The Weekly Word

Bread of Life

Prayer...

Prayer is, in the strictest sense, a humble religious petition of man to God to seek divine benevolence and benefits he needs for life, both temporal and eternal. It is a conversation with God, either by accepted prayer forms, or from the heart. Consider these words as if God were speaking them to His children...

"It is not necessary my child, to know much in order to please me much; it is enough that you love me fervently. Speak here to me then, as you would speak to your most intimate friend, to your mother, to your brother."

~God your Father~

He Gave His Only Son

"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

John 21:29

Quotes to Live By

There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.

The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.

In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)

It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.

The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.

I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?

I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

~Mother Teresa~

Spreading the Word spiritually, creatively, inspirationally, and historically on a weekly basis, by St. Joe's own parishoners

Let Go Of Your Self

by Patti LaRue

Have you ever sat done and simply looked at yourself and others to stop and think just how selfish and self-centered we all are? Probably not, because why would the self want to be examined so closely? Although I'm sure we've all stopped and examined how selfish and self-centered everyone else is.

It's so easy to take the time out of our self-centered state and judge those around us by the deeds they do or the things they say. That right there should tell each and every one of us how afraid we are to take a personal examination of our own selves.

Why would the self...

...want to be examined so closely?

You tell yourself "I'm a good little Christian, I go to church, I pray, I help out when I can. How can that be considered selfish?!" You're right, how can that be considered selfish? But let's take a closer look at that unselfishness you're bestowing upon yourself by answering these questions as honestly as you can.

Do I go to church for myself or for God?

Do I pray for myself or do I pray to God?

Do I help out to make myself feel better for a personal pat on the back or do I help out to see the joy it brings to someone else?

Do I help out to get a personal thank you from others or do I help out God who is trying to use me to help others or to help spread His word?

We need to learn to let ourselves go. Not in the literal sense but in the sense of not allowing ourselves to rule our lives. God doesn't want us to not take care of ourselves, he expects us to, after all our lives are the first gift He gives to us when we enter this earthly world. The most important thing He wants for us to take care of is our spiritual self.

This is the self that gets the most neglect, especially when we continually seem to be concerned about what we look like, what will people think of us, what will people say if I wear that or say that? What will people think if I don't have this or if I don't have the best house, the best car, etc.? If you continually focus on that, how could it be possible to ever follow what God says? "Man can only serve one master, his Father in heaven." If we're concerned with the material things in life and our outward appearance to others, we're not serving the One Master, are we? God doesn't care what clothes you wear, what car you drive, He only cares about whether or not the spirit inside of you is being nourished and growing according to His plan. Not OUR plans. Not our self-centered self's plans!

Move over self.... ...

...I've found somebody else!

Our spiritual self is in constant battle with our self-centered self and we need to take time out, find a quite place, church, your garden, your bedroom, a walk in the park, anywhere, where we can quiet down the noise and stop the battle. Call a time out, examine your two selves and weigh the differences. See which one will lead you to God's kingdom. Listen to what God is trying to tell you, open your heart to his voice, it's inside you sitting with your spiritual self, waiting for you to tell your self-centered self to "Move over self, I've found somebody else to take your place." And that somebody else is Jesus Christ.

Let go of yourself completely, hand it over to somebody else who can teach you His ways, His thoughts, His love. He is the only one that can truly take over your self-centered self and help bring your spiritual self into complete fullness.

You can't do it alone. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you can.

URLVD

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