On this Christmas Day let us celebrate Jesus Christ who enters our world and into our humanity. Let us strive, in the spirit of Christmas, to not only find God in all things but in particular, in the places we least expect.
Tucker Redding, S.J.
sources:www.americamagazine.org

a Kingdom Populated: 

by the 'poor in spirit…' – those who are humble and unpretentious.

by those 'who mourn…' – those who don't hide their vulnerability.

by those 'who are meek…' – those who are gentle and unassuming.

by those "who hunger and thirst for righteousness…' – who fight for justice in our world.

by those "who are merciful…" – who forgive without demanding retribution.

by those who "are pure in heart…" – who believe in the goodness of others, the 'little children' of this world.

by those who "are peacemakers…" – who take risks and are prepared to compromise.

by those who "are persecuted for the sake of righteousness…" – the civil rights activists, climate change activists, human rights activists, those who hold on to their faith against opposition and persecution.

by those who have "all manner of evil (spoken) against them falsely…" – those who are condemned falsely, who are misjudged, misrepresented, ridiculed.

source: https://oblates.ie

The call is to be (...) happy with who we are, knowing that that is enough.
Fr Brien (Oblates)
soruces: oblates.ie

for a full reflection click here  (source: oblates.ie)

Pope Francis calls "…all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ." (EG 3).

"I say you should not pass the whole time thinking… you should put yourself in the presence of Christ without tiring the intellect, speak with and delight in Him and not wear yourself out in composing syllogisms." ... "It is important that while we are living and are human, we have human support. Christ is a very good friend because we behold him as man and see him with weaknesses and trials, and he is company for us."
St. Teresa of Avila

"He has done everything well …He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

Mark 7

"But…then…gradually things change…some whispers of discontent can be heard. "…but he's only a carpenter and here he is speaking as if he is a Rabbi or some learned scholar! He's only Mary's Son, don't we all know her? Look around and you'll see his brothers, and don't his sisters live in the town? They don't act all high and mighty, so why does he?"

"a prophet is not without honour except in his own country, among his own people and in his own home"

Source: www.oblates.ie

source: www.catholicireland.net

The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
An image that is often used with the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit is that of the tree. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are the roots of the tree, and the fruits of the Holy Spirit are, the fruits of the tree. If we are led by the Spirit and open to God's gifts, the fruits of the Holy Spirit will be evident in our lives and in this way people will see that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives, in our work, in the way we treat others and in the way we serve the community of the Church as the practical living out of the gift of the Holy Spirit given at Confirmation. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is mentioned by St Paul in his letter to the Galatians 5:22 as the virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Paul sees the fruit of the Holy Spirit as the counterbalance for the various vices. The gifts and fruits of the Spirit are also alluded to in the second letter to the Corinthians 6:6, in the letter to the Colossians 3: 12-15 and in the letter to the Ephesians 4:2, 5:9. In the Alive-O programme the fruits of the Holy Spirit are described as follows:

Love – the Spirit lives!
Joy – the Spirit dances!
Peace – the Spirit rests!
Patience – the Spirit waits!
Kindness – the Spirit gives!
Goodness – the Spirit moves!
Gentleness – the Spirit acts!
Faithfulness – the Spirit dwells!
Self-Control – the Spirit smiles!

Here are some of the many scripture references that can be linked to the Fruit of the Holy Spirit:

Love:
'Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end.'
1 Corinthians 13 :4-7

Joy:
'With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.' Colossians 3: 16-17

Peace:
'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.' John 14:27

Patience:
'There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.' Philippians 4:6

Kindness:
'You are God's chosen race, his saints; he loves you and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience.' Colossians 3:12

Goodness:
'Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives. Then my favour will shine on you like the morning sun.' Isaiah 58:7-8

Faithfulness:
'I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and 1 am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.' John 17:20-21

Gentleness:
'I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.' Ephesians 4:1-2

Self-control:
'Finally, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise.' Philippians 4:8

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Wisdom
In the Hebrew Scripture, God offered Solomon any gift he could want. He chose wisdom. The gift is about the possibility of seeing things as God sees them. It is the gift to look at life with a different perspective – the perspective of faith. It is the possibility of knowing how to live a good life and striving to do that. It is about listening to the voice of the spirit in our heart and acting on those promptings.

