It Let Us Make Our Lives Holy!

The Holy Family is an excellent model for the family we belong to, whatever family that is.

Merry Christmas Sunday! On this Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23, and we will meditate on

And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt,
Matthew 2:14

Life was dangerous for the Baby Jesus. He needed a family that could protect Him. King Herod wanted to eliminate love. He sought to kill the threat to his control, but Jesus was born to the Holy Family, and there are many aspects of this family that model for us what holy families are all about. I will name a few and give you the homework to think about more

The first is that Joseph listened to God. That means he was in a relationship with the Lord.

Second, Joseph took God seriously and did what Father God told him to do.

Lastly, Mary and Joseph were a team, and God was the center of their lives. Together, they heard the Father, were guided by the Spirit, and protected the Son! How awesome is that?

The faithfulness of the Holy Family made the salvation of the world possible through their faithfulness!

Each family, whatever it is, can make a difference in the world if we make our families holy.

Merry Christmas! May Christmas stay in our hearts beyond these 12 days and remain a powerful force in our lives throughout 2026!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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May We Be More Like Saint Joseph!

May we obey God as we live our lives.

Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent 2025!

We are so near the great Solemnity of Christmas, and our Scriptures point to that. Our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 1:18-24, and we will delve into

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife.
Matthew 1:24

Humble St. Joseph did not speak in the Holy Scriptures in words; instead, he spoke loudly through his actions.

Joseph discovered that his wife was pregnant and refused to hurt her, and then the Angel came to him in a dream, and he trusted, and the Savior was born into a family. We call this family the Holy Family! Joseph made a home for Jesus and Mary, and in doing so, created a home for us.

The Holy Family had difficulties, but they had each other and the protection of St. Joseph. St. Joseph is the quiet hero who did what he was supposed to do.

St. Joseph is a key figure in the life of the Savior, and it all came about because he surrendered to the Divine Will in everything.

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, may we hold onto the example of St. Joseph and apply it in our lives.

Happy Love Sunday, fourth Sunday in Advent!

Pax, the Hermit of Peace.

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Rejoice, the Lord is Near!

The great Feast of Christmas is near; may we have hearts ready to receive Him!

We are celebrating Gaudete Sunday. We rejoice that the first coming of Jesus is near, and we are probably rushing to get our Christmas plans ready. This is a time that we balance our spiritual needs with our physical needs. This is normal, and we must be vigilant so we can do what we need to do for our spiritual and social lives.

This is a blessed time.

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 11:2-11. We will pray over,

“The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.”
Matthew 11:5

Jesus speaks in response to St. John the Baptist about who Jesus is. Jesus is the one we need to wait for. Jesus is the only one who can bring us the healing that we need. St. John the Baptist, soon after he received this message, would be martyred because he lived the truth and preached it. St. John the Baptist’s mission was completed. He prepared the way for Jesus.

St. John the Baptist prepares us each year during the Advent Season. Are we listening to his message of repentance?

We have these next few days to prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus in our lives again.

Do not miss the healing that Jesus has in store for us!

Happy Gaudete Sunday!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Where Is Our Hearts Now!

Our focus has a significant impact on our overall health.

We are in the Second Sunday of Advent, and it matters where our hearts are at this time as we prepare for the great Feast of Christmas. Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 3:1-12, and we will delve into

For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
Matthew 3:3

There are many pressures the Holiday Season brings. Everyone needs the right present. Do we have everything we need to have the magnificent Christmas Party? There are all these special gift days, like Black Friday (which can last for many days). Do we have enough money in our bank account and on various credit cards? I have been there, and these are essential concerns. But are our hearts ready to receive the Savior’s First Coming?

Jesus, the Emmanuel, wants us to have total healing, and we can receive it if we do not let the things of Christmas outweigh the meaning of Christmas.

How do we do this? Schedule time to read the Scriptures for the season. Schedule time to meditate and pray that our hearts will be ready to receive Jesus most profoundly on Christmas Day and Christmastide.

We must work as hard as we do to make our Christmas Healing as great as preparing for gifts and the Season’s celebrations.

Make a straight path for Jesus to come into us and bring us healing!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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It Is Wonderful To Begin Again!

Let us enter boldly into the New Liturgical Year!

We closed the Liturgical Year yesterday with the message to be ready for the Lord! Today, we open our hearts to receive the Lord, for the Lord is coming!

Our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 24:37-44. We will concentrate on,

“Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”
Matthew 24:42

Be watchful!

On the famous Black Friday, I noticed how many people were running around catching bargains, and that is wonderful. People giving and receiving presents is wonderful! It is an essential act of love in a very concrete way, but let us not forget the reason for the season of gift-giving. We celebrate the greatest gift of all, Jesus, God with Us!

Times can be challenging, financial difficulties are a reality, and we struggle to make ends meet. The religious season of Christmas is full of emotions. We have memories that bring us to a place that is not always comfortable. We have lost loved ones who have transitioned to eternity. We can get lost in these feelings, yet if we stay in these emotions, we may miss Jesus. When we miss the Lord, we miss the healing that He offers us.

Do not miss the Lord! He will get us through whatever we are going through.

