Rediscover Mercy... part 3

As we go into the final days before Christmas, I hope you are feeling the joy, peace, love, and excitement of finishing the tasks of buying presents, sending letters, making food, having time with family, but mostly for Jesus to come. For Jesus to be present in all we are doing... seeing Him work in our daily tasks, serving Him as we help each other, sharing His love with all those we meet, praising Him for His goodness and hope He brings.
Today at Mass, the homily was about a journey. The journey of Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem. What was that like for Mary and Joseph? 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which took them a week, as Mary was 9 months pregnant and had to go slow. What was going through her mind? Did she know all that her son would bring to this world? There had to be so much unknown, so much uncertainty, but yet she had so much trust in God. Abandoning her plans, and letting God's purpose and plan work through her life. Who helped them along the way? Maybe there was a little girl that walked with Mary to give her company and help the journey not seem so long. Maybe there was a man that gathered all the wood for the fire, so Joseph could stay and care for Mary. Maybe there was an elderly woman that gave them water to drink and food to eat along the way. And then there was the innkeeper who gave them a stable and manger for Jesus to be born in. All little random acts of kindness that helped the Holy Family along their journey. We each are on a journey, and each of our journeys are different. I hope we all want our end journey to be with Jesus in heaven. But maybe along the way, we can help each other by doing random acts of kindness to those we know, and to strangers around us. Sharing the water of grace with each other. As they challenged us in church this morning, I want to challenge you too, try to do a random act of kindness to a stranger this week as we make the final preparations for Christmas, for Jesus' birthday!

Day 16-- I Thirst
Day 17-- Counsel the Doubtful
Day 18-- Classroom of Silence
Day 19-- Made for Heaven
Day 20-- The Greatest Lesson
Day 21-- How Do I Know
Day 22-- God wants your Heart

And my favorite passage from this week's reflections is this.... Let God love you, and that love will radiate to each person you meet!