YOUR TREASURE IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS

Christmas is getting near, probably many people started to plan on how to decorate the house,what to dress, where to go etc.....all this shows where our heart is really attached to. Christmas is all about love, and accepting Jesus in our heart and lives. Jesus is above all other treasure. no wonder that tradition calls 'the three kings wise', cause they are truly wise as although they were rich, they were not satisfied until they found the true king...the true treasure.

may we too recognize the beauty of Jesus' kingdom, kingdom that will have no end. Let us all really prepare our hearts for the coming of this king. let us decorate our hearts by sincere love for one another and by working really hard for peace. we need to start from our hearts and families first by practising forgiveness and by praying the rosary.

TO LOVE TILL IT HURTS

This day and age, a lot is being said about Love...the magic word. we see love stories in magazines, films etc. we also hear a lot of modern music based on this four letter word, but does society really knows the true meaning of the word? Jesus Christ showed us the ultimate meaning on how to love.. real love is always based on sacrifice, it is unconditional, you give without wanting nothing in return. mother Theresa said that 'we must love till it hurts', this is the authentic christian way on how to love.

Jesus showed us the way on how to love as he died for us, for our salvation, so that we may live. mother Mary cooperated with the plan of salvation by saying yes to God...to do his will, this lead her to pass the agony with her son. near the cross she bore us all with the deep pain she suffered for and with her son, she became the mother of all nations. Jesus is calling us for conversion by sending his mother Mary to various parts of the world. we in Malta are having the grace and the privilege to have the mother of god appearing in Malta, praying with us and advice us on how to live Jesus' way, in fact she sends us to him. A lot of people say how could this be? for me it is quite simple, when you love a person,you do everything you can to communicate with the person, like by e mail, post,telephone, sms, or even sending another person. so if we poor human beings do everything in our hands to try to communicate with others, how can we limit God?... the creator of heaven and earth. we hear others say the there are too many phenomena going on in Malta.....my opinion is that these are eye openers, they are signs for us to remind us to change our ways and to really learn to love God first unconditional.

prayer: father in the name of Jesus, send forth your holy spirit and give us light so that we may humbly accept that your ways are not our ways, and give us the strength to work for the salvation of other souls, who are our brothers and sisters in you. Amen

HEAVEN OPENED........

Heaven opened when God the father send his only begotten son for humanity, the first to pay the price was our mother Mary, through the prophecy of Simeon at Jesus' presentation in the temple, cf LK 2: 34-35 " look he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed-"and a sword will pierce your soul too-so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare". the same sword that pierced the side of Jesus, where from Jesus' side came forth the church. heaven once again is opening up to us all by our lady's visits to Malta, crying out to us all to open our hearts to Christ. This goes in line with the motto of late Pope John Paul II " Be not afraid to open your hearts to Christ," Are we truly opening the doors of our hearts to Jesus, can God the father say 'you are my faithful servant whom I am well pleased with? what thorn is piercing our heart and the hearts of Jesus and Mary? if the thorn is still a sin then pray to God to change your heart, if your heart is pierced with illness, problems and heartache, then offer it for conversion of sinners, and god will grant you a bouquet of roses in return, filled with his peace, serenity and goodness.

Prayer ; Today father God I am heart broken. Problems are making me weary. But I will unite my sorrows with your son Jesus in the Garden of Olives and offer up my burden for those who are going to commit abortion, euthanasia and drug abuse. I cannot hold this thorn which is piercing my heart, but I know in faith that your grace is enough. Dear Mother help us to truly open our heart to your son Jesus, who is the way ,the truth and the life. Amen

The Feast of Our Lady ....Dance into 'perfect joy'

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

Yesterday the 15th of August was the feast of our lady's assumption. She is a role model, a living example for us all especially during turmoil, difficulties and trials of our lives. she is the new eve pure without sin. She is our tree of life that gave birth to our new image through Jesus Christ. Her blind faith and her 'yes' to God changed us all.

