Homeward Bound St. John Bosco

"The longer you stay away from Communion, the more your soul will become weak, and in the end you will become dangerously indifferent." -St. John Bosco

Why do we neglect the Mass when it is so powerful in assisting us in our every need?
Is it because we lack knowledge,faith, perseverance,and love? Maybe, we hope to take pride in ourselves and our own accomplishments. Decieved into thinking we have no time or no need for Sunday Mass or even daily Mass, we unknowingly reject the love of God and His means of assisting us. St. John Baptist de la Salle says;
"The Eucharist is necessary to preserve the soul in the spiritual life of grace; for the soul, like the body, becomes gradually exhausted, if care is not taken to repair its strength."
Dear God help us not to get so busy and distracted by the cares of this world that we forget your care, love and saving power for us in the Blessed Sacrament.Amen

An Unhappy Anniversary

52,008,666 Babies Aborted Since Roe v.Wade, January 22, 1973
Prayer to the Virgin Mary

O Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all, we turn to you today as the one who said "Yes" to Life. "You will conceive and bear a Son," the angel told you. Despite the surprise and the uncertainty about how this could be, you said yes. "Be it done unto me according to your word."
Mary, we pray today for all mothers who are afraid to be mothers. We pray for those who feel threatened and overwhelmed by their pregnancy. Intercede for them, that God may give them the grace to say yes and the courage to go on. May they have the grace to reject the false solution of abortion. May they say with you, "Be it done unto me according to your word." May they experience the help of Christian people, and know the peace that comes from doing God's will. Amen.
http://www.priestsforlife.org/prayers/prayertomary.html
Woman need love, not abortions!

How to Pray?

Pray as Mary, the mother of Jesus prayed.
..."She whom the Almighty made "full of grace" responds by offering her whole being: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to Thy word". "Fiat": this is Christian prayer: to be wholly Gods' because He is wholly ours. [CCC 2617]

"How to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any way you like, so long as you do pray."
--Pope John Paul II

Prayer

"Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness."

-- St. John Chrysostom

WISHING YOU A BLESSED NEW YEAR

"...so as one year ends and another begins, never forget that you are a child of God. Never forget that you are wrapped in his love, enfolded in his plan, and held close to his heart. He who is from all eternity has divine wisdom to guide you as you face the challenges of 2011. No matter what comes your way. Jesus Christ,the Word of God,has taken on human flesh. He came to dwell among us centuries ago, and he is still dwelling among us today." A meditation based on 1 John 2:18-21 froim FIVE MINUTES WITH THE WORD ADVENT 2010, CALL 1-800-775-9673 TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE WORD AMOUNG US. DAILY MEDITATIONS

O Come Let Us Adore Him

O Come Let Us Adore Him
The journey of the first Christmas included traveling, waiting, fighting the crowds, plans and preparations that were thwarted by the need to register to pay taxes. We all can relate to this, after all, it almost sounds like a modern day at the mall during Advent.
Mary's and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem included not only joy but frustration, rejection, poverty, and trials.
But then there was that “Silent Night” when the heavens were opened and the Christ child was revealed to the world.
And yes, there was the Epiphany! (Matthew 2:1-12 )
How we all long to experience an epiphany with God! But are we willing to recognize that it takes time and work? In order to find Christ, the Three Kings and the Shepherds had to engage in a journey which involved time, sacrifice, faith and trials. Are we willing, like the Wiseman, to sacrifice in order to prepare our hearts for Christ?
Like the wisemen we have been given a star to guide us; The light of the church is there to guide us to Christ, who is waiting for us in the tabernacle and in the Sacraments. How will we respond to the Good News of Christmas? Can we respond with the shepherds, who upon hearing the Good News said: "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."?
The good news is Jesus is in the Tabernacle in our Catholic Churches. Let us go to Eucahristic Adoration and SEE.

JOY

"Only When God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is ...There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by this encounter with Jesus Christ. THere is nothing more beautiful than to know HIm and to speak to others of our friendship with Him" Pope, Benedict XVI

The Mass

"If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy." ~ Saint Jean Vianney~
"There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us." ~ Saint Jean Vianney~
"It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass. " ~St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), stigmatic priest~

Morning Prayer

I will raise myself up from this bed of sleep to adore my God and to labour for the salvation of my soul. Oh, may I rise on the last day to life everlasting!

Taken from a Manuel of Catholic Devotions Imprimatur May 3 1900, Archbiship Michael Augustine

Never Give Up

"Don’t let your weakness, faults, and sins deter you. Repent and get up again and again. You honor the Lord by such fidelity, and there is no limit to His patience and His forgiveness. May God bless you and lead you day by day. May the Christ of the Gospels capture your heart and your mind in such a way that you will never be the same.” - Sister Ann Shields

Dependence on God

"The disciples came to Jesus and said, " Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, And said truly I say to you, unless you are converted, And become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me."

A little child completely trusts His Father to care for him. A little child is completely dependant on his father for all his needs.
Are we willing to admit that we need God? Can we trust Him like a little child?

Choose life!

Autumn

Change is in the air. The leaves are turning, changing falling. I have often reflected on how beautiful the leaves are just before they die. There is something so peacefull about watching the leaves fall gracefully and effortlessly to the ground. It makes me think about the paradox of the cross, that it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Change
Leaves falling in beautiful golds and reds,
Dying
While we give thanks for life
And reap the harvest;
Beautiful, mystical fall.

