Only those who know themselves to be loved are able to look upon another with love. Jesus gazes with love upon us, and we become Him who behold us!

We desire to God's will only when we trust Him. We only really trust Him when we know He loves us. We only know His love when we slow down to pay attention to it being lavished upon us. This year is an opportunity to intentionally behold God's love through the ordinary daily circumstances of our lives.

The faith of the magi to drop everything and follow the King's star inspires us to look up and follow Him too!

Not by accident does the Church begin every new year with the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God. The closer we are to Her, the closer we are to Him. The closer we are to Him, the more we experience love, joy, and peace.

God stoops so low to meet us wherever we find ourselves. Our "lows" are a special opportunity to encounter Jesus who humbled Himself by becoming a baby and who continues to humble Himself by being present in the Eucharist.

The Gospel Story is more than just a good idea; it has and is life-changing power. Do we allow Jesus to love and transform us, or is it just back to business as usual?

Jesus became a man to reclaim fallen creation for Himself. His healings, exorcisms, and ultimately His death and resurrection break the powers of Satan, sin, and evil. The healings He pours out today are a sign of the power of this good news and His desire to reclaim our captive hearts.

In reclaiming creation, God's secret weapon was Mary. Her trust and obedience undoes the knot tied by Adam and Eve's distrust and disobedience. Because Jesus is everything in Her, she has power to crush satan's head!

God created all things good, but through the rebellion of Satan and his apostate angels, man was deceived and evil was introduced into the world. He is the real enemy, and we are the prey. With Jesus, however, our victory is assured. How He reclaims us from the enemy is the next part of THE Story...

Part 1 of the 4 part series on the "Kerygma" or the basic message of the Gospel. We are not here by accident: we were created with a purpose for this moment in time! We were created out of love, for love.