Hello my friends! What a wonderful night tonight was taking Father Jerry out to the Cafe, Jim visited with us, and he gave us a nice big piece of some kind of Italian cake that we all could eat with forks for us all - I love that cake! We had a very nice time, lots of visiting, laughing, and some wine. That was a great blessing for today, also I got the house all cleaned - loving my new Shark vacuum cleaner. Thanks to all who posted - just don't have time now to answer you all individually! May God grant you your hearts desires!!!
Do not be upset by events of the past, rather be upset by the time
and energy you are devoting to them. Lord, help me to enjoy each
moment by completely letting go of the past.
Scripture for the day:
"Lord, send out your spirit, and renew the face of the earth!" Psalm
response for Pentecost
Meditation for the day:
It is good for me to help others all I can. Every troubled soul that
God puts in my path is the one for me to help. As I sincerely try to
help, a supply of strength will flow into me from God. My circle of
helpfulness can widen more and more. God hands out the spiritual food
to me and I pass it on to others. I need never say that I have only
enough strength for my own need. The more I give away, the more I
will keep. That which I keep to myself, I will lose in the end.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may have a sincere willingness to give. I pray that I
may not hold back the strength I have received for myself alone.
Truly blessed
Here's a great way to quickly change your attitude about anything and to put
yourself in a positive frame of mind. Wherever you are, whatever has
happened, in every situation, consider yourself truly blessed. If there's
something which must be done, that you'd really rather avoid, consider that
you're truly blessed to be doing it. That simple change in thinking can put
an amazing positive spin on the experience.
If there's a troublesome situation confronting you, consider yourself truly
blessed to be able to face it. It will help you to fashion your most
positive, effective and resourceful response.
Sure, it's difficult to think of yourself as truly blessed when you're in
the middle of something unpleasant, frightening or frustrating. Difficult as
it may be, though, it sure beats the alternative of giving in to despair and
negativity.
It may not make sense at first to your logical mind, yet in some very
positive and empowering way your spirit will understand. Indeed, you are
truly blessed, and it can be a powerful positive boost to remind yourself of
that fact. Just do it and see for yourself what a difference it can make.
Ralph Marston
The Village Idiot
Once upon a time there was a village named Egoville hidden away in the
mountains.
Now, this village, like most villages, had their own idiot. His name was
Hugh Millety.
Hugh, the village idiot, was the ridicule of Egoville. The town's folk would
often set him
up with silly choices in order to laugh mercilessly at him when he made the
wrong choice.
"Hugh," they'd say, "would you rather have this shiny new quarter or this
dirty old torn dollar bill?"
"I'd like the shiny quarter," Hugh would reply. His tormentor would give him
the quarter
and walk away laughing, declaring Hugh a true village idiot. Hugh would just
shrug and
go about his business.
Even though it was a poor village with little opportunity, this was repeated
several times a
day by many people. As the years went by, the ridicule became a ritual that
dozens of
townies took part in. The town's folk had little to their names, but at
least they could feel
better about themselves in comparison to the village idiot this way. It was
their small
comfort in the lap of poverty.
Not everyone would make fun of Hugh though. A few felt sorry for him and
gave him
hand-me-down clothes, leftover food, and even an old shack to live in at the
edge of
town. Hugh lived off of the handouts of the charitable few.
One day, Hugh showed up at the village square wearing a brand new suit.
Everyone was
amazed, for few people in the town could afford new clothing, let alone a
nice suit. The
small village didn't even have a new clothing store, only a used clothing
store.
One of townsfolk asked Hugh where he got his new suit, thinking he must have
stolen it.
He bought it, he told them. And furthermore he added, the fine new house
being built on
the mountainside that everyone was wondering about, that was his.
When questioned where he got the money, he told them it was the money they
gave him.
With people giving him food, clothing, and shelter, he simply saved and
invested everything
they gave him. "I may be your village idiot," he smiled and said, "but I'm
no fool."
But why then, they asked, did he always take the lesser amount of money they
offered him
if he was so cunning?
Hugh replied that if he had taken the greater amount of money, they would
have stopped
offering it to him. He earned his money by letting them laugh at him, but he
knew the first
time he took the greater amount they'd stop offering him money and find
something else to
laugh at him about.
"Now," said Hugh, "I'm the richest person in town and have all the money I
need. I didn't
waste money amusing myself at the expense of someone I falsely perceived to
be a lesser
person. And you, all of you, have little more now than you had when you
started ridiculing
me. So tell me, who is the village idiot now?"
Hugh smiled again, then handed out hundred dollar bills to those who had
been kind to him.
The townsfolk were shocked. It was true though, they had frittered away
their money a little
at a time, trying to make themselves feel big by comparison to the village
idiot.
It just goes to show you, if you live in Egoville, take care not to become
the village idiot by
your vain perceptions. On the other hand, if you follow the wisdom of Hugh
Millety, you
might just become the richest person in town.
Author Unknown
Strength and Courage
It takes strength to be certain,
It takes courage to have doubts.
It takes strength to fit in,
It takes courage to stand out.
It takes strength to share a friend's pain,
It takes courage to feel your own pain.
It takes strength to hide your own pain,
It takes courage to show it and deal with it.
It takes strength to stand guard,
It takes courage to let down your guard.
It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.
It takes strength to endure abuses,
It takes courage to stop them.
It takes strength to stand alone,
It takes courage to lean on a friend.
It takes strength to love,
It takes courage to be loved.
It takes strength to survive,
It takes courage to live.
May you find strength and courage
in everything you do,
And may your life be filled with
Friendship and Love!
- Author Unknown
Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua
Dear Saint Anthony, you are the patron of the poor and the helper of all who
seek lost articles. Help me to find the object I have lost so that I will be
able to make better use of the time I will gain for God's greater honor and
glory. Grant your gracious aid to all people who seek what they have lost -
especially those who seek to regain God's grace. Amen.
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