Just let me say HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU

If Only God Permits

He call us to build an entire house , not just a foundation !



Therefore , let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance to maturity............And we shall do this , if only God permits . ( Hebrews 6 : 1-3 )

If there's one constant theme in the New Testament , it's the call to become more and more mature in our Christian lives . For instance , St Paul wrote " I continue my pursuit towards the goal , the prize of God's upward calling , in Christ Jesus . Let us , then who are ' perfectly mature ' , adopt this attitude " ( Philipians 3: 14-15 ) .
Likewise , the author of Hebrews urges his readers to ' advance to maturity ' and not to settle for a constant diet of spiritual ' milk ' alone . The author is confident that his reader can grow up - " if only God permits " ( Hebrews 5:13 ; 6:1-3 ) . In other words , their growth in the spiritual life is not dependent only on their determination . Without God's grace , it will never happen .
If only God permits .This can sound like nothing more than a token mention of God , as one would offer a casual God bless you to a friend . But this is not the case . If the call to maturity is meant to inspire us , then these four words hold the key to the transformation we are looking for . These four simple words tell us that we cannot do anything on our own. They tell us that we must depend on the all-powerful , all-knowing and all-governing God .

Lord , Hear Our Prayer ! ( Lessons from Daniel's ' prayer of the faithful ' )

by Craig E.Morrison , O.Carm


At every Sunday Mass , after the Creed , the celebrant leads the congregation in the Prayer of the Faithful . By this point , we have heard God's word and listened to a homily about it. Now , as a community , we dare to address God directly ; " Lord hear our prayer ! "

In these prayers , we ask God for help with the concrete events of our daily lives as we pray for the church , for our nation , for those who are suffering and for the needs of our own community. We might also include personal prayers for a family member , for deceased loved ones , for ourselves and so much more .

Jesus assured his disciples that when we agree on our petitions to God , they will be granted ( Matthew 18:19 ) . But have you ever wondered why one of your personal " prayers of the faithful " was not granted as requested ? Have you questioned whether God was really listening ? If you have , then the centuries-old story of the wise man Daniel can speak to you today .

Burden !

Habits that help

At the dawning of a new day and before the setting sun ,

Make some time to always pray to God the three in one.



Be thankful for His mercy and His goodness and His love ,

And for sending down His precious Son with blessings from above .



Give God the things that pull you down and all that lurks within ,

Ask Him to purify your heart and cleanse it from all sin .



Let go of pride and selfishness and look for higher ground ,

Choose faith today instead of fear and spread His word around .



Surround yourself with Godly friends and cheer for one another ,

And share with sinners this great truth , above Him thereafter no others .



Rejoice in what God has done for you and always pass it on ,

Live strong in Christ and share His love before the time is gone ,



Forget the past and move ahead and keep your eyes on Christ ,

For He desires that You will be - His living sacrifice .



Reach out and take folks by the hand and let them see your heart ,

Be real in all you say and do and God will His part .



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Romans 12: 1 -2



And so dear brothers and sisters , I plead with you to give

your bodies to God because of all He had done for you.

Let them be a living and holy sacrifice , the kind He will

find acceptable .

Do not copy the behaviour and customs of this world , but let

God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think .

Then you will learn to know God's will for you , which is good and pleasing

and perfect .

Pope Benedict XVI in UK for historic visit, meets Queen in Scotland

Sin !

Priceless & Yet Free for us !!!

A Christian's possessions

A tax officer came one day to a poor Christian to determine the amount of taxes he would have to pay. The following conversation took place ; " what property do you possess ? " asked the assessor .

" I am a very wealthy man ," replied the Christian .

" List your possessions , please , " the assessor instructed .

The Christian replied :

First , I have everlasting life , John 3:16
Second , I have a mansion in heaven , John 14:2
Third , I have a perfect conscience & peace that passes all understanding , Philipians 4:7
Fourth , I have joy unspeakable, 1 Peter 1:8
Fifth , I have divine love which never fails , 1 Corinthians 13:8
Sixth , I have a faithful wife , Proverbs 31:10
Seventh , I have a healthy , happy obedient children , Exodus 20:12
Eight , I have true and loyal friends , Proverbs 18:24
Ninth , I have songs in the night , Psalms 42:8
Tenth , I have a crown of life , James 1:12

The tax assessor closed his book and said " Truly you are a very rich man , but your property is not subject to taxation . "
I pray that all of us will have this kind of tax free ' wealth ' .


Author unknown !

