Community Chat

[gloriajean]

It is not in the good times, but rather in the times of stress and
misfortune,
that our faith is tested. Lord, remove my doubts as they creep in and help
me turn my times of turmoil into times of spiritual growth.


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

"While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law,
were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are
discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are
slaves not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit."
~Romans 7:5-6

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

All that depresses us, all that we fear, is really powerless to harm us.
These things are but phantoms. So we can arise from earth's bonds, from
depression, distrust, fear and all that hinders our new life. We can arise
to beauty, joy, peace and work inspired by love.
We can rise from death to life. We need not even fear death. All past sins
can be forgiven and we can live, love and work with God. We need not let
anything hinder our new life. We can seek to know more and more of that new
way of living.

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

I pray that I may let God live in me as I work for God. I pray that I may
go out into the sunlight and work with God.

Hello my friends! Hope your day went well! Ours was a great blessing today
after Mass! It was the Feast of the Assumption of Mary today. We always
pray for her intercession and after Mass today Linus called our bank to see
about comparisons with our broker's and the bank won hands down! So we are
going to sign with the bank, and thanks to Jim, who God gave us for an Angel
to watch over us that we didn’t' do anything dumb, he's the one who insisted
we check it out with our bank first to see the prices. Remember I was
concerned about the Appraiser? With the bank we don't need one - and they
cost over $300.00!! So Wednesday morning we will go to the bank and sign
and the closing costs is a thousand and a half cheaper, also. God is Good
and always watching over us!!! It was such a joy to see how happy my
husband was after that phone call! So relieved - so wonderfully happy!!
Praise God and Mary, on this great Feast Day - I’m sure she had something to
do with it too! All day today he was happy, and his body didn't hurt, he
thought it was all that relief, and now he's making yard plans! Such a
great blessing to report for today! Thanks be to God!! Thanks for all your
prayers, this truly was the answer to prayer!

Homily of the Day


August 15, 2011


Feast of the Assumption
by Pope Benedict XVI

In the Magnificat, the great hymn of Our Lady that we have just heard in the
Gospel, we find some surprising words. Mary says: “Henceforth all
generations will call me blessed.”

The Mother of the Lord prophesies the Marian praises of the Church for all
of the future, the Marian devotion of the people of God until the end of
time.

In praising Mary, the Church did not invent something “adjacent” to
Scripture: She responded to this prophecy which Mary made at that moment of
grace.

And Mary’s words were not only personal, perhaps arbitrary words. Elizabeth,
filled with the Holy Spirit as St. Luke said, exclaimed with a loud cry:
“Blessed is she who believed.” And Mary, also filled with the Holy Spirit,
continues and completes what Elizabeth said, affirming: “All generations
will call me blessed.”

It is a real prophecy, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and in venerating Mary,
the Church responds to a command of the Holy Spirit; she does what she has
to do.

We do not praise God sufficiently by keeping silent about his saints,
especially Mary, “the holy one” who became his dwelling place on earth.

The simple and multiform light of God appears to us exactly in its variety
and richness only in the countenance of the saints, who are the true mirrors
of his light.

And it is precisely by looking at Mary’s face that we can see more clearly
than in any other way the beauty, goodness and mercy of God. In her face we
can truly perceive the divine light.

“All generations will call me blessed.” We can praise Mary, we can venerate
Mary for she is “blessed,” she is blessed for ever. And this is the subject
of this feast. She is blessed because she is united to God, she lives with
God and in God.

On the eve of his passion, taking leave of his disciples, the Lord said: “In
my Father’s house are many rooms … I go to prepare a place for you.”

By saying, “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to
your word,” Mary prepared God’s dwelling here on earth; with her body and
soul, she became his dwelling place and thereby opened the earth to heaven.

