JB Lifestyle

In Matthew 2 : 6, It is written : AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'" Christmas is here again and the spirit of christmas is alive! But stop to ponder about the true meaning of christmas. We are bombarded with adverts everyday about shopping, receiving gifts and eating our hearts out but is this the true meaning of christmas? When did it become more about presents and Santa Claus? About shopping and eating? Christmas is about the coming of the great Light (Jesus). It is about how we receive that light and how we spread it to those in still in darkness! Christ is coming as he did over 2000 years ago in that little town of bethlehem! In that cave, hidden from the world, our saviour was born and he is coming again to be born in our hearts. The question is, are our hearts ready to receive him? Look around you

I got a very inspiring message on sunday morning about how builders use broken bricks later on in the building process to complete their work. The broken bricks are a metaphor for people in society who are basically ignored and considered of no value because of their station in life! People can even seem to reject you for no apparent reason or fault of your own. God does not create worthless things and human beings especially are created with the dignity of bearing his image and being his children, are heirs to his kingdom. God uses the perceived weak as his instruments of glory. He loves a humble heart and such a heart will be exalted at the right moment in time. It hurts so much to feel rejected. I do not know if there is a person alive who hasn't felt that way at some point in their lives. I know i have and its a terrible feeling. You may be forgotten now because of your sitiuation but God can never forget you. Just like the builder searches for the half bricks to complet

In this season of advent, we as christians are all waiting with joy for the birth of Christ! It is indeed an ocassion to rejoice on christmas. For we were once slaves to sin and death, but now we are free thanks to his coming! But do we often reflect that Jesus comes to us every day in the sacrament of the eucharist. Are we ready to receive him? The Eucharist is a mystery of the church. Jesus loves us so much that even after he died and resurrected and ascended to the father, he did not want to ever be apart from us. He made it so that every time mass is said and the priest consecrates the host, it is transformed into his essence. He is truly present in the eucharist as true God and true man! Many catholics and other christians, doubt the presence of Jesus in the eucharist. Its even more heartbreaking that even some priests and religious doubt this as well. I am a sinner and i know it but i am forever grateful to God for making himself a "prisoner of love." He is prese

Last week in the Gospel, we are given the story of the blind man who was healed by Jesus. Physical blindness is a terrible affiliction but spiritual blindness is much worse and it can take many forms! Often times we are blind to our own imperfections and focus on the perceived imperfections of others! No one is perfect and we all make mistakes. Why do we keep forgetting that? If we could only see ourselves in the mirror of God's light, oh how we would realize just how imperfect we are and just how much our actions affect other people. There is also the blindness caused by selfishness! We hold people in contempt and do not permit our hearts to be moved by the suffering of others. Just like the crowd who tried to drown the blind man's plea, we shut or eyes and minds to the needs of others. How cold our hearts have become and we forget that the greatest poverty that exists is a heart devoid of love! There will always be people trying to keep you down. Be like that poor

In the world of today its all about "quid pro quo". In otherwords do something for me and i will return the favor. We even try to build our relationships and professional contacts based on what the other person can offer you. Its very sad indeed and we even think we can do the same with God but how very wrong we are! God sees the human heart clearly and can read your intentions. He knows your deepest desires and needs but he cannot be bribed or manipulated like human beings. We want so many things and are often envious of the sucess of others. Sometimes we even think we deserve to be happier than others because we have tried our best to be "good". The Lord gives as he wills and he will continue to do so. He will still bless those who seem to be wicked in our eyes and those who seem just! We are all sinners first of all and no one is just before God! He does not owe us anything! He has already paid the price for our salvation with his blood. Seek God with a

Mother Theresa is quoted as saying those wise words. They are truly words to live by especially in our times today. We focus so much on oursleves, our feelings and our desires. Everything seems to be centred on ME. How selfish and contemptuos we have become. We no longer care for anyone but ourselves and our own happiness! I think we need to give untill it hurts and then give some more. I know its hard because we are selfish in our natures but it is not impossible. Remember to try to put yourself into the life of the people you encounter everyday. We cannot fully understand what someone is going through but we can show compassion to those in less fortunate circumstances than our own. Our local priest reminded me in his homily this week that no one is too poor to give anything. Neither is there a wealthy person who doesn't need anything! Our lives are intertwined for a reason. We are meant to help each other. Pope Francis recently said that wealthy people who horde their r