Mary experienced poverty, humiliation,persecution and her son's death. In spite of this severe pain she remained still, firm and full of faith because the holy spirit was her spouse, she was his dwelling place, his golden castle that shone forth through her obedience. Mary was so one with God almighty that he carved the new commandment in her womb......Jesus. She fulfilled all the beatitudes, that's why God lifted her up, made her queen of heaven and earth.

c f The canticle of Mary : My soul magnifies the Lord,And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.He has shown strength with His arm:He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.He has put down the mighty from their thrones,and exalted those of low degree.He has filled the hungry with good things;and the rich He has sent empty away.He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Prayer; Dear mother Mary, our mother, I thank you for your 'yes' to God out of Love. help us to remain faithful to God till the end. be with us in out trials and difficulties. Life can be really hard, with our problems and trials. help us to love our families and friends even when they abandon us, when they do not understand us. Give us strength to help our worst enemies. We offer you our hearts, take it to your son, and let it be cleansed from the things that are not worthy in God's eyes. may he'll melt it with the fire of his love and given back to us with a childlike innocence. Amen

OUR TEARS WILL TURN INTO JOY

yesterday I was reflecting on the passion of our lord Jesus Christ, and at one point I meditated on the very last moments of our saviour. [this is my reflection] On the cross Jesus felt that he was abandoned, it was of his father's will that he felt that, as our heavenly father wanted to save us totally. Jesus was one with the father, he cooperated with the father till the end, even at the point of being alone, not on his dead bed but on the cross! in fact he said to the beloved disciple " behold your mother", the disciple represents everyone of us...from that minute our lady became the mother of all nations, she too cooperated with the Father's will till the end....can we really grasp this situation? when i was in hospital I always wanted to be surrounded by my dear ones. but Jesus showed us that in the end of the day we need to depend on God only. I meditated on the last few minutes on Jesus' agony....how much love he has for humanity.....!that minute he had a joyful sorrow because it was accomplished, looked at heavens above he new that there was his father welcoming him, I imagine that, that minute the heavens above were opened, and Jesus full of joy was returning home knowing that he made all things new. After this reflection what came to my mind was this beautiful biblical passage below.

revelation 21; 4 [new int version 1984 ]He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Every day we can reflect on Jesus' love and sacrifice by attending mass during consecration, remember that the Eucharist is the heart of the blessed trinity. C F John 12: 45 "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
Prayer: Dear father help us to reflect more on the merits that were obtained by your only begotten son, as your son is the truth, the way, the life. yes and we want to know the truth as only the truth can set us free. help us to appreciate more your son in the blessed Eucharist, as it is heaven on earth, manna for our spiritual growth. help us to be your bold children pointing always to the Eucharist, enfolded in the love of Mary, your first tabernacle. Amen

Come Holy Spirit, Come and fill us with your Fire

Today is the feast of Pentecoste, let us see one of the biblical passages of pentecoste;

Acts 2:1-4 – When Pentecost day came round, , they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind,which filled the entire house in which where they were sitting, and there appeared to them, tongues as of fire, these seperated and came to rest on the head of each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves."

Come holy spirit, come with you holy gifts, renew our hearts and our minds, and fill us with your love and mould us in Jesus to do God's will, for our sanctification and for all the church, renew the face of the earth, renew the church, mould her like you did on pentecost day, cleanse your church from all fear, pride, bitterness and from all sins. Make us holy dear holy spirit in Jesus name, we Pray, amen.

Long for these gifts dear brothers and sisters, long for then for the good of humantiy.........Gift of Wisdom: Gift of Understanding; The gift of Council: The gift of Fortitude or Power: The gift of Knowledge: The gift of Piety : The gift of Fear to the Lord:.

The Charisms of the holy Spirit

charisms of 1Cor.12 can be divided in 3 classes:
1- Three Charisms of the mind: - The word of wisdom. - The word of knowledge. - The discernment of the spirits.
2- Three Charisms of action: - The gifts of healing. - The working of miracles. - The gift of faith, that faith that moves mountains (Mt.21:21, Mk.11:22-23).
3- Three Charisms of the tongue: - Prophecy. - Speak in tongues. - Interpretation of tongues.

Do You Love Me?

The Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his flock is asking us, " do you love me?" That's what he asked peter, and he is asking every one of us, Jesus wants us to go after his lost sheep, he wants to go through us, this must be the ulitmate aim in our lives. if we truly love him we must care for his sheep. The evil one never sleeps, he does his best to prevent us from accomplishing God's plan, he tries hard to shift our focus away by means of Jealousy for one another, arrogance, hatred and pride. We only have to focus on Christ. When we make Christ the centre in our lives we can do great things through him, he who strenghten us.

Jesus is the solution of the world's problems.



