Contagious Joy

~~~1 John 2:12-17 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ Luke 2:36-40 ~~~

There was a prophetess, Anna...

...She was advanced in years...

...She never left the temple,

but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.

Anna dedicated her life first to her spouse in marriage.

After losing her husband in death, she consecrated

 herself to a life in the temple.

Being advanced in age she was also advanced in wisdom.

She had learned how to be still and listen to the voice of God.

Anna focused her life on prayer and fasting.

She fed her soul with the holiness of God

 and her body came to need little food.

In the early days of her pregnancy Mary

visited her older cousin, Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth saw Mary 

she felt the child in her womb leap for joy.

She herself recognized Mary was carrying the Messiah. 

Now another senior woman comes forward

to recognize the infant Jesus

as the Messiah.

Anna lived as a cloistered religious woman.

It was her vocation to always pray.

Anna lived a modest simple life in the temple.

Anna saw that the favor of God was on Jesus.

Even as a widow of advanced years,
Anna experienced great joy.
It bloomed in her soul and spread out on her face.

She was infected with the joy from this swaddled babe.

Her joy was a true reflection of the joy emanating 

from this 'holy' family.

I pray that you too are Blessed
with the gift of Joy.

You are never too old
to be filled with the joy of the Lord.

~~~Peace~~~
JOY
to the World!

O Oriens, O Morning Star

~~~ Song of Songs 2:8-14 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ 

~~~ Luke 1:39-45 ~~~

My lover speaks; he says to me,

“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,

and come!

The beauty of being in love is the brightness of the your life.

Nothing is dull or ordinary, everything is more than it was before.

Love makes all things new.

The morning star breaks the darkness.

The morning star brings joy ever closer

 to all who would open their eyes.

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

 those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

on them light has shined." Isaiah 9:2

The Morning Star brought great joy to Mary and Elizabeth.

They each carried within the wonder of new life.

The joy these two women carried within

exuded from every pore of the body.

I can just picture them singing and dancing together.

Our soul waits for the LORD...

For in him our hearts rejoice;

in his holy name we trust. 

What causes you to want to sing and dance?

What brings bright light into your heart?

It does not matter if you are young or old

something does bring you joy.

Make it a habit to record what brings joy into your heart.

Later this can serve as a reminder that you are Blessed.

The Morning Star rises first bringing light to the night sky...
eventually it out shines all of the other heavenly bodies.

Jesus, the Morning Star, possesses the
greatest of all brilliance.

Pray for God to shine forth his bright light on the darkness...
the darkness in our heart....
the darkness in our families...
the darkness in our communities...
the darkness in our country...
the darkness in our world. 

Come, O Morning Star,
shine your bright light into our darkest spaces.

Blessing of Joy
and Brightness from the Morning Star.

~~~Peace~~~
JOY
to the World!

Prayer of Joy

~~~ Isaiah 65:17-21  ~~~ Psalm 30 ~~~ John 4:43-54 ~~~

...there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight...

All of creation is God's expression of joy;
how is it that we so often miss this evidence?
We take the joy of creation for granted.

God creates all new life and in life there is joy.
New life holds the hopes and dreams of a better future.
All of nature sings for the joy of life.
The trees bud...the birds sing...wild flowers painted the landscape...
the spring rains bring renewal to the lakes and rivers.

It is no accident that we celebrate Easter in the Springtime...
it makes the most sense because all of creation
supports the promise of new life.

“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.

Jesus turned the official's mourning into dancing...into joy.
Jesus chose a wedding feast for his first miracle.
A wedding is a time of great joy.
The new wine averted the disappointment
of running out of wine for the guests.

O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

For all the times, Lord, we have missed your message
of joy let me see it today.
For all the times, Lord, I have not given you
 enough thanks for turning my mourning into joy...
I give you thinks now.

Lord, even when I have failed and disappointed you
you still create joy all around me.

Lord, fill my heart with your joy...
teach me to treasure all the beams of joy
that radiate from your loving heart.

Today let your 'prayer of joy'
fill your soul.

