Action

Action is the foundational key to all success.

--- Pablo Picasso

Often times we know what we want to do in a general sense, but we aren’t quite sure where to start. 

We sit around waiting for the right opportunity but it never comes. When you find yourself in this position DO SOMETHING. DO ANYTHING. You will probably make mistakes and have to start over, but by acting you build a foundation of knowledge, gain experience, and make contacts. One venture leads to another, and before you know it, that opportunity you’re dreaming of presents itself. If you sit around and wait, you will always be waiting. 

If you really want something get in the game and start making moves.

Seeds

God wants people to know that we influence those around us.

Think well about the seeds we are planting as we influence the people around us every day.


We can plant seeds of impatience, fear, and frustration, or of love, contentment, and faith. 

It's up to us . . . . 

Story of Life

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.


You never know who these people may be, your neighbor, your coworker, a long lost friend, or a complete stranger. When you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.


Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.


Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved,straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become.


Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.


If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.


Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen.


Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.


You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.


Most importantly if you Love someone tell him or her, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.


Learn a lesson in life each day that you live.


That's the story of Life.

Direct Hotline

I saw this in the facebook , the official Facebook page for Father Piotr W. Wiśniowski ,  shepherd, confessor, teacher – Roman Catholic Priest in the Archdiocesy of Wroclaw in Poland.

Daily in Your Presence : Understanding

UNDERSTANDING

Great is our Lord, and of great power - 

His understanding is infinite.

--- Psalm 147:5 

FROM THE FATHER'S HEART

My child, life is not as complex as you may think. So why do you try to figure it all out? I will teach you what you need to know. Listen to My voice. I will not lead you astray. Everything I want you to know about Me, I have told you in My Word. Read it often.

A GRATEFUL RESPONSE

My understanding is so limited, Lord. Its boundaries keep me confined and ignorant of the total picture in life. But Your ways are immeasurable. Your wisdom and knowledge surpass any standard of excellence. Like Job, I am silenced by Your greatness and infinity.

SIMPLE TRUTH

Even when traveling in waters unknown, we can trust our wise captain to lead us home.

Ash Wednesday (The Day of Ashes)

Ash Wednesday 2012 is on 22 February , six-and-a-half weeks before Easter.

The Christian season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday.

The date of Ash Wednesday varies each year according to the date of Easter. It is always six-and-a-half weeks before Easter. The earliest possible date of Ash Wednesday is 4 February and the latest possible date is 10 March.

Ash Wednesday is a Christian festival. It marks the beginning of six and a half weeks of repentance, fasting and abstinence in preparation for the most important Christian festival of Easter.

In 2012 Ash Wednesday will be on 22 February.

2009 — 25 February

2010 — 17 February

2011 — 9 March

2012 — 22 February

2013 — 13 February

2014 — 5 March

2015 — 18 February

2016 — 10 February

2017 — 1 March

2018 — 14 February

Ashes are something that are left when something is burned. Ashes are a symbol of being sorry for things they have done wrong and want to get rid of forever. It is also a reminder to them that we all come from ashes, and to ashes we all will return.

The marking on the forehead with ash marks the commitment to Jesus Christ and God. They wanted to show God that they were sorry for the wrong things they had done in the past year.

Using a mark on the forehead as a sign of commitment is also used in many Middle Eastern cultures where a round, coloured circle is marked on the forehead.

Many Christians will attend a religious service where the ashes are blessed by the church leader, and placed on their forehead.

Christians believe this marks the physical and spiritual beginning of a personal Lent season in which 40 days of repentance will begin leading up to the celebration of Easter Sunday. The actual moment when the forehead is marked initiates the beginning of lent for each individual person.

In churches the priest first burns the palm that have been kept from last year's Palm Sunday and then mixes the ashes of these crosses with holy water (which has been blessed) to make a greyish paste. When people go to church on Ash Wednesday, the priest dips his thumb in the paste and uses it to make the sign of the cross on each person's forehead. 

Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, so when the crosses used in the last years Palm Sunday service are converted to ashes, worshippers are reminded that defeat and crucifixion swiftly followed triumph.

Using ashes to mark the cross on the believer's forehead symbolises that through Christ's death and resurrection, all Christians can be free from sin.

Blessed Pedro Calungsod will be canonized by the Pope

1. 

   
   

   Filipino saint after St. Lorenzo Ruiz, when Blessed Pedro Calungsod will be canonized by the Pope.We shall have the second Filipino saint this year, on October 21, soon to be canonically known as ST PEDRO CALUNGSOD. Christians are no ordinary persons at all , when they are imbued with extraordinary faith, hope and love to God.

