Daily Positive Thread for Wednesday

gloriajean — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 06:19:30 GMT

Keep yourself young in spirit always by thinking new thoughts and getting
rid of old habits. Lord, may my spirit never become a frail and my abilities
never become barren.

Scripture for the day:

"Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a
stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things
but on human things. 'Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If any want to become
my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose
their life for my sake will find it.'" ~Matthew 16:23-25

Meditation for the day:

We were born with the Divine within us. Living a selfish life can hinder
the Divine from being expressed and shared. The celestial fire has to be
tended and fed so that it will grow into a real desire to live the right
way. By trying to do the will of God, we grow more and more in the new way
of life. By thinking of God, praying to God and having communion with God,
we gradually grow more like God. The way of our transformation from the
material to the spiritual allows God to work in and through us.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may tend the spark of the Divine within me so that it will
grow. I pray that I may be gradually transformed from the old life to the
new and fuller life.

Greetings my friends! How was your day? Mine was quite surprising - first
of all we went to Mass and Adoration afterwards, then as we were walking
out, a lady comes to me and asks if I am Gloria and mentions my maiden name,
and I say yes, and here she is an old friend of school days - and we went to
dances etc. To think that after all these years, I'm married 47 years
already and haven't seen her since before that time, and she recognized me.
Could it be my red hair? My goodness that surprised me! She got my email
address and phone number and we hope to get together someday for coffee.
She still lives in my hometown where I grew up - a half hour away. She
brings veterans to their appointments - which brought her into town.
I know we used to write each other for some time but somehow that got
dwindled away. We had a mutual friend, and when I asked about her, she
said she was in a Nursing Home for awhile but she passed away a couple years
ago. Lots of memories have been going thru my mind today. Our letters
with that friend somehow quit too. When Father Jerry was here a week ago,
he mentioned this other friend, he knew her too, same hometown, and I said
I haven't heard from her in years. He didn't know the one who I saw today
though. She said she likes to go to Mass every day and our Church was the
closest to that hospital she was at for that vets appointment. Anyway -
what a nice blessing!! Another blessing is that I heard tonight my sister
had a set back yesterday - but today she was much better and I guess she
just over did her self with all her walking with the walker the last few
days, that she had more pain, her PT told her she should take it easy
today, so she went back to the wheelchair. Said she took her shower alone
today for the first time and everything went well. Otherwise someone had to
be in the room with her. That is good news.

Homily of the Day

November 15, 2011

Through You, God Can Bring Forth Good Out of Evil
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

2 Mac 6:18-31 / Lk 19:1-10

Out of every tragedy and every evil, God eventually brings a greater good,
though sometimes that good remains hidden and invisible for a long time.
Often, in the midst of suffering, it’s difficult to understand or believe,
but it is true. And from time to time we can see it happening. That’s what
we have in today’s reading from the book of Maccabees: Good coming out of
evil.

Eleazar, a ninety-year-old scholar of great dignity and preeminence, was
confronted with the subtlest of all temptations, the opportunity to save his
life by pretending to abandon his faith, while not really doing so at all.
It was the perfect out: He could continue to enjoy his old age, while
keeping his hands clean of any formal violations of God’s law. Just pretend,
for a few minutes! That was all.

But Eleazar refused, for he knew that he still had one gift left to give, a
gift that was sorely needed, and that was the example of an old man, whose
faithfulness could inspire the young to take heart and not betray what was
best in them. Eleazar refused the seductive offer and was put to death
amidst great agony. And the young men took heart and remained true.

Because Eleazar listened to God’s voice within him, God brought forth good
out of evil through him. God wants to do the same through and with you:
Bring good out of evil. Are you listening to Him? Are you placing yourself
entirely at His service? Some lives will be forever different if you do.

Mary, my Mother, you have a great desire to see Jesus loved;
obtain for me this grace - to love Him with a love that is exceeding great,
and to love no other but Him.

My Lady, you always obtain from your Son all that you ask Him for.
Pray then for me and console me.
Ask for me also a great love for yourself who are so much loved by God.

Through the sorrows that you bore on Calvary,
when you looked on Jesus dying on the cross before your eyes,
obtain for me a good death.

Thus, dear Mother, loving Jesus and you in this life,
I shall come to love you eternally in paradise.

- - -
"O my Jesus, he who does not love you, does not know you." - St. Alphonsus

Forgiveness Heals

A girl was being treated for several months for anemia but without any
success. So her doctor decided to send her to a sanatorium faraway.

The first thing she got there, she underwent a thorough physical
examination. And the examining doctor found her blood count to be completely
normal. The referring doctor double-checked it and could not believe his
eyes. So he called in the girl and asked her, "Has anything out of the
ordinary happened in your life since your last visit? "Yes," she admitted.
"Suddenly I was able to forgive someone against whom I had borne a nasty
grudge all my life. At that moment, I felt completely changed inside."

So now the doctor knew the answer. Her mental attitude had changed, and the
very state of her blood had changed with it.

Being angry at someone can be stupid, because the other person might not
even be aware of it. So, the only one being harmed is our self.

RUDY'S ANGEL
Author Unknown
November 15, 2011

I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying
groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 37 years
was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories.

Rudy often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off
and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always
spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his
hands.

Rudy knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only
wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was
different since Rudy had passed on.

Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two.
Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and
remembered how Rudy had loved his steak.

Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blond, slim and lovely in a
soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large pack of T-
bones, dropped them in her basket, hesitated, and then put them back.
She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks. She
saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but
honestly, at these prices, I don't know."

I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes. "My
husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. Glancing at the
package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice.
"Buy him the steaks.
And cherish every moment you have together."

She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the
package in her basket and wheeled away.

I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the
dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I
should buy. A quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream
section near the front of the store. If nothing else, I could always
fix myself an ice cream cone. I placed the ice cream in my cart and
looked down the aisle toward the front.

I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming
towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the
brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled
her blond hair as she
kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine. As she came closer, I
saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes. "These are for
you," she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in
my arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid
for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then
smiled again.

I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still
unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my
vision. I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green
tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know?

Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone. "Oh, Rudy, you
haven't forgotten me, have you?" I whispered, with tears in my eyes.
He was still with me, and she was his angel.

Everyday be thankful for what you have and who you are.

UNANSWERED LETTERS
Author Unknown

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 be right?

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.

Mary, my Mother, you have a great desire to see Jesus loved;
obtain for me this grace - to love Him with a love that is exceeding great,
and to love no other but Him.

My Lady, you always obtain from your Son all that you ask Him for.
Pray then for me and console me.
Ask for me also a great love for yourself who are so much loved by God.

Through the sorrows that you bore on Calvary,
when you looked on Jesus dying on the cross before your eyes,
obtain for me a good death.

Thus, dear Mother, loving Jesus and you in this life,
I shall come to love you eternally in paradise.

- - -
"O my Jesus, he who does not love you, does not know you." - St. Alphonsus

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams and may your tomorrow be filled with
unexpected surprises! God bless you!

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Daily Positive Thread for Wednesday