A good tree must bear good fruit.

THE SHOEMAKER WILL MAKE SHOES. THE TAILOR WILL MAKE CLOTHES. THE PRIEST WILL MAKE SACRIFICES. A GOOD TREE WILL BEAR GOOD FRUITS.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles." (Luke 6: 39... 45).

Sunday 27th February 2022 in the 8th Week of Ordinary Time.

Everyone will like to bear good fruit and bearing good fruit is what the Christian life is all about. When I think about bearing good fruit for Jesus, I am encouraged by what Jesus teaches: Without Me, you can do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. (Cf John 15: 5). So I become a beggar. "Jesus, you know that without You, I can do absolutely nothing. Help me please! I want to bear good fruit for You."

Remain in Me if you want to bear good fruit. "Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned." (John 15: 5 - 6).

How do we remain in Jesus to bear good and great fruit? How did St Teresa of Kolkata, Mother Angelica of EWTN, Fulton Sheen, etc remain in Jesus and bore good and lasting fruits?
They prayed a lot. They received Holy Communion every day. They go to frequent Confession. Although none of them was a Scripture scholar, they knew the Bible well because they live in the Bible. In one word, they loved Jesus and showed it.

Now that you know this, do the same and you will be blessed.

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

Lord Jesus have mercy on us. Increase our faith and heal our bodies and minds.

IF "THE FERVENT PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS PERSON IS VERY POWERFUL," HOW MUCH MORE THE PRAYER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD?

"Beloved: Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing a song of praise. Is anyone among you sick? He should ­summon the presbyters of the Church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.... The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful."  (James 5:13.... 20).

Saturday, 26th February 2022, in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Brothers and sisters. I have a confession to make:
#1. I believe in Prayer.
#2. I believe in the word of God.
#3. I believe in Miracle.
#4. I surrender everything to God.

Our key Scripture for today asserts that "The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful."
In July 2021, the Lord Jesus healed my sick heart and set me free of worries about every form of sickness. A prayer partner in my Church said Jesus healed me because I am holy. Righteousness and holiness means exactly the same thing in the Bible. Abraham is righteous or holy because he believed the promise God made him. God justified or made Abraham righteous because Abraham believed God. David is righteous or holy because he believed in the promises of God. The Blessed Virgin Mary is righteous or holy because when the Archangel Gabriel announced to her that she will be the Mother of God, Mary thought for a second and said to herself, since the Archangel is from God, he must be a faithful, true and credible messenger. Mary believes and says: "Behold I am the maid servant of the Lord. Let what God has promised be done to me."

July is the month we honor the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. At end of June 2021, I read the words below of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a mystic in the book, IN SINU JESU.

"The Blood of my Son brings purity and healing and new life wherever it flows. Implore the power of the precious Blood over yourself and over all priests. Whenever you are asked to intercede for souls, invoke the power of the precious Blood over them, and present them to the Father covered with the Blood of the Lamb." (Mary, IN SINU JESU pg 37). Since I have known Mary all my life to be a faithful, true and credible witness, I believed her testimony. I prayed for healing for my heart every day in July 2021 and Jesus healed me.

Am I holy in the usual and ordinary meaning of holiness? Ask people who live with me. They will laugh until their ribs ache. How then do I account for the healing? I simply believed the words of a Mother speaking to a son She loves and has shown many favors in the past.

You too can be holy by believing and begging for healing. Do you know another word for BEGGING? HAVE MERCY ON ME. THIS IS WHY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH REPEATS OFTEN IN HER LITURGIES: "LORD HAVE MERCY ON US."
You can do the same. To read about the Testimony on my healing, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2022/01/testimony-of-how-jesus-healed-my-heart.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

The Will of God on Marriage.

MARRIAGE AND THE CHURCH WERE PUT ASUNDER BY THE WILL OF MAN. TOO BAD!

"Jesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan.......
The Pharisees approached him and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him. He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?”......
"But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”
(Mark 10: 1.... 12).

Friday 25th February 2022 in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time.

“Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” (Mark 10: 2).

This is the big question in today's Gospel.   Jesus responds:
"But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother [and be joined to his wife],  and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh."  (Mark 10: 6 - 8).

And then Jesus adds:
"Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”  (Mark 10: 9).

Marriage and Holy Orders are two Sacraments of Service in the Church.
Through these Sacraments, married people and clergy, viz: bishops, priests and deacons are equipped by grace to build up the Church.  Both institutions are in dire crisis today.  Less than 40% of married couples who have been married for 35 years or more are still married to the same person.  We can do better because the grace of the Sacraments are there to support fully the state of married life. The grace is not ineffectual. You cannot force the grace on people. God the Father told St Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church in her book the DIALOGUE that you cannot force people to go to Heaven.

"The Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him."  (Genesis 2: 18).

The Holy Spirit, the Ultimate Helper walks along us in the Journey of life. He is a shy Spirit and will not force Himself upon us.

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

How to avoid the Unquenchable fire.

ONLY THE TRUTH WE KNOW CAN MAKE US FREE FROM FEAR, WORRY AND DOUBT.

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9: 41... 50).

Thursday 24th February 2022 in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time.