In the Gospel we have just heard, St. Luke, with various allusions, makes us
understand that Mary is the true Ark of the Covenant, that the mystery of
the temple — God’s dwelling place here on earth — is fulfilled in Mary. God,
who became present here on earth, truly dwells in Mary. Mary becomes his
tent. What all the cultures desire — that God dwells among us — is brought
about here.

St. Augustine says: “Before conceiving the Lord in her body she had already
conceived him in her soul.” She had made room for the Lord in her soul and
thus really became the true temple where God made himself incarnate, where
he became present on this earth.

Thus, being God’s dwelling place on earth, in her the eternal dwelling place
has already been prepared; it has already been prepared for forever. And
this constitutes the whole content of the dogma of the assumption of Mary,
body and soul, into heavenly glory, expressed here in these words. Mary is
“blessed” because — totally, in body and soul and forever — she became the
Lord’s dwelling place.

If this is true, Mary does not merely invite our admiration and veneration,
but she guides us, shows us the way of life, shows us how we can become
blessed, how to find the path of happiness.

Let us listen once again to Elizabeth’s words fulfilled in Mary’s
Magnificat: “Blessed is she who believed.” The first and fundamental act in
order to become a dwelling place of God and thus find definitive happiness
is to believe: It is faith, faith in God, in that God who showed himself in
Jesus Christ and makes himself heard in the divine word of holy Scripture.

Believing is not adding an opinion to others. And the conviction, the belief
that God exists, is not information like any other. Regarding most
information, it makes no difference to us whether it is true or false; it
does not change our lives. But if God does not exist, life is empty, the
future is empty. And if God exists, everything changes, life is light, our
future is light and we have guidance for how to live. Therefore, believing
constitutes the fundamental orientation of our life.

To believe, to say: “Yes, I believe that you are God, I believe that you are
present among us in the incarnate Son,” gives my life a direction, impels me
to be attached to God, to unite with God and so to find my dwelling place,
and the way to live.

To believe is not only a way of thinking or an idea; as has already been
mentioned, it is a way of acting, a manner of living. To believe means to
follow the trail indicated to us by the word of God. In addition to this
fundamental act of faith, which is an existential act, a position taken for
the whole of life, Mary adds another word: “His mercy is on those who fear
him.”

Together with the whole of Scripture, she is speaking of “fear of God.”
Perhaps this is a phrase with which we are not very familiar or do not like
very much. But “fear of God” is not anguish; it is something quite
different. As children, we are not anxious about the Father but we have fear
of God, the concern not to destroy the love on which our life is based.

Fear of God is that sense of responsibility that we are bound to possess,
responsibility for the portion of the world that has been entrusted to us in
our lives. It is responsibility for the good administration of this portion
of the world and of history, and one thus helps the just building of the
world, contributing to the victory of goodness and peace.

“All generations will call you blessed”: This means that the future, what is
to come, belongs to God, it is in God’s hands, that it is God who conquers.

Nor does he conquer the mighty dragon of which today’s first reading speaks,
the dragon that represents all the powers of violence in the world. They
seem invincible but Mary tells us that they are not invincible.

The woman — as the first reading and the Gospel show us — is stronger,
because God is stronger. Of course, in comparison with the dragon, so
heavily armed, this woman who is Mary, who is the Church, seems vulnerable
or defenseless.

And truly God is vulnerable in the world, because he is love and love is
vulnerable. Yet he holds the future in his hands: It is love, not hatred,
that triumphs; it is peace that is victorious in the end.

This is the great consolation contained in the dogma of Mary’s assumption
body and soul into heavenly glory. Let us thank the Lord for this
consolation but let us also see it as a commitment for us to take the side
of good and peace. And let us pray to Mary, queen of peace, to help peace to
be victorious today: “Queen of peace, pray for us!” Amen


LOOK ON THE SUNNY SIDE

There are always two sides the good and the bad,
The dark & the light, the sad & the glad.
But in looking back over the good & the bad,
We're aware of the number of good things we've had,
And in counting our blessings, we find when we'er through,
We've no reason at all to complain or be blue.
So thank God for the good things He has already done,
And be grateful to Him for the battles you've won,
And know that the same God who helped you before,
Is ready & willing to help you once more.
Then with faith in your hearts, reach out for God's Hand
and accept what He sends, though you can't understand.
For our Father in Heaven always knows what is best,
And if you trust in His wisdom, your life will be blessed.
So always remember that whatever betide you,
You are never alone, for God is beside you.

