O Beloved, we are in the last week of Christmas. We have journeyed through Advent and the Holy Night. We have experienced the joy of the birth of Jesus and the songs of the angels. Glory to God in the Highest! We have savored the light of Epiphany and the gifts of the Magi. God has lavished us with wonderful gifts of love. We celebrated Mary as the Mother of God and our Mother. Now we experience the gift each and every day of this new year. The last day of Christmas happens to be the first Sunday of Ordinary Time also.

This Sunday we will celebrate the Baptism of Jesus when he was plunged into the waters of death. When the sky was torn open and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove upon Jesus, we held our breath. Then we heard the voice of God shout out in joy, “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased!”

What amazes me and causes me to sit in awe and wonder is that Jesus will eventually call all of us his brothers and sisters! That means we are sons and daughters of God. God desires and longs for each of us to call Him “Father.” Have you thanked God for such a gift? Hallelujah!

I was looking at Susi’s blog and saw how she dances with God, the Lord of the Dance. Susi gets it. Creation is a gift and we must be great stewards of this source of our life on earth. We are all interdependent on each other. Plants and animals feed our physical bodies, but they also feed our souls. There is something about looking into the eyes of a dog or huge blue whale. A walk on the beach or a hike up a mountain is the best therapy in the world. The purr of a cat triggers another dimension in our souls.

As we begin this year, let us wonder at what God has prepared for us. Let us join in the dance on this Earth that will carry us into heaven.

I wrote the following in my “cell” at Prince of Peace Benedictine Abbey in Oceanside, California back in January of 2006.

When we die, we are created in the image of God.

What will heaven look like, feel like, taste like, and smell like?

God came to the world like one of us and as one of us.

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Jesus walked this earth.

He ate and danced with us.

He laughed and drank wine.

He had friends and enemies, a mom and dad.

Jesus was tender and got angry.

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If Jesus calls us to follow him, isn’t it possible,

we will be with him always in worlds not even fathomed?

Will Jesus send us by twos?

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Will we continue to love those who abuse us, mistreat us, and reject us?

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Beloved, if we know that God loves us, and this is unquestionable because God poured love into every fiber of our existence, then God is molding our Spirit, Body, Mind and Soul into His divine image.

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Before our soul departs from our earthly body, we must do as Jesus taught us, showed us, endured for us. We must love without cost and beyond imagination. We must say on our cross what he said:

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“Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”

“Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

“Woman, behold your son, son your mother.”

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

“I thirst.”

“Father into your hands I commend my spirit.”

“It is finished.”

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As stewards, we must give everything, and I mean everything to God. Power, pleasures, positions, possessions and relationships are all from God. We must utterly trust God and give up our spirit. We can only survive if we TRUST THE BELOVED totally.

As in Psalm 131, we must rest in our mother’s arms,

enjoy our childhood in heaven,

be patient learning about the world of Heaven,

and grow in wisdom, understanding ,

knowledge and judgment that is holy

Let us be reverent and courageous

And let us Wonder and Awe in the presence of God’s glory,

beauty and magnificence of Heaven and Earth

You see, if we rise like an astronaut and look at the puny world,

We begin to understand…

it dawns on us

that there is so much more to come if we only hear these words from heaven:

“You are my Beloved Child, with whom I am well pleased.”

And all we did was call out,

“Abba, Father!”

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Praise him all children here below!

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

All Creatures

All the Time!

God is

I AM

Wonderful

Counselor

Magnificent

Lord

Great

Almighty

Love

Beloved

Love

If God is for us, who could possibly be against us?

Why wait until we die?

Let us live in God’s radiance and beauty now!

God who loves us

Gives us life

Breathes on us His own life

“Receive the Spirit”

“Receive my Peace”

“Receive my forgiveness”

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made

I see the stars; I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul……ooh, wow, o my beloved God!

Love, joy, peace,

Father Ron Moses +

www.tearinthedesert.com