Anyone interested in learning about becoming a Catholic there is a wonderful resource of6 DVD's on Catholicism titled The Pivotal Players.  Bishop Robert Barron enlightens us with the theological history of the saints, artists, mystics, and scholars who not only shaped the life of the Church but changed the course of civilization.  A ten part documentary, takes views around the world and deep into the Catholic Faith.  Unlocking the truth behind the Catholic Church's most influential people.  St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, St Thomas Aquinas to Michelangelo, John Henry Newman, G. K. Chesterton, Christ's Incarnation.  My dear friend  Ethel M. She became my dearest friend and Bible Study teacher the last 7 years of her life, enriched my life I believe in such a deep meaningful and powerful way, I am forever changed in Christ!  I think you too will greatly come to appreciate this rich resource given to us by Bishop Robert Barrron.  There is so much to learn about the lives of the saints and they greatly suffered during their life time in bringing us the truth.  And I am excited to invite you to journey along with Bishop Barron and explore for yourself the lasting influence of the Pivotal Players. www.PIVOTALPLAYERS.com     www. WordonFire.org

God is constantly revealing himself to us so that we can bring others to Christ!  I have a tremendous amount of respect for the faithful who have gone above and beyond to bring us closer to the Christ.  And I cannot thank Bishop Barron enough for his outstanding contributions to the faithful!  He had devoted his life to Christ, and to the truth and it is given to us so that we can build upon the truth and live a meaningful life beyond the life we have been living.  When I watch Pivotal Players I see Christ alive in every Saint who chose to live in Christ.  Simply stated because when you hear and listen to their stories, and see first hand how disciplined they chose to be while living, you will be very inspired to study, read, and expand your knowledge, by delving deeper into these beautiful faithfilled truth's!  Educated to the twelfth grade, I offer to you the knowledge of great theologians who sacrificed researching every truth, so that you may be better informed about Christ and Holy people.  I know deep within my heart, we are all searching for something more in life.  Look no further, my brothers and sisters, honestly, you  seek the Christ. He quenches the desire of all hearts and souls.  Christ thirsts equally for you!  And together humanity thirsts to enter into the divine life.  Living, searching, discoverying the knowledge of Christ, truly satisfies the soul, comforts the ever so weary heart, with an everlasting gift of Gods truth's. Nothing else, in life will matter more than the ultimate salvation of every single soul.  Once we come to this realization, we discover the true journey of our existence.  We are a wayward people until we discover Christ.  And then our everlasting journey in Him begins!    Let us not waste a single precious  moment, doubting the truth, instead let us embrace and walk, and live, truly live, as eternal sons and daughters of this wonderful, amazing, creator, we call the Christ! 