Helen Steiner Rice

JUDGE GENTLY
Author Unknown



Pray, don't find fault with the man that limps
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load.


There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
Or the burden he bears placed on your back
Might cause you to stumble too.


Don't sneer at the man who's down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.


You may be strong but still the blows
That was his if dealt to you
In the selfsame way, at the selfsame time
Might cause you to stagger too.


Don't be too harsh with the man that sins
Or pelt him with word or stone
Unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure -
That you have no sins of your own.


For you know, perhaps,
If the tempter's voice should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
It might cause you to falter too.

Assumption of Mary


On November 1, 1950, Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma
of faith: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed
dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having
completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to
heavenly glory.” The pope proclaimed this dogma only after a broad
consultation of bishops, theologians and laity. There were few dissenting
voices. What the pope solemnly declared was already a common belief in the
Catholic Church.
We find homilies on the Assumption going back to the sixth century. In
following centuries the Eastern Churches held steadily to the doctrine, but
some authors in the West were hesitant. However, by the 13th century there
was universal agreement. The feast was celebrated under various names
(Commemoration, Dormition, Passing, Assumption) from at least the fifth or
sixth century.

Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s Assumption into heaven.
Nevertheless, Revelation 12 speaks of a woman who is caught up in the battle
between good and evil. Many see this woman as God’s people. Since Mary best
embodies the people of both Old and New Testament, her Assumption can be
seen as an exemplification of the woman’s victory.

Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul speaks of Christ’s resurrection as
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Since Mary is closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus’ life, it
is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to belief in Mary’s
share in his glorification. So close was she to Jesus on earth, she must be
with him body and soul in heaven.

Comment:
In the light of the Assumption of Mary, it is easy to pray her Magnificat
(Luke 1:46–55) with new meaning. In her glory she proclaims the greatness of
the Lord and finds joy in God her savior. God has done marvels to her and
she leads others to recognize God’s holiness. She is the lowly handmaid who
deeply reverenced her God and has been raised to the heights. From her
position of strength she will help the lowly and the poor find justice on
earth, and she will challenge the rich and powerful to distrust wealth and
power as a source of happiness.
Quote:
“In the bodily and spiritual glory which she possesses in heaven, the Mother
of Jesus continues in this present world as the image and first flowering of
the Church as she is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise, Mary
shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Peter
3:10), as a sign of certain hope and comfort for the pilgrim People of God”
(Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 68).



Learn To Rest
By: Helen Steiner Rice

We all need short vacations in life's fast and maddening race
an interlude of quietness from the constant, jet-age pace. So
when your day is pressure-packed and your hours are all too
few, Just close your eyes and meditate and let God talk to you.
For when we keep on pushing, we're not following in God's way
We are foolish, selfish robots mechanized to fill each day with
unimportant trivia that makes life more complex and gives us
greater problems to irritate and vex.

So when your nervous network becomes a tangled mess,
just close your eyes in silent prayer and ask the Lord to bless
each thought that you are thinking, each decision you must make,
as well as every word you speak and every step you take.
For only by the grace of God can you gain self control,
and only meditative thoughts can restore your peace and soul.

PRAYER TO THE
ASSUMPTION OF MARY
Father in heaven,
all creation rightly gives you praise,
for all life and all holiness come from you.
In the plan of your wisdom
she who bore the Christ in her womb
was raised body and soul in glory to be with him in heaven.
May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness
and join in her hymn of endless love and praise.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams! May you all have a great Tuesday filled
with many blessings