Here I am Lord

USCCB - (NAB) - January 20, 2008

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

Reading II
1 Cor 1:1-3

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God puts out the call, it is up to us to listen, discern and obey! I will be at the Carmelite meeting today to do His will...whatever that may be, and for how ever long that is...I'll be listening and obeying. Thanks for the prayers everyone.

Carmel's call

The Carmelite Web Site - O.Carm.

Please pray for me as I discern if it is God's will that I return to my Lay Carmelite community.

USCCB - (NAB) - January 13, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 13, 2008:

"After Jesus was baptized,
he came up from the water and behold,
the heavens were opened for him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”"

Lord, I pray that these be the words that I strive to hear...not those of the world saying how great I am, but Your Own Words declaring me your own.

USCCB - (NAB) - January 12, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 12, 2008:
Reading 1
1 Jn 5:14-21

"If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,
he should pray to God and he will give him life.
This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.
There is such a thing as deadly sin,
about which I do not say that you should pray.
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly."

Prayer for Today: May all our Venial sins and those of our loved ones be erased from Your Sight...and may we be convicted to approach You in the Sacrament of Confession with our Mortal Sins...so that we may have life.

prayer request

"I would love prayers to keep my fear and anxiety at bay. for a safe and healthy surgery. that the baby is in good health and nurses well. that my dh's health remains well, and that the grandparents are healthy before they come to watch the kids. they have been sick for months with a sinus infection thing.


we are scheduled for jan. 24th, in the morning.


thank you, so much for putting out the prayer request. i'll be offering up the pain as much as i can.


lovemel"

Jesus Is Life : A Catholic Reflection

Jesus Is Life : A Catholic Reflection:
"When God gave us life, He didn't give us an elixir, a potion, a pill, guaranteed health, a fountain of youth, or an unlimited supply of money to provide life. Instead, He gave us Jesus. God sent Jesus the Life into the world, and 'this Life became visible' (1 Jn 1:2)."

retreat

Boston retreat with Michael H Brown

USCCB - (NAB) - January 9, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 9, 2008:

"There is no fear in love,
but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment,
and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love."

USCCB - (NAB) - January 8, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 8, 2008:

"God sent his only-begotten Son into the world
so that we might have life through him."

USCCB - (NAB) - January 7, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 7, 2008:

"He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria,
and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases
and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,
and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan followed him."

Prayer for Today: Heal us O, Lord!

DON MOEN ( video )

USCCB - (NAB) - January 6, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 6, 2008:
"Is 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
."

Thy Word (video)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):
"Psalm 118 (119): 145-152

I call on you with all my heart – answer me, Lord. I will obey your laws.
I call on you, save me so that I can keep your decrees.

At dawn I cry to you, I put all my hope in your word.
In the night I keep watch, pondering your sayings.

In your mercy, Lord, hear my voice; in your justice, give me life.
My persecutors come to do me harm: they are far from your law.

But you, Lord, are near to me, and you are trustworthy in all your precepts.
From the beginning I have known your decrees, how you have made them to last for ever."

USCCB - (NAB) - January 5, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 5, 2008:

"Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth."

Prayer for Today: Oh Lord, may we be doers of Your Word and not merely hearers. May Your Word sink in deeply into our hearts and take root there and then bloom back out of us to others in our lives.

prayer

Holy Cross Family Ministries:

"The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
Lord Jesus, we are mindful of your presence in our lives and in our world. We pray that we will always come to you when we are in need of your guidance and inspiration, especially in those moments when we need to make an important decision. May you give us the grace to be open to hear your words during these times. We ask this in your name. Amen."

Prayers for the AMROL P2 Team

AMROL P2 Team SparkTeam

Please keep all the members of this group in your prayers as we journey together towards health and fitness. You are welcome to join us there also

to God ASAP

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"When anything happens, go to God right away. If your faith is wavering, if you are having any kind of doubts, do not struggle with those on your own. That is when the enemy comes in and we start going down. If we are struggling with discouragement and we find “my hope is fading” do not toy with it. Do not even pray about it yourself. Take it to God, “Help. I need help.” If fear is coming in and love is growing cold go to God right away. As long as you are with the Lord, you and Jesus can work anything out together. That will always be a protection for all of us from the enemy."

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
"Concluding Prayer

Almighty God, a new light in the sky
heralded the coming of salvation and our redemption.
May that salvation dawn in our hearts and renew them daily.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen."

