By the grace of God we made it to another year.

The Celebration

Maddie will be celebrating her 21st birthday on January 13th, so we all gathered to wish Maddie an early happy birthday. I can’t believe that she is turning 21!  Since Maddie and Will will leave for college on January 4th, we decided to cook up a special Mexican meal for them as well. Taquitos, pico de gallo, guacamole, beans, rice and tamales – it was a feast!e

2026

What will this year bring? Are you praying for a miracle? Will you draw closer to God, or will you remain lost in the world of delusions? Only through opening your hearts to the One True God will you gain insight to bring yourself to a place of peace.

The Epiphany

We celebrated the Epiphany a few days early because the actual date falls on the sixth, which is a Tuesday. When the Magi followed the star, they were prepared for their journey. Paying homage to the newborn King, they set their gifts before Him. they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh: gold represents royalty and kingship; frankincense represents divinity and was used in worship; and myrrh represents  humanity, passion and death.

What gifts do we bring to our newborn King? I pray we all pay Him homage by honoring His Word.

Christian By Name

There is a national alarm silently blowing in the ears of Christians who refuse to follow the commandments of God. Wake up! God did not create a world of compromise, He was not joking when He gave us the 10 Commandments. No, we are the ones who are slowly immersed into the tepid waters of dissension and then wonder why we are getting burned.

Guilty As Charged

When Emily in Paris made its debut on Netflix, Mike and I were hooked. We overlooked the risqué scenes because we liked the charming character of an American living in Paris. The tepid water felt fine until the storyline turned into sin. This sin seemed acceptable because the characters are beautiful, likable people who live interesting lives. “Why are we watching this?” Mike asked. He did not like the free love lifestyle of the characters, so we have tossed this ménage a trios miniseries into the garbage of dissension. Lukewarm water does not get you clean!

Don’t allow Satan to enter your heart by deceiving yourself  that sin is acceptable; it’s not! So many of the Ten Commandments are broken for the sake of entertainment, but it is our responsibility as Christians to set the record straight. As for me, in my house I will serve the Lord.

I am Catholic and my covering is the Catholic Church. I obey the rules handed down from the Ten Commandments and follow the Catechism of the Catholic Church. If you are Protestant you, too, have a powerful covering. There are many people out there professing their faith but making themselves their own cozy church. They know the Word of God, but it’s not apparent in their lives. They have become arrogant in the knowledge of God and refuse to submit to any higher authority. These people are unstable because they are not standing on solid ground and under authority.

Without a covering they will fall for any wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14).  The lust for the things of this world will guide their hearts. God gives us special blessings; grace, mercy, and faith when we call upon Him.

Grace

How do we obtain grace? Grace is an unmerited, gratuitous gift. We petition God for natural graces, for our health, favorable weather, deliverance from war, famine and plague. The grace of God is supernatural, yet can be receive in our spirit. Because it is a gift, we can ask God to bestowed it upon our lives and those of our loved ones.

I always ask the Lord for grace when I’m tired and have too much to do. I ask Him for the grace to finish the work and to restore my energy. Ask God for grace in difficult situations, that He would give us insight and favor to get past any roadblock the Enemy has set before us.

May the Lord give me grace to teach the students in my catechism class. I beg God for grace when writing this Blog. The gift of grace is abounding because of His love.

Mercy

“The word ‘mercy’ comes from the Latin misericordia, which in turn comes from the two words miseria, meaning wretchedness, misery or affliction, and cor, meaning heart. Thus etymologically mercy means a heart for the wretchedness or affliction of another. Or, as we understand it in English, it means compassion or pity.” Fr. John Flader, Q&A, The Catholic Weekly.

Mercy also is unmerited; it’s a virtue that allows us to have compassion for those who are hurting, especially those who are suffering because of  homelessness, substance abuse, and addictions. Because of their wretched condition most of the world will turn their heads and look the other way; but through the mercy of God we can feel their pain and ask Him to intervene on their behalf.

The Spanish word for heart is corazón. Our heart is the core of all of our emotions. God placed it in the center of our bodies because it’s physically protected by our ribs. We were all created for a purpose. We have been given great gifts and those afflicted souls need our mercy and love in order for them to become the people God has called them to be.

Faith

Faith has made me climb unattainable mountains. Just when I am exasperated and ready to give up, The Lord  will answer my prayers.  Our lives must be grounded in faith, for without it we are like a feather being tossed to and fro. I can share a personal testimony that I prayed for many years. I remained steadfast, even though many times I would lose faith and question God. About three years ago the Lord gave me a prophetic dream about the situation, but my prayers did not bear fruit until last year. I never gave up because God is faithful to answer our prayers!