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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Give Jesus Total Trust!

Jesus will make something beautiful out of us!

In our Gospel Portion today (St. Luke 5: 1-11) we have a very important conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter. We read,

And when He ceased speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night! But at Your word I will let down the nets.”

And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking. They beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boat, so that they began to sink.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Luke 5: 4-8

We must think like Jesus, not like Simon Peter. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. Simon Peter had a limited understanding of himself. And that makes perfect sense. He knows how holy Jesus is, he knows how powerful Jesus is, and he knows how sinful he is. But Jesus saw through the shortcomings of Simon Peter and He knew He could do marvelous things through him.

Simon Peter did follow Jesus and Jesus could build His Church using him! Simon Peter surrendered to Jesus and this gives us an example for us to follow!

Do not let our opinions of ourselves become a barrier to God’s plan for us!

Let Jesus have His way with us and He will do marvelous things through us too!

Be blest!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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The Widow Mite Challenge!

Are we able to give to the Lord our all?

Money is so important for our lives today, it seems strange that a poor person, a widow, would give so much money in the collection as the one mentioned in our Gospel Portion today (St. Mark 12:38-44). The widow has come down to us in history because of what she did about two thousand years ago. We read,

And He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And He called His disciples to Him, and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put more than all those who contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.” Mark 12: 41-44

The Widow is a challenge for us because she gives her all to God. It is much more than the amount she is giving; she is giving herself. This donation of hers is a sign that she has trust in God and that God will provide.

Are we ready to do the same? Here I am not saying to sell everything and give ourselves to God. But I am saying it is time to reflect on our relationship to God to make sure God comes first and let everything else flow from this relationship!

Sunday blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/a46c6d7f

Jesus Teaches Love!

Are we teachable?

Jesus’ disciples, in today’s Gospel Portion (St. Mark 10: 2-16), exhibited a behavior that was repugnant to Him. We read in the Gospel,

And they were bringing children to Him, that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them.

But when Jesus saw it, He was indignant, and said to them, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for such belongs the Kingdom of God.” Mark 10: 12-13.

What were the Disciples thinking? They seemed to misunderstand their Master!

Jesus wants all to come to Him! He has a blessing to give everyone. Unlike the officials in Jesus’ time who came to Him to try to trick Him, these parents sent their young ones to receive the blessing that only Jesus could give.

We are to be childlike! Our greatest desire is to be connected to Jesus, to live in His blessings! However, as adults we allow things to keep us away from being in the blest state with the Lord.

Total surrender means to come to Jesus just as we are and let Him take control.

May our motto be,
“Jesus, I surrender all to you, please take me and bless me and always keep me in your blessing.”

Being childlike in Jesus matters!

Happy Lord’s Day!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/561b35cd

We Were Lost, But Now We Are Found!

Thank God for Jesus!

There are so many opportunities to get lost and there are so many people who claim to love us, but really have their own agenda at work. But God enters and leads us to “Green Pastures”. We are given a place of peace in a world of confusion.

Thank God for Jesus!

We read in the Gospel of St. Mark,

As He (Jesus) landed He saw a great throng, and He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and He began to teach them many things. Mark 6:34.

The sheep have to be taught!

Without the Good Shepherd, we would be lost in the world! There are so many problems that we have to deal with on the daily basis, with His word we have the means of handling our situations and staying in love and in peace.

The people in our Gospel selection today knew they were missing something in their lives and that something was Jesus!

Perhaps we are those people today and Jesus wants to be available to us! All we have to do is to seek Him.

Today there is so much hurt all around us, in our families, at our work places and in our society, but we do not have to despair! Let the Good Shepherd speak to our hearts and let Him take control. Let Jesus show how to be more like Him in all of our relationships.

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

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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LOVE WINS!

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

There is great power in Jesus, but we must understand today, Resurrection Sunday.

We read in St. John’s Gospel,

They (Peter and John) did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.

John 20:9

The understanding of the Resurrection’s significance in our lives is essential in order to tap into the power of the Resurrection in our lives. Jesus did not rise and disappear! He stayed with His Disciples for 40 days! They had to be taught! The event of the Resurrection is the central point in in history! No one has ever been nailed to the cross with witnesses that could testify to seeing a person die and be buried and on the third day rise from the tomb!

After 40 days of instruction, in ten days immediately following Ascension Thursday, when Jesus ascended to the right hand of Father God, God sent the Holy Ghost to finish the instruction! Christianity is the product of this instruction!

And we are not finished yet!

Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day, is not over! We have 50 days to be instructed by the Word, our spiritual reading and our meditation!

We need this time because if we can understand the Resurrection, we know that nothing can destroy us!

In the final analysis, LOVE WINS!

Pax, The Hermit of Peace

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Enter Into the Mystery and Be Renewed!

Happy Ash Wednesday!

We now enter into Holy Season of Lent, and it is a special time for us. This is a wonderful time to develop a closer relationship with Jesus, with our loved ones and with one another. This is our time to grow our faith and become the people that we were created to be, Children of God!

We read is the Gospel of St. Matthew:

Jesus said to his disciples, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your Heavenly Father.”

Matthew 6:1

The message given by Jesus to His disciples is given to us today. We are the disciples today! We are in relationship with the Father through Jesus. Our righteous actions give glory to the Lord, and it is the Lord who will reward us because we do these things for the Greater Glory of God!

The Season of Lent can become a life changing experience if we enter into the mystery of God’s Love for us! It is a time to allow ourselves to be transformed into the people we were created to be, Children of God!

May we we allow ourselves to be recreated during this Holy Season!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

Be Teachable!

Humility is Truth!

It seems that human beings have this tendency to judge each other. For whatever reason, people will look at someone else and see how they are lacking in something that makes them less perfect. It seems to make the judging person feel better about themselves. This common approach hides the reality that we all need to be healed!

Jesus, in the Parable of the Two Sons, is helpful here.

Jesus said, “what do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go out to the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘no’; but afterwards he repented and went.”
Matthew 31:28-29

In this selection from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is referring to public sinners who said no to living God’s way and took the way of the world. These individuals, with the preaching of John, the Baptist, repented.

Humility is being teachable!

The conversion of the public sinners did not change the hearts of those who were proper members of the culture that Jesus belonged to. They seemed to believe that they did not need to change. The words of John the Baptist could not reach them because they were not teachable.

All of us fall short of the Divine Love that God wants us to live in the here and now. John, the Baptist, call is for all people.

May we all be humble, be teachable and love each other better each day!

Pax.

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