Advent is the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). If Christmas Eve is a Sunday, it is counted as the fourth Sunday of Advent, with Christmas Eve proper beginning at sundown. The word Advent derives from the Latin word meaning coming. The Lord is coming. We may reflect that every year at this time we celebrate his coming , so that in a sense we can lose the feeling of expectancy and joyful anticipation, because at the end of the season, everything seems to return to pretty much the same routine. If that is the case, then our preparation may have been lacking ... continue reading.

The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace". In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace... continue reading.

Do you know the meaning of Bethlehem? The name Bethlehem consists of two words. The first word is (bayit), the Bible's regular word for house but with connotations of one's family, household or direct sphere of economy. It is also used to mean temple, or place, or depository of certain items. Another name that uses this word bayit is Bethel, meaning House Of God. Please see the name Beth for a closer look at this marvelous word.

The second word of the name Bethlehem is the Hebrew noun (lehem), bread. The Bible uses this word frequently in a much broader sense of food in general (proverbial: Genesis 3:19; Manna: Exodus 16:4; honey: 1 Samuel 14:24), and comes from he verb (laham), eat, use as food. The concept of food is used often in a figurative sense: bread of wickedness (Pr 4:17), idleness (31:27); target of conquest (Numbers 14:9). It is against this broad background that the words of Jesus should be understood: "I am the bread of life," (Joh 6:35); "Give us this day our daily bread," (Matthew 6:11), as well as the bread part of the communion ritual (Matthew 26:26).

So Bethlehem means the ‘House of Bread’! So who is the bread of salvation? Christ our Lord! That piece of bread that you take during communion, the Eucharist (/ˈjuːkərɪst/), also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance. It is celebrated in accordance with Jesus' instruction at the Last Supper as recorded in several books of the New Testament, that his followers do in remembrance of Him as when he gave his disciples bread, saying, "This is my body", and gave them the cup, saying, "This is my blood".^[2][3]. Let people who desecrate the Eucharist, mock and insult the body of Christ be aware. He is the beloved of God, with whom God is well pleased.

Many a time you might have heard people saying, I have never found inner peace, I am looking for God for the past 30 years and so forth. One does not have to seek for God. So to them I say, stop looking for God endlessly. God is there looking and searching for you. He has actually found you but you will deny him, the hard hearted, blocked hearts, closeted minds, the wicked and evil. God always looks for you and looks out for you. People say God does not answer their prayers, he always answers their prayers, he from time to time says ‘NO’, as he has other plans for you, which you will realize until very much later.

Garvan Byrne is a gift from God and I wish to make this gift available to as many people as possible so that you may be as touched as I have been by his story. This little boy found Christ, he did not at all, fear death, he believed. Watch this inspirational story of this child of God. It will touch your soul. The running time is 8 minutes and 15 seconds.



The coming of Christ is predicted. There are many Old Testament prophecies about Jesus Christ. Some interpreters place the number of Messianic prophecies in the hundreds. The following are those that are considered the clearest and most important.

Regarding Jesus’ birth—Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Micah 5:2: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

Concerning Jesus' ministry and death—Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Psalm 22:16-18: “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”

Likely the clearest prophecy about Jesus is the entire 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah 53:3-7 is especially unmistakable: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

The “seventy sevens” prophecy in Daniel chapter 9 predicted the precise date that Jesus, the Messiah, would be “cut off.” Isaiah 50:6 accurately describes the beating that Jesus endured. Zechariah 12:10 predicts the “piercing” of the Messiah, which occurred after Jesus died on the cross. Many more examples could be provided, but these will suffice. The Old Testament most definitely prophesies the coming of Jesus as the Messiah..

Christ will also come at the end of times. It is prophesied. When the Creed says that Jesus will judge “the living and the dead”, it means that he will judge all men — past, present and future. No person will escape his judgment. Since all men are subject to sin (Rom 5), they are all likewise subject to death (Rom 6:23). Even Christ and Mary had to die. Some have interpreted “the living” in the Creed to mean those in a state of grace, and “the dead” to mean those in sin. However, “the living” can also mean those who are still on this earth at the time of the Second Coming. Since all men are subject to death, the most probable meaning is that they will die and be brought before the judgment seat of Christ in an instant.

The judgment of Christ will bring to light who has believed and lived the gospel and who has not. The Gospels make it clear that the believer has already been judged favorably and so has nothing whatever to fear from the particular or general judgment. The particular judgment will give confirmation to the individual that he or she is saved, while the general judgment will be a public manifestation of the power and glory of Christ.

People should refrain from calling others Infidels , as they can be seen as walking on thin ice, very thin!!