Community Chat

[gloriajean]

Be a little kinder and gentler today, for this will show your real strength.
Lord, may I become more patient and have the courage to live my life
according to the example You set forth.

Scripture for the day:

"I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and
calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
I have been a fool! You forced me to it. Indeed you should have been the
ones commending me, for I am not at all inferior to these super-apostles."
~2 Corinthians 12:10-11

Meditation for the day:

We can make a stand for God. Believers in God are considered by some as
peculiar people. We can even be willing to be deemed a fool for the sake of
our faith. We can be ready to stand aside and let the fashions and customs
of the world go by, when God's purposes are thereby forwarded. We can be
known by the marks that distinguish a believer in God. These are honesty,
purity, unselfishness, love, gratitude and humility.

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may be ready to profess my belief in God before others.
I pray that I may not be turned aside by the skepticism and cynicism of
unbelievers.

Hello my friends! Hope you all had a good day today. We got rain - in the
afternoon a big downpour with thunder and lightning, not threatening though,
but Sammy was scared and followed me all over. He likes when I pick him up
then - he feels safer! This afternoon I called two of my sisters, one,
Deil, my oldest, we plan to go see on Thursday after we sign the papers, and
so I made arrangements with her and Thursday is perfect. She is busy
tomorrow and so are we, so the timing is perfect. I'll bring her some of
our apples from our trees so she can make apple pies to freeze. She makes
the best apple pies! The other sister I called was Sister LaDonna who will
be moving in Oct. back to the Motherhouse in Rochester, MN. She will be
going on a Pilmgrimage to Medjudgorja the first part of October too so she's
really looking forward to this. She's been wanting this for many years and
has been saving her birthday money for this.
My sisters are my blessings!! Also another hard 8 hour day for Linus - but
he's doing okey. Now he's off for five wonderful days! Praise the Lord!

Homily of the Day


August 16, 2011


Clinging vs. Trusting
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Jgs 6:11-24a / Mt 19:23-30

Very few of us have to worry about the "problems" of being rich. But, in any
case, being rich isn’t what today’s gospel is about. The real issue is that
very human inclination to cling to whatever we’ve got, whether we’re the
toddler who clings to his teddy bear or the adult who clings to his dead
ideas.

We are natural-born clingers and it doesn’t take much to make us hold on
tight. That clinging, whether with our hands, our minds or our hearts, can
prevent our receiving the really valuable things that life can give, and
that God wants us to have.

We have a much better alternative, and the prayer stance that the Church
prescribes for its priests for praying the Our Father shows it quite
graphically: Hands wide open, palms turned upward, clinging to nothing,
confident and ready to receive what God wants us to have.

That’s the life stance of a person who knows what God Our Father is really
about: Heart wide open, clinging to nothing, confident, and ready to receive
what God wants us to have.

Thought for the day...

Where is the progress?

AS WE ALL KNOW, someone once said, "You can't stop progress," but should it
have been, "You can't stop greed?"

Have we progressed since the beginning? Can we truly say we are happier or
wiser than humans from anytime in our history? I don't think we can. Maybe
you are, but I don't see it. Do our foolish egos still rule us? Do we still
not lust after power?

In this manner, progress has stagnated since our birth. Look what the onset
of agriculture and cultivation has developed: class structure and more ways
to feel like an outsider. All our technology has brought us is more ways to
suffer, more ways to know we suffer.

I know, I know. Of course, we had to wipe out polio, just as in the present
we have to go up against cancer and AIDS. We can't just let people suffer
and die. But guess what? The suffering has never left us, has it? Will it
ever? As soon as we wipe out the present bugs, more will arrive. If we kill
them, more will come. What are we to do? Sure, our lifespan may be
lengthened a few years or so, only to add to the taboo population problem.
But in the end, we all die.

So where does that leave us spiritually? Do we feel any less angst when our
computer crashes than a man in the 16th century felt when his grain grinder
crashed in a thunderstorm? We still have all the pain and wonder any man has
ever had. So how have we progressed?

We reach certain stages, plateaus, in our thinking. We might think, hey,
we've got it made now! Everyone rushes to enact this model of thought until
we see it is all wrong: people still suffer and the rich feel they aren't
rich enough.

Then we scurry to change and to do things another way, thinking, yes, this
is the answer. And then, again, we realize people are still suffering and
the rich don't feel rich enough. We still eat live things and they still eat
us.

Why can't we just relax, restrain ourselves and enjoy what we are? The fact
that we are even alive is a miracle in itself.

Nature made us what we are, now it's up to us. Shall we choose to abide in
that which created us, or shall we continue to enact our greed which we have
conveniently labeled "progress?"

