Hello my friends! Peace day here - Nice Mass - relaxing afternoon for me while he watched football, and invited out for supper tonight to our friend's, Ray and Ann. Very nice meal, ribs, potatoes, etc. and we don't do desserts because Ray cannot have anything with sugar at all, so they served some delicious dried fruits - from our Good Earth Food Co-op. It was mangos and pineapple - very smart idea!! They always do something interesting! Sometimes when I have them here, I serve our sliced apples fried and just cinnamon on them, it's like an apple pie without the crust, and still very delicious. We don't miss the sugar. Anyway, we had a wonderful visit, she's a nurse (retired) and I learn something new from her every once in a while. We have a lot in common, we both like to eat organically and try our best at it. They are surely a blessing to us! Got a text from Lori saying she sewed a bit last night, she wants to make a table runner for Darla for Christmas. Her friend, Paula, who is an avid quilter met with her today for more instructions etc. She got her started and helped her with getting her new used Viking portable sewing machine. Wishing a great week for you all filled with lots of wonderful surprises that God has in store for you!
Do not be discouraged if it seems that there is no response to your prayers
at this time. God always responds. Lord, Your wisdom always responds to
my needs with unceasing peace and love and when I listen and give thanks
I am blessed with results that bring goodness to me in better ways than I expect.
Scripture for the day:
"I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God
that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have
been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as
the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you
are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of
our Lord Jesus Christ." ~1Corinthians 1:4-7
Meditation for the day:
The grace of God is an assurance against all evil. It holds out
security to the believing soul. The grace of God means safety in the
midst of evil. We can be kept unspotted by the world through the
power of God's grace. We can have a new life of power. But only in
close contact with the grace of God in its power realized. In order
to realize it and benefit from it, we can have daily quiet communion
with God, so that the power of God's grace will come unhindered into
your soul.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may be kept from evil by the grace of God. I pray that
henceforth I will try to keep myself more unspotted by the world.
"Brighten" The Corner Where You Are
We cannot all be famous, or be listed in "Who's Who",
But every person, great or small, has important work to do,
For seldom do we realize the importance of small deeds
Or to what degree of greatness unnoticed kindness leads.
For it's not the big celebrity in a world of fame and praise,
But it's doing unpretentiously in an undistinguished way,
The work that God assigned to us, unimportant as it seems,
That makes our task outstanding and brings reality to dreams.
So do not sit and idly wish for wider, new dimensions
where you can put in practice your many good intentions.
But at the spot God placed you begin at once to do
Little things to brighten up the lives surrounding you.
If everybody brightened up the spot where they're standing
By being more considerate and a little less demanding,
This dark old world would very soon eclipse the evening star
If everybody brightened up the corner where they are!
- Author unknown
No time to pray?
Prayers are the food of the soul, they open the door to Heaven and they lead us to God.
Prayers are like phone calls to God, they surely get the message across.
Prayers are like arrows that pierce through the clouds, they go straight to Heaven with our petitions and desires.
Prayers are the expression of the soul, they are a private conversation between man and God.
Prayers are not only petitions, they are also adoration, praise and thanksgiving.
Pray without ceasing [1Thess 5:17], pray in the Spirit [Eph 6:18] says St. Paul.
Pray with your mind, but also pray in the Spirit [1 Cor 14:15]
Pray that our God will give you a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation as you come to know Him [Eph. 1:17]
Pray for the sick , pray for one another [James 5:14-16]
Luke 22:46 Pray that you don't fall into temptation
The path of humility
Jesus is the path, since he is the incarnation of humility. But for us mortals, humility must be found in the things we do, in the humiliations we accept and in the littleness we embrace just as Jesus did.
Humility is not about being poor and wearing humble clothes, is not about staying away from riches or power or things of the world since we must live in the world and for some, riches and possession can coexist with humility of heart. However a humble rich man would not count too much on his riches, he would share his riches with the poor in order to follow Jesus.
King David was a very rich man, yet he was humble of heart, even though he committed great sins, he confessed his sins to God and had them always before him, he obtained his forgiveness and lived to love Him.
He pleased the Lord by having a humble and contrite heart.
The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord (Psalm 111:10) . Not fear of his punishment but rather fear of offending him, of losing him or separating from Him. Sin separates man from God therefore man becomes proud and ignores the law of his maker. God does not force his commandments upon us but allows us to fall into sin so that in our humiliation we can come to our senses, discover our pride and repent.
Humility of the heart consists in becoming like Jesus in all our thoughts, words and actions.
