God ALREADY knows!
"...He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live." (Acts 17:26)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 22nd - Humility
Pride vs Humility.
"He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance." (John 3:30)
"We need to understand what humility is and what it isn’t. Some people believe that humility is putting ourselves down: saying that we aren’t smart, or aren’t pretty, or aren’t anything good. This isn’t true.
We all need to have a healthy sense of self-esteem and be secure in what God made us and the gifts he has blessed us with.
So humility is not thinking less of ourselves. Rather it is thinking thinking less about ourselves. Take the focus off us and put it on somebody else, and we’re on our way to being humble."
(Aneel Aranha about Pride - http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/aneelaranha/sevendeadlysins/01.asp)
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 18th - Mother teresa
Saintly Steps - Speak what matters...
"Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness."
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 14th
What is Love?
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy.
Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;
It is not self-seeking, nor easily angered.
It keeps no record of wrongdoing.
It does not delight in evil,
But rejoices in the truth.
It always protects, trusts, hopes, and preserves.
There is nothing love cannot face;
There is no limit to its faith, hope, and endurance.
In a word, there are three things that last forever:
Faith, hope, and love;
But the greatest of them all is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 13th - Inspiration
Saintly Steps - Inspirations.
"In this world there is no fruitfulness without suffering--either
physical pain, secret sorrow, or trials known sometimes only to
God. When good thoughts and generous resolutions have sprung up in
our souls through reading the lives of the Saints, we ought not to
content ourselves, as in the case of profane books, with paying a
certain tribute of admiration to the genius of their authors--we
should rather consider the price which, doubtless, they have paid
for that supernatural good they have produced."
St. Theresa - Help us to act on the inspirations we receive!
Story of a Soul - St. Therese (Read online)
Daily Bread - Feb 12th - Worry
Why Worry?
"Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart." (Philippians 4:6)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 11th - Love
Saintly Steps - Not your works!
“You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
He has need of our love--He has no need of our works.
He was athirst, but when He said: "Give me to drink,"[6] He, the Creator of the Universe, asked for the love of His creature. He thirsted for love.
St. Theresa - Teach us to love God!
Story of a Soul - St. Therese (Read online)
Monday, February 9, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 10th - Afraid?
Afraid? Read these...
Psalms 34:4
Matthew 10:28
2 Timothy 1:7
Hebrews 13:5,6
St. Benedict - Pray for us!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 5th - Power of Prayer
Saintly Steps - Moving more than Mountains!
Jesus answered them, "I tell you with certainty, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you be able to do what has been done to the fig tree, but you will also say to this mountain, 'Be removed and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. (Matthew 21:21)
"Give me a lever and a fulcrum on which to lean it," said Archimedes, "and I will lift the world."
What he could not obtain because his request had only a material end, without reference to God, the Saints have obtained in all its fulness. They lean on God Almighty's power itself and their lever is the prayer that inflames with love's fire. With this lever they have raised the world--with this lever the Saints of the Church Militant still raise it, and will raise it to the end of time.
St. Theresa - Teach us to persevere!
Story of a Soul - St. Therese (Read online)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 4th - Repentance
When Nineveh repented!
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD'S bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"
when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. .......
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
(Jonah 3:3-10)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 3rd - Salvation of the Family
Saintly Steps - St. Theresa on the Salvation of Loved ones
They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will be saved." (Acts 16:31)
O my Jesus, there is no need to say: "In drawing me, draw also the souls that I love": these words, "Draw me," suffice. When a soul has let herself be taken captive by the inebriating odour of Thy perfumes, she cannot run alone; as a natural consequence of her attraction towards Thee, the souls of all those she loves are drawn in her train.
St. Theresa - Teach us your ways!
Story of a Soul - St. Therese (Read online)
Daily Bread - Feb 2nd - Charity
Saintly Steps - St. Theresa on Charity
The practice of charity has not always been so pleasant as I have just pointed out, dear Mother, and to prove it I will recount some of my many struggles.
For a long time my place at meditation was near a Sister who fidgeted continually, either with her Rosary, or something else; possibly, as I am very quick of hearing, I alone heard her, but I cannot tell you how much it tried me. I should have liked to turn round, and by looking at the offender, make her stop the noise; but in my heart I knew that I ought to bear it tranquilly, both for the love of God and to avoid giving pain. So I kept quiet, but the effort cost me so much that sometimes I was bathed in perspiration, and my meditation consisted merely in suffering with patience. After a time I tried to endure it in peace and joy, at least deep down in my soul, and I strove to take actual pleasure
in the disagreeable little noise. Instead of trying not to hear it, which was impossible, I set myself to listen, as though it had been some delightful music, and my meditation--which was not the "prayer of quiet"--was passed in offering this music to Our Lord.
