Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

y

Why do some persevere and others do not?

There is a story from the Desert Fathers about a young monk who asked one of the holy men of the desert why it is that so many people came out to the desert to seek God and yet most of them gave up after a short time and returned to their lives in the city.

The old monk responded:

"Last evening my dog saw a rabbit running for cover among the bushes of the desert and he began to chase the rabbit, barking loudly. Soon other dogs joined the chase, barking and running. They ran a great distance and alerted many other dogs. Soon the wilderness was echoing the sounds of their pursuit but the chase went on into the night.

After a little while, many of the dogs grew tired and dropped out. A few chased the rabbit until the night was nearly spent. By morning, only my dog continued the hunt."

"Do you understand," the old man aid, "what I have told you?"

"No," replied the young monk, "I don't. Please help me with it."

"It is simple," said the desert father. "My dog saw the rabbit!"

The gift? A reminder to keep our souls focused on the important dimensions of life, on the purpose for which we have been born, on the gifts we are meant to give to others as life goes by. Otherwise we simply drift through life: one minute attracted by this; at another moment confused about what we're doing. Over the long haul, then, we become pilgrims without purpose, looking for what can't be found.

journey of great love or great suffering make us go deeper into our faith

Richard Rohr OFM on suffering and love:and eventually into what can only be called universal truth. Love

Any journey of great love or great suffering make us go deeper

into our faith and eventually into what can only be called universal truth.

Love and suffering are finally the same, because those

who love deeply are committing themselves to eventual suffering.

Those who suffer often become the greatest lovers..

al suffering.

St. John of the Cross says:

  “God refuses to be known; God can only be loved.”

Quote of St Bonaventure

Saint Bonaventure, a Franciscan who lived in the mid 1200s, wrote:

  "Every creature is the Word of God because every creature speaks to us of God."

Dag Hammarskjold:

"For all that has been, thanks; to all that will be, yes!"

Law of the Garbarge Truck Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so ... Love the people who treat you right.
Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a garbage-free day!

CHARTER OF COMPASSION

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

What dogs can teach us....

If you live by these dog rules, you will be a happier person!
There's a lot we humans can learn from dogs. If you live your life by the same philosophy that dogs do, you will be much better off in life. In the wild, animals fight only for two things, not a fancy car, not clothes or jewelry, they just fight for food or a mate, everything else they get after that is just pure happiness.

Life is.....

Life is too short to wake up with regrets..

So love the people who treat you right..

Forget about theones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said lifewould be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

All Saints

Life’s goal of everlasting life shines brightly in our Heroes, in our Saints – both “our He-roes

and our She-roes,” as I heard at Notre Dame Church in Clarendon Hills IL in 1974.  The Saints

were people like us who gave themselves to a life of love and service of God and others.  Some

Saints are truly extraordinary in what they did and how they lived.  Most saints are the ordinary folks like us and our families and friends – good people who did what they could do in the best way they could do it.  We all have our quirks and irritating ways, our weaknesses and our sinfulness. St Jerome, who translated the Bible for the first time from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, had a ferocious, fiery temper.  You would never want to get St Jerome angry.  That was his wound, his challenge, his graced-area of becoming a saint with God’s Grace.  We all have our wounds and sinfulness.  Some saints lived in solitude, others in the middle of every day family life.  Saints are those who when they fall, they always get up and continue on the journey.

Some were monks and others were married.  Some were old when they died and others were young. Blessed Pope John Paul II canonized four hundred and eighty-two saints in his 25 years as Pope - more than all the popes in the previous five hundred years. Why? To show the church and the world that every person is called to be a Saint and can become Saints by embracing God’s love and grace that is available to us all.  Be a Saint!  Be Holy! Be a wild and passionate Lover of God and others!

Question: Who are the saints who inspire you? Whom do you consider to be a Saint?  Why?  What qualities in others touch you? What can you do to become a saint? Do you want to become a saint?

