Community Chat

[gloriajean]

The moment of absolute certainty over decisions made never arrives, so make
your decision and move on. Lord, grant me wisdom and confidence in making
my choices and the ability to recognize when new decisions need to be made.

S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No
good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly."
~Psalm 84:11

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y

God is good. We can often tell whether or not a thing is of God. If it
is of God, it must be good. Honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love
are all good. Unselfish helpfulness is good, and these things all lead
to the abundant life. We can leave in God's hands the present and the
future,
knowing that only God is good. God can bring order out of chaos, good
out
of evil, and peace out of turmoil. We can believe that everything
really good comes from God and that God shares God's goodness with us.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y

I pray that I may reach out for the good. I pray that I may try to
choose the best in life

Greetings to you all!! Hope you all had a good day! It looks like we are going to get more snow again overnight - so maybe Linus will call off his family get-together over here for the Kritchswurst that was planned. I told him I'd much rather have him make plans like that when the weather is warm and we can use the patio. That makes more sense to me rather than trying to make plans and the snow will make you cancel. Today Linus went to visit his cousin with his brother and sister - they do this about every couple of years. I called my cousin, Marilyn tonight and she told me that she's planning us cousins to get together to out to a restaurant - Karen, fell and hit her head about a year ago, she still has problems. She was my Maid of Honor. Her younger sister, Shirley, I just found out fell out a float on a parade and had to be in the hospital, but she told Marilyn she's as good as she's going to be now, but she's better than Karen. Karen is a beautician and she was doing hair at a Nursing Home when she missed a step and hit her head. I don't know if she still does hair there or not since then. It will be good to get together again. Oh, and they want Fr. Jerry to go along! He's willing to, too! He'll be blessed among women! He's our cousin, too. Marilyn will pick him up and me. Now Karen just had surgery, so we have to wait until she's okay to go. Well....I'm not going to make my quiche I was planning to tonight to be in the fridge overnight. In case it has to be cancelled, I won't bother with it. If they still come and the snow isn't that bad, I'll make potatoes.

Homily of the Day


February 19, 2011


Reconciling with our Brothers and Sisters
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Lv 19:1-2,17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48

My brother and I are now reconciled. But, to be honest, it wasn’t that way for many years into my priesthood. I carried a grudge because of something that happened. How did I get over it? There was a specific way I prayed that I want to pass on to you today. You see, I knew as a priest, especially, that I needed to bless my brother. But because of the anger in me, it was very hard. So my prayer went like this: “God, you bless him, because right now I can’t!” As strange as that may seem, I believe it was a prayer that God honored. It was not only recognizing my need to bless my brother, but it was recognizing my anger at him and asking God to heal me even as He blessed my brother. Over the years I found myself less angry at him. Then, much to my surprise, he told me one day that if and when he gets married, he wants me to do the ceremony. Answered prayer.

In the book of Leviticus, Moses lays out for us today how we are to treat our brothers and sisters. The lack of strength that exists in so many families today contributes to the problems that are magnified in our society around us. If we want a just society… if we want a Christian society… if we want a society we can live in with genuine peace and security, we need not only to forgive our brothers and sisters, but plead with God that we may be reconciled in heart ourselves.

Unanswered Letters

There are many times when we begin a certain task that God lays on our hearts and because we think our efforts are minimal and not making a difference, we quit the job that God told us to pursue.

The enemy loves to plant seeds of doubt and lure us into thinking that we are not capable of making a difference in this world, but with God's help we can overcome and fulfill the destiny that God has for every believer.

If you are going through a situation of doubting your task unto the Lord, then I hope this story will bless and encourage you to never quit what God has laid on your heart because you may never know of the lives that you are touching.

I read of a man who was involved in a tragic accident. He lost both legs and his left arm and only a finger and thumb remained on the right hand.

But he still possessed a brilliant mind, enriched with a good education and broadened with world travel. At first he thought there was nothing he could do but remain a helpless sufferer.

A thought came to him. It was always nice to receive letters, but why not write them--he could still use his right hand with some difficulty. But to whom could he write?

Was there anyone shut-in and incapacitated like he was who could be encouraged by his letters? He thought of men in prison--they did have some hope of release, whereas he had none--but it was worth a try.

He wrote to a Christian organization concerned with prison ministry. He was told that his letters could not be answered because it was against prison rules, but he still decided to commence this one-sided correspondence.

He wrote twice a week, and it taxed his strength to the limit. But into the letters he put his whole soul, all his experience, all his faith, all his wit, and all his Christian optimism.

