Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Today was an ordinary day, cool, but ordinary. Was blessed by talking to both daughters on the phone. So sad that Darla is in such pain from the trip back, and awaiting to hear if her ins. will cover the injections - I advised her to get them. I heard good about it by two people that have had them. Tomorrow we celebrate a great Feast Day - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary so I'll start with this:

Solemnity of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary

Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10

Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16

1 Corinthians 15:20-26

Luke 1:39-56

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

For those of us who are Catholics, this celebration of Mary in heaven is so very natural. For those of us who are not Catholics, it might seem uncomfortable. There is always the question: "Aren't you raising Mary to the same level as Jesus?" Please bear with me, as I try to reflect upon what this feast can mean for all of us who believe in the saving power of Jesus' death, resurrection and gift of the Spirit, especially if I do so from my Roman Catholic enthusiasm and affection for Mary.

I think it has always been a mis-reading of the Catholic devotion to Mary, to see it as worship of Mary. I think one of the riches of the Christian spirit is to find every human, natural, tangible, emotional means available to support our faith. Down through history, as the form of the celebration of the Eucharist became more and more "distant" or "transcendent," I think the people used a variety of devotions to achieve an intimacy with our Lord. I believe that the Spirit keeps finding ways to inspire us with desires for intimacy with our God.

From Duccio's, "Maestra," (1306-1311) an altarpiece created for the Cathedral in Siena, but now in the Cathedral Museum.One of the very real human scenes that is wonderful to imagine is that time in the life of the early community, when Mary died. I have buried a number of very close relatives and I have a deep sense of what it is to say "farewell" to a loved one. Just imagine what a special person Mary was. Not only did she receive the extraordinary gift of conceiving and giving birth to Jesus, she raised him, and followed his public life. And, she was there at the foot of the cross, experienced him as alive in a new way, and was there on the day of Pentecost. Imagine the words exchanged between Mary and whatever disciples were around her as she approached her death. I remember vividly how my family caressed the body of my father and mother after they died. I can only imagine the very special devotion her friends and care givers had for her very special body at the time of her death.

Titian's Assumption (1516-1518). It is located on the high altar in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, being the largest altarpiece in the city.As we reflect upon the meaning of the resurrection for us - as we do every time we celebrate a funeral - we are caught in the mystery of what happens to us after we die, after there is no more life in the body, when we pass into eternity and time is irrelevant. How does Christ's victory over sin and death touch and transform our mortal bodies? Part of why we pray for those who have died is to pray for God's mercy on our loved ones, in the faith-filled hope that God will forgive their sins and that "the angels will carry them to paradise." I imagine that it was easy for believers down through the centuries to be certain that Mary, of all people on this earth, the one "full of grace," would be the first to be carried home to the loving embrace of God. "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians." [Catechism of the Catholic Church, #966]

Dear Lord, help us to live our lives with true hope in your gift of eternal life. Take away our fears, comfort us in the trials and crosses of our daily life. Help us to imagine the joy of a great reunion at the Banquet of Heaven. And, please, let our anticipation of that joy free us from the worries and anxieties we face today. Let Mary assist us and guide us on our path to that life in you.

Hail, Mary, full of grace! The Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

Too often our efforts stand in the way of coming to Christ. Lord, help me
know my weakness and surrender to Your strength.

Scripture for the day:

"You must follow exactly the path that the LORD your God has commanded
you, so that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that
you may live long in the land that you are to possess." ~Deuteronomy
5:33

Meditation for the day:

Our real work in life is to grow spiritually. To do this we can follow
the path of diligently seeking good. The hidden spiritual wonders are
revealed to those who diligently seek this treasure. From one point to
the next, we can follow the way of obedience to God's will until finally we
reach greater and greater spiritual heights. Work on the material plane
can be secondary to our real life's work. The material things which we
need most are those which help us to attain the spiritual.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may keep growing spiritually. I pray that I may make this
my real life's work.



The Jesus Prayer

O my Divine Savior, transform me into yourself.
May my hands be the hands of Jesus.
May my tongue be the tongue of Jesus,
Grant that every faculty of my body may serve only to glorify you.
Above all, transform my soul and all its powers,
that my memory, my will and my affections
may be the memory, the will and the affections of Jesus.
I pray you to destroy in me all that is not you.
Grant that I may live but in you and for you,
and that I may truly say with St. Paul:
"I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20).

LORD, PROP US UP
Author Unknown

Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old deacon who always
prayed, Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side.'

After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why
he prayed that prayer so fervently.

He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this....I got an old barn
out back. It's been there a long time, it's withstood a lot of
weather, it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many
years. It's still standing, but one day I noticed it was leaning to
one side a bit. So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on
its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.

Then I got to thinking 'bout that and how much I was like that old
barn. I been around a long time, I've withstood a lot of life's
storms, I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a
lot of hard times, and I'm still standing too. But I find myself
leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to
prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to
leaning, at times.'

Sometime we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness,
leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of
things that we shouldn't, so we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our
leaning side,' so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify
the Lord.

Prayer of Trust
By St. Aloysius Gonzaga

O Holy Mary, my Mistress!
I commend my soul and body
unto thy blessed and special trust today
and every day,
and at the hour of my passing hence.
To thee I entrust all my hope and consolation,
all my anguish and miseries,
my life and the end of my life,
that through thy most holy intercession
and thy merits,
all my actions may be
directed and disposed according
to thy will and that of thy Son.
Amen.

Whisper Jesus

Today I got a burden,
And I felt that I should pray
For God's spirit seemed to tell me,
That you needed prayer today.

I don't know what the problem is,
But I sure do know the cure
And if you'll only let Him
God will keep you safe and secure.

In life there's always problems
Cropping up to spoil our day
But my friend you know the answer
All you have to do is pray.

If you still feel you're defeated
And you want to run and hide
Just reach out and I'll be there
Standing right there by your side.

So remember, Whisper Jesus,
For He's just a prayer away,
He's so close that you can touch Him
All you have to do is pray.

(author unknown)