Stepping Back From Impulse

Good advice. Step back from the irritable impulse.

From Spirit Daily.

QUOTE  Step back, for example, from first thoughts of feeling puffed up. Step back from first thoughts of superiority. Step back from first thoughts of aggravation. Step back from jealousy or it will bite you back.

How many times during a typical day are you inclined to be aggravated or at least mildly disturbed with something or somebody? Isn't that a constant temptation? There are many reasons for disliking people and it is a test of life because it's a test of love.

Yet, life is too short for even a moment of agitation.

Often you have heard us discuss the power of forgiveness -- and the detriment of holding a grudge.

To love we must first forgive. When you don't forgive -- when you give into the inclination to dislike (and even hate) a person -- you step into that person's darkness. UNQUOTE

art credit: wolfsongo

First Friday in October

The emphasis has been so heavy on the negative, the economic mes, the political election cycle, the war in Iraq and countless worldly woes ~ let's take a moment on this first Friday, before many of us - the Catholics amongst us, anyhow - head to church before our dinner ~ let's take a moment to consider the spiritual side. That's the side that matters most!

From Spirit Daily
QUOTE Often God deals with our swollen selves by pricking the balloon we too often become.
When we boast or gossip, when we have pride, we fill like a blimp with hot air.
The Lord, in His Mercy, will eventually cause that to burst. He will let fresh air in. Pride goes before the fall.
"Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins," says Matthew 9:17, "otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."
How are you swollen? Is there negativity welling inside of you? What has become too big for your "skin" to contain? UNQUOTE

The Best Call You Can Make

From Spirit Daily

QUOTE And have no fear. God is your refuge. He will not fail you. Just do not fail Him. You can call Him any time you'd like.
The area code is "Jesus, I trust in You" -- and the number is "Mary, take over!" She has surprises in store for you. Fear not.
Jesus I trust in You. Mary take over.
It's the best "call" that you can make. UNQUOTE

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Invocation to the Holy Spirit

O Heavenly king, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present, and fillest all things, Treasury of good things, and Giver of life: Come and dwell in us, and cleanse us of all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name's sake.

Lord, have mercy. (Thrice)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
JMJ - JMJ - JMJ - JMJ

IN A 'BROKEN' CREATION' ARE HURRICANES AND BANKRUPTCY AND STORMS OF ALL KINDS
From Spirit Daily
QUOTE What goes on here? Now a cyclone on Wall Street -- on the weekend when the Pope -- from France -- was pronouncing greed and materialism as every bit as pagan as what stood as idols in ancient Rome (or we might add Egypt).
In the frenzy, it is time to more directly invoke the Holy Spirit, Who will not only tell us the meaning or lack thereof in what occurs but also how to prepare for the time of disruption ahead. With Him, there is no fear -- rather, joy in purification. UNQUOTE
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Oil and God's Creation

From Spirit Daily comes a confluence of Christian concern and the current fuel situation.
Be sure and click on over and read it all.

QUOTE Right now, peer around you. What do you see?
Do you see the nature that God created, for the main part -- the world He formed -- or the creations of men? Do we believe it was in His design to have toxic outfalls into pristine rivers or belching smokestacks against an azure sky?
What are the fruits of oil? Tensions in the Middle East. Synthetic food additives. Pesticides that do not degrade. Rampant car-driven consumerism. There are the chemicals, and now genetically-modified foods that have replaced or seek to replace what God made to nourish us.
Pharmaceuticals? Yes. We need those.
But can we not derive them also more naturally? UNQUOTE

Heaven Begins On Earth

One of my favorite spiritual sites, Spirit Daily, has this little gem to offer. Take it for what it's worth to you: to me it seems good advice.

QUOTE Free yourself from the baggage of worldliness, which is attachment to things.
You take none of it with you and it can hold you back. Clean yourself. Simplify.
Do you see a bird in a cage? That's what we are like when we are all closed in by routine. The Holy Spirit cannot be spontaneous. We box God out. Don't cage yourself in by routine.
There is "balance." It is extremely important to balance our lives -- and avoid all extremes. Slow down. Don't outrun the Holy Spirit. Expand your horizons. That's where Heaven is. Don't be a robot.
There are extremes of negativity. There are extremes of eating. There are extremes of drinking. There are extremes politically and religiously. There is the extreme of scrupulosity (adhering to each letter of the law, but not the spirit). Any extreme puts the spirit at odds with the balance of Heaven.
You see this all the time: devout people who are dour because they have closed everyone else off, believing only they are destined for Heaven. When someone is out of balance they are fearful and that fear will evolve into anger.
Which is the opposite of love, and to feel Heaven -- to bring it here -- one has to love in all circumstances. Heaven is love.
And so there it is: just those few things for a taste of what God has designed as the ultimate in goodness:
Eternal happiness, which for all of us can begin today. UNQUOTE