JB Lifestyle

When we have accepted Jesus in our lives and he dwells in us, then the spirit will come down on us and transform our humanity. We will start to do good works selfishly. As St. James said "faith without action is dead". We are not saved by good works but by grace but if God's grace has really saved us , then it will be shown in the works we do which will be guided by the Holy Spirit. That being said, our works must be done in obedience to God's will. Our works must not be done for human admiration or to increase our feeling of self worth / pride but must be an act of pure love surrendered to God. Sometimes, we do "good things" seemingly which are not in line with God's plan. I will just give an example of  running a free clinic for teenage mothers who can access services such as contraception and free abortions. In the eyes of the world, you may be helping teenagers who have made "mistakes" or trying to "protect" their health with

Pope Francis recently declared a jubilee year of mercy which will end in November 2016.  Mercy is God's greatest attribute but how often we abuse it or fail to make use of it! There is a saying that goes, "to error is human and to forgive is divine". It is not easy to forgive someone for hurting you and we tend to hold on to grudges caused by past hurts! Think on how much God forgives you for your sins. Consider that God loved you and forgave you even before you loved and knew him and he will always be ready to forgive you when you fall. Not matter how many times you stumble, God will pick you up! Have confidence and fall before God's merciful feet, he will pick you up and embrace you with love but have a firm conviction not to sin anymore even us you implore his mercy. Please also remember to forgive all those who have hurt you and wronged you, purge your heart of bitterness and resentment, ask God to help you to forgive. (Please recite the chaplet of divine merc

The holiday season is here again and i have to say i love it! "Tis the season to be jolly.........". It is indeed a season of joy and happiness! Christmas is here again and we should embrace this season of joy after all , Christmas comes but once a year! However let us not lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas which is that our savior is born to this world, may he find pure hearts ready to receive him, Amen! In the true spirit of Christmas, let us all remember to spread the joy by helping those who have nothing and no one. Lets reach out to grieving hearts and put a smile on every face......especially the children. Merry Christmas and a Happy new year! God bless you all!

Some time back i was reading an article about abortion and how many women do not share their "unplanned" pregnancy situations with the church because they feel unsupported and judged! I am sorry if i sound harsh but we need to grow up! People will judge you in life but you have to get over it. And if you think people are not judging you for abortions (including the health care provider you went to), then you are very naive indeed. We have all been told about some special circumstances regarding abortion like rape, incest or in case the mother's life is endangered but ask yourself, out of the thousands of abortions being carried out every year with millions of babies killed, how many of those fall into the category of those special circumstances? Some women actually use abortion as a form of birth control including married women and this makes me feel sick to my stomach. In my view, there are no so called special circumstances that can justify abortion and life i

Yesterday's readings from mass were centered on christian joy! We are after all in the season of advent, and we are waiting with great expectation and joy for the birth of our lord Jesus on Christmas. Christmas is my favorite season of the year.  Honestly i am such a sucker for the food, the decorations and the shopping.....Yes please ("tis the season to be jolly............"). However that is not the true meaning of christmas. In our present times , we have tended to focus on the wrong things about Christmas. Its not about how many presents you get , or sending out the best Christmas cards, or eating the perfect dinner or getting that perfect tree ! No wonder so many people hate the holidays these days and are thoroughly stressed out in preparations that they cannot even enjoy the holidays. Christmas is NOT about Santa Claus. (yes Santa is chubby and lovable but we all have to grow up sometime). Christmas is about Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and thus the

Yesterday, the catholic church celebrated the feast of the immaculate conception, a feast dedicated to a woman like no other, a woman who lived for God alone, the ever virgin Mary! It feels me with such wonder and amazement to contemplate the virginity of Mary! I thank God for that and it brings me such joy! Last week i was reading an article about how difficult it is for our youth today especially , to remain chaste until marriage. Pornography is a huge issue for our youth and contributes a lot to the decadence we are experiencing among the youth. I was reading about a young lady who recalls her teenage years being quite difficult. Teenage years are often full of angst and a lot of rebellion and trying to establish your identity as you move towards adulthood. That being said, it is even harder when your peers exert pressure on you to "give it up." The young lady in the article was even being called a lesbian for not having allowed the boys to touch her! This made m