Frequently he felt discouraged and was tempted to give it all up. But it was his one remaining activity, and he resolved to continue as long as he could.

At last he got a letter. It was very short, written on prison stationery by the officer whose duty it was to censor the mail.

All it said was: "Please write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from cell to cell till they literally fall to pieces."

No matter what your situation may be like, you still have the ability to encourage someone who is discouraged and lift up someone who is feeling low.

Take this story as an encouragement to give your all for someone else and do not worry about the results. No good work will go unseen and only God knows of the impact that your life can have on someone else.

Let us not do our good works so that we may be praised, but let us do good works so that others may be lifted up and God be praised because of our intervention.

The only thing that we can take with us into eternity is what we have done for the Lord. There are no bank accounts in heaven to show how much your net worth was on the earth, but there will be accounts in heaven of what you did to show your life as an example in leading others to Him.

- Author Unknown

Chamber of Prayer

Lord God take me there
Where You and I can share
Our innermost thoughts in prayer
With all my problems bare

For as I seek Your face
You lift me with Your grace
You surround me with Your light
And give me renewed sight

Lord God take me there
Where You and I can share
Your Kingdom yet to come
And the love we have for Your Son

The peace and calm You give
Almost seems unreal
Then I remember the place
You've brought me with Your grace

It is when You take me there
To that secret Chamber of Prayer
And expecting a miracle there
You show how much You care

Lord God gently lead me there
To that secret Chamber of Prayer
Shower me with Your fountain
Miracles in answered prayer
- Author Unknown

Blessings
God bless those I love
(say the name(s) of those you love)
And all the people in the world
The sick, the poor, the needy,
The hungry, the homeless,
The lost and the lonely
Show them Your presence, oh Lord
Let them know You love them
Help us to love You, to respect You
To honor You and to obey You
All the days of our lives
We ask You this through Jesus Christ,
Our Lord, Amen

Short Meditation

Nourish His Word

Let God, through His Spirit, plant the seed of His Word in your heart.
Then give it the water and the nourishment it needs.

— from To Be Like Jesus

SIX POINTS TO HELP YOU IN YOUR MEDITATION

1. Read the suggested Scriptural text slowly and reflectively the evening before; let the words settle in your whole being and become part of you. This remote preparation is conducive to prayer because the Word of God rests in the subconscious mind and conditions you for a personal meeting with Jesus the next morning.

2. Choose a place and posture for prayer which is relaxing. Taking a sufficiently long period of time to settle down and feel relaxed. If you concentrate on your breathing you will find it a good means of relaxing.

3. Be aware of the presence of God. As you breathe rhythmically pronounce the name of Jesus deep in your heart, not with your lips. This will prove helpful in bringing you into the awareness of His abiding presence.

4. Take up the Word of God and read it reflectively with frequent pauses to ascertain what message the Lord wishes to convey to you. Let it speak to you, a word, a phrase, an expression at a time. Rest with it. Let it sink into your whole being. Let it find a home in your heart.

5. Pray by listening and responding with love. Be for God and let Him be for you. Rest in His presence. A lover longs to be in the presence of the one he loves. God loves you and you love Him. Hunger for His presence as you await His personal message for you. Then respond to Him in love and gratitude as the Spirit moves you.

6. You will find it rewarding to keep a spiritual journal (a brief account of the highlights of your hour or prayer). A rereading of your journal from time to time will deepen the experience you enjoyed in prayer. This repetition will be extremely beneficial for your spiritual growth.

The Little Girl and her pearls

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box..

"Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself.. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."


"Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gave me. She's my very favorite."

"That's okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you.."

"Then give me your pearls."


"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one.. Daddy loves you."

And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style.

As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here daddy, this is for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny .....

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.

God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

Closing Prayer:

God Be With YOU
May God's peace and joy be yours
and stay with you throughout each day;
May you walk in faith believing that
all good things He sends your way.

May you never cease to thank Him
for the blessings you've received;
May your faith keep on increasing
more than when you first believed.

May you find some time each and
every day to study His word and
pray;
Faithfulness is necessary to follow
closely in His pathway.

The rewards He gives are plentiful
when we give to Him our all;
And we know the answers to our
prayers will come when on His name
we call!

We have His blessed assurance when
we put in Him our trust;
And we know when God is with us,
no one can stand against us!
~Helen Johnson~

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams! My wish is for everyone to sleep well tonight - and that includes Darla. Keep remembering her in prayer so she can sleep without sleeping pills. May you all have a very blessed Sunday - see you then! I'll let you know if we got a lot of snow!