BEADS OF JOY 06-10-18
“Sins Will Be Forgiven”
©2018 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel:
Mark 3:20-35 (Blasphemy
of the Scribes & More)
“[Then he went home] and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, "He is beside himself." And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house. "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin" -- for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" looking around on those who sat about him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."
“[Then he went home] and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, "He is beside himself." And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house. "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin" -- for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." And his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" looking around on those who sat about him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Reflection:
Do not be afraid to follow Jesus all the way to the cross. Do you have people in your life who oppose you from loving and following Jesus? Does anyone think you are a little too much into your faith? Remarkable, my mother who invited me to my first prayer meeting and maybe unintentionally got me involved; after I got involved full steam thought maybe I am overly involved. When you read “My Story”, you will see how I surrender my life and jumped into my faith fully. I got involved almost immediately into 3 weekly prayer groups, plus I was going to the Fatima Shrine in Washington, NJ a lot, for Confession and Mass and to Pray The Rosary!! And I have been sharing the Rosary non-stop with everyone ever since. I was out of control, still am and I loved it.
Plus, since I was living at home still (this is in 1983), I started a Bible Study at my parent’s house. We met weekly and talked about the upcoming Sunday’s gospel. None of us were scholars, and none of us were trained to teach, we were just all excited about talking about scripture and Jesus and our Lady and praying together. Our group at times was almost 10-12 people. It’s incredible I can remember those days, like they were yesterday. I asked everyone to bring their Bibles, I bought a whole bunch of 1 subject notebooks, I typed out our meetings plans, prayers and references I found in advance to our meeting. I still get so excited when I do Bible Study, kind of like what I do every single morning when I take the time to write my blog. This blog is sort of an evolved version of that Bible Study. It’s just now, technology changed the style and it has expanded the group tremendously.
When I think about “Why I feel so strongly about my faith?” I come to this conclusion. This life is short, and this life can be cruel. Fully trusting in Jesus Christ has allowed my heart to be loved unconditionally, Jesus never judges me, He doesn’t snicker at me or tell me things that offend me. Jesus accepts me and embraces me and loves me so much, just as I am, like no one else ever has or ever could. This love I felt back in 1983 is the love that keeps my heart so drawn to Him. I have the same love when Mary, our Mother came into my life on that first day at that first prayer meeting. Now, do you see why it seems like, sometimes I am on a spiritual cloud of joy, when it comes to my faith. Because I am! I am so addicted to Jesus Christ my Lord. You can be too. Put Him first always, consistently and faithfully.
Mark 3:20-35
Pondering these thoughts today: I admit, I am an addict when it comes to my faith and my spiritual life. And honestly, I don’t really care who don’t like that. I am a calm person, loving everyone and embracing everyone; but if you are trying to keep me from believing in Jesus and Praying My Rosary, when then, SORRY, too bad for you. Jesus First!!! No one stops me. Even if my life depended upon it, Jesus will always be first in my life! Me, I will always be last!
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
Today is Sunday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. The Assumption of Our Lady
(Grace of a Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. The Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10
Glory and Honor and Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!
Rosary Man Jim's Glorious Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-glorious-mysteries.html
MY
FIRST BOOK.
(Mary’s Way of The Cross - .99¢)
(Mary’s Way of The Cross - .99¢)
MY
SECOND BOOK.
(Praying The Complete Rosary - .99¢)
(Praying The Complete Rosary - .99¢)
