Tag Archives: God’s Love

To know His overwhelming, Unconditional Love

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God’s Me

You are who you are for a reason,
You’re part of an intricate plan.
You’re a precious and perfect unique design,
Called God’s special woman or man.

You look like you look for a reason.
Our God made no mistake.
He knit you together within the womb,
You’re just what he wanted to make.

The parents you had were the ones he chose,
And no matter how you feel,
They were custom-designed with God’s plan in mind,
And they bear the Master’s seal.

No, that trauma you faced was not easy.
And God wept that it hurt you so;
But it was allowed to shape your heart
So that into his likeness you’d grow.

You are who you are for a reason,
You’ve been formed by the Master’s rod
You are who you are, beloved,
Because there is a God!!!

_Poem by Russell Kelfer
Atheist

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“Go and do likewise”

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Meditation
If God is all-loving and compassionate, then why is there so much suffering and evil in this world? Many agnostics refuse to believe in God because of this seemingly imponderable problem. If God is love then evil and suffering must be eliminated in all its forms. What is God’s answer to this human dilemma? Jesus’ parable about a highway robbery gives us a helpful hint. Jesus told this dramatic story in response to a devout Jew who wanted to understand how to apply God’s great commandment of love to his everyday life circumstances. In so many words this religious-minded Jew said: “I want to love God as best as I can and I want to love my neighbor as well. But how do I know that I am fulfilling my duty to love my neighbor as myself?” Jesus must have smiled when he heard this man challenge him to explain one’s duty towards their neighbor. For the Jewish believer the law of love was plain and simple: “treat your neighbor as you would treat yourself.” The real issue for this believer was the correct definition of who is “my neighbor”. He understood “neighbor” to mean one’s fellow Jew who belonged to the same covenant which God made with the people of Israel. Up to a certain point, Jesus agreed with this sincere expert but, at the same time, he challenged him to see that God’s view of neighbor went far beyond his narrow definition.

Jesus told a parable to show how wide God’s love and mercy is towards every fellow human being. Jesus’s story of a brutal highway robbery was all too familiar to his audience. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho went through a narrow winding valley surrounded by steep rocky cliffs. Many wealthy Jews from Jerusalem had winter homes in Jerico. This narrow highway was dangerous and notorious for its robbers who could easily ambush their victim and escape into the hills. No one in his right mind would think of traveling through this dangerous highway alone. It was far safer to travel with others for protection and defense.

So why did the religious leaders refuse to give any help when they saw a half-dead victim lying by the roadside? Didn’t they recognize that this victim was their neighbor? And why did a Samaritan, an outsider who was despised by the Jews, treat this victim with special care at his own expense as he would care for his own family? Who was the real neighbor who showed brotherly compassion and mercy? Jesus makes the supposed villain, the despised Samaritan, the merciful one as an example for the status conscious Jews. Why didn’t the priest and Levite stop to help? The priest probably didn’t want to risk the possibility of ritual impurity. His piety got in the way of charity. The Levite approached close to the victim, but stopped short of actually helping him. Perhaps he feared that bandits were using a decoy to ambush him. The Levite put personal safety ahead of saving his neighbor.

What does Jesus’ story tell us about true love for one’s neighbor? First, we must be willing to help even if others brought trouble on themselves through their own fault or negligence. Second, our love and concern to help others in need must be practical. Good intentions and showing pity, or emphathizing with others, are not enough. And lastly, our love for others must be as wide and as inclusive as God’s love. God excludes no one from his care and concern. God’s love is unconditional. So we must be ready to do good to others for their sake, just as God is good to us. Jesus not only taught God’s way of love, but he showed how far God was willing to go to share in our suffering and to restore us to wholeness of life and happiness. Jesus overcame sin, suffering, and death through his victory on the cross. His death brought us freedom from slavery to sin and the promise of everlasting life with God. He willingly shared in our suffering to bring us to the source of true healing and freedom from sin and oppression. True compassion not only identifies and emphathizes with the one who is in pain, but takes that pain on oneself in order to bring freedom and restoration. Jesus truly identified with our plight, and he took the burden of our sinful condition upon himself. He showed us the depths of God’s love and compassion, by sharing in our suffering and by offering his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins upon the cross. His suffering is redemptive because it brings us healing and restoration and the fulness of eternal life. God offers us true freedom from every form of oppression, sin, and suffering. And that way is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Are you ready to embrace the cross of Christ, to suffer for his sake, and to lay down your life out of love for your neighbor?

