REFLECTIONS OF THE HEART

Peace is a gift that we get from Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God and through Him we become sons and daughters of God not of the world. The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":(2 Pet 1:4) "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 460) When Jesus unlike Adam who did not trust, assumed human nature and became obedient to the Father to death, He gave man a new beginning. As we are off to start this new year we can start anew with Jesus Christ and begin 2011 with Him. We may never know what the future holds for us but we know that God holds our future. Amen. Hallelujah!

Numbers 6:22-27
...The LORD bless you and keep you! 25 The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! 26 The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!

In Romans 8:14-15 it is written, "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, Father!" Amen. Hallelujah!


Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R: May God bless us in his mercy.
1 [2] May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us.

Jesus is born of a woman. What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Jesus Christ. God sent His Son born of a woman and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us. To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role. Mary is Mother of God and this title protects the reality of the Incarnation. She is also the Mother of us all. We can experience her maternal love through our devotion to her. We are also her children in an ever present way with her union with God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Galatians 4:4-7
4 Brothers and sisters: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. 6 As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

To whom do we entrust the things in our lives? Do we trust in our own understanding and capabilities more than we do God? Just like us, Mary had a lot of things going on in her life back then and most of them she did not exactly know where it’s going to lead her but her faith in God kept her going joyfully and securely. It pays to always spend time for some reflections of the heart. And we can learn a lot from Mary’s attitude of being reflective of the things happening to her as in today’s gospel. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 2:16-21
...Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart...