Be at Peace

1st Sunday of Advent

Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the new liturgical year. Catholics associate Advent with the days leading up to Christmas. This is the season when we prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. We celebrate how Jesus comes to us in three ways. We rejoice in the first coming of his birth over 2000 years ago (1st reading). We celebrate his coming among us here and now, every day, in our hearts, minds and spirits (2nd reading). And, we prepare for Jesus’ Second coming, when he will come again to judge creation and us according to his Word (Gospel).

How can we as committed Catholics prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ? Advent invites us to stop, to ponder and to look beyond the frenzied activity that surrounds us during this season. It invites us to view our world through a different lens. This year the first reading for today’s liturgy struck me in a new way. Jeremiah reminds the people of Israel; Judah and us that God’s promises will be fulfilled. God, speaking through Jeremiah, assures the people that when the Messiah comes, “In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure…”. But we know that neither Judah nor Jerusalem was safe and secure when Jeremiah wrote these words. They were not safe and secure when Jesus was born and they are not safe and secure today. If we plan to wait for safety and security in our world, we will be waiting a very very long time. This is where the different lens becomes important. Rather than look at the world through our limited, time constrained vision, why not try to imagine the world as God sees it? Impossible? Maybe. In Isaiah 55: 8-9 God tells us that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways…. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Yet in spite of this reality, God asks us to “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near” (Is 55: 6).

As faithful disciples we recognize that our lives are moving towards the fulfilment of God’s reign when “the Son of Man” comes with “power and great glory” and our “redemption is at hand” (Luke 21: 27 – 28). If we don’t want to be caught unaware and unprepared, then we must live our lives in a state of continual Advent and our lives must be built on love, justice and holiness.

The second reading today from St. Paul’s 1st Letter to the Thessalonians, gives us a guide to prepare ourselves, “Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.” Our Advent adventure is just the beginning. 

God our Savior,

you utter a word of promise and hope

and hasten the day of justice and freedom;

yet we live in a world forgetful of your word,

our watchfulness dulled by the cares of life.

Keep us alert.

Make us attentive to your word,

ready to meet your Son

when he comes with power and great glory.

Make us holy and blameless,

ready to stand erect

when the day of his coming

unveils a New Heaven and a New Earth.

We ask this through him whose coming is certain,

your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Thanksgiving Day Prayer

 

Iroquois Prayer of Thanksgiving

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us.

We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with waters.

We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicine for the cure of our diseases.

We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and the squashes, which give us life.

We return thanks to the wind, which moving the air has banished diseases.

We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which have given us their light when the sun was gone.

We return thanks to the sun, that he has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.

Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in whom is embodied all goodness, and who directs all things for the good of his children.

Thank God

There's this guy who had been lost and walking in the desert for about 2 weeks. One hot day, he sees the home of a missionary. Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The missionary finds him and nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks the missionary for directions to the nearest town. On his way out the backdoor, he sees this horse. He goes back into the house and asks the missionary, "Could I borrow your horse and give it back when I reach the town?"

The missionary says, "Sure but there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say 'Thank God' to make it go and 'Amen' to make it stop."

Not paying much attention, the man says, "Sure, ok."

So he gets on the horse and says, "Thank God" and the horse starts walking. Then he says, "Thank God, thank God," and the horse starts trotting. Feeling really brave, the man says, "Thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God" and the horse just takes off. Pretty soon he sees this cliff coming up and he's doing everything he can to make the horse stop.

"Whoa, stop, hold on!!!!"

Finally he remembers, "Amen!!"

The horse stops 4 inches from the cliff. Then the man leans back in the saddle and says, "Thank God."

Charles de Foucauld

Above all, always see Jesus in every person, and consequently treat each one not only as an equal and as a brother or sister, but also with great humility, respect and selfless generosity.

~ Charles de Foucauld

God's Holding Patterns

Many times God will allow a painful situation or a painful circumstance in our life to "swallow us up." This season in our spiritual growth is a holding pattern. We can't move to the left or the right. All we can do is sit, like Jonah sat in the belly of that great fish, so God can have our undivided attention and speak to us.

God put Jonah in a holding pattern because He needed to speak to his heart. Jonah was all alone. There were no friends to call, no colleagues to drop by, no books to read, no food to eat, no interference's, and no interruptions. He had plenty of time to sit, think, meditate, and pray. When we're deep down in the midst of a difficult situation, God can talk to us. When He has our undivided attention, He can show us things about ourselves that we might not otherwise have seen.

