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2012-2013 Cursillo Photos

12/29/2013

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Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,

Thank you for all the wonderful work you have undertaken in the Cursillo Movement and accomplished so well with God’s grace in this past year.  Our Cursillo communities have deepened their understanding of the Cursillo Movement’s strategy and methodology, and have made excellent progress in making and bringing new friends to Christ as they deepen their own faith.  Here are links to photos of just a few of our many activities in the past two years to celebrate and share with others in your diocesan Cursillo communities:

San Francisco Filipino Cursillo Movement:

·         December 1, 2012 – Cursillo Christmas Party at St. Andrew Church, Daly City, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157639145255193/

·         June 20-23, 2013 – Filipino Women’s Cursillo, #766, at Holy Redeemer Center, Oakland, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157634294534453/

·         June 27-30, 2013 – Filipino Men’s Cursillo, #767, at Holy Redeemer Center, Oakland, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157634425328223/

·         August 3, 2013 – Cursillo 4th Day/Ultreya at St. Peter Church, Pacifica, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157634924599294/



Los Angeles Filipino Cursillo Movement
:

·         September 26-29, 2013 - Filipino Women’s Cursillo, #818, at Divine Word Retreat Center, Riverside, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157636088408093/

·         December 1, 2013 - Fides Eclesaie performance at the Fox Theater, Redwood City, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157638305809783/



Oakland Filipino Cursillo Movement:

·         June 8, 2013 – Spiritual Retreat at San Damiano Retreat Center, Danville, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157634276879010/

·         August 8-September 1, 2013 – Filipino Women’s Cursillo, #87, at Camp St. Francis, Aptos, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157635342982708/

·         September 14, 2013 – Cursillo 4th Day/Ultreya at Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157635553304031/

·         October 21, 2013 – School of Leaders at Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157637068443156/



Sacramento Filipino Cursillo Movement:

·         December 2, 2012 – Cursillo Christmas Party at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Fairfield, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157639143599535/

·         May 5-6, 2012 – Cursillo Leaders Workshop I at St. Vincent Church, Vallejo, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157629984368595/

·         July 7, 2013 – Filipino Women’s Cursillo Team meeting in Vallejo, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157634544309154/

·         July 21, 2013 – Filipino Women’s Cursillo Team meeting in Vallejo, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157634783544100/

·         August 31, 2013 –  Day of Recollection at Carmelite Retreat Center, Oakville, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157635343315804/

·         October 17-20, 2013 – Filipino Women’s Cursillo, #34, at Juan Diego Retreat Center, Linda, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157636896582174/

·         October 27, 2013 – Cursillo 4th Day/Ultreya at St. Catherine Church, Vallejo, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157637121412753/

·         December 7, 2013 – Cursillo Christmas Party at Mt. Carmel Church, Fairfield, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157638655539903/

 

San Bernardino Filipino Cursillo Movement:

·         September 19-22, 2013 – Filipino Women’s Cursillo, #31, at Divine Word Center, Riverside, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157635827012755/

 

San Diego Filipino Cursillo Movement:

·         August 18, 2012 – Region XI Grand Ultreya (video)
o   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRYKBgDoE44


San Jose Filipino Cursillo Movement:

·         August 24, 2013 – Region XI Grand Ultreya at Our Lady of Peace Shrine, Santa Clara, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157635224689828/

Region XI Encounters:

·         April 13-15, 2012 – Spring, Diocese of Fresno Pastoral Center, Fresno, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157629464136030/

·         October 12-14, 2012 – Fall, Diocese of Fresno Pastoral Center, Fresno, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157631900673383/

·         May 31-June2, 2013 – Spring, Diocese of Fresno Pastoral Center, Fresno, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157634266593652/

·         October 11-13, 2013 – Fall, Diocese of Fresno Pastoral Center, Fresno, CA
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157636548845155/

National Encounter:

