a Little Bit of Jesus -- the Glory of that Person in our Life

Opening prayer – quiet – what was going on while we were quiet – how does this quiet touch or affect each person.

Jesus says that if I go to visit someone in jail I will get to meet Jesus – wd be pretty dumb if I went to see Jesus and didn’t get something from Him but I would need to get quiet enough and little enough to get something from Him – and these little kids were probably never told they were Jesus – I wd have to get quiet enough and little enough so that Jesus through and in them would share something with me.

Jesus is in each one of us but what it takes to get Jesus freed up and get heard – that’s the tricky part. Lots of people think that to be a disciple is to go out and give things – Jesus wd get lower – He liked to say YOUR FAITH has saved/healed you. Jesus had to stand up to the lies, false ideas, patterns of violence – take all that – and only He could take it and keep taking it w/o switching off the track of Love – get pulled out of who we are supposed to be. He unites our spirit with His Holy Spirit -- He boosts our spirit up and it gets stronger and stronger – use your spirit – no I can’t walk can’t walk no no no.

He keeps uniting Himself with us and then [seemingly] diminishing – Deeper, everlasting – no death, souls don’t die – I’ll be quiet and trust that the two of us are still one. He does this in the middle of our life – He can’t wait – Jesus is a patient and an impatient Lover – come on – let’s do a little of the Kingdom now.

Our spirits pick up that spirit of Christ even if our intelligence doesn’t know or fully understand – our soul knows how to do this – baby ducks knows how to swim – our spirit responds to Christ. We can lock our spirit into other commitments – sin, anger, etc. – St John Baptist says clean up your act – tidy up your relationships – Christ wants to share His Divine Life with us but we need to be ready – so we won’t be locked up against that way. The wonderful thing about union with God is that it is Union with God – without mediation – comes directly – we are – in union – with God.

When God does that, God orchestrates and choreographs us so that every person who comes in – is in union – God makes it easy for Fr Paul G to get everyone in step. It is God’s work in all- we discover ways to cooperate in it with others.

Let’s dance! Jesus, You lead. We’re going to follow – we’ve been doing the other stuff – sin etc. is so exhausting, so many broken hearts …

Jesus Christ has 100% Divine Nature and 100% full and complete human nature – our soul with grace gets it (begins to comprehend this incomprehensible Mystery) in a way that the mere human intellect (without grace) can’t grasp – God lends us His Divine software – we have the potential to be brought into but are not created as divine – to take up and engage in the Divine activity we need to be lent some Divine software – 3 virtues – Theological Virtues inner activity of God – God lends us – Faith Hope Love – greatest is Love.
When we spend time in prayer as we did when we began – God infuses more of His own Faith Hope Love which raises our spirit – we say we will lend our heart and mind back to Him and God delights

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In our life Jesus infuses us with His Holy Spirit to give us the courage, that Presence inside of us – He says – in your human nature I will move your soul along in Divine ways as well. God delights in our receptivity.

He didn’t do this for himself but for us so that we could go through this Divinization. The Eucharist is the main dynamic for how and where this central engagement for this occurs. St Augustine: we get eaten up buy what we eat. Give me Faith space let Divine software loosen us up – I will eat you – He digests us. Jesus being GOD can do this – we need to give Him time and space to let Him. “Christ in you your hope and glory; Christ your hope and glory is in you.” (St Augustine) God’s way is to do things through freedom – part of Creation will have ability to freely participate with God. If not free, not Love. Love has to respect the autonomy, freedom and freely receive or not. God infuses His Love into part of His Creation and waits for that part of creation to cooperate, respond.

God – all I’m looking for is someone who will not say “no” – I cannot work My wonders in you without you. Love is free.
Angels have way more created capacity than humans. Angels looking at these mud dolls – super slow and God is going to become a Mud Doll – Gabriel – I will help them – tell them not to be scared – St Gabriel the Archangel doesn’t need the appreciation – simply serves God.

For us to start sharing in this Divine Nature we need to have (/remain in Sanctifying Grace/Sacraments)

Operating in Communion of Saints – with Angels etc This is real. God wants us to continually live in this freedom. Christ has guaranteed His power in the Church but He is waiting for us to take Him up and engage with Him – He wants to Divinize society not change it.

Big huge blowers, burners to heat the church – big noise – circulating tons of air – BUT church freezing with cold air – check and find other two pilot lights are off – ergo circulating LOTS of cold air – lots of activity but no heat. If activity of circulating activity is without the fire of Love – just cold air blows.

