In Him We Live And Move And Have Our Being

A prayer of humility

roth0003 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:01:00 +0000

God: I am powerless and my life is unmanageable without Your help and guidance. I come to You today because I believe that you can restore and renew me to meet my needs today. Since I cannot manage my own life or affairs, I have decided to give them to You. I put my life, my will, my thoughts, my desires and ambitions in your hands.

I give You all of me: the good and the bad, the character defects and shortcomings, my selfishness, resentments and problems. I know that You will work them out in accordance with Your plan. Such as I am, take and use me in Your service. Guide and direct my ways and show me what to do for You.

I cannot control or change my friends or loved ones, so I release them into Your care for Your loving hands to do with as You will. Just keep me loving and free from judging them. If they need changing, God, You’ll have to do it; I can’t. Just make me willing and ready to be of service to You, to have my shortcomings removed, and to do my best.

Help me to see how I have harmed others and make me willing to make amends to them all. Keep me ever mindful of thoughts and actions that harm myself and others, and which separate me from Your light, love, and spirit. And when I commit these errors, make me aware of them and help me to admit each one promptly.

I am seeking to know You better, to love You more. I am seeking the knowledge of Your will for me and the power to carry it out.

– Author unknown

Seeing the big picture – *

roth0003 — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:57:00 +0000

The book of Genesis relates the story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers. While in Egypt, he gained the respect and trust of the Pharoah, and was placed in a position of authority. Joseph had foreseen a time of famine, and ordered Egyptians to store up crops during the years of bounty so that there would be ample food during the lean years to come.

Later, when his father and brothers were suffering from the famine, his father instructed Joseph’s brothers to travel to Egypt and purchase food for the family. They did not recognize their brother, who ultimately told them, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt. But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.” God had allowed Joseph’s freedom to be taken, but he had a far greater good in mind. Joseph likely didn’t see the good that would come of his captivity at first, but he was able to see it in retrospect.

Our perspective on the events of our lives tends to be rather short-sighted. We don’t see the “long view”, and it is there where God is working behind the scenes to create light from darkness, joy from sadness, success from failure. In my own life at least, I have seen that God deplores a vacuum. He never takes anything away without giving something in return. He is not wasteful; indeed, nothing is wasted in God’s economy. He continues to be a Creator, using the “bad stuff” to fashion something far better.

A baseball lesson

roth0003 — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:44:00 +0000

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the school’s students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all that attended.
After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question. “Everything God does is done with perfection. Yet, my son Shay cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is God’s plan reflected in my son?” The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. “I believe,” the father answered, “that when God brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the Divine Plan presents itself and it comes in the way people treat that child.” Then, he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, “Do you think they will let me play?”

Shay’s father knew that the boys would not want him on their team. But the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him much-needed sense of belonging. Shay’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, “We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning.”

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat.

Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, “Shay, run to first, run to first.”

Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, “run to second, run to second!” By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher’s intentions had been, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman’s head.

Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, “run to third!” As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming, “Shay! Run home!” Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered as the hero for hitting a “grand slam” and winning the game for his team. “That day,” said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, “the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan into this world.”

We all have dozens of opportunities a day to help realize God’s plan. So many seemingly trivial interactions between people present us with a choice; do we pass along a spark of the Divine love that God gives to us every day? Or do we pass up that opportunity and leave the world a bit colder in the process?

- Author unknown

Listen to the echo, and learn…

roth0003 — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:34:00 +0000

A father and his son were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, the son falls, hurts himself, and screams: “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” To his surprise he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountains: “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Curious, he yells: “Who are you?” He receives the answer: “Who are you”

Angered at the response, he screams, “Coward!” He receives the answer: “Coward!”

He looks to his father and asks: “What’s going on?”

The father smiles and says, “My son, pay attention.” And then he yells to the mountain: “I admire you!” The voice answers: “I admire you!”

Again the man yells, “You are a champion!” The voice answers: “You are a champion!”

The boy is surprised, but does not understand.

Then the father explains: “People call this ECHO, but really it is LIFE. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence. This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; life will give you back everything you have give to it.”

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT’S A REFLECTION OF YOU!

Joy

roth0003 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:00:00 +0000

I saw rain drops on my window,
Joy is like the rain.
Laughter runs across my pane,
Slips away and comes again.
Joy is like the rain.

