Daily Positive Thread for Wednesday

gloriajean — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:57:47 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:

"What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is
spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from
above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but
you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone
who is born of the Spirit." ~John 3:6-8

Meditation for the day:

To be attracted toward God and a better life, we can be spirit-guided. There
is a wonderful illumination of thought given to those who are spirit-guided.
To those who are material-guided, there is nothing in God or a finer life to
appeal to them or to attract them. But to those of us who are spirit-guided
there is strength and peace and calm to be found in communion with an unseen
Lord. To those of us who believe in this God we cannot see but whose power
we can feel, life has a meaning
and purpose. We are children of the unseen Lord, and all human beings are
our brothers and sisters.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may attain a state of true calmness. I pray that I may live
in quietness and peace

Greetings my friends! I always like this first sentence - how true! How was your day? As hot as we had it here in MN? We had 100 - haven't had that in a few years! Weather is cooling off tomorrow already by 30 degrees. That will be so nice to have it in the 70's. Today I closed the doors and put the AC on, and didn't go in the porch, until LInus got home and he grilled chicken there. My blessings today was the AC - when it got really hot growing up and there was no AC - we just had fans blowing - anyone remember that?
Another blessing was that Linus had two good days at work, without hurting and now he has 2 days off. I called Fr. Jerry - had a nice chat, and we set up a time for him to come again for a meal on the 24th.

Homily of the Day

June 7, 2011

Will You Last Till the End?
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Acts 20:17-27 / Jn 17:1-11

If St Paul had been an artist, he wouldn’t have been a painter of miniatures. He would have been a big picture man, painting heroic scenes on vast canvases, beckoning all to take heed and pay attention. That is surely how he lived his life, constantly asking new questions, thinking beyond the edges of his prior experience, and moving courageously into places and circumstances he’d never seen before.

Paul had a powerful sense of mission: to share the Good News with all peoples. And he not only started well, but finished well, remaining faithful to the very end to the vision that Jesus had given him.

For those of us somewhere in the middle of our life’s course, Paul is both an inspiration and a reassurance. His life tells us that, even in the face of weariness or mid-course ennui, we can make it to the finish line, we can be faithful to the life’s work that God has given us. As Paul said, “I can do all things in God who strengthens me.”

Trust that, relax in the Lord, and enjoy the remarkable journey that is your life.

Mother Teresa said...
Anyone is capable of going to Heaven. Heaven is our home. Dying is not the end, it is just the beginning. Death is a continuation of life. This is the meaning of eternal life; it is where our soul goes to God, to be in the presence of God, to see God, to speak to God, to continue loving Him with greater love. We only surrender our body in death - our heart and our soul live forever.

The Village Idiot

Once upon a time there was a village named Egoville hidden away in the mountains.
Now, this village, like most villages, had their own idiot. His name was Hugh Millety.

Hugh, the village idiot, was the ridicule of Egoville. The town's folk would often set him
up with silly choices in order to laugh mercilessly at him when he made the wrong choice.

"Hugh," they'd say, "would you rather have this shiny new quarter or this dirty old torn dollar bill?"

"I'd like the shiny quarter," Hugh would reply. His tormentor would give him the quarter
and walk away laughing, declaring Hugh a true village idiot. Hugh would just shrug and
go about his business.

Even though it was a poor village with little opportunity, this was repeated several times a
day by many people. As the years went by, the ridicule became a ritual that dozens of
townies took part in. The town's folk had little to their names, but at least they could feel
better about themselves in comparison to the village idiot this way. It was their small
comfort in the lap of poverty.

Not everyone would make fun of Hugh though. A few felt sorry for him and gave him
hand-me-down clothes, leftover food, and even an old shack to live in at the edge of
town. Hugh lived off of the handouts of the charitable few.

One day, Hugh showed up at the village square wearing a brand new suit. Everyone was
amazed, for few people in the town could afford new clothing, let alone a nice suit. The
small village didn't even have a new clothing store, only a used clothing store.

One of townsfolk asked Hugh where he got his new suit, thinking he must have stolen it.
He bought it, he told them. And furthermore he added, the fine new house being built on
the mountainside that everyone was wondering about, that was his.

When questioned where he got the money, he told them it was the money they gave him.
With people giving him food, clothing, and shelter, he simply saved and invested everything
they gave him. "I may be your village idiot," he smiled and said, "but I'm no fool."

But why then, they asked, did he always take the lesser amount of money they offered him
if he was so cunning?

Hugh replied that if he had taken the greater amount of money, they would have stopped
offering it to him. He earned his money by letting them laugh at him, but he knew the first
time he took the greater amount they'd stop offering him money and find something else to
laugh at him about.

"Now," said Hugh, "I'm the richest person in town and have all the money I need. I didn't
waste money amusing myself at the expense of someone I falsely perceived to be a lesser
person. And you, all of you, have little more now than you had when you started ridiculing
me. So tell me, who is the village idiot now?"

