Community Chat

[gloriajean]

God values us so much that He gave us all that He has; His son Jesus. Show that you value Him, too, by putting Him first in all aspects of your life. Lord, when I put You first in my life, order and peace follow.

Scripture for the Day
"Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. My soul also is struck with terror, while you, O LORD — how long? Turn, O LORD, save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love." — Psalm 6:2-4

Meditation for the Day
I believe that all sacrifice and all suffering is of value to me. When I am in pain, I am often tested. Can I trust in God, no matter how I feel? Can I say, "Your will be done," no matter how much I am defeated? If I can do these things, my faith is real and practical. It can work in bad times as well as in good times. God's will can work in a way that is beyond my finite mind to understand, but I can still trust in it.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may take my suffering in my stride. I pray that I may accept pain and defeat as they come, and grow spiritually as I receive God's strength to make it through.

Jesus I Trust In You

Mercy Sunday

The Lord wants this day reserved as "Mercy Sunday".
In order to complete the Novena one must go to
Confession, Mass, and Holy Communion on this first
Sunday After Easter. Ask a priest to hear your
Confession before Mass and Holy Communion.

Jesus said...
Whoever receives the Source of Life
(That is, Goes to Holy Communion, and Confession) On
this day will be granted complete forgivness of sins
and punishment. Let know soul be afraid to aproach the
Fount of my Mercy (Confession) even though its sins be as scarlet.

The Blessed Virgin Said...
It is only in Eternity that we shall know
the Great Mystery effected in us by Holy Communion.

Jesus said to Sr. Faustina:
My daughter,
Tell the whole world about My Inconceivable Mercy.
I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and a shelter
for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day
the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out
a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach
the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession
and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness
of sins and punishment. On that day are open all the divine
floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw
near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so
great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom
throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from
the very depths of My most tender mercy.

Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My
love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy
emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is
My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first
Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until
it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

Jesus said to Thomas: "Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hands; put it into my side."

Happy Those Who Believe

In today´s liturgy the Church draws on some of the accounts of the first Christian community in the days immediately after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The gift of the Spirit means that God is dwelling in each member of the community. This, in turn, allows the members to bring the power of forgiveness to those who will join their community as a result of their missionary activity.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Lord Jesus, we take to heart from your word today in which you encourage those who have faith in you without having seen you.

We see that faith is not so much a matter of feeling as a decision to acknowledge you for who you are, as Thomas did.

Help us so to live that what we profess with our lips may be evident in our lives.

May we play our part in the handing on of this faith in our own day. Sustain us and all in our day of disbelief that we may praie you for ever. Amen.

Ice Cream for the Soul
author unknown

Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son
asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God
is good. God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even
thank you more if mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty
and justice for all! Amen.

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a
woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today
don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream! Why, I
never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it
wrong? Is God mad at me? As I held him and assured him that he
had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an
elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and
said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great
prayer.

"Really?" my son asked

"Cross my heart." Then in theatrical whisper he added (indicating
the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad
she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for
the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kid's ice cream at the end of the meal.

My son stared at his for a moment and then did something I will
remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without
a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a
big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for
the soul sometimes and my soul is good already."

Friendship

However strange or unique--
friends are given to us as gifts from God--

When a friend rejects a friend, they also reject the gift.

When we Thank God for a good friend--we ask him to guide us in that friendship.

Sometimes God sees fit to take some friends away for our own good and so they reject us ...losing a friend can be just as a scar from a sword or a burn--especially one dear to heart.

In my lifetime I have had many a friends but also many parted.

When a friend dies and passes on to Heaven we know that we will meet again.

A friend disposed of -- by meanness or hurt is never retrieved.

Those whom God has given the gift of friendship must thank him for that--whether short or long friends.

Many a friend I have thanked God for that I will never see again if they reject God and God's laws later in the future... there is absolutely nothing i can do about that but pray for them to return to God.

Better to lose a friend than to lose one's ticket to heaven.

God has a way of allowing us to be in the right place at the right time.

I was walking down a dimly lit street late one evening when I heard muffled screams coming from behind a clump of bushes.

Alarmed, I slowed down to listen and panicked when I realized that what I was hearing was the unmistakable sounds of a struggle: heavy grunting, frantic scuffling and tearing of fabric.

Only yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked. Should I get involved?

I was frightened for my own safety and cursed myself for having suddenly decided to take a new route home that night. What if I became another statistic?

Shouldn't I just run to the nearest phone and call the police?

Although it seemed an eternity, the deliberations in my head had taken only seconds, but already the cries were growing weaker.

I knew I had to act fast.

How could I walk away from this? No, I finally resolved, I could not turn my back on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking my own life.

I am not a brave man, nor am I athletic. I don't know where I found the moral courage and physical strength--- but once I had finally resolved to help the girl, I became strangely transformed.

I ran behind the bushes and pulled the assailant off the woman. Grappling, we fell to the ground, where we wrestled for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.

Panting hard, I scrambled upright and approached the girl, who was crouched behind a tree, sobbing. In the darkness, I could barely see her outline, but I could certainly sense her trembling shock.

Not wanting to frighten her further, I at first spoke to her from a distance. It's OK, I said soothingly. The man ran away. You're safe now.

There was a long pause and then I heard the words, uttered in wonder, in amazement. "Dad, is that you?"

And then, from behind the tree, stepped my youngest daughter, Katherine.

Do all the good you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as you ever can-

author unknown

Today being the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, I thought it appropriate to use this prayer for our closing prayer:

Prayer to Saint Joseph, Patron of Workers

Glorious Saint Joseph, you are the pattern of all who work. Obtain for me, please, the grace to work conscientiously and to put devotion to duty before my selfish inclinations. Help me to labor in thankfulness and joy, for it is an honor to employ and to develop by my labor the gifts I have received from almighty God. Grant that I may work in orderliness, peace, moderation and patience without shrinking from weariness and difficulties. I offer my fatigue and perplexities as reparation for sin. I shall work, above all, with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill-spent, of talents unemployed, of good undone, and of empty pride in success, which is so fatal to the work of God. For Jesus through Mary, all in imitation of you, good Saint Joseph. This shall be my motto in life and in death. Amen.

Peace of Jesus to you all! Hope you all had a great Sunday - I got to Mass this morning with Lori and that was wonderful! Things were fine until I got a call from Linus at the airport saying his plane is 3 hours late and then he will miss his van coming home. So Lori and I are driving to pick him up at the airport when he finally gets there tonight - we'll be leaving here at 9:30 PM our time. He's disappointed that he didn't know this ahead of time, and he could have spent 3 more hours with Darla. It's a shame.

So I had to pray the Breathing Meditation prayer I often post here myself to calm my nerves and it helped.

Good night now and God bless you all - praying for all your needs and thank you for your prayers for us. Sweet Dreams!