How Great is our God!!! Our Creator and Redeemer

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs . . . For example: -the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days; -those of the canary in 14 days; -those of the barnyard hen in 21 days; -The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days; -those of the mallard in 35 days;  -The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days. (Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!) God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily. The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation! God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains. -Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind. -Each orange has an even number of segments. -Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.  -Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains. -Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one,  so that one row has an even number and  the next row an odd number. -The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather. All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundred fold all even numbers. God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day. Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature,  he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed! The lives of each of you may be ordered by the Lord in a beautiful way for His glory, if you will only entrust Him with your life. If you try to regulate your own life, it will only be a mess and a failure. Only the One Who made the brain and the heart can successfully guide them to a profitable end. I HOPE YOU FIND THIS AS FASCINATING AS I DID. May God Bless You In Ways You Never Even Dreamed  Today!

"Be yourself. . . . . .

Everyone else is taken"

      

CROSS OF ASHES - Father Gabriel Flores

Lord, at the beginning of this Lent, me, as a member of your people, I want to go to the desert marked with a Cross of ashes on my forehead.

That cross is the sign of the close unity between my human condition and my Christian Hope.

Lord let arise the light on me! Make this journey on the desert be like a mirror where  I may come face to face to myself with honestly; be able to see my own poverty and contradictions.

Lord, give me the courage to look at myself as I am: Son of God, made of dust, salt of the earth, light of the world, a sinner ... but above all, somebody loved and desired by your infinite Mercy.

Do not let me fell into the temptations of the evil forces that want to separate me from you.

Take my undecided hearth into your loving hands.

Since the dawn of each day fill my thoughts, inspire my words.  Put my works in the straight line of your Gospel.

Make of my omissions a ferment for tomorrow.

Make that, guided by the Spirit, I may grow in the discernment in a such way that my "yes" is a true "yes" and my "no" a real "no" .

And if in the course of my spiritual combat my strength goes away and I will go away from you, put in my mouth a cry that reaches to your heart of Father: "Lord. Have mercy on me! "

Blessed defeat where to lose everything is to win everything!

Then you will ask me: "do you love me?" and I'll tell you: "Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you "

Seven Spiritual Daily Habits

Our Father 

Third Sunday of Lent

I just heard a priest from Belfast, Father Eugene O'Neil, saying that after getting up earlier, giving up chocolate, alcohol, TV and deserts he is a little cranky. He then went on to say that the secret of holiness is continued contact with Jesus,  who St Paul calls "the power and wisdom of GOD."   Father O'Neil also mentioned "those" attending the early MASS has dwindled down about half since Ash Wednesday.

Father then asked, "Have you fallen off the old horse again?" I think, when he returns, he will tell me how to get back on the horse without falling off the other side. Did any of you see this? Worth a watch! Good teaching on each of the 7 habits.

These are the 7 daily habits to help us.

Seven daily habits 

1.  Briefly offer up to GOD everything that will happen today - set your bearings - it could be your last day - do this at your bed - kneel for this - "Father, in heaven I give you. . . "

2. Fifteen minutes of silent prayer - your voice - hear it when you pray.

3. 15 minutes of Spiritual reading - your choice but some NT and maybe some great classic reading 

(reading is so important - at end of the week it builds up at just 15 minutes a day to being about 2 hours) 

4. MASS and Holy Communion (pray for Daily) 

5. Angelus - when was the last time you said the Angelus?
 
Stop at noon or 6  every day quietly - anywhere you are and say the Angelus.

                                            
The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:

And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen. 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary . . . 

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary . . . 

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: 

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.  

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28) 

 "Blessed are you among women,
 and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42). 

6. Rosary every day OR at least a Decade - The Rosary reminds us of things that actually took place 

7. Examination of Conscience before you go to sleep - every night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7BbncHyw9E  Hear the Angelus 

Harry Truman former President of the United States of America

This seems unreal . . .

Harry Truman was a different kind of President. He probably made as many, or more, important decisions regarding our nation's history as any of the other 42 Presidents preceding him. However, a measure of his greatness may rest on what he did after he left the White House.

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence Missouri . His wife had inherited the house from her mother and father and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.

When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves. There was no Secret Service following them.

When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people and it's not for sale.."

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."

As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for sale.

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a "house of ill repute"*  or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!

I say dig him up and clone him!! 

This is not sent for discussion. 

*house of ill repute is used instead of the more crude name for the "wxxxxhouse"

MERCY AND GRACE

Justice is getting What we deserve

Mercy is Not getting what we deserve

Grace is Getting what we don't deserve

Any time we go to a deeper conversion, repentance is required. Lent is a beautiful time for ugly things in our lives to be revealed, but Mercy and Grace are always there for us. ALWAYS! What is my attitude toward sin?

The Franciscan University Presents, this week, is life (and death) teaching. 

Being a convert is so wonderful - because of our past and our lack of authority. Authority is what has brought me peace. I thank God for the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church - the authority that does not change - we are so protected. I never want to forget how wonderful authority is!

Authority of the Church is to be "Under the Shadow of His Wings"

"Humility is the mother of many virtues because from it obedience, fear, reverence, patience, modesty, meekness and peace are born. He who is humble easily obeys everyone, fears to offend anyone, is at peace with everyone, is kind with all."--St Thomas of Villanova