- - -
[by Jack Farranti - adapted]

PAINLESS SURGERY
By Sally I. Kennedy
Apr 7 2009

Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day,
and I, too, am working." John 5:17

Growing up in a large city, I learned to have many fears. I guess they
stayed with me, buried underneath the twists and turns that life takes
when you’re growing up. So they never really went anywhere, and would
surface from time to time in different ways.

Recently a situation came up that would normally cause me to become
frightened, even panic. Yet I felt calm and peaceful. In fact, I
didn’t even realize I hadn’t been scared, until later.

Somewhere along the line, the Lord did surgery, and took out the
unwanted, unnecessary fear. Painless surgery; I wasn’t aware of when
it took place.

God is so good to us! He is always at work, helping us and changing us
to grow us into His image and likeness. Sometimes we know it, and
other times not.

I’m thankful for Holy Spirit who helps us do what we cannot on our
own, through Jesus’ name.

That is good news.



“Self Worth”.

Do not undermine your worth
By comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different
That each of us is special.

Do not set your goals
By what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.

Do not take for granted
The things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life.
For without them, life is meaningless.

Do not let your life slip through your fingers
By living in the past nor for the future.
By living your life one day at a time,
You live all the days of your life.

Do not give up
When you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over
Until the moment you stop trying.
It is a fragile thread
That binds us to each other.

Do not be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances
That we learn to be brave.

Do not shut love out of your life
By saying it is impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love;
The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly.

In addition,
The best way to keep love is to give it wings.
Do not dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope,
To be without hope is to be without purpose.

Do not run through life
So fast that you forget not only where you have been
But also where you are going.
Life is not a race but a journey
To be savored each step of the way.

Smile.... and let the sun shine through. For there's someone, somewhere,
watching over you.

Wagging Tongues

A certain priest lay dying from a broken heart. Wagging tongues had ruined
his life and work. A person, who had been one of the principal offenders,
came to ask his forgiveness. "Father," she said, "I am sorry for my sins of
slander against you. Is there anything I can do restore your good name?"

The dying priest pulled out a pillow from under his feeble head and handed
it to her, saying: "Go up into the church tower, cut open this pillow case
and empty out all the feathers that are inside."

The lady did as she was told. A strong wind blew the feathers in every
direction. Then she returned tot he priest. "Now," he said to her, "go out
and gather up all those feathers and put them back into the pillow case."
"But that's impossible," objected the lady. "The wind has blown them across
the whole town."

"That is just how impossible it is for you to get back my good name for me,"
said the priest.

The Spaniards say: "Whoever gossips to you, will gossip of you."
Italians say: "The tongue has no bones, but it can break your back."
The Chinese say: "God gave a man two ears and only one mouth.
Why don't we listen twice as much as we talk?"

Ten commandments for stress reduction

I. Thou shalt not be perfect, or even try to be.

II. Thou shalt not try to be all things to all people.

III. Thou shalt sometimes leave things undone.

IV. Thou shalt not spread thyself too thin.

V. Thou shalt learn to say "no".

VI. Thou shalt schedule time for thyself and for thy support network.

VII. Thou shalt switch thyself off, and do nothing regularly.

VIII. Thou shalt not even feel guilty for doing nothing, or saying no.

IX. Thou shalt be boring, untidy, inelegant, and unattractive at
times.

X. Especially, thou shalt not be thine own worst enemy. But, be thine
own best friend.

Healing of the Spirit Special Intention

Gentle Jesus, with faith in Your healing powers and confidence in Your
constant compassion, I ask you to heal my suffering spirit. May my soul
find rest in Your comforting love and relief from sorrow and anguish.
Relying on Your love, I especially ask Your help in (name your concern.) I
place my trust in Your power to heal my spirit from feelings of
hopelessness, unrest, and despair. Amen.

Prayer in Honor of Mary, Mother of God
Hail, Mary, Mother of God, venerable treasure of the whole universe, lamp
that is never extinguished, crown of virginity, support of the true faith,
indestructible temple, dwelling of him whom no place can contain, O Mother
and Virgin! Through you all the holy Gospels call blessed the one whom comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hail, Mother of God. You enclosed under your heart the infinite God whom no
space can contain. Through you the Most Holy Trinity is adored and
glorified, the priceless cross is venerated throughout the universe. Through
you the heavens rejoice, and the angels and archangels are filled with
gladness. Through you the demons are banished, and the tempter fell from
heaven. Through you the fallen human race is admitted to heaven.

Hail, Mother of God. Through you kings rule, and the only-begotten Son of
God has become a star of light to those who were sitting in darkness and in
the shadow of death.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor

Good night and Sweet Dreams to all - God bless your Wednesday with special
blessings you will notice