Hello my friends!!! Thought I'd get this out early because of Father Jerry coming etc. and it might get late. We'll also be discussing our Anniversary - he's having the Mass for us and will be giving us a special blessing. Just think - he became a priest the same year we got married - just a few months earlier. We were to his first Mass. When I broke my back when I was 28 and was in the hospital 3 weeks then, he came to see me - he's always been there for me and what a blessing to all who know him. Today's picking has been very slim, won't have enough beans for supper tonight, I'll make corn instead. Have some frozen yet from last year. Prayers going for you all!
Peace comes not from having no problems, but from being able to deal with
them.
Lord, bless me with the confidence and wisdom to grow from life's
challenges.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
Jesus said, "If the same person sins against you seven times a day, and
turns back to you seven times and says, 'I repent,' you must forgive." The
apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" The Lord replied, "If you
had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree,
'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. ~Luke 17:4-6
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
When I overcome myself, then I can truly forgive other people for injuries
done to me. The self in me does not forgive injuries. The very thought of
wrongs means that my self is in the foreground. Since the self does not
forgive, I can work at overcoming my selfishness. I can cease trying to
forgive those who fretted and wronged me. It can be a mistake for me even
to think about these injuries. I can aim at overcoming myself in my daily
life and then I can find there is nothing in me that remembers injury,
because the only thing injured, my selfishness, is gone.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may hold no resentments. I pray that my mind may be washed
clean of all past hates and fears.
The I Am's of Jesus
JOHN 6:35
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE;
anyone who comes to me shall not hunger, and anyone who believes in me shall
never thirst.
JOHN 8:12
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD;
anyone who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life."
JOHN 8:58
JESUS SAID: "Truly, truly I say to you, BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM."
JOHN 10:11
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
JOHN 11:25
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE;
anyone who believes in me, even though they die, yet shall they live."
JOHN 14:6
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE;
no one comes to the Father, but by me."
JOHN 15:1
JESUS SAID: "I AM THE VINE,
and my Father is the Vinedresser."
JOHN 18:4
"Then Jesus, knowing all that would befall Him, came forward and said to
them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." JESUS SAID
to them, "I AM". When He said to them "I AM," They drew back and fell to the
ground.
A Savior Meditation
Be good, and you'll never regret it.
Be bad, and you'll never forget it.
If mistaken, be first to confess it.
If right, be the last to express it.
If wrong, then be quick to redress it.
If it's slander, be sure to suppress it.
Be kind, but let no one suspect it.
Be wise, but let no one detect it.
Be fair, for your friends will expect it.
Be swift, or perhaps you'll neglect it.
If it's borrowed, be quick to repay it.
If it's loaned, make excuse to delay it.
Be selfish, and no one will miss you.
Be a fool, and the demons will hiss you.
Be yourself, and the Good Lord will kiss you.
THE PRESSURE, THE PAIN AND THE PRESCRIPTION
By Ron Hutchcraft
A cold is no big deal. Unless it decides to expand its coverage from
your nose to your ears. And even that is no big deal unless you're
coming down from 30,000 feet up in a commercial airliner. Now, this is
not a medical news bulletin, it's a personal testimony. I could feel a
little something in my ears before I took off, but I didn't have any
idea how the altitude ups and downs of my flight were going to totally
block my ears and cause some nasty pain on the way down. The poor lady
next to me was telling me some of her heartaches and I kept yawning to
keep my head from exploding. And as my ears got more and more clogged,
it was like somebody had turned down the volume knob on what she was
saying. She must have thought I was a great listener. Well, it was a
painful afternoon, but the changing pressure in that plane let me know
I had a problem and drove me to do what I usually try to avoid, go to
the doctor. I'm glad I did -- he really helped me.
Increased pressure showed me an infection I really needed to deal
with. Actually, pressure has a way of exposing a lot of problems that
need attention. Maybe the words "increasing pressure" describe your
"flight" right now, pressure that's causing some significant pain. It
could be the pressure and the pain is in your marriage or maybe your
work. For you, the squeeze may be financial or it could be something
in an important relationship, but the stress is building. And you
don't like what that pressure is doing to you. And, like the pressure
I experienced on that flight, there's pain. Could it be there's a
purpose in what's happening, to get you to the Doctor?