Another time I was working in the laundry, and the Sister opposite, while washing handkerchiefs, repeatedly splashed me with dirty water. My first impulse was to draw back and wipe my face, to show the offender I should be glad if she would behave more quietly; but the next minute I thought how foolish it was to refuse the treasures God offered me so generously, and I refrained from betraying my annoyance. On the contrary, I made such efforts to welcome the shower of dirty water, that at the end of half an hour I had taken quite a fancy to this novel kind of aspersion, and I resolved to come as often as I could to the happy spot where such treasures were freely bestowed.
St. Theresa - Teach us to love!
Story of a Soul - St. Therese (Read online)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Daily Bread - Feb 1st - St. Theresa on Prayer
Saintly Steps - The Little Flower on prayer...
How wonderful is the power of prayer! It is like unto a queen, who, having free access to the king, obtains whatsoever she asks. In order to secure a hearing there is no need to recite set prayers composed for the occasion--were it so, I ought indeed to be pitied!
I do as children who have not learnt to read--I simply tell Our Lord all that I want, and He always understands. With me prayer is an uplifting of the heart; a glance towards heaven; a cry of gratitude and love, uttered equally in sorrow and in joy. In a word, it is something noble, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites it to God. Sometimes when I am in such a state of spiritual dryness that not a single good thought occurs to me, I say very slowly the "Our Father" or the "Hail Mary," and
these prayers suffice to take me out of myself, and wonderfully refresh me. (St. Theresa in Story of a Soul)
St. Theresa - Teach us to pray!
Story of a Soul - St. Therese (Read online)
Daily Bread - Jan 31st - Don Bosco
Saintly Steps - Don Bosco: The Friend of Youth.
"Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are!" - Don Bosco
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."
(1 Timothy 4:12)
Don Bosco - Pray for us!
A brief story of his life - http://www.salesians.org.uk/dbuk/saints1.html
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 30 - Fulton J Sheen
Saintly Steps - We are born to Love others!
"Show me your hands. Do they have scars from giving?
Show me your feet. Are they wounded in service?
Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love?"
- Fulton J Sheen
But when the king came in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' (Matthew 22:11-13)
Servant of God Fulton J Sheen - Pray for us!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 29th - St. Augustine
Saintly Steps - Restless Hearts!
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens,
and I will give you rest."
(Matthew 11:28)
"Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you." – St. Augustine
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 28th - St Teresa
Saintly Steps - Love is above what you feel emotionally - it is an act of the will!
"Perhaps we do not know what love is: it would not surprise me a great deal to learn this, for love consists, not in the extent of our happiness, but in the firmness of our determination to try to please God in everything, and to endeavour, in all possible ways, not to offend Him, and to pray Him ever to advance the honour and glory of His Son and the growth of the Catholic Church.
Those are the signs of love; do not imagine that the important thing is never to be thinking of anything else and that if your mind becomes slightly distracted all is lost."
(St. Teresa of Avila in her wonderful book The Interior Castle)
St. Teresa of Avila - teach us the way of true love and prayer!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 27th - Slow and Steady
Wisdom Pearls - Slow and Steady.
"My son, don't get involved in too many things.
If you try to do too much, you will suffer for it.
You won't be able to finish your work, and you won't be able to get away from it either.
For instance, here is a man who never stops working like a slave, but gets further behind all the time.
On the other hand, another man may be very poor and not up to his task. He may be slow and he may need help, but the Lord is pleased with him and pulls him out of his bad situation.
When he is back on his feet again, everyone is astounded."
(Sirach 11:10-13)
Mother Teresa - Pray for us to do the few things we do with LOVE!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 26th - Criticism
Wisdom Pearls - Criticism
"Before you start criticizing, get your facts straight and think the matter through.
Don't interrupt while someone is speaking;
hear what he has to say before you answer.
Don't get into an argument over something that is none of your business."
(Sirach 11:7-9)
Saints Timothy and Titus - Pray for us!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 25 - Appearances
Wisdom Pearls - Appearances.
"Do not compliment a person on his good looks.
On the other hand, do not look down on someone who is unattractive.
Compared with most flying things, a bee is very small,
but the honey it makes is the sweetest of foods."
(Sirach 11:2,3)
St. Paul -Pray for our true conversion!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 24th - Self-Esteem
Wisdom Pearls - Self Esteem
"My son, keep your self-respect, but remain modest.
Value yourself at your true worth.
There is no excuse for a person who runs himself down.
No one respects a person who has no respect for himself."
