You will be what you believe that you are and you will become what you believe
you can become. Lord, increase my humility so that I may always be mindful
that the good within comes from You.
S C R I P T U R E S F O R T H E D A Y
Brothers and sisters: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be
holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption
to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for
the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
~Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me
according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. ~Luke 1:26-28
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
Today, as we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary we celebrate her special place with God and the fact
that from her Conception she was preserved from the stain of Original Sin.
As we rely on her presence and intercession we strive to follow her
example as well. As she said, "I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be
done to me according to your word."
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may rely on the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I
pray that I may be inspired by her example and know that I too amd the
handmaid of the Lord. I pray that I may accept my life as a gift from God
and proclaim, "May it be done to me according to your word."
Greetings! How was your day? Ours started out with Mass - a beautiful 9:00 children's Mass - Church was full! Weather was sunshiny and nice, but cold.
I worked at Lori's this afternoon - tomorrow I have off - I can have Mondays and Thursdays off until Christmas. I treasure my days off!! I treasure Linus' days off, too.
After supper I had to take a nap!! I was so tired! Just got up now to get out the thread - I first woke up thinking it was morning already! I slept sound!
I took a good book to read over there. Being on her computer is not easy so I don't go on there much. My blessing today was that it was a shorter day, and of course, my after supper nap!! Linus made hamburgers on the grill tonight. This thing about the apt. living is only in the talking stage now - and we have yet to go look at some, we will when he has time. I am putting my trust in God to lead us where He wants us to be and asking Mary to intercede.
Did you know that Mary is the Patroness of the United States of America? She has a big job!!
Homily of the Day
December 8, 2010
She Was Almost Invisible, but She Gave Birth to Him!
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Gn 3:9-15, 20 / Eph 1:3-6, 11-12 / Lk 1:26-38
As we look across the span of recorded history, we find the exploits of leaders, scholars, adventurers, inventors, and explorers whose achievements changed forever the world that we live in. And we wonder how they rose to greatness, as often as not from humble beginnings. More often than not, our wonderings go unanswered because there is rarely a useful record of their formative years, and even less useful records of those invisible people who did the forming and shaping of their intellects and their souls.
The feast we mark today celebrates that simple peasant girl whose heart was so open to God that she gave birth to God’s only Son, whom she then tended and guided for the many years that followed. What an extraordinary privilege that was, and with what grace Mary lived up to her special calling at every moment. At the very first moment of it all, she said to the angel, “I don’t understand how this can be, but my answer to God is ‘Yes.’” And so it was all her life long.
That is why we celebrate this and all the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because she, a human being just like us, had both the ability and the willingness to say “Yes” to God at every moment. In doing that, she made the right home and formed the right heart in God’s Son and her son, Jesus.
Mary is the almost-invisible woman in the Gospels, but her gift to Jesus was beyond calculation. The gifts that we have to give will in the long run also be almost entirely invisible except to those who can read the fine lines of cause and effect from generation to generation.
Give your gift as Mary did. History may never notice, but God will, and so will many of His children.
Advent Prayer
Father in heaven, our hearts desire the warmth of Your love and our minds are searching for the light of Your Word. Increase our longing for Christ our Savior and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of His coming may find us rejoicing in His presence and welcoming the light of His truth. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
The Candy Cane
A candy cane is more meaningful than just a sweet at Christmas....
It can remind us of Jesus.
Its shape is like a shepherd's staff.
Its wide red stripes remind us that Jesus shed his blood for our sins.
Its narrow red stripes reminds us that "by Hi stripe we are
healed"(Isaiah 53:5).
Its white stripes stands for purity - by his death we were made pure.
The peppermint flavor is similar to hyssop, which was used in Biblical
times for purification. (Psalms 51:7)
Its taste is sweet, as it is sweet to walk with Jesus.
Turn the candy cane upside down -- it becomes "J" for Jesus.
THE FOUR CANDLES
Author Unknown
The Four Candles burned slowly. Their Ambiance was so soft you could
hear them speak...
The first candle said, "I Am Peace, but these days, nobody wants to
keep me lit."
Then Peace's flame slowly diminishes and goes out completely.
The second candle says, "I Am Faith, but these days, I am no longer
indispensable."
Then Faith's flame slowly diminishes and goes out completely.
Sadly the third candle spoke, "I Am Love and I haven't the strength to
stay lit any longer." "People put me aside and don't understand my
importance. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them."
And waiting no longer, Love goes out completely.
Suddenly...
A child enters the room and sees the three candles no longer burning.
The child begins to cry, "Why are you not burning? You are supposed to
stay lit until the end."
Then the Fourth Candle spoke gently to the little boy, "Don't be
afraid, for I Am Hope, and while I still burn, we can re-light the
other candles."
With Shining eyes the child took the Candle of Hope and lit the other
three candles.
Never let the Flame of Hope go out of your life.
With Hope, no matter how bad things look and are...Peace, Faith and
Love can Shine Brightly in our lives.
Good night everyone - Sweet dreams to you all!! May your Thursday be a happy and peaceful day!! Enjoy the Gift of God's Day!
Closing Prayer:
Full of Grace
Today´s feast celebrates the teaching that 'from the first moment of her conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary was, by the singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of humankind, kept free from all sin'. This expression of belief was formulated in 1854.
PERSONAL PRAYER
I bless you, Lord, and I thank you. Even before the world was made, you planned to create us in your image. You made us your children. You sent your only Son into the world for our redemption.
You prepared by special graces Mary to be his mother. Mary was happy when the angel told her that God was with her, that she had won his favor and would be the mother of the saviour.
Mary put her trust in God, accepting his will. Lord, your call to the Christian life can be difficult. But I know that you´ll be near me to help me through life. Amen.
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