Jesus is quoted in scripture as telling peter that "those who live by the sword, shall by that same sword die!" Barely a month after the Paris attacks and another shooting happens, this time in San bernadino, California. And you guessed it, carried out by "Islamic fundamentalists" , once again! I am of the mind that all religions should be treated with respect and dignity but these attacks make it really hard to respect islam.   I was once reading an article, rather funny actually about how all other religions can co-exist in peace except when you throw in Muslims living with other faiths. There always seem to be confrontations and violence when Muslims are living with people of other faiths! Why is that? I personally work with a Muslim lady and we get along very well despite the fact that i am roman catholic and we deeply respect each others faiths. I was reading an article last week entitled "what Isis really wants" and it was truly shocking.

It is disheartening during elections and polling how we are "charmed" and sometimes deceived by our potential and current leaders seeking to capture power or retain it. We have all heard the saying "politics is a dirty game and power is seductive". All very true words and definitely a reality in which we are living today. Since the dawning of time, men have been seeking power but for all the wrong reasons. Leadership is meant to be something that is aspired for to make a positive change in people's well being and lives. Our leaders are meant to inspire us and motivate us especially through their example to become better people. Mahatma Gandhi famously said "be the change you want to see in the world" and if our leaders followed that principle, imagine how peaceful and wonderful our world would be! Instead we have leaders who are constantly lying to us to get our votes, who give favors to those who funded their campaigns, who murder in the nam

I am not referring to the holiday in the united states which celebrates the peace between the Indians and the settlers. (i think) I do not know so much about the thanksgiving holiday but that's the general idea i have. Anyway i am referring to the virtue of gratitude, especially in the seemingly "small things" in life. Today i woke up, had breakfast, went to work. How many people are not able to get up out of their beds for months, or even years? How many do not have jobs? How many wake up hungry with nothing to eat? I cant help but feel truly blessed by God and how much thanks do i owe him? We all have something in our lives to be thankful for. Some people it seems might have more but that is just what it is , an assumption that they have more than you! Let us all learn to be thankful for the wonderful little things that we all have and lets learn to appreciate what we have in life, lemons and all! God bless you all!

In the book of Samuel in the old testament, King Saul disobeyed God's command to destroy everything of the Amalekites and thus lost favor with God. He sought the approval of his men instead of God's approval. As Christians, sometimes we think that outward signs of goodness and the approval of men are what counts but how truly wrong we are when we think that!   We all want to be esteemed among our peers, families and work mates. We would like them to see us as good, hardworking people. However God is the only one who sees directly into our hearts and knows the intention behind our every thought word and deed! Do not seek praise and flattery from men as they are deceptive. Rather seek to faithfully keep God's commandments.  There is nothing more pleasing to God than obedience to him in humility. May the blessed virgin Mary be your model in this. God bless you all!

We are still in shock about the events in Paris where more than a hundred people died in separate attacks on the city. It was truly a tragic incident. As i read a story last week about the attacks at the stadium, something else was uncovered and it brings a lot of things into perspective as last week i found myself filled with questions of why? Why did this happen? Nobody should die like that. It is truly a horrible way to die but we, especially in this present age, seem to have ignored or rejected the reality of the existence of evil / the devil. Apparently, the band playing at the stadium was singing a song called "kiss the devil" when the attacks occurred. The devil or evil will come when he is invoked. He would love nothing more than to kill and destroy as that is what he is! We have had too many warnings already about the existence of evil and yet we continue to invite it into our lives. Be careful what you say out loud or even think. Really take a closer look at

In the wake of the Paris attacks, some things really make me angry and upset! Last week i was reading an article about how a security leak led to plans by Russia to develop a nuclear missile / weapon to "protect" Russia being leaked to the media . Notice how i put protect in quotes. I honestly felt disgusted and very angry. Who are we trying to fool? Only ourselves apparently if we think that nuclear weapons are designed to protect. They have one purpose only, destruction and horror! We are still reeling from the effects of the second world war. It is just heart breaking when we read about how people lives were destroyed or changed forever because of the nuclear bombs that were dropped in japan. Have we not learned anything from such tragic events, from two destructive world wars? Yet speculation is rife that Russia and Iran as well have and are developing nuclear weapons. I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt but i sincerely hope its not true. Everyone s

