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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

• 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~

We all know how Father John continually stresses the importance of prayer. If there's nothing else that you hear coming from Father, his teaching on prayer is the one most important thing that you should hear. Our banner as you enter the church "Pray All-Ways", should be a constant reminder of this to all of us. Without prayer, how can we communicate with God?

The word always is written all-ways on our banner to remind us daily that prayer can manifest itself in any manner that fits you, any way that is comfortable to you. Traditional prayer, writing your thoughts directed to God down in a journal, sitting down in church a lone and kneeling before the cross, saying the rosary, just talking to him as if he were sitting next to you, sitting in silence, singing, etc.

God loves to hear us sing, and he doesn't care how we sound, it's the act of singing that touches him. Did you know that St. Augustine once said "Singing is like praying twice."

Why do some of us find it so difficult to pray? Is it the idea of completely humbling ourselves, feeling as if we are leaving ourselves completely vulnerable? But that's what we need to do. We need to humble ourselves before the Lord and become as vulnerable as a child, because this allows us to communicate freely and completely with God.

I will leave you with this prayer:

I humble myself before you now
My Lord, my Savior
I come before you
As I am open, nothing to hide
For it is you who knows my every thought
For it is you who knows my every desire
I stand in awe before you
And ask that your Spirit guide me
On this journey through life
Help prepare me for the time
When I will spend all of eternity
With you in your kingdom

Amen

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