“Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near. He is real. He is not only aware of us but cares for us. He is our Father. He is accessible to all who will seek Him.”

“In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.” ― Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers

Gospel Text: (LK 2:36-40)

There was a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.

How did Anna know that this was the Messiah?  How did she know that this little Child was the one whom all were awaiting?

The answer is simple – she was a woman of prayer!

Blessed are the clean of heart for they will see God!

We need to remember that the first disciples were ordinary men called to an extraordinary mission. Their devotion to Jesus outweighed- by hair- their fears and insecurities. As a result God change them and use them to accomplish some mind-boggling things. Why couldn't God - why wouldn't God do the same in your life?

The disciple simply burns his boats and goes ahead. He is called out... The old life is left behind, and completely surrendered. The disciple is dragged out of his relative security into a life of absolute insecurity... out of the realm of the finite...into the realm of infinite possibilities. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer: (1906 – 1945) was an anti-Nazi dissident)

Gospel Text: (JN 20:1A AND 2-8)

On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed. 

This, the third day of the Octave of Christmas, is dedicated to St. John.  St. John is particularly important to honor during Christmas because of the fact that so much of what we know about our Divine Lord comes from him.

Try to look at Jesus from the perspective of John.  But look, especially, at the Incarnation from John’s perspective after Jesus had ascended to Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit.  For decades afterwards, John dedicated his life to the spreading of the Good News.  He dedicated his life to pondering the great mystery, by allowing himself to see more clearly that the human being with whom he walked and talked was both God and man.  He would have never fully exhausted this great mystery and would have continually been in awe of what he experienced.  

Reflect, today, upon this great Apostle.  Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for his deeply insightful writings, and try to enter into his mind and heart as he prayerfully reflected upon Jesus throughout his life.  He is a gift to the Church for which we enter into gratitude today.

“We cannot please all men but we can be a blessing to many.”

“Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.” ― Voltaire, Philosophical Dictionary

Gospel Text: (MT 10:17-22)

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

Reflect, today, upon the demand imposed upon you by the birth of the Savior of the world.  From an earthly perspective, this “demand” can appear overwhelming.  But from the perspective of faith, we recognize that His birth is nothing more than an opportunity for us to enter into new life.  We are called to enter into a new life of grace and total self-giving.  Let yourself embrace this Christmas celebration by looking at ways you are being called to give of yourself more completely.  Do not be afraid to give everything to God and others.  It’s a sacrifice worth giving and is made possible by this precious Child.

“Jesus is always with you, even when you don’t feel his presence. He is never so close to you as he is during your spiritual battles. He is always there, close to you, encouraging you to fight the good fight; he is there to ward off the enemy’s blows……”

If you really want to love Jesus, first learn to suffer, because suffering teaches you to love.  --St. Gemma Galgani: (1878 – 1903: was an Italian mystic, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church since 1940.

Gospel Text: (LK 1:57-66)

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
 and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him."

Reflect, today, upon any hardship you have endured as a result of your own weakness, sin or lack of faith.  Do not see any hardship as a punishment in the normal sense of that word.  Rather, see it as an opportunity through which God is calling you to give Him even greater glory.