Reflections of a beloved son

We have been loved from all eternity. The Lord delights in YOU! It does not matter what you've done or where you've been. His love and delight in you is not dependent on any of those things. Receive His love and delight, and allow Him to transform your life. When you finally experience and feel this infinite and unconditional love of God for you, you can not but be filled with gratitude, moving you to conversion. God's delight and love for you is a transformative gift.

When the world and sin imprison us, God comes to free us. May we relish, embrace, and live fully the freedom of the children of God. This freedom transcends this hashtag # pandemic quarantine. May our humble gratitude give witness to God's amazing work of love and mercy to all especially during these times. Thank you hashtag # Jesus ! hashtag # gratitude hashtag # divinemercy hashtag # discipleship hashtag # grace

Today in the Catholic Church we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family - Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.  Jesus was born into a human family so that He can experience life as we do, and be like us in all things but sin.  God in His infinite wisdom planned for Jesus to be born into a poor family and in a lowliest of manners - among the animals, laid in a manger - the feeding place for animals.  Not too long after Jesus was born, Joseph, His foster father, was told in a dream, " Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you."  And so, he did. The life of the Child was already sought the moment He was born (before, really).  Perhaps, this does make sense - Jesus, after all, was born to die, and by that death, to save, to redeem, and to live.  I can only imagine how Joseph and Mary was feeling.  Their son's life was sought after and the King wanted Him dead.  " Herod is going to search for the child and destroy him." ...

Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November.  Families and friends gather together and enjoy one another.  It's a day of conversations, food, entertainment - a day to get away from the busyness of the world and to just be. If we really think about it, there is so much to be thankful for.  Thankful for the gift to see another day.  The gift of our family and friends.  Our blessings.  The gift of forgiveness and reconciliation.  And, yes, even thankful for the gift  of our struggles.  It is easy to see God's hands in the good things and the joys, but sometimes it is hard to see God amidst the difficulties.  However, those are the times when God is closest to us.  Jesus suffered.  He felt alone and abandoned on the Cross. Yet, when He looked up, He must have remembered His Father will never leave Him.  And, when He looked down and saw His Mother, He must have been comfor...

In this Sunday’s Gospel  (Lk. 17:11-19), we are told of the encounter between Jesus and Ten Lepers.   They begged Jesus to heal them of their leprosy, and Jesus simply told them “ Go show yourselves to the priests .”   While they were on their way, one of the lepers realized he was cured, and so he returned to Jesus and gave glory to God.   Jesus asked where the other 9 lepers were and said to the one Samaritan man who returned, “ Stand up and go; your faith has saved you. ” It was the man’s faith that saved him. What happened with the other nine?   Jesus said that they were cleansed, but why did they not return with the one to give thanks and praise?   Maybe they did not realize they were cleansed.   Maybe they did not have faith that Jesus would cleanse them.   Maybe they were too focused on getting to the priest and on questioning Jesus’ method that they failed to see what was actually taking place.   Maybe they did not even know the...

Pride.  Power.  Position. What is it that drives us and that makes us do the things that we do?  For Joseph's brothers it was jealousy, pride, and hatred that moved them to want to kill him (Gen. 37:3-4).  " When his brothers saw that their father loved him the best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him ."  It was this jealousy and envy that plagued the brothers.  Perhaps it was jealousy that was somewhat "justified."  Favoritism, at least overt favoritism and when outwardly displayed, will always lead to discord and pain.   As wrong as it was for the brothers to act out of jealousy, the father was also in the wrong.  As a father, Israel should have known better than to love one child over the others and to make it so obvious, putting not only the other sons in a jealous state, but also putting Joseph in an awkward position.  Joseph himself may also have taken advantage of this favoritism and failed ...