Plan

 Jesus came to the synagogue to teach His people, to tell them about the Father, and to lead them to love God. Hannah prayed in the temple for a boy child, and the Lord heard her prayer, giving her a son.

There is always more to what He does, for Hannah gave birth to Samuel who would be a prophet. Jesus spoke in the Synagogue to awaken their spirits and to enliven the love of their hearts for God. The leaders rejected Him, but the evil spirit that had inhabited the man were oblidged to leave the man in peace, for it was in the temple of one of God's children, and He would not allow it to persist in what it was doing; Jesus cleansed the temple.

We need to be aware of these things because they are important. Jesus did not come to the synagogue to waste His time, but to carry out a plan to reveal Himself to His children.

To each man comes a revelation, and those who profit from it are blessed, and have a lifelong friendship they will cherish. Do not think that your life was wasted if you suffered privation and pain, for you have not been denied anything, but have joined the Lord in His plan for all men, and have joined with Him in cleaning the temple and you will dwell  in heaven with Him in His own joy, for it gives Him joy to be with you.

Mary visits a monk

Plan

 Jesus came to the synagogue to teach His people, to tell them about the Father, and to lead them to love God. Hannah prayed in the temple for a boy child, and the Lord heard her prayer, giving her a son.

There is always more to what He does, for Hannah gave birth to Samuel who would be a prophet. Jesus spoke in the Synagogue to awaken their spirits and to enliven the love of their hearts for God. The leaders rejected Him, but the evil spirit that had inhabited the man were oblidged to leave the man in peace, for it was in the temple of one of God's children, and He would not allow it to persist in what it was doing; Jesus cleansed the temple.

We need to be aware of these things because they are important. Jesus did not come to the synagogue to waste His time, but to carry out a plan to reveal Himself to His children.

To each man comes a revelation, and those who profit from it are blessed, and have a lifelong friendship they will cherish. Do not think that your life was wasted if you suffered privation and pain, for you have not been denied anything, but have joined the Lord in His plan for all men, and have joined with Him in cleaning the temple and you will dwell  in heaven with Him in His own joy, for it gives Him joy to be with you.

Mary visits a monk

Deception

Day's Saints
Raymond of Penyafort, Dominican
Blessed Leandro, Mercedarian

Is 60:1-6
Gospel
Mt 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod, 
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled, 
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, 
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, 
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly 
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word, 
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, 
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures 
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, 
they departed for their country by another way.

Temptations of all kinds raise their ugly heads to lead unsuspecting people away from God. If you are not vigilant, you will be led astray into sin. Thus, the reminder of penance and atonement and sacrifice is necessary, to keep yourself focused on God.

He is our creator, and created the universe as well. He cannot be fooled or tricked and will not be subject to ridicule. Disrespect generally leads to death, and respect to long life.

Beware of those who come in His Name but will not even speak it for fear of disparagements. Neither will they be just towards the people, or beneficial to the welfare of nations whom they are intent upon plundering. Their lack of consideration of human necessities leads to the discarding of lives, and the Lord has a punishment for them.

Pray for one another and be ready to help in trials and sufferings with your compassion. You are worth a great price, which He gladly paid for you.

Deception

Day's Saints
Raymond of Penyafort, Dominican
Blessed Leandro, Mercedarian

Is 60:1-6
Gospel
Mt 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod, 
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled, 
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, 
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, 
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly 
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word, 
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, 
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures 
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, 
they departed for their country by another way.

Temptations of all kinds raise their ugly heads to lead unsuspecting people away from God. If you are not vigilant, you will be led astray into sin. Thus, the reminder of penance and atonement and sacrifice is necessary, to keep yourself focused on God.

He is our creator, and created the universe as well. He cannot be fooled or tricked and will not be subject to ridicule. Disrespect generally leads to death, and respect to long life.

