Do Not Be Afraid

 

"Do not be afraid." Mark 6:50

"Perfect love casts out all fear." 1 John 4:18

As is usually the case, the first reading points out a theme in the gospel reading of the day to emphasize it. Today's gospel is from Mark 6 and tells the story of the disciples being sent off to Bethsaida by Jesus while He goes off to pray by Himself. Jesus from afar, sees the disciples being tossed on a boat by a storm. It is still dark, and when Jesus walks on water toward them, they become afraid. These strong husky fishermen cried out in terror at seeing a "ghost"!

"Get a hold of yourselves!" Jesus says, "It is I. Do not be afraid."

In 1 John 4:11-18, the writer tells us that God is love and in love, there is no room for fear. It is good to examine ourselves and see if we have any fear or doubt that we need to root out. Fear of what the future holds, fear of death, fear of losing someone or something, doubts about our capabilities at work or as a mother. Perhaps we can never fully rid ourselves of some fears, and some are really absurd (like my fear of butterflies!), but we can follow John the Apostle. John in his gospel confessed 6 times that he was the apostle Jesus loved. It is not mentioned in any other gospel, but John knew Christ's love for him was real.

We too can know with certainty that God loves us and wants the best for us. All we need to do is read the Bible, which to me, are His love letters to us. We can feed on it, and make it a part of us. The prophet Jeremiah said, "When Your words came, I ate them. they were my joy and my heart's delight."

God is Love

 "...God is love..." 1 John 4:8

One of the most important revelations we can have is the fact that God loves us. God loves ME! We might say, oh, I know that!!! I've known it since I was a kid. John 3:16. I've heard that so many times!

But do we let it inside us so it changes the way we think, the way we feel every day, the way we treat others? Do we let it invade our heart and mind and spirit? Are we healed of hurts and pains because we know God loves us? Are we so confident in His love that we can get through our challenges and trials victoriously and not allow the enemy to whisper that it's just not true! Do we know in the dark that God loves us, when our mother just died, or our daughter is breaking our heart, or our husband is seeing another woman, or someone is ridiculing us?

We have to work at getting this truth to become REAL in our lives. One of the ways is to confess it, say it out loud. In Psalm 45:1, it says: "My tongue is like the pen of a skilled writer." What we say, our words, like that of a good writer, can touch our heart and mind, so that it can change us. And we need to use our tongue to write the promises of God in our heart. NOTHING, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35).

I like writing "thank you"s to God in my journal and I started to number them after I read Ann Voskamp's book, "One Thousand Gifts". I am now in #13,169. I like to list what God does for me, the big things, and the small. Yesterday I thanked God that my sister Tina and her husband Pat came for a visit from Japan, and we had a despedida for them last night. Our dinner was punctuated by some hearty laughs reminiscing about the past. What a tremendous gift God gave us in our family! Truly God shows His love for us through each one of our family members! 

I can look at my journal and see all the ways God surrounds me with love. And it reinforces my spirit, and makes me strong and confident. It is good to watch out for signs of God's favor. It is not so good to take for granted all the wonderful offerings of love God woos us with. 

Test the Spirits

 “Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

Sometimes I feel like a crazy person when I talk about evil spirits because most people don’t believe in spirits anymore. That is exactly what the unseen forces want, that they are disregarded and considered superstition. 

St. Paul in Ephesians 6:12 emphatically states, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the directors of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.” What the demons did in Bible times continues on today. Jesus was constantly at war with demonic forces and definitely knew they existed. Whatever Jesus believed in, I definitely want to know about and believe in, whether it be fashionable or not. 

These days, with fake news battling against the truth so prevalent on the world stage, with ordinary decency and morality not so ordinary any more, one could even say we are fighting a losing war. But that is exactly what evil spirits want to spread- hopelessness, despair, turning to all sorts of solutions except to God. 

Many of the saints had to battle spirits of darkness. St. Ignatius of Loyola had been strangled and tormented by demons. Evil spirits danced around St. Alphonsus Rodriguez and jumped on him. St. Colette of Corbin was disturbed by infestations of ants, snails, turtles and reptiles, anything to disturb her devotions. Padre Pio was beset with many forms of demonic manifestations, sometimes they came in the form of his spiritual director.