John 21:15-23
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") 21When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." 23Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"

Looking At The Face Of Jesus

While peter was denying Jesus, Jesus was saving peter, me and you by confessing the truth. Can we look at the face of Jesus and not feeling guilty for denying Jesus with our sins? we can't be too shocked about peter when we still cannot change our evil ways ! With every sin we are denying Jesus once again. Let us look at this face of Jesus, and see pure Love. Let us look deep into Jesus' eyes and let those eyes penetrate our innermost being in the depths of our soul, let these eyes change you with his burning love for you, let him change you! Let him look at you, don't run away from him and let his look burn you with the desire to love him more, in loving others souls as he loves, bring those souls to Jesus, on the cross he said " I Thirst", this thirst is for souls whom he died for on the cross to obtain their salvation, are you ready to quench this thirst for him? then start right now, open your heart, love him and love others, this will be the beginning of a new a life for you.

Let us pray; Thank you my Lord and my God For your love that showed in your passion,reaching it's climax on the cross, come into my heart and in my life, take over and I will be made new again, my soul we be refreshed, with you in my life I have nothing to fear but to rejoice, this I prayed in Jesus' name, Amen. N.B meditate on the biblical passage below.

Peter's First Denial
15Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, 16but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.
17"You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, "I am not."
18It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.
The High Priest Questions Jesus
19Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. 21Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said."
22When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded.
23"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?" 24Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
Peter's Second and Third Denials
25As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not."
26One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?" 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

The Still Small Voice

This biblical passage below help us to reflect on the presence of the lord.

At times we search for the lord in strange places, in people.....but we never stop to listen to that still small voice from within. The extraordinary God wants to enter in our lives by ordinary ways. Jesus is knocking in our hearts, but we cannot understand this unless we are like little children. The 'yes' to lord will change our lives completely, we may not understand exactly God's will for us, but we can experience his grace working in our lives, the grace to be able to be bold for him, to love our enemies, to work for his glory and for his kingdom, to be his co worker with the plan of salvation for humanity.....to make a better world. That's what our 'yes' means. And most of all it means that we want to love him and be with him for eternity.

''Elijah travels, for forty days and forty nights, to Mount Horeb and seeks shelter in a cave. God again speaks to Elijah (1 Kings 19:9): "What doest thou here, Elijah?". Up until this time Elijah has only the word of God to guide him, but now he is told to go outside the cave and "stand before the Lord." A terrible wind passes, but God is not in the wind. A great earthquake shakes the mountain, but God is not in the earthquake. Then a fire passes the mountain, but God is not in the fire. Then a "still small voice" comes to Elijah and asks again, "What doest thou here, Elijah?". God then sends him out again, this time to Damascus to anoint Hazael as king of Syria, Jehu as king of Israel, and Elisha as his replacement". (Info from wikipedia)

PSALM 23

As I said in my previous post, in the silence of the desert we can somehow experience God. We will realize and reflect that truly God suffices as St Therese of Avila rightly reflected " Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things pass away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things.He who has GodFinds he lacks nothing;God alone suffices"

Jesus is our Good Shepherd as we read in this beautiful psalm 23 :

The Lord is my Shepherd

That’s Relationship!

I shall not want
That’s Supply!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

That’s Rest!

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

That’s Refreshment!

He restoreth my soul

That’s Healing!

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.

That’s Guidance!

For His name sake

That’s Purpose!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

That’s Testing!

I will fear no evil.

That’s Protection!

For Thou art with me

That’s Faithfulness!

Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me,

That’s Discipline!

Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of my enemies.

That’s Hope!

Thou anointest my head with oil,

That’s Consecration!

My cup runneth over

That’s Abundance!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

That’s Blessing!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord.

That’s Security!

Forever!

That’s Eternity!

The Desert : Meeting God

The majesty of the desert always fascinated me, the stillness, solitude, emptiness and nakedness.....

The desert is a reflection of our spirituality, it is here where our innermost being meets God. Only in stillness that we are able to listen to God. In emptying ourselves.

Hos 1: 16 "But look, I am going to seduce her and lead her into the desert and speak to her heart"

The desert Fathers saw the importance of this approach. rather then going in the desert like our spiritual fathers, for us it is more of a spiritual attitude for our search for God, according to the former, (cf the dawn of our spirituality by Segundo Galilea0), there are three requirements renunciation, conversion, and the practice of mercy [ibid p4].

my opinion we must learn to renounce evil, and anything that is not christocentric, in other words a complete change of heart, ( Ezk; 36:26 " I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you, I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead")

"compunction of heart" to love Christ above everyone else including our dear ones! And to love like him. According to the fathers of the desert [ibid p35] "the compunction of heart and permanent conversion are a gift from God,for which the must pray". So one can see here the importance of being still, [away from the hedonistic approach], reading the bible and praying, like the desert fathers, it is at this point that our soul can truly meet God, and listen to God, this is the truth....And this truth will set us free. JN 8:31-32 " To the Jews who believed in him Jesus said: if you make my word your home, you will indeed be my disciples; you will come to know the truth, and the truth will set you free".

