Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Forget the useless and unhealthy things of your past that clutter your mind so
that you can live a life that is alive and vibrant. Lord, help me to discard all
that clouds my day so that I am able to live the life that You intend me to live.

S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
~Matthew 6:10

M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
"Your will be done" can be our often repeated prayer. And in the
willing of God's will there can be gladness. We can delight to do
God's will because when we do, all our life can go better and
everything will tend to work well for us in the long run. When we are
honestly trying to do God's will and humbly accepting the results,
nothing can seriously hurt us. Those of us who accept the will of God
in our lives may not inherit the earth, but we can inherit real peace
of mind.

P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may have a yielded will. I pray that my will may be
attuned to the will of God.

Hello my friends! Hope you had a great Sunday today! We did - and spent it with a beautiful Mass this morning, and great homily by Fr. Matthew! I made beef roast, potatoes and carrots plus a half squash in the crock pot so we had that after Mass. It was very delicious and filling!! Then Lori invited us for supper and she made soup. We played a game of Dominoes and she gave us some lettuce etc. that she had too much of so we don't have to buy lettuce this week!! This afternoon after my nap, I finished reading my book! Tomorrow I start the second one by Scott Hahn "The Lamb's Supper". I'm sure it's just as great as his conversion book. It was a very good and interesting book.
If you like spiritual reading, I highly recommend Scott's books. He is quite an intelligent man.

Bending Our Will
Lent is a time when we can shatter the deceptions of Satan by holding fast to the righteousness of Christ. Lent is a time for seeing that all of creation is good for guiding us to a greater knowledge of God.
— from The Little Way of Lent

Building Block
Jesus wants to be the cornerstone,
the primary building block, in our lives.
Let us say a Morning Offering prayer--and mean it.

Nails meant For Me
The nail was driven through His hand,
Oh the pain that was unjustly dealt.
But much worse was the agony,
Of mankind's sin He felt.
The crown of thorns that tore into His scalp,
Was a punctuation to mankind's rejection.
The world denied the King of kings,
A man who attained perfection.
In a moment all was finished,
Christ's work was done,
He had accomplished the Father's will,
That he chose for His only begotten Son.
The nails of pain, He took for our sins,
They were nails meant for me,
But thanks to God's Grace,
The nails of death I will never see.
--Jay Parr

The Cross Is . . .
the cross is the hope of Christians
the cross is the resurrection of the dead
the cross is the way of the lost
the cross is the savior of the lost
the cross is the staff of the lame
the cross is the guide of the blind
the cross is the strength of the weak
the cross is the doctor of the sick
the cross is the aim of the priests
the cross is the hope of the hopeless
the cross is the freedom of the slaves
the cross is the power of the kings
the cross is the water of the seeds
the cross is the consolation of the bondsmen
the cross is the source of those who seek water
the cross is the cloth of the naked.
We thank you, Father, for the cross.

The Flashlight
Most parents have had some experience with kids waking up with bad dreams at some point or another. If not bad dreams, then surely every parent has had to deal with invisible monsters hiding in the closet or under the bed.
Recently my wife and I had a bout with our oldest son waking us out of the comfort of our warm bed to come into his room and scare off something that was fear itself.
It was three in the morning and even though it can be the sweetest word on earth when you get home from work, it is not so sweet when heard at three in the morning.
"Daddy"
I came into my son's room to see what the problem was. The first time it was, "I think I saw something." The second time it was, "I think I heard something." The third time it was, "I'm just scared."
I had to get up early in the morning and go to work. I am a very patient man but my sleepiness was wearing my patience down. The wee hours of the morning had me delirious so I warned him, "If you call me one more time, I'm going to give you something to be afraid of." Two minutes later.
"Daddy"
I came into the room and staying true to my promise, even though it hurt my heart to do so, I gave him a tap on the leg; after all, I had to get some sleep. Walking back to my bed like a weary victor of war, I said, "It wasn't easy but that took care of that." Five minutes later.
"Daddy"
I lay in bed for a while at my wit's end on what to do, I had given up.
I knew that if I went and slept in his room with him he would want me to do it every night that he felt fear. I laid there basking in a feeling of stripped victory. In the stillness of the night, a light popped on in my head.
It was a literal light. I saw a picture in my head of a flashlight.
I immediately got out of bed, went to the hall closet, got the flashlight out and took it to my son's room. I handed it to him and told him "Light has a special power to make monsters go away, when you think you see or hear something just cut the light on and shine it in that direction and whatever it is will have to go away."
I went back and got into bed with apprehensiveness against getting to sleep too soundly. I listened for about five minutes then I saw a circle of light shining in my son's room. I waited for that demanding title of "Daddy," but all I heard was the stillness of the night.
This same principle is true in the lives of adults. Many times, we are afraid of that which can really do us no harm.
Our flashlight can be knowledge; most of the time we fear what we don't understand. As we become more enlightened on something that seems scary, peace will come.
The light doesn't really chase away monsters living in the shadows, it just changes our eyesight to see that the room, the business, the school, the marriage, and the assignment is not as scary as it looked without the light on.
Whatever you are afraid of, shine some light on it.
~ James Bronner ~

