Year of Faith

THE YEAR OF FAITH is designed to renew the faith 

of Catholics so that we will be credible, joy-filled 

witnesses to the Risen Lord in the world today, 

capable of leading others to faith. The year honors 

the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second 

Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the 

Catechism of the Catholic Church.

SEEDS WE SOW - Galatians 6:7

One autumn afternoon I drove past a field where a farmer had parked some massive machinery by the side of the road. A yellow caution sign read: “Harvest in Progress.” As I glanced over at the field, I knew instantly what the farmer had planted several months ago—tiny kernels of corn. I knew this because he was preparing to drive his harvesting equipment through acres of mature cornstalks.

While i

t may seem obvious that planting corn leads to harvesting corn, we sometimes deny the relationship between sowing and reaping in our spiritual lives. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived . . . ; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Living to please our flesh yields corruption in the form of wanting what isn’t ours, self-centeredness, and even substance abuse (5:19-21). Walking with the Spirit produces peace, kindness, and self-control (5:22-23). By God’s grace, we can choose to “sow to the Spirit” and reap eternal life (6:8).

Suppose Jesus declared today “harvest day” in our lives, and He asked us to gather up the yield of our everyday choices over the past year. What would we have to show Him?

Things of the world often pull at my heart,

But, Lord, help me see the end from the start;

Open my eyes to where my life’s going,

What I will reap from all I’ve been sowing. —K. DeHaan

GRATITUDE - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

In Lansing, Michigan, during the winter, we don’t get many sunny days. But last year God blessed us with one of those beautiful days, and it seemed that almost everyone was thanking God, except me. As I left my office, a man said, “What a wonderful day we’re having. This is a gift from God!” To which I replied, “Yes, but we’re getting snow later this week.” What ingratitude!

In his letters, the a

postle Paul helped his readers to develop a theology of gratitude. He wrote about thanksgiving more often than any other New Testament author. From the 23 times he used the word, we learn a few lessons about thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was always directed toward God and never toward people. People were gifts from God, and Paul thanked God for their growth, love, and faith (1 Cor. 1:4; 1 Thess. 1:2).

Thanksgiving is given through Jesus for everything (Col. 3:15,17). Paul believed followers of Jesus could be thankful for everything because God is sovereign, and He is working things out for the believers’ good (1 Thess. 5:18).

May we intentionally be aware of God’s gifts all around us, and respond with gratitude. In response to God’s gifts, it’s natural to say, “Thank You, Lord.”

LLord, for days that are sunny or gray we simply

want to say, Thank You! And for the daily grace

You give us in Your Son, may we always be faithful

to say, Thank You! You are so good to us.

Promise of God #268

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 WEB

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Promise #268: I will always be close when you need My comfort.

We all need comfort. As children, when we scraped our knee playing in the backyard, we needed the comfort of a mother or a father to simply hold us and reassure us that everything was going to be okay. When we experience extreme disappointment or the loss of a loved one, words fail... What we need is comfort.

In today's Bible passage from 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells us that God is the Father of mercies (compassion) and the God of ALL comfort. Our God and Father is the source of ALL comfort and He wants us to be comfortable coming to Him to receive comfort whenever we need it.

Since we were created to receive comfort, we will seek it out somewhere. If we don't receive it from God, we will receive it from other things... Food, material things, false comforts, etc. God wants each and every one of us to run into His arms every time we need to be comforted! As we receive the comfort from His loving arms, we will then be able to be an expression of that same comfort to other people when they need a comforting shoulder to cry on.

Photo by Barry Adams

Christians Vocation

"Turn from Evil and Do Good; Seek Peace and Pursue it." Psalm 34:15

These words are very simple yet it is hard to do. Most of us want the easy way, sad to say but it is true.  When we are having problems in our lives we want it to be solve fast so we choose the easy way. Things we do: a) We just don't spoke or ignore that person as if she/he never exist. b) We make believe ourselves that everything is gonna be fine. c) and finally we are afraid of confrontations and failure. That's why we assume that our problem was solve, but it is not. Why? because you never really faced your trials in life. You never bother or seek advice from the mature people who have experienced the same way you did. and most especially you failed to pray and talk to God and tell Him everything.  

My brothers and sisters just talk and pray to God, make Him your best friend and your father.

Faith, Hope and Love

Unity of Believers

The unity Saint Paul speaks of in his writings to the Church in Corinthians transcends human circumstances of geography or social station. While there is great diversity in gifts among the people who make up the Church, the ONE SPIRIT BINDS all BELIEVERS together. Even with differences in our roles, we are UNITED through the Holy Spirit, and all are challenge to live lives of PRAYER and SERVICE.

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