Live Eternal Life!

In the Lord,  life does not end; in Him we have life eternal!

 We are nearing the end of Eastertide. Next Sunday we celebrate Pentecost and our holiest season of the year comes to a climax. We started way back in February with Ash Wednesday and now we look at what the Lord has done for us; giving us life eternal.

 Today we read St. John 17:1-11and we will pray the verse,

 “Now this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and the one You sent, Jesus Christ.” St. John 17:3

 The promise of being with the Lord forever bring the fruits of the Holy Spirit to our lives. Two of these fruits we will look at today, namely Charity and Peace.

 Charity is the love that we share with others and ourselves and it was taught to us through the Lord’s love for us. God broke through our world so that we can experience God in God’s essence, Charity. God’s Charity is eternal and we participate in it because God made us part of it. Hence, no matter what we are going through we know we are loved and that fact will keep us moving forward if we do not block it.

 The Peace of God allows us to bring God’s Presence wherever we happen to be. The chaos of this world can not take away our peace because we have it from our relationship with the Lord. This is why the Holy Martyrs were able to face execution and continue to evangelize the executioners. This is peace beyond human understanding.

 The gift of eternity begins with our relationship with the Lord and as long as we stay in this relationship, we live eternity now!

 Enjoy the Lord’s Day!

 Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

 https://gofund.me/4d7981f4a

 

Thank You, Mothers, For Life!

Thank you for giving us, Jesus!

I believe most of us have been taught our faith by our mothers. I know that my mother and grandmother did that for me. I know that if I did not have my faith, I could not have survived the storms I had to endure in life.
Faith keeps us moving forward when all things seem hopeless!

Jesus showed us what faith is all about for His followers in our Gospel Portion today: St. John 14:15-21. We will concentrate on

“He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
John 14:21

We learn to love by being loved!
The first glance that a mother gives a baby is the beginning of a lifetime of love. Growing up was a difficult job with many highs and lows, but love gets us through it all.

Often, as adults, we must bring our moms back to us to survive situations and maybe keep ourselves from doing terrible things to ourselves. Our moms may have already gone to glory, but they are still with us when we need them most. My mom has been gone for over 40 years, but she has kept me out of trouble many times throughout the years.
Mothers do this by teaching us to love ourselves and others. They help us develop our moral compass for us, Christ Followers, based on the teachings of Our Lord Jesus!

Today we celebrate Moms in a very special way, every day is Mother’s Day because every breath we take is a gift of God that was given to us through our Mothers!

God bless Mothers!

Have a beautiful Mother’s Day!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/2254d5397

Give Your Heart to The Lord!

The Lord wants to heal us!

Jesus is our healer, and we so desperately need Him. Humankind seems to be constantly going through some struggle, and stressors are everywhere. The Lord makes our lives bearable and let us praise Him for all He has done for us.

Today, our Gospel Portion is taken from St. John 14:21-26. We will meditate on

“And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
John 14:3

There is a blessed assurance that we will have a home with Jesus. He came to be with us, and He will never forsake us. However, we will suffer in our lives. We know that there is one person who is also God who will be with us. We may fall, but He will never fail us!

It is this hope that helps us find peace when everything around us seems insane.

Hold onto Jesus! He is our way to peace and serenity. Trust Him, He is for us, and He will never leave!

Have a blessed Sunday!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/6b300686c

Humbly Let the Good Shepherd Lead Us!

Happy Good Shepherd Sunday in Eastertide!

One of our Good Shepherd Sundays happens in Eastertide. The other celebration of the Good Shepherd occurs in Ordinary Time. The Lord as Shepherd is dear to us because it reveals our relationship with the Lord. We know that when we allow Him to lead us, we will be safe! Our Gospel Portion for this celebration is St. John 10:1-10, and we will concentrate on

“When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”
John 10:4

Jesus talks to us about His relationship with Him. We belong to Him through our baptism into Him. He has the words of life, and when we humbly surrender to Him, we are safe.

Our problem can be forgetting to whom we belong. There are many forces at work in our world that want to lead us in their direction, and because we are human, we may allow ourselves to follow the flocks of destruction. This is why we must celebrate the Good Shepherd year after year, so that we may stay focused on the Shepherd who calls us by name and will keep us safe from destruction!

