Blog Post 3/07/2023 - The Fast Life

 

The Fast Life

 

 

Fast from judging others; Feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from fear of illness; Feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute; Feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; Feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; Feast on hope.
Fast from negatives; Feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion.
Fast from suspicion; Feast on truth.
Fast from gossip; Feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; Feast on prayer that sustains.
Fast from anxiety; Feast on faith.   [Author Unknown]

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post – 3/06/2022 Lenten Journey

Lenten Journey

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.  [Song of Songs 8:7]

 

“In Your mercy show me your face.  Allow me to gaze upon You face and pour Your Grace upon my heart.  Reflecting Your radiance shines Your face upon the universe.”  [Dcn. Kelly]

 

“To be Catholic is to see the world as a place of meaning & of hope; a place created by God, it is to know that each individual is called to flourish in that world & to make a positive contribution to the common good, it is to be content in the knowledge that we have the real possibility of divine destiny.  To be Catholic is to be a person of hope & of vision, a person who sees meaning in life in this world & promise beyond.”  [Fr. Michael Hayes]

 

And with St. Francis de Sales let us remember, "We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God."

 

 

May God Be Praised.

 

Blog Post 3/05/2023 – What we mean and what we are.

 

 

What we mean and what we are.

 

 

 

 

C.S. Lewis wrote, “And let me make it quite clear that when Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral.  When they speak of being ‘in Christ’ or of Christ being ‘in them’, this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him.  They mean that Christ is actually operating through them; that the whole mass of Christians are the physical organism through which Christ acts—that we are His fingers and muscles, the cells of His body. And perhaps that explains one or two things. 

 

 

It explains why this new life is spread not only by purely mental acts like belief, but by bodily acts like baptism and Holy Communion.  It is not merely the spreading of an idea; it is more like evolution—a biological or superbiological fact.  There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God.  God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature.  

 

That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us.  We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating.

He likes matter. He invented it.”  [Mere Christianity, p. 64]

 

 

Teihard de Chardin observed, “We are not human beings on a spiritual journey, we are spiritual beings on a human journey.”  He, also, proffered this insight, “Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.” 

 

May your day be blessed.

Blog Post 3/04/2023 – Lord, I know You Walk with me.

 

Lord, I know You Walk with me.

 

 

 

 

Jon Nilson [April 05, 2021] wrote, “Before he died in November 2013, friends of John S. Dunne, C.S.C., gathered around his bedside. With him and for him, we prayed in words that he had composed for himself….”

 

“O Lord, go with me And be my guide, In my most need Be by my side:

If you are guiding me

I shall not want,

If you are guarding me

I shall not fear,

Though I am walking

In the valley of the shadow Of my dying,

You are walking with me, And when I am not

You will have taken me.”  [John S. Dunne: A theologian (and author) for our dark times, died in November 2013]

 

 

“I Shall not fear ….” 

 

May God Be Praised.

 

Blog Post 3/03/2023 – Four Recommendation for Lent from Pope Francis

 

Recommendation for Lent from Pope Francis

 

 

 

 

Pope Francis offered ten recommendations for Lent, here are my top four.

1.     God’s “boundless” mercy can help us be merciful in turn.

2.     The importance of spending time with the Word of God.

3.     Lent is a period for conversion.

4.     Renewing our faith, hope and love as we prepare for Easter.

 

Reflection on God’s mercy and being merciful ourselves can come from spending time with the Word of God, in particular with the parable of the Prodigal Son. 

Lent is a reminder of our daily need for conversion of our heart, mind & soul and that will enable us to renew our hope in the Easter promise as our faith and love for Jesus deepens.

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 3/02/2023 - “Letting God Show Through & The Our Father”

Homily for Communion Service at Country Meadows, “Letting God Show Through & The Our Father”

One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother & said, "Mommy, there’s something about the preacher’s message this morning that I don’t understand."  

 

The mother said, "Oh? What is it?"  The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are.  He said God is so big that He could hold the whole world in His hand.

 

Is that true?"  The mother replied, "Yes, that's true, honey."

"But Mommy, he also said that God comes to live inside of us when we believe in Jesus as our Savior.  

Is that true, too?"  

 

Again, the mother assured the little girl that what the pastor had said was true.  With a puzzled look on her face the little girl then asked, "If God is bigger than us& He lives in us, wouldn't He show through?"  [Sermons.com Jerry Shirley, When God Shows Through]

 

Lent is a reminder for us to allow God to show through our actions.

To do that well praying the Our Father can help us.

The 1^st part of the Our Father deals with the name, reign & the will of God: 1. hallowed be your name, 2. your kingdom come &    3. your will be done.

The 2^nd part deals with the disciples’ interests: 1. give us today our daily bread, 2. forgive us our trespasses, 3. lead us not into temptation & 4. deliver us from evil.  

“In the Our Father, Jesus summarized all that he wanted & hoped for.”

May God Be Praised.

Blog Post 3/01/2023 Lent - Critics

 

 

Critics

 

The pastor John Maxwell tells a story about a salesman who went to his barber for a haircut. He told the barber about his upcoming trip to Rome.   The barber had only negative comments to make about the airline the salesman had chosen, the hotel where he was going to stay, about Rome in general, and even about his hope of having an audience with the Pope.

A month later the salesman returned to the barbershop.  He said, "I had a wonderful trip. The flight was perfect, and the hotel service was excellent. And I got to meet the Pope!"

The barber asked, "What did the Pope say to you?"  The salesman said, "He placed his hand on my head and said, 'My son, where did you get such a lousy haircut?'"  [Bill Bouknight, www.Sermons.com]

 

The next time you get the urge to criticize someone, think about sharing it with the Pope Francis.  Lent is a good time to focus or refocus the good in each person we meet.

 

 

 

May God Be Praised.