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[gloriajean]

Daily Inspiration, Scripture, Meditation and Prayer
February 6

Not one day passes without receiving wonderful blessings from our loving and generous God. Lord, may I forget the irritations that distract me from Your happiness.

Scripture for the Day

"Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near." — Isaiah 55:6

Meditation for the Day

God finds, amid the crowd, a few people who follow, just to be near God, just to dwell in God's presence. A longing in the eternal heart may be satisfied by these few people. I can let God know that I seek not just to dwell in God's presence, to be near God, not so much for teaching or a message, as just for God. It can be that the longing of the human heart to be loved for itself is something caught from the great divine heart.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may have a listening ear, so that God may speak to me. I pray that I may have a waiting heart, so that God may come to me.

Greetings to you my friends! Hope your Saturday went well and you got accomplished what you wanted. Today's blessings - a very nice, lovely, long (all afternoon) call from Darla in Texas. What a nice blessing that was. She is in need of prayers - she isn't feeling well - has to take sleeping pills, can't sleep. I told her I'll pray and have you all pray for her and she said that was so nice of you to do so. I told her to pray the Hail Mary and ask Mary to help her sleep at night - she is so stressed out from work and all. And Greg's job is having troubles, and have to lay off their workers for about 3 weeks - so let's pray for his company to get back on track again - I think it has something to do with suppliers not providing much for the company now and he really likes it there, and doesn't want to leave, but if it gets to that point, he'll be looking for another job. She just needed to talk, and I'm so glad I was there for her, and glad I can ask for your prayers and know that she will be prayed for here, and I'll also have the Poor Clares (Sisters) pray for her, too. She said they had 2 inches of snow - and everything shut down. And that the temps there in Arlington was the coldest it has been in 15 years!! They are worried about pipes getting busted and have to watch for that. It was so nice to talk to her and visit all afternoon! Linus worked a full day today and his new orthodics work so well, his feet didn't hurt!! Praise God!
It also was a great blessing to read all of your posts on the last thread!

Homily of the Day

February 5, 2011
Be Salt!
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Is 58:7-10/ 1 Cor 2:1-5 / Mt 5:13-16
Heroes energize us and draw us forward. Sports heroes regularly do what seems impossible — run the mile faster than ever, swim the channel in record time, sink the longest putt ever recorded. Entrepreneurial heroes put together deals that are beyond imagining, and suddenly, the high-rise rises, the dream computer hits the market, and the wonder drug is available at our neighborhood counter.
Holy heroes astonish us with their goodness — the pope becomes the key player in liberating eastern Europe, Mother Theresa holds to the end to her course of caring for the poor, and the old woman down the street doesn’t falter as she begins her thirty-first year of caring for her mentally retarded son.
Heroes challenge us to get our lives and our commitments right. “Be faithful!” they say, “and hold to course. Don’t lose your way. You are salt, and you can bring out what is best in things and preserve what is best in things — just the way salt does — if you don’t forget who you are.”
Don’t forget. Be salt: Bring out the best and keep alive what is best.

The Onion
I was an onion before Christ set me free.
Layers upon layers of iniquity.
An ugly old onion whose fragrance was strong;
That my Jesus bought and loved all along.
Unknown to me what He was going to do.
Of what He was planning, I had not a clue.
Pulling each layer off one by one.
In order to make me more like Jesus the Son.
The first layer wasn't so bad.
I saw all the sins that I knew I had.
They were easy to fix, just change the way I talk.
And learn more of how He wanted me to walk.
Reading His Word, and learning again;
How to put aside my life of sin.
But the next layer was pulled which hurt more.
He was getting closer to the core.
Unknown what He would find there.
I simply gave it to Him in prayer.
As another layer was removed, He started to cry;
Pulling this layer brought pain to my Father on High.
And I was crying over the sadness I felt;
The brokenness and all of the guilt.
Past memories that I thought were gone;
They were buried under layers disguised in a fragrance so strong.
As onions peel more and more;
And they put tears in our eyes as we get close to the core;
So my Father wept over my pain;
Giving me a balm of comfort and strength to sustain.
"No More Layers." I would scream.
As He continued to peel them off of me.
"I'll have nothing left my Lord, what will I do?
I'll be nothing but a worthless core to you. "
But He just said "Trust me," and continued to peel
I was sure He was blinded to my pain that was so real.
Year after year I shrunk more and more;
Until all that was left of this onion was a core.
It was then that I began to understand;
As the Lord embraced me in His loving hand.
He said, now and only now can you be;
The creation that will minister before me.
Clothed with the righteousness only from above;
Gone are your layers of self so you can be filled with my love.
He took my layers of sin, hurt and pain;
And clothed me with love, truth and mercy in His name.
Yes, we are all onions, learning with each day;
How to overcome as each layer is taken away.
Some layers tear and pull at our heart;
While others grieve us to our innermost part.
But we are nothing but an ugly onion without Christ.
Layers upon layers of pride, sin and strife.
Only God can take those layers away.
And clothe us with His righteousness in that final day.
Author Unknown