The Good Shepherd has prepared a place for us, a place of peace and joy beyond human explanation. If we allow Jesus to be our Good Shepherd, whatever storms we face, we can remain in this place of peace and joy. Situations will not destroy us; we will be able to let go and let the storm pass.

The Good Shepherd will lead us to green pastures. We will have peace!

Enjoy the Good Shepherd and give Him the praise that is due Him!

Have a blessed Feast!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/37cd78c0f

The Lord Walks Beside Us!

Please recognize Him!

Happy Third Sunday in Eastertide!

Alleluia! The Lord has Risen! Alleluia!

We continue to bathe in the great event of the Resurrection of the Lord! We will celebrate, in total, fifty days of the greatest event of human history, the Resurrection of Jesus from the Dead!

Let us praise Him! Alleluia!

As we celebrate, we have the Gospel Portion St. Luke 24:13-35, and we will meditate on

“Then they told what had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”
Luke 24:35

As we celebrate the third Sunday in Eastertide, we meditate on the Road to Emmaus. This resurrection encounter occurred on the First Resurrection Day. Two disheartened disciples were walking back to their old lives. Though they heard that the other disciples, both women and men, experienced the Empty Tomb, they were not convinced. Jesus, the Resurrected One, joined them in their walk. They could not recognize him, perhaps because their deep sadness blinded them. But they listened to their walking companion, and their hearts burned with faith as he proclaimed the Holy Scriptures to them.

When they were at the table, Jesus broke the bread, and they finally recognized their Lord and started back to their lives as Jesus’ Followers. They went back to the others in Jerusalem.

I believe we can apply this event in our lives. Jesus Rose from the Dead, so He is always with us. However, life gets rough, and depression is often a reality in our lives. We may not recognize the Lord’s presence in our sad moments. Here is where reading Holy Scripture and participation in Holy Mass make us recognize that Jesus never left us a will see us through whatever storm we are going through.

Jesus never leaves us; He is always with us!

We need Easter! We need the hope that it brings!

Easter Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/9503e860c

Rejoice In the Gift of Divine Mercy!

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

We close today with the Octave of Easter. Happy Easter!

Our Gospel Portion for today is St. John 20:19-31, and we will meditate on

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
John 20:28

St. Thomas was not present with the others when Jesus came to them on Resurrection Sunday. He could not believe the account of his brothers that their Lord had risen from the dead. It was too much for him. However, a week later, on Sunday, Jesus came to see his disciples again, and this time Thomas was with them. When Jesus challenged Thomas’ stubborn disbelief, Thomas responded with the famous words we meditate on today. Thomas surrendered his will and gave it over to the Lord.

St. Thomas represents us. When life situations bring doubts to our hearts and minds, we must remember that Jesus is Risen! Jesus is truly Risen! His mercy is real and no matter what we go through, we will rise again!

We place total trust in Jesus and push forward with whatever Jesus has tasked us to do!

We need to look at what this faith did to Thomas and the world he brought Jesus to. He founded the original Churches of India! These Churches are still around for almost 2,000 years.

The power of the Resurrection and the Divine Mercy it brings will transform us and the world around us!

Faith changes things and transforms us and all around us!

Bathe into the Divine Mercy and be renewed!

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/9503e860c

Resurrection Power!

Jesus lifts us in the midst of a very depressing moment that our world is going through.

Life can get very difficult, but Jesus helps us from falling into the feelings of the time.

Our Gospel Portion today, Easter Sunday, is St. John 20:1-9. We will meditate on,

“Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.”
John 20:8

The other disciple is believed to be the author of this Gospel, St. John.
Imagine that this is John on Good Friday, standing as an eyewitness, and now he sees the empty tomb. The Crucifixion was the saddest moment of his life, and now he is experiencing a moment that would transform the world. John shares this with us, and we have followed him from under the Cross to the Empty Tomb.

When we experience our saddest moments, we know that we will rise out of them if we hold on to the Lord!

The world will not destroy us because Jesus destroyed death! Let us live in Him!