USCCB - (NAB) - January 4, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 4, 2008:

"Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the Devil."

Prayer for Today: Lord help us to ackowledge sin and the ways of the evil one in our own lives and surroundings, so that we can in turn hand it to You and have it be destroyed.

prayer request

I need more prayers for my dad please. First for his physical health, that he gets some relief...he is having a hard time breathing (especially at night) due to all the fluids in his body. Then for his emotional state...he does not do illness well. Also please say a prayer for all the doctors, nurses and staff caring for him...and for the rest of us who just want to see him at peace.

Hallelujah to the lamb (video)

The Lamb

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"In the Book of Revelation we read that the Lamb who was slain is on the throne and yet the Lamb who was slain lives within us. He lives within us in power because we need that kind of power to allow ourselve to be slain as He was. He is also the Shepherd in the Book of Revelation who leads His people to those life-giving waters . As we lay down our lives, as we become the lamb, this Shepherd of ours shepherds his people to life-giving waters again. He gives them that new life again. This is the new heavens and the new earth. We are working together all the time. We always are calling upon the name of the Lord. We are always in union with the eternal High Priest and the Lamb who was slain."

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):

"Have mercy on me, God, have mercy. My soul flies to you for refuge.
I will hide in the shelter of your wings until the time of ambush is past.
I will cry to God the Most High, to the God who cares for me."

USCCB - (NAB) - January 3, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 3, 2008:

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

Prayer for Today: Let us place all our sins, fears, anxieties, and worries at the foot of the Cross today. He wants to take all of that away and give us a new life in exchange. What a deal...let's not miss out on it.

two kingdoms

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"There are the two kingdoms. St. Ignatius teaches about them in detail. Jesus said it in a different way, 'You either are with me or you are not.' That is not what the world says. The world talks about gray areas, and compromise, all the time. But that is not the message of Jesus. 'You are with Me all the way or you are not.' We start out by saying to the Lord, 'Can I have one foot in both kingdoms? I kind of want to hang onto this, but yet I want to hang onto you?' Have you ever had that? 'I don't want to let go of the Lord, but I still have my attachments.'

He gave me a little demonstration one time in imagery. We were walking along, Jesus and I, hand in hand and I Had my little attachments here in my other hand. Jesus said, 'Give me your other hand.” In order to give him my other hand, I had to make a choice to let go. When I did and gave Him my other hand, we were face to face. Try that sometime. That is what He wants, that face to face relationship. He wants both hands. There is something in us that is like an octopus. We let go of one and we grab onto something else. Desert spirituality will start showing us what we are doing there."

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
sermon by St Gregory Nazianzen
Two bodies, but a single spirit (about St. Basil)

"We seemed to be two bodies with a single spirit. Though we cannot believe those who claim that everything is contained in everything, yet you must believe that in our case each of us was in the other and with the other.

Our single object and ambition was virtue, and a life of hope in the blessings that are to come; we wanted to withdraw from this world before we departed from it. With this end in view we ordered our lives and all our actions. We followed the guidance of God’s law and spurred each other on to virtue. If it is not too boastful to say, we found in each other a standard and rule for discerning right from wrong.

Different men have different names, which they owe to their parents or to themselves, that is, to their own pursuits and achievements. But our great pursuit, the great name we wanted, was to be Christians, to be called Christians."

Oh Lord, send like minded people into lives so that we can be strengthened in our faith.

USCCB - (NAB) - January 2, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 2, 2008: "Reading 1
1 Jn 2:22-28

Beloved:
Who is the liar?
Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.
Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,
but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well."

Prayer for Today: Lord give us the faith and strength needed to never deny You...neither in word, nor deed. May our lives be about Truth!

poverty of spirit

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"Humility is very important, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” We have four vows: poverty, chastity, obedience and zeal for the salvation of souls, which is victim love. For a long time I used to think that the vow and the spirit of obedience was number one. We have grown to see that it is the spirit of poverty that is first. Our Lady is Lady Poverty. When I am empty and divested of me, myself and I, that little unholy trinity – when I am poor – I am automatically detached from my own will. Obedience is never going to be a problem when we are detached, when we are poor in spirit as Mary was. Then, we will always do whatever, whatever, whatever. There is no attachment."

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):

"God, it was by means of blessed Mary, virgin and mother, that you gave the human race the gift of eternal salvation.
Grant that we may feel the effects of her intercession for us,
for it is through her that we have received your Son, the source of life."

