Always on Your Account

~~~ Sirach 50:22-24 ~~~Psalm 145 ~~~ 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 ~~~
~~~ Luke 17:11-19 ~~~

The optional readings for Thanksgiving day
are saturated with words of thanks.
Any words written here would pale in comparison.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.

May you life be richly blessed.
May you always remember just how much you are loved.
May you cherish all that God has given to you and your loved ones.

And now, bless the God of all,
who has done wondrous things on earth...

May he grant you joy of heart
and may peace abide among you;
May his goodness toward us endure in Israel
to deliver us in our days.

May you be blessed with joy as you gather with family and friends.
May His peace abide with our country, our cities,
our communities, our families, and within our own hearts.

Let there be Peace on earth...let it begin with me.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way...

I give thanks for each person in my life.
I do believe you have each enriched my life.
Your presence in my life has contributed to who I am becoming.
I see the grace of God active within your hearts.
May you continue to realize just how important
 you are in our world today.

...you are not lacking in any spiritual gift...

Let your prayers of thanks and gratitude
 lift up your heart and soul.
You are his most Beloved daughters and sons.

If you are reading this know that you are
a true treasure in my life.
I thank you.
~~~Peace~~~

One Returns...

~~~ Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr ~~~

~~~ Titus 3:1-7 ~~~ Psalm 23 ~~~ Luke 17:11-19 ~~~

And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. 

Ten lepers raised their voices calling out to Jesus.
They called out to be noticed...they called out to be healed...
they called out to be released from the prison of their disease.

Jesus sent the lepers away before they were cured.
They obediently left without questioning him.

As they were going they were cleansed. 

I never noticed that detail before...
as they were following his directions...their skin was renewed.
Their life would be forever changed...they could now come out of hiding.
They would now be welcomed back into their families their community.

They must have been overwhelmed with joy.

Ten were cured...ten went home to their loved ones.

One realized he was cured by one person, Jesus.
One realized he had done nothing to deserve to be cleansed.
One stopped long enough to let his gratitude fill his whole being.
One gave his grateful heart a loud voice.
One found it worthwhile to glorify Jesus with his thanks.

One let his body express his heartfelt gratitude.

Why did only one feel their cure was something to be thankful for?
Did the other nine simply return to their life as if
it was just another day?

Were the other nine so excited that returning
 to give thanks did not even cross their mind?

If you want to be grateful identify with the one who returned.
The lepers began their journey of healing together.
They identified with the community of lepers.
They called out to Jesus because they had nothing to loose.
They called out to Jesus because they had everything to gain.
They went together obedient to the command from Jesus.
They were healed as they walked together
to present themselves to the priests.

This is where their community identification ceased...
they each went their own way.

This is when one returned to give thanks and praise
for the miracle of his healing.

If you want to be Blessed
be the one who returns in gratitude.

~~~Peace~~~

Give Thanks to Our God

~~~Thanksgiving Day ~~~

~~Sirach 50:22-24~~Psalm 145~~ 1 Corinthians 1:3-9~~ Luke 17:11-19 ~~

(I am using the optional reading for today) 

Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.



 

 If you read nothing else today read these few verses
written by Paul to his beloved in Corinth.

When was the last time someone told you
that they gave thanks to God for you?
Have you ever told another person that you thank God
 for their presence in your life?
Thank your spouse or best friend for loving you.

 

Today I invite you to tell at least one person
that you thanked God for their presence in your life. 

It is always proper to express thanksgiving and gratitude.
Thank you...
two small words that can send out ripples far and wide.

Remembering You in Prayer

~~~ 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8b-10 ~~~ Psalm 149 ~~~ Matthew 23:13-22 ~~~

 

We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.

 

This is one of my favorite prayers written by Saint Paul.

It expresses how I feel about the many friends I have been blessed throughout my life.

I am truly grateful for the those whom God has brought into my life.

Each person has brought something to my soul that

otherwise I would not have.

Each one of you adding a special dimension to my life.

 

Today I remember each of my friends in a special way.

I pray in gratitude for your being in my life.

I pray for the intentions you hold dear to your heart.

I also pray for those who accidently find this blog.

I pray especially for those who have joined my blog for your support

 encourages me to keep writing.

I pray also for those God has planned to bring into my life.

 

This weekend I had the blessing to attend a intimate

concert by Danielle Rose.

She has a contagious passion for life.

I was most touched by her Litany of Humility piece.

Thank you Danielle, for giving this prayer to us in music.

 

 

I give thanks to God for the faith I see through the lives of my friends.

You inspire me in so many ways...in times of sorrow,

in times of uncertainty,

and in times of joyful celebrations.

