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Our business is to love what would have done. He wills our vocation as it is. Let us love that and not trifle away our time hankering after other people’s vocations.

November 22, 2007

The everlasting God has in His wisdom, foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart. This cross He now sends you, He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His Divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with His loving arms and weighed with His own hands, to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God. Our business is to love what would have done. He wills our vocation as it is. Let us love that and not trifle away our time hankering after other people’s vocations. – St. Francis de Sales
Abba, Father, thank You for all Your blessings, mercy and grace; for opening my mind and guiding my heart in Your Word in all its forms and from all Your sources, through Christ Jesus with the Spirit. I am truly blessed this day and pray that You will touch those I love, those I know and those throughout the world who do know You as I or feel You as I. Open their hearts so that their mind can feel the good and overcome the bad that traps their spirit under the sun. If only for this day free them so that they may have a glimpse of Your presence to serve as a reminder what can be or a vision of what is possible in and with You their life. This I ask in Jesus name, Amen.
Abba, Father, fill my heart with Your unconditional love so that I will have what is needed to meet the needs of those who look to me, Amen.
Abba, Father, empty me of self, fill me with Your Spirit, liken my heart to that of Jesus, Amen.
Sirach 50:22-24
22 And now bless the God of all, who in every way does great things; who exalts our days from birth, and deals with us according to his mercy. 23 May he give us gladness of heart, and grant that peace may be in our days in Israel, as in the days of old. 24 May he entrust to us his mercy! And let him deliver us in our days!
Psalm 138:1-5
1 I give thee thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing thy praise; 2 I bow down toward thy holy temple and give thanks to thy name for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness; for thou hast exalted above everything thy name and thy word. 3 On the day I called, thou didst answer me, my strength of soul thou didst increase. 4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, for they have heard the words of thy mouth; 5 and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge — 6 even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you — 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Luke 17:11-19
11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Sama’ria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then said Jesus, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

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I tell you, that to everyone who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

November 21, 2007

Dear Lord God, Abba Father, only You know what Jesus wanted to teach us; one reads the parable of the ten talents and can envision several meanings. I feel so blessed in that as I search and open my mind to the various opinions I feel I always come back to what Jesus would say to me. This is where I feel I find the majesty of His teachings because for the disciple of Christ it is not how he would answer, but what Jesus would think; it’s the process that is the message to me. The process of becoming the image of Christ through the power of His living Word is at the heart of His teachings. For in Christ Jesus we are one with You in the Spirit. The readings from the Old Testament book of Maccabees serve to remind us that under the sun we will be challenged and may even be asked to deny what we believe; in is from this oneness with You through Christ in the Spirit that we can find what we will need then, and what we need each moment to draw closer and closer to You. O Lord God this is my prayer that You will continue to use this time together to draw me closer to You through Jesus in the Spirit, Amen.
Sorrow is given us on purpose to cure us of sin.
— St. John Chrysostom
2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31
1 It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and cords, to partake of unlawful swine’s flesh. 20 The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Though she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord. 21 She encouraged each of them in the language of their fathers. Filled with a noble spirit, she fired her woman’s reasoning with a man’s courage, and said to them, 22 “I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. 23 Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.” 24 Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his fathers, and that he would take him for his friend and entrust him with public affairs. 25 Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the mother to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself. 26 After much urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son. 27 But, leaning close to him, she spoke in their native tongue as follows, deriding the cruel tyrant: “My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in your life, and have taken care of you. 28 I beseech you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed. Thus also mankind comes into being. 29 Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again with your brothers.” 30 While she was still speaking, the young man said, “What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king’s command, but I obey the command of the law that was given to our fathers through Moses. 31 But you, who have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the hands of God.
Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
1 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! 5 My steps have held fast to thy paths, my feet have not slipped. 6 I call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God; incline thy ear to me, hear my words. 8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of thy wings, 15 As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with beholding thy form.
Luke 19:11-28
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten pounds, and said to them, `Trade with these till I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, `We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came before him, saying, `Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.’ 17 And he said to him, `Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, `Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ 19 And he said to him, `And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, `Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid away in a napkin; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, `I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money into the bank, and at my coming I should have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, `Take the pound from him, and give it to him who has the ten pounds.’ 25 (And they said to him, `Lord, he has ten pounds!’) 26 `I tell you, that to every one who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.'” 28 And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

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Amazing Grace the movie

November 18, 2007

 

http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/#

 

Other links

http://www.theamazingchange.com/clapham.html

http://www.myspace.com/lc2lc

http://www.world-changers.info/                                       

 

