Passing on the Faith

8-21-17

2710

Good Morning,

From today's First Reading (Judges 2:12):

"They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken".

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Reflection on above from --Living With Christ--- Today's Good News --- by Steve Givens:

"Parents have always struggled with the issue of 'passing on the faith' to their children. In this age of multimedia competition for the minds, hearts, and souls of our children, where do we start? Although receiving a formal religious education is important, perhaps the best starting point for nurturing their faith is to NURTURE OUR OWN. Religion is 'more caught than taught,' and what we do speaks much louder than what we say. When our children and grandchildren see us praying or hear us talking about our faith, we touch a part of their minds and souls that education and preaching never can. When they see us react with kindness and love in a situation where anger and hatred could easily seize the day, we teach them the power of God in our lives. Jesus, nurture my faith so that my children (grandchildren) and others will see you in me."Peace,Grandpazach 

The Tough get Tougher

8-20-18

2711

Good Morning,

From Living Faith:

"Jesus relies on us to imagine the kingdom of God, on earth as in heaven. MANY ADULTS HAVE GIVEN UP. With the world in the shape it's in, we can become exhausted just thinking of what we must accomplish to make it so. Ordinary human beings sharing their faith regularly will undoubtedly change the world.Peace,Grandpazach 

The "Monk" in all of Our Lives

8-19-17

2712

Good Morning,

I love reading my " Spiritual" books and sometimes the smallest ones come up with lines that really hit home with me.

Here's a couple quotes from-- Meditations (On the Monk Who Dwells in Daily Life) by Thomas Moore:

"Withdrawal from the world is something we can, and should, do every day. I especially enjoy such ordinary retreats from the active life as shaving, showering, reading, doing the dishes, walking, listening to the radio, driving a car. All of these activities can turn one's attention inward toward contemplation. 

     Mundane withdrawal from the busyness of an active life can create a spirituality-without-walls.

Anything is material for retreat--- cleaning out a closet, giving away some books, taking a walk around the block, clearing your desk, TURNING OFF THE TELEVISION SET, saying no to an invitation to anything. 

At the sight of nothing, THE SOUL REJOICES!

Peace,

Grandpazach 

Thanks for my Vocation, Lord

8-18-17

2713

Good Morning,

A couple of wonderful lines from The Word Among Us:

"Spend some time today considering your vocation. Thank God for the call he has given you. Thank him too for being faithful to you as you strive to live out that call. Then ask him to show you one particular way to express your faithfulness today. Maybe it's a little note of encouragement and love for your spouse. Maybe it's a gesture of support to a priest or a sister religious who is going through a rough patch. Maybe God will show you something you are free to do because you haven't arrived at a place of permanent commitment. Whatever it is, rejoice and DO IT!!

'Father, you are always faithful. Thank you for inviting and enabling me to live out a noble heavenly 

vocation.' "

Peace,

Grandpazach 

Be Yourself

8-17-17

2714

Good Morning,

A few words from Monk Thomas Merton on being whom God meant you to be:

"Many poets are not poets for the same reason that many religious men are not saints: they never succeed in being themselves. They never get around to being the particular poet or the particular monk they are intended to be by God. They never become the man or the artist who is called for by all the circumstances of their individual lives.

They waste their years in vain efforts to be some other poet, some other Saint. For many absurd reasons, they are convinced that they are obliged to become somebody else who died two hundred years ago and who lived in circumstances utterly alien to their own.

Peace,

Grandpazach

Religious and Civic Responsibilities

8-16-17

2015

Good Morning,

Feast: St.Stephen  of Hungary (975-1038)

Exactly 1000 years ago he was building the great country of Hungary, 1500 years ago St.Benedict was writing the Rule and starting the Benedictines, 2000 years ago Jesus was a teenager living with Mary and Joseph learning how to be a carpenter.

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A few words about St. Stephen from the Word Among Us:

"Born as Vaik to the ruling Magyar family, when he and his father were baptized, he was named Stephen. He succeeded his father and attempted to unit the Magyars. He obtained Pope Sylvester II's political support and established the Church in Hungary. He trained clergy, built churches, and was known for his concern for the poor. He was canonized in 1083.