·         July 25-28, 2013 – Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
o   http://www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/sets/72157634890323718/
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Homily on "The Gift of Jesus in the Ordinariness of Our Lives"

12/23/2013

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Homily on “The Gift of Jesus in the Ordinariness of Our Lives”

4th Sunday of Advent,  Is 7:10-14,  Rm 1:1-7,  Mt 1:18-24    “A”  12/22/2013

I   Introduction      “Can anything good come from Nazareth?’  This was the nagging question thrown at us “unbelievers” who couldn’t imagine a “home-towner” born to lowly parents, a carpenter and a young Jewish girl, could be trusted to bring change to the world and lead us to God’s Kingdom.  “Incredibly Preposterous!” would have been a justifiable reaction.  

It was the same question posed by Nathaniel to Philip when he talked about Jesus as “the One about what Moses (and also the prophets) wrote in the law.” (Jn 1:45-46)  Philip after realizing Nathaniel’s sarcastic reaction, replied with a challenge, ‘Come and see’, meaning “Come and see for yourself.’  This is the challenge that Philip is actually throwing at all of us now, in the 4th and last Sunday of Advent, when the truth of God in Jesus Christ is to unfold and be revealed in his birth, 3 days from today.   So what do we come and see for ourselves, in the birth of Our Lord, Jesus Christ?

Do we see how an unknown town of Bethlehem in Nazareth was chosen as Jesus’ place of birth?  Or why a little, young Jewish girl, barely 14 years old named Mary said “Yes” to giving  birth to the Son of God from her virgin womb?  Then also, why a manger in a cave; far from the glitzy lights and glamour of City life, in the dark of the night and not in a well-furnished hospital or a well-lit inn?  And aside from Mary and Joseph, why was the birth of the Son of God witnessed only by farm animals and by the shepherds who were tending their flock and then followed the “the Star of Bethlehem, to pay homage to the King of Kings, as did the Wise Men - the Magis.  Then why did Joseph, a modest carpenter betrothed to Mary, accept the angel’s message of taking Mary into his home as his wife, even if she was with child?

What we do see for ourselves makes us more skeptical so that more questions need to be answered.  Did God commit an inglorious oversight of choosing all these ordinary people in an unknown and  seemingly forsaken little place to pave the way for the birth of the Messiah, the Son of God?

II    The Gift of Jesus’s Birth in Our Lives        Or, do we need to look at the BIG picture in this manner?  That God is the Lord of History and what has happened more than 2000 years ago was no mistake at all.  God is no longer a distant God, for God in Christ Jesus has come to us in the ordinariness of our lives, the closest that he could ever be – by being with us in our poverty, in our families in need, in our daily struggles and challenges, in our careers, in our successes and failures, in our joys and in our pains, in feast or in famine.  He came literally and physically to be one of us, in everything else except in sin.

Our ordinariness is what especially appeals to God.  He wants to be loved by ordinary men and women, for the unworthy like you and me.  Take the Blessed Mother for instance.  She was a simple Jewish girl who was young and innocent but was open to hear God’s message.  Humble to consider herself a handmaid of the Lord, her simplicity and humility found great favor with the Lord. 

Joseph, on the other hand, was also a humble and hard working person.  He was betrothed to Mary (husband and wife without living together) and was willing to divorce her to spare her life.  For a woman betrothed to a man, who is with child that is not his, was committing adultery under Jewish laws which

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was punishable by death, being stoned to death.  Until the angel of the Lord in the 2nd annunciation story of Matthew’s Gospel of today, appeared to him and told him not to be afraid to take Mary into his home as his wife, because she has conceived this child through the power of the Holy Spirit and will give birth to the Son of God.  And Joseph did as he was told.

III    The Message of Christmas        In our lives, we at times receive unexpected news and are being challenged to embrace this, for it is during these circumstances that we encounter the Lord.  Like Joseph, we can become fearful when our laid-out plans are being changed.  We have to learn to be still and listen to the soft voice of our Savior.

