Set us free

We live, we breathe, we search and pray for one thing, the truth. For Scripture tells us, the truth will set you free. And it is in that truth we begin to understand how much God loves us.

The Prophets were called, John the Baptist, the saints were called and we too are called to testify to the truth, and testifying to that truth can sometimes be difficult.

 How often even in our own families we know there are some who rebel against that very truth that we call our faith.

Yes, there are those who are so much in the material world that they turn Scripture completely upside down or ignore it all together.

They have not seen the true light, nor are they themselves, any resemblance to the light. But, with our gift of fortitude, we must be that light to them.

We must be the John the Baptist to others not only bearing our crosses, but forever bearing witness to the truth that sets us free.

Where to find the Tabernacle

Not many of us can remember our first words we ever spoke, although they may be on some old tape or cassette. Parents did things like that back then.
Ironically, we do have Jesus’ very first words recorded in the bible, "Did you not know I must be in my Father's house". Words of wisdom for us, for Jesus is telling us, even with all of our responsibilities, regardless of our circumstances, that God and all things pertaining to God must be first in our lives.

With the coronavirus spreading and the precautionary measures being taken, Church is affected. Attendance is down and in some places the House of God is empty.
It is now more important than ever, to make our hearts a true tabernacle, a real House for God to dwell. God knows our thoughts, our wishes, and our capabilities, he knows where we stand with him.

Church and the sacraments are needed in our life, but, as we know, not always available for many of us. And this places us in a position of developing some habits contrary to our ordinary way of life, especially on Sundays.

Although attending Church in this so called crisis, may be unwise, and even prohibited, keep God closer than ever. Convert a room, or a corner of a room for prayer. Yearn for and pray for an end to this virus and when the all clear sign is posted, Churches may be fuller than ever.

It is said, that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Let’s pray this is true and that we and lost souls will want more than anything else to be in our Father’s House once again.  The House of God will be the place to be.
Trust in God and put Him first in your life. Have mercy on us, Jesus

Just an ember

Sometimes we lose the fire of love for God and become lost. Or, we become lost by putting the world ahead of God, which extinguishes the fire we once had. We abandon God for the sake of pleasure.

And when we can’t find God, we can become confused and even depressed. We even search for a replacement for God, something that brings us some quick relief.

But if we hang in there, pray and above all trust that God will hear our prayers then there is light, a great light at the end of the tunnel. It is a cross that many people, even many saints have experienced, but by persevering in their search, God will find that lost soul.  God never tires of seeking us out and returning us to his flock.

And when he finds you he will rejoice over you more than the others who have not been lost.

And something great happens when we are found, we re-ignite a spark that keeps the embers of love burning.  We begin to glow with God’s light. Strength and courage are renewed.

God searches for all who want to be found for He wants everyone for the fire of His Church to burn brightly. We are all like a single coal in a fireplace, and we each need to do our part, to burn brightly and be the spark that reignites the coals around us. We need God more now than ever before.

It can truly bring tears

What a way to live! A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. A banquet, an unbelievable banquet that brings us to the table of plenty.
Life is a journey. A journey, we hope will bring us to that table of plenty. Every day we live on this earth is a return journey to God. Another day, another gift.
But the real Banquet is a true gift from God, and God is inviting us in the Eucharist to His table, to share in the banquet He prepared with his Son. And it is our personal encounter with Jesus. A personal one on one with the one who has emptied himself for us. And what a gift, what a God.

But how will we respond, how will we prepare for this invitation to the altar of God today and every day?
When we walk up to receive the Blessed Sacrament, will we be too preoccupied with all kinds of distractions, walking up for a piece of bread? Or will we respond with our hearts overflowing with love and gratitude for the Lord’s gift of spiritual refreshment – his real Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.

