Among Friends

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends!  Wonderful having our new priest back again! He and Father Jerry had a great time on the Cruise!  The first for the both of them. They went to Mexico. Today we went to a 90th birthday celebration for our dear friend, Sister Phyllis!  It was a nice time, and she looks great!!  She wishes us all to live to be 90!! 

Love and trust are the solutions for the worries and frets of life. 

Lord, I pray for Your gift of Faith which is all that I need for Your

power to work within me.

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

"It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words
that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."  ~John 6:63

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

I can discipline myself.  I can do this disciplining now.  I can turn
out all useless thoughts.  I know that the goodness of my life is a
necessary foundation for its usefulness.  I can welcome this training,
for it opens me to receive the power God wants to give me.  I can
believe that this power is a mighty power when it is used in the right
way.

P R A Y E R   F O R   T H E   D A Y  

I pray that I may face and accept whatever discipline is necessary.  I
pray that I may open myself to receive God's power in my life.

Lenten Reflections by Bishop Robert Barron

Lent Day 26

Everything I Have is Yours

The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-32), which we hear today at Mass, tells us practically everything we need to know about our relationship to God, if we attend to the details.

We hear: “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.’” We are the children of God; we have been given our life, our being, everything by him; we exist through him every moment.

But then the wrong response: “Give me my share that is coming to me.” To live properly in God is to live in an attitude of receptivity and generosity, receiving a gift from God and being always ready to give it away.

Yet God respects our freedom and so “the father divided up the property.” This is a tragic moment. What is meant to be a flow of grace becomes divided, separated, and riven into yours and mine.

Where does the son go? He wanders with his fortune into the “far country.” In Greek the phrase is chora makra, meaning “the great wide-open emptiness”. There he quickly squanders his inheritance, and so it always goes. When we cling to the divine life as our own, we lose it. He was forced to hire himself out so as to become a feeder of pigs. In the chora makra, there are only relationships of economic calculation, each one striving to hang on to what is his. “No one made a move to give him anything.” And so it goes in the far country: it is the place of no giving.

Coming to his senses at last, he decides to break away and return to his father, saying, “Treat me like one of your hired hands.” He knows that even the slaves are in a life-giving relationship.

The father sees him from a long way off (he had obviously been looking for him) and then, throwing caution and respectability to the winds, he comes running out to meet him. The Bible is not the story of our quest for God, but of God’s passionate, relentless quest for us. The father then says, “Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet.” This is the ring of marriage, symbolizing the re-establishment of right relation between us and God.

Now the older son—though superficially so different from his brother—is actually in the same spiritual space, for he too sees himself in an economic relationship to his father. Like most upright, religiously respectable people, he is put off by this celebration for someone who most assuredly does not deserve it. Listen to his language: “For years I have slaved for you. I never disobeyed any of your orders, yet you never gave me so much as a kid goat to celebrate with my friends.”

The older son is therefore a slave, and one who carefully obeys—not one who has caught the spirit of his father. He feels that he has to earn or deserve his father’s love. He hates his brother and is resentful of his father’s generosity. “Then when this son of yours returns after having gone through your property with loose women, you kill the fatted calf for him.” When we fall out of love with God, we fall into hatred of one another.

The father patiently explains: “My son, you are with me always, and everything I have is yours.” This is the key to the entire parable and is true for both sons, though they don’t realize it.

Everything that God has is given to us. His whole being is “for-giving.”

Verse of the Day

"I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:18-19

On Sundays, when in church you sit,

Is there a chance you’re a hypocrite?

You hear the preacher say again,

“Give to the needy,” and you say, “Amen”

But on Monday the beggar on the street

Is someone you don’t care to meet.

Do you reverently bow your head

And partake of the wine and of the bread

Then spend the rest of your whole day

Seeing frivolous videos play?

You know that heaven and earth are ruled

By Almighty God who can’t be fooled;

So do not think hypocrites will be

Seated in heaven at His knee;

Instead you’ll receive what is deserved

A special place, for you reserved.

Betty Killebrew

Faith, Hope and Love

F ------ Fervently Praying A ------ Accepting whatever outcome from prayer I ------ In tune with Jesus Christ T ------ Teaching others about Jesus Christ H ------ Heaven is the place where my walk is heading   H ------ Helping others see Jesus Christ O ------ Offering my life to the service of Jesus Christ P ------ Praying always for others, lost or not, to see Jesus Christ E ------ Encouraging and edifying Jesus Christ and others   L ------ Looking to Jesus all the time O ------ Opening my heart to His ways only V ------ Verifying everything in the Spirit E ------ Extending myself to insure others in their walk with the Lord.

The Friend Who Just Stands By

      When troubles come your soul to try,
      You love the friend who just stands by.
      Perhaps there's nothing she can do,
      The thing is strictly up to you.

      For there are troubles all your own,
      And paths the soul must tread alone.
      Times when love can't smooth the road,
      Nor friendship lift the heavy load.

      But just to feel you have a friend,
      Who will stand by until the end.
      Whose sympathy through all endures,
      Whose warm handclasp is always yours.