We must think humbly, always remembering that God is watching our thoughts (Psalm 44:21), so we must avoid thoughts of impurity, envy and hatred since we may offend Him.
Our words must be filled with charity and understanding, so that we don't offend anyone, remembering that we shall be judged for every careless word that we say (Matthew 12:36)
Our actions must be conducted in the Will of God; in a way we must seek permission from God for everything we do and we should seek his blessing for all our undertakings. We must exercise our free will with humility to avoid doing something offensive in his sight.
The path of humility is a path of self discovery, it involves being over critical of any little thing that may threaten our relationship with God. Humility involves a desire to be like Christ, leaving behind the burden of pride to be free to carry the yoke and the burden of the cross. Humility is submission to Christ which can only come if we love his commandments. The humble man does not get offended by the pride of others who offend him, he will forgive them and resist the temptation of being hurt.
Humility is not so much made up of external actions to obtain praise of other religious people, it is a personal secret surrender to God, a very profound annihilation in the sight of God because we are nothing and God is everything (Matthew 6:6).
In order to be justified by humility, we must acknowledge that we are proud. After all this is the first of all sins, since all sins are committed in our pride (Proverbs 11:2). Pride is the sin that made Lucifer loose his place of honor in Heaven, it is also the poison that destroys all the good we may have gained through humility.
To be truly humble we must need God above all things, we must feel totally dependant on Him, we must be afraid of losing Him, because without him we are nothing.
We, human beings are so far from God as darkness is from light, in fact our natures would repel each other if we didn't have a bridge between us which is Jesus Christ our Savior. Therefore we must spend the rest of our lives considering how to be humble.
And to say it once again, if we think we are humble, that in itself is a proud thought, because there is only one who is humble, Christ himself who said learn from me because I am meek and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29).
It would make us humble to meditate on how little charity we have for others, on how we have harbored thoughts of impurity in our souls to offend the purity of God, on how cruel we have been by crucifying our Savior with our sins or on how much we have loved ourselves depriving God of our love.
You give me strength
Holy Spirit when I am weak, You give me strength to carry on.
You comfort me each time I seek Your loving arms to lean on.
You are the Father that I need. You have the wisdom that I lack.
You give me courage to succeed, when I alone, would have turned back.
I may have crosses in my life, but I will never know despair;
for when I seek you in my strife, I know so well you will be there.
THE BIBLE & THE COAL BASKET
Author Unknown
The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains
of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was
up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out
Bible.
His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in
any way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the
Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do
understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does
reading the Bible do?" The
Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said,
"Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of
water." The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked
out before he could get back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little
faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to
try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he
returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was
"impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket
instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a
basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough,"
and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point,
the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather
that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out
before he got far at all. The boy
scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather
the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that
the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it
was clean. "Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You
might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it
will change you from the inside out.
That is the work of God in our lives.
To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the
image of His son.
Take time to read a portion of God's word each day.
Prayer for healing
O Jesus, we believe in you, we hope in you, and we love you.
Strengthen our faith, renew our hope and love, and grant our prayers.
Touch with your healing love, O Lord, all who feel the hurt of life's wounds.
Long ago, when people prayed to you for healing,
you listened to them, blessed them
and answered their prayer.
Heal us now of our sinfulness and
of the hatred that divides us.
Take away our hardness of heart.
Open our eyes which are often blind to the needs of others.
Remove our selfishness and our greed.
Give us self-control at all times,
and fill our hearts with your eternal love.
O Jesus, we ask you now to heal and bless us,
and fill us with your peace. Amen.
Mary's Peace Prayer
Mary, Mother of God my mother, Queen of Peace, ask Your Son Jesus to
give me the gift of peace. Pray for me for peace; peace in my heart, peace
of mind and of soul, peace in my family, peace with all whom I meet, the
peace of Jesus.
Jesus, my Lord and Savior, my Brother, King of Peace, I come to You
with Mary, Queen of Peace, to ask You humbly for a new outpouring of the
gift of peace. Pour out on me Your Holy Spirit of Peace.
Give me peace, Jesus, peace within myself, peace in my family, peace in
my everyday life. Give peace to my nation, and to all nations, peace among
all peoples, peace in the world.
Jesus, my mediator with the Father, take me to the Father to pray for
peace.
Father, Father of Jesus, our Father, my Father, I come to You with Your
Son Jesus. In Him and with Him and through Him I pray for peace.
--Fr. Robert Faricy, S.J.
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