Beware of those who come in His Name but will not even speak it for fear of disparagements. Neither will they be just towards the people, or beneficial to the welfare of nations whom they are intent upon plundering. Their lack of consideration of human necessities leads to the discarding of lives, and the Lord has a punishment for them.

Pray for one another and be ready to help in trials and sufferings with your compassion. You are worth a great price, which He gladly paid for you.

Hermit

 A Hermit Priest

You cannot be hidden if the Lord
does not want it.

To me as a hermit, it is incredibly important to hear what someone like Father Johannes has to say; we do not live in the most open or accepting atmosphere these days, when even being a Christian can get you killed or persecuted. On the other hand, one need not suffer persecution when there are so many wars and rebellions breaking out everywhere. God needs human beings to be His Voice and to say what is true so it is not forgotten or relegated to the dust bin.

People are constantly under intense pressure to conform or not to disturb other people's fantasies or not bring others down with your depression. For all people, Jesus is present. He is present in US, and in each other, individually and collectively. The sum of all the disappointments and indifference diminishes us all, and the presence of Jesus in each of us, determines whether anyone can open their mouth and speak the truth in spite of the persecution from certain quarters who are incapable of speaking truth or embodying Christ.

Father Johannnes wears a habit, but as he himself says, he is not a monk. He wears a habit because he is called as a hermit, which is a separate religious state which is a state in which he was created, and consecrated as a priest as well.

On occasion I too wear a habit, but either it is not noticed, or occasionally elicits hostility. Many religious in the past have tried to be dispensed with the wearing of their habit because it discomfited others, but in reality it was discomfiting the monk himself and not anyone else. The hostility most notably came from religious, priests and bishops who opposed it and I never attained the permission I desired so badly. 

On occasion when I was in my habit on a nature photography outing, outstanding and unpredictable, but good  things happened which led into a most unique presence of God in an interpersonal moment that turned out to be a ministration of God's grace and anointing. 

Father Johannes has the permissions to carry out his ministry in his unique circumstances. The fact I was not given the permissions I needed and that I ministered in my habit to people who were in dire need, tells me that I have been commissioned as a hermit; it is just that I was not judged worthy, and the judgement lies in those who judged.

The point is, that God will use us for the salvation of the people around us. I need not trek a pilgrimage anywhere. In the first place, I am with the Lord and He is the one leading me, I need only follow and be open. To be a comfort to someone in need also does not need to be in person, because my blog and posts on Facebook and other places are often noted, and sometimes I receive a reply, and I find that what I said found a fertile place in hearts I will never likely meet in this life.

There is a certain comfort to be had for being willing; willing to be a Christian, to be a Hermit and to be a caring human being. My reach is limited because I am limited by the way the Lord wishes to use me. That does not limit God, and if it does, He is more than capable of tagging others on the shoulder to listen up, because He has something to say through them.

If I were asked what the most important things are today it would be that each of us is valuable for ourselves just as we are, and that we are entitled to tell that to others and to be a comforter or someone who encourages.

Secondly, all our prayers and all our hopes and aspirations are important to the Lord, so He will see that our expression matters and hits home where it needs to be. I have gotten the impression that there are fewer vocations these days and that fewer people attend Mass or engage in participating in any other spiritual activity. That may be true, but I also get the impression, that those who do are more important to the Lord, now more than ever, and He will make His voice heard if it is true that we speak for Him or minister to others unofficially or officially.

 Officially, if priests have diluted their faith and scarcely pray, they cannot serve the Lord's people adequately. If an entire Church becomes that way, then we will have reached a point in which He will renew and reestablish His Church, through people who were of no consequence to such priests and bishops. It is important to note, that those who have given into despair and fallen away, will either be renewed by their response to His providence, or simply disappear and fall away in such a way that they are in no position to trouble His Church anymore.

