"Nothing is beyond the reach of His restoration project. Even ancient and devestated ruins can be rebuilt. As you surrender to the Master Builder you will be His apprentice repairer and restorer."
TW p66
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you wiht my righteous hand. (Isaiah 41:10)"
USCCB - (NAB) - June 25, 2009:
"Gospel
Mt 7:21-29
Jesus said to his disciples:
'Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'"
Sitting Tight : A Catholic Reflection: "'Go back...and submit.' –Genesis 16:9
God told Abram: 'Don't just do something, sit there.' God did not need Abram to have a son by Sarai's maid to help God fulfill His promises (see Gn 15:4). Then Sarai's maid, Hagar, tried to help God protect her by fleeing into the wilderness. God told her to go back and stay put (Gn 16:9). Sometimes the best thing we can do is nothing. For example, the Lord told Moses that He would fight for the Israelites against the Egyptians. Moses had 'only to keep still' (Ex 14:14). Isaiah prophesied: 'By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies' (Is 30:15)."
"Perfection is founded entirely on the love of God: “Charity is the bond of perfection22 Col. 3:14.;” and perfect love of God means the complete union of our will with God’s: “The principal effect of love is so to unite the wills of those who love each other as to make them will the same things33 St. Denis Areop. De Div. Nom. c. 4..” It follows then, that the more one unites his will with the divine will, the greater will be his love of God. Mortification, meditation, receiving Holy Communion, acts of fraternal charity are all certainly pleasing to God—but only when they are in accordance with his will. When they do not accord with God’s will, he not only finds no pleasure in them, but he even rejects them utterly and punishes them.
To illustrate:—A man has two servants. One works unremittingly all day long— but according to his own devices; the other, conceivably, works less, but he does do what he is told. This latter of course is going to find favor in the eyes of his master; the other will not. Now, in applying this example, we may ask: Why should we perform actions for God’s glory if they are not going to be acceptable to him? God does not want sacrifices, the prophet Samuel told King Saul, but he does want obedience to his will: “Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than sacrifices; and to hearken, rather than to offer the fat of rams. Because it is like the sin of witchcraft to rebel; and like the crime of idolatry to refuse to obey44 1 Kings, 15:22, 23..” Theman who follows his own will independently of God’s, is guilty of a kind of idolatry. Instead of adoring God’s will, he, in a certain sense, adores his own."
4. It is especially necessary that we be resigned in corporal infirmities. We should willingly embrace them in the manner and for the length of time that God wills. We ought to make use of the ordinary remedies in time of sickness— such is God’s will; but if they are not effective, let us unite ourselves to God’s will and this will be better for us than would be our restoration to health. Let us say: “Lord, I wish neither to be well nor to remain sick; I want only what thou wilt.” Certainly, it is more virtuous not to repine in times of painful illness; still and all, when our sufferings are excessive, it is not wrong to let our friends know what we are enduring, and also to ask God to free us from our sufferings. Let it be understood, however, that the sufferings here referred to are actually excessive. It often happens that some, on the occasion of a slight illness, or even a slight indisposition, want the whole world to stand still and sympathize with them in their illnesses.
USCCB - NAB - Psalm 139:
"You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.
14
I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works!"
"He wants so much for you to experience the fullness of His plan by aligning your goals and vision with His plans for you."
--TW p66
A Different Road
I’ve traveled long
I’ve traveled hard
And stumbled many times along the way
I’ve bruised my knees a lot
And turned my back on God
And seen His mercy
I’ve been quick to judge
And slow to learn
So many times I’ve gotten in the way
I think I know so much
I’ve questioned God enough
But still He loves me
So now I’ll walk a different road
I want to see Him there before I even go
I’ve run ahead and gone too slow
I’ve got to be still now
Wait upon His will now
This time,
It’s gonna be His time
Don’t want to live without
The peace that comes to me
When I am by His side
I’ve known the freedom there
Can’t find it anywhere
But in Christ Jesus
I believe He’s got a plan
Everything in His time
I may not always understand
Everything in His time
Everything in His time
by K. Troccoli, B. Sudano, N. DiGesare
USCCB - (NAB) - June 23, 2009:
"'Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.'"
"The person on the path of God's provision, as we have seen, may experience a 'two steps foward and one back' movement, but the direction is set. This person moves forward confident of God's love and acceptance through the cross of Christ. His or her life doesn't reflect an 'on again-off again' experience, as the cross of Christ is a stabilizing force. His confidence is not in his own flesh, but in God's blessed provision. This person learns from her steps backward through observation and correction. No 'failure' is beyond God's ability to redeem or His desire to make good. This person isn't perfect by any means, but he or she moves forward trusting in God even after experiencing a setback."
USCCB - (NAB) - June 22, 2009:
"Reading 1
Gn 12:1-9
The LORD said to Abram:
'Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.
'I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.'"
USCCB - (NAB) - June 21, 2009
"He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!"
The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Then he asked them, "Why are you terrified?
Do you not yet have faith?""
USCCB - (NAB) - June 20, 2009:
"Therefore, that I might not become too elated,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.'
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me."
Mark Mallett » Blog Archive » Knowing Christ
Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. (Rom 12:3)
We have to use our minds, to be thinking consciously as we move through the day how we can respond in the present moment the way Jesus would. We have to be mindful of when we are wasting time; of when our conversations become idle jibber-jabber; of when we are being pulled away from the duty of the moment by the glitz of Twitters, Texts, and whatever is next. At those times, we need to consciously pull ourselves back into God’s presence, into a silent dialogue with the Spirit, seeking how we can better serve God in that moment… how self-love can give way to Divine Love (and remember St. Paul’s definition of what love is (see 1 Cor 13:1-8)).
USCCB - (NAB) - June 19, 2009:
"For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory
to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Father's Day : A Catholic Reflection:
"When Satan tempts us, he questions whether we are sons and daughters of God the Father (Mt 4:3, 6). Prayer is primarily expressing and deepening our relationship with our Father through the Son and in the Spirit. Prayer is a preoccupation with our Father's name, kingdom, and will (Mt 6:9-10). Prayer is an experience of our Father as Provider, Forgiver, and Protector (Mt 6:11-13)."
USCCB - (NAB) - June 18, 2009
Gospel
Mt 6:7-15
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.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This is how you are to pray:
'Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.'
"If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."
Weigh In Info:
"My Weigh in Report
You lost 3.5 lb (2.4 %) since you last weighed in on Monday, 01 Jun 09.
At that rate it will take you about 4 months to get to your goal weight."
God Is Doing a New Thing: Chapter 5 Part 1 - True Confessions About Being "Reconciled" To My Body: "I have been putting off facing into this chapter, I think. I read the pages up to the place where the Mirror, Mirror Exercise begins. Funny how I did that...It is dated 4 days ago...haven't touched the book since."
