FOCUS ON GOD

When two persons who are greatly blest meet, what usually happens? They engage in a very lively exchange. This is what happens today in the Gospel. Elizabeth, even in her old age and barrenness, conceived. Mary, despite her young age and virginity, conceived as well. Both women were not only greatly blest; they were blest even beyond imagining. Today, the Gospel focuses on the meeting of these two unimaginable blest women and their exchange was so lively that Elizabeth's child even jumped in the womb while Mary rejoices unto her soul.

Mary's canticle,the Magnificat, highlights their rendezvous. The Magnificat, in turn, highlights what God has done. The canticle focuses on God's action on behalf of His People, Israel. God's action underscores His fidelity to His promise of mercy to Abraham and his children forever. How greatly blest we can really be if in every meeting we have with anyone highlights God's works in our life! Instead of talking about other people's lives, speak about God's action in our life. Discern with everyone we meet how God moves in our life. Focus on God's faithfulness to us rather than on the infidelity of others.

Christmas can be a whole year round celebration if we proclaim everyday with everyone how God comes and enters into our life. Christmas should not be reduced to a mere annual commemoration of the Lord's birth. It must be a daily experience when we focus not on our selves nor on others but on God. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION: Christmas is primarily God's gift to us, not our gift to God.

Thank You, Jesus, for choosing to come to us and becoming part of our race. Help us to bring You to anyone we meet each day in our life. May our life always be a song of praise and thanksgiving to Your fidelity to us. May we ourselves be the proof of Your faithful love. Amen.

adapted from Kyregma

GETTING TO KNOW THE SAINTS

Saint Peter Claver

Peter Claver (c.1580) was a Spanish priest under the Society of Jesus. He had a strong desire to serve as a

missionary in South America. When finally given the chance to set foot on his mission, the young priest was surprised to see shiploads of African slaves brought at the seaport of Cartagena. He decided to stay at the port and attend to the sick and suffering in the crowd. He would give them food and medicine, and baptize the babies and the dying. For 40 years, he remained steadfast in his duty. Father Claver was always patient and trusted God. Despite the discouragements from slave owners and criticisms from many, he never failed to visit his converts even after they left Cartagena.

In 1650, the priest grew ill. He only stayed in his room and could not hear Mass. Almost everyone forgot about the priest. And when he died on September 8, 1654, it was only then that the people realized they lost a saint. The people gave him the title, the Apostle of the Slaves .

Saint Peter Claver was proclaimed a saint by Pope Leo XIII in 1888.

http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/saintday/m9.html#BM3

GETTING TO KNOW THE SAINTS

Saint Hadrian

Hadrian was a martyr during the early fourth century. He served as a Roman officer under Emperor Maximian at the imperial court of Nicomedia. When he witnessed the martyrdom of 23 Christians, Hadrian could not control himself and cried out, Let me be counted as one of these, for I too am a Christian. As a result, he was immediately put in prison and tortured to death. His wife Natalia, who disguised herself as a boy, remained faithful by his side. Finally, when her husband was sentenced to die on March 4, 304, Natalia stood witness. Hadrian s body parts were axed and his remains were thrown into fire. A rainstorm came and extinguished the fire, thus, allowing Christians to give him a decent burial.

http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0908.htm#lawr

CHRISTMAS AND THE EUCHARIST

Let me suggest why people make so many happy visits during Christmas. God was the first to have made a visit on Christmas day. He visited us, His beloved creatures. His visit was such that He took upon Himself our fallen nature and appeared as one like us in all things, but sin.

However, God was not content with a passing visit. He stayed with us. Christmas is Jesus coming to us. The Eucharist is Jesus staying with us.

While God was the first to have made a visit on Christmas, Mary was the first to have welcomed Him. And with God in her womb, Mary went in haste to make her Christmas visit. The Gospel today paints for us that beautiful visit of the Blessed Mother to her cousin, Elizabeth. She, too, was not satisfied with a momentary visit. She stayed with Elizabeth about three months, attending to her cousin’s maternity needs, before she went home. Mary, with Jesus in her womb, is like Jesus in the Eucharist. She came, she stayed, and she served.

The same thing should happen as we receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Our visits should be visits that bring Jesus to the people we visit. Then our visits become Eucharistic as we linger to attend to the needs of the people we go to. When this happens, we ourselves become Eucharistic. If Christmas is Jesus coming to us while the Eucharist is Jesus staying with us, Christmas is receiving Jesus while the Eucharist is becoming like Jesus to others. It is not a choice between the two; rather one should flow to the other. Christmas has its fullest meaning in the Eucharist.

Welcoming Jesus in Bethlehem must necessarily lead us to bringing Jesus everywhere.

God has visited us. We surely owe Him a visit. The church is His house; we can always find Him there. But His favorite address is the least of our brethren; we always have them with us.

God stays with us. He truly is Emmanuel, God-With-Us. The Eucharist is His real presence. But we, who receive Him in the Eucharist, are likewise His Body.

We are His presence, too.

Christmas is Jesus being born to us. The Eucharist is us becoming Jesus to others. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION: Christmas is Jesus coming to us while the Eucharist is Jesus staying with us.

