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Monday, December 31, 2018

⛪ Nor by human choice

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Jesus Is Forever

We're approaching the end of the Christmas season. Soon we will be back to the ordinary routines of our life. But if we have celebrated the feast of the incarnation well, our lives will be changed. We don't know what the new year will hold for us, for our families, for the world. But we know that God will continue to be with us. As we look back at the significant events of the past year, both the joys and the sorrows, the highs and the lows, we can see how God has shaped us and strengthened us for what lies ahead. Perhaps we're a bit relieved that Christmas is over for another year. But perhaps we discover that something has changed in us because of an encounter, a gift, a new insight into the meaning of the incarnation. We can keep a little bit of that with us through the coming year and let it bring light and peace to our everyday lives. Our journey with God doesn't end with the Christmas season. Jesus is forever, not just for Christmas.

—from the book The Peace of Christmas: Quiet Reflections with Pope Francis

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Quote
"For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God."
— St. Teresa of Avila

MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"While other martyrs suffered by sacrificing their own lives, the Blessed Virgin suffered by sacrificing her Son's life—a life that she loved far more than her own. So she not only suffered in her soul all that her Son endured in his body. In addition, the sight of her Son's torments brought more grief to her heart than if she had endured them all in her own person. No one can doubt that Mary suffered in her heart all the outrages that she saw inflicted on her beloved Jesus. Anyone can understand that the sufferings of children are also those of their mothers who witness them."
— St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 331
AN EXCERPT FROM
A Year with Mary

VERSE OF THE DAY
"Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail."
Isaiah 58:9-11

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SAINT OF THE DAY

POPE ST. SYLVESTER
Pope St. Sylvester (c. 250-335 A.D.) was born in Rome and raised as a Christian under the care of pious parents, and the religious instruction of a devout priest. He was later ordained to Holy Orders in Rome, and witnessed the outbreak of Christian persecution under the Emperor Diocletian. During this time he became well-known as a good and holy priest, so much so that when the Pope died, Sylvester was appointed the new Bishop of Rome. Little is known about Pope St. Sylvester other than the many important events in Church history that occurred under his pontificate. He was the reigning pope during the Council of Nicea which condemned the Arian heresy and established the Nicene Creed; he was the Holy Father who converted and baptized the Roman Emperor Constantine; Rome's greatest churches were built under his direction by Constantine, including St. John Lateran, St. Peter's, and Santa Croce; and the Church saw the beginnings of temporal prosperity and the establishment of the Christian Roman Empire. Sylvester was Pope from 314 A.D. until his death in 335 A.D. His feast day is December 31st.

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The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas

Reading 1 1 Jn 2:18-21

Children, it is the last hour;
and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming,
so now many antichrists have appeared.
Thus we know this is the last hour.
They went out from us, but they were not really of our number;
if they had been, they would have remained with us.
Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number.
But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One,
and you all have knowledge.
I write to you not because you do not know the truth
but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth

Responsorial Psalm PS 96:1-2, 11-12, 13
R. (11a) Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name;
announce his salvation, day after day.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the LORD.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
The LORD comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

Alleluia Jn 1:14a, 12a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him
he gave power to become the children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man's decision
but of God.

And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father's only-begotten Son,
full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, saying,
"This was he of whom I said,
'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.'"
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father's side,
has revealed him.


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Meditation: John 1:1-18

7th Day within the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord

We saw his glory. (John 1:14)

Before God became man in Jesus, the closest that any ordinary Jewish person came to "seeing" God's glory occurred just once a year on the Day of Atonement. On that day, and only on that day, the high priest was allowed to enter the inner sanctuary of the Temple where God dwelt. No one else could encounter God and experience his glory face to face.

But when Jesus became one of us, he gave all of us the privilege of seeing God's glory—because he himself is the glory of God! Jesus made something that was abstract into something that was personal and real. Imagine the emotion that his disciples felt when they told their fellow Jews, "No one has ever seen God," but "we have seen his glory."

Today's Gospel contains many statements about Jesus that can sound abstract and a little mysterious. He is the bearer of "grace and truth" (John 1:14), the light shining "in the darkness" (1:5), and the one through whom we receive life (1:12). But far from being abstract, these words don't describe something God does in a vacuum. They describe what Jesus wants to do for each of us.

