Count Your Blessings - Monday

gloriajean · ‎03-10-2010

Same thread, just changed the title.

Give yourself more exercise than jumping to conclusions. Lord, grant

me sincerity and wisdom in my daily life.

Scripture for the day:

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture,

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ~James 2:8

Meditation for the day:

I can prepare myself by doing each day what I can to develop spiritually and

to help others to do so. Events in my life can test me, train me and bend

me to God's will. If I am not properly trained, I cannot meet the test when

it comes. I can want God's will for me above all else.

I need not expect to have what I am not prepared for. This preparation

consists of quiet communion with God every day and gradually gaining the

strength I need.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may really try to do God's will in all my affairs. I pray

that I may do all I can to help others find God's will for them.

Hello my friends! How do you like the new title? Just thought of it this afternoon as this is what it's all about, right? Please feel free to come here and post your blessings that maybe are ordinary or not so ordinary. That's what I do, just my everyday blessings that I would normally take for granted. This is also a Gratitude thread. Today's blessings - beautiful Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday - which is always the Sunday after Easter - and I'm glad I could be there, although I felt better! There was a great celebration at the Cathedral this afternoon for it, with prayers and speakers etc, Linus went but I needed to rest. Going tonight though for our class - looking forward to it - at 6 PM, and I thought I'd be too tired afterwards for this thread, so why not get it out first?

Being it's Divine Mercy Sunday - I'd like to share with you Fr. Rick's homily for today:

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

Acts 5:12-16 / Ps 118: 2-4. 13-15. 22-24 / Rev 1:9-13,17-19 / Jn 20:19-31

ACTS 5:12-16

Many miraculous signs and wonders were done among the people through the hands of the apostles. The believers, of one accord, used to meet in Solomon's Porch. None of the others dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. So an ever increasing number of men and women, believed in the Lord. The people carried the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and on mats, so that when Peter passed by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were troubled by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.

REVELATION 1:9-13, 17-19

I, John, your brother, who shares with you, in Jesus, the sufferings, the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island of Patmos, because of the Word of God and witnessing to Jesus. On the Lord's day, the Spirit took possession of me and I heard a voice behind me which sounded like a trumpet, "Write down all that you see, in a book, and send it to the seven Churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea." I turned to see who was speaking to me; behind me were seven golden lampstands and, in the middle of these, I saw someone like a son of man, dressed in a long robe tied with a golden girdle. Seeing him, I fell at his feet like one dead but he touched me with his right hand and said, "Do not be afraid. It is I, the First and the Last. I am the living one; I was dead and now I am alive for ever and ever; and mine are the keys of death and the nether world. Now write what you have seen, both what is and what is yet to come.

JOHN 20:19-31

On the evening of that day, the first day after the Sabbath, the doors were locked where the disciples were, because of their fear of the Jews. But Jesus came, and stood among them, and said to them, "Peace be with you!" Then he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples kept looking at the Lord and were full of joy. Again Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I send you." After saying this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit! Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; those whose sins you retain, they are retained." Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he replied, "Until I have seen in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." Eight days later, the disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into my side. Don't be an unbeliever! Believe!" Thomas then said, "You are my Lord and my God." Jesus replied, "You believe because you see me, don't you? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." There were many other signs that Jesus gave in the presence of his disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Believe, and you will have life through his Name!

REFLECTION

Suppose we could travel back in time to Jerusalem after Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus has returned to his Father and has sent his Spirit upon the disciples. And now the first Christians begin to live the Christ-life, the life of oneness with the risen Lord.

This brings us to doubting Thomas. Why wasn't he around when Jesus first appeared to the eleven? What made him so skeptical and hard to please when trusted friends like Peter, James and John told him, "We have seen the Lord?" We do not know. What we do know is that the doubter uttered the most perfect affirmation of Christ's nature in all the Gospels: "My Lord and my God!" – an act of faith for Thomas as for us, a gift impossible without God's gracious giving. Such faith is an experience - Personal, of course – a one-to- one experience of God. But notice – the experience took place in the midst of a community of disciples.

THE MENDER

My Savior specializes in mending broken things,

He takes the heart that's shattered, and gives it songs to sing.

He pieces it together with His sweet gracious touch;

He mends the heart that's broken because He loves so much.

He mends the broken spirit, then lifts that spirit up,

The broken lives He reshapes... those lives so wrecked by sin,

When in their crushed condition they turn in faith to Him.

The broken dreams that crumble to ashes at our feet,

That seemed so fair and lovely, that made life taste more sweet.

Those broken dreams He rebuilds and fashions them anew. ..

Then gives us faith to trust Him to see new dreams come true.

What of the broken plans then? The broken health that comes?

Is He not ever mindful when life's swift pendulum

Dashes to scattered pieces the plans that we have made?

Above it all, He whispers- "I shall come to your aid."

He restores broken spirits, binds broken hearts, and dreams,

Repairs the shattered pages of lives that He redeems.

He stands ready to help us no matter what life brings

Because He specializes in mending broken things!

10 Reasons for Hope

1.

God is truly in control.

If God is God, then nothing happens apart from His knowledge and permission.

While it is difficult to imagine why God allows some painful things to happen, His character, revealed in the Bible and through the testing of generations, leads us to the conclusion that He is willing and able to sustain you during the worst of times.

We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead.

2.

There is an eternal life to come.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the Glory He will give us later.

He will keep you strong right up to the end, and He will keep you free from all blame on the great day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

3.

The story isn't finished yet.

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Time after time, the Bible records hopeless situations that ultimately ended in victory. Think of Job's sickness, Josephs betrayal by his brothers, David's adultery and the many who were healed in mind, body and spirit. But Joseph told them, don't be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people.