All Souls

All Souls day reminds us and challenges us to rid ourselves of all that clogs up our hearts and minds that is not of God – hatred and jealousy, selfishness and indifference, prejudice and violence.

Our prayers reach out across the valley of death to assist the beloved dead as they continue on  their journey to the full embrace of God’s love.  God’s mercy is plentiful and available for each of us here and now and on the other side of death.  God’s “hesed” (Hebrew), God’s loving kindness and mercy await us each moment of our journey.  That Peace that we all desire to rejoice in forever is ours for the asking.   We pray that all of our beloved Dead open their hearts to God’s Hesed – our prayers help them open their hearts to receive God’s  love which frees and heals them.  Our faith gives birth to hope which in turn enables us to love, forever! 

Question: What values, attitudes, actions of ours need to be purified, changed, or let go of now? (If you do know, ask a friend or ask someone you live with.  They might have a few suggestions how you could change.)

We must “re-teach all things their loveliness.” That could be your one and only life calling!

Nominated For "Best Email Of The Year 2011"

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said:

'Let me see if I've got this right.
'You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.
'You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.
'You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a cheque book, and apply for a job.
'You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.
'You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.
'You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.

'You want me to do all this and then you tell me...

  I Can't Pray!

Christopher Columbus Day 2011

I Am An Italian-American

 
Next time you're watching a rerun of the Sopranos or watching the "Real" Housewives of New Jersey and think Italian Americans are all about organized crime remember this:

 
I am an Italian American

 
My roots are deep in an ancient soil, drenched by the Mediterranean sun, and watered by pure streams from snow capped mountains.

 
I am enriched by thousands of years of culture.

 
My hands are those of the mason, the artist, the man of the soil.

 
My thoughts have been recounted in the annals of Rome , the poetry of Virgil, the creations of Dante, and the philosophy of Benedetto Croce.

 
I am an Italian-American, and from my ancient world, I first spanned the seas to the New World . I am Cristoforo Colombo.

 
I am Giovanni Caboto known in American History as John Cabot, discoverer of the mainland of North America .

 
I am Amerigo Vespucci, who gave my name to the New World, America

First to sail on the Great Lakes in 1679, founder of the territory that became the State of Illinois , colonizer of Louisiana and Arkansas , I am Enrico Tonti.

 
I am Filippo Mazzei friend of Thomas Jefferson, and my thesis on the equality of man was written into the Bill of Rights.

 
I am William Paca, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

 
I am an Italian-American; I financed the Northwest Expedition of George Rogers Clark and accompanied him through the lands that would become Ohio , Indiana , Wisconsin and Michigan . I am Colonel Francesco Vigo.

 
I mapped the Pacific from Mexico to Alaska and to the Philippines , I am Alessandro Malaspina.

 
I am Giacomo Belinimi, discoverer of the source of the Mississippi River in 1823.

 
I created the Dome of the United States Capitol. They call me the Michelangelo of America. I am Constantino Brumidi.

 
In 1904, I founded in San Francisco , the Bank of Italy now known as the Bank of America, the largest financial institution in the world, I am A.P. Giannini.

 
I am Enrico Fermi, father of nuclear science in America .

 
I am Steve Geppi, founder of Diamond Comics, the largest distributorship of comics on the planet.

 
I am the first enlisted man to earn the Medal of Honor in World War II; I am John Basilone of New Jersey .

 
I am an Italian-American.

 
I am the million strong who served in America 's armies and the tens of thousands whose names are enshrined in military cemeteries from Guadalcanal to the Rhine .

 
I am the steel maker in Pittsburgh , the grower in the Imperial Valley of California, the textile designer in Manhattan , the movie maker in Hollywood , the homemaker and the breadwinner in over 10,000 communities.

 
I am an American without stint or reservation, loving this land as only one who understands history, its agonies and its triumphs can love and serve it.

 
I will not be told that my contribution is any less nor my role not as worthy as that of any other American.

 
I will stand in support of this nation's freedom and protect against all foes.

