Community Chat

[gloriajean]

God is better to us than we deserve. Lord, thank you for the strength
You give in my trials and especially thank you for the trials You have
kept from my door.


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

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come? My help
comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." ~Psalm 121:1-2

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

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-- from where will my help come?" We can try
to raise our thoughts from the depths of some of the sordid, mean and impure
things of the earth to the heights of goodness, decency and beauty. We can
train our insight by trying to take the higher view. We can train it more
and more until distant heights become more familiar. The heights of the
Lord, the source of our help, can become nearer and dearer, and the false
values of the earth can seem farther away.

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

I pray that I may not keep my eyes forever downcast. I pray that I may set
my sights on higher things.

Peace to you, my friends! Today's blessings I want to share with you is a
good day with my husband - did everything together. First we had coffee, as
usual, then he went to get our income tax done at the Senior Center, it was
free, another blessing,(this he went alone), got home in time for the noon
Mass, followed by grocery shopping at the food co-op, got some really good
food there, and the weather is so much better today - snow is melting! We
are giving up TV for lent and it's so much nicer and quieter now - it can be
so noisy. I made a good hotdish - hamburger, our last one for now, it's so
expensive to buy hamburger lately!! I thawed out some tomato juice from our
tomatoes that I froze last year, and made spaghetti sauce and put the sauce
in with the browned hamburger, onion and celery, and added two cups of
noodles, the spiral kind, to the pan, and that worked great! It was
delicious! Had that cooking all morning and ate a later lunch with it
around 1:30 when we got home from grocery shopping. Lots of blessings
throughout the day including a good nap, too! I think tomorrow he's going
to check in about that appliance job - please continue praying - may God's
will be done!

The best argument I 've heard against abortion!!



A VERY SMART DOCTOR...........



A worried woman went to her Gynecologist and said: 'Doctor, I have a serious
problem and desperately

need your help! My baby is not even 1 yr. old and I'm pregnant again. I
don't want kids so close together.'



So the doctor said: 'Ok, and what do you want me to do?'



She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help
with this.'



The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady:
'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for

you too.'



She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request. Then
he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to

have to take care of 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your
arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is

born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it
is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.'



The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible for you to think
of killing my child!’



'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be ok with it, so I
thought maybe that was the best solution.'



The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the
mom that there Is no difference in killing a child that's already been born
and one that's still in the womb. The crime is the same!


An offering of prayer for our children:


Father of mercies, we lift up our children to you. We lift up the unborn,
the infants, babies, tots, children, pre-teens, teens and adult children and
beg blessings of protection all about and around them. We plead the Blood
of the Lamb all over each child. We know the evil one flees at the thought
of your Precious Blood touching him so we rebuke him with You, Lord God,
that he may flee to the dregs of h ell to which he belongs.

We rebuke the addictions of drugs, alcohol, smoking of any substance, s$x,
stealing and all other addictions besetting our children. Strengthen
the vulnerable, the susceptible and fill them with wisdom and discernment,
gifts of Your Holy Spirit.

Provide in their lives loving parents, caring foster homes, compassionate
guardians, good teachers, and dedicated professionals who will help guide
them along the right path.

Bring into their lives good and holy Pastors, Ministers, Deacons, Priests,
Chaplains to guide them into Christianity. Fill their minds with
knowledge of why we are really here. Fill their hearts with the openness to
love as You love, and bless their spirits to mirror Your Spirit.

Thank you Father for how you are working in their lives.
Praise you Father for all blessings thus far and for all blessings
yet to come. For it is by you, through you and to you we
come in prayerful petition for our children.

Amen

Lord,
I’m not always eager to do your will.
I’d often much rather do my own will.
Please be with me on this Lenten journey
and help me to remember
that your own spirit can guide me
in the right direction.
I want to “fix” my weaknesses
but the task seems overwhelming.
But I know that with your help,
anything can be done.
With a grateful heart,
I acknowledge your love
and know that without you,
I can do nothing.

With permission from: Creighton U Online Ministries

Mother Teresa Said...
Real prayer is union with God, a union as vital as that of the vine and the
branches, which is the illustration Jesus gives us in the Gospel of John.
We need prayer.
We need that union to produce good fruit.

Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving
Christians have observed a penitential season in preparation for Easter
since the early centuries of the Church. In our own time, three main
religious practices are emphasized during Lent - prayer, fasting, and
almsgiving (giving to the needy).

By prayer we open our hearts to our Father so we can hear his Word and be
transformed by his Spirit.
By fasting we empty ourselves of bodily pleasures so we can feel a hunger
for God's love.
By almsgiving we detach ourselves from worldly things so we can set our
hearts on the kingdom of heaven.

Let us pray;
Spare your people, Lord. Do not treat us as our sins deserve, but look upon
us kindly and show mercy to us.
+ Open our hearts that we may turn from sin and seek your mercy and
forgiveness.
+ Open our eyes that we may see and acknowledge the wrongs we have done.
+ Open our hands that we may reach out to our brothers and sisters in
justice and peace.
Amen.

Enlighten the Darkness of My Heart

Most High, glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of my
heart, and give me right faith,
certain hope,
and perfect charity,
wisdom and understanding.
Lord, that I may carry out
your holy and true command.
Amen.

St. Francis of Assisi

Sawing off One's Cross

They tell the story of a group of devout people
who were on a cross-carrying pilgrimage. The
going was rough and there was much moaning and
groaning. One of the pilgrims found his cross
just too heavy to carry, so he cut off a part and
shortened it.

After days of walking, the pilgrims approached
the promised land of everlasting joy and peace in
God's presence. But they still had one obstacle
to overcome. Between them and heaven was a
yawning abyss. How could they get to the other
side?

Someone thought of the idea of each one using his
cross as a bridge. And would you know it? The
crosses were just the right length to span the
gap.

So, all the cross-bearers walked across except
the one who had sawed off his cross to make it
lighter.

GOD KNOWS JUST WHAT WE NEED
Author Unknown

A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter
was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the
pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter.

Upon returning to her car she found that she had locked her keys in
the car. She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter. She
didn't know what to do, so she called her home and told the baby
sitter what had happened and that she did not know what to do.

The baby sitter told her that her daughter was getting worse. She
said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."
The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had
been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some
time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at
the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this." So she bowed her
head and asked God to send her some help.

Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy,
bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The
woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was
desperate, so she was also very thankful.

The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said,
"Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication
and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can
you use this hanger
to unlock my car?"

He said, "Sure". He walked over to the car, and in less than one
minute the car was opened.

She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much!
You are a very nice man."

The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison
yesterday. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out less
than 24 hours."

The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud,
"Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"

God may not always send us what we expect, but He will always send us
what we need. It's up to us to have the wisdom to recognize the
difference and be thankful.

Wishing you all God's many blessings for Friday and may God bless you
richly!