A tale of two voices

"My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me."  (John 10: 27)

"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)

What return shall I make to the Lord for all that He has done for me?  This day, O Lord, I will listen to your voice.  I will trust you.  I will do whatever you tell me.  So help me God.

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."  (Exodus 14: 14)

What does the Communion of Saints mean?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

"The intercession of the saints. "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. . . . They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus . . . . So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."⁴⁹⁵

Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.⁴⁹⁶I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.^{497"  (Catechism of the Catholic Church #956)}

The Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. The one Church is in constant fellowship with the Church triumphant, Church militant and Church suffering. 

   

Vigil Mass at St Albert Church

Marian Shrine at Holy Rosary Church Rosenberg

Shrine of Mary at Holy Rosary Church Rosenberg

Part of the Marian shrine at Holy Rosary Church Rosenberg, Texas

Inside Holy Rosary Church

Icon of Mary inside the Holy Rosary Church Houston Texas

Come to Jesus

Matthew 11:28
 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

How you come to Jesus today :

 *Eucharist
*WOG
*Blessed Sacrament
*Prayer

These things have been revealed to mere children. (Matthew 11:25)

Seekfirst.blogspot.com

My Destiny

"You are my place of refuge, you are all I really want in life." Psalm 142:5 "But I trust in you, LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My destiny is in your hands;" (Psalm 31:15) Seekfirst.blogspot.com

Behold the Lamb of God

"Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. “Father!” he said. “Here I am,” he replied. Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
“My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” Then the two walked on together."  (Genesis 22: 7 - 8)

In the fullness of time, God made His perfect provision.  Jesus!!!

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation.  Through your goodness, I have this delay, disappointment, illness, poverty, joblessness, suffering to offer.  Let it become for me a spiritual drink.  Blessed be God forever!

Believe and Grow

John 20:27 
"Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Inspired by the words of Christ to Thomas, I choose to exercise my faith today.
 *I believe in prayer
 *I believe in the word of God
 *I believe in miracle
 *I believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
 *I believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist
 *I believe in the divine providence

 I leave the rest to God

 Below is part commentary of John Gills Exposition on John 20:27

 "and be not faithless, but believing; in which words Christ dissuades him from unbelief, which is very evil in its own nature, and in its effects; it is the root of all evil; it unfits for duty, and renders the word unprofitable, and leads men off from Christ; and is the more aggravated in the people of God, by the instances, declarations, and promises of grace, and discoveries of love made unto them: and he also encourages him to believe. The exercise of the grace of faith is well pleasing to Christ; it gives glory to him, and makes for the soul's comfort; and a word from Christ, his power going along with it, will enable men to believe, as it did Thomas; which appears by what follows."

Storms are blessings in disguise

"Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us!* We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”  Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm."  (Matthew 8: 24 - 26)

Were are the storms in your life today? Family, Health, Finances, Job, Property orTools?  Or have you nothing to worry about but your future?

All storms are sanctioned by God's Providence; so they are blessings and more often than not blessings in disguise.

"Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  (James 1: 2 - 4)

Storm times are exam times.  Where do you place your trust?  Who is the first person you call upon to help you?

"My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High,
when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?"  (Psalm 56: 3 - 5)

The whole of sacred scripture teaches one lesson:  Love God with all your heart and put Him first in everything.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."  (Matthew 6: 33 -34)

When we put God and His interests first in our affairs, we experience a state that can be described as "No fear, No Worry, No Doubt."   Because Jesus Himself has promised that:
"Fear is useless; what is needed is trust."  (Luke 8: 50, Mark 5: 36)

As we open our hearts and minds to the word of God with confident trust, we experience the power of faith to rule the furious storms that arise in our lives.

"Do not fear: I am with you;
do not be anxious: I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."  (Isaiah 41: 10)

Do you believe that the above word is true and applies to you?

Thank you for all your gifts

"Bless the LORD, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,
Who pardons all your sins,
and heals all your ills,
Who redeems your life from the pit,
and crowns you with mercy and compassion,
Who fills your days with good things,
so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."  (Psalm 103: 1 - 5)

Lord, today I will remember your gifts and thank and praise you for them.  I want to remember everyone of your precious gifts. I want to remember the big items and also the small gifts.  Your word asks me to remember all your gifts.

