Reflections Towards Inner Peace in God

The stone is rolled

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:03:17 +0000

Almost 2000 years ago,
He walked the earth,
Enshrined in an attitude and a disposition of service to humanity,
He loved and made no distinction,
He came to fulfill his Father’s promises,
To ensure that evil would never again have the final say,
And to ensure that love would prevail from the earth to heaven,
He came to prepare a final resting place of bliss for the creation in heaven,
The dignity of every human was recognised and up-held,
But evil thought otherwise and thought it could have ended this pilgrimage of love,
So he died,
The first day with him being in the grave,
Evil thought it had triumphed,
Oh yes the second day,
It rejoiced even more profoundly in its seeming victory,
But on the third day,
Yes on the third day,
Hmmm on the third day,
The huge stone was rolled away,
Light regained its authentic place over darkness,
Love surmounted over hatred,
And life forever climaxed over death,
And so today,
If we allow him in our lives,
The same spirit that rolled away that stone,
Is ready to roll away the stone from our lives.
Giving us the gift of New Life in Him
But only if we allow Him…….

Witness for Christ

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:26:24 +0000

Even if the world seems to thinks otherwise,
And often hides in its own demise,
The authentic witness of the Christian life,
Is still pertinent to the very heart of humanity.
For within the bowels of humanity,
Lies the Truth of Light,
Jesus Christ,
True God and True man!

REFLECTION FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 12:20:15 +0000

Reflection for Second Sunday of Lent Year B

In both the Old Testament – Gen. 22,1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 – and that of the New Testament – Mark 9: 2-10, the word of God declares an outpouring of God’s unconditional unto the world. God will intervene to help and save his loved ones. However, for this to be realized God asks us to cooperate with him. While he respects our free will, he humbly in love waits and desires our response to turn towards him. He intervened to prevent Abraham who responded in faith to God’s call, from the slaying of his Son Isaac. Abraham loved God and respond in obedience.

God’s word in the Gospel of Mark – 9: 2-10 – again demonstrates God’s intervention to his only Son Jesus Christ. God intervened and Jesus was transfigured. The Word of God tells us he became dazzlingly white. Most importantly, Moses and Abraham were there with him telling him of his own death that was to come – Lk. 9: 30-31. These actions of love by The Trinitarian God can encourage us in the following ways:

- God will intervene to save us from destruction. Whenever, we are on a path that leads us away from God, he does intervene through signs, wonders and people to bring us back to his love. The question remains; do we listen or take heed to his warning signs?

- The fact that Moses and Elijah were there with him tells us two other things about the Christian Faith. There is life after death, and to those who die in Christ eternal life awaits us. Mosses, who had a natural death and Elijah – taken up in a whirl wind, had already passed on, yet they were there having a conversation with Jesus. What do you think they were telling Jesus? They must have been giving Jesus encouragement to face his impending death – Lk. 9: 30-31. Does not that remind us of our loved ones who upon entering the agony stage before final death, seem to be calling the names of their families who were already dead? They seem to be in the presence of those who have already passed on. Jesus experienced it too.

- This encourages us to continue to pray for the dead and put masses for them. The second book of Maccabbees – 12: 41- 46 affirms this practice. The Word of God tells us that God’s people collected a monetary offering and had it sent to Jerusalem so that a service could be celebrated for all the dead brothers and sisters. Verse 45-46 tells us that this sacrifice to pardon the sins of the dead was holy and keeping with faith, for the God’s people of the Old Testament believed in a splendid reward for those who died as believers.

- The transfiguration happened in the presence of the living disciples – Peter, John and James. God’s intervention in the New Testament was within a community of believers. You and I cannot go to heaven alone. We are communal people. Let us make the effort to build community, to strengthen and encourage one another as we experience an outpouring of God’s love during this time of Lent. May we come back to God with a repentant heart and in so doing allow ourselves to be transfigured by the blood of the lamb. Do have a blessed Second Sunday of Lent!

The Sacrament of Reconciliation – A sacrament of love!

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:19:56 +0000

‘Since sin is rooted in the lack of love to God and to humanity,
the Sacrament of Reconciliation restores that love to God and to the world.’

Lent – A TIME

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:13:03 +0000

A time to reflect,
A time to return to the loving arms of Jesus,
A time to feel his warm loving embrace,
A time to feel his breath in our hearts,
A time never to depart from his touch,
A time to be enveloped in the love of the Blessed Trinity,
A time to open our eyes to the needs of the world.

Reflection for the 6th Sunday of ordinary time Year B

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:36:55 +0000

To be a leaper in the Old Testament meant that, you were abandoned and ostracized from the community – Lev. 13: 1-2, 44-46. To be an outcast was not to belong to any other human. You were transformed into a state of desolation. No one would have touched a leaper.
Jesus radically changes this concept in the Gospel – Mk. 1: 40-45. After the leaper, considered unclean, acknowledges his state of abandonment in his words; “ If you want to you can heal me”, Jesus was moved to compassion. He reached out and did what no one would have ever done in his time. He touched the sick man and said, “I will; be clean!”

