In the words of Frederic Ozanam, "In serving the sick, you should have God alone in view. You should not be too lenient and condescending when the sick refuse to take remedies or become too insolent, yet you must beware of showing either resentment or contempt in your demeanor toward them. On the contrary, treat the sick with respect and humility, remembering that all harshness and disdain, as well as the services and the honor you render them, are directed to our Lord himself. "
St. Vincent de Paul Society was started in Paris, France in 1833 by a young man, Frederic Ozanam, who saw a need to assist those in need. Within 12 years this organization was operating all over Europe and America with over 600 members. Today there are over 1,000,000 members in 142 countries.
In the words of Frederic Ozanam, "In serving the sick, you should have God alone in view. You should not be too lenient and condescending when the sick refuse to take remedies or become too insolent, yet you must beware of showing either resentment or contempt in your demeanor toward them. On the contrary, treat the sick with respect and humility, remembering that all harshness and disdain, as well as the services and the honor you render them, are directed to our Lord himself. "
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Today's action is to attend Soup & Stations of the Cross. How often can you receive such a wonderful gift absolutely free? It just takes your time. We are very thankful for all of the volunteers to prepare and serve the soup tonight. What a great opportunity for us to be able to walk with Jesus on his journey to the cross. Jesus in all his divinity, suffered on the cross in all of His humanity so that we may have everlasting life. Jesus came to serve. He offered His gift to all of us absolutely free out of a love so great that we will never be able to comprehend it. If you cannot attend the Stations of the Cross, take 30 minutes and watch this video of the 14 Stations of the Cross. There is also a little longer video using video from Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, which is a very real depiction of the 14 stations, link below. http://youtu.be/LsgcxHV7wUc Today's action item is to practice Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is a great spiritual practice and is Latin for "Divine Reading". We use God's own words in the Bible to encounter Him in peaceful meditation. The attached video is a very simple guide to Lectio. Try to really meditate and listen to what He has to stay to you. The video outlines seven easy steps. 1. Sit down in a quiet place with the scripture - it can be today's reading or a verse you choose. 2. Ask the Holy Spirit for help in listening and ask "Lord, what do you want from me this day?" 3. Re-Read the text and listen, what does He say to you? 4. Ask for strength from the Holy Spirit to put the word received into practice. 5. Write down briefly the word received. 6. Put into practice the word received today. 7. Verify at the end of the day how you did at putting the word into practice and give thanks to God for speaking to you and guiding you on journey in this life. Every 3 1/2 seconds someone will die of hunger, which equates to about 25,000 people a day, over 1000 people per hour. Most of these people are children. There is plenty of food in the world to feed everyone. As a matter of fact, obesity is a also a huge problem in our country. 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 6 children suffer from obesity. Most of the obese are people who cannot afford to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately, people living in poverty are unable to get out of the spiral. It is like drowning in the ocean, you come up for air every few minutes, but then the waves come crashing again and knock you back down. Many people become ill from lack of proper nourishment so that they are unable to tend for themselves and their families. We can all help to be part of the solution. Let's lend a hand and be the hand of Jesus to these people who are in such great need. Today's action is to pray for the poor. There is also a video on Catholic Relief Society and how they assist people living in poverty. http://sjerciateam.weebly.com/40-ways.html Daily meditation is important not only for our minds but our souls; it gives us time to have an encounter with God. In the words of Thomas Merton "Meditation or "prayer of the heart" is the active effort we make to keep our hearts open so that we may be enlightened by Him and filled with this realization of our true relationship to Him. Therefore the classic form of "meditation" [among others] is repetitive invocation of the name of Jesus in the heart emptied of images and cares. Hence the aim of meditation, in the context of Christian faith, is not to arrive at an objective and apparently "scientific" knowledge about God, but to come to know Him through the realization that our very being is penetrated by His knowledge and love for us." You can meditate in any place that is quiet where you can feel at peace. It can be outside, at the ocean, in the mountains, in the sanctuary, in your room, or wherever you feel comfortable. Some people actually are able to meditate very well while doing activities like walking, jogging or riding a bike. The important thing is that we take time to listen to God in our lives. Our egos, our pride, can be easily wounded such that forgiveness becomes hidden behind this wall of pride that we build up for what seems at the time, our protection. In reality compassion for the other person and trying to understand where they are coming from actually tears down the wall and brings us peace and unity through forgiveness.
Today's Action is an important one towards our own personal transformation. Love fashion? How about fashion and helping the poor? Sounds like a pretty good deal! St. Bernadine's is having a spring charity fashion show and luncheon to help the poor, which will be held on Saturday, March 16th. Preview 11-12 Event 12-3 St. Bernadine’s Parish Hall 24410 Calvert Street Woodland Hills Fashion by: kikaPaprika Donation $25.00 To buy Tickets: Emily Inouye 818-716-5686 Julie O’Connor 818-348-5368 [email protected] St. Vincent de Paul has a food pantry that operates from St. Joseph the Worker in Winnetka. The parish is located at the corner of Sherman Way and Oakdale. They are in desparate need of food contributions. For the first time the shelves do not have enough food to feed the people who come. They have had to use other funding to buy food for the people. We can help by dropping off food to them. They are in need of canned meats such as spam or tuna, pasta, spaghetti sauce, canned soup, canned fruit, peanut butter, cereal, oatmeal, rice, cocoa, tea bags, rice beans and any other foods of this nature that you would like to donate. They are also in need of fresh fruit, so if you have fruit trees and would like to donate fresh fruit, that would be wonderful. Please bring donations to the church, the Parish Center or drop them off on Saturday’s at 8:30. There is no activity on this day. It is Sunday a day of worship. A day to be joyful and to praise God.
We do have several activities today. Sandwich Sunday and Passing out of the CRS Rice Bowls. God of the living, through baptism we pass from the shadow of death to the light of the resurrection. Remain with us and give us hope that, rejoicing in the gift of the Spirit who gives life to our mortal flesh, we may be clothed with the garment of immortality, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Today we have a difficult action. It is so hard to step out of our comfort zones, especially if we are doing it alone. We cannot all be Mother Teresa, but we can each share a little piece of her with others. Let's show special kindness and love for one another today.
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AuthorI was also a catechumenate a short time ago. I received my sacraments Easter 2011. Now I want to share my journey with you. Archives
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