Give Thanks

Give Thanks

“In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” ~1 Thessalonians 5:18

   On the eve of Thanksgiving I tried to figure out what the topic would be tonight, and there is just a simple message for tonight. Think about the blessings you have in your life today. Thank God for them and pray that others are able to see what they have and not what they do not have this year. The east coast took a great hit and many people lost so much including close people in their lives. 

    When we lose so much, it is hard to see what we do have. Today pray for those who lost so much and that they are able to have a holiday free of stress and pain. Also pray for those who do have much and are not as thankful, so they may see the many blessings in their lives. 

      Take the time today to look around and Thank God for who and what is there for you. I hope that you may have a blessed and thankful holiday. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and remember each blessing you have and be thankful.

Community

Community

“We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly,^* as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.” ~Hebrews 10: 24-25

    As Christians we are to build each other up and encourage one another in this life. We can do this by finding a community of believers to belong to. We may first find a church to belong to and that becomes the center of your community. Sometimes it may be a prayer group, bible study, choir, etc, that also becomes part of the community you belong to. 

    It is important for us to find a place of welcoming and faith filled. When we feel we belong somewhere the more you will be willing to join other events or groups in the church. I would not say it is a necessity to belong to other groups or out reaches of the faith beside church but I do feel that it will aid in your faith journey. 

    The community of believers can aid in the growth of your personal faith. We are able to express how we are feeling and what brings us together in an open forum. We can learn from each other by sharing our struggles and successes. Jesus had the apostles with Him and that was part of His community. That community continued on the teachings of Jesus and that is what the community of believers are to do today in the world. 

     Jesus knew that the faith would need a community of believers to continue the messages of His life. He chose the men that would aid Him in the mission of redemption. Then those men went forth and shared that news in other communities and it spread. It had to first start in a community. Without each other the mission could have failed. The faith community gathered together, worshiped, supported and broke bread. That tradition continued on and is still continuing on through out the world. 

     If there is no community then the faith could die out. We would lack that piece of brotherhood and sisterhood of faith. The message would not be shared. The breaking of the bread of life would be out of reach to many.  The church is that spot where we are able to join and continue on the faith. 

     The church itself is the larger community and the groups and ministries are the smaller communities within the church. The smaller communities help the larger community and we can share in both to gain strength in our faith. Take the opportunities from both of the communities, it will only help you with your faith.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and be part of the community of faith. 

Masks

Masks

“Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation” ~ 2Timothy 2:15

  When we stand before God and Jesus, we stand as we truly are. There is no sin, pain, grace, joy, ect.. They do not know of. There is no hiding from God or Jesus or putting on a mask to cover who we are. They know what is in our hearts and there is no hiding from that truth. 

    We wear many masks in the world. Some are to hide our pain, some are to hide who we are, some are to paint us in a better light, some are to make us be stronger then we really are, and some are just to protect us from pain. It doesn’t always mean it is a bad thing but a reality of this world. It may be the only way you can get through a day. If you are in pain or having a bad day , you may just put on that happy face (mask) so you can get through. That is fine as long as you still deal with it. 

    When it comes to our faith and beliefs we really can not hide behind a mask. There was a time and still in some areas of the world where your faith could have been your death sentence. You would have to worship in secret. We are lucky in the world where we do not have to do it but yet we still hide behind the “secular mask” so we can fit in and do not seem different. What I mean by the “secular mask” is that you do not share your beliefs or faith to people, that you do not speak up when the faith is mocked, that you deny how important God is to you and is in your life, you down play your beliefs, and you let others beliefs be more important then yours. There are many other ways we  can do this as well.  Do you hide behind a “secular mask”? 

    I do fall short, I must say with this. I do share my faith and will speak up for it but I do not fully show how deep it is in me. It guides so much in my life and the direction it is taking again in my life. I present a very hard exterior and with that it hinders my faith at times. There is more of a chance of me putting on a mask so I will not get hurt then be so forth coming in the words I feel in my heart. I am able to do it here in the blog and I think it has also shown to me how deep it really is in me by doing the blog. It has helped me to remove part of a mask and also shown my true self to others and to me. 

    The saying of “ God knows what is truly in your heart” goes both ways for this. First, it says that just because your outward actions speak one of love, in your heart it maybe really for yourself, God knows that. Second, You down play your faith, and yet in your heart you praise Him, God knows that as well. In both cases there are masks being worn and both are not being worn for good. In both we are denying what the truth is and  in so denying God. We can not proclaim the word and not live it nor live it and not proclaim it in our hearts. 