During this advent season, a time of expectation and of awaiting the remarkable, we learn to be patient, to persevere through prayer and fasting. for without our being aware of it, God in Jesus Christ will be born daily in our lives so that no matter what the circumstances we find ourselves in, our lives are filled with hope and joy because we know that God lives among and within us.

God promised that a child will be born whose life will show us that He, God, is with us.  The promise was fulfilled and our horizon was completely changed.  We now have a God who led and had lived with ordinary people.  So when we look at our lives and feel that we do not amount to anything, then we can look at Mary and Joseph and know that we can also be instruments of God’s Divine Love.

Therefore, the message of Christmas is a message that tells us that God wants to be loved by us in our ordinariness with all our frailties and vulnerabilities.  God even sent his only begotten Son to suffer and die on the cross.  He was treated like an ordinary criminal stripped of all respect and dignity.  The story of Christmas gives special meaning to what is ordinary and unspectacular - a simple Jewish girl, a carpenter for a foster father, a little town of Bethlehem in Nazareth, a baby boy born in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes witnessed by shepherds and farm animals.  All very ordinary and non-spectacular!  What makes it meaningful and special is that this is our story too.

V    Conclusion        So brothers and sisters,  Christmas indeed celebrates the meeting of the divine and the human, of heaven touching earth, of God embracing us and we embracing God.  The Christ Child born in the manger brings us tidings of great joy. He came to heal the broken hearted, to feed the hungry, to find the lost, to bring light to the darkened world and to bring hope and love in our hearts.  If the Christ-child born in the stable is not born in our hearts, then Christmas becomes useless.  

And so, may we love the Lord God in the everyday and regular things we do.  May we accept ourselves and others for what we are and what God has intended for us to be.  The Kingdom of God, as Jesus said, is at hand.  So let us come and see it for ourselves that indeed, something good has come out of Nazareth.  For with the Christ Child born in our hearts, we are not far from the Kingdom of God.  In fact, the God in Jesus Christ, is here with us.  May the peace and joy of the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you and your family always.  Amen.

Deacon Donnie Geaga        St. Peter & St. Paul Parish, Alta Loma,       Diocese of San Bernardino
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Organismo Mundial de Cursillos de Cristiandad

12/13/2013

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The Cursillo is an international movement of the Catholic Church, and the world organizing body is known as the “Organismo Mundial de Cursillos de Cristiandad” or “OMCC”.  You can download their December 2014 monthly newsletter below.
eng_omcc_newsletter_december_2013.pdf
File Size: 157 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Homily; "Portrait of a Servant" by Deacon Donnie Geaga from the San Bernardino Filipino Cursillo Movement

12/8/2013

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Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ, 

Deacon Donnie Geaga from the San Bernardino Filipino Cursillo Movement has kindly shared his homily for today’s Mass on the 2nd Sunday of Advent, and also a talk titled, “Portrait of a Servant”, that he gave at a retreat for leaders in Filipino Ministry in the Diocese of San Bernardino.  As usual, his talks are thoughtfully written, insightful, and well worth reading by all in our Cursillo communities.  You will find them attached to this email.  Please feel free to forward them to your family and friends.  Thank you, Deacon Donnie, for sharing them with us.

Congratulations and thank you to the members of the San Francisco Filipino Cursillo Movement who collected $1,010 during their November 23, 2013 Ultreya to be sent to Catholic Relief Services to aid our brethren in the Philippines who were devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.    While they are no longer in the news, medical aid and reconstruction efforts will be a long-term project.  Please keep the typhoon victims in your prayers and remember to provide them with financial and material support throughout the coming new year.

 
Homily on Repentance for Our Advent Preparation


Sunday of Advent, “A”, Is 11:1-10, Rm15:4-9, Mt 3:1-12 12.08.2013


I  Introduction  Today is the second Sunday of Advent and we are about 2 ½ weeks from Christmas, the birth of Our Lord Jesus. But first, let us focus on the word “Advent”. What does “Advent” really mean to each one of us? How does it help us prepare for the coming of Christ?