Last friday a group claiming to be of islamic state militants gunned down and killed 129 people in paris in a series of attacks at a concert hall, major stadium and some restaurants and bars. In this age we are accustoned to hearing about terror attacks but we should never feel like its ok or feel indifferent to this kind of horror. In my mind, i keep thinking , what was the point? What were these people thinking? How could they possibly justify doing something like this? I am trying to understand where they are coming from. I am trying to forgive them but its just so hard. What happened to them that made them cold blooded killers? Did they even flinch as they took so many people's lives? Did they hesitate or think about what they were doing? I just cannot make sense out of these situations in life. I do not see any purpose in such people's actions. It is senseless murder to me, pure and simple. I do not know how people can support such a cause . It is beyond my understa

I am currently reading a book about healing the family tree and about bondages that sometimes exist in our lives / families. Truthfully one of the things that keeps us from progressing in our lives and even brings illness is the inability to forgive and forget! We are bound by bitterness and resentment when we refuse to forgive past and present wrongs done to us by others. We all make mistakes us human beings and we are not perfect. Sometimes people even hurt you because they are miserable and are just lashing out. We need to try to understand where people are coming from and not react with the same anger. It does not mean you enable people's bad habits or vices by just keeping silent. Say something about it but with charity not disdain or judgement. Sometimes you may even need to avoid that person. Part of forgiveness is forgetting and starting on a clean slate. If someone sincerely apologizes to you and you try to understand his or her actions from trying to put yoursel

In the serenity prayer , part of it goes, "give me the serenity to accept the things i CANNOT change". Last week i was reading about a WND whistle blower magazine  entitled "trans mania". I am not here to judge people as we all have things in our lives we wish we could change, sometimes we wish things could be different and sometimes there is a valid reason why we wish that. That being said, there is always a line. A line we should never cross. We seem to have embraced a lifestyle that would rather we live in fantasy than reality. I love fantasy and it entertains me but lets leave fantasy in the movies and novels! I was reading about how some people are not just changing gender but apparently some people are trans disabled or trans blind and feel that they should have been born blind or disabled and thus seek out doctors to correct this. Unbelievable! I was stunned and numb. We have accepted the horror of killing the unborn(abortion), sterile sex (contracepti

There are circumstances and situations in life which sometimes leave us speechless or numb or depressed. We sometimes lose hope and that is truly unnerving because a people without hope is, well a lost people. These days we see so many people especially young people who live their lives hopelessly. Unemployment is rampant all over the world and we have people living on the streets. Our youth have sometimes engaged in drugs and violent crime . It is truly a sad situation. Even when we have lost faith, God is always near us, loving us even when we cannot believe. Life is always changing and things will not always be the same. We need to accept that and move forward with hope that things will get better and they will. Young people especially need to be hopeful for the future and have a strong faith in God. God will not abandon you especially in your darkest moments. We are a generation of hope and there is nothing we cannot accomplish. May God fulfill your dreams and grant you a pros

Last week, i was reading about a couple in the united states whose five year old daughter is suffering from charcot-marie-tooth syndrome, a rare incurable disease. Her family have been through numerous hospital visits as each time she gets an infection, she becomes worse. Her disease affects the muscles and she is now unable to eat normally or to move and sit up, she has to be fed through a tube. The doctors say the next time she gets an infection, most likely she will not recover. Her parents asked her if she would want to be brought back to the hospital the next time she is ill and the brave little girl said No. She made the choice to die at home and her parents are willing to respect her decision. Some people had some issues with the parents saying at her age, they cannot allow her to make such a monumental decision. In my opinion, we cannot begin to undestand what that family ahs been through and what that little girl is going through. Everyday the nurses have to push a tube d