One week today, we shall be in the beautiful and grace-filled Season of Lent. (Lent starts March 2, 2022). The Gospel theme today may be characterized as: scandal, sin and severe punishment. To avoid the pronounced punishment, be prepared for necessary and painful detachments from materialistic snares.

From the beginning, the Church has recognized Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving as three disciplines ordained by the merciful Father to deal with sins. The Church teaches:

"The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: effort at reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity "which covers a multitude of sins." (CCC #1434).

Avoid the temptation to dilute the word of God or the wisdom of the Church.

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The Feast of St Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr.

O HOLY SPIRIT, COME INTO MY LIFE THROUGH MARY.

"At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us."  (Mark 9: 38.... 48)

Wednesday 23rd February 2022, in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of an Apostolic Father, St Polycarp. (circa 69 - 155). Bishop of Smyrna in Turkey. Martyr. St Polycarp was instructed in the faith by St John the Apostle. He, Polycarp instructed St Irenaeus who became a Bishop and an early Church Father in France.

In the Gospel from Mark 9, we read:
"At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”

A propos the sovereignty and independence of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says:  "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3: 8 NIV).

Are you trying to block the action of the Holy Spirit in your life or in the life of someone else?
“Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us."

What do you think of the work of evangelization going on by other Christian churches?
Do you believe that the presence of Jesus is active outside the Catholic Church?
Jesus Christ founded the Catholic Church. Let us thank the Lord Jesus who provided the path of salvation outside the Church.

"My Heart thirsts for the love of the saints. To those who come to Me, I will give love and holiness. And in this shall My Father be glorified.  And this shall come to pass through the intimate action of My Spirit. Where I am present in the Sacrament of My love, there also is the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. It is by the Holy Spirit that My Eucharistic presence is My glorious presence to the Father in heaven, and it is by the Holy Spirit that My Eucharistic presence touches the souls who adore Me to unite them to Me, and to bear them up even before My Father’s face."  (IN SINU JESU, Monday, October 29, 2007).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

The Feast of the Chair of St Peter the Apostle.

OBEY PETER AND YOUR BISHOP.
REJECT SATAN'S STRATEGY OF DIVIDE AND CONQUER.

"When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply.... “... ... And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 13....19).

Tuesday 22nd February 2022, in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time is the Feast of the Chair of St Peter the Apostle.

What are we celebrating today?
+ The Pope as Bishop of Rome.
+ St Peter, the Chairman of the Church and his successors to the Chair of St Peter.
+ The Teaching Authority of the Popes.
+ The universal Magisterium of the Roman Church.
+ The unity of the Church founded upon the Apostle Peter and his successors.
+ Our faith based on the Confession of the Apostle Peter.

To the question of Jesus: Who do people say I am?
"Peter said to Jesus: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus replied: You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." (Matthew 16: 16, 18).

"The Lord says to Simon Peter:
I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail, and, once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22: 32).

Let us pray today especially for our Holy Father Pope Francis and for the unity of the Church.

"John made reparation for Peter’s denial of Me, not by standing in judgment over Peter, whom he honoured and loved as a father, but by weeping with Peter, and by offering himself in reparation for Peter’s fall." (IN SINU JESU, Tuesday, December 27, 2011).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

Feast of St Peter Damian, OSB, Bishop and Doctor of the Church.

UNTESTED FAITH LIKE AN UNTESTED SOLDIER IS UNRELIABLE.

"As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, and John and approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes ­arguing with them...... “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit........ I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.”

Jesus appeared to be annoyed when He chided the disciples and the father of the epileptic boy of lack of faith. The father of the epileptic boy answered:

”But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”  Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9: 22 - 24).

Monday February 21st, 2022 in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time is  the feast of St Peter Damian (1001 - 1072). Italian. Benedictine monk. Bishop and Doctor of the Church.  The monk-Cardinal whose life we celebrate today is a Reformer in the make of the great reformers of the Church:  Saints Francis of Assisi, Dominic, Ignatius Loyola, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, etc. . Damian  urged his fellow clergy to live upright lives. Many clergy at all levels were at that time living sordid lives. But Peter pursued reforms with the heart of a pastor.

In the Gospel of today from Mark 9: 14 - 29, the father of the epileptic boy was desperate to see his son healed at all cost.
”But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

The Bible has a lot to teach about the necessity of Faith:
#1 Without faith, we cannot please God.
#2 Although man cannot live on bread alone, the just man lives by faith.
#3 This world is in a bitter and deadly conflict between good and evil. Victory must come to the side with faith.
Etc,

How do we get this precious faith?
Faith comes from hearing/reading the word of God constantly. To this, add prayer. For prayer and faith are like joined twins that can never be separated.

Your prayer must be fired by confident and expectant faith for God Himself has promised: Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will swing open for you.

"The Eucharist is transforming for all who receive Me with faith and with confident devotion, but it is especially so for My priests. It is by the reception of My Body and Blood that you will grow in My friendship and in the shining priestly holiness by which I want to be glorified in you and in all My priests." (IN SINU JESU, Thursday, January 3, 2008 The Holy Name of Jesus).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com