​Dearest Eucharistic Family,
 
Happy and blessed Thanksgiving. Our Church, always on mission, is moving into another liturgical season. Together let us enter into Advent by the heart of Mary. She will help us draw our strength from the Eucharist, the only place to escape the imminent tribulations.
 
Recently after receiving holy Communion, I went back to my pew, kneeling in prayer; I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Reminiscing in my mind the beauty of creation, the blessing of my life, family, friends, and the privilege to go to daily Mass and receive JESUS.
 
Let us be in conversations of love during this upcoming Advent Season, in contemplation of prayer and silence to hear the voice of God. As our love grows, trust is secured, and a steadfast spirit will rise. Through our reception of Holy Communion, in spite of our lowliness, we begin to see what God sees in the light of the sacred mysteries. Time spent in the True Presence of the Eucharist enlightens us to understand the scriptures, the Word of God. By grace, the Word penetrates the silence of our souls. It lives in the mystery of our existence; quiet time this Advent will draw us into the depth of the gift God hopes for us to receive this Christmas. 
 
To be vigilant, love is necessary; to love someone is to ignite a flame in our hearts. As we prepare for Christmas, we are preparing to love more, to find the Christ child, and learn from His humble life.
 
Jesus’ presence among us glorified Our Father in Heaven; it revealed an exaltation of love, an echo from above resounding into our souls, with the Holy Spirit to guide us. 
 
Love inspires vigilance. In preparation for Christmas, it is customary in our time to give gifts of love. The perfect gift for those we love to express our profound gratitude for their presence in our lives. A gift for Heaven may be time spent in prayer to give thanks for the desire to learn how to share. To be responsibly stewarding in our families and communities.
 
What is the greatest Christmas gift you have ever given?
 
What is the greatest Christmas gift you have ever received?
 
My cousin’s husband had a brain tumor many years ago and needed surgery during Advent. My three little cousins would not receive gifts that year since their dad was ill. I was working as a hairdresser at the time, and one of my customers, a teacher, was moved with compassion as I shared about my cousin’s illness. Miraculously toys were collected through the vigilance of this lovely teacher—people of goodwill came forth. My cousin’s family was embraced with love, “hearts that speak through love in conversations of love (above quote).” 
 
The greatest gift I have ever received is the birth of my daughters. Whether we are spiritual parents or physical, or both, the gift of love for those we nurture to grow is beyond telling. God is revealed in the most miraculous way when a child is born. Eyes opened wide, recognizing voices they have heard in the womb is an expression of wonder, a reminder of the expectation of Christmas. We are birthed into the family of God by baptism, and the Sacraments give the voices we have heard in the womb a vigilance of spirit, the City of God living in us.
 
We are blessed year after year to grow in God’s grace through the Advent Season. Jesus asks us to be vigilant (Luke 21:34-36), to gain strength, and to live in an exercise of love; this will renew our spirits. Gifts are to be given and received, an exchange of love poured out.
 
Saint Peter Julian Eymard lived on earth by the heart and by the hand of Mary. This relationship nurtured him to become a Gift of Self and led him to the founding of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Advent blessings!  

One of the recurrent little challenges of married life for us is finding a movie or TV show to watch together, something we would both enjoy. If you look at the streaming history for my husband’s account, you will find plenty of history themes… war documentaries, epic battles, kings, and empires. On the other hand, if you were to look at my streaming history, you would find period dramas, but those that focus more on the individual characters, their stories, their losses, and their loves. My interests have always focused more on the individual rather than the whole. But compromising and watching some of the epic stories he likes has taught me about things I did not understand before.
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My husband has always been an avid student of History; myself, not so much. This is one of the reasons I have always had a harder time than him relating to Christ as our King. I didn't really have a proper idea in my mind of what a king is supposed to look like, of what it is they are supposed to do. The Kingship of Christ always seemed like a foreign concept to me. Yet, every year, the Church brings this to my attention when we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. Every year, I've had to grapple with the question, what does this mean for me?

​One thing that I have come to realize is that this is one devotion where our two different approaches can actually meet. The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe… that is the big picture. 

​All things are made subject to him. 

This is the part where He speaks directly to me. I might not have a very good grasp of what might go on at the level of cosmic battle or even worldwide kingship, but I know what it is to feel a battle within my own heart. A battle of good vs. evil, of love vs. selfishness. I know what it is to want His Peace to rule my heart.