“Lord Jesus, may your love always be the foundation of my life. Free me from every fear and selfish-concern that I may freely give myself in loving service to others, even to the point of laying my life down for their sake.”

_Kairo’s

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Emily the Elephant!!

Download: audio post 2013 10 07 19 05 12

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Canticle of the Sun

Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord. Praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Angels of the Lord: (bless the Lord.) Repeat after every line.
You heavens:
Sun and Moon:
Stars of Heaven:

Every shower and dew:
All you winds:
Fire and heat:
Cold and chill:
Night and days:
Lightning and clouds:

Let the earth bless the Lord. Praise and exalt Him above all forever.

Mountains and hills:
Everything growing from the earth:
Seas and rivers:
You dolphins and all water creatures:
All you birds of the air:
All you beasts, wild and tame:
You sons of men:
Holy men of humble heart:

_St. Francis

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Edward the Elephant_Audio Post

Download: audio post 2013 10 04 16 48 32

_Conor

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Emily the Elephant

Emily was a couple of years older than Edward. She knew so much more than Edward and told Edward that every day. I mean everyday! That did not bother Edward though, as he really liked his sister. He loved her and liked following her all around the fields looking for food, and he liked meeting all of her friends too. They were so nice to him. Sometimes better than Emily. She could be a mean sister!

One day as Emily was supposed to be watching Edward, she got involved with her elephant friends and lost sight of Edward. He must have wandered away, she thought. She looked around and did not see him. All of a sudden she got scared! Edward was too young to be out here in the fields all by himself. She thought, “What am I going to do? Where do I start looking for Edward? Oh NO! What have I done?

Emily was having so much fun with her friends, she had no idea how long Edward was gone. As often as she told Edward how much more she knew than him, she felt real bad about losing Edward. She became real sad! She was worried! She knows the danger with other animals here in jungle.

Edward was off running around, and guess what! He found a bunch of puddles and could not wait to get in them. He was having so much fun just rolling around and getting muddy. Boy, did he love being muddy!

Edward did not realize that Emily was not around, because all he was thinking about was rolling in the water and dirt. He just loved doing that and liked filling up his trunk, again and again, with water! But then Edward looked around and realized what he did—He walked away from Emily and got so involved with the puddles, that now, he doesn’t know where Emily is. He cannot see her anywhere. Oh no! Where am I?

As Edward got up from the mud, he heard noises from other animals that he did not know. From the noises, it sounded like quite a few animals. He heard elephants yelling too! They were yelling at each other and at the other animals too! What was going on? That is Emily and her friends!! I hear Emily screaming. I got to find her!

Edward started walking slowly towards all the noise he heard in the distance. He then started to run, because he was worried about his sister. What am I’m going to do? I’m scared! Then he remembered what his mother told him after he got in trouble last time with the puddles. She said, “It is ok to be scared. We all get scared sometimes, but we must be brave and always do the right thing. We must always help family and friends, and other animals too that need help. And yes, you always need to listen to what Mom and Dad tell you.”

Edward then started to run even faster now. The noises were louder and he could not stop thinking about Emily. She’s my sister! My sometimes mean sister! He got behind the trees and he could see 3 young lions running around the elephants trying to get one of them alone. They were much faster than the elephants, but the elephants were bigger. It looked like they were trying to get Arnold, my friend, one of the smaller elephants like me.

Edward just watch them trying to figure out what they were going to do next. Edward slipped around the side where there were more trees so he could get even closer. He knew he had to surprise the lions, so the other elephants could help him chase the lions away.

Edward knew what he was going to do. He was so glad he did what he always loved doing in the puddles. He had filled his trunk up to the top with water. Now, he was ready!

Edward waited for the right moment and then charged the lions. Emily saw Edward, so she charged from the other side towards Edward. The lions were caught in the middle! The lions saw elephants coming at them from all sides. They knew they had to run and get away or they would be hurt.

It worked! The lions left. Emily could not wait to get to Edward and say how sorry she was for not looking after him. She promised that it would never happen again. And she told Edward she was sorry for always telling him she knew more than him. She was wrong. Emily also told Edward, that because of what he did, he saved everyone from getting hurt. Yes Edward, you knew more than me today. I am so proud of you Edward! Thank you for helping and I want you to know, I love my little brother. She put her trunk around his head and gave him a hug!