Few Of God's Holding Patterns:

1. When you are sick in your physical body and you have prayed, but God has not healed you yet, you are in a holding pattern.

2. When you are having problems with your children and you have put them on the altar, but God has not delivered them yet, you are in a holding pattern.

3. When you have been praying for a loved one and they have not responded yet, you are in a holding pattern.

4. When you are in a broken relationship and you have given it over to God, but it has not been restored yet, you are in a holding pattern.

5. When the doors slam shut before you can knock on them, you are in a holding pattern.

6. When the stack of bills are higher than the dollars to pay them and you don’t know where it’s coming from, you are in a holding pattern.

7. When you are praying for an answer and it’s just not coming as quickly as you like it to, you are in a holding pattern.

When we are deep in the belly of a difficult situation, there are no interruptions. God has our undivided attention. All we can do is sit, think, meditate, and pray. We cannot run from God because there are no mountains that are high enough, valleys that are low enough, rivers that are wide enough, rooms that are dark enough, or places that are hidden enough from Him.

We must remember to praise Him while we're waiting and remember three things:
1. The pattern has a purpose.
2. The pattern has a plan.
3. The pattern has a process.

So stop struggling and start listening, praying and trusting. He'll keep you right where you are until you can clearly hear Him say, "I love you." The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything. Be Blessed!

Prayer:

"Father, forgive my unbelief. I know you love me and will turn anything around to benefit me. You have planned nothing for me but victories and I am ready to receive them regardless of how difficult the path. Amen."

Warm Smile

 A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.

Solemnity of Christ the King

On November 23^rd 1927 a priest was led before a firing squad in Mexico City.  Five shots were fired, and he fell, lifeless, to the ground. The priest was Fr. Miguel Agustin Pro, S.J., a man who had committed no crime.  As he was about to be shot, he forgave his executioners, refused a blindfold, stretched his arms out to form a cross and died shouting “VIVA CHRISTO REY!”  Long live Christ the King!  The government prohibited a public funeral, but more than 10,000 faithful people lined the streets shouting “Viva Christo Rey” as his body passed through the city. Pope John Paul II beatified Fr. Pro on September 25, 1988. 

Today’s first reading from Daniel 7:13-14, presents a prophetic image of Christ as King, “all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away; his kingship shall not be destroyed.”  In today’s gospel, John 18:33-37, Jesus tells Pilate “"My kingdom does not belong to this world.”  The Kingdom over which Christ rules is the Kingdom of Love and sacrifice.  Such a kingdom can never be destroyed.   

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. Blessed Miguel Pro’s entire priestly life and ministry was given in service to Christ the King so that Christ’s reign of love can grow in the hearts and minds of all who believe in him. VIVA CHRISTO REY! 

Lord God,

you have anointed Jesus as the Christ -

not to rule a kingdom won by violence

but to bear witness to the truth,

not to reign in arrogance

but to serve in humility,

not to mirror this world's powers

but to inherit a dominion that will not pass away.

Give us enough faith to learn from him

that to serve is to reign,

and that to give our life to our brothers and sisters

is to find a joy and a happiness

that no one can take away from us.

We ask you this in the name of Christ,

our King and Lord for ever and ever.

Amen

Saints and Sinners

We are both saints and sinners, since goodness and selfishness both flow through us. Sometimes in the face of a slight, insult, or even positive attack and injustice, we react with patience, understanding, and forgiveness. However, sometimes we meet pettiness it in kind, with spite.

We don’t know the reason; that’s part of the mystery of human freedom. Certain factors obviously play in; for example, if we are in a good inner-space when we are ignored, slighted, or unfairly treated, we are more prone to react with patience and understanding, with a big heart. Conversely, if we are tired, pressured, and feeling unloved and unappreciated, we are more likely to react negatively, and return spite for spite.

Be that as it may, ultimately there’s deeper reality at work in all of this, beyond our emotional well being on a given day. How we react to a situation, with grace or spite, for the most part depends upon something else.

The Church Fathers had a concept and name for this. They believed that each of us has two souls, a big soul and a petty soul, and how we react to any situation depends largely upon which soul we are thinking with and acting out of at that moment. Thus, if I meet an insult or an injury with my big soul, I am more likely to meet it with patience, understanding, and forgiveness. Conversely, if I meet an insult or a hurt while operating out of my petty soul, I am more likely to respond in kind, with pettiness, coldness, and spite.