Advent is a time of eager anticipation. We are awaiting and preparing for the arrival of Jesus not only in our families and communities, but also more importantly, in our hearts. However, nowadays, this is the hardest thing to do. There is so much urgency even in the little and non-essential things in our lives. We all dread waiting- we hate waiting in lines in the grocery, in the malls, and absolutely hate waiting for the red light to change to green. We get impatient when our children do not get it, when our co-workers cannot get the work done in our time. We are frustrated when a loved one is not healed of their illness and we even get impatient with God when our personal petitions are not answered as soon as we verbalize it to Him . We just do not have the time to wait. This is the road that is least travelled.


II The Need for Repentance     In today’s Gospel of Matthew – John the Baptist is challenging us to change our ways. He challenged the people to go down to the river Jordan, to repent for their sins and be baptized by immersing them in the waters of the river Jordan. Water was so significant during the time of the old testament, years before the time of Christ . If you remember in the Old Testament, Naaman was cured of his leprosy by being immersed in the waters of the river Jordan seven times. The Israelites were saved from the onslaught of the Egyptian army when Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea and the people were freed from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.

In this gospel however, John was not baptizing Gentiles who were converting to Judaism rather he was baptizing the Jews. So he was telling them that being a Jew and claiming that they are descendants of Abraham, is not enough. They had to be completely purified again by the water if they are to enjoy the redemption being offered by God. 

All this work for God in the desert and around the River Jordan made John the Baptist popular and the most sought-after preacher of God. But he did not take advantage of his popularity, nor did he attempt to mislead the people. By their confessing their sins and being baptized into God’s life and grace, he was actually preparing them to be ready to commune with someone who was greater than him who was yet to come. He was humble enough to admit that he was not worthy to even untie the thongs of his sandal. And we all know that that someone is Jesus Christ himself. So today, he is reminding us that being just a Christian is not enough. We need to be baptized or cleansed by the waters of repentance and repentance needs a total change of mind and heart and turning our lives over to God.


III What Christmas is really all about        This season of Advent which is preparing for the arrival of Christ, is more than just putting up the lights and getting all our presents wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree. Most if not all of us, were caught in the frenzy of the Black Friday/Thursday Sales - madness. Malls and shops creatively lured the buying public with their hard-to-resist discount sales. Christmas songs fill the air waves, home and office parties are arranged, home-made delicacies prepared and thoughts of time together with family and loved ones fill our hopes and imagination. All of these are good, bringing us closer to one another.

But in all this mad frenzy, aren’t we forgetting something or someone who is actually celebrating his birthday which is the “reason for the season”? Do we need to be reminded, as John the Baptist did, of the gifts that we can offer to the birth celebrant himself-Jesus Christ?
My dear friends, the greatest gift or gifts that we can offer to Him is the gift of ourselves and
the gift of our time with Him and how we can share our stories of Him with others.

Therefore, this is the season of cleansing and purifying our lives so that when Christ comes, our hearts are worthy and ready for Him to dwell in us. The first coming of Christ in Christmas has a lot of lessons for us. Christ did not choose recognition and adulation for His birth. Rather, He chose silence and poverty. He chose a cave and a manger as his place of birth, far from the glare of city lights. His birth was announced to poor shepherds in the hills, not to kings . The word incarnate- the second person of the Holy Trinity, chose to be laid in the manger of poor repentant hearts who prepared for His coming. This, is the message of John the Baptist.


IV Conclusion     Brothers and Sisters, may this be our prayer for Advent: “Lord, we thank you for the
John the Baptist that spoke to us and is still speaking to us in our wilderness so that we may
rethink and re-evaluate our lives so that it reflects the life that You intended it to be. Lord, we thank you for those who bring the gospel message- which is the message of hope and joy which the birth of Jesus brings. Thank you for making us people of Hope.


