Rejoice for the Lord is near! Joy is available to the Christian who knows the Lord is near. Invite Jesus into every part of your life and know that He is close to you in all things.

Advent means "coming." We can distinguish three comings of Christ - in the flesh (first coming), in glory (second coming), and by grace (third coming). This third coming by grace happens in the sacramental life of the Church and prayer. It is available to us at all times and it is how we remain awake and prepared to celebrate Jesus' coming in the flesh and in glory.

Christ is King of the Universe and wants us to choose Him as King of every part of our lives. He's is with you always. Choose Him today as your King!

This talk covers some questions that were submitted by my parishioners. I took their questions and drew out what I thought were some truths that would help build a foundation for a prayer life. Such as:Who is God? We need to know the One to whom we pray.What is prayer?How do I pray?How do I deal with distractions?How do I pray with faith and trust?What if I am mad at God?I hope you find some of it helpful in your prayer life.

Jesus tells us not even the beauty of the Temple will remain. Do we seek what will remain when we are called to stand before Jesus after death? What remains is grace (the very divine life of God given to us). Seek to fill your life with grace by a fervent sacramental life, a life of virtue, and a life of prayer. Everything is will be thrown down.

There is no marriage in Heaven because marriage is God's image of what He desires for each one of us - to be united to Him. He has shown us what to believe and what to do or not do to cooperate with His gift. It reminds our choice.

The encounter of Zaccheus with the love of Jesus is life-changing. Any time we encounter the love of Jesus we are changed. He seeks us out as He sought out Zaccheus. Let us seek to see Jesus and respond to His invitation to dine with Him. Let Him enter your heart and clean up the wounds of sin. Give your heart to Him today! Prayers.

All Saints Day reminds us of the universal call to holiness. Let's strive to be saints (those who are with God in Heaven). Enkindle your desire for it by these two prayers. "Lord, help me love you more today." "Lord, make me a saint."

The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector shows us the need to be humble (not to think less of ourselves but to think about ourselves less) in our relationship with God. We need to realize that He is God and we are not. We should desire to give our lives to Him. Let us know that we are sinners, and at the same time trust that we are loved. God bless you.

In the second part of the Purgative Way, we finish our discussion on the active purification we have begun.- Maintaining a stable life in the Church- Temptations and Trials- The Dark Night of the Senses (the transition from Purgative to the Illuminative): this is God's purification of the senses to prepare us for a deeper more stable life of faith. Handouts can be found here.