And, for the Church Fathers, both of these souls are inside us and both are real; we’re both big-hearted and petty, saint and sinner. The challenge is to operate more out of our big soul than our petty one.

The saint and sinner inside us are not separate entities. Rather the saint in us, the big soul, is not only our true self, it’s our only self. The sinner in us, the petty soul, is not a separate person or separate moral force doing perpetual battle with the saint, it’s simply the wounded part of the saint, that part of the saint that’s been cursed and never properly blessed.

And our wounded self shouldn’t be demonized and cursed again. Rather it needs to be befriended and blessed – and then it will cease being petty and spiteful in the face of adversity.

Our Mirror

God Said

 

Prayer of Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
          Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
          Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
          Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
          Be honest anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
          Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
          Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.
          Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
          Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.

Is the Messiah Among You?

Once a great order, a decaying monastery had only five monks left. The order was dying. In the surrounding deep woods, there was a little hut that a Rabbi from a nearby town used from time to time. The monks always knew the Rabbi was home when they saw the smoke from his fire rise above the tree tops. As the Abbot agonized over the imminent death of his order, it occurred to him to ask the Rabbi if he could offer any advice that might save the monastery.

The Rabbi welcomed the Abbot at his hut. When the Abbot explained the reason for his visit, the Rabbi could only commiserate with him. “I know how it is,” he exclaimed. “The spirit has gone out of the people. It is the same in my town. Almost no one comes to the synagogue anymore.” So the Abbot and the Rabbi sat together discussing the Bible and their faiths. The time came when the Abbot had to leave. “It has been a wonderful visit,” said the Abbot, “but I have failed in my purpose. Is there nothing you can tell me to help save my dying order?” “The only thing I can tell you,” said the Rabbi, “is that the Messiah is among you.”

When the Abbot returned to the monastery, his fellow monks gathered around him and asked, “What did the Rabbi say?” “He couldn’t help,” the Abbot answered. “The only thing he did say, as I was leaving was that the Messiah is among us. Though I do not know what these words mean.”In the months that followed, the monks pondered this and wondered whether there was any possible significance to the Rabbi’s words: The Messiah is among us? Could he possibly have meant that the Messiah is one of us monks here at the monastery? If that’s the case, which one of us is the Messiah? Do you suppose he meant the Abbot? Yes, if he meant anyone, he probably meant Father Abbot. Certainly he could not have meant Brother Elred! Elred gets crotchety at times. But come to think of it, even so, Elred is virtually always right. Maybe the rabbi did mean Brother Elred. Of course the Rabbi didn’t mean me. He couldn’t possibly have meant me. I’m just an ordinary person. Yet supposing he did? Suppose I am the Messiah?

As they contemplated in this manner, the monks began to treat each other with extraordinary respect on the off chance that one among them might be the Messiah and in turn, each monk began to treat himself with extraordinary respect.

It so happened that people still occasionally came to visit the beautiful forest and monastery. Without even being conscious of it, visitors began to sense a powerful spiritual aura. They were sensing the extraordinary respect that now filled the monastery. Hardly knowing why, people began to come to the monastery frequently to picnic, to play, and to pray. They began to bring their friends, and their friends brought their friends. Then it happened that some of the younger men who came to visit the monastery started to talk more and more with the older monks. After a while, one asked if he could join them. Then, another and another asked if they too could join the abbot and older monks. Within a few years, the monastery once again became a thriving order, a vibrant center of light and spirituality in the realm.

– Author Unknown: Adapted from the Different Drum: Community Making and Peace by Dr. M. Scott Peck

Lord, Be With Us

 

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Since about 66AD there have been almost two hundred predictions about the end of the world. Some very notable people have bought into historical apocalypse theories including: St Martin of Tours, Pope Sylvester II, Pope Innocent III, Martin Luther, Christopher Columbus, Nostradamus, John Wesley, Cotton Mather and recently Pat Robertson and Harold Camping. And let us not forget the great Millennium scare of January 1, 2000 or the end of the Mayan Calendar in 2012.

People have been obsessed with the end of the world since the time of Noah and the Great Flood. The Old Testament is full of references to “the day of the Lord” when God will directly intervene in human history. Today’s first reading from Daniel 12: 1-3, is one such reference. Before the day of the Lord comes there will “be a time unsurpassed in distress.” The world will be shaken to its core and judgment will come. But the children of Israel believed that because they were the chosen people they would survive the horror and experience a splendid new world. They believed that God is in charge and that God will win.