Like him, may we discover ways to UNITE our religious and civic responsibilities."

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Today's First Reading speaks of the final days of Moses--- here's a short Reflection from Give Us This Day Titled:  Titled--- Living on the Edge

"Moses has brought his people out of Egypt, having gone through so much with them. Here he is now on the banks of the Jordan River looking over at the Ptomised Land but not being able to personally enter it. No....he can just look at it: 'I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.' So there, at the ripe old age of 120, Moses dies, ' his eyes undimmed, his vigor vigor unabated'! Though only at the edge of the Promised Land, Moses had experienced fullness of life, the inevitable consequence of fidelity to the laws and ways of God.

     Now, if only we could live and die as Moses did, with incredible faith in God to lead THE WAY in the Journey of Life, giving it our best, yet knowing we will die without fully reaching those earthly goals that we had set out to attain. To live with our eyes undimmed, our vigor unabated, regardless, of our age.

To live with the PASSION of Moses. What's holding us back.

God's unabated live for us sent Jesus to lead us all on a JOURNEY of the heart, to awaken us to the Promised Land in which we already live, the Kingdom of God.

We cross over to listen to the sister or brother who has wronged us and choose God's way of forgiveness and reconciliation. 

We are called by God to live each moment with the love of Jesus, to die reconciled with all our brothers and sisters, at peace within our families, our communities, our Church, and our world. What's holding us back"?

Sister Karen Joseph 

(Karen Joseph is a member of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana, where she serves in spirituality ministry.

Peace,

Grandpazach 

Mary's Life - True Way to Greatness

8-15-17

2716

Good Afternoon,

Feast: The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary

--- May I share parts of a number of Reflections about this Very Special Lady. Thanks.

From The Magnificat:

"Our Lady 'knows our hearts, can hear our prayers, can help us with her motherly kindness. She always listens to us and, being the Mother of the Son, participates in the power of the Son and in his goodness. We can always entrust the whole of our lives to this mother.' "

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From St. John Paul II:

"Dear brothers and sisters, however dark the shadows that sometimes gather on the horizon and however incomprehensible certain events may appear to be in human history, we must never lose trust and peace. Today's feast invites us to entrust ourselves to Mary assumed into heaven, who, like a shining star from heaven, directs our daily journey on earth.

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From the Word Among Us:

"By saying yes to God's plan, Mary had the privilege of participating in the salvation of the entire human race!

We can achieve much in this life, and of course, God wants us to aim high. But like Mary, we also have to recognize when God has given us something great and thank him for it. 

Today, try to make Mary's words your own: 'My spirit rejoices in God my Savoir' (Luke 1:47) If you are angry someone or if you are unhappy with your situation or if someone has hurt you recently, believe that Jesus is still with you, offering you divine wisdom. Remember that he has secured a place in his eternal kingdom just for you. Ask him to help you see your situation through his eyes of mercy, kindness, and grace.

'Lord, I put aside my worries, and I rejoice in you. Help me to praise you for all that you have done for me.' "

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From Living Faith:

"There are those of us who aspire to accomplish great things in life. Through great effort, perseverance and a generous measure of talent, astounding things can indeed be achieved. What may be considered the finest  fruits of human effort are ultimately enshrined in a trophy case or on a wall. This is all well and good.

BUT THRRE IS MORE TO GREATNESS. And the 'more' has to do with those considered the least and most lowly among us. The Feast of the Assumption of Mary offers us an insight in God's startling reversal of the ways we tend to perceive greatness. In and through Mary, he raises the lowly and humble to himself. Human effort can indeed produce wonders. But God's ways of creating the miraculous within us ask that we forgo our worldly perceptions of the great and risk trusting him and learning from Mary's 'yes.' "

Peace,

Grandpazach 

Photos:

Stopped by Marytown last night for a quick visit ---

a very special and peaceful place.--- includes a photo of St. Maximilian Kolbe ( it was his Feast Day yesterday and the Franciscans have a National Shrine dedicated to him at Marytown)