You have been created to be Joy.
His Blessings are true Joy.
Return to him his joy is so worth the effort.
You are more than loved...you are made for joy.
~~~Peace~~~

The Grace Challenge

~~~ Fourth Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~~ 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23 ~~~ Psalm 137 ~~~ 

~~~ Ephesians 2:4-10 ~~~ John 3:14-21 ~~~ 

 ...by grace you have been saved...

Jesus came filled with grace;
it is this very same grace that is given to us.

A few months ago the ice bucket craze swept across the country.
The purpose of this activity was to raise funds
 by creating awareness for ALS disease. 

This fourth Sunday of Lent is designed to create a greater awareness
 of just how much grace God has poured down upon us.

He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace 
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

God sent his only Son...the word made flesh...
to make visible to us grace through his light.

 ...whoever lives the truth comes to the light, 

so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

Temptations are constantly swirling around us...

the darkness offers us anonymity...

no one need know what happens in the dark.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, 
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; 

It is through grace that you are able to live in the light.
When you die there is no place to hide from the light...
it completely surrounds you.

Grace comes from God freely given to us...
leading us ever closer to the light...
keeping us on the right path.

Your challenge is to use this gift of grace;
 to be a source of light to others.
Light brings joy with it...
the more grace the more joy you will experience.

Blessed to be God's handiwork...
to live in the His grace.
~~~Peace~~~

Rose Colored Glasses

~~~ Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist~~~

~~~ 1 John 1:1-4 ~~~ Psalm 97 ~~~ John 20:1A AND 2-8 ~~~

Beloved:

What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we looked upon

and touched with our hands

concerns the Word of life —

for the life was made visible...

The Word became flesh...this is the Word of Life.

The child Jesus made visible all that life contains...

This God in human infant form is creation itself.

The Words of God brought forth the heavens and the earth

the stars, the animals, man and woman...

What Child is This?

This is the Child of all life.

This is the Child... 

who restores life to those trapped in darkness.

This is the Child...

who saves us from the grasp of evil.

This is the Child...

who brings us life eternal.

What Child is This?

This is the Child who brings forth the essence of all Life.

Without this child there is no life eternal.

John was the beloved apostle.

John loved Jesus with all of his being.

John ached with the desire to tell the 

whole world about the person of Jesus, his friend.

We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

Once you have this Joy you will never

 be satisfied to keep it to yourself.

The joy from this Child is meant to be shared.

This joy is like seeing the world through rose colored 

glasses even if for just a few moments.

Blessed with Joy that comes from the love of a child.

This is the Babe of life and Joy.

Rejoice...rejoice...

~~~Peace~~~

The Greatest Joy

~~~ Third Sunday of Advent ~~~

~~~ Isaiah 61:1-2A, 10-11 ~~~ (Psalm) Luke 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54 ~~~

~~~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 ~~~  John 1:6-8, 19-28

My soul rejoices in my God.

John was so filled with joy that he was excited 

to be the voice crying in the desert.

He was so filled with joy that he did not feel worthy

 to untie the strap of the sandal of Jesus.

This is the Advent Sunday of joy.

Mary was filled with joy as she spoke the words of the Magnificat...

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked upon his lowly servant.

What brings the most joy into your heart.

How do you go about searching for joy?

Do you wait for joy to surprise you?

Where do you experience the most joy?

My soul rejoices in my God.

Paul connects praying and giving thanks with joy.

Prayer places us in the presence of God.

Prayer is our opportunity to tap into the joy of the Lord.

Prayer certainly gives us a reason to express joy.

Giving thanks to God for all that he has done 

in our life is more reason to have joy.

Giving thanks for the beauty of nature acknowledges our joy.

Giving thanks for the creativity of the various forms of art

acknowledges our joy.

Giving thanks for family and friends

evokes profound joy.

Sometimes joy can be so great that it washes

 over your heart in wave after wave.

The Spirit of the Lord

brings forth the greatest joy of joy.

As the we get closer to the celebration of the birth of Jesus...

we have the occasion to view this event with great joy. 

Jesus loved us so much that he was willing

to empty himself of being pure God.

He became fully human.

Loving Jesus in return for his coming to save us

is wherein lies the greatest Joy.

Today is all about

JOY.

Blessings found in joys great and small.

Sit back enjoy the twinkling lights and the music of joy.

~~~Peace~~~

Is There a Difference?

~~~ Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21 ~~~ Psalm 59 ~~~ Matthew 13:44-46 ~~~

...out of joy... 

When was the last time you did something purely out of joy?

Have you ever done something just out of joy?

What would you do out of joy?

Is there anything worth doing out of joy.

Is joy a good reason to do something?

Is it possible to take the joy out of living?

In the last few days a YouTube video went viral of a little dog.