Lord, thank you for sending us people like Nelson Mandela and Pope Francis I- people who have worked and are working tirelessly for reconciliation and forgiveness so that peoples’ lives are transformed that they become agents of change in their environment.

But most of all Lord, thank you for loving us and forgiving us, even when we are so unworthy to be loved and forgiven. You never tire of waiting for us - to receive you in our hearts and in our lives. In the precious name of your son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we pray . Amen”.
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Sacramento Filipino Cursillo Movement Christmas Party

12/7/2013

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Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,

    The Sacramento Filipino Cursillo Movement held their Christmas Party at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Fairfield, CA last Saturday, December 7, 2013, and a good time was enjoyed by all.  You can see photos of this event by clicking on this link:  www.flickr.com/photos/benagustin/collections.  Click on the “Cursillos in Christianity” photo set, then click on the “2013 Sacramento Filipino Cursillo Christmas Party”. 
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Father Ray Reyes' Jubilee Celebration at St. Anne. SF

12/7/2013

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Here we celebrated Father Ray Reyes' Jubilee Celebration at St. Anne SF. It was his 50th Birthday and 25th Priestly Year. Present in our Cursillo table were Bro. Mario Santos, Bro. Rick Calma, Bro. Tito Ballesteros, Sis. Rose Ballesteros, Sis, Merla Cardenas, Sis. Norma Edar, Sis. Luz Chin and Sis. Erlinda Thomas.
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Simbang Gabi at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco

12/6/2013

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    On Friday December 6th at 7:30 PM, St. Mary's Cathedral of San Francisco held its Simbang Gabi Commissioning, an annual lighting ceremony of parol to commence the celebration of the novena of Simbang Gabi masses in various parishes in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
   
    This year, the mass was celebrated by Most Reverend Dalvatore Cordilone. 
   
    Many of the churches in San Francisco were there to represent their Diocese, each donning their own parol.
   
    Bro. Rick Calma was our parol bearer and stood as our Cursillo coordinator. Representing our Diocese during the mass and reception were Sis. Merla Cardenas, Bro. Mario Santos, Bro. Tito Ballesteros, Sis. Rose Ballesteros, Sis. Luz Chin and Sis. Erlinda Thomas.
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December Newsletter from the National Cursillo Center

12/5/2013

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You can read the December Newsletter from the National Cursillo here.

Here are some highlights:


·         We bid a fond farewell to Fr. Peter Jaramillo, our outgoing National Spiritual Advisor, and thank him for his three years of dedication and for coordinating the creation of the 2012 Spiritual Advisors Manual. 

·         We welcome his successor, Fr. Alex Waraksa, from the Diocese of Knoxville, TN, and Deacon Gary Terrana, who is filling the new position of Assistant Deacon Spiritual Advisor for the U.S. Cursillo Movement.

·         There are approximately 1 million Cursillistas in the U.S., including approximately 6,300 Filipino Cursillistas.

·         You can see new books and other items for purchase from the National Cursillo Center at this link:  https://www.natl-cursillo.org/orderl.html.

·         Save this date:  July 31-August 3, 2014 for the next National Cursillo Encounter which will be held at Chapman University in the City of Orange, CA.  Registration forms will be available on January 15, 2014.  Sign up early -  there are only 950 seats available.

·         Check out the Cursillo Resource Center for videos and documents on Cursillo topics at this link:  http://www.cursillo.org/resources/.