We can be very sick morally.  So sick, we fall to our knees and call on God for help.  Thankfully we have the gift of faith available for anyone seeking the truth, and the power to recieve God into our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls.  We have a rich resource found within the presence of our creator.  No matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, we can stop, fall to our knees, and be in the presence of our Lord.  Sometimes we just need to stop the train of life and be still.  We need to be still in order to feel the presence of our almighty God enter into our conscience. Can God remain there when we are experiencing such distance from Him?  Can we bring ourselves back to Him, and renounce the ways of the world?  Our Lord can do anything he wants.  We have the opportunity to re engage and live a life worthy of his company.  Sometimes we have to fall so far away from his presence, we need to see the contrast to believe his existence is real.  So many have fallen away from God.  They believe they can live a life without him.  I can't imagine, a life time, nor an eternity, without my creator.  Especially knowing as a Catholic, what our faith teachings are, and the prayers of my ancestors that have paved the way for our very lives, even though we may have zigged and zagged, we end up finding the Christ!  I know generations who have lived before us.  They were a very prayerful group of men and women who suffered greatly through famines and wars.  They had less but they loved more, and respect was important, and being truthful meant something.  I have no idea whatsoever as to how we have all lost our way in being the way we are today compared to what we were during the time of our ancestors.  There is a right way, and there is a wrong way, and it seems to me we are moving in a direction that is fatal.  We need to come back to the way of Christ's teachings.  We need to desire the Christ.  His holiness is a part of Christianity, and Christianity was given to us by God to keep his people on the right path of truth, justice, and freedom.  Most of us desire peace in our homes, in our communities, and in our personal lives.  We desire what is good because God himself placed every single good desire in every heart he has ever created.  The madness we see in the world today was not created by God.  The darkness that has overshadowed the goodness sadly has entered into the hearts of men and women who have walked away from God.  We were given direction in this life and if we have chosen to walk away from what is right, what is just, we create chaos.  We turn away from the light and follow the darkness and punishment follows.  We do this to ourselves knowingly, purposefully, and sadly we self destruct.  But there is still hope for those who choose the light of Christ. They are given another chance to live in the light of Jesus.  They choose him over the darkness that overshadowed their hearts and minds because they wanted what is good.  Goodness can be received by the sole choices that we make.  We can choose Christ /renounce all evil.  We can live again in his truth and in his glory.  We can prepare our future by living in him today and preparing ourself for eternal life.  A moment in Christ can become an eternity in Christ, if we so choose.  Let us choose correctly while we still can.  Let us prepare ourself, for the journey of our very soul.  Let us do so right now, while we still have all our senses.  You are of great worth.  You are loved.  You are worthy of eternal life forever with Jesus.  You are a part of Jesus lineage, never waver from this truth I now share with you tonight.  Be still and know God is love.  Allow HIS love to rest in you!  Choose Him and be free!     

The journey toward Christ is a very real experience.  Are you ready to pay close attention to what I am about to share with you?  Has God revealed to you himself as you begin each day a new?  When God captures our complete attention, we begin to look at life through a different lens.  We are much more aware of everything happening around us, and to us, and through us.  All of it, is GOD!  When we are overcome with God, a light switch goes off deep within us, and that light is as bright as the light of Christ himself, burning deep within  us.  Little do we know, we are yearning deeply, to know the Christ.  Christ is yearning for us right in this moment, to live deeply in his presence.  Christ wants to awaken us from our deepest, darkest, slumber.  He wants for us to know, HE is very near.  We could never escape the presence of God, although we will go on with this day and forget, that he sees/hears everything, he knows everything about us, even before a word is spoken, or an act is performed.  Everything we are is a reflection of our creator.  He has great plans for us.  Greater than any plan we could ever conjure. If you ever desire to see what I am talking about, try surrendering yourself to Christ for just one hour, and do nothing, just be.  Try surrendering yourself to Christ for one day, and see how well you do with giving him full control of your day.  And if you are successful with that one hour, and that one day, surrender your all to HIM for an entire week.  Monitor your progress by writing in a journal.  You may fail at all three the very first time because you may not be ready for such a radical ride, and that's okay, you may very well just have to take it slower than you realize. But never forget this --- Christ loves you!  He has full reign over everything in this life, except, for your free will.  In order for us to give up our free will and turn it over to Christ, this, is no easy task.  It is something that requires a lot of prayer, and prayer paves the way for us to grow and mature into spiritual human beings ready to listen attentively and lovingly to the Christ that saved our souls from damnation.  My brothers, my sisters in Christ, we are pilgrims.  We are on a holy pilgrimage.  With God, with our loved ones, and sometimes he places acquaintances in our very lives to help us pick up the broken pieces and help put us back together again.  We are all broken.  We are all in a need of great healing.  Only Christ can miraculously heal the wounds we carry deep within our soul.  And when we call on Christ, every single prayer is heard, except that, it is responded to differently than what we want.  Our precious God has his reasons, yet to be unraveled by us day by day.  So you and I enter into his grace.  We enter in not knowing what will be the final outcome, but trusting that HE the Christ knows exactly what is best for us.  And we must trust and never waver from what HE is trying to reveal to us.  As children we return to our creator, hopefully better than we were when we were left to our own demise.  Christ speaks.  Christ teaches.  Christ wants you and I to be his possession.  But how you may ask is this done as we slowly surrender ourselves to him, we wait patiently upon our Lord and trust and not lean on our own understanding, for when we trust in him, he gives us everlasting life.  Its not my way, not your way, but God's way.  His way is always so much better than our own.  There is so much to learn from God, for HE is the perfect teacher and we are the student surrendering to his laws, his truths, his commands, all the above help us greatly in entering into his kingdom.  We have a long way to go, but God is patient, and we must be patient, God is trusting and we too should trust only in HIM!

