THE FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS.

FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS.

THE GOODNEWS:

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,

"Behold, the Lamb of God,

who takes away the sin of the world!

This is he of whom I said,

`After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.'

I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

And John bore witness,

"I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.

  I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me,

`He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'

And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." (John 1: 29- 34).

“John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, but Jesus’s baptism reveals Him as the beloved Son on whom the Spirit rests.”

(Summary line from the - contemporary biblical theology  on the Baptism of Jesus). 

The Church honors the Most Holy Name of Jesus in January.

"The name of Jesus," says St. Bernard, "was first preordained by God." 

January 3rd is the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. 

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

HONOR THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS ON THE FIRST FRIDAY IN 2026.

FIRST FRIDAY IN JANUARY, 2026.

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the First Friday of 2026. By attending Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion. 

January 2nd First Friday in 2026.

"Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart is the extraordinary remedy for the extraordinary needs of our time.” — Pope Pius XI, 1928.

Start 2026 strong by embracing the Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion. See yourself stronger in faith and love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus by July 2026.

By December 2026,you will be happy you made this New Year Resolution.

Jesus promised 12 special favors to all those who will honor His Sacred Heart especially on the First Friday of every month by attending Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion.

Promise #1.
"I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life."

For a long time, I did not understand the meaning of this promise.

I thank Jesus that I now understand this promise better.

In Promise #1, the Lord promises to provide all the graces necessary in all the circumstances of life, viz:
Family, Health, Money, Job, Possessions and Tools, Food, Future. 

Please remember that the Lord Jesus knows exactly what you need and when you need it. Trust Him.

This is the same Promise that Jesus made to the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12: 9.

"My grace is sufficient for you. For power is made perfect in weakness."

Does Jesus promise to provide you everything?

NO!

He promises to provide you with everything necessary for your peace,  security and wellbeing.

Many things in your car, computer, phone are not necessary for the functionality of the appliance.

Many things in your house are not necessary for your peace, well-being and security.

Jesus promises to provide ALL necessary things to those who are loyal devotees of His Sacred Heart.

Divine Providence is concrete and immediate in its operations. (CCC 303).



Does Jesus fulfill this promise?

“Do not be afraid to present to him (Jesus) all the intentions of our suffering humanity, its fears, its miseries. May this Heart, full of love for men, give everyone hope and trust.” — Pope Francis, June 17, 2020.


Remind the Lord often of these promises and see for yourself.

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Friday, 2nd of January 2026.

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

For the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Prayers and Prayer Intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2020/08/12-promises-of-sacred-heart-of-jesus.html?m=1?m=1



The Church honors the Most Holy Name of Jesus in January. January 3rd is the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.


For the Litany of 

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE THEOTOKOS. JANUARY 1ST.

JANUARY 1, THE SOLEMNITY OF MARY THE THEOTOKOS

"The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!" (Cf Numbers 6: 22 - 27).

"Brothers and sisters: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

"As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God." (Galatians 4: 4 - 7).

Thursday January 1, 2026 in the Octave of Christmas is the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.

"Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the mother of my Lord". In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos)." (CCC

495).

Our key Scripture says that in the fullness of time, God fulfilled the promise He made long ago.

Are you waiting for the fullness of time on anything? Health, family, finances, job, tools and necessary resources?

Our Scripture today indicates that nothing happens until the fullness of time, the Kairos time.

Do you have a relationship with Mary the Mother of God?

Mary who after Jesus is our greatest intercessor in Heaven by the gracious and mysterious will of God is waiting to embrace and help you.

Mary is key to our knowledge and relationship with Jesus her Son.

Mary is the only human being who knew Jesus from conception to His death to His Resurrection. Mary was present at Pentecost, at the birth of the Church.

 Are all these coincidences?

NO! Each of them is an act of Divine Providence!

Divine Providence is God's loving and powerful plan, design and purpose in governing the world He created.

Your life is governed by this loving and merciful Providence. The Church teaches that Divine Providence is concrete and immediate in everything.  (CCC 303).

Mary Mother of God pray for us.

The SeekFirstCommunity Team wishes you and yours a 2026 full of Peace, Health and Prosperity:

"The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!"

THE CHURCH HONORS THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS IN JANUARY.

For the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/12/litany-of-most-holy-name-of-jesus.html?m=1

THE FEAST OF ST SYLVESTER I, PONTIFF.

LAST DAY OF 2025 - FEAST ST SYLVESTER I, PONTIFF.

"Children, it is the last hour; 

and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming,

so now many antichrists have appeared. 

"Thus we know this is the last hour. 

They went out from us, but they were not really of our number;

if they had been, they would have remained with us. 

"Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. 

"But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 

"I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth."  (1 John 2: 18 - 21).

Wednesday 31st December 2025, LAST DAY OF 2025. 7th Day in the Octave of the Solemnity of Christmas is also the feast of St Sylvester I. Pontiff. 

On the Last Day of 2025, we celebrate the life and sanctity of Pope St Sylvester I.

Sylvester was elected to the Papacy on the last day of 314 AD and he died on the last day of 335 AD. 

Today is the last day of 2025. Coincidence No! Divine Providence. Yes! 

Sylvester served the Church at a very turbulent transition in Church history.

 Arian heresy and the Donatist schism threatened to destroy the Church.

Then Constantine appeared by Divine Providence and offered the Church relief and peace in 312 AD by legalizing and granting amnesty to Christians.

Pope St Sylvester attended the famous Council of Nicaea where the Nicene Creed recited by Christians of all faith today was ratified and promulgated.

 Pope St Sylvester contributed a great deal in the expansion of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

This is the last hour. The Apostle John warned.

