True Quotes

 The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Oh, what a comfort! Oh, what a joy!  To know that we God’s people will be blessed with peace.  And how do we cash in on this offer — by truly Heart, Mind, Soul and Body becoming “his people”!  We do this with our thought words and actions.  We do this by the way we treat others. We do this by the way we remember God.

Yes, the Lord will bless us with peace,but first we must deserve it and be blessed by taking up the challenge to be his people!

Peace be with you,

Ann

Ps 29:1a and 2, 3ac-4, 3b and 9c-10

Dear Friends and Readers,

I have decided to suspend updating this Blog — TrueQuotes. 

I will be putting my efforts into my other Blog: God Family Crafts

It is my hope that you will visit God Family Crafts often,  and also, that you will make plentiful use of the archives here at TrueQuotes.

Please check back from time-to-time and see if I have posted any special notices, and…

in the mean time - see you at God Family Crafts.

Peace be with you,

Ann

 To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

(from Ps 116)

When God asks for a sacrifice, we most likely think of something difficult, something we must give up, or something that will cause us a feeling of loss.  We see sacrifice as negative.

But today’s scripture reading talks about a “sacrifice of praise”. How beautiful!  How positive! What an opportunity!

How does this praise become a sacrifice.  For a moment or an hour or even a day, we step outside ourselves. We remove ourselves from our selfishness and we give all our attention to the Lord God.  In giving Him this attention we focus on His goodness.  We praise Him for goodness.  I praise Him for His generosity, for His kindness, for His everlasting love.

An then the lines begin to blur and we realize that we praise Him because He is Love, He is All Goodness. Can we praise God without also thanking Him? No, so we thank him for his gifts and goodness to us.

To You Lord, I offer this time, these words, this work — as my sacrifice of Praise.  I also praise you Lord for all the generous gifts you have given me, for all your kindness and care.  I see now, Lord that your sacrifice for us, was also a sacrifice of praise to God the Father, and that you have done this willingly, and that your Sacrifice on the cross is Positive. It fills each of your people with the joy of salvation and with the desire to offer You a sacrifice of praise!

I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

– Ps. 32

Where can you go to help when there seems to be no help?  To the Lord.  Even if we do not get an answer to our immedicate need, we can be reminded of the Joy of our Salvation!  Salvation is available to each and every one of us, and this very fact should bring us consolation.

Who else might we turn to?  In time of trouble we might turn to our parents, to our children, to other family members, and of course, to our spouse. Sometimes these people have things to offer us — advice, consolation - but often the problems are bigger (or seems bigger) than their help.  The place we can get God-sized help for Big troubles is with God the Lord.

His ever-present Love and help, His ever-present promise of salvation can bring us joy. Indeed, should bring us joy. Let us resolve to bring out troubles to Him, that He might fill us with the renewed JOY of our salvation.

Peace be with you.

“Pray without ceasing.”

The life of a mother is sometimes a very creative way of praying. I’m sure you will agree!

1. Lord Jesus, may everything glorify You!
2. Whew! thank you Lord that that glass of milk didn’t spill.
3. Our Father who art in Heaven….
4. How am I supposed to handle this, God?
5. They’re late getting home … please protect them Jesus.
6. I’m going to get my [heavenly] reward for this, right? (not sure if that is really a prayer
7. Lord God, your creation is wonderful
8. Thank you God for giving me this opportunity to lift someone up
9. Forgive me Lord.
10. Thank you Lord for forgivng me
11. God, give me strength
12. Jesus I love you!
13. Help me keep my patience, Lord
14. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost…”
15. Non-traditional prayer: changing a diaper, getting breakfast and lunch for a child, reading a book aloud when you’d rather be sewing
16. Help me Lord to get rid of some of this junk so I can spend more time and attention on you.
17. Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen.
18. By observing the wonder of a child developing, and knowing it comes from God.
19. By spending wholesome time with family
20. By attending Holy Mass, or making a visit to the Eucharist
21. By teaching a child about God

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:78-79

Each of us who struggles can be assured - god has not forgotten us.  He is compassionate.  In the dark night, we wait for the dawn. We wait for the light to shine upon us.  We wait for peace of mind, soul and world.

This is what Christmas is about.  We humans shall no longer live in darkenss, fear and the shadow of death. We shall live, and our way will be lighted and guided. God cares about us. He has not forgotten us, He has not forsaken us.

Celebrate the Light of The World!

Blessed Christmas!

  In every child who is born under no matter what circumstances and of no matter what parents, the potentiality of the human race is born again, and in him, too, once more, and each of us, our terrific responsibility toward human life: toward the utmost idea of goodness, of the horror of terrorism, and of God.

– James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

As we approach Christmas, with Christmas Eve only a day away, we consider Agee’s thought on the value and potential of each and every child.  Agee talks about each child born, but I like to think this is true of each child ever conceived; that the rest of the human race has a vested interest in this child. 

Society depends upon the new life of each child, a responsibility to see this child through to maturity, a process that lasts from the moment of conception until the moment of our natural death.

We owe these children, all children, the freedom from fear, we must teach them about goodness, and yes, we must teach them about God.

Children are born with only two natural fears — fear of loud noises and fear of falling.  All of the others are fears that are developed as the child experiences life, day after day. In a perfect world, the two innate fears would be put to rest, and no other fears develop.  A child should have no fear of people, of war or harm.

Can each of us as individuals make a difference in the lives of these chldren?  Yes, we can give them hope for that is what sums up the three things mentioned by Agee goodness, freedom from terror, and God.

True devotion hinders no one, but rather it perfects everything, and whenever it is out of keeping with any person’s legitimate vocation, it must be spurious.

– St. Francis de Sales

Vocation is call.  If we devote ourselves, seemingly to doing God’s work, but it is at odds with our true vocation, then this devotion is not true.

A mother who is called to be home and to serve her family, and is instead, busy with things at church to the neglect of her family, is not living her vocation.  No matter how good her intentions are, no matter how helpful her works are.

Each of us has a call, a call from God. Practicing this vocation may not be glamorous, and sometimes it may not even be interesting, but it is our True Work. In deciding what other things we are to be involved in and to undertake, we must weigh each activity against the meaning and purpose of our True Work. And in the act of weighing, we find a balance, and this is the key.

“And he is very unwise who attends to other things than what may serve to his salvation.” 

–Thomas a Kempis  (My Imitation of Christ)

Thomas a Kempis writes page after page of Christian advice, observaton, and teaching. Oddly, many of the verses and teachings can be isolated to teach, in and of themselves, without losing the essence of  whole work. The quote above is one such example.  It can stand on its own, but in doing so gives credence, directionm and support to its source.

a Kempis personalizes his insights and teachings by the use of personal pronouns.  He does not say “it is very unwise…”, instead he the author says, “he is very unwise” Upon reading this, there is little doubt in the reader’s mind that it could apply to himself.

Wow, what a Kempis is saying really packs a punch!  And since none of us wishes to be (or be considered) unwise, perhaps we should each take a look at what we are attending to at this very moment, and judge whether it may serve to our salvation.

Peace

ann

“The world is a moral arena that requires your strength.” - Annie Dillard 

Moral strength, qualities such as purity, honesty and all that “moral strength” refers to, would be no test if we just kept to ourselves.  But just as the victories of the past and those of today exist within competition, so, too, does our test of moral strength require a meeting with our challenger.And what challenges us? It is the people and situations around us. And where do we meet our challenger?  In the arena of the World.