The dog nearly passes out from the sheer joy of being reunited 

with his owner who was away for two years. 

If out of joy our pets can show such 'emotion';

then it is reasonable for someone to sell everything

 just to possess the buried treasure. 

When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart...

It has been reported that 'happiness' appears in the Bible about thirty times,
but 'joy' or rejoice appear some three hundred times.
Is there a difference? Why would joy be used more often in Scripture?

Jeremiah says the very words spoken by the Lord
 became his joy and happiness.
He brought both words together into the same sentence.
If they were not different why would he use both words?

...in joy....with joy...for joy...

Even if you are considered to be a happy person
 are you also a joyful person?

Paul says in his letter to the Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice. 

What are you willing to give up for the Lord?
It takes something more valuable than money for the God.
It is not money that the Lord desires from you.
He longs for you to experience joy...his joy...the joy that comes
from a close relationship with him.

Jesus is your treasure.
Joy is what sets apart those who are claim to be Christian.
Are you willing to give up whatever it takes to have him in your life?

Happiness is influenced and generated by outside
circumstances and situations.

Happiness comes with those rose
colored glasses you have often heard about.

Joy is so much more than what is going on in the world around us.

Joy comes from the inside; it is not influenced by the outside.
Joy is what keeps the pearl of great price real.
The treasure is Jesus; Jesus is the joy
we long for in our heart.

Joy is constant.
Joy is not subject to the roller coaster of daily life.

Joy is one of the fruit of the Spirit.
Joy is a precious gift for the heart from God.
Joy is not tangible. Joy is evident in how we live our life.

Consider it all joy.
James 1:2

This truly is what our heart desires.
It comes as long as we are in relationship with the Lord.
He is the source...the treasure...the pearl.

May you be blessed with true joy...
~~~Peace~~~

Anguish Splinters Joy

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 18:9-18 ~~~ Psalm 47 ~~~ John 16:20-23 ~~~

So you also are now in anguish.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.

Anguish is a very strong descriptive word.
Just to pronounce the word anguish
makes me want to recoil from reality.
Anguish...excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain.
After the death and crucifixion of Jesus
 those who loved him were in acute pain.
After the resurrection he makes appearances
 to many of those who loved him most.
Now he is going to leave again
 with the promise to send down the Spirit,
once again the anguish fills their hearts and minds.

Anguish is so strong that one can hardly believe
 that it will ever be better,
yet we are promised relief in the form of joy.

Anguish is a heavy burden to carry around.
Joy gives one a feeling of lightness,
not just in spirit, but a
lightness of the heart and soul.

When one is buried under the weight of anguish it is hard to accept
that a joy will be given that cannot be taken away.
Anguish obscures the heart and mind so utterly that the three letters of joy
are mixed up, splintered into a thousand pieces.

Jesus says that when we have his joy it can never be taken away...
it can never again be covered with the cloud of anguish.

It is ever possible to experience this kind of joy
 while still here in this world?
Is it a joy that can only be realized after we die?

Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

Is this part of the joy of which Jesus promises when he returns?
If we have this magnificent joy
 what else could we possibly need to ask for?

This joy will be enough
that we may not feel the need to ask for anything more.

Always Blessed
 even as anguish obscures and splinters the joy.
~~~Peace~~~

All Things Pass

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 18:1-8 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ John 16:16-20 ~~~

The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Paul met Jewish friends in Corinth, but for the most part
 his preaching fell on deaf ears.
His decision was to redirect his attention to the nearby Gentiles.
As a result of Paul moving on many Corinthians
heard and were baptized.
There minds and hearts were open to the word of the Lord.
Paul was steadfast and determined to preach to those who would listen.

We thank you Paul for not getting discouraged.
There were so many times when you could have
walked away, and gone home to stay.
The Spirit, which was upon Paul, gave him the strength of heart
to carry on in the face of rejection and apathy.

‘A little while and you will not see me,

and again a little while and you will see me’?

These words almost make you think of a baby's game of peek-a-boo.

To a baby if they cannot see you then you are gone.
Hiding and revealing your face to them is a surprise.
The surprise of seeing your face again
causes them to laugh and giggle.
It is delightful joy to play with babies.
But of course we know that Jesus
 is not playing with the apostles;
he really is physically going away. 

He is returning to the Father in Heaven
so that he can send down the Holy Spirit.

