I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES

St. Raymond of Penafort

1 John 4:7-10, Psalm 72:1-4, 7-8, Mark 6:34-44
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010714.cfm

I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES

"Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to distribute." -Mark 6:41

Jesus took a little boy's lunch (Jn 6:9) and multiplied it into several thousand dollars worth of food (Mk 6:37).
Did Jesus really do this? Yes. The Scriptures are clear that Jesus worked a miracle of multiplication. This is the most frequently recorded miracle, found six times in the four gospels. Jesus did not rustle up some food from somewhere or merely get people to share. The Bible is clear. Jesus did a physical miracle.
Does Jesus still do this? Yes. There are many reliable accounts of miraculous multiplications throughout the history of the Church and even before the Church existed (see 2 Kgs 4:42ff). Jesus is the same now as He was then (see Heb 13:8).
How do we receive a multiplication-miracle? First, we must need it. The Lord has already given many of us so much food that we don't need it multiplied but rather to be distributed. However, we may need other things multiplied, like time and energy. Second, to receive a multiplication-miracle, we must express our faith in Jesus by giving all to Him. Third, we need faith to receive the miracle of multiplication. The Lord helps us grow in faith (see Rm 10:17) by teaching us at great length (Mk 6:34).
Will Jesus do a multiplication-miracle this Christmas season? It is quite likely. Christmas is named after Christ and Mass. At Mass, Christ not only multiplies food but also transforms it into His body and blood. Expect a miracle this Christmas time.


Prayer: Father, give me faith to move mountains (Mt 17:20) and to do miracles in Jesus' name.

Promise: "Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God but that He has loved us and has sent His Son as an Offering for our sins." -1 Jn 4:10

Praise: St. Raymond encouraged: "As you drink the cup of the Lord Jesus (how glorious it is!), give thanks to the Lord, the Giver of all blessings."

LIES, LIES, AND MORE LIES

St. Andrea; Bessette

1 John 3:22-4:6, Psalm 2:7-8, 10-12, Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010614.cfm

"Many false prophets have appeared in the world." -1 John 4:1

"You have conquered the false prophets. For there is One greater in you than there is in the world." -1 John 4:4

We are being bombarded with lies. We lie to ourselves to justify our enslaving compromises with the world and the flesh. Others lie to us to make themselves feel better or to take advantage of us. The devil, the father of lies, "has never based himself on truth; the truth is not in him. Lying speech is his native tongue" (Jn 8:44). Lies, lies, and more lies!

We cut through all these lies by committing our lives completely to Jesus, the Truth (Jn 14:6). He will then baptize us in the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8), the Spirit of Truth (e.g. Jn 14:17), Who will guide us to all truth (Jn 16:13).

The Spirit of truth will dispel the fog and smoke of deceit by bearing witness to Jesus (Jn 15:26) and by acknowledging Jesus as having come in the flesh (1 Jn 4:2). Also, the Holy Spirit will cry out in our hearts: "Abba" (Gal 4:6). The Holy Spirit will lead us into the love of the Trinity. "Thus do we distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of deception" (1 Jn 4:6).

Come, Holy Spirit! Come, Spirit of truth! Come, true Christmas Spirit!

Prayer: Father, make this the best Christmas season ever.

Promise: "They carried to Him all those afflicted with various diseases and racked with pain: the possessed, the lunatics, the paralyzed. He cured them all." -Mt 4:24

Praise: St. André was a humble Holy Cross brother in Montreal through whom God healed many. Although barely literate, His ministry touched 80,000 letter-writers per year.

THE WISDOM OF ABANDONMENT

Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6, Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-13, Matthew 2:1-12
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010514.cfm

"Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance." -Isaiah 60:3

Wise men and women, like the wise men of the first Christmas, prostrate themselves before Jesus, do Him homage, and give themselves to Him (Mt 2:11). This total abandonment is not a one-time experience, but a way of life - forever.

Wise men and women are great-souled individuals who begrudge nothing to God. They're not looking for the quickest Mass to fulfill their Sunday obligation. Rather, they consider it a privilege to worship the Lord as long as possible. Wise men and women don't ask if they have to go to Confession annually, but they rejoice in celebrating frequently the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Wise men and women consider it a privilege to share their faith in Jesus, especially in situations where they may be persecuted (see Acts 5:41; 13:52). Wisdom is not doing the minimum but always searching for new opportunities to abandon ourselves to the love and will of God. Wise men and women transcend their natural inclinations to selfishness, laziness, and fear. They live supernaturally - by grace and by faith.

The Lord wants to make you a wise man or woman. Are you willing to become wise, to follow the star, to give all to Jesus?

Prayer: Father, on this Epiphany, give me the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom (see Ps 111:10).

Promise: "See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears His glory." -Is 60:2

Praise: Alleluia! Christ "was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit; seen by the angels; preached among the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up into glory" (1 Tm 3:16).

