Community Chat

[gloriajean]

As God's children we have inherited all of His promises. Faith in You,
Lord, refreshes my soul as nothing else can.


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

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." ~Psalm
119:105

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

We can walk all the way with God. We need not go part of the way and
then stop. We need not push God so far into the background that God
has no effect on our lives. We can walk all the way with God. We can
make a good companion of God, by praying to God often during the day.
We need not let our contact with God be broken for too long a period.
We can walk all the way with God and with other people, along the path
of life, wherever it may lead us.

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

I pray that I may walk in companionship with God along the way. I
pray that I may keep my feet upon the path that leads in the way God
would have me go.

Hi dear friends! How was your day? We had company tonight for cards from our card club - had a very enjoyable time. I didn't eat lunch with them because I'm getting my blood checked in the morning to see how my trig and chol are doing. Have to fast!! We met this couple thru the card club - and they are very nice people and we always have such a good time with them. The card club has really been a blessing to us for these almost 8 years here.

Homily of the Day


April 11, 2011


Have You Stoned Yourself or Someone Else?
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 / Jn 8:1-11

A group of young people were talking after a Church penance service and were amusing themselves through the sharing of the various penances they each received. One particular gentleman upon hearing his peer’s penance stood up and shouted, “That’s not fair! I know that you deserved a greater penance than me.” He then proceeded to rattle off the sins of his friend that would justify his judgment.

+ + +

In today’s gospel, we hear the story of the woman who was publicly condemned for her many sins. Jesus, unlike the community in which she lived, destroys her sin through public forgiveness. Rather than casting a stone towards her for each of her sins, He pardons her with a few words and gives her the freedom to be released from her struggles.

How many times have we been like Jesus with those around us? How many times have we stoned others with our words of hatred, accusation, envy, or greed? Have we given others the opportunity to find freedom in their aversion from sin or have we tried to bind them with reminders of their past sins?

It is time to remember the example of Jesus in today’s gospel and practice acceptance, forgiveness and mercy.

Short Meditation

Heartfelt Forgiveness

There is no greater hope of peace than heartfelt forgiveness,
for there is no greater expression of the power of God
among sinners than his omnipotent mercy.
We must beseech it for ourselves and shower it
abundantly upon one another.

from God’s Mercy Revealed: Healing for a Broken World

Blessed Mother Teresa's Novena
"Pray and Never Lose Heart, the Power of Intercession,"
by Sister Ann Shields.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a great advocate of intercession through devotional prayer. One of her favorite prayer devotions was one that she "stumbled" across as she grew in holiness. She called it an "express novena." Most novenas are designed for prayer over a nine day or nine week period. But Mother Teresa was often confronted with many pressing needs that had to be resolved rather quickly. She would pray the Memorare, a beautiful and popular prayer to the Blessed Mother that many of us use. But when in great need, Mother Teresa would pray it nine times in a row!

Back in the 1980s Mother Teresa obtained permission from the communist regime in East Germany to open a convent in East Berlin, so that her sisters could begin their charitable work there. In 1988 the superior of the convent there suddenly became very ill and had to return to India. Mother had to send another sister to take her place. When she requested a visa for the new superior, the East German government said that it would take six months to process the application. Mother told them she could not wait six months; the ill sister had to return to India, and a replacement was essential.

In the midst of the seeming impasse, Mother summoned her sisters to the chapel. There they began to pray the "express novena." When they were praying the Memorare for the eighth time, the telephone rang. It was an official from the Foreign Ministry who simply wanted to reiterate that it would take six months to process the sister's visa application. So Mother returned to the chapel, and all prayed the ninth Memorare. Then there was a silence.

At that point Mother Teresa prayed out in a way that only someone who was totally conformed to God's will could dare to pray: "Mary, we have prayed this novena with confidence, You have not seen fit to answer yet. So we will begin again." What persistence!

The sisters began to pray the novena a second time. Once again the telephone rang during the eighth Memorare. It was the Foreign Ministry, informing Mother Teresa that the visa would be delivered the next day.

Remember: Nothing is "magic." There are no formulas. What we are always talking about in intercession and most especially in this example is the fruit of a relationship. We are, above all, sons and daughters of God, and we can always come with confidence to our Father. The more we are willing to be conformed to His will in our lives and prayer, the more we can see the results of our intercession.

Personally, one of my favorite sayings of Mother, is the following:

If we pray, we will believe;
If we believe, we will love;
If we love, we will serve.

Sweet Life

Life is so sweet
How can I repay?
For all the joys
I reap day by day.

The beauty of nature
I steal by the hours
The aura of God
The soul holds and devours

There are sweet moments
That live in my heart
And all through a lifetime
We're never apart

We have but to note them
This beautiful place
Full of God's blessings
And filled with His grace.

I thank you so, Father
For all the gifts you bestow
So that in my heart
Love continues to grow


author unknown

WHY ME?

I asked God why I wasn't rich.
And He showed me a man with the wealth of a thousand kings, who was lonely,
and had no one to share it with.

I asked God why I wasn't beautiful.
And He showed me a woman more beautiful than any other, who was ugly
because of her vanity.

I asked God why he'd allowed me to become old.
And He showed me a boy of 16, who lay dead at the scene of a car accident.

I asked God why I didn't have a bigger house.
And He showed me a family of six, who'd just been evicted from their tiny
shack, and were forced to live on the street.

