1401AFC010314 – Epiphany!
Read it online here, please.
It is done. 2013 is finally over. Earlier this week we celebrated New Year’s Day; for Crucita and I – as we said earlier – this January 1 is also New Life Day. How does it feel to be retired? Dunno. Haven’t gotten enough direct evidence yet, but I am working on it; wait – not working on it, maybe more like trying it out. We’ve set some ambitious goals for the first year like cleaning up the house, clearing out the library, changing our diets to match our finances (thinner), and of course “more exercise.” I think my top priority for the first couple of weeks of the year will be to develop and maintain a better pattern of rest and sleep. In the past two years I have aged rapidly, and I am hoping these changes will lessen the angle of decline and spread out into a new, albeit lower, plateau of day-to-day puttering.
We took the house off the market Tuesday when our sales contract expired. I don’t know if we’ll put it back on later – perhaps in the Spring – but perhaps not. Of course, as we’ve often said, we take this as a door gently closed so that we can now focus our attention on what God needs from us here. There is still much work to be done for Him and for us. We need to whittle down the volume of our “worldly goods.” There is some work on the house that needs to be done (there’s always work to be done on a 60-year-old-house). The yard still produces an incredible amount of stuff that has to be trimmed, pruned, cut, whacked, dug up, watered, weeded, and done all over again. We’ve already cut back a bit – about half – on our Sunday ministry as Lectors, and we’re thinking that will give us the opportunity to go to other Masses, visit our parish’s Mission Churches more often, go to Mass with our Compadres and our goddaughter, and I will continue serving on the Pastoral Council. That will be more challenging soon because we’ll be “retiring” about half of the current members and bringing on their replacements. Also, with regret, we just learned that our current Parochial Vicar (“Assistant Pastor” Fr. Gerry) has been transferred to O‘ahu and will be leaving in a matter of days. I look forward to working with the Council! It is the kind of service for which I am best suited.
As 2014 begins, all of us are thinking about what 2013 was like, what we hope will be better in 2014, what we hope continues with us from 2013, and some of us will resolve to take a proactive role in some sort of self-improvement. For many of us, that resolve will fade in about 6 weeks, and our safe-and-familiar ruts will welcome us back. For others, each New Year brings a certain determination to live better, become wiser and smarter, and to do something new or better with our lives. My hope for all of you, Beloved, is that 2014 will be a year for you to know and grow in the Light and the Word. My prayer for you is that – in every day of your life in 2014 – you fill your heart with the Light and the Word. That is, has been, and will be the purpose of these Aloha Friday Messages, the Aloha-Friday.org website, the daily Intercessory Prayer List, and the MBN Member Prayer. I have a special request for you about the MBN Member prayer (attached to this mailing). Would you try to use it often in your own daily devotions or prayer time, please? One of the goals I set at the inception of the MBN was to “pray without ceasing” for each other. It’s just a short little prayer, maybe 30 seconds or less, but it is a prayer that covers all of us – and many, many more people – with the intentions of Light and Love and Life.
There is a deep spiritual reason for asking our El-Shaddai-Olam to grant all of us that trio of blessings on a daily basis. The reason is that it helps us to follow Christ’s command to “love one another as I have loved you,” and to “let your light shine before all.” Your day-to-day life is given to you so that you can show the world the Light and Life of the Word. We use a special word for that – MANIFEST: demonstrate, show forth, exhibit, make plain, or reveal. We are to let the Light and Life of the Word become so obvious in us that it allows others access to a Spiritual Epiphany so that they, too, know the Light and Life of the Word.
The Feast of Epiphany is a commemoration of the Epiphany – the showing forth, the revealing – of Christ to the World by recalling the visit of the Magi. Long story short, Jesus was revealed to the lowest and poorest (shepherds), the purest (Anna and Simeon), and the most clearly-defined outsiders (the Magi), before his own nation learned who he was. The “Three Kings” knew Jesus as THE King, the fulfillment of prophecy. The Shepherds were told “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Anna and Simeon knew Jesus to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Both of these prophets were walking in the Holy Spirit because “the Holy Spirit rested” on them.
