Yes, I will do it. Be made clean.

"A leper came to Jesus [and kneeling down] begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”  Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean."  (Mark 1: 40 - 42).

Many today need healing for their infirmities.  This leper approached Jesus with expectant faith and knelt before Jesus and asked for healing if it is in accordance with His will. 

Nothing is too marvelous for God to do for us.  (Cf Genesis 18: 14).  Since God has excellent plan for each and every one of us, since He knows exactly what we need and when we need it, can you trust His plan for your future?  He grants our prayers in accordance with His will and purpose for us. When our prayer is made with faith, it aligns us with God's will for our lives. 
"Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  (Matthew 6: 10).
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."  (Luke 22: 42; Matthew 26: 39).  Jesus' perfect prayer is a model for all of us.

I believe in prayer.
I believe in the word of God.
I believe in in miracles.
I leave the rest to God.

The Christian is never afraid of God's will.  He knows that perfect love drives out all fear. (1 John 4: 18).   Are you still not sure of God’s perfect, unconditional love for you?
Don’t miss the opportunity that Lent 2018 starting on Ash Wednesday, February 14 provides.

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Come and eat bread and be satisfied without money.

"They ate and were satisfied."  (Mark 8:  8).

Jesus fed 4000 people with seven loaves and a few fish. They all ate and were satisfied with plenty leftover. 

Only Christ the Bread of life who knows exactly what we need and when we need it can perform such a miracle.  Remember the Wedding Feast at Canna? (John 2: 2 - 5). The people drank the best wine until they could drink no more.

Jesus fulfilled admirably the prophecy in Isaiah 55: 1 - 3).

"All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money, come, buy grain and eat;
Come, buy grain without money,
wine and milk without cost!"  (Isaiah 55: 1).

The Miracle of the feeding of 4000 people prefigures the Eucharist.
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  (John 6: 51)

The Fathers of the Church sees the Eucharist as Food for the Journey. St Ignatius of Antioch, an early Church Father called the Eucharist the Medicine for Immortality.

Every single day, Jesus continues to feed millions of people with the finest wheat, the Bread of life.   (John 6 : 35;  Matthew 26: 26; 1 Corinthians 11: 24)

“It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God."  (Matthew 4: 4 AMP)

"He fed them with the finest wheat
and satisfied them with honey from the rock."  (Cf.  Psalm 81 (80): 17 RM)

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Food and Medicine for the Journey.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Noon Confession on.  Holy Mass will start in 13 minutes.  Msgr Steve Churchwell will be celebrant. Expect a great homily.
The Eucharist is Food for the Journey towards our permanent residence.  Reconciliation is the Medicine for the Journey.  The road we traverse is a dangerous jungle full of poisonous reptiles and other wild beasts.

Thank Jesus for the Food and Medicine for the Journey.

Jesus does everything well.

"They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”  (Mark 7: 37).

People who witnessed the healing of the deaf and mute man exclaimed that Jesus does everything well.
He heals all who were brought to Him.  He feeds everyone in His rallies.  He teaches with simplicity and authority.

The following Bible characters lived heroic lives and did all things well.

#1 Joseph the Prince of Egypt.
#2  Mary Mother of the Son.
#3  Joseph husband of Mary, the silent man.
#4  Stephen the first martyr, filled with faith and the Holy Spirit.

Although Jesus did all things well, He had nevertheless more than His fair share of enemies.  It is the same with each of the above Bible characters.  No surprise at all.
"My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials."  (Sirach 2: 1).

How can we do all things well like the elect?  Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit.  "I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.  But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law."  (Galatians 5: 16 - 18).

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Persistent Prayer is Confrontation with God.

"Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.  She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter."

Jesus at first refused to do it, setting up a battle royale between Himself and a woman.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Prayer is a battle.  Read the entire paragraph below and mark it very well.

"Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. The "spiritual battle" of the Christian's new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer."  (CCC 2725).

