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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The World Need Servants!Bring the Peace of Jesus to everyone we encounter!

Jesus encourages us to be like Him in the world. Imagine that God became one of us to show us how God wants us to live. Our focus must be on serving one another, regardless of who the person is, including those who have betrayed or hurt us deeply. Our love must be supernatural. The Kingdom of God must be a reality in the way we live and treat one another. Our Gospel Portion helps us enter into Divine Servitude. We read St. Luke 17:5-10, and we will concentrate on

“So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.”
Luke 17:10

Sometimes our Lord says strong things that may shake us. However, we need to be shaken up at times so that we can be true to ourselves as His disciples.

As disciples of Jesus, it is our duty to serve others. It is easy to forget that God became one with us to serve us, because we did not know how to behave.

We are called to serve others! Remember, at the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of His Disciples. Jesus gave us the example of Divine Servitude. This process of service is not an option! It is our duty!

Please take Jesus seriously and be a teacher of the Kingdom by how you treat everyone.

An excellent example of this teaching ministry is found in the life of St. Francis of Assisi. He famously said, and I paraphrase, preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words. And he also said that the only sermon people may experience is in our actions.

May we do our duty as disciples of Jesus Christ and expect nothing in return, other than being faithful to the Lord!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/bc47edef

Be Ready to Receive Jesus!

Jesus wants to be with us every minute of our lives!

He will come again to the world in glory, but He comes to us in many ways now. Will we be ready to receive Him?

Today our Gospel Portion is St. Luke 12:32-48, and we will concentrate on,

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will put on his apron and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them.
Luke 12:37

Jesus will come in Glory, but He always comes into our lives. But are we available to receive Him?

Jesus comes to us in each other, and these can be marvelous experiences if we do not let things in our lives get in the way.

For example, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta experienced Jesus in many people. Some of these people were dying in the street, and no one recognized them, but Mother Teresa did because she knew Jesus. Mother Teresa knew love.

I hope we will know Jesus well enough to see Him in our loved ones who want love and want to be loved in return.

I hope we will see and receive Jesus in the people we meet at work and in our various activities.

I hope we see Jesus in the person in the street by always being kind. Remember,

KindnessAlwaysMatters!

If we become more like Jesus, we will be able to receive Jesus when He comes to us!

Have a blessed Sunday!
Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/6ndjm4-christophers-fund-for-charity/fb/o?utm_campaign=natman_sharesheet_dash&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&attribution_id=sl:8b055e34-0dad-426f-af5f-0273a5dfe1c7

What We Treasure Matters!

Choose Jesus and make a better world!

What we hold as important directs our focus in life. Today, our Gospel Portion is St. Luke 12:13-21, and we will concentrate on

“So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:21

Jesus gives us a model that helps make a better world. Jesus uses love as the complete center of His actions, and as His followers, we must keep this love as the center of our behavior, too!

Kindness always matters!

Being kind does not mean that we can not be wealthy in the things of this world. But it means we must share our wealth with those in need.

We must always remember that everyone is our sister or brother and love them in concrete ways. This often means sharing what is ours with organizations that we trust that feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the incarcerated, care for the sick, and do all the other necessary acts of charity in our world today.

Living charity is living already in the Kingdom of God!

May we live the words we pray many times a day: Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!

May we be Kingdom People!

Sunday Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

Be At One With Jesus!

Be at one with everyone!

Happy Sunday in Ascensiontide (the time between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday). This Sunday is Jesus’ prayers for us. Our Gospel Portion is St. John 17:20-26. We will concentrate on the following,

“Holy Father, I pray not only for them but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, so that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

St. John 17:20-21

We are in this in-between time from Ascension Thursday, 40 days after the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesús Christ and the great Feast of Pentecost. This allows us to prepare our hearts to receive God’s Spirit in a new and powerful way.

We need God’s Spirit because the spirit of the world, the spirit of evil seems to be overwhelming. We need the Gifts of the Spirit and we need the Attributes of the Spirit to rise above the spirit of the world. For example, we and the world need kindness, which comes from God, rather than meanness which is so common in the world.

Please use this time to remind us of how God wants us to treat ourselves and others. People are suffering and we may be suffering ourselves, we and the world need God’s Ways to be lived out in us!

May God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, come alive in us and make our world a better place!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/1ad6a4aa

May Our Hearts Belong To God!

A Divided Heart Has No Peace!

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke 16: 13

Simply said, surrendering our will to the Divine Will brings peace to our lives. But this is not as easy as it sounds. There are things in our world that challenges us and distract us from peace.

Perhaps the only way to maintain our will in the Divine Will is to be vigilant in love.

Give as much of our hearts to God as we can!

We are God’s work in process. It may be discouraging as we examine our hearts, and see how we fail to live up to our principles. However, efforts matter! Forgiveness is real! And today is another day to give ourselves to God by serving God in the world; serving God by loving all meet!

Never give up on serving the Lord; the Lord will never give up on us!

BeEncouraged

Pax.

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Be Jesus, Serve Jesus!

Be a Neighbor of Jesus!

(Jesus said) “Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “the one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, ”Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10: 36-37

Jesus is very demanding! He has no time for fake religious observance. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, He tells us that we must love individuals in need. Life can be cruel! We may not be able to change that reality, but regardless of who the person who suffers, we must be Jesus to them.

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you.”

Mother Teresa’s words are not “Pie in the sky” religion, rather, this is how she lived and challenges us to do the same!

Who do we need to be the Good Samaritan to today?

Pax.

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