Something to Ponder

The greatest evidence that man has a darkened mind and a corrupt nature is not the existence of the gambling den, nor the house of ill fame. The greatest evidence is unbelief; the fact that the human heart definitely and positively refuses to listen to the voice of God; that there is a heart which hates the light and loves darkness; and the greater the light which is rejected and refused, the greater the darkness, and finally God who is Love and Mercy can do nothing else. In fact, He must mete out judgment for a race which refuses to listen to His voice. That has been the story of the race from the beginning. God did not leave man, after he had transgressed, without light. Man had the light of creation and though there was not a written word, yet there was the Word of God nevertheless, and yet as you follow the Divine Record, you find that man's evil nature was evidenced by turning away from that Light. And though in 1650 years of the first age of this earth, they built cities, invented instruments, were lovers of art and music--the race wandered away from God, the earth became filled with violence and vileness, the voice of God was rejected and finally God had to bring a judgment upon the earth. And let no one imagine that that judgment, the deluge, is a myth; it is not. It is written in the Book and it is verified by science, by geology and by tradition.

Author unknown

New Years Prayer

This is a prayer that my Sister-in-Laws Son wrote and forwarded to me!



Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray you open doors for the person who
Sent me this as well as those I am sending it to. Only you can open
Door’s no man can close and for that we honor you today.
Thank you for the open doors of life, health, strength, prosperity, wealth, and love.
Also thank you for closing the doors of death, sickness, weakness,
despair, poverty, and bitterness.
We love you today Lord and we give you all the glory,
the praise. I seal this prayer in Jesus' name Amen!!!

Remember:
God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close.

Mathew Ch.6 Vs.8
Your Father knows the things you have
Need of before you ask Him.

Bless our Troops in the Field

 

Recently I received this email from a friend and thought it an honor to pass it on. A young Marine wrote this poem and letter to his father a short time ago. In the letter to his dad the young Marine requested that his dad disseminate this poem to as many people back home as he possibly could.

So the least I could do is publish it for that Marine who’s out there doing the most for us. Defending the great country that we live in!

The Marine

We all came together,
Both young and old
To fight for our freedom,
To stand and be bold.

In the midst of all evil,
We stand our ground,
And we protect our country
From all terror around.

Peace and not war,
Is what some people say.
But I'll give my life,
So you can live the American way

I give you the right
To talk of your peace.
To stand in your groups,
and protest in our streets.

But still I fight on,
I don't fuss, I don't whine.
I'm just one of the people!
Who is doing your time.

I'm harder than nails,
Stronger than any machine.
I'm the immortal soldier,
I'm a U.S. MARINE!

So stand in my shoes,
And leave from your home.
Fight for the people who hate you,
With the protests they've shown.
Fight for the stranger,
Fight for the young.
So they all may have,
The greatest freedom you've won

Fight for the sick,
Fight for the poor
Fight for the cripple,
Who lives next door.

But when your time comes,
Do what I've done.
For if you stand up for freedom,
You'll stand when the fight's done

By: Corporal Aaron M. Gilbert

Thank you Corporal Gilbert for standing in harms way for my freedom. You may never know how much it means to me.

Semper Fidelis  Marine

Blessed are the poor in spirit

 

When we are down and our spirit is at an all time low, feeling the harshness of life’s realities pressing in on us, do we fit the title of poor in spirit?

I would like to think that what St. Matthew had recorded Jesus as saying in the beginning of the Beatitudes describes a state of being that all of us experience from time to time as we live out our earthly lives dealing with all emotions that come along with the task.

I am here today writing to relieve some of the strain I feel is pressing down hard on my own spirit condition. Prayer always helps, but sometimes it takes a little extra effort, such as writing down thoughts or creating a place in the mind where nothing exist but you and your own thought of God and His perfect, majestic plan for your future as well as present.

As I write this post I am devoting my full attention to giving God praise for somehow keeping me open to receive all blessings He has for my life! I know He has plenty and it is my hope that He would somehow allow me to share them with everyone that I am in contact with here in my physical existence.

I pray that someone out there reading this will be touched by what is said here and spiritual uplifting occurs.

Faith is a wonderful thing when you add patience to it, all things becomes possible it seems.

Oh Lord, help me remember that nothing is going to happen today, that You and I can’t handle together!

Art

Isaiah 26:4

Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Je-ho’vah is everlasting strength… 

Blessed be all the Saints and their day

Today is a special celebration for our Church as we remember the many great people who have really distinguished themselves in their lives that now they are recognized as saints in our Faith Tradition.