   
   

   Pope Benedict XVI announced that the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod and six other religious men and women will be on October 21, 2012.

   
   

   
   

   THE EVENTFUL STORY OF PEDRO CALUNGSOD

   
   

   The most unforgettable assault happened on 2 April 1672, the Saturday just before the Passion Sunday of that year. At around seven o’clock in the morning, Pedro—by then, about 17 years old—and the superior of the mission, Padre Diego, came to the village of Tomhom, in the Island of Guam. There, they were told that a baby girl was recently born in the village, so they went to ask the child’s father, named Matapang, to bring out the infant for baptism. Matapang was a Christian and a friend of the missionaries, but having apostatized, he angrily refused to have his baby baptized.

   
   

   To give Matapang some time to cool down, Padre Diego and Pedro gathered the children and some adults of the village at the nearby shore and started chanting with them the truths of the Catholic Faith. They invited Matapang to join them, but the apostate shouted back that he was angry with God and was already fed up with Christian teachings.

   
   

   Determined to kill the missionaries, Matapang went away and tried to enlist in his cause another villager, named Hirao, who was not a Christian. At first, Hirao refused, mindful of the kindness of the missionaries towards the natives; but when Matapang branded him a coward, he got insulted and so, he consented. Meanwhile, during that brief absence of Matapang from his hut, Padre Diego and Pedro took the chance of baptizing the infant, with the consent of the Christian mother.

   
   

   When Matapang learned of the baptism, he became even more furious. He violently hurled spears first at Pedro. The lad skirted the darting spears with remarkable dexterity. The witnesses said that Pedro had all the chances to escape because he was very agile, but he did not want to leave Padre Diego alone. Those who knew Pedro personally believed that he would have defeated his fierce aggressors and would have freed both himself and Padre Diego if only he had some weapons because he was a very valiant boy; but Padre Diego never allowed his companions to carry arms. Finally, Pedro got hit by a spear at the chest and he fell to the ground. Hirao immediately charged towards him and finished him off with a blow of a cutlass on the head. Padre Diego gave Pedro the sacramental absolution. After that, the assassins also killed Padre Diego.

   
   

   Matapang took the crucifix of Padre Diego and pounded it with a stone while blaspheming God. Then, both assassins denuded the bodies of Pedro and Padre Diego, dragged them to the edge of the shore, tied large stones to their feet, brought them to sea and threw them into the deep. The remains of the martyrs were never to be found.

   
   

   When the companion missionaries of Pedro learned of his death, they exclaimed, “Fortunate youth! How well rewarded his four years of persevering service to God in the difficult mission are: he has become the precursor of our superior, Padre Diego, in Heaven!” They remembered Pedro to be a boy with very good disposition, a virtuous catechist, a faithful assistant, and a good Catholic whose perseverance in the faith even to the point of martyrdom proved him to be a good soldier of Christ (cf. 2 Tim 2:3).

Source: http://www.prieststuff.com/2012/02/biography-of-blessed-pedro-calungsod.html

Keep on balancing

Yes, it’s not an easy balance to keep,

but try we must.

Give too much,

drain ourself,

there is nothing left only bitter space.

Give too little,

become a cork,

and we block the flow of God’s love through us.

Keep on balancing.

great are thy works !

Always remember to give thanks to God for He is good and His love endures forever!


It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High

To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night

Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery ... upon the harp with a solemn sound

For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work ...  I will triumph in the works of thy hands

O LORD, how great are thy works... and thy thoughts are very deep.

Psalms 92:1-5

Love, kindness. . .

"Love and kindness are the very basis of society.  

If we lose these feelings,

society will face tremendous difficulties; 

the survival of humanity will be

endangered."

-- Dalai Lama

these are my wishes for you . . .

Comfort on difficult days

smiles when sadness intrudes

rainbows to follow the clouds

laughter to kiss your lips

sunsets to warm your heart

hugs when spirits sag

beauty for your eyes to see

friendships to brighten your being

faith so that you can believe

confidence for when you doubt

courage to know yourself

patience to accept the truth

Love to complete your life.


– Author Unknown

Phenomena

"The mind's own basic nature is ultimately neutral.  It can be influenced by negative as well as by positive emotions.  Take, for instance, those who have a short tempter. When I was young I was quite short-tempered.  However, the mood never lasted for twenty-four hours. If negative emotions are in the very nature of our mind, then as long as the mind is functioning the anger must remain.That, however is not the case. Similarly, positive emotions are also not in the nature of the mind. "

"The mind is something neutral, reflecting all sorts of different experiences or phenomena."

-- Dalai Lama

Love . . .