lean on Jesus

Proverbs 3:5-6 | Javcon117* | Flickr

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“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

matthew 11: 28-30

Learning To Lean On Jesus With Lyrics By Lyn Alejandrino Hopkins.wmv - YouTube

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matthew 12: 36-37, "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will render an account for every careless word they speak. By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

Religious message, Ballymacarett,... (C) Albert Bridge :: Geograph Ireland

© Copyright Albert Bridge and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

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Advent Reflection for December 10 – Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-11/Matthew 18:12-14

Invitation to Prayer: Pray to be the voice in the wilderness, crying out the glad tidings of good news!

Christ, our shepherd, cares for all of His flock. Remember to be compassionate to the lambs that have gone astray, joyously welcome them into the fold, and keep them in your prayers.

Reflection: “Give comfort to my people.”

I was blessed to be raised in a very small church with a congregation of about sixty who had faith to move mountains.

Danny was a boy in my class in elementary school. He came from a poor family. His mother was wheelchair bound and his father had difficulty keeping a job. Danny’s sisters attended Sunday School at my church. One year, Danny showed up at my home Christmas morning. He spoke to my parents and told them his family had no food for Christmas day and no gifts for his little sisters. Immediately my mom was on the phone to the women of the church. They organized a week’s worth of food for the family, including a wonderful Christmas dinner, some of which had been intended for their own tables. Meanwhile my dad and my grandpa contacted the Salvation Army for gifts for the children, for Danny, and for his mother. They drove downtown on a snowy Christmas day to pick up the items. Daddy and Grandpa delivered all to the family before noon.

I have four sisters. My mom asked each of us to give up one of the gifts we had received that morning to Danny’s family. It’s funny because that’s the only part of the morning I don’t remember. I only remember this entire group of spirit-filled people coming together to “give comfort” to God’s people.

During this Advent season, how am I giving comfort?

Prayer: Father, let me be a comfort where needed. Let me be the herald of your good tidings. Drive away my fear when it comes to sharing your good news. Help me to be like Jesus, a shepherd to lead the stray lambs home. Amen.

Closing: Find an expression to use when joyful things happen… and use it often because joyful things are happening all around you.

Debbie Weitz is grateful for the community of saints who helped raise her.

https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/advent-reflections-2019/60963  

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The Need for Full and Complete Obedience

The Need for Full and Complete Obedience - Decision Magazine 


“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” 
John 3:16


TRUST AND OBEY - Traditional Hymns - YouTube

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Diego Velázquez [Public domain]

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Isaiah 26: Advent Reflection for December 5 – Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Reflection: Who or what is the foundation of your life? As people of faith, it may seem self-evident that our lives are to be rooted firmly on the rock of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, when we pause to consider the truth of our daily lives, it is likely that we can point to times in which we become distracted, or when we have trusted in something other than God. It is easy to seek security in material things, wealth, social status, or power rather than discerning and following God’s will, relying on God’s providential care and love. In these first days of the Advent season, we are invited to be mindful that our time on earth will someday draw to a close, and to be prepared for the coming of Christ in glory. Today, ask yourself who or what is the foundation of your life. What one or two things might you do to more fully seek and live God’s will in this Advent season?

https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/advent-reflections-2019/60963 

image by Charlotte90T

Trust in the Lord | You will keep in perfect peace those who… | Flickr

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Advent reflection for December 2 –Monday of the First Week of Advent

Isaiah 4: 2-6, Psalm 122, Matthew 8: 5-11

Invitation to prayer: Look forward with joyful hope to the day of Christ’s birth, his Resurrection, and his return.

