A Christmas Message From Jesus

As given to "Anne", a Lay Apostle.

December 21, 2006

Jesus

I am Jesus. I am God. I am complete in Myself. I am present in your world and I am present in heaven. You see, I am omnipresent. Even if you wish to, you cannot remove yourself from My presence on earth. I created earth. You might say the earth belongs to Me. All in it, are also My creation. You, dear beloved one, were created by Me. Do I say that you belong to Me? I say it in another way. I say, I want you to belong to Me. I want to possess your heart. Why do I use the word heart when truly it is your soul that I seek? I use the word heart because people characterise the heart as the place where people hold the love they possess. If you have love, people say you have it in your heart. The heart is known as the source of love and the receptacle of love, so I, Jesus, tell you that I want to possess your heart. When it is all simplified, as it should be, I am saying that I want you to love Me. I love you. There is no problem there. I love you today and I will always love you. A difficulty we have is that you do not know Me. The only way for Me to teach you to love Me is for Me to reveal Myself to you, to allow you to know Me. For that reason, I come to you today. I reveal Myself to you through these words and through the graces attached to them. If you read these words and sit in silence, you will begin to know Me. If you begin to know Me, truly, you will begin to love Me. Forget anything that tempts you to move away from these words and graces. Rest. Be with Me. Allow Me to teach you about Me.

Jesus

In your world today, there are many claims of goodness. Some of these claims are true. Some of these claims are false. I, Jesus, am never present in lies. I do not rest in falseness. Truth has a pure feel to it and truth does not change. If you want to find truth, look back over time and see what claims of truth have persevered. What are the things that were true two thousand years ago? You will find them if you look to see what has persevered through the ages. Two thousand years ago, it was true that I came to bring salvation. Today, that is still true. I came then and I come today. I come for your salvation. I come so that you will be saved. I come so that where there is falseness, where you are being deceived, I will be present with My truth.
Two thousand years ago, there was evil in the world. Today, evil persists alongside good. Does this mean evil is good? Has truth changed? No. Just as truth never changes, so evil does not change. Evil simply changes its disguise. I, God have not changed My character. When you first know someone, you know a few things about them. As you get to know someone better, you learn more. Over time and with consistent interaction, you begin to know someone well and you can then say that you understand that person.
I want you to understand Me. I am truth. Truth is Me. To know Me, Jesus, you will have to know what is true and what is false. I will teach you this but it is not something that I can teach you all at once. Truth, in its great depth, must be absorbed gradually. For this reason, I invite you to keep company with Me. If you do, I will teach you all you need to know to distinguish between the truth in your world and the deceit in your world. I will teach you to separate good from evil at a glance. I am the great Teacher, the Divine Teacher. With Me comes the light necessary for instant instruction on any given topic. You may say, "Give it to me all at once God. If You are who You say, You can do that."
You are correct. I could do that, such is My power. But you, My friend, are not disposed to accept such an experience because My truth is all about love. Your little heart must be expanded first. We have to make room for all of this truth, which is filled with love. I want you to embark with Me on a journey. Walk with Me. Allow Me to draw you into your soul, into the mystical nature of yourself. Come to Me there so I can introduce you to the great truths about your family, the family of God. You will find such acceptance there. When you rest in My gaze in your soul, you will understand about love. You will, at the same time, understand about heaven, your ultimate home. I am calling to you now and I know that you hear Me. Come to Me. Stay with Me. Give Me the briefest chance to reveal Myself to you.

Jesus

As I draw you into the mystical nature of yourself, I draw you into My heart. My heart and your heart belong together. When you are with Me, you feel calm and accepted. You feel oneness with others because you experience community in your soul. If I am with each man as I am with you, then you are connected to each man through Me. Do you begin to understand the family of God? I love every man created. I have a good plan for every man created. This is My truth and, as you recall, I can never be where there is deceit. If I have a good agenda for every man created, and I have a good agenda for you, you are safe with Me and all mankind is safe with Me. Connected to Me, each man will serve his time on earth in mystical union with every other man and in mystical union with all of the saints in heaven. We are all connected. After this time of service, each man connected to Me comes home to Me and home to the family that loves him, awaits him, and welcomes him. There is no bad will on heaven's side. There is only acceptance and truth. I have such hope for you, My friend. All of your gifts originate in God and are an outgrowth of God's goodness. If you learn to understand Me, you will learn that I want to use your gifts to create harmony in your soul. When you use your gifts and energy for My purposes, you will benefit the whole world. It must be so because I have said it is so and I can speak only the truth. We are all connected. Would you like to benefit the world? Truly, you are capable of this and this is My plan for you. I have so much to give to you in terms of knowledge and wisdom. Teamed with Me, you will flourish and grow to heights you never dreamed possible. Rejoice, man. You are resting with God, the God of All. This God tells you today that you are loved and needed.

