CHRIST STANDS NEAR ME

POINTS TO PONDER

1. Withdraw your heart from the world before God takes your

body from it.- St. John of Avila.

2. A reporter asked Sister Theresa of Calcutta:   Why do you

 Catholics consider Mary so important?

She replied: No Mary No Jesus. 

Her response was along the lines of, “It’s really quite simple: Mary is the mother of Jesus; without her he wouldn’t have been born. No Mary, no Jesus.”


3.

MEANING OF THE SIGN OF THE CROSS

GOD'S LOVE

 

If Jesus had not established the Eucharist we would have forgotten the crucifixion. It would have faded into the past and we would have forgotten that Jesus loved us. There is a saying that to be far away from the eyes is to be far away from the heart. To make sure that we do not forget, Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a memorial of His love.



—Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

GOD

 

 Hungry for God? God is thirsting for you! Come to Him and give Him your heart. He will satiate your every desires. Only God can fill you, heal you, and love you the way you should be truly loved!

COME AS YOU ARE

God  already knows everything. Come as you are.
There is no need to put off receiving God's gift of salvation. Start behaving better, or anything of the sort before you can become follower of Christ. You can take the first step right now.

Open your heart to God and receive Him.  He is ready to receive you.

7TH SUNDAY YEAR A ORDINARY TIME

 This Sunday Christ reminds His people must think not of their rights but of their duties as His followers.

 The most difficult words we pray today and every day, are those words found in the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." 

Christianity is a radical way of life.

Jesus is not saying that we ought to allow ourselves to be abused. We should retain the moral high ground and rise above the fray. This, therefore, is not so much about inviting further injury as refraining from retaliation, not perpetuating a disagreement.

Jesus' way of non-resistance to the evil man is not dreamy idealism.  It is part of His call to a complete love - a perfect love that includes even our enemies. We cannot achieve that love on our own power, but only by his grace which is showered upon us by prayer and receiving the sacraments.

REASON TO WALK IN THE WAY OF THE LORD

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS

Dear brothers and sisters, I pray God may open your eyes and let you see what hidden treasures he bestows on us in the trials from which the world thinks only to flee. Shame turns into honor when we seek God’s glory. Present affliction become the source of heavenly glory. To those who suffer wounds in fighting his battles God opens his arms in loving, tender friendship. That is why he (Christ) tells us that if we want to join him, we shall travel the way he took. It is surely not right that the Son of God should go his way on the path of shame while the sons of men walk the way of worldly honor: “The disciple is not above his teacher, nor the servant greater than his master.

- St. John of Avila

THE GOOD FIGHT

Spiritual warfare is very much a reality.

And faithful Catholics are the only ones on the earth adequately equipped to keep the demons at bay.

POWER OF GOD

CONVERSION

No matter how long you have traveled in the wrong direction, you can always turn around. 

BIBLE VERSE

6th SUNDAY YEAR A ORDINARY TIME

Jesus lays down his program that leads us to our salvation.

He does not want his followers to choose any part of his program that is to their liking and discard the remaining part. He wants all his followers to follow all his program.

Following His program means that his disciple knows how to love his master.

For this reason the Lord did not allow himself to be limited by traditions, customs, or even by the times. He went right to the heart of the matter and cut right through our stony hearts.

 

True Christians do not ask whether something is legal or illegal and then stop there. They love God, they love Jesus, and they love their brothers and sisters. Their only concern is how they can serve and love them more and more. They want to work with Jesus and with his brothers and sisters to build the Kingdom of God. No matter how much they do, they know they can still love more and do more and be more. Just doing the minimum is not enough. Obedience to the minimum requirements of laws is not enough. What Jesus taught and what He showed us is that love knows no boundaries.