I saw clouds upon a mountain,
Joy is like a cloud.
Sometimes silver, sometimes gray,
Always sun not far away.

Joy is like a cloud.

I saw Christ in wind and thunder,
Joy is tried by storm.
Christ asleep within my boat,
Whipped by wind, yet still afloat,
Joy is tried by storm.

I saw rain drops on a river,
Joy is like the rain,
Bit by bit the river grows,
’til all at once it overflows.
Joy is like the rain.

By: Sr. Miriam Therese Winter, 1966

The mousetrap

roth0003 — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:56:00 +0000

Disclaimer – This isn’t original – it’s making the email rounds – but it contains a good message.

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. What food might this contain, he wondered? He was devastated to discover that it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse shouted out the warning: “There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s a mousetrap in the house!” The chicken clucked and scratched, then said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s a mousetrap in the house!” The pig sympathized, but said, “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow and said, “There’s a mousetrap in the house! There’s a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said, “Gee, I’m sorry, Mr. Mouse, but it’s no skin off my nose.”

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.

That very night, a sound was heard throughout the housel It sounded like a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she failed to see that it was a venomous snake whose tail had been caught in the trap. The snake bit the farmer’s wife.

The farmer rushed her to the hospital for treatment, and after returning, she developed a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.

But despite the chicken soup, the woman’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

But the farmer’s wife did not get better. She died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you’re tempted to think it doesn’t concern you, remember – when one of us is threatened, we all are at risk.

The moral of the story: Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry, and our lives are woven together for a reason. We must keep an eye out for one another and offer encouragement and help in all things.

FOOTBALL CHRISTIANITY, Or Reasons I Stopped Attending Football Games

roth0003 — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:47:00 +0000

1. Every time I went, they asked me for money.
2. The people sitting next to me didn’t seem very friendly.
3. The seats were too hard.
4. The coach never came to call on me.
5. The referee made a decision I disagreed with.
6. I was sitting with hypocrites – they came only to see what others were wearing.
7. Some of the games went into overtime and I was late getting home.
8. The band played songs I didn’t like.
9. The games were scheduled when I wanted to do other things.
10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
11. Since I read a book about football, I know more than the coaches, anyhow.
12. I don’t want to take my children, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

Keep your fork

roth0003 — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:49:00 +0000

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with cancer and had been given 3 months to live. Her doctor told her to start making preparations to die (something we all should be doing all of the time.) So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what she wanted to be wearing. The woman also told her pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything as in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. “There’s one more thing.” She said excitedly. “What’s that?” came the pastor’s reply. “This is very important.” The woman continued. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”

The pastor stood looking at the woman not knowing quite what to say. “That shocks you doesn’t it?” The woman asked. “Well to be honest, I’m puzzled by the request,” said the pastor. The woman explained:

“In all my years of attending church socials and functions where food was involved, my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes of the main course would lean over and say ‘you can keep your fork.’ It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming. When they told me to keep my fork, I knew that something great was about to be given to me. It wasn’t Jell-O or pudding. It was cake or pie. Something with substance. So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder ‘What’s with the fork?’ Then I want you to tell them: ‘Something better is coming so keep your fork too.’“ The pastor’s eyes were welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman goodbye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did.

She KNEW that something better was coming. At the funeral people were walking by the woman’s casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over the pastor heard the question “What’s with the fork?” And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.

So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently that there is something better coming. Keep your fork. The best is yet to come.

Wise advice from St. Clement

roth0003 — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:05:00 +0000

Brothers, we should be humble in mind, putting aside all arrogance, pride and foolish anger. Rather, we should act in accordance with the Scriptures, as the Holy Spirit says: The wise man must not glory in his wisdom nor the strong man in his strength nor the rich man in his riches. Rather, let him who glories glory in the Lord by seeking Him and doing what is right and just.

Recall especially what the Lord Jesus said when He taught gentleness and forbearance. Be merciful, He said, so that you may have mercy shown to you. Forgive, so that you may be forgiven. As you treat others, so you will be treated. As you give, so you will receive. As you judge, so you will be judged. As you are kind to others, so you will be treated kindly. The measure of your giving will be the measure of your receiving.

Let these commandments and precepts strengthen us to live in humble obedience to His sacred words.

St. Clement

Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?

roth0003 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:00:00 +0000