February 3, 2023  -  First Friday in February. 

Dear friends, what will you do if you know for certain that each of of the 12 Promises of Jesus to the devotees of the Sacred Heart is true? You will feel like a man or woman who has won a lottery. You will say: Merciful God, thank You. Now I can start living. 

Jesus promised 12 special favors to all those who will honor His Sacred Heart especially on the First Friday of every month.  HOW:

 BY ATTENDING MASS AND RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION on 9 consecutive First Fridays. 

In the 2nd  month of the year 2023, we look at Promise #2.

#2.  "I will give peace in their families."

Peace in the family is the foundation of health and prosperity. Do not doubt this. Moreover, if there is peace in the family, there will be peace at work and school, peace in the nation and peace on earth! 

What is Peace? Peace is the calmness, tranquility, deep security you feel in the depth of your heart, soul and mind because you know that in spite of the apparent turbulence, All is well.  All is well because Jesus is in control of the world and everything that affects you. You come to appreciate this peace most when civil war is raging in your family, health, finances, job, your possessions and tools. All things  fall apart and the center can no longer hold. Enters the Peace of Christ. 

This is the peace that Jesus promises us today. 

Jesus is our peace. He is the Prince of Peace.  Would you accept today His generous offer of peace in your family? 

Father, in Your will is our peace! 

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus this Friday by attending Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion. 

For the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Prayers and Prayer Intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2020/08/12-promises-of-sacred-heart-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

THE FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD. 

In the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord, we have a new opportunity to encounter Jesus anew as the great Light of the World. 

"When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

"The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

“Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted—and you yourself a sword will pierce—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

"There was also a prophetess, Anna, the ­daughter of ­Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was ­eighty-four. She never left the temple, but ­worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the ­redemption of ­Jerusalem."

"When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him."  (Luke 2: 22 - 40).

Thursday 2nd February 2023 in the 4th Week of Ordinary Time is the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord. 

Forty days after the Nativity of Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph presented Him in the Temple in obedience of faith. 

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the holy Prophet Simeon and the Prophetess Anna appeared in the Temple in obedience of faith to bear witness to the faithfulness of God to His promise. 

Brethren, in the celebration of the Presentation of the Lord, let us renew our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar so that we can experience the a transformative encounter with Jesus who is very eager to embrace us with His merciful love. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him." (Psalm 103).

"Brothers and sisters: In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. You have also forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:

"My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.

"Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as his sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.

"So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed.

"Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble, through which many may become defiled."  (Letter to the Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15).

Wednesday February 1st 2023 in the 4th Week of Ordinary Time.

I heard the above Scripture in a Sunday Mass for the first time after tumbling down the mountain top of corporate ladder to the dark hole in the valley. I have never imagined that misfortune can be engineered by God to serve our higher purpose.

So I was happy and delighted to read again at home this glorious message of Abba Father to me, the once prodigal son:
"Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as his sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it."

My response to the Father is best expressed in the Responsorial Psalm 103 of today's Mass:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him,
For he knows how we are formed;
he remembers that we are dust.

"But the kindness of the Lord is from eternity to eternity toward those who fear him,
And his justice toward children’s children among those who keep his covenant." (Psalm 103).

Now consider this question: Where would I be today if not for the residue of grace I received at Baptism? By faith I recognized at once that the Reading from Hebrews that Sunday morning was for me.

You too my friends, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by Him; for whom the Lord loves, He disciplines; He scourges every son and daughter He acknowledges.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com