 

I thank God that you have each been chosen

 to make this world a better place...

supporting one another with love and encouragement.

 

If you are reading this know

 that as I write I am praying for you and your intentions.

I lift you up in prayer to God...may he bless you

 in every way with all things good.

 

The Lord takes delight in his people.

 

You are the people the takes delight in...

I invite you to look at those in your life today

 with new joy and appreciation.

You have enriched my life and for this I am truly grateful.

We Remember Our Fallen Heros

~~~ Memorial Day ~~~

 

~~~ Sirach 17:20-24 ~~~ Psalm 32 ~~~ Mark 10:17-27 ~~~

 

'...All things are possible for God.'

 

This should be our daily mantra.

Whenever we begin to feel discouraged and out of sync

 we need to remind ourselves that

with God all things really are possible.

 

We tend to think that everything lies squarely upon our shoulders.

We make ourselves a little crazy when

WE cannot get things accomplished in our own way.

 

It is from God that we receive the grace and strength to move forward

on our journey of salvation.

God never said that we must walk this path alone.

He is always with us.

If we believe this then it follows that we trust in his guidance.

 

Yesterday we heard from Paul's letter to the Romans about hope.

Hope is about believing in those things we cannot see.

 

We cannot see God's hand leading us...guiding us...

but he is with us.

 

Whatever we are faced with in our life God is the one who will help us persevere.

 

 

 

We remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice serving in our armed forces today.

I cannot help but think of how many times these brave

men and women had to rely on God.

How many times have they were faced with seemingly impossible situations?

How many times it was truly by God's intervention that they survived.

 

 To the penitent God provides a way back,
he encourages those who are losing hope...

...Return to him...

...pray to the LORD...

...Turn again to the Most High...

 

May the souls of all those who died for our freedom rest in peace.

May their families find comfort in knowing their loved ones

 are appreciated by the rest of us.

 

'...All things are possible for God.'

 

We give thanks for your sacrifice.

We pray for the protection of our military who serve our country.

The Widow's Gift

~~~ Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ 1 Kings 17:10-16 ~~~ Psalm 146 ~~~ Hebrews 9: 24-28 ~~~ Mark12:38-44 ~~~

 

The first reading and the Gospel from Mark use the example of a widow.

In Biblical times a widow within the Jewish community had no status. Without her husband she had literally no one to take care of her. She was left to fend for herself which often ended in poverty.

 

In the first reading we have the desperate widow who barely has enough food to feed both herself and her young son.

 

"...there is only a handful of flour in my jar
and a little oil in my jug."

 

She is resigned herself to the fact that she and her son are in fact doomed.

They are facing imminent death from starvation.

She is scraping together what little she has left to provide for her son.

 

You can imagine how torn she must have been when the prophet, Elijah, asks her to share her last bit of food with him.

Giving water to Elijah was was enough...just go to the source scoop up a cupful and bring it to him. But he asks for more; he wanted some bread as well.

 

Certainly it would not have been unreasonable for her to have ignored his request.

Somehow Elijah's words dispel her fears and she decides to honor his request for some bread. In reality what did she have to lose? She was going to die soon from lack of food. Elijah goes on promising her that neither the flour jar or the oil jar would go empty.

Here she takes a huge leap of faith and puts her trust in his words.

As we know she has the grace to make the right decision and God blessed her with abundance. For the next year the flour and the oil remained constant.

 

God had indeed kept his promise foretold to Elijah.

Some may have accused the widow of acting in a foolish manner,

especially when she also had her son to care for.

 

Sometime trusting in God does make us appear to be foolish

in the eyes of others.

What we give to God is returned to us a hundredfold.

Our giving is never in vain.

 

 

Our second widow has come to the temple to worship. She files into the temple with the crowds and drops in her last two coins for her offering.

Some would say that she too acted foolishly; giving her last couple coins.

The scribes and Pharisees all but despised widows. They often took advantage of their poor financial state insisting that they pay their part.

 

So there she was giving her all along side of those

who were giving from their abundance and wealth.

She was giving from her poverty.

Which is the greater gift?

If we only give from our abundance...is it truly giving?

 

Give yourself fully to God.

He will use you to accomplish great things

on the condition that you believe

much more in His love than in your own weakness.
Mother Teresa

 

These wise words from Mother Teresa

give us much to contemplate in this season of thanks and giving.

 

Jesus gave all that he was for our salvation...

every last drop of blood.

We have never been expected to give at that deep level.

 

May our giving bring us greated cause to trust in God's providential care.

He will take what litle we may have and turn it into so much more.

God will provide!

The jar will never be empty if we trust in him.