REFLECTION

Who are the leapers of today who are rejected by us? Won’t we allow Jesus to touch us in our heart allowing us to embrace our brothers and sisters? We touch each other through our words, actions and thoughts. Of course it is difficult! This is why we find strength in his touch to embrace all of humanity; restoring God’s dignity to all. An appropriate song we can sing today is :

Shacked by a heavy burden,
Neath a load of guilt and shame,
Then the hands of Jesus touch me,
And now I am no longer the same,

He touched me, oh he touched me,
And oh the joy that fills my soul,
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole,

When Jesus restores our health, he can still use us to heal others.

God speaks

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:17:38 +0000

God speaks to us in the most mundane and simple things of life!

An Effort is Necessary

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:55:23 +0000

When God was about to destroy the town of Nineveh that was riddled with sin, he called the prophet Jonah and sent him to preach repentance! Jonah preached and the people repented and God relented. God changed his mind. He no longer wanted to destroy the people who were great sinners for they had changed their lives. However, there was something strange and interesting about the whole experience. God really changed his mind, when he saw the “efforts” made by the people to change from their lives of sin. It seems that God was more impressed with the “Efforts” they made at changing, than the change itself- Jonah 10:10. Of course God was happy with the true conversion that took place in Nineveh; but nothing pleased God as much as the “efforts” made by the people to change. Let us make that “effort” to come back to Jesus, and allow his unconditional love to be the source that guides us into relationships. Action is important! Let us allow our actions to bring a smile on the face of God and that of our families, friends, neighbours and enemies! Be blessed for we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us! (Phil. 4:13)

“The effort to forgive”

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:43:26 +0000

It is always worth making the effort to forgive someone,
For everytime we stop and re-start the process,
We never begin at the same level,
The Continuation is always at a higher or more profound level,
We progress through the experience.

Christianity

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:29:45 +0000

Christianity does not dwell in an exclusivity,
That thrives on its limitation,
For God allowed his son Jesus,
To die for the entire world - Jn 3:16,
Christians however,
Do have the sole responsibility,
Through a life of repentance, love and justice,
To make known to this world,
The presence of God’s kingdom,
Here on earth.

wisdom

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:21:04 +0000

To expect the unexpected,
Is a sign of wisdom.

ADVENT

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:05:56 +0000

This profound time of preparation for the second coming of our Lord is fast approaching. However, even as we look forward with great anticipation, we do not ignore his first coming; the event in history that has revolutionised the entire thinking and action of humanity. As we approach the anniversary of this moment in time – of this experience, let us continue to prepare ourselves by ensuring that Jesus’ blood shed on Calvary washes away all our sins. Let us utilise these weeks of preparation to make a true repentance (Mk. 1:15, Lk.13: 3,5). Let us not ignore the importance of this inner spiritual self in all our busy activities for Christmas. As we prepare our homes and our properties for this day, let us also visit the Sacrament of Confession to ensure that we are spiritually healed and that we are liberated by the blood of the lamb from our mortal or deadly sins. This is the foundation of our faith and our action as Catholic Christians.

Your will be done!

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:10:32 +0000

God speaks to us,
Yet we are slow to listen and to turn into action,
For we are stuck in our own needs,
We believe that God has to do what we want,
And yes,
Many are the times we are convinced that our reasons are the best,
And yes,
Humanly speaking they are really the best reasons,
But for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
Whom we worship,
The God who raised Jesus from the dead,
Is it the best,
Only God knows what is best for us,
And he lovingly expects us to participate in his will,
Our role,
Is to respond and become active in his will for us,
Lord help us to be humble enough after fighting with your will,
To have the courage to say,
Your willl be done!

God’s will

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:16:17 +0000

God’s will is mysterious to humans,
It is also active even when we do not know the answer….

awakening

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:21:16 +0000

As adults,
We sometimes assume that the love and warmth,
Shared in our families of origin when we were children,
Should be continued when we grow up,
In many cases it continues,
But there are the families where this warmth no longer exists.
Sadly we all have to continue to live our lives with our new families and friends,
and those of our families of origin who still share this value of treasure.
People do change,
As these moments of grace,
Find a home in the base of our memories,
And still yet,
We continue to love,
For God the Creator is love ……

Mother Church

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 09:10:37 +0000

Your beloved sons and daughters,
To you are ever grateful,
For you have suckled their desires into birth,
As within your bosom,
The savoiur has been cherished and preserved,
An Eternal Food for the world.

Earthly Spring

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:27:21 +0000

As the sun breathes a sigh of relief on this earthly Spring,
And the meadows in haste prepare this Summer’s sing,
We watch not in idle be,
For we have become,
That from which this earth,
Gently sings its praises.

Happiness

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:35:40 +0000

Happiness is not to be found outside of us,
It involves a process of self discovery,
That eventually makes its presence imminent.

To live

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:53:23 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

“To live is not only making and accepting changes,
Interpreting these changes as growth is as important.”

Je m’assume

Fr. vincent Esprit FMI — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:02:47 +0000

Je m’assume dans la gloire de Dieu,
Comme sujet parmi les autres,
Avec tous mes joies, faiblesse et incertitudes,
Sans aucune condition,
Je m’assume dans la gloire de Dieu.