Humbly submit your will to God and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.”  LK 4:16-30

Jesus Christ is not another prophet.  He is the Messiah. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Isaiah was prophesying about the Messiah in which Jesus read in the synagogue that day.  This is one of many prophesies that Jesus the God Man fulfills (around 100).  His mission, to save us, show us God’s love, and be a model of holiness for us to follow.  He was not accepted in his hometown, no prophet was. Joseph, a poor carpenter, certainly could not raise the Messiah in his own home.  Mary, a simple woman who said yes to God (Fiat), could not possibly raise the Messiah.  Once again, the Jews of Nazareth are thinking in human ways instead of God’s ways.  God can do what He wants with whomever He wants if they are open to His call.  We may not be called to be the Messiah, but through God’s mercy we exist and have a role to play in the Church today.  We, too, are called to holiness in this place and in this time according to God’s plan. God’s call requires trust, humility, and an open-mind.  His call does not require you to be rich or poor, healthy or sick, or a certain ethnicity.  You do not have to have be a certain height, weight, or pretty.  You do not have to have certain qualifications or a specific job.  You do not need to have a certain social status or be popular.  In your heart, you just need to believe in God, trust in Him, and give your “Yes” to Him like Mary and Joseph everyday.  He will do the rest.

Today’s challenge: Start thinking in God’s ways instead of human ways.  Recognize that God has called you to be holy in this time and in this place to change the world.  How much?  It depends on what God’s call is for you and how much you are willing to give up of yourself so God can fill you up with Him.

Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO