Matt 10:34 (following God's call)

* Welcome God every morning before work by taking ~5 min to read this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which has snippets from Living Faith (livingfaith.com).

I have come to bring not peace but the sword. Matt 10:34

Living Faith snippets: "No matter how much we love our family, we sometimes need to make choices that they will not understand. Following the call of Jesus can lead us to do things that confuse even those closest to us. As Jesus reminds us in today's Gospel, taking on the crosses in our lives will produce...the absolute promise of Christ's loving presence to assure us that divisions do not have the last word." by David Nantais

Pat nuggets: After spending last week on the Hansens' farms (Angi's family), yesterday's Gospel about the Parable of the Sower particularly resonated with me. Father Jeff talked about how God planted our faith (souls) in us. For our faith to grow, we have to water it (weekly Church/Bible study, feed the poor, etc) and remove our weeds (anything that takes us away from God, i.e. our golden calves).

ProLife news: http://www.lifenews.com/.

Feast Day (Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha): "Patron of the environment and ecology. Kateri was born near the town of Auriesville, New York, in the year 1656, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior. She was four years old when her mother died of smallpox. The disease also attacked Kateri and transfigured her face. She was baptized at the age of twenty and incurred the great hostility of her tribe. Although she had to suffer greatly for her Faith, she remained firm in it." http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=154

Our Prayers: Abortion, our enemies/our troops, China earthquake, Myanmar cyclone, Midwest floods, depression/despair, prisoners, Vicki M. (her cancer treatment), Joe C. (11 yr old Devantae paralyzed), Kay C. (cancer treatment for Ms. Nancy Wheeler), Kathy-jo P. (friend Maria has terminal brain cancer and needs a hospice)

Faith quote: "Look about you with Christ's eyes, listen with his ears, feel and think with his heart and mind. Are you ready to give all as he did for truth and justice?" Pope Benedict (Apr visit to USA)

Through Christ Our Lord,
Pat

Phil 4:13

* Today's Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml.

* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others. Wayne Watson lyrics, “When God's people pray, there is hope reborn, there is sin forgiven, and miracles you can't explain await!” "If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead & see Him."

* Defend the unborn: 'Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die' (Prov 24:11). 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you' (Jer 1:5). 'It is a great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish' Blessed Mother Teresa. Click for Prayer to End Abortion.

* Evangelization: Let's make room for non-believers (be a friend, make a friend, lead friend to Christ) and perpetual re-evangelization of self and those near us, by way of daily prayer (relationship) and following Christ's example of selfless love, mercy, and service.

Let's joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)!