Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Weeds grow easily, but flowers need care and nurturing to bloom.
Lord, may I turn away from evil and tenderly encourage the goodness
that comes my way so that I, too, may blossom.


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

"When you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that
your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift
there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or
sister, and then come and offer your gift." ~Matthew 5:23-24

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

"First be reconciled to your brother or sister and then come and offer
your gift." First we can get right with other people and then we can
get right with God. If we hold a resentment against someone, which we
find it very difficult to overcome, we can try to put something else
constructive into our minds. We can pray for the one against whom we
hold the resentment. We can put that person in God's hands and let
God show them the way to live. "Those who say, 'I love God,' and hate
their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or
sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen."

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

I pray that I may see something good in every person, even one I
dislike, and that I may let God develop the good in that person.

Peace of Jesus to you all! Hope you are all having a wonderful day! I am
busy cleaning and preparing for the Sisters - so my blessings will surely be
their company, and now my blessings are a house to clean and food to prepare
and friends to enjoy it with. It's a beautiful sunny day out but still
cold. I mean it's like in the 30's now, but in the single digits at night
so have to make sure our seeds we just planted are inside before we go to
bed and out in the porch again during the day when it gets nice and warm
there. I've decided to call it a porch - Linus thought a patio is a place
without a roof? I don't know, but guess the right word for a screened in
deck would be a porch. Thanks for those who posted on the Mother Teresa
thread. It's so sad that she isn't allowed on Viewpoints. Such a wonderful
person she was, Nobel Prize Winner, but not good enough for Viewpoints.
On the positive side - at least we have this board - and we are all welcomed
here, even Mother Teresa!

Homily of the Day


March 28, 2011

Miracles Happen with Open Hearts
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

2 Kings 5:1-15 / Lk 4:24-30

There has never been a time in human history when there haven’t been
countless numbers of people desperately in need of healing of body, of mind,
and of soul. Jesus’ times were no exception. On every side he encountered
people whose hearts were possessed by demons of various sorts, and people
whose bodies were paralyzed, or rotting with leprosy, or bleeding from
wounds that wouldn’t heal. He found countless people whose souls were sick
unto death. And he wanted to heal them all.

Why is it then, that so many sick people who came into contact with him
never got healed, even though they would have liked it very much? And why
had the same been true with the holy men and healers who had come in the
centuries before Jesus?

The answer is that those in need of healing either couldn’t see how badly
they needed healing or couldn’t bring themselves to trust Jesus enough to
let him touch them from within — for the healing always works from the
inside out. Whichever the case, they put themselves beyond Jesus’ reach.

We do that sometimes, either presuming we don’t need the Lord’s help or
despairing of being helped at all, even by him. And we suffer unnecessary
agonies as a result. It’s time to be done with that, time to step forward
in our neediness and give ourselves without reserve into the Lord’s hands.
He can work miracles in us, if only we’ll open our hearts to him.

Lenten Prayer
Father, help us to be like Christ your Son, who loved the world and died for
our salvation. Inspire us by his love, guide us by his example, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Cross - by Clarita Calasanz (This is a lady I know personally and a
member of our Parish)

It is now the Lenten Season and we have stations of the cross and other
devout practices which reminds us of the Passion and Death of Our Lord. This
is the story of our salvation and the ongoing love story that God has with
all of us. He loved us with an infinite love in spite of who we are and
never mind how cold and indifferent we have been towards Him, or how far we
have strayed away from Him. He continues to love us anyway.

Lent reminds us of the crosses that each of us has to bear, sickness, broken
relationships, financial problems, loss of loved ones, etc. We are naturally
afraid of that and it's so much better not to think about it. But we are
told to Embrace the Cross and it will be much easier to carry.

The following story is probably fiction but it drives home the point. A
certain nobleman has decided on finding the Garden of Eden or the Land of
perpetual youth. He was told he had to carry a wooden cross in order to find
what he was looking for and he agreed. He thought what a small price it was
if he could realize his dream. The cross was given to him and he started on
his way. The cross was heavy, so he decided to carry it on his shoulder.
After a while, it became intolerable, so he decided to just drag the cross
after him as he walked. That worked for a while, but it eventually became
unbearable also. At his wits end he decided to lift the cross with his two
arms and to hold it close to his body. He was embracing the cross and he
discovered it was becoming lighter as he went on his way and he finally
reached his destination without any problem.

