Friday's Positive Thread

gloriajean — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 06:29:44 GMT

Keep your heart clean by constant spring cleaning. Then there will be a
place
for beauty and peace. Lord, help me to remove carelessness and disrespect
from
my heart and in all things may I celebrate Your love for me.

Scripture for the day:

"Those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the
cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things
come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones
sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit,
thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." ~Mark 4:18-20

Meditation for the day:

If I have a singleness of purpose, I can do my part in God's work. I need
not let material distractions interfere with my job of improving personal
relationships. It is easy for me to become distracted by material affairs,
so that I lose my singleness of purpose. I don't have time to be concerned
about the many concerns of the world. I can concentrate and specialize on
what I can do best.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may not become distracted by material affairs. I pray that I
may concentrate on doing what I can do best.

Hello my friends! Sorry, don't have the energy now to answer you all
individually - hope those who are not feeling well, get better fast.
Tonight we went to a wonderful talk by a priest who teaching seminarians -
on prayer and meditation and he talked about Mother Teresa, St. Teresa of
Avila, and St. John of the Cross who all had the gift of contemplation - it
was a very interesting talk and he gave us all his outline - on Faith.
Deil and Monica left this afternoon - it was a very nice visit. Every other
Thursday night we are having a speaker on this year of Faith. Prayers for
all of you - thanks for your prayers for us.

* TODAY I TAUGHT MY CHILD *

When I got mad today and hit my child
"For his own good," I reconciled,
And then I realized my plight..
Today, I taught my child to fight.

When interrupted by the phone,
I said, "Tell them I'm not home."
And then I thought, and had to sigh..
Today I taught my child to lie.

I told the tax man what I made,
Forgetting cash that was paid,
And than I blushed at this sad feat..
Today I taught my child to cheat.

I smuggly copied a cassette,
To keep me from one more debt,
But now the bells of shame must peal..
Today I taught my child to steal.

Today I cursed another race,
Oh God, protect what I debase,
For now, I fear it is too late..
Today I taught my child to hate.

By my example, children learn
That I must lead in life's sojourn,
In such a way they are led
By what is done and not what is said.

Today I gave my child his due
By praise for him instead of rue.
And now I have begun my guide;
Today I gave my child his pride.

I now have reconciled and paid
To IRS all that I have made.
And now I know that this dear youth,
Today has learned from me the truth.

The alms I give are not for show,
And yet, this child must surely know
That charity is worth the price:
Today he saw my sacrifice.

I clasp within a warm embrace
My neighbor of another race.
The great commandment from up above.
Today I taught my child to love.

Someday my child must face alone
This fearsome undertone,
But I have blazed a sure pathway:
Today I taught my child to pray.

Author Unknown

Never Lose Hope

If you can look at the sunset and smile, then you still have hope.

If you can find beauty in the colors of a small flower, then you still have
hope.

If you can find pleasure in the movement of a butterfly, then you still have
hope.

If the smile of a child can still warm your heart, then you still have hope.

If you can see the good in other people, then you still have hope.

If the rain breaking on a roof top can still lull you to sleep, then you
still have hope.

If the sight of a rainbow still makes you stop and stare in wonder, then you
still have hope.

If the soft fur of a favored pet still feels pleasant under your fingertips,
then you still have hope.

If you meet new people with a trace of excitement and optimism, then you
still have hope.

If you give people the benefit of a doubt, then you still have hope.

If you still offer your hand in friendship to others that have touched your
life, then you still have hope.

If receiving an unexpected card or letter still brings a pleasant surprise,
then you still have hope.

If the suffering of others still fills you with pain and frustration, then
you still have hope.

If you refuse to let a friendship die, or accept that it must end, then you
still have hope.

If you look forward to a time or place of quiet and reflection, then you
still have hope.

If you still buy the ornaments, put up the Christmas tree or cook the
turkey, then you still have hope.

If you still watch love stories or want the endings to be happy, then you
still have hope.

If you can look to the past and smile, then you still have hope.

If, when faced with the bad, when told everything is futile, you can still
look up and end the conversation with the phrase...."yeah....BUT.." then you
still have hope.

Hope is such a marvelous thing. It bends, it twists, it sometimes hides, but
rarely does it break. It sustains us when nothing else can. It gives us
reason to continue and courage to move ahead, when we tell ourselves we'd
rather give in.

Hope puts a smile on our face when the heart cannot manage.

Hope puts our feet on the path when our eyes cannot see it.

Hope moves us to act when our souls are confused of the direction.

Hope is a wonderful thing, something to be cherished and nurtured, and
something that will refresh us in return. And it can be found in each of us,
and it can bring light into the darkest of places.