Be ready to receive the Lord this Advent! We need Him throughout the year!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Let Us Celebrate the Universal King!

May we love each other as Jesus loves us!

We have reached the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year 2025. We have meditated on so many things about Jesus and the love that He has for us over the year. In the Novus Ordo, we conclude this glorious year with the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe! It is a powerful reminder of what is important to us; Jesus is our ultimate role model.

Our Gospel Portion is St. Luke 23:35-43, and we will meditate on,

And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.”
Luke 23:42

These words come from St. Dismas, the thief who stole Heaven. It reminds us that the King of the Universe came to save the world! Jesus challenges the world in His type of Kingship. It is the Kingship of kindness, love, and mercy.

St. Dismas could not work for his salvation; it had to be a gift. All he did was to surrender to Jesus with his whole being, and Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

What an excellent King and what a fantastic Kingdom to be citizens of now and for eternity.

As we close this year and prepare to open ourselves to Advent, the beginning of the Liturgical Year 2026, may we remember who our true King is and our responsibilities to Him. May we bring the Heavenly Kingdom to the here and now by the way we treat everyone and ourselves.

We do not have to wait for Heaven; we can live in Heaven now!

All hail our King Jesus!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Hold On To The Lord!

The Lord will see you through all situations!

Advent is approaching, and in the Novus Ordo, next week is Christ the King. Today, we contemplate the reality of life in our readings. The Gospel Portion is St. Luke 21:5-19, and we will center ourselves on,

“For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.”
Luke 21:15

The world as we know it may come to an end so suddenly that we will not see it coming. There may be no warning, but our world may be turned upside down! But we are told not to be fearful, rather to trust in the Lord. The Lord sees us through all situations.

This is the time for us to give testimony of the power of the Lord working in our lives!

If we live faithfully, we may be judged by others who we expected to be kind and understanding to us, but we were wrong. Jesus tells us not to preoccupy ourselves with our wisdom; instead, stay with Jesus, and He will give us the words we need to communicate.

Remember, we are persecuted because we follow Him! Jesus knows how we will prosper through this time of persecution!

I give testimony to this! If we stay connected to the Vine, we cannot be destroyed!

As we come to the close of the Liturgical Year 2025 A. D., may we be encouraged to fear nothing and have total trust in the Lord!

Have a beautiful Sunday!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Be A House of Prayer! Bring God wherever you go!

Today, we remember the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the first Basilica of the Roman Church. Its importance is great in the history of Christianity. It marks the end of the Age of Martyrdom and the beginning of the legal practice of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Our Gospel Portion today is St. John 2:13-22, and we will concentrate on

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
John 2:19

Jesus was at the cross between Temple worship and worship of God-with-us. We know that before Jesus, the Jewish people held their great worship services in the Temple, but after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, worship would be centered in Him!

In the Temple during Jesus’ time, animal sacrifice was required. But in Jesus, the sacrifice was found in the shedding of His Blood.

Jesus completed in Himself the plan of God from the creation of the world. And those who have put their lives in His hands continue the saving work of Jesus.

We become the New Temple modeled after Jesus. Followers of Jesus must present themselves as people of prayer; through us, people need to experience God’s presence.

Be an expression of God’s presence in the here and now!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Trust In the Lord!

The Lord is always with us; bring all our cares to the Lord!

Happy Feast of All Souls!

It is a wonderful time of the year! And it is wonderful to remember and pray for all those who meant so much to us, and, out of Christian Charity, to pray for others that no one remembers except for us.

Our Gospel Portion is very helpful in understanding why we know that our prayers are important. Our Portion is St. John 6:37-40, and we will meditate on

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up at the last day.”
John 6:39

We belong to God, regardless of whether we are living on Earth or have passed away. We know that death is not the end, but rather a passage to be with God forever. Jesus promised us that He will not lose us, and we hold onto His promises.

We pray for our departed loved ones as we pray for our loved ones that are with us on this side of eternity.

Prayer is our connection! My mother transitioned over 40 years ago, but she is still with me in prayer.

Let us use this month, as we busy ourselves with all the wonderful activities of the Holiday Season, to remember that our departed loved ones are with us! They are not lost; they are with the Lord!

Have a blessed November!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Be Humble and Rise With God!

We must have total trust in the Lord!

Jesus reminds us that humility is central in our relationship with the Creator. Our Gospel Portion today comes from St. Luke 18:9-14, and let us meditate on it.

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14

In this story, Jesus compares two individuals. One is a Pharisee, and the other is a public sinner, a tax collector. The public sinner is justified, whereas the Pharisee was not. The difference between the two is humility and a lack thereof.

The Tax Collector knew his only hope was in the great mercy of Father God. He begged for God’s mercy. If we read the whole Portion, we would see that the Pharisee was not communicating with the Creator; instead, he was praising himself. There is no healing possible for this Pharisee; he made himself God and told God how good he is.

We have a choice to make. I hope that we follow the public sinner and receive God’s mercy and return to our lives as justified, in other words, right with God.

I have found that true humility has allowed me to undergo terrible things. True humility enables us to entrust whatever we are going through, even the most horrendous situations, to God and experience victory in Christ Jesus.

Please choose humility! It always matters to live the best life.

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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