So it is finally Advent, which means it is a new church year. So happy New Year, Mother Church. Happy New Year, Bing Crosby. Happy New Year to you all. What I love about Advent is that the church teaches us that we experience three Advents and three comings of Christ. He comes in the past. Jesus is also coming in the future. But the third Advent is that Jesus always desires to come into our hearts in the present moment. This is excellent news, especially going into Advent, that we can concentrate on something other than Jesus coming in the past. We don’t always have to worry about Jesus coming in the future. What is genuinely set in our hearts by God is to allow him into our hearts in the present moment so that we can be with him now.
He doesn’t want to wait until the second coming. He wants to be present with us now. And who does he want you to be now? Happy Advent, Merry Almost Christmas, and Happy Church New Year. This is Spirit Juice. Peace.
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A Christian Arsonist
So I was just accused of being an arsonist. A student just sent me a message with this AI image of myself, saying, “Thank you for setting the university on fire with Jesus.” Jesus says in the Gospel for this Sunday, “I have come to set the Earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing.” Jesus was in no way a mediocre person. You are not called to be a mediocre person. You are called to let Jesus set your heart…
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God Stays
So, two couples I’m preparing for marriage chose this Sunday’s Gospel for their wedding. So, I asked both couples the same question: “Why did you choose this reading?” Couple number one responded, “Yeah, we chose this gospel because it was the shortest option.” And I was like, “Bruh.” The second couple replied, “We chose this gospel because God wants to remain with us…
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The Holy Name of Jesus
So, the coat of arms in my archdiocese is epic. It shows a phoenix, which is a symbol of resurrection. And on the chest of the phoenix is the IHS, which is the holy name of Jesus. And so, in the first reading for this Sunday, Saint Peter, our first pope, heals a man by the holy name of Jesus. He can heal because of his name because Jesus’ name is mighty. In the Old Testament…