Hugh smiled again, then handed out hundred dollar bills to those who had been kind to him.
The townsfolk were shocked. It was true though, they had frittered away their money a little
at a time, trying to make themselves feel big by comparison to the village idiot.

It just goes to show you, if you live in Egoville, take care not to become the village idiot by
your vain perceptions. On the other hand, if you follow the wisdom of Hugh Millety, you
might just become the richest person in town.

Author Unknown

"Drink Plenty of Water"

I've heard it. I've read it. As long as I have been running, it's
always been the same message: "drink plenty of water."

All along most race courses are water stations, and most runners slow
down to drink a cup of cool water. Keeping your water level up is critical
when you run. If you get slightly dehydrated, you will not run well. If you
get moderately dehydrated, you will become disoriented. If you get
seriously dehydrated, you can die. It's serious business.

The first year I ran was 1991, and I was inexperienced (also younger,
slimmer, stupider, etc.) I passed water stop after water stop,
occasionally drinking a swallow or two. I felt good, and I wasn't going to waste
precious seconds drinking water, even though it was a hot, humid day.

Big mistake. As I neared the final mile, I "hit the wall." My energy
level dropped to zero, I began having to walk some, and I realized I would
have to work hard just to finish. I did make it across the line, but only with
a tremendous headache and hardly enough energy to walk. It was not much
fun.

I learned an important lesson that year. Stopping for water doesn't
actually slow you down. In fact, you will run a better race if you do drink
water. The bottom line is that your body is simply not designed to function
without water.

In the same way, your spiritual stamina depends on stopping for regular
drinks of "spiritual water." The dilemma for busy believers is finding
time to invest in reading the Word and meeting with God in prayer. Like the
runner intent on reaching the finish line, we tend to put off those
regular drinks of water until we are totally parched.

But in the long run, you will run a better race if you will stop for
spiritual water. In fact, finishing the Christian race at all may
depend on it. And runners who don't ever slow down to take a drink often stumble
off the course far short of the finish line.

In this year's race, I saw a man become dehydrated just a mile from the
finish. Strangely, he didn't seem to recognize that anything was wrong.
He was swaying from side to side as he walked, mumbling over and over,
"I'm fine. I'm fine." He was so disoriented that he didn't even recognize
his own sick condition.

If you let yourself become spiritually dehydrated, you may not even be
able to recognize it. Stop today to drink some cool "living water." For
serious runners, it's a must.

"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried
out, saying, 'If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He
who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, From his innermost being
shall flow rivers of living water.'"
John 7:37-38

Mark Phillips

Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.

Thou shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.

Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.

Thou shall face each problem as it comes, you can only handle one at a time anyway.

Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.

Thou shall not borrow other people's problems. They can better care for them than you can.

Thou shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!

Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear different ideas from your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking, and some people do know more than you do.

Thou shall not become "bogged down" by frustration, for 90 percent of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.

Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one

P.U.S.H.
Author Unknown

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled
with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work
for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The
Lord explained
that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This
the man did, day after day.

For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set
squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock,
pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin
sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in
vain. Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the
adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the
man's weary mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long
time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are
never going to move it." Thus giving the man the impression that the
task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts
discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he
thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and
that will be good enough." And that is what he planned to do until
one day he
decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts
to the Lord.

"Lord" he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting
all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this
time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is
wrong? Why am
I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to
serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push
against the rock with all, your strength, which you have done. Never
once did I mention to
you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push, and now
you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have
failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are
strong and muscled, your
back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant
pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through
opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that
which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your
calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and
trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move
the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own
intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is
just simple obedience and faith in Him.... By all means, exercise the
faith that moves
mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains.

P.U.S.H!

When everything seems to go wrong,...just P.U.S.H.!

When the job gets you down,...just P.U.S.H.!

When people don't react the way you think they should,...just
P.U.S.H.!

When your money looks funny and the bills are due,...just P.U.S.H.!

When you want to tell them off for whatever the reason,...just
P.U.S.H.!

When people just don't understand you,...just P.U.S.H.!

P.U.S.H -- Pray Until Something Happens!!!!!

Inspirational Thought

Even the most difficult of trials is God's way of preparing us for something else. Lord, may I view my challenges as an opportunity to grow rather than as an opportunity to fail.

Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua, Disperser of Devils
Dear Saint Anthony, it is still as Saint Peter said: The devil prowls about, lion-like, looking for someone to devour. I confess that I don't always resist him; I sometimes toy with temptation. Saint Anthony, Disperser of Devils, remind me of my duty to avoid all occasions of sin. May I always pray in temptation that I may remain loyal to my Lord Jesus. Pray for my other intentions, please. [name them]

Franciscan Mission Associates

Good night everyone and God Bless You!! Enjoy your blessings God has in store for you tomorrow!!!

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Daily Positive Thread for Wednesday