Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Get and keep a good humored attitude toward life. This will bring you
support rather than opposition. Lord, may I always be a peacemaker.

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

"Fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate
of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you
ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the
shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming
arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God." ~Ephesians 6:14-17

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

As we look back over the year just gone, it has been a good year to the
extent that we have put good thoughts, good words and good deeds into
it. None of what we have thought, said or done need be wasted. Both the
good and the bad experiences can be profited by. In a sense, the past
is not entirely gone. The result of it, for good or evil, is with us at
the present moment. We can only learn by experience, and none of our
experience is completely wasted. We can humbly thank God for the good
things of the year that has gone and commit ourselves to making the next
year and the next century even better.

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

I pray that I may carry good things into the year ahead. I pray that I
may carry on with faith, with prayer and with hope.

Hello my friends! Today we did go to see Darla - an hour away. It rained
heavy most of the way there, but when we got there, the rain let up. We met
at Costco, and shopped there first and then out to eat at TJ Friday's. We
won't see her anymore until we fly there for Easter. It was a nice visit,
just her alone. They (Darla and Greg) are going to Lori's New Year's Eve
party, but we won't go - we chose to just spend a quiet evening at home.
Linus works anyway, he'll be tired. He works early tomorrow morning - 7:30
he starts until 5:30. Wow! Another long day for him. He also works New
Year's Day. I think I'll make bread tomorrow and clean for his party on
Sunday, Jan. 2nd. He's been cleaning the garage, I'll do the house. It's a
blessing that I don't have to do any cooking! Praise God for that!! I had a
blessing this morning on Facebook, one of my nieces who I never get a chance
to visit with much, chatted with me there! It was nice - maybe I can get to
know her better. Wish she'd stop smoking though, her brother and sister died
from lung cancer brought on by smoking. Another blessing - no accidents on
the road - in 2002 the weather was like this when we were driving to Deil's
80th birthday party in Mpls. and our car hydroplaned into another car. Our
car was totaled, the air bag hit Darla in the face - hard. That's what
brought on her back problems, soft tissue that doesn't go away. She still is
in much pain from that. And another blessing was that Linus and I had a
nice talk tonight before prayer, and he's wondering if we would qualify for
food stamps. Maybe the Holy Spirit brought that thought to him, and it's
worth checking out. It would sure help a lot if we stay here in our house,
which we will for now until the time comes.
I am so thankful for all of you, my friends, that I can count on for your
prayers and friendship! You are all so very important to me!


Homily of the Day


December 30, 2010


God Wants You to Be Filled Full
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

1 Jn 2:12-17 / Lk 2:36-40

"Carnal allurements, enticements for the eye, the life of empty show.."
Those words from today's first reading seem especially cogent as we stand in
the wake of Christmas, awash in bills and overdosed on the shopping mall
culture with its urgent pressures to buy and consume. There comes to mind
the familiar line of W. C. Fields in reference to a town he scorned: "There
is no there there."

So what and where is the "there" in us? What are we at the core? Is there
anything more substantial than what we can get from the culture of the mall?
There comes a point at which we need to decide quite consciously and
deliberately to construct a life that has some weight and fiber to it.

We do that on a variety of levels, beginning with our relation with the
Lord, which needs to go well beyond the surface if it's to mean anything at
all. That God relationship will in turn give us the foundations upon which
to build friendships that last, friendships that flower into service and the
sharing of life.

Don't settle for emptiness. God wants us to be filled full. That's why He
sent His only Son to be our brother and to show each of us how to build a
life that is a life.

