Matthew 5:44 (Love is stronger than hate)

* 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).

Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you ... Matthew 5:44

Living Faith snippets: "Jesus does not say we are to remain in a situation where we are "persecuted." What he does tell us is to remember divine love is stronger than the desire to hate. We are to love and pray for those who seek to wound us. With God's grace, we can keep revenge from shaping our heart into stony hostility and angry resentment." by Sr. Joyce Rupp

Rich's comments: The gospel passage today tells us that our morals must be different from those of the world. All people do good to those who do good to them. Pagans do that. But we are called to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to pray for those who persecute us. Why? In order to show that we are children of God, whose most important attribute is mercy. At the end of the gospel passage occurs our primary directive and moral imperative: We are called to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Lord, open our souls to the inflowing of Your divine love until our souls are transformed into the very essence of Yourself. Then may we realize through faith that we are truly Your children and at-one with You in very substance and not in image only. Amen.

ProLife news: lifesitenews.com

Our Prayers: Abortion, our enemies, our troops, China earthquake, Myanmar cyclone, depression/despair, prisoners, Vicki Miller (her cancer treatment).

Faith quote: “Love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.” by Erich Fromm

Through Christ Our Lord,

Rich

Romans 12:12

* Outreach: Let's gladly invite those near us to join our LIFE Devotions group (Mark 16:15), providing routine spiritual connection and strength (simply forward a devotion with an invitation).
* 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)!

Acts 15:3 (western culture re-evangelization)

* 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).

They were sent on their journey by the church...and brought great joy to all the brothers. Acts 15:3

Living Faith snippets: "[Saint] feast days serve as joyful reminders that [we] are each called to be a saint and that the Church stands ready to help." by Rebecca Sande

Pat nuggets:

* Chad snippets: "Franciscan Benediction: May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy." cougarsdaily.blogspot.com

* Our Western culture, in general, is in need of re-evangelization. The church in Europe is seriously declining. In America, from 1978 to 2005, the # of seminarians dropped from 9,021 to 4,603, while during that same period the # of major seminarians throughout the world increased from 63,882 to 114,439 (from Karl Keating). To give insight into this decline of faith in the western culture, here are snippets from an article by Hilary White (LifeSiteNews.com, 11 Mar)..."Hedonistic Secularist Mentality Pervades the Church [which] Leads to "spiritual atrophy" and "emptiness of heart": The secularization that so characterizes many western societies has also found its way into the Church, Pope Benedict has warned. The pope said that "the lofty values of existence" must be reintroduced to contemporary cultures. The media has spread a "hedonistic" and consumerist mentality that promotes the idea that "there is no longer any need for God, to think of Him or to return to Him."The dangers of this way of living, he said, are "the risk of falling into spiritual atrophy and emptiness of heart". Without God at the centre, human life and intellectual endeavour "gives way to a sterile worship of the individual". "In this cultural context, there is the risk of falling into spiritual atrophy and into an emptiness of heart, sometimes characterised by surrogate forms of religious membership and vague spiritualism." Secularization, he said, "invades all aspects of daily life and causes the development of a mentality in which God is effectively absent, entirely or in part, from human life and conscience". Benedict warned that this culture promotes, in both laity and clergy, "a drift towards superficiality and selfishness which damages ecclesial life". The pope called on the faithful to fight these trends by re-introducing "the exalted values of existence which give meaning to life and can satisfy the disquiet of the human heart in its search for happiness." These include "the dignity and freedom of the person, the equality of all mankind, and the sense of life and death and of what awaits us at the end of earthly existence"."The phrase 'etsi Deus non daretur' [as if there were no God] is becoming a way of life which has its roots in a kind of 'arrogance' of reason."The pope warned that the exaltation of reason above God, a characteristic of the 18th century's "Enlightenment" philosophies, is now pervasive in society. But, he said, the Enlightenment inverted the real order. Reason he said, "was actually created and loved by God."Now, however, it is "held to be sufficient unto itself and closes itself off from contemplating and seeking a Truth that lies beyond it".Pope Benedict concluded, "Above all, I exhort pastors of the flock of God to a tireless and generous mission to counteract - in the field of dialogue and meeting between cultures, of announcement and testimony of the Gospel - the worrying phenomenon of secularization which weakens man and hinders his innate longing for the entire Truth"."

* Voting: Stephanie Kemp shared the following link about Barack Obama's shocking background (13 minutes), www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?RsrcID=2036.

* Juno movie: Although a bit quirky, it had a refreshing overriding ProLife message (unusual for Hollywood).

* Prayer: Please pray for the expansion of peace and freedom in the world...that our enemies have a change of heart and for the protection of our troops, including our fellow LIFE devotions group member Grant Croft who is serving in Iraq. Grant shared the following, "The [LIFE Devotions] blog has been insightful and encouraging to read as well as the prayer requests. A rocket landed about 100 yds away from my trailer this morning while I was in bed." Thanks to Grant and all who serve to protect our freedom, especially the freedom to worship our Creator!

Saints Feast Day: St. George http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George and St. Adalbert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Prague.

Through Christ for ProLife,

Pat

Phil 4:13

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

* Prayer: If you have a prayer request, simply send it to our distribution list at life-group-distro@googlegroups.com. Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others (so let's pray daily!). 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: ProLife websites at life-devotions.blogspot.com. '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.

