|
Delivered Monday through Friday!
|
May 20,
2008
Angels Watching Oer Me
Click to stop
|
|
Joy from the Monastery |
Thoughts from Sister Patricia
Visit Sr. Patricia's blog
to leave a comment and share with others about this topic.
St Bernardine of Siena
For more beautiful cards All Cards
Quote for the Day:
Our problem is that we assume prayer is something to master the way we master algebra or auto mechanics. That puts us in the ?on-top? position, where we are competent and in control. But when praying, we come ?underneath,? where we calmly and deliberately surrender control and become incompetent...
The truth of the matter is, we all come to prayer with a tangled mass of motives altruistic and selfish, merciful and hateful, loving and bitter. Frankly, this side of eternity we will never unravel the good from the bad, the pure from the impure. God is big enough to receive us with all our mixture. That is what grace means, and not only are we saved by it, we live by it as well. And we pray by it.
Richard J. Foster
Quote from the book, "101 Inspirational Stories of the Power of Prayer"
|
Rejoice! Rejoice! The book arrived today and it is everything I had hoped it would be. In fact I have been sort of carrying it around with me wherever I go. I even took it to my adoration time this afternoon to talk it over with Jesus and have a mini, praise and rejoice session with him.
Just goes to show if you put something into Mary's hands.. it will turn out. Better and bigger than you could have thought. Now if I could just keep that thought planted in my head the next time a worry session comes on!
I just have a feeling this is going to be my favorite book. I love them all.. but somehow maybe because prayer is something we all do .. all the time.. even when we hardly realize that we are doing it.. this book just sort of sings in my heart. And anyway.. the stories are not mine... they are from many, many places.
Ghana,
Kenya,
Australia,
Canada
Central America
India,
Ireland,
Mexico
Netherlands,
United Arab Emirates
England
Wales
United States
Its such a beautiful feeling... to sort of glimpse into the windows of all these places through the image of prayer. The world is truly surrounded by prayer. Much, much more I think than we ever realize. We think our small prayers are so little and ineffectual - but in God's hands bound together with all the prayers of the world... they are truly a mighty and powerful force!
Nothing is impossible with God. I am thankful to God that I could be a part of this book.. because really I'm only a part of it. Sort of like a patchwork quilt maker. I had the needle and thread but all the patches came from other hearts and gift. AND I can't even take credit for that because I had tons of help from so many people to even get the patches stitched together.. which in the end I think.. shows who was really in charge of this book.
Thanks Blessed Mom!
Blessings of Peace and All Good!
Sister Patricia
P.S. Only nine days left of the Presale for 101 Inspirational Stories of the Power of Prayer
http://101prayer.com
|
Click to View
Today's Peace Card
Subscribe to
Joy Notes
Your information will not be
used in any way except for
subscribing to JoyNotes.
|
Book on Reconciliation
Send Video Card
Sr. Patricia and Oprah
Saint of the day
Reverend Fun
Motivational
Meditation
from Greatday.com
|
Ten Minute Meditation
Sister Patricia Proctor, OSC
Spokane, Washington
Imagine that you are in a beautiful garden on a warm, sunny day. The birds are singing, a bee is buzzing from flower to flower, and a small stream nearby is bubbling a gurgling melody.
In this garden are two chairs, both empty. You walk over and sit in one.
In a little while, you know that Jesus will be coming and sitting in the other one.
Today you are going to let Jesus speak first. You don’t know what He will say. Perhaps He will say nothing and just be content to sit quietly next to you. You sit quietly waiting.
Prayer when time is completed:
Dear Jesus,
Sometimes it is hard
for me to believe
that you really have
things to say to me.
That you really
want to spend time
with me.
Sometimes it’s hard
to believe you really
love me,
especially on days
when I don’t love myself.
Jesus help me
to be open to your love.
Amen
Share a comment
From the book 101 Inspirational Stories of the Power of Prayer
|
Rejoice in Me
by Msgr. David E. Rosage
Superabundance
Ps 81:17
While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock.
God rewarded the faithful people of Israel by feeding them "with the best of wheat and with honey from the rock." Honey from the rock is a Hebrew expression meaning an extreme abundance.
We are the new Israel. God's loving care and concern for us will provide us with a super abundance of everything we need if we are faithful to him. He asks us to trust him and walk in his ways.
