Hello my friends! I hope your Sunday was blessed with special blessings! Mine was - we went to visit my friend, Angie, and had lunch with her, her nephew and niece-in-law and Father Mark joined us. This is his new parish, my friend, Angie's. It was a nice Mass, lunch, and visit at her townhouse later. Sammy was at Linda's downstairs. Someone buzzed her later in the afternoon, She opened the door to see who was coming and Sammy ran out, he knew the way to our apartment and stood at our door and begged for her to let him in!! She was surprised he knew exactly the right door! So she let him in, and not long after, we came back. She called me to let me know. Silly dog.
Be a patient person but, most of all, be patient with yourself. Lord, may
I be blessed with a calm spirit and diligence as I do my work today.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." ~Psalm
119:105
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
God can take our efforts for good and bless them. God appreciates our
efforts. We need God's blessing. Together they mean spiritual success.
Our efforts are necessary. We cannot merely relax and drift with the tide.
We can often direct our efforts against the tide of materialism around us.
When difficulties come, our efforts are needed to surmount them. But God
can direct our efforts into the right channels and God's power is necessary
to help us choose the right.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may choose the right. I pray that I may have God's blessing
and direction in all my efforts for good.
Mother of Sorrows
My Son, could I have climbed this hill for You,
How willingly had I endured each stone:
Yet, I too struggled up steep Calvary;
You have not climbed alone!
Could I have borne the monstrous cross for You,
I would have carried it unto my death.
Though I could not, still I have felt its weight,
My Son, with every breath!
Oh, could I pluck these nails from Your loved flesh,
And driving them through mine, make them a part
Of my own body's pain, I would! But Son,
I wear them in my heart!
Virginia Moan Evans
St. Anthony Messenger
March 1958
JESUS IN THE HOUSE
One day he decided to invite the Lord to come home and stay with him. When the Lord arrived, this young man offered him the very best room in the house. The room was upstairs and at the end of the hall. "This room is yours, Jesus! Stay as long as you like and you can do whatever you want to in this room, remember Jesus, it’s all yours."
That evening after he had retired for the night there came a loud knocking at the front door. The young man pulled on his robe and made his way downstairs. When he opened the door he found that the devil had sent three of his demons to attack the man. He quickly tried to close the door but one of the demons kept sticking his foot in.
Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed to slam the door shut and returned to his room totally exhausted.
Can you believe that," the man thought. Jesus is upstairs in my very best room sleeping while I am down here battling demons. Oh, well, maybe he just didn't hear. He slept fitfully that night. The next day thing went along as normal and, being tired as he was, the young man retired early that evening. Along about midnight, there came such a terrible ruckus at the front door that the young man was sure that whatever it was would tear the door down. He stumbled down the stairs once again and opened the door to find that were dozens of demons now trying to get into his beautiful home.
For more than three hours he fought and struggled against the demons from hell, and finally overtook them enough to shut the door against their attack. All energy seemed to fail him. He really didn't understand this at all. Why won't the Lord come to my rescue? Why does he allow me to fight all by myself? I feel so alone. Troubled, he found his way to the sofa and fell into a restless sleep.
The next morning he decided to inquire of the Lord about the happenings of the last two evenings. Quietly he made his way to the elegant bedroom where he had left Jesus. "Jesus," he called as he tapped at the door. "Lord, I don't understand what is happening. For the last two nights I have had to fight the demons away from my door while you laid up here sleeping. Don't you care about me? Did I not give you the very best room in the house?"
He could see the tears building in Jesus' eyes but continued on, "I just don't understand, I really thought that once I invited you in to live with me that you would take care of me and I gave you the best room in my house and everything. What more can I do?"
"My precious child," Jesus spoke so softly. "I do love and care for you. I protect all that you have released into my care. But, when you invited me to come here and stay, you brought me to this lovely room and you shut the door to the rest of your house. I am Lord of this room but I am not Master of this house.
I have protected this room and no demon may enter here."
"Oh, Lord, please forgive me. Take all of my house -- it is yours. I am so sorry that I never offered you all to begin with. I want you to have control of everything." With this he flung open the bedroom door and knelt at Jesus' feet. "Please forgive me Lord for being so selfish."
Jesus smiled and told him that He had already forgiven him and that He would take care of things from now on. That night as the young man prepared for bed he thought, I wonder if those demons will return, I am so tired of fighting them each and every night. But, he knew that Jesus said that he would take care of things from now on.
Along about midnight the banging on the door was frightening. The young man slipped out of his room in time to see Jesus going down the stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung open the door, no need to be afraid.
Satan stood at the door, this time demanding to be let in. "What do you want, satan?" the Lord asked. The devil bowed low in the presence of the Lord, "So sorry, I seem to have gotten the wrong address." And with that, he and the demons all ran away.
Interesting Insights into Jesus' Life and His Death
Jesus began His ministry by being hungry,
Yet He is the Bread of Life.
Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty,
Yet He is the Living Water.
Jesus was weary,
Yet He is our rest.
Jesus paid tribute,
Yet He is the King.
Jesus was accused of having a demon,
Yet He cast out demons.
Jesus wept,
Yet He wipes away our tears.
Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver,
Yet He redeemed the world.
Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
Yet He is the Good Shepherd.
Jesus died,
Yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.
*Written by Gregory of Nazasazus A.D. 38
There is one who knows all your heartache;
He sees ev'ry falling tear;
His grace will bring you rich comfort
And help all your burdens to bear.
Though your path may be strewn with sorrow,
And lonely may be your day,
There's one who will walk beside you
And bring joy and gladness your way.
Though your dearest friend may forsake you,
And loved ones misunderstand,
There's one who will never leave you;
He'll hold to your faltering hand.