St Therese of Lisieux

"Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity."

"Jesus, help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be - and becoming that person."

- St Therese

"St Therese of Lisieux was born in Alencon, France in 1873. ...
During her short lifetime St Therese sought to approach God through a path of simplicity and love. She developed a path know as “the little way” The philosophy she developed was. to do the ordinary things of life with great love and attention.

“You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love at which we do them”

St Therese died of tuberculosis at the early age of 24. However her writings were published after her death and have inspired. St Therese is often associated with the rose as she had a particular fondness for roses and often roses appeared in miracles attributed to St Therese after he death." info found on
http://www.writespirit.net/spirituality/women-saints/st_therese_lisieux

To Tell the Truth

"There is nothing more important than Truth"
- Mother Theresa
The Truth sets us free to Love.
Mother Theresa also said
"Faith in Action is Love"
"Love in Action is Service"

Our Lord Jesus is the Way,the Truth and the Life. He showed us love in action his entire life. On this feast day of the exhaltation of the Holy Cross I give thanks to Jesus for is mercy and love poured upon us from His Cross. When I Gaze upon the cross and see that suffering has power and meaning it gives me strength. Suffering  need not lead us to despair but to hope and healing. He has truely showed us the way.
"Lord through your cross and resurrection, you have set us free, you are the savior of the world" Amen

Happy Birthday Mother Teresa

"I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion." - Mother Teresa, in her 1979 Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

Never Doubt

"Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light." Raymond Edman-

Put Your Hope in Christ

" In repentance and rest is your salvation,in quietness and trust is your srtength but you would have none of it....15 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion, For the Lord is a God of justice Blessed are all who wait for him" NIV ISAIAH 30:14-18

Multiple Sclerosis, Does God hear 0ur Prayers?

Today a nurse came to the house to start a five day regiment of steroids as prescribed by my doctor to help with relieve symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. The nurse had to ask my about my symptoms and med. history. Upon telling her she looked at me in amazement and was speechless. I asked her what was wrong and she said that she sees people every day and hears their stories. Having heard mine she knows that I have been through hell and that I should be miserable like the rest of her clients. She shared how she was amazed at the peace and positive attitude I have. She asked me how that could be. She did not know tht my strength comes from knowing that Christ is going through this with me and that my hope is in Him.
I was able to share with her how God gives me strength, that my peace comes from my faith in God but more importantly from the grace to exercise my faith every day. Faith isn't always easy and fighting the temptation to feel sorry for ourselves is hard for everyone. For me it is easier when I depend on the Sacraments and God's word. I could see that she believed in God but did not know how to put her faith in to practice. She did not know how to trust him.
Trust comes from building relationship. It takes work. It is not easy to read scripture every day, pray the Rosary daily or make Mass as often as possible but neither is it easy for an athlete to work out every day. But like the athlete who knows he has muscles and also knows that having muscles is simply not enough; we have faith and we must know that that is not enough. Someitmes I  have to remind myself that  in order to persevere I need to exercise our faith daily, in good times and in bad, through commitment to prayer and service. The athlete knows that he has to exercise his muscles in order for them to be a blessing to him and others. The Christian needs to persevere in the same way,exercising his or her spiritual muscles through practicing ones faith.

If you feel like God is not hearing your prayers, persevere. Make a commitment to seeking him in His Word, the Sacraments,and in prayer. Don't wait until a trial comes to grow strong in the Lord. Seek him now and grow strong now so that when the trial comes it does not take you by surprise and you will stand ready to fight with faith, hope and love.
Back to the Nurse and her inability to cope with her own difficulties and the suffering she sees every day.
She kept asking me about my testimony and I shared it with her. God touched her heart. It was a beautiful thing to see that the way God blessed me in my sufferings (with God's grace) gave her joy and the faith to persevere.
Dear Lord Help us to be instruments of faith, hope and love and to the truth that you will never leave us nor forsake us but that you will work all things together for good for those who love you. Should we in our weakness despair help us to persevere. Without you and your grace we can do nothing. Glorify your name and deliver us from every evil. Amen
Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Don't Quote Me on Laughter

You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it.” Cosby
"Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.” Twain
-"A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.."ECC
-"Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."Luke 6:21

Suffering with Christ

I heard a soul say try to explain the mystery of suffering today. He said that some souls, if it is possible Jesus loves more. I disagree.
He said this in an effort to explain the mystery of why some suffer more than others.
First of all, who can measure how much suffering each one of us has? Impossible.
Secondly, Peter and Jon were called to be set apart at least twice; Once when they climbed the mount of transfiguration, where they received the great consolation of seeing Christ in his divinity, and then again in the garden of Gethsemane where they witnessed his agony.
They were close to him both in his sufferings and in His Glory.
Christ loves all and calls some to be closer to him than others. Those who are closer may experience His sufferings more readily but they also experience his joys and glories in greater ways. Good always conquers evil.
It serves us well to remember that there were two people crucified with Christ. One chose to be angry and bitter, but the other chose to accept it and in doing so he heard the voice of His savior promise him paradise.JD