Jesus, You are truly Emmanuel, “God-with-us”. While we remember annually Your birth on Christmas Day, we celebrate Your presence in our midst up until today through the Holy Eucharist. As we receive You in the Holy Eucharist, transform us and make us Your loving presence to others who either visit us or are visited by us. We pray, maranatha, come, Lord Jesus! We pray, make us become more and more like You. Amen.

NEVER GET SICK AGAIN!!!!

I want to share this to you guys as this sounds
quite informative.


HEADACHES : FISH (PROTEIN)
Eat lots of fish as fish oil helps to
prevent headaches. So does ginger
which reduces inflammation and pain.

HAYFEVER : YOGHURT
Eat lots of yoghurt before pollen
season.

STROKES : TEA
Prevents buildup of fatty deposit
on artery walls with regular doses
of tea.

INSOMNIA : HONEY
Use Honey as a tranquilizer and
as a sedative.

ASTHMA : ONIONS (RED)
Eating onions helps ease
constriction of bronchial tubes.

ARTHRITIS : FISH
Salmon, tuna, mackerel and
sardines actually prevent arthritis.

UPSET STOMACH : BANANAS,
GINGER : Bananas will settle an
upset stomach. Ginger cures
morning sickness and nausea.

BLADDER INFECTIONS :
CRANBERRY JUICE : High-acid
cranberry juice controls harmful
bacteria.

BONES PROBLEMS :
PINEAPPLE Bones fractures and
osteoporosis can be prevented by
the manganese in pineapple.

PMS : CORNFLAKES
Women can ward off the effects of
PMS with cornflakes, which help
reduce depression, anxiety & fatigue.

MEMORY PROBLEMS : OYSTERS
Oysters help increase your mental
functioning by supplying much needed
zinc.

COUGH : RED PEPPER
A substance similar to that found
in cough syrup is found in hot red
pepper.

BREAST CANCER : WHEAT
BRAN, CABBAGE : Wheat bran
and cabbage help maintain
estrogen at healthy levels.

LUNG CANCER : ORANGE,
GREEN VEGETABLES : A good
antidote is beta-carotene, a form of
Vitamin A found in orange & green
vegetables.

ULCERS : CABBAGE
Cabbage contains chemical that
help heal both type of ulcers.

DIARREA : APPLES
Crate an apple with its skin. Let it
turn brown and eat it to this
condition.

CLOGGED ARTERIES :
AVOCADOS
Mono-unsaturated fat in avocados
lower cholesterol.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE :
OLIVE OIL, CELERY : Olive oil has
been shown to lower blood pressure.
Celery contains a chemical that lowers
blood pressure too.

BLOOD SUGAR IMBALANCE :
BROCOLLI, PEANUTS : The
chromium in broccoli and peanuts helps
regulate insulin and blood sugar.

ATTACH TO REFRIGERATOR
DOOR, WALL OR THE
BULLETIN BOARD FOR HANDY
REFERENCE.
NEVER SICK AGAIN

Wake Up Call...

I went early to bed last night. Reasons..got stomach cramps and headache..Result..woke up so early today. My husband usually wakes up early around 4am when he go to work. As my husband's alarm rang this morning, it also woke me up. I tried to go back to sleep again but I can't any more.

He just told me last night that he was never been late in his whole life in going to work. I was kidding him that I will give him an Early Bird Award. He just laughed. As I don't feel like sleepy any more, I grabbed something for reading. This is now what I want to share to you. It's very nice and worth sharing as this is also happening to me.

Tried by Fire
Read Psalm 66:1-12
---------------------------

You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined....Psalm 66:10

"The main end of life is not to do but to become," F.B. Meyer said. And for this we are being prepared everyday. As silver is being refined by fire, the heart is often refined in the furnace of sadness. The psalmist said in his sorrow, "We went through fire". (Psalm 66:12)

The refining process maybe painful, but it will not destroy us, for the Refiner sits by the furnace tending the flame. He will not allow us to be tried beyond our endurance; it is for our good.

We may not understand why we have to endure such misery year after year. The ordeal seems endless and pointless. Our days are wasted, or so it appears. We feel as if we are doing nothing of lasting significance.

But God is doing what matters- we are refined. He is placing us into a crucible in which we acquire patience, meekness, humility, compassion and the other "quite" virtues, our souls naturally lack.

So don't be afraid and don't fret, Your present trial, as painful as it may be has been screened through God's wisdom and love. The Refiner sits beside the crucible tempering the flames, monitoring the process, waiting patiently until His face is mirrored in the surface. - David Roper

"The fire of testing can produce a shining testimony"

TWENTY THINGS TO REMEMBER

I want to share this to all of you...guess this gives some insights on our day to day living.

1. Faith is the ability not to panic.

2. If you worry, you didn't pray. If you prayed, don't worry.

3. As a child of God, prayer is kinda like calling home every day

4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so he can untangle the knot.

6. Do the Math. Count your blessings.

7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

8. Dear God: I have a problem. It's me.

9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

10. Laugh every day - it's like inner jogging.

11. The most important things in your home are the people.

12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.
(Preach it!)

13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open. Come on in.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

16. We do not remember days but moments. Life moves too fast so enjoy your precious moments.

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise it's just hearsay.

18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of another for the angels to read. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

.......adapted from Mountain Wings