Gratitude & Thanksgiving

Such a refreshing look... "if you are exhausted about your heart's obsession with the fixed past and your mind's focus on the uncertain future your lungs are the perfect place for you read on....

Discernment is the mother of all virtues;  everyone needs it either to guide the lives of others,  or to direct and reform his own life.     W e could see clearly through any action of ours,  or into our entire lives,  if we had a simple eye.    A simple eye is an eye,  and it is simple.  This then, is discernment.

  Consolidating and re-sharing the set of semons given by Rev Fr Bobby recently.   Together, they give a wonderful perspective of sufferings in our lives, the posture we ought to have, the importance of the Word of God, and how we overcome the evil one who uses adversity to negate God in our lives.   It is never about what we expect, what we want, what we need to control.  It is about how generosity - in thanksgiving, forgiving and alms-giving - is the antidote to so many ills in our lives.  And that peace & joy is attainable just because Jesus is THE source of our joy and peace, not anything or anyone else. May you be blessed just as I am by these gems. Part 1 - Suffering Video: https://youtu.be/LGRh7r9rlBY Notes: https://gratitu de-thanksgiving.blogspot.com/2023/03/notes-taken-homily-given-by-rev-fr.html Part 2 - Mercy Video: https://youtu.be/hc9CfnAZvOM Notes: https://gratitude-thanksgivi ng.blogspot.com/2023/03/notes-taken-homily-given-by-rev-fr_15.htm...

Thanksgiving, Forgiving, Alms giving. God's nature is giving. Give cheerfully. Seek the Giver of all gifts.

  In the Word of God we find peace. Peace is not the absence of problems. Peace is the presence of Jesus. Peace is already given to us. Praise is mandatory for peace. Jesus is the source of peace.

A person who has the Word of God inside will slowly find every emotional problem healed.  If we operate from God's Word, we will find success. When the Word of God comes, everything changes. Anointing comes with the word of God. Love for the Word of God can change lives.

We all sin. We survive on the mercy of God. Do not take mercy for granted. Divine mercy will not come to our rescue when we stop giving mercy to others

In suffering, we find treasure. Every suffering is a time to listen to God. Every suffering is an invitation. Accept our suffering. Surrender our suffering.

    Our waiting has a meaning. We are waiting with a purpose. We know who is coming. and we know the significance of why he is coming.

  Whatever the Lord requires of us. Whatever Jesus wants of us. Not I will, but what the Father will. What Jesus will. What the Holy Spirit will.  

With eyes of faith, we see truth. Without eyes of faith, we question and become cynical.

  God takes our valley of A'chor and transforms it into a door of hope. In our guilt and shame, Lord, you meet us in reconciliation.

We are tempted to forget. We need to write down. we need to stack up the stones. We need to remember.

  Received grace gratiously. To remember. To learn. To pass it on.  

Repentance is necessary before the benefits can flow

  Blessedness means.... serene, joy, contentment flow... want it, seek it, desire it, ask for it.

There is no harvest without death. We must fall to the ground. We must lose our life in this world. we must follow Jesus' footsteps.

How do we respond when we are in a situation  where we are poor and helpless,  down and out? How have we been responding when we meet the Lazaruses in our life?

Growing old. Letting go. Grace.

The small hyphen on our tombstones represent the journey how we have lived how we will be remembered. Today’s Gospel was from John 17:20-26 and Deacon Clement, in His homily, touched on death.   He spoke about what is typically inscribed on tombstones - the date of birth, the date of death, and the small hyphen in between . He offered that the two dates do not matter as much as that small dash in between the dates - what is most important is the hyphen.   For the hyphen represents the person’s journey of life -   how he had lived his life and what  he will be remembered for. It is not about wealth or health, the number of houses or the types of cars he owned, nor where he had traveled to…. The hyphen represents the kind of life he lived - the kindness, love and compassion he shared, the family, friendships and bonds he fostered and the difference he made to the lives of others. In our lives today, are we making a positive difference to those around us.  Will our...

Blessedness does not only mean receiving good things.  If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we cannot be just spectators in life. 

We give you praise for the Scripture we do not understand. We give you praise for the mystery that is You.

      Are we making ourselves so busy that we do not have time to think about God? Have we made ourselves slaves to doing? Have we set up an unmanageable pace for ourselves?

 the wisdom from above  s first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield,  full of mercy and good fruits,  without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy

  Pope’s prayer intentions for 2022 JANUARY 2022 - For true human fraternity We pray for all those suffering from religious discrimination and persecution; may their own rights and dignity be recognized, which originate from being brothers and sisters in the human family. FEBRUARY 2022 - For religious sisters and consecrated women We pray for religious sisters and consecrated women; thanking them for their mission and their courage; may they continue to find new responses to the challenges of our times.   MARCH 2022 - For a Christian response to bioethical challenges We pray for Christians facing new bioethical challenges; may they continue to defend the dignity of all human life with prayer and action.   APRIL 2022 - For health care workers We pray for health care workers who serve the sick and the elderly, especially in the poorest countries; may they be adequately supported by governments and local communities.   MAY 2022 - For faith-filled youn...

  Joy is a state of being independent of passing situations.   Joy is sustained by the truth of God

Keep our eyes on Jesus. Be fixated on the Lord.

Today's Gospel reading is the passage from Mark 6:45-52 - Jesus walks on water Fr Michael Payyapilly from the Holy Family Church in Doveton, Australia gave a homily that resonates so much with me, affirming the disposition and approach to adopt as we take our problems to our Father in prayer. I have transcribed his homily here, and also sharing the link on You-tube at the end of this transcription. 

Noting down some gems I am reading…. When someone would ask Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta what they could do to serve,  she was known for taking the person’s hand and touching each finger, she would say,  You-did-it-to-me. I was hungry  and you gave me to eat,  I was naked  and you clothed me,  I was sick  and you visited me.  Whatever you did  to the least of my brethren,  you did it to me. Mt 25:31 Pope Francis said  We are to be  heralds of mercy .  Especially at a moment  full of great hopes  and signs of contradiction,  to introduce everyone to the great mystery of God’s mercy by contemplation of the Face of Christ. ” To love God and neighbor is not something abstract, but profoundly concrete: it means seeing in every person the face of the Lord to be served, to serve him concretely .” Jesus gives us two faces, and  actually only one real face, that of God reflected in many faces, because in t...

                                      Recent events and chats with friends prompted me to more consistently pursue my exercise regime - walks and cycling.  So, I have been looking out for, and inviting walking companions but none readily agreed.  At dinner one of these evenings with old friends, one of them inspired me with her daily hour long morning walks.  Before bed that night, I decided I would go ahead albeit by myself.  I set the alarm for 7am. I woke up on time and set off for the walk alone.    As soon as I started the walk, my heart thanked the Lord for the beautiful morning and the peace.     I prayed the morning prayer with an audio app, which took 18 beautiful minutes.     Then I listened to the day's scripture readings.   I had reached Frankel by then, witnessing the neighbourhood "waking up".  I  decided to p...