I thank you today for the Eucharist and Sanctuary service.  I thank you for the Rosarywalk when I looked up and saw the multicolored sky at the break of dawn. I thank you for the song of the birds and the couple of birds I saw early this morning.  The sky and the birds are testimony to your faithfulness according to the word of your Son, Jesus..

I thank you too for the nice breakfast; the coffee, toast and butter and cereal.  Thank you for my Samsung Galaxy that is becoming more and more my partner in ministry.  Thank you for my studio that opens to the Early Childhood School from where I enjoy pleasant view while I work.  Lord, there are just too many things to thank you and it is not yet even 10 am.  I will break for now and resume the thanks later on.

Christ set us free for freedom

Galatians 5:1 Christ Has Set Us Free "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

*Christ set us free from compulsive behavior
*He set us free from futile works of darkness
*Christ freed us from fear of illness 

*He set us free from fear of poverty *When Christ set us free from fear of death, He set us free from all fears. Because the fear of death is the Mother of all Fears!!

Why does Christ set us free?

 He set us free to know God, to love God, to serve God so that we shall be with Him forever!!!

Free to preach the Gospel

2 Timothy 4:17

"17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth."

"When we proclaim God's Word, we need not be chained by compulsive behavior, imprisoned by sin, or paralyzed by the fear of death (see Rv 11:11-12). The truth of God's Word sets us free (Jn 8:32). God's Word is the key to freedom. On this glorious feast, turn the key to unlock your chains, spring yourself from prison, and give yourself real freedom." (Presentation Ministries - June 29th 2013)

Yes I will do it

"And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately."  (Matthew 8: 2 - 3)

Lord Jesus, if you will, you can transform me.  You can fill me with the Holy Spirit and all His gifts.  I want you to do for me what you did for the leper.  Touch my head and say to me, "Yes, I will do it."  Now give me the faith to receive.  I ask for this in your Name Jesus.  Amen!!

"Come," says my heart, "seek his face;" Your face, Lord, do I seek."  (Psalm 27:8)

Source of blessings

"Unless the LORD build the house,

they labor in vain who build.
Unless the LORD guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch.
It is vain for you to rise early
and put off your rest at night,
To eat bread earned by hard toil—
all this God gives to his beloved in sleep."  (Psalm 127: 1 -2)

"But Moses answered the people, “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the LORD will win for you today. For these Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.
The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”  (Exodus 14: 13 -14)

"to Egypt whose help is futile and vain.
Therefore I call her
“Rahab Sit-still.”  (Isaiah 30: 7)

"For thus said the Lord GOD,
the Holy One of Israel:
By waiting and by calm you shall be saved,
in quiet and in trust shall be your strength.
But this you did not will."  (Isaiah 30: 15)

"Otherwise, you might say in your heart, “It is my own power and the strength of my own hand that has got me this wealth.”
Remember then the LORD, your God, for he is the one who gives you the power to get wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done, the covenant he swore to your ancestors."  (Deuteronomy 8: 17 - 18)

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
on your own intelligence do not rely;
In all your ways be mindful of him,
and he will make straight your paths."  (Proverbs 3: 5 - 6)

"It is the LORD’s blessing that brings wealth,h
and no effort can substitute for it"  (Proverbs 10: 22)

"“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.
 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."  (Matthew 6: 25 34)

"I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing."  (John 15: 5)

"Give us today our daily bread;"  (Matthew 6: 11)

Building on a foundation of rock

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock." (Matthew 7: 24 - 25)

"Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves." (James 1: 22)
Power comes from doing.

"He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Luke 11: 28)
Blessings come from obeying the word.

"I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them." (Luke 6: 47)
The man who listens to the word of Jesus and acts on them is like one who builds his home on a foundation of solid rock.  No rain, no storm, no hurricane or flood can destroy that house.

"For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified." (Romans 2: 13)
Emphasis again is on observing, acting and doing.

"Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous." (1 John 3: 7)

• Believe what you read.
• Teach what you believe.
• Practice what you teach.

"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." (John 13: 17)
Change happens not because of what you know but because of what you do daily.

Unless the Lord builds

Psalm 127:1-2
Unless the Lord Builds the House

127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house,those who build it labor in vain.Unless the Lord watches over the city,the watchman stays awake in vain.2 It is in vain that you rise up earlyand go late to rest,eating the bread of anxious toil;for he gives to his beloved sleep."