Let Us Be Light!

May we be light to the darkness that surrounds us!

Happy Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus to the Temple!

We have another aspect of the Christmas Mystery today, the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. Our Gospel Portion for today is St. Luke 2:22-40. This event follows the Jewish Law referred to as follows,

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to press Him to the Lord

(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Luke 2:22-24

This celebration was done 40 days after the birth of Our Lord! What a blessing to celebrate this event of Our Lord’s life! Jesus did everything that people would do, yet the significance was magnificent! At the Presentation, God entered the Temple in bodily form. His presence blessed the Temple and two individuals received Him as Lord in His Temple. We read of one of these individuals as follows,

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon… And it was revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And inspired by the Holy Spirit he came into the Temple; and when the parents brought the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law, he took Him in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now let your servant go in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory to Your people Israel”

Luke 2:25-32

Today it is customary to bless candles and walk into our temples, our church buildings. We have received Jesus, we carry our lights into the church, but do not leave them there!

Can we carry our lights out in the world? There is so much darkness and pain around us!

May we bring the Light of Christ everywhere we go!

Be light and break up the darkness!

Happy Feast Day!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace

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Be A Gift to the Baby Jesus!

The Magi Brought Gifts and Received the Greatest Gift!

Gifts are important items during Christmastide, but the gift that we receive needs to last us for the rest of our lives, Jesus! The Spirit of Christmas can be life changing if we allow the Meaning of Christmas to take us over.

The Magi travelled to find the source of light and was transformed by it. We read in St. Matthew’s Gospel:

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His Mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:10-11

We join these Magi every day of our lives. May we bring whatever gift we have today to the Lord! May we be open to receive the gift that only this encounter can bring, the light of Christ!

May we carry Christmas with us all of our days!

Epiphany Blessings!

Pax. Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/e4fbd23a

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

Christmas Blessings!

Please Love Each Other!

The Word became flesh and made its dwelling among us.
John 1:14

We come again to the wonderful Christmas Day and the beginning of the Christmas Season. This day is emotional full of past experiences and present realities. However, it is a day so full of emotions, good and not so good, that the love it presents may be lost!

The Word Became Flesh!

The Divine became one of us so that we can have the choice of becoming more Divine in the way we treat each other!

We are challenged to love unconditionally! This is not an easy task for us naturally, but It is possible. The Baby we celebrate today, as an adult, showed us how to treat one another.

Once again we can change the World! It sounds like a tremendous task, but it begins if we individually choose to love one another!

Choose Love!

Pax.

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