My Father.  God rest his soul.  His life story in the church profoundly touched me.  Altar server.  He played the good thief in the passion play The Via Dela Rosa.  His parents lived across the street of Assumption Church.  Father Del Monte was their guest for dinner on most Sunday's during his childhood.  Dad lived long enough to attend his fortieth parochial school reunion.  He was so thrilled to see some of his teachers who were nuns attend this memorable experience.  Dad retuned home so happy that day, he spoke of his gathering of old friends, Vito, Dominic, Arti, dad was all smiles.  And I was very happy for him.  Recently my Godfathers daughter passed away, he was my dads uncle, and my great uncle.  He was a brick layer by trade and he worked his entire life and even helped rebuild the old Assumption Church.  His daughter my Father's Aunt, my great Aunt passed away in April of this year and Aunt Emily worked for ten years at Assumption as a chef for the parish staff and priests.  I realize that my paternal side of the family also felt the calling to serve the Catholic church during their lifetime.  And their contributions greatly inspire me as I write in todays podcast, and I do it, purposefully in honor of my Italian ancestors who love and service for the Catholic church was a priority out of love for the ever blessed Virgin Mary and her Son!  A picture of my Fathers Father comes to mind, he was standing inside of a truck handing out bread to the poor in my home town.  I was greatly touched by the sermon of love I saw in a picture that I keep inside of a cover and binder of important documents.  My Italian Ancestors  have already received their eternal reward.  And yet I am a part of that family tree, 
I am a part of that sermon of love, and, it honors me greatly, to participate in giving Christ my best self today.  And our God is a forgiving God, and I know he forgives you and I for the times we weren't living up to our better standards and living out our best life.  But back then in the old days, everyone understood each other.  We new not to cross the line.  There was a great respect for family.  And everyone knew their place.  There was a lot less dissention in those days, it was a great time to be growing up especially when you saw the love your grandparents had for one another, and the love your parents expressed toward one another, it gave children like myself the example of a lifetime gone by!  When people fell in love they married.  They had children.  They were given grand children.  Divorce was not an option back then.  The rift in any family was worked out.  Sadly today the tear in family life cuts through an entire generation separating them from the normalcy of family life.  I thank God every day for the examples of life and love I saw within my family, that greatly enriched my journey.  And everyday that I can live in Jesus and in Mary, I fill my soul with enrichment, based upon my ancestors journey, I can see my very own unfolding.  And I believe, we were all meant to experience the enrichment of Christ as we journey through this life and into eternity.  We begin with love, with service, and a servant attitude! Christ, will be our guide, our teacher, telling each of us what to do.  Our sole responsibility is 'Obedience In Christ"...  We must be obedient when the call comes to us, and not run away, but run toward the Christ, and he will show you, how to live in Him.  And joy will fill your heart beyond measure.  For each and every day, every single hour, every breadth he gives you, you will be living in Him, your very best life!  That my brothers and sisters, is the absolute truth I can give you.  Try your best to reflect upon it and give it all to Jesus.  Watch, listen, learn.

Let us pray together with Saint Gerard, and get to know his powerful intercession.