...your grief will become joy.

We all experience grief to some degree in our lives.
We grieve over the death of a loved one...
we grieve over losses in our lives...
some even grieve over their own lives.

Jesus does not tell us not to grieve...
he does tell us it is foolish to grieve.
He validates our grief with the promise of joy.
Jesus does not want us to remain in a state of grief.
He wants us to believe that whatever grief we experience;
he will transform it into joy.

The only genuine experience
of joy we can have must come from him.

Blessed with grief so that we can better appreciate his joy.
~~~Peace~~~

!!! Gelato Joy !!!

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 15:7-21 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ John 15:9-11 ~~~

Remain in my love...
...so that my joy might be in you and 
your joy might be complete.

Three years ago we stopped for some gelato
 while visiting Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The very first thing that catches your attention as enter the store
is in the long glass display case.
The pastel colors, the smooth texture of the Gelato; it was all so luscious
 that my initial inclination was just to dive right in.
Gelato is the Italian word fro ice cream, yes, we were in Croatia.

That day if I had had to post an image of joy, that would have been it.
Creamy mounds of frozen pastel sweetness! Ahhh!

Today we hear Jesus telling us about his joy.
His desire is for us to have a share in his own joy.
But in looking at what Jesus considered to be joy;
I had some reservations.

Jesus found joy in places I would resist...at times
when joy was not apparent.
Is joy reserved for the Gelato yummy moments only?
That would be great, but Jesus does not see it that way.
Jesus saw joy in healing the sick, forgiving the sinner,
preaching to those who questioned and accused...

Jesus found joy in carrying the cross...
having nails driven though his hands and feet...
Jesus found joy in dying on the cross for us.
Jesus found joy in things we would run away from;
he did not look for the luscious refreshing flavors of Gelato for joy.

While I do desire to share in the joy of Jesus
I must confess it is with some reservation.

God, who knows the heart...

Our awesome God, who does indeed know our heart,
 wants us to share in his joy.
He wants us to know that his joy
ranges from ice cream to thorns and nails.
Saint James advises us 'to consider it all joy'. (1:2)

This is the only way to experience complete joy,
that is to look at our life through the joy glasses of Jesus.
His joy gives us the perfect model for all our joy.
If we make the intention to see joy in our life we will find it,
but a word of caution the opposite is also true.

One look into the face of Jesus will bless you with his joy.
The joy he has for saving you compares to no other.

Have some Gelato and consider your joy.
~~~Peace~~~

In the Company of Joy

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 13:44-52 Psalm 98 ~~~ John 14:7-14 ~~~

The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

What do you think?

Does the Holy Spirit come because of our joy or

does joy come in response to the presence of the Holy Spirit?

Is the Holy Spirit always in the company of joy?

Can joy exist without the Spirit?

Sometimes you miss an opportunity at the time it is offered.

This is what happened to the Jewish people;

they had Jesus and his teachings right in their midst.

But they rejected and resisted to the point that 

the disciples moved on to the Gentiles...us.

The Gentiles were hungry to hear the words of salvation.

They rejoiced at being offered the chance to become followers of Jesus.

They had been waiting not knowing that God had them in his plan.

Even if the Jews had not rejected Jesus,

he would have reached out to them eventually.

For so the Lord has commanded us,

I have made you a light to the Gentiles,

that you may be an instrument of salvation

to the ends of the earth.

God's plan was always to include all peoples even though,

in fulfillment of the prophecies, he initially went to the Jewish people.

The disciples were beginning to experience some disillusionment.

Were they really doing the right thing?

Were they even capable of delivering the words 

of salvation promised by Jesus himself?

I can just imagine some of the Gentiles

 expressing relief at finally being allowed

 to openly confirm their beliefs.

The enthusiasm of the Gentiles

 rejuvenated the disciples, giving them new hope in their mission.

They shrugged off their rejection and moved forward.

They had to change the way they looked at the Gentiles.

They had to accept them for who they were...non-Jew.

Being filled with joy and the Spirit the disciples had renewed energy.

They once again had purpose...they had an attentive audience...

they had the commitment of the Gentiles. 

We are Blessed that the disciples did not quit.

They listened to God and reached out to the eager Gentiles.