The "Antichrists have appeared." Have you seen any?

 Below are some of the characteristics of the Man of lawlessness from the Christian Scriptures :

Deceit

Temporary success

Mass seduction

Adversary

Son of perdition

Opposed Christ.

Rival of Christ

(Cf 2 Thessalonians 2: 3 - 12; 1 John 2: 18, 2 John 7, Matthew 24: 23 - 26).

St Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church wrote thus of the Antichrist:

"As in Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead so in Antichrist the fullness of all wickedness. Not indeed in the sense that his humanity is to be assumed by the devil into unity of person...but that the devil by suggestion infuses his wickedness more copiously into him than into all others. In this way all the wicked that have gone before are signs of Antichrist."  (St Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church). 

Before he became Pontiff, Pope St John Paul II warned in 1976 at the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia that we are now facing the final confrontation between the Antichrist and the Church.

Remember how King Henry VIII caught over 300 English Bishops napping in 1535?

 Only Bishop St John Fisher earned the crown of Martyrdom.

 Below is a prophetic teaching of the Church on the Antichrist from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

"Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh."   (CCC 675).

Is the current instabilities in the world the beginning of the Last Hour?

Do not be asleep. Be vigilant and pray at all times so that you may not fall into severe temptation. 

Do not become an Anti-Witness. This may be the Last Hour.

THE CONCLUSION OF THE 2025  31 DAY NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 

Mary was conceived without original sin. This grace and privilege are fitting in view of the birth and death of her Son Jesus Christ, who is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. 

"O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You."

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2024/12/31-day-novena-to-immaculate-conception.html?m=1

A PROPHETESS AND EVANGELIST CALLED ANN6.

A PROPHETESS & EVANGELIST CALLED ANNA. 

"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." (Luke 2: 36 - 40).

Tuesday 30th December 2025, 6th Day in the Octave in the Solemnity of Christmas.

Anna, the Prophetess and Evangelist dominates the Gospel Reading as if today is her patronal feast day. 

Who is Anna and why is she one of the humble and powerful prophets and evangelists in the Gospel?

#1 Anna lived in the Temple for decades and gave herself completely to worshiping God, serving, praying and fasting.

#2 Apart from Mary, Joseph and Simeon, Anna was one of the very first people to see Jesus as an Infant and recognized Him at once in faith as the awaited Messiah. She knew who He is at once and she carried Him in her arms! Wonderful! 

#3 Anna is one of the very first Evangelist to announce the Good News. 

"And coming forward at that very time, she [Anna] gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem." (Luke 2: 38).

What can we say about the character of Anna? 

The answer is from the first Reading today: (1 John 2: 15 - 17).

"Do not love the world or the things of the world. 

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

 For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. 

Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever." (1 John 2: 15 - 17).

Anna retired to the Temple after she lost her husband as a young woman.

 She rejected the life of empty show. She chose not to remarry or hang around and enjoy her husband's wealth.

Brethren, the story of Anna teaches us that it is good to serve the Lord faithfully. 

Anna and Mary are two examples of great faithfulness in serving God.

 They faithfully served the Lord, not for one year or 10 years or 50 years but day after day all life long. 

But what is most admirable is the faithfulness of God Himself.

The Bible says that faithfulness is the very essence of who God is. God's character is true and faithful. 

Both Anna, Mary and Joseph responded to the faithful love and mercies of God to them.

May we do the same everyday in the New Year 2026.

HAPPY SOLEMN OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS. 

Mary was conceived without original sin. This grace and privilege are fitting in view of the birth and death of her Son Jesus Christ, who is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. 

"O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You."

For the Immaculate Conception Devotions and Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link below:

THE 31 DAY NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Link is below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2024/12/31-day-novena-to-immaculate-conception.html?m=1 

THE FEAST OF ST THOMAS BECKET, BISHOP AND MARTYR.

THE FEAST OF ST THOMAS BECKET, BISHOP AND MARTYR. 

"When the days were completed for their purification

according to the law of Moses,

Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem

to present him to the Lord,

just as it is written in the law of the Lord,

"Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,

and to offer the sacrifice of

a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,

in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.

This man was righteous and devout,

awaiting the consolation of Israel,

and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit

that he should not see death

before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.

He came in the Spirit into the temple;

and when the parents brought in the child Jesus

to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,

he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go

in peace, according to your word,

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

"Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2: 22 - 35).

Monday 29th December 2025, 4th Day in the Octave of the Solemnity of Christmas is the feast of St Thomas Becket. (1118 - 1170). English. Martyr.

 St Thomas Becket, also known as St Thomas of Canterbury was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder on December 29th 1170 by King Henry II inside the Cathedral while St Thomas Becket was celebrating 

while St Thomas Becket was celebrating Mass. 

Forty days after the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph presented Him in the Temple in obedience of faith. 

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the holy Prophet Simeon and the Prophetess Anna appeared in the Temple in obedience of faith to bear witness to the faithfulness of God to His promise. 

Brethren, in the celebration of the Presentation of the Lord, let us renew our faith in our God who is faithful to all His promises. He promised Saints Simeon and Anna that they would live to see the Messiah in the flesh. God kept the promise. 

We reflect on the Presentation of the Infant Jesus in the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary. 

I pray to Simeon and Anna to obtain for the grace to learn how to wait for God to fulfill His promises to me in the fullness of time. 

THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH HONORS THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN DECEMBER. 

Mary was conceived without original sin. This grace and privilege are fitting in view of the birth and death of her Son Jesus Christ, who is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. 

"O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You."

For the Immaculate Conception Devotions and Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link below:

THE 31 DAY NOVENA TO THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Link is below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2024/12/31-day-novena-to-immaculate-conception.html?m=1