This Syrophoenician prayer warrior has practiced the battle of Prayer for a long time before her confrontation with Jesus.

Other battles of Prayer in the Bible:

#1.  Abraham praying to God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 18: 16 - 33).

#2.  David praying that God spares his child of adultery with Bethsheba.  (2 Kings 12: 13 - 18).

#3.  The struggle of the persistent widow with the unjust judge. (Luke 18: 1 - 8).

St Augustine teaches that you can overcome God through persistent prayer.

“For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.” When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone."  (Mark 7: 29 - 30).

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What is it that defiles a man or a woman?

“But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles.  From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,  adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.  All these evils come from within and they defile.”  (Mark 7: 20 - 23).

This is the word proclaimed by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Supreme Teacher and Healer of mankind. What does the Doctor say about how to heal the evil heart?

#1. "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."  (Psalm 119: 11).

#2.  "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." (John 6: 27)
Jesus is talking here about His Body and Blood given to us the Night before He died.  The Fathers of the Church call this wonderful Gift, the Food for the Journey. Journey of Faith. Journey of Life.

#3. The Sacrament of Reconciliation:  This is the Medicine for the Journey. This takes care of all the spiritual sicknesses, snake bites, fractures that are inevitable during the Journey to our Homeland.

When your heart and mind are cleansed by Doctor Jesus then what comes out of you will be pure and life sustaining.

"The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom; his tongue speaks what is right. God’s teaching is in his heart;
his steps do not falter."  (Psalm 37: 30 - 31).

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Why do you promote human traditions?

“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”  (Mark 7: 5).

The Pharisees and the Scribes in their zeal for the law of Moses put human traditions on the same level as the word of God. Jesus said Not So.  But who determines what is the authentic word of God and human traditions?

"You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”   (Mark 7:  8).

We see today the crisis of obedience and authority and what Pope Benedict calls the "tyranny of relativism." 
Jesus cautions against making social traditions, government traditions, military traditions, family traditions, denominational traditions as the word of God.

This is why Jesus instituted authority in the Church to interpret authentic Tradition. Imagine what America will look like without the Supreme Court!

"You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”  (Mark 7: 13).

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The Feast of St Agatha, the Virgin Martyr.

"The five wise virgins brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Then at midnight, the cry went up:
Behold the Bridegroom is coming;
come out to meet Christ the Lord."  (Matthew 25: 4, 6).

Today is the Feast of St Agatha, Virgin and Martyr.  Agatha died at the age of 20 in 251 AD under the persecution of Emperor Decius.
Along with Saints Agnes and Lucy, she is mentioned in the Roman Canon in Eucharistic Prayer 1.

Agatha is the patron saint for these causes and more:
Breast cancer, sterility, nurses, rape victims, single lay women and so on. (Source: Laudate App).

"May the Virgin Martyr Saint Agatha
implore your compassion for us, O Lord, we pray, for she found favor with you by the courage of her martyrdom and the merit of her chastity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever."  Collect, Feast of St Agatha, February 2nd).

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Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases.

"That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.  The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons."  (Mark 1: 32 - 34).

After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the Spirit drove Him into the desert where He prayed and fasted for 40 days.  During this period too, He underwent vigorous temptation from the devil.  (Matthew 4: 1 - 11).  Now He was ready to start His ministry.  He exercised His ministry in three areas.
#1.  He taught everyone who had ears to listen.
#2.  On some occasions, He fed everyone who attended His revival meetings.
#3.  When the sick and the demon possessed were brought to Him, the Gospels report that He healed many and cast out many demons.

What does the Catechism teach about illness?

"Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death."  (CCC 1500)

"Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to him."  (CCC 1501).

The Church exercises her healing ministry through the Anointing of the Sick:
"By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ."  (CCC 1499).