Understanding
It is easy to learn facts and figures, dates and places. The gift of understanding is the possibility to give meaning to what we learn through wisdom. On the road to Emmaus, the disciples met the Risen Jesus. Having explained everything that had happened in Jerusalem and why they were downcast, Jesus set out to explain everything in the scriptures about himself. The disciples knew the facts, Jesus helped them understand and make sense of those facts.

Right Judgement
The world which young people inhabit today calls for this part of the gift of the Holy Spirit more than
anything else. They are bombarded with a myriad of choices and tempting alternatives. The gift of right judgement is the possibility of making the right choices in life, according to Christian values, and sometimes despite what our friends, society, or culture would have them believe is the right choice.

Courage
Coming closely on the previous part of the gift of the Holy Spirit is the courage to handle the consequences of Right Judgement. The gift of courage is the possibility to make the right choice even though we would rather go with the crowd, or follow the latest trends, the current fashions, and the will of the peer group. Young people today are not likely to be called to the courage of martyrdom as in the early Christian Community, but it can be inordinately difficult to stand up for your beliefs, or to take a stand against something you feel is wrong.

Knowledge
While not dissimilar to Wisdom and Understanding, the gift of Knowledge helps us to know about our faith and about the world. We often talk about making an informed decision about something and the Holy Spirit helps in the gaining of that knowledge. The gift requires a contribution on our part – we cannot know about the world just by divine inspiration. It requires effort on our part, but we have the possibility of the help of the Holy Spirit.

Reverence
Traditionally this part of the gift of the Holy Spirit is about how we act religiously; blessing ourselves passing a Church, genuflecting, a sense of reverence when going to receive Holy Communion. It is still all these things, but it can mean much more. In interpreting this gift as reverence for all God's creation we acknowledge the possibility of the respect and reverence for the environment, we acknowledge the reverence due to every person we meet, who like us are children of God and 'a temple of the Holy Spirit' .

Wonder and Awe in God's Presence
Traditionally this was the part of the gift know as fear of the Lord. Wonder and Awe in God's Presence sums it up better. It is the gift that helps us to see the work of God in the ordinary and extraordinary ways. It is an acknowledgement of the power of God working through our lives, through the lives of others around us, through the Church and through creation. 'Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.' (Matt. 6:28-29)

Saint Joseph,
you who always trusted God,
and made your choices
guided by His providence
teach us not to count so much on our own plans
but on His plan of love.

You who come from the peripheries
help us to convert our gaze
and to prefer what the world discards and marginalises.

Comfort those who feel alone
and support those who work silently
to defend life and human dignity. Amen.

Pope Francis

"I have looked into your eyes with my eyes"

Adoration of the Christ Child by the Magi

"The Magi teach us to fix our sight on high, to lift our eyes to the heavens, to the hills, from which our help will come, for our help is from the Lord." 

"let us raise our eyes to the heavens, let us set out to seek the Lord, let us bow our hearts in adoration."
Pope Francis 2024

Source: www.oblates.ie

Awesomely simple, wonderfully direct,
easily understood…..and incredibly difficult.
So often the simplest things are the most difficult to achieve.
This Sunday's Gospel says this:
"Love God, Love your neighbour as yourself."
And that's it. There is no more to say…  Fr Brian Maher OMI

"Christ is a very good friend because we behold him as man and see him with weaknesses and trials, and he is company for us." Teresa de Ávila

source: oblates.ie

The Kingdom of God is for those who "produce its fruit", and it was Jesus who showed us what this fruit is: Forgiveness, gentleness, peace, justice, tolerance, joy, hope, love. It is to those who try to live according to these values….and who fail… and start again… and again… and again who will inherit the Kingdom of God. (www.oblates.ie)

'Son, go and work in the vineyard today .' He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." (Matthew 21:28-32)

source: "Holy Textures"

Forgive them until it works

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

source: www.catholicnewsagency.com

Annual World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly 

"How much we need a new bond between young and old,.. so that the sap of those who have a long experience of life behind them will nourish the shoots of hope of those who are growing. In this fruitful exchange we can learn the beauty of life, build a fraternal society, and in the Church, be enabled to encounter one another and dialogue between tradition and the newness of the Spirit." Pope Francis

""Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up he cross and follow me is not worthy of me.…"  Matthew 10, 27

"What would Jesus do" ... "what will I do, based on the life and message left to us by Jesus?"
It is good to ask ourselves "what would Jesus do?" It is a question that will challenge and stretch us. I will admit that when I do it, I often find myself wondering if I would recognise Jesus at all if he was here and active among us.  (source: www.oblates.ie)

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you – for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart… … go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love."  (source: www.oblates.ie)

                                                                                                             "True love is never up to a certain point, and is never satisfied; love always goes beyond, it cannot do otherwise. (...) love one another like Heloved us. (...) This is the love that gives fulfilment to the Law, to faith, to true life!"  Pope Francis

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust in me. I will take you to the place where I am going. If you know me, you know the Father too. It is the Father living in me, who is doing this work. Whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself. Maybe even greater works because I am going to the Father where I can work on your behalf."

.

"God never imposes his will (...) He "wants to be loved and not feared" (...) love can only be lived in freedom.

To learn to live one must learn to love, and for this it is necessary to discern, (...)  to invoke the Holy Spirit when we have choices to make."

Pope Francis

source: www.oblates.ie

We meet God, as Jesus did, in the human realities of our lives."You are my child, my beloved..." he will say to us, "... my favour rests on you."

Fr Brian Maher OMI

source: www.oblates.ie

"We were conceived in the heart of God,

and for this reason each of us is the result of a thought of God.

Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary."

Laudato Si, 65

'He is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.'"

Luke 20:38

.

Jesus said .... come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today"

Luke 19:1-10

"Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world.Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world."

St. Therese of Avila

invites us to acknowledge God's gifts with wonder and gratitude

Pope Francis

When human history seems to develop contrary to the will of God, "we are called to live this period as a season of trial, of hope and in vigilant waiting for the harvest". The Kingdom grows mysteriously; its power is hidden in a small seed that is filled with "victorious vitality". When times are dark, we need to trust in "God's quiet but powerful action," and "remain anchored in God's faithfulness, in his presence which always saves".

Pope Francis

We ask the Lord today for the grace of not falling into indifference, the grace that all the information we have about human suffering might penetrate our hearts and move us to do something for others.

Pope Francis

God is watching, and waiting, and hoping. God rejoices beyond measure when we restore dignity and value to even one human life.

Fr Brian Maher, OMI

"Jesus tells us that in order to follow him, to be his disciples, one must deny oneself - that is, the claims of one's own selfish pride - and take up one's very cross. (...) Then he gives everyone a fundamental rule. And what is this rule? 'Whoever wants to save his life will lose it.'"

Pope Francis

"Let us ask the Virgin Mary - who was humble all her life - to lead us every day on the way of humility, so that we are capable of making our own gestures of welcome toward and solidarity with the marginalised, seeking nothing in return, so that we might become worthy of the divine reward."

Pope Francis

"The lamp of faith needs to be nourished continuously, with a heart to heart encounter with Jesus in prayer, and in listening to His Word". "True faith opens the heart to one's neighbour, and spurs us on to concrete communion with our brothers and sisters, especially with those in need".

Pope Francis

Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous;

Teach me to serve you as you deserve,

To give and not to count the cost,

To fight and not to heed the wounds,

To toil and not to seek for rest,

To labor and not to seek reward,

Except that of knowing that I do your will.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

CHOOSIING THE BETTER PART

"The most important task in life is to pray, not to pray with many words ... but to pray with the heart" 

to gaze upon the Lord, to listen to the Lord, and to ask the Lord for what we need". "And we know that prayer can work miracles".

Pope Francis

"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."

Luke 10

"The Eucharist is the sacrament of love: it signifies love, it produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life."

St. Thomas Aquinas: 

"The Holy Spirit makes Jesus present in us, beyond the barriers of time and space, to make us His witnesses in the world," 

Pope Francis

What will you do when your nets are full?

She explains the situation to him and he seems to dismiss her; but she is not giving up that easy! She then goes to servants and confidently tells them, 'Do whatever he tells you.'

"no prophet is accepted in his hometown"

'Do whatever he tells you.'

 Image by Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik

May Mary help us to keep and ponder all things. 

Pope Francis