Today, the devil does not have to resort to these things to keep us from praying and reading God’s Word. There are enough distractions around us already! Since I use my iPhone and iPad for work AND prayer, I have to constantly remind myself to be more disciplined and not allow my attention to be easily diverted by my to do list, advertisements, notifications, messages, and amusements. 

We need to go back to God, to use His armor and all the tools He has given us to combat the enemy. “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13) We do not all pray the same way, but I find keeping a daily journal helps keep my focus on God. Having a set time to pray, going through my day and thanking God for big and small things, trying to understand the daily scripture readings, and just conversing with Jesus throughout the day and telling Him I love Him are on top of my list of weapons in my War Room. 

Freedom to Choose

 “Where is the new born King of the Jews?" Matthew 2:2

May my heart seek You O Lord, just as the wise men from the east followed Your star!

What amazes me is Herod. While many in Jerusalem were awaiting the Messiah with longing, he wanted to destroy this promised King. True, he wasn't a Jew, but the wise men, these astrologers, weren't either. Herod was blinded by power and his own selfish desires. There were so many prophecies regarding the Messiah, and he obviously believed in them or he would not have bothered to call all the chief priests, scribes and the magi to question them. Unfortunately he asked them questions, NOT to find the Messiah, but to murder Him!

How about us? Are we like the astrologers who went out of their way to seek the truth? When they found Him, they were filled with joy, worshiped Him, and gave Him all they had. Or are we like Herod, who tried to protect his way of life from the intervention of God at all cost? We may also be like the scribes and high priests, they who knew the prophecies, and did not even bother to travel a little way to find the truth for themselves. We may know the Word, read the Bible, but do we apply it?

We are all given freedom to choose. When we read this passage in Matthew, it seems easy to choose the path the astrologers took. But most of the time, we choose to follow our own path, protect the status quo, and fear leaving the familiar to follow the path God wants us to take. A lot of times we want to keep what we have, refusing to see that whatever we give up for God, He will multiply a thousand fold.

A New Song

 

“Sing to the Lord a new song..." Psalm 98:1

The Jews for most of their history have been exiled, persecuted, and have suffered greatly. But in spite of all the pressures of living in a foreign land, they have managed to maintain their language, culture, identity and spirit. When the temple was destroyed and Jerusalem pillaged, the focus of their worship transferred from the temple to their faith communities. That was when the Torah was rediscovered and read afresh.

I can say I also live in exile, in a foreign land. I am, after all, a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20). And like the Jews, with their songs of lamentation, I complain about this strange land I live in. The world as I know it is transforming too fast, and I can't say it's for the better! 

The people who are looked up to, change their husbands or wives like they change their cars. Politicians lie with audacity and have no compunction to steal from the hungry and the homeless. They flaunt their misappropriated wealth with no shame. There are apps and sites that promote adultery, and people who are against abortion are insulted. Women jiggle and sing on social media in next to nothing! Unscrupulous people prey on the elderly and the sick and steal their hard earned money with scams. In some countries, a father who tries to save his daughter from grooming gangs is the one who will be imprisoned by the police! No, I do not feel like I belong!

Yet I can still sing new songs to the Lord! For His mercies are new every morning! And I know in every dark shadow, there is a light shining...even in the remotest region of the world! I just need to open my eyes to what God is doing. He keeps His promises, and I wait in faith, and journey with all the other pilgrims to my promised land!

Perfect

 

"And this is the promise He made us: Eternal Life." 1 John 2:25

To live happily ever after, isn't that what any bride wants on her wedding day? I forget which husband on my Facebook feed said that his wife was the perfect gift for an imperfect man, but I thought it was a beautiful sentiment. 

I read 1 John 2:25 about God's promise to us and I thought about marriage, and how it is a covenant, a promise, God promising us eternal life. He put a ring on my finger, just as another father put a ring on the prodigal son's finger. A PERFECT GIFT FOR IMPERFECT ME! I do not deserve it, I can never earn it, but God desires to give me eternal life, to be together forever.

There are many things that God does that I do not deserve. He gives me a beautiful wedding dress to replace the rags of my sin and shame. He washes me clean by forgiving me time and time again like Hosea forgave His harlot wife.