In Time Of Trial, O Saint Brother Gerard, whose heart went out to the unfortunate; who relieved so many poor, healed so many sick, comforted so many afflicted, behold me worried and troubled as I kneel at your feet.  In vain do I turn to men to seek consolation and help; therefore, do I have recourse to you, who art is so powerful in heaven.  Graciously assist me, Saint Gerard, that being freed from this trial or strengthened to bear it for the Love of God, I may praise and thank God and serve Him with greater Love and Fervor.  Amen.  

For a copy of Saint Gerard Novena contact Saint Lucy Catholic Church, Saint Gerard National Shrine 
118 7th Avenue 
Newark, New Jersey
 07104 

(973) 803-4200.  

Just this past week alone I have experienced a strong connection toward this saint, and I believe in my heart he is waiting for you to draw nearer in your prayer life and include this important saint in your daily recitation of the holy rosary!  

I strongly sense he is a saint for our time.  My prayers and your prayers are essential, not just for ourselves and our loved ones but for the children living today.  I believe deeply in my heart God is revealing himself through this most powerful Saint, whose sole purpose is to intercede on the behalf of all mothers and all unborn children.  

I received reconciliation yesterday and immediately thereafter attended a holy mass, and I received/consumed the body of Christ in a state of grace.  It was much more powerful because I had just finished the 9 day Novena to Saint Gerard, and God was moving powerfully in me.  And that gift was not meant to just flow through me and never speak of it again, no, it was meant to be shared with all of you in this very moment.  The message here is very real.  God wants us to experience his strong yet loving and gentle spirit come into our very lives and change us, conform us into his likeness and into his image.  Right now, we could be all confused and distorted inside our thoughts, our actions.  And only God can make straight the crooked path we may be living. 

The power of prayer definitely has a place deep within our soul to rest there a while and bear fruit in the future that will last for all eternity.  Let our greatest desire be for us to tap into this truth and explore the endless possibilities that God wants to share with us.  We need to pray more than we do to tap into the great grace of God.  Prayer gets us there.  Prayer cracks us open.  Prayer helps us to see the way.  And we no longer than walk in the desert without our creator.  We are worth so much more than we realize.  Let us come forward trusting in the Lord, trusting in his truth, in his promises, that will save our soul for eternity.  Let us be great stewards of Christ.  Let us desire a life filled with prayer, with holiness, gentleness, compassion, and love.  Love for God.  Love for neighbor.  Let us put the needs of others before our very own.  Let us love as Jesus has loved and continues to love all of us, Amen!  

I pray for the day that our first grandchild discovers the power of prayer!  She is only five months young, but I truly believe in my heart that I have a great legacy of life, worthy of sharing with her.  The knowledge of Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother Mary, have both personally invited me, to this great work.  I find myself in their presence in a very powerful and holy way, the older and wiser I become.  And I believe as my own mother has told me so, over a period of many decades, she is nearly eighty years young now, "We Are Here To Learn, And To Pass On Those Lessons, For Future Generations."  And although my sweet grand daughter may never know all about my life, I think that it would greatly please God, if I chose to share with her, the fruits of my journey toward the Christ, toward his Holy Mother Mary.  I would want her to know how beautiful life can be when we live it fully in faith, fully in family, and how Faith and Family always come first!  And how, when we remain in God, he holds everything in perfect harmony, including all of us together.  God, He, is our shield, our greatest protector, God is our compass, our answer, to all puzzling questions, that so desperately need, an honest answer.  God guides us properly while we live on earth and we need God and his help to get us into heaven. Only God can make us Holy!  And if we truly desire his holiness, we need to enter into a necessary relationship with God, in order to receive an abundance of grace that He wants to give us, right here, right now!  Grace and prayerfulness, go hand in hand, and being in a relationship with Jesus, opens that door, very wide, to the hopefulness of Christ, we are all desiring, and unknowingly searching for, as Christians.  And we are given the keys of the kingdom, by just asking God to help us enter into His holy presence.  And then we begin our journey as Pilgrims of Christ, who created us, in his likeness, and in his image, so profound, we were given a clean slate at our birth to leave a legacy of hope for the next generation.  Take a deep long look at your slate, do you see the image, the imprint of God on it?        

