Psalm 17:15 (Content in Your Presence)

Let's welcome God today 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

But I in justice shall behold your face; on waking I shall be content in your presence. Psalm 17:15 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "When asked if Death is the final step, Sir Walter Scott replied, "No, it is not the final awakening." Every day when I awaken, I find it a precious moment. The face of God seems close at each awakening. At the waking time of day, it is good to spend a few grateful moments in God's presence before rising to face our daily activities." by Fr. James McKarns

Steve's comments: I had the privilege of spending this past weekend on retreat. There is something amazing when you are able to see the power of God's Grace transform other people's lives. I think back to my first encounter with Christ as a 15 year old boy on a retreat not unlike the weekend I just experienced. I wanted nothing to do with Jesus and the Church. I sat reading letters of love from my family and friends and saw Jesus lovingly staring back at me in their words. As I read those words I experienced for the first time in my life the love of God. I was transformed - I knew at that moment that God had a plan for my life and it wasn't all about Steve. I felt apart of something bigger than myself and that every moment of my life had prepared me for that moment. I chose Christ on that day and dedicated my life to his service. Oh, I also met my future wife on that weekend (thanks, Jesus!). I don't know why God looked down with mercy on me that day, but I'm sure glad he did. I now try to take one weekend a year to serve on a retreat where I can share my story and be reminded of how I came to first encounter Christ in my life.

Faith Challenges: Let's all invite one person each week (John 14:6) to join our LIFE Group (~250 of God's children).
* NEW: Find a retreat in your area and make some time for yourself and Jesus - the encounter may fuel the rest of your life and bring someone else to Christ.

Counter-Culture News: , 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 Truth to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16) and setting the unborn (and parents) 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, politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters, refugees, addictions, persecuted believers, Peters family (JP, Rebekah), Joe (brother Mike), Doug Young (special intention), Pat Castle (health care reform bill), Joe (daughter's pregnancy), Aaron Ferrie (special intention). Carol Nesbitt (Ron Hayes in ICU with H1N1 and pneumonia; Dody Gustaf with untreatable cancer)

Feast Day: St. Rose Philippine Duchesne "Women-who-prays-always"

Faith Quote: "“We cultivate a very small field for Christ, but we love it, knowing that God does not require great achievements but a heart that holds back nothing for self.... The truest crosses are those we do not choose ourselves.... He who has Jesus has everything.” ~ St. Rose Philippine Duchesne." -

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, 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).

Acts 16:13 (retreating to pray)

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

In this way the love of God was revealed to us. 1 John 4:9 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "I reflected on my life, on the trip and on transitions ahead, and I prayed God would lead me in the right direction. I knew time would bring changes as yet unknown, but in that moment, I was content just to be still. Such moments may be rare, but in them God's mysterious presence is available to us all." by Julia DiSalvo

Rich's comments: I find it very important in my busy schedule to set aside time to pray, read scripture, and reflect alone in silence. This time for me is early in the morning at work before I start my day. Since I am naturally a morning person, this is when I am at my best; the time when I am the most attentive. The time when I can be still and listen to God. Lord, help me to shut out the distractions of the World and bring me focus so that I may listen to You. Amen.

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

* NEW: If you do not already set aside time in your day to retreat to pray, start to do so now.

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

* NEW: Rich (Jim Russell who is battling cancer)

Feast Day: St. John I

Faith Quote: "If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever. " by St. Thomas Aquinas

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)!

Luke 8:2 (misunderstood)

* Welcome God every morning before your 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

Mary, called Magdalene... Luke 8:2

Living Faith snippets: "Hacking our way out of this underbrush of wild speculations, Mary may well have been a solid family and business woman, like many of the women in church on a Sunday morning. Seeing her that way makes her less a character in a melodrama, more a model for many of us today." by Kevin Perrotta

Sr. Francelle devotion: Read her devotion titled "You will seek Me and find Me when you search...‏‏" at http://sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com/. From the intro..."In 1975, while teaching psychology at Presentation College in Aberdeen, SD I was also involved in teaching a CCD [religion] class to high school students. I was impressed with a few young people, who seemed so excited about their faith. When I asked them how they got that way, they said because they attended Search [retreat] weekends. After Search found a home at Presentation, I coordinated over 100 Searches over a period of 20 years."

Pat nuggets:

* In 1988, I accepted Sr. M&M's invitation to attend Sr. Francelle's Search retreat program in Aberdeen, SD (see above)...which helped myself and several LIFE Devotions Group members grow close to Christ at a young age. Sr. Francelle, thank you for this gift! Let us pray for the Sioux Falls Search program starting in November...

* Mary Ellen Seibert shared the image for today (God smiling), which I received this morning. After adding the image, I realized the connection to today's faith quote (below). Coincidence...I think not!

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

* 40 Days for Life campaign (24 Sep to 2 Nov): http://www.40daysforlife.com/. Please consider signing up to pray an hour in front your local abortion mill.

