Hello my friends! Today's blessings - to see Bev's and On the bay's posts - again! Old friends are so special and we don't want to lose them - at all!! It's always a blessing when Lori can come for supper, and she did tonight. She will have a very busy day tomorrow so I offered that Ollie can stay here overnight. He's okay with that. He sleeps in his kennel. He has one here that I bought about a year ago, and his own at home. He likes it. Linus had his first PT appointment today - said it went well, and he has some homework to do now until his next appt. next Tuesday. Prayers are in order for this to be the answer for his healing. And all your intentions are in my prayers too.
If we look to God for guidance, we will not be weighed down by the
circumstances of our life. Lord, free me from the worries that come
to distract me and keep me focused on that which is important.
Scripture for the day:
"One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one
another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, 'Which
commandment is the first of all?' Jesus answered, 'The first is,
'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the
Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and
with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than
these." ~Mark 12:28-31
Meditation for the day:
To truly desire to do God's will , therein lies happiness for us. We
can start out wanting our own way. We want our wills to be satisfied.
We can take and not give. Gradually, we can find that we are not
happy when we are selfish, so we begin to make allowances for other
peoples' wills. But this again dos not give us full happiness, and we
begin to see that the only way to be truly happy is to try to do God's
will. In these times of meditation, we can seek to get guidance so
that we can find God's will for us.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may subordinate my will to the will of God. I pray that
I may be guided today to find God's will for me.
Prayer & Thanksgiving
God, all powerful, most holy,
most high and supreme;
FATHER: holy and righteous;
Lord: king of heaven and earth;
we thank you for yourself,
because by your holy will
and through your only Son
and the Holy Spirit
you created all things,
spiritual and material.
You made us in your
image and likeness
and placed us in paradise,
and we, through our transgression
fell away.
We give you thanks because,
as you created us through your Son,
so by the holy love
with which you loved us
you willed your Son to be born
true God and true man
of the glorious and holy Virgin Mary,
and through his cross and blood and death
it was your will to set us free
from our captivity.
Also we thank you
because that same Son of yours
will come again in the glory of his majesty
to condemn those who refused to repent
and acknowledge you;
and to say
to all who did acknowledge,
worship and serve you in repentance:
Come, you whom my Father has blessed,
receive the kingdom
prepared for you
since the world began.
And because we are all wretched sinners,
unworthy to speak your name,
therefore let Jesus Christ himself,
our Lord and your beloved Son
in whom you are well pleased,
give thanks to you for everything,
together with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
as it pleases you and pleases him.
He always satisfies you in everything,
and through him
you have done so much for us.
Alleluia!
Father, as we rapidly come upon this Thanksgiving and soon to be our holy
season of Christmas, let me pray that You first bring to us quiet and
peaceful hearts. Get us out of the cars and remove us from the malls and
all the senseless clutter of running, shopping, spending, and give us cause
to pause. As we rush into these annual events in our lives, how little do
we
know that for so many of us, we're buying gifts that will never be received,
for some of us this is to be our very last celebration, and for some, we
won't be here to celebrate. Reflect our hearts on the things that count:
one another, loved ones, unfinished business at hand, relationships, both
social and eternal.
I pray the ancient prayer of the chronicler: "If MY people, who are called
by MY name, will Humble themselves, Pray, and Seek MY face, and Turn from
their wick ed ways, THEN will I Hear from heaven, and will Forgive their sin,
and will Heal their land." Father, I pray You, start in this heart,
forgiving and cleansing this life anew, keeping my heart in Your humility,
revealing Your face and will, and continue Your healing in my life, and make
these blessings in me contagious to all whom I know, touch, pray for, bless,
and reach out to help. May I be found faithful and obedient, and You will
take the temple of this body to inscribe Your Name here, forever.
As we descend into the abyss of darkness and death across this nation, place
us on our knees in repentance, conviction, and confession, that we as a
people may receive Your forgiveness and be healed, so You can raise us up to
become Your glory.
I pray You will: heal the sick, feed the hungry, revive broken
relationships, free those in bondages of afflictions, addictions, and
oppression, comfort those in grief and mourning, bring light and life to
the lost, and fit and equip us for kingdom's service.
Keep us humble so we can serve, keep us meek so we can receive, keep us
hungry that we might be filled, and purify our hearts that we can see You to
follow and obey. Thank You for the peace within and the joy without,
drawing all in a desire to know You.
May our hearts be thankful and our lives be fruitful, all for You and the
kingdom's glory. I praise You in my waking up and praise You in my lying
down, so that You will hear and honor my prayer. Thank You for the
privilege of Your presence, the joy of Your hearing, and the certainy and
assurance of Your answering. May this, my prayer, glorify Your Son, in
whose name I pray.....Amen.
And may all the Saints of God declare...Amen!!
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-three students filing into the
already crowded auditorium.
With rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost
as grown up as they felt. Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and moms
freely brushed away tears. This class would not pray during the
commencements
----- not by choice but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.
The principal and several students were careful to stay within the
guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging
speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for
blessings on the graduates or their families. The speeches were nice, but
they were routine
.......until the final speech received a standing ovation. A solitary
student walked proudly to the microphone.
He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then he delivered his
speech.... an astounding SNEEZE!. The rest of the students rose immediately
to their feet, and in unison they said, "GOD BLESS YOU." The audience
exploded into applause. The graduating class had found a unique way to
invoke God's blessing on their future ... with or without the court's
approval.
Food For Thought
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Thanksgiving….a good time to ask myself, what am I thankful for? Even
better, whom should I thank?
Often it looks like it's a person who deserves our thanks. Sometimes
we think circumstance gets the credit. Yet ultimately, everything we
have is a gift from God. Even who we are is a gift from God. God uses
people and situations to bring His gifts to us. He alone is the Great
Gift-giver. It is good to know Who to thank.
Today, we gather for the Thanksgiving Day as a sign of our love and
gratitude to the Almighty God. We remember the reasons to be thankful
– our freedoms, our families, our parents, our spouse, our children,
our friends, our homes, our jobs, our clothes, our stuff, our health,
our life itself and the many gifts we have received from God– although
our lists may be different our feelings are the same. We should also
take time to thank our brothers and sisters who have served our
country and thank the brave citizens who continue to serve our
nation. They are the reason we can celebrate this holiday.
As we prepare for this day of thanksgiving, we pause to reflect on all
of our blessings and successes. Thank you for the great job we do
everyday.
Let us not forget, however, to include a special thank you to our
families, relatives, friends, and people whom we loved. We want to
also thank all of our wonderful parishioners who dedicate their time
and resources, talents, abilities and God-given gifts they shared with
their fellowmen and women.
We praise God for this Thanksgiving Day, for the abundant blessings
and mercies He has poured forth upon us, for the greatest gift of life
He has given us. May God continue to bless our country as a refuge
for people from all corners of the earth and from every faith. May He
strengthens us in our trials and held us up in the face of adversity.
He has granted us this beautiful and bountiful land, filled with the
fruits of freedom, worship, and hard work.
In this harvest time, as we gather together on the table with our
family and friends, we give thanks to our Lord, the giver of life. May
this be a reminder for us to be humble in our abundance and to
remember the sacrifice of our forefathers. May their example inspire
us to be generous and hospitable to others especially the needy and
poor of our communities.
Dear Lord, please send Your grace upon those who are not with us at
this Eucharistic table, especially those serving our country, and
grant them the comfort of Your love. Thank You Lord.
HELEN STEINER RICE'S 10 COMMANDMENTS
1. Thou shalt be happy.
2. Thou shalt use thy talents to make others glad.
3. Thou shalt rise above defeat and trouble.
4. Thou shalt look upon each day as a new challenge.
5. Thou shalt always do thy best and leave the rest to God.
6. Thou shalt not waste thy time and energy in useless worry.
7. Thou shalt look only on the bright side of life.
8. Thou shalt not be afraid of tomorrow.
9. Thou shalt have a kind word and a kind deed for everyone.
10. Thou shalt say each morning - I am a child of God and nothing can
hurt me.
God's Hand
Sometimes...
We must be hurt in order to grow;
We must fail in order to know,
We must lose in order to gain.
Some lessons are learned best
Only through pain.
Sometimes...
Our vision clears
Only after our eyes are
Washed with tears.
Sometimes...
We have to be broken,
So we can be tender,
Sick so we can rest and think better;
On things more important
Than work or fun;
Trip near death,
So we can assess how we've run.
Sometimes...
We have to suffer lack,
So we can know God's provision,
Feel another's pain,
So we can have a sense of mission.
So take heart, my friend,
If you don't understand today,
Instead of grumbling,
Ask God what He means to say,
In order to learn you must endure,
And learn to see the bigger picture.
In order to grow, you must stand;
Look beyond the hurt
To God's loving hand
That takes what is good,
And gives what is best,
And on this blessed thought, rest:
As your anxious heart,
With questions, waits,
God's hand only gives
What His loving heart dictates.
Sometimes the Lord calms the storm;
Sometimes He lets the storm rage...
And calms His child.
Better the storm with Christ...
Than smooth waters without Him.
Pass this encouragement on...
- Author Unknown
Meditations by Padre Pio
The Lord points out and calls, but we do not want to see and answer because
we prefer our own interests.
It also sometimes happens that because the voice is always audible, we no
longer hear it; but the Lord enlightens and calls. It is man who puts
himself in the position of no longer being able to hear.
Mother Teresa Said...
Vocation, for a Christian, is Jesus. Our means, how we spend our time, may
be different, but it is still our love for Jesus in action.
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