In this regard, the Beatitudes are indeed fitting as these individuals have shown through the graciousness of God to lead lives that were counter cultural to society during their respective time periods. The Beatitudes present a way of life that assures us of eternal life. But do we really consider them as good news? Do we consider the poor truly blessed? Is there sense to the beatitude that those who mourn and are
peacemakers are indeed happy?

In essence, the focus of the beatitudes in declaring that certain
people are truly blessed is the reality that in one's helplessness and poverty, there is no other one to turn to except God. In this manner, they are able to root themselves to the One who is the source and end of everything. God is the only one who could console them in the midst of all the crises and challenges in life. This is easier said than done especially when there are urgent matters to attend to like bills to pay for food, education, rentals, and other basic needs. Yet, it is during such times that our faith may be tested in that we know that in some mysterious way, our needs will somehow be met.

The significance of today's feast is that we are able to believe that
there are now people who were with us then but now enjoy the company of God. This is something that hopefully can inspire us to follow suit so that in God's mercy and love, we may be privileged to be considered outstanding in our virtues as Catholic Christians who made real the presence of God in a world so much divided by hatred and differences.
Thus, the understanding of saints should not be strictly limited to
those officially declared by the Church as all of us are called to a
life of holiness. It cannot be denied that there are countless number of people whom we know who qualifies to be saints as their lives are reflective of the values of the beatitudes.

As we celebrate the Feast of all Saints, we beg them to intercede for us that we may be holy so that we too may eventually be with them in the company of our Lord Jesus.

Author unknown

Matthew 5; 2-12

He began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for   they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
  Blessed are the clean of  heart, for they will see God.
  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
  Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."

The New Pastor

This is from an email I recently received from a friend
hope you enjoy it.

A Christian
Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston , Texas . Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.'
When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change ..'
The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?'

'Yes' he replied.
'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you

would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday..'
When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said,

'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'
Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test! Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian.'
Watch your thoughts ; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits...
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny...

I'm glad a friend forwarded this to me as a reminder. So, I choose to forward it to you - my friend. God bless you; I hope you are having a wonderful day!

If you don't pass this on to anybody, nothing bad will happen; but, if you do, you will have ministered to someone.
The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not PROTECT you....
Stay FAITHFUL and Be GRATEFUL!

Evangelism, The Church’s Duty

Deuteronomy 11: 18-19

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be frontlets between your eyes.

And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Matthew 16: 18

That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 

 

Let us remember that the Church exists to evangelize.

The church,which is you and I, is missionary by nature. Through our baptism, we were baptized into this body of Christ, the Church. For better or for worse, we are symbols of Jesus Christ in the world. It is therefore our mission, our very lifeblood to see Mission Sunday, not as an outsider, but as someone called to be on mission. 

It's an old principle that says: we cannot give to others what we do not have ourselves. Hence we need first of all, to be "missionized".
lf our Christianity is only a matter of rules and regulations like
going to Church on Sundays and not eating meat on Fridays; if our
faith is only a matter of convenience and not of conviction; if Christ is only a statue and not a person whom we really know, then we are certainly thinking and viewing Mission Sunday as an outsider. We will end up with excuses saying: "Not me, I am too busy; I am too afraid, I don't know how to talk to others about Christ."

We need to have the faith level conviction in our intellect and in our hearts. Once that happens, we will need no urging to witness to Christ.
We will feel impelled from within to celebrate and share the life of
Jesus. We must begin today and begin now because now is the acceptable moment of salvation. In our own corner of the world, let us light the lamp of Christ by what we say and how we live, by what we believe and what we stand for, and by the attitudes we manifest. Let these be seen and heard loud and clear at home, in our study and work place, in our neighborhood, and particularly with those who do not share our faith.
May the people around us begin to see a difference in our lives, and let that difference be Christ Jesus himself. After all, he is there to inspire us every step of the way. Let us not forget that with his
great commission: "Go make disciples of all nations", we also have his great promise: "Know that I am with you always until the end of time."

Mission Sunday is a day to thank God for our faith. Christ expects
each one of us to never let a day pass by without proclaiming God's message of salvation to those around us. None of us can say that we cannot be a good Christians, that we cannot pray, that we cannot offer to God our crosses for the salvation of our brothers and sisters. If we try, we shall discover that we can help to spread the kingdom of God far more that we think.

Let us keep in mind that there is no shorter way to heaven than
helping others to get there. And so, as we worship God today, let us pray we may have the courage to shout out and offer to all those around us Jesus Christ and his message of salvation for Christ is our lifeblood and theirs as well.

By: unknown author