A traveling preacher finds himself in a tremendous rainstorm.
Within a few hours the hotel he is staying in becomes flooded. As the water rises, the preacher climbs to the roof and starts praying.
"Lord, save me so I can continue on my mission of preaching your gospel."
Just then, a coast guard rescue party floats by in a rowboat. "Let's go mister. Into the boat."
"I'll stay here," says the preacher, "The Lord will save me."
An hour later a second boat reaches the scene and the water is close to the roof of the hotel. "Sir, you better get in. the water is still rising."
"No thanks. The Lord will be my salvation."
Toward evening, the hotel is almost completely under water and the preacher is clinging to the satellite dish on the roof. A helicopter is spotted and on a loudspeaker is heard "HSir, grab on to the line and we will pull you up. This is your last chance.
"I'm all right," says the preacher, as he looks heavenward. "I know the Lord will provide sanctuary."
As the boat departs, the satellite dish is hit by lightning and the preacher is killed. When he arrived at the Pearly Gates he was furious.
"What happened, " he shouts. "I thought the Lord would provide!"
Moments later a thunderous voice is heard. "Gimmie a break pal. I sent you 2 boats and a chopper"
Our Lady, Help of Christians
Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin, Help of Christians, we place ourselves under your motherly protection. Throughout the Church's history you have helped Christians in times of trial, temptation and danger. Time and time again, you have proven to be the Refuge of sinners, the Hope of the hopeless, the Consoler of the afflicted, and the Comforter of the dying. We promise to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, your Son, to proclaim His Good News of God's love for all people, and to work for peace and
justice in our world. With faith in your intercession, we pray for the Church, for our family and friends, for the poor and abandoned, and all the dying. Grant, O Mary, Help of Christians, the graces in which we stand in need. (Mention your intentions) May we serve Jesus with fidelity and love until death. Help us and out loved ones to attain the boundless joy of being forever with our Father in heaven. Amen
MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS, PRAY FOR US!
Let nothing disturb thee,
Nothing affright thee;
All things are passing,
God never changeth!
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things;
Who God possesseth
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth.
These lines were found after St Teresa of Avila's death in her breviary in which P Gracián wrote "This breviary belonged to Mother Teresa of Jesus and she was using it for her prayers when God called her to heaven from Alba.
A MEANINGFUL PACK OF BISCUITS
-- Author Unknown
One night there was a woman at the airport who had to wait for several hours before catching her next flight. While she waited she bought a book and a pack of biscuits to spend the time. She looked for a place to sit and waited. She was deep into her book, when suddenly she realized that there was a young man sitting next to her who was stretching his hand, with no concern whatsoever, and grabbing the pack of cookies lying between them. He started to eat them one by one. Not wanting to make a fuss about it she decided to ignore him. The woman, slightly bothered, ate the cookies and watched the clock, while the young and shameless thief of biscuits was also finishing them. The woman started to get really angry at this point and thought "If I wasn't such a good and educated person, I would have given this daring man a black eye by now."
Every time she ate a biscuit, he had one too. The dialogue between their eyes continued and when only one biscuit was left, she wondered what he was going to do. Softly and with a nervous smile, the young man grabbed the last biscuit and broke it in two. He offered one half to the woman while he ate the other half. Briskly she took the biscuit and thought, What an insolent man! How uneducated! He didn't even thank me!"
She had never met anybody so fresh and sighed relieved to hear her flight announced. She grabbed bags and went towards the boarding gate refusing to look to where that insolent thief was seated. After boarding the plane and nicely seated, she looked for her book which was nearly finished by now. While looking into her bag, she was totally surprised to find her pack of biscuits neatly intact. If my biscuits are here, she thought feeling terribly, those others were his and he tried to share them with me. Too late to apologize to the young man, she realized with pain, that it was her who had been insolent, uneducated and a thief, and not him.
How many times in our lives have we known with certainty that something happened in a certain way, only to discover later that it wasn't true? How many times has our lack of trust made us judge other people unfairly? True sharing and giving doesn't start and end with a material exchange or a physical providing of tangible goods. True sharing and giving starts and ends with pure intentions... minus the false judgments, expectations of something in return, external rewards, and pretenses.
When we give, we should give to give... that should be reason enough.
Prayer
"Lord, your love never fails. Increase my faith and confidence in your saving word, make my hope in your promises strong and unwavering, and inflame my heart with consuming love for you and with kindness and mercy for my neighbor."
July 17
Come away with Me for a while. The world, with its nonstop demands, can be put on hold. Most people put Me on hold, rationalizing that someday they will find time to focus on Me. But the longer people push Me into the background of their lives, the harder it is for them to find Me.
You live among people who glorify busyness; they have made time a tyrant that controls their lives. Even those who know Me as Savior tend to march to the tempo of the world. They have bought into the illusion that more is always better: more meetings, more programs, more activity.
I have called you to follow Me on a solitary path, making time alone with Me your highest priority and deepest Joy. It is a pathway largely unappreciated and often despised. However, you have chosen the better thing, which will never be taken away from you. Moreover, as you walk close to Me, I can bless others through you.
“The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”
-Song of Songs 2:13
“But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
-Luke 10:42
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