John 19:25 (shared suffering)

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

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. John 19:25 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows commemorates the fact that Mary suffered. This means she experienced the same kinds of pain that we do: fear, loss, misunderstanding, ambiguity, inconvenience, disappointment, anxiety, insecurity, fatigue, sorrow. She also suffered the terrible anquish of seeing her beautiful son unjustly tried, brutally tortured and publicly executed as a criminal." by Sr. Melannie Svoboda

Rich's comments: I had the opportunity to attend a Men's Only spiritual retreat with my father in Oregon this week. It was an amazing experience to worship and praise our Lord with over 1,500 other men in the beautiful outdoors of Oregon. There is great comfort in knowing that you are amongst others who are fighting the same spiritual battles that you are. It is a good feeling to remove our masks and reveal our true suffering souls with one another, all in the need of the cleansing blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, thank you for helping me realize that I am not alone in my daily struggles towards holiness. Amen.

Faith Challenge: Let's all invite one person each week (John 14:6) to join our LIFE Group (>220 ProLife Christians).
* NEW: Do not be afraid to open yourself and reveal your soul to others. You may be surprised to find that others share your pain.

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!

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), Stephanie Spader (healthy pregnancy), Adrian Hermosillo (sister Angelica battling cancer).
* NEW: Lynn Bishara (baby Alex for his endoscopy and biopsies)

Feast Day: Our Lady of Sorrows

Faith Quote: "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist." - Saint Augustine

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, 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).