PSALM 51

What is faith ???

- Faith is what we do with our lives in response to our encounter with the divine . Faith is a lifelong process of response .
- Listen to what give you joy ; pay attention to what delights your heart at its deepest level and then choose that with all your might .

What will you do with your life ?
- Is there a secret blueprint in the sky we must discover and follow if we are to be faithful to God and to achieve happiness in our lives ?

Let us ponder on and acknowledge the Spirit to lead us on this journey .

Shepherd me O God - written by Marty Haugen

God can forgive us through Christ

Since we have a great high priest
who has gone through the heavens ,
Jesus the Son of God ,
let us hold firmly to the faith we profess ,
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses ,
but we have one
who has been tempted in every way ,
just as we are - yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence ,
so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help us
in our time of need . Hebrews 4:14-16


Therefore , there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus ,
because through Christ Jesus
the law of the Spirit of life set me free
from the law of sin and death .
For what the law was powerless to do
in that it was weakened by the sinful nature ,
God did by sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful man
to be a sin offering .
And so he condemned sin in sinful man . Roman 8:1-3

God's post it notes !

The Cross

A young man was at the

end of his rope ,

seeing no way out

dropped to his knees in prayer .

" Lord , I can't go on , " he said.

" I have too heavy of a cross to bear ".

The Lord replied ,

" My son , if you can't bear its weight ,

just place your cross inside this room .

Then , open that other door

and pick up any cross you wish . "

The man was filled with relief said

" Thank you Lord , ' and he did as

he was told .

Upon entering the other door ,

he saw many crosses ,

some so large the tops were not

visible . Then he spotted a

tiny cross leaning against a far wall .

" I'd like that one Lord , "

he whispered .

And the Lord replied ,

" My son , that is the cross

you just brought in . "

When life's problems

seems overwhelming ,

it helps to look around and see !

what other people are coping with .

You may consider yourself far more

fortunate that you imagined.

YOUR CROSS

Whatever your cross ,

whatever your pain ,

There will always be

sunshine after the rain.

Perhaps you may stumble ,

perhaps even fall ,

But God's always there

to help you through it all.

The Prayer

I prayed God above be our eyes and watch us where we go ,
And help us to be wise in times when we don't know ,

Let this be our prayer when we lose our way ,
Lead us Lord to the place , guide us with your grace ,
To the place where we'll be safe .


I pray we'll find God's light and hold it in our hearts ,
When stars go out each night ,
Remind us Lord where you are ,
Let this be our prayer when shadows

Fill our days ,
Help us find the place , guide us with
Your grace ,
Give us faith so we'll be safe .

A world where pain and sorrow will be ended And every heart that's broken will be mended And we'll remember we are all God's children , reaching out to touch You , Reaching to the sky . We ask that life be kind and watch us from above , We hope each soul will find another soul to love , Let this be our prayer , just like every child .

Who needs to find the place , guide us with your grace , Give us faith Lord so we'll be safe , Needs to find the place , guide us with your grace , Give us faith Lord so we'll be safe .

23rd Sunday In Ordinary Time - Luke 14 ; 25-33

Great crowds accompanied Jesus in his way and he turned and spoke to them , " If any man comes to me without hating his father , mother , wife , children , brothers , sisters , yes and his own life too , he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. "
" And indeed , which of you here , intending to build a tower , would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it ? Otherwise , if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work , the onlookers would all start making of him and saying , " Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish . " Or gain , what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand ? If not , then while the other king was still a long way off , he would send envoys to sue for peace . So in the same way , none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions . "

Prayer For The Grace Of Vocation

JESUS CHRIST , full of mercy and love , you have shown sympathy with poor men and You have fulfilled their request for a man who would lead them on the rough path to light and life.
You know the hearts of men . Let me know whether You have chose me to such a high and sublime office . Enlighten my mind that I may appreciate the inestimable grace of vocation , fortify my will that I may pass victoriously through all the temptations of the world . Help me not to perish in paralysing pleasure and in the misty depths of passion . Let me not shrink from sacrifice but climb the bright heights of Your eternal Priesthood .

Lord of the Sabbath

" Come to me all you are weary and burdened , and I will give you rest " [ Matthew 11:28 ] .