Jesus wants to show you the difference between true life-giving thoughts and toxic, negative ones. He wants to shine the light of his mercy on the situations that you find hopeless and disappointing. And he wants to take the areas of your heart that feel dead and give them fresh strength and newness. Whatever it is that you most need, God has sent his Son to help you. He sent his Son so that you too could proclaim "I have seen his glory."

God is not far away! He dwells with you and he wants to reveal himself to you in your everyday circumstances. So as you look toward 2019, spend some time asking him where you most need to see his glory in your life. Surrender those areas to him. Ask him how he wants to show you his grace and his truth in those situations in the coming year.

Jesus came to dwell among us so that we could witness his glory in every area of our lives—even those we have most given up on!

"Lord, open my eyes so that I can see your glory each day of this new year."

1 John 2:18-21
Psalm 96:1-2, 11-13

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"...so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour." In the protestant world, they are cautiously analyzing the "antichrist's coming". They say that the "left behind" and the "tribulations" will begin then. But these are all theories they've devised, and it is not all truth. For the spirit of the antichrist persists and exists from the day of our Lord to this day we live. There are those that are giving breath to this spirit. Anything Catholic, they despise. And it is not a particular group, not just the satanic, not just the atheist, not just the agnostic, because evil can exist through any group it invades. And how does it invade? Sometimes when you are caught unaware, but most often, through permission. When you give permission to sin. That is when you let evil in. That is when the antichrist breathes. So why should it breathe through you, or your family, or loved ones? It shall not! New year's is coming. The resolution of a healthy body is hogwash if the spirit is corroded. For we are one in body and spirit. Indeed, we have been incorporated into Christ through our Baptism!!

psalms

Let us pray: "Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice! Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands. Sing to the LORD; bless his name; announce his salvation, day after day. " Did you know that the first day of the year is a Holy Day of Obligation? If not, now you do! Sing to the Lord a New song, a new year, a new life. How? Be faithful. Is that new? Being faithful is out of style to some, they want something different. Something then....unfaithful. People get bored, of Mass, of Church, of Religion. Why? When you lose love for your loved one, you lose interest. It is a fact of choice. People want choice now, freedom. Darkness. In the light, you can see new things. In the dark, you can not see anything new. I then beg you, to remain, faithful and true, and you too will see greater things than this.

In today's Holy Gospel, we heard: "What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race". In the world, there are two forces at work, dark, and light. There is always more light than there is darkness. But we focus on the dark. Just like on this white page background you read from, you are focusing on the dark letters. But look at how much white there is around! Way more!! It is like that in the world. But you need darkness to see light. People ask why there is so much evil in the world. In my part of our state, my next door city, they say we are the most violent city in the state, and a few hours away, we are next to the most violent city in the world, (was for many years straight). It is true, there is some violence, and some bad things going on, but there are also hundreds of thousands of good people. But we do have to be on guard for the bad, dark cells, for they can spread all over. It is the same in the spirit world, in your spiritual world. Be careful what bad spiritual cells are in your system. Many a time, or most the time, these can only be healed in confession, and by remaining with the Christ community. Evil loves lonely lambs that say "I don't need any church". Watch the leaven they put forth. It is better to associate yourself with the faithful. It is better for you to be that faithful one. That servant one. And if you serve in church, serve Love, and serve God. Don't complain about the people. That is pointing the finger for you are of the people.

Did you know that "pointing the finger" was spoken about centuries before Christ enters the world? It was mentioned in today's "Verse of the Day".
"...If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. " It speaks on how to overcome darkness. It speaks of serving. It speaks of being Love...thus God Himself, indeed, for we are the body of our Lord, especially those of us in Holy Communion. That is, IF, you offer YOUR food to the hungry and satisfying needs of the afflicted.
Who are the hungry and needy?
Starving souls look healthy. Starving souls aren't those laying on the streets in rags. Many of those homeless are beautiful souls that love God. On the contrary, there are healthy people starving for light. Their bodies are fine, but they only move at night. They are moved by darkness. The ways of the world are darkness. It is a broad road that many take to. Starving souls are quiet about faith. Starving souls do not have energy to do God things or go to Church. Feed my Lambs. Feed My Sheep. How? Feed them Love, and whence they eat a morsel, tell them how much God loves them and yearns for full communion with them, a full plate for them. Pray for them. More. You are a saintly intercessor with power to bind and loose with what you do.

