Friday, September 26, 2008

USCCB - NAB - Psalm 144

USCCB - NAB - Psalm 144:

"Reach out your hand from on high; deliver me from the many waters; rescue me from the hands of foreign foes.
8
6 Their mouths speak untruth; their right hands are raised in lying oaths.
9
O God, a new song I will sing to you; on a ten-stringed lyre I will play for you.
10
You give victory to kings; you delivered David your servant. From the menacing sword
11
deliver me; rescue me from the hands of foreign foes. Their mouths speak untruth; their right hands are raised in lying oaths.
12
May our sons be like plants well nurtured from their youth, Our daughters, like carved columns, shapely as those of the temple.
13
May our barns be full with every kind of store. May our sheep increase by thousands, by tens of thousands in our fields; may our oxen be well fattened.
14
May there be no breach in the walls, no exile, no outcry in our streets.
15
Happy the people so blessed; happy the people whose God is the LORD."

Pray the Vote 2008

Day Two: September 26, 2008
38 days, 16 hours and 54 minutes left until election day.


God’s Sovereign Will



"The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.
--Psalm 135:6

Mighty God, Your will is sovereign and perfect, and You do as You see fit in the affairs of humankind and in all Your creation.

We acknowledge that we do not fully understand Your perfect will. Yet, we ask You to work through the election process this year to bring it about in our nation. We ask You to lift up those You want to lead our country, our states, our towns and villages and no others. May Your will be done by the citizens of our nation, and may You be honored and pleased in the results. In Jesus' loving name, Amen"

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Pray the Vote 2008:

Pray the Vote 2008: Pray the Vote - 40 Days for Prayer

"Vain Repetitions" : A Catholic Reflection

"Vain Repetitions" : A Catholic Reflection: "They will never get beyond this perplexed curiosity until they do two things: repent and believe. We can think and talk about Jesus forever – all the way to hell – but the only way to know Him personally is to repent of our sins (see Mk 1:15; Acts 2:38) and put our faith in Him rather than in ourselves. Jesus will give us the grace to break out of the vicious, vain, meaningless cycle of life, if we let it be done unto us according to God's will (see Lk 1:38)."

USCCB - NAB - Psalm 90


USCCB - NAB - Psalm 90
:
"12
Teach us to count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.
13
Relent, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!
14
Fill us at daybreak with your love, that all our days we may sing for joy.
15
Make us glad as many days as you humbled us, for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16
Show your deeds to your servants, your glory to their children.
17
May the favor of the Lord our God be ours. Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!"



Praying for our nation on this day and the days to come.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - September 24, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - September 24, 2008:
"Two things I ask of you,
deny them not to me before I die:
Put falsehood and lying far from me,
give me neither poverty nor riches;
provide me only with the food I need;
Lest, being full, I deny you,
saying, “Who is the LORD?”
Or, being in want, I steal,
and profane the name of my God."


You would think that these were written for today's times...and perhaps they were.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

USCCB - NAB - Psalm 119

USCCB - NAB - Psalm 119: "Psalms
Chapter 119

1
1 Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the LORD.
2
Happy those who observe God's decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart."


Even in the midst of grief, financial instability, threats to our national security and lots, lots more, we can still be 'happy'. The way to achieve this is to stay focused on the Lord and to want to do His will above all else.

Monday, September 22, 2008

USCCB - NAB - Psalm 15

USCCB - NAB - Psalm 15: "Psalms
Chapter 15

1
1 2 A psalm of David. LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain?
2
Whoever walks without blame, doing what is right, speaking truth from the heart;
3
Who does not slander a neighbor, does no harm to another, never defames a friend;
4
Who disdains the wicked, but honors those who fear the LORD; Who keeps an oath despite the cost,
5
3 lends no money at interest, accepts no bribe against the innocent. III Whoever acts like this shall never be shaken."


Sounds like good advice for our government and politicians also.

Friday, September 19, 2008

A reminder...

USCCB - (NAB) - September 19, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - September 19, 2008:
"Gospel
Lk 8:1-3

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others
who provided for them out of their resources."


The more the Lord has done for you, the more likely you will be to following Him. So...let Him do something for you today...let Him save you from your current situation...put yourself in His hands...trust Him. (speaking to myself here).

Jesus...our source of hope

Friday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time (Year 2):

"For Jesus to be our source of hope, we have to place him squarely in front of us and we must keep our eyes on him. We have to let him block our view of what is going wrong and what we fear might go wrong. We have to let his crucifixion absorb the pain we're feeling. When we connect our sufferings to Christ's sacrifice, we also connect our lives to his resurrection." Terry Modica

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Sing For Joy

Glad Tidings : A Catholic Reflection

Glad Tidings : A Catholic Reflection: "Because the Lord of the universe allows us to actually have a part in building His kingdom, we 'raise a glad cry' (Is 44:23). We gratefully tell the Lord: 'I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, Most High' (Ps 9:3).
This gladness transcends our circumstances. From his prison, St. Paul tells his coworkers: 'Even if my life is to be poured out as a libation over the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad of it and rejoice with all of you. May you be glad on the same score, and rejoice with me!' (Phil 2:17-18)"


I've been sinking into a pit of self pity lately and I want OUT! Please pray for me.

Monday, September 8, 2008

My dad...

Rogers Funeral Home - Francisco Martins

Please keep my family in your prayers for the next couple of days as we prepare to bury my dad. He passed away on Saturday morning at St. Joseph's nursing home in Brockton.