Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Hello my friends! Today's blessings would be a very nice day - a good supply of raspberries, Canning is done now - I canned some sliced tomatoes, a few pints and 2 quarts. Now the rest of the tomatoes are just for eating. We did have a frustration though - just before I was typing a form for Father Mark, on which CD's was in inventory, which to supply and the price. Had it all perfect - sent it and it got all mixed up. Tried over again, same thing. Went on word pad - typed it all out perfectly - copy and paste unto email, sent to myself to check it out, still not even as I is supposed to be but more readable. It makes me look like I'm sloppy. I have no idea how to do this so it will send just the way I type it in columns.

Oh well...I did print it though.

Pray for others. It not only benefits them, but you as well. Lord, with
selfless
love I pray for abundant blessings for my family and friends.

Scripture for the day:

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." ~Philippians 4:13

Meditation for the day:

I can believe that my faith in God's power can accomplish anything.
There is no limit to what these two things can do. When we believe,
anything can happen. Saint Paul said: "I can do all things through him
who strengthens me." All walls that divide us from other human beings
can fall by our faith and God's power. These are the two essentials.
Everyone an be moved by these.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may try to strengthen my faith day by day. I pray that I
may rely more and more on God's power.


A Confession of Failure
by Ralph I. Tilley

O gracious Father, it is ever and only because of your tender mercies Your
servant is able to approach Your holy throne. Who is so holy as to merit
Your embrace? Who is so perfect so as to deserve an audience with You?
But I do not come to only a throne of holiness today—I come with a great
confidence before a throne of grace! I come in the name of Your Son, Jesus,
whose perfect offering secured this sacred privilege for Your children. I
praise You for giving Your Son. I thank You, O Christ, for freely laying
down You life for me—Your unworthy servant. I exalt You, O my ever-living
Intercessor and Great High Priest.

. . . because You live forever, You have a permanent priesthood.
Therefore You are able to save completely Your child who comes to God
through You,
because You always live to intercede for him.
Such a high priest meets my needs—
one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the
heavens.1
I confess my failures, debts and sins. When I have failed to be as diligent
in Your service as I ought to have been . . . when I have been sluggish in
my duties and devotion toward You and Your people . . . when I have failed
to be the humble servant I should have been . . . when I have given in to
discouragement and defeat—for these shortcomings, and a myriad of others—I
acknowledge, O Lord.

Let Your servant not rest content in his failures; instead, so strengthen
his will and cleanse his heart that he may grow in Your steadfastness and
love. May he never receive Your grace in vain; may he be kept from presuming
upon Your mercies.

I want a principle within
Of jealous godly fear,
A sensibility of sin,
A pain to feel it near.
Help me the first approach to feel
Of pride or wrong desire;
To catch the wand'ring of my will,
And quench the kindling fire.1
And now, my Father in heaven, for all those I care most deeply: my family,
friends, flock, and fellow ministers: grant that in their hour of trial—You
would give them a steadfast spirit;

in their hour of temptation—You would strengthen their will;

in their hour of discouragement—You would renew their hope.

This prayer I humbly raise to You in the name of Your most worthy Son. Amen.

Creativity

If you asked someone: "What is half of eight?" you would expect the usual
answer that "half of eight is, naturally, four." But suppose someone
answered: "A half of eight is zero"? Your first reaction might be to say:
"That's nonsense."

But is it? Just stop for a moment and think critically. Take a good look at
the figure eight ( 8 ). It is composed of two small zeros, one piled on top
of the other. So -- cutting the 8 in half, crossways, gives you two zeros.
Now take still another look at the 8. If you cut a line down the middle of
it, you will have two 3s (threes) facing one another. So -- a half of eight
cut that way could be three!

The moral of this little observation is: try taking a fresh look at things
you take for granted. You can make all sorts of discoveries that way.

Looking at an old idea in a new way or combining old ideas in new ways makes
for surprising discoveries. Don't laugh at the person who has the unusual
answer... He/she might be one step ahead of you.

Because something has never been done before, is no reason why it can't be
done now.

"Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, to say nothing of women and
children."

Jesus Feels, Jesus Feeds

Jesus takes the five loaves, says the blessing prayer, breaks the bread and
gives it to the disciples to distribute. So he will do at the Last Supper
when he institutes the Eucharist. So we do each time we gather to celebrate
Mass. Our Liturgy of the Eucharist perpetuates these four actions in memory
of Christ who gave himself in sacrifice for us.

PERSONAL PRAYER

Lord Jesus, you took the bread brought to you. Give us today our daily
bread. Look upon the cries of the hungry throughout the world.

Open our hearts to care for all. Lord Jesus, you blessed the bread that it
might be your gift to the multitude. Set each of us aside for your service
in the world. Separate us from all that is evil and contrary to your will.

Lord Jesus, you broke the bread that it might increase. Look upon all who
are broken and bruised by daily life. Let their sufferings be joined with
yours as a redeeming work.Grant healing and fruitfulness to all who suffer.

Lord Jesus, you gave the bread to the crowds. Let us hear the cry of the
poor and teach us to be generous. Amen.

The Interview with God
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.

“If you have the time” I said.

God smiled. “My time is eternity.”
“What questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered...
“That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future."

"That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived.”

God’s hand took mine
and we were silent for a while.

And then I asked...
“As a parent, what are some of life’s lessons
you want your children to learn?”

“To learn they cannot make anyone love them.
All they can do is let themselves be loved.”

“To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.”

“To learn to forgive
by practicing forgiveness.”

“To learn that it only takes a few seconds
to open profound wounds in those they love,
and it can take many years to heal them.”

“To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.”

“To learn that there are people
who love them dearly,
but simply have not yet learned
how to express or show their feelings.”

“To learn that two people can look at the same thing
and see it differently.”

“To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another,
but they must also forgive themselves.”

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.

"Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said,
“Just know that I am here... always.”

-author unknown

- - -
Dear Lord,
Help me to be a true disciple
who follows Your way and Your teachings.
It's so easy to be tempted and led astray.
Through the love and strength of your Holy Spirit,
may I stay on the path that leads to Your Heavenly Kingdom.
Amen