"Beads of Joy" by RosaryManJim: Hope

BEADS OF JOY 12-06-18

“Hope – In God’s Will”

My Friends,

Today’s Gospel:
Matthew 7:21,24-27 (Two Disciples / Two Foundations)
“Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ... "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

Reflection:
How do you prepare for disasters? Take Hurricane Sandy, 6 years ago, she tore through our area pretty horrifically, with no mercy for virtually anyone, and we were in Milford, PA. Even if you had a solid cement foundation, it pretty much didn’t matter; if you were too close to storm, your home was destroyed. Just as if we live our lives to close to evil, taunting with sin that we embrace, we stand the chance at being destroyed, regardless of what we may think we have fooled ourselves of what we believe. Today’s gospel has us considering the Hope that we have in our preparedness in times of trouble and challenge. Can your spiritual house with-stand the pressures and misleading efforts of the worldly people around you? Let us keep in mind that a storm so horrible, not only sweeps away all that the good, but also the wicked will be destroyed. God knows our hearts, even when we secretly lie to others and even more seriously to ourselves.

We might think we are fooling those around us, we may even also think; if we Hope no one knows, maybe no one will find out either. Throughout life we will all be put through some of life’s most brutal tests. Tests of our character, tests of our morals, tests seeing who we really are; especially when we are under the pressure and all those around us have been fooled into believing one thing, and we as believers stand strong in our faith without budging believing and following after Jesus. I wonder, do you live in the Hope that your foundation is built in solid, strong footing to with-stand most any storm that comes your way. The way we live our lives and the way we share our lives, will inevitable determine how we will stand up against the evils of this world. Our foundation is critical, do you have the foresight to see and know that how solidly you stand your ground in what you believe will be in the end, the truth about who you really are?

God must be our foundation, for it is only through Him that we shall have the only Hope that will with-stand any storm heading our way. Some storms we can move out of the way of, and we can remain protected from the disaster heading our way; only thing is that the spiritual storms that hit us every day for the most part, hit us without warning with no place to go for cover. In 2010 when Chrissy was diagnosed with Terminal Lung Cancer, we were living a normal life, making plans, celebrating holidays, shopping for our family’s needs and maintaining a life style typical to most families our size and most families working as hard as we were. But surprise surprise; no mercy and only a demand for sacrifice hit us like a brick wall. And tested we were, beyond what anyone should ever be tested.

We surrendered all of our treasures and all of our plans and desires, to fight this battle of this horrific storm. One thing we would not allow was, this storm thinking it has an inkling of a chance to destroy is our Hope. Our Hope remained in God’s will for Chrissy, and our family. He alone determines what we say, how we react and how we handle these most destructive challenges. He alone is what we have built our lives on, our faith in and our Hope for the future in. Yes, the storm of cancer and suffering did eventually take my precious love from me. But we fought the battle, never standing down, not once. My sisters and brothers I say this from the bottom of my heart; build your faith, your foundation solidly in Jesus Christ, don’t let anyone tell you or criticize you or tease you into believing anything else. God alone is the only foundation that can with-stand any storm you will be faced with, even if the storm wins. Place all your trust in Him. I love you guys, God Bless.

Wise & Foolish Builders

Leah Darrow on Modesty

LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!

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

Today is Thursday: We pray the Luminous Mysteries:

The Luminous Mysteries

1. The Baptism of Jesus (Matt 3:13-17)
2. Wedding Feast of Cana (John 2:1-12)
3. Proclamation of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15)
4. The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13)
5. Institution of the Holy Eucharist (Matt 26:17-30)

Glory and Honor and Praise -Lord Jesus Christ!!