Tag: #PeaceAndLove

Being Humble Always Matters!

Through humility, we can be raised!

Love and humility are intertwined. We cannot separate the two. We find this in the life of Jesus, who chose to join humanity even though He remained Divine.

Today our Gospel Portion is St. Luke 14:1-14, and we will meditate on,

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

St. Luke 14:11

Jesus is the example that all of His followers must follow. He provides the means to bring Heaven to earth, and He showed this in His 33 years of life with us.

St. John the Apostle told us that God is love (1 John 4-8), and we see that lived out in Jesus’ life. Now our challenge is to live love out in our lives. When we encounter every individual, we are to be that love. 

It is normal to love those who love you back; however, what is most difficult is to love those who openly hate you! This is so hard to do, but we are called to do this supernatural love.

Genuine humility is required to love like Jesus!

Remember, God allowed those who hated Him to execute Him, and He forgave them and the whole world! To receive that forgiveness, we must humble our pride and love those who aim to harm us.

When we become like Jesus, we allow Him to exalt us in the present moment!

Be humble like Jesus and be exalted by Him! Live in Heaven on Earth!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

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Love Triumphs!

The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus means that Love will have the final victory!

First let us wish our Eastern Orthodox Sisters and Brothers a Happy Resurrection Sunday!

We read in St. John’s Gospel,

“This I command you, to love one another.”

John 15:17 RSV-CE

The Commandment of Love is central to Jesus and His true followers. This makes perfect sense because He is the personification of Divine Love. Jesus entered our world so that we can enter into God who is Love. The problem is living this Love is difficult because those who follow this Love will often experience the pushback, to a greater or lesser degree, what Jesus experienced as He promoted Divine Love in human relations.

Love anyway!

Do not give up Heaven because people choose to live in hell!

True followers of Jesus will experience their crosses. Be strong, embrace your cross, and live the peace that passes all understanding!

Pax, The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/1b9dd565

 

 

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

The Shema Life

Living Divine Love!

The ancient Hebraic statement of faith is central to Jesus and the Holy Family of Nazareth and must be central to those who follow Jesus!

Jesus states in the Gospel of Matthew:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul and with all of your mind.”
Matthew 22:37

And along with this statement of faith, which is and continues to be central to those who follow Him, Jesus tells us how this statement of faith is to be accomplished. This love must be lived in daily living:

“You shall love your neighbor as you yourself.”
Matthew 22:39

The Trinity of Love!

Jesus brings together the Way of Life of His People Judaism and confirms it for the whole world in His Life, Passion and Death on the Cross and Holy Resurrection! There are three movements of Divine Love which would bring Heaven on Earth, if we, as a people, put it into practice. This Trinity is, love of God, love of self, so that we can truly love our neighbor as God wants us to!

We cannot change anyone, but we can allow God to change us, and in doing so, we can inspire others to surrender to God, who can and will change them too!

Remember, if we know we are powerless, and we know that God is the Ultimate Power in the Universe, and we surrender ourselves to God, God has the power to change us!

Blessings! Pax.

The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/a1d90db2

The Wedding Garment

Make Love Your Garment!

The Wedding Feast is a Love Feast!

At times our Sacred Scriptures can be difficult to understand. For example, in the Gospel of St. Matthew 22:11-12,

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless…”

What is the “Wedding Garment “?

In this Parable of the Wedding Party we we know that Jesus is talking about being in line with God’s Kingdom. The original guests were invited and they had their own things to do, they did not join the party. Then the invite went to everyone, and they came, but one was not properly dressed. Being properly dressed for the party is essential. Not have the “Wedding Garment” is like being present at the affair and not really being there.

Perhaps being properly dressed refers to being clothed in love!

Clothed in Love makes sense because it is a love fest! God became one of us to bring us together in Divine Love!

We can be at the Wedding Feast and not really be there, because we choose not to be love.

This is a wonderful reminder and challenge! Being clothed in love means we are Kingdom People! This is our ongoing goal, working towards it, we will always belong at the “Wedding Party “!

Pax.

The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/a1d90db2

Honesty Matters!

Let Shalom Reign!

