Falling on His Grace

January 2, 2011 Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Reading 1 Is 60:1-6 Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD. Reading 2 Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6 Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that ...

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God January 1, 2011 Reading 1 Nm 6:22-27 The LORD said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” Reading 2 Gal 4:4-7 Brothers and sisters: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God. Gospel Lk 2:16-21 The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, ...

I'm a little late posting these because of Christmas. Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you all had a very merry and blessed Christmas Day and that your Christmas is continuing to be very blessed. Christmas Day Reading 1 Is 52:7-10 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, “Your God is King!” Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry, together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their eyes, the LORD restoring Zion. Break out together in song, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the LORD comforts his people, he redeems Jerusalem. The LORD has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God. December 25, 2010 The Nativity of the Lord Christmas Mass During the Day Reading 1 Is 52:7-10 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings gl...

5 months until Andy graduates! That's only 22 weeks as of this last Saturday. I started my countdown around 22-23 months , and now it's down to 22 weeks . We're so close, yet it seems so far away. It is so easy, looking at how little time we have left, to focus on that whole time... which is still so very overwhelming. The challenge is to focus on one day at a time. Though we still need to think about the big picture. Andy has started to apply for work for May/June... he's sent two applications to companies in this area so far. We're not expecting much since he's not available to work for 5+ months, but it doesn't hurt to try. It won't be long before he will be more seriously applying for work. He's also starting to study for the first part of two of his licensure exam, which he will take the week before the next semester starts.

Reading 1 Is 7:10-14 The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!” Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel. Reading 2 Rom 1:1-7 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, the gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, but established as Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, amo...

It was -15 out this morning. Brrrr.... The boys put the figures where they wanted them, with just a little coaxing from me to group the kings together and the shepherds together. I think I actually placed the two kings on the right side of the picture. Notice how the rest of the figures are facing Jesus (who at that time was in the manger, later taken out until Christmas day). I think the boys have the right idea here; it's not as visually pleasing this way, but I'm leaving it as is.

From My Daily Bread , part 1, chapter 34: Christ:"My child, there is one thing that stops many from making spiritual progress and keeps them from improving themselves. It is a fear of the difficulties or of the work required by their effort. The people who rise highest in holiness are those who are brave enough to fight against whatever holds them back from Me, no matter how hard or disagreeable the effort may be. The more you try to master your feelings and blind desires, the greater are the graces which I offer to you. If you keep on trying, you will gain as much success as I desire of you. "Different men have to face different obstacles. Yet, a diligent and zealous person will make greater progress in virtue, even though he may have to fight more defects than others. Some people have fewer defects to overcome, and still they do not advance in holiness because they are less fervent in the pursuit of virtues. [our response]: " Many are frightened by the thought of chang...

Reading 1 Is 35:1-6a, 10 The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee. Rea ding 2 Jas 5:7-10 Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the ...

Reading 1 Gn 3:9-15, 20 After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the LORD God called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!” The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman, “Why did you do such a thing?” The woman answered, “The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” The man ...

Reading 1 Is 11:1-10 On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, but he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox....

THE SERENITY PRAYER God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. --Reinhold Niebuhr

I'm going to take a break for a while from blogging, at least until after Christmas or after the new year. I need to focus on what's going on around here, and, while I don't post often, each time I post takes a chunk of time away from other things I could be doing and need to be doing, and time spent with family. I will probably still post messages from Our Lady of Medjugorje and the Sunday readings but little else. Hopefully I still will get to catch up with all of your blogs as I have not done that recently. Wishing you all a very blessed Advent and Christmas!