A Silent Moment with Baby Jesus

i was led to write introductions for the carol service we will do tonight....thought they might help someone in experiencing a deeper moment of prayer before a manger this Christmas....go to youtube and look up the songs....enjoy....Blessed, Holy, Life changing Christmas to all!  til next time...

1.  A King is Born, Jesus,  in a small village called Bethlehem...He was The Only One Who could open the doors of Heaven by His Life and Death for a sinner like me....of course the angels came....of course the sound was more marvelous than ever heard on the face of the earth....Heavens' voices worshipping The God of the Universe who became An Infant in a stable...Precious, Lovely, Innocent and Pure as never seen before...what a picture to imagine..what a sound to yearn to hear..That Blessed Night.  "The birthday of a King"

2.  Praises....God inhabits the praises of His People...and the Angels lead in reminding us that to Praise The Living God is a Holy and Righteous  thing.  Sing out everyone Sing out with all your heart and , join the Heavenly Angels in singing "Hark The Herald Angels Sing"

3.  The shepherds instructed by the angel went to adore This Child in a manger....The kings knew that there existed a God far more Greater than they and came to Adore Jesus on bended knee.   Bow ye people...bend your knee to revere and adore The Living God.  Do not be affraid to humble yourself and bow before the God Who holds the sun and moon and stars in His Tiny Hands, Who builds mountains and makes canyons and even oceans obey Him.  Come...let all that has breath adore Jesus in the Manger.  "Gesu Bambino"  

4.  Humility was Jesus' Cloak...and yet all we want is to be honored.  A small town ...Bethlehem by name, a stable with animals all around Him....wrapped in swaddling clothes and in a manger made of hay...Oh the beauty of humility....let us simplify our lives and learn from this Most Holy Scene and example from Our God.  Plz join in singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" 

5.  The red carpet for Jesus was His Beautiful Pure Mother Mary.  She, ever so young, was picked from all of creation to be the very First Tabernacle to House The One and Only God of the Universe.  Oh what a privilegde for her ..yet she was created from conception to be  extraordinary and very special by God Himself for this very moment.  BLESSED ARE YOU Mary AMONG WOMEN AND BLEST IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB JESUS!  One can only imagine the thoughts that went thru her mind as she held Her God in her arms Who also was Her Son!  "Mary did you know"

6.  There is no greater song that can raise the mind and heart of a person to experience in its entirety the Christmas Story than  "O Holy Night".  Sit back, listen and meditate...be raised  to The Throne Room of God in a manger with St. Mary and Good St. Joseph and Baby Jesus to experience for yourself The Divine Night when Christ Our God and Savior was born.  

Blessed, Holy, Life Changing Christmas to you!

This is my last post til after Christmas....i hope the things i have written helped someone get a little closer to God...The intimacy with God we have available to us to the degree we are willing to chase Him.  This week is a perfect time to stop in an empty church...take in the visual Christmas decorations....smell the pine...and hear the Silence thereby allowing ourselves to be with Jesus One on one.  Before all the bells, visitors, hectic time....stop in and be silent....give God a smile and let Him give you His Glance of Love.  Be transformed this Christmas into the "saint in the making"  God created you to be.  And take all your lonliness, sorrow, fear, exhaustion, etc. and bring it to the Only One Who has all the answers!   Jesus Christ!

Music plays such a big part in my spiritual life and i love the fact that it is mentioned so many times in Scripture.  i have a story i would like to share.  There are two people in my choir who are younger yet extremely gifted. ...Brother and sister a few years apart.  They started around 15 and 20 yrs old in my choir.  Both have extraordinary voices.  The  boy is the oldest.  He has a voice that commands attention and he knew it.  He was quite confident with a good heart.  The sister had an equally good voice but being the younger one she was less confident and was a bit shy with her voice but also caring and good hearted. These two journeyed with me for 4 years and i have watched them transform from good to outstanding.  This year when given a solo, the sister was free in gift to improvise and add her color to the song making it her own.  More than that her own prayer life, which obviously gets stronger day by day, she is able to bring her heart and soul into it by meaning every word as she sings praise to her God!  What a beautiful job God does when we chase Him.  He transforms us into works of art!  This young lady used to sing songs....now she prays them and because of this, her marvelous Carnegie Hall voice has the power to heal the broken....to bring people to God in a greater way than ever before. Oh how marvelous a work God is doing in her gifts.