* "being HUMAN: 40 Days for Life II" (9 PM EST, Sun, 21 Sep, EWTN channel): "A brand-new world-premiere documentary about 40 Days for Life will be airing in 128 million homes around the world! Watch the two-minute preview video: http://www.40daysforlife.com/about.cfm. This episode is on how 40 Days for Life is renewing hope in communities across the nation." by Dave Bereit

Our Prayers: Abortion, chastity, our enemies/our troops, natural disasters, depression/ despair, dementia, cancer cure, prisoners, integrity of our leaders, Mike Castle (for grandson Isaac and his caregivers), strength to live the virtue of chastity, hurricane recovery, Kay Castle (for Nancy Wheeler recovering from chemotherapy), loss of loved ones, lack of faith.

Saint Feast Day (St. Januarius): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Januarius.

Faith Quote: Dani Pavelk shared: "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." Mother Teresa

Through Christ Our Lord,

Pat

Phil 4:13

* 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 lie 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)!

John 6:26-27

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

Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. John 6:26-27

Living Faith snippets: "Just as the people in the Gospel received the loaves, so we too have received material benefits from God. The temptation is to get lost in the gifts and to miss their deeper meaning. Every gift reveals the love of the one who gives it, and that is the most important part of the gift. This is what Jesus wanted the people to understand. Jesus' giving of the loaves preceded the gift of Jesus' presence, which he gives us in the Eucharist." by Fr. Kenneth E. Grabner

Pat nuggets:

* Sr. Francelle has recovered from her visit to the intensive care unit (Amen!). She writes, "Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27) Since my heart was doing unusual things, this verse from John's Gospel helped me get through the past few days - but I am now back at work and good to go."

* This past weekend I went on retreat to the Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH. I stayed with Bobby and Christi Aborn, close friends from our Turkey AF assignment (2000-2002). The Aborns work for the university (outreach) and have dedicated their home to Our Lady of Fatima. They have three wonderful women of faith living with them: Stephanie Rambran (student), Kristy McClintock (campus outreach), and Kelly Pease (professional Christian singer). I was also blessed to fellowship with many of their friends...true disciples of Christ. The highlight experience was celebrating Mass on campus...the church was filled to capacity and everyone was giving 110% while praising God! Bobby shared this prayer from St. Josemaria Escriva: "May we seek Him. May we find Him. May we love Him." Let's encourage each other to make a retreat weekend with our Lord every year!

Saint Feast Day (St. John Baptist de la Salle): "He dedicated more than forty years of his life to the education of the children of the poor. He standardized educational practices and wrote inspirational meditations on the ministry of teaching." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Baptist_de_la_Salle

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" (author unknown).

* Defend the unborn: Pro-Life 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.

* Other devotions: Sr. Francelle (sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com) and COUGARS daily (cougarsdaily.blogspot.com). Would you like to be added?

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

Thurs, 13 Mar (John 8:59)

* Welcome God every morning by taking ~5 min to read this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion, which has snippets from the Living Faith devotional (http://www.livingfaith.com/). Please consider sharing a comment at life-devotions.blogspot.com.

They picked up stones to throw at him. John 8:59

Living Faith snippets: "When Jesus responded to His challengers with the comment, "Before Abraham came to be, I AM" (John 8:58), the people became angry and picked up stones to do Him harm. I remember the stones I've thrown at others...verbal, mental, emotional ones, just as weighty and destructive as those that threatened Jesus. I suggest we each place a stone at our place of prayer [in our pocket?] for the coming week. Hold it while we ponder any stone-tossing we've been tempted to do or have done. Pray for a change of heart [metanoia]." by Sr. Joyce Rupp

Pat's nuggets: Please consider following Christ through the Stations of the Cross on Friday evening in preparation for Holy Week (most every Catholic church, open to all denominations)...you will not be disappointed! Please commit yourself to attend the Holy Thurs and Good Friday services next week in preparation for the Easter Vigil or Easter morning celebration. When you do this, Holy Week is like a retreat experience! Following the example of Christ (time in the desert), Christians need retreats. If you haven't been on a retreat ever or in the last year or more, please consider making time for a weekend retreat this year (Search, TEC, Koinonia, Cursillo, others?).
* Please share your Stations of the Cross, Holy Week, and retreat experiences to encourage those who have never experienced these incredible encounters with Christ.

Stations of the Cross: As we follow Christ to Easter morning...Jesus is condemned to death, Jesus accepts his cross, Jesus falls the first time...
* Fourth Station (Jesus meets his mother): "We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. Because, by Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. The meeting of Jesus and his mother Mary was brief, but intense. [Remember this scene in "The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson?] Mary stood before her Son helplessly, recalling the words that Simeon foretold long ago: "A sword will pierce your heart." Jesus gazes into Mary's eyes, and without speaking a word, assures His mother that the Lord God will not let this suffering be in vain. Jesus feels His mother's anguish and gives her the silent assurance that the giving of His life for all was the Father's means to give salvation and eternal life to all those who believe. Silently communicating her love for Jesus, Mary returns to her place in the crowd. My Lord, how sad it must have been for you to see your mother in such anguish. Even in the midst of your own dreadful state, you focused your attention on the suffering of your mother Mary. Give me the strength and courage that Mary had at that moment, so that I too can return to my place in the world as your witness to all. [Amen]" from "Behold! The Way of the Cross" by Thomas Gouin

Through Christ for ProLife,
Pat
Phil 4:13

* 40 Days for Life campaign (ends 16 Mar) at http://www.40daysforlife.com/.
* Daily Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml.
* 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.
* COUGARS devotions at cougarsdaily.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)!