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

Fri, 7 Mar (John 7:1)

* Welcome God every morning by reading the Living Faith devotional before work (~1 min). Order at http://www.livingfaith.com/.

Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. John 7:1

Living Faith snippets: "Surely it would be helpful for us today to keep in mind this image of Jesus under constant threat of violent acts of enemies. He could have preached a gospel of self-defense; instead, he preached a gospel of love and forgiveness of enemies." by James E. Adams

Pat's nuggets: TGIF!

* My Aunt Kay and Aaron Ferrie both forwarded this interesting nugget: "This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population has ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us has ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here's the facts: 1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!). 2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!"

* Sharon Carlson forwarded this humorous, yet challenging, story (a classic): "A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow just in front of him. He did the right thing and stopped at the crosswalk even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the "What Would Jesus Do" bumper sticker, the "Choose Life" license plate holder, the "Follow Me to Sunday-School"' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.""

Saints Day: Today is the feast day of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity (3rd century martyrs): "St. Perpetua was a 22-year old married noblewoman, with a nursing child, while her co-martyr St. Felicity, an expectant mother, was her slave. They suffered together at Carthage, Roman Province of Africa" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetua.

Through Christ for Life,
Pat
Phil 4:13

* 40 Days for Life campaign (ends 16 Mar): http://www.40daysforlife.com/.
* Daily Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml.
* LIFE Devotions at life-devotions.blogspot.com.
* LIFE Prayers at life-prayers.blogspot.com. Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others (so let's pray daily!). Click for Prayer to End Abortion.
* Sr. Francelle Devotions at sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com.
* Defend the unborn: Pro-Life websites are listed on the blog. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you" (Jer 1:5). "You knit me together in my mother's womb" (Ps 139:13). "Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die" (Prov 24:11). "It is a great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish" Blessed Mother Teresa.
* Share the Good News: Let's joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)!

Wed, 20 Feb (Matt 20:18)

* Welcome God every day by reading the Living Faith devotional before work (~1 min). Order at http://www.livingfaith.com/.
* Remove from distro?: If you would rather just view the devotions on the blog (no emails), I can remove you from the email distro list.

Behold, we are going to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over... Matt 20:18

Devotion snippets: "Jesus knew his enemies awaited him. I was inspired by this kind of profound surrender when a friend surrendered peacefully and welcomed death as a release into the arms of God. As with Jesus, this surrender did not come easily for Dorothy. She entrusted herself totally to God, as Jesus did, and found peace of mind and heart in the final months." by Sr. Joyce Rupp

Pat's nuggets: Last night, I went to the C. Springs Shroud of Turin Center with a physics friend, Doug Young. The center is in the basement of Dr. John Jackson's home (like going to a secret Christian hideout in Cappadocia, Turkey!). Apparently, Dr. Jackson's basement is the last remaining hope (in the world) for authenticating the Shroud. Dr. Jackson lead the 1978 team that studied the Shroud. He is working on experiments to characterize the type/amount of energy required to cause the Shroud image and experiments that may prove the 1988 carbon dating was in error (carbon dating has the Shroud much younger than 1st century).

* Dr. Jackson's new research will be presented on a BBC Shroud documentary the night before Easter. The documentary will apparently be discussed on the Today Show in the near future.
* Even if the Shroud of Turin is not the authentic burial cloth of Jesus, it is a mysterious (what caused the image?) and historically accurate representation of the crucifixion, bringing us closer to our Christ and "what greater love than this" (John 3:16).
* In 1977, a cadet was scheduled to help Dr. Jackson simulate the crucifixion as part of his efforts to authenticate the blood stains on the Shroud. The cadet told Dr. Jackson that he could not help him because he had to march tours (punishment). Dr. Jackson encouraged the cadet to ask his commander if he could suppliment crucifixion for the tours. The cadet was on time for his appointment with Dr. Jackson!

40 DAYS FOR LIFE: Learn about efforts in your area (through 16 Mar) and sign up for the daily updates email at http://www.40daysforlife.com/. Watch a couple minute clip on the "March for Life" (22 Jan) in Washington D.C. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsD5Jv_mmL0.

* On Sat, 23 Feb, is anyone able to join me for a 3 to 5 AM or 8 to 9 PM prayer vigil shift at the local abortion clinic?
* "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Jeremiah 1:5
* "...you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

Mother Teresa Quote: "It is a great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish."

Through Christ Our Lord,
Pat
Phil 4:13

* Daily Bible readings: View at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml
* LIFE Devotions blog: View at life-devotions.blogspot.com. Sign up to comment at LIFE Devotions. Please fill in your profile. If inspired, add a comment and fwd it to the distro at life-group-distro@googlegroups.com.
* LIFE Prayers blog: View at life-prayers.blogspot.com. Sign up to comment at LIFE Prayers. Prayer connects us with God's will, changes us, and is part of miracles (so let's pray daily!). Please "post" prayer requests (update with a "comment" then send update to distro email).
* Sr. Francelle Devotions: View at sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com. Let me know if you would like to be on the distro to receive her inspiring & challenging faith-application devotions (sent weekly).
* Let's joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)!