KNOW LORD JESUS

 Men had committed many sins and evils; so they could not go to Heaven. But God had pity on them and He wanted to save them.

So He sent an angel to a very holy girl called Mary who lived in the town of Nazareth. Mary was betrothed to a very good young man named Joseph. The angel appeared to Mary and saluted her: “Peace be to you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!”

On hearing these praises Mary was perturbed. So the angel continued: “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus. "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God.” Then Mary said to the angel: “I am a virgin. How, then can this be?” the angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you and God’s power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary; “may it happen to me as you have said.” At that moment Mary became the mother of Jesus who was to save people from their sins and open Heaven to them.

 Nazareth was a small town in the country called Palestine. At that time Palestine was a part of the Roman Empire. One day the Roman emperor  gave an order that all the people of his empire should be registered. Everyone had to go to the place of his family and there enroll his name.

Mary and Joseph belonged to a family coming from a little village called Bethlehem. To reach that village they had to walk three full days.

The journey was very hard. It was winter. Mary and Joseph suffered much on the way. When they reached Bethlehem they were very tired and looked for a shelter for the night. But no one wanted to give them a place. Then they left the village and went into the countryside. There they found an old abandoned stable, where they stayed.

 When Mary and Joseph had entered the stable, it was time, as  fixed by God for the birth of Jesus. This was the greatest moment in history: the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, true God, comes into this world as a little baby born of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

How happy was Mary, when she beheld in her arms the little child, Jesus! But there was no proper place to lay Him. There was only a manger, a kind of wooden basket where people put the grass for the animals to eat. Joseph cleaned the manger and put some straw into it. Mary gently laid the child on the straw. Then they knelt on the side of the manger, gazing at the little Jesus and adoring Him.

The night was getting colder. The chilly wind blew through the holes in the walls. The little Jesus suffered from the cold, but he did not weep. He thought of us and offered His suffering in order to save us.

 The night when Jesus was born, some shepherds were watching their flock. Suddenly an angel appeared to them and told them: “Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day, in David’s town your Saviour is born – Christ the Lord!”

When he had spoken these words, many more angels appeared and sang the praises of God, saying: “Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom He is pleased!” Then they went back to Heaven. The shepherds went with all haste to David’s town, Bethlehem and after some searching found the stable. They entered and saw Mary and Joseph and the Child lying in the manger. They understood that the little Infant was truly Jesus the Saviour. O happiness! They beheld with their very eyes the Saviour whom the world had been expecting for centuries. They knelt down respectfully and adored Him. They offered Him what they had: some white wool, some milk, or perhaps even a lamb.  Then they returned to their flock, giving praise to God.

 If you had been living before Jesus Christ and had been told that God would come down on earth, what would you have thought? Very likely the following: He will be born of a famous queen, in a beautiful palace. He will be clothed in rich silk clothes and lying in a golden crib. He will have a necklace of the finest pearls

Go to Bethlehem and look! Where is the beautiful palace; the golden crib? There is no rich silk clothes, the rich necklace: we see only an old stable. The walls and the roof are full of holes; on the floor some dry and rotten grass. The Child Jesus is lying on straw in a rough manger.

If Jesus had wanted he could have been born in the richest palace, but Jesus wished to be born in a stable. Why so?  To teach us a great lesson; we must be detached from money and riches. This means that we must never commit any sin in order to seek money. Even if they gave you a thousand rupees, you must not tell a lie. Promise this to the Child Jesus.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a bright star appeared in the East. Some wise and learned kings saw the star. They guessed that the Saviour was born and decided to find Him to adore Him. So they prepared for the journey and a little later started off, riding on their camels.

The star shining in the sky was going ahead and they followed it in search of Jesus till they reached the town of Bethlehem. There the star stopped over the house where Jesus was. They entered it and found Mary holding Him in her arms. How happy they were to have found Jesus at last, the Savior of the world! They knelt down respectfully, prostrated themselves on the ground and adored the Divine Infant. Then they offered Him some presents: gold, incense, and myrrh. Jesus did not talk, but just smiled at them to show that He was pleased.

God had given an order that every first-born boy in every family should be offered to Him in his temple. To show that the child belongs to God, the mother had to give something to take back the child; they had to give a lamb if they were rich or a pair of doves if they were poor. Joseph and Mary were poor; they offered a pair of doves.

During the ceremony, there came to the spot a very old man called Simeon. For more than fifty years he had been praying that the Saviour of the world might soon come. When he saw the Child Jesus in the hands of Mary, he recognized in Him the Saviour.

He lovingly took the Child Jesus in his own arms and began to praise God, saying; “Now, Lord, you have kept your promise, and you may let your servant go in peace. With my own eyes I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles (other Nations) and to bring glory to your people, Israel.” 