Breakpoint ‘A better hour’

http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=7232

 

 

Peace be with you / Richard

 

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Amazing Grace the movie

November 18, 2007

 

http://www.amazinggracemovie.com/#

 

Other links

http://www.theamazingchange.com/clapham.html

http://www.myspace.com/lc2lc

http://www.world-changers.info/                                       

 

Breakpoint ‘A better hour’

http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=7232

 

 

Peace be with you / Richard

 

Posted in Articles that caught my attention, Bible Readings, Daily Bible Readings, Daily Prayers, Richard Angulo | Leave a Comment »

Shaun Thomas Hartman

November 17, 2007

Born 11/16/2007 at 10:04 pm 6lbs 14oz 20in; mommy and baby doing fine

Peace be with you /raa

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Prayer & Readings – He…has put the timeless into their hearts,…Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old;

September 14, 2007

When: Friday, September 14, 2007 6:45 AM-7:45 AM.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dear Lord God, today I wake with the same thoughts I closed my eyes with and I think of the words of Solomon (3:1-22):
 
There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
What advantage has the worker from his toil?
I have considered the task which God has appointed for men to be busied about.
He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without men’s ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.
I recognized that there is nothing better than to be glad and to do well during life.
For every man, moreover, to eat and drink and enjoy the fruit of all his labor is a gift of God.
I recognized that whatever God does will endure forever; there is no adding to it, or taking from it. Thus has God done that he may be revered.
What now is has already been; what is to be, already is; and God restores what would otherwise be displaced.
And still under the sun in the judgment place I saw wickedness, and in the seat of justice, iniquity.
And I said to myself, both the just and the wicked God will judge, since there is a time for every affair and on every work a judgment.
I said to myself: As for the children of men, it is God’s way of testing them and of showing that they are in themselves like beasts.
For the lot of man and of beast is one lot; the one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life-breath, and man has no advantage over the beast; but all is vanity.
Both go to the same place; both were made from the dust, and to the dust they both return.
Who knows if the life-breath of the children of men goes upward and the life-breath of beasts goes earthward?
And I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to rejoice in his work; for this is his lot. Who will let him see what is to come after him?
 
O Lord for the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world. This I ask and pray in Jesus name, Amen.
 
The price of Divine Love is not to be appreciated; for it suffices to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven, and the love of Him who has loved us so much merits the highest degree of our love.
— St. Francis of Assisi.
 
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food." 6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 34 When he slew them, they sought for him; they repented and sought God earnestly. 35 They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. 36 But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. 37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant. 38 Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often, and did not stir up all his wrath.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
 

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Prayer & Readings – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom

September 13, 2007

When: Thursday, September 13, 2007 6:00 AM-6:45 AM.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dear Lord God, Your mercy, grace and blessings humble me, honoring You and glorifying Your name in and through Jesus Christ by serving Your will in obedience and reflecting His image is the least I can do. While I know that works is not what You desire at the same time I know there are many lost sheep; just as I got lost under the sun, I know there are many who have lost their way and many need to exposed to Your Gospel. O Lord that You would bless me, is more than I desire, but I welcome Your blessings as I seek to be a worthy disciple of Christ, that You would enlarge my territory and that Your hand will be with me to keep me from evil and from causing pain. O Lord keep me centered in Christ Jesus, His Gospel, teachings and I pray that You would find me deserving of His Wisdom to seize the moments and opportunities I know You will place me in to serve witness through testimony of Your work in my life. For I know He is the way, the Light and only Source we need or require under the sun and any or all as Solomon declared vanity leading no where.  Lord I see that with each opportunity and blessing there is a challenge; guide my heart with a Jesus centered discerning mind. Help me to know Your will and serve Your purpose in each moment. This I ask and pray in Jesus Holy name, Amen.
How many sins have entered into the soul through the eye as Holy Scripture indicates? [1 Jn. 2:16]. That is why they must fast by keeping them lowered and not permitting them to look upon frivolous and unlawful objects; the ears, by depriving them of listening to vain talk which serves only to fill the mind with worldly images; the tongue, in not speaking idle words and those which savor of the world or the things of the world. We ought also to cut off useless thoughts, as well as vain memories and superfluous appetites and desires of our will. In short, we ought to hold in check all those things which keep us from loving or tending to the Sovereign Good.
— St. Francis de Sales
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, 13 forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his exceeding greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
27 "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again. 31 And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. 32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."
 

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