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 Free!

When Jesus set you free you are free indeed! John 8:36

Our world has a way of controlling our minds and ultimately controlling our habits. But Jesus came to show us who we really are. Jesus in our Gospel Portion today, St. Luke 4:14-2, makes His mission clear and with it, we can find the peace that we need living in this world.

We read,

And there was given Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set liberty to those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4: 17-21

This is one of the Epiphanies of the ministry of Jesus. In the reading He did and the proclamation He made, we hear that He fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. If we truly follow Jesus, we will experience inner freedom that He provides.

Will we allow Jesus to free us?

Jesus comes to us with the gift of His presence. In His presence we know what the world may say about us does not matter. We know that we are loved and we have a purpose.

Society changes but the dignity given to us from Jesus does not change!

In Jesus, we are free, indeed our innermost being can not enslaved!

Have a blessed week!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/033e2079

Let Jesus Bless You!

Believe and Trust in Him!

It is possible to miss a blessing because of unbelief. What a shame! We see in our Gospel selection of today, how unbelief in Jesus can keep us from healing. We read in St. Mark’s Gospel,

And He (Jesus) could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Mark 6:5-6

Familiarity breeds contempt! And contempt blocks miracles. However Total Trust in Jesus allow miracles to enter into our lives!

What does this say to us as we live our lives today? Most of us know Jesus, but do we believe He can bring miracles into our lives.

Familiarity breeds contempt, but faith opens the door for Jesus to take control!

Jesus wants to bring peace and healing into our lives, but He will not force it on us! Allow Him to work the miracles He has in store for us!

Lord save us from blocking Your blessings in our lives!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/6dbcb083

Do We Have Faith!

There are storms in our lives that we must go through! It is foolish to try to avoid them! But faith in Jesus, the Master of All, is with us, if we have faith in Him!

We read in St. Mark’s Gospel,

And He (Jesus) said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”

Mark 4:40

Jesus had these questions to ask His disciples who were with Him in a boat and they were experiencing a terrible storm. They were fearful because it was a dangerous situation. It was a life or death experience. The Disciples did not know who they were with, Jesus, so they thought they all were doomed. However, they had enough sense to call on Jesus and He spoke to the Storm, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mark 4:39.

The message is this, we know Jesus, and whatever storm comes our way, we know what to do: Call on Jesus!

Surrender whatever we are going through to Jesus, do whatever we are able to do and say to Him,

I put all of my hope in You!

Jesus has Victory over every storm!

Have an awesome Sunday!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/a1d90db2

Embrace The Cross!

Embrace Your True Self!

Jesus shows us the essential nature of carrying one’s cross. He did that by modeling this process with His own life. He tells us directly:

“If anyone comes after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Matthew 16:24

Jesus had to deny Himself as the world would see it, that is, to compromise with the world for self preservation, and embrace His true self by defying the world and all of it’s temporary pleasures. The cross is often difficult and painful, but it is embracing who we truly are and here we find peace.

The message of Jesus, the message of Divine Love, was a threat to those in authority in the culture that Jesus lived in. These individuals had compromised themselves to be comfortable. Jesus’ words and how He lived, contradicted their approach life. To Jesus everyone must be treated with love. This meant loving oneself and loving others as if we were loving ourselves! This message is key to Jesus’ Jewish tradition and He would not compromise it even if this meant dying for His true self!

Embracing one’s cross may lead to one’s Crucifixion!

To follow Jesus means for us to embrace the cross of following Him. Usually it means living a good Christian life, a life where Divine Love reigns, however, it also means being willing to die to be faithful to our true selves as Jesus’ disciples. No compromising Love of oneself and one another!

The saints, the holy ones, did this. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta’ Feast is approaching in a few days. Mother Teresa had an inner call that called her out of the comfort of her convent school environment to the streets of India, not to convert those who she encountered, rather, she loved herself so much that she had to become Jesus to the poor of the street!

We all have our call! Wherever we are, let us embrace our cross as true disciples of Jesus and be Jesuslike wherever our mission is!

Pax.

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Our Special Pearl

God Is Everything!

Putting God First!

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on the finding one Pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13: 45-46

The Special Pearl!

We all have special things in our lives. We have reasons why they are special. Maybe these things are special because they represent who were are or are most comfortable with? Maybe we just simply feel good about being in the presence of this person, place, or thing. But whatever it is, it’s presence in our lives gives us meaning.

What is that Special Pearl?

What does this Special Pearl do for us?

Our Lord Jesus explains that for those who are with Him, the Kingdom of Heaven must be that Special Pearl! If our Special Pearl is the Heavenly Kingdom, that means we are in company with the Lord!

What does this mean for us if the Kingdom of Heaven is our Special Pearl?

We have many important things in our lives, we have our families, our places of worship, our friends, our sports, and our places of work. These things can all bring us meaning, but if we want what Jesus can give us, the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7), He must be Our Special Pearl. Nothing may come before our love of Jesus!

Our love of Jesus must inform the totality of our lives!

Have a blessed day!

Pax.

https://gofund.me/1b9dd565