USCCB - (NAB) - January 1, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 1, 2008:
"Nm 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”"

Prayer for Today: Lord bless all who gather here that each in turn may be a blessing to others.

Days of Elijah (video)

Be ready!

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"There was a very powerful prophetic word given from the Papal altar at St. Peter’s. I never forgot it. It seems that now is the time for this prophetic word to be realized, I want to share a little bit of it. This is what God said. “I will pour out on you all the gifts of My Spirit. I will prepare you for spiritual combat. Be ready My people; I want to prepare you. I speak to you of the dawn of a new age for My Church. I speak to you of a new day that has not been seen before. Prepare yourselves for the action that I begin now because things that you see around you will change. The combat that you must enter now is different. It is new. You need wisdom from Me that you do not yet have.” This is why we are going to go to the desert - to get this wisdom. “You need the power of My Holy Spirit in a way that you have not yet possessed it. You need an understanding of My will and of the ways that I work that you do not yet have. Open your eyes. Open your hearts to prepare yourselves for Me and for the day that I have now begun. Prepare! For, I proclaim a new day, a day of victory and of triumph for your God. Behold, it has begun.” What a beautiful word. Doesn’t it sound like it is for us? Doesn’t it sound like this is His time?"

Excerpt from Mother Nadine’s, “Introduction,” Prepare the Way of the Lord Conference, Omaha, NE 2005

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:

"You who love the Lord, hate evil!
The Lord protects the lives of his consecrated ones:
he will free them from the hands of sinners.
A light has arisen for the just,
and gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord
and proclaim his holiness."

Dear Lord, open our eyes so that we can see evil for what it is..SIN! Not what our anti christian society has told us it is, but what the Lord has decreed.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 31, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 31, 2007:
"1 Jn 2:18-21

Children, it is the last hour;
and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming,
so now many antichrists have appeared."

Pryer for Today: Dear Lord help us to 'batten down the hatches' and prepare pretty much as we would in the case of an impeding storm. We are living in anti christian times, and among anti christian people and the attacks can seem pretty fierce at times. However the Lord has promised that the rewards in heaven would be great for those that persevere.

Marriage Prayer

Heavenly Father, through the intercession of the Holy Family, help us to treasure the gift of Marriage that reflects the love of Christ for the Church, where the self-giving love of husband and wife unites them more perfectly and cooperates in Your Plan for new life created in Your Image.

Help us support men and women in their vocation of marriage, especially in difficult times when they join their sufferings to the Cross.

Help us uphold the institution of Marriage in our society as the place where love is nurtured and family life begins.

Help us acknowledge that our future depends on this love and Your Providential care for us. Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, bless our families.

Cancao da Familia (video)

Dedicated to my entire family and all my Portuguese friends that join me here, on this Feast Day of the Family which is made even more special for my family since it is the 10th anniversary of my mom's entrance into heaven. I love you all!

The Eternal Family Reunion

The Eternal Family Reunion : A Catholic Reflection:

"For your family to stay together for an eternity of Christmases, you must:

Repent of sin and decide to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Talk to your family members about your love for Jesus.

Be in right relationship with family members. Honor your parents (Sir 3:2), be submissive to your husband, lay down your life for your wife (Col 3:18-19), disciple your children.

Pray together daily as a married couple and as a family (see Mt 18:19-20).

Forgive family members seven times seventy times (see Col 3:13).

Many of you feel very discouraged about the spiritual state of your families. Be instead confident that the Lord loves each member of your family, even to death on the cross. Jesus will change the hardest heart. Be hopeful.

PRAYER: Father, may I remove the plank of sin from my own eye so as to help family members remove the specks from their eyes (Mt 7:5)."

USCCB - (NAB) - December 30, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 30, 2007:

"Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged."

Prayer for Today: Oh Lord, you designed the family to be a learning place for us on how to be Christians. Give us humility and a heart for each other so that we may discover the beauty hidden there.

Universalis: Office of Readings:
An address given at Nazareth by Pope Paul VI
The example of Nazareth

"Second, we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family’s holy and enduring character and exemplify its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings, in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children – and for this there is no substitute."

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.

DECOLORES

full lyrics here:


"Joyfully, joyfully we live in god's friendship because he has willed it.
Faithfully, faithfully we will slake the great thirst of christ the immortal.
Joyfully, joyfully we will bring to our savior a harvest of souls.
Pouring outward the light from within the grace of our god his infinite light.
Pouring outward the light from within the grace of our god his infinite light.