Sometimes, because I pray every day, read the Bible, buy food for prisoners and do other good deeds, I think I am in right standing with God. I am complacent and un-needy. But I am as far from holiness and righteousness as the east is from the west! And yet, Jesus, my bridegroom takes me by the hand, and walks me down the aisle, and says, "Yes, I do. I do die for this precious one. I do promise to give her eternal life with Me and My Father in My Kingdom." 

That is the perfect ending and beginning, and the best part is, it is NO fairy tale!!

A New Year Prayer

“The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you! The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace!" Numbers 6:24-26

Here is the prayer that the priests of Israel would pray over their people. We can claim this for ourselves because Jesus is our High Priest. So this is my prayer for you and me for a blessed 2026! 

This blessing is the oldest known biblical text that has been found and amulets with these verses have been found in graves dating from the First Temple Period. This is how God instructed Moses for Aaron to bless the Israelites. 

During the Old Testament times, only adult males descended from Aaron could perform this priestly blessing. But as Christians, we are all priests by virtue of baptism, and we can give this benediction to each other!

These words can be so familiar to us that we can take it for granted. However, if we study the original Hebrew, the blessing would read like this:

“Yahweh will kneel before you presenting gifts and will guard you with a hedge of protection. Yahweh will illuminate the wholeness of His being toward you bringing order and He will beautify you. Yahweh will lift up His wholeness of being and look upon you and He will set in place all you need to be whole and complete.” 

Isn't that amazing? Why should the Lord, King of the Universe kneel before us? Quite absurd! But not if we realize He is our Father who loves us. When we were small, our daddies would kneel down before us, go down to our level, to talk to us. When he saw us approach him, his face would light up. So does our God appreciate it when we approach Him and spend time with Him. 

For the start of this new year, let us claim this blessing for ourselves and those close to us!

The Word Became Flesh

 “The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14a

We are still in the Christmas season, and the liturgy of the word for the Christmas masses are so very rich. What man would ever think of, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be” (John 1:1-3)? That just has to be a revelation from the Holy Spirit!!! It seems to me that God, the Creator of the Universe, the kickstarter of life, wanted to reveal Himself to His creation by sending prophets to speak to us, which is exactly what St. Paul is telling the Hebrews. “In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets.” (Hebrews 1:1)

But these were all imperfect, incomplete messages. 

Then God sent His Son, “the true light shining in the darkness”, the “Word became flesh”. And Saint Paul continued, “In these last days, He has spoken to us through the Son, whom He made heir of all things and through whom He created the universe.” (Hebrews 1:2)

We can be confident that Jesus lived, and lived an extraordinary life, and died an extraordinary death. The historical evidence for Jesus is both long-established and widespread compared to other historical figures. To me, if we believe Jesus lived and said what He said, and He did claim He was God, it behooves us, it is incumbent on us, it is absolutely life and death for us, to find out why, and discover for ourselves what is that master plan of God?! 

We don’t want to be left out of the biggest happening on earth, do we? We don’t want to FOMO! Not me! I want to be in on it! This is huge! It will impact eternity! Our time on earth is an infinitesimal pause in God’s scheme of things. Yet we are given a chance to live forever with Him. Jesus said, “EVERYONE who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do we believe this?” (John 11:25)

And that is just one reason to celebrate this Christmas season!

Waiting

 

“Anna, the prophetess, 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.” Luke 2:37-38

There was always a lot of activity in the Temple in Jerusalem, a lot of coming and going all around. On the day Mary and Joseph brought the 40 day old baby Jesus to present Him to the Lord, only an old man and an old woman witnessed it. Simeon was righteous and devout, and had been waiting to see the Christ. Then there is the 84 year old prophetess Anna, who never left the Temple, but worshiped there night and day. Out of all the people who visited the Temple that day, only these two were blessed. 

“My eyes have seen Your salvation!” Simeon cried out in joy. Anna gave thanks to God and thereafter spoke about the child to all who would listen. What was special about Simeon and Anna? They were waiting. They had eager hearts and minds, thirsting for God. They listened to the Spirit. 

