Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Live as a responsible adult, but approach God as a child, full of faith and trust.
You cannot help but perfect one by the other. Lord, You are my Father.
Who else will so lovingly listen to me and care for my desires?


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

"I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that
your joy may be complete." ~John 15:11

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

"I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that
your joy may be complete." Even a partial realization of the spiritual
life can bring much joy. We can feel at home in the world when we are
in touch with God's spirit. Spiritual experience can bring a definite
satisfaction. We can search for the real meaning of life by following
spiritual laws. God wants us to have spiritual success and God intends
that we have it. If we live our lives as much as possible according to
spiritual laws, we can expect our share of joy and peace, satisfaction
and success.

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

I pray that I may find happiness in doing the right thing. I pray that
I may find satisfaction in obeying spiritual laws.

Hello my friends! Hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing and Holy Sunday today! We did - beautiful Mass indeed!! Our new pastor, Fr. Vince, is so funny, he starts out his Homily with a cute joke, and his homilies are so good and he has such a nice, clear voice - easy to hear. He's very friendly! I've got to get to know him better!!!! Well, we could have had Linus' family over today for that brunch - it started snowing in the morning and the forcast was it will all day and a whole bunch of inches etc. so he called it off. But the snow stopped, it was stopped by the time we went to Mass at 10:30. Then Lori called - she bought a new mirror and some wall hangings and wanted her Dad to hang them, so we went over there, and after that was done, we played some Dominoes all the time watching the weather. The wind howled, and Linus said when it starts snowing again, it could be a blizzard. We left when it started snowing a little, but it was very light and didn't amount to much. But now it's snowing and will thru the night. I think Mpls. got some already, they are ahead of us.
On facebook my niece posted a picture out their front door of a bunch of snow already. Ours hasn't left our front yard yet!! It's a permanent feature until spring! Tomorrow he works at noon - hopefully it won't be too bad then to get to work.
Today I'd have to say my best blessing was Mass, the Singing, Receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, and just being there in His presence! Then it was nice being at Lori's and seeing the nice wall hangings she bought at Kohl's and Target for very reasonable, and she even had a gift cert. to use at Target, I think. What are your blessings?

---The Secret of Sanctity and Happiness---

I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Every day for five minutes, control your imagination and close your eyes to the things of sense and your ears to all noises of the world, in order to enter into yourself. Then, in the sanctity of your baptized soul (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:
Oh, Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul...
I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me
strengthen me, console me. Tell me what
I should do...give me Your orders. I
Promise to submit myself to all that You
desire of me and to accept all that You
permit to happen to me. Let me only
know Your will.
If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and you will arrive at the gate of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity. - Cardinal Mercier

Don't Wake Him Up!

A man was giving his testimony at one of those old Salvation Army open air street meetings.

As he was testifying, a heckler yelled out, "Why don't you shut up and sit down? You're just dreaming."

Immediately that heckler felt a tug on his coat. He looked down to see a little girl, who said. "Sir, may I speak to you?

That man who is talking up there is my daddy. Daddy used to be a drunkard. He used to spend all of the money he made on whiskey. My mother was very sad and would cry most of the time.

Sometimes when my daddy came home, he would hit my mother. I didn't have shoes or a nice dress to wear to school. But look at my shoes. And see this pretty dress? My daddy bought these for me."

But the little girl wasn't through with that heckler yet.

"See my mother over there? She's the one with the bright smile on her face. She's happy now. She sings even when she's doing the ironing."

Then the little girl said . . . "Mister, if my daddy is dreaming, please don't wake him up!"

- Author Unknown

The Break with the Past


You have surely heard the nice saying that's been around for a few years: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." But now I'd like to coin a companion saying: "Today is the last day of your past."

Those two messages don't mean the same thing. The first advises us to get our life going the way we want it to go. The second means: get rid of old failures, taboos, inhibitions that have kept us from being what we can be.

As we grow, we pick up warnings like: "That's a no-no." "Don't you dare do that!" "Know your place." We learn what people around us consider to be "customary" or "proper" or "a shame." We also hear why something is "impossible" to do. If we are brainwashed by all this and go out as an adult into a very competitive world, we are short of our initiatives. We are handcuffed by these warnings which we have dragged up from history.

What we need are the unlimited vision and the natural imagination which we had as children. Let today be the last day of your past...

A tax assessor came one day to a poor pastor to determine
the amount of taxes the pastor would have to pay.