Missionaries, missionaries of christ with his courage determined to conquer.
Cursillistas, cursillistas who don't pay attention to human opinion.
Let the cowards, let the cowards deride us and taunt for it is the truth;
That they really desire the pleasure of being in grace, in colors with us.
That they really desire the pleasure of being in grace, in colors with us."

craving Truth

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"We begin to crave this divine truth, and once we start receiving His truth - and I say truth because God is truth and everything He says to us, everything that is infused into us, is truth - the other beautiful fruit here is that we begin to see the lies that we didn’t see before. We begin to see the lies that we were raised with. We begin to see the lies of the world, maybe in our own families, in our own culture. Maybe we don’t even know the difference between a lie and truth until this knowledge, this pure wisdom, this understanding of God begins to enlighten our minds and we begin to know. It’s a grace. It’s a gift from God."

video

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:

"Pharaoh then gave his subjects this command: ‘Throw all the boys born to the Hebrews into the river, but let all the girls live’."

Enlighten the minds of all leaders Lord, so that the killing of the innocents will stop. Bring Your Light and Truth into the heart of all Your people so that a new era may enter...one which has at its basis the respect for all human life.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 28, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 28, 2007:

"God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we say, “We have fellowship with him,”
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin."

Prayer for Today: Lord, may we be illumined by Your Light and persevere in walking in truth. May we learn to love the Light more then the Darkness. May we in turn be a source of Light for our family and friends as He shines His Light through us...even if at first attempt they shield their eyes and turn from us.

A Consolation

Live your Catholic faith

Your Catholic faith is a public thing. It is not meant to be left behind when you leave home (ccc2472). But be forwarned: Being a public Catholic involves risk and loss. You will find some doors closed to you. You will lose some friends. You will be considered an outsider. But, as a consolation, remember our Lord's words to the persecuted: "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Matt. 5:12).

SING FOR JOY (video)

covenant relationship

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"In Isaiah 42:67, God said, “I have formed you.” God has formed us and He is continuing to form us. “I have formed you as a covenant.” You become the covenant now, “to open the eyes of the blind, to bring the prisoners out from confinement”, out from the dungeons or from wherever they are living in darkness. This is New Covenant ministry at its best. In John 17, Jesus said, “I have given you the glory that the Father has given to Me. I have prayed, ‘Father, that they may be one, as we are one.’” That’s covenant. “You, Father, in me and I in you and I in them,” one totally in this Trinitarian love. Jesus has called us into this relationship, to be totally, literally, in love, dwelling in the full presence of love in this New Covenant relationship. All this I, too, say to you today that His joy may truly, truly be in you, so that your joy will always be complete.

Excerpt from Mother Nadine’s “New Covenant,” Come Higher Friends conference, Omaha, NE, 2004."

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:

"The just will rejoice and hope in the Lord:
the upright in heart will give him glory."

USCCB - (NAB) - December 27, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 27, 2007:

"We are writing this so that our joy may be complete."

Prayer for Today: Show us Lord how we need nothing but You in order to have complete joy. If we focus on the world around us, there is so little to be happy about...but if we keep our focus on You, we can't help but to rejoice! Bless us with joy today!

Prayer Request

Could you please keep my dad in your prayers. He was hospitalized on Christmas Eve with congestive heart failure due to a hardened heart valve. He has a lot of fluids and it is making it very uncomfortable for him to sleep...he can't lie back and has been sleepin up in a chair for a while now. I'm praying for some comfort and peace for him.

Also Roy's cousin(in law)Joe who was diagnosed with stomach cancer over the Summer and has been receiving chemo treatment will have his cat scan on Friday to determine where things stand. Our God is able! Let us pray for the Lord to pour down His grace on Joe and his family and for that tumor to completly disappear.

Thank you!

"Mary's Boy Child/ Oh My Lord" (video)

joy

Medjugorje Graces: ANNUAL APPARITION TO JAKOV ON DECEMBER 25TH 2007: "'Dear children! Today, in a special way I call you to become open to God and for each of your hearts today to become a place of Jesus’ birth. Little children, through all this time that God permits me to be with you, I desire to lead you to the joy of your life. Little children, the only true joy of your life is God. Therefore, dear children, do not seek joy in things of this earth but open your hearts and accept God. Little children, everything passes, only God remains in your heart. Thank you for having responded to my call.'"