Words of Encouragement


December 30, 2010


the Sixth day of Christmas!
by Mark Shea

Genesis 1:31

And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And
there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

Ancient pagan myths often looked to the hatching of a gigantic cosmic egg
for the beginning of the universe. Six cosmic geese-a-laying seemed as
reasonable as anything else when confronted by the gigantic spectacle of a
universe that was both here and yet incredibly strange and
impossible-looking. But, of course, as charming as a cosmic egg is, sooner
or later, annoying questions intrude on such folk stories. Questions like
"Which came first the cosmic goose or the egg?" start to needle us. If the
universe comes from an egg where did the egg come from? And if the egg came
from a cosmic goose, where did the goose come from?" All such attempts to
just propel merely natural cause and effect relations into infinity are
doomed by this. Sooner or later, one has to look, not for a natural cause
(which always requires another natural cause) but a supernatural cause which
requires nothing in nature for it to exist. The author of Genesis saw this.
And remarkably, he was virtually the only person in antiquity to have done
so. In the elegant, spare words of Genesis, "In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth." Such creation from nothing seems not to have
occurred to most people in the ancient world. Nearly always, the gods begin
their work of creation by molding some primordial goo into various
creatures. Here alone do we see God bringing everything into being from
nothing. Instead of six cosmic geese, we have six days in which God begins
with nothing but Himself and, by day's end, is wiping His hands on His apron
with all the satisfaction of a great artist pleased at work well done. He
is still pleased. That's why creation still exists.

SOME NEW YEAR'S WISHES FOR YOU!



During the year may you have:
Enough happiness to keep you sweet.
Enough trials to keep you strong.
Enough sorrow to keep you human.
Enough hope to keep you happy.
Enough failure to keep you humble.
Enough success to keep you eager.
Enough friends to give you comfort.
Enough wealth to meet your needs.
Enough enthusiasm to make you
look forward to tomorrow.
Enough determination to make
each day better than the day before.

Before You Can Dry Another's Tears - You Too Must Weep !

Let me not live a life that's free
From "THE THINGS" that draw me close to THEE-
For how can I ever hope to heal
The wounds of others I do not feel -
If my eyes are dry and I never weep -
How do I know when the hurt is deep -
If my heart is cold and it never bleeds,
How can I tell what my brother needs -
For when my ears are deaf to the beggar's plea
And we close our eyes and refuse to see,
And we steel our hearts and harden our mind,
And we count it a weakness whenever we're kind,
We are no longer following THE FATHER'S WAY
Or seeking His guidance from day to day -
For, without "crosses to carry" and "burdens to Bear,"
We dance through a life that is frothy and fair,
And "chasing the rainbow" we have no desire
For "roads that are rough" and "realms that are Higher"-
So spare me no heartache or sorrow, dear Lord,
For the heart that is hurt reaps the richest reward,
And God enters the heart that is broken with sorrow
As He opens the door to a BRIGHTER TOMORROW,
For only through tears can we recognize
The suffering that lies in another's eyes.

By: Helen Steiner Rice

Gentle Jesus, meek and mild
Look upon a little child,
Pity mine and pity me,
Suffer me to come to thee.
Heart of Jesus, I adore you,
Heart of Mary, I implore you,
Heart of St Joseph, pure and just,
In these three hearts, I put my trust.

Amen

The Most Beautiful Rose
Author Unknown

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read
beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
for the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,
a young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down
and said with great excitement, "Look at what I found."

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
with its petals all worn-not enough rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat by my side
and placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise,
"It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too.
That's why I picked it; here, it's for you."

The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colors, orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need."

But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
he held it midair without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
that weed-toting boy could not see; he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun
as I thanked him for picking the very best one.
You're welcome," he smiled, and then ran off to play,
unaware of the impact he'd had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see
a self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see
the problem was not with the world; the problem was me.
And for all of those times I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that's mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
and breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You, always
follow Your plans, and perfectly accomplish Your holy will. Grant that in
all things, great and small,
today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever You require of me. Help
me respond to the slightest prompting of Your grace, so that I may be Your
trustworthy instrument for Your honor. Amen. -St. Teresa of Avila

Good night everyone and Sweet Dreams to you all! May you all enjoy your New
Year's Eve - whatever you do, stay safe and sober!
God bless you all!! I love you!