“The darkness that exists in the world cannot extinguish the light of a disciple of Christ, let your light shine every moment of every day."  Deacon Kelly

 

“When you experience suffering you are asked to climb upon the cross with Jesus, and we hurt.  Jesus hurt too!  His pain and our pain are immense.   
But when we can find the courage to offer our suffering to Him and allow Him to take it into His heart and His arms, Jesus starts to transform our suffering into the wounds that Jesus asked Thomas to touch and slowly we begin to allow our suffering to be blessed for good, for good in God’s time.” 
Deacon Kelly

“Suffering in the wounds of Christ is experienced first when our cross is joined to His, and second when we begin to heal and our wounds are joined to the wounds of the Resurrected Christ.”  Deacon Kelly "Many men keep the commandments in the way sick men take medicine: more from fear of dying in damnation than for joy of living according to our Savior’s will.  Just as some persons dislike taking medicine, no matter how pleasant it is, simply because it is called medicine, so there are some souls who hold in horror things commanded simply because they are commanded . . . On the contrary, a loving heart loves the commandments. The more difficult they are, the sweeter and more agreeable it finds them, since this more perfectly pleases the Beloved and gives Him greater honor." [St. Francis de Sales, Finding God's Will, p.201]   Lord, we praise you with our lips, and with our lives and hearts. Our very existence is a gift from you; to you we offer all that we have and are. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. – Amen. May God Be Praised!