(Sirach 10:28,29)
St. Francis De Sales - Pray for us!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 23rd - Pride
Wisdom Pearls - Pride
The beginning of pride is man's stubbornness in withdrawing his heart from his Maker;
For pride is the reservoir of sin, a source which runs over with vice;
Because of it God sends unheard-of afflictions and brings men to utter ruin.
(Sirach 10:12-13)
For pride is the reservoir of sin, a source which runs over with vice;
Because of it God sends unheard-of afflictions and brings men to utter ruin.
(Sirach 10:12-13)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 22nd - Companions
Wisdom Pearls - Companions.
"Get to know the People around you as well as you can,
and take advice only from those who are qualified to give it.
Engage in conversation with intelligent men,
and let the law of the Most High be the topic of your discussions.
Choose righteous people for your dinner companions.
Your chief pride should be your fear of the Lord"
(Sirach 9: 14-16)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 21st - Being Loved
Wisdom Pearls - Being loved
"Give your help to the poor, and the Lord will give you his perfect blessing.
Be generous to every living soul,
and be gracious to the memory of the dead.
Show sympathy to those who have lost a loved one, and mourn with them.
Do not hesitate to visit the sick.
You will be loved for things like these."
(Sirach 8:32-35)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 20th - Parents
Wisdom Pearls - Parents.
"Honor your father with all your heart, and never forget how your mother suffered when you were born. Remember that you owe your life to them." (Sirach 7:27-28)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 19th - Humiliation
Wisdom Pearls - Humiliation
"Don't laugh at a man who has been humiliated. It is the Lord who humbles a person, but the Lord also raises him up again" (Sirach 7:11)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 18th - Bible
Wisdom Pearls - Word of God.
"Devote all your time to studying the Lord's commands and thinking about them. He will give you the insight and wisdom you are looking for." (Sirach 6:37)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Daily Bread - Jan 17th - Friends
Wisdom Pearls - Friends.
"A loyal friend is like a safe shelter; find one and you have found a treasure.
Nothing else is as valuable; there is no way of putting a price on it.
A loyal friend is like a medicine that keeps you in good health.
Only those who fear the Lord can find such a friend.
A person who fears the Lord can make real friendships,
because he will treat his friends as he does himself."
(Sirach 6:14-16)
St. John Bosco - Pray for us!
Daily Bread - Jan 16th - Advice
Wisdom Pearls - Taking Advice.
"If you are polite and courteous, you will enjoy the friendship of many people. Exchange greetings with many, but take advice only from one person out of a thousand" (Sirach 6:5-6)
Servant of God, Fulton J Sheen - Pray for us that we may have insight!
Daily Bread - Jan 15th - Speech
Wisdom Pearls - Speaking and Listening.
"Always be ready to listen, but take your time in answering. Answer only if you know what to say, and if you don't know what to say, keep quiet. Speaking can bring you either or disgrace; what you say can ruin you." (Sirach 5:11-13)
"Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness." - Mother Teresa
Daily Bread - Jan 14th - Belief
Wisdom Pearls - Belief.
"Be certain about what you believe and consistent in what you say. Don't try to please everyone or agree with everything people say." (Sirach 5:9-10)
St. Justin the Martyr - Pray for us to be strong in our faith!
Daily Bread - Jan 13th - Sin
Wisdom Pearls - Sin.
"Don't think that you can sin and get away with it; the Lord does not mind waiting to punish you.
Don't be so certain of the Lord's forgiveness that you go on committing one sin after another.
Don't think that his mercy is so great that he will forgive your sins no matter how many they are.
He does show mercy, but he also shows his furious anger with sinners.
Come back to the Lord quickly.
Don't think that you can keep putting it off.
His anger can come upon you suddenly and you will die under his punishment."
(Sirach 5:4-7)
Holy Mary, Mother of God - Pray for us now and at the hour of our death!
Daily Bread - Jan 12th - Self-Confidence
Wisdom Pearls - Self-confidence.
"Don't under-rate yourself. Humility deserves honor and respect, but a low opinion of yourself leads to sin. Do not let others have their way at your expense; do not bring on your own ruin by giving up your rights." (Sirach 4:20-22)
St. Joan of Arc - Pray for us that we may know when to act and when to remain silent!
Daily Bread - Jan 11th - Almsgiving
Wisdom Pearls - Almsgiving.
"Giving to the poor can make up for sin, just as water can put out a blazing fire. Anyone who responds to others with acts of kindness is thinking of the future, because he will find help if he ever falls on hard times." (Sirach 3:30-31)
St Francis of Assisi - pray for us to give like you... till it hurts!
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