The Father gives his last and best; he has nothing better, he has giving us his all. What an amazing God.
And today and every day, God is calling us as his guests to this same feast, to the banquet with his son, to His altar. Why don’t many people come? Why don’t so many people come with joy and yet, with tears in their hearts, with love, respect and in awe.

God will not ask us how entertaining was the movie we saw or the sporting event we attended or even how successful we were in life.  But He will ask, “Did you accept my invitation and come with joy to the table of plenty?  Then enter to my heavenly banquet”.

For us, receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament can and should bring joy, joy so deep it is spiritually intense. Receiving Jesus with a heart robed in the white garment for a wedding feast, with righteousness and holiness, can bring tears, real tears of joy for a gift we can’t explain from an amazing God.
On death beds or after serious repentance, many times brings to a person the true meaning of receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus?  But why? Why does it sometimes take a severe affliction to our lives to understand how much Jesus loves us?

 Marie, who recently passed away was in a nursing home.  For weeks she couldn’t receive the Blessed Sacrament because of physical reasons, but when I visited her, she would whisper and pray so hard and beg us to allow her to receive Jesus, her closest friend. She cried for Jesus.
Once we walked into her room and Marie was asleep and as we walked over to the other resident in the room we began to recite the Our Father with that woman, Marie who with eyes closed, had her hands folded in prayer, lip-syncing the Our Father, squeezing so hard her knuckles were white.

Tears of joy and yet, tears of loss, flowing down her cheeks. She couldn’t physically receive the Blessed Sacrament, but she prepared and brought herself to the table of the Lord. Her heart was dressed in the white garment for this feast.
There was Jose, a patient in the hospital who didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Spanish, a farm hand recovering from an accident. I thought he would understand when I said “do you want to receive Communion, Jesus.

I could tell he didn’t know what I was saying. I showed him my pyx, but still I wasn’t getting through.  I opened the pyx and held up the host, the blessed Sacrament in front of him.  He knew, his eyes filled up and he cried and said sobbing, si, si. Yes, He understood, he understood that this was a feast, God the Father’s gift, and he was prepared to join Jesus at his table. He needed Jesus.
When we receive God’s Gift of Jesus we may not shed the tears of joy like Marie and Jose. But, it’s OK if we do.  But in your heart welcome Jesus as a friend, a helper, a brother, the Son of our amazing God.

Receive Jesus, knowing that it is Jesus and the greatest Gift the world has ever known, a gift from God the Father to those who are prepared to receive Him.
Yes, the rich foods and choice wines are on the table. We pray God someday will call us to that table in heaven. But, we have that table, those precious gifts available to us every day we go to Church.

And, what a wonderful celebration it would be like Marie, and like Jose in the hospital, if we put on our spiritual white garment, prepared and come to the feast to receive Jesus today. Make it special today. With joy and thanksgiving receive Jesus with a heart full of love. And, yes, tears may flow, for He has emptied himself and shed tears just for you. He has nothing more to give. What a gift - What a God.

I really did mean it

Have you ever promised yourself that you were going to visit, or at least call a long-lost friend or relative? And, you truly meant it.  You even looked forward to talking to this person you haven’t seen in a long time. But, although you promised, something more important came up.  Something else takes priority.

The Apostles were no different and we know how close they were to Jesus. That brings us to Peter, he promised our Lord, his best friend, he would lay down his life for his friend, Jesus.  Then when the time came for Peter to defend Jesus, something got in the way, his own life.  In Peter’s case It’s called fear. Jesus, knew the intention was there.  He knew Peter meant what he said from the bottom of his heart, but Jesus knew his nature. And, most importantly, Jesus still loved him.

And Jesus knows us, he understands our weaknesses better than we know ourselves, He knows, we many times have all the intentions of praying more, staying calm, treating others in a friendly manner, but we fail.  Although we fail, we were sincere and for that Jesus still loves us because we are his. He still loves us because he knows we will continue to try to please him, to do the right things for him. That is the key, we must continue to try to please God, regardless of our previous failings.

