Eyes To Heaven

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“I pray not only for these,
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.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
John 17:20-26 (NAB)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father these many prayers Jesus prayed on our behalf and for you reveals so much love. It really is all about love isn't it. When all else failed it was love that spoke the loudest. It's something we all crave in our lives. The simplicity of being loved for who we are. That's how you want to be loved by us, isn't it. With simple hearts that don't put on airs. A love that encompasses everyone, not just a select few. That's why you gave us Jesus, to show us the depths of love we try so hard to understand. For those who are callous toward others often see the beauty of love in the words, in the actions and the hearts of those who are united to you. Being truly in love makes us glow and when we are deeply in love with you it shines brightly. Jesus shone like that because he loved you so much that you gave us to him to take care of for you. Your gift to him, we are then Jesus' treasure. Who would have thought that we are treasures to the Divine Family.

Forever and Always

The Ascension of the Lord

The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16-20 (NAB)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father even after these many years we can say that Jesus is still with us as are you. We receive him in the Eucharist where the truth speaks loudly of his presence. Even remarkable is the fact that we have done as he asks and baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Praise God we listened and did what was commanded of us. At least in this regard we have done good. But the part of knowing that he truly is with us for always, always touches the deepest part our lives. We have grown since the time of the disciples in more ways than one. Our faith had become a central means to the belief in what Jesus suffered for us. It is the belief that he is present with us at our Masses, in our Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, in the Tabernacles but most especially in those we meet each day. He will be with us until the end of time, just like when we declare that vow to those we love in our letters, Forever and Always he will always be. That is the beauty of the Divine.

Making A Claim

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
John 10:22-30 (NAB)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father no matter how much we strive to have you as part of us, we all try hard to be the ones who can claim to be your sheep whether we are lost or not. Oh God, how easy it is for us to follow the voice of the world and so hard to hear the voice of your Son. But your Son knows his sheep and they know him. How do we know this? Easily, by the love we have for Him and you . How wanting to follow your Word is foremost in our lives. It is loving you first and our neighbor as ourselves that prove we believe. The devil can try very hard to shake those who follow you loose from your heart, but he will not succeed when they are steadfast and loyal and believe in all that you stand for, love in the first degree. Love conquers and in that regard know that Jesus and you are one. I can make claim to this truth, how about you?

All About God

No man can come to me, except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets:

And they shall all be taught of God.

Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometh to me. Not that any man hath seen the Father; but he who is of God, he hath seen the Father. Amen, amen I say unto you: He that believeth in me, hath everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven.
John 6:44-51 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father there is that one sentence that Jesus quoted: "And they shall all be taught of God." And Jesus did exactly that! He taught them that you are love. He did a good job too, since we are learning this ourselves from what has been passed down from Him and the apostles. That you are all about love, not vengeance, not hatred, but purely love. You sent us your Son to correct a few misconceptions about you. But we have come to see the sacrifice you gave us in giving up the life of your Son Jesus for our sake. To help us come to understand the depths of love you have for us. You sent us the true bread from heaven, the living bread of life in the flesh of your Son Jesus. We truly have been taught of you.

Loving God First

And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all. And Jesus answered him: the first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God.
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.

And the second is like to it: thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said to him: well, Master, thou hast said in truth, that there is one God, and there is no other besides him. And that he should be loved with the whole heart, and with the whole understanding, and with the whole soul, and with the whole strength; and to love one's neighbour as one's self, is a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices. And Jesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Mark 12:28-34 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father I think I have always loved this particular reading from the Gospel. To love you with all of our being, it's so powerful to realize the truth of this. How can we not love you, you do so very much for us in our day. It is us who refuses to see your love and most especially your guiding hand in our lives. By the people who often cross our paths day to day. Through the circumstances that may be good or not so good, your love and hand are there. Why is it so very hard to love you first then. People fall in love everyday with other people, that's not so hard to do. So again the question is: why is it so hard for us to love God first in our lives? Some might give the excuse that we cannot see you or touch you. Some may go so far as to say that why should they, what have you done for them. Their belief is often in other people but not in you. Sometimes they seek adulation and recognition from others, but it is what you think about us that is important, since when our life is over and we go on to our eternity, it is your judgement of how well we loved you and ourselves and others that will count.