Father Johannes tells us in the video, that our response to suffering in our lives is important, because our suffering is important to the Lord, and important in the way in which we deal with it. Suffering the passion-life is a gift to some, and to others it is merely misery and seems to have no point. But we can reach out and relieve suffering with a word. We just need to say it.

Drowning out our pain in excessive drug use and alcohol or sexual impropriety will not comfort us in any lasting way, and usually reaches a point where it is completely ineffective and of no use help to us. 

Please realize that if you are suffering, Jesus is in the suffering with you so He may say He suffered with you, which is the truth. Pain is misery, but the more we love the Lord  IN IT, the closer we become to Him, to the  point of being able to hear Him and respond to Him in joy. My desire to join Him in His suffering on the cross in a physical way has never been granted in order to prevent me from becoming selfish and possessive of Him. It has always been a silent request to accept a suffering for a while without much consolation or relief. It has always been given when i did not expect it, and it enabled me to finish my time on the cross with Him. It involved me in a very personal way each time, and allowed my offering of it to be what He was looking for, and to be personally effective for someone or some group of people. 

If He had wanted, He could have taken me, a totally unsuitable choice, and expressed His passion in a very visible and bloody way and one which could have been constantly painful. Some of that has happened, but the details are unnecessary here. Just realize, that if you have suffered, it was valuable to the Lord and of great value in some real person's actual life. 

These days, it does not take much to uncover the millions suffering, who were not asked if they wanted to suffer, likely did not see any value in it, and did not gain anything other than an intensification of His love unknown in them, and they went to their graves as they were. We therefore, need not be looking for commendations or glory in our miseries. We may only say that we were unprofitable servants of the Lord.

Hermit

 A Hermit Priest

You cannot be hidden if the Lord
does not want it.

To me as a hermit, it is incredibly important to hear what someone like Father Johannes has to say; we do not live in the most open or accepting atmosphere these days, when even being a Christian can get you killed or persecuted. On the other hand, one need not suffer persecution when there are so many wars and rebellions breaking out everywhere. God needs human beings to be His Voice and to say what is true so it is not forgotten or relegated to the dust bin.

People are constantly under intense pressure to conform or not to disturb other people's fantasies or not bring others down with your depression. For all people, Jesus is present. He is present in US, and in each other, individually and collectively. The sum of all the disappointments and indifference diminishes us all, and the presence of Jesus in each of us, determines whether anyone can open their mouth and speak the truth in spite of the persecution from certain quarters who are incapable of speaking truth or embodying Christ.

Father Johannnes wears a habit, but as he himself says, he is not a monk. He wears a habit because he is called as a hermit, which is a separate religious state which is a state in which he was created, and consecrated as a priest as well.

On occasion I too wear a habit, but either it is not noticed, or occasionally elicits hostility. Many religious in the past have tried to be dispensed with the wearing of their habit because it discomfited others, but in reality it was discomfiting the monk himself and not anyone else. The hostility most notably came from religious, priests and bishops who opposed it and I never attained the permission I desired so badly. 

On occasion when I was in my habit on a nature photography outing, outstanding and unpredictable, but good  things happened which led into a most unique presence of God in an interpersonal moment that turned out to be a ministration of God's grace and anointing. 

Father Johannes has the permissions to carry out his ministry in his unique circumstances. The fact I was not given the permissions I needed and that I ministered in my habit to people who were in dire need, tells me that I have been commissioned as a hermit; it is just that I was not judged worthy, and the judgement lies in those who judged.

The point is, that God will use us for the salvation of the people around us. I need not trek a pilgrimage anywhere. In the first place, I am with the Lord and He is the one leading me, I need only follow and be open. To be a comfort to someone in need also does not need to be in person, because my blog and posts on Facebook and other places are often noted, and sometimes I receive a reply, and I find that what I said found a fertile place in hearts I will never likely meet in this life.

There is a certain comfort to be had for being willing; willing to be a Christian, to be a Hermit and to be a caring human being. My reach is limited because I am limited by the way the Lord wishes to use me. That does not limit God, and if it does, He is more than capable of tagging others on the shoulder to listen up, because He has something to say through them.