Most of our problems in our day is that we let people do and think whatever they please. This raises a twisted child, a twisted generation. Because it was deprived of spiritual nourishment, then it becomes depraved.

So let us begin with a nourishing mother tomorrow, Theotokos, the Mother of God. For she was not divine, but God is Divinity, and makes us in Himself. If the Heavens are pleased with this, it means God is pleased that we too can love, at least a bit, compared to how He does, day after day, hour after hour, year after year.....

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Friday, December 28, 2018

⛪ I Called My Son...

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All Good Comes from God

Whatever is good, true, or beautiful comes from a single source: God. The generosity and faithful love that God showed in creation can become a constant reminder of our need to live out a generous and faithful love. Our ability to do that grows as we grow. Create a moment today to thank God for Jesus's Incarnation and be ready for that to change your life.

—from the book Peace and Good: Through the Year with Francis of Assisi

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Quote
"We must always remember that God does everything well, although we may not see the reason of what He does."
— St. Philip Neri

MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Prayers are God-filled words in which our love and God's love are joined. That love embraces the people for whom we are praying, and love always changes people and situations. This doesn't mean that we will always get what we want, but Jesus does promise that we will get what we need."
— Rev. Jude Winkler, OFM, p. 14
AN EXCERPT FROM
Daily Meditations with the Holy Spirit

VERSE OF THE DAY
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Psalm 139:23-24

SAINT OF THE DAY

HOLY INNOCENTS
The Holy Innocents (1st c.) are the children mentioned in the account of Jesus' birth in Matthew's Gospel (2:16-18). When the Magi came to Jerusalem to find and adore the Baby Jesus, the newborn King of the Jews, King Herod requested that they inform him of the Child's location under the pretense of offering Him adoration, too. After paying the Child homage and offering Him their gifts, the Wise Men were warned in a dream not to betray Jesus' location, and departed for their home country by another route. Meanwhile the Holy Family was warned by an Angel to flee into Egypt. King Herod fell into a jealous rage over the Magi's failure to report back to him. He ordered all the baby boys aged two years and under to be killed, according to the appearance of the Bethlehem Star to the Three Wise Men, in an attempt to kill the Baby Jesus. These baby boys died not only for Christ, but in his stead. The Church venerates them as martyrs. It it is uncertain how many children were killed, whether a small number, or in the thousands. The Latin Church instituted the feast of the Holy Innocents in the fifth century. The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome is believed to possess the bodies of several of the Holy Innocents. Their feast day is commemorated on December 28th.

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Holy Innocents

Saint of the Day for December 28

Herod "the Great," king of Judea, was unpopular with his people because of his connections with the Romans and his religious indifference. Hence he was insecure and fearful of any threat to his throne. He was a master politician and a tyrant capable of extreme brutality. He killed his wife, his brother, and his sister's two husbands, to name only a few.

Matthew 2:1-18 tells this story: Herod was "greatly troubled" when astrologers from the east came asking the whereabouts of "the newborn king of the Jews," whose star they had seen. They were told that the Jewish Scriptures named Bethlehem as the place where the Messiah would be born. Herod cunningly told them to report back to him so that he could also "do him homage." They found Jesus, offered him their gifts, and warned by an angel, avoided Herod on their way home. Jesus escaped to Egypt.

Herod became furious and "ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under." The horror of the massacre and the devastation of the mothers and fathers led Matthew to quote Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children…" (Matthew 2:18). Rachel was the wife of Jacob (Israel). She is pictured as weeping at the place where the Israelites were herded together by the conquering Assyrians for their march into captivity.

Reflection
The Holy Innocents are few in comparison to the genocide and abortion of our day. But even if there had been only one, we recognize the greatest treasure God put on the earth—a human person, destined for eternity, and graced by Jesus' death and resurrection.

The Holy Innocents are the Patron Saints of:
Babies

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Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
Lectionary: 698

Reading 1 1 JN 1:5—2:2

Beloved:
This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ
and proclaim to you:
God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we say, "We have fellowship with him,"
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
If we say, "We are without sin,"
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.

My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

Responsorial Psalm PS 124:2-3, 4-5, 7CD-8
R. (7) Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us—
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.

Alleluia See Te Deum
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 2:13-18

When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.