Lenten Reflection
"Give us Barabbas!" John 18-40
It was the custom to release one prisoner during the Passover. Pilate gave the crowd a choice: Would it be Jesus or Barabbas? The crowd SHOUTED their answer: Barabbas! So a known criminal was set free. But little did Barabbas know and little did the people know that no one was truly set free until Jesus died on the cross, unlocking the shackles of sin that bound them and breaking the bars of death that held them captive. Only if the Son of God sets us free, will we, too, be free indeed.
Thank you, dear Jesus, for setting me free from sin and death forever. Amen.

The Interview with God
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I dreamed I had an interview with God.
“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.
“If you have the time” I said.
God smiled. “My time is eternity.”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”
“What surprises you most about humankind?”
God answered...
“That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again.”
“That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health.”
“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future."
"That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived.”
God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.
And then I asked...
“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?”
“To learn they cannot make anyone love them.
All they can do is let themselves be loved.”
“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.”
“To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness.”
“To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them.”
“To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”
“To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings.”
“To learn that two people can look at the same thing
and see it differently.”
“To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another,
but they must also forgive themselves.”
"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.
"Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"
God smiled and said,
“Just know that I am here... always.”
-author unknown
- - -
Dear Lord,
Help me to be a true disciple
who follows Your way and Your teachings.
It's so easy to be tempted and led astray.
Through the love and strength of your Holy Spirit,
may I stay on the path that leads to Your Heavenly Kingdom.
Amen

" N O I S E "
Shattering peace is the disturbance of noise
Which invades the soul from its prior poise,
As the soul soars in heavenly contemplation
It's then catapulted into painful vexation.
Where is the peace that once was mine?
The Gift given to me once upon a time?
It shall come again; of this I am very sure
As I release my spirit to God so pure.
In the meantime I patiently and hopefully wait
For the blessings from the Keeper of the Gate
He lifts my heart, my soul and my spirit;
For temporary loss of peace, I'll not fear it.
I'll continue to pray to Him without ceasing
For to the Lord our God it is most pleasing
To ever thank Him and lift His Name on high
Keeping eyes fixed upon His azure blue sky.
Once again, His peace does blessedly visit;
When it leaves briefly next time I'll miss it.
For now, through His Grace, I attain it;
O my Sweet Jesus help me to sustain it.
Grant that I may ever bask in your love
Amid any noise be buoyed by your Dove,
The Dove of Peace fluttering His Wings
Blessed Lord Jesus, how my hearts sings.
© Mel Patterson 10-14-07

Mel is a personal friend of mine who lives in PA. I only know her from emails, but we know each other for over ten years. She has other lists that she does, and she's also on my list. When I have prayer requests, I send them to her, too, as she has lots of prayer warriors who pray for our intentions. Mel is a poet - very gifted. I'd like to post some of her writings here every once in a while.

Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, help us all to make this Lent our very best and draw us all closer and closer to You and Mary, Your Mother and ours. Help us in all our decisions, help us in everything we do that it all be in accordance with Your Holy Will. This I ask in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.