Community Chat

[gloriajean]

We are often called upon by God as His means to care for His people.
Lord, I am here to serve You and am ready to do Your work.


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

"But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and
persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act--they will be
blessed in their doing." ~James 1:25

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

When something happens to upset us and we are discouraged, we can try to
feel that life's difficulties and troubles are not intended to arrest
our progress in the spiritual life, but to test our strength and to
increase our determination to keep going. Whatever it is that must be
met, we can either overcome it or use it. Nothing need daunt us for
long, nor need any difficulty entirely overcome or conquer us. God's
strength is always there, waiting for us to use it. Nothing can be too
great to be overcome, or if not overcome, then used.

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

I pray that I may know that there can be no failure with God. I pray
that with God's help I may live a more victorious life.

Hello my friends! Today I've been very busy again at the computer
re-organizing my list - I just am amazed how time consuming it all is!
Today I got everyone on the list typed out with their email addresses - all
200 of them, and printed out. Now the list has 16 different categories and
I'm organizing each one. I have a few more to do and I'll be finished. Some
of the people on my list have been on since the beginning almost 12 years
ago! I just started a new category on Padre Pio, and already I have 31
sign-ups! So I've been blessed today as I look over each and every person
there on the list how they've stuck with me all these years! When they go
on vacation they ask to be taken off until they return. When they return,
then they email me they are ready for the list again. So with that and
also typing out Padre Pio's reflections every day - although I love it, does
keep me busy! But now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel - Praise
the Lord!!

Prayer for Wednesday in the Fifth Week of Lent

Loving Creator,
I know in your great love for me,
you see the deep sorrow in my heart.
Hear my prayers which are offered
with such trust in you.

Be with me in both mind and heart
as I renew my life in your spirit.

MARY’S CALL to PRAYER AND PENANCE
by Pope John Paul II
The following is taken from the Homily by Pope John Paul II at Fatima, May
13, 1982, one year to the day after the attempt on his life in St. Peter’s
square in Rome.

. . . . In the light of the mystery of Mary’s spiritual motherhood, let us
seek to understand the extraordinary message, which began May 13, 1917, to
resound throughout the world from Fatima, continuing for five months until
October 13 of the same year.

Convert and repent
The Church has always taught and continues to proclaim that God’s revelation
was brought to completion in Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of that
revelation, and that “no new public revelation is to be expected before the
glorious manifestation of our Lord.” (Dei Verbum, 4) The Church evaluates
and judges private revelations by the criterion of conformity with that
single public revelation.

If the Church has accepted the message of Fatima, it is, above all, because
that message contains a truth and a call whose basic content is the truth
and the call of the Gospel itself.

“Repent, and believe in the Gospel!” (Mk 1:15) These are the first words
that the messiah addressed to humanity. The message of Fatima is, in its
basic nucleus, a call to conversion and repentance, as in the Gospel. This
call was uttered at the beginning of the 20th century and it was thus
addressed particularly to this present century. The Lady of the message
seems to have read with special insight the “signs of the times,” the signs
of our time.

Recommends the Rosary
The call to repentance is a motherly one. At the same time it is strong and
decisive. The love that “rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor. 13) is capable of
being clear-cut and firm. The call to repentance is linked, as always, with
a call to prayer. In harmony with the tradition of many centuries, the Lady
of the message indicates the Rosary, which can rightly be defined as “Mary’s
prayer,” the prayer in which she feels particularly united with us.

She herself prays with us. The Rosary prayer embraces the problems of the
Church, of the See of Saint Peter, the problems of the whole world. In it we
also remember sinners, that they may be converted and saved, and the souls
in purgatory.

The words of the message were addressed to children, ages seven to ten.
Children, like Bernadette of Lourdes, are particularly privileged in these
apparitions of the Mother of God. Hence, the fact that also her language is
simple, within the limits of their understanding. The children of Fatima
became partners in dialogue with the Lady of the message and collaborators
with her. One of them is still living.

When Jesus on the Cross said: “Woman, behold, your son," (Jn 19:26) in a new
way He opened His mother’s Heart, the Immaculate Heart, and revealed to it
the new dimensions and extent of the love to which she was called in the
Holy Spirit by the power of the sacrifice of the Cross. . . .