I asked God why I had to work.
And He showed me a man who couldn't find a decent job, because he'd never
learned to read.

I asked God why I wasn't more popular.
And He showed me a socialite with a thousand friends, who all left the
moment the money and parties were no longer there.

I asked God why I wasn't smarter.
And He showed me a natural born genius, who was serving life in prison for
making ill use of his knowledge.

I asked God why He put up with a thankless sinner like me.
And He showed me His Bible, and His Son who took my place at the judgment.
And I knew then how much He loved me.

What's eating you today?
Are your problems weighing heavy on your heart?

Know, then, that you are loved.
And have a WONDERFUL day!
Then brighten someone else's day, in any way you care to.

Remember, a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
Just reach out and touch someone's life and brighten up their day.

Shared by Joe Gatuslao
Bacolod City, Philippines

THE ONION
Author Unknown

I was an onion before Christ set me free.
Layers upon layers of iniquity.
An ugly old onion whose fragrance was strong;
That my Jesus bought and loved all along.

Unknown to me what He was going to do.
Of what He was planning, I had not a clue.
Pulling each layer off one by one.
In order to make me more like Jesus the Son.

The first layer wasn't so bad.
I saw all the sins that I knew I had.
They were easy to fix, just change the way I talk.
And learn more of how He wanted me to walk.

Reading His Word, and learning again;
How to put aside my life of sin.
But the next layer was pulled which hurt more.
He was getting closer to the core.

Unknown what He would find there.
I simply gave it to Him in prayer.
As another layer was removed, He started to cry;
Pulling this layer brought pain to my Father on High.

And I was crying over the sadness I felt;
The brokenness and all of the guilt.
Past memories that I thought were gone;
They were buried under layers disguised in a fragrance so strong.

As onions peel more and more;
And they put tears in our eyes as we get close to the core;
So my Father wept over my pain;
Giving me a balm of comfort and strength to sustain.

"No More Layers." I would scream.
As He continued to peel them off of me.
"I'll have nothing left my Lord, what will I do?
I'll be nothing but a worthless core to you. "

But He just said "Trust me," and continued to peel
I was sure He was blinded to my pain that was so real.
Year after year I shrunk more and more;
Until all that was left of this onion was a core.

It was then that I began to understand;
As the Lord embraced me in His loving hand.
He said, now and only now can you be;
The creation that will minister before me.

Clothed with the righteousness only from above;
Gone are your layers of self so you can be filled with my love.
He took my layers of sin, hurt and pain;
And clothed me with love, truth and mercy in His name.

Yes, we are all onions, learning with each day;
How to overcome as each layer is taken away.
Some layers tear and pull at our heart;
While others grieve us to our innermost part.

But we are nothing but an ugly onion without Christ.
Layers upon layers of pride, sin and strife.
Only God can take those layers away.
And clothe us with His righteousness in that final day.

On the Cross

Jesus crucified,
for us you suffered, for us you died,
on the cross.

How can we pass by and not care?
It was our sins that nailed him there...
See the crowd unpitying stare,
"Forgive them Father," is his prayer...
Thorns the only crown he must wear,
Thirst and wounds our King must bear...
See our high priest makes his great prayer,
Himself the victim, bleeding bare...
Let our lives, by giving, declare;
Amen, Amen to that great prayer...
May we die to sin and so share,
The triumph he enacted there...

On the cross.

(James Phillip McAuley)

The Power of Peace
It's been said that faith is not so much a noun as it is a verb; in other words, faith is not something that we have -- it is something that we do. Looking at faith in this way calls us to be more active, more participatory, in living our lives of faith -- instead of noting passively when we have it, or when we don't have it, we can hold it as an expression of who we are, and who we want to be. We can embrace it as something we fold, through action, into every day.

I think it's important to hold the concept of peace in the same way -- to not passively note whether we have it internally or externally in our environment; but to embrace peace as a concept to live out, daily, through our actions.

How might we "do" peace in order to "have" peace? We can start small -- with things as simple as allowing enough time to get where we need to be so we're not speeding, frustrated and breathless, to our destination. We can choose to pause, even if it's just for a few seconds, before responding to something that might irritate or anger us. We can ingest foods that calm and nourish us, rather than stimulate or fatigue us. We can take five minutes to stop, be still, and pray.

May we hold to our hearts the wisdom in these words of Peace. "Humanity can only improve as people improve. When you have improved your life, you can inspire those around you to want to improve their lives. Remember that a few in harmony with God's will are more powerful than multitudes out of harmony..." May we embrace the truth in the words of our Peace Song: "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." May we use each day as an opportunity to do peace.

Closing prayer:

Passion of Christ, Strengthen Me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me! Strengthen me under the pressure of temptation. Strengthen me when principle is at stake. Strengthen me to do Your Will, My God. Strengthen me in moments of suffering, in times of loneliness, in periods of depression. Strengthen me that I may never swerve from You, dear Christ, nor weaken through human respect, through a desire to be popular, through hope of social distinction. Strengthen me to accept my cross and carry it generously to the end. On the battlefield of life, stand by me that I may never prove a traitor in the ranks. Stand by me that I may not be dazzled by the glitter and glow of the enemy camp. Amen.

Good night everyone and sweet dreams to all! May God grant you your hearts desires and bless you all abundantly.