NEVER LOSE HOPE!

Author Unknown

Why A Christian Should Be Encouraged In Days of Difficulty

BECAUSE he has a Father in heaven who loves him, cares for him and has
blessed him with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (John
16:27; Luke 12:22-28; Ephesians 1:3).

BECAUSE he has a Great High Priest in heaven to sympathize with him, succor
and support him and to conduct him into the enjoyment of heavenly things
(Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:14-16; 8:1 -6).

BECAUSE he has a Great and Good Shepherd to lead him, care for him, protect
him and sustain him until the time when the Lord takes him Home to Glory
(Psalm 23; Hebrews 13:20-21).

BECAUSE he has an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, who
pleads his cause and always prevails (1 John 1 :8-10; 2:1).

BECAUSE he has a Divine Counselor to go to for counsel or advice at all
times who will give him understanding and lead him in the right path (Isaiah
9:6; Proverbs 3:5-6).

BECAUSE he has an Abiding Comforter (the Holy Spirit) to guide him in his
understanding of the Word, to teach him spiritual truth and to take of the
things of Christ and show them unto him (John 14:16-17; 16:13-14).

BECAUSE he has a Throne of Grace to go to at all times where he can obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 John
5:14-15; Philippians 4:6-7).

BECAUSE he has the Holy Scriptures to search and study which testify of the
sufferings of Christ and the glory to follow; they also empower and
transform him into Christ's likeness (1 Peter 1:6-11; 1 Thessalonians 2:13;
2 Peter 1:4-8).

BECAUSE angels minister unto him in response to his Heavenly Father's
command, being an heir of salvation (Hebrews 1:14; Psalm 103:17-21)

BECAUSE he is an heir to an incorruptible inheritance, undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven, and is kept by the power of God until
he comes into possession (1 Peter 1 :3-5).

BECAUSE he has the interests of Christ and the work to which he has been
called to engage him until the return of his Lord (Ephesians 6:18-20; 1
Corinthians 11 :23-26; 1 Timothy 2:1 -6).

BECAUSE he has before him the Blessed Hope of the Lord's imminent return to
catch away His saints to comfort him in times of difficulty (Titus 2:13; 1
John 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:9-11).

Don’t Be Deluded Into Giving Up Your Daily Rosary

Excerpted from St. Louis Marie de Montfort’s Secret of the Rosary, Montfort
Publications, 1991, Part I.

Never will anyone really be able to understand the marvellous riches of
sanctification which are contained in the prayers and mysteries of the Holy
Rosary. This meditation on the mysteries of the life and death of Our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ is the source of the most wonderful fruits for
those who use it. […]

To think that it is possible to say prayers that are finer and more
beautiful than the Our Father and the Hail Mary is to fall prey to a strange
illusion of the devil.

These heavenly prayers are the support, the strength and the safeguard of
our souls—but I must admit that it is not always necessary to say them as
vocal prayers. It is quite true that, in a sense, mental prayer is more
perfect than vocal prayer, but, believe me, it is really dangerous not to
say fatal to give up saying the Rosary of your own accord under the excuse
of seeking a more perfect union with God.

Sometimes a soul that is proud in a subtle way and who may have done
everything that he can do interiorly to rise to the sublime heights of
contemplation that the saints have reached, may be deluded by the noon-day
devil into giving up his former devotions because he thinks that he has
found a greater good. He then looks upon his erstwhile practices as
inferior and only fit for ordinary and mediocre souls.

But this kind of soul has deliberately turned a deaf ear to the prayers and
salutation taught us by an archangel and even to the Prayer which God made
and taught us and which He said Himself. “Thus therefore shall you pray:
Our Father…” (Mt 6:9). Having reached this point such a soul drifts from its
first illusion into still greater ones and falls from precipice to
precipice.

Believe me, dear brothers... if you genuinely wish to reach a high level of
prayer in all honesty and without falling into the traps that the devil sets
for those who pray, say your whole Rosary every day, or at least five
decades of it.

If, by the grace of God, you have already reached a high level of prayer,
keep up the practice of saying the Holy Rosary if you wish to remain in that
state and if you hope, through it, to grow in humility.

For never will anyone who says his Rosary every day become a formal heretic
or be led astray by the devil.

This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.

Mary, our mother
And mother of the Redeemer,
Gate of heaven and star of the sea,
Come to the aid of your people,
Who have sinned,
Yet also yearn to rise again!
Come to the Church’s aid,
Enlighten your devoted children,
Strengthen the faithful throughout the world,
Let those who have drifted hear your call,
And may they who live as prisoners of evil
Be converted!
Pope John Paul II

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Friday's Positive Thread