In the light of a mother’s love, we understand the whole message of the Lady
of Fatima. The greatest obstacle to man’s journey toward God is sin,
perseverance in sin and, finally, denial of God. The deliberate blotting out
of God from the world of human thought. The detachment from Him of the whole
of man’s earthly activity. The rejection of God by man.

In reality, the eternal salvation of man is only in God. Man’s rejection of
God, if it becomes definitive, leads logically to God’s rejection of man, to
damnation. (Mt. 7:23;10:33)

Can the Mother, who . . . desires everyone’s salvation, keep silence on what
undermines the very basis of their salvation? No, she cannot.

So, while the message of Our Lady of Fatima is a motherly one, it is also
strong and decisive. It sounds severe. It sounds like John the Baptist
speaking on the banks of the Jordan. It invites to repentance. It gives a
warning. It calls to prayer. It recommends the Rosary.

The message is addressed to every human being. The love of the Savior’s
Mother reaches every place touched by the work of salvation. Her care
extends to every individual of our time and to all the societies, nations
and peoples. Societies menaced by apostasy, threatened by moral degradation.
The collapse of morality involves the collapse of societies.

Meaning of consecration
. . . . The heart of the Blessed Mother . . . calls us. She not only calls
us to be converted; she calls us to accept her motherly help to return to
the source of redemption.

Consecrating ourselves to Mary means accepting her help to offer ourselves
and the whole of mankind to Him who is holy, infinitely holy. . . .

God’s holiness showed itself in the redemption of man, of the world, of the
whole of mankind, and of the nations: a redemption brought about through the
Sacrifice of the Cross. “For their sake I consecrate myself,” Jesus had
said. (Jn 17:19)

By the power of the redemption the world and man have been consecrated. They
have been consecrated to Him who is infinitely Holy. They have been offered
and entrusted to Love itself, merciful Love.

The Mother of Christ calls us, invites us to join with the Church of the
living God in the consecration of the world. In this act . . . mankind as a
whole, the nations and each individual person are presented to the Eternal
Father with the power of the redemption won by Christ. They are offered in
the Heart of the Redeemer which was pierced on the Cross.

Rooted in the Gospel
The appeal of the Lady of the message of Fatima is so deeply rooted in the
Gospel and the whole of Tradition that the Church feels that the message
imposes a commitment on it.

It has responded through the Servant of God, Pius XII (whose episcopal
ordination took place precisely on May 13, 1917), who consecrated the human
race and especially the peoples of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Was not that consecration his response to. . . the call of Fatima?

In its dogmatic Constitution on the Church and its pastoral Constitution on
the Church in the Modern World, the Second Vatican Council amply illustrated
the reasons for the link between the Church and the world of today.

Furthermore, its teaching on Mary’s special place in the mystery of Christ
and the Church bore mature fruit in Paul VI’s action in calling Mary "Mother
of the Church," thus indicating more profoundly the nature of her union with
the Church and of her care for the world, for mankind, for each human being
and for all the nations. . . .

This brought a further deepening of understanding of the meaning of the act
of consecrating that the Church is called upon to perform with the help of
the heart of Christ’s mother and ours.

Many going astray
Today John Paul II, successor of Peter, continuer of the work of Pius, John,
and Paul, and in particular heir of the Second Vatican Council, presents
himself before the Mother of the Son of God in her shrine at Fatima. In what
way does he come?

He presents himself, reading again with trepidation the motherly call to
penance, to conversion, the ardent appeal of the Heart of Mary that
resounded at Fatima in 1917. Yes, he reads it again with trepidation in his
heart, because he sees how many people and societies — how many Christians —
have gone in the opposite direction to the one indicated in the message of
Fatima.

Sin has thus made itself firmly at home in the world and denial of God has
become widespread in the ideologies, ideas and plans of human beings.

For this very reason the evangelical call to repentance and conversion,
uttered in the Mother’s message, remains ever relevant. It is still more
relevant than it was in 1917. It is still more urgent.

The successor of Peter presents himself here also as a witness to the
immensity of human suffering, a witness to the almost apocalyptic menaces
looking over the nations and mankind as a whole. He is trying to embrace
these sufferings with his own weak human heart, as he places himself before
the mystery of the Heart of the Mother, the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In the name of these sufferings and with awareness of the evil that is
spreading throughout the world and menacing the individual human being, the
nations, mankind as a whole, Peter’s successor presents himself here with
greater faith in the redemption of the world, in the saving Love that is
always stronger, always more powerful than any evil.