This is what the Solemnity of Christ the King means to me. Each year I am invited to spend some time assessing the areas in my life where I still have not given up my own ruling. Those are becoming easier to identify as His Peace rules more and more in my life.

A few years ago, as an extension of a devotion that had been growing in my heart since childhood, a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we decided to consecrate our family by participating in an Enthronement to the Sacred Heart. 

At the time, we did not fully grasp what it meant to place Jesus as the King of Our Family, as the King of Our Hearts, but with childlike faith, we entrusted our most precious possession into His Most Loving Heart. This was a conscious decision on our part. A realization that, though we fall short often, our desire is to allow Him to fully reign in every aspect of our lives.

And you know what happens when you give Jesus permission to come in and take charge? He takes you at your word. Gently, perfectly, through happy times and sad, little by little, you find that you truly belong to His Heart. And, as beautiful and consoling as knowing that Jesus is in me, ruling more and more of my heart, His Kingdom doesn't stop there. It doesn't stop at our family either, for we are all connected, part of the same Body. We know that one person's sin affects many; we have all experienced this in our lives. If sin has effects outside the individual, imagine how much more effect GRACE has.

​When our home becomes a stronghold for the Kingdom of God, it becomes a source of grace for all. Each domestic Church, even with all our failings and shortcomings, is called to be a beacon of light, a refuge for sinners, a place where Love reigns and Truth shines. Each of our homes, beginning with each of our hearts, becoming those places where the King can rest His head for a while. 

And when the world asks, Who is this king of glory? Where will we point them to, but to the live-beating Eucharistic Heart? This is the One they seek, yet they don't know, just like this is the One we seek, but we forget.

Let us then open up the gates of our hearts and let the King of Glory in. Let Him take possession of every aspect of our lives… Let His Eucharistic Kingdom reign, and His Peace rule our hearts.

Whenever I am given a task, I take it upon myself to try to be efficient, yet I was raised to be thorough. These two things are sometimes at odds, but they should not have to be. In order to be expedient, we are often tempted to take shortcuts that minimize our effort and increase our efficiency, yet that sacrifices our thoroughness. This is not a good compromise, for a job done quickly but not thoroughly might not fulfill the expectations of the taskmaster.
 
In our spiritual life, rather than efficiency, it is thoroughness that is asked of us. Our honest and faithful effort is the main measure by which we are evaluated. When we take a shortcut, we may miss some of the learning opportunities presented by the path; there is a reason Christ Jesus spoke about entering through the narrow gate.

If we choose the short and easier way, we are short-changing our tasks and failing to give our all. We end up missing the opportunities to grow that the full journey provides for us.
 
There is a process for every task and a reason for every process. Following the process allows us to follow a well-threaded path that is proven to get us where we need to go. Our Church is like this; it provides us access to the narrow gate. It helps us navigate the fullness of the path, and it stands with us along the way. To live the Eucharistic life means putting in the effort to know Christ, living the sacraments, and sharing in thanksgiving with our brothers. It means that sometimes we go out of our way to care for one another, even when it is difficult.
 
The path to sainthood does not have to be a lonely journey; it is, in fact, preferred to navigate it in the company of our brothers so that we may all together testify for each other and support each other.

We depend upon our brothers to help us complete the journey. They also depend upon us to help them with all that we have and all that we are. Dishonesty on small tasks may also lead to dishonesty on large tasks. Let us not take shortcuts. Let us experience the path to its fullness, for we know Who the path is.

Jesus, our Lord, did not do anything halfway, but He always stuck to the process. Jesus always waits for us to state what we need and then asks us to do what is required, like in the healing of the leper from the Gospel of Matthew.

After the healing, He asked the leper to present himself to the priests. The life Christ Jesus lived while on this earth is an example that shows us there are no shortcuts on the path to Heaven. There is always something that is required from us; our willingness to follow His path and do what is necessary to the fullness of our ability and with our most honest effort. Let us approach Him who loves us, with faith, and follow His lead.
 
Let us pray: Father, help us and guide us that we may grow firm in our faith in You. May all our efforts be done in accordance to your will for us. That we may endure and absorb all your lessons, that we may follow Your lead and that of your Holy Church on the path to Heaven. Amen.