Stop Pushing God Away

And he said: Amen I say to you, that no prophet is accepted in his own country. In truth I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the earth. And to none of them was Elias sent, but to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, hearing these things, were filled with anger. And they rose up and thrust him out of the city; and they brought him to the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them, went his way.
Luke 4:24-30 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father you come to us to bring us love and healing, but often we do the same as this reading. We drive you off, push you away like spoiled little children who only want to play. Not once thinking how you want to cleanse us and bring us closer to you. How many of us have truly rejected you in this way when all you did was show us your love. Do we do our part in our lives to love those who are less fortunate, to love those who suffer, to love those who hate us or to even love those who we don't feel too welcome by. Take a moment and reflect on the many times we have read in the Gospel, the times Jesus was rejected. Think about this reading too and the rejection that God suffers for our sake when he sends others to help and they get rejected. What do we as part of his children do in this ourselves. We have done it time and time again ourselves. Whenever we reject our neighbors, we reject God, his love that may come from the least likely person to bring healing, to teach us how to love. Do we reject the person sitting next to us because they don't dress as well as we do, or look as clean and tidy. Everything is up to us on how we continue each day, the choices we make in how we deal with our neighbors, or for that matter how we love them in the same regard as loving God. Who have we rejected this day?

The Birth of a Savior

The Nativity of the Lord
Christmas Mass During the Day

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John beareth witness of him, and crieth out, saying: This was he of whom I spoke: He that shall come after me, is preferred before me: because he was before me. And of his fulness we all have received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 1:1-18 (Douay-Rheims Bible)

Prayer Reflection

Dear Father thank you for sending us your beloved Son where the Word became flesh. Light began to shine for us all the day he was born. What a blessing he is to you dear Father to fulfill so much for us to understand the love you have for us. If I had to name who my hero is in this world as we come to look upon others for guidance throughout our life, it would be you. You are my hero dear God because you brought the Word to life where I find the truth of your undying love for us all. Jesus is born to us to bring us life and love everlasting. He is my hero too, because of Jesus I seek repentance so I may live my life with your Word and Will in mind. His coming to life for us reminds me that this special time of year is a reminder to give without cost and to share in the blessing you so richly bestowed on us. To bless those who come into my life as you have blessed us by bringing your Son to life. May this Christmas Season be a rebirth for many who have lost their way on their trek across the desert in order to see you in the humble stable of your Son's birth. Amen

Memorial of Saint John Neumann

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God.
1 John 3:21

Reflection:
Ever wonder about the times when we think we are bad, when we know we've done something wrong, how instinctively we condemn ourselves. And those times when we do everything right.

When I am speaking to others and it doesn't come out right, there are times when I begin to reflect on what was said, and it's those times when I condemn myself for not speaking clearly. At those times I have no confidence in God. How easily it is to condemn ourselves. It is only when we truly commit error that our hearts condemn us.

For me my conscience has been conditioned to keep my eye upon God, so everything is under watch for me. You know when you love God we do all that is in our power to keep that love alive, and we do everything to keep our hearts on the path that gives us the constant confidence in God we always should have. When we love our neighbor, we trust in him who made us.

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent

Advent Prayer

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever faithful to your promises and ever close to your Church: the earth rejoices in hope of the Savior's coming and looks forward with longing to his return at the end of time. Prepare our hearts and remove the sadness that hinders us from feeling the joy and hope which his presence will bestow, for he is Lord for ever and ever. Amen.


They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings
Isaiah 40:31

Reflection:
Have any ever felt as if they want to soar to the heaven's upon receiving our Lord? This is what it feels like when our souls want to take flight as if on eagles' wings.

Many times I have felt this way after receiving our Lord, and what a feeling it is too. It's pure joy! It's the feeling we can fly like the wind, it's beautiful to know and hard to understand and explain.

When we are happy beyond ourselves we have a feeling we could fly, and I'm not even sure if any have ever been that happy to feel this. There was one time I recall clearly after communion I wanted to soar to heaven, in a sense to be with our Father. In those moments it was the most beautiful experience a person could ever have.

Anyway in this reflection we can let our souls take flight because he does strengthen us, he is our hope and most of all our joy. God Bless