BEADS OF JOY 01-12-19
“Power of The Cross”
©2019 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
John 3:22-30 (Final
Witness of The Baptist)
“After this Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea;
there he remained with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near
Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were baptized. For
John had not yet been put in prison. Now a discussion arose between John's
disciples and a Jew over purifying. And they came to John, and said to him,
"Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness,
here he is, baptizing, and all are going to him." John answered, "No
one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven. You yourselves
bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before
him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who
stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore,
this joy of mine is now full. He must increase, but I must decrease."
Reflection:
Hang-on! We’re going elsewhere today.
Hang-on! We’re going elsewhere today.
How can anyone be expected to show love for us when we constantly
reject them and spit in their face? Yes, that was a hard sentence to begin this
with, but truthful to the heart when you think about it. Jesus died for us, He
took on every single sin, every single burden, including a humiliating painful
death; and He took it from us, so that through Him we might attain eternal
life. My friends, Jesus Christ LOVES us so much. The power that is on that
cross is beyond the power of anything, and everyone in this entire world.
Almighty God has placed His only Son on a cross to save us, why would anybody
do that? It's because He loves us so much. God who is love, who is life, who
creates life, who has made male and female in His own image; took His only Son
and had Him beaten almost to death, then humiliated and spit upon in order to
save all of us from our death; so that we can be with Him for all eternity. It
is through Jesus' death on that cross that we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
We must do all we can in this life to make sure to the best of our ability,
that we indeed spend eternity with Him. A huge price has been paid for our
salvation. A man, a man of God was put in our place, to die for us.
The world we live in will deceive us, it will mislead us; it will do all it can make sure that we do not spend eternity in Heaven. We must love Jesus before we can love or even forgive anyone else in our lives. This life was never meant to be lived so freely, so safe that getting to Heaven would be such a breeze. On the contrary, satan has been given power of the earth and he has become a master of deceit and destruction. He will make us not believe things that we question. Think of satan as a parasite. Yes, a parasite, very small, very unnoticed, yet very destructive over time. Little by little we have doubts, we have questions, we're not sure, life seems like it's going to go on forever. We can always ask for forgiveness, we're not hurting anybody, and we can go on and on. Time to remove the parasites, the poison, the lies; and it's time to stay true to God. It's not going to be easy, we will suffer with Jesus, we will at times feel uncomfortable. But in time and with God's grace we will prevail, and we will defeat all that is evil while we are here.
We need to know that our addicts are the devil's greatest weapon against us, along with our attitude that we carry with them. Many people think, myself included, "I'm not hurting anybody, and besides it's not a public thing, I'm home." Meanwhile our lives, our souls, our hearts, and our families are being destroyed from within. Seeds of lies and deceit are filling us with all the acceptable reasons and excuses we give ourselves so that we can continue sinning. Yesterday's gospel is part of todays. How can we be reborn when we are old? How is that possible? How can we change? How can we be any different than the person we have always been? How Lord??!!! What must I do to inherit eternal life? If I am to be reborn, what should be my first step, how do I know I am reborn in the spirit? My heart and soul scream up to Heaven in a crying, sobbing voice, begging Jesus to guide me, to show me, to almost carry me. I can't do this alone, I am so weak, and my weakness comes from my inability to stop my addiction. Satan has me in a strangle hold and he keeps stabbing and jabbing my heart with his anger towards God. Please Lord, help me break free from this bondage, help me never be squeezed in the hands of satan ever again.
It is only by your love for me Lord that I can break free from this pain. It is only by your death, a horrible, painful, humiliating death on a cross that I will be set free from the strong hold of such an evil being as satan. It is only by my love given back to you and telling and showing others how much I love you. It is only by my humiliation on my knees before the cross begging for your forgiveness of the horrible pain I have inflicted upon you with my sins. I must die to my old self, I must never return to that old wretched miserable, sinful person, I once was. I must turn away and never return to the vomit of my life. Jesus you alone, no one else must remain my only central focus, nothing can or should ever come before you. We all know that life doesn't always make sense. Each day we experience, pain, suffering, joy, loneliness, happiness, no understanding as to why. Then we look around and we see Jesus and in many ways it all makes sense. We must look at Him first, then everything else makes sense. There is so much power in the cross.