 
My heritage has dedicated me to this nation. I am proud of my heritage, and I shall remain worthy of it.

 
I am an Italian-American

Guide for Life

1] Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout. 

2] So a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rear view Mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, Look Ahead and Move on. 

3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write. 

4] All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either. 

5] Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base of Gold! 

6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end! 

7] When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities. 

8] A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!" 

9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you. 

10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES, it takes away today's PEACE. 

Internationa Day of Non-Violence: October 2nd

"There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no causes that I am prepared to kill for."

-Mahatma Gandhi

The International Day of Non-Violence is marked on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.

According to the General Assembly resolution passed in 2007 which established the commemoration, the International Day is an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness." The resolution reaffirms "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence."

 

"Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."

History of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Sacred Heart is the most famous religious devotion to Jesus’  physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity. The devotion especially emphasizes the unmitigated love, compassion, and long-suffering of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The origin of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a French Roman Catholic Visitation nun,  St Margaret Mary Alacoque, who said she learned the devotion from Jesus during a mystical experience. Previous references began in the Middle Ages.

The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian Art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, surrounded by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross and bleeding.. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to Jesus’ death, while the fire represents the transformative power of divine love.

Early devotion

From the time of St John the Evangelist and St Paul there has always been in the Church devotion to the love of God, but there is nothing to indicate that, during the first ten centuries of Christianity, any worship was rendered to the wounded Heart of Jesus. The first indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart are found in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. It was in the fervent atmosphere of the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries, in the writings and sermons of St Anselm and others, that the devotion arose. Devotion to the loving heart of Jesus was already well known to St Gertrude, St Mechtilde, and to our Franciscan Seraphic Doctor, St Bonaventure (+1274). From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, the devotion was everywhere practiced by individuals and by different religious congregations. Nothing of a general movement had been inaugurated, except for similarities found in the devotion to the Five Wounds by the Franciscans, in which the wound in Jesus' heart figured most prominently.  The Jesuits placed the image of the Sacred Heart on the title-page of their books and on the walls of their churches.

St John Eudes (1602–1680) made public devotion to the Sacred Heart, composed a Liturgy of the Hours, and established a feast. St John Eudes was the apostle of the Heart of Mary; but in his devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary he expressed great honor for the Heart of Jesus. Little by little, the devotion to the Sacred Heart became a separate devotion, and on August 31, 1670, the first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated in the Grand Seminary of Rennes, France. The feast soon spread to other dioceses, and the devotion was likewise adopted in various religious communities. It gradually came into contact with the devotion begun at Paray-le-Monial, and resulting in a fusion of the two.

Visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

The most significant source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart in the form it is known today was St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), who received visions of Jesus. There is nothing to indicate that she had known the devotion prior to the revelations to her. The revelations were numerous, and the following apparitions are especially remarkable:

• On December 27, 1673, the feast of St John, Margaret Mary reported that Jesus permitted her, as He had formerly allowed St Gertrude, to rest her head upon His Heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of His love, telling her that He desired to make them known to everyone and to diffuse the treasures of His goodness, and that He had chosen her for this work.
• In July, 1674, Margaret Mary claimed that Jesus requested that his Sacred Heart be honored with frequent reception of Communion, especially Communion on the First Friday of the month, and the observance of a Holy Hour.
• During the octave of Corpus Christi, on June 16, 1675, the vision known as the "great apparition" reportedly took place, where Jesus said, "Behold the Heart that has so loved all people... instead of gratitude I receive from most people only ingratitude ...". Jesus asked St Margaret Mary for a feast of reparation of the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, bidding her consult her confessor St Claude de Colombiere, the superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray-le-Monial.  The mission of propagating the new devotion was especially confided to the Sisters of the Visitation and to the priests of the Society of Jesus.

