Without Blemish

"...according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you wait for these, be zealous to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace."  2 Pet 3: 13-14 Confession of our sins is one of the surest remedies for removing the spots and blemishes from our souls. It is what helps us "prepare the way of the Lord" and "make his paths straight." Mk 1: 3 It also produces the fruit of peace. Sometimes though we can't see our own shortcomings; we can't figure out the root of the problem--the sin in our life. Here's a secret: During the presentation of Jesus in the temple, Simeon prophesied a word to Mary, Jesus' mother. He said to her, "And you yourself shall be pierced with a sword--so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bear."  Lk 2 : 35 This indicated we go to Mary as Sorrowful Mother to receive knowledge of what is hidden for our spiritual life. 1 She can help bring our "spot or blemish" to light. As you wait on the Lord's promise to be fulfilled, draw close to his mother--our Virgin Mother. Blessed Advent season, Sheila 1  Fr. Ripperger

Perfect Peace

Isaiah 26: 3 says:

"Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,

whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee.

Trust in the LORD for ever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock."

Perfect peace. Ah, sweet!
That's just what we want, right?
Not just peace, but perfect peace.

Most of the scripture references
I looked at in a concordance
speak of perfect as being complete.

Complete in Webster's dictionary
says entire, brought to an end,
concluded, fully carried out.

It reminds me of the scripture from Philippians 1: 6,
"...he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion..."

So He has begun a good work of peace within us
and desires for it to come to completion.

What is our part in accomplishing this?

This is what he asks of us--
to simply keep our mind on him,
not on our problems, ourselves, our concerns...
and in return we grow
in the fullness of peace;
a peace that's entire, overflowing, complete.

That means every time we start to dwell on,
worry or grumble about our concerns...
we surrender to him again.
We force our will to his again.
And we do our best to remain there.
So that he who is faithful
can entirely bless us
with his peace.


Grace & peace to all of you!

Move On

" Stop worrying.
Whatever it is that you must do
to follow the path that God has shown you
do to the best of your ability.
And when you have done it
move on to the next thing.
Don’t keep rerunning it in your mind
trying to decide
whether your efforts were too little
or too much,
whether it was a great deed or a small one,
whether you might have done better.
If it wasn’t sinful and
you were trying to do the will of God,
it is enough.
Don’t worry. Move on.
Simply.
Calmly.
Peacefully.
Follow the path the Lord shows you
free of anxiety.
Otherwise
your anxiety will undermine
your efforts to grow.
If you do fail,
don’t let anxiety
overcome you,
but admit your failure,
quietly, humbly,
and in God’s presence.
Then get on with following the path
that God will continue to show you."   by St. Francis de Sales

The Will of God

" Have no love for the world,
nor for the things that the world affords.
If anyone loves the world,
the Father's love has no place in him,
for nothing that the world affords
comes from the Father.
Carnal allurements,
enticements of the eye,
the life of empty show--
all these are from the world.
And the world with its seductions
is passing away
but the man who does God's will
endures forever."
1 John 2: 15-17

Dance!

May you dance as on a day of joy,

rejoice and be renewed in His love!

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Rejoice, exalt with all your heart...
The Lord, your God, is in your midst.
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in His love.
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals. Zep 3

Chorus:

And the Father will dance
as on a day of joy.
He will exalt over you
and renew you by His love.

Shout for joy,
all you, His people.
Sing aloud and exalt with all your heart,
for Yahweh, your God is in your midst.

-chorus-

You have no more evil to fear.
You have no more evil to fear.
Do not let your hands fall limp,
for Yahweh, your God is in your midst.

-chorus-

And when the time comes
I will rescue the lame,
and when the time comes
I will gather the strays,
and when the time comes
I will be your guide.
I will gather you in
and give you renown
among all peoples.

He will renew you by His love!

Lyrics to the song "And The Father Will Dance" by Carey Landry based on the scripture from Zephaniah 3: 14-17, 19-20.

St. Joan of Arc

On this Veterans Day or Remembrance Day, I want to share this inspiring article by Ben D. Kennedy:

     "This spiritual truth is one that St. Joan of Arc exemplified in her life and actions and one that I was only personally able to completely comprehend through studying Joan. I had always heard the old saying that 'God helps those who help themselves' however I was taught in the churches that I attended that this was not true because these exact words are not contained in the Bible. When I came to the part of Joan’s life where she was examined by theologians prior to her being given command of the armies of France she was asked: 'If God desires to deliver France where is the need for soldiers?' Joan famously responded: 'In God’s name, the soldiers will fight and He will grant victory.' The priests examining Joan understood that Joan was correctly saying that God will aid those who attempt to aid themselves trusting in God for the ultimate victory such as the example of David when he stepped forward to face Goliath trusting God for victory."

Joan was fighting in real physical combat, but let's remember for just a moment what sacred scripture says regarding the real spiritual battle. St. Paul in speaking to the Ephesians uses very active verbs. There's nothing passive about it. We are not waiting for the Lord to arm us for battle. They are imperative phrases. The commands in Eph 6: 10-18 imply (you) do this:

• "draw your strength from the Lord"
• "put on the armor of God"
• "hold your ground"
• "stand fast"
• "hold faith as a shield"
• "take the helmet of salvation"
• "take the sword of the Spirit" (the word of God)
• "pray at every opportunity in the Spirit"
• "be watchful with perseverance and supplication"

This is my responsibility. This is how I fight. In God's name I will dress myself in the armor for battle against evil and He will grant me victory!

Kennedy continued:
     "I was recently reminded again of this spiritual truth in a way that made me think of Joan when a friend of mine sent me a link to a news article about Robert E. Lee’s sword. What caught my attention were the words contained on one side of the sword: Aide toi et Dieu t'aidera. These are the French words that Joan is renowned for speaking during her life and it is highly likely that the French craftsman who made this sword placed them on the sword in memory of one Christian general as a present for another. It is easy to envision Robert E. Lee gazing upon this sword and drawing strength from these words during the darkest moments of his life.

Thank you Joan for continuing to teach me along with everyone else about the truths of God."

St. Joan of Arc, pray for us and especially all military veterans!

For more articles by Ben D. Kennedy on St. Joan of Arc go to this blogspot: http://saint-joan-of-arc.blogspot.com/

Joy & Peace

R/. "In you, O Lord, I have found my peace."

St. Paul speaks to the Philippians about joy and peace. This is the wisdom he shares:

     "Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again, Rejoice! Everyone should see how unselfish you are. The Lord is near. Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petition full of gratitude. Then God's own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.

     Finally,...your thoughts should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous, or worthy of praise. Live according to what you have learned and accepted, what you have heard me say and seen me do. Then will the God of peace be with you." Phil 4:4-9

Paul's instructions are clear:

• Be joyful
• Let go of anxiety
• Let God know what you need with thanksgiving
• Watch what you think
• Live with integrity
• Put your faith into practice

Grace & peace,

Sheila

Rejoice!