Prayer for the sick:
"God our Father, your Son accepted our sufferings to teach us the virtue of patience in human illness. Hear the prayers we offer for our sick brother/sister. May all who suffer pain, illness, or disease realize that they have been chosen to be saints and know that they are joined to Christ in his suffering for the salvation of the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

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Ask something of Me and I will give it to you.

In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said: Whatever you ask I shall give you."  (1 Kings 3: 5).

"Solomon answered:... Give your servant, therefore, a listening heart to judge your people and to distinguish between good and evil."  (1 Kings 3: 6, 9).

Solomon asked for the very best of God's gifts and the Lord was pleased.

"The Lord was pleased by Solomon’s request.... . I now do as you request. I give you a heart so wise and discerning that there has never been anyone like you until now, nor after you will there be anyone to equal you.  In addition, I give you what you have not asked for: I give you such riches and glory that among kings there will be no one like you all your days."  (1 Kings 3: 10, 12 - 13).

God is always very pleased to give us the highest and best gifts.
"If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"  (Luke 11: 13).

"... We ask that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding, you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will and so be able to lead a life worthy of the Lord, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects." (Colossians 1: 9 – 10)

The fruit of perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding is discernment of God's will for our life. Perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding come from regular reading and reflection of God's word and prayer.  Unless of course, it is given to you "here and now" like Solomon.  Most saints acquire it bit by bit. 

Sacred Scripture urges us to acquire wisdom and understanding at all cost.  These twin gifts are two of the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

"The first principle of wisdom is: acquire wisdom; at the cost of all you have, acquire understanding! Hold her close, and she will make you great; embrace her, and she will be your pride; she will provide a graceful garland for your head, bestow a crown of honor on you."(Proverbs 4: 7-9) 

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Jesus is presented in the Temple to His Heavenly Father.

"When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,  just as it is written in the law of the Lord."  (Luke 2: 22 - 23).

The Church celebrates today the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.

"The presentation of Jesus in the Temple shows him to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord. With Simeon and Anna, all Israel awaits its encounter with the Savior-the name given to this event in the Byzantine tradition. Jesus is recognized as the long-expected Messiah, the "light to the nations" and the "glory of Israel", but also "a sign that is spoken against". The sword of sorrow predicted for Mary announces Christ's perfect and unique oblation on the cross that will impart the salvation God had "prepared in the presence of all peoples".  (CCC 529).

"The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;  and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted  (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”   (Luke 2:  33 - 35).

The prophetic dimension of the ministry of Jesus would bring Him into confrontation with the Jewish leaders which would ultimately lead to His death.
Where are you called to bear witness to the Truth?

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Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the First Friday of February 2018.

February 2nd , 2018 First Friday in February 2018.

The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:  Jesus promised 12 special favors to all those who will honor His Sacred Heart especially on the First Friday of every month.  In the 2nd month of the year 2018, we look at Promise #2.

#2. "I will give peace to their families.

What is peace?
"You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You."  (Isaiah 26: 3 AMP).

How would you like to enjoy this peace?
Why is it so important for families?
Peace is the foundation for joy, happiness and prosperity. The all encompassing Shalom that Jesus promises will make a great difference to you and your family.

"Perfect peace, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace of conscience, peace at all times, under all events; this peace shall be put into, and kept in the possession of, whose mind is stayed upon God, because it trusts in him."  (Matthew Henry on Isaiah 26: 3).

“Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”  (John 14: 27)

Peace and contentment do not depend on circumstances.  No, they do not depend on money, good health, great family, good job, nice home and tools.  Peace and contentment depend on what Jesus, our hope of glory is doing inside us here and now.  Where Jesus abides, there abide peace and contentment. 

Jesus is the direct and efficient cause of peace and contentment in the heart.  Any other presumed cause or agent is there to exploit our weakness and insecurity.

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, February 2nd.

For the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, click the link below:

http://sfjweb.com/?q=content/sacred-heart-12-promises

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The Last Will of David.