Beloved, guess what? THE HOLY SPIRIT RESTS ON US, TOO! Not only can we recognize Christ when he is shown to us, others can recognize Christ in us when we show him to them. That is AWESOME!! And I mean “awesome” in the way that it should be defined – overwhelming, amazing, awe-inspiring, wonderful, evoking respect, reverence, esteem, worship, adoration, praise, glory, and veneration. In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” He is the Light. But remember this: He also says in Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the World … let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” How can HE be the Light and WE be the Light? You know the answer; his is in us and we are in him and the Spirit rests on us in unity with God the Father.
Epiphany me!
Beloved, each of us has been given and carries with us the Gift of the Light and Life of the Word. Gifts are not gifts unless they are given by one and received by another. We have been given an Awesome Gift. For us, it is a gift greater than those Worldly gifts brought by the Magi because it is an everlasting Gift. We have this Gift to use for the manifestation of Christ through our lives, in our world, and to the World. You and I are called upon to be like Mary and Joseph, Anna and Simeon, shepherds and Magi. We are part of Christ’s Epiphany in the ordinary, everyday, simple little things we do if we “do small things with great love.” Do this one, simple, little thing: Pray the prayer often. It will bring blessings to so many people (especially you). I hope you will find that your empathy and compassion grow, that you feel closer to those who love you because you love them for loving you, and that The Light and Life of the Word become an Epiphany to all who walk in darkness.
God bless you in this year of 2014. May he bless you with an irresistible affinity for HIM and an irrepressible commitment to Love others as he has loved you. You are the light of the World, the salt of the earth, the hope of things to come. When I love you as HE loves you, his Love is multiplied. When you love him as I love you, his love is multiplied again. When you love me as he loves you, his love is multiplied. When we give all of that love back to El-Shaddai-Olam, his love is multiplied. When our Gift to him is all of that love we have multiplied, his Gift to us is the Light and Life of the Word.
Let us pray: Almighty Triune God, our El-Shaddai-Olam, our gift to you today is the love you gave us which we then multiplied in the love we give to others, the lovely and lovable people you gave to us to love. Our love for them and our love for you is our gift to you today. Grant that this gift may increase so that it will be more fitting tomorrow. Through Christ our Lord. Amen
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved.
chick
BOOKMARK the LINK.
Light Life Word
1401AFC010314 – Epiphany!
Read it online here, please.
It is done. 2013 is finally over. Earlier this week we celebrated New Year’s Day; for Crucita and I – as we said earlier – this January 1 is also New Life Day. How does it feel to be retired? Dunno. Haven’t gotten enough direct evidence yet, but I am working on it; wait – not working on it, maybe more like trying it out. We’ve set some ambitious goals for the first year like cleaning up the house, clearing out the library, changing our diets to match our finances (thinner), and of course “more exercise.” I think my top priority for the first couple of weeks of the year will be to develop and maintain a better pattern of rest and sleep. In the past two years I have aged rapidly, and I am hoping these changes will lessen the angle of decline and spread out into a new, albeit lower, plateau of day-to-day puttering.
We took the house off the market Tuesday when our sales contract expired. I don’t know if we’ll put it back on later – perhaps in the Spring – but perhaps not. Of course, as we’ve often said, we take this as a door gently closed so that we can now focus our attention on what God needs from us here. There is still much work to be done for Him and for us. We need to whittle down the volume of our “worldly goods.” There is some work on the house that needs to be done (there’s always work to be done on a 60-year-old-house). The yard still produces an incredible amount of stuff that has to be trimmed, pruned, cut, whacked, dug up, watered, weeded, and done all over again. We’ve already cut back a bit – about half – on our Sunday ministry as Lectors, and we’re thinking that will give us the opportunity to go to other Masses, visit our parish’s Mission Churches more often, go to Mass with our Compadres and our goddaughter, and I will continue serving on the Pastoral Council. That will be more challenging soon because we’ll be “retiring” about half of the current members and bringing on their replacements. Also, with regret, we just learned that our current Parochial Vicar (“Assistant Pastor” Fr. Gerry) has been transferred to O‘ahu and will be leaving in a matter of days. I look forward to working with the Council! It is the kind of service for which I am best suited.