Saints like Saint Justin  Russo Lillo and Saint Francis of Assisi were given an extra measure of grace to be the light of Christ, while living in this world.  I am so very honored/blessed to learn more about these wonderful saints, especially Saint Justin Russo Lillo.  Being fifty percent Italian, and having ancestors coming from Naples Italy, peaks my interest as an Italian American offering something much more personal, I almost feel as if this Saint has landed directly is in my path for more than just to share his life on this podcast.  Its very personal.  And I believe God has his reasons and his purpose in this for me and for you also to grow spiritually through this saint.  It greatly honors me inside to know that my Italian Ancestors came from the exact town of this great and wonderful saint.  I only recently learned about him, and I am inspired to share him with all of you.  I hope to write/record many more interesting facts about their lives and how they served God while living.  We can learn so much about the catholic faith through their great examples.  Their great mission, is both personal as it is individually specific.  You and I, may never see the life of a St Francis of Assisi, or a St Justin Russo Lillo, but the desire was in fact placed by God himself into the hearts and minds of everyone desiring to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.  It is Jesus who has placed inside of us the yearning to learn how to live out our best life, in being our best self.  To live like a Saint, and still be a lay person, takes a great leap of faith!  I believe that the saints did not realize the great exponential power and strength of God living in them.  They kept their nose to the grind and kept on grinding.  They were so busy doing their work for God, it became natural. Yet when we look at their accomplishments for Christ they were on a scale above and beyond what we see happening today.  This is why we admire these great saints so much.  In the short period of time that God gave to them they lived it without distraction, and in great service.  Truth be told, if we are given this chance to imitate them and bring about our own ministry for Christ, one that will lead others to follow in the truth, and living it out to the absolute fullest degree, we would barely scratch the surface of the Saints before us who have truly stood the test of time through their life of ministry.  I believe that God offers to us their legacy as a gift in a sense in giving us all the the keys to heaven.  It is within their company we are given an abundance of grace to follow in their footsteps, and if we pray fervently, God will reveal to us our special task, along with great focus and determination to see it through.  We can if we choose to, learn a lot from these great Catholic Saints who have chosen to lead lives on the path of salvation.  Totally engaged in the love of Christ, while they were still roaming the face of the earth.  The lesson here and now is, to learn from every great Saint that ever lived.  And by applying what we have learned and praying to God, we await his response in revealing to us our very true purpose in life, and how to live it out in the most meaningful, joyful, disciplined, manner.

