Spiritual Hunger

Can it be?

Have I for so long
Forgotten to feed myself?

Yes.

For nigh a year now
I was slowly starving.
Getting lost in busy days,
Tossing aside the hunger
That chewed away inside.

Yet, I did not die.
By some quiet miracle
I made it to the moment
Of truth:

I nearly starved to death.

It was not my body
That I failed to feed.
It was my spirit,
Left alone for days
Without nourishment or care.

And then one day
I paused to look within,
Shocked at what I found:
So thin of faith,
So weak of understanding,
So needy of encouragement.

My starving spirit cried the truth:

I can! I will! I must Be fed!

And then I read John’s gospel chapter 6.

Unfolding the Rose

It is only a tiny rosebud,

a flower of God's design;

But I cannot unfold the petals

with these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers

is not known to such as I.

GOD opens this flower so sweetly,

when in my hands they die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud,

this flower of God's design,

Then how can I have the wisdom

to unfold this life of mine?

So I'll trust in Him for leading

each moment of my day.

I will look to him for His guidance

each step of the pilgrim way.

The pathway that lies before me,

only my Heavenly Father knows.

I'll trust Him to unfold the moments,

just as He unfolds the rose.​

Serenity Prayer

The Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to
accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

The Serenity Prayer has comforted millions of people who strive to cope with change, disappointments, chemical dependency, and all sorts of other problems. The prayer can comfort us as we deal with the realities of chronic illness.

When we're overcome with pain or disappointed about slow or little progress, this prayer can help us put our lives into focus. It helps us see if we're wasting time and energy on things we can't change, such as the chronic conditions we live with, how others feel, and the past. And just as important, this prayer points us toward the things that we can control -- our attitude, our willingness to change, and the outcome of this day.

Let us pray for the wisdom to recognize the difference between things we can and cannot change

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's gospel, Mark 10:2-16, focuses our attention on marriage, divorce and children. The Code of Deuteronomy (Dt.24:1) allowed for divorce. However, it was a contentious social and political issue during Jesus' lifetime. There were great rabbinical debates about how to interpret Deuteronomy 24:1. Some rabbis interpreted the code strictly, while other interpreted it more leniently. No matter how the Law of Moses was interpreted, it only applied to men. A man could divorce his wife easily but the wife had no legal recourse. She was nothing more than property. A husband could cast his wife out of her home with nothing. All he had to do was get a written divorce decree and his wife was out on the street. Roman law of the day permitted women to initiate divorce. Jesus contradicts both Roman law and Hebrew law.

Jesus defends the dignity of all women by asserting their important role in the work of creation. And, he tells us that marriage must not be dissolved because the couple is "joined together" by God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that, "Man and woman were made "for each other"—not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be "helpmate" to the other, for they are equal as persons ... and complementary as masculine and feminine. In marriage, God unites them in such a way that, by forming "one flesh," they can transmit human life: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth." By transmitting human life to their descendants, man and woman as spouses and parents cooperate in a unique way in the Creator's work" (CCC 372).

Immediately following his discussion on marriage and divorce, Jesus welcomes and blesses children - the fruit of marriage. In today's world, the lives of children are vulnerable. Like women during the time of Jesus, children today have few rights. Unborn children are particularly vulnerable; they have no rights. Yet, as Jesus tells us, "The kingdom of God belongs to such as these" (Mark 10:14).

God, source of all love, 

blessed are you for your tenderness 

inscribed in the hearts of people; 

blessed are you for giving us your Son 

as the token of your faithful love. 

Keep us fromseparating what you have united: 

husbands and wives, 

parents and their children, 

your Son and his Church, 

friends in their joys and sorrows. 

Let us all live in your creative, lasting love. 

We ask this through Christ our Lord. 

Amen

Your Will, Not Mine, Be Done

My will is to play with earthly toys. Your will is to work with heavenly tools.

My will is to be comfortable: Your will is to be useful.

My will is to indulge the flesh: Your will is to build up the Spirit.

My will is to criticize and condemn: Your will is to sympathize and help.

My will is to proudly speculate and theorize: Your will is to humbly study and learn.

My will is to leave the work of the Truth to someone else, while I "seek my own things": Your will is to be "always abounding, sharing that which was given me"

My will is to wallow in self-pity: Your will is to "rejoice always."

My will is to complain about trials and troubles: Your will is to count up all the joys, knowing that tribulation teaches patience.

My will is foolish talking and jesting: Your will is gracious and compassionate speech.

My will is to lay up baubles on earth: Your will is to lay up treasure in heaven.

My will leads only steadily downward, to sorrow and death:

Your will leads ever onward and upward, to eternal life and joy.

"Your will, not mine, be done."

By Bro. G.V. "Rene" Growcott

A New Beginning

Henri Barbusse tells of a conversation overheard in a dugout full of wounded men during the First World War. One of the men had been terribly wounded, and he knew he has only moments to live. He had a friend with him, one who had already seen a bad start to a bad life. He'd made wrong decisions. He'd already served time in prison. In fact, he was wanted, back home, by the police again. The wounded man, the dying man, pulls the wanted man down, close to his face. He takes his dog tag, his ID chain, and presses it in the hand of his buddy. “Listen, Dominic, you've led a bad life,” he said. “Everywhere you are wanted by the police. But there are no convictions against me. My name is clear, so, here, take my dog tag, take my wallet, take my papers, my identity, my good name, my life and quickly, hand me your papers that I may carry all your crimes away with me in death.”

That is the same offer the Living Christ makes to us through his saving death on the cross - and his life-changing resurrection.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, still offers to take your sins to the cross with him. And because of the resurrection, you can take his good name ... Christ ... you can be a Christian ... and live in freedom.

The Snake

There once was a man who, while walking in the woods, found a poisonous snake that was frozen stiff as a board.  He knew it was poisonous, but he took pity on the poor frozen thing and brought it home with him.  He put the snake in front of the fireplace in his living room so it would thaw out.  Realizing that when the snake woke up it would be hungry, the man went into the kitchen and warmed up a bowl of milk so the snake would have something to eat.  He then brought the milk back into the living room to feed the snake.

As the man was putting the bowl of milk in front of the snake, it lashed out and bit him.  Almost immediately, he could feel the venom rush through his veins and he know he would be dead in a matter of minutes.

With his last strength the man looked at the snake and asked, “Snake, why did you bite me?  I found you frozen in the woods and brought you into my home and thawed you out.  I gave you warm milk to drink.  Why did you bite me?

As the man was fading into death, he heard the snake hiss these words, “Stop your whining.  You knew I was a poisonous snake when you picked me up.  What did you expect me to do, kiss you?

The attraction to sin is like that snake.  We may enjoy its company for a short time, but sooner or later, it’s going to bite us.  No matter how nice it may seem, no matter how much understanding we may have, no matter what a good person we are, it’s going to bite us!  And its bite is quiet deadly!​