The Love of God is great enough  to include 

all peoples who chose to believe...

all he calls by name.

~~~ Peace~~~

Unharnessed Joy

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 4:13-21 ~~~ Psalm 118 ~~~ Mark 16:9-15 ~~~

It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.

What is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to you?
What happened on the best day of your life?
How good are you at keeping a secret?

Some things are not meant to be kept a secret.
If I had been blessed to have had a meeting with the risen Jesus
there is no way I would have been able to keep quiet.

This is where the apostles find themselves.
They are swimming in the pool of unharnessed joy.

He said to them, “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

Jesus wants us to be so excited
 that when he sends out into the whole world
we will be jumping with joy.

He wants us to be so filled with joy
and happiness that containing it is no option,
 even if we tried.

He fills us with joy so that we want to go out
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature on earth.

Open up your heart for the possibilities of Joy.
Let your heart burst
at the seams with the joy and love of the Lord.

Let your face reflect this unharnessed joy.

You can make a difference in someone's life right now.
Blessed with unbelievable joy.
Peace.

Alleluia, He is Risen!

~~~ Easter Sunday ~~~

~~Acts of the Apostles 10:34a, 37-43~~Psalm 118~~Colossians 3:1-4~~John 20:1-9~~

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

This is the day of the Lord...the day of resurrection.

This is the day the Lord conquered death for us.

It is truly a day of rejoicing.

Do you find it curious that we use the empty tomb as a sign of joy.

No one actually witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus.

It is his very absence that signifies his resurrection.

I can only imagine how difficult

 it was to let Jesus go after all they had seen him accomplish.

They did not understand and today they are left with emptiness.

Saint Paul tells us Jesus emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.

Jesus has once again emptied himself of his human body.

He must be emptied to be raised from death.

His Resurrection is Light, Life, Freedom.

We are invited to enter into the Joy of the Empty Tomb.

He is the Resurrection and the Life.

Believe that you too may be raised up with him to eternal life.

Blessed with the Joy of Easter!!!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Lent the Season of Hope

~~~ Jeremiah 17:5-10 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 16:19-31 ~~~

Today marks the beginning of a new season, Spring.
Lent is about change and change is most evident during the springtime.
You cannot help but notice the difference in all of nature.
Grass grows green again, flowers appear on bare tree branches,
wild colorful flowers cover the roadsides.
A time to appreciate new life.
The animals give birth to new offspring
now that the warmer days have arrived.
It is joyous time of the year.

In spite of this life giving season we are in Lent.
Lent, a time to take an inventory of how
we might bring the life of Spring into our soul.

If one who stays in the winter darkness of sin we are told today..

He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season...

How sad it would be to have not experience the seasonal changes.
Even in the most temperate of climates there is some change.
I invite you to look at the season of Spring as the season of hope.

Hope...a feeling of expectation and desire
for a certain thing to happen.

We all hope to see the beauty of Spring.
We all hope in the Lord, because he has promised us salvation.
Our resurrection will be the most glorious springtime ever.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD...

The poor man, Lazarus, lying alone in the gutter of the street covered in sores
cannot appreciate the changing of the seasons.
He does not begin to appreciate the cycle of beauty
which comes with new each season.

He experiences no joy in the natural world.

The rich man passes him by, relishing in the finer things of life.
But he too misses the joy of hope.
He sees no reason to need hope...it does not serve him.
He has no feelings expectation and desire for he
 dresses well and dines sumptuously each day.

It is only in torments of the afterlife does the rich man experience hope.
He longs for just a drop of water from the finger tip of Lazarus.

The great chasm between Lazarus and the rich man
 is the valley without hope...
the space void of Springtime...
the place where life is no longer a possibility.

We can use our time of Lent to turn over the soil of our hearts
 so the hope of Springtime save us from the chasm.
We have been blessed with all we need
to have the experience of Springtime in our hearts.

We have a God who blesses us for having hope in him.
He will meet and surpass all of our expectations.
He is the Hope of the World.

May the Springtime of Hope strengthen your soul.
Peace.

Wisdom...Age and Grace

~~~ 1 John 2:12-17 ~~~ Psalm 96 ~~~ Luke 2:36-40

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

The joy of the Lord can surprise you at any age.

Whether you are young or old like Anna you can experience joy.

Perhaps when one has wrinkles and grey hair 

the joy is appreciated to a greater degree.

When we get older we may not expect

 there to be anything left in the joyful column.

Too many times I have seen older people

 become bitter and cantankerous rather than joyful.

Today we meet Anna, advanced in age.

