March 25:                                Feast of the Annunciation

                                A Prayer to Mary       


Mary, woman of listening, open our ears; grant us to know how to listen to the word of your Son Jesus among the thousands of words of this world; grant that we may listen to the reality in which we live, to every person we encounter, especially those who are poor, in need, in hardship. Mary, woman of decision, illuminate our mind and our heart so that we may obey, unhesitating, the word of your Son Jesus; give us the courage to decide, not to let ourselves be dragged along, letting others direct our life. Mary, woman of action, [may] our hands and feet move "with haste" toward others, to bring them the charity and love of your Son Jesus, to bring the light of the gospel to the world, as you did. Amen.

                                           (Pope Francis)

                  

 Listening To The Lord:

                  "The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear." (Isaiah 50.4)

                   It is so important that I spend time alone with the Lord. There in the quiet of the morning hours the Lord imparts His wisdom to the listening heart.

The Power of Prayer:

                  "Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks, receives. The one who seeks, finds. The one who knocks, enters."  (Matthew 7. 7-8)

                        "Religion begins with a consciousness that something is asked of us. It is in that tense, eternal asking in which the soul is caught and in which man's answer is elicited."  
                                                    (Abraham Joshua Heschel)   

A Time Of Blessing &
Fruitfulness:

            "As for you, mountains of Israel, you shall grow branches and bear fruit for my people Israel, for they shall soon return. See, I come to you, it is to you that I turn; you will be tilled and sown, and I will settle crowds of men upon you, the whole house of Israel; cities shall be re-peopled, and ruins rebuilt. I will settle crowds of men and beasts upon you, to multiply and be fruitful. I will re-people you as in the past, and be more generous to you than in the beginning; thus you shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 36. 8-11)   Scriptures taken from the NAB Catholic Publications Inc. 1971 

                  Here Ezekiel is addressing a people in exile, completely without home or country. This word from the Lord is most encouraging. They will return and the Lord will bring much blessing. Today, Lord, as I ponder your word let this season of Lent be a time of restoration and blessing.

REMINDER:


                     LENTEN CHARISMATIC AND HEALING RETREAT
                                         March 28-30, 2014

                      HOLY SPIRIT RETREAT HOUSE
                      4316 Lanai Rd
                      Encino, California., 91436
                      818-784-4515

This Retreat is open for all who wish to attend. Please contact the Retreat
Center at the above number.

This, Rather, Is The Fasting That I Wish:

                     "This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke." (Isaiah 58.6)
         (Scriptures taken from the NAB, Catholic Publications, Inc. 1971)

                         "In the journey toward wholeness we are called to take responsibility for the way we live. "our health, our wholeness is partly a function of our willingness to be responsible for the way we live as the children of God. We live in an interdependent global community where our actions can affect the enhancement or the total destruction of all creation.

                         It is painful to change, and it involves taking risks - daring to risk danger as we are called to conversion and wholeness. Conversion means letting God touch every part of us. The call is to allow God to lovingly redeem and liberate us from our worst deeply ingrained habit patterns."    (Cathie Lyons)

Choose Life:

                            "I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live." (Deut. 30.19)  Scriptures taken from the NAB Catholic Publications, Inc. 1971

                              Whenever Jesus says to the people he has healed: "Your faith has saved you," he is saying that they have found new life because they have surrendered in complete trust to the love of God revealed in him. Trusting in the unconditional love of God: that is the way to which Jesus calls us."  (Henri J. M. Nouwen)

March 5:  Ash Wednesday

                 "I went down to the potter's house and there he was, working at the wheel. Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in is hand, he tied again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased. Then the word of the Lord came to me. Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? Indeed like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel"  (Jeremiah 18. 3-6) 

                    "Today as I begin this forty-day journey, I gaze back into time. I am dreaming about those "in the beginning" times. I see the Divine Artist holding a handful of clay. As I behold this scene I behold my life and remember my humble beginnings. It is not just myself I am gazing upon. It is the dust of the whole human race made moist with the breath of God. All of my ancestors are there in the palm of God's hands. I go outside and stand upon the earth. I kneel upon the earth. With deep reverence I scoop up a handful of soil. I take a moment to be in communion with all my relatives formed from the dust of the earth. This is my family: the entire human race, the animals, the birds, the trees, the plants, and the flowers. We are relatives - intimately connected. This is holy ground!"   (Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B.)

          -Scriptures taken from the NAB, Catholic Publications, Inc. 1971

March 3, 2014 Reflection:


A Promise of Redemption and Restoration:

                  "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine...yes, from eternity I am He; There is none who can deliver from my hand, who can countermand what I do" (Isaiah 43 1; 12)     (Scriptures taken from NAB - Catholic Publications, Inc. 1971)

Reflecting Jesus in our lives:

                   Let someone see the Christ in your face. Someone feel the Christ in your love. Let some tired soul through the Christ in your heart, look up with new hope above. Let someone know the Christ through your work, that at the close of a weary day, someone through you, find the Christ in your soul, and humbly kneel down to pray.

                    "I continually thank my God for you because of the favor he has bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, in whom you have been richly endowed with every gift of speech and knowledge. Likewise, the witness I bore to Christ has been so confirmed among you that you lack no spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus [Christ]. God is faithful, and it was he who called you to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
                       (Scriptures taken from the NAB - Catholic Publishers, Inc. 1971)  

Sit At The Feet Of The Lord:

           "The glory of Lebanon shall come to you: the cypress, the plane and the pine, to bring beauty to my sanctuary, and glory to the place where I set my feet." (Isaiah 60.13)

            Today, the Lord is reminding me of the importance of humility, recognizing He is the gift giver. How important to spend time in His presence! "Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. Generation after generation praises your works and proclaims your might. They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty and tell of your wondrous works."
(Psalm 145. 3-5)

Notice of Mass and Healing Cancellation:

The Mass scheduled for St. Kateri in Beaumont, on Friday, March 7, has been cancelled due
to a parish mission.