4.

God has not given up on you!

Don't give up on Him. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

5.

There is likely purpose in your pain.

Ask God to reveal His purpose in allowing this difficulty in your life. That's a legitimate question to ask. Often, the answer comes in the process of dealing with your circumstance.

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.

6.

You are loved!

Even the most unlovable person in the world is actually loved so much by God, that He let His Son die a terrible death to restore their relationship. God does love you!

He sees your pain and weeps with you. He has sent Me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. ... To all who mourn in Israel, He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the Lord has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for His own glory.

7.

Your prayers are heard.

You parents if your children ask you for loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him?

8.

You are not facing this alone.

For God has said, I will never fail you. I will never forsake you. That is why we can say with confidence, The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

9.

Others have made it through you can too.

Try to connect with others who have gone through similar situations. You will find hope, strength and encouragement. A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

10.

Reach out to someone else who is struggling.

Place your focus on someone else and invest your life in him or her. You may discover that your peace of mind is found in being a source of hope for another. All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.

When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

Divine Mercy - Sacred Scriptures

Old Testament - Holy Bible

Exodus 34:5-6

5 And when the Lord was come down in a cloud, Moses stood with him, calling upon the name of the Lord.

6 And when he passed before him, he said: O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true,

Isaias 1: 17-20

17 Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow.

18 And then come, and accuse me, saith the Lord: if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool.

19 if you be willing, and will hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the land.

20 But if you will not, and will provoke me to wrath: the sword shall devour you because the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

2 Esdras 9:31 (Nehemiah 9:31)

31 Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Psalm 103:9-18 (102 D. Rheims)

9 He will not always be angry: nor will he threaten for ever.

10 He hath not dealt with us according to our sins: nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

11 For according to the height of the heaven above the earth: he hath strengthened his mercy towards them that fear him.

12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our iniquities from us.

13 As a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him:

14 for he knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust:

15 man's days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish.

16 For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be: and he shall know his place no more.

17 But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity and unto eternity upon them that fear him: And his justice unto children's children,

18 to such as keep his covenant, And are mindful of his commandments to do them.

Psalm 130:3-4 (129 Douay R.)

3 If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.

4 For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word:

Isaiah 44:21-22

21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou art my servant. I have formed thee, thou art my servant, O Israel, forget me not.

22 I have blotted out thy iniquities as a cloud, and thy sins as a mist: return to me, for I have redeemed thee.

Lamentations 3:22

22 Heth. The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed: because his commiserations have not failed.

Divine Mercy - Holy Bible New Testament

Matthew 6:12

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

Matthew 6:14

14 For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences.

15 But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences.

Luke 15:11-32 - The Prodigal son

11 And he said: A certain man had two sons:

12 And the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his substance.

13 And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his substance, living riotously.

14 And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want.

15 And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine.

16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him.

17 And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger?

18 I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee:

19 I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20 And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him.

21 And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son.

22 And the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry:

24 Because this my son was dead, and is come to life again: was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

25 Now his elder son was in the field, and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing:

26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27 And he said to him: Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe.

28 And he was angry, and would not go in. His father therefore coming out began to entreat him.

29 And he answering, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve thee, and I have never transgressed thy commandment, and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends:

30 But as soon as this thy son is come, who hath devoured his substance with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31 But he said to him: Son, thou art always with me, and all I have is thine.

32 But it was fit that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found.

John 8:3-7 - Mary Magdalen

3 And the scribes and the Pharisees bring unto him a woman taken in adultery: and they set her in the midst,

4 And said to him: Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery.

5 Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one. But what sayest thou?

6 And this they said tempting him, that they might accuse him. But Jesus bowing himself down, wrote with his finger on the ground.

7 When therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

8 And again stooping down, he wrote on the ground.

9 But they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst.

10 Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?

11 Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more.

Prayer of Manasseh - A prayer for Mercy

1. O Lord Almighty, God of our ancestors, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous offspring;

2 you who made heaven and earth with all their order;

3 who shackled the sea by your word of command, who confined the deep and sealed it with your terrible and glorious name;

4 at whom all things shudder, and tremble before your power,

5 for your glorious splendor cannot be borne, and the wrath of your threat to sinners is unendurable;

6 yet immeasurable and unsearchable is your promised mercy,

7 for you are the Lord Most High, of great compassion, long-suffering, and very merciful, and you relent at human suffering.

O Lord, according to your great goodness you have promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against you, and in the multitude of your mercies you have appointed repentance for sinners, so that they may be saved.

8 Therefore you, O Lord, God of the righteous, have not appointed repentance for the righteous, for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against you, but you have appointed repentance for me, who am a sinner.

9 For the sins I have committed are more in number than the sand of the sea; my transgressions are multiplied, O Lord, they are multiplied!

I am not worthy to look up and see the height of heaven because of the multitude of my iniquities.

10 I am weighted down with many an iron fetter, so that I am rejected because of my sins, and I have no relief; for I have provoked your wrath and have done what is evil in your sight, setting up abominations and multiplying offenses.

11 And now I bend the knee of my heart, imploring you for your kindness.

12 I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge my transgressions.

13 I earnestly implore you, forgive me, O Lord, forgive me!

Do not destroy me with my transgressions!

Do not be angry with me forever or store up evil for me;

do not condemn me to the depths of the earth.

For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent,

14 and in me you will manifest your goodness; for, unworthy as I am, you will save me according to your great mercy,

15 and I will praise you continually all the days of my life.

For all the host of heaven sings your praise, and yours is the glory forever.

Amen.

Luke 23: 34