Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Let today's difficulties make you better not bitter. Lord, guide me, protect
me
and work through me.

Scripture for the day:

"My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith
might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. Yet among the
mature
we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of
the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God's
wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our
glory." ~1 Corinthians 2:4-7

Meditation for the day:

In these times of quiet meditation, we can try more and more to set our
hopes on the grace of God. We can know that whatever the future may
hold, it can hold more and more of good. We need not set all our hopes
and desires on material things. There can be weariness in an abundance
of things. We can set our hopes on spiritual things so that we may grow
spiritually. We can learn to rely on God's power more and more and in
that reliance we can have an insight into the greater value of the
things of the spirit.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may not be overwhelmed by material things. I pray that I
may realize the higher value of spiritual things.

Hello my friends! The snowstorm is over - it was over by noon - and we got
around 8 inches. In no time, the roads got plowed out and people got to
work. Our book club for 10:00 this morning was cancelled though because of
the roads - someone got stuck. Blessings today - Linus got to work - and
they let him home early because business was slow. Last night another
blessing was when Lori called and told us that the airline tickets are down
for the week after Easter so we booked for the weekend after Easter!! We are
going to Texas to see our oldest, Darla! Also Darla and Lori got on line
last night about Lori's birthday present - her dishes and got them ordered
exactly what she wants, and they will be delivered here. Darla got some
good discounts on them - Praise the Lord! So now she added a new color to
her dishes - the FiestaWare. Fiesta Paprika - so that will be nice all
together! Lori had a blessing this morning too, when her neighbor plowed
her out! She has nice neighbors. Last night when we were in bed - we have
a patio door leading to the patio there - and it was so lit up it looked
like a light was on outside but it was the bright snow and maybe some
streetlights but we don't have streetlights in the back yard - it was so
pretty and bright!!! A blessing to see God's beauty even in the dark. Yes,
He lights up the world, doesn't He?

Dear Lord,
I know you receive what is in my heart.
Let me be inspired by your words
and by the actions of your son, Jesus.
Guide me to make sacrifices this Lent
in the spirit of self-denial
and with greater attention to you
and to those around me.
Help me to believe that you will grant me this
because of the sacrifice Jesus made for me.

With permission from: Creighton U Online Ministries


Loving the Lord With All My Heart

There is no room for unforgiveness in my heart
if I am loving God with all my heart.
One sign that I am forgiving is
when I can pray for those who hurt me.
Today, I write down the names of anyone I need to forgive
and ask God to bless them.

from Catholic Update, “Day by Day Through Lent: Fasting From Our Clutter”

Prayer Found Under Christ's Sepulchre 1503AD
O God Almighty, who suffered death upon the cross, particularly for my sins,
be with me.

Holy Cross of Jesus - have pity on me.
Holy Cross of Jesus - be my protector.
Holy Cross of Jesus - take away all bitter pains.
Holy Cross of Jesus - take away all evil.
Holy Cross of Jesus - let me walk in the way of salvation.

Preserve me from any temporal accidents, take away any danger of sudden
death. I always adore the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ: Jesus of Nazareth
crucified, have pity on me; make the spirit of evil leave me for all times.
O Mother of Perpetual Succour. I come before Thy Sacred picture and with a
child-like conscience invoke thine aid. Show Thyself a Mother to me now.
Have pity of me. O, dearest Mother of Perpetual Succour, for the love Thou
bearest to Jesus and in honor of His Sacred Wounds, help me in this my
necessity. mention specific intent

O Loving Mother, I leave is all to thee in the Name of the Father. I leave
all to Thee in the Name of the Son. I leave all to Thee in the Name of the
Holy Spirit.

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, pray for us.

Amen.