Could any words be more refreshing , more welcome , to women and men weighed down by the struggles of this life , especially the death-dealing burden of sin ?
This invitation , from Jesus Christ himself , promises what we all need most - respite from the evil ways of the world , release from the death penalty our sins have earned us and reunion with the One from whom true peace and every good pleasure flow.
In Jesus , Christians luxuriate in the most blessed kind of rest. We worship our Saviour and typify this spiritual rest in one of our central practises , the celebration of the Sabbath.
In our Sabbath observances , we pause from our normal work to focus on our Maker . We submit to God as Sovereign over creation . We honor the practise of Jesus Christ , who observed the Sabbath as God in the flesh . And we focus , week by week , on the ultimate rest with which God favours us , thanks to Jesus' saving work .

My Lord and My God

Jesus Christ is the key to salvation. All Christian doctrines , beliefs and practices uphold Him as Lord . The seventh-day Sabbath is a perfect example .

What Is The Purpose of Life ?

Old Catechisms asked , " Why did God make you ? " The answer ; " God made me to know him , to love him and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next . " Here , in just 26 words , is the whole reason for our existence . Jesus answered the question even more briefly , " I came so that you might have life and have it more abundantly " [ John 10:10 ] .
God's plan for you is simple , your loving Father wants to give you all good things - especially eternal life . Jesus died on the cross to save us all from sin and the eternal separation from God that sin causes . When he saves us , he makes us part of His Body , which is the Church [ 1 Corint. 12: 27-30 ] . We thus become united with him and with Christians everywhere ( on earth , in heaven , in purgatory ) .

Are You Guaranteed Heaven ?

Some people promote an especially attractive idea ; All true Christians , regardless of how they live , have an absolute assurance of salvation once they accept Jesus into their hearts as " their personal Lord and Saviour " . The problem is that this belief is contrary to the Bible and constant Christian teaching. Keep in mind what Paul told the Christians of his day ; " if we have died with him ( in baptism ; see Romans 6 : 3-4 ) , we shall also live with him ; if we persevere we shall also reign with him ( 2 Timothy 2: 11-12 ) . If we do not persevere , we shall not reign with him . In other words , Christians can forfeit heaven .
The Bible makes it clear that Christians have a moral assurance of salvation ( God will be true to His word and will grant salvation to those who have faith in Christ and are obedient to Him - 1 John 4 : 19-24 ) , but the Bible does not teach that Christians have a guarantee of heaven. There can be no absolute assurance of salvation .
Writing to Christians , Paul said , " See , then the kindness and severity of god ; severity towards those who fell , but God's kindness to you , provided you remain in His kindness , otherwise you too will be cut off " [ Romans 11 : 22-23 , 1 Corint 15 : 1-2 , Hebre 10:26-19 & 2 Peter 2 : 20-21 ]

Note that Paul includes an important condition ; " provided you remain in His kindness . " He is saying that Christians can lose their salvation by throwing it away . He warns , " whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall " [ 1 Corint 10 : 11-12 ].

If anyone asks you if you have been " saved " , you should say , " I am redeemed by the blood of Christ . I trust in Him alone for my salvation " . And as the Bible teaches , I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling ( Phill 2 : 12 ) , knowing that it is God's gift of grace that is working in me " .

A Legend from the mini series , " The Thornbirds "

There is a legend about a bird which sings just once in its life , most sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth . For the moment it leaves the nest , it searches for a thorn tree - this beautiful bird . And it would not rest until it has found a thorn tree . Then , singing among the thorns , the savage branches , it pierces its breast upon the longest sharpest spine and dying , it rise above its agony to ourcarol , to outsing the lark and the nightingale. Once superlative song , existence the price . But the whole world stills to listen and God in His heaven smiles , for the best is only bought at the cost of great pain ! So , says the legend............

But now , a true story ;

Once upon a time , there was a man . And he decided to sing the world's most beautiful LOVE SONG . He loved so greatly , that he allowed his friends to pierce him upon the sharpest spine - the sharpest thorn .

Dying upon that thorn - upon that spine , he sang the most beautiful LOVE SONG . And while he sang this most beautiful love song , the world in its stillness and silence listened as this harmony burstforth to the very depths of the earth and God in His heavens smiles because LOVE WAS BOUGHT - at the cost of great pain !

JESUS invites you to join in this Love Song . The Son of God has allowed Himself to be pierced on the sharpest spine in the sharpest thorn in order to sing this beautiful Love Song - a song which says , I LOVE YOU ! The lives and the tears through all the centuries of many a man and woman has been moved , has been lifted by this Love Song ................. What is your respond ?

" For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that who soever believeth in Him , will not perish but will have eternal life " John 3:16