"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."
Matt 22:37
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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~
by Mike Caldwell
Touch is a very important part of our life and our relationships.
Every touch is different depending on who touches us. Our parents, our children, our spouse, our friends, or perhaps strangers.
The synagogue leader is certain that if Jesus touches his dead daughter, she will be alive again. And indeed, when Jesus takes the little girl's hand, she lives again.
And again, when the women suffering from hemorrhages touches Jesus' cloak, she is healed. I'm sure that the disciples of Jesus did not always agree with who he chose to heal. After all, the people laughed at Jesus when he said he would heal the dead girl. So many folks touched Jesus in the crowds, how could he heal everyone? The disciples sometimes had different criteria for who "deserved" to be helped. It was hard even for the disciples to think in terms of God's kingdom and not in human terms.
We are quick to judge certain people who we believe do not deserve healing or any more chances or perhaps they need a lesson and should learn from their mistakes and healing should be withheld until they conform to worthy standards.
Jesus healed the daughter of the synagogue leader and the women with hemorrhages through faith and love not through any human standards of worth.
Our touch is so important to the health and wellbeing of all those around us. When appropriate, remember to reach out to those who have no one to visit them, certainly give a hug to our children, our parents, and our spouse. You are in an unique position to extend the human touch to family members that are not comfortable with anyone else but family members.
You can also touch someone's life through visits to the homebound, gathering in church (where two or more are gathered in my name), and reaching out to those less fortunate in our society.
And lastly, you can touch and be touched by the ultimate healer, God, through the participation in the Holy Eucharist.
URLVD
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