The Risen Christ Is Still With Us

God Only tested Abraham, he tested him in his precious only son. he stopped Abraham from killing his son, but God was not finished he continued his plan of salvation by sending his only begotten son to die on the cross so that we may have life.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" [John 3:16]

Just as Isaac carried the Wood for the burnt offering so did Jesus, he carried the cross to be a perfect offering to God the father the difference from Isaac is that his life was not spared.

Jesus is present in Every mass, he is present in every Tabernacle. As he has promised c f Matt28: 20 "...and look, I am with you always: yes, to the end of time". So wherever we are, no matter what we're doing Jesus is with us and he knows every one of us as he is God.

Sometimes people ask. How come I go to mass frequently and I'm still the same? I still do the same mistakes or sins?

Humbly I may answer, you haven't yet taken JESUS seriously in your life, our hearts must burn for him, we must love him, and let him change us, open our hearts and let him in.

Pray to the holy spirit to give us his wisdom, to help us in our turbulence, and most of all to let our mother the blessed virgin Mary to guide us, to be bold like her son. We must always remember that even in our worst illness, problems etc, Jesus is with us........Let us have courage in our problems to let our cross save us through Christ for he is always with us.

HE IS RISEN ! ALLELULIA

(John 20:19-31 NIV) On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" {20} After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. {21}

Peace be with you! are Jesus' first words. Jesus is victorious over sin and death, and he wants our salvation.

Jesus is sending his mother to various parts of the world including Malta, she comes to take us to her son, she cares for us and wants to help us in our conversion. her main massage is [for Maltese people] and the whole world, to truly have conversion, we need to decide, which road to take....eternal damnation or eternal joy. our life in Christ start here and now. Our Mother Mary speaks about peace too, but we will never have peace unless we have radical conversion. when we change we are then able to change the world, from deadly sins such as abortion, euthanasia, divorce, child abuse, pornography, etc. peace starts by accepting the risen Christ in our hearts, but we have to open our hearts to him, he appeared to his apostles when the doors were closed, he was able to got through, but he will never force himself into our hearts, as he is love and we must accept him with love. we can start by humbly confessing our sins, receive Jesus in the Eucharist and pray, especially the rosary. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it's never too late for you, Jesus has all his time to embrace you when you go to him, his time is eternity, enfolded

with unconditional love, peace and joy. Experience peace and true love, experience CHRIST.

when we're down God raises us up!

This song in this video really uplifts me. You raise me up....that what god does if we only let him. God does not send illness,sickness etc. cause he can only give us good things and perfect love. Being the perfect father he permits that we pass from certain things, so that we may see his glory and cling to him even more. life as we all know is not a bad of roses and the evil one on the other hand will do his best in these circumstances to let us think that God has abandoned us or that god wants us to suffer. we must remain firm in the lord in spite of our illness, in spite of our weakness to be in relationship with Jesus, i think this is,the secret is to Jesus with all your might that you cannot pass a day without receiving him in the Eucharist. we must also love our mother Mary, because she knows what it means to pass from distress,......if you are in prison remember that her son was innocent, he was silent during his trail so that you can be saved from the fires of hell, if you are in pain remember that she held the body of her only son, so that you and me may have life in us, life for eternity. Dear friends let us love Jesus and our lady immensely, when her spouse [the holy spirit] finds Jesus and our lady in our lives he too will come and give us his strength

Then we can all say or sing, you lift me up1

we must all carry our cross to follow jesus

One of the problems in our society is that when we come face to face with suffering we doubt God, we say to one onother 'where is our God?' I say to you dear ones, look at the face of Jesus in this picture, it is a face that shows suffering, for you and me. Anyone who wants to follow Christ must carry his cross . When we are in pain Jesus suffers with us, he helps us carry it, as he knows what suffering is,'I will never leave you nor forsake you, I have carved you in the palm of my hands'.

Let us prepare ourselves for lent, let us offer our sufferings for conversion of sinners, for our society, that cannot accept suffering but talks of abortion, when we offer our suffering we discover that it can have a meaning,it turns to a redemtive suffering.