All Hallows Eve

I've added a new link below on the side bar about 'All Hallows Eve' - a Catholic view of Halloween.

There are many views out there about whether or not it should be celebrated.

My family has fun dressing up and taking the babes 'trick ' or 'treating'.

Following Halloween comes All Saint's Day. A day to remember all those who suffered much to promote our faith.

I hope the link provides some good info for you all.

'On Ya' - ma

The first Reading for Sunday, October 23, 2005

Exodus 22:20-26

Thus says the Lord:

You shall not molest or oppress an alien

for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.

You shall not wrong any widow or orphan . If you wrong them and they cry out to me,

I will surely hear their cry.

My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword,

then your own wives will be widows

and your children orphans.

If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors

among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him

by demanding interest from him.

If you take your neighbors cloak as a pledge,

you shall return it to him before sunset;

for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body

What else has he to sleep in?

If he cries out to me, I will hear him;

for I am compassionate.

I love the verses in the Bible about the widows. There are many of them! As a widow myself, I can relate to God's compassion. Never in all the days since my husband passed away, have I been without the things that I need . I have been so blessed! I not only have had the needs supplied, but have received lots that I really haven't needed, but enjoy.

The counsels of the Old Testament to help those in need are more easily ignored than heeded. WE have a duty to the vulnerable in the assembly of faith and in the world.

Believers need to go the extra mile for all the vunerable because the poor have a choice seat at the banquet table of the Lord.

May His proclamation echo in our minds and hearts --

If he cries out to me, I will hear him, for I am compassionate.


'On Ya' - ma


(remember 'On Ya' means - May the Joy of the Lord be on You!)

Our Hope

On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,
of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.
On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples,
and the shroud enwrapping all nations, he will destroy Death for ever. The Lord will wipe away
the tears from every cheek;
he will take away his peoples shame
everywhere on earth,
for the Lord has said so.
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in whom we hoped for salvation;
the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We exult and we rejoice
that he has saved us;
for the hand of the Lord
rests on this mountain.

Isaiah 25:6-10

Today's 1st reading gives hope to us all. I read several commentaries and devotionals this morning and the following is excerpts from them all.

Our Hope is in the Lord !

The reading is consoling and comforting. It speaks about an absence of hunger, mourning, death and shame. The vision cannot happen in this world but most certainly does happen in the next. God's party of juicy, rich food with the best of wines speaks about a much better world
It is a reading filled with hope and a reading that invites us to cling to that hope when all is difficult around us

It is good to know that God is aware of the tears of every one of us.
But there is something more in the Christian faith. It is wonderful that God knows and cares about our pain and grief. It is comforting to realize that we are personally and individually cared for. But it is mind-boggling to realize that God knows exactly what it feels like to shed tears of grief and pain

There is a deep and abiding promise in these words that, when all is said and done, God will bring healing to a broken world and to our fractured lives. There is a deep longing within each one of us to see pain and grief wrapped up in the arms of God until the last tear has been wiped away and there is a fresh wholeness that becomes the central reality of our lives.

Because this promise of no more tears is from God, it is as good as accomplished. Yet it is not completed in our present lives. It was a promise when Isaiah proclaimed it and it was a promise when the writer of the last words of scripture penned them. Even though ages have come and gone, it remains a living promise - and as a divine promise for all who place their faith in God - it is the fountain of hope for our lives.

It is very clear that our hope in God's promises is what lives at the heart of Christian faith and is the one great thing that distinguishes persons of faith from those who buy into the values of this present world. Though the promise is not yet fulfilled, it functions at the heart of our life together

God's promise that there will finally be, no more tears... is at the heart of our worship. Worship ought to be a joyful thing because it connects us with the promise of final healing for our brokenness. We sing and rejoice and reach out to the world around us because we live as those who are under the power of God's great promise.

We are a people of joyous worship because we build our lives on promises of healing and wholeness that can not be broken.

Listen once again to these words. They are one of the main foundation blocks in our life of faith.
"... the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces..."

Glory be to God

'On Ya' - ma

KEEPING GOD FIRST IN OUR LIVES

…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect)

Matthew 22:37

This morning I read a great devotional and I'd like to share some thoughts that I found to be very inpirational.

Putting God first means to put His ways first—to live the way He would live. In other words, what God loves, we learn to love; what God hates, we learn to hate. For example, God loves people so we need to learn to love people. God hates evil so we need to learn to hate evil

If we spend an hour a week praying and fifteen hours a week playing golf, then golf is a higher priority than God. If we spend thirty minutes praying and thirty minutes reading the Bible every week but spend fifteen hours watching TV, then TV is a higher priority than God

We make time for what we really want to do. We all have the same number of hours in a day and for the most part, we each set our own schedule. If we want to spend time with God then we must make Him priority

He also wants to be a part of our everyday activities like washing the dishes, going to the grocery store and fixing the car. God wants to be a part of everything that goes on in our lives every day, but we have to choose to let Him.

God will honor every effort you put forth to seek Him and put Him first.

If we start the day with a few moments with our Dear Lord, He will guide us and bless us . We just have to say THANK YOU as we continue through the day ! Little prayers thoughout our day help us to put God first and also remind us of WHO is control of our lives.

‘On Ya’ - ma

OCTOBER 2, 2OO5 - 27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Brothers and sisters:

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,make your requests known to God.

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.Then the God of peace will be with you.

Phil 4:6-9

This morning we were told that it would be wise for us to reflect on these verses everyday.


'On Ya' - ma