Luke 1:53 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

* 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). All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. Luke 1:53

Living Faith snippets: "God is not distant, but moves through our lives in the most personal of ways. God also speaks to the world in words far from neutral or detached. The broken and forgotten are lifted up. Those secure in their own sufficiency are strangely empty." by Jeanne Schuler

Rich's comments: Today's feast day is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is presented to us as a perfect example of how we are called to give ourselves totally to God for His plan. She encourages us to trust in the tremendous power of God. That if we allow ourselves to be fully open to God's presence in our lives, He can do amazing things through us. Lord, I offer myself to You today and every day. I trust in Your awesome power to use me to do Your will. Amen.

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

Feast Day (The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary): This feast has a double object: (1) the happy departure of Mary from this life; (2) the assumption of her body into heaven. It is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin.

Our Prayers: Abortion, chastity, our enemies/our troops, natural disasters, depression/ despair, dementia, cancer, prisoners, Liz Curry (Drew, 2 yr old, kidney tumor surgery recovery), Deb Kayser (rotator cuff and hand surgeries), Jomary Chenet (daughter Jolie recovering from surgery), Ross and Kacie Paulick (discerning God's direction for their lives)

Faith Quotes: "Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch." by Ramona C. Carroll

Through Christ Our Lord,

Rich

Romans 12:12

* Today's Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml. Reflection on readings at http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html

* 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. Prayer to End Abortion. Ask Blessed Margaret of Castello for her prayers 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)!