     I know there are areas or masks that I have to work on and rid in my life. It is easier to hide behind a mask then face the world at times, but we have to stand true in our faith and our beliefs or we will suffer the same consequences as the rest of the world. I must say also we may face a harder test because we do know the truth. It is one thing to never know the truth, then know the truth and ignore it. 

      Think about the masks you wear and then ask if they hinder your faith in any way. If they do, then think about praying and asking for the strength to remove them from your life. It is not hiding anything from God but from ourselves and those in the world. If we are not careful we may start to believe what the mask means and only see what is on the surface and not what lies beneath the mask. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and remove the masks so God’s light and grace may shine upon your true face. 

Universal

Universal

“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” ~Matthew 16:18

One of the great things about the Catholic Church is that no matter where you are in the world, the same mass is unfolding before you. You will not feel left out or unsure about what is going on. Even in another language you can still be a part of the mass. It is a great feeling to know that we are that Universal Church. 

      We gather each sunday and even daily where the same reading are read, the same prayers are said, the same responses are said and the same miracle of the Eucharist happens in each church. We are connected to each other not only in mass but as fellow Christians. 

      When Jesus set Peter on the rock, He set the church here on earth. Jesus proclaimed that Peter would be head of the earthly church and from him, the church will survive the test of time. Part of that reason is that we are universal. It shows unity in thoughts and action through out the church and the people. When we are like minded, we are able to survive the world. It is easier to defeat one person verses two, let alone millions of catholics in the world. 

       I think it is amazing that this still goes on today. The church has stayed strong and continues to move forward in the world. It is not perfect and how can we expect it to be when we are not perfect. I have explored many different religions and it is the Catholic Faith that I keep coming back to. It is home for me and will always be, even with its imperfections. 

       It is time for Us as Catholics to stand strong for our faith, beliefs, and the Church. We are the face of the Church in the world as well as the religious. Learn about the faith and from those who came before us, the saints. The only way for the church to grow is if the faithful grow as well with it. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and become in the universal church. 

Saint Matthew

Saint Matthew

Feast day: September 21

Patron Bankers

St. Matthew, one of the twelve Apostles, is the author of the first Gospel. This has been the constant tradition of the Church and is confirmed by the Gospel itself. He was the son of Alpheus and was called to be an Apostle while sitting in the tax collectors place at Capernaum. Before his conversion he was a publican, i.e., a tax collector by profession. He is to be identified with the "Levi" of Mark and Luke.

His apostolic activity was at first restricted to the communities of Palestine. Nothing definite is known about his later life. There is a tradition that points to Ethiopia as his field of labor; other traditions mention of Parthia and Persia. It is uncertain whether he died a natural death or received the crown of martyrdom.

St. Matthew's Gospel was written to fill a sorely-felt want for his fellow countrymen, both believers and unbelievers. For the former, it served as a token of his regard and as an encouragement in the trial to come, especially the danger of falling back to Judaism; for the latter, it was designed to convince them that the Messiah had come in the person of Jesus, our Lord, in Whom all the promises of the Messianic Kingdom embracing all people had been fulfilled in a spiritual rather than in a carnal way: "My Kingdom is not of this world." His Gospel, then, answered the question put by the disciples of St. John the Baptist, "Are You He Who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

Writing for his countrymen of Palestine, St. Matthew composed his Gospel in his native Aramaic, the "Hebrew tongue" mentioned in the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Soon afterward, about the time of the persecution of Herod Agrippa I in 42 AD, he took his departure for other lands. Another tradition places the composition of his Gospel either between the time of this departure and the Council of Jerusalem, i.e., between 42 AD and 50 AD or even later. Definitely, however, the Gospel, depicting the Holy City with its altar and temple as still existing, and without any reference to the fulfillment of our Lord's prophecy, shows that it was written before the destruction of the city by the Romans in 70 AD, and this internal evidence confirms the early traditions.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and take some time to read St. Matthew’s Gospel. 

Testing

Testing

“Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” ~ 1John  4:1

  There are times when we may feel that we are being tested. That God is giving us a test to see what we will do. Will we turn from Him or stay with Him? Will we give up our faith? Will we hold on or let go? During this time we may feel that He is against us and as calvin says “Somebody’s out to get me”. God does not tempt us, but someone else does. I have avoid speaking of the devil or Satan because he does not need “more press”, but he is also a reality of this world.  He is the “biggest” false prophet there is out there today. 