"When the time of David’s death drew near, he gave these instructions to Solomon his son:  “I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and be a man!  Keep the mandate of the Lord, your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, and wherever you turn."  (1 Kings 2: 1 - 3).

The Warrior gives his last testament as he departs this world. Let us consider another last testament in the Bible:

Joshua:
"After Moses, the servant of the Lord, had died, the Lord said to Moses’ aide Joshua, son of Nun: 
.........  Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go."  (Joshua 1: 1, 7).

The two testaments above establishes the open secret of success in life:  It is observing closely God's Commandments.  If you are on your death bed tonight, will this be part of your Last Will to your son or daughter?

In His Last Will [Testament] the Night before He died, Jesus said among many important things:
"Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.   As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.   And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth." (17 - 19).

Are you consecrated in the truth?

"Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.  So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,  and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."  (Ephesians 6: 13 - 17).

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Where did the son of Mary, the village carpenter get all this learning?

"Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary."  (Mark 6:  3).

Let us consider for a moment how the home crowd see their homeboy, Jesus:

#1 Of course, he is the son of Mary, now a widow.
#2  He is the carpenter, the small business man with little success.
#3  The young man who refused to leave home and establish a family after his age group had become parents of grown children.
#4  The handsome young man who had no fiancee or girlfriend.

“Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!"  (Mark 6: 2).

The town's people were astonished that after less than a year Jesus disappeared from their town, he returned as a superstar.

But they could not reconcile themselves to this new reality.  And Jesus said to them:
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”  (Mark 6: 4).

God promises that he who is in Christ is a New Creation. (2 Corinthians 5: 17).  St Irenaeus, a second century Church Father said that "The handsome man/woman is the glory of God."  Jesus came to make us beautiful but many reject Him.  Whatever you do, never allow familiarity to breed contempt.

"So he [Jesus] was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them."  (Mark 6:  5).
Very sad.  What a missed opportunity!

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Do not be afraid; just have faith!

“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?”  Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”  (Mark 5: 35 - 36).

Jairus approached Jesus believing that he could heal her daughter. Before Jesus reach his home, Jairus' daughter died. Everything seemed lost and hopeless. Jairus could have thought: "If only the Master had hurried and arrived while the child was still alive, he could have done something." Jesus knowing what Jairus was thinking, urged him not to waver in his original belief in spite of the New disconcerting development.

The Christian has a silver bullet in his armor against fear: Faith!  Faith is generated by prayer and nourished by the word of God. Faith destroys fear, worry and doubt.

"Fear is useless; what is needed is trust."  (Luke 8: 50; Mark 5: 36)

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Go home and tell your people what the Lord has done for you.

“Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”  (Mark 5: 19).

Jesus has just freed the man called Legion from an overpowering demonic possession.  Out of sheer gratitude for the miracle, the man pleaded with Jesus to allow him to become one of His friends. Jesus had another mission for the man.  He sent him off to go and evangelize starting from his family.
Mary Magdalene had such an overwhelming joy and gratitude for the healing and rehabilitation that Jesus brought to her life.  She became a diehard follower of Jesus. She walked the Via Dolorosa with Jesus and witnessed the entire crucifixion and death of Jesus at the side of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed." (Mark 5: 20).

Has Jesus done any significant things for you?

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What is this new teaching with authority?

"Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.  The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.......“What is this? A new teaching with authority.  (Mark 1: 21 - 22,  27).

Yes indeed.  Jesus taught with authority.  He is still teaching today with authority through the Church.  It is ridiculous for Jesus to found a Church without giving the Church real authority to teach.  "Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”  (Luke 10: 16).

The name of this authority is the Magisterium.  It comes from the Latin word magister, which means "teacher."  Actually, the divine teaching role of the Church stands on 3-legged stool:
#1  Sacred Scriptures
#2  Sacred Tradition
#3  Magisterium

Like the 3-legged stool, each of the legs need each other to support the superstructure.  The teachings of the Magisterium cannot contradict Sacred Scriptures or Sacred Tradition and vice-versa.