·         The new email address for the National Cursillo Center is:  admin@natl-cursillo.org.
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The Promise of Salvation

12/4/2013

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The Promise of Salvation Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

By Colleen O’Sullivan On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.  On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever.  The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces; The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.  (Isaiah 25:6-8)

At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there.  Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others.  They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.  The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.   (Matthew 15:29-31)

Piety The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  (Psalm 23:1)

Study
We are in the first week of Advent, the season during which we prepare to celebrate once again the birth of Jesus, our Immanuel, God with us; the season when we are invited to be especially aware of the ways in which Christ enters our hearts each day; the season when we await with joyful hope and expectation the glorious return of Christ the King.  As I was thinking about Advent and pondering today’s Scripture readings, I was reminded of one of the contemplations in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Before focusing on the Incarnation, the person making the Exercises is asked to imagine the Holy Trinity looking at all the people on earth.  I picture the Father, Son and Holy Spirit looking at us and shaking their heads.  After all, it only took one generation for people to turn away from God and do the one thing God asked them not to.  Even when confronted by their Creator, they wouldn’t own up to their sin and, instead, blamed each other and the wily serpent.  By the second generation, people weren’t content just to turn away from God; they turned against one another, brother murdering brother.  Not a pretty picture at all.  Century after century was just more of the same.  
Above all else, our God is compassionate and merciful.  I picture the Holy Trinity wanting to help us find a way out of our self-created mess, because they love us.  I hear them conferring with one another and saying, “What our people really need is a Savior.  There is no other way for them out of their misery.”
This promise of salvation is the message the prophet Isaiah proclaims in today’s first reading.  He says that life will not always be like this – full of hunger, suffering and dying.  Our God has promised something better.  Our God will save us.
As we go on to the Gospel reading, we see Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior, looking at all the sick and suffering people at his feet, reaching out in love and compassion, making them whole, just as he touches you and me with healing and forgiveness.  During Advent, we reflect on the times we have experienced his loving kindness even as we look forward to the day when all creation is redeemed, when there is no more weeping or crying, when we are with Christ forever.

Action
Imagine the Holy Trinity looking at you.  What do they see and hear?  In what part of your life do you most need the compassionate touch of a Savior?  In prayer, ask our Lord for healing.  God will never leave you comfortless.

Posted by The Lighthouse Keeper at 3:17 AM
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Earth Will Know the Lord

12/3/2013

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Earth Will Know the Lord Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

By Beth DeCristofaro

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. … There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. (Isaiah 11:6, 9)

Turning to the disciples in private (Jesus) said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (Luke 10:23-24)

Piety Creator God
Inspired by the example of St. Francis,
We pray to you for the courage to be missionaries,
Reaching out and leading others to Jesus.
Like St. Francis
May we help those in need,
May we live a life rooted in prayer and
May we bring Christ to all those we meet.
This we ask through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.  (http://www.liturgies.net/saints/francisxavier/prayers.htm)

Study Thanks to the internet, we’ve all seen wonders such as dogs playing with deer, mother cats adopting orphaned ducklings, and a gorilla in a zoo standing guard over an injured human boy.  There are many, and more, instances of what might be considered marvels of peace, love and compassion which do happen every day.  But of course, we also see scenes of people setting themselves on fire, stealing, hurting others and promulgating lies.  Perhaps I’m cynical but if there were a tally, probably more dreadfulness than marvel would be counted.  
Can we imagine other hopeful signs of God’s kingdom?  An Israeli will dine with a Palestinian.  Janjaweed and militant Islamists will pound their guns into the useful metal from which they are made and build houses for children.  Democrats and Republicans shall browse together.  Societies will welcome immigrants into their homes and make them fellow citizens.
God became man and walked among us.  Jesus chose death and was raised to vanquish our death.  We have seen.  We have heard.  St. Francis Xavier most certainly saw and heard which propelled him to bring God’s Word to so many people. 

Action Have we seen, heard and acted as if Jesus did all this for us – each of us and all of us?  Read the passage from Isaiah 11:1-10.  Let Isaiah’s images speak to you of the wonder of God’s immense love and plans for His Creation. 

How can you bring that love to someone today?

Posted by The Lighthouse Keeper at 2:24 AM
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    Deacon Ben is the Spiritual Adviser for Cursillo Region XI which consists of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, and Fresno.

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