The elephants all gathered together and started a line to go back home. Edward was feeling pretty good for helping, but it meant so much more to him to hear his sister tell him she loves him. Emily means so much to me too I love her too!

Edward now couldn’t wait to get home and tell Mom and Dad.

“Find a way.”
_Conor

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“As I have loved you, so you should also love one another.”

_John 13:34

Love

As one reads the bible and reflects on its passages, some more than others have huge impacts on our lives. Some speak to our heart and reflect the needed changes we need to make in our thinking and behavior. Others offer peace and direction, and the needed insight for our lives and beliefs. The above passage from John, speaks to what God has said about love, its importance in our lives, and the call to sharing it.

I have just finished reading “Proof of Heaven” by Eben Alexander, M.D. He acquired bacterial meningitis in his brain, a bacteria known as E. coli, which has a 99+% fatality rate. Within 3 days, his brain shut down and he slipped into a coma, which lasted for 7 days. After a miraculous recovery, he faced a difficult road to full recovery and rehabilitation. During this time, he had the overwhelming drive to speak and write of the many things he had experienced. This is what he referred too as “Unpacking.”

Eben, highly educated and a neurosurgeon surgeon himself, found he could not explain what he saw and experienced. Words from this world could not begin to adequately explain the world of Heaven. One experience, more than all the others, was experiencing the Love from God and being in His presence. This is the most common and similar experience of all NDE experiences (Near Death Experience). For everyone who has returned, they talk of their encounters in heaven, their journey and what they saw, and the miraculous aspects of their tragedies; but the Love of God is indescribable. (Not only beyond words, but too wonderful for words.)

When we think of love today in our life, what comes to your mind? The love of God, family and children? Seeing the joy of good happening to others? Finding a lost friend or receiving a letter from one so important to you, or experiencing God’s overwhelming presence and love? Has it brought tears of joy and the feeling of love over you?

Today’s bible quote is all encompassing. It sums up all we have been asked to do, and what should guide our actions. It speaks loudly of God’s unconditional love for us, and the action we need to take. God is all understanding and all forgiving. We need to keep listening to God and remaning close Him.

“What lies before us and what lies behind us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Think of the gifts of love you have in your life and pass it on. A gift is not a gift until it is given to others.

“Find a way.”

_Conor

Love

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Pain and Suffering

We are all called to pain and suffering. It is part of life that comes in all forms, that no one can escape. Some noticeable, and others, we are made to deal with alone, in the quiet of our own company. This is the cross, or in many cases, the crosses we are meant to carry. As Blessed Fulton Sheen notes in his book, “Treasure in Clay,” “if we don’t pick up our cross you can be sure, at some time, it will be dropped on your shoulder.” Accepting one’s cross was so important to Blessed Fulton Sheen, he would pray for, and received, “extra splinters” so he could accept them for the souls of the world in need.

“As if we could give anything to God which is not already his, or (which is equally unthinkable,) He could take pleasure in our human anguish.” The blood, wounds, and the death on Calvary, speaks loudly of God’s love and forgiveness for us then, and now. Today!

As we are dealing with our cross(es) in life, let us remember on this day, the 11th of September, the horror of that day in 2001. And today, the death and torture we see in the world now, from Boston to Syria. And let us not forget, as we look back even further, the unimaginable; to think of the atrocities of the Concentration Camps of World War II. Millions were killed, while the few survivors today, still carry the pain and suffering .

Remember as God continues to loves us as He always has, that God also suffers with and for us with our pain and suffering. And also be aware, we see man’s “free will” in evidence today, both good and bad, all around us. Let us acknowledge the good given to us, and the good that we see every day as we go about, from those embracing and spreading love. And yes, let us pray for those who inflict the bad and evil as they go about, for whatever reason, that they find the love and understanding, and recognize the need for their remorse.

“As I have loved you, so you should also love one another.” _ John 13:34

So, the “Whatever,” is something we can, and should do, everyday.

“Find a way.”

_Conor

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“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

― John Lennon

Happiness is a wonderful state of life. What more could you want or ask for? But, there are some questions that need to be addressed along with happiness. Some happiness is for a moment, or an event in our life, while others are for some period of time. But how do we sustain happiness for ourselves?