My heart is oppressed when I see the sin of the world and the whole range of
menaces gathering like a dark cloud over mankind, but it also rejoices with
hope as I once more do what has been done by my predecessors, when they
consecrated the world to the Heart of the Mother, when they consecrated to
that Heart those peoples which particularly need to be consecrated. Doing
this means consecrating the world to Him who is infinite Holiness.

This Holiness means redemption. It means a love more powerful than evil. No
‘’sin of the world” can ever overcome this Love.

Once more this act is being done, Mary’s appeal is not for just once. Her
appeal must be taken up by generation after generation, in accordance with
the ever new “signs of the times.” It must be unceasingly returned to. It
must ever be taken up anew. . . .

Yes, truly we can repeat: “O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God
above all women on earth . . . walking in the straight path before our God .
.. . you have avenged our ruin.” (Judith 13:18-20)

Truly, indeed, you are blessed.

Yes, here and throughout the Church, in the heart of every individual and in
the world as a whole may you be blessed, O Mary, our sweet Mother.

Words of Advice From Our Savior

"My house will be a house of prayer: but you have made it a den of robbers."
Luke 19:46

This quote from Christ is believed to have been uttered in his last days.
People were more interested in using the temple of the Lord for buying and
selling than worshipping and praying. How would Christ react if He saw what
was going on within the walls of our Church buildings today? Lent provides
us with the perfect opportunity to take stock of how we are using our time
in Church. Are there things that are robbing us of the full worship
experience?

In my Lenten worship, help me to clear away all distractions to focus my
attention on building up my faith and my relationship with You. Amen.

Sayings of Mother Teresa

The greatest fulfillment is in doing God's will.
We do not have to do great things,
only small things with great love.
We do not have to be extraordinary in any way,
I can do what you can't do and you can do what I can't do.
Together we can do something beautiful for God.
We can be the little pencils in the hand of God .

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he
said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them
from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them
from forming an intimate relationship with their savior. Once they gain that
connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners,
but steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with
Jesus Christ. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and
maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes
to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and
borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and
the husbands to work 6-7days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can
afford their empty lifestyles."

"Involve the parents in their own interests and encourage them to make time
for themselves, so they won't spend that time with their families. Keep them
from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon,
their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small
voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive.
To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and
see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical
music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with
Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds
with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards.
Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and
every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services
and false hopes."

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the
real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter Bunny so they won't talk
about His resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from
their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and
reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events,
plays, concerts, and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and
small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. Crowd their lives
with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon
they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and
family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"

It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing
Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.
Having little time for their God or their families. Having no time to tell
others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be
the judge! Does "busy" mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

- - -
"Most things which are urgent are not important, and most things which are
important are not urgent." - President Dwight Eisenhower

Wagging Tongues

A certain priest lay dying from a broken heart. Wagging tongues had ruined
his life and work. A person, who had been one of the principal offenders,
came to ask his forgiveness. "Father," she said, "I am sorry for my sins of
slander against you. Is there anything I can do restore your good name?"

The dying priest pulled out a pillow from under his feeble head and handed
it to her, saying: "Go up into the church tower, cut open this pillow case
and empty out all the feathers that are inside."

The lady did as she was told. A strong wind blew the feathers in every
direction. Then she returned tot he priest. "Now," he said to her, "go out
and gather up all those feathers and put them back into the pillow case."
"But that's impossible," objected the lady. "The wind has blown them across
the whole town."

"That is just how impossible it is for you to get back my good name for me,"
said the priest.

The Spaniards say: "Whoever gossips to you, will gossip of you."
Italians say: "The tongue has no bones, but it can break your back."
The Chinese say: "God gave a man two ears and only one mouth.
Why don't we listen twice as much as we talk?"

"Put the Glass Down"

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management.

He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do
you think this glass of water is?"

The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm.

"It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long
you hold it.

"If I hold it for a minute, it is OK.

"If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.

"If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.

"It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it
becomes.

"If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be
able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier.

"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before
holding it up again."

We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be re-
freshed and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work
down.

Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down
for a moment if you can.

Pick it up again later when you have rested...Rest and relax.

Life is short, enjoy it!!

May you all have a blessed Thursday in every way. God bless you!