The world we live in will deceive us, it will mislead us; it will do all it can make sure that we do not spend eternity in Heaven. We must love Jesus before we can love or even forgive anyone else in our lives. This life was never meant to be lived so freely, so safe that getting to Heaven would be such a breeze. On the contrary, satan has been given power of the earth and he has become a master of deceit and destruction. He will make us not believe things that we question. Think of satan as a parasite. Yes, a parasite, very small, very unnoticed, yet very destructive over time. Little by little we have doubts, we have questions, we're not sure, life seems like it's going to go on forever. We can always ask for forgiveness, we're not hurting anybody, and we can go on and on. Time to remove the parasites, the poison, the lies; and it's time to stay true to God. It's not going to be easy, we will suffer with Jesus, we will at times feel uncomfortable. But in time and with God's grace we will prevail, and we will defeat all that is evil while we are here.
We need to know that our addicts are the devil's greatest weapon against us, along with our attitude that we carry with them. Many people think, myself included, "I'm not hurting anybody, and besides it's not a public thing, I'm home." Meanwhile our lives, our souls, our hearts, and our families are being destroyed from within. Seeds of lies and deceit are filling us with all the acceptable reasons and excuses we give ourselves so that we can continue sinning. Yesterday's gospel is part of todays. How can we be reborn when we are old? How is that possible? How can we change? How can we be any different than the person we have always been? How Lord??!!! What must I do to inherit eternal life? If I am to be reborn, what should be my first step, how do I know I am reborn in the spirit? My heart and soul scream up to Heaven in a crying, sobbing voice, begging Jesus to guide me, to show me, to almost carry me. I can't do this alone, I am so weak, and my weakness comes from my inability to stop my addiction. Satan has me in a strangle hold and he keeps stabbing and jabbing my heart with his anger towards God. Please Lord, help me break free from this bondage, help me never be squeezed in the hands of satan ever again.
It is only by your love for me Lord that I can break free from this pain. It is only by your death, a horrible, painful, humiliating death on a cross that I will be set free from the strong hold of such an evil being as satan. It is only by my love given back to you and telling and showing others how much I love you. It is only by my humiliation on my knees before the cross begging for your forgiveness of the horrible pain I have inflicted upon you with my sins. I must die to my old self, I must never return to that old wretched miserable, sinful person, I once was. I must turn away and never return to the vomit of my life. Jesus you alone, no one else must remain my only central focus, nothing can or should ever come before you. We all know that life doesn't always make sense. Each day we experience, pain, suffering, joy, loneliness, happiness, no understanding as to why. Then we look around and we see Jesus and in many ways it all makes sense. We must look at Him first, then everything else makes sense. There is so much power in the cross.
Don't be afraid to embrace your cross.
In the Name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Gospel of John 3:22-36
John Testifies Again for Jesus
The Meaning of the Cross
w/ Mike Schmitz
Why Do Catholics
Make the Sign of the Cross?
Make the Sign of the Cross?
w/ Fr. Michael Nixon
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
Today is Saturday: We pray the Joyful Mysteries:
The Joyful Mysteries
1. The Annunciation (Humility) – Luke 1:26-28
2. The Visitation (Love of Neighbor) – Luke 1:39-45
3. The Birth of Jesus (Poverty of Spirit) – Luke 2:1-20
4. The Presentation (Purity of Mind & Spirit) – Luke 2:22-38
5. Finding in The Temple (Obedience) –Luke 2:41-50
I simply love Saturday mornings, because Saturday like every other day of the week -begins with the Rosary.
Rosary Man Jim’s Joyful Reflection: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-joyful-mysteries_10.html
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