Saturday, December 29, 2007

Prayer Request

Dear friends in Jesus,
My nephew Steven Graves, 14 years old is in dire need of prayers. He is once again in the hospital. This boy has suffered since he was 2 with Autism, chronic pancreatitis, migraines, sleep disorder, esophageal reflux, foreign mass build up in his stomach called a bezoar, cysts on his brain, malnourishment due to inability to eat because of stomach problems plus the Autism he suffers from limits the things he will eat since he has extreme sensory issues. This little angel weighed only 60 lbs. last Christmas, we almost lost him. The good Lord has helped him to reach 100 pounds over the past year and we are very greatful for this great favor. Still he has been out of school and housebound, practically bedridden for 2 years. He needs a miracle. His family suffers extreme sleep deprevation due to Stevens sleep disorder, and trying to care for an autistic child who is very limited in speech to express how he feels is very difficult. Please, I beg you to pray for this sweet little boy. Thank you for listening and caring.

Patti Crawford

Found in Bulletin this week...

As you begin your New Year, below are some recommendations for a Catholic home:
• Meals together as often as possible – with grace before and after
• Blessings of children by parents at night
• Spouse blessing one another at night
• Never going to bed angry
• Icons or pictures of Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart in a prominent place
• Crucifixes in main rooms, bedrooms
• Other holy pictures or statues in rooms
• Open Bibles in rooms
• Have a Catechism of Catholic Church
• Wearing of Cross, scapular or other blessed medals
• Holy water-perhaps in a container at door entrances, to be used entering and exiting your home
• Blessed Incense
• Blessed Oil – can be used for cooking
• Blessed Salt – can be used for cooking
• Praying Rosary daily, as a family whenever possible
• Regular celebration of Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Weekly Mass (daily Mass is encouraged) and Adoration
• Gregorian Chant or other Christian music
• Container into which family members can make donation for the poor
• Cast out all articles of occult and New Age (e.g. Ouija Boards, crystals, pornography, inappropriate books, music or videos, etc)

The Precepts of the Church

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: "II. THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH
2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:

2042 The first precept ('You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.') requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.[82]

The second precept ('You shall confess your sins at least once a year.') ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness.[83]

The third precept ('You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.') guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.[84]

2043 The fourth precept ('You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.') completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.[85]

The fifth precept ('You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.') ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.[86]
The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities.[87]"

Go Light Your World(video)

the fruit of obedience

Intercessors Of The Lamb

The third mark of the Church is catholic. That means that it is universal. God is saying, “I want My house to be a house of prayer for all nations, for everyone.” This is what we are called to do. Wisdom is instructing her children! This mark of the Church, this catholicity, comes out of the third pillar of contemplation, which is prayer itself. Prayer, if we are faithful to it, will always produce the fruit of obedience – always. It is out of prayer that we are able to do whatever He tells us. Why? Because it is in prayer that we are listening and receiving whatever He says. It is in prayer that we receive the strength to live it out. This is why He said, “A body You have prepared for Me. Behold, I come to do Your will.” He is saying that to us through our intercession as we prepare the way for Him throughout the Church, throughout the world. “A body you have prepared for Me,” out of our own silence, our own solitude, our own prayer, and our own penance. “A body you have prepared for Me,” so that He can continue coming and dwelling within people and living out the Father’s perfect will. That is always the victory over satan. That is always the maternal “yes” over the “no.” Everything becomes “yes” for intercessors. Everything is, “Yes Lord!” It brings grace, not only to us but also, to others. The theological gift that comes forth in this pillar of prayer, and this universal mark of the Church, is love – love. Love reaches its perfection through obedience. Jesus does not want just our word, “yes.” It is those who do the will of God that He seeks. This will bring forth tremendous love. Obedience, you might say, is like love in action. It is the proof in the pudding. It is the proof that we do love. Prayer, in turn, becomes the fruit of obedience.

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
Colossians 1:1 - 14

"Epaphras, who taught you, is one of our closest fellow workers and a faithful deputy for us as Christ’s servant, and it was he who told us all about your love in the Spirit.
That will explain why, ever since the day he told us, we have never failed to pray for you, and what we ask God is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will. So you will be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord expects of you, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God."


Let us not fail to pray for one another, so that we all may reach the fullest knowledge of God's will.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 29, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 29, 2007:

"The way we may be sure that we know Jesus
is to keep his commandments.
Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:
whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked."


Prayer for Today: Dear Jesus, may we come to know You fully. First through the Church that You left behind and then through the Scriptures that came from it. May our love and desire for knowledge of Your commandments grow as our love for You grows.