Wants people to be engaged and transformed by His own transforming Love – everything is there for this to work but it must be actuated. Let God do the Loving – passive. You could get active pushing your car around – or go inside car move foot and let motor and fuel do most of the work. Leave motor off and push car around doing good for people. I don’t have Divine Love for people – Christ does,

Can Fr elaborate more on the choices – walking in Christ – this is more God’s responsibility than ours – God’s got the real problem of making this whole deal work – we need to relax – God you’ve got a lot a problems I’m going to bed – Be still and know that I am God. Juan Diego – I’ve got to take care of my uncle – Our Lady not so worried – she was aware of problems but not wrapped up in worry. Worry is NOT a form a prayer – being anxious is not a form of prayer – fear is useless what is needed is trust. God comes up with the ways for the solution which is bigger than we even know is a problem – what we think is a problem is a mere symptom – inconvenient to our world – if you knew all that this is connected to – I’ll get your bump but I want to get the whole disease in the system to and throughout the roots systemically.

BVM just wanted to be a Faithful woman consecrated to God. When someone is open – we can do a BIG job.

Re heaviness of heart, warmth, weight of the world on heart – so many divisions in the church – kneel or stand at the Angus Dei – tendon tearing and the Body of Christ hurting. Weight of the world on my heart – Passion of Christ beaten on the pillar – soul flat on the ground – Christ rises up from the ground – willing to take another hit – take the pain – no spiritual consolation – dry as a desert – Christ rising from the pillar –

Deacon Francis ordained one month ago – left Opus Dei – trying to stay in union with Christ – this is beyond his own capacity. God wants us to say YES even though we can’t see. No longer I who live but Christ Who lives in me. Christ does the work in us. Graceful movement cooperation a transcendent dance. I must be immersed in Christ – Christ asks a little room to do His work in us and through us. We need to spend that time in prayer because Christ does the work. This year I want to be like Christ (gift list for Christmas – 7 year old). We are all united in the Mystical Body of Christ and when one suffers we all suffer.

Tobit – ch 5 v 10 Take Courage God has healing in store for you !

Christ in you your hope and glory; Christ your hope and glory is in you.

Fr Paul G – Choices – 10 years could go by at a time – would seem like a good idea to be a priest but I didn’t have it in me to choose to enter into the priesthood. When others made their little step, I could make another step, but by myself that was not a step I could make.

We are making little steps together that we could not make in 30 years alone. Because others are responding together and human and relating to each other in Christ doing it together. Mystical Body requires the Mystical Body as a real physical historical reality of human bodies – it’s not just mystical the Mystical Body – it’s real bodies saying yes – (Christ says) you brought these others in and with them I will do a little more.

Christ is building us up in that way.

Our spirits are edified and we can be with the other person and remain alone with God. We get stabilized in our silence with God we can maintain that silence of Loving union with God while we speak –

Image in the Psalms – tree planted by stream of Living waters – no seasons – fed by something else. Underneath my up or down there are roots that go deeper than happy or sad – Christ wants to come up underneath with something to feed us – even a perfectly happy life is over after a few years – Christ has an ETERNAL Life – we close off our roots and we stop drawing on Divine graces – screaming for “help” – graces are a gift from God for being – a being underneath He’s trying to feed – solution is that He wants to give us Eternal Life – go ahead and pray but please get a relationship with Me – I may grant your prayer – that relationship will always be there whether it’s happy or sad. Deeper call underneath sadness. Human affections will not do anything for the longing of Christ’s spirit – His own Love – Christ doesn’t want her to be happy [separately] until Christ responds to her desire for grace given to the whole human community. Don’t worry about the little details. Stay in this Place. I, Christ will stay true with you.

Lighten up. Relax. I will give you a bigger Love but if you lock out by too much individual caring – too tight – overloads a circuit. When you move into consecrated life in the Lord it can be very confusing. Go ahead and leave father mother – [Christ is not mean or cruel or uncaring, although it may seem so from a limited point of view] – leaving all our loved ones – unless a man leave his father and mother (for marriage with his wife) – how can a man leave his one and only mother – can’t bring mother – have to leave one kind of Love to enter into another kind of Love.

Unless mother nursing leaves and weans the baby/mother will be a sick form of bonding – one kind of love dies and then there’s a trusting space – not nursing is better as the relationship matures. If son doesn’t leave mother he can’t have a wife. Can’t have a union with wife. Big marital problems. As a new form of union – new person – BUT some families want to own the person. Drunken parties and no true love – just twisted affections and emotions – didn’t trust Gospel way of being in Love. Leave behind what feels like super ways of caring. Allow Our Lord to engender another kind of Love. Another Love engendered from Above without limits. … to love with God’s own Love.

