Blog Post 7/31/2022 - Why Did God Create Us?

 

 

Our 2022 family vacation ended yesterday, the beautiful family photo doesn't come close to the wonderful time we spent together, thank you God for this gift.

 

St. Francis de Sales said, “Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You are perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist. And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that.”

 

 

 

St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) said: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.  God still loves the world and sends you and me to be His love, His compassion to the poor."

 

God made us to love God and to love one another, both of those are hard to do on a daily basis.

 

May God Be Praised!

Blog Post 7/23/2022 - Vacation

 

 

 

 

 

 

My family and I will be on vacation from Saturday, July 23, 2022, until Sunday, July 31, 2022, therefore the Daily Dose of God Blog will not have any new posts until July 31.

 

May God Bless you and your families today and every day.

Blog Post 7/22/2022 - Prayer

 

In the Song of Songs we read, “Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away.  Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love, he would be roundly mocked.”  [8:7] 

 

 

“Speak/Pray to Jesus, from your heart, let your mind follow along, so you remember how much God loves you.”  Deacon George Kelly

 

May God Be Praised!

 

 

Blog Post – 07/21/2022 – An insight into carrying the cross[es] we are asked to carry

 

“When I think upon my friends who thrive with cancer whether active or in remission on a daily basis, I’m reminded of what true perseverance looks like, she wrote, “When I think of those who lived beautifully but were ultimately taken, I think of the Stuart Scott quote, ‘You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and the manner in which you live.’”  Marnie Schulenberg, [DeSales University Alumnae and ‘As The World Turns’ actress].  [MCall Article, 5/23/2022]

 

May Marine’s soul and the souls of all the faithfully departed rest in peace through Your mercy O Lord.  May Your perpetual light shine, Dear God, upon them; may her family and all families who have lost loved ones be healed.  Amen.

 

May God  Be Praised!

Blog Post 7/20/2022 – Why are so many, so anxious?

 

 

"Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace in the world."  [St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta]

The answer to our anxiety is to “… praise you, O God … [to] praise You.”  [Psalm 67]

 

 

And so we pray, “Lord God, cleanse me from any evil or distracting thoughts and stir my heart to praise You.  Grant me the strength to pray the Liturgy of the Hours with reverence and love.  Hear my pleas and fill me with Your Grace that I may shine forth Your Radiance to the world.”  [Deacon George Kelly]

 

May God Be Praised; May God Be Praised!

 

Blog Post 7/19/2022 How Can We Be Optimistic?

"Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism, nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out all right. It is an optimism that sinks its roots into an awareness of our freedom, and the sure knowledge of the power of grace. It is an optimism that leads us to make demands on ourselves, to struggle to respond at every moment to God's call."  [St. Josemaria Escriva]

 

“Do not fear what may happen tomorrow; the same understanding Father who cares for you today will take care of you then & every day.…  Be at peace & put aside all anxious thoughts ….”  [St. Francis deSales]

 

de Sales, also, advises us, “Do not look forward to what might happen tomorrow; the same Everlasting Father who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow and every day.  Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.  Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.”

 

In the Morning we pray, “Lord, you have blessed your land; you have forgiven the sins of Your people.”  [Antiphon 1, Morning Prayer 7/12/2022]

 

Today is tomorrow's past and yesterday's future, so walk with God today, it is all you have been given; given by God, so do God’s Will today and Christian Optimism will perdure.

 

May God Be Praised!

Blog Post 7/18/2022 - Reflecting on Prayer

 

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.” St. Teresa of Calcutta [a.k.a. Mother Teresa]

 

Spend some time today reflecting on your prayer life.

 

May God Be Praised!

Blog Post 7/17/2022 - A Prayer of Oscar Romero written by Bishop Kenneth Untener in 1979*

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders;
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future that is not our own.

Amen.

*Bishop Untener included in a reflection book passage titled "The mystery of the Romero Prayer."     The mystery is that the words of the prayer are attributed to Oscar Romero, but they were never spoken by him.

 

 

Be at Peace working in the Kingdom, the rewards are out of this world and are eternal.

 

May God Be Praised!

Blog Post 7/16/2022 – Why Be Kind?

In 1995, A Random Act of Kindness Day was first created in Denver, Colorado by a small nonprofit organization.  

Aesop wrote, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." 

St. Teresa of Calcutta said, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”  

Leo Buscaglia said, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

 

St. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.”

 

Jesus gave us this command, “Love one another as I love you.”

 

Today and each day God gives you [here] on earth offer acts of kindness [not random acts but intentional acts] then you can share God’s kindness with people.  By offering acts of kindness, you will help make the world a better place, a place where God’s Kingdom can grow.

 

May God Be Praised!

   

 

 

 

Blog Post 7/15/2022 – Keeping the Sabbath

 

 

If you unfold a map of Scotland and look at the West Country, over by Loch Lomond, you’ll find a spot on the map labeled “Rest and Be Thankful.”