Perhaps there were many in the Temple that day who were praying and seeking God just as there are many people who pray each day, and some even go to church every day. But if our prayers are always about asking God for this and that, we seldom have time to listen. The Holy Spirit will not have opportunity and space to speak to us. Our hearts will not have “fertile ground” to receive what God has to tell us. 

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” Jesus does not barge in, demanding we listen to Him. We have to invite Him in. If we open the door, we will marvel like Simeon and Anna, at what God will do in our lives.

Blessing Upon Blessing

 “My eyes have seen Your saving deed.” Luke 2:30

Simeon, in the 2nd chapter of Luke, awaited the promised Messiah and found Him in the temple one day when Jesus and Mary brought the child Jesus to present Him to the Lord. “You have fulfilled Your Word!” Simeon exulted, “You may let Your servant go in peace!” 

Can we say to God today, a few days before the closing of the year, “You have fulfilled Your promises to me. You may let me go in peace”? In the first place, do we know what God’s promises are? We can take Abraham as our example as he has been called our father in the faith. “All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3).

Do we know why God chose Abraham out of all the people in the world at that time? There are so many names listed in Genesis 11. What if God spoke to some others but they did not believe and obey? After all, it would have been a big sacrifice for anyone to leave their hometown.  Archaeological excavations in 1922 showed that in Ur, the house of a middle-class family would have 10-20 rooms, with the entire lower floor reserved for the servants. When God said, “Go away from your own country to a place I will show you,” Abraham obeyed. He is the ideal of everyone who overcomes the fear of the unknown, who wishes to go forward putting his trust in God. But Abraham did not leave empty handed. God promised him blessing upon blessing. 

As we leave 2025, we can say we are entering a whole new world. We have no idea what this new year will hold for us. But as always, we can depend on God and His many promises to us. Like Simeon and Abraham, God journeys with us. Let us hold Him to His promises. If we believe and obey Him, there is blessing upon blessing in store for us!

Listen and Obey

 “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways!” Psalm 128:1

Today is the Feast of the Holy Family and the reading today is about how St. Joseph took care of his little family by heeding the instructions of an angel in his dreams. 

Because of St. Joseph’s obedience, I thought of this fascinating sharing by Jamie Winship who was a police officer. He had just watched a guy assault another police officer so he arrested him, got hand cuffs on him, and took him in his squad car to process him. The guy was pleading, “It’s Christmas Eve. My wife’s in law school. We’re broke. I’ve never committed a crime before…” and on and on. Jamie thinks, “ Yeah right!” BUT he heard a distinct voice say, "Stop the car and de arrest this guy and let him go." 

Jamie knew the voice of God but he also was aware he could lose his job and never get another job in the police department again. But he also appreciated that obedience is better than sacrifice! So while Jamie is arguing with the voice in his head out loud, the guy in handcuffs is listening, and confused. The Lord asked, “Is your career more important than the guy in the back seat? Are you more valuable than him because he broke the law and you didn’t, because you’re white and you grew up in this neighborhood?” Jamie finally got out of the car, opened the door and pulled the guy out even if he didn’t want to get out. Jamie had to knock him to the ground to get his handcuffs off because the guy was hugging him, scared Jamie was going to shoot him if he ran away. 

Finally Jamie had to tell his captain what he did and of course his captain was super mad. Jamie had been under this man for five years and the captain finally said, “I've seen you do crazy stuff before and it's usually worked. Not always, but usually. You have," he warned because it was Christmas Eve, “You have two weeks for this to become a really good idea or you're not only fired, we're probably going to arrest you for what you did, but l'll give you two weeks. It's like a Christmas break. Come back after Christmas." 

Jamie got reassigned to work nights at the front desk. One night he got a call. It was the guy that Jamie dearrested. And he said, “Is this officer Win? I'm the guy you dearrested….I know you did what you did because you think God told you. I appreciate it and want to pay you back.” And the man said that in two nights at midnight, there's going to be a black Porsche coming through this particular intersection and Jamie should pull him over, and make him open his trunk. So Jamie got one of his partners to do it since he was suspended and sure enough, when they did the stake out, they were able to make a huge narcotics bust! 