When God gives us a Divine encounter of Love our human body wants to translate it in a world that it is most used to. Divine goes down through every part of our being. Activates all the equipment and translates Love in its own way. Some examples of ego-based self-distortion: Some spheres are more dominating – my life – I only have one life – what is going to make sense – I am set up for mating in an absolute sense. Let’s get Heaven on Earth – I am the master of Creation – let’s make me happy. Predominate Executive System. We go on automatic pilot. An alternate way is to: Use same God-given, human equipment – moderate, stabilize – share communion with God – build up another realm. Different set of energies and principals. Must not get confused because it [the same God given nature] can runs 2 difference ways.

Express the Kingdom (on earth) and encounter this Love – give it a go – Christ has another form of Love – consecrated life is not without Love ! Consecrated life without the intimacy of Love is like people pushing the car around. This is not like a car – this is something else – This Is My Body This Is My Blood – this is the only thing that makes consecrated Love – He wants us to abide in Me to Live in His Love – be one as the Father is in Me.

I need a 10 Commandment –. There is a built-in tendency to Push boundaries. Even if I’m going to Mass daily. Rosary. Boundaries for me are different than for you. What happened here? Different interior

Complimentarity – (Amador) – that we have this in our lives brings a rightness to you and to him. Would not want to see a St Francis without a St Clare. St Clare could not have given her gift to the world without her engagement with St Francis. He does in Religious Life, as in Marriage. Don’t think so much about yourself – you need each other to actualize get plugged in and allow Christ to do what He does. Align and cooperate – He needs our freedom and association – below our control and within our slumbering capacity – we don’t know how naturally to be with that person – that will start dancing [in God’s holy way] with that person in this Consecrated Life.

Give up husband / wife – I will give you a quality of the kind of relatedness and Christ will fulfill it. When we offer ourselves and allow Christ to form us He will do His work – allow the Lord to do the coordinating. Real witness of Love – People who are living in the Gospel form of consecrated love will affect others around them - families strengthened. Power of Love to come in – so others can see and be transformed and feel the authority under the words. Christ was the expression of Love. This is the purpose of His Sacraments.

When we spend that time in union with Christ in prayer He builds up our capacity to live this way on earth. Nowhere will you get confirmation from worldly sources. It won’t do it by itself. Christ must Live it through us. I can’t show it to you first. The way Love is – must LIVE it together. Don’t want to be a one hit wonder – only be a symphony together.

Christ there in our funny little insides – just one person – just knowing a few people – perhaps only 24. St Therese’s life was over at age 24. Christ worked on all the underground roots in St Therese. On the inside where it really, really counted, God was doing good stuff inside of her heart – she allowed Jesus to go into her little stubborn heart to transform it to a place of little, yet steadfast love of God. Getting used to Jesus’ Love despite how she was.

Allowed Jesus to be with her. Allow Jesus to be with you. Be with other persons in a new way. We come out and fail – but rise again and a little more and more is the Kingdom of God on earth.

(Crystal) – Like St Therese not that dramatic or sensational. Tiny way inside. Tiny deal. St Therese offered up and didn’t get mad when someone splashed her with soapy water. “a Little Bit of Jesus in her Life” could have no idea of the Glory of that Person in her life.
didn’t get mad when someone splashed her with soapy water. “a Little Bit of Jesus in her Life” could have no idea of the Glory of that Person in her life.

Prepare the way of the Lord!

As some of you know I have been working in detention/prison ministry with the youth (ages 12-18) for the last year and a half. At first I wanted to do what was right by giving back to God the time that he has given to me through this ministry. However my commitment was half of what was needed; sold my self I lie that I was doing enough and failed to own up to my original commitment. I was privileged to do more work with at the prison (than usual) the week leading to Thanksgiving and got to spend a couple of minutes with each and everyone of the 500+ kids there. I prayed with them and over them; needless to say God was already preparing me for the next move. Last Saturday I was asked by a volunteer to spend more time and to observe more of the needs for evangelization and of the hunger the youth have for the word of God. She asked me, “Why do you not come on Thursday night, if you are available you could help so much.” Before answering her, I paused and reflected and realized that I had no excuse I had to confess her the truth. I shared with her how selfish I was, that there was no excuse,  I had forgotten my purpose.

I wanted to share this taking advantage of the commencement of the Advent season; it has allowed me to reflect on my need for constant renewal. How truth are the words on the first reading and the gospel:

 “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”

For many of these kids I’m the only messenger! Pray for me brothers and sisters that God may remove some of those weeds and hard roots that do not allow me to make straight his paths. 

Second Sunday of Advent Year B - December 7

Greetings in Christ -  Here are the readings for the Second Sunday of Advent

Reading 1
Is 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 85:9-10-11-12, 13-14

R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. 

Reading II
2 Pt 3:8-14

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,”
but he is patient with you,
not wishing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,
what sort of persons ought you to be,
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace. 

Gospel
Mk 1:1-8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 


Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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