Sing a New Song(a fun video)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):
"Psalm 149
The saints rejoice

Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its maker, and the sons of Sion delight in their king.
Let them praise his name with dancing, sing to him with timbrel and lyre,
for the Lord’s favour is upon his people, and he will honour the humble with victory."

USCCB - (NAB) - December 26, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 26, 2007:

"When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

Prayer for Today: Lord, may we be more open to having You speak through us.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 25, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 25, 2007:

"And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth."

Merry Christmas!

YouTube - Let there be Peace on Earth (Vince Gill)

Pope On the Birth of Christ (cont.)

ZENIT - On the Birth of Christ

Dear friends, in these days of preparation leading up to Christmas the prayer of the Church intensifies, so that the hopes for peace, salvation, justice, and all that the world urgently needs, be made a reality. We ask God that violence be defeated by the power of love, that opposition be replaced by reconciliation, that the desire to dominate be transformed into desires for forgiveness, justice and peace.

May the wishes of kindness and love that we exchange in these days reach all sectors of our daily lives. May peace be in our hearts, so that we can be open to the action of God's mercy. May peace live in all families and may they spend Christmas united before the crib and the tree decorated with lights. May the Christmas message of solidarity and welcome contribute to create a deeper sensibility toward old and new types of poverty, and toward the common good that we are all called to share.

May all family members, especially the children and the elderly -- the weakest ones -- feel the warmth of this feast, and may that warmth spread out through every day of the year. May Christmas be a celebration of peace and joy: joy for the birth of the Savior, Prince of peace. Like the shepherds, we hasten our steps toward Bethlehem. In the heart of the Holy Night we will be able to contemplate the "infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger," together with Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:12,16).

We ask the Lord to open our soul, so that we can enter the mystery of his birth. May Mary, who gave her virginal womb to the Word of God, who contemplated the child between her arms, and who offers him to everyone as the Redeemer of the world, help us make next Christmas a moment of growth in the knowledge and love of Christ. This is the wish that I warmly extend to you all, to your families and your dear ones.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:

"For this reason, when our Lord was born of the Virgin, the message of the angelic voices was: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men of good will.

For how could there be peace on earth unless Truth has arisen from the earth, that is, unless Christ were born of our flesh? And he is our peace who made the two into one: that we might be men of good will, sweetly linked by the bond of unity.

Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says: He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head. For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the son of man, so that a son of man might in his turn become son of God?

Ask if this were merited; ask for its reason, for its justification, and see whether you will find any other answer but sheer grace."

---from A sermon of St Augustine

USCCB - (NAB) - December 24, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 24, 2007:

"In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”"

Today's Prayer: May peace dwell within each one of us, within our families and friends, within our parishes...within our world.

Let your glory fall (video)

Pope On the Birth of Christ

ZENIT - On the Birth of Christ:

"It is therefore very important that we are true believers, and as believers, that we reaffirm forcefully, with our lives, the mystery of salvation that comes with the celebration of Christ's birth! In Bethlehem, the Light which illumines our life was made manifest to the world; the Way which leads to the fullness of our humanity was revealed to us. What sense does it make to celebrate Christmas if we don't acknowledge that God has become man? The celebration becomes empty.
Before all else, we Christians have to reassert with deep and heartfelt conviction the truth of Christ's birth in order to bear witness before all the awareness of an unparalleled gift that enriches not only us, but everyone.

---taken from reflection on Christmas that Benedict XVI delivered on December 19th at the general audience "

Jesus is Key!

Intercessors Of The Lamb
"In Acts 4:12 we read, “There is no salvation, for there is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are saved, except by the name of Jesus.” In other words, there is no salvation, there is no covenant love, except in Jesus. Jesus is the key. He is not an option. He is absolutely essential. He was trying to say that in the Martha and Mary Scripture. “She has chosen the better part.” This is the one thing necessary – this union, this covenant love, this God coming to His people, is a major theme in the Old Testament, but it definitely, totally takes over the New. In Luke 1 the whole theme is all about God coming to His people in that beautiful Benedictus, particularly verse 72 which says through the mouth of Isaiah, “God is showing mercy to our fathers because He’s remembering His holy covenant.” He is getting ready, now, to establish the New Covenant. Of course John was chosen to prepare the way. In God’s mercy He is doing it again with His very self, His own Son."

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:

"Who will climb the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in his holy place?
The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,
who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.
He will receive the blessing of the Lord and be justified by God his saviour.
This is the way of those who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob."