When Jesus was twelve year old, He went with Mary his mother, and Joseph his foster father to the Temple of Jerusalem, on the occasion of a great feast. When the feast was over, Mary and Joseph and all the pilgrims left Jerusalem to go home. But Jesus without saying anything to them remained in the town. He went to that part of the temple where learned people were explaining the sacred books.

Mean time Mary and Joseph were on their way back to Nazareth. It was only in the evening that they notice that the Child Jesus was not with them. They looked for him everywhere, but could not find Him. So early next morning, they went back to Jerusalem and found Jesus having discussions with the wise men. Mary said to Him: “My Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried trying to find you.”

Jesus cast a glance of affection at his mother and sweetly replied: “Why did you look for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” He meant to say that God in Heaven was His Father and that His first duty was to serve Him.

For many years Jesus lived with Mary and Joseph in a small house in the town of Nazareth. Joseph was doing the work of a carpenter. Mary did the household work, keeping the house clean, cooking the food, stitching clothes or doing some weaving work. Jesus was sometimes helping Mary, sometimes Joseph.

It was the happiest family in the world, because it was the holiest. All were trying their best to do God’s will in everything. Mary and Joseph loved Jesus and were working very hard for Him. In His turn, Jesus loved Mary and Joseph. Not only did He obey them joyfully but He tried to please them, by rendering them all kinds of service. Neither a hard word, nor a shout was ever heard in that home. All was joy, peace and happiness. Every morning and evening they spent some time in prayer. This was for them the happiest part of the day.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived together happily for many years. Now Jesus was no more a small boy, but a grown-up man capable of earning a living by His own work. One day Joseph fell seriously ill and peacefully died, assisted by Jesus and Mary.

After the death of Joseph, Jesus and Mary remained alone in the small house of Nazareth. Jesus continued the work of a carpenter. He is true God, the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth, and yet for thirty years, he led a hidden life working with his own hands like any ordinary workman.

This shows us that true greatness does not consist in doing extraordinary things, but in doing the will of God in everything. Work, if done for God, is something great and noble.

After the death of Joseph, Jesus lived for some time with Mary. He was now about thirty. The time appointed by His Heavenly Father to begin preaching was at hand. He left his town, his sweet home, his beloved mother.

Not for from the river Jordan, there was a wild desert. No man could live in it. All was dry and barren. There was nothing but long stretches of sand, sun-beaten rocks, deep ravines and dark caves. Jesus went into that desert and he remained in that awful solitude for forty days, quite alone.

During all these forty days and forty nights Jesus remained fasting, not eating anything whatsoever. He spent the whole time in prayer. Just see the picture. Jesus is kneeling, absorbed in prayer. He does not even see the wild animals passing near Him. So Jesus, by prayer and penance, prepared Himself for His work of preaching to men, of saving them for heaven.

Jesus left the desert and went back to the river Jordan. As soon as John the Baptist saw Jesus, He told the people around him: “There is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” On hearing this, many people followed Jesus. Especially some of them gave up everything, to be always with Him. These were His disciples.

Soon after, Jesus went with them to a wedding feast in the town of Cana and also His mother was there. During the feast they ran short of wine. Mary told Jesus about it. In the hall there were six big water pots made of stone. Jesus told the servants to fill them with water. When they had done so, He only said: “Now draw some water out and take it to the person in charge of the feast.” It was no more water, but wine. Jesus had changed the water into wine. This was His first miracle.

Jesus remained in Jerusalem for a few days more. There He preached and worked miracles. One night a certain Nicodemus who was afraid of speaking with Jesus during the day, came to see Him at night: “Master, we know that you are a teacher sent by God. No one could perform the miracles you are doing unless God were with him.”

Jesus then explained to him that in a person there are two lives; the natural life or the human life, which we receive when we are born and the supernatural life or the divine life which we receive at baptism when we are consecrated to God through water and receive the Holy Spirit of God. By this life we become true children of God and become capable of going to Heaven. 

Jesus also told Nichodemus: “God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die but have eternal life.”

In the North of Palestine there is a big lake called the Lake of Galilee. One day Jesus entered the boat belonging to Peter and began to preach from the boat to a multitude of people gathered on the shore. When he had finished speaking, he said to Peter; “push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch.”

Peter answered: “We worked hard all night long and caught nothing.” It was like saying: “It is of no use to fish now, we won’t catch anything now.” But Peter full of faith in Jesus added: “But if you say, I will let down the nets.”

Peter and his companions did so, but when they pulled up the net, it was so full of fishes that the net nearly broke. All the fishermen were amazed at this wonder. Peter threw himself at the feet of Jesus and said: “Go away from me, Lord! I am a sinful person!”