Her brother also did something this year that warrants attention too.  i had a last minute rehearsal for Christmas scheduled and needed him to come to support the tenor section which was weak.  His exams and private life interfered with that not to mention he was under the weather.  i promised him only a 40 min rehearsal.  He put himself second and came.  God allowed me to get it all done in 36 min.  But what was more beautiful was when he sang his solo he had a freedom that was new too.  He sang it as if chains were lifted from his vocal cords and hit notes we have not heard before. God took his generous heart...taking time from his important studies of medicine to support the weaker ones ...and freed him in a new way...he may not have ever tried to expand his potential vocally if he did not given away first.

i am greatly touched by these two younger members of my choir.  The young lady gained over these years a new confidence in her gifts.  She knows Who gave them to her.  She chases God and in that He has brought the spiritual part of her and the gifted part of her together in a new way able to touch hearts and heal.  So proud of her..the freedom and self-confidence and holiness...wow!!  God does great work.  But this kind of work takes time...patience...love and building one brick at a time with one another.  We too often rush people and try to force what is not in God's timing.

And her brother?...i told him "watch how you do on your exams for God will reward you for putting your own needs aside to help others"....God already showed up in his new freedom in song...This is what makes great men...not the fact that he is the best at anything he puts his hands to, but someone who knows there is Someone Higher...and takes time to get to know Him and apply His Principles to his life even at a cost.  And then they soar....

The message in this story is silent waiting....in building in one another... .prayer.... consistency.... humility (for these two voices did not have to limit themselves to be in our simple church choir).....surely a great singing group deserved them.

And so be patient with yourself...with those around you....love, pray...build up....encourage....And note that even the entire choir has grown in many ways.  i love to see the results of God's creative ideas in transforming a life.  It happens one person at a time.  So although the numbers often make people feel good...1,000 in attendence....10,000 people....God's deep life changing interior work happens one person at a time.  So never think that what you do on the small scale has no meaning.  It is only there where true conversion, counsel, reinvention, and rebuilding the edifice one brick at a time can take place.  Let God build/rebuild you....be helpful in building/rebuilding others....

One of my favorite Christian singers is David Phelps from the Gaither Band.  His voice is phenomenal and like the young man and woman in my choir, it commands attention.  But the reason it commands attention is not the musical ability he has by itself.  This man loves Jesus Christ!  He believes deeply in God and his personal prayer life affects everything he does.  And so his music is "annointed" by God! (an expression i use when God pours out on someone)...and so as we prepare silently...for Christmas...let us do so differently than any other year.  let us hush and slow down...cry and laugh....pray and  and like Mary...'.keep all these things, reflectin on them in our hearts!'  Sit back and pray this "O Holy Night" in a quiet room all by yourself with your God and appreciate the musical gifts, but more important the heart of David as he prays this song.  til next time...let's ponder the Scriptures below....be assured of my continued prayers for you....Blessed, Holy, life changing Christmas to all of us!  ang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElJ0fiD0lkc

Luke 2:19

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Luke 6:38

"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you" 

Psalm 127:1

                                             Unless the LORD build the house,                                                                                              they labor in vain who build.

t

11. Let's put our Faith into Action!

Was watching a show with my son and everything was fine until the last line....they had to throw in the vulgar, disrespectful line at the end of the show. Turned it off.  This prompted a discussion on the serious condition of our world.  And so....this blog...

We started many years ago with an unhealthy fear of God to the point that many never quite understood His Love for us nor His Mercy.  This was extreme left. Everything was wrong and scrupulosity ( Scrupulous individuals are overly concerned that something they thought or did might be a sin or other violation of religious or moral doctrine.) was suffered by many.  In our efforts to get away from this unhealthy uni-directional approach to Our Father we made a swing to the opposite extreme....we no longer have any fear (respect) for God and have totally lost the sense of sin.  Nothing is wrong today in the eyes of most.  The clear lines between right and wrong no longer exist.  We accept all things and in the name of  love not originating from God we subject ourselves and participate in words, actions, movies, magazines, books, classes, etc. that are totally offensive to God and His Ways.

In the deep spiritual walk with God, there is no confusion.  Clarity comes quickly with His Gift of Wisdom if we just ask for it.  When we learn to listen for That Still Small Voice of Conscience...The Voice of God, we instinctively know when we are crossing a line.  This is why chasing God is so very important....experiencing His Glance so we may be in balance....God's balance ....The Catholic Church has always taught with regard to certain things, " virtus in medio stat" (“virtue lies in the middle”)..This applies in this case.....It is unhealthy to think everything is a sin but just as unhealthy is thinking there is no sin.