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Meditation: Matthew 2:13-18

The Holy Innocents, Martyrs (Feast)

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. (Matthew 2:16)

King Herod was a volatile man. Whenever rumors surfaced that someone was plotting to overthrow him, he flew into a rage and ordered the immediate execution of the conspirator—even if the rumors were untrue. Among those who suffered this fate were three of his sons and one of his ten wives. So it would not have been at all out of character for him to order the killing of a few dozen children in Bethlehem.

What was behind Herod's anger? Why did he move so swiftly and ruthlessly against innocent children? Probably fear. When you live by the sword, as he did, you sense deep down that sooner or later, that sword will come for you. So you live under a cloud of paranoia, fear, and dread.

That's the funny thing about fear: it often hides behind other emotions like anger, hurt, apathy, or anxiety. Sometimes we don't even know it's there! For example, we may overreact to a young child's misbehavior because we're afraid that their acting out is a sign that they will have a hard time in school. We may take offense when it's not warranted because we have a longstanding fear of rejection. Or maybe we decide not to try to reach out to a hurting friend because we fear that if we do, we will fail.

Our fears probably won't take us as far as Herod's fears took him. But there are plenty of other ways fear can harm us and the people around us. More than anything else, they can convince us that there is no way out. We can feel so bound by fear that we can't even imagine a life free of it. But it is possible. All things are possible with God.

You don't have to be ruled by fear—especially hidden, buried fear! Take some time today to ask Jesus if there are some unacknowledged fears in your life, and then see what comes to mind. If you detect something operating under the surface, ask him to help you. You might not feel any different at first, but don't give up—keep asking!

"Jesus, I don't want to live in fear. Set me free from all that binds me!"

1 John 1:5–2:2
Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8

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"If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing."
I gotta say, every day is a day from God, a chance at mercy, if we live another generation, it is God's mercy alive. In a merciless world, there is mercy, there is hope, there is Jesus.

psalms

Let us pray: "Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare. Broken was the snare, and we were freed. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth." We have been rescued. That's nice? Right? What does your salvation mean to you? Does it mean to you, that you should give thanks? Is it a one time "thank You Lord" and that's it? You have been granted salvation. You don't live in a world where you are enslaved to sin and fear. Or are you? King Herod was. And it caused great devastation...not only to the world, but to his self.

In the Holy Gospel, we heard "...the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt...".for Herod wanted to DESTROY Him. Like the dragon in Revelation. And so the dragon took down other stars, other souls, other lives. This is what a sinful soul does: It takes others down to save itself. Pride makes an atrocity happen. Like hurting other people's feelings or worse, just so you can appear better or stronger. Why is there such evil in the world? Because, once it was set "free", we set our own traps with sin. That's why Jesus came, to set the bird free from the snares of evil. Left to our own devices, we can ruin ourselves. We need our Lord. So, question; are today's toddler boy's, the Holy Innocents, are they martyrs for Jesus? Did they give their lives to Jesus? Or was it a senseless mass murder? I was asked to do a funeral, about a week or two before Christmas for a toddler. I said that in my studies of theology, I believe the innocent children are blameless before God. They belong, through God's grace, in Heaven. Some, in near death experiences, have experienced a sibling, in a miscarriage, growing in Heaven.

This day in Mexico and in Spain, is like April fool's day, playing practical jokes on one another. Cruel jokes. Cruelty. I've seen some people almost have a heart attack at the expense of laughter. A cheap thrill. What does sin cost? Sometimes, a person's life.

So what have we to learn in today's Gospel? Be careful the Herod. That spirit still pervades. I just read how Youtube is censoring a pro-life group, just because they show how innocent children are aborted. Yet, I was looking up "short film" to watch with my kids and all sorts of XXX rated things eventually started popping up. How twisted is the world? In politics, people will fight for abortions and gay rights, but not for the innocents, who will be laid traps to be snared, forever. Why? So long as there is freedom, there is people left to their own devices. I'd like to call it the "power trip", where people have big heads, and attack others, lording their power. It is a power grab. It is the fall of Lucifer, and it is the fall of Adam and Eve. This power grab was what had happened when Jesus entered our world, in the Jewish world, there was no room for Jesus. Yet, He still came, and still broke the snare.
Will it be our fall? It has been. But, we now have been rescued from this snare.

For those who believe "If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing."

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