Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Live today so that you will make life better for those around you. You will
end up making your life better too. Lord, You teach that it is in giving that
I receive. May I always have a generous spirit.


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

"'Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who
fell into the hands of the robbers?' He said, 'The one who showed him
mercy.' Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise.'" ~Luke 10:36-37

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

We can accept the difficulties and disciplines of life and thereby
fully share the common life of other people. Many things that we need
to accept in life are not to be taken so much as being necessary for
us personally. In our disappointments and difficulties we share in the
problems of humanity. We can accept the compassion and understanding
of others. We can share many of these experiences of life in order to
understand and sympathize with others. Unless we have been through
the same experiences, we cannot understand other people or their
makeup well enough to be able to help them.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y

I pray that I may accept everything that comes my way as a part of
life. I pray that I may make use of it in helping other people.

Hello my friends! Well Lent is here - and I'm hoping that all thru this Lent I'll be able to post good Lenten material that you can use for your daily lives. If you decide not to give up anything, it's good to do something good instead - like more prayers, volunteering, helping other people in whatever you can do. Whatever you do for the lease of His brethren you do for Him. We are planning on doing some mortification too, like giving up TV. He says we can catch up on the news on the internet. I remember my dear friend, Sarah, who gave up her computer for lent! I couldn't do that. Let's plan our days with just a little things we can offer up to God.

Homily of the Day


March 8, 2011


How Deep Are the Roots of Your Joy?
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Tobit 2:9-14 / Mk 12:13-17

The search for happiness is a lifelong quest with outcomes as numerous and varied as the people in the world. Some folks are content with the simplest of lives, while others are congenitally dissatisfied no matter what their circumstance. Some people find the true source of happiness early in their lives, while others still have no clue as they lie on their deathbeds. For some, the quest begins well and then falters in the face of adversity.

This seems to have been the case with Tobit in today’s Old Testament reading. Tobit was a good man, faithful to God and to those around him. Through no fault of his own he was tragically stricken blind, and with the passage of time his powerlessness embittered him and made him suspicious, even of his long-suffering wife. Her response cut him to the quick. “Your true character is finally showing itself,” she said with a vengeance and she was right, at least in part.

Before hastening to lend our assent to her judgment of Tobit, we might do well to ponder our own conduct in adversity. Do we stand firm and confident, or does our “Christian joy” fizzle and reveal its shallow roots by succumbing to self-pity and bitterness?

The happiness we seek, the joy God wants us to have, has roots planted deep in our belief in the resurrection. How deep are your roots? Are you ready for the still unseen challenges that will surely come your way? Now is the time to find out, before they arrive!

ONE MINUTE

He almost killed somebody, but one minute changed his life. The beautiful story comes from Sherman Rogers' old book, "Foremen: Leaders or Drivers?" In his true-life story, Rogers illustrates the importance of effective relationships.

During his college years, Rogers spent a summer in an Idaho logging camp. When the superintendent had to leave for a few days, he put Rogers in charge.

"What if the men refuse to follow my orders?" Rogers asked. He thought of Tony, an immigrant worker who grumbled and growled all day, giving the other men a hard time.

"Fire them," the superintendent said. Then, as if reading Rogers' mind, he added, "I suppose you think you are going to fire Tony if you get the chance. I'd feel badly about that. I have been logging for 40 years. Tony is the most reliable worker I've ever had. I know he is a grouch and that he hates everybody and everything. But he comes in first and leaves last. There has not been an accident for eight years on the hill where he works."

Rogers took over the next day. He went to Tony and spoke to him. "Tony, do you know I'm in charge here today?" Tony grunted. "I was going to fire you the first time we tangled, but I want you to know I'm not," he told Tony, adding what the superintendent had said.

When he finished, Tony dropped the shovelful of sand he had held and tears streamed down his face. "Why he no tell me dat eight years ago?"

That day Tony worked harder than ever before -- and he smiled! He later said to Rogers, "I told Maria you first foreman in deese country who ever say, 'Good work, Tony,' and it make Maria feel like Christmas."

Rogers went back to school after that summer. Twelve years later he met Tony again. He was superintendent for railroad construction for one of the largest logging companies in the West. Rogers asked him how he came to California and happened to have such success.

Tony replied, "If it not be for the one minute you talk to me back in Idaho, I keel somebody someday. One minute, she change my whole life."

Effective managers know the importance of taking a moment to point out what a worker is doing well. But what a difference a minute of affirmation can make in any relationship!

One minute. Have you got one minute to thank someone? A minute to tell someone what you sincerely like or appreciate about her? A minute to elaborate on something he did well? One minute. It can make a difference for a lifetime.

THE "OUR FATHER" PRAYER
Author Unknown


Do I Really Mean What I Pray?

Examine how well you live what you pray as you meditate on the
following:

I cannot say OUR if I keep my faith only to myself and never share it
with others.

I cannot say FATHER if I do not trust in His loving and complete
concern for me, forgetting that He always answers prayers how and when
He knows is best.

I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN if I am so attached to the ways of this
world that I neglect to seek God first in everything.

I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME if I am unwilling to let His
holiness penetrate my life and help me grow in my own holiness.

I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME if I am not using my life to bring His
love into the world.

I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE if I live by my own ideas of morality or
choose to follow the world's standards.

I cannot say ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN if I am not devoting my life
to serving Him here on earth.

I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD if I am not willing to
be generous with whatever God gives me.

I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES if I don't want to put forth
enough effort to change.

I cannot say AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US if I still
hold a grudge, if I'm still angry, or if I still insist that other
people change.

I cannot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION if I deliberately or
knowingly place myself in a position to be tempted.

I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL if I'm not actively fighting against
evil through deeds of love and service for everyone in my life,
especially those who cause problems.

Closing prayer:

A PRAYER FOR AMERICA
Father, we beg Your blessing for the Right to Life, the Unborn, the weak, the sick and the old; all who are finding themselves being targets of the vicious culture of death; that our Lord Jesus bless and protect all who stand up for the Christian dignity of persons. That God enlighten those who are traveling down death's highway by their involvement, in any way, with either the contemporary death culture, selfism, relativeism, or any of the new age errors of our times, that God envelop our culture with His Divine protection and help us both individually and as a nation to true enlightenment, conversion and repentance of our selves and our culture. Help us to turn from our national sin of abortion, and return to, and once again become a Christian nation, on the narrow road, that is, the path to becoming a nation and culture, under God. Amen.

Good night everyone - sweet dreams and may you all have a great start for a great Lenten season! God bless you all!! Happy Lent!
You will receive many blessings!