She was a eighty four and had been a widow for several years.

It was not easy for a woman to survive without her husband.

After the death of a woman's husband 

she was left at the mercy of others to help her.

Anna is the only female prophetess mentioned in the New Testament.

Anna turned to God in complete devotion in her later years.

She was the one who foretold of the pain that would pierce the heart of Mary.

The Presentation in the temple was the joining together 

of the old and the new.

Wisdom of age and the hope of youth 

come together in support of one another.

Anna, with her acquired wisdom and grace, meets Mary.

Mary with her youth and new life brings hope for the future. 

One nearing the final days of her life

 the other at the beginning of her life.

Anna was given the insight to recognize this baby as the Messiah.

Elizabeth recognized Jesus as her Lord when Mary greets her.

Anna recognizes Jesus as the Messiah as she looks upon his precious face.

The meeting of these two women validate the old and the new.

The Messiah brings new life while allowing the old to remain as well.

Jesus did not come to abolish the old, 

but rather to fulfill and make perfect the old.

Today we live in a world self absorbed with all that glitters.

May we be blessed with the grace to recognize our Lord.

Whether we are of advanced age like Anna

or young like Mary there is more 

than enough joy for all of us to experience.

Keep watch for every bit of Joy.

May it be scattered over your life like the morning dew.

Beneath the Hay

~~~ Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr ~~~

~~Acts of the Apostles 6:8-10; 7:54-59 ~~Psalm 31~~Matthew 10:17-22~~

Amid the joy of the birth of Jesus; 

we are reminded that we must die to ourselves 

if we are to serve the Lord.

Beneath the hay upon which the infant Jesus 

rests is his crucifixion.

Our joy of new life is quickly tempered with the

reality of martyrdom. Stephen is the first

of many who would follow their hearts to their death.

Stephen was filled with grace and strength from the Lord.

He was given a vision of the glory of God.

He was blessed with the grace to face stoning.

He was stoned to death by the very people he was preaching before.

They could have just turned and walked away

leaving him standing there alone.

If we are to align ourselves with following Christ;

then we must also be willing to die for him...

knowing that he will be with us.

When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.

The light of Christ lights our way.

May we be inspired by Saint Stephen 

to speak the words of the Lord...

 living words, more numerous than the strands of hay

nestled in the crib upon which he lay.

May you be blessed in the joy 

and peace of the Nativity.

May you be strengthened in your 

commitment to the Lord, 

modeled perfectly for us by Stephen.

The Peace of Christ,

be with you.

We have been given a great light!

Shout for Joy

 

~~Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18a~~Psalm 33~~Luke 1:39-45~~

 

The excitement begins to increase

the closer we get to the birth of our Lord.

The readings reflect this joyful intensity

beginning with the Song of Songs.

Looking closely at the joy of lovers is exactly

 a reflection of how God loves us.

 

“Arise, my beloved,

my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!...

...Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”
 

If you read chapter three of Zephaniah

you will find incredible words of joy.

Shout for joy...sing joyfully...nothing to fear...

 

The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

 As an expectant mother becomes increasingly eager

to see her unborn child;

 so it should be with the birth of Jesus.

We are given these readings so that we can step aside

from the busyness

and materialism of the season and focus

on the joy of the coming birth.

 

All of our joy and happiness

comes from what God has done for us...

all that he has given to us. 

 

 

There is no happier event than reflecting on Mary's visit to Elizabeth.

Many times I have pictured Mary skipping joyfully...

I imagine her singing happy uplifting songs in a voice like an angel...

 With a spring in her step and a twinkle in her eyes

she rushes to the home of Elizabeth. 

 

Surely the joy of these two women is multiplied

as they give and receive warm embraces from each another. 

 

We are blessed today by the 'design of his heart'. 

He has chosen you to be his own.

Share the Joy

Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr

 

~~1 Maccabees 4:36-37, 52-59~~ 1 Chronicles 29:10bcd, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd ~~Luke 19:45-48 ~~ 

 

My house shall be a house of prayer...

Saint Cecilia is the patroness saint of musicians.

In our churches music aids in raising our hearts and minds to God.

The great composers have the ability to almost harness

 the magnitude of God with music.

Even if only for a couple measures it is glorious

to hear musicians and the congregation lifting

their voices up in praise to God.

 

Those who plotted to arrest Jesus were discouraged

by how the people responded to his teachings.

 

...all the people were hanging on his words...

 

It was if the people were being taken to another place

beyond the immediate space. 

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?

I have been so enthralled by a speaker that I did not want their talk to end.

I am sure you have been so engaged in a movie that two hours

 later you were surprised it was ending.

If you are listening so intently that time is insignificant you are fully attentive.

You are consumed with the present...

nothing else matters at that moment in time.

 

 

There was great joy among the people... 

 

 When people are sharing a common experience

their emotions are magnified and can even be enhanced.

People in crowds laugh together, cry together,

 cheer together, and experience joy together. 

 

Singing together draws people closer to each other...

music creates an internal bond.

 Blessings come from hanging on his every word...

if we are able to hang on his every word we will find great joy.

He has the words of everlasting life.

It is good to cling to each and every one of them.

Saint Cecilia, teach us how to hang on to his joy,

and pray for us.

Pay Attention

