ICEMANforChrist

John, Chapter 3, Verse 35 The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. The earth is indeed blessed among all the planets in our solar system because of our heaven. As the heavens have made the earth a garden rich with life like so is God’s grace over those who are faithful and love Him. Never forget our Lord asked Peter if he loves Him three times.  One time for each of the times Peter denied our Lord on the eve of His crucifixion thus nullifying Peter’s denials and restoring him. Christ asks Peter with each affirmation to 1) feed His lambs 2) tend His sheep and 3) feed His sheep.  First Christ asked Peter if he loves Him more than the others thus establishing Peters leadership on love . Next Christ tells Peter to feed His lambs to give them a core of strength. If we wish to develop strength in ourselves and others it is imperative that we give hope, confidence, a work ethic, confidence, resilience, self-control and courage to the ...

John, Chapter 3, Verse 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. A few years ago I was assigned jury duty and while on the way to the court I saw spray painted John 3:16 and I thought I know that verse and said it in my head. That morning at court my group was not selected for the morning session and we were released for lunch. I thought maybe today I will skip lunch and go to the Basilica for Mass. I had for some time now been very unhappy with my place of employment and thought perhaps the Lord will give me some direction. The Basilica was the same church that Saint Pope John Paul II said his Mass in Phoenix when he was there. To my surprise the Mass was a memorial Mass for the anniversary of the death of Saint John Paul II and the reading during the Mass was John 3:16. I said to myself recognizing the Holy Spirit, “Speak Lord your servant is listening”. I thought well I am u...

2 Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse 11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace , and the God of love and peace will be with you. One way to mend your ways and bring love and peace to your organizations and relationships is to use an ideal developed by the late Steven Covey. Emotional Bank Account [1] We all know how our regular bank account works. We make deposits, save up money, and when we need that money later, we withdraw it. An emotional bank account is an account of trust instead of money. It’s an account based on how safe you feel with another person. Covey identifies six ways to make deposits (or reduce withdrawals): 1.        Understanding the Individual . This means listening intently to what the other person is saying and empathizing with how they may feel. It’s important to care for others and act with kindness toward them. 2.      ...

2 Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verse 1-2 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the holy ones throughout Achaia: a 2  grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Here Paul is joining the Greek “grace” to the Jewish “Peace.” [1] THE   MEANING OF GRACE The word ' grace ' (CHEN in Hebrew, CHARIS in   Greek ), as it is used in the scriptures, literally   means ' favour', to bend or stoop in kindness to another as a superior to an inferior. It has the idea of graciousness in manner or action. (Wikibooks) Shalom ( Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם shalom; also spelled as sholom, sholem, sholoim, shulem) is a  Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility and can be used idiomatically to  mean   both hello and goodbye. (Wikipedia) Again Paul is writing to the Corinthian’s about even in times...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 16, Verse 11 Therefore no one should disdain him. Rather, send him on his way in peace that he may come to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers. Paul is talking about Timothy who was a youth. He may have offended the Corinthians in a multitude of ways or people may have disliked him because they disliked Paul but were afraid to openly oppose an apostle. Power struggles are often common even among Christians. I know it came as a great shock to me when I was working at a catholic all-girls school that the nuns in charge had a loathing for the administration at the opposing all boys Jesuit school. We must remember Paul’s advice on charity. If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal and if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I ...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 14, Verse 32-33 32 Indeed, the spirits of prophets are under the prophets’ control, 33 since he is not the God of disorder but of peace . Peace is not maintained in anarchy. Paul is expressing the need for order in church meetings and for rules of order. Paul concludes with specific directives regarding exercise of the gifts in their assemblies and enunciates the basic criterion in the use of any gift: it must contribute to “building up.” Leaders Organize not Hesitate [1] He that hesitates is lost. Yet, to act to quickly is also to be rash. Paul wrote to bring order to a church in chaos. Like our modern world churches can be in chaos when there is no leadership. The Corinthian’s were abusing their gifts and calling attention to themselves rather than to Christ. Paul therefore suggests for them to do everything “decently and in order.” John Maxwell submits that there is a leadership lesson that can bring peace to chaos. Identify and purs...

Focus of the Mass and week: The necessity of charity (caritas) for the eternal wedding feast. 1 Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verse 15 If the unbeliever separates, however, let him separate. The brother or sister is not bound in such cases; God has called you to peace . Paul here is talking about the keeping of your marriage vows. If possible you are to live in peace with your spouse but if you cannot it is better to separate but there is a stipulation you must remain chase and not remarry. We must remember our physical marriage is an sign of our eternal wedding with the Holy Spirit. Peace is the target or mark in a marriage. In the military, units of archers are men who are expert at hitting a mark or target. Sin is the act of violating God's will. Sin can also be viewed as anything that violates the ideal relationship between an individual and God; or as any diversion from the ideal order for human living. To sin has been defined as "to miss the mark" to ...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 1, Verse 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the beginning of Paul’s letter to Corinthian’s and this is the start of the greeting from Paul in which he tells us that by the sacrifice of Christ we now are the recipients of God’s grace and peace. We are all called to be saints and as such we are christened to have the character of Christ. There should be no divisions, immorality and pride with us which leads us to mortal sin and separation from God. Part of the churches mission besides evangelizing is to correct errors in faith and behavior. The goal of the church leaders is that none should die in the state of mortal sin. This is Christ’s wish for us. To remind ourselves of His love and to prepare our hearts and souls for the reception of His body we should get to Mass early enough to say the Prayer of St. Thomas prior to Mass. A Prayer before Mass [1] Almighty and everlasting God, behold I come to the S...

Romans, Chapter 16, Verse 19-20 19 For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise as to what is good, and simple as to what is evil; 20 then the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Not fear but revere!  This is Holy fear which acknowledges, He that is, and that we exist in and through Him by the saving grace of Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit. The opposite of revere is to despise. There are many in our country and world who despise the Lord. How did this come about? According to the US Army Leadership manual [1] followers tend to ask two questions:  1) Is the leader powerful? 2) Does he care about me? Does He care about me? Does He  have power? Yes Yes No Trusted and Respected Feared No Tolerated Despised To get to Holy fear we must know that God has power (thus actin...

Romans, Chapter 15, Verse 33 The God of peace be with all of you. Amen. So be it. This is the joy of the church which is the peace of Christ. How to be joyful [1] If there’s one undeniable fact about human nature, it’s that we all want to be happy. We crave joy—infinite, endless joy. The problem is, we often look for happiness in all the wrong places, leaving ourselves frustrated and miserable. The plethora of wildly popular self-help books shows that we are hungry for guidance on how to live well. One man found the secret of true happiness. His name was St. John Bosco. He was a man who experienced many trials, but who also lived a life full of gladness and joy. St. John Bosco was so happy that he could hardly contain it. “Dear friend,” he wrote to an associate, “I am a man who loves joy and who therefore wishes to see you and everybody happy. If you do as I say, you will be joyful and glad in heart.” So how did St. John Bosco fi...