The “informant” called again, and Jamie says they’re even but the guy says, “No, we’re not even.” He explains, “Because this isn't about me and you being even. This is about God and me. I want to repair the community that l've been a part of damaging." 

Jamie and this guy worked together for one year, and they did the craziest stuff together. Jamie never told anyone who he was even if the FBI wanted to know. They broke a gambling ring, made arrests from Boston to Miami, but after a year after they caught Colombian criminals with uzis, Jamie said they’re even and have to stop because the guy would be killed after all the criminals they caught. 

So many times Jamie was asked how it happened, and Jamie got many opportunities to testify about the power of prayer, of listening and obeying. Hearing and obeying God is like a muscle and building our spiritual muscles requires consistent discipline and routine and actively seeking God’s will. May we greet the new year, 2026, with an ardent desire to listen attentively, hear God’s voice and obey. Let God, the giver of every good gift, surprise us!

Actually Seen and Heard

 “We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard...” 1 John 1:3

I enjoyed  it when my 93 year old dad was in a story telling mood. He usually expounded about the war. One of his stories was about their family getting kicked out of their nice mission house in San Marcelino by the Japanese in May 1943. It was a blessing because if they didn’t leave, they would all have been killed. The Japanese soldiers shelled the whole area, raped young girls, and the older women would offer themselves in place of the young ones. The first American plane daddy saw was on September 20 of the same year. He had been walking along Rizal Avenue, and it was a Corsair, and it was flying very low. 

St. John, whose Feast Day we celebrate today, is one of the Twelve Apostles Jesus chose to accompany Him. John outlived all the other Apostles, and was the only one who did not die a martyr’s death. In his letters, John emphasized that he wrote about what he had actually seen and heard. He walked with Jesus, talked to Him, listened to His teachings and His stories, witnessed His miracles. Like my dad, John spoke from first hand experience. Just as my dad was so eager to recount his experiences, so too John wanted others to know what happened while Jesus walked the earth. He was fully persuaded that Jesus was God in human form. All the Apostles were, so much so they were willing to die for that truth. 

For me, my dad’s memories are precious. How much more precious and valuable are the writings of St. John, St. James, and St. Peter, who were witnesses of Jesus’ life on earth? 

Lord, may we learn what we can from Your chosen friends. Help us to find life, light and truth in their words! 

Guilty!

 “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power...” Acts 6:8

Yesterday we celebrated the Immanuel, God with us, the baby born in a manger to a virgin, among animals, because there was no room for Him anywhere. Today in the Catholic Church's readings, the beautiful Christmas story is followed by St. Luke's account of Saint Stephen who was savagely dragged and stoned to death. It is his feast day today and he is venerated not only in the Roman Catholic but also the Anglican,  Lutheran, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Why the contrast? Why veer the focus from the sweet Christ Child’s birth to the brutal stoning of the church’ first martyr? Perhaps because most of the world embraces the palatable, pleasant, engaging Christmas story of a mother and child. After all who doesn't love a story with myriads of angels singing, a sign in the night sky, shepherds, cute sheep, and magnificent kings bearing wondrous gifts? Everyone has adopted the holiday, giving gifts, wishing everyone goodwill, baking cookies, drinking, and eating. It is so sad however that usually the Christ Child is forgotten and forlorn amidst the tinsel! 

How much more has the world forgotten that part and parcel of the beautiful Christmas story is the horrifying crucifixion? That the same baby born to an innocent virgin would be, after 33 years, beaten and bruised, his face unrecognizably swollen and bloodied,  his back lacerated by whips with bone fragments? Jesus told his disciples that they too would be brought to trial, and flogged. They too would be called to witness on His account (Matthew 10). We may never be flogged, beaten, or stoned to death, but we should at least witness on His account! If we are brought to trial for being a Christian, will our words and actions find us guilty just as Saint Stephen was found guilty? 

Start Today!

 

“Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!” 2 Samuel 7:3

Many archaeologists have tried to find the remains of King David’s palace. Excavations in Jerusalem have yielded ruins of fortified cities, stepped stone structures, elegant pottery and ivory which was not usually found in a regular house, dating from the time of King David. David lived in a magnificent palace, while the Ark of the Covenant was put in a lowly tent. David wanted to build God a more fitting place to dwell in and he said, 

“I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood” (1 Chron 28:2-3). 