 

 

That’s not an instruction from the mapmaker.  It’s actually the name of a mountain pass, noted for its breathtaking view.

The place got its name because, in the days before motorcars, you had to slog through a long, uphill climb to get there. 

Once you topped the crest of the hill, you found yourself in a broad, level place, with a spectacular vista: a sight made all the sweeter by the knowledge that the road was all downhill from there.  [Proclaim Sermons.com]

“Rest and be thankful” is a great way to honor the Lord, God Who created us and Who wants the absolute best for us.   Making the Sabbath a “Holy Priority” will honor God and center us.

 

May God Be Praised!

 

 

Blog Post 7/14/2022 - Keeping God’s Will

St. Francis de Sales wrote a terrific little book, “Finding God’s Will for You”, below is an excerpt that gives us a beautiful insight.

 

“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.” 

[Finding God's Will for You, p.20]

 

This summer do yourself a spiritual favor, get a copy and read it.  You and God "will" be delighted.

 

May God Be Praised!

 

Blog Post 7/13/2022 - A Prayer for Living in Times of Stress and Turmoil

 

“O God, keep my anger from becoming meanness.

Keep my sorrow from collapsing into self-pity.

Keep my heart soft enough to keep breathing.

Keep my anger turned toward justice, not cruelty.

Remind me that all of this, every bit of it, is for love.

Keep me fiercely kind. Amen.   

[Dr. Rueben Varghese, Director of Public Health, Arlington County, VA]

 

When the stress of today’s bad news moves to becoming overwhelming say this prayer.

 

May God Be Praised!

Blog Post 7/12/2022 – A Beautiful Prayer

 

Pope Francis offers us this beautiful insight into prayer, “Every day God passes by and sows a seed in the soil of our lives. Making that seed grow depends on us, on our #prayer, on the open heart with which we approach the Scriptures so that it might become for us the Living Word of God.”

 

 

Today join Pope Francis and allow the seed of the Lord to germinate in your soul and in your actions.  The Lord will harvest it, in His time,

 

May God Be Praised!

Blog Post 7/11/2022 – Finding The Way, God is our g.p.s.

Your Word, O Lord, is a lamp unto my way, guide me with Your gentle Love and awesome Wisdom.

“Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path.  I have sworn and have made up my mind to obey Your decrees.”           [Psalm 119]

 

 

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npWJZwgmKMo

Jesus is the Word, the Path and the Light, follow Him.

  

May God Be Praised!

 

 

Blog Post 7/10/2022 - Daily Life, how to live it.

 

 

“Holiness does not consist in achieving extraordinary things, in accomplishing singular actions, but in uniting ourselves entirely to the Will of God and in doing everything with Him and for Him.  Then even the most insignificant actions in themselves become acts of perfect charity, acts that have an immense value.”  [Fr. Louis Brisson]

May God Be Praised!

 

Blog Post – 7/09/2022 - When will God hear me?

 

“O God, hear my cry!
Listen to my prayer!
From the end of the earth I call:
my heart is faint.”  [Psalm 61]

 

 

Maybe St. Alphonsus Liguori has the answer when we "Act as if everyday were the last of your life, and each action the last you perform."  Then God will hear our cry, our prayer because we have placed God first in our lives.  Placing God first in our lives will, also, help us hear God’s answer more clearly.

May God Be Praised!

 

Blog Post 7/08/2022 – Focus on What is Most Important!

 

"There is only one thing I ask of the Lord, for this I long, to live in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to savor the sweetness of the Lord, to behold his temple."
 

May our hearts conform to God's so that our lives reflect the Lord to our family, our friends & the world.

May God Be Praised!

 

Blog Post 7/07/2022 - Matthew 5:20-26

 

The Greek term metanoiete originates from two words, meta (beyond) and nous (mind or spirit), it means a fundamental change, a change of heart, of how we approach life.

Jesus wants us to change our way of perceiving, our way seeing the world, the divine and human have met, in Jesus.   So, we must strive to look at the world and its people through the eyes and heart of Jesus, that is metanoiete.

 

 

May God Be Praised!

Blog Post 7/06/2022 Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow?

 

 

Bishop Olmsted offered this spiritual advice, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God’s will, what is good, pleasing and perfect.”  [Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 30, 2020]

 

Saint Teresa of Calcutta said, “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

 

 

St. Francis de Sales wrote, “Be who you are and be that well, to serve the Master Craftsman whose handiwork we are.”

 

Focus on today and your discipleship in Jesus Christ.

 

May God Be Praised!

Blog Post 07/05/2022 – A Few Thoughts on The Eucharist

Take some time today to reflect on these words from St. Augustine wrote about the Eucharist, “Believe what you see, see what you believe and become what you are: the Body of Christ.”  [Sermon 272]

 

“The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action.

It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice.

And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.”  [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1409-1410]

 

Pope Francis wrote, the Eucharist is “… not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”  [The Joy of the Gospel]

 

Spend some time today meditating on the awesome gift of the Eucharist offered to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

 

May God Be Praised!