As the days of Lent are passing by, but we can still do our very best, putting our best foot forward, to continue to try to please God. Yes, we fall many times on the road we travel, but Jesus is there, always, to pick us help. He knows our heart and the crosses we bear.

Jesus carried his Cross to Calvary for our freedom. We can carry all the crosses that come our way offering them up to free the poor souls in purgatory and for those who have heavy burdens. I think Jesus would like that!

He said "It will be done"

I am not sure it is possible to truly express or understand this kind of love. But, if you were to take some time to reflect on, and I mean reflect from the inner most part of your heart, this kind of love, you would break down and cry. He loves us, like no one could ever love us.

There is a story I heard or read some time ago, although I can’t remember where, that I want to share and it’s called “It’s How it came that Jesus Paid the Price for our Sins”

There was a day when Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting about how he lured Adam and Eve to sin.  How their sin put them into his hands.  He was laughing and told Jesus how he set a trap using bait that he knew they couldn’t resist. “It was so easy”, he said.

Jesus asked Satan, “What do you plan to do with them, now that they are in your hands?”

Satan replied, “Oh, I’m going have some fun! I’m going teach them how to enjoy the material things of life, how to be self-centered, how to hate and insult each other, how to gamble their life away. Yes, I’ll teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. Yes, this should be fun.

“And what will you do when you are finished with them?” Jesus asked.

“Ah, after that, they will live with me forever” Satan proudly said.

“How much do you want for them?” Jesus asked.

“Jesus”, Satan laughed, “you don’t want those people. See, they are my people, they’re all sinners. They despise you. They’ll spit on you, curse you, offend you and they even kill you!! You don’t want those people!!  These are my kind of people”.

“How much?” Jesus asked again. Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All your tears, and all your blood, and your human life.”

Jesus said, “It will be DONE!”

Let’s follow Jesus on the road, the cruel and harsh road where he wins our lives back. The road where He paid the price. What small token of love, or sacrifice can we show God we are trying to say thank you. It all comes down to this, we are all his,  and Jesus would do it all over again, just for you, and just for me.

The anticipation

Well, it’s here. March has arrived and next week, daylight remains an hour later into the evening. It’s like you can almost smell the freshness of spring and imagine its beauty. It’s a feeling I believe most of us love.

But we know all to well, that before spring truly arrives, some bitter and surprising snowstorms may need to be dealt with. But, still, spring is so close.

Today, also marks the first Sunday of Lent, where we have begun our journey to Calvary. Forty days reminding us of our sinful nature and the penance we need to do to show our Lord how sorry we are that he had to nail every one of our sins to the Cross with him.  Yes, Lent brings with it a little pain, a little fasting, some abstaining, relinquishing some comforts we have grown accustom to. But, without these minor hardships, we could very easily miss out on the most important reason we are on this earth, to get to heaven.

If we look beyond the surprising elements nature may bring our way, we see spring, we anticipate spring, we can taste it as if it were already here. Lent is no different. If we look beyond these forty days to Good Friday, we see the ultimate sacrifice man could ever make for his brother or sister. For it was on that day, that the heavens opened for you and for me, “Today, you shall be with me in Paradise”

Spring will probably come as usual, although we don’t really have much control over nature towards spring. It will come when it is ready, whether we prepare or not it will arrive.

Good Friday will come as usual, too. But it will be here the same number of days after Ash Wednesday as it does every year, even during Leap Year. It will be here whether we prepare for it or not.

But, for those who prepare by enduring some fasting and penance, understand the significance of such an extraordinary event. They realize that there is so much at stake for their eternal salvation. They not only ask God for forgiveness by their prayers, actions and preparation, but are also showing God that they really do want heaven.

When the time comes, Jesus said, “He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats”.
We have two choices this lent, and may our choice be one most pleasing to the one who died for our sins.  May your lent be spiritually uplifting, bringing you closer to God.