**In Fulfilling God's Plan

        Today is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 2, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. What the Lord had said through the prophet was fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son. When Herod had died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph again and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." But when Joseph heard that Herod's son was ruling over Judea, he was afraid to go back there. So he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth. Again what had been spoken through the prophets was fulfilled, He shall be called a Nazorean.

        We can see that God had ordained everything, yet Joseph was allowed to discern what right action to take. That's how we should follow the Lord: fully believing that he'll guide us in all things and using our best judgment in carrying out what we are asked to do.

***Realistic Dream Living

        "Be one with God and enjoy his presence every moment of your life." This is not something you only dream about, for you can realize it easily if you let God fully into your life!        

**Life Destroying Death*

        Communion experience. Jesus said in John 6.51: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." And again in John 6.54: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day." As I receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I believed and knew that I was heaven-bound, and all fear of death vanished.

*How Wonderful God Is

        It depends upon how open your heart is. Keep you heart closed and you won't see a thing. Open it up all the way and you see all his wonders.

**Casting Off Sins*

        We sin, but since we have Christ, we do not need to fear sin anymore. Christ our Savior can remove our sins if we accept him and repent. But let's go even further: Surrender ourselves to the Lord to attain union with him and we can become like him, losing even the tendency to sin! The Lord is powerful. Unquestionably he can make us holy.

**Remembering the Unborn*

        Today is the Feast of Innocents, martyrs. When I think about how Herod ordered those baby boys to be slaughtered, I think of how the pro-abortionists today are murdering millions of unborn babies every year. I have difficulty imagining how the Lord must feel when he sees so many of the unborn he has created do not even get a chance to live in the world they are born into. As the innocent unborn will all be following the Lamb, I just pity their murderers. 

***God Instantly Accessible

        Today I am amazed that God is so easily accessible to us. When we pray to him, we are instantly linked to him and he hears us instantly. In fact, he already knew what we are going to say to him. Then I receive  the Most Blessed Sacrament at Mass and he enters me physically to be one with me. When I say yes to him and we become one spiritually. He now dwells within me! If you wonder where the Lord is, that's because your heart is all shut! 

***God for the Down and Crushed

        Whenever you feel down or crushed, it is God calling you to turn to him for help. This is better than hearing inspiring messages daily. Being open to God or not makes all the difference. I could say that the Lord is at your service at any time and always! So allow him to come to you to give you all the help you need. Do not struggle on your own. The lower you feel, the more he loves to raise you high. After he helps you, you'll alway feel better than ever. God strengthens our faith through trials and tribulations.

**Joy of the Holy Spirit

        Communion experience. I experienced the joy of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can only give us joy. To me, he is Joy! Pray to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. He can revitalize your spiritual life and make it pure joy.

**Our God Extraordinaire

        Today's Communion antiphon began with John 1.14: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. This is another big deal. God came to us by becoming one of us! I never would have expected that. Learning about it to let it sink in is going to take some time. Perhaps this is so unbelievable that people don't bother to believe in it. Personally, I'd rather have an extraordinary God than a predictable one. Our God needs faith to believe in him, and this faith is born once you realize how great his love is.

***To Live in God Alone

        When you have God, you have everything. When you are one with the Lord, everything of the world fades away. How good it is to live only in the One who loves you the most!

*Joy of Resurrection

        Today's Gospel reading, the first eight verses of John 20, tells about the discovery of the empty tomb of Jesus by Mary of Magdala, Peter, and John. You could tell that the narrative was true. How these disciples felt moved me deeply, for they did not yet understand the scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Since I already know the outcome, I heard the Gospel and was filled with sweet joy. 

*Affinity for Saint John, Apostle*

       Today is the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist. I feel an affinity for this Apostle for these reasons. (1) He was the younger, if not the youngest, Apostle. I still remember the time I was often the youngest among others. (2) He lived to a ripe old age and I have lived likewise. (3) He referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved—this has to be the best title you can possibly give yourself. I also know and feel Jesus' love for me. (4) The Lord revealed to John his glories in a mystical way, resulting in his writing of Revelation. The Lord has revealed to me himself in an entirely different way, most personal and intimate, through a modern blog for all to read. 

        Saint John, pray for all of us to follow the Lord as you did, each in our personal way.

***Our Church Belongs to Christ!

        I was praying for the world, my country, my government, my family, and myself. Then I realized that I must pray for my Church too, with the many scandals still ongoing and the Pope being accused of heresy. Suddenly, I also realized that my Church was established by Christ, so she is truly his Church—of course he is going to straighten all the things out. I felt greatly relieved.  

**God Our Healer and Restorer

        Sin has muddied our conscience, defiled our hearts, caused us pain, wounded our souls, and disfigured our images before the Lord, keeping us away from him. But he, being our creator, can heal and restore us thoroughly, even to the point of transforming us into holy saints. Remember that nothing is impossible for God, if we would only allow him to do the work.

***Commending Ourselves to God

        Today is the Feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr. He was filled with wisdom and spirit. As he was stoned to death, he called out "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." David, in Psalm 31, prayed to God: "Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, Lord, God of truth." Before Jesus breathed his last on the cross, he cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Can't imagine that we don't want to commend ourselves to God. After all, We were created by God, owing our very existence to him. He is the one to whom we rightfully belong. So let's commend our heart, our mind, our body, our soul, my spirit, and our all to the Lord, our creator and Father.

**Learning from God

        I am most grateful for God's mercy on us. I am awed and inspired by his holiness. And I admire his humility the most, for he is omnipotent, yet he never looks down on us. We are nothing, so we should never let pride or ego get in our way. He has made us in his image and we can be like him if we remain humble most of all.

***Christmas News

        This is the news from Michael J. Matt you need to hear.