7 Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 “This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name, 10 thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; 13 and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 “If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
Think: It is not the words of our prayers that are important but the intentions and conviction with which we pray them.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Happy Together Inspirational Stories of Love and Friendship
How to be happy together?
Sometimes in our busy lives the really important things can be forgotten. Other people, their habits and their needs may even feel annoying while we are pursuing our material needs.We may feel our relationships lack something. We are not as happy as we originally planned and wanted to be with the people in our lives. We may stand there, wondering what happened to our relationships.
When did our relationships become so burdensome to us? Where did the joy and happiness go? What happened to us being happy together?If all people suddenly disappeared we would understand that to be really happy - we need other people.
Being alone can be so sweet at times, and is certainly even necessary. But if there really was no one else around, we would begin to miss the company of others in no time. And just as it is with any other important thing:
We need to work on being happy together
Every relationship gives back what we give into it. And I am sure deep within we all want our relationships to be nurturing and happy.
We need a simple plan. Happy together - that´s the name of the project. We need to look at our relationships like they were plants in a garden. Each plant needs watering, care, weeding, sunshine and yes - rain too.
We need to realize that relationships are often neglected because of our own choices - we choose how we want spend our time and while we are living those other plans, a phone call from a friend may feel like an interruption. We feel annoyed even. "Why does she have to call just now?"
In our hurry we may forget how very important other people are to us - and we to them.
We all face hardships in our lives and when this happens, we sure appreciate those people who care about us and open their arms to hold us when the need arises.
These short inspirational stories are here to gently remind us of the importance of friends and family. These are positive and happy stories - with humor too. (Humor is the salt of life, I always say.) So let’s stick to our simple plan and invest a little time on our relationships too.
Sometimes in our busy lives the really important things can be forgotten. Other people, their habits and their needs may even feel annoying while we are pursuing our material needs.We may feel our relationships lack something. We are not as happy as we originally planned and wanted to be with the people in our lives. We may stand there, wondering what happened to our relationships.
When did our relationships become so burdensome to us? Where did the joy and happiness go? What happened to us being happy together?If all people suddenly disappeared we would understand that to be really happy - we need other people.
Being alone can be so sweet at times, and is certainly even necessary. But if there really was no one else around, we would begin to miss the company of others in no time. And just as it is with any other important thing:
We need to work on being happy together
Every relationship gives back what we give into it. And I am sure deep within we all want our relationships to be nurturing and happy.
We need a simple plan. Happy together - that´s the name of the project. We need to look at our relationships like they were plants in a garden. Each plant needs watering, care, weeding, sunshine and yes - rain too.
We need to realize that relationships are often neglected because of our own choices - we choose how we want spend our time and while we are living those other plans, a phone call from a friend may feel like an interruption. We feel annoyed even. "Why does she have to call just now?"
In our hurry we may forget how very important other people are to us - and we to them.
We all face hardships in our lives and when this happens, we sure appreciate those people who care about us and open their arms to hold us when the need arises.
These short inspirational stories are here to gently remind us of the importance of friends and family. These are positive and happy stories - with humor too. (Humor is the salt of life, I always say.) So let’s stick to our simple plan and invest a little time on our relationships too.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
GOSPEL READING TODAY (Feb. 15, 2012) - Mark 8:22-26 - A Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida, people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, “Do you see anything?” 24 Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.” 25 Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly. 26 Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”
CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING HEALED? - By: Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
I wonder what it would be like to be healed from something such as blindness. I had a brain hemorrhage when I was 17. I spent eight to 10 days in a hospital but I remember only a couple of those days. I was quite blessed because, even if my hemorrhage gave me a 50-50 chance to survive, I did not have to go through the knife. Neither did I experience significant after-effects. I look back at this experience and am very grateful for my full recovery. How much more amazing this experience would have been if it involved being debilitated and then healed.