In today’s Gospel from Mark 13: 24-32, Jesus gives us another glimpse of the end of the world accompanied with the second coming. Jesus is not trying to scare the disciples or us. He is pragmatic. The world will end. Each one of us will die. However, it is a waste of time for us to speculate about when we will die or when the world as we know it will end. Jesus clearly says “"But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." What we do know is that “Heaven and earth will pass away,” but Jesus’ “words will not pass away.”

We know it is going to happen; the problem is we don't know when. And it is foolish for us to speculate because Jesus tells us clearly, "But of that day or hour, no one knows,

neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Mark 13: 32). Our job is to be prepared. At the close of this chapter, Jesus says " What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'" We will hear a similar reading from Luke's gospel on the 1st Sunday of Advent in just two weeks. Get ready, Jesus is coming!

God our Father,

through your Son you told us

not to worry about the day or the hour

when the old world will be gone,

for you alone know when it will happen.

Open our eyes to the sign of Jesus’ coming

and make us see him

already walking by our side.

Keep us faithful in hope

and vigilant in our love for you

and our concern for one another.

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

Amen.

A Prayer by Thomas Merton

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this , You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Thoughts in Solitude

Prayer Should be a Constant

“and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints"

Prayer should be a constant for the Christian. Our goal is for prayer to be as natural as breathing. If prayer can become the habit of our lives, then the way we look at the world and deal with others will change.

In praying for others we are more likely to remember that we are all in this thing called life together. We are far too guilty of praying exclusively for ourselves. If we can find the right balance we will open our eyes to the needs of others as we pray for them. We will realize that we are all part of the body of Christ. This gives us a new sense of purpose and a renewed sense of hope as we remember that we are connected with the body of Christ.​

It's Okay

Some of us have been through an awful lot. We have endured pain and hopelessness. Now we have some choices to make. We can allow our pasts to make us feel badly about ourselves or we can sing after the storm. We can feel proud that we are not giving up, we are not willing to be destroyed.

The past won't change, and the bad things won't magically go away. But we can learn to move forward.

We can put the past where it belongs, close enough so we'll never forget, and far enough away so we don't give it all of our attention. The sun doesn't just make rainbows for other people; they're for us too.

Today let me tell myself that it's okay to feel good about myself.​

A Military Heart

A military heart is unique, it must be true,
The blood that pulses deep within is red, white, and blue
Its love is like a fire that grows when it is shared,
For complete and total strangers, they have truly cared.
All heroes past and present, at war and at peace,
My admiration for you all will never ever cease.
Veterans who went by choice or those who had been drafted,
I feel that God took extra care with certain hearts He crafted.
He had to make them strong and brave, but tender all the same,
He knit them in their mother’s womb and knew them each by name.
It would take a special heart to leave loved ones behind,
To kiss and hug good-bye with Old Glory on their mind.
The countless sacrifice they made for freedoms we enjoy,
For every man, every woman, every girl, and every boy.
For those who have such passion for our great U.S. of A,
Who’ll stand for life and liberty, so we can speak and pray.
If you see a warrior, please give them all our love,
For the heart that beats within them is a gift from God above.
We’re thankful, oh so thankful, for that heart we have admired,
For giving so unselfishly, although it may be tired.
We’d never know of its fatigue - it’s hidden way inside,
For that heart is full of love, as deep as it is wide.
On Veterans Day and all the days that come before and after,
We thank you for allowing us a life of hope and laughter.
To wake each day knowing what you must have seen and heard,
It’s hard to find the thoughts to share - there isn’t just one word.
What can we say? What should we say?
A debt we just cannot repay.
I think I’ll just say thank you from the bottom of my heart,
I’ll pray for you - thank God for you. That’s certainly a start.
I’ll do my best to wake each day full of gratitude,
I’ll make a daily effort with a thankful attitude.
I’ll live to nurture peace – I’ll try to do my part,
And I’ll thank the Lord everyday…for your military heart.


~ Heather Spears Kallus

God's Work

 God's work is love made visible.

The Temple of Stones is a Symbol of the Living Church

Today the liturgy celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, called “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world.” In fact, this basilica was the first to be built after Emperor Constantine’s edict, in 313, granted Christians freedom to practice their religion.

The emperor himself gave Pope Miltiades the ancient palace of the Laterani family, and the basilica, the baptistery, and the patriarchate, that is, the Bishop of Rome’s residence — where the Popes lived until the Avignon period — were all built there. The basilica’s dedication was celebrated by Pope Sylvester around 324 and was named Most Holy Savior; only after the 6th century were the names of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist added, and now is typically denominated by these latter.

