Religion

About the song “Where’s the Line to See Jesus?” performed by Becky Kelley.

While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, “where’s the line to see Jesus”? My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends. He sent the song off to Nashville without much response, except for a Christian song writer who suggested adding a bridge at the end of the first chorus. My dad then asked if I wanted to record the song to see what we could do with it. I listened to the song, made a few changes to the words to make it flow better, and we headed to Shock City Studios. It was at the studio where Chris, owner and producer, rewrote the 2nd verse and part of the chorus… With goose bumps and emotions high, we were all hopeful and felt like we had something special. The demo was recorded in just under 2 hours and sent off again to Nashville … Still no response. Then 2 weeks before Christmas last year, my cousins Greg and Robbie decided to do a video to see what we could accomplish on YouTube. The first day we had 3000 hits and it soared from there. We received e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages from people all over asking for the music, CD’s, iTunes, anything… We had nothing’. After a couple of meetings with Chris following the amazing response, we got serious. We headed back into the studio this past spring… This time with guitars, drums, bass, pianos, choirs… The real deal…. And here we are today. Getting iTunes set up, a website put together, and loving that thousands upon thousands of Christians have come to gather… Remembering the true meaning of Christmas. Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults cannot understand. Hopefully Spencer’s observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him. We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Sometimes trials and tribulations and everyday obsticles can take an effect on the inner you. Get into the rhythm of life.   If you need some inspiration here you go. Remember, Jesus LOVES you!!!
What a way to start your day!

While writing something for Fathers’s Day, I was sent this link from a good friend, it says it all. Happy Father’s Day!

“the greatest gift a Father can give his children is to love their mother”

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, those here and gone, foster moms,stepmoms, grandmoms, wives, aunts, big sisters, daughters who fill in, nuns, all the female role models, teachers, nurses, and care givers in this world.  And a special Happy Mother’s Day to Mother Mary!   Men you need to be the Head of the Household, but ladies you are the glue that keeps us all together. I am never lost for words, but all I can say is Thank You, and I Love You.

With today, April 17^th 2011 marking, the  beginning of HOLY Week. The most significant week of the year  I was  wondering on what to write about .  Should it be about Palm Sunday, Holy Week itself, or Easter.

Most know I have been teaching 8^th grade CCD for the last 7 years.  Today I shared this with my class and felt the need to share with you as well.

This was written by an 8 yr old named Danny Dutton, who lives in Chula Vista, Ca.. He wrote it for his third grade homework assignment, to “explain God” I wonder if any of us could have done as well?

(……. And he had such an assignment, in California, and someone published it, I guess miracles do happen!..)

EXPLANATION OF GOD:

“One of God’s main jobs is making people.  He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.  He doesn’t make grownups just babies.  I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn’t have to waste his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk.  He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.”

“God’s second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime.  God doesn’t have time to listen to radio or TV because of this.  Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.”

“God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps him pretty busy…So you shouldn’t go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad’s head asking for something they say you couldn’t have.”

“Atheists are people who don’t believe in God.  I don’t think there are any in Chula Vista.  At least there aren’t any who come to our church”.

“Jesus is God’s son.  He used to do all the hard work, like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn’t want to learn about God.  They finally got tired if him preaching and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his  father, and he told his father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.”

“His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he have to go out on the road anymore.  He could stay in heaven.  So he did… And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God.  Like a secretary, only more important.

“You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.”

“you should always go to church on Sunday because it make God happy, and there’s anybody you want to make happy its God!

“Don’t skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach.  This is wrong.  And besides the sun doesn’t come out at the beach until noon anyway.”

“If you don’t believe in God, besides being and atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can’t go everywhere with you. Like camp. But God can.. It is good to know He’s around you when you’re scared, in the dark or when you can’t swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.”

“But..you shouldn’t just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases.

And that’s why I believe in God.”

How would you explain God?

The Revelation of God’s Love
by: Saundra L. Washington D.D.