"I Am In Christ, You Are In Christ, And We are One".  This is our beautiful reality whether we agree with it or not, whether we want to look at it or not, we are one.  And Christ himself is always with us.  It is the most beautiful truth I can share with you tonight as your sister in Christ Jesus!  For his love is truth.  His love is everlasting.  His love was meant for everyone.  And if we go on living, hopefully we are desiring to find him, the pearl of great price.  He has a very special message for each and everyone of us.  No two messages, no two ministries, are the same.  He creates us miraculously and differently and this makes our life well worth living.  He brings to us people who are the complete opposite of ourselves to help us grow out of our imperfection, and I must add he does a marvelous work in assisting us when we cooperate with his grace.  We were meant to be here now.  We were meant to know this God who created heaven and earth, mountains and valleys, oceans and rivers, moonlight and sunsets, he gave us a heart to understand another's point of view, and the ability to act responsibly toward everyone he brings into our lives.  God is truly amazing!  And you and I have the ability to tap into a grace filled life with a simple yes.  Deep within us, in our soul, is a God that loves us beyond measure.  And we have a duty, an obligation, toward that love, to act justly, and to honor the great God we were called to serve.  Those gifts and strengths were meant to show the world that we were made in the image and likeness of a great and wonderful God.  He creates perfection, and he is perfection, and sometimes we can see his perfection come to life through his people, through their talents, we see that they are truly gifted through the Holy Spirit.  Through the God living in them.  My heart, my mind, my soul, is drawn to Jesus.  I know when I am living in him, my awareness of him is heightened.  I know that something wonderful is going to happen today while I am totally in his presence.  Whether I am assisting his children in the church, I know that assistance is guided by the Lord I serve.  And I know and trust that the outcome will be beautiful, more beautiful with him on my side.  So I invite Christ to be where ever I may go, when ever I am in prayer, I take him with me.  Because I know his power, I know his love, and that combination of power and love sets me onto the right path in entering into his glory.  To be present in God is a present!  How do we get there?  Deep prayer leads us, and then we open our hearts and minds to Jesus, and through dialogue in him and with him, we change, we grow, in our knowledge of him, living in us, conforming us to live better, faith filled lives, worthy of conversion, worthy of receiving Christ crucified into the beautiful life he has given to us.  Never to be neglected by us, we never forget Jesus!  When we place him at the very top of our list, anything else that we will do for the rest of the day will have a stampede of blessings that follow. Jesus I believe wants to reveal to us his power through our prayerfulness, through our trust, full trust, in Him.   And when we give that part of ourself to Christ we walk a different walk, and the true meaning of life is revealed to us.  Christ is ready to reveal his wonders, but our disposition as Father Shenoy mentioned today at mass must be right.  And when it is he can work through us, when we receive him in the state of grace through receiving Holy Communion.  Christ wants to wash us clean of all sin.. He wants us to receive a good honest confession.  And when we align ourselves properly in Christ, we are never the same.  Thank God for that.  We are new in Christ.  Alive in his truth and love.      

Inspired.  I love this word.  Are you greatly inspired by the life you are living?  Does it include Christ?  If it doesn't you have to ask yourself why not?  Does your life include being in the presence of other like minded Catholic Christians?  God is the creator of everyone, everything.  God is the true inspiration behind every single  thought, word, deed.  We are, because of God.  When we recognize God in every single detail of our life, something great happens to us.  Because when we are really paying close attention to HIM, we then are very open in receiving personal revelations, in the form of gifts from our heavenly Father, himself.  He gives to all of us, a very awesome and powerful mindset, capable of tapping into, tremendous resources, resources that help us find our way to him, a discovery unlike any other where we see him, believe in him, without wanting proof but trusting our entire life to God. Yes we can rediscover Christ through a myopic lens consisting of our limited understanding, and that desire to delve deeper, because it was Christ that had placed it there from the very beginning.  We have this amazing connection to God, sometimes I think we just take him and the life he gave us for granted.  Its important to recognize our selfish tendencies when it comes to us not acknowledging Christ and the gifts he put forth to help us live meaningful and powerful lives as Christians.  If only we would recognize a tiny glimpse of his power, and we could then learn so much and apply those lessons in how we live out our lives daily for him.  But we don't.  So how do we get there?  We recognize we are nothing.  Our life is a gift.  It was given to us by a high power.  And if we so choose to familiarize ourselves within this higher powerful presence we can tap into the gifts that we were meant to receive from God since the day we were conceived.  We were born for something more than this life.  A life beyond death.  Eternity.  We don't quite understand why we die but we trust completely in our eternal destiny.  Father O' Doherty at every single funeral will mention, here on earth is the land of the dead.  And Jesus will come for us upon our demise, when our body dies, he will bring us all to himself.  So while living on earth we are building up treasures for Christ.  By our good deeds, our good intentions, our good examples, in the way we choose to live and the way we choose to treat others, as if we were treating Christ living inside of them.  We can never out give our Lord because he gave everything so that we can have eternal life forever in heaven. But for now, we can at least think about, how we as Christians can do more for the eternal body of Christ, the church.  We can spend one full hour in holy adoration, listening to God speak to our hearts in the greatest silence.  That is a good start.  Once we become disciplined by the silence of Christ, we can then form disciplined consciences, so a disciplined life may follow.  Christ wants his children to come to him.  It is up to this generation of faith filled Catholic's to inspire the next generation to live holy lives in Christ Jesus himself.  We were meant for this very moment in time, to give Christ, our attention, our prayers, our deepest concerns, and extinguishing own desire to be sinful in nature, or immature, because sin and immaturity set us apart from God and his love, and our loved ones directly suffer great consequences, as do our friends.  Spiritually mature adults, raise up the bar of hope, benefitting society greatly.  A positive choice/hard work can improve the heart/soul of every Christian beyond their broken spirit, revived/healed in a society that welcomes God to breathe in new life, so that we all come to agape love in Christ.  