~~~ Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15a ~~~ Re: Jeremiah 31:10 ~~~Luke 9:43b-45~~~

 

The Lord needed to tell the people to pay attention;

he was about to reveal his own death to them.

They could not grasp his meaning, but he wanted

 them to at least listen to the words.

If the words you hear have no way to connect to something heard before

you can have no comprehension.

 

“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”

 

Hearing the Lord speak of the Son of Man made very little sense

 to his audience. They had no prior knowledge of this Son.

 

I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.

 

Today as we read these words of mourning, joy, consolation, and sorrow

we can relate. We experience these emotions in our lives.

They represent what it means to be human.

Life events may cause us to be mournful and filled with sorrow.

This is to be expected.

God is the one who makes it possible to once again experience joy.

God is the one who gives consolation...the one who takes our sorrow away.

 

 I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst.

 

Jerusalem has no wall of protection...it is vulnerable to the enemy.

God does not want his people to concern themselves

with this perceived weakness.

The Lord will protect with a ring of fire.

The Lord God himself has been with the Israelites for decades,

he would not abandon them now.

They are home where they belong. The temple

is where the glory of God will shine.

 

 

I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.

 

If God was coming to dwell in our community

 can you imagine how we would feel?

Initially there might be some who would doubt it was true.

Others would be beside themselves with excitement.

Others would immediately begin the list of what

needed to be done before his arrival.

 

The whole community would be buzzing with joy and excitement.

The truth is the Lord is here with us, but where has all the excitement gone?

How is it that we have become numb to his presence?

 

It is good that the church gives us this reminder today.

Pay attention to what I am telling you.

God is in our midst at every moment, but we tend to get

caught up in this world of distractions.

 

Blessings come to those who pay attention.

He gladdens and consoles the soul.

Blessed with Joy and Laughter

 

Feast of Saint James
~~~ 2 Corinthians 4:7-15~~~ Psalm 126 ~~~ Matthew 20:20-28 ~~~

We hold this treasure in earthen vessels...
 

Our fragile human bodies are the earthen vessels.
From dust we came and unto dust we will return.
What is important between is how we live our life.
Paul tells us, in this wonderful reading to the Corinthians,
that what we call living is really our dying.

Every day that we are 'alive' we are one day closer to our dying day.
Paul does not want this to be depressing...
....always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.

The death of Jesus is a part of who we are because he died for us.
But the death of Jesus was not the end.
The death of Jesus was actually the beginning.

It takes a leap of faith for us to consider death as a beginning,
whether it is that of a loved one or our own.
Death seems like complete closure.

For we who live are constantly being given up to death
for the sake of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
Paul is actually rejoicing in this letter;
he is almost giddy over our close relationship with Jesus.
It is because of our close relationship with Jesus Paul says, that...
I believed, therefore I spoke,we too believe and therefore speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.

 Can you hear the excitement in these words?
I can almost picture him dancing around his room
between writing each sentence of this letter.

 

 

He goes on to say,
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Can you believe this?
Everything is for you so that you can give God more praise and glory. 

 The more excited you can be about God
the more people will be drawn to him through you.
They will want to know
why you are giddy about Jesus.
They will want know
why you are at peace with death.

 

Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. 

 

We can confidently go forth with laughter
rejoicing in the great things God has done.
We can forth carrying inside of us the seeds of great joy.
Joyful seeds are meant to sown every where we walk.
Do not pass a place without leaving joy in the air. 

 

The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed. 

 

We are Blessed with Joy and Laughter.
Saint James, pray for us.