Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Every moment of every day is your choice unless you give it away.
Lord, I choose to live peacefully today and ask for patience and strength
when I feel stress from the demands others place on me.

Scripture for the day:

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have life, and have it abundantly." ~John 10:10

Meditation for the day:

We can have life and have it more abundantly--spiritual, mental,
physical, abundant life--joyous, powerful life. These we can have if
we follow the right way. Not all people will accept from God the gift
of an abundant life, a gift held out free to all. Not all people care
to stretch out a hand and take it. God's gift, the richest God has to
offer, is the precious gift of abundant life. People often turn away
from it, reject it, and will have none of it. We need not let this be
true of us.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may hasten to accept the gift of abundant spiritual
life. I pray that I may live the good life to the best of my ability.

Hello my friends! How was your day? Hope you had a wonderful Friday and
looking forward to another weekend! Today my back is much better, thanks be
to God! I'm still getting my massage Monday morning though! Today we had
Father Jerry over - had fish and sweet potato fries, and a good salad. We
had a very nice visit with him. Even though he's retired, they keep him
busy - he does a lot of spiritual direction and will be co-ordinating a
men's retreat the first part of December. Linus is thinking of making that
retreat - that will be so good for him.
We still haven't heard a word from Sister LaDonna since she's back at the
Motherhouse. If we don't hear anything by tomorrow afternoon, Deil will call
there to find out if she even wants visitors Sunday, or in too much pain.
All we can do is pray for her and have patience for word about her. My
blessings today are a better back, Linus vaccuuming for me, having Father
Jerry for my cousin, and having him live right here in our town now. Such a
great blessing! What are yours?

Homily of the Day


October 28, 2011

You Are Strangers No Longer
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Eph 2:19-22 / Lk 6:12-16

Alienation is not a new problem. From the beginning of time, people have
found themselves feeling like aliens and strangers, sometimes even in their
own land and in their own homes. Attila the Hun had a knack for making the
Romans feel like strangers in their own town. Genghis Khan was an expert at
turning people into strangers, and so were Hitler and Stalin. Though no one
did it to them, our first-generation immigrant ancestors knew the bitter
uncertainty of never quite fitting in after they left their homelands and
came to America.

The problem of alienation isn’t limited just to immigrants and the victims
of conquerors. It’s a part of many people’s lives in every age, and it’s a
problem now: People feeling like outsiders, feeling alone and disconnected
from the mainstream of their own culture, which seems to have gotten up and
walked away from them. A sad sense of confusion, futility, and uselessness
fills many hearts.

In this complex, rapidly-changing culture of ours, that terrible malaise can
afflict any one of us, and it can be crushing if we’ve lost our compass by
letting ourselves get disconnected from Christ. He is the one who speaks for
our Father and helps us to remember who we are — not aliens and strangers,
but much beloved sons and daughters, and heirs, who have a future that’s
only begun to unfold.

So stay connected to him, and you’ll always remember who you are. Stay
connected to him, and you’ll never doubt that you have a very special place
in God’s world.

Greed

One summer afternoon on the Mississippi River in
America a steamer crowded with passengers
suddenly struck a submerged rock. In a moment the
deck was a wild confusion. The lifeboats were
able to take off only one-fourth of all the
passengers. The rest tore off their clothes, and
swam ashore.

After everyone had deserted the overturned ship,
a man suddenly appeared on the leaning deck. He
grabbed a loose piece of wood and then jumped
into the river. But he sank like a stone.

When his body was recovered, it was found that
while the other passengers were busy escaping, he
was busy breaking open and robbing their trunks
and baggage. Many of them were miners returning
home with their treasure. This thief gathered
their gold, tied little bags of it around his
waist and within a quarter of an hour he had won
more gold than most men do in a lifetime.

But it dragged him to the bottom of the river in
an instant.