Just as the Ark of the Covenant was perfectly content to be housed in a simple tent, so did the King of the Universe choose a humble servant girl to carry Him into the world. Inside the Ark of the Covenant were the stone tablets of the Law, the manna from the wilderness, and the rod of Aaron, the proof of true priesthood. Inside Mary’s womb was the Word made flesh, the Bread of Life, and the actual and Eternal High Priest. The Holy Spirit overshadowed and indwelled the Ark just as the Spirit overshadowed and indwelled Mary. 

Is it not amazing that the God who created the universe chose Mary, a peasant young girl of no prestige? This shows that God does not think like man at all! In Isaiah 55:8-9 we read, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

This tells me that no one, absolutely no one is too poor, too ignorant, too insignificant, to be a Christ-bearer. Each one of us can bring the good news to a world badly in need of good news! There is no better time to start than today! 

Faithful

 “The friendship, companionship, intimate fellowship, of the Lord, is with those who fear, revere and respect Him and His covenant..." Psalm 25:14

Saint Teresa of Avila, at one time, fell off her donkey and got hurt. She asked God why this happened as it could not have come at a worst time. He answered her that that was how He treated His friends. She then retorted that that was why He had so few!!! This was not the only time she complained as she was often the butt of gossip and hostility at the convent.

Indeed when we are friends with God, it does not guarantee a life free from suffering and hardship. A friend of mine who had undergone a heart operation a couple of years ago and almost died, now had to have a mastectomy a few days before Christmas because of a fast growing cancer. I know she is God's friend, and she can rightly ask God why!

One bible verse is particularly apt- "Faithful are the wounds of a friend..." Psalm 27:6. I can't help but relate this to grafting. Why does God allow us to get hurt? Perhaps it is the only way we can grow, and bloom and bear fruit. He is the vine and we are the branches. We are supposed to abide in Him, attach ourselves to Him, remain in Him, "No branch can bear fruit by itself." In grafting, the tissues of one plant are inserted into the tissues of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues are joined together. The "vine" contains the desired genes to be duplicated in the branch! But we can't get connected without the wounds on both the vine and the branch!

When God allows pain and suffering to enter our life, we are invited to join with Him. He sees we are strong enough to enter into a closer, covenantal relationship with Him. And He asks us during these times, "Do you still love Me? Do you still trust Me?"

Created to Be God’s Dwelling Place

 

“My soul glorifies the Lord...” Luke 1:46

In the 4th century Latin Vulgate translation, the opening word in this passage is Magnificat, which means “glorifies”. Jesus is still in Mary’s womb, yet already Mary is rejoicing. You can feel her excitement, her anticipation, her eagerness to receive all the good things God has in store for her. 

Like Mary, we too can carry Jesus in our hearts, our minds, in the very depths of our being. We can birth Him in our lives, if we but plant the seeds of His Word daily, by reading and pondering it. The Bible is a book of promises. It is filled with hope. There is nothing better the ancient enemy wants than for us to be deceived into thinking the Bible is irrelevant. 

We are all, whatever our station in life, created to be God’s dwelling place, an “inn” if you will, for the lowly babe who came to set us free. If we just get a glimpse of what an awesome God we serve, and His amazing plan for each one of us, we will leap and shout, and proclaim like Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior!” 

Who?

 “Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? or who may stand in His holy place?” Psalm 24:3

Yes who? It seems as if the whole world is  filled with people who do not know right from wrong! The answer follows: “He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.” I’m sure that discounts me! It discounts Saint Peter as well, who claimed in Luke 5:1-11, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Peter realized his sinfulness and his need for Jesus. 

When we realize our sinfulness, see that our wisdom is foolishness in God’s eyes and become aware of our pressing need for Him, we can depend on God to redeem us just as He did Peter. He gave Peter many chances. He did not forsake Peter even when Peter abandoned Him in cowardice. We too can take courage that God will use us even in our frailty, make our hearts new, and cleanse our dirty hands. Let us always take the time to connect with the only One who can do the impossible and bring us into His holy place.