Recently, i was reading about a priest who has his ministry in one of the middle eastern countries, Iraq i think.  He was giving a talk about his experience as a priest who was captured and tortured by Islamic fundamentalist groups. He said that becoming a priest in such places is to resign oneself to certain death. He was captured and tortured by them but even in the midst of that, he forgave them and he even used to give them advice. He was later released and he bears no grudge against Islam or this torturers! That is what it means to be a true christian! He was following the very example of Christ when he was falsely accused, beaten and tortured and crucified. Jesus did not despise them, he prayed for them and he re payed insults with love and mercy. Another example i can give is the Uganda martyrs. They were burnt for their refusal to renounce the christian faith but they went to their death singing hymns to God. There are so many examples of saints who died with joy in their

Our selfish nature as humans makes us detest sacrifice. We are usually thinking about our own happiness and our own needs and sometimes just plain greedy. We just want things even if we do not need them. How many of us have bought something in the spur of the moment and realized later that we didn't need it or even that we have no use for it? I know i have! In life, you sometimes have to make tough choices. Parents usually know the meaning of sacrifice when it comes to their children but we all have to make sacrifices in our lives for the greater good. When i was growing up, my parents instilled in me the virtue of sacrifice. It's still hard for me to let some things go but i know that i cannot have everything i want! Its a delicate balance between want and need but there are so many things we can live without! Let's bring up our children to understand the value of sacrifice and let's sacrifice something today so that we can help those less fortunate get the t

I personally do not usually use swear words or cuss when am really upset or angry and it irritates me when people do that! But to use God's name as a swear word is deplorable! You may not be a believer or a christian but it is utterly disrespectful and disgraceful to use God's name in such a way. Ironically some who do are actually Christians! ("unbelievable") God does not want us to fear him as a judge who punishes us for our sins. We do deserve punishment and rightly so because of our sins and iniquities. However God has already shown us his love and mercy through sending his only begotten son , Jesus to cleanse us by his death and thus we are made right with God. This perfect sacrifice of love has obtained our salvation, that is all that God desires, our happiness and our salvation. That being said, you dare not abuse God's mercy and love. How dare you use his name for swearing? You are nothing but dust and yet he has loved you enough to make you h

In case you were wondering, i am speaking about the story of the "Taj mahal." I was in india this october and i got an amazing chance to tour the taj mahal in agra. The taj mahal is a masoleum built by Emperor shah Jahan for his beloved wife mumtaz upon her death.   I sometimes used to wonder if people in times past were, shall i say "romantic". Well the proof is right there as evidenced by this mausoleum.  My tour guide was telling me part of their story. Shah jahan had three official wives but it is interesting to note that Mumtaz bore him 14 children while the other two only bore him one child each as demanded by custom. Mumtaz was also always accompanying him on his travels even during war time. Mumtaz is actually her affectionate name given to her by shah meaning "chosen one of the palace". Unfortunately, mumtaz died giving birth to their fourteenth child. My guide tells me that on her death bed, she asked three things of shah. One , that he no

Scandal TV show is one of my favorite series, and i must say it is a wonderful series to watch. I love the drama and it gives me quite the thrill! That being said, anyone who lives their lives surrounded by such scandal is really not a good person. We all have drama in our lives but have we ever stopped to consider that we are sometimes the cause of scandal? Last Sunday's readings had a message from Jesus in the new testament about being a cause of scandal especially to innocents (children). As adults it is a bit difficult to retain the innocence of your childhood. I am not saying you cannot get it back but it is often a struggle but for children it is natural. Our priest in his homily on Sunday was speaking to us about how children have admitted to watching pornographic movies to him.  If you , as an adult think that is okay then there must be something wrong with you! Children's innocence must be preserved and protected by us as adults. I do not think any well adjuste

I hear so much about the "sexual revolution" that started in the 1960's being cited as the cause for the breakdown in societal morals concerning sex and the beginning of the licentiousness that we have today in regards to sex. In my view, contraception has definitely led to the increase in promiscuity and led to the heavily sexual lifestyle we are encouraged to adopt today! I have often read articles about how sex is "healthy" for you and relieves stress. In the tabloids, sex scandals is all we read about and we are encouraged to seek partners in relationships who are "good in bed" ,whatever that means. Young people especially, are under pressure to date and end up engaing in sex when they are barely able to understand the consequences. We as a society have put so much emphasis on sex , but we keep deceiving ourselves that casual sex is fun, that we can have it without the "burden" of having to bear children and it can be a wonderfu