Initially the observance of this feast was confined to the city of Rome; then, beginning in 1565, it was extended to all the Churches of the Roman rite. The honoring of this sacred edifice was a way of expressing love and veneration for the Roman Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch says, “presides in charity” over the whole Catholic communion (Letter to the Romans, 1:1).

On this solemnity the Word of God recalls an essential truth: the temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, which in their letters the Apostles Peter and Paul already understood as a “spiritual edifice,” built by God with “living stones,” namely, Christians themselves, upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ, who is called the “cornerstone” (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Ephesians 2:20-22). “Brothers, you are God’s building,” St. Paul wrote, and added: “holy is God’s temple, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:9c, 17).

The beauty and harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draws us human beings, limited and sinful, to convert to form a “cosmos,” a well-ordered structure, in intimate communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of saints. This happens in a culminating way in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the “ecclesia,” that is, the community of the baptized, come together in a unified way to listen to the Word of God and nourish themselves with the Body and Blood of Christ. From these two tables the Church of living stones is built up in truth and charity and is internally formed by the Holy Spirit transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself more and more to the Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, in this way becomes the spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God.

Dear friends, today’s feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we call upon the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the “house of God,” living temple of his love.

— Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, November 9, 2008

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In our first reading and gospel today, we hear about two widows, both nameless and both very generous. The widow in our first reading, called the widow of Zarephath, had the good fortune to run into Elijah the prophet just as she was gathering sticks to make a small fire and prepare a final meal for herself and her son. She believed that they both would starve to death. God, however, had different plans for the widow. God sent Elijah to her saying "Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have designated a widow there to provide for you" (1 Kings 17:9). So, when Elijah encounters the widow, he asks for some water and food. What Elijah did not know was that God sent him to a very poor, almost starving widow. But Elijah had faith in God and the widow clearly believed Elijah when he told her "the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth'" (1 Kings 17:14). She took all the food she had and gave it to Elijah and because of her generosity "She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah" (1Kings 17:15-6). This is a goodstorywithahappy ending.

The story of the widow St. Mark presents in today's gospel, Mark 12:38-44, is a study in contrast. While sitting outside the temple treasury in Jerusalem, Jesus observes many rich people putting in large sums. He then sees this widow putting two small coins in the treasury. Calling his disciples "to himself," he points her out to them saying, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." Unlike the widow of Zarephath, this widow gave everything she had without the assurance of better things to come. Her humble offering came unsolicited. It came from her heart and was inspired by her total dependence on God. She held on to nothing for herself. She trustedthatGodwouldtake careof heranddallher needs.

We do not know how this story ends. We do not know what happened to the poor widow. What we have is her remarkable example of faith, trust and generosity of spirit. She was a role model for the disciples and she is a role model for all of us today.

Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day in the USA and Remembrance Day in Commonwealth countries and parts of Europe. Veteran’s Day was formally known as Armistice Day and it marks the end of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I. The fighting ceased on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Although the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, the end of WWI is considered to be November 11, 1918. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11th Armistice Day in November 1919 and Congress approved the day as a legal holiday in 1938. In 1954 Congress amended the Act of 1938, changing Armistice Day to Veteran’s Day, to honor American veterans of all wars. Memorial Day honors U.S. service people who died in action. 

As you go about your day, pause at 11am and remember the price paid for freedom. And say a prayer of thanksgiving for all the people in the military who were and are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend and preserve our freedom.

O God, protector of the widow and orphan,

giver of justice for the oppressed,

you uphold the poor who hope in you

and you sustain those who placetheir trust in your love.

Strengthen our faith,

that with simplicity of heart

we may come to trust in you alone 

and hold back nothing in serving you.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever. 

AMEN

Know God

 

God Bless You!

It was said that during the plague of AD 590, Pope Gregory ordered unceasing prayer for divine intercession.

Part of his command was that anyone sneezing be blessed immediately, God bless you, since sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague.

By AD 750, it became customary to say God bless you as a response to one sneezing.

And may God Bless you this day.

Amen.

Mahatma Gandhi

Regret

Holding onto regret is like dragging the weight of the past with us everywhere we go. It drains our energy, leaving less available for life in the present because we are constantly feeding an old issue. This attachment can cause illness the same way watering a dead plant creates decay. We know that something new and beautiful can grow in its place if we only prepare the soil and plant the right seeds. We also know that we create our lives from our thoughts, so dwelling on the past may actually recreate a situation in our lives where we are forced to make the choice again and again. We can choose to move on right now by applying what we have learned to the present and perhaps even sharing with others, transforming the energy into something that is constructive and creative for ourselves and others.