A few days after the "great apparition", St Margaret Mary reported everything she saw to Father de la Colombière, and he, acknowledging the vision as an action of the Spirit of God, consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart and directed her to write an account of the apparition. He also made use of every available opportunity to circulate this account through France and England. Upon his death on February 15, 1682, his journal of spiritual retreats was found which contained the account that he had requested of St Margaret Mary, together with a few reflections on the usefulness of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The death of St Margaret Mary Alacoque on October 17, 1690, did not dampen the zeal of those interested; on the contrary, a short account of her life published by Father Croiset in 1691, as an appendix to his book "De la Dévotion au Sacré Cœur", served only to increase it. The Vatican granted the feast of the Sacred Heart to the Visitation Sisters with the Mass of the Five Wounds. The devotion spread, particularly in religious communities. The plague in Marseilles, 1720, furnished perhaps the first occasion for a solemn consecration and public worship outside of religious communities. Other cities of the south or France followed the example of Marseilles, and thus the devotion became a popular one. In 1856, at the urgent entreaties of the French bishops, Blessed Pius IX extended the feast to the Roman Catholic Church..

Jesus Christ, in his appearances to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, promised these blessings to those who practice devotion to his Sacred Heart.

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
9. I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
12. In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in family homes is a Roman Catholic ceremony in which a priest or head of a household consecrates the members of the household to the Sacred Heart. A blessed image of the Sacred Heart, either a statue or a picture, is then "enthroned" in the home to serve as a constant reminder to those who dwell in the house of their consecration to the Sacred Heart. The practice of the Enthronement is based upon Pope Pius XII’s declaration that devotion to the Sacred of Jesus is "the foundation on which to build the kingdom of God in the hearts of individuals, families, and nations..." 

May this month of July that begins with the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus be a month of blessings and healing for you and your families, for the Church and the world through the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother by the Holy Ghost.
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God.
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High.
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven.
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity.
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise.
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received.
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy.
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness.
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our iniquities.
Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints.

Feast of Sts Thomas More and John Fisher, June 22, 2011

Today's Scripture Readings for this feast of the two English Martyrs of St Thomas More

and Bishop St John Fisher, continue the story of Abram and of the Sermon on the Mount,

Chapter 7 of the great Chapters 5-6-7.  Like the two Saints martyred by Henry VIII of England

because they would not turn their backs, hearts, and minds from the truth and faith of Rome,

Abram made a covenant with God, or better, Abram agreed to the covenant that God offered

Abram and thus trusted the God who called him by name.  God asked Abram to spilt several

animals, except for the birds, and lay them on the ground, each side of the same animal facing

the other side.  Then God as seen as fire passed through the sacrificed animals.  Abram thus

agreed that if he was not faithful to trusting in God, the same sacrifice could be made of him.

If Abram would be faithful to God, his childless marriage would be blessed with millions of

offspring. 

Thomas More and John Fisher martyred, i.e, witnessed to their faith in God by saying yes

to being imprisoned in the Tower of London and to being beheaded.  They would not break

the Covenant that God made with them in Baptism, in Ordination, in Marriage - the Covenant

that they said yes to with their whole hearts and minds and souls.  All the threats and promises

of the King, all the pleading of family and friends - nothing distracted them from their Yes to

God.  May their intercession and prayers strengthen us to be every faithful to our covenants

and commitments.

Today is the 50th anniversary of my first professions, of me taking simple vows of Poverty,

Chastity and Obedience, after the year of Novitiate in Teutopolis IL.  I knelt in from of the

Provincial Fr Dominic Limacher OFM and committed myself to living the Gospel Life as a

Friar Minor.  Fifty years later, I am still trying to say yes to this calling.  Always a new challenge,

a new insight, a new grace, a new difficulty, a new awakening. What a grand journey it has been

and continues to be.  Could not have done it without my brothers in the Order. 

With God's grace, ever onward!

A 90 year old Franciscan Sister shared this with me:

Live Simply!  Love Generously!

Care deeply!  Speak kindly!

Leave the rest to God!