Praise You Father, for sending us Your Son so that we all may climb to Your holy dwelling...left on our own, none of us would make it.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 23, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 23, 2007:

"Through him we have received the grace of apostleship,
to bring about the obedience of faith,
for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Prayer for today: The call to be holy and to belong to Jesus Christ is going out, may more hearts then ever before turn to Him now!

The Little Drummer Boy (video)

The Pearl Necklace

The Pearl Necklace


The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.

On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."

"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver,she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.

He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

What are you hanging on to?

--- Author Unknown ---

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
Isaiah 49:14 - 50:1
"Look round about you, look,
all are assembling, coming to you.
By my life – it is the Lord who speaks –
you will wear these as your jewels,
they will adorn you as brides are adorned;
for your desolate places and your ruins
and your devastated country
will now be too small for all your inhabitants,
now that your devourers are far away."

Praise You Lord for all that You give us!

USCCB - (NAB) - December 22, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 22, 2007:

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.
Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;
as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.”"

Prayer for Today: Lord help us to remember that it all belongs to You anyways. May all the gifts that You have given to us (and even the suffering and temptations that You have allowed) be used to glorify You.

Ora Pro Nobis!

Ora Pro Nobis! Custom Designed and Personalized Holy Cards for All Your Special Days

This was just brought to my attention and I think it is an awesome idea.

Christ within others

Spirit Daily - Daily spiritual news from around the world:

"View others as you want God to view you, and you will break through to love. Receive the blessing of blessing others."

Today: Let us not only acknowledge that Christ is within us but that He is also within those that we come in contact with.

O Little Town Of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And Peace to men on earth

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may his His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel

Come to Bethlehem

Intercessors Of The Lamb

Bethlehem is a contemplative type of prayer. There are not any words really; it’s an experience. Anytime we go there, the experience will be different. So St. Ignatius says to try to just let go of the thinking process in these meditations this coming week and become totally immersed in the scene—be there. This is where we want to use all five senses. Try to see the scene and the persons. Try to hear. You’re going to hear Mary and Joseph speaking. Are you going to hear the angels singing? Are you going to hear a baby’s noises? Are you coming to hear the animals? See what you hear. Are you going to hear the wind at night? Try to smell. It had to be very odorous there. Try to smell the smells because it makes it real. You’re there then. Try to smell the hay in the manger. Try to taste the sweetness of the moment of the mystery, of this tremendous gift of God in flesh—not only in flesh, but in baby flesh. You might find that the Spirit’s going to let you to experience the tremendous poverty of this child. Jesus was extremely rich. He’s God. He had everything in Heaven. He left it all when He descended. The last sense to use is touch. Try to touch something in the mysteries that you’ll be gazing upon. Maybe touch the straw at Bethlehem. Maybe hold the Baby, maybe touch Mary’s hand, maybe experience how hard the ground that Mary and Joseph were on was.

To conclude, this whole scene might lead you to an awareness that this is actually taking place within me. There’s a new birthing now within me. The child Jesus is being born now within me. The beautiful mystery of the rosary, “Finding the Child Jesus in the Temple”, might be your experience as you find them deep within yourself. So the week will be one of quietness. It will be one of revelation. It will primarily be one of experience. Contemplation is an experience. It’s the experience of the truth. It might be the experience more of the Incarnation itself.

Teresa of Avila said one of the greatest mystical graces a soul can receive is the experience of Incarnational spirituality—to really know that that Child now lives within me, that Child now has taken on my flesh. This is where it will ultimately lead me. That’s Incarnational spirituality: we become one with Jesus. He became one with me. The Word now has become enfleshed in me. So you want to have the experience. The Spirit will lead, and ultimately your prayer might end up just being lost in the mystery and wonderment because it’s so beyond the human mind. This is what contemplation ultimately comes to: being lost in the mystery, gazing at the beauty, and being lost in the goodness of God and that He has done this for me.

Excerpt from Mother Nadine’s “Heart- to-heart Listening: Experiencing Jesus Intimately,”March 13, 2000.

The Lord Magnified in us

Universalis: Office of Readings:

"Blessed are you,” said Elizabeth, “who believed”.
You too, my people, are blessed, you who have heard and who believe. Every soul that believes — that soul both conceives and gives birth to the Word of God and recognises his works.

