We though many are one body in Christ.
…the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first…He saw and believed.
LET US SING A NEW SONG, not with our lips but with our lives..
I thank by caring all the more for others and the conditions of their existence.
As part of our Lenten practice on gratefulness and gratitude, take a moment and let yourself be inspired by Brother David Steindl-Rast's reflection.
Our cross called God's Creation makes for a wonderful reminder to enter into an attitude of gratefulness and stewardship for our earth.
I find that the practice of Gratitude helps me to be more fully present, and much more appreciative of all of the abundance in my life. I've recently learned that gratitude is associated with high levels of vitality, optimism and life satisfaction. Gratitude increases physical and mental well being, which in turn increases energy levels.
Here's a quick and easy gratitude practice: Think of the letters www and ask What Went Well? Challenge yourself to do it daily and increase your list of things that are going well – for example, start by thinking of 3 things and writing them down in your journal. Increase your numbers each day so that you're soon reflecting on over a dozen things that are going well in your life and in the world.
To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives—the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections—that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claim the fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for.
to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers.
Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself.
that keeps us from staying lost.
It is the impulse to be intimate.
is how we stay well.
Close your eyes and be still until you sense the presence of the things about you.
Breathe softly and feel the current of their silence.
Breathe evenly and open your heart to all that you sense.
and is the highest love on earth.
you will perceive the divine mystery in things.
Love lives and thrives in the heart space. It has kept me from wanting to hurt people who have hurt me. It keeps me every day from obsessive, repetitive, or compulsive head games. It can make the difference between being happy and being miserable and negative. Could this be what we are really doing when we say we are praying for someone? Yes, we are holding them in our heart space. Do this in an almost physical sense, and you will see how calmly and quickly it works.
Next time a resentment, negativity, or irritation comes into your mind, and you want to play it out or attach to it, move that thought or person literally into your heart space. Dualistic commentaries are lodged in your head; but in your heart, you can surround this negative thought with silence. There it is surrounded with blood, which will often feel warm like coals. In this place, it is almost impossible to comment, judge, create story lines, or remain antagonistic. You are in a place that does not create or feed on contraries but is the natural organ of life, embodiment, and love. Now the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart have been transferred to you. They are pointing for you to join them there. The "sacred heart" is then your heart too.
and considerately cheer one another on.
Life will always provide matters for concern.
have the courage to expect good from it.
to live fully in your time.
A Contemporary Interpretation, John McQuiston II.
Benedict of Nursia wrote The Rule in the sixth century.
As our year comes to an end, we return this time of our life to God.
It is filled with our own diaries, thoughts, questions, successes and failures.
We are grateful for God's providence, blessings and comfort.
With open hands, we stand to receive a New Year.