You know there is a teaching many Christians believe that faith alone saves a person.  But the Catholic Church always has taught what the Scripture says in James 2: 17  "So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead."  It is time for all of us to look at the words we use,  the reactions we have, the actions we are involved in, the media we subject ourselves/our families to, so to grow and make our Faith and our Actions match.  This is what makes a testimony.  This is what our legacy should be. Being constant...consistent.....We do have a responsibility to God first, ourselves and others to change and grow and evolve.  If we stand still, we go backward!  Let's aim higher...we still have a week til Christmas....below is the entire Scripture from James 2 on Faith and Works.  Read and digest This Holy Word!  Also, check out a friend of mine, Tim Staples, an apologist (Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the theological science or religious discipline of defending or proving the truth of religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse),  from Catholic Answers who is a convert to Catholicism and his explanation of why we Catholics believe in Faith and Works rather than Faith alone.

http://www.catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/are-good-works-necessary-for-salvation

When you go to this site, you may enjoy clicking on Tim's testimony and conversion story from an Assembly of God Minister to Catholicism.   So often we hear people leaving the Catholic Church but there are many who convert to the Catholic Church and it is good to know some of them and why they do so.  Many of Tim's video teachings/testimony and so many other Catholic Apologists, are on Youtube.  Another apologist/convert to Catholicism is Scott Hahn who was a Protestant Presbyterian Pastor.  His conversion story can be heard at the site below and free cds of this can be ordered on this site as well to pass on.

http://www.catholicity.com/cds/hahn.html

Dec. 17th starts the O Antiphons (http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/what-are-the.html).   The week before Christmas they begin and the first Title for the Messiah  is O Wisdom (O Sapientia).  Check out the link to learn more and maybe pray them with us.
i may not get to write again til after Christmas, so enjoy and celebrate the Birthday of Our King...friends, family, great food, of course Mass, Christmas Carols, rest...etc.  Christmas is so important a Holy Day that the Church says it is an Octave.  Christmas is an entire week long.  So celebrate the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ as never before! And hopefully these blogs have helped us find Him more deeply during this Advent Season and prepare for His Second Coming.

Til next time....keep praying .....be assured of my prayers for you..."MARY CHRIST MASS!  ang

Faith and Works.
14
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,
16
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?
17
So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18
Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
19
You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.
20
Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless?
21
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
22
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works.
23
Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.”
24
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25
And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?
26
For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

10. Listen for the Still, Small Voice of God!

People who don't really know God fully often coast thru in life spiritually.  They often talk a big talk about Him, but are empty when it comes to prayer, spending time with Him, learning to hear His Still Small Voice that prompts us forward to do extraordinary things in every day life that appear insignificant to others.  The world will only change when i start with me!  Something happened the other day and i will share it for the value of the lesson.  i had a meeting, bought some groceries and got in my car.  i then saw a woman in a eskimo jacket pushing a 90 yr old woman in a wheelchair.  She was well dressed but appeared heavy hearted and serious.  A thought entered my mind, "angie, go and greet this woman!"  For a second i fought with the idea hearing the thoughts of so many in my life who always tried to stop me from being me.  Teachers, parents, siblings, friends....lots of people who would say "You don't even know them", "Who do you think you are?", "Don't do that", "What are you crazy?", "What will you say?"..etc.  Oh how i used to be affected by these ignorant statements.  Thank God i have outgrown the need to please another and approval....So although i was tired and  was on a schedule i thought about it.   After that thought , i said, "OK God i will act on this...it is nice, kind ....and any good and wholesome thing always is an inspiration from You!"  i did know they could reject me, but it did not stop me from proceeding to greet them.  So i shut the car off, got out and went over to them.  i asked the lady pushing the wheelchair if it would be okay to greet the elderly woman.  She said surely.  i then asked this elder how she was, and she started to weep.  She was Turkish so the young woman translated for me....Here's what i said,"You are special...i respect you ....courage...God hasn't made a mistake having you here.....Your life has meaning and the world counts on your prayers...and your example and passing on to us your values of old."....i hugged her...and she wept.  The woman caretaking for her was her daughter and she asked me if i could hug her too.  i did and whispered in her ear,"You are extraordinary.  What you do in caring for your Mom is the most important work on the face of the earth!"  How she wept....and the elder touched my heart and said to her daughter in Turkish,"This heart was given to her by God!  Get her phone number."  What a compliment!  But the compliment is God's and His Alone for any good thing we do comes only from The Source, God Himself!  The funny thing is i spoke English and she spoke Turkish but we communicated in the Spirit soul to soul.  i left changed again.  Every time i reach out and do what that still small voice tells me, i am changed and experience the Living God Alive and Well in my life and the life of others.  They took my phone number, we promised each other prayers and went on our different ways.  i met two sisters that day i did not know i had and they are Muslim and i am Catholic.  A meeting of hearts scheduled by God Himself.