Let the soul of Mary be in each one of you, to proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Let the spirit of Mary be in each one of you, to rejoice in God. According to the flesh only one woman can be the mother of Christ but in the world of faith Christ is the fruit of all of us. For every soul can receive the Word of God if only it is pure and preserves itself in chastity and modesty.

The soul that has been able to reach this state proclaims the greatness of the Lord just as Mary did and rejoices in God its saviour just like her.
The Lord’s greatness is proclaimed, as you have read elsewhere, where it says Join me in magnifying the Lord. This does not mean that anything can be added to the Lord’s greatness by human words, but that he is magnified in us. Christ is the image of God and so any good or religious act that a soul performs magnifies that image of God in that soul, the God in whose likeness the soul itself was made. And thus the soul itself has some share in his greatness and is ennobled."

---from St Ambrose's commentary on St Luke's Gospel

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
Isaiah 48:12 - 49:13

"Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is good for you,
I lead you in the way that you must go.
If only you had been alert to my commandments,
your happiness would have been like a river,
your integrity like the waves of the sea.
Your children would have been numbered like the sand,
your descendants as many as its grains.
Never would your name have been cut off or blotted out before me."

Blessed are you...

USCCB - (NAB) - December 21, 2007:

"Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”"

Prayer for Today: As soon as Mary Got the word that her cousin Elizabeth was with child, she believed and set out to go to her. May we too act on the word that we are receiving daily from You Lord. May we in turn reach out to others with great love and not only be a blessing to others but be blessed ourselves.

transferences

Intercessors Of The Lamb
"First we go through a stage where we are informed. This is the Night of the Soul. God is good. He doesn’t let us stay in that birthing too long. Now the growth is going to start. There is a deeper purification of our hearts. Our intercession changes a little bit here. As we grow, the ministry does too, and there will be some transferences. Now, all of a sudden, it isn’t just me. We begin to see that, “I don’t have to be totally healed, totally well, or have my act all together to have effective and powerful intercession.” We see that He’s using us in a deeper way now. He begins to teach us about the transferences. We’ll begin to see that it’s not just my heart that is kind of anxious. It’s not just my heart that might be fearful. It might not just be my heart that is kind of distressed, even depressed maybe. God begins to show us, “Pray for others who are feeling the same way.” We start to pick up God’s plan more. We see that whatever I’m going through is going to affect my intercession for others because I’m gaining that territory. Why, I have compassion now! I know what it feels like to be anxious or to be fearful. We don’t want other people to have to continue living like that. Maybe people are fearful of death; maybe people are lonely, rejected. We’ll start to pick up feelings, or maybe events and circumstances, that we are actually going through ourselves. We don’t let it be wasted. We use it right away in intercession."

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings
Isaiah 48:1 - 11

"Now I am revealing new things to you,
things hidden and unknown to you,
created just now, this very moment,
of these things you have heard nothing until now,
so that you cannot say, ‘Oh yes, I knew all this’.

You had never heard,
you did not know,
I had not opened your ear beforehand;
for I knew how treacherous you were,
and that you have deserved the name of rebel from your birth."

Speak Lord for Your servant is now listening.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 20, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 20, 2007:

"And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God."

Prayer for today: Calm our fears Lord! We want to do Your will, but there are so many things standing in the way...and one of them is not fully understanding what it all means. Illumine our hearts and understanding, Lord.

Mother Teresa Pro-Life Speech -

"And for this I appeal in India and I appeal everywhere - "Let us bring the child back." The child is God's gift to the family. Each child is created in the special image and likeness of God for greater things - to love and to be loved. In this year of the family we must bring the child back to the center of our care and concern. This is the only way that our world can survive because our children are the only hope for the future. As older people are called to God, only their children can take their places.

But what does God say to us? He says: "Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of my hand." We are carved in the palm of His hand; that unborn child has been carved in the hand of God from conception and is called by God to love and to be loved, not only now in this life, but forever. God can never forget us.

I will tell you something beautiful. We are fighting abortion by adoption - by care of the mother and adoption for her baby. We have saved thousands of lives. We have sent word to the clinics, to the hospitals and police stations: "Please don't destroy the child; we will take the child." So we always have someone tell the mothers in trouble: "Come, we will take care of you, we will get a home for your child." And we have a tremendous demand from couples who cannot have a child - but I never give a child to a couple who have done something not to have a child. Jesus said. "Anyone who receives a child in my name, receives me." By adopting a child, these couples receive Jesus but, by aborting a child, a couple refuses to receive Jesus.

Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child.

From our children's home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over 3000 children from abortion. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopting parents and have grown up so full of love and joy.

I know that couples have to plan their family and for that there is natural family planning.

The way to plan the family is natural family planning, not contraception.

In destroying the power of giving life, through contraception, a husband or wife is doing something to self. This turns the attention to self and so it destroys the gift of love in him or her. In loving, the husband and wife must turn the attention to each other as happens in natural family planning, and not to self, as happens in contraception. Once that living love is destroyed by contraception, abortion follows very easily.

I also know that there are great problems in the world - that many spouses do not love each other enough to practice natural family planning. We cannot solve all the problems in the world, but let us never bring in the worst problem of all, and that is to destroy love. And this is what happens when we tell people to practice contraception and abortion."

A baby's prayer (video)

Evangelium vitae

Evangelium vitae - Ioannes Paulus PP. II - Encyclical Letter (1995.03.25)

"1. The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as "good news" to the people of every age and culture.

At the dawn of salvation, it is the Birth of a Child which is proclaimed as joyful news: "I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:10-11). The source of this "great joy" is the Birth of the Saviour; but Christmas also reveals the full meaning of every human birth, and the joy which accompanies the Birth of the Messiah is thus seen to be the foundation and fulfilment of joy at every child born into the world (cf. Jn 16:21)."

The Cause of Life

"O, Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life. Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violance, of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life.

--John Paul II"

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):

"God, you deigned to reveal the splendour of your glory to the world through the holy Virgin’s giving birth to your Son.
Grant us this gift: that we may celebrate this great mystery of the Incarnation
with complete faith and devotion for ever."

USCCB - (NAB) - December 19, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 19, 2007:

"He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn the hearts of fathers toward children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”"

Today's Prayer: For parents' hearts to be turned back towards the children. May we be a people who sees and appreciates the sancity of life from the first moments of conception to its natural end.

Shine Jesus Shine ( Video)

I've been singing this song all day as Sarah and I go around cleaning house and making it shine for Jesus. She asked me if we sang this at 'Monday night church' last night...lol. Nope...the Lord just put it into my heart today. Actually, I don't know the whole song by heart...so the tune you would hear if you were a fly on the wall is more like 'shine, Jesus shine...la, la, la...'..lol.

grow baby, grow

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"So we have to allow this Word that we are receiving every day to grow, to grow in hiddenness, to grow within us, to grow in wisdom and grace. Wisdom, the highest form of wisdom, by the way, is always surrender. 'Be it done'. It is openness; it is receptivity. Just to hear God's word and not receive it is not enough. We have to receive it into our own self as Our Lady did. He will grow within us."

A baby is born!

Stepping Out of the Boat: WE GOT THE CALL!!!!!!!! WILL YOU HELP US!!!!!!:

"WOWZERS! We got THE CALL ! We got THE CALL ! We got THE CALL !It has been a crazy day of waiting to see what the final outcome was going to be. I am beyond excited to tell you that our tickets are booked, suitcases packed, video camera charged because....we are going to meet our SON!!!!!"

Let us rejoice and keep this family in our prayers. God is working in a mighty way over there! Babies and Christmas just go hand and hand so perfectly.

Let it be Christmas(video)

house cleaning

Spirit Daily - Daily spiritual news from around the world:

"Go through the house and rid it of objects that smack of the occult or salaciousness. Anything linked to the supernatural (other than that associated with Jesus), and anything attached to lust, should be cast out."

As all mothers know, the days just before the arrival of our special bundles are usually set apart for 'nesting'. Setting up our home in a way that will be comfortable for the baby and also so that we won't be distracted from our main priority when he does arrive. In this way we should also 'cleanse' our homes of anything that is not of God so that we can better focus on Him.

O Come O Come Emmanuel

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
Psalm 67 (68)

"O God, command in your strength;
make firm what you have achieved in us.
From your temple in Jerusalem,
kings shall bring you tribute.
Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,
the herd of bulls, the lords of peoples.
Let them lie prostrate before you with tribute of silver.
Scatter the peoples that delight in war.
Nobles will come from Egypt,
Ethiopia will stretch out its hands to God."

We pray that all the ends of the earth will finally receive the 'Good News'!

USCCB - (NAB) - December 18, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 18, 2007:

"Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”"

Prayer for Today: Oh Lord, You are indeed with us! Give us the grace and courage like Mary to also 'deliver' You into the world that so desperately needs You today.