Birthdays and your Age

The real question is: How old would you be if you did not know how old you really are!

Wise Words:

"The only question in life is whether or not your are going to answer a hearty 'Yes!" to your adventure."

                       - Joseph Campbell

"There are two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle."

                       - Albert Einstein

Values and Decisions

When your values are clear to you,

making decisions becomes easier. -- Roy Disney

What can our enemies teach us?

In the spiritual life, your enemies are your best friends.

That's why Jesus makes his most daring commandment

that you must love your enemies (Luke 6:27). Until you allow

the enemy at the gate to come in, allowing the "not-me" to enter your world,

you'll never be able to face your sin, your dark side, nor will you love others at any deep level.

People who turn you off, people you're afraid of, have a message for you.

We reject and hate our own faults in others, for some strange reason.

I'm not saying you have to go out and become best friends with people

who threaten you, but you should put up your antennae:

they're triggering something within you—about you. You need them.

Commitment to Joy  by Richard Rohrer, OFM

We have committed ourselves to joy.  We have come to realize that those who make space for joy,

those who prefer nothing to joy, will most assuredly have it. 

To be a Christian is to be “burdened” with joy, a joy that you cannot explain,

and you know you did not work for, yet continually from nowhere it bubbles up.

We must not be afraid to share it with immigrants, slum dwellers, saddened prisoners, angry prophets. 

Now and then we must even announce it to ourselves. 

In this prison of now, in this cynical and sophisticated age,

Christians must believe in joy or they do not believe in the God of Jesus.

"Those who can't hear the music think the dancer quite mad."   Anonymous

"Your mind is like a garden. If you plant seeds of love, compassion, truth and integrity, then you reap the rewards. If you choose not to plant anything, then weeds will overrun your garden; the weeds of hate, anger, negative thoughts and actions."       Barry Gottlieb in Every Day is a Gift

A JOYFUL MIND

Joy and mind. Those are not words that you would normally put together, but they inspired the eleventh-century Richard of St. Victor, a Scottish canon teaching in Paris, and became the themes of his two books on the contemplative mind, Benjamin Major and Benjamin Minor. The titles are taken from one obscure passage from Psalm 68:27, where “Benjamim” is described as leading a procession into the temple in mentis excessu, which was translated as “with a joyful mind” or “with an ecstatic mind.” This made me ask:

What might a joyful mind be?

When your mind does not need to be right.

When you no longer need to compare yourself with others.

When you no longer need to compete—not even in your own head.

When your mind can be creative, but without needing anyone to know.

When you can live in contentment with whatever the moment offers.

When you do not need to analyze or judge things in or out, positive or negative.

When your mind does not need to be in charge, but can serve the moment with gracious and affirming information.

When your mind follows the intelligent lead of your heart.

When your mind is curious and interested, not suspicious and interrogating.

When your mind does not “brood over injuries.”

When you do not need to humiliate, critique, or defeat those who have hurt you—not even in your mind.

When your mind does not need to create self-justifying story lines.

When your mind does not need the future to be better than today.

When your mind can let go of obsessive or negative thoughts.

When your mind can think well of itself, but without needing to.

When your mind can accept yourself as you are, warts and all.

When your mind can surrender to what is.

When your mind does not divide and always condemn one side or group.

When your mind can find truth on both sides.

When your mind fills in the gaps with “the benefit of the doubt” for both friend and enemy.

When your mind can critique and also detach from the critique.

When your mind can wait, listen, and learn.

When your mind can live satisfied without resolution or closure.

When your mind can forgive and actually “forget.”

When your mind can admit it was wrong and change.

When your mind can stop judging and critiquing itself.

When you don’t need to complain or worry to get motivated.

When you can observe your mind contracting into self-preservation or self-validation, and then laugh or weep over it.

When you can actually love with your mind.

When your mind can find God in all things.

House Rules

 If you make a mess, clean it up.

If you break it, fix it.

If you took it out, put it back.

If it’s not yours, leave it alone.  If it is yours, take care of it.

