Taking Baths

Taking Baths : A Catholic Reflection:
"Before Christmas, we must take a bath. In fact, we should take two baths, a baptismal bath 'in water for the sake of reform' and a bath 'in the Holy Spirit and fire' (Mt 3:11). Unlike the bath in water, this fire-baptism removes impurities from even the most precious metals."

His winnowing fan is in hand

USCCB - (NAB) - December 9, 2007:

"He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” "

win·now (wĭn'ō) Pronunciation Key
v. win·nowed, win·now·ing, win·nows

v. tr.


To separate the chaff from (grain) by means of a current of air.
To rid of undesirable parts.
To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate: winnowing out the errors in logic.
To sort or select (a desirable part); extract.
To blow (chaff) off or away.
To blow away; scatter.
To blow on; fan: a breeze winnowing the tall grass.
To examine closely in order to separate the good from the bad; sift.

To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate: winnowing out the errors in logic.
To sort or select (a desirable part); extract.

Prayer request

Please pray for my cousin's aunt(her mom's side of the family)that has just been diagnosed with cancer...the aunt's name is Bernadette.

The woman of Genesis

Intercessors Of The Lamb

"Mary’s obedience didn’t just stop there at the Annunciation, we see it at Cana as well because she asked Jesus really to do a miracle when she said, “They have no wine.” Now that seems simple but Jesus did not seem to be aware of that and He seemed surprised at the request and He says, “Woman what is that to you and to Me? My hour is not yet come.” It is interesting that in this Scripture, we now hear Jesus calling Mary, “Woman.”

At the beginning of this passage, John writes, “The Mother of Jesus was there.” But now Jesus did not call her, “Mother,” but, “Woman.” He knows, as she herself knew, that she is the woman of Genesis which the Father spoke about when He said to satan, to the serpent. “I will be put enmity between you and the woman.” Our Lady knew her identity! She is still prompted by the Holy Spirit who is her spouse. She is Our Lady of Light, spouse of the Holy Spirit! And, it was the prompting of the Holy Spirit at that wedding that made Mary ask for the miracle. The Spirit was letting her know, “They have no wine.” He is the New Wine. The Spirit was letting her know, “They need Me.” "

Excerpt From Mother Nadine’s, “On Earth as it is In Heaven” The Philippines, 11/05

the woman

USCCB - (NAB) - December 8, 2007:

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.”"

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:

"Concluding Prayer God,

by her Immaculate Conception you made the Virgin a fit habitation for your Son. You preserved her from the stain of the Fall by the merits of your Son’s future death: through her intercession, make us pure and permit us to come to you at last."

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Universalis: Today:
"The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was conceived without original sin, that twist in our nature that makes our will unable to follow what it knows to be right. It was this grace that enabled Mary to give a true and considered “Yes” to the request, conveyed by the Angel Gabriel, that she should consent to be the mother of the incarnate God. The doctrine was almost universally believed over the centuries and but was only formally defined as a doctrine of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1854. It is one of the Marian doctrines that Islam shares with the Catholic Church."

Reminder

A Bravenet.com Calendar - Friday December 7, 2007:

"Title:Praise and Worship

Duration:9:00 pm - 12:00 am

Details:Eucharistic Adoration with Praise and Worship at St. Joseph's Chapel in Wakefield, MA. "

Come and go at your convenience. It is pure blessing.

Calling in deeper...

Intercessors Of The Lamb

Today He is calling us in a deeper way to be the light of the world—to be so filled with this consecration, His holiness, His Truth, that we will be a light to all the nations. He wants us to be an epiphany of His love and His presence. He wants us to be holy. He wants us to be a royal priesthood. He wants us to be Church and to look like His Church. So I believe He is telling us to go forth now as the prophetic Church, as the Church that has learned to listen to Him everyday, and can take His words out. He is calling us to be a Church that has received His gift of Wisdom and knows the secrets of His heart and what the Father has taught. We need to become a prophetic Church again. I believe this is manifested in one of the beautiful gifts that we will hear about today in Scripture—the incense of prayer. This is being given to us today in a deeper way so that we can come forth and be this house of prayer and this prophetic Church.

Excerpt from “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic,” Kingstown, West Indies, 2001.

I Will Praise You

USCCB - (NAB) - December 7, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 7, 2007:
"Reading 1
Is 29:17-24

Thus says the Lord GOD: But a very little while, and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest! On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel."

