Inspiration

I attended Mass this morning at Saint Maria Goretti's in Arlington TX. Just a side note you can attend Mass pretty much every day of the week, how awesome is that? There is a cool website and app that lets you enter your zip code and it will show you where you can celebrate Mass that day, check it out  here. When attending Mass you not only hear the Scriptures preached and expounded but you also celebrate the Lords Supper or what Catholics call it, the Eucharist! If you attend Mass every day you will hear almost the entire Bible preached in 3 years! I've found that attending daily mass is a great way to abide with the Lord and focus each day on what matters and that is eternity! If you've never been to a Catholic Mass, I encourage you to check one out sometime!

But getting back to this morning, during the Mass the Priest mentioned that today, September 9th is the day in the Churches calendar that we celebrate the life of Saint Peter Claver. The priest mentioned how much this saint has meant to his faith and how he feels a special connection with this saint. He went on to explain how this priest from Spain travelled to Columbia in the 1600's as a missionary. While in Columbia he was shocked at the cruelty of the slavery that was practiced. The slaves that were brought from Africa were treated so poorly that he was moved with compassion to spend the rest of his life ministering and caring for the needs of the slaves. It is said that he personally baptized over 300,000 slaves in Columbia during his ministry. When a wealthy plantation owner would invite him over they would offer for him to sleep in the main house but he would refuse, stating that he preferred to sleep in the slave quarters with the slaves. You can read more about Saint Peter Claver here. 

Saint Peter Claver had a deep faith and love for Jesus that made him love and treat the slaves as if they were Christ himself. He understood that by loving the least, he was loving Christ. I pray that Jesus would grace me with that kind of faith and love. The Church teaches that I can also ask Saint Peter Claver himself to pray for me to the Lord. It would be like me asking a brother or sister here on earth to pray for me when I have a prayer request, well as Christians we don't believe that death is final, we believe that our spirits live on and that the saints are in heaven in the presence of all mighty God and that they can and do bring our prayers before the Lord. Check out this passage is Revelation chapter 5 verse 8  "the twenty-four elders [the leaders of the people of God in heaven] fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" For more information on the intercession of saints check out this website. 

 As believers in Christ, we are all one big universal family. This extends to not only believers that are living but also those that have gone to glory. We are all called to pray, love, and care for one another. We are Christ's Mystical Body here on earth! What a blessing it is to be part of this universal family. This family has members from all different denominations, cultures, ethnicities, socioeconomic background, political parties, etc. etc. etc. I'm truly grateful that the Lord has opened my eyes to see the beauty of his church, may we all strive to build it up and care for one another.

God Bless,

James