of Heaven.” Hence, we do not act like the world.

Today I challenge myself to live this radical way of living. I ask you to challenge yourselves to live Jesus’ Way. The more disciples of Jesus live like Jesus, the more the world will be transformed into the desired world.

Live the Word and be the change you want to see in the world!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/49db836be

Embrace Compassion!

The Lord is compassionate; receive Him with your whole being!

Happy Lord’s Day!

There is so much in today’s Gospel Portion, St. Matthew 9:36- 10:1-8, but we will concentrate on compassion. I think the Spirit is leading us to this topic today. The Scripture selection is,

When he saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36

I know that I often feel like the people who Jesus saw and broke into their world to give them what they needed to survive and prosper. I believe many people fit into this category. People need direction in living in the world, and for me, and I hope for you, Jesus provides this direction.

Jesus is the Divine Compassion; He came to be with us in the concreteness of His person, and He gave us His Apostles who left us with the Words that save us two thousand years after His bodily presence in the world.

Jesus gave us the fulfilled Holy Scriptures as our guide so that we will have Him as our Shepherd in a most concrete way. Whenever we feel hopeless, Jesus, through His Scriptures, guides us back to the flock He leads. Despair is destroyed through Him!

But we must do our part. Our total being, the good, the bad, and the ordinary, must be surrendered to Him. Jesus knows us more than anyone else, including ourselves, and He loved us anyway!

Wow! How awesome is that!

When we feel unloved, say that is a lie! And remember the old song,

“Jesus loves me, this I know, because the Bible tells me so!”

Live the Truth; embrace the compassion of Jesus!

Praise Him and thank Him, and have an awesome Lord’s Day!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/956de1617

May We Be What We Receive!

Corpus Christi Blessings!

 The Lord made Himself ever present to us who choose to receive Him. Our Gospel Portion today comes from St. John 6:51-58. Let us pray with the verse,

“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” John 6:56

The promise that the Lord gives us has never failed me. I testify to its power over everything the world can and will throw at us. I have experienced terrible actions by people I have trusted, yet their lack of lkindness has never distracted me from the power of love the Lord has given me. His love is ever sufficient, and peace would always return to me. I want everyone to experience this power of love that we celebrate as Corpus Christi.

When I receive the Lord in Communion, and meditate on who I receive, I know that there is a power in me that is much more than the feeble person that I am. It is this Divine Power that gets me through the storms. The storms keep coming, but they can not destroy because the power in me, the abiding presence of the Lord, cannot be destroyed.

I am hoping and praying that He will give you this power. Be who you receive in Communion. His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity will take over if we allow Him to be in control.

Allow Jesus to have Victory in you!

Happy Feast of Corpus Christi!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/74d35f89b