St. Paul tells us God's generosity is immeasurable: "It is in Christ and through his blood that we have been redeemed and our sins forgiven, so immeasurably generous is God's favor to us." (Eph 1:7f)
|
|
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.
|
A Smile from Home - Danielle Bean
Today's Thought
Visit Danielle's Blog to see
pictures and links to go with this text.
The napper
Darling, sleeping baby,
You know I love your naps. You know what a bear you can be when I wake you and how weary I grow of chasing you throughout the house, fighting off your “help” with folding the laundry, and pulling marbles from your mouth. I love your nap.
But I love your bedtime too. I love it when you go to sleep early enough to allow me some down time with your daddy before we both collapse in exhaustion at the end of our days. I don’t love spending that “quiet” time chasing you, doing the marble thing, and feeding you snacks and drinks while you take in some adult programming on the TV.
But you know I can’t bring myself to wake you from the loveliness of that afternoon nap when it extends beyond 4:00 pm. You know I’m a sucker for the peace and quiet, even if it will cost me dearly later on tonight.
And so you sleep.
See you for the late-night news, kiddo.
|
|
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…
To judge or not to judge?
During my time in Australia, I took several groups of Year 10 students to sit in during a Magistrate’s court session, giving them the chance to see justice in action. It was interesting and a bit frightening.
One man, obviously guilty of growing cannabis in his yard, was released because he had a good lawyer and because the police cameraman ran out of film. A young lad was found guilty of carrying a dangerous weapon (actually a hacksaw blade) and was sentenced because, whether or not he deserved his sentence, his lawyer couldn’t be bothered putting up a fight. He looked frightened, whereas the cannabis grower really couldn’t have cared less and would probably go from one crime to a bigger one.
Then there were those who were guilty of traffic offences. Most of those people were highly embarrassed and couldn’t wait to leave the court. It was easy to imagine that their main concern was whether or not their name would appear in the newspapers and tarnish their reputation… and so the sessions continued.
When someone is convicted of a crime, whether or not, in actual fact, they really were guilty, the sentence might be handed down to the defendant, but it is also imposed on the family, who go through their own private hell, especially if they are innocent of any crime. Such people do not have the experience of the genuine criminals and therefore have no resources to call into operation. Where the guilty are devious, the innocent are confused, frightened and alone. The media, in search of a story, turn a bad dream into a nightmare.
Jesus said, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.”
How often, in the course of a single day, am I judge and jury? How often do I pass sentence, perhaps without knowing the full story? How often do I gossip about someone’s errors, causing the story to grow in the telling? Do I ever leave someone in their misery, precisely because I can’t be bothered to defend an action that might not have been as serious as others might believe? Do I ever cause the innocent to suffer, just because they have been associated with a person whom I have condemned? Do I offer support, or do I leave them broken-hearted and not knowing where to turn? Do I ever make excuses for an individual, trying to see their point of view before I pass judgement?
…and if a person really is guilty and deserving of punishment, do I practise mercy?
As Shakespeare wrote in the Merchant of Venice:
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That in the course of justice we all must see salvation,
We all do pray for mercy
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.
God bless,
Sr. Janet
|
Spiritual Blessings from Father Rory Pitstick
A Virtual Retreat
Reflections following the Daily Liturgical cycle
Visit Fr. Rory's Blog
|
Tuesday
Jas 4: 1-10
Ps 54(55): 7-8. 9-10a.
10b-11a. 23
Mk 9: 30-37
Daily Readings
|
May 20 Tue: Ordinary Weekday/ Bernardine of Siena, p, r, ms
From today's readings:
"Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God.... Cast your care upon the LORD, and He will support you.... Whoever receives one child such as this in My Name, receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but the One who sent Me.”
Lovers of the World
St. James professes the sobering insight that “whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God!” Why? As Christ Himself insists, “No man can serve two masters...” (Matt. 6:24). So covetousness and envy and lust lead inevitably away from God to endless wars and conflicts.
To be seduced by the world is thus, as St. James claims, to fall into the most pathetic form of adultery. God loves us with the truest, most faithful love, beyond our comprehension! Through His Son’s Incarnation, He has espoused humanity to Himself - how is it that you or I would ever choose to betray that love by prostituting ourselves to the world? And yet in big ways and small ways, sometimes, perhaps always, we move to be lovers of the world, and embrace enmity with God!
After playing the harlot, can we ever return to Love Himself? St. James tells us how!
“So submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts.... Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will exalt you!”
|
|
Copyright 2008 JoyNotes - all rights reserved
|
|
|
|
|
