JMJ+OBT
Omnia Pro Iesu Per Mariam!
REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near. (Phil 4:4,5)
Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ, have asked God the Holy Spirit to come to us and prepare us to receive the joy of Christmas. The Holy Spirit reveals that the Lord is near, and when we recognize this Truth then our hearts leap up for joy.
The Holy Spirit is the One Who inspires Sacred Scripture. The Holy Spirit is the One who REVEALS the Eternal Word of the Father, Jesus the Christ. When the Holy Spirit reveals that Jesus is present then we REJOICE. Do you understand how REVELATION AND REJOICING GO TOGETHER? Ask the Holy Spirit for these gifts. Better yet, ask for a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, Who is Person-Love, Person-Gift. A most efficacious (big word for effective) way to ask for a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit is to ask this grace from Our Blessed Mother, Mary, because the Immaculate Virgin Mary is the spouse of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will help us fulfill all that He asks of us in Sacred Scripture. The Holy Spirit asks us through St. Paul to Rejoice, Pray and Give Thanks. We are called to Rejoice, Pray and Give Thanks ALWAYS! The Holy Spirit will teach us how!
We are to REJOICE IN THE LORD, ALWAYS! As we already noted, this rejoicing comes through recognizing that the Lord is near. Furthermore, we are to rejoice IN the Lord. True rejoicing comes from living our Baptism IN the Lord. True rejoicing comes from living IN the Most Holy Eucharist as Jesus is really, truly and substantially present. When we are in a state of grace and receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist we REJOICE. When we live our Baptism and the Eucharistic Life of Jesus we REJOICE.
We are to PRAY WITHOUT CEASING! The Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray. In fact we are told by the Holy Spirit in Sacred Scripture that "the Spirit also helps our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself pleads for us with unutterable groanings. And He who searches the hearts knows what the Spirit desires, that He pleads for the saints according to God." (Rom 8:26,27)
We are directed by the Holy Spirit: "IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE THANKS, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil." (1 Thes 5:18-22)
When we have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, we will REJOICE, PRAY AND GIVE THANKS! As the Holy Spirit and Our Lady help us prepare to receive Jesus in a new and profound way this Christmas, we pray: "May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ." Remembering "the One Who calls you is faithful, and He will also accomplish it." (1 Thes 5:23,24)
-- Through the intercession of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John, St. James, St. Therese, St. Rita, St. Philomena, St. Jude, St. Nicholas, St. Alphonsus, St. Peter Chrysologus, St. Zachary, St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist, St. Perpetua, St. Felicity, St. Francis, St. Veronica Guiliani, St. Joan of Arc, St. Louis, St. Joseph Calasanz, St. Padre Pio, St. Patrick, St. Bridget, St. Columban and all the Holy Angels and Saints may you be abundantly blessed in the Covenant of Communion of the Most Holy Trinity, with my Priestly blessing,
Father Zachary of the Mother of God, SOLT
