Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Keep yourself young in spirit always by thinking new thoughts and getting
rid of old habits. Lord, may my spirit never become a frail and my abilities
never become barren.

S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a
stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things
but on human things. 'Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If any want to become
my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose
their life for my sake will find it.'" ~Matthew 16:23-25

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
We were born with the Divine within us. Living a selfish life can hinder
the Divine from being expressed and shared. The celestial fire has to be
tended and fed so that it will grow into a real desire to live the right
way. By trying to do the will of God, we grow more and more in the new way
of life. By thinking of God, praying to God and having communion with God,
we gradually grow more like God. The way of our transformation from the
material to the spiritual allows God to work in and through us.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may tend the spark of the Divine within me so that it will
grow. I pray that I may be gradually transformed from the old life to the
new and fuller life.

Greetings to you all!! Hope you all had a good day today – it was cooler here and that’s good, a rainy day most of the day. I did get out to pick cherries, raspberries but there were no ripe blueberries today, maybe tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll be picking more lettuce and beans. Soon our carrots I can pick too. Love this time of year. Linus did get over to Lori’s between rains to plant her flowers for her while she was at work. He plans on finishing the job tomorrow. My blessing today are many – with every breath I breathe is a blessing!! I’m also glad I didn’t have a house showing today!

Homily of the Day
July 14, 2011
Humility is Truth
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Ex 3:13-20 / Mt 11:28-30
We human beings have an uncanny knack for making simple things complicated. We go from San Francisco to Los Angeles by way of Hong Kong. We respond to simple questions with answers befitting a Philadelphia lawyer. And we stonewall a friend when a simple “I was wrong” would fix everything.
And the result of it all is a heart saddened and rarely at rest. Why do we make things so complicated? Sometimes it’s plain and simple bungling. We don’t even notice the question before we back into the wrong answer. But other times it’s a ham-handed way of hiding from things we don’t want to face. And what a long way around to a solution that is!
Jesus offers us a better and (for us 21st century technocrats) a more efficient solution: “Learn from me,” he says, “for I am gentle and humble of heart.”
The humble heart always faces the truth: We are dust (in Latin, humus). So there’s no point in wasting time dissembling. Cut through the smoke screen, face whatever is there, as Jesus would, and respond in words and deeds of one syllable. It’s remarkable what power the truth has if we own it. So face it, and simplify your life!

Patience
"When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, don't try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time."
St. Francis de Sales
For Reflection:
What difficulty or contradiction do I need to "bend with gentleness and time?" Can I exercise the necessary patience to do it?

Never Again
One Sunday I was entertained in a farm home of a member of a rural
church. The intelligence and unusually good behavior of the only
child in the home, a little four-year-old boy, impressed me.
Then I discovered one reason for the child's charm. The mother was
at the kitchen sink, washing the intricate parts of the cream
separator when the little boy came to her with a magazine.
"Mother," he asked, "what is this man in the picture doing?"
To my surprise she dried her hands, sat down on a chair, and taking
the boy in her lap, she spent the next few minutes answering his questions.
After the child had left, I commented on her having interrupted her
chores to answer the boy's question, saying, "Most mothers wouldn't have"
"I expect to be washing cream separators for the rest of my life,"
she told me, "but never again will my son ask me that question."

Author Unknown
A minister and a soap maker went for a walk together.
The soap maker said, "What good is religion? Look at all the trouble
and misery of the world! Still there, even after years -- thousands
of years -- of teaching about goodness and truth and peace. Still
there, after all the prayers and sermons and teachings. If religion
is good and true, why should this be?"
The minister said nothing.
They continued walking until he noticed a child playing in the gutter.
Then the minister said, "Look at that child. You say that soap makes
people clean, but see the dirt on that youngster. Of what good is
soap? With all the soap in the world, over all these years, the child
is still filthy. I wonder how effective soap is, after all!"
The soap maker protested. "But, soap cannot do any good unless it is applied!"
"Exactly!" replied the minister.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it
says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like
a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself,
goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who
looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues
to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it --
he will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:22-25
If...
If a soul can be touched, by what I have to give,
Then let me give unconditionally.
If a heart can be healed by the feeble words I pray,
Then let me pray unceasingly.
If my walk through the fire keeps someone from getting burned,
Then let me walk through the flames without faltering.
If the love that I share can reflect your love in me,
Then let me shine, radiantly.

PLANT FOUR ROWS
Author Unknown
Plant four rows of peas.
Prayer
Penitence
Patience
Preparation
Plant four rows of squash.
Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash criticism
Squash negative thinking
Plant four rows of turnips.
Turn up for Church
Turn up whenever needed
Turn up with a friendly smile
Turn up with determination to be a better person
Plant four rows of lettuce.
Let us soar to new heights
Let us come together in harmony
Let us share God's love, and
Let us practice forgiveness
Enjoy the harvest!

A STORY TO MAKE US THINK
Author Unknown
July 14, 2011
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man
was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help
drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only
window.
The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men
talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their
homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where
they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed
by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to
his room-mate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods
where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity
and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a
lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed
their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of
every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and
a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the
man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the
picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described
a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band -
he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window
portrayed it with descriptive words.
Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the
other man alone experience all the pleasures of seeing everything
while he himself never got to see anything? It didn't seem fair.
At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he
missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon
turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to
sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that
thought, now controlled his life.
Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window
began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other
man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window
groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room
he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought
the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and
choking stopped, along with that the sound of breathing. Now there was
only silence-deathly silence.
The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their
baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she
was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away. As
soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be
moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and
after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly,
painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look
at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all
himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the
bed. It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased
roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the
wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Epilogue. . . .
You can interpret the story in any way you like. But one moral stands
out: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our
own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when
shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the
things you have that money can't buy.

Here is for Carmela, Aaron, Barb, and all those who need the healing touch of Jesus:

A Fervent Prayer For The Sick and Suffering
O Almighty Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. The same Lord that so loves His children as to lay His life down for them. The same Lord that rose from the dead on the third day, and Ascended into Heaven. The same Lord that spoke the word and the Centurion’s Servant was immediately healed. The same Lord that restored sight to the blind; cleansed lepers, cured the halt and lame. The same Lord that with a word rebuked the seas and they were calm. The same Lord that raised Lazarus from the dead. The same Lord that has been given all power both in Heaven and on earth, do Thou, the same Lord visit and heal Thy servant, (__name__), from the afflictions that they are now suffering. Strengthen our faith like that of the Roman Centurion, so that we may ask for this healing with the same faith, trust, and hope that Thy servant, (__name__) will be healed in the same manner that the Centurion’s servant was restored to health. O Holy physician of our souls and bodies, hear this fervent prayer for Thy servant (__name__), and grant this request as we hold this, Thy servant up before Thy glorious Throne. We ask this in the victorious and Holy Name of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams! God bless you and have a grace-filled Friday!