Daily Positive Thread for Monday

gloriajean · ‎03-10-2010

Hello my friends! Here's hoping you all had a very nice weekend! We did, it was quiet, but nice and restful. Our new priest comes back from vacation on Wednesday - his good friend had the Mass today, a wonderful priest, and what a great homily he gave. He's also a very good friend of Father Jerry, I talked with him after Mass. Next week we'll have our Father David back. He and Fr. Jerry were on a Mexican Cruise and they visited Father David's parents in Mesa. This afternoon we just stayed home and played cards - Canasta. Does anyone know this card game? It's an old one but fun.

God answers all prayer, but keep in mind that His answers are

wiser than our prayer. Lord, give me enough wisdom to

recognize Your answers.

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

"When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and
cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he
spoke to them and said, 'Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.'" ~Mark
6:49-50

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

I can take the most crowded day without fear. I believe that God is
with me and controlling all. I can let confidence be the motif running
through all the crowded day. I need not be worried, because I know

that God is my helper. Underneath are the everlasting arms of God.

I can rest in them, even though the day be full of things crowding in

upon me.

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

I pray that I may be calm and let nothing upset me. I pray that I may
not let material things control me and choke out spiritual things.

DAILY MEDITATION

FEBRUARY 28, 2015

"The fast of Lent has no advantage to us unless it brings about our spiritual renewal. It is necessary while fasting to change our whole life and practice virtue. Turning away from all wickedness means keeping our tongue in check, restraining our anger, avoiding all gossip, lying and swearing. To abstain from these things – herein lies the true value of the fast."
— St. John Chrysostom

Prayer to Practice What Jesus Taught

O Lord Jesus Christ, grant us a measure of your Spirit. Help us to
obey your teaching,
soothe anger,
cultivate pity,
overcome desire,
increase love,
cast off sorrow,
sun vainglory,
renounce revenge,
and not be afraid of death.
Let us ever entrust our spirit to the everlasting God who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and rules forever and ever. Amen.

St Apollonius of Rome, Senator, Apologist and Martyr (Feast day February 9th)

The Cross by Clarita Calasanz

It is now the Lenten Season and we have stations of the cross and other devout practices which reminds us of the Passion and Death of Our Lord. This is the story of our salvation and the ongoing love story that God has with all of us. He loved us with an infinite love in spite of who we are and never mind how cold and indifferent we have been towards Him, or how far we have strayed away from Him. He continues to love us anyway.

Lent reminds us of the crosses that each of us has to bear, sickness, broken relationships, financial problems, loss of loved ones, etc. We are naturally afraid of that and it's so much better not to think about it. But we are told to Embrace the Cross and it will be much easier to carry.

The following story is probably fiction but it drives home the point. A certain nobleman has decided on finding the Garden of Eden or the Land of perpetual youth. He was told he had to carry a wooden cross in order to find what he was looking for and he agreed. He thought what a small price it was if he could realize his dream. The cross was given to him and he started on his way. The cross was heavy, so he decided to carry it on his shoulder. After a while, it became intolerable, so he decided to just drag the cross after him as he walked. That worked for a while, but it eventually became unbearable also. At his wits end he decided to lift the cross with his two arms and to hold it close to his body. He was embracing the cross and he discovered it was becoming lighter as he went on his way and he finally reached his destination without any problem.

I have been afraid of the Cross, but I also love the song, "Be not afraid, I go before you always, Come, follow Me". It is one of my favorite songs. It is a very encouraging thought during Lent. Instead of being afraid of the Cross let us Embrace it and rely on what Jesus promised: "I will be with you", and we will be surprised to find how truly easy it is.

The Medium Can Change the Message

Years ago an elderly illiterate carpenter
received some mail and he was very upset about
it. A letter was a very unusual thing in his life
and he was worried about what might be in it. So
he hurried over to the butcher shop and the
rough-voice muscle man behind the counter read it
aloud.

"This is a letter from your son," he shouted,
"and it says: 'Dear Dad, I am sick and haven't a
single cent. Send me some money quick. Your son."
Influenced by the hard tones of the reader, the
carpenter became red with rage and exploded, "Who
does that kid think he is, telling me what to do?
I won't give him a cent."

In a fit of anger, the carpenter walked back
home. But along the way he met his friend the
soft-spoken tailor. He stopped him and confided,
"I want you to see this letter my boy sent me."
The tailor took the letter and read it aloud in
his usual calm and cultured way. Suddenly the
message sounded different to the carpenter. It
came across as appealing and plaintive. It left
the carpenter deeply saddened. "Poor Bill," he
said with worry in his voice. "He's in bad shape.
I'd better send him some cash - fast."

So off he went to wire some money to his son. The
message can often depend on the medium! How true!

Broken To Become Beautiful

At the Royal Palace of Tehran in Iran, you can see one of the most beautiful mosaics in the world. The ceilings and the walls flash like diamonds in multifaceted reflections.

Originally, when the palace was designed, the artist specified huge sheets of mirrors on the walls. When the first shipment arrived from Paris, they found to their horror that the mirrors were shattered.

The contractor threw them in the trash and brought the sad news to the architect.

Amazingly, the architect ordered all the broken pieces collected, then smashed them into tiny pieces and glued into the walls to become a mosaic of silvery, shimmering, and mirrored bits of glass.