Happiness is needed in all dimensions of our existence; that is physical, mental and spiritual. However, it begs the question, are they mutually exclusive of one another, or are they parallel or are they sequential?

There is another way of saying what John Lennon said so simply. That is striving for the quiet or “peace of the heart.” God has promised that to all that pursue Him in prayer. And if one does not have prayer in their life, or is just beginning a prayerful life, one doesn’t have to fear it. One can also speak from the heart; everyday to God, in your own words. Just the two of you. Many times that is the only way we should speak to God. “God is merciful and will hear your prayer…..it is the key to God’s heart.” And when we have a peaceful heart, all else finds it home.

Reflect to the answer, but we all need to “Find a Way.”

_Conor

“Happy”

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Diana Nyad”s Mantra

“Find a way.”

_Diana Nyad

Most of us have probably heard of Diana Nyad’s 103 mile swim this past week from Cuba to Key West. This was finally a dream come true for her after 30 years and 4 previous attempts, all which failed for various reasons. Now at 64 years old, she has realized a lifelong dream that took tremendous commitment, determination and courage.

She was asked how she overcame all these obstacles, and she stated that her mantra this swim was simply, “Find a way.” Find a way to get through the physical pain, despair, the jellyfish bites, the hallucinations in the water, burning of her mouth from salt water…………”Find a way.”

What about us? Can we find a way to rid of ourselves of our addictions, our impatience with others? Can we find a way to help others along the way, if just in some small way? Can we lend a hand or take the time to listen, just listen to someone who needs to talk? Can we give a word of encouragement to a child or someone struggling? Can we give a smile that says hey, you’re a special person? Can we find time to love those around us as we go through our day? And maybe, those around us have problems much bigger than we are carrying around. And yes, can we find the way today to say a prayer of thanks and love to God, and if not a prayer, can we just talk to Him and share our thoughts, our thanks and love to Him sometime throughout the day? Can we “Find a Way?”

_Conor

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“It is to know God, not just knowing about God.”

Think of the relationships you have in life. Whether it may be with a husband or wife, that special person, family member, parents, friends…the list is endless. You have a special love and bond for them. They are part of your life; an important part. Think how you know them, their personality and their ways, their love and even their little quirks. Now take all that away and imagine you just know them. Period.

Kind of an empty feeling. Uncomfortable. Miss them already for who they are and what they meant to you. Now take that same feeling and apply it to God. Do you know God or just about God? Is it time to really know God and know the source of all love.

_Conor

Knowing God

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Words

My life has come down to words. Words express my feelings and emotions. The love I feel; the thanks I need to give. The closeness I feel when I can speak from my heart to you, my God. Words bring it all together for me, and at other times, the lack of words and silence, gives rise to my overwhelming feelings for you.

The closeness I enjoy and I pray to keep. My life is expressed in words, my triumphs and my failures. My words say it for all to hear, and you God, acknowledge my triumphs, and forgive my failures. My words speak of sufferings that I endure for you and what you have done for all. I offer it up to you as thanks. And those words are acknowledged with love from you.

All I can say is thanks, but what my words really say is, I love you, Lord.

And my words do not have to be heard by others, Lord. It is between you and me, alone in my corner room in the early mornings of the hours. It is our secret. This closeness is all I need to move forward. Yes, at times I want to share my words with others, but it is not necessary for me. Maybe my words are for you and my actions are for others?

I know you’re always with me and I am thankful for your presence, and I know you hear me when I speak and pray to you. You hear my words, but sometimes I have none, so I let my silence speak. Other times I cannot slow down my words, as I have much to say. My feelings just come forth and I know you understand, and you God, know what is written in my heart.

I thank you again for the answers to my prayers. You have given me the words to express all that I feel and it has a profound impact on me. I can only ask now that these words are passed onto others, so they too, can know, feel and experience, your words to them.

_Conor

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A Family Prayer

” Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of our family.
Enlightened our hearts and minds that we may live more fully
this vocation to love.

In our daily life and work, may we reflect the self-giving love which you, O Father, eternally show with your Son and the Holy Spirit.

Let your love be evident in the pace that reigns in our home and in the faith we profess and live. May our family always be a place of generosity, understanding, forgiveness and joy.

Kindly give us the wisdom and courage to be a witness to your esternal design for the family; and grant that the Holy Family of Nazareth may always guide our path to holiness as a family.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever.”

Amen.

_Archbishop William E. Lori