      It helps somehow to pull you through,
      Although there's nothing she can do.
      And so with fervent heart we cry,
      God Bless the friend who just stands by.

      - Author Unknown

INVOCATIONS TO THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL

Holy Angel, my counselor, inspire me;  Holy Angel, my defender, protect me;
Holy Angel, my faithful friend; intercede for me;
Holy Angel, my consoler, fortify me; Holy Angel, my brother, defend me;
Holy Angel, my teacher, instruct me;
Holy Angel, witness of all my actions, purify me;
Holy Angel, my helper, support me;
Holy Angel, my intercessor, speak for me;
Holy Angel, my guide, direct me; Holy Angel, my light, enlighten me;
Holy Angel, whom God has assigned to lead me, govern me.

A Moment’s Breathing Prayer

Surrender to God’s help by breathing in God’s healing power ... extend inhalation. Receive God’s peace by exhaling all worries and stress – extend exhalation.

Breath in what I need from God
Breathe out impurities that harm my soul

Breathe in God’s love
Breathe out any self hatred

Breathe in God’s forgiveness
Breathe out self hurt

Breathe in God’s peace
Breathe out anxiety

Breathe in Jesus’ compassion
Breathe out my pride

Breathe in God’s confidence
Breathe out my doubts and uncertainties

Breathe in God’s clarity
Breathe out confusion

Breathe in God’s peace
Breathe out my fears

Breathe in peace ..... exhale
Breathe in peace ..... exhale
Breathe in peace ..... exhale.

(Tolle Lege; Augustinian Historical Commission, 1997, used with permission.)

Jesus, I Want to Help You

May I become at all times,
both now and forever 
A protector for those
without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge
for those who lack shelter and a 
servant to all in need.

Bl. Teresa of Calcutta

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEAD OF OUR LORD, SEAT OF WISDOM

WISDOM of the Sacred Head, guide me in all my ways. 
O Love of the Sacred, consume me with Thy fire.

Three Glorias, in honor of the Divine Will, Memory and Understanding.

O Seat of Divine Wisdom, and guiding Power, which governs all the motions

and love of the Sacred Heart, may all minds know Thee, all hearts love Thee,

and all tongues praise Thee, now and for ever more.

Imprimatur: Jacobus Canonicus Carr, Pro Epo Liverpolitano

March 6 - Jesus Calling

Continue on this path with Me, enjoying My Presence even in adversity. I am always before you, as well as alongside you. See Me beckoning to you: Come! Follow Me. The One who goes ahead of you, opening up the way, is the same One who stays close and never lets go of your hand. I am not subject to limitations of time or space. I am everywhere at every time, ceaselessly working on your behalf. That is why your best efforts are trusting Me and living close to Me.

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
—Hebrews 7:25

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
—Psalm 37:3–4

[gloriajean]

[gloriajean]

[gloriajean]

Two Horses

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse.

But if you get a closer look you will notice something quite interesting...

One of the horses is blind.

His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made him a safe and comfortable barn to live in.

This alone is pretty amazing.

But if you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell. It is coming from a smaller horse in the field.

Attached to the horse's halter is a small, copper-colored bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.

As you stand and watch these two friends you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is, trusting he will not be led astray.

When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, he will stop occasionally to look back, making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect. Or because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse, being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives.

And at other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way.
1 Corinthians 10:24
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

[Bobbi sue]

Hello friends.  Gloria, belated birthday wishes to your friends that turned 90.  It is going to be 70* here on Wed.  What a treat! 

Rest in peace Nancy Reagan.  Together again!

Have a nice day and God bless you all.

[Puzzle Piece]

Hello To All. 

It has rained here a bit in the Los Angeles Area.  It's somewhat dark outside.  Our state mourns the loss of a former first lady - Nancy Reagan.  It's like you can feel something in the air with her loss.  I am oh so greatly blessed I lived when the Reagans were in office as Governor and first lady of California.  During his years in office (which by the way were very turbulent times being the 1960's), Mr. Reagan and his wife Nancy stayed strong and were good for many Californians as living on the west coast, we have always had a threat of attack.  Mr. Reagan made the last Friday in September Native American Rememberance day.  If we needed or wanted that day off from work, our employers were given to know it was ours to do so (though many employers never acknowledged it).

Again I felt so very blessed that Mr. Reagan and Nancy were in the White House for 8 years and AMERICA, MY AMERICA, MY HOMELAND stood proud and brave, she sparkled for al lthe world to see.  I LIVED THROUGH THOSE TIMES, the Reagans blessed me and my America.  I am so very grateful and appreciate them for crossing my life's path on this journey called life. 

De Gianto Mrs. Reagan.  Ah He He A.  I met you once, someday we will meet again. 

[gloriajean]

Hello Bobbiesue and Love Roses!  Yes, I, too, remember how good it was having Ronald Reagan as our President and Nancy our First Lady.  Those were good days.  Now who can follow him?  

That's great that Mr. Reagan made the last Friday in September Native American Remembrance Day. Thanks for posting this.

Glad Cal. finally got some rain!