Hello my friends! Tonight at Mass we found out that a friend of ours died yesterday and her funeral will be Monday. She was 82 and she and her husband have been married 63 years! He was in the Military - playing band for the Air Force until retirement. He still plays his saxophone in bands, and sometimes in Church. He had knee surgery, and his wife was taking care of him. All their seven kids were at her bedside at the hospital when she passed away. She had the Anointing of the Sick. We will have to reach out to her husband now, just a couple blocks away. His daughter was with him at Mass tonight, we didn't get to see him though but I heard that. We visited with our friends, Ray and Ann after Mass. What a shock this was!!! Blessings though was knowing her for the last ten years, she and her husband have always been friends! She couldn't come over though because she was allergic to dogs. Another blessing today was our weather - it was a very nice and sunny day today! Supper Linus made venison - Very delicious!!! Lori is getting better with those antibiotics now and cough meds. Got to see Darla's picture today on Facebook in Miami! She looks happy and it was by a palm tree, and nice weather! Greg was taking pictures of his wife.
In everything imitate God and you will come to know him better and better.
Lord, I ask your help to come close to you in my thoughts and bring love to
this earth.
Scripture for the day:
"And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." ~John 17:3
Meditation for the day:
"And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Learning to know God as best we
can helps us experience eternal life. Freed from some of the
limitations of humanity, we can grow in things that are eternal. We
can strive for what is real and of eternal value. The more we try to
live in the consciousness of the unseen world, the gentler will be our
passing into it when the time comes for us to go. This life on earth
can be largely a preparation for the eternal life to come.
Prayer for the day:
I pray that I may live each day as though it were my last. I pray that
I may live my life as though it were everlasting.
PRAYER WHEN IN SUFFERING
Jesus, speak to me in these days of suffering to reveal to me, the will of
God. "You have kept count of my tossing; put my tears in your bottle."
(Psalm 56:8). "This I know, that God is for me" (Psalm 56:9). Come to my
help soon. Cut short the days of suffering. Deliver me from the present
adversities. Grant me long life and health to praise you in peace. Lift me
up to become a witness for you. Thank you Jesus. Praise you Jesus.
Hallelujah. (Praise God for 5 minutes to know the will of God in your
sufferings. Thus you will receive the strength and grace to suffer. God
willing, you will get immediate deliverance.)
Abandonment Is an Awful Poverty
A Story by Bl. Mother Teresa
One day I visited a house where our sisters shelter the aged. This is one
of the nicest houses in England, filled with beautiful and precious things,
yet there was not one smile on the faces of these people. All of them were
looking toward the door.
I asked the sister in charge, "Why are they like that? Why can't you see a
smile on their faces?" (I am accustomed to seeing smiles on people's faces.
I think a smile generates a smile, just as love generates love.)
The sister answered, "The same thing happens every day. They are always
waiting for someone to come and visit them. Loneliness eats them up, and
day after day they do not stop looking. Nobody comes."
Abandonment is an awful poverty. There are poor people everywhere, but the
deepest poverty is not being loved.
The poor we seek may live near us or far away. They can be materially or
spiritually poor. They may be hungry for bread or hungry for friendship.
They may need clothing, or they may need the sense of wealth that God's love
for them represents. They may need the shelter of a house made of bricks
and cement or the shelter of having a place in our hearts.
Dear Lord,
Our relationship with you is usually like this:
Just another day for me - plenty of things to do
Go to work, come home late, nothing really new
Sat in bed put my head to rest grabbed my mobile phone
About to call my girlfriend now to tell her I loved her so
But before I had the chance to phone I received an incoming call
I had to look twice at the Caller ID to see if I was sure
It was a friend of mine his name was John an odd call at this time
We haven´t spoken for years, busy I guess, we're all guilty of this crime
What does he want? I thought to myself, a favor he must need
So I answered the phone and said hello, the rest I'll let you read
Minutes went by, no favor so far, maybe I could be wrong
But there it was - the favor he needs - I knew it all along
That’s the reason why he called me today - I guess we all do the same
Its only when we need something that we look to find their name
That’s the relationship we have with God - sad but it is true
We have to change the way we think - a message for me and you.
THE BIBLE & THE COAL BASKET
Author Unknown
The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains
of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was
up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out
Bible.
His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in
any way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the
Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do
understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does
reading the Bible do?" The
Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said,
"Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of
water." The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked
out before he could get back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little
faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to
try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he
returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was
"impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket
instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a
basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough,"
and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point,
the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather
that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out
before he got far at all. The boy
scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather
the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that
the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it
was clean. "Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You
might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it
will change you from the inside out.
That is the work of God in our lives.
To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the
image of His son.
Take time to read a portion of God's word each day.
THE LETTER
Author Unknown
October 19, 2011
Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it
up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the
envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and
address.
She read the letter:
Dear Ruth,
I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like
to stop by for a visit.
Love Always,
Jesus
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why
would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have
anything to offer." With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty
kitchen cabinets.
"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to
run down to the store and buy something for dinner." She reached for
her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents.
"Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least." She threw on her
coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of french bread, a half-pound of
sliced turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand total of
twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as
she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
"Hey lady, can you help us, lady?" Ruth had been so absorbed in her
dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the
alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than
rags.
"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been
living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and
we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we'd
really appreciate it."
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and,
frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they
really wanted to.
"Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is
a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for
dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."
"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his
arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the
alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her
heart.
"Sir, wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley
after them. "Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out
something else to serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag.
"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"
"Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that
she was shivering.
"You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take
this one." Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's
shoulders.
Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street...without her
coat and with nothing to serve her guest. "Thank you lady! Thank you
very much!"
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried
too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to
offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she
did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.
"That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day." She
took the envelope out of the box and opened it.
Dear Ruth,
It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And
thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always,
Jesus
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer
noticed.
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