Jesus

Follow this path that springs up before you. Come to Me. Turn in My direction and I will reveal this path that I want you to take. You will feel lightness in your Spirit, a relief. You will feel calm. Inside there will quietly burst forth a bud of hope. This bud will blossom, have no fear. The hope you feel in your soul is nourished by the time you spend with Me, seeking truth. I will see to it all. I need the smallest, even the most tremulous willingness. You are hesitant to believe in Me. I know that. I understand everything that has gone before this moment in your life. Remember that I have all universal truth available to Me. In that respect, am I not a valuable person for you to know? Could you admit that I am possibly the most valuable person you could ever know? If you knew of someone on earth who had all truth about everything, who understood the purest facts and possessed the cleanest, most pristine vision of reality imaginable, would you not seek out this person's company? If you were wise, you would do so. If you were a man who desired truth, you would do so. If you were weary of lies and falseness, you would do so. My friend, if you seek truth, you must come with Me. If you seek acceptance, you must come to Me. If you want to be loved, you must rest in My heart because it is the only place where you will find the perfect security you crave. I am with you. I will never leave you. You could not escape My presence, even if you wanted to. You may as well get to know Me better so that you can decide whether you will reject Me or accept Me. This is the ultimate choice that will be yours. Just as you cannot escape My presence, you cannot escape this choice. It is yours. I want you to consider your options.

Jesus

My friend, this is between you and Me. By 'this' I refer to both this conversation and your ultimate decision of whether to accept Me or reject Me. When you are asked to make an important decision on earth, you consider your options. You take time and weigh both sides. Perhaps you waver between one course and another. I want you to consider both sides of this decision. If you accept Me, you will have entry into the most loving and secure family of all. If you accept Me, you will have security for the rest of your life in that I will lay out the course in front of you, guiding you, protecting you, and never leaving you. If you accept Me, you will come to heaven in triumph, bringing with you the great benefits that your cooperation secured for your family. You will walk in truth and in calm. Your life on earth will not suddenly become easy, but it will be filled with God's peace and God's grace.
If you reject Me, you will continue on, vulnerable to the deceit of My enemy. You will delude yourself at times, thinking that you are wise. Perhaps you will feel superior to many of your brothers and sisters, but I tell you today, in all of My truth, that the most humble one in heaven holds all of God's mysteries in his soul. You will not be privy to these mystical realities if you reject Me. How could you be if you did not want to be?
I conclude with the greatest truth of all and that is that I do not force My children to choose Me. I do not force humanity to work for heaven. If I did, we would not have a family, but a master and his slaves. No. This is not for Me and this is not for you. The heavenly kingdom would not be the heavenly kingdom if it were not filled with willing and beloved children. Everyone in heaven works for each other in great joy. Everyone in heaven works for our family members on earth in great hope. As you read these words, there is great hope in heaven that you will choose Me, Jesus Christ, and embark upon the journey to truth. It is here for you. I have truth and I have a course laid out for you that will bring you to this destination.
I repeat the most important truth of all. I love you. I will take care of you. Choose Me and I will begin to reveal Myself to you. You will know peace, My friend. You will know security. You will know joy for all eternity. This is your inheritance and I am your God. Allow nothing to divert you from the truth that I am Jesus Christ and I love you. I come today to announce Myself to you and to save you. Come. Trust Me. Be with Me. I will protect you.

Pictures of an Ancestral Church

A newly-discovered cousin of mine in Australia emailed me the following pictures. These are photos of the parish church and countryside surrounding Hohen Sprenz, Germany, the ancestral home of my Schmidt line of ancestors. My great-grandfather, John Schmidt, was baptized in this church in 1865, as were many generations of his ancestors. To see Hohen Sprenz on a map, click here.









The Johann Schmidt in this list of war dead is a relative. These are men from the village who died fighting Napolean's army in 1813.




This is the school in Hohen Sprenz.




