Isaiah 49:13 (Open the Eyes of Our Hearts)

Let's welcome God today with this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (archive, Facebook), based on Living Faith. Prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers. James 1:22

For the Lord comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted. Isaiah 49:13 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "Look around you. With eyes of faith, see the little things that serve you every day. Could it be possible that this is God comforting you in your affliction? Of course, if we choose to remain prisoners in our own bodies, in our own worlds, then we may never be able to experience this love. Open your eyes to the small comforts you take for granted each day." by Sr. Macrina Viederkehr, O.S.B.

Rich's comments: At 14 years old, St. Patrick was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland to herd and tend sheep. During his 6 years of captivity, he prayed constantly to God, and as a result, his love and faith for God increased. St. Patrick did not let his afflictions weaken his faith in God. He was able to open the eyes of his heart to see the presence of God's love around him. His faith in God led him to return and evangelize his captors, spreading the news of God's love. St. Patrick preached the Gospel throughout Ireland and converted thousands. Lord, open the eyes of my heart, for I want to see You. Amen.

Faith Challenges: Let's generously share the LIFE Group by fwding a devotion or using the Facebook "invite people to join" link.
* NEW: What things in your life remind you of God's loving presence? Please consider providing comments on the Facebook page.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, Vatican, American Family Association, Priests for Life
* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images), #1 cause of death in America (23% of pregnancies). Let's courageously share ProLife Truth to expose abortion's unjust peace, rebuilding a Culture of Life for setting the unborn (and parents) free!
* NEW: Georgia Targets Abortion Motivated by Race and Gender: Alarming abortion/birth ratio exposes Black demographic death-spiral.

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together, and close to God (footnotes). Peters family (JP). Prayer to end abortion. Kay Castle (special intentions)

Feast Day: St. Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He used the shamrock to explain the Trinity.

Faith Quote: "The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelieving heart, so that I should recall my sins." - St. Patrick

Through Christ our Lord,
Rich
James 1:22

* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. 'If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn't, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead.
* Fasting: Let's fast from things that take our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, pornography, bitterness, criticalness, impatience, gossip, excessive video games, etc) and take on things that fix our eyes on Jesus (selflessness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience, understanding, caring, helping, listening).
* 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).
* Evangelization: Let's make room for unbelievers (be a friend, make a friend, lead a 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 (Matt 28:19).

Psalm 124:8 (Where is the cross?)

Let's welcome God this morning by reflecting on this short Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which is based on Living Faith. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "When the computer makes a strange noise and the screen goes dark, I may be profoundly distressed, but I know where to go for help...but what if the doctor tells me an unusual spot has appeared on the x-ray of my lung? Or I discover I have been betrayed by a dear and trusted friend? Or that my child has been injured in a terrible car accident? If such things were to happen, where's the help?" by Mark Neilsen

Steve's Thoughts: "I was profoundly saddened by the news of a young mother who died following the birth of her son last Friday (see prayers below). I felt empty. It got me thinking about the role of suffering in our faith journey. This past Sunday I heard a priest speak of the two sides of our faith in our life journey - in our joy and in our suffering. He spoke candidly of how easily we look for our faith to entertain us and bring us joy. There is a certain temptation to "shop around" our faith to find a church that fits our needs, our family, our situation. He spoke of the many church's with profound preaching, enticing programs for every aspect of the family life, and beautiful uplifting music each Sunday. He followed up with a simple question, "Where is the cross?" The gospel of suffering is the least understood and last to be embraced by a Christian yet without it there would be no salvation, no life. It involves the understanding that our true happiness does not lie in this life but in the next. Dear Jesus, teach me to conform my ways to Your ways, my mind to Your truth, and to truly understand that real treasure, real happiness is not obtained in this life but the next.

Faith Challenges: Let's all invite one person each week (John 14:6) to join our LIFE Group (>240 of God's children).

* NEW: If your Church is not what you like volunteer for an area that you feel is lacking - fill the gaps! Get M.A.D - Go Make A Difference...

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, American Family Association, Priests for Life

* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images)...#1 cause of death in America. Let's courageously share ProLife Truth to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16) and setting the unborn free!

* NEW: Abortionist reflects on dismembering one baby while feeling her own flutter in her womb.

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together. Fasting ideas in footnote below.

* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters, refugees, addictions, persecuted believers, Peters family (JP in hospital), Lynn Bishara (for son Alex), Stephanie Spader (for pregnancy), Joyce Trunk (friend w/brain cancer), Kathy Castle (Vicki Miller in hospice).

* NEW: Carol Nesbit wrote, "Please add to the prayer list Katie Friedman, the wife of ’96 O’Gorman alum Jon Friedman. Jon is an F-16 pilot, stationed in Italy. His wife Katie gave birth on Friday to a new healthy baby boy, then died three hours later from severe hemorrhaging. They also have a young son who is not quite two years old. The family is devastated by the loss of this wonderful young mother."

Feast Day: St. Hilarion (371)

Faith Quote: "We are called to be hope for the innocent, protection for the defenseless, and a voice for the voiceless…” ~ Fr. Greg Paffel (Our Lady of Victory Church, Fergus Falls, MN)

Through Christ our Lord,
Steve

Romans 12:2

* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. 'If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn't, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead.'
* Fasting: Let's fast from things that take our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, gossip, excessive video games, etc) and take on things that fix our eyes on Jesus (selflessness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience, understanding, caring, helping, listening).
* 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).
* Evangelization: Let's make room for unbelievers (be a friend, make a friend, lead a 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 (Matt 28:19).

John 14:31 (overcoming adversity)

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

The world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. John 14:31 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "Doing whatever the Father commanded led Jesus down a terrible path: separation from his family, desertion by his friends and followers, torture and a painful death on the cross. Whenever I start to throw myself a pity party for some little cross I'm bearing, I should think of Jesus." by Heather Wilson

Rich's comments: After reading all three readings today (full readings), I recognized an underlying theme: overcoming adversity. If we back up one verse (John 14:30) before today's highlighted Gospel verse, it quotes Jesus saying, "I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me." I take great comfort in knowing that if I follow Jesus, I am doing what God has commanded and the ruler of the world will have no power over me. Sometimes we may feel that we are alone in following Christ. We are ridiculed, isolated, and humiliated. It would be so much easier to conform to the world view, but we must persevere in the faith for "it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22). Whenever you are undergoing hardships in your life, remember Jesus who has gone before us to set us free.

Faith Challenge: Let's challenge each other to joyfully live out the Good News.

* NEW: Remind others that they are not alone in following Jesus. Be Christ to others and support them through their hardships.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, American Family Association, Priests for Life

* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images)...#1 cause of death in America. Let's courageously share ProLife Truth (John 14:6) to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16) and setting the unborn free!

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together. Fasting ideas below.

* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters, addictions, Jason Peters (son JP), Kathy Castle (Michael Moon hand infection), Carla Neal (Harold Heard, Jamie, Joyce & all of you)

Feast Day: St. Nereus, St. Achilleus, St. Pancras

Faith Quote: "Often our work doesn't begin to bear fruit until, like grains of wheat, we fall to the earth and die." Jn 12:24

Through Christ our Lord,

Rich

Romans 12:12

* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. 'If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead.'
* Fasting: Let's fast from things that take our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, gossip, excessive video games, etc) and take on things that fix our eyes on Jesus (selflessness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience, understanding, caring, helping, listening).
* 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).
* Evangelization: Let's make room for unbelievers (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 invite others to join our LIFE Group...Rich or Pat will gladly add them to the devotions distribution list (Mark 16:15)!