If I were asked what the most important things are today it would be that each of us is valuable for ourselves just as we are, and that we are entitled to tell that to others and to be a comforter or someone who encourages.

Secondly, all our prayers and all our hopes and aspirations are important to the Lord, so He will see that our expression matters and hits home where it needs to be. I have gotten the impression that there are fewer vocations these days and that fewer people attend Mass or engage in participating in any other spiritual activity. That may be true, but I also get the impression, that those who do are more important to the Lord, now more than ever, and He will make His voice heard if it is true that we speak for Him or minister to others unofficially or officially.

 Officially, if priests have diluted their faith and scarcely pray, they cannot serve the Lord's people adequately. If an entire Church becomes that way, then we will have reached a point in which He will renew and reestablish His Church, through people who were of no consequence to such priests and bishops. It is important to note, that those who have given into despair and fallen away, will either be renewed by their response to His providence, or simply disappear and fall away in such a way that they are in no position to trouble His Church anymore.

Father Johannes tells us in the video, that our response to suffering in our lives is important, because our suffering is important to the Lord, and important in the way in which we deal with it. Suffering the passion-life is a gift to some, and to others it is merely misery and seems to have no point. But we can reach out and relieve suffering with a word. We just need to say it.

Drowning out our pain in excessive drug use and alcohol or sexual impropriety will not comfort us in any lasting way, and usually reaches a point where it is completely ineffective and of no use help to us. 

Please realize that if you are suffering, Jesus is in the suffering with you so He may say He suffered with you, which is the truth. Pain is misery, but the more we love the Lord  IN IT, the closer we become to Him, to the  point of being able to hear Him and respond to Him in joy. My desire to join Him in His suffering on the cross in a physical way has never been granted in order to prevent me from becoming selfish and possessive of Him. It has always been a silent request to accept a suffering for a while without much consolation or relief. It has always been given when i did not expect it, and it enabled me to finish my time on the cross with Him. It involved me in a very personal way each time, and allowed my offering of it to be what He was looking for, and to be personally effective for someone or some group of people. 

If He had wanted, He could have taken me, a totally unsuitable choice, and expressed His passion in a very visible and bloody way and one which could have been constantly painful. Some of that has happened, but the details are unnecessary here. Just realize, that if you have suffered, it was valuable to the Lord and of great value in some real person's actual life. 

These days, it does not take much to uncover the millions suffering, who were not asked if they wanted to suffer, likely did not see any value in it, and did not gain anything other than an intensification of His love unknown in them, and they went to their graves as they were. We therefore, need not be looking for commendations or glory in our miseries. We may only say that we were unprofitable servants of the Lord.

Rest

A wise man asks the Lord if
he can remain where he is,
or if he should appreciate
and move on. Remain where
He bids you rest.

Rituals for their own sake are meaningless. No one is getting into heaven simply because they performed a mechanical motion. The meaning comes from living a relationship with God, with all your heart and soul, without rest. What rest you receive will come from God who captures us like a little child, until we sit in His lap and simply fall asleep.

It is meaningful that the only rest we receive is from God. If we are too frantic in our quest to please Him, He calms us down, stills the momentum, and overcomes our energy with the exertion of His own which is what we call sleep.

In that sleep is where we pray. We may live physically in a stone hut on an Italian mountainside, but where we sleep is immaterial. He covers us and keeps us warm and speaks of meaningful things in the silence, which is a surrender of our material existence to the ineffable bliss of His presence.

By the same token, the appearance of God after we performed a ritual does not indicate the necessity of a similar motion for a visitation of the Lord to take place.

Insecure people seek to be secure by exacting from God some sign that He will not do something painful to us, or confront us in our sins and selfishness, so as to receive assurances that we will do better in the future.