This is a view of the surrounding countryside.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I admit that one of the things I love about the Advent and Christmas season is that our television gets dethroned. To put up a tree, something has to give, and I seem to make sure that each year it is the TV. This year it may be a bit more permanent. As we do not have cable and receive only one channel well here in our valley, we really do not watch much television beyond the news. So, the TV is mostly in use for video watching. But on our main television, the built in VCR has gone kerfluey. It is now in the entrance hallway so that weather forecasts can be checked. Then I salvaged one of the tvs left by our former renters (see this post) which essentially only plays videos. That is up in "the play room" right now. Which means we have a peaceful first floor and that the talking box is out of sight, out of mind for the kiddos during the day.

The peace and happiness this brings me makes me wonder why I didn't think of it sooner.

By the way, I also want to be self-congradulatory (in the nicest way, of course), regarding my accomplishment yesterday. I overcame a long-standing fear of car batteries and learned to jump start our car with our electric charger. And I may need to do it again tomorrow to get it to the shop to replace the switch that keeps our dome lights on longer than needed -- hence draining the battery!

A New Look

I'm experimenting with a new hair look. I've been feeling like a bit of a sheep dog with my thick hair flopping down. It's one thing when my hair is curly, but in winter, it's not so easy. This is "old hair"





This is "new hair".

Basically a pony tail in the back and a braided pony tail in the front swept up for a little "puff".

I'm used to seeing myself with lots of hair, but it's hard to organize that lot sometimes.

Retreat

Yesterday, I participated in a retreat sponsored by the local Catholic homeschool support group. I wanted to record a few bloggable bits and insights that I picked up throughout, in one way or another.

* "You are not the victim of your frustrations; you are the creator of them." Frustration comes when you meet something that blocks your way, but you insist on banging your head against it and persisting in going your way anyway. The answer comes either in going a different way, or maybe just waiting. Ask Jesus "What do You want me to do now?" when an occasion that could turn frustrating arises.

* If you question whether Jesus cares about the details of your life, you need to meditate on a crucifix. If I doubt His love, He would say to me, "Woman, where is your mind?!?" Imagine how Jesus feels when He went (and goes) to such extreme lengths to prove His love and still we are not sure.

* Take First Fridays and First Saturdays seriously. There are many aspects of Catholic life that I don't at all deny, but have never lived with purposeful seriousness. These are two examples. I go to daily Mass almost every day of the year, but observing First Friday and First Saturday means more than going to Mass on these days. I need to re-appreciate things that have seemed "too devotional" or perhaps quaint to me in the past. Jesus because Jesus or Mary spoke promises or concerns centuries or decades ago doesn't mean they aren't still valid. Probably they are all the more valid than ever before.

* I really do know in my knower when I've taken in all I can. I need to trust that and be willing to act on it.

* I need protein to keep me ticking.

It was so beautiful to have four hours with lots of silence. I do regret not bringing a notebook (or at least a pen!!) with me.

The Serenity Prayer

I received this by email today. The second half makes quite a statement.

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

New Advent

Here we are, the first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of the new liturgical year. If you are anything like me, Advent has gone by in years past as one of those seasons where you knew you were supposed to be preparing spiritually somehow for Christmas, but really it was just a nebulous idea of doing different things in prayer, different types of readings during the liturgy, an advent wreath, and of course all the stuff you do to get ready to celebrate Christmas.

I don't know that I can put any of this in words just now, but I am getting a completely new sense of Advent this year. If you are Catholic and pay attention to the readings at Mass on Sundays and during the week, you know that the Church emphasizes the end of the world, Jesus' return in glory nearly as much as the time of His birth during the Advent season.

I continue to read the Volumes from Direction for our Times, and the graces continue to flow into the rest of my life. Perhaps it is still too fresh to have words for, but I am sensing the connection between preparing for the last days and preparing for the birth of Jesus. Quiet. Meditation. Prayer. Calm. Love. Trust. Watching. Alertness. Wholly given over to the desires of the Holy Spirit, not carried away in "drunkeness, carousing and the anxieties of life" as today's gospel said.

There is some way in which the Church now is to be like Mary, to bring forth Jesus into this world, completely in the power of His grace.

Our family tradition for the Sundays of Advent, which we are observing for the third year in a row now, is to have "picnic" food, eaten in the living room with the light from the crèche and the Advent wreath, before prayers. The darkness and light make quite an impression on the little ones. And tonight, it all made quite an impression on me, as well -- the need for calm, simple preparations, how little we can do in the dark, how drowsy it makes us. But how good it is to praise Him who is Light.

Right now it's ineffable, but not nebulous.