The Lord who is to come.

My friend in Christ, during these weeks of Advent we open the morning Liturgy of the Hours with the Invitatory antiphon which says, "Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come." During this season of waiting for the Lord that leads us into the Christmas Celebration of the Birth of the Christ Child, the Church officially proclaims Her faith in Christ the Lord who is to come. How beautiful it is to pray with joy to Him who promised us His coming, when all evil will be banished from this beautiful planet and all creation will be restored to it's full glory with the freedom of the sons of God. This advent season is a time of joy, when all God's faithful children prepare for the coming of His Divine Son. G.K. Chesterton once said that peace and joy constitutes the greatest secret of Christianity. Those in whom the Lord dwells are filled with peace and joy in the knowledge that with every passing day the Church, the people of God, draws ever nearer to that Glorious day when God's promise will be fulfilled. These are the words of St. Peter in 2Peter 3:13. "But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." Let us enter into the spirit of the season and await with joyful hope the coming of the Lord, the Prince of peace.

The Jew Who Died For Me.

Dear friend, let us reflect in silence on this Good Friday, on the God who dared to die for us. He became flesh and did not spare His own life, but gave it up for the benefit of us all.
Let us look at Him crucified and weep in gratitude for what He has done for us.

Who is this man I see,
Covered in blood and sorrow,
Crowned with a crown of thorns,
That I may live tomorrow.

Why has He been condemned,
Scourged, mocked,
And crucified.
Weeping for love,
So cruelly denied.

He is the Christ, the Son of Mary,
He is the Lord I see,
The God made Man.
The Jew who died for me.

Lent, a time to weep with God.

My dear friend, Christ died for you and me because of His great love for us. This is a mystery and a gift that we can hardly comprehend. During this holy time of Lent we start the morning Divine Office with the great antiphon; "Come let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering." then we read in the accompanying psalm, (psalm 95) "He made the sea, it belongs to Him, the dry land too, for it was formed by His hands." The One who owns the sea and the whole planet, and every star and planet in the whole universe, He who made all these things, and who by His providence guides the universe and all that is in it every moment, even as I write, and as you read at this very moment. He who is Almighty and All Knowing, has endured temptation and suffering for our sake. My friend, love can only be repaid by love. He does not necessarily expect big things from us, for He knows how small we are, but He expects small acts of great love from us, for He has put in us the capacity to love, to will to obey Him, to adore Him by everything we do at every moment of our lives. What an awesome way to live, to spend every moment of our lives in His presence and in His friendship, knowing that after these few short years of suffering in this earthly life, He has promised us endless days with Him in eternal, infinity glory, beholding Him who has no beginning and no end. Eternal incomprehensible beauty. St. Paul says "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1Cor. 2:9)
And so let us make good use of this period of Lent, who knows, it may be our last. God is inviting us to share in His weeping and the weeping of the Most Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of His Mother, who suffered so much with Him. We do not have to look very hard to see many things in this world that cause His Sacred Heart to weep. And so we weep and suffer now by accepting all that God sends us, silently singing in our hearts, "Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom."

The year is over, but God is good.

My friend in Jesus Christ, the time has come again to close the old year and open a new one. God, who is the Lord of history and the Knower of all that will come, has graciously led us through many obstacles and challenges, and protected us from the constant dangers which haunt our earthly existence. the Psalmist said of God, "through the desert His people He led." He guides every step of our journey. As I write this I remember a favorite prayer which I wrote years ago and which I try to say and live by everyday to this day.
Before the new constitutions for the Discalced Secular Carmelite Order came into effect in 2003, we, as Secular Carmelites, had the Rule of Life. it was a beautiful little document, and in it we had the three ideals that as secular members of the Order had to live by. These Ideals were, a deep sense of faith in God's infinite love for me, faithfulness to contemplative prayer, and a love for the apostolate. They are three true pillars on which one can build a happy and joyful path in this chaotic world. As I said, in those years I compiled these three ideals into a prayer which sums up a recipe for a life well lived. I would like to end the year by sharing this prayer with you, hoping that by the grace of God you will journey towards a similar direction, trusting in His Goodness and seeking to serve Him every day of your life.


Eternal Father,
Help me today to live the ideals of Carmel. Grant that I may always have a deep sense of faith in Your infinite love for me, that I may know that You watch over me every moment of my life, and that nothing happens to me without Your knowledge and consent.
Make me faithful to contemplative prayer, grant me the spirit of detachment it entails.
Lead me O Lord, to an ever fuller union with You.
Eternal Father, fill me with Your love, that I may practice fraternal charity with perfection, and that I may grow ever more generous in the work of the apostolate.
May I live out these ideals under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Carmel, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

"May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May He preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls us is trustworthy, and He will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.

Trusting The Good God.

Trusting God in everything is the wisest path one can take. Keeping free from sin and making time to be with the One "who loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.", is the most excellent strategy, bar none. All the other escapades into work, or money, or pleasure or knowledge, fade in comparison to a life seeking to be God's friend. In today's second reading we hear St. Paul telling us "He who called us is trustworthy, and he will do it. How good and reassuring it is to know that God is trustworthy, that He will never let His friends down, that we can sign a blank contract with Him and let Him fill the conditions. The Blessed Virgin said to the angel who brought Her the news of God's plan for her, "I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your words." if we can truly trust God and confidently say to Him everyday, Lord, let it be done to me according to Your will today, tomorrow, and always. Then there is no reason for us to worry, to be anxious, and to fear any situation. he has already given us His own Son, will He not with Him also give us everything else? Why should we be afraid, have we no faith? The psalmist confidently says. "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?"
My friend, always seek God's friendship, resist sin with all your might, and always seek to find God in the events of your life. He is there always. He will never let you down, and when you find yourself wondering if He actually did let you down, watch and wait, and you will see that you were wrong in doubting His trustworthiness.
As we come closer to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child, let us ponder the joy this Divine baby brings to pure hearts. What bigger and better gift can we ask for? God is good, God is good, God is very good. Blessed be God forever.

Keep awake.

My friend in Jesus Christ, do not think that because I have not posted on this blog for several months I have forgotten all about you. On the contrary, you are always on my mind, and of course, in my prayer. The liturgical year has ended, and today we celebrate the beginning of a new one. We do not know which number it is, but it is probably safe to say it is well over two thousand years have passed since the very first one. And the Church still waits for His glorious coming. All the many generations that passed waited hopefully with the Church, but each one of her members has encountered the Glorious Christ as each of them moved into eternity. We too shall pass through that gate in the not too distant future. And that is a good thing, for we are made for Him. Today's liturgy reminds us of His promised coming, and in the Gospel Jesus tells us, "What I say to you I say to all. Keep awake." (Mark 13:37). This is probably the most important advise the Lord has to give us. To keep awake. I have often thought that my last words to the ones around my death bed would certainly involved these two words. keep awake. St. Teresa of Jesus too has something to say in this regard. "Hope, my soul hope, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one." Indeed our life here on earth is very short, and quite often we get caught in the worries of this passing world and forget our eternal destiny. This too is my advice to you my friend, "Keep Awake" for you do not know the day nor the hour. "pray always that you may have the strength to go through all the things that are to happen, and to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:36). May the good Lord keep you in His peace and may He find you ready to stand before Him when you cross the threshold. The alternative is eternal enmity with God.the tragedy of tragedies.