Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Listen carefully to the things you say. The advice we give

to others is often the best advice for us to follow. Lord, help

me to follow that which I know is right even when it is difficult.

Scripture for the day:

One of the scribes asked Jesus, 'Which commandment is the first of all?'

Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord

is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all

your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second

is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other

commandment greater than these." ~Mark 12:28-31

Meditation for the day:

The elimination of selfishness is the key to happiness and can only be

accomplished with God's help. We can start out with spark of God's spirit

but large amounts of selfishness. As we grow and come in contact with other

people, we can take one of two paths. We can become more and more selfish

and practically push out God's power and influence in our lives, or we can

become more unselfish and develop our spirituality until it becomes the most

important thing in our lives.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may grow more and more unselfish, honest, pure and loving.

I pray that I may take the right path this day and every day.

Hello my friends! Today's blessings are my everyday ordinary ones, it was a day of rest - my arm too sore to do anything - I fell on that arm, so dear hubby made supper - grilled chicken!

Love it when he cooks. Heard from Darla but she doesn't know anything yet. Said it was very difficult. She's one of three applicants to get hired.

Georgia came today and washed my hair, and styled it - was going out tonight for a talk at our parish, but felt too tired. Darn! sure wanted to go though.

Playing cards tomorrow afternoon. Praying for you all - and thanks for your prayers for us.

THE VIRTUES OF LOVE

The first virtue for good loving is DISCIPLINE. Discipline means doing

something hard because it is right. We are not usually very disciplined

people. We tend to avoid the difficult thing, to take the easy way out. We

often avoid doing what is right because it involves SACRIFICE. Love is

hard. It demands SACRIFICE OF THE SELF, which is the last thing we want to

give up.

Love also demands PATIENCE. It is not something that comes easily and

instantly. You have to work at it and let it grow. Loving is a slow,

tedious process that comes with time. We also have to be patient with

ourselves and each other. Willing to wait and let love grow. Love always

grows in patience.

Love must be REASONABLE. It must have an intellectual basis. Many of the

caricatures of love we see around are based on emotion and impetuosity. If

we act without thinking, we distort love. If love is unreasonable, it can

only lead to disaster, and eventually, to disillusionment.

It is also impossible to love without HUMILITY, for the biggest obstacle to

love is pride. Humility demands acceptance of the truth. Humility is not an

easy virtue. It makes demands on us, it threatens the ego, it forces us

into excuses or self-justification. But the real lover is a truly humble

person.

FAITH is at the bottom of all happy loving. Faith means that we believe

even if we do not have evidence for the belief. You cannot love another

person if you do not have faith in yourself. The most deadly enemy of love

is lack of trust and faith.

The final virtue that is needed for good loving is COURAGE. In many ways,

it is the most important of them all. We are good people; we need and want

to love. But what gets in the way is our insecurity, our lack of courage.

We are afraid that we cannot do it, or we are afraid of what other people

will say or think. It takes a lot of courage to love.

Letting Go of Resentments

A story tells of a merchant in a small town who had identical twin sons. The boys worked for their father in the department store he owned and, when he died, they took over the store.

Everything went well until the day a dollar bill disappeared. One of the brothers had left the bill on the cash register and walked outside with a customer. When he returned, the money was gone. He asked his brother,

"Did you see that dollar bill on the cash register?"

His brother replied that he had not. But the young man kept probing and questioning. He would not let it alone.

"Dollar bills just don't get up and walk away! Surely you must have seen it!"

There was subtle accusation in his voice. Tempers began to rise. Resentment set in. Before long, a deep and bitter chasm divided the young men. They refused to speak. They finally decided they could no longer work together and a dividing wall was built down the center of the store. For twenty years hostility and bitterness grew, spreading to their families and to the community.

Then one day a man in an automobile licensed in another state stopped in front of the store. He walked in and asked the clerk,

"How long have you been here?"

The clerk replied that he'd been there all his life. The customer said,

"I must share something with you. Twenty years ago I was 'riding the rails' and came into this town in a boxcar. I hadn't eaten for three days. I came into this store from the back door and saw a dollar bill on the cash register. I put it in my pocket and walked out. All these years I haven't been able to forget that. I know it wasn't much money, but I had to come back and ask your forgiveness."

The stranger was amazed to see tears well up in the eyes of this middle-aged man.

"Would you please go next door and tell that same story to the man in the store?" he said.

Then the man was even more amazed to see two middle-aged men, who looked very much alike, embracing each other and weeping together in the front of the store. After twenty years, the brokenness was mended. The wall of resentment that divided them came down.

It is so often the little things -- like resentments -- that finally divide people. And the solution, of course, is to let them go. There is really nothing particularly profound about it. But for fulfilling and lasting relationships, letting them go is a must. Refuse to carry around bitterness and you may be surprised at how much energy you have left for building bonds with those you love.

Don't say you're not important,

It simply isn't true,

The fact that you were born, !!

Is proof, God has a plan for you.

The path may seem unclear right now,

But one day you will see,

That all that came before,

Was truly meant to be.

God wrote the book that is your life,

That's all you need to know.

Each day that you are living,

Was written long ago.

God only writes best sellers,

So be proud of who you are,

Your character is important,

In this book you are the "Star."

Enjoy the novel as it reads,

It will stand throughout the ages,

Savour each chapter as you go,

Taking time to turn the pages.

Author Unknown.

Mary's 15 Promises to Those Who Recite the Holy Rosary

1) Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall receive special graces.

2) I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3) The Rosary shall be a powerful weapon against evil; it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.

4) The Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to desire for eternal things.

5) The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

6) Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries, shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.

7) Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.

8) Those who are faithful to reciting the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.

9) I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10) The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.

11)You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.

12) All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13) I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.

14) All who recite the Rosary are my sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters of my only Son Jesus Christ.

15) Devotion of my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Mother Teresa Said...

"Cheerfulness should be one of the main points of our religious life.

A cheerful giver is a great giver.

Cheerfulness is a sign of a generous and mortified person,

who, forgetting all things, even herself, tries to please God in all she does for souls.

Cheerfulness is often a cloak which hides a life of sacrifice,

continual union with God, fervor and generosity."