The many shades of green from the Master's palette.
Thanks be to God!
An occasional bit of wit 'n' wisdom as gleaned from the wise and learned. Family fun and times to share.
"Your neighbors are the channel
through which your virtues are tested
and come to birth...just as those
who are evil give birth to all their vices
through their neighbors."Catherine, born in 1347, was 23rd child (a twin) of Jacopo and Lapa Benicasa of siena. When she came of age, her parents wanted her to marry but she insisted that she was betrothed to Christ. In anger, her parents insisted that she act as a servant to the rest of the family. Finally, her father relented and she was allowed to follow her mystic calling. She did not become a nun but joined the Third Order of St Dominic.
Catherine is famous for her Dialogues (written accounts of her revelations from God) and her Letters which initially gave spiritual instruction and encouragement, but gradually began to deal with public matters. Many of her letters were directed to popes, kings and othe public leaders.
These were the days of the Avignon Papacy, when the pope and his staff had moved from Rome to sourthern France. Catherine not only wrote to Pope Gregory XI, respectfully chiding him for leaving Rome, but in 1376 (she was 29 years old) visited him in Avignon and did the same.
Catherine died on this date in 1380 at the age of 33. In 1970, Pope Paul VI declared her a doctor of the Church.The Little White Book
This was just soooo much fun. We went to see it last night and had a grand time. It was entertaining and I was awed by the realism. Thank you, Neil. Grandpa and Grandma were glad you came to stay, because we got to see this movie.
When Erma Bombeck graduated from high school in 1944, she was determined to go to college and become a successful writer. She enrolled at Ohio University, but her future as a writer seemed bleak. Articles for the college newspaper were rejected, and she struggled to pass freshman composition. Discouraged, she enrolled at the University of Dayton.
Brother Tom Price, faculty advisor for the university magazine, invited here to do some humor pieces. Erma gave it a try and one day Brother Tom turned to her and said three key words which changed her live: "You can write."
Upon her 1940 graduation. Erma got a job at the Dayton Journal-Herald where she launched the career that would make her famous. Her column, based on her experience as a wife and mother, eventually spread to 900 newspapers.
While at the University of Dayton, Erma converted to Catholicism.The Little White Book
Baby Talk
by Father William M. Joensen
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service, but the same Lord; there are
different workings but the same God who produces all of them
in everyone.
[1Cor 12: 4-6]Good babysitters and daycare personnel come at a premium these days. There is something gifted about the person who can overcome the sadness and fear experienced when mom or dad drops a child off and steps away. Part of the task is to redirect the child's attention to something colorful, curious,entertaining in that moment--some partial good that can distract the child from his or her own sadness, the awareness of the absent good. There is something charismatic about the manner of a worthy babysitter, the creativity of a devoted daycare provider. Who they are is not a diversion, a surrogate, but a participation in--a reference to--the love and presence of the parent. Trust and peace are engendered not simply in the learned awareness that mom or dad will return at the end of the day; rather, because the caretaker allows the longing for reunion to be a source of expectation, hope, and joy.
The Spirit is no surrogate, but the alter ego for Christ's activity of mutual service, secure belonging, and enduring presence. The Spirit does not level difference into an uninflected monotone, but parses and punctuates gifts for the good of everyone who is to produce and partake in the varied activity of Spirit.
The one who seek to fill himself first ends up only being full of oneself. In contrast, our primary work is to be an ongoing refraction of the Spirit's sufficiency. We communicate the tenderness of God who is always present as parent, lover, friend. We realize that no one is meant to be more that a heartbeat away from the cadence of God's compassion, the embrace of mercy. Child of God care is the consecrated service produced in everyone generated by god--the God whose sameness is not something profane, but the point of departure for diverse gifts to be expressed.Spirit of the living God, your presence wells up in me as I will to witness on your behalf. Endow me with strength; counsel me with creativity and insight; grace my gestures and speech with your gentleness and love. do not abandon me, but draw me ceaselessly into the company of the Father and the son, the same God now and always.
One of my favorite movies was on TCM. Love the music. It's hard to say which of all the many musicals ever written are my truly favorites but this one is so much fun to watch! A couple others that have the same theme that come to mind are Oklahoma, The Unsinkable Molly Brown and Paint Your Wagon! What are your favorites?
~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!
Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?
Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection?
I never noticed this.
The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed
over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.
The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly
folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to
the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom
Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb,
and I don't know where they have put him!'
Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.
Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.
Was that important? Absolutely!
Is it really significant? Yes!
In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin,
you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day.
The folded napkin had to do with the Master and servant
and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.
When the servant set the dinner table for the Master,
he made sure that it was exactly the way the Master wanted it.
The table was furnished perfectly and then the servant would wait,
just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the Master was finished.
Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.
The servant would then know to clear the table.
For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.
But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table.
Because..........
The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'
He is Coming Back!! Be Blessed!!!~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his
mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother
"Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother."