Why do i share this?...surely not to bring any attention to me....but to God Who speaks things to us on a daily basis.  If we will only chase Him to experience His Glance of Love, things in our lives will shift.  It is a foreign way to live, no one teaches us these things, but they are learned at the Feet of the Living God.  At every thought, stop for just a second and in that pause question yourself, is this holy, good, kind...something that will be helpful?....If so, God may be speaking to you and you have nothing to lose and much to gain in going forward with it.  Bring out the child in you this Christmas Season...forget the lists....forget the haste...forget the stress....find Jesus. for the first time...or find Him again....Conversion is a life long process....it is constant and ongoing....Listen for His Still Small Voice....Listen and you will hear as the First Reading at Mass today says..(see it below)....So, offer to sit and eat with a homeless person you see at Dunkin Donuts, pick up garbage on your street even though you did not put it there, help an elder having trouble carrying groceries, leave a cart that requires a quarter out in the parking lot for someone else to be able to use for free, spend time with the least in your family especially the mentally ill and those limited in abilities, find ways to enjoy weekly visits with your parents and grandparents, and great grandparents accepting and loving them just as they are, find a widow/divorcee who could use some company, a parent who has lost a child who needs some kindness, or the fatherless who ache from the rejection or loss of either parent, say hello to those you run in to even if you do not know them, and greet the children in the store or on the street with a kind smile and happy word...GO AND MAKE YOUR IMPACT ON YOUR WORLD!!!....And if this blog speaks to you in any way, pass it forward.  Send the link out to all your email and phone contacts.  Who knows?  Someone in that list may be desperate for God's Glance and something as simple as a blog may bring them healing.  It is the purpose for which it was started.  ....Blessed Third Week in Advent to all....Fruitful Advent to all of us (may we be changed by our Advent practices)....Until next time...Is 35:3-6a

Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.

ps:  in order to be able to write more often as requested, i will not proof my writings so forgive any grammatical errors....i don't have the time at this moment in my life to devote to perfecting everything i write...God bless!

9. Be Teachable!

The reading in morning prayer today was from Sirach 18:8-9,11-14

"What are mortals?  What are they worth?  What is good in them, and what is evil?  The number of their days seems great, if it reaches a hundred years.  That is why The Lord is patient with them and pours out His Mercy on them.  He sees and understands that their death is wretched, and so He forgives them all the more.  Their compassion is for their neighbor, but The Lord' Compassion reaches all flesh.  Reproving, Admonishing, Teaching, and Turning them back, as a shepherd his flock.  He has compassion on those who accept His Discipline, who are eager for His Precepts."

When i read this i knew it should be part of this blog.  What Love The Father has for us!  He always gives us many chances over and over again.  Let's look at the words used here:

Reprove:  to criticize or correct, especially gently

Admonish:  to caution, advise, or counsel against something. 2. to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner: 

Teach:  . to impart knowledge or skill; give instruction

Turn someone back:  to persuade (a person) to change or reorder the course of his or her life.

Following this list He says we have to "accept His Discipline".  We don't like discipline in today's world....we don't like to obey....yet this is key to growth...being eager for what God wants to teach us...eager for His Lessons, Rules, Ways of doing things.  My son had sent one of his pieces of art to a Famous Contemporary Christian Artist whose work is extremely deep and motivating.  He wrote back and gave this instruction to my son many years ago and i adopted it.  He said,"Be teachable!..Always be teachable!"  This line is so necessary in all aspects of life but especially with our relationship with God.  He surely knows what is best and so we can truly trust Him!   