"Remove This Cup"

Jesus withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,
"Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless, not my
will, but Thine be done." And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven,
strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly; and His
sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.
LUKE 22:41-45

Not long before this sorrowful night, Jesus had declared to His apostles:
"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this
hour?' No, for this purpose I have come to this hour" (John 12:27).
How startling it is, then, to hear His outcry in the Garden: "Remove this
cup from Me!" Is any prayer of Our Lord more unsettling than this? Hearing
it, we are tempted to think that in this terrible moment, Jesus lost His
courage, faltered in His resolve, shrank from His mission.
Yet Anne Catherine reminds us-as did the ancient fathers of the Church in
commenting on this passage-that Jesus was not stumbling spiritually when He
spoke this prayer. Rather, He was displaying clear and stunning evidence of
His full humanity.
To be sure, He did not sin: He never chose nor even desired anything
other than the Father's perfect will. Even now, He fortified this anguished
petition, before and after, with firm declarations that He was submitting
Himself completely to the divine plan. But in this dreadful hour, Jesus
drank to the dregs that utterly human terror, wrenching the gut, no doubt
familiar to every man or woman who has ever faced the grisly prospect of
prolonged, excruciating pain.
"Remove this cup" was thus the natural groan of human flesh as it recoiled
from the sight of its own bloody holocaust-even as the human soul of Jesus
reached up to embrace the Father's will.

FROM THE DOLOROUS PASSION

Jesus' anguish was so great that He trembled and shuddered as He exclaimed:
"Father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass from Me!" But the next
moment He added: "Nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done." His will and
that of His Father were one, but now that His love had ordained that He
should be left to all the weakness of His human nature, He trembled at the
prospect of death.
Angels came and showed him, in a series of visions, all the sufferings that
He was to endure in order to atone for sin; how great was the beauty of man,
the image of God, before the Fall, and how that beauty was changed and
obliterated when sin entered the world. They showed Him the satisfaction
that He would have to offer to Divine Justice, and how it would consist of a
degree of suffering in His soul and body that would gather together all the
sufferings due to the sinful tendencies of all humanity, since the debt of
the whole human race had to be paid by that humanity which alone was
sinless-the humanity of the Son of God.
No tongue can describe what anguish and what horror overwhelmed the soul of
Jesus at the sight of so terrible an atonement-His sufferings were so great,
indeed, that a bloody sweat issued forth from all the pores of His sacred
body. Our Redeemer, on Mount Olivet, was pleased to experience and overcome
that violent repugnance of human nature to suffering and death which
constitutes a portion of all sufferings.


Give me grace, Father, to drink whatever cup You have poured for me.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO LENTEN FASTING

As we are in the season of Lent . Please spare a moment to read through as
it is something which will help you. It will bring you to a closer walk
with JESUS and you will experience great peace.

Lenten fasts have a tendency to be oriented toward things like giving up
food or television.
But there are many other creative ways we can welcome Jesus' healing touch
this Lent. Below are some suggestions you may want to consider.

Fast from: Anger and Hatred:
Give your family and everyone you come across, an extra dose of love each
day.

Judging Others:
Before making any judgments, recall how Jesus overlooks our faults.

Discouragement:
Hold on to Jesus' promise that He has a perfect plan for your life.

Complaining:
When you find yourself about to complain, close your eyes and recall some
of the little moments of joy Jesus has given you.

Resentment or Bitterness:
Work on forgiving those who may have hurt you.

Spending Too Much Money:
Try to reduce your spending by ten per cent and give those savings to the
poor.




I've Wondered, Lord

I've wondered, Lord, how it can be
You hear me when I call?
I'm only one of millions, and
Your love is over all.

How can it be Your Holy ear
Is tuned to hear my cries?
How can You know what troubles me
And see tears in my eyes?

Do I presume too much when I
Approach Your sacred throne,
And dare to think that I can spend
Some time with You alone?

Sometimes I am so weary
I don't even want to pray.
I feel confused; things look wrong;
I don't know what to say.

In quietness and confidence,
I seek a place apart,
And rest until I feel Your Spirit
Touch my trembling heart.

Although I cannot understand,
Somehow, I know You've heard,
Like lovers who communicate
Without a single word.

You are so great! I am so small.
I'm glad it is this way.
All things are possible with You;
You hear me when I pray.

Great God of all the universe,
In joy or in distress,
I rest myself in all You are,
For you are limitless!

Author Unknown

I wish you a great Thursday in every way and that you can find God's
blessings all around you! God bless you!! Hello from Pinky Ann. Got an
email from her, she's just not up to posting every day now and thinks of us
and prays for us often. Let us keep her in prayer, also.