Easter Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/ec40177f7

Let Us Stay with The Lord This Holy Week!

He has healing in store for us!

Happy Palm Sunday!

We enter the holiest week for followers of Jesus. We begin with the joyous day of Jesus entry into Jerusalem, the Holy City. The joy is limited because sin is so abundantly present in the world. But for our meditation for today, let us meditate on the joy.

Our Gospel Portion is taken from the reading used in the Great Procession of Palm Sunday, St. Matthew 21:1-11, and we will concentrate on

“And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’”
Matthew 21:9

The Holy Liturgy begins with great joy. The people have seen great signs and wonders during the three years of Jesus’ Ministry. Their lives were changed through encounters with Jesus, which brought tremendous healing.

However, many in the crowd singing ‘Hosanna’ would turn to shout, ‘Crucify Him!’ But there was the remnant that did not turn from admiration to condemnation. We have Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the other women named Mary. We have Salome and the mother of James and John. We have John himself who stood under the Cross, too.

Let us join the remnant of true believers. Let our hearts and minds join with theirs and receive the healing that our lives need.

Have a fruitful Holy Week!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/ec40177f7

The Lord Will Set Us Free!

No matter how dead we may feel, the Lord is calling us to life now and forever! Trust the Lord!

Happy Sunday in Passiontide!

Our 5th Sunday in Lent brings us to the end of our Lenten Season 2026. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Our Gospel Portion this week leads us into the mystery of the Passion. It is St. John’s Gospel 11:1-45, and we will concentrate on

“The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go’.”
John 11:44

Our Gospel Portion is the Raising of Lazarus. We know that this miracle comes toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It was dangerous for Jesus to come to Bethany because it was only two miles outside of Jerusalem. It was where the Jewish leadership was, and they wanted to eliminate Jesus. Jesus was a threat to their way of life. He questioned much of their understanding and practice of the Law.

The Holy Siblings, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, were like family to Jesus; He loved them dearly. Lazarus died, and Jesus called him to life after being dead for four days. This event had many witnesses, and many conversions to Jesus’ way of life occurred there. However, there is a message for us to take for ourselves this Lent: be set free!

Sometimes I feel spiritually dead. So many things are happening in the world that seem to force me into a cocoon. It is not a good place to be, and people need me to be present to them. When I see myself turning inward to avoid the outside craziness, I call on Jesus, and He sets me free, and I can help others be free too!

Jesus can and will break what holds us down, but our job is to turn toward Him and be free, regardless of the circumstances in the world.

When Jesus set you free, you are free indeed! (See St. John 8:36)

Have a blessed and fruitful Passiontide!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/ec40177f7

I Was Blind, and Now I See!

Thank you, Lord, for giving me sight again!

Rejoice! Happy Laetare Sunday!

We have just completed three weeks of Lent, and we rejoice in the Lord who has brought us to this point in our Lenten Journey. There is so much going on in our world that it may close our eyes to the truth of Divine Love at work. In Lent, we allow Jesus to touch us and help us see what is good and deserving of our attention.

Love wins!

We place our trust in the Lord who made Heaven and Earth!

Our Gospel Portion today is
St. John 9:1-41, and we will meditate on,

“He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went and washed and received my sight.’”
John 9:11

The man born blind was given the gift of sight. This was an extraordinary moment in human history. Jesus did this in a very intimate way. The Pharisees had to respond because everyone in this region who witnessed the miracle knew this blind man. They all encountered him begging for his livelihood. The miracle was a God thing! These Pharisees could not accept this event from the Divine because it would require them to believe and change their lives.

Obviously, the blind man’s life was changed! He had an intimate exchange with Christ, and he could see. But this sight was much more than physical. He saw spiritually, and he saw these Pharisees for who they were, false guides and blind fools.

We, too, can be people like these Pharisees. We can look at love and be blind to it. We can hate others.

We need lent! This is the time when we can get more intimate with the Lord and overcome the blindness that living in the world can create in us.

Let us enter more deeply into the mystery of Divine Love, and see anew with the Eyes of Jesus!

Rejoice and be glad, Love Reigns!

Happy Laetare Sunday!

Pax, the Hermit of Peace.

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