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~

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Thanksgiving

by Claire Clow

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. As I sit and reflect about the day, time spent in church, and later with family and friends, I know how much I have to give thanks to God for, just a few being my wonderful daughter, a great job, a warm home, a reliable car, fantastic friends and family, and the gift of Faith that makes me appreciate all of these things and countless more.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, that you can find on the web, tells us that the custom of having a holiday to give thanks originated in 1621, Governor Bradford of the Plymouth colony appointed a day for public praise and prayer after the first harvest. Our nation observed the first Thanksgiving when President Washington, recommended Thursday, the 26th of November, 1789, to the people of the United States "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God". This proclamation exhorted the people to "beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best". It took several years before this caught on as a national holiday but eventually the forth Thursday of November was set aside as a National holiday and businesses all across America close so that people can join together with family and friends. But somehow, along the way, the important fact of giving praise and thanks to a loving God got lost and eating turkey became the main event of this day.

...the important fact of giving praise and thanks to a loving God

...got lost and eating turkey became the main event of this day.

When I enter a church I automatically thank God for the privilege to be there and for allowing me to live in a country where I have the freedom to do just that. I thank Him for the beauty that is in our churches, the artwork, the Tabernacle where Jesus waits and prays for all of us, the many beautiful windows that tell a story of their own, and the religious men and women that devote their lives to teaching and loving us. It's sad that kids are being raised without ever knowing how and why this holiday started. Or the fact that we should give thanks for the ability to be able to practice our Faith openly and daily, however and whenever we want. We should be grateful that our government thought it so important to thank the Lord that they set aside a day of observance just so we all could have the ability to do just that.

We should be grateful that our government...

...thought it so important to thank the Lord.

Give thanks to the One who makes it all happen, and as our first president told us, "beseech Him to pardon our national transgressions", what could be more important to do during these troubled times are country faces? We need those prayers now more than ever. Don't just make it on the forth Thursday of November, do it all throughout the year and help to teach our young ones what the true meaning of this holiday is all about.

URLVD give thanks!

URLVD

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