Mallett Family, Christmas 2014
THANK you for every prayer, every letter,
every kind word, every gift this past year.
I am filled with a deep joy and sense of wonder
at the great gift of not only our Savior
but of His Church, which has spread to every nation.
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.
Love and blessings from the Mallett clan
with gratitude and prayers for your joy, peace, and refuge in
Jesus Christ Our Savior.
IT was the last leg of my flight home from a speaking tour in the United States a few years ago. I was still lingering in the graces of Divine Mercy Sunday as I arrived at the Denver airport. I had some time to spare before my final flight, and so I walked around the concourse for awhile.
I noticed a shoe shine station along the wall. I looked down at my fading black footwear and thought to myself, “Nah, I’ll do it myself when I get home.” But when I returned past the shoe-shiners several minutes later, something inside was prodding me to go have my shoes done. And so, I finally stopped after passing them for a third time, and mounted one of the chairs.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 19th-20th, 2014
of the Third Week of Advent
Liturgical texts here
THE Immaculate Conception of Mary is one of the most beautiful miracles in salvation history after the Incarnation—so much so, that the Fathers of the Eastern tradition celebrate her as “the All-Holy” (Panagia) who was…
…free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 493
But if Mary is a “type” of the Church, then it means that we too are called to become the Immaculate Conception as well.
Gethsemane
THERE is no question that one of the aspects of this writing apostolate is to warn and prepare the reader for the colossal changes coming, and already begun in the world—what I sensed the Lord several years ago call a Great Storm. But the warning has less to do with the physical world—which is already changing dramatically—and more to do with the spiritual dangers that are beginning to sweep through humanity like a Spiritual Tsunami.
Like many of you, I sometimes want to run from these realities; I want to pretend that life will go on as normal, and I am sometimes tempted to believe it will. Who wouldn’t want it to? I often think of St. Paul’s words calling us to pray…
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 17th, 2014
of the Third Week of Advent
Liturgical texts here
HOW are we to understand the prophetic texts of Scripture which imply that, with the coming of the Messiah, justice and peace would reign, and He would crush His enemies beneath His feet? For would it not appear that 2000 years later, these prophecies have utterly failed?
NINE years ago today, on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I wrote Persecution… and the Moral Tsunami. Today, during the Rosary, I sensed Our Lady once again moving me to write, but this time about the coming Spiritual Tsunami, which has been prepared by the former. I think it is no coincidence that this writing falls again on this feast… for what is coming has very much to do with the decisive battle between the Woman and the dragon.
Caution: the following contains mature themes that may not be suitable for younger readers.
THE words have been on my heart for some time,
Comfort My People.
They are drawn from Isaiah 40—those prophetic words from which the people of Israel drew their comfort knowing that, indeed, a Savior would come. It was to them, “a people in darkness”, [1]cf. Isa 9:2 that the Messiah would visit from on high.
Are we any different today? In fact, this generation is arguably in more darkness that any before it for the fact that we have already seen the Messiah.
Footnotes
| ↑1 | cf. Isa 9:2 |
|---|
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 9th, 2014
Memorial of St. Juan Diego
Liturgical texts here
IT was almost midnight when I arrived at our farm after a trip to the city a few weeks ago.
“The calf is out,” my wife said. “The boys and I went out and looked, but couldn’t find her. I could hear her bawling towards the north, but the sound was getting further away.”
So I got in my truck and started to drive through the pastures, which had nearly a foot of snow in places. Any more snow, and this would be pushing it, I thought to myself. I put the truck in 4×4 and started driving around tree groves, bushes, and along fencelines. But there was no calf. Even more puzzling, there were no tracks. After a half hour, I resigned myself to waiting till morning.
WHEN you walk into a room with fresh flowers, they are essentially just sitting there. Yet, their fragrance reaches you and fills your senses with delight. So too, a holy man or woman may not need to say or do much in another’s presence, for the aroma of their holiness is enough to touch one’s spirit.
