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

We Are All Sinners Trying to Find Our Way

by Patti LaRue

Let's let it be known to the world, that we are ALL sinners. You can't deny it, if you go around thinking that you're not a sinner, then how will you ever get to know God and live with Him in His Kingdom? You're only lying to yourself if you say that you're not a sinner. The only one to walk on this earth completely free of sin was Jesus Christ and we need to always remember that. The moment you think that you are not a sinner is the moment that you proclaim to be perfect. And only Christ can proclaim that status quo.

Some of us are bigger sinners than others and have a longer road to travel to get to know their Father in heaven. I myself could have been considered one of those "big sinners" in my past. I will openly admit that now. Although I always believed in God, I strayed so far away, it's amazing that I ever made it back on the right track. And the only reason that I have found the right path is because Christ came to me one day and told me "It's time to come home." and if you don't think He spoke those words to me, then explain how after I heard those words in my head, I immediately knew I had to return to the church and I did just that, started going to church that very weekend and have never looked back.

Some of us are bigger sinners than others...

...and have a longer road to travel.

Like Fr. John says in his book "Saints have a past and sinners have a future." And if you open your mind and heart to Christ, He'll point you in the right direction. As sinners, we struggle each and every day with just ordinary life and if we compound that with conflict, pain, deceit, etc. we're going to find it very easy to stray, thinking that He's forgotten us. But He's not forgotten us, we're just not listening.

Sometimes it may take a while to learn how to listen, whereas other times it's like getting zapped into paying attention, like my experience with Him telling me to come home. I felt as if I had just been hit with an electrical shock, not painful but quite eye opening. From then on, I planned on learning how I could keep myself open to His word. And it is a learning process. I don't claim to have perfected the art of listening to Him, but I'm improving. And that's a step in the right direction. And that's something we all need to learn.

You can do it by meditating, praying, sitting alone in church, being alone in your favorite spot in your home or garden. But whatever you do it and wherever you are, you need to clear your mind of all the thoughts that distract you from the peace and grace that is trying to reach your cluttered mind.

Saints have a past.... ...

...and sinners have a future.

Until I returned to church, I know, He use to try and get through to me even then, but now I realize, I was just ignoring him and going on with my own life and my own ways. But now, although I'm still a sinner, just one that has faith that Christ has forgiven me, I no longer find myself ignoring His wishes. Example....I'm writing this, because His Holy Spirit inspired me to do so.

It's not always easy being a Christian, it never has been. And Christ never said it would be. It's the reward in the end that He promises will be worth all of our struggles. That's what we need to keep focused on. And it's not easy to stay away from sin. Even when we think we are at our utmost best behavior, there's still something we've done, failed to do, said, or thought that simply was not what Christ would have done. We'll never be just like Christ, that would be impossible, but we can work towards trying to be as close as we can.

So many temptations, so many things to do that keep us distanced from Christ, that we get so wrapped up in all of it that we forget that maybe we're neglecting Him. Going to church is one avenue for us to give him our love and attention, but He wants so much more from us on a daily basis. Just telling someone you love them is doing His will. That's not so hard is it? Don't just do something because you think it's what He wants you to do, discuss it with Him, that's right discuss it with Him. If you have to pray, write it down, or simply talk to Him as if he was sitting right next to you, whatever it takes. He will answer you. It may not be right at that very moment, but there will be some sort of sign, something that lets you know what He wants you to do. And when you get that sign, or hear His words in your head, don't ignore it, do it, do what He's asked you to do.

Everything that I've involved myself with in the past three years all have been because I know He wanted me to do these things. For the first time in many years I am listening and the joy of listening to Christ is indescribable. Any time I've asked Him what more did He want me to do, I have been given an answer and for the first time in my life I have willingly said yes.

We shouldn't allow ourselves to make it a difficult task to say yes to Christ. We don't seem to have any problems saying yes to people in our lives. Yet are those people going to get you into heaven? I don't think so. There's only one who holds the key to the doors of heaven. And you know who that is.

We're sinners with a future....all we have to do is learn to listen and say yes.

URLVD

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