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the heart of the Gospel. The Old Testament symbolized the death of Christ and in many ways all of the predictions found fulfillment on that day when Jesus hung for six hours on the cross. The events leading up to Christ’s death are all filled with emotion, but it is when the Lamb of God becomes the substitute for man that we stand speechless before the infinite grace of God. God “shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died.” We were so far from being good, so far from God’s expectations of us, that nothing in us offered any inducement to such a sacrifice as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We were not worthy of God sending His Son to die for our sins. And therefore, we must realize that we have not earned the love of God. We have not deserved the sacrifice. Yet, it is because of that unmerited quality that we glory in the cross.

If we are honest with ourselves, we have to acknowledge that Christ did for us what we would never do for one another. We barely have time for each other much less carry another’s burden; take on someone else’s sins. We are into ourselves, our feelings, our concerns. As horrendous as it is to say, killing has become commonplace in our society and world. We are not shocked by it anymore – we do not grieve or groan over it anymore. We accept it, digest it as bad tasting medicine and go on with our lives.

But in Jesus Christ, we encounter a man who was more than a man. We see in His cross the manifestation of a goodness which transcends all human standards. And, if His death declared a love that is more than human, we can only conclude that this is a revelation of what the love of God must be. Everything that we have learned, all that tribulation and its related experiences have taught us rests on the assured conviction that the love of God supports our lives.

It is this love that God has poured into our hearts. Moreover, the joy which this creates is not simply one of satisfaction; it strengthens the will so that we can resist sin and defeat it. God’s love becomes the central motive in our lives. There is no way possible for us to fully understand the height and depth, length and breadth of God’s love for us. Even if we could perfectly grasp what God has disclosed in Christ’s death, we are still left hanging groping for a suitable way to articulate what we have discovered. The best we can do is utter Paul’s words, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

While men and women were yet sinners, they learned that they could come to Him and in coming they found forgiveness and a new life. The publicans and the harlots heard that they had a better chance of entering God’s kingdom than some whose prestige and respectability was above suspicion. They heard the good news from Jesus, who taught them what friendship and compassion and restoration really meant.

When we look at Jesus, we still see the love at God at work. Jesus was crucified on Passover day. He had eaten the last supper with His disciples the night before. He had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, was arrested and before 9:00 a.m. the next morning He had been tried 6 times; 3 times before a Jewish group and 3 times before a Roman court. When He refused to speak in His own behalf, false witnesses were hired to testify against Him. They placed on Him a crown of thorns and spit upon Him. At His crucifixion they gambled for His clothes. They put Him on a cross and crucified Him between 2 thieves. People walked by and laughed at Him, mocked Him, made fun of Him, cursed Him. And yet, in the midst of all this humiliating and dehumanizing treatment, God was at work. That which the satanic forces of evil did in an attempt to eliminate Jesus of Nazareth was the one act that God used to bring redemption to the world.

Yes, Jesus was a man but more than a man. Those who knew Him in the flesh testified concerning His true nature. At Caesarea Philippi, Simon Peter called Him, “the Christ, the son of the living God.” John the Baptist testified, “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world.” After the resurrection, Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”

It is on Calvary at the death of Jesus that we see the heart of God as no other place in the Bible. When Jesus died on the cross, God put all the suffering every sinner deserved, past, present and future, on the back of Jesus.

For Christians everywhere, in the cross of Christ we glory. We can never forget that we are redeemed through the blood. The same blood that washed us from our sins signed us up to a life-long commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Every time we think of Calvary we should remember anew that it is not through works of our own, but God’s love and mercy that we are children of the living God. Because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Lent

Just wanted to talk a little about Lent.  Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. As we know Lent is a forty-day period of fasting leading up to the feast of Easter.  During this period we recall the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness .Lent always begins on Ash Wednesday the seventh Wednesday before Easter, which was on March 9, 2011 of this year. In the Catholic church lent ends (Liturgically) at sundown on April 21, 2011 right before the Masses of Holy Thursday, the day that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, four days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. That is when the “Triduum”, great three Days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday occur leading to Easter, but Holy penance and the Lenten fast continues until April 23 2011 which is the day before Easter.  When counting the forty days we as Catholics skip Sundays, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection.

Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and basically taking stock, not suffering.  We make a few sacrifices by giving up something for God.  I find this quite rewarding.  How many things have you sacrificed in your life to achieve your goals or desires? This is the time of year we can actually sacrifice in the same way for Jesus.  So few of us do this during the year, so take advantage of a chance to do something for Jesus.