My Child

You may not know me, but I know everything about you.Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up.Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways.Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image.Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being.Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring.Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived.Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation.Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book.Psalm
139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live.Acts
17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb.Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born.Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me.John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love.1 John
4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your father.1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father.Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love.Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.Psalm
139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing.Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you.Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession.Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things.Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires.Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager.2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles.2 Corinthians
1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.Isaiah
40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.Revelation
21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being.Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you.Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father.Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is.Will you be my child?.John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you.Luke 15:11-32

Love, God

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
-- Author Unknown



A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after
having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.
"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a
friend I'd like to bring home with me."


"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."


"There's something you should know the son continued, he was hurt
pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an
arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live
with us."


"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to
live."


"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."


"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone
with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own
lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our
lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy.
He'll find a way to live on his own."


At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing
more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from
the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a
building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The
grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the
city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him,
but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know,
their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love
those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like
people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would
rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or
smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that
way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us
into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.


Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little
prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people
as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are
different from us!!

Golden Rules for Living
by Miriam Hamilton Keare

1. If you open it, close it.
2. If you turn it on, turn it off.
3. If you unlock it, lock it up.
4. If you break it, admit it.
5. If you can't fix it, call in someone who can.
6. If you borrow it, return it.
7. If you value it, take care of it.
8. If you make a mess, clean it up.
9. If you move it, put it back.
10. If it belongs to someone else, get permission to use it.
11. If you don't know how to operate it, leave it alone.
12. If it's none of your business, don't ask questions.

Be still, and know that I am God Psalm 46:10

Pooling and Pouring

The hike up through Stagecoach Trail was worth it. We were rewarded
with a spectacular at over ten thousand feet. Still, we weren’t above
the timberline. ‘Older than dirt’ towering pines and spruces dotted
the landscape. A little ways beyond, a symphony of rushing waters
beckoned us.

The Cascades water flowed down so dramatically. It pooled, poured out.
Pooled, poured out.

We all pour out in one way or another. We give of ourselves at home,
at work, in our churches, communities, everywhere we are we give or
ourselves. Could be something big or could be something as seemingly
insignificant as a smile.

We each have a sphere of influence whether we are aware of it or not.
God plants us precisely where He wants us, for our good ad for the
greater good of others. He always intends to bless us and at the same
time there is always a bigger picture.

Just as in the natural, where the waterfall pooled and poured out, so
do we need to ‘pool’ in order to pour out. We can run on our steam for
awhile and then – we need time alone with God to refill.

We can’t run on empty, although I have to admit I get caught up in
things and then find that I am actually trying to do that very thing.
It just doesn’t work. We are designed for pooling and pouring, then
pooling and then pouring. ‘

Thank you, Lord, that when we are ‘still’ with you, we are refilled
and renewed for pouring again,
in Jesus’ name

inspirational messages by Sally I. Kennedy
Sally I. Kennedy, ©2011

PRAYER FOR LIFE:

O God, our Creator, all life is in your hands from conception until death.
Help us to cherish our children and to reverence the awesome privilege of
our share in creation. May all people live and die in dignity and love.
Bless all those who defend the rights of the unborn, the handicapped and the
aged. Enlighten and be merciful toward those who fail to love, and give
them peace. Let freedom be tempered by responsibility, integrity and
morality. Amen

Prayer for Strength in Weakness
Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings, you have power over life and death. You
know even things that are uncertain and obscure, and our very thoughts and
feelings are not hidden from you. Cleanse me from my secret faults, and I
have done wrong and you saw it. You know how weak I am, both in soul and in
body. Give me strength, O Lord, in my frailty and sustain me in my
sufferings. Grant me a prudent judgement, dear Lord, and let me always be
mindful of your blessings. Let me retain until the end your grace that has
protected me till now.
St Ephrem of Syria, Deacon, Poet and Doctor

Good night all - Sweet Dreams and God's blessings be yours tomorrow and
every day! Enjoy your weekend!! God bless you!