VALUE OF KINDNESS

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS

BIBLE VERSE

TAKE THIS ADVICE

 

PLACE JESUS IN YOUR LIFE

CHRISTIAN LIFE - BATTLES AND CONSOLATIONS

“

The Christian life does indeed mean battles and trials, but it also means consolations. And though I must leave Tabor and climb to Calvary, one day I will leave Calvary with Jesus and return to Tabor. A foretaste of Heaven awaits me there. My soul follows but one path: from Golgotha to Tabor. It leaves Golgotha to seek strength and courage at Tabor. Life is such a ladder.

- St. Bernadette Soubirous

5th SUNDAY YEAR A ORDINARY TIME

POUR ON THE SALT AND SWITCH ON THE LIGHT.

Jesus invites his disciples to be the salt of the earth, meaning to be full of vigour to follow the Master and proclaim his message of salvation to one and all.

Every disciple who accepts His invitation must be on the alert so that his actions reflect Jesus's teaching. He must remember that he is like a city on a mountain or like a lamp which is not placed under a bed, as it is intended to light the whole room.

Hence the great responsibility that every disciple of Christ acts and speaks as if it is Christ himself that is doing so.

MARIAN DEVOTION

Many will not let devotion to the Blessed Virgin even take root in their hearts. But blessed is the person who accepts this grace and keeps it. Such a devotion dwells in all who are the Lord’s heritage — in all who will praise Him eternally in heaven.
By St. Alphonsus Liguori

SPIRITUAL COMBAT

"Spiritual combat is another element of life which needs to be taught anew and proposed once more to all Christians today. It is a secret and interior art, an invisible struggle in which [we] engage every day against the temptations, the evil suggestions that the demon tries to plant in [our] hearts."

 -Pope John Paul II, Address on 25 May 2002

PRAYER

  
To lose one’s way is nothing more than the giving up of prayer. Whoever does not pray does not need the devil to lead him off the path. He will throw himself into hell.
St Theresa of Avila.

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”

― Blessed Mother Teresa

 

Some times are better for prayer than others. The worst times are “later on”, “tomorrow” and “I should have yesterday”. The perfect time to enter the prayer life is now – right now.

"BUT GOD" PHRASE

My absolute favorite phrase is ‘but God’. 

I’m so weary, but God will give me strength.
I’m lonely, but God will be my friend. 
I’m in pain, but God will comfort me. 
I’m broken, but God will put the pieces together. 

Even one of my favorite verses:
Man looks on outer appearances, but God looks at the heart.

STAND UP FOR CHRIST

"This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern metropolis." ~ Pope John Paul II

BEING A CATHOLIC



 "I do not care very much what men say of me, provided that God approves of me." ~ St. Thomas More

 

 

"The first duty of charity is to try and enter into the mind and feelings of others." ~ Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

The family that prays together stays together.

 

4th SUNDAY YEAR A THE FEAST OF PRESENTATION OF JESUS

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord commonly known as Candlemas, when Jesus and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the Temple forty days after his birth to perform the ritual of purification. The blessing and procession of candles are an integral part of today's liturgy.

Mary was not subject to the law of purification as she was spotless and without sin, yet devotion and zeal to honor God by every observance prescribed by His law, prompted Mary to perform this act of religion.

The mother of Christ is a living example of how we are invited to honour God and live by his laws.

Luke’s Gospel tells us that a resident prophet named Anna and a man named Simeon immediately recognize and welcome Jesus. Taking the child into his arms, Simeon turns his voice toward God and offers praise for the “light for revelation” that has come into the world.

Yes, Jesus is the Light of the world.

We received the Light  of the world in our Baptism and we pledged to follow him, come what might.
He is the Light that shine in this present day darkness. Let this Light guide our footsteps to follow Jesus wherever He goes and whatever He wants us to do for his honour and fulfillment of his kingdom.

RESPECT FOR THE EUCHARIST

"When you are before the altar believe that there are troops of angels and archangels trembling with respect before the sovereign Master of Heaven and earth. Therefore, when you are in church, be there in silence, fear, and veneration."

 

—	Saint John Chrysostom