Many believe this is the "end time", and we don't know if that is where we are at all. All the greater the temptation to spin prayer wheels to pray. We cannot get off that easily. A motion of the heart, an e-motion must take place to predicate that we have prayed. 

He will reveal the beauty of true prayer, and invite us to rest with Him in His own silence and solitude, because in it, we are truly with Him, and He is truly with us, and no matter the frantic pace of the world outside us, we remain at peace in Him until He wishes to stir us up, like a man who shuffles the burning logs in his fireplace to "help" the fire.

Prayer is like a fire lit to burn all night which burns steadily until the fuel is gone. In order to maintain the fire, we must add fuel and the air must flow through so that the reaction is steady, and if it is, then the whole house is warm and we sleep undisturbed.

Just like a fire, we may burn out and have to light the fire again, removing ash and putting in new wood and applying a spark to make it burn. Then the fire sustains itself and we can rest and enjoy its warmth.

He made us strong, to endure privations and the power of His love, which is hardly trivial. He ensures the power of His love in us, and if we continue, it is because He is satisfied but glad that we are not taking Him for granted. It might almost be said, that we are better off in the desolation of privations and despair.

Many people are selling all they have and plopping down in some wilderness fortress where they can be unseen and unknown, unvisited by any others, to sit and enjoy our view and the silence. But that silence is not the silence of God, though it is greatly similar. He has no need to examine Himself like us, to ensure it is as we have decided to be. Neither does it matter if we are in a forest depth, or the darkness of a cave, or the cliffs beside an ocean that never rests.

God is our destination, our rest in which we do not stir in response to our mind's thoughts.  He will stir us up if we become complacent or take Him for granted, and we may never know rest again, if He decides that is necessary to His act of revelation to us.

It is like a hunter who goes into the forest to live, and survives off what grows there, whether berries or bears. Sooner or later, he needs to move to another place that has never seen our shadow and where the game is abundant, fish or bird or deer. For us, the animals and the forest itself is a provisioning to maintain the physical body we are, but we are also a spirit which is like God and from whom we receive sustenance and it is a great moment when we finally see the wholeness of existence and our place in it.

That is a great act of divine love in our life, to see with His own fullness, all that is.

The moment of defeat is coming for evil, and sensing that, it is more restless than usual. Our lack of rest in circumstances is meant to stir  our minds and hearts to become stronger than evil so we may survive, because His rest is assembled in our hearts by Him in ways we do not know.

It fascinates people with its raving restlessness and the savagery of what comes out of its mouth, seeking to accomplish something of his intended doom while we are fascinated by his actions, but are seen eventually as meaningless.  Beware of the stupid things people do, and the importance they place on it being done. Evil is concerned with rituals too, to distract us from seeing. We need truth like we need air, and if a man cannot live without lies, he is already doomed and marked as one we should avoid, especially in our imitation of things.

Beware of mistaking ritual for gestures of love. Love flows and is beautiful and full of warmth and light and never comes to us empty-handed lest it lose our interest and cool in the gloom of the forest. If God can be said to have a vulnerability, it is that He is love, and wishes our love forever in a tranquil stream of earnestness. That is why a prayer wheel or a little bell is empty to the Lord; He made us to be warm and rest with Him, and to subdue ourselves in His power to see and be at rest as it works within us manifesting its energy in silent dark.

Sometimes we call Him, and sometimes He calls us, but He is forever calling people to be with Him, and they are to be detached with their cauterized hearts firmly attached to His love.

The fact we have been called does not assume that we are set aside to do what we want to do or think we have been called to. That invites power and power subdues love because it is outside of control. He forever calls us, judges what we do to find out if we love, or think it is a quantity we can increase like cash. Avoid both and realize that life flows from God outside our control and He will mold us to be what He wishes without our bothering Him.

Remember the silence, so in the din of life you can hear it still, for then it will resonate in us wherever we are, like the warmth we recalled, of the fire.