CONFIRMATION NAME

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

1 John 3:7-10, Psalm 98:1, 7-9, John 1:35-42

Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010414.cfm

"[Andrew] brought [Peter] to Jesus, Who looked at [Peter] and said, 'You are Simon, son of John; your name shall be Cephas (which is rendered Peter)'." -John 1:42

As a thirteen-year-old preparing for Confirmation, I knew nothing of the lives of the saints. My mother mercifully suggested Francis for my Confirmation name. There were two such saints, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis de Sales, and I found myself more attracted to the latter saint. Decades later I learned that St. Francis de Sales published numerous religious booklets, is the patron saint of writers, and also of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. I praise the Lord, Who named me Francis in Confirmation and led me to the perfect patron for my life's ministry! The Lord didn't see me as a clueless youth, but rather He saw me as the person I would become in Jesus, and gave me a new name to fit the part.

Jesus changed Simon's name to Cephas, which means 'Rock' in Aramaic, the language spoken at the time in Galilee, or Petros in Greek, also translated 'Rock.' Jesus saw Simon not as he was at that moment, but as the man he would become, the leader and rock of the Church. Often religious orders will issue a new name to a new member. The Lord is always working through that name change. With the new name also comes His calling.

Praise and thank Jesus that He sees beyond our past and present failings, weaknesses, and sins. He sees us as a royal son or daughter of God. Jesus loves us for who we are, but issues us an upward calling (Phil 3:14) to be His fruitful disciple.

Today, bring to mind your Confirmation name. With that name, you are confirmed in the Holy Spirit. Live your new name and new calling in Christ. Be re-confirmed in the Spirit.

Prayer: Father, may I become the person You see when You look at me. May I live up to my new name.

Promise: "The man who acts in holiness is holy indeed." -1 Jn 3:7

Praise: St. Elizabeth helped many others to build the right foundation through solid Catholic education.

ADOPT-ABLE

Holy Name of Jesus

1 John 2:29-3:6, Psalm 98:1, 3-6, John 1:29-34
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010314.cfm

"Dearly beloved, we are God's children now." -1 John 3:2

God loved us so much that He wanted us in His family. However, our nature was not compatible with being in God's family. It would be like a human family adopting a beetle, cockroach, amoeba, orangutan, or giraffe. It just wouldn't work. Even if we pretended these creatures were part of our families, they don't have the capacity to join in family life. They could be nothing other than pets at best. In the same way, human beings don't naturally have the capacity to belong in God's family.
Consequently, God the Father sent His Son to become a human being and make it possible for our human natures to be changed so significantly that we can be adopted into God's family. "Any who did accept [Jesus] He empowered to become children of God. These are they who believe in His name - who were begotten not by blood, nor by carnal desire, nor by man's willing it, but by God" (Jn 1:12-13). "See what love the Father has bestowed on us in letting us be called children of God! Yet that is what we are" (1 Jn 3:1).
Jesus was born in Bethlehem so He could die on Calvary. By being baptized into His death, we share in His resurrection and become new creations (Gal 6:15) and adopted children of God. Christmas is for children - God's children.


Prayer: Father, thank You for making us adopt-able.

Promise: "When you see the Spirit descend and rest on Someone, it is He Who is to baptize with the Holy Spirit." -Jn 1:33

Praise: The Holy Name of Jesus means "God saves," which means we need saving. Praise You, Jesus our Savior. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Your most adorable and holy name (Phil 2:9-11). Alleluia!

ANOINTING, REMAINING, AND GROWING

St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory Nazianzen

1 John 2:22-28, Psalm 98:1-4, John 1:19-28
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010214.cfm

"Remain in Him as that anointing taught you." -1 John 2:27

On the inside front cover of this booklet is the Rescript, the Catholic Church's Permission to Publish. Before One Bread, One Body is printed, the Church reviews this booklet to ensure it is free of doctrinal or moral error. When the booklet is error-free, "free from any lie" (1 Jn 2:27), the Church grants Permission to Publish. (Until recently, Permission to Publish was called the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur.) At Presentation Ministries, remaining safely under Church authority is how we remain in Jesus as the anointing of the Holy Spirit taught us (1 Jn 2:27).

St. John says that if the anointing you received from Jesus remains in you, then "you have no need for anyone to teach you" (1 Jn 2:27). Then why read this booklet?

   * We are imperfect vessels and we leak (see Jer 2:13). We need to be constantly re-filled with the Holy Spirit.

   * We must devote ourselves to the teaching of the Church and study the Scriptures daily (Acts 2:42; 17:11), both of which help us grow (Acts 20:32).

   * Faith comes through hearing the Word of God (Rm 10:17). If we don't increase in faith, how can we be sure we will remain in Him? This booklet proclaims God's Word to increase our faith.

   * Like the early Church, we must be devoted to spreading God's Word (Acts 6:7) and feeding His sheep (Jn 21:17).

"Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ" (Catechism, 133). If we're ignorant of Him, we cannot "remain in Him" (1 Jn 2:28). Read God's Word daily, and remain in Jesus.

Prayer: Jesus, keep me faithful to Your teaching and never let me be parted from You.

Promise: His "promise is no less than this: eternal life." -1 Jn 2:25

Praise: By the power of the Holy Spirit, St. Basil protected his diocese from heresy.