      We do face trials as we follow God and it is not a pass or fail as a test but a gaining of strength, faith, grace, and understanding. Each trial we face may test us but it us who puts that feeling of passing or failing into action. During the trials we face we will hear those false prophets and the true prophets. We have to test and listen very closely to what each is saying. Then we need to discern what we are hearing. God will not lead us astray but satan will. Satan will give those quick and easy answers. It is like that saying “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. Satan uses those times of weakness to “attack” and try to lead us away. 

     We need to be on our “A” game when it comes to false prophets. They speak a good game and speak with a golden tongue. They will promise you everything and give nothing but take all from you. You will feel like someone really is out to get you and it is not from God. You can tell if it is from God. “ Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God” 1John 4: 2 In the same respect you can tell if it is from Satan, “ and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God” 1John 4:3 

      It is easy to not believe or want to believe that there is a force in the world that seeks the ruins of souls. It would make it easier if it was not the case. Satan will tempt us with our weaknesses. He will use money, power, sex, and prestige to turn our focus from God to them. It is in the sin where satan tries to grab a foothold into our lives. The more we sin the more we have turned from God and the happier satan becomes. When we ignore satan in the world he wins. I am not saying that when we ignore his traps and snares that he wins but we say he does not exist is when he wins. It would be great if it was like the old westerns where the good guys wore white and the bad guys wore black. We would be able to make clearer choices if that was the case with false prophets. 

       The false prophets and false spirits will use every trick there is and will use any person to get us to follow. There is no rules they follow. God does have a set of rules He follows for us. He will never tempt us to do wrong, nor take our free will from us to make the choice. God will always face us, His back is never turned from us. 

        We are going to be tempted and tested in this life. This life will be this way not because of God but because of satan. Satan will use whatever he can to pull us and turn us from God. We make that choice to turn or not. We choose to be tempted or not. Now I must say not every temptation is from satan but can be our own desires and wants. We ultimately are the ones who chooses who to listen to. We do need to take responsibility and not blame satan for our own sins. Yes, he may have tempted us at times but it is us who let it happen. 

      To be a follower of Jesus opens us up to temptation of satan. We still need to forge ahead and hold our heads high in this life. When we are tempted be strong in the Lord, pray without ceasing, ask for strength and take it head on. Remember all the times when you got past the trials, the tests and the temptations. The three “T’s” of the life, trials, tests and temptations. Do not get caught up in these that you do not enjoy the good times. We do not have to live a life of constantly looking over our shoulder for satan but just beware he is out there. Keep looking forward and fix your sights on God. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and remember God is stronger then any temptation. 

Darkness

Darkness

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth” ~Ephesians 5: 8-9

 I never realized how dark it really can be in the world until all the power around me was out and the moon was covered by clouds. During hurricane Sandy the power went out and when I was outside I could not believe how dark it really was. Without any light source it takes some time to focus on what is around you. It is hard to find your way.  You are not sure of your surroundings.  

    This made me think of how dark our lives and souls are without God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us. As christians we have that light placed in our souls when we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then again that light is increased when we receive holy communion and then again when we make confirmation. It is after this we make that choice to foster that light in us or not. 

     When we decide not to foster that light and ignore it, it gets dimmer and dimmer but does not ever fully go out of us. It almost becomes that first star we see at night. We kind of see it and when we turn away and look back it takes a bit to find it again. But when we do find it, we can again decide to start to focus on that light and have it grow brighter and brighter.

      The problem with the dim light is that we can get used to it and our eyes gets accustomed to it. We start to become one with the darkness and are able to function in it. We forget what it is to see things as they are. What they truly are? The good, the bad the indifferent. Things get blurred in the darkness. It is like that saying if you put a frog in boiling water it will jump out but if you slowly warm it up, the frog does not realize it and stays in the pot of water and dies. It is the same, I feel, for us. We can get so used to it that our Faith can end up slowly dying in the darkness. 

      Our faith can start to die when we are in that darkness but because of the sacraments we go through and mostly from that initial sacrament of baptism we have that small light. It is almost being on “God Support ”. God support is like life support for our souls. He does not give up hope for our souls. He keeps our souls alive so we can Live. He continues giving us the breath of life in our souls so that we may find that light again and be in the light. 

       We are all called to be and live as children of light. To be beacons for those who are  lost and in need. As we use that light in us to shine God’s goodness in the world we grow in faith and light. As the light grows so does our faith. It goes hand and hand. When we also are around those who walk in the light it makes it easier for us to see in the world. The light grows brighter and brighter with each soul as we gather. It is like when you light candles in your home, each gives more and more light. 

        Our souls are marked when we are baptized and we become children of the light as it says in Ephesians. The light may dim at times but never goes out. We must foster the light and keep it burning as we travel in this life, so we may stand before God. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and keep the light on so you can find your way home.