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~

+Subscribe to The Weekly Word

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

Christian Hope

by Mike Caldwell

Pope Benedict XVI recently issued his second encyclical on hope. What I found interesting in this message from the Pope was his emphasis on salvation for the world instead of salvation for the individual. This is somewhat contrary to the message we receive many times in current commentaries. Many times we are reminded of our need for and the gift of personal salvation. While it is true that individual salvation must be received, our concern should be for the salvation of all.

The Pope writes about St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians where they were "without hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12) before their encounter with Christ. They had gods and they had religion but they were without God. The emphasize here is in on the communities predicament of facing a dark world and a dark future. The community is facing the darkness together but they can also face the light together as community. Therefore, the hope that Pope Benedict refers to becomes Christian hope when the community comes to know God � the true God through the triune God; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

...his emphasis on salvation for the world

...instead of salvation for the individual.

The problem with emphasizing salvation for each person individually in our current society is that individualism today has taken on selfish overtones. We must push individuals today to think beyond their own needs. When personal salvation is emphasized it can be seen as a way of abandoning the world to its misery and taking refuge in a private form of eternal salvation.[1]

Scripture has always envisioned salvation for the whole rather than individuals.... ...

...There has always been an emphasis on the community.

Scripture has always envisioned salvation for the whole rather than individuals. There has always been an emphasis on the community. The Letter to the Hebrews speaks of a �city.� Indeed, many problems that we face today have come from the selfish �I� in all of us. We have always been considered people of God or children of God and the individual cannot reach their full potential until they tie individual success to the success of the Christian community.

[1] Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical on Christian Hope, �13. 2007

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!

Submission Form