But Jesus said to him: “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will be catching people,” meaning: Peter will have to help Him in His work of preaching to people.

During the time of Jesus there were many lepers in Palestine. To prevent the disease from spreading, the Jews had made a rule that no leper should enter any town or come close to anyone. If lepers met anyone on the way, they had to warn him of their presence by shouting “unclean.” People would never allow themselves to be approached by any leper, but would rather keep themselves at a distance.

One of these poor lepers had heard of Jesus, that he was a wonder-worker and especially that He was very kind to the sick. He was sure that Jesus would not turn away from him like others. So he went up to Jesus, prostrated himself before Him and besought Him: “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean!” Jesus was moved with pity. He stretched out His hands and touched the poor leper kindly, saying: “I do want to, be clean!” At that very instant the leper was completely cured. No trace of any sore was left; the skin looked quite fresh and natural.

One day Jesus was preaching in a house. Just then some men brought a paralytic on a stretcher. They wanted to get near to Jesus so that He might cure him. But they could not even reach the entrance of the house; the crowd was so great. Then they carried the sick man to the roof of the house, and made a hole through which they let down the sick man. Jesus on seeing the faith of those people told the sick person: “your sins are forgiven, my friend”. Some of the enemies of Jesus thought within themselves: “Who is this man to speak such blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!”

They had not spoken out a single word; still Jesus knew their secret thoughts and so He asked them: “Why do you think such things? Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or say, ‘Get up and walk’?” The enemies of Jesus did not know what to answer. Then Jesus continued: “I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, pick up your bed, and go home!” The man immediately got up, took up his bed and went away, praising God. All the people cried out: “What marvellous things we have seen today.”

In Capharnaum, there lived a Roma army-officer, commanding a hundred soldiers. He was very good and even built a house of prayer. One of his servants was very sick and on the point of death; so he sent some of his friends to Jesus to ask Him to cure the servant. So Jesus went with them. When the officer saw Jesus was approaching his house, he hurriedly ran out to meet Him and said: “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house; neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me, I order this one, ‘Go!” and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard these words, He was very happy. Filled with admiration for the faith of the officer, he turned to the people and said: “I tell you, I have never found faith like this even in Israel!” Then turning towards the officer, He told him: “Go home, and what you believe will be done for you.” The officer went home and found his servant perfectly cured.

Jesus was going to a city called Naim. As He was approaching the gates of the city, He saw a funeral procession. They were carrying to the cemetery the dead body of a young man who was the only son of his widowed mother. The mother was following close to the bier. She looked extremely sad; tears were flowing down her cheeks. Jesus on seeing the poor mother was moved with pity. With a look full of kindness, he told her: “Do not weep.” He went up to the bier and put his hand on it. Those who were carrying the bier stood still. Everybody turned towards Jesus. Then with a firm voice and an accent of authority, Jesus simply said: “young man, I say to you arise.” The dead man arose, sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus with a loving gesture and a kind smile gave him to his mother. At first the people were all overcome with awe. Before their very eyes a dead man had been brought back to life. But soon they broke out into praising God, saying: “A great prophet has risen amongst us; God has visited His people.”

Jesus said:

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth.

Blessed are they who weep, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

By these eight sentences Jesus taught us eight lessons: (1) Not to love riches but to be detached from earthly things; (2) to check our anger and to be meek; (3) to accept patiently the trials and sufferings of life; (4) to have a great desire for justice and holiness; (5) to be merciful and kind and to forgive injuries; (6) to be perfectly pure even in thoughts and desires; (7) to promote union and peace; (8) to be ready to undergo persecution for the sake of justice.

Those who practice these things will be happy.

Jesus said: “They are the blessed”.

Jesus pointed to some birds that were flying about and said: “See the birds of the air; they do not sow, they do not reap; but your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of greater value than the birds? Do not be anxious about food or drink. Trust your Father in Heaven.” Then he pointed to some lilies of the field. If God clothes so beautifully the grasses of the field, how much more you, men of little faith” Jesus added: “Do not be asking; what shall we eat? How shall we find clothing? Your father in Heaven knows that you need all these things. Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and the rest will be given to you.”

The disciples of Jesus saw Him often going up at night into the hills to pray alone. They saw the joy that shone in His face when He came down in the morning as if refreshed and strengthened.

On one such occasion they came to Him and told Him; “Lord, teach us to pray.” Then Jesus answered; “When you pray, say: ‘Our Father in heaven, holy be Your Name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Do not bring us to the test but deliver us from evil.”

Then Jesus added: “When you pray, you must forgive men the wrong they have done to you so that your Father who is in heaven may forgive your sins also. If you do not forgive, your Father who is in Heaven will not forgive you your sins either.