Mary DeTurris Poust wrote this paragraph and i do not think i can change, add or subtract a thing.  It pulls together all that i have wanted to share in these past blogs.  i hope it feeds you the way it has fed me:

"Each time you light the candles on your advent wreath this season...day by day, week by week....may it be a reminder to step outside the frenetic pace of the world and set your life to a slower rhythm, a sacred cadence that gives you room to breath in God's Goodness, to revel in the waiting, to look into the darkness all around you and find The Light that can never be extinguished!"

i pray This Holy Season we all find more of That Light!  Keep chasing Him.  i promise you it is well worth the effort.  And remember....BE TEACHABLE!

(Plz note i use lower case i and a small a in angie when referring to me and all things in any way associated with God are capitalized.  This may not be grammatically correct, but i was inspired to do this many years ago.  So note it is intentional.  Just thought you should know.)

til next time...For those of you who never heard of the book of Sirach in the Bible, here is an article that explains why some Bibles have a book called Sirach and others do not.

http://www.calledtocommunion.com/2010/11/sirach-about-a-biblical-book-rejected-by-the-reformation/

ps:  Comments are welcome.....

8. What are we listening to...

The second sense i want to cover is our hearing...what a great gift from God our hearing is.  For some reason we allow ourselves to be subjected to foul language and poor conversation, programs and shows with themes that are negative and destroying and music that brings on depression.  Our prayer space....our homes....our workplace...our car need to be places of Light...with audio that is beautiful and uplifting to help us maintain our prayer connection with God.  Music is one of my ministries and the songs and lyrics we listen to affect who we are.  There are two Christian radio stations in our area that are marvelous.  Their music is safe for the little ones in us and continue to be uplifting and elevating to the heart and mind.  They are Klove 96.7 FM and Star 99.1FM both of these numbers are for the NYC area.  You can look them up online.  The music is modern and very positive.  Put this on wherever you are and after a while you will know all the songs and start to sing along.  Their shows are aimed at inspiring belief  in God and His Power and Love.  We must fight day to day to support the Joy of the Lord and the reality of His Existence.  Remember "THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH!"  Why shouldn't we surround ourselves with great audio...This goes for our TV shows, movies, plays, and people we spend time with....."Oh be careful little ears what you hear..."  We use our computers and phones for everything except finding the alternative to what the society continues to try and push as 'norm'.  Some great Christian musicians i like are Michael W. Smith Worship albums, Matthew West, Matt Maher, Gaithers Band  David Phelps, Larnelle Harris, Israel and the New Breed....etc.  Look some up on YouTube...rejoice in your God!  Dance and sing unto Him as the Psalms encourage us to.  And find people who you can call your 'tribe'.  Those who have similar beliefs like you have and talk...sit around a table and share the goodness of God!  Those who are saved by the Blood of Jesus...and sometimes a few might be your blood relatives too.

And don't forget that hearing means listening means we need silence too.  i went to a monastery just this past Thursday and the silence in that chapel was 'delicious'.  We have noise all the time around us fighting for our attention and burdening our brain causing stress upon stress.  Get time alone with God in silence to rest the senses and 'hear' from Him in a way that exceeds what the senses can handle but we must quiet ourselves to reach a higher plain in our spiritual journeys.  People often say they wish they had some of the spiritual experiences i have encountered but refuse to work at it and be creative in finding their God.  The media continues to demand our attention.....fight hard to resist and quiet yourselves.  You will then hear 'sounds' and see 'things' you can't imagine or experience in this natural world.  These extraordinary experiences  are not aimed at a small select group.  It is available to all of us if we continue to "CHASE HIM".

Remember i am praying for you always.  God wants you and i to flourish.  And as we find more of Him and change our approach in the littlest ways, we will find ourselves more peaceful, happier, more stable,...able to better our relationships and become "The best version of ourselves".

Remember JESUS is the Only Reason for this season....He is the One who deserves presents, so simplify this Holy Season.  Turn all your efforts toward Him and show those around you how these Holy Seasons should be lived ....with God as the Center of it all!   May He be Praised, Adored, and Loved by all ....The only 'decoration' we need for Christmas is Him!!!

We will cover the sense of touch next time to complete this topic....All eyes and ears on Him.... and find time for silence....til next time....1Kings 19 The Lord speaking to Elijah

11 Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake;12after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound. (often referred to as a whisper)

13When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.A voice said to him, Why are you here, Elijah?"