Our Lord is very practical about human relationships. He realized that we would hurt one another, yet he does not want us to stay in this hurting space but bring it out in the open. In openness of our feelings, with people who can be reasonable, we can find healing and move on to Kingdom Building!

Jesus says:

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”
Matthew 18:15

Hiding hurts is not helpful, rather, they may lead to resentments. Holding on to hurts may lead to anger and outbursts that can destroy relationships. Jesus wants us to be together, to work with one another and for Shalom to reign.

Shalom, peace, can reign where honesty exists in relationships! We may do something wrong to our sister or brother and have no idea that our actions are hurtful. We can only truly know someone’s feelings if they share them with us.

Let us always be reasonable! Let us always be kind! Let us keep the peace!

And let us Stay in Prayer!

Pax.

The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/a1d90db2

Good Soil Matters!

Be Good Soul!

“As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who heard the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit , and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. “
Matthew 13:23

The use of parables by Jesus are so important, they speak to our hearts and we can hold on to them because we are challenged by them. What does our parable say about us today?

Are we Good Soil?

In the natural order, we have the ability to make soil good. We can keep it moist, we can fertilize it, we can hoe it, and we can remove the weeds. It is much the same in the spiritual order. We can remove the things in our lives in order that we can receive the Seed of God, that is, the Word of God, and allow it to bear abundant fruit in our lives, in our world!

What can we do now to be good soil?

Total surrender is key in making ourselves good receptors of the Word! In total surrender, we know that there is nothing we can do to undo the past. Also, we know that worrying about the future will not help! We know that the present moment is where we can receive and be changed by the Word of God! When we do this we can become wonderful receptors of the Divine Word, It can take root, and if we stay in the present moments, we can produce abundantly!

Please let go and know that God is in control!

Pax.

https://gofund.me/a1d90db2

Go To Jesus!

Learn From Him!

“For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:30

Life gets crazy!

Normal people like us have many challenges that we have to deal with on a regular basis. And these things can become overwhelming! Yet Jesus wants us to use His Way to meet these situations.

What is the Jesus technique?

Jesus uses the Divine Power of Love!

When we allow love to be the reason that we do the things that we do, our situations change. Love means to take care of ourselves. It means to eat healthy, to get enough rest, and to stay away from things that that could harm us.

When we allow love to be the way we deal with people we encounter, even those who want to hurt us, we do the best that we can to live in peace and not to try to hurt the person back. This releases us from a terribly heavy burden and put the burden that Jesus wants us to have, love. We learn to do what we are able to do, loving ourselves in the process, and then letting go, and moving onward!

Jesus on the Cross is the Divine Example of the Power of Love at work. Jesus did what He was sent to do, He loved us to the end, but in actuality, it was the Beginning for us! Hate tried to kill Love, but on the Third Day, Love Rose Never To Die Again!

This Love is our power and how we are to maintain peace in our struggles!
Learn from Jesus and live in love!

Pax.

https://gofund.me/1b9dd565

Live Love!

Live Jesus’ Commandments!

“Whoever has My commandments and observes them is the one who loves Me. And whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love them and reveal Myself to them.”
John 14:21

Love is an action word!

Love is such a huge concept and can be miss leading if it is not concrete in the way we treat each other. God concretely made the universe and this was an act of love. However, we may choose to not love and destroy the creation, including ourselves.

God entered into the world that God created to model for us what love means. Jesus is that model of love that God wants. However, this love challenged how the culture of sin and death controlled human relations, and those in power nailed Love, Jesus, to the Cross.

But Love Wins!

Love could not be kept in the tomb! God will not stay dead!

Love Wins!

If we want to be on the winning side, then we must keep the Commandments! The Commandments are God’s Love in concrete form! When we keep the Commandments, we are in God! And here is where True Peace Reigns!

Today we celebrate in the USA, Mother’s Day. This is one of the most important days of the year. Why? Simply because Mothers teach us how to love, and in doing so, brings us into the great Love Affair with God. Mothers keeps us growing and loving, and protects us from being overwhelmed by the hate in the world! Mothers create the home that we carry with us!

Have an amazing Mother’s Day!

Pax.

https://gofund.me/a1d90db2