† Quote of the Day "For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God."" -St. Teresa of Avila Today's Meditation ""The more you trust God, the happier you will be...The great spiritual masters tell us that the path to both happiness and holiness is found in fidelity to the duty of the present moment. If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves. Be faithful to the duty of the present moment. Do it for the Lord, and be at peace." —Father John Catoir, p.172
An excerpt from Uplifting Thoughts for Every Day Daily Verse ""Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am. "If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not."" -Isaiah 58:9-11 | 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. | The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas Reading I 1 John 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 Psalm 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 John 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 John 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. | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: John 1:1-18 From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace. (John 1:16) New Year's Eve can feel a lot like standing on the seashore and looking out at the ocean. Your feet are wedged securely in the sand, with all the blessings and challenges of the past year behind you. Your eyes are fixed on the distant horizon, on your hopes and worries for the year ahead. And as you stand between the known past and the unknown future, you notice that something remains constant: the pounding of the surf. The breakers that soak the sand beneath your feet will return over and over, in a never-ending flow. This image can help us understand John's words today about Jesus bringing us "grace in place of grace" (1:16). Like surging waves, God's grace continually flows toward us, bringing one gift after another. As one wave recedes, another comes. Wave upon wave, grace upon grace, flowing over our past, our present, and our future. It never stops! We just celebrated Christmas, when the "Father's only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth," flowed into the world in the Incarnation (John 1:14). It seems so new, but that grace arrived on the heels of the many waves God sent to his people, Israel, over thousands of years. And it didn't end there. At Pentecost, Jesus poured out the grace of his Spirit upon the Church. And so God continues to pour his grace upon us—repeatedly, in every sacrament, at every moment of prayer, even when we're not paying attention. Our God is so generous to us! Like crashing waves, he floods us with one outpouring of grace after another. He offers us all that he has and all that he is—day after day, week after week, year after year. These waves of goodness are constantly washing over us, filling our hearts and helping us to become more like Jesus. As you look toward the coming year, you can be sure that God will continue to pour out his grace upon you! He will remind you that he lives in you and will never leave. He will wash you clean and point your heart toward heaven. And in the riches of his grace, he will fill you with hope that one day, you will be with the Lord in paradise. "Lord, I trust in your never-ending grace, today and always." 1 John 2:18-21
Psalm 96:1-2, 11-13 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "...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. ...." Word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron: "Take a look now at the manger at Bethlehem. Perhaps we see a tiny arm reaching out at random from the manger. "The Lord has bared his holy arm." And this anticipates another baring of that holy arm, when it is stretched out on the wood of the cross, revealed to all nations, just as Isaiah said. God's power would be revealed in the powerlessness of love unto death. This is what became flesh on Christmas day." end quote.
These reflections, how they help illuminate! How can we contemplate Holy Scripture without the assistance of others...and in others we hear the Holy Spirit.
Such is the case, especially if you feel lost. I know I can feel as if in a haze. Not everything is cut clear. Much of what we have to do is in faith.
And this is how our Lord has experienced the world...as a baby.
A precious child that in today's age, a baby is lucky to make it to see birth, because millions have been slaughtered in abortions. How many saints are missing today? How many friends are we missing? And the persecutions begin on Christians, the worst ever has happened in the last 100 years, and it appears that most slaughters happen still around Christmas time. The spirit that fed Herod for power, still continues this day for world dominance. What world? You. You are a world. God loves the world. For the world, He gave Himself, in His only son. A baby. For you. To love. And to hold. To care for. A little child. A little human being. Your child. Your baby. A gift from God from Heaven. Can you see it in the reflection? Have you contemplated it? | I went for the first time in a few years to get spiritual direction yesterday, and I took a picture here, in the same church I was taken away in a vision of Christ on the cross.
But this time, I saw a baby before the altar, in what made me kneel, in shock and awe. Why? Because, the newborn Jesus statue, is the exact same one that we took to my dad's hospital room in his last days of his life. I took it there, and it is on our home altar and I touch it every night saying good night to baby Jesus before I tuck all our kids. And there it was. The statue, my dad said, moved up and down one day as if to bless him. The next day, dad asked us if it was battery operated, and we said no. It's as if baby Jesus was blessing my dad in his last days saying "I am here".
Then yesterday, google photos sends seasonal pictures of memories automatically, and a pic of my mom kneeling with a face mask at my dad's hospital chapel appeared. We were all broken. But our Lord says "I Am Here". Do you believe? He has always been...here. | And guess what? He will, ALWAYS BE, here.
He will be here on our next venture of a faith walk. What if faith was the most beautiful gift from God? Our Lord had to step into this realm...to show us...that yes, we can trust God, and to trust in God is to trust in Jesus now.
The new year for the world is resetting, but the new year has already begun in the Church liturgical calendar. It ends with the King and begins with our King.
King Jesus. The most majestic King to ever exist. The most formidable force to enter the world, the sheer will of God to break open the exodus made possible for all of us who follow. What was my experience in the vision in that humble church? I saw Him breathing His last. And my soul knew...I was seeing our Father. The Father's Love. Our Father's way. As if to say "I Am doing this for you, and for you to trust Me".
And then I didn't see people around me, but lights, some brighter than others, some even...non existent.
This is scary, for we were all in a men's cursillo retreat. How can several not be ready for His coming...with our lights on? Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All, help us love Thee as we ought! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
John 3:3 "Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again1 he cannot see the kingdom of God." . . . . . . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