Broken to become beautiful. It's possible to turn your scars into stars. It is possible to be better because of the brokenness.

Never underestimate God's power to repair and restore.

- Author Unknown

FAITH Is: RELIANCE ON the certainty that GOD has a pattern for my life, when
everything else seems meaningless. REMEMBERING I am GOD's priceless treasure, when I feel utterly
useless. DEPENDING ON the fact that GOD is love - not on my ability to figure
out why - in the midst of smashed hopes, reversal and tragedy. KEEPING ON when I'm dog-tired, discouraged, disillusioned, deserted,
dusty, and dry and I cast on His strength alone. REALIZING that I am useful to GOD, not in spite of my scars, but
because of them. CONFIDENCE that GOD is acting for my highest good when He answers
"No" to my prayers. ACCEPTING the truth that, in spite of the wreckage and grief I've
caused, GOD has wiped the slate clean and delights in me! RECOGNIZING GOD is the LORD of time, when my idea of timing doesn't
agree with HIS. AN ASSURANCE (not a vague hope) of a happy hereafter of Heaven, based
on my trust in CHRIST's death as payment for my sins. REMEMBERING that, though my way is as dark as night to me, GOD can
see and guides me unerringly. DOING the right thing regardless of the consequences, knowing GOD
will turn the ultimate effect to good.

Lenten Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron

Lent Day 19

Lazarus, Come Out!

Jesus raises three people from the dead in the Gospel stories: the daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Naim, and Lazarus. In the symbolic language of the Gospels, these physical resuscitations are evocative of spiritual raisings from sin to spiritual health.

St. Augustine says that the young girl, who dies inside her house, symbolizes the sin that takes place in our thoughts and our hearts but that has not yet borne fruit in action. The son of the widow of Naim, carried to the gate of the house, represents sin that has expressed itself concretely in action. This dead man is raised and given back to his mother, who stands for the Church.

Thirdly, and most drastically, we have the case of Lazarus. He stands for the worst kind of moral/spiritual corruption: sin that has been expressed in the world and become embedded in evil custom and habit. This is the rot that has really set in, producing a spiritual stink.

In the Gospel of John, the raising of Lazarus takes place just before the Passion, just before the climactic moment when Jesus defeats death by succumbing to it. When told that Lazarus has died, Jesus says, “Our beloved Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him” (John 11:11). With these words, he signifies we are in a new world. Within the confines of the old world, the old consciousness, death is ultimate, and its very finality gives it its power, but referring to it as “sleep,” Jesus is signaling that through God’s power and according to God’s purpose, death is not ultimate; it is not the final word.

“When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days” (John 11:17). This is to signal that there is no mistake; the man is truly and definitively dead. But this is no concern for the one who transcends both space and time, whose power stretches beyond life and death as we know them.

Martha comes out to meet him and indicates her incipient belief in his identity and power: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother never would have died. Even now, I am sure that God will give you whatever you ask him.” Jesus replies, “Your brother will rise again…I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:21-25). God hates death and doesn’t want its phony finality to ruin human life.

Coming to Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus feels the deepest emotions and begins to weep. This is God entering into the darkness and confusion and agony of the death of sinners. He doesn’t blithely stand above our situation, but rather takes it on and feels it.

But then, like a warrior, he approaches the enemy. “Take away the stone,” he directs. Those who are stuck within the confines of this world protest, “Lord, surely there will be a stench.” They are saying, “Don’t mess with death; you can’t reverse it. Its power is final.”

Jesus is undaunted. He commands, “Lazarus, come out!” This is the voice, not simply of a hopeful human being, not simply of a great religious figure; this is the voice of God who hates death and has dominion over it. And therefore “The dead man came out.”

Jesus finally says, “Untie him and let him go free.” Just as he freed Lazarus, so Jesus liberates us from our thralldom to death.

Verse of the Day

"Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:13-16

February 28 - Jesus Calling

Stop judging and evaluating yourself, for this is not your role. Above all, stop comparing yourself with other people. This produces feelings of pride or inferiority; sometimes, a mixture of both. I lead each of My children along a path that is uniquely tailor-made for him or her. Comparing is not only wrong; it is also meaningless.

Don’t look for affirmation in the wrong places: your own evaluations, or those of other people. The only source of real affirmation is My unconditional Love. Many believers perceive Me as an unpleasable Judge, angrily searching out their faults and failures. Nothing could be farther from the truth! I died for your sins, so that I might clothe you in My garments of salvation. This is how I see you: radiant in My robe of righteousness. When I discipline you, it is never in anger or disgust; it is to prepare you for face-to-Face fellowship with Me throughout all eternity. Immerse yourself in My loving Presence. Be receptive to My affirmation, which flows continually from the throne of grace.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
—Luke 6:37

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
—Isaiah 61:10 nasb

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
—Proverbs 3:11–12

lovestopaint · ‎03-10-2010

I always thanked you for the Jesus Calling Gloria.

Harlene(lovestopaint

gloriajean · ‎03-10-2010

Yes you have, Harlene. Glad you like it. I just meant here on the thread no one else mentioned it. This is the second year I'm running it on my list. Anyway not that I remember on the thread. We have in emails.