"Acquaintances, Friendships, and Family"

These are Three ways that we form relationships with those we meet along the path to our True Home in Heaven.

First, There are many who, sad to say, could refer to thier Relationship with Christ as, an "Acquaintance." These are people that may have various brief encounters with him, or at best work within The Church in His Service. This type of relationship has little or no Investment in the life of the other. And for the most part the time spent with Him is often time spent out of "Necessity."

What a shame it would be if, after having been given Eternal Life through Baptism, we would remain on this level. Going to Mass only on Sundays or when convenient, at Christamas and Easter, as so many do, this is Never going to be a proper response.

After having been offered such A "Divine Intimacy," To respond with such indifference, is no wonder that so many who call themselves "Christian" will sooner follow the ways of the world, finding The Words of Christ to be, "Hard."

Now there are those who seek a "Friendship" with Our Lord, but such a relationship does not demand any sort of "Devotion" to Jesus. This type of relationship, doesn't Require any more than an Appreciation of who they are in relation to my needs as a Friend.

The Key to a True and Honest Relationship with our Beloved Savior, Must, out of Necessity, be one of a "Family," for as Brothers and Sisters of Christ, Sons and Daughters of The Father, we not only Owe a Return of Filial Love, but a Grateful and Humble Love, realizing that we owe EVERYTHING to His Infinite and MERCIFUL Condescension.

I must Therefore rise beyond simply Knowing "Of" Christ as an Acquaintance, and Surpassing beyond that of a "Friend," I must Realize that as an "Offspring" of of a Loving and Affectionate Father, my Life Itself, Being a Gift, should have but One Response;

A Total, Absolute, and an Unconditional Return of Love to my God, Who, Not only Loved me into Existance, but Who Sustains me and by His Infinite Mercy, will one day "Consume me into Eternity."

God Bless you.

"LIFE and DEATH"

I must seek in all ways to live my life each day, as if it were to be my last. For how I Live, so will I Die. In reality, Death should be an Exciting, Faith Filled Expectation of an ENCOUNTER with Infinite Love.

So often there are those who "Fear" the Spector of Death, imagining it to be separation from those "things" that they thought had made them either fulfilled or happy during life, But the opposite is True, for all the accumulation of wealth is as dung compared to that which awaits us as Children of our Loving and Affectionate Father God.

Those "Things" were more like weights that rather than allowing the Soul to soar, would in some way try to hold them down, fighting against the Magnificent Encounter that thier Soul had Longed for since thier Baptism.

All of the Beauty, Joy and Love that one expressed throughout thier lives upon this earth, regardless of thier insufficiency or lack of Perfection, will continue on into all of Eternity. And because of The Merciful and Loving Forgiveness of God, they are made Perfect, making all Fear of Death to be swallowed up in the Trust of a God, Who for love of each one of us, became Man and Died upon The Cross, solely so that He could spend an Eternity manifesting, Forever, His Infinite Love.

Therefore, when Aproaching our Last moments upon this earth, rather than "Fear" Death, let us cry out in heartfelt Love, "Oh Most Loving and Affectionate Father, Into Your Hands, I Commend My Spirit."

God Bless You

"The Father Is CHARITY, The Son, GRACE and The Holy Spirit, COMMUNICATION"

This is "One" of the Many ways that we can Contemplate The Three Persons of The Blessed Trinity.

This Magnificent Feast comes, rightly so, at the end of The Great Mysteries of our Redemption, beginning with Advent, and Culminating with The Descent of The Holy Spirit,

All, Being The Work of The Most Holy Trinity.

Today we Celebrate The "Triune God" Who, in His Infinite Mercy, from all Eternity, not only Chose to Create Man in His Own Image and Likeness, but also The Universe as our temporary home, in order that we may know Him through the gifts of His Creation.

Yet once our First Parents chose to sin against His Love through Pride, His Infinite Mercy would not leave us to suffer the consequences that we brought upon ourselves.

The Divine Plan was that Mankind should Never see Death, but our sin, Abhorrent in the sight of so Loving and Affectionate A Father, so grievous to Divine Justice, that Through His "Charity" sent His Only Begotten Son, thus, Reparation would be made by The Only one Who, by taking up our Human Nature, would pay The Ransom for our Dissobedience, thus returning us to a "Grace" Filled Relationship that would make us Bretheren with Christ, and by Virtue of that Relationship, Sons and Daughters of The Father.

As if that weren't enough, in order that we not be left as Orphans, The Father and The Son, Who "Spirate," (Breathe Forth), The Holy Spirit, send This Third Person of The Blessed Trinity to "Communicate" His Love to each one of us, once we had been Restored to Grace, by The Life, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Only True and Just Response therefore to this Great "Mystery of Salvation," is to make it, not only our Duty, but our Joy to Return a Love Worthy of That which has been Manifested to us by The FATHER, The SON and The HOLY SPIRIT.

God Bless You.

"We do Not Know"

This was the answer to our Lord's question addressed to the "Religious Leaders" of the Jews, as to whether John's Baptism was of Heavenly or human origin.

Any Faith that depends upon what others think of you, isn't Faith at all, but "Consensus." It is the "Coward's" way of seeking to appease others, trying to have a Faith so convoluted and generic that all can accept it. The Question such Feeble minded Christians would ask, "is this a good "Fit" for you? If not perhaps you need to look elsewhere."

It is of these that Jesus speaks when stating, "So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

A True Spiritual Leader would rather State Emphatically that The Faith you Embrace, will require you to "Conform" Completely and Unconditionally to Jesus Christ, for there are No Half Measures if you Choose to be a Follower of Christ.

As can Clearly be seen, The World is Witnessing right now a great Resurgence of Faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior amoung our Youth. What a shame it would be if we, who should have the Wisdom of Years, Rather than Lead them to the Fullness of Truth, are left behind in the dust of our own Indifference.

My Lord, My God and my All, raise up within my Heart a Devotion so Powerful that those who Seek Thee, may, by my own Conviction and Profession of Faith, see Thy Merciful Love in Every aspect of my Life.

God Bless You

PS. I ask that you pray for the Soul of my Beloved Mother Jan Luedtke, Who Transitioned into Eternal Life Friday Morning.

God Bless You.

"forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”

The Culmination of today's Gospel is all about "Forgiveness." Earlier on, finding a fig tree with no fruit, Jesus Condems it, and the next day, passing by, they find it had withered and died.

What is Essential to note, is that figs were out of season, thus it would have been "Naturally Impossible" to find it's fruit. Our Lord Therefore is Insisting that we go Beyond that which seems "natural," applying a Higher standard than that of the world.

Thus our Expressions of Mercy, must exceed "an eye for an eye" and we must never find Justification in even the mildest form of revenge, regardless of how we have been wronged.

We are called to live, while upon this earth, a Supernatural Life, going way beyond what even Nature demands. It is easy to "hide" behind that which the "Majority" finds acceptable, thinking that "If everybody's doing it" then, the Teachings of The Church must be out of touch, or back in the "Middle Ages"

This False Perception has been Augmented by the acceptance that "Change" is Progress, and that we must "Adapt" to the "Evolving" standards of Society.

If the society is founed on the Gospel there might be a valid argument to be had, But we live in a "Me, Myself and I" world where The Moral Values, once treasured and taught in our schools, like the Ten Commandments, have not only been removed from the curriculum, but have been replaced by an Amoralism.

As Christians, we are "All" called by God to much Higher Standards than that of the world, and if one has The Courage and Conviction of Faith, Through The Grace of God, we can Truly Conquer the World, bringing about The Kingdom of God, which Must First and Foremost, have it's Foundation in the Heart of Man.

God Bless You