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...