Mind your own business.

Get the job done.  Do the job right.

Be good to the neighbors.

Get along with your family.

Don't make anyone else listen to your radio or stereo.(They've got their own music.)

Don’t leave your garbage in the refrigerator

.Don’t leave your garbage, period.

Criticize fairly, answer honestly.

Always be as beautiful as you can be. Really.

Ask little.

Forgive much.

Initiate Kindness.

Smile more.

See beauty everywhere.

After all, you are beautiful in the eyes of God.

20 THINGS   TO  REMEMBER   1. Faith is the ability to not panic.   2. If you worry, you didn't pray.. If you prayed don't worry.   3. As a child of God, prayer is like calling home everyday.   4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.   5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.   6. Do the math. Count your blessings.   7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.   8. Dear God: I have a problem. It's me.   9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.   10. Laugh every day- it's like inner jogging.   11. The most important things in your home are the people.   12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.   13. There is no key to happiness.. The door is always open.   14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.   15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.   16. We do not  remember days but moments. Life moves too fast so enjoy your precious moments.   17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it; otherwise it's hearsay.   18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.   19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out it's neck.   20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.  Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.   AND FINALLY......   No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of another and make a big difference. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well

Someone once said …

Give God what's right -- not what's left.

Man's way leads to a hopeless end -- God's way leads to an endless hope.

A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.

People generally don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care.

In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma--but never let him be the period.

Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a faith-lift.

When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.

Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.

We don't change God's message -- His message changes us.

The church is prayer-conditioned.

What God ordains, He sustains.

WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.

Plan ahead -- It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.

Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

Exercise daily -- walk with the Lord.

Never give the devil a ride -- he will always want to drive.

Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.

Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

He who angers you controls you.

Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.

Give Satan an inch & he'll be a ruler.

Be ye fishers of men -- you catch them & He'll clean them.

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Read the Bible -- It will scare the hell out of you.

BIBLE - Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
Don't let your worries get the best of you, remember, Moses started out as a basket case!
Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited - until you try to sit in their pew.
It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.
The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come pretty close.
When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.
People are funny. They want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.
Opportunity may knock once, but temptation leans on the bell.
Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn't belong.
The phrase that is guaranteed to wake up the congregation: "And in conclusion..."
If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.
God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you?
To make a long story short, don't tell it.
Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
Peace starts with a smile. Go out there and start something: Smile!
I don't know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from?
A lot of church members who are singing "Standing on the Promises" are just sitting on the premises.
We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.

If you don't want to go to church with all those hypocrites, doesn't that mean a hypocrite is standing between you and God?
Outside of traffic, there is nothing that holds this country back as much as committees.
Be ye fishers of men. You catch them - He'll clean them.
Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.
Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.
Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.
Forbidden fruits create many jams.
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
God grades on the cross, not the curve.
God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit" over "religious nuts."
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
He who angers you, controls you!
If God is your copilot - swap seats!
The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.
The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you.
We don't change the message, the message changes us.
You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to... discourage him.
The best mathematical equation I have ever seen: 1 cross + 3 nails = 4given.
If you are going to pray for rain, bring an umbrella. If you are going pray for peace, bring your neighbor.

Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.

I live in my own little world. But it's OK ... they know me here.

I don't approve of political jokes... I've seen too many of them get elected.

The most precious thing we have is life..... Yet it has absolutely no trade-in value.

Life is our greatest treasure because it is given to us expressly for the purpose of losing it, and how well we do that is what makes all the difference.

I am a nobody, and nobody is perfect; therefore I am perfect. But first let me ask my wife.

Everyday I beat my own previous record for number of consecutive days I've stayed alive.

If carrots are so good for the eyes, how come I see so many dead rabbits on the highway?

How come we choose from just two people to run for president but 50 for Miss America?

If you can remain calm, then you just don't have all the facts.

Snowmen fall from the heavens unassembled.

If you really knew as much as you think you know, you'd know it's not enough.