Gratitude & Thanksgiving

  All that we have comes from God. What can we offer to Him that is ours to give? THE BEST GIFT FOR OUR HEAVENLY FATHER - "Be cheerful, anyway."

  We are being trained by Christ for excellence and victory in love. If we are addicted to comfort, productivity, or sleep, or physical pleasure, or even health, that means we wont be able to sacrifice these things in order to serve the people we need to serve.  Or to be purified and strengthened in our souls to be receive a greater union with God. We need to accept the sufferings in our lives that God allows, it is the necessary strengthening, purifying and toughening that make it possible for us to love God more excellently. Excerpt from Daily Rosary Meditation. [https://www.dailyrosarymeditations.com/]  Please feel free to share.

Are we ready to let God "order" our lives and say to Him, “Surprise me”?  This post is adapted from Daily Rosary Meditation. [https://www.dailyrosarymeditations.com/]  Please feel free to share. SURPRISES We want surprises, but we want good surprises. We are designed for surprise, surprises make us happy....but only good surprises.  To allow ourselves to be surprised, we have to believe that good surprises are coming.  And that demands trust.

In his letter to the Philippians, St Paul writes:  I do not complain because I have learnt that in whatever state I am, to always be content.   I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich.   I have been through my initiation, now I am ready for anything, anywhere, full stomach or empty, poverty or plenty, there is nothing I cannot master with the help of the one who gives me strength.  

The theological values of Faith, Hope and Charity - they are gifts from God to those who have accepted his offer of sonship.  Through the theological virtues, we get to share in God's knowledge & God's love and we desire to strive to be in union with Him.\ Transcript -  TO BE CHOSEN We are not automatically God’s children by birth. We become His children by adoption through Baptism. God is God. We are creatures. God has graciously chosen to adopt us as His own , into His life and His love by Baptism. WAITING TO BE A CHILD OF GOD There is a difference between being a child of God , and waiting to become a child of God . Suppose a couple has visited an orphanage, chosen a child to adopt, and is in the process of filling out the paperwork and paying the fees. Of course, the couple loves that child, has chosen that child, and wants that child to be part of their family and to share in their life. But until it’s official, until the orphanage releases the child and the coup...

Fortitude is a virtue.  I t is one of four cardinal virtues.   It is also known as courage or bravery. Fortitude is about overcoming fear in order to do the right thing,  even when we do not want to. Fortitude prompts us to take action,  to keep going ,   even w hen we’re threatened by significant suffering and loss.   Because we know that the good we are pursuing  and protecting  is more important than the good we are risking. Transcript -  FEAR FEAR OF DEATH The primary human fear is the fear of death because death represents the loss of every created good, everything in this world. That’s why our Lord says that no one has greater love than this, to lay down his life for his friend. Because in laying down our lives, we are laying down all earthly goods at our disposal. So to be really brave, we can’t be dominated by a fear of death. If we are, then as the book of Hebrews says, we will be kept in slavery to the devil all our lives....

JUSTICE AND RELATIONSHIPS Am I a good person? Am I just? Justice is about giving people what you owe them and not taking away what they have a right to. When we do that, the result is good relationships. So, justice is the virtue that makes good relationships. Transcript -  THREE KINDS OF JUSTICE The Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions three kinds of justice: Commutative Distributive General

The below extracted from Daily Rosary Meditation gives a summary of the messages revealed to the three children at Fatima over six months of 1917.   It sets out also the actions we can take to partake in the mission.