As 2014 begins, all of us are thinking about what 2013 was like, what we hope will be better in 2014, what we hope continues with us from 2013, and some of us will resolve to take a proactive role in some sort of self-improvement. For many of us, that resolve will fade in about 6 weeks, and our safe-and-familiar ruts will welcome us back. For others, each New Year brings a certain determination to live better, become wiser and smarter, and to do something new or better with our lives. My hope for all of you, Beloved, is that 2014 will be a year for you to know and grow in the Light and the Word. My prayer for you is that – in every day of your life in 2014 – you fill your heart with the Light and the Word. That is, has been, and will be the purpose of these Aloha Friday Messages, the Aloha-Friday.org website, the daily Intercessory Prayer List, and the MBN Member Prayer. I have a special request for you about the MBN Member prayer (attached to this mailing). Would you try to use it often in your own daily devotions or prayer time, please? One of the goals I set at the inception of the MBN was to “pray without ceasing” for each other. It’s just a short little prayer, maybe 30 seconds or less, but it is a prayer that covers all of us – and many, many more people – with the intentions of Light and Love and Life.
There is a deep spiritual reason for asking our El-Shaddai-Olam to grant all of us that trio of blessings on a daily basis. The reason is that it helps us to follow Christ’s command to “love one another as I have loved you,” and to “let your light shine before all.” Your day-to-day life is given to you so that you can show the world the Light and Life of the Word. We use a special word for that – MANIFEST: demonstrate, show forth, exhibit, make plain, or reveal. We are to let the Light and Life of the Word become so obvious in us that it allows others access to a Spiritual Epiphany so that they, too, know the Light and Life of the Word.
The Feast of Epiphany is a commemoration of the Epiphany – the showing forth, the revealing – of Christ to the World by recalling the visit of the Magi. Long story short, Jesus was revealed to the lowest and poorest (shepherds), the purest (Anna and Simeon), and the most clearly-defined outsiders (the Magi), before his own nation learned who he was. The “Three Kings” knew Jesus as THE King, the fulfillment of prophecy. The Shepherds were told “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Anna and Simeon knew Jesus to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Both of these prophets were walking in the Holy Spirit because “the Holy Spirit rested” on them.
Beloved, guess what? THE HOLY SPIRIT RESTS ON US, TOO! Not only can we recognize Christ when he is shown to us, others can recognize Christ in us when we show him to them. That is AWESOME!! And I mean “awesome” in the way that it should be defined – overwhelming, amazing, awe-inspiring, wonderful, evoking respect, reverence, esteem, worship, adoration, praise, glory, and veneration. In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” He is the Light. But remember this: He also says in Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the World … let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” How can HE be the Light and WE be the Light? You know the answer; his is in us and we are in him and the Spirit rests on us in unity with God the Father.
Epiphany me!
Beloved, each of us has been given and carries with us the Gift of the Light and Life of the Word. Gifts are not gifts unless they are given by one and received by another. We have been given an Awesome Gift. For us, it is a gift greater than those Worldly gifts brought by the Magi because it is an everlasting Gift. We have this Gift to use for the manifestation of Christ through our lives, in our world, and to the World. You and I are called upon to be like Mary and Joseph, Anna and Simeon, shepherds and Magi. We are part of Christ’s Epiphany in the ordinary, everyday, simple little things we do if we “do small things with great love.” Do this one, simple, little thing: Pray the prayer often. It will bring blessings to so many people (especially you). I hope you will find that your empathy and compassion grow, that you feel closer to those who love you because you love them for loving you, and that The Light and Life of the Word become an Epiphany to all who walk in darkness.
God bless you in this year of 2014. May he bless you with an irresistible affinity for HIM and an irrepressible commitment to Love others as he has loved you. You are the light of the World, the salt of the earth, the hope of things to come. When I love you as HE loves you, his Love is multiplied. When you love him as I love you, his love is multiplied again. When you love me as he loves you, his love is multiplied. When we give all of that love back to El-Shaddai-Olam, his love is multiplied. When our Gift to him is all of that love we have multiplied, his Gift to us is the Light and Life of the Word.
Let us pray: Almighty Triune God, our El-Shaddai-Olam, our gift to you today is the love you gave us which we then multiplied in the love we give to others, the lovely and lovable people you gave to us to love. Our love for them and our love for you is our gift to you today. Grant that this gift may increase so that it will be more fitting tomorrow. Through Christ our Lord. Amen
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved.
chick
BOOKMARK the LINK.
Light Life Word
