Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Wait patiently for God to answer Your prayers. He has patiently waited for
you to ask.
Lord, Your promises are everlasting and I will always receive what I need
when the time
is right.

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

"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in
it." ~Psalm 118:24

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

Many of us have had to live through the dark part of our lives, the
time of failure, the nighttime of our lives, when we were full of
struggle and care, worry and remorse, when we felt deeply the tragedy
of life. But with our daily surrender to God comes a peace and joy
that makes all things new. We can now take each day as a joyous
sunrise-gift from God to use for God and for other people. The night
of the past is gone. This day is ours.

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

I pray that I may take this day as a gift form God. I pray that I may
think God for this day and be glad in it.

Hello my friends! Today was a good day - Darla showed some interest when we
last talked to her that she'd like to listen to our CD's we got from
Lighthouse, great speakers etc. so we gathered what we had here, and got
those borrowed out back, to take along. Some were at Linus' brother's and
they came with them this afternoon and stayed for supper, so got some soup
used up and a salad used up that won't go bad while we're gone, plus had a
really nice visit. Sure was a good thing I made some soup even before Lent
and had it in the freezer so it was so handy to just use it up today instead
of cooking. We went to the noon Mass - Fr. Jerry was the one doing it - had
a nice chat afterwards with him. He is always such a blessing to us! It's
hard to believe that tomorrow night we are on our way! I'll get Friday's
thread out yet and then thanks be to God Lucy takes over for me!

Meditation on Easter Wednesday

Wholesome joy is profitable for both our spirit and our health.

Another way of saying this might be that laughter is good for the heart and
for the digestion. But joy and laughter are by no means the same and
laughter can be in fact quite harmful. So what is this "joy"? I think it
goes beyond the physical or psychological and is an awareness that our life
is substantially on the right lines even though in the short run there are
still many problems. Perhaps it is an awareness that we can fail but God
cannot and, indeed, He will use our failure for our benefit. Perhaps it is
the same as the peace of a good conscience. How would you define joy and do
you experience it at least from time to time?


Do We Have the Right Motivation?
by Food For Thought

Today, let us look into our own hearts and minds to see if we are
searching for things that will last temporarily, or for those things
that will give us everlasting life. Do we recognize what Jesus has to
offer us? Do our actions give witness to our belief in Jesus and his
teachings? If we truly believe in Jesus, we will strive to follow his
ways. We will love one another and seek only the best for our brothers
and sisters and for our world.

Let us ask Jesus today to show us what we must do to follow him, to
make his path clear to us and to give us the strength to follow it.
When faced with any challenges, difficulty, or frustration, let us
exercise our faith in God and seek to do His will.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Heartfelt Forgiveness

There is no greater hope of peace than heartfelt forgiveness,
for there is no greater expression of the power of God
among sinners than his omnipotent mercy.
We must beseech it for ourselves and shower it
abundantly upon one another.

from God’s Mercy Revealed: Healing for a Broken World

Divine Mercy Direct Me

Eternal God, Goodness itself, whose mercy is incomprehensible to every
intellect, whether human or angelic, help me, your feeble child, to do Your
holy will as You make it known to me. I desire nothing but to fulfill God's
desires. Lord, here is my soul and my body, my mind and my will, my heart
and all my love. Direct me according to Your eternal plan. Amen

ANSWERED PRAYER
Author Unknown


A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the
men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two
survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other
recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was
more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and
stay on opposite sides of the island.


The first thing they prayed for was food. - The next morning, the
first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was
able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.


After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a
wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor
was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the
island, there was nothing.


Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. - The next
day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second
man still had nothing.


Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife
could leave the island. - In the morning, he found a ship docked at
his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife
and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the
other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his
prayers had been answered.


As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from
heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for
them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so
he does not deserve anything."


"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer,
which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of
my blessings."


"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I
should owe him anything?"


"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."


For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers
alone, but those of another praying for us.

Once a church had fallen upon hard times. Only five members were left: the
pastor and four others, all over 60 years old.

In the mountains near the church there lived a retired Bishop. It occurred
to the pastor to ask the Bishop if he could offer any advice that might save
the church. The pastor and the Bishop spoke at length, but when asked for
advice, the Bishop simply responded by saying, "I have no advice to give.
The only thing I can tell you is that the Messiah is one of you."

The pastor, returning to the church, told the church members what the Bishop
had said. In the months that followed, the old church members pondered the
words of the Bishop. "The Messiah is one of us?" they each asked themselves.
As they thought about this possibility, they all began to treat each other
with extraordinary respect on the off chance that that one among them might
be the Messiah.

And on the off, off chance that each member himself might be the Messiah,
they also began to treat themselves with extraordinary care. As time went
by, people visiting the church noticed the aura of respect and gentle
kindness that surrounded the five old members of the small church. Hardly
knowing why, more people began to come back to the church.

They began to bring their friends, and their friends brought more friends.
Within a few years, the small church had once again become a thriving
church, thanks to the Bishop's gift.

Treat others and yourself with love, and you will find yourself and the
people around you better for it.

Heavenly Father,
You lifted your dear Son from the grave
and made Him a beacon of hope for all mortals.
By overcoming sin and death and h ell,
may He take us by the hand
and lead us into the land of bliss and glory
where we shall enjoy forever the company of the whole heavenly host.
May we trust with all our hearts
in His glorious wounds
by which He ransomed us for everlasting life.
Blessed be the name of Jesus, now and forever.
Amen.

(Taken from the bigccatholics.com Web site.)

May you all have a very blessed Thursday! Enjoy all the blessings that come
your way!