Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Begin each day with the certainty that today is the best day of your life
and watch what happens. Lord, I celebrate my life and give thanks for
everything because for everything there is a reason.

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

"For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and
rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your
strength." ~Isaiah 30:15

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

Confidence means to have faith in something. We could not live without
confidence in others. When we have confidence in God's grace, we can
face whatever comes. When we have confidence in God's love, we can be
serene and at peace. We can rest in the faith that God will take care
of us. We can try to rest in God's presence until God's life-power
flows through us. We can be still and in that stillness the still,
small voice will come. It can speak in quietness to the human mind that
is attuned to its influence.

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

I pray that I may find strength today in quietness. I pray that I may
be content today that God will take care of me.

Greetings my friends! I like that first paragraph which is why I chose that for tomorrow. Hope you all are having a good Saturday. I'm looking forward to going out to eat tonight at our favorite restaurant. We were thinking of maybe going there on Valentine's night, but they are booked, tonight will be fine. We never go out on Valentine's night because everything is so busy then anyway and tonight will more more normal. The day has been a relaxing one - no cooking today! Linus is working all day until 6:30 and our reservations are at 7. Last night my sister, Deil, called and we talked a long time. Haven't talked to her for awhile, lot of catching up to do. She told me of our sister, Erma, with Parkinson's, having so much trouble with holding her urine - her daughters took her to the Mayo Clinic and they said the only thing would be taking out the bladder - so at her age they decided it best not to. She is 85. She is embarrassed by this, and she got some anti-biotics to take now to help. Please pray for her. It comes with that disease, they said. Deil is doing fine at 87.
Thanks for your prayers.

Homily of the Day


February 12, 2011


A Crisis of the World
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Sir 15:15-20; 1 Cor 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-37 or Mt 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37

What happened to simple spoken truth? What happened to agreements being secured by a handshake? What happened to the integrity of “my word is my bond”? What happened to trust?

“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’” Jesus tells us at the end of the Gospel today. Why are we as disciples of Christ unable to make and hold to that simple commitment?

Granted, the world around us wants legally binding contracts. But should we need them when we make a commitment to do something? Let’s back up in this Gospel selection to the question of marriage and divorce: how many divorces have happened just because there was a failure to hold to the word – the vow – exchanged? And it is not marriage only: what about the priests and sisters, monks and nuns and brothers who have chosen to walk away from the vows they have made?

Our society is in a crisis of the word, not just “the Word,” as in fidelity to the Gospel, but the word spoken by individuals – to one another, or to God! The only ones who can restore this in our twisted culture … are us! “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”

Have we been speaking with a “forked tongue?”

A Balanced Life

My life has been balanced
with pleasures and trials,
I've had many teardrops
and thousands of smiles.
I've soared to the moon
and I've plunged to the sand,
My life has been balanced
by God's loving hand.
I've had many friendships
I've had a few foes,
In the life of a Christian
that's the way that it goes.
Should I just accept
only good from God's hands?
No, I must endure
whatever He plans.
But I can be sure
and you can be, too,
All things work for best
as God deals with you.

~Betty Purser Patten~

You Are...

You are strong...when you take your grief and teach it to smile.
You are brave...when you overcome your fear and help others to do the same.
You are happy...when you see a flower and are thankful for the blessing.
You are loving...when your own pain does not blind you to the pain of others.
You are wise...when you know the limits of your wisdom.
You are true...when you admit there are times you fool yourself.
You are alive...when tomorrow's hope means more to you than yesterday's mistake.
You are growing...when you know what you are but not what you will become.
You are free...when you are in control of yourself and do not wish to control others.
You are honorable...when you find your honor is to honor others.
You are generous...when you can take as sweetly as you can give.
You are humble...when you do not know how humble you are.
You are thoughtful...when you see me just as I am and treat me just as you are.
You are merciful...when you forgive in others the faults you condemn in yourself.
You are beautiful...when you don't need a mirror to tell you.
You are rich...when you never need more than what you have.
You are you...when you are at peace with who you are not.

The young man had lost his job and didn't know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher. Pacing about the preacher's study, the young man ranted about his problem. Finally he clenched his fist and shouted, "I've begged God to say something to help me. Tell me, Preacher, why doesn't God answer?"

The old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply -- something so hushed it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked.

The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone as soft as a whisper. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher's chair.

"Sorry," he said. "I still didn't hear you."

With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "so we will move closer to hear Him."

This time the young man heard and he understood.

We all want God's voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem. But God's is the still, small voice . . . the gentle whisper. Perhaps there's a reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God's whisper means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent together with His. And then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I find myself closer to God.

author unknown

Closing Prayer:

PRAYER WHEN YOU NEED TO FEEL SPECIAL

Eternal God, you have made me special. Help me to work
and develop my unique personality. You intended for me to be an
original, not a carbon copy of someone else. Thank you for making me
different. Grant that I will always put my individuality to its best use
for Your work. Amen.

Good night now - we are leaving to go - he just got home from work! Sweet Dreams to all and may you all have a very holy and blessed Sunday, the Lord's Day.
God bless you all!!!