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Psalm 32:1. The
great Jewish King David was having a painful flight, he was feeling
the pressure. But it is getting him to face some things he might
otherwise never have faced. These words from his personal diary start
out with what he learned from this hurting time. He says, "Blessed is
he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered." Now the
pain and pressure that got him to that point of spiritual and
emotional freedom. Here is what he says, "When I kept silent, my bones
wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your
hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of
summer."
Maybe you understand some of those feelings -- like there is a heavy
hand on you, extended in times of sadness. There is stress that is
draining you, maybe even physical symptoms. My pain and my pressure on
that flight exposed a deeper problem and led me to healing. David's
pain and pressure exposed his spiritual need and led him to healing.
You may be at that same threshold.
Now Davids' had a happy ending, one which may be exactly where you
will find yours. He says, "Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did
not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to
the Lord' - and You forgave the guilt of my sin."
God sometimes lets the pressure build so we will finally deal with
what is really wrong inside us -- the sin we have never taken care of.
David went to the Soul Doctor and came away a man forgiven and clean.
That could happen to you -- that same liberation -- if you will
finally let go of your pride and go to the Forgiving Place, the cross
where Jesus loved you so much that He died for all the sins you have
ever committed. When He said, "Father forgive them" from that cross,
He was including you.
If you will put your total trust in Jesus Christ to be your Savior
from your sin, you're clean. All this pressure and all this pain has
been to let you know there is something wrong deep down inside, the
deadly infection of sin that only Jesus can cure.
Here in this most painful and stressful time, you are suddenly on the
edge of the healing your soul has always needed. You are face-to-face
with Dr. Jesus.
The Address:
I arrived at the address where someone had requested a taxi. I honked but no
one came out.. I honked again, nothing. So I walked to the door and knocked.
Just a minute answered a frail, elderly voice.. I could hear something being
dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before
me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on
it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one
had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with h sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the
counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and
glassware.
'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to
the cab, and then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just
try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.
'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me
an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'
'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.
'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have
any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I
quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the
building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when
they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse
that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner
and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm
tired. Let's go now'
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building,
like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been
expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was
already seated in a wheelchair.
'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse.
'Nothing,' I said
'You have to make a living,' she answered.
'There are other passengers,' I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me
tightly.
'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.
'Thank you..'
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me,
a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in
thought.. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman
had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?
What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in
my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others
may consider a small one.
PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT THEY
WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
You won't get any big surprise if you send this to folks you care about.
But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by
sending it on if only for a moment...
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as
well dance.
I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
And I don't borrow from the sunshine
'Cause the skies might turn to gray.
And I don't worry about the future,
'Cause I know what Jesus said,
And today I'm gonna walk right beside him
'Cause he's the one who knows what is ahead.
There are things about tomorrow
That I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.
And each step is getting brighter
As the golden stairs I climb.
And every burden is getting lighter
And all the clouds, their silver line.
And, I'll bet the sun it's always shining
And no tears will ever dim the eye
And the ending of the rainbow
Where the mountains, they touch the sky.
There are many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.
Yes I know who holds my hand.
Slowing Down
Slow my pace, Lord. Slow my life. Come sit by me at the well. I am
exhausted.
Give rest to my heart; bring calm to my feelings. Come, lead me to the
mountain. I am empty.
Give me these hours the leisure to be still that I savor the quiet of
rolling hills, tasting the presence of the Divine.
Bring me from the running of the day and the doing of the duties to the
sitting in the evening to know the reward of being.
Set aside the problems of mind; soothe the aches of the heart; give rest to
the body that I hear the music of my being and know a quiet that allows the
soaring of the soul.
Be gentle, Teacher, teaching the truth of being. In gentleness, command:
"Silence!"
In stillness embrace my spirit and re-enkindle with love... and opening the
embrace give freedom to the soul.
Slow my pace, Spirit of Love, breathe into my being, Word....and with a
mighty wind blow the incarnate word to the ends of the earth.
Monsignor Bernard Powers
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