Which “Master” Am I Serving? – Sweet Tweets for 12/19/14

In his tweet for this week, Pope Francis sent a message that is helpful to remember during the busy Christmas season:

Today, as I worry about Christmas presents to purchase and holiday parties to dress up for, I’m asking myself if I’ve misplaced my priorities, if I’m serving the wrong “master”. While my intentions for gifting may be “good”, have I given in to the lure of treating this holiday season as a commercialized endeavor?

Fortunately, I still have a good bit of Advent to enjoy before launching into Christmas. I plan to spend this weekend reestablishing and reinforcing my priorities.

and remmbering that God is my master.

I’m grateful to my friend John Clem, O.F.S. for serving LL of us in 2014 with a full year’s worth of remarkable news recaps. John, I rely on you every week to bring me up to date on all that I have missed. I’m so grateful for your commitment to this project, and–as always– for this week’s Sweet Tweets. See you in 2015!!

• Papal Tweet:  “The Lord put it clearly: you cannot serve two masters. You have to choose between God and money.” (Pope Francis Dec. 18th)
• This Christmas Story by Children Will Put a Big Smile on Your Face – an Unexpected Christmas (GodVine) ow.ly/FN7r7
• Is Heaven Open to Animals? (Fr. James Martin, S.J. – America Magazine) ow.ly/FOlah
• Video: Witnesses to consecrated life (CNS) ow.ly/FOlLR
• A kneeling Santa Claus: One powerful image (OSV) ow.ly/FP62q
• Welcome to Advent – Our Lady of Guadalupe (Holy Land Franciscans) ow.ly/FP7NI
• Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church faces possible ban 25 years after legalization (Vatican Radio) ow.ly/FQxHJ
• Mark’s Gospel and the Victory of God (Fr. Robert Barron – Word On Fire) ow.ly/FP8dE
• Year of Consecrated Life (Holy Land Franciscans) ow.ly/FP7ng
• Angels We Have Heard on High (ThePianoGuys) Christmas #ShareTheGift – YouTube ow.ly/FP6Li
• NEW: USCCB launches Daily Readings in Spanish Online ow.ly/FVkmc
• Photos: Advent Stations at St. Dominic’s in Washington DC (Dominican House of Studies) ow.ly/FSEuV
• Haitians still rebuilding five years later (CNS) ow.ly/FVmSm
• Sydney archbishop: Darkness of siege cannot overcome Christ’s light (CNS) ow.ly/G33kt
• Pope sends Christmas greetings to prisoners (Vatican Radio) ow.ly/FRHkP
• 1916 WWI Military Rosary Inspires New Combat Rosary (OnePeterFive) ow.ly/FSzT0
• CNS STORY: Kerry asks Vatican for help in relocating Guantanamo detainees ow.ly/FYSZ3
• HISTORY: Pope Francis credited for urging U.S., Cuba to normalize relations (CNS) ow.ly/G3DPp
• Cuba, US: how the Holy See was behind the scene for 50 years :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/GaJ3T
• Vatican probe ends with an olive branch for American nuns (John Allen – Crux) ow.ly/FYD5A
• Apostolic Visitation Final Report of Institutes of Women Religious in the United States of America (USCCB) ow.ly/FYDTN
• A High Quality of Life (Fr. James Martin, SJ – America Magazine) ow.ly/FYTpx
• Pope at Angelus: Jesus is our joy – celebrating Gaudete & Bambinelli Sunday (Vatican Radio) ow.ly/FRHCx
• Bambinelli Sunday at the Vatican: Pope Francis blesses thousands of Baby Jesus (Rome Reports) ow.ly/FVMIJ
• An early Christmas present: Pope Francis to meet man serving life sentence :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/G37gj
• Check It Out: Franciscan Christmas Catalog by Franciscan Friars Holy Name Province ow.ly/G3rMq
• Lives Lived Before Sunrise (Elizabeth Duffy – Patheos) ow.ly/FW5k6
• Global Franciscan leader reveals impropriety; order’s finances at ‘grave risk’ | National Catholic Reporter ow.ly/GaEUY
• Video: Hearing the call to vows (CNS) – Year of the Consecrated Life ow.ly/G00yc
• Paul Smith using just a typewriter creates incredible art #motivationmondays (Franciscan Media) ow.ly/FVj0Z
• 15 Vintage Photos of Nuns Doing Normal Things (Mental Floss) ow.ly/G0a0O
• Website & App: Tour the birthplace of Jesus Christ – Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem 3D (Jerusalem.com) ow.ly/FVFR5
• Catholic New Media Conference in Atlanta June 7th 2015 w/ Eucharistic Congress on June 5 & 6 (SQPN) ow.ly/G3H13
• Stephen Colbert’s Top 12 Catholicest Moments (Busted Halo) ow.ly/FWkaT
• Discover Sr. Cristina’s New Videoclip, “Blessed Be Your Name” (Aleteia) ow.ly/FYEFs
• Ellis Paul – “Mary, Mary” Official Music Video – YouTube ow.ly/G01sZ
• Satire: St. Joseph’s Church Christmas Mass Spectacular | Saturday Night Live | NBC ow.ly/FSqC1
• Happy Birthday to Pope Francis — 78 years young on December 17th ow.ly/i/7YjdI
• Tango Flashmob in St. Peter’s for Pope’s Birthday (Aleteia) ow.ly/G3Ixu
• Flash – Pope Francis treats homeless to new sleeping bags (France 24) ow.ly/GaV9d
• Week of Prayer for Christian Unity January 18–25, 2015 (Holy Land Franciscans) ow.ly/GaK16
• ‘The Colbert Report’s chaplain’, James Martin, S.J., on Colbert the catechist (America Magazine) ow.ly/G8CuU
• Singing the rosary with Dominican Sisters of Ann Arbor, Michigan (CNS) ow.ly/GaLQ6
• U.S. Catholic Filipinos say pope’s visit to their homeland will bring hope (CNS) ow.ly/GaN0H
• Year in Review 2014: Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington DC ow.ly/GaLoM
• Flash – Pope Francis treats homeless to new sleeping bags (France 24) ow.ly/GaV9d
• NASA Can See Your Christmas Lights From Space | Mental Floss ow.ly/Gbyph
• Video: This is what our Friars do during the holidays in a Cincinnati Mall (Franciscan Media) ow.ly/Gbzbk

John Clem, O.F.S is the Director and Media Minister at Catholic Web Services (http://catholicws.com/). John is a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order, and loves to share his talents in faith, technology, and journalism in service to the church.  John also writes a blog entitled Call To Holiness  (http://www.calltoholiness.us/). Follow John on Twitter at @Catholicwebs, on Facebook and at Google+.