"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."
Matt 22:37
The Weekly Word
Bread of Life
- The Catechism
- Patron Saints
- Papal History
- Stations of the Cross
- Catholic Prayers
- Wkly Word Archives
- Return to St. Joe's
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~
![[Valid RSS]](http://www.webrss.com/logo/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=logo}
by Kelsey McKay
I didn't suffer for Jesus in jail. No! I was with Jesus and I experienced His very real presence, joy and peace every day. It's not those in jail for the sake of the gospel who suffer. The person who suffers is he who never experiences God's intimate presence.
When we arrive at the end of our own strength, it is not defeat, but the start of tapping into God's boundless resources. It is when we are weak that we are strong in God.
There are many ways the Lord may lead a Christian during his or her life, but I'm convinced that the path of every believer will sooner or later include suffering. The Lord gives us these trials to keep us humble and and dependent on him for our sustenance.
The Lord wants us to embrace suffering as a friend. We need a deep realization that when we're persecuted for Jesus' sake it is an act of God's blessing to us. (Refer to Matthew 5:11-12)
When people malign you, rejoice and be glad. When they curse you, bless them in return. When you walk thrugh a painful experience, embrace it and you will be free.
The people who really suffer are those who never experience God's presence, and the way to have God's presence is by walking through hardship and suffering...The Way of the Cross.
You may not be beaten or imprisoned for your faith, but I believe each Christian still has a cross to bear in their lives. It may be ridicule, slander, rejection or persicution. Now the key is not to run from them or fight them; but simply to embrace them as friends. When you do this you'll not fail to experience God's presence and help. When a child of God suffers we all need to understand the Lord has allowed it. He has not forgotten us! The devil can not take us away! (Refer to John 10:27-29)
As I see it now, the Lord knew the best way to get my attention for a while, and for good, was to give me rest behind bars. For God wants to develop more character in our lives. Our rights are in the "Hands of Jesus". We must fall on our knees in complete dependence on him. "The world can do nothing to a hristian who has no fear of Man."
The Lord has taught me that if we rust in any kind of resource except Him, we will fail. And because I disobeyed the Lord, I fell into trouble once again. So take it from me, never be completely satisfied with God's calling or His gifts in our lives, but be statisfied with Jesus Christ Himself.
URLVD
If you would like to comment on any article written or would like to contact one of our writers, please feel free to do so my filling out the simple form below. If you would also like to submit some sort of spiritual writing of your own, please feel free to let us know, we'd love to place your writing right here along with our regular writers. Thank you!