Let us praise Him NOW for what He has done, for what He is doing and for what He will continue to do in the future.

Just add your own personal prayer at this moment and give Him thanks and praise for all that He has blessed you with. Praise Him even for those things that you can't quite understand...He WILL bring good out of them if we allow Him to.

Universalis: Vespers

Universalis: Vespers:
"Psalm 147 (147B)
God, the foundation of Jerusalem

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem — Sion, praise your God. For he has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed your children. He keeps your borders in peace, he fills you with the richest wheat. He sends out his command over the earth, and swiftly runs his word. He sends down snow that is like wool, frost that is like ashes. He sends hailstones like crumbs — who can withstand his cold? He will send out his word, and all will be melted; his spirit will breathe, and the waters will flow. He proclaims his word to Jacob, his laws and judgements to Israel. He has not done this for other nations: he has not shown them his judgements."

Oh Lord, may we be filled with Praise on this day. Bring to our mind all that good that You have done for us...fill us with Your peace and joy. Amem.

Reminder

A Bravenet.com Calendar - Thursday December 6, 2007:

"Title: Advent Evening of Reflection

Duration:7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Details:St. Joseph Parish in Wakefield.

Let us assess our relationship to the Lord & look how we serve and meet him through others. "

Prayers for the victims and their families

Gunman kills 8, self at Omaha mall - Crime & courts- msnbc.com

We need to pray not only for these families, but for all the potential 'gunmen' out there. Earlier this week the Lord was leading us to pray for the children to be released from darkness. I think we need to hike up those prayers. Especially for media influence to be broken (darkness and evil that is coming in from movies, tv, music, internet, video games). Pray, pray, pray for the children! Pray also for their parents...the adults too need to be living in freedom (from evil) in order to be able to be obedient to the Lord in how to raise them.

For our Priests

Spirit Daily - Daily spiritual news from around the world:

"Can you imagine the guts, the faith, it takes, in these times, to be a priest? These days, we can say that good priests (and they're in the majority) are true heroes. They suffer a white martyrdom."

Let us pray today for our Priests and Bishops and for all stepping out in obedience to the Lord in ministry, by dedicating their lives to Him.

In a very particular way, I pray for my own Parish...St. Joseph's and for our Pastor, Fr. Ron. May we lead the way in serving Him!

You Raise me Up

Whatever

Intercessors Of The Lamb

"Our Lady said, “Now you do whatever He tells you.” She said that to the servants. Hopefully we are all servants of the Lord! She is saying that to us as well. “You do whatever He tells you.” That “whatever” can be frightening. What does that mean –“whatever”? We do not always know. It simply means whatever - whatever God’s word is, whatever God’s will is, whatever God wants. This is exactly what she is asking of us. “Do whatever He tells you.” Much of the time, we are not listening. We do not know what He is saying. That is why the contemplative posture is so important. We must be able to can hear what God is asking. We can hear His preference and then we can do whatever His word is showing us. Obedience is also the fruit of humility. There is only one way to know if we are humble and that is to ask ourselves, “Are we being obedient?” If we are being obedient to God’s way, God’s preference, then that is humility. That is the kind of obedience, the kind of humility, that will crush pride – that will crush the serpent’s head. It will crush satan."

Excerpt From Mother Nadine’s, “On Earth as it is In Heaven” The Philippines, 11/05

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):

"Show forth your power, O Lord, and bring your great strength to our aid. Although our sins impede our steps, let your grace help us to go forward."

St. Nicholas Feast Day!

Universalis: Today:
"St Nicholas

He was bishop of Myra, in Lycia (now part of Turkey) and died about the middle of the fourth century. He has been venerated throughout the Church, especially since the 10th century. Because of his help to the poor he is the patron saint of pawnbrokers, whose insignia of three golden balls represent the three purses of gold he is said to have given secretly to a poor man who could not afford dowries for his three daughters. "

Gracious and good Lord,
we bless you on this feast of St. Nicholas, your servant,
who is an example to us of a life of charity and love.
May we see in his life an invitation to imitate his good deeds.
Make us always mindful of the needs of others
and help us rejoice in the abundance of your goodness around us.
Through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

obedience

USCCB - (NAB) - December 6, 2007

Gospel
Mt 7:21, 24-27

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Today's Prayer: Dear Lord, today we come to You seeking the grace to be obedient to Your Will and the perseverance to stick with it even when we can't see what the results might be.