Last week i mentioned that i would be going on pilgrimage. I was in a little village in Rwanda called Kibeho. It is a remote place towards the border with Burundi on top of rather steep hills. For those who have not heard about Kibeho, it is the site of the appartions of the blessed virgin Mary since the early 80's. It is also now associated with the divine mercy devotion as well! To summarise a beautiful message, Our mother calls us to repent and have a true conversion of heart. There is so much hatred, selfishness and bitterness in this world. Too much of a spirit of unforgiveness! When she first appeared she showed them the visions of what would come to pass if people did not convert. (the genocide). Our mother truly loves us and does not want to see our destruction. Unfoirtunatley human beings are stubborn and what she had foretold did indeed come to pass. In 1994, the horror of the genocide became a reality and the river run red with the blood of slaughtered people, headl

Patience isn't easy and i struggle with it all the time. Even on my way to work, i keep thinking the driver is wasting too much time stopping to pick up people. (which is sometimes true). Waiting in queues, i keep thinking "what's taking so long?" and the list goes on..... I haven't got everything i ever wanted in life but i have definitely got some of the things i dreamt of just at the right moment in time. I realize now that there is a reason we need to be patient about many things in life. Not everything is good for you or helpful and you are not always in the right disposition to receive it. There is a time for everything and everyone will receive what is right for them at the time appointed by God. All we have to do is to hope in the Lord. Padre Pio is quoted as saying "Pray , hope and dont worry, God is merciful, he will hear you." Tomorrow i will be going on a pilgrimage and i have faith that what i have been hoping for will finally be g

Here i am speaking of christians, living as witnesses to the good news. Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying " I like your Christ, not the christians." He was deeply touched by Christ's teachings and actions but we as christians have failed to emulate him. I can understand why some people will not convert to christianity. We as christians are called to a higher example of life. Our actions must reflect Christ's teaching. It is not enough to call yourself christian, to read the bible and attend church every sunday. Its not enough to say many prayers every day. Jesus had already condemned the pharisees and scribes during his time for their false religiosity. "these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far away from me!" The early christian church was very successful in winning over their adversaries and skeptics beacuse of the way they lived. They were true followers of christ's example. They had a spirit of charity and love for o

" The happiest people in the world are not that ones that have the best of everything.....they are the ones who make the best of every situation". Food for thought people! Someone sent me an inspirational video yesterday....i really love them. It was basically about how a professor used cups and coffee as metaphors to teach his students a life lesson! He asked them to serve themselves coffee as they complained about their lives and careers. Most of them reached first for the most expensive cups and watched each other as they drank. They all wanted coffee and the quality of the cup didnt change the taste of the coffee....it remained the same and he reminded them that all they really wanted was coffee not the cups. Life is the coffee and the cups are our positions in society, jobs and money. Just because someone has a better positon or more money, or an executive job does not mean their life is more fulfilled than someone with a lower social standing or income. How ma

Of late , there have been many disasters facing the United states (hurricanes) , both seemingly natural and mand made. (terrorism and acts of violence) Just recently a man in Las vegas opened fire and killed around 50 people in what has been reported as one of the worst shootings in U.S history. It makes me stop to ponder. The United sates was founded on the principles of christianity,  but how the founding fathers must be rolling over in their graves! Currently they seem to have throwm out every christian principle and will not listen to reason! How can a government dictate that same sex unions are on the same equality as the union between man and woman (ordained by God)? How can the government fund an organisation (planned parenthood) that encourages the murder of innocents (abortion)? And even sells parts of the aborted children? I usually watch botched ( a series about plastic surgery). In one episode, someone comes in looking all blue and says he wants to look like an al

You cannot be right all the time and everyone has a right to have his or her own view about something. Granted , sometimes peoples views and behavior is difficult to accept but you cannot understand someone untill you see things from his perspective. Sometimes you may even be right but to avoid unecessary conflicts, let it go. Do not try to convince the other party that they are wrong. It is necessary to have a firm stand on certain things like what you believe in but you cannot force everyone to follow your belief. Let's take  the example of Religious beliefs. Some people were born into a certain faith and it has been solidified as they grew up. While i think people need to choose their own path as they grow older, i cannot judge someone based on their beliefs. I cannot say that i am right in my faith and they are wrong in theirs! People may dislike you based on your beliefs but it doesnt matter, let them. Go on with your life. Do not lose sleep over what people may or m

On monday night, i was involved in a car accident on my way home from work.(faulty brakes) I was not the one driving and i have to say most likely is the driver's fault for not having the car propoerly checked out! If you are driving a public service , the least you can do is ensure the safety of your passengers! Honestly,, we need to realize that money isn't worth somebody's life! Anyway, all the passenegers in the car survived with minor injuries and i know it was God's grace that saved us! I am not a good person, we are all human and make mistakes. I dont deserve to live more than anyone else. How many people die in accidents everyday? There is nothing special about me, God's grace was with us even though we did not deserve it. Life is a gift freely given by God,  we do not deserve his grace! We are all sinners but God is gracious and merciful. Thanks be to God that i am still alive. Sometimes we want so many things and yet we forget that what we alread