Peter then asked Jesus: “If others do me wrong, how many times must I forgive? As much as seven times?” To this Jesus answered: “I tell you that you must forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven” (namely always). To make this point clear, Jesus told a story: There was a great king. One of his servants owed him a great some of money. As he could not pay it back, the king ordered him to be sold as slave. But the servant told the king: “Have mercy on me,” The king was moved with pity, remitted the debt and allowed him to go free.

On going out, that servant met another servant who owed him a very small sum of money. He took him by the throat and said: “pay me all that you owe me” But the fellow servant begged him: “Have patience, I’ll pay you all.” But the servant had no pity and had him cast into prison. When the king heard it, he called him: “Wicked servant, I remitted all your debt; it was your duty to have mercy on him.” And the king handed him over to the soldiers to be punished. And Jesus added: “It is thus my Heavenly Father will do with you, if you do not forgive one another with your whole heart."

Jesus also said: “I tell you, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who persecute you and insult you. If you only love those who love you, what title has you to reward? Even sinners do so. It is your enemies that you must love and do them good. Then your reward will be great in Heaven.

“Before bringing a gift to the altar, first be reconciled with your brother. Do not judge and you will not be judged. Give to him who asks. Lend without any hope of return. Do to others all that you would have them do to you.”

At the end Jesus added: “Whoever hears my commandments and fulfils them is like a wise man who built his house upon a rock. The rain fell and the floods came, but the house did not collapse. But whoever hears my commandments and does not fulfill them is like a fool who built his house up on sand; the rain fell and the floods came and the house fell to the ground.”

Jesus saw certain people who were proud. They thought themselves better than others and despised them. So Jesus told a parable. Two men went to the temple to pray. One of them walked up to the front, stood upright and began his prayer: “I thank You, O God, that I am not like the rest of men; they steal, they cheat, they tell lies; but I do nothing of the kind. I do fast twice a week; I give plenty of alms. I thank you also, O God, that I am not like this man behind me.” That man had remained behind. He did not even dare to look up towards Heaven. He only beat his breast and said: “O God, be merciful to me; I am a sinner, pardon me.”

Jesus then added: “The prayer of this man was pleasing to God and he went home pardoned; but God was not pleased with the prayer of the first. He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus meant to say that God does not like the proud, those who think themselves better than others; those who only praise themselves and try to be praised by others. But God loves those who are humble and He will bless them.

Jesus had preached the whole day to the crowds on the shore of the lake of Galilee. In the evening, he told his disciples: “Let us go across the lake.” They all entered a boat and started.

Jesus was very tired. He was lying down in the boat and soon fell asleep. Suddenly a violent storm arose. Big waves rose up high above the boat and filled it with water. The disciples tried to bale out the water, but their efforts were fruitless. More and more water entered the boat and it was on the point of sinking.

The disciples were scared. They rushed to Jesus, woke Him up, crying: “Master, You do not seem to know that we are in great danger… see we are perishing… save us.” Jesus stood up and rebuked the wind: “Silence, be quiet, and to the sea He said: “Peace…be still.” At once the wind dropped and the waves died down. The sea was calm again. Jesus then looked at the disciples and rebuked them for their lack of faith: “Men of little faith, why were you afraid?” The disciples were overcome with awe. They could only say: “Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

Jesus did many miracles. Once as he was passing in the streets of a town, two blind men were sitting on the roadside, begging. They heard a crowd approaching and asked what it was. The people answered them that Jesus was coming.

So they began to cry aloud; “Jesus, have mercy on us.” The crowd rebuked them and tried to hush them up; but they cried all the more; “Jesus, have mercy on us.” Jesus heard their cries and asked that the two men be brought to Him.

The blind beggars jumped to their feet and groped their way, guided by the crowd, to the place where Jesus stood. Jesus asked them: “What do you want me to do for you?” Each of them answered: “Lord that I may see.” Jesus questioned again “And do you believe that I can do that unto you?” “Yes, Lord, we believe it. ”Then Jesus bent lovingly towards each one in turn. He touched their eyes and said: “receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” The two blind men were cured. They followed Jesus, praising God and all the people joined in the praises.

Jesus also told many parables to show that he loved sinners. He did not want them to be lost, but to be converted and be saved.

A man had a hundred sheep. One of them got lost. The man at once left the other ninety-nine to go in search of the lost sheep. He looked into every hole to see whether it had fallen into it; he examined every bush to see whether it had been entangled. Finally he found it in the bush; its fleece had been caught in the thorns. The man did not beat the sheep; he did not even scold it. Gently he removed the branches and the thorns, placed the sheep on his shoulders and went home full of joy. On reaching home, he called his friends together and said: “Rejoice with me; I have found my sheep which was lost.”