In today's first Reading from Deuteronomy, we read:
"I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kindred, and will put my words into the mouth of the prophet; the prophet shall tell them all that I command.  Anyone who will not listen to my words which the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will hold accountable for it.  But if a prophet presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die."  (Deuteronomy 18:  18 - 20).

You may call this the legal code that establishes Authority in the future, Qahal, Ecclessia or Church.
It can never be exaggerated that Authority is at the core of the life of the Church.

"What is this? A new teaching with authority?"  (Mark 1: 27).
Actually not a new teaching.  The same teaching from the Rabbi Moses.  The word of God!

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I have sinned against the Lord.

"You have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife."  (2 Samuel 12: 10).

David despised God by his sin. I looked up DESPISE in the dictionary and found the following:
1: to look down on with contempt or  aversion 
2: to regard as  negligible, worthless, or distasteful 

Pretty strong language.

" Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan answered David: “For his part, the Lord has removed your sin. You shall not die,  but since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you will surely die.” (2 Samuel 12: 13-14).

Here is David at his very best.  No pretenses. No excuses. "I have sinned against the Lord."

"A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit.
Restore to me the gladness of your salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit. I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you."  (Psalm 51:  12 - 15).

Psalm 51 is the best and greatest prayer of repentance.  It was good for David. It has been good for kings and queens, princes and princesses, soldiers and common people throughout the centuries.
God still listens to it with delight.

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Go into the world and spread the Good News

"Jesus said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. (Mark 4:  26 - 27).

What is your notion of apostolic work and endeavor? Hard work, boisterous energy, personal investment of time, talent and treasure?  Jesus says that the Seed Grows of Itself, that is, by the power of God and not by anything you or me can contribute.  So be humble and learn what this means.

"Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he grants sleep to those he loves."  (Psalm 127:  1 - 2).

"Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.  And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” (Mark 4: 28 - 29).

How much does God need and depend on our hard work and services?  As much as a mother busy in the kitchen needs the "hard work and services" of her one year old daughter.

But yet, we all have a part to play to evangelize the world.  This is the mystery.

"Go into the whole world, and proclaim the Gospel.  I am with you always, says the Lord."  (Mark 16: 15; Matthew 28: 20 RM).

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David and Saul

"David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David amid festivities.....
Then David, girt with a linen apron,
came dancing before the LORD with abandon....
Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. (2 Samuel 6:12-15, 17-19).

The entire passage of the first Reading today (2 Samuel 6: 12 - 15, 17 - 19) is a type and shadow of the Eucharistic liturgy where King David is the High Priest prefiguring Jesus Christ our Eternal High Priest.  We know that David is a type of Christ.

Note the choice of vocabulary in the liturgical narrative:
David was dressed in a linen apron.
He sacrificed an ox and a fatling every six steps of the procession.
The crowd (all the House of Israel) blew the horn and shouted with joy as they processed with the Ark.
David danced before the Ark with abandon.
Acting like a priest, he offered burnt and peace offerings before the Lord.
David then blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts.
Then came Communion time:  David distributed among the entire people a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake.  With this came the dismissal of the people. (Ite Missa est).

Why is David the man after God's heart?  In spite of his moral weaknesses, David is humble and a repentant sinner.  Saul who lost his kingship to David was a proud and unrepentant sinner.  The sin of Saul, disobedience was described as similar to witchcraft and idolatry.  David committed adultery with murder but God regarded it as a sin of weakness.  When David was accused, he did not argue like Saul but acknowledged his sin. Thanks to his repentance, David left us Psalm 51, the most profound prayer of repentance.

God said of David:  "He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation!.....
Forever I will maintain my mercy for him; my covenant with him stands firm. "  (Psalm 89: 27, 29).

David's legacy in the genealogy of Jesus Christ is a very important one.

Addendum:

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
(1 Timothy 1:12-17 NIV) 012518

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