Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Often times that which we find difficult is that which teaches.
Lord, may I always be able to see the good that comes from
even my trials.

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

And out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. The lowly
will ever find joy in the LORD, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of
Israel. ~Isaiah 29:17-24

Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to
your faith." And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly,
See that no one knows about this." But they went out and spread word of
him through all that land. ~Matthew 9:27-31

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

We are called to be people of hope, trusting that the unexpected and even
the impossible are possible with God. We can hope for justice and the
lasting peace that is its result.

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

I pray that I may trust that all things are possible with God. I pray
that I may work for the justice that can lead to lasting peace.

Hello my friends! Happy Easter!! I'm getting this out early before our
Easter Vigil Mass as that's a long Mass. I know it will be beautiful and
very meaningful and wonderful Easter music. It's been a long time since
we've gone to the Easter Vigil because we've usually been in Texas and only
going on Sunday to the Easter Mass. We are enjoying and getting a lot out
of our Holy Week services this week. It makes us unite as much as we can
with what Jesus did for us in understanding what He all went thru for all of
us, and what Mary went thru too, can you even imagine what she suffered?
And then He gave her to us for our own Blessed Mother - "John, Behold thy
Mother and Mother behold thy son". She was at that moment our Heavenly
Mother and we honor and pray to her and she intercedes for us. This is why
Mary is so often in our thread - we cannot leave her out. We got our Lord,
Jesus through her.
My blessings to day - we went to the early morning prayer service at the
Cathedral at 7:15 and Fr. Jerry was there! After that we went out to
Perkins for breakfast. Linus planted potatoes and onions and I called two
of my sisters, Erma and Sister LaDonna. Erma is in a rehab place from her
recent fall. She hurt her hip, but did not break it! Thanks be to God! Yet
she's in much pain. Had a nice visit with Sister LaDonna, always a
blessing to talk to her. Please keep both in your prayers. Well, I'm
excited to go to the Easter Vigil, we both are, so that will definitely be
another great blessing!!


Inspiring Quotes on the Mercy of God

"If a man finds it very hard to forgive injuries, let him look at a
Crucifix, and think that Christ shed all His Blood for him,

and not only forgave

His enemies, but even prayed His Heavenly Father to forgive

them also. Let him remember that when he says the 'Our Father', every day,
instead of asking

pardon for his sins, he is calling down vengeance on himself"

Saint Philip Neri

Sacred Silence
by Food For Thought

The introduction of the Roman missal for Holy Saturday states that “on Holy
Saturday the Church waits at the Lord’s tomb, meditating on his suffering
and death. The altar is left bare, and the sacrifice of the mass is not
celebrated. Only after the solemn vigil during the night, held in
anticipation of the resurrection, does the Easter celebration begin, with a
spirit of joy that over flows into the following period of fifty days.”

The liturgy for the Easter Vigil unfolds from darkness to the brightness of
the resurrection of Jesus depicting the triumph of love over sin and death.

Whereas the practice in the Jewish synagogues (as described by Henri
Daniel-Rops in the book Daily Life in Palestine at the Time of Christ) was
that “after the prayers came the essence of the service, the reading of the
law, the Hazzan took the holy scroll first from the ark and then from its
two wrappings, and offered it to the first of seven readers. True reading
was required, and it was forbidden to utter more than one verse by hear t.”

In our Catholic liturgy readings, we have seven readings recounting God’s
intervention in our salvation history and then the Epistle before the
proclamation of the gospel. It is here that the Christian tradition had
recognized the coming of the Messiah, his revelations and His saving act to
bring us hope.

In our Gospel, after the scene at the tomb, the women who saw Jesus
alive were told: “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they
must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.” What does Galilee
mean? It means that they were reminded of the beginnings of their
encounter with Jesus and how he touched them. Our liturgies help us to
remember our encounters as well where we will see Jesus. Lately, how
important are our own histories of encounters?

Prayer of Love for the Crucified Lord
O Jesus, it is not the heavenly reward you have promised which impels me to
love you; neither is it the threat of h ell that keep me from offending you.
It is you, O Lord, it is the sight of you affixed to the Cross and suffering
insults; it is the sight of your broken body, as well as your pains and your
death. There is nothing you can give me to make me love you. For even if
there were no heaven and no h ell I would still love you as I do. Amen.

Parent's Creed

If a child lives with criticism,
They learn to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
They learn to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule,
They learn to be shy.
If a child lives with shame,
They learn to feel guilty.
If a child lives with tolerance,
They learn to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement,
They learn confidence.
If a child lives with praise,
They learn to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness,
They learn justice.
If a child lives with security,
They learn to have faith.
If a child lives with approval,
They learn to like themselves.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,
They learn to Find Love in the World.

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.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. I John 4:16

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal
life. John 3:16

Hole in the Heart

The tree was smack in the middle of downtown surrounded by a lot of
concrete, stores, and cars, with roots going down into a tiny patch of
dirt by the street.

Right in the middle of the trunk was a hole. The hole apparently was
made by a branch growing back around grafting itself into the main
tree trunk.

The tree seemed healthy. Its leaves were shiny with a vibrant deep
green hue. It looked good. It functioned as a bit of shade-giver and
was growing fine. Everything about seemed to be normal.

Except that it still had the hole in its center.

Sometimes we walk around with holes in our hearts. We look good, we
carry on day-to-day, and the hole goes undetected by anyone. But
sometimes we are aware that it is still there.

This Easter we remember how Jesus demonstrated the love of God towards
us all. He came to restore us to our relationship with God, and He
came to heal...including holes in our hearts.

His love will heal your heart when He touches you with His love. He
not only can do that, but is more than willing to.

God is love.

That is good news.

He is Risen - Alleluia!!! Alleluia!! What a surprise He gave everyone there
who were mourning His death!! Happy Easter Everyone!