Reflection: The trials of life — illness, work worries, politics, disaster, age, and more — are real. They can break our hearts and tempt us to despair. But God promises they are not the end for those who love and serve Him. “The branch of the Lord will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor.” Though we live in a day of many technological and medical wonders that allow us to pretend all is beautiful and clean, we still know the blood of war, the figurative filth of sin, and the literal “filth” of illness. We know the distress of betrayal, the loss of those dearest to us, and the sorrows of seeing others make mistakes we can’t change or lessen. The centurion in Matthew’s story has faith that Jesus will heal his servant, not because the centurion or anyone in his household is worthy, but because Jesus is God. And God has promised us joy in the heavenly Jerusalem. This Advent, ask God to strengthen your faith, like the centurion’s. Remember that the miracle of Christmas is also the promise of salvation, and pray that when your life is done, you will be welcomed with the words, “we will go up to the house of the Lord.” And when you decorate your tree and your home with evergreens, think of those other “branches” — the luster and glory, honor and splendor, of God who is our Father.

Prayer: Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom. Call me to come with you to the house of the Lord, and let me live there with You and those You love forever.

Closing: Make the sign of the cross and pray for the day you may answer, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”

Gail Finke is a producer at Sacred Heart Radio

https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/advent-reflections-2019/60963

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Matthew 24:37-44: "be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."

Jesus said to his disciples:

"For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.

They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man.

Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.

Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.

Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.

Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.

So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."

matthew 24: 37-44


Matthew 24:37 (KJV) - Forerunner Commentary

image by e.r.w.i.n.

"be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of… | Flickr

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pray

pray
not because you're eloquent
pray
not just because you want something
pray
not just to ask for forgiveness
pray
to worship God
pray
to praise God
pray
to thank God for all that you have
pray
just because God wants to hear from you

Praying Hands | Praying Hands, a 30 ton 60 ft tall bronze st… | Flickr

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isaiah 26:3: "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

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attribution: Baptist Union of Great Britain and flickr

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luke 21: 5-19: "By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, "All that you see here--
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

Then they asked him,
"Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"
He answered,
"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end."
Then he said to them,
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.

"Before all this happens, however,
they will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

luke 21: 5-19 

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the BIG book

I went to catholic grade school in the 1950s. I remember the nuns telling us that if we're good then we'll go to heaven and that if we're bad then we're going to hell. 

we all know how impressionable that young forming brains are. I got the impression that God, or his appointed designee, St. Peter, kept this BIG book, and when I died that God or St. Peter would look in the book and read all of my sins to everybody at the last judgment.

File:Big Book blue.svg - Wikimedia Commons

Big_Book.svg: Jimmietderivative work: Gaeser [CC0]

it took a LONG time for me to get that out of my head, but I finally believe that God doesn't work that way.  

I believe in God. I believe that when I die that I'll be one-on-one with God. there won't be a BIG book. there won't need to be. both God and I know my sins. nothing will be said. God will know that I'm sorry for my sins. God won't have to say that God forgives me. I'll know. 

image by Kahunapule Michael Johnson

John 3:16 | For God so loved the world, that he gave his one… | Flickr

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before worship service begins

Then God spoke all these words:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall not have other gods beside me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or serve them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their ancestors’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but showing love down to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not invoke the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished anyone who invokes his name in vain.

Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God. You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your work animal, or the resident alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

exodus 20: 1-11

image from Gerry Dincher

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it's Sunday morning. the worship service will begin soon. people are:

1. talking out loud
2. the choir is practicing
3. some are kneeling, praying

which one(s) is important. answer: they all are. fellowship is a good thing. so is the choir practicing. kneeling and praying before worship services begin is good also.

which is most important? not gibber-jabbering in the sanctuary of a church. 

is there another room where the choir can practice before worship services begin other than the sanctuary of the church? 

by elimination then, and with respect for the presence of God, kneeling and praying in the sanctuary before worship services begin is most important.

then why has gibber-jabbering in sanctuaries of churches before worship services begin become the norm?

Be Quiet in Church | Brian Dewey | Flickr

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luke 1: 46-55: the magnificat

The Magnificat (Latin for "[My soul] magnifies [the Lord]") is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (Greek: Ἡ ᾨδὴ τῆς Θεοτόκου). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical services of the Catholic Church (at vespers) and of the Eastern Orthodox churches (at the morning services). It is one of the eight most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn. Its name comes from the incipit of the Latin version of the canticle's text.

