Among Friends

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends!  Hope your day is going well.  Cloudy here, but in the 40's, so that's good!  Spring has sprung! I am concerned about Pinky Ann's husband, I haven't heard any more from her and looks like she can't email now.  Let's all say a prayer for her and her husband. Praying for you all!

When you are wrong, have the courage to admit it because it's the best

way to show that you are wiser today than yesterday. Lord, may I be

humble enough so that even my mistakes make me a stronger and better

person.

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

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  ~Matthew
11:28-30

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

We are so made that we can only carry the weight of twenty-four hours,
no more.  If we weigh ourselves down with the years behind and the
days ahead, our back breaks.  God has promised to help us with the
burdens of this day. If we are foolish enough to gather again the
burden of the
past and carry it, then indeed we can become unnecessarily heavily
burdened.  We can forget that which lies behind us and breathe in the
blessing of each new day.

P R A Y E R   F O R   T H E   D A Y 

I pray that I may realize that, for good or bad, past days have ended.
I pray that I may face each new day, the coming twenty-four hours,
with hope and courage.

Lenten Reflections by Bishop Robert Barron

Lent Day 34

The God of Mercy

God is much more interested in your future than in your past. Why worry excessively about what came before? Why obsess over your past sins? We have a God who “makes all things new,” and in that we find hope.

It is a sad commentary indeed, but very often it's religious people who most want to trap others in their past, nail them to the cross of the mistakes they have made, and use religion itself as the means to affect this punishment. This is as true today as it was in the time of Christ when the mob brought the woman caught in adultery before him.

In one of the great one-liners of the entire Bible, which we heard yesterday at Mass, Jesus disarms them: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). Our solidarity in sin ought to awaken in us a greater compassion for one another. At this prompting, they drifted away, one by one, until Jesus was left alone with the woman.

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore” (John 8:11). How rich is that little word “go.” Again, what is being emphasized is the future not the past, on what lies ahead instead of obsessing with what lies behind.

Do you feel terribly imprisoned by your past? Perhaps you’ve done something terrible, something awful and shameful and every time you think of it, you cringe. Or maybe someone has harmed you so severely that you just can’t let go of the hurt and you continue to seethe with resentment. Perhaps you feel that you’ve done something so wrong that not even God can forgive you. You don’t even bother going to confession because you’re just too ashamed or so convinced that God wouldn’t forgive you. 

What I want you to know right here and right now is that there is a way out, a way forward, a path opening up in the desert.

You might be miseria (in misery) but standing right in front of you is Misericordia(mercy). So, go.

The Cross

The Cross too, makes me know not only myself, but it gives to me knowledge of God.

When you think you've had a bad day, take a look at Jesus' list...

Stations of the Cross:

• Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death
• Station 2: Jesus takes up the Cross
• Station 3: Jesus falls under the Cross for the first time
• Station 4: Jesus meets his mother
• Station 5: Simon the Cyrene is forced to carry the Cross
• Station 6: Veronica wipes the sweat from Jesus' face
• Station 7: Jesus falls for the second time
• Station 8: Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem
• Station 9: Jesus falls for the third time
• Station 10: Jesus is stripped of His garments
• Station 11: Jesus is nailed to the Cross
• Station 12: Jesus dies on the Cross
• Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the Cross
• Station 14: Jesus is laid in the Tomb

WHEN THE WORLD FORGETS... 

who you are,
to share your pain,
to be kind,
to be compassionate,
to smile,
to lift a helping hand,
the sick,
the lonely,
the frazzled, worn, caretaker,
to understand,
to love,
to say "Good Morning",
to let us remember,
to say, "I Love You",
to let us forget,
to say, "Good Night",
to show they care,
to be our friend,
to listen,
to hear,
to speak,
to give gifts of kindness,
to always be there for us,

...God always remembers.

~~Author Unknown~~

Verse of the Day

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. . . . Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:2-6

A Prayer for Lent

Lord Jesus, I believe, help my unbelief. The time may be delayed, the manner unexpected but the answer is sure to come. Not a tear of sacred sorrow nor a breath of holy desire, poured out in prayer to You, will ever be lost. Help me Lord to move with You. Sacred Heart of Jesus I place all my trust in Thee.

March 14 - Jesus Calling

Do not hesitate to receive Joy from Me, for I bestow it on you abundantly.The more you rest in My Presence, the more freely My blessings flow into you. In the Light of My Love, you are gradually transformed from glory to glory. It is through spending time with Me that you realize how wide and long and high and deep is My Love for you.

Sometimes the relationship I offer you seems too good to be true. I pour My very Life into you, and all you have to do is receive Me. In a world characterized by working and taking, the admonition to rest and receive seems too easy. There is an intricate connection between receiving and believing: As you trust Me more and more, you are able to receive Me and My blessings abundantly. Be still, and know that I am God.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
—2 Corinthians 3:18 nasb

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
—Ephesians 3:17–19

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
—Psalm 46:10