Will We Remember Today?

Will We Use Christmas In Our Lives?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christian traditionally celebrated Christmas for many days, Advent as a season of preparation for Season of Christmas, Christmas Day the beginning of Christmastide, with the first eight day (The Christmas Octave) each being Christmas Day, and concluding this time with the Season of Epiphany. There is tremendous wisdom in using these days for a time of contemplation, meditation and worship. We celebrate the beginning of our Salvation in Christ.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, gives us a wonderful example of why we must hold on to Christmas. It is written in St. Luke’s Gospel:

Mary kept all of these things and pondered on them in her heart.

St. Luke 2:19

Life gets rough, but if we keep Christmas in our thoughts and ponder on them often, we will get through all things, no matter how difficult life gets!

Remember, it is the same Mary who would hold her son 33 years afterwards after He died on the Cross!

Christmas can get us through anything, and we will rise with Jesus in the Resurrection!

We need Christmas everyday of our lives!

Christmas Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

Say Yes to God!

We have a choice to make as we live our lives. That choice can change the course of our lives and the lives of others. As we close the Advent 2023, we see one choice recorded in the Gospel of St. Luke that changed the course of the world. It happened in an exchange between Mary and the Archangel Gabriel over 2000 years ago, and result of which we celebrate tonight as we begin Christmastide with the Vigil and the Vespers of Christmas. We hear Mary here:

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the Angel departed from her.

St. Luke 1:38

This one yes brought God into the World in the person of Jesus! The Incarnation began with the Annunciation and Mary’s Yes!

This one Yes becomes one of the biggest celebrations in the world, knowing what it signifies or not knowing it!

However, Mary’s Yes reminds us to say Yes to God Too! Our “Love Yes” makes Jesus present in our lives and in the lives of others. And as the song says:

“I say yes Lord yes, to your will and to your way! I say yes Lord yes, I will trust You and obey!”

Fourth Sunday of Advent Blessings!

Christmas Eve Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

Be St. Joseph Like!

As Advent 2023 comes to a close, we have St. Joseph, the Foster Father of Jesus, the Husband of the Virgin Mary, as a role model. We see in the Gospel of St. Luke:

He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While he was there , the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:5-7.

The Christmas Story is so profound in its simplicity! We see St. Joseph providing for his young family the best that he could and the World received received her Savior!

Below is a little meditation that I hope will help us deal with struggles the way St. Joseph did so many years ago.

Have a blessed end of Advent 2023 and always remember to be a blessing!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

Happy Gaudete Sunday!

Choose Joy!

We are in the period of the last days in Advent 2023 and regardless of what we have been going through, we have a choice to find joy! Our model is St. John the Baptist who chose to live the joy of the Lord by preparing His way for us! However, will we follow John in his preparing the way of the Lord to everyone we encounter. The world still needs St. John the Baptist like individuals.

We find in St. John’s Gospel:

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him.
John 1:6-7

Let us keep this testimony simple! St. John the Baptist was very much himself! He was “Wholly Holy”, he belonged to God, and he never wavered from surrender to God’s will for himself.

Can we use these last days before Christmas to give the true testimony that Jesus is the Lord of our lives? We do that by bringing joy to everyone we encounter!

Be Christmas Joy!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

Who Will Be the Herald for Jesus?

Will St. John the Baptist’s Mission Continue in Us?

It is the most wonderful time of the year!

For a good part of the world, this is a very special time! It is a time of love and goodwill between people, but can we be instrumental in making it more?

Let us let this section of the Gospel of Mark challenge us extend the power of Christmas!

We read in St. Mark:

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.”
Mark 1:2-3.

This prophecy speaks of St. John the Baptist centuries before John’s entry onto the historical scene. Hearts had to be made ready for Jesus’ entry into the social arena.

We are in the time called Advent, a season of preparation for the coming of Christmas, a time that Christians prepare their hearts and homes to celebrate the first coming of Jesus Christ.

But many people do not know Jesus, but they celebrate His birth anyway. The “Wilderness” that Isaiah speaks about in his prophecy continues in our societies today.

How believers celebrate Christmas can speak “Peace” to this most wonderful time of the year!

Here words are important, but more important are the actions that believers do. Gifts are signs of love, but the world is in trouble, depression has taken so many lives, people need to have Jesus. Jesus can and will pull people out of despair!

Let us remember the children’s hymn words:

“They will know we are Christian by our love…we will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand…”

May everyone one we encounter encounter Jesus in us!

Happy Advent Second Sunday!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

May Our Hearts Be Alert!