We are still in the wake of hurricane Harvey that devastated Houston recently. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this disaster. May God be your strength and may he comfort you in your time of distress! So called natural disasters have been a part of life as long as the world has existed and will probably continue till the world's end. When such disasters strike, we tend to blame God saying how could a God who is good allow such a thing to happen? Some people's faith is often tested and they ask "where is God?" I often think of Horatio Spafford' s song "it is well with my soul", in such times. I marvel at how a man who lost his children and his business , in a short span of time could be so calm. He had just rcently  lost his first child, when he lost his business in the Chicago fire of 1871. A few years later he lost his daughters in as ship wreck and penned the hymn it is well with my soul. Life often times throws us into the

We are always searching for happiness in things and in accomplishments but true happiness can only be found in the way we relate with others. Whether its the co-worker you work beside every day or the people waiting for you at home or even strangers. The way we relate with others will either bring us joy or make us miserable. Do you ever notice that a smile is contagious? That laughter really keeps you young and vibrant. (its a good thing, you cant laugh by yourself). Look  for the humor in every situation and try to laugh more. Smile at srangers too. Smile at your family and friends. Smile at your co-workers and your bosses! I know life can be hard for many people and sometimes they think they have no reason to smile! Life is what you make it and if you choose to frown at people and build walls around yourself, you will never be happy. Treat people with dignity and respect and they will respond in the same way. Do not expect that everyone will be kind but take the first step.

That is the salutation addressed to the blessed virgin at the annunciation of our Lord's birth over 2000 years ago! Today, we celebrate the feast of the assumption, one of the greatest Marian feasts in church history. Hail, full of grace! Ponder on the greeting of arch angel Gabriel to Mary. Mary is at first startled and unnerved by this greeting. She wonders why she is greeted as the "full of grace". Mary's wonderful humility shines through here. She cannot fathom how she, a mere creature of God,  can be full of grace. But oh, i marvel at her as the angel did. I cannot help but feel such pride for one so gracious as she, she is truly unparelled in all humanity. Mary's fiat became our salvation. She humbly surrenders her whole being to the will of her God and her King. Do not think she does so lightly. She knows fully well the trials she will endure as mother of the redeemer. She recalls the words of Isaiah about the suffering servant, "he was chast

I was watching a motivational video shared by my friends on social media. A very wise lady i must say was saying that we keep day dreaming and never do anything to make our dreams a reality. I believe her exact words were "we see success stories and think one day while doing nothing, something happened!" Seriously? Has something ever come from nothing? Or young ladies keep hoping  that a rich man will come into their lives suddenly and they will live happily ever after. Hmmmn....too much time spent day dreaming is bad for you. Her advice is dream with your eyes wide open and make those dreans a reality. I know its not that simple but honestly your decisions in life will define you! Lets try to be realistic while we dream. I do not mean limit your potential but learn to adapt your dreams to life's circumstances. When i was still in high school, i really wanted to be a doctor but my math and physics were abysmal. Chemistry wasnt that great either. I was always much bet

Last week, i heard that China is building a transcontinental railway line through eastern Europe and apparently one of the workers on the railway allegedly said that those opposed to the railway should be crushed under the heel of China. China has also apparently been behaving very aggressively with her neighbours in the east. I have also read a speech recently where President Trump is allegedly saying that black people are inferior intellectually to white people. I am not sure if he actually said those words, but i know there are people out there who think and feel that way. They are completely wrong and  i pity them. If you cannot appreciate the differences that exist between people and instead prefer to spread hatred just because people aren't the same as you, then i think its sad! It makes you a very sad human being indeed! We are all human beings and we all deserve to be treated with the dignity and respect worthy of our race! No one has the right to dominate others and su

We have all read the story about Jacob and Essau in the bible. Many of us anyway, depending on whether or not you are a christian. Anyway, long story short, Essau trades his birth right as the elder son to Jacob for a meal! Hmmmm.....his hunger at the time clouded his judgement. I think we can all relate to how our feelings and desires sometimes stop us from thinking clearly. That being said, he shouldnt have let them go so lightly. Jacob was cunning and shrewd and ended up taking all the blessings from his father. How does this relate to christians today? In the Gospel reading yesterday, Jesus is asked by the jews to perform a sign so that they can believe that he is the Messiah. He told them, no sign will be given to you except the sign of Jonah. He also told them that their generation would be judged by the ninevites, for they had believed jonah and yet God's own son was speaking to them and they hardened their hearts. Our generation today is being judged by other faiths