Come, kneel at the Cross of the Saviour
And cast your cares upon Him!
He graciously bestows pardon
And takes away burden of sin.
There is never a disappointment,
Nor heartache He cannot heal;
He'll answer your soul's deep longing,
As in His blest presence you kneel.
(Kathryn Thorne Bowsher)
The Flashlight
Most parents have had some experience with kids waking up with bad dreams at some point or another. If not bad dreams, then surely every parent has had to deal with invisible monsters hiding in the closet or under the bed.
Recently my wife and I had a bout with our oldest son waking us out of the comfort of our warm bed to come into his room and scare off something that was fear itself.
It was three in the morning and even though it can be the sweetest word on earth when you get home from work, it is not so sweet when heard at three in the morning.
"Daddy"
I came into my son's room to see what the problem was. The first time it was, "I think I saw something." The second time it was, "I think I heard something." The third time it was, "I'm just scared."
I had to get up early in the morning and go to work. I am a very patient man but my sleepiness was wearing my patience down. The wee hours of the morning had me delirious so I warned him, "If you call me one more time, I'm going to give you something to be afraid of." Two minutes later.
"Daddy"
I came into the room and staying true to my promise, even though it hurt my heart to do so, I gave him a tap on the leg; after all, I had to get some sleep. Walking back to my bed like a weary victor of war, I said, "It wasn't easy but that took care of that."Five minutes later.
"Daddy"
I lay in bed for a while at my wit's end on what to do, I had given up.
I knew that if I went and slept in his room with him he would want me to do it every night that he felt fear. I laid there basking in a feeling of stripped victory. In the stillness of the night, a light popped on in my head.
It was a literal light. I saw a picture in my head of a flashlight.
I immediately got out of bed, went to the hall closet, got the flashlight out and took it to my son's room. I handed it to him and told him "Light has a special power to make monsters go away, when you think you see or hear something just cut the light on and shine it in that direction and whatever it is will have to go away."
I went back and got into bed with apprehensiveness against getting to sleep too soundly. I listened for about five minutes then I saw a circle of light shining in my son's room. I waited for that demanding title of "Daddy," but all I heard was the stillness of the night.
This same principle is true in the lives of adults. Many times, we are afraid of that which can really do us no harm.
Our flashlight can be knowledge; most of the time we fear what we don't understand. As we become more enlightened on something that seems scary, peace will come.
The light doesn't really chase away monsters living in the shadows, it just changes our eyesight to see that the room, the business, the school, the marriage, and the assignment is not as scary as it looked without the light on.
Whatever you are afraid of, shine some light on it.
~ James Bronner ~
The Cross Is . . .
the cross is the hope of Christians
the cross is the resurrection of the dead
the cross is the way of the lost
the cross is the savior of the lost
the cross is the staff of the lame
the cross is the guide of the blind
the cross is the strength of the weak
the cross is the doctor of the sick
the cross is the aim of the priests
the cross is the hope of the hopeless
the cross is the freedom of the slaves
the cross is the power of the kings
the cross is the water of the seeds
the cross is the consolation of the bondsmen
the cross is the source of those who seek water
the cross is the cloth of the naked.
We thank you, Father, for the cross.
Lenten Prayer
Father, help us to be like Christ your Son, who loved the world and died for our salvation. Inspire us by his love, guide us by his example, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Verse of the Day
'If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
1 Corinthians 13: 1-3
Lenten Reflections by Bishop Robert Barron
I recently mourned the death of French philosopher René Girard, whose insights on group psychology and the scapegoating mechanism were very influential in my life. He says that a kind of community is formed precisely when a variety of people, who would otherwise rather dislike one another, come together in a common hatred of someone else.
We can see this, Girard tells us, at all levels, from the most personal to the most collective, from families to nation-states. How often there is a “black sheep” in a family? He or she plays an important role in family stability and identity.
What is the only thing that two scholars can agree on? How poor the work of a third scholar is! Likewise, what is the only thing two musicians can agree upon? How awful another musician’s composition is.
This dynamic is in effect in one of the most beautifully crafted stories in the New Testament: the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), which we hear today at Mass. The text tells us “They caught her in the very act of adultery.”
The first thing we wonder is, where were they situated in order to catch her in the very act? The voyeurism and perversion of these men is shocking.
Then they come en masse, in the terrible enthusiasm of a mob, and they present the case to Jesus.
Now what does Jesus do in the face of this violent mob that is seeking release from its tension? First, he bends down and writes on the ground. Sometimes silence, a refusal to co-operate is the best opening move. But the mysterious writing might indicate something else: the writing down of the sins of each person in the group, as some of the Church Fathers surmised.
Then Jesus says “let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” He forces them to turn their accusing glance inward, where it belongs. Instead of projecting their violence outward on a scapegoat, they should honestly name and confront the dysfunction within them. This story, like all the stories in the Gospels, is a foreshadowing of the great story toward which we are tending. Jesus will be put to death by a mob bent on scapegoating violence. Yet in sacrificing himself, he will ultimately absorb the violence and defuse it.
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March 13 - Jesus Calling
Learn to live above your circumstances. This requires focused time with Me, the One who overcame the world. Trouble and distress are woven into the very fabric of this perishing world. Only My Life in you can empower you to face this endless flow of problems with good cheer.
As you sit quietly in My Presence, I shine Peace into your troubled mind and heart. Little by little, you are freed from earthly shackles and lifted up above your circumstances. You gain My perspective on your life, enabling you to distinguish between what is important and what is not. Rest in My Presence, receiving Joy that no one can take away from you.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
—John 16:33 nkjv
“So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
—John 16:22
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