Advent Blessings!

Happy New Year!

We begin again preparing for the New Creation in Jesus Christ! We are a Christmas People, and we must
review the mystery of God becoming one of us, so that we can become who we were created to be, images of the Divine working in the world!

Today we hear from the adult Jesus about what we need to be as ones who are waiting on Him:

“Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come.”
Mark 13:33

At the beginning of our liturgical year, we remember that Jesus will return to us. We must be ready for Him to return in glory. However, this is not for us to fear, rather it is to make us love each other more fully. Love of neighbor as we love ourselves, makes us ready to receive Jesus, now, at the hour of death and at glorious Second Coming!

If we love, we need not fear!

Have a blessed and meaningful Advent!

Pax.

The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

Jesus Rules!

When We Allow Jesus to Rule, Peace Reigns!

We are again at this special time of the year! We close our spiritual journey 2023 and next Sunday we will begin again. Each year’s Scriptures speak to us differently; the Scriptures remain but our lives changes and they speak to us where we are.

Today we look at the Final Judgment and we can look at our lives and see what side we are on. There are somethings that we cannot compromise on, if we are truly following Jesus, if Jesus is truly our King! We read from Matthew’s Gospel:

“Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to me.’”
Matthew 25: 34-35.

Jesus is very clear; the God of Mercy will be the God of the Final Judgement and the Judgement will be based on the mercy that we share with one another.

This challenge goes against what the world sees as important, and we are so affected by the world! We are called to rise above the world and its non-Christlike behaviors.

We can be Christlike and thank God we have this day to evaluate ourselves and become more Christlike; it will have eternal rewards!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

Do Not Bury Love!

Are We Using Our Talents Well?

We have a new life in Jesus, are we making a difference?

As we come closer to the end of the Liturgical Year, we move our thoughts to the end of time. Many people think about getting for the End Times, but Jesus reminds us to Live Ready! This is important in the Parables of Jesus, and it is also important for our Wholistic Health!

Live Ready!

The Master gives talents:

“For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.”
Matthew 25:14-15

For us let us call the talent love.

In the Gospel selection we see the Master return and evaluate his servants. He is happy with two and upset with one. The key is what they did with what they were given.

The ones who used the talents they received and multiplied them were rewarded. The one who buried the talent that was lent to him, lost everything!

If the talent we have is the capacity to love, we must not bury it!

Or as Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change!”.

As we enter Thanksgiving Week here in the U. S., there will be challenges. As we enter the end of the Liturgical Year 2023 and are reminded to be ready for the End Times, one key take away is do not bury the talents that the Master has lent to us! The Master expects us to be fruitful!

Do not bury Love! Use it well and unselfishly!

Pax,
The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

Got Oil?

Got Oil in Your Lamp?

Jesus is coming, are we ready?

In the Parable of the Virgins in the Gospel of St. Matthew, we have a scene of the Virgins that are waiting for the Groom to get them and bring them to the Wedding Feast. This was done in the night; hence everyone needed a source of light to walk. The Wise Virgins were ready, but the Foolish Ones were not. It was too late for the Foolish Ones.

Jesus concludes this Parable with:

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Matthew 25:13

As we come close to the end of the Church’s Liturgical Year, we are reminded of the end times. But our reality is that any time has the potential of being the end time for us. Every night before we go to bed may be the end time. Are we ready for Jesus?

Got oil?

In other words, are we prepared to meet Jesus if he knocks on our door? There is a simple solution, but many of us find it hard to do.

St. Peter tell us in his Epistle:

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8

Want Oil? Love everyone! Make peace and do not hold on to grudges. Remember, in Heaven even our enemies will be our friends!

Live Heaven Now!

Pax. Hermit of Peace.

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Wholeness of Life Matters!

How We Live Reveals Who We Are!

Jesus had a real problem with hypocrisy! He was quite clear to the religious leadership of His people, Judaism. He heard one thing from their mouths, but He saw something different in their actions. Jesus found their way of living a major cause of His concern for them and the people that they were serving.

Jesus wanted better for His people, then and now!

It is not enough to have a title like teacher or father. All teachers, for Jesus’ Followers, must have as their real Teacher Jesus! All fathers, if they are Jesus’ Followers, must have Father God as their real Father Source! This requires the leadership of the people to be teachable!

Jesus tells us:

“He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbled himself will be exalted.”
Matthew 23:11-12

Being humble means being teachable! Being able to be taught by Father God and the Lord Jesus will allow each one of us to be Servant-Leaders after the Heart of Jesus!

Pax.

The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/a1d90db2