Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Let today's difficulties make you better not bitter. Lord, guide me, protect
me
and work through me.

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

"My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith
might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. Yet among the
mature
we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of
the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God's
wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our
glory." ~1 Corinthians 2:4-7

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

In these times of quiet meditation, we can try more and more to set our
hopes on the grace of God. We can know that whatever the future may
hold, it can hold more and more of good. We need not set all our hopes
and desires on material things. There can be weariness in an abundance
of things. We can set our hopes on spiritual things so that we may grow
spiritually. We can learn to rely on God's power more and more and in
that reliance we can have an insight into the greater value of the
things of the spirit.

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

I pray that I may not be overwhelmed by material things. I pray that I
may realize the higher value of spiritual things.

Hello my friends! It was a good day - I typed four more categories to my
list - got grocery shopping done, and tonight we got picked up by a friend
to go to the Chrism Mass that they have every year at the Cathedral where
our Bishop is saying the Mass, and all of the priest of the Diocese is
there, and the Bishop blesses new Holy Oil which is used for the year in
anointing of the sick, Baptisms, Confirmation etc. and all the priests take
theirs home for use in the parish. Afterwards there was a reception and we
got to visit with the priests - it was so nice to see and visit with a few
that we knew - and haven't seen for awhile! All the priests there at Mass
renewed their vows - it was a very inspirational Mass and a great blessing
to be there. Another blessing to me is that my husband is willing to
dictate the Padre Pio reflections that I type every night now which makes it
so much easier to type. Thanks be to God.

Lord,
all I want is to be faithful to you in my life,
but so often I fail.
Free me from my many sins
and guide me to the life I will share with you.
I wait for your promise to be fulfilled
with great hope in my heart
and your praise on my lips.

With permission from: Creighton U Online Ministries

Prayer for Christ's Mercy

O Lord, show your mercy to me and gladden my heart. I am like the man on the
way to Jericho who was overtaken by robbers, wounded and left for dead. O
Good Samaritan, come to my aid, I am like the sheep that went astray. O Good
Shepherd, seek me out and bring me home in accord with your will. Let me
dwell in your house all the days of my life and praise you for ever and ever
with those who are there.

Saint Jerome, Priest, Writer, Doctor of the Church

WHY DO WE CRUCIFY HIM AGAIN?
From E-mail Ministry

I say something rude
to someone who's lost,
And I've ruined my witness,
But they will pay the cost.
--So I nail in the nails.


Can anyone see the Lord through me,
Or do they simply see my sins?
Am I living the life Christ wants me to,
Am I living the life of man?
--So I plunge in the spear.


And when I fail to pray,
and my conversations with Him fade,
Does He patiently wait for my call,
Though it causes Him pain?
--And I place the thorns upon His brow.


I lead a life of double standards,
One day good, the next one bad.
Can He quietly stand by
When He sees all I could have had?
--And I ridicule my Lord once again.


For you see,
Each time we turn our backs,
and return to the world of sin,
It is then that you and I,
We crucify Him again.


-- Brandy Cambell (12th grade)

Recipe for Miracles

Ingredients :
1 part of knowing who you are
1 part of knowing who you aren't
1 part of knowing what you want
1 part of knowing who you wish to be
1 part of knowing what you already have before you
1 part of choosing wisely from what you have before you
1 part of loving & thanking for ALL you have ("bad" included)

Mixing Instructions:
Combine ingredients together gently and carefully. Using faith and vision,
mix together with strong belief of the outcome, until finely blended. Use
thoughts, words and actions for best results. Bake until Blessed. Give
thanks again.

Yield: Unlimited servings

Author Unknown

BIG MUD PUDDLES AND YELLOW DANDELIONS
Author Unknown



When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are
going to take over my yard. My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing
white f luff you can wish on.


When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty
person who probably wants money and I look away. My kids see someone
smiling at them and they smile back.


When I hear music I love, I know I can't carry a tune and don't have
much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen. My kids feel the
beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don't know them,
they make up their
own.


When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it
messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk. My kids close
their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the
ground laughing.


When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that. My
kids say, "Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the
bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don't want to go to Heaven yet. I
would miss my Mommy and Daddy."


When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty
carpets. My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross
and worms to play with.


I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from? No wonder God
loves the little children!!


Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and
realize they were the big things.


I wish you BIG MUD PUDDLES and SUNNY YELLOW DANDELIONS





What Jesus Did For You and Me

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends."
(John 15:13)

The physical trauma of Jesus Christ begins in Gethsemane with one of the
initial aspects of his suffering - the bloody sweat. The physician of His
group, St. Luke, is the only one to mention this. He says," And being in
agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood,
trickling down upon the ground."

It is known that under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat
glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could
have produced marked weakness and possible shock.

After His arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was brought before the
Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. A soldier struck Jesus across the
face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards
then blindfolded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each
passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face.

In the morning, Jesus, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from
a sleepless night, is taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the
Fortress Antonia. It was there, in response to the cries of the mob, that
Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and
crucifixion.

Jesus' hands were tied to a post above His head. His clothing was stripped
off. The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum in his hand. This
is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small
balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down
with full force again and again across the shoulders, back and legs of
Jesus.

At first the heavy thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows
continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first the
oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally
spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small
balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by
subsequent blows.

Finally, the skin of His back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area
is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by
the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is
finally stopped.

The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone
pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see a great joke in
this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They throw a robe across His
shoulders and shove down a ring of long, very razor sharp branches with long
thorns made in the shape of a crown into His scalp.

Again there is copious bleeding. After mocking Him and striking Him across
the face, they take a stick and strike Jesus across the head, driving the
thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, the tire of their sadistic sport and
the robe is torn from His back. This had already become adherent to the
clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the
careless removal of a surgical bandage, causes excruciating pain - almost as
though He were again being whipped, and the wounds again begin to bleed.

The heavy beam of the cross is then tied across Jesus' shoulders, and the
procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves and the execution detail,
begins its slow journey. The weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with
the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and
falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles
of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed
beyond their endurance.

At Golgotha, the beam is placed on the ground and Jesus is quickly thrown
backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the
depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square,
wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he
moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull
the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The beam is
then lifted in place at the top of the posts and the titulus reading "Jesus
of Nazareth, King of the Jews" is nailed in place.

The left foot is pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet
extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each. As He pushes
Himself upward to avoid the stretching torment, He places His full weight on
the nail through His feet. Again there is searing agony of the nail tearing
through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet.

As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting
them deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability
to push Himself upward. Hanging by His arms, the pectoral muscles are
paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn
into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in
order to get even one, short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in
the lungs and in the blood stream and cramps partially subside.
Spasmodically, He is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the
life-giving oxygen.

Hours of this limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps,
intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain as tissue is torn from His
lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then
another agony begins. A deep crushing pain deep in the chest as the
pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart.

The compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into
the tissues - the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in
small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of
stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasps, "I thirst."

He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. With one last
surge of strength, He once again presses His torn feet against the nail,
straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last
cry, "Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit."

Apparently to make double sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance
through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the
pericardium and into the heart. Immediately there came out blood and water.

This is the greatest example of one laying down his life for his friends. We
can never fully comprehend the spiritual aspect of Christ's suffering and
shame, but medical studies shed glimpses of light on the physical agony and
all the horror that Jesus Christ endured on the cross for you and me.

May your tomorrows be filled with blessing after blessing is my wish for you
all. God bless you!