I have been afraid of the Cross, but I also love the song, "Be not afraid, I
go before you always, Come, follow Me". It is one of my favorite songs. It
is a very encouraging thought during Lent. Instead of being afraid of the
Cross let us Embrace it and rely on what Jesus promised: "I will be with
you", and we will be surprised to find how truly easy it is.

"Put the Glass Down"

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management.

He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do
you think this glass of water is?"

The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm.

"It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long
you hold it.

"If I hold it for a minute, it is OK.

"If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.

"If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.

"It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it
becomes.

"If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be
able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier.

"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before
holding it up again."

We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be re-
freshed and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work
down.

Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down
for a moment if you can.

Pick it up again later when you have rested...Rest and relax.

Life is short, enjoy it!!

U Turns

"Thanks for inviting me to go to church with you next Sunday, Uncle Al."
Tim and his uncle were on their way to Bonny Lake. They had heard the
fishing there was great. "I . . . I don't want to hurt your feelings,"
continued Tim, "but . . . well . . . I'm not sure I want to get into this
religious stuff. Besides, Mom and Dad don't think it's a good idea."
"Oh?" asked Uncle Al in surprise. "I thought you said that your parents
wouldn't mind if you went with me. You sounded quite interested last week.
You even said the Gospel was beginning to make sense to you."

"Yeah, but since then I've done a lot of thinking," Tim said slowly. "I
don't think I feel like getting 'saved' right now. The crowd I hang around
with at school wouldn't understand, and I like being with them. Someday I'll
start going to church, but I think I'll just go on the way I am for a while.
I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not so bad, either."

Tim's uncle drove on silently for a few minutes. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed as
they passed a road sign. "I was so intent on our conversation that I missed
the turnoff! We should have gotten off this road five miles back!"
"Guess we'll have to turn around and go back now, huh?" asked Tim.
But Uncle Al shook his head. "I don't feel like turning around right now,"
he said. "I guess we'll just keep going this way. I kind of like this road,
and the scenery is nice."

Tim looked at his uncle in amazement. "But we have to turn around to get to
Bonny Lake," he protested, "and the longer we keep going this way, the
longer it will take to get back. If we wait too long to turn around, we
might not even get there in time to fish."

Uncle Al smiled at Tim as he slowed down for the next turn. "You're right,"
he said, "and what you said just now is exactly what I've been trying to
tell you about spiritual life . . . that when you're traveling down the
wrong road, the sooner you turn around, the better. If you wait too long,
you might never get to your goal: Heaven."

Recipe for Miracles

Ingredients :
1 part of knowing who you are
1 part of knowing who you aren't
1 part of knowing what you want
1 part of knowing who you wish to be
1 part of knowing what you already have before you
1 part of choosing wisely from what you have before you
1 part of loving & thanking for ALL you have ("bad" included)

Mixing Instructions:
Combine ingredients together gently and carefully. Using faith and vision,
mix together with strong belief of the outcome, until finely blended. Use
thoughts, words and actions for best results. Bake until Blessed. Give
thanks again.

Yield: Unlimited servings

Author Unknown

Closing Prayer:

Prayer to Jesus on the Cross
O Jesus, for how many ages have you been on the Cross and yet people pass by
in utter disregard of you except to pierce once again your Sacred Heart. How
often have I passed you by, heedless of your overwhelming sorrow, your
countless wounds, you infinite love. How often have I stood before you, not
to comfort and console you, but to offend you by my conduct or neglect of
you, to scorn your love.
You have stretched out your hands to comfort me, and I have seized those
hands - that might have consigned me to h ell - and have bent them back upon
the Cross, nailing them rigid and helpless to it. Yet I have only succeeded
in imprinting my name on your palms forever. You have loved me with an
infinite love and I have taken advantage of that love to sin all the more
against you. Yet my ingratitude has only succeeded in piercing your Sacred
Heart and causing your Precious Blood to flow forth upon me.

O Jesus, let your Blood be upon me, not for a curse, but for a blessing.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on me. Amen.

Good night everyone - Sweet Dreams! May you all have a wonderful night now
and wonderful and peaceful Tuesday!