Your Work Today
Is anyone happier because you passed this way?
Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?
Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that is slipping fast,
That you helped a single person of the many that you passed ?
Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said?
Does the man whose hopes were fading, now in courage look ahead?
Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God will say,
You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today.
Author Unknown

OH, GOD, MAKE ME A BETTER PARENT
Oh, God, make me a better parent.
Help me to understand my children,
to listen patiently to what they have to say
and to answer all their questions kindly.
Keep me from interrupting them,
talking back to them and contradicting them.
Make me as courteous to them
as I would have them be to me.
Give me the courage to confess my sins
against my children and to ask of them forgiveness,
when I know that I have done them wrong.
May I not vainly hurt the feelings of my children.
Forbid that I should laugh at their mistakes or
resort to shame and ridicule as punishment.
Let me not tempt a child to lie and steal.
So guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate
by all I say and do that honestly produces
happiness.
Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me.
May I cease to nag:
and when I am out of sorts,
help me, O Lord, to hold my tongue.
Blind me to the little errors of my children
and help me to see the good things that they do.
Give me a ready word for honest praise.
Help to treat my children as those of their own age,
but let me not exact of them the judgments
and conventions of adults.
Allow me not to rob them of the opportunity
to wait upon themselves,
to think, to choose, and to make decisions.
Forbid that I should ever punish them
for my self satisfaction.
May I grant them all of their wishes
that are reasonable
and have the courage always to withhold
a privilege that I know will do them harm.
Amen
-- Author Unknown

Written by Andy Rooney, a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words. Enjoy.......
I've learned......That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
I've learned......That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned...... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.
I've learned.......That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned......That being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned...... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I've learned......That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned......That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned......That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned......That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned......That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned......That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned......That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
I've learned.....That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned......That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I've learned......That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned......That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned......That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned.....That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
I've learned......That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
I've learned.....That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned......That opportunities are never lost, someone will take the ones you miss.
I've learned......That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
I've learned......That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.
I've learned......That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned......That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I've learned...... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
I've learned......That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
I've learned......That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done..

Closing Prayer - a Prayer to Mary

My Prayer to Our Mother Mary
Hail Mary, whom God Almighty has exalted above all of his other servants!! God has entrusted us unto your care and graciously grants any request that you make of Him on our behalf, if it is in accordance with His Divine Will. Our hearts burn with zeal as we honor you our Mother. We love you as a child loves a mother and you love us as mother loves her children. Please guide us, your little ones, to our Eternal and Almighty Father God through our prayers and through your love for us. Many in this world may slander and degrade you while still claiming to exalt God, please forgive them and pray for them for they may dishearten your devoted children. May we be made worthy of the promises of Christ through your prayers. You love us so freely and we are so unworthy of it. You love us because God and Christ loved us first. Mary, mother, I love you. Amen.

Good night and Sweet Dreams to all and may you all have a very blessed Sunday - Don't forget to go to Church - wishing you all many blessings throughout the day! Enjoy the Lord's Day! Relax, read, pray and be with God!