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~

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How Big is Our God?

by Patti LaRue

My husband and I recently were able to escape to the coast for a few days, something that has been needed for a long time, getting away from it all and taking some much needed time for ourselves. It was something we had not really done in nearly five years and it was incredible that we were finally free from the hustle and bustle of daily life in Portland. However; I had no idea that it would be a spiritual trip for me as well.

I had no idea it would be a...

...a spiritual trip for me as well.

Of course I thought to bring my rosary and bible with me, I figured that I would be able to enjoy time on the deck of our room a lone doing both reading the bible and doing my rosary. However; I did not expect anything more than normal when doing so. But God had other plans. He had plans of the spiritual nature for me as well.

But God...

...had other plans.

My first morning there I brewed myself some early morning coffee around 6:00 am and grabbed my bible and rosary and proceeded to the deck. Once settled in and sipping my coffee, I looked out through the fog which was just beginning to clear and I could see the waves crashing down upon the beach below me. It was such a soothing thing to do. So relaxing, so intensely moving. I just sat there sipping on my coffee, watching as the fog cleared and I could see as far as the horizon and clouds would allow. It suddenly hit me that this moment was between me and God. The strength of His love could be felt in every wave that came onto the shore. Their endless in and out crashing onto the beach below me was all encompassing. I could only see so far from where they came, after that it was if they were coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. I knew that God was using this private moment to show me and remind me of just how powerful He is, just how big He is and just how much love He wants to pour out onto me and all of you. It was a moment that literally brought me to tears. To be personally reminded of just how big our God is and just how small we are in the scheme of things. But it is our smallness in which He meets us. It is within that smallness that He wants to pour all of His love. So that we might grow and flourish through His love. Even in our smallness He wants so much for us.

That morning He guided me to the following scripture, though I have read it many times before, it took on a whole new meaning for me this time.

"Therefore, since since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we can boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that afflictions produce endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character hope and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." Romans 5:1-5

Let God overpower you with His bigness. Let Him engulf you with His endless waves of love. Let Him fill your smallness with His grace.

URLVD

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