Saturday, March 17, 2007
hm. from the couple of email i received (one from von and another from my friend)
its still lent pple! its never to late to make lent more worth it! Jesus didn't die for no reason.
Beginning the journey in the footsteps of Christ
When we unite ourselves to the passion and death of Jesus, by connecting
our pain to his we also experience his victory and resurrection. This
Lent, as we follow Jesus in his footsteps, our journey will teach us to
embrace our crosses. We will discover great blessings in them.
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus gives us a walking staff to help us on
our journey. It has three parts. The bottom of it is prayer -- this is
what grounds us. The middle section is fasting -- this is what gives
strength to the staff. The top section, like a shepherd's crook, is
almsgiving, because it bends our heavenward heart back to earth where we
minister to the people God has placed in our lives.
ALMSGIVING is a gift we give to God in thanksgiving for his generosity
toward us. Jesus describes two different "rewards" -- the repayment
received by the Pharisees and the recompense given to those whose
generosity is based on love. Those who give lovingly are friends of God,
and since friends share freely with each other, we are generous with our
money and time and patience. Such love opens us to receive more of God's
love. For example, as we treat others with mercy and forgiveness, we
likewise receive God's mercy and forgiveness.
PRAYER can be motivated by a right attitude or a wrong attitude. Do we
pray with pious words and appropriate gestures to get people's approval?
Do we turn our attention to God in prayer because we want him to grant
us favors? Do we recite formula prayers over and over to convince God to
pay us heed? Or is our prayer time truly an intimate communication with
the One whom we dearly cherish?
FASTING is valuable only if it helps our spiritual life. If we fast so
that others will be impressed by it, it's worthless. Fasting originated
in Jewish history as a personal sacrifice on the Day of Atonement -- the
annual day for the forgiveness of sins -- to show God humility and
repentance. Today, fasting is recommended by the Catholic Church as a
means of acquiring "mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart"
(Catechism paragraph 2043). In other words, fasting helps us enter into
greater conversion.
This walking staff is necessary for our journeys because it aids our
conversion. Almsgiving converts our hearts by sacrificing our selfish
attachment to materialistic stuff for the sake of loving others. Praying
converts our hearts by sacrificing our selfish use of time for the love
of God. Fasting converts our hearts by sacrificing our selfish
pleasures, represented by our enjoyment of food, for the strengthening
of our spiritual nature and our holiness.
Take a footstep forward: Pick up your walking staff.
===========================
MAYONNAISE JAR and 2 CUPS OF COFFEE
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when
24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of
coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them
into the jar.He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
Next, the professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of
course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "YES."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things
-
God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions
- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for
the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small
stuff, you will never have room for the things that are! important to you.
So... Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play
With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out
to dinner. Play another 18.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. "Take
care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
and just to add, write out your list of the 15 most important things in life to you. cancel 12 away starting with 5, then,another 5, then another 2.
so, are you living your life they way you think you should?
hm. from the couple of email i received (one from von and another from my friend)
its still lent pple! its never to late to make lent more worth it! Jesus didn't die for no reason.
Beginning the journey in the footsteps of Christ
When we unite ourselves to the passion and death of Jesus, by connecting
our pain to his we also experience his victory and resurrection. This
Lent, as we follow Jesus in his footsteps, our journey will teach us to
embrace our crosses. We will discover great blessings in them.
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus gives us a walking staff to help us on
our journey. It has three parts. The bottom of it is prayer -- this is
what grounds us. The middle section is fasting -- this is what gives
strength to the staff. The top section, like a shepherd's crook, is
almsgiving, because it bends our heavenward heart back to earth where we
minister to the people God has placed in our lives.
ALMSGIVING is a gift we give to God in thanksgiving for his generosity
toward us. Jesus describes two different "rewards" -- the repayment
received by the Pharisees and the recompense given to those whose
generosity is based on love. Those who give lovingly are friends of God,
and since friends share freely with each other, we are generous with our
money and time and patience. Such love opens us to receive more of God's
love. For example, as we treat others with mercy and forgiveness, we
likewise receive God's mercy and forgiveness.
PRAYER can be motivated by a right attitude or a wrong attitude. Do we
pray with pious words and appropriate gestures to get people's approval?
Do we turn our attention to God in prayer because we want him to grant
us favors? Do we recite formula prayers over and over to convince God to
pay us heed? Or is our prayer time truly an intimate communication with
the One whom we dearly cherish?
FASTING is valuable only if it helps our spiritual life. If we fast so
that others will be impressed by it, it's worthless. Fasting originated
in Jewish history as a personal sacrifice on the Day of Atonement -- the
annual day for the forgiveness of sins -- to show God humility and
repentance. Today, fasting is recommended by the Catholic Church as a
means of acquiring "mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart"
(Catechism paragraph 2043). In other words, fasting helps us enter into
greater conversion.
This walking staff is necessary for our journeys because it aids our
conversion. Almsgiving converts our hearts by sacrificing our selfish
attachment to materialistic stuff for the sake of loving others. Praying
converts our hearts by sacrificing our selfish use of time for the love
of God. Fasting converts our hearts by sacrificing our selfish
pleasures, represented by our enjoyment of food, for the strengthening
of our spiritual nature and our holiness.
Take a footstep forward: Pick up your walking staff.
===========================
MAYONNAISE JAR and 2 CUPS OF COFFEE
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when
24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of
coffee.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them
into the jar.He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
Next, the professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of
course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "YES."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things
-
God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions
- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for
the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small
stuff, you will never have room for the things that are! important to you.
So... Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play
With your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out
to dinner. Play another 18.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. "Take
care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
and just to add, write out your list of the 15 most important things in life to you. cancel 12 away starting with 5, then,another 5, then another 2.
so, are you living your life they way you think you should?