The text of the canticle is taken directly from the Gospel of Luke (1:46–55) where it is spoken by Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. In the narrative, after Mary greets Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, the latter moves within Elizabeth's womb. Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith (using words partially reflected in the Hail Mary), and Mary responds with what is now known as the Magnificat.

Within the whole of Christianity, the Magnificat is most frequently recited within the Liturgy of the Hours. In Western Christianity, the Magnificat is most often sung or recited during the main evening prayer service: Vespers in the Catholic and Lutheran churches, and Evening Prayer (or Evensong) in Anglicanism. In Eastern Christianity, the Magnificat is usually sung at Sunday Matins. Among Protestant groups, the Magnificat may also be sung during worship services, especially in the Advent season during which these verses are traditionally read.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnificat 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domenico_ghirlandaio,_visitazione,_louvre_01.jpg

Domenico Ghirlandaio [Public domain]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Magnificat_(Le_magnificat)_-_James_Tissot_-_overall_.jpg

James Tissot [Public domain]

"My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour." 
Luke 1: 46-47



our souls are like a telescope. if we orient our souls correctly, towards God, then our soul magnifies God. we see God's greatness, sovereignty and majesty, wisdom and justice, mercy and love. we see the beauty of God's creation, including mankind.

if we don't orient our souls correctly, then it's like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. we can't see God's greatness and the beauty of God's creation. 

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prayer

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Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1     WIS 11:22-12:2

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!


Responsorial Psalm    PS 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14

R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.


Reading 2     2 THES 1:11-2:2

Brothers and sisters:
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

We ask you, brothers and sisters,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our assembling with him,
not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed
either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement,
or by a letter allegedly from us
to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

Alleluia     JN 3:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel     LK 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
"He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost." 

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/110319.cfm

image by Martin LaBar

Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus, who is in a tree | Scan from a 19… | Flickr

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psalm 40

For the leader. A psalm of David.

A

Surely, I wait for the LORD; who bends down to me and hears my cry,

Draws me up from the pit of destruction, out of the muddy clay,

Sets my feet upon rock, steadies my steps,

And puts a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God.
Many shall look on in fear and they shall trust in the LORD.

Blessed the man who sets his security in the LORD, 

   who turns not to the arrogant or to those who stray after falsehood. 

You, yes you, O LORD, my God, have done many wondrous deeds!
And in your plans for us there is none to equal you.

Should I wish to declare or tell them, too many are they to recount. 

Sacrifice and offering you do not want; you opened my ears.

Holocaust and sin-offering you do not request; so I said, 

“See; I come with an inscribed scroll written upon me.
I delight to do your will, my God; your law is in my inner being!”

When I sing of your righteousness in a great assembly,

See, I do not restrain my lips; as you, LORD, know. 

I do not conceal your righteousness within my heart;
I speak of your loyalty and your salvation.
I do not hide your mercy or faithfulness from a great assembly.
LORD, may you not withhold your compassion from me;

May your mercy and your faithfulness continually protect me.

B

But evils surround me until they cannot be counted.
My sins overtake me, so that I can no longer see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head; my courage fails me.
LORD, graciously rescue me! Come quickly to help me, LORD!

May those who seek to destroy my life be shamed and confounded.
Turn back in disgrace those who desire my ruin.

Let those who say to me “Aha!”

Be made desolate on account of their shame.

While those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.

May those who long for your salvation always say, “The LORD is great.”

Though I am afflicted and poor, my Lord keeps me in mind.
You are my help and deliverer; my God, do not delay!  

psalm 40 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Psalm_40_from_the_Sidney_Psalms.jpg

attribution: Philip and Mary Sidney, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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tortured

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_The_Scourging_on_the_Back_(La_flagellation_de_dos)_-_James_Tissot.jpg

James Tissot [Public domain]

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File:Michelangelo Merisi, called Caravaggio - The Crowning with Thorns - Google Art Project.jpg - Wikipedia

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Léon Bonnat [Public domain]

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