The healing miracles of Jesus are a sign of God’s desire to heal us, not just physically but spiritually as well. Jesus demonstrates authority over sickness so we would believe that He can heal us from within through the forgiveness of our sins. It is critical that we recognize the truth of God’s love for us if we want to fully benefit from it. Nothing can stand in the way of God’s desire to redeem us except our refusal of the offer of salvation. Our tendency is to invent obstacles: “I am too much of a sinner. How can God really love little old me? I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”
Some of these excuses, if not all of them, have some basis, but Jesus tells us in the Gospel (Mark 8:22-26) that He is far bigger than any of the problems we can think of so we should not worry about them. All we have to do is open our hearts to the solution — His love — and allow Him to set about the work of salvation from within.
Jesus will not hesitate to enter our lives if we welcome Him in. Perhaps it would be good for us to be seriously sick so that we will better realize our need for His grace? No, that is not necessary! All that is necessary is that we be humble enough to invite Him in.
The healing miracles of Jesus are a sign of God’s desire to heal us, not just physically but spiritually as well. Jesus demonstrates authority over sickness so we would believe that He can heal us from within through the forgiveness of our sins. It is critical that we recognize the truth of God’s love for us if we want to fully benefit from it. Nothing can stand in the way of God’s desire to redeem us except our refusal of the offer of salvation. Our tendency is to invent obstacles: “I am too much of a sinner. How can God really love little old me? I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”
Some of these excuses, if not all of them, have some basis, but Jesus tells us in the Gospel (Mark 8:22-26) that He is far bigger than any of the problems we can think of so we should not worry about them. All we have to do is open our hearts to the solution — His love — and allow Him to set about the work of salvation from within.
Jesus will not hesitate to enter our lives if we welcome Him in. Perhaps it would be good for us to be seriously sick so that we will better realize our need for His grace? No, that is not necessary! All that is necessary is that we be humble enough to invite Him in.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
THE FEEDING OF THE FOUR THOUSAND - By: Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
Jesus has pity on the people because they are hungry, so He miraculously feeds them. There are many stages to this event. There is the Eucharistic overtones whereby Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and then gives it to the people. This is precisely what happens at the Eucharist where we eventually feed not on the bread that was offered but the Body and Blood of Christ. The food we receive is not just physical food but the spiritual food that nourishes us for eternal life.
As we reflect on this story, it is important to keep this background in mind as we try to understand its meaning today. I doubt if we are going to see too many loaves of bread and fish multiplied to fill our hunger. However, the Church does encourage us to seek nourishment in the Eucharist every day if possible. This tells us that the spiritual reality we share in the Eucharist is one that captures the essence and heart of our faith. It is not enough to consider the Eucharist a mere ritual as it is more than that. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian lives and faith. The saints often remind us that there is little more important than celebrating the Eucharist with faith and humility.
There is also the idea that God does provide for His people. There will be times when this is literally true in a physical sense. I have personally seen food multiplied a number of times. We need to learn to trust that God provides for us. The fact that so many do not have food to eat is not because there is not enough food to go around. Rather, it is a result of the unwillingness of people to share their excess with others. The provision is there; it is sin that creates the situation where many go hungry. And so we need to see God’s provision in both a physical and spiritual sense. If we do not receive the physical food that we need, we can still trust that spiritually God is there at all times and there is nothing others can do to deprive us of that food for eternal life.
As we reflect on this story, it is important to keep this background in mind as we try to understand its meaning today. I doubt if we are going to see too many loaves of bread and fish multiplied to fill our hunger. However, the Church does encourage us to seek nourishment in the Eucharist every day if possible. This tells us that the spiritual reality we share in the Eucharist is one that captures the essence and heart of our faith. It is not enough to consider the Eucharist a mere ritual as it is more than that. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian lives and faith. The saints often remind us that there is little more important than celebrating the Eucharist with faith and humility.
There is also the idea that God does provide for His people. There will be times when this is literally true in a physical sense. I have personally seen food multiplied a number of times. We need to learn to trust that God provides for us. The fact that so many do not have food to eat is not because there is not enough food to go around. Rather, it is a result of the unwillingness of people to share their excess with others. The provision is there; it is sin that creates the situation where many go hungry. And so we need to see God’s provision in both a physical and spiritual sense. If we do not receive the physical food that we need, we can still trust that spiritually God is there at all times and there is nothing others can do to deprive us of that food for eternal life.
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