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April 21,
2007

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Thoughts from Sister Patricia




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Quote for the Day:
Seeing the sun, the moon, and the stars, I said to myself, "Who could be the Master of these beautiful things?" I felt a great desire to see him, to know him, and to pay him homage.
St Josephine Bakhita

Quote from the book, "101 Inspirational Stories of the Power of Prayer"


We watched the Mass of Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium - was beautiful. Soon we will gather again and watch as he leaves the United States. Wonderful that Television and EWTN can make so many of us a part of this beautiful time.

I created my first homegrown YouTube video for the book. The first of many I hope. Anyway this one is three minutes long and is sort of funny. Not like the Confession one - which was professionally made - this one is just me in front of the little camera which my friend Barb manned as I laughed myself through this. Was funny.

The Pros and Cons of buying "101 Inspirational Stories of the Power of Prayer."

Warning Message: YouTube has videos of all sorts.. and I mean ALL sorts - so if you click on the YouTube link rather than just click the little start buttons of the movie.. you are on your own!



http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/monasticmoments/archives/136861.asp

Monday (today as you read this probably) is the final day for getting the last little bit to the printer... the Cover. After that the production mode is done! Yeah, Alleluia! Praise God!

God bless you very much!
Sister Patricia

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Rejoice in Me
by Msgr. David E. Rosage

Might and Majesty

Psalm 96:4-5

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as in a flask;
in cellars he confines the deep.


In this hymn of praise we recall the might and majesty of the Creator of the universe. He created the highest heaven with their host of countless stars. His power reaches the very depth of the ocean.

Imagine yourself at the beach on a clear night with the stars blinking their hymn of praise and the ocean adding its thunderous voice of praise. Let your soul rise heavenward to glorify God's power.

Reflect with St. John: "Through him all things came into being, and apart from him nothing came to be. Whatever came to be in him, found life, life for the light of men." (Jn 1:3-4)

Joy in Eating!
Healthy Eating from Barbara George

Elder Care Diet Tips
Your resource for hints on nutrition and health;
a place to learn and a place to share!

Visit Barb's Blog to leave comments and find more great tips.



Joy from Home
A Smile from Home - Danielle Bean

Today's Thought

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pictures and links to go with this text.


No Fair


is a baby who throughout the entire night gets you up every hour, on the hour to use you as his personal mattress — Could you lean back just a little? That’s good, like that. Now don’t move please.

Until 5:45 am when he decides that it’s time to get up and stay up for the day — But don’t think you are going to take a shower or anything. You cannot leave my sight and I am going to be crabby. Am I making myself clear?

But then, at 7:30 or so, as the well-rested part of the family is making its way down the stairs, he turns into a charming little prince — Hey, look how cute I am when I try to jump! I am so happy to see you guys I am going to trip over this stack of books and then bust up with the most adorable giggles you ever heard!

I am going to take a shower.

Joy from Rome
Greetings from London with Sister Janet Fearns, FMDM

Pause for Prayer

Visit Janet's Blog to see pictures to go with this text.

On a personal note…


Brad

dandelions.jpg “What is a weed? Only a flower whose potential has not yet been recognised.” I found that quotation on the front of a card. A weed is a flower whose potential has not been recognised.

A baby is born. Its parents discover that instead of the healthy child they had been expecting, their lovely baby has a disability that can never be cured. How do they react?

I remember the morning a young woman came to me, weeping, with her newborn in her arms. It had something wrong with its knee because it wasn’t quite straight. She thought her baby would be crippled for life. On this occasion the baby’s apparent disability could be easily corrected. I bandaged its knee tightly and instructed the mother not to remove the bandage until the following day. Next morning, the baby’s knee was straight. This young mother’s baby was more than ever a beautiful flower in her eyes.

There was another time when I found a mother crying over her new baby. He was profoundly disabled with something that could not be cured. She wished he had never been born. She could see nothing beautiful in her infant and I knew that when she returned to her village, this baby would not survive. It was tragic. She saw, not a flower, but a weed.

Yet I remember a boy whose disability was far greater than that baby’s. When I knew Brad he was 10 years old but he could only function as if he were a few months old. His mother had to do everything for him. It was pathetic to look at him, to see him lying on the floor, day after day, doing nothing for himself. When he was born the doctor suggested that Brad be left behind in hospital because he would probably not live for any longer than a few weeks. He actually lived for 14 years because of the care he received from his family. The baby that should have died was the longest-living child on record with his condition. The only things Brad ever learned to do were to smile and to laugh.

Many people, looking at Brad would not have seen a flower. They would have seen a weed that needed to be uprooted. His family saw a flower. Even though Brad probably didn’t understand his younger brother and sisters, they never did anything without coming to tell him. When they returned from school, the other children came to tell Brad about their day. He would laugh and then the children would run off to play. Although he couldn’t play, Michele, Stephen and Katie involved Brad in most of their games. They would often play indoors just to give him company. Brad would watch them and laugh.

Everybody in the town knew Brad. They would visit his parents and sit watching the helpless little boy and enjoying his laugh. He nearly died on so many occasions. There was one evening when Brad was terribly ill. His mother told him that although she loved him so much, if he wanted to die and go to Jesus, she would let him go. She wouldn’t hold on to him, however much she loved him and would miss him. On that occasion, Brad did not laugh. A single tear ran down his cheek. Brad had somehow understood his mother.

When Brad died, a couple of years later, the whole town came to the funeral. His broken little body had given laughter. He had somehow managed to make people feel loved. The little boy who had so little potential had enriched everyone who came to know him.

Lord, we pray for the children whose disability leads to their rejection. We pray that they will find love. We also pray for those who are like Brad, whose lives are a beautiful flower, a sign of your great love working through the weakest and most helpless. Thank you, Lord, for the flowers with which you fill our lives. There are no weeds, Lord, you created flowers. We are the ones who were so blind that we called your flowers weeds. Amen

God bless,
Sr. Janet

Joy from Church
Spiritual Blessings from Father Rory Pitstick

A Virtual Retreat
Reflections following the Daily Liturgical cycle

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Monday

Acts 14: 5-18
Ps 114(115): 1-2. 3-4.
15-16
Jn 14: 21-26


Daily Readings
Apr 21 Mon: Easter Weekday/ Anselm, bp, r, dr

From today's readings: “We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.... May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth.... The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name— He will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

How to Love God


In an age of unbridled anarchy, obedience itself is derided as demeaning - even divine obedience, as if the fulfillment of God’s commandments were somehow an impingement on human freedom. The tragedy of Eden’s fall is relived again and again as man gives ear anew to the Tempter’s tired tune: “God is a deceptive, divine despot who curtails human freedom for His own selfish ends!”

Emboldened by an audaciously exaggerated autonomy, man soon stops believing in God, or else starts treating Him as a senile grandfather, who, for the sake of good P.R., might be still occasionally honored in public, but can be safely ignored in private.

But in his Gospel and letters, St. John repeatedly emphasizes the point Jesus Himself brought up more than once: love of God always goes hand-in-hand with obedience of God’s commands. In other words, it is an outright lie for one to claim to love God while dismissing His commandments as “no longer applicable.”

Divine mercy still can appeal to those who transgress God’s law but then repent; however, those who obstinately attempt to usurp or replace God’s moral laws with their own indulgences thereby define themselves as too self-reliant to ever stand in need of God’s commandments, corrections, or clemency.


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