#iesus

Being a introverted person I spend a lot of time in my own head, left to focus on my thoughts and feelings. Paradoxically I am also eager to speak with others and have long conversations. The last few months have been tense and it feels like it only has gotten more strained in the last week or so. American politics feels like rot to so many, including myself. It weakens hearts and brings tears to the meek. It's difficult to hear from friends, from people you hold dear, how worried they are. It's difficult to see the news and feel weakened in your power to change things. It is the most difficult when you feel like you can never comfort or be comforted.

However, what keeps me and many others, hopefully you too, is that we are not alone. God loves. Not an abstract concept of God who exists as just energy, nor an impersonal God who does not step foot on Earth, but GOD. The God of Israel, of Mary and Joseph, has set foot on Earth. He has become Flesh, Incarnate as Man.

Jesus Christ is a loving God, the most personable, but we sometimes forget that He lived in a trying time. The Jewish population subjugated under pagan rule, under the threat of being crushed and dismantled by secular powers. Death was very close by. Of course, many saints faced this fate by their Roman overlords. Ss. Peter, Paul, Lawrence, and Clement all died violently. Many likely saw these horrific deaths and thought the faith would die out. An inevitability.

It didn't. The Martyrs were welcomed into Heaven and showered with love and guidance. They joined Christ in the celestial singing and praise. The Church on Earth continued, oppression after oppression, until it now sits as the totality of the world. Forever and ever.

If you believe the world is a place of pain, or if is descending into pain, remember that this is not a game of inevitable failure. Hope is never lost. The world could decline to the lowest point of absolute suffering, but it will inevitably get better. It will rise and things will be okay once again.

Ora pro nobis...

@teatro-magico-solo-para-locos

Was Christ a common name around the time the Bible was written?

No, because “Christ” is not a name; it is a title. It comes from the Ancient Greek word χριστός (chrīstós), which means “anointed one.” The Greek word comes from the verb χρίω (chrī́ō), which means “to anoint.” The word in Greek is used in the New Testament as a calque of the Hebrew word מָשִׁיחַ‎ (māšîaḥ), which also means “anointed one.” Neither of these words were names; they are both, in fact, titles. Nonetheless, because Jesus is so often referred to in the English-speaking world as “Jesus Christ,” many people have come to incorrectly believe that “Christ” is Jesus’s last name.

Ironically, although Christ was certainly not a common name in Jesus’s time—or even a name at all—Jesus actually was an extremely common name. The name Jesus is an Anglicization of the Latin name Iesus, which is a Latinization of the Greek name Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), which is a Hellenization of Jesus’s original name in Aramaic ישוע (Yēšū́aʿ).

I see people buying a lot and celebrating—celebrating what? On the radio, television, and in the newspapers, people count the days until my birthday. It is comforting to know that some still remember me, at least one day a year.

Long ago, people celebrated my birth with understanding and gratitude. Today, many celebrate without knowing why. There is food, decoration, and gifts—but often, I am not invited.

Everything is prepared in my honor, yet the doors are closed to me. People rejoice, exchange gifts, and celebrate, without noticing my presence.

This Christmas, I ask you to let me into your life. Remember that I came into this world and gave my life for you. All I ask is that you believe with all your heart.

I am preparing a great celebration and sending an invitation to you. Will you accept it?

P.S. Know that I love you unconditionally!

JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU

"I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I myself will defend it as My own glory." - Jesus Christ

(On the night of Sunday, 22 February 1931, Jesus appeared to her as the "King of Divine Mercy".

In her diary (Notebook 1, items 47 and 48), she wrote that Jesus told her:

Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: "Jesus, I trust in You". I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish.)