The following conversation took place:

"What property do you possess?" asked the assessor.
"I am a very wealthy man," replied the minister.
"List your possessions, please," the assessor instructed.
The pastor said:

"First, I have everlasting life,
John 3:16.
Second, I have a mansion in heaven,
John 14:2.
Third, I have peace that passes all understanding,
Philippians 4:7.
Fourth, I have joy unspeakable,
1 Peter 1:8.
Fifth, I have divine love which never fails,
1 Corinthians 13:8.
Sixth, I have a faithful pious wife,
Proverbs, 31:10.
Seventh, I have healthy, happy obedient children,
Exodus 20:12.
Eighth, I have true, loyal friends,
Proverbs 18:24.
Ninth, I have songs in the night,
Psalms 42:8.
Tenth, I have a crown of life,
James 1:12."

The tax assessor closed his book, and said, "Truly you
are a very rich man, but your property is not subject
to taxation." - Author Unknown

I pray that all of us will have this kind of tax free "wealth."

Short Meditation
Seconding the Motion

God is always much better than the most loving person you can imagine, Jesus is saying. It is not that we pray and God answers. It is that our praying is already God answering within us and through us.


I can only imagine...

Heaven as written
by a 17 Year Old Boy

This is excellent and
really gets you thinking about what will happen in Heaven.

17-year-old Brian Moore
had only a short time to write something for a class. The subject was what
Heaven was like. "I wowed 'em," he later told his father, Bruce.
"It's a killer. It's the bomb.. It's the best thing I ever
wrote." It also was the last.

Brian's parents had
forgotten about the essay when a cousin found it while cleaning out the
teenager's locker at Teays Valley High School in Pickaway County


Brian
had been dead only hours, but his parents desperately wanted every piece of
his life near them, notes from classmates and teachers, and his homework.
Only two months before, he had handwritten the essay about encountering
Jesus in a file room full of cards detailing every moment of the teen's
life. But it was only after Brian's death that Beth and Bruce Moore
realized that their son had described his view of heaven.

It makes such an impact
that people want to share it. "You feel like you are there," Mr.
Moore said.. Brian Moore died May 27, 1997, the day after Memorial Day. He
was driving home from a friend's house when his car went off Bulen-Pierce Road
in Pickaway County and struck a utility pole. He
emerged from the wreck unharmed but stepped on a downed power line and was
electrocuted.


The
Moore 's
framed a copy of Brian's essay and hung it among the family portraits in
the living room. "I think God used him to make a point. I think we
were meant to find it and make something out of it," Mrs.. Moore said of the
essay. She and her husband want to share their son's vision of life after
death. "I'm happy for Brian. I know he's in heaven. I know I'll see
him.


Here
is Brian's essay entitled:


"The
Room.."

In that place between
wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no
distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index
card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author
or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from
floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very
different headings.

As I drew near the wall
of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I
have liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I
quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on
each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This
lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life.
Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a
detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled
with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and
exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a
sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to
see if anyone was watching.


A
file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I have
betrayed." The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird.
"Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort
I have Given," "Jokes I Have Laughed at."


Some
were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've yelled at my
brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My
Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My
Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents Often there
were many more cards than expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was
overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived.


Could
it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these
thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth.
Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.


When
I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I have watched," I
realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed
tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the
file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by
the vast time I knew that file represented.


When
I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run
through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test
its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt
sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage
broke on me.


One
thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one must
ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In insane frenzy I yanked
the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the
cards...

But as I took it at one
end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card.
I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as
steel when I tried to tear it. Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned
the file to its slot.. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a
long, self-pitying sigh..


And
then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel
With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost
unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches
long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears
came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my
stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of
shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves
swirled in my tear-filled eyes.. No one must ever, ever know of this room.
I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I
saw Him.


No,
please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He
began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His
response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw
a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst
boxes..

Why did He have to read
every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He
looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger
me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry
again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many
things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.


Then
He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the
room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine
on each card. "No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to
say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him.. His name
shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so
dark, and so alive.

The name of Jesus covered mine. It was
written with His blood. He gently took the card back He smiled a sad smile
and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did
it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last
file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said,
"It is finished."


I
stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door.
There were still cards to be written.



"For
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Closing Prayer:

A Prayer for Getting Old

Lord. Thou knowest I am growing older.

Keep me from becoming talkative and
possessed from the idea that I must
express myself on every subject.

Release me from the craving to straighten
out everyone's affairs.

Keep me from the recital of endless detail.
Give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips when I am inclined
to tell of my aches and pains.

They are increasing with the years and
my love to speak of them grows sweeter
as time goes by.

Teach me the glorious lesson that
occasionally I may be wrong.

Make me thoughtful but not nosey,
helpful but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom and experience
it does seem a pity not to use it all.

But Thou knowest, Lord, that I
want a few friends at the end.

Amen.