"Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause." (St John Kanty).

"When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son.

"Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.

"When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.”

"But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.

"He asked for a tablet and wrote,

“John is his name,” and all were amazed.

"Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.

"Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. (Luke 1: 57 - 66).

Friday 23rd December 2022 of the 4th Week of Advent is the feast of St John Kanty. (1390 - 1473). Polish. Kanty is a priest, professor, philosopher, physicist and theologian. What is striking about the life of St John Kanty is that this brilliant and highly educated man spent his entire priestly vocation in the ivory tower. Yet, he had the heart of a pastor of flocks. He seized every opportunity to help his needy students and the poor he encountered.

Our key Scripture for today are the words of the parents of John the Baptist affirming almost with vehemence that the name of their son is John and not something else. But what is in a name?

In ancient Hebrew theology, a name denotes and contains a person, a presence and a power.
No one assigns names to offsprings lightly. The name John means God is gracious. In this child, God promises to be gracious to the world through the birth of a holy Prophet who would herald the birth of His Son Jesus.

As we near the Solemnity of Christmas, we thank God for the life and work of St John the Baptist. We remember too St John Kanty our saint of the day who continue to inspire us by his teaching and exemplary life.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

"When the angels went away from them to heaven,

"the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

"So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.

"All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.

"And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

"Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them." (Luke 2: 15 - 20).

Sunday 25th December 2022, the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Solemnity of Christmas. Midnight Mass.

Our key Scripture for this Christmas Day proclaims how God's grand and mysterious works come to us. They come through SIGNS. God is a spirit and invisible. We humans are flesh and blood and material. This is why the Word of God became flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary.  We can see Him and touch Him.

In the Christmas story, let us imagine ourselves for a moment to be Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, Jesus' grandparents Anne and Joachim, the Magis. All these people were able to touch Jesus physically. These people are exceptionally blessed.
We are also exceptionally blessed because we are able to touch Jesus in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, Jesus is fully present to us: His soul, body, blood and divinity.

Without faith, the touching of the infant Jesus by Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, Jesus' grandparents Anne and Joachim, the Magis is meaningless. Without faith, our receiving of Jesus in the Eucharist is totally meaningless.

Faith is the key to a Happy Christmas.

Have a Happy Christmas filled with faith, hope and love.

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

God answers every prayer.
"I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request." (Hannah - mother of the Prophet Samuel).

"In those days, Hannah brought Samuel with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the Lord in Shiloh.

"After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: “Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the Lord.

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request.

"Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.” She left Samuel there. (1 Samuel 1:  26 - 28).

Thursday 22nd December 2022 of the 4th Week of Advent.

This Thursday, our key Scripture is taken from the first Reading (1 Samuel 1: 24 - 28). This is the story of the extraordinary generosity of Hannah, the mother of the Prophet Samuel. We know the story. This is the testimony of Hannah, the mother of Samuel to the high priest Eli.

Hannah is one of my favorite Bible characters. Why?
+ Hannah believes in prayer.
+ She believes in miracle.
+She has an incredible spirit of gratitude.

Hannah was barren. She pleaded with God for a son. At last, the Lord heard Hannah and granted her the little Samuel. When Samuel was 3 years old, Hannah brought Samuel to the Temple of the Lord and dedicated him to the Lord.  Look at the accompanying image in this narrative. The little boy had never seen anyone like the high priest with his huge beard and robed in the high priestly vestment. Little Samuel was frightened and clung tightly to his mother's gown. After the dedication, Hannah went home and left Samuel at the Shrine.

Where have we noticed such extravagant generosity to God in the Bible? We notice it in people who respond to God's Call and Mission AT ONCE. We may call these people the AT ONCE People.

The AT ONCE people hear the Call or Inspiration from God. They respond At Once. No going home to consider it. The Blessed Virgin Mary is an At Once person.  She heard the message from the Archangel Gabriel, she said YES AT ONCE. She learned that Elizabeth was pregnant and the Holy Spirit inspired her to visit Elizabeth. Mary said Yes again At Once.

Other At Once People in the New Testament are: Simeon and Anna who waited for the birth of Jesus for decades. John and James, Peter and Andrew. All these people responded At Once to the Call of God. They marked their response with total dedication and generosity.

The Widow's Mite. (Mark 12:41–44, Luke 21:1–4). This is a story of another big generosity to God.

What are the lessons for us from Hannah's gesture to God?

#1 You can never out do God in generosity.
#2 Do not be afraid to offer all your time, talent and treasure to God.

God raises the needy from the dust; from the dung heap He lifts up the poor, to seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage. (Cf 1 Samuel 2: 8).

"O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!"

"The Virgin Mary, my Mother of Perpetual Help, the Mediatrix of all graces, will look after all the details, even as she did in Saint John’s home when she lived with him." (IN SINU JESU, Thursday, October 4, 2007 Saint Francis of Assisi).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com