Sunday, March 18, 2018

It Bears Much Fruit


BEADS OF JOY 03-18-18

“It Bears Much Fruit”
©2018 James Dacey, Jr. OFS

My Friends,

My church (St. Vincent de Paul - Dingmans, PA)

Today’s Gospel: John 12:20-33 (The Coming of Jesus’ Hour)
“Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So, these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him. "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." He said this to show by what death he was to die.”

Reflection:
No doubt Jesus is speaking of His own death and rebirth when He is speaking of the grain of wheat that dies. But look at verse 25, that is hardcore faith out of the mouth of Jesus. “Selfishness” will ultimately destroy you, after all that is what loving your life is all about. When we focus so much on what we want; on what we desire, what we need, what we like, what we have accomplished, isn’t that selfishness? We are all guilty of that, myself included. We must do all we can to constantly keep ourselves in check and be humble and do all we can to get back on course and stay focused on Jesus. Prayer and confession do that. Including Eucharistic Adoration would be a great idea also.

If we deny ourselves and live our lives for Jesus we will have eternal life with Him. What can this life offer to us that would even come close? That was rhetorical by the way. The answer is: Nothing! Yes, we can go ahead and say, “Who cares I love this life of mine. I love my big beautiful expensive home, I love having a couple expensive cars in my driveway and my ability to travel worldwide whenever I feel like it; I simply love it. It’s all about me! I deserve it, I earned it!” Yes, anyone can say that, who has it. And I will say to some degree you are correct. But, to be fair, Jesus died so that you may have life. So, without that life and His blessing you would have nothing. So technically it’s because of Him, that you have all these blessings and those things in your life.

Now I am not against success. Absolutely NOT! I am a businessman and an entrepreneur. But there needs to be a balance of reality in any success. Anyone who is that successful should be reaching out to those who suffer. God has blessed them for that reason. Do you not see that? How many friends and family members do you know out there who are struggling or dealing with hunger issues? How many friends and family members do you know out there who have life threatening illnesses and stare death in the face daily? And I can go on and on. Or do you even care, or do you even know? You / We need to think about this very seriously and say to ourselves, “What can I do to make their lives easier?” “How can I share the blessing I have been blessed with to make their burden lighter?” If we all can live a life that is humble and not selfish but giving and loving towards others; the world we live in, would be so much better.

Pondering these thoughts today:
-How will today’s gospel affect your life?
-Are you ready to give your life to Jesus?
-How is your daily prayer life going?
(If you haven’t fully surrendered your life to
Jesus, simply ask Him and He will embrace you.)

LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!

Your brother in Christ Jesus 
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS

Today is Sunday during Lent,
we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries:

The Sorrowful Mysteries

1. Agony on the Garden (Sorrow for sin) –Matt 26:36-46
2. Scourging at the Pillar (Purity) –Mark 15:1-16
3. Crowning with Thorns (Moral Courage) –Matt 27:27-31
4. Carrying of the Cross (Patience) –Mark 15:20-22
5. The Crucifixion (Perseverance) –Luke 23:33-46

Thank you Lord for loving us so much…


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