Forgiveness is the soothing balm that can heal regret. In meditation, we can imagine discussing the issue with the self of our past and offering our forgiveness for the choice. In return, we can ask for our selves‚ forgiveness for keeping them locked in that space of judgment for so long. We may also want to ask forgiveness from anyone else who may have been affected and perhaps offer our forgiveness. By replaying the event in our minds, we can choose a new ending using all that we now know. Imagine that you have actually gone back into the past and made this change, and then say goodbye to it. Release your former self with a hug and bring the forgiveness and love back with you to the present. Since we are usually our harshest critics, it is amazing how powerfully healing it can be to offer ourselves love.

Keeping our minds and our energy fully in the present allows us to fuel our physical and emotional healing and well-being today. This action frees our energy to create the dreams we dream for the future. By taking responsibility and action in the present, we can release our hold on the past.

By Madisyn Taylor

Numbers

 “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”

~ Mother Teresa

All Souls Day

 

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

If someone walked up to you and asked “what is the most important rule for your life,” what would you answer? This is what happened to Jesus in today’s gospel, Mark 12:28-34. A Scribe walked up to Jesus and asked, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Was this a trick question? Not really. Although modern Christians tend to limit the commandments to 10, there actually are 613 different commandments in Mosaic Law. Every observant Jewish person from the time of Moses up to today knows that the most important law or commandment is the first one, the Great Commandment, that we hear in our first reading from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.”

While the question put to Jesus was not a trick question, Jesus’ answer did have a different twist. He added a second commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” from Leviticus 19: 18. And he emphasised that, “there is no other commandment greater than these.” Putting these two different commandments together and making them one commandment was radical. It was radical because Jesus took the old law and gave it a new meaning. When Leviticus was written and for thousands of years thereafter, “ones’ neighbor” was interpreted by the Scribes and Rabbis to mean “fellow Jews.” It was perfectly OK to hate gentiles or other people like Samaritans. But for Jesus your neighbor was anyone (everyone), anywhere in any situation. Furthermore, Jesus implied that the only way anyone can prove their love of God is by loving all the people around them.

The truth is that it is much harder to love our neighbors as ourselves than it is to love God. It is hard because so many people today don’t love themselves very much. Our human tendency is to focus on our inadequacies and weaknesses rather than on our talents and strengths. God loves us unconditionally. If God can love us just as we are, then why can’t we love ourselves? The message in this short passage from Mark is that we are to love all people, including ourselves, with the same fervour as God’s love for us. And by doing so, we are all drawn closer to the kingdom of God.

Lord our God, loving Father, 

all true love comes from you and leads to you. 

You have committed yourself to us in a covenant of lasting love 

in the person of Jesus Christ. 

Help us to respond to your love with the whole of our being 

and to live your commandments 

not as laws forced on us from outside 

but as opportunities to love you for yourself and in people,

 our brothers and sisters. 

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Saying Thank You to the Communion of Saints

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Saying Thank You to the Communion of Saints

Remembering to say thank you to our guides and helpers is important for the completion of the assistance they have given.

We may have become accustomed to asking for help from the unseen world - whether from saints, angels, soul friends, guides, or ancestral spirits - but sometimes we may forget to close our connection afterwards with a thank you. When we connect to these energies for assistance, it is much like a phone connection. Forgetting to close the conversation with a proper “goodbye” is like not hanging up. While that line is still connected, others can have trouble getting through, while in the meantime, batteries are being drained. Saying “thank you” is a way of releasing our concerns into trusted hands and getting out of the way so that the universe‚s divine order can work on our behalf.

As spiritual beings, we may talk about “staying connected,” but our connection needs to be with our source. We can plug in and recharge, but we run on batteries in between, and every connection we make utilizes some of our personal power. Even being surrounded by people that energize us has its limits, and at some point we will feel ready to go off on our own to do what is ours to do. Instead of trying to be constantly connected, we can turn to these beings for help in a way that is more like placing an order. We contact them, ask for what we need, and then say thank you and goodbye.

Beings of the light (Jesus) don’t require our gratitude; it is an energetic acknowledgement of trust and release that benefits us. When we bring ourselves to a sense of being grateful, we affirm that what we have asked is already done. Then we can move forward with confidence to do the things we are meant to do, while knowing that all will be well.