(John 18:1-19; 42)None of the other three Gospels mention that any of the family of Jesus--or any of the disciples--were near the cross
But the Gospel of John has two family members there--Jesus' mother and his aunt. We seldom think of his aunt at the cross. She was probably there mostly for her sister, Mary, who she knew was having a hard time.
There they are. His mother, his aunt, the beloved disciple, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Each of them concerned about Jesus and about each other.
At Christmas, we are touched by the crib scene. On Good Friday, we should let ourselves be touched by the cross scene. The wood of the crib has become the wood of the cross.
Put yourself in the scene. Spend some time with the Lord...and with his mother, her sister, Mary Magdalene and the beloved disciple.The Little Black Book
Descending to FeetThe Last Supper picture of Jesus washing feet describes the process of incarnation, of spirit becoming flesh.
Jesus is aware "that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God" (John 13:2). This is his interior God-consciousness, in common with God and ready, in his very next action, to manifest God in whatever he does. All things are in his hands. He takes off his outer garment to reveal the inner self and, behold, he wraps a towel around his waist. The one whom the disciples know as Lord and Teacher is, in truth, a servant. Then he pours water into a basin. "Pouring" is how Spirit feels as it becomes flesh. It flows, coming from the inside to the outside. Then Jesus completes the action by washing and drying his disciple's feet. In other words, he refreshes their feet so that they might continue the journey of life.
What Jesus does, we can also do. We can share in his incarnation dynamics. First, we must realize that we are in communion with God and commissioned to manifest God's love in everything we do. Second, we must choose acts that have this revelatory potential, acts that get people back on the path to living the gospel. third, we must do in the flesh what we have conceived in the Spirit.
This may sound like drudgery and sacrifice, but it is not. Once you know you are a spiritual being becoming flesh through special acts of service, you will have found the joy that cannot be taken from you.Daybreaks, Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter
by John Shea
Music that touches the heart as we begin the journey into the Three Days of Ultimate Sacrifice, Salvation and Glory!
Seeking PeaceA poem by G. K. Chesterton tells the story of the donkey Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The lowly and misshapen donkey speaks the entire poem and, after three stanzas of self-flagellation, brags that he had his hour:
One far fierce hour and sweet
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.However, the glory of the donkey is not only his privileged role in salvation histroy. The irony goes much deeper. The lowly donkey is an unimposing ride, a symbol of peace. It is contrated with the horse. Triumphal entries were usually the stuff of generals who rode their warhorses through the gate of the conquered city. Jesus' entry in Jerusalem is a mock of military might.
"Peace" summarized Jesus' whole life and message and sets the tone for his passion. death, and resurrection. At his birth the angels sang about peace on earth, during his life Jesus promised his follower a peace the world could not give, and "Peace" was the first word of the resurrected Christ of his disciples. also, when Christian missionaries visited homes, they were supposed to say, "Peace." Many think if the Christian faith could be expressed in one word, it would be "peace."
But personal and collective peace is as elusive as it is prized. We find ourselves interiorly anxious and fearful. We watch as our world continues old wars and begins new wars. Peace is what we hunger for more that what we feed on. But the desire to be at peace--with ourselve, with others, with the universe, with God--never leaves our heart.Daybreaks, Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter
John Shea
Taking Up the CrossTaking up the cross comes with the territory of discipleship. Once we begin to be as compassionate and inclusive as Jesus, we rankle other people. They make moves against us and we begin to suffer.
At this moment, we are invited to adopt an attitude toward our suffering. Here is a teenager's rendition of how Jesus suggests we should act:
Jesus was no dummy. He sees the cross coming. Look at what he was doing! He's touching qll the unclean people, eating with outcasts, breaking up the temple money game, criticizing corruption. He wants a better world, but a lot of people are doing real well in the world as it is. They are not going to give up and fade away. This is notnew.
Now Peter--there's a dummy. Jesus lays it out for yim--the cross, the resurrection, the whoe thing--and he says, "No way."
Jesus is not happy.
So Jesus says to him, "Not only for me but you too, Peter."
So now Peter is not happy.
So Jesus tells him--and here's the thing I like--Jesus tells him, "Don't let them lay the cross on you, Peter. Take it up. Don't let them lay it on you. Take it up."
Wow! You gotta love Jesus for that.
When we know the price of following Jesus and are willing to pay it, the inevitable sufferings do not make us victims. We become provocative, taking into ourselves the cost of discipleship.~~~+~~~
Engage the struggle for a better world;
embrace the suffering that comes with it.
Juanita Fernandez Solar was born to a wealthy family on July 10 1900, in Santiago, Chile. Devoted to her faith and inspired by the autobiography of Saint Therese of Lisieux, she entered the cloistered community of the Discalced Carmelites ... She was given the name of Sister Therea of Jesus. Her deep spiritual life was revealed in the many letters she wrote while in the convent.
But Teresa's life as a religious was to be short. She died...less than a year later during Holy Week, on April 12, 1920, a few months before her 20th birthday.
She was canonized in 1993.
FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY
In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.
The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"
The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."
The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."
The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."
The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.'
Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."