We are all given the opportunity to be forgiven by God for our transgressions and sins, Jesus has paved the way. Pray the Our Father, but listen to the words and reflect on the Lord’s Prayer.

How about forgiving others for acts they have done against you? What about that family member that might be alienated from you and your family, what about a friend?

There is great joy to all who are united by forgiving and being forgiven. There is a great joy of being at peace with one another. How about giving that joy to someone, the felling of being whole a new start.

Happy St Joseph’s Day

The Feast of St. Joseph or Solemnity of Saint Joseph the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Celebrated  on March 19 ,seven days before the Feast of the Annunciation (25 March) which commemorates Gabriel’s visit to Mary announcing that she is to give birth to the Messiah.  It is a Solemnity in the Roman Catholic Church. Saint Joseph’s Day is the Patronal Feast day for persons named Joseph, Josephine, etc., for religious orders, schools and parishes bearing his name, and for carpenters. It is also Father’s Day in some Catholic countries, mainly Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

St. Joseph was born in Bethlehem and worked as a carpenter (Matthew 13:55: “Is not this the carpenter’s son?”), an occupation he later passed on to his Son (Mark 6:3: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? are not also his sisters here with us?”). He was betrothed to Mary, a consecrated Virgin, in order to serve as her protector. It is said that Joseph was an older man, an a widower with grown-up children.

When Mary came to be with child, his confusion and resolve to “put her away privately” in order to spare her any public humiliation were done away with when an angel of the Lord visited him in a dream and explained things to him:

Matthew 1:20-24
But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name JESUS. For he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. And Joseph rising up from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took unto him his wife.

After Jesus was born, an angel again appeared to St. Joseph and told him to take the Holy Family away in order to escape the wrath of Herod.

Matthew 2:13-15
And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod: That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called my son.

After time in Egypt, an angel came twice more to St. Joseph:

Matthew 2:19-23
But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, Saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead that sought the life of the child. Who arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the room of Herod his father, he was afraid to go thither: and being warned in sleep retired into the quarters of Galilee. And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was said by prophets: That he shall be called a Nazarene.

The next — and last — time we hear of St. Joseph in Sacred Scripture is when Jesus was “lost” in the Temple:

Luke 2:42-52
And when he was twelve years old, they going up into Jerusalem, according to the custom of the feast, And having fulfilled the days, when they returned, the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem; and his parents knew it not. And thinking that he was in the company, they came a day’s journey, and sought him among their kinsfolks and acquaintance. And not finding him, they returned into Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that, after three days, they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers. And seeing him, they wondered. And his mother said to him: Son, why hast thou done so to us? behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said to them: How is it that you sought me? did you not know, that I must be about my father’s business? And they understood not the word that he spoke unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men.

During his life St Joseph was given the great responsibility of caring for and protecting the Virgin — who is the Mother of all Israel — and her Son, St. Joseph is considered the patron and protector of the entire Church.

St. Joseph’s Day is a big Feast for Italians because through St. Joseph’s intercessions, saved the Sicilians from a very serious drought and famine.  St. Joseph was known as the protector of the Holy Family. With this in mind, Italians with strong family relationships prayed for St. Joseph to intercede for them, in an effort to ensure successful crops. Their prayers were answered, and the famine came to an end. In gratitude, people promised to make annual offerings of their most precious possession, food, in St. Joseph’s honor.
So in his honor, the custom is for all to wear red, in the same way that green is worn on St. Patrick’s Day.

The traditional foods served during St. Joseph’s Day are symbolic of both the legends associated with the saint and the very real struggles of the Sicilian peasantry. The fava bean plays a prominent role in the feast. Fava beans were once considered food for animals, the hardy bean was not affected by the droughts and famines of Sicily, making it an invaluable food source to the peasants. Wild fennel and chickpeas were also some of the few plants available to these poor people and thus became important parts of the Sicilian diet. These are just some of the simple and rustic ingredients that go into the unique Pasta di San Giuseppe.

Some Traditions foods

• Pasta di San Giuseppe
• Fava Beans
• Minnestrone
• Cream Puffs ( “zeppole”)
• Zeppole di San Guiseppe
• St. Joseph’s Pants(Cavazune)
• Pane de San Giuseppe (St. Joseph’s Bread)

For recipes send a request.