One of the most important decisions a person created by God will ever make is this.  That they come to know, to accept, and live fully their life in Christ.  Sure we can choose the complete and absolute opposite.  But what if I were to tell you about the huge loss that will occur because you missed the opportunity to meet Christ through prayer, and begin the most amazing relationship in your life time.  This is what sets us apart from the faithless, the hopeless, and when we have faith, and when we have hope, we have Christ, and Christ wants us to live an abundant holy life in Him.  There is a huge difference when we choose not to live a life in God.  Darkness will overshadow you, and take you on a trip through deception, but you will not know the truth, you will be very confused by the evil one and will not even see it coming until it is too late.  

I pray you are reading my blog because you have an interest in meeting Jesus.  Knowing Jesus.  And experiencing his grace, his love, his miracles in your life and in the lives of everyone you are praying for.  This is how God works.  He works in and through us.  We are his instruments of peace, of productivity, and we have a mission on earth that no one else has.  Each mission is detailed and specific to each person, and when we choose Christ, choose the life that best reflects our love for our creator, he in turn reveals to us our personal mission.

Meeting Christ through prayer, through ministry in the church, through his people who serve day in and day out know the love of the great I AM.  His love is made for the universe, and yet not everyone will desire to meet him this way.  Only those that self surrender into his most perfect plans, experience the joy, the grace, the wisdom, within the parameters of deep prayer, crack open the great mysteries and find oneself within the holy presence of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.  We are lifted up high, like a sweet fragrant aroma and remain always in the greatest company of our King.  Meeting Christ, knowing Christ, living within his law, ones life is forever change, and enriched in His truth and in His glory.  And we magnify our Lord in all ways that are beautiful, truthful, lovely, and genuine.  In Christ, we have a newness that separates us from those who are still wandering in the dark valley of death/sin.  Our very mission is to pray for those souls to desire a genuine conversion of faith in order to be free from all temptations of sin.  Some may have lived an entire life time not even recognizing the bleak life they have led until the light of Christ is brought to their attention and a natural desire to change enters into their hearts through another human being whom God has chosen to be his instrument of peace in this process.  God can do what ever he wants, and he chooses only the best when bringing back to the fold one of his lost sheep.  Like Christ we must shepherd the flock, when we see a correction must be made, and do it in the honor of our Lord.  The salvation of souls is at hand.  We cannot just stand idle, we must participate in the wonderful plans our Lord has in store for all of his people.  None of us will be left behind.  All of us will be included, because the love that is Christ wants for us the joy of eternal life.  How do we obtain such joy, we cooperate with God as He speaks to our hearts.  When we receive his messages through prayer, we jump toward the opportunity to serve him, why, because we love him, we desire to be in his company, and we desire to bring more souls with us to heaven.  It's never too late to say yes to Christ.  He wants something greater for you and I moving forward.  And if we never tap into his grace nor his company through our prayers we miss the eternal treasure connecting us to Christ.