Returning to God of mercy and compassion

God of Mercy and Compassion... Spend a few moments of silent prayer... Experience the liberating power of the Holy Spirit working and praying within you with sighs too deep for words... Pray the following hymn and hum its melody and allow the words to touch your heart and transform you...

"God of mercy and compassion, look with pity upon me;

Father, let me call thee father, 'tis thy child returns to thee.

Jesus Lord, I ask for mercy; let me not implore in vain: All my sins I now detest them, Never will I sin again. By my sins I have deserved

Death and endless misery,

Hell with all its pain and torments, and for all eternity.

By my sins I have abandon'd,

right and claim to heaven above,

Where the saints rejoice for ever,

in boundless sea of love

.... Jesus Lord, I ask for mercy;..."

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Listen to the message that the Lord gives you today...

"When the poor and needy seek water,

and there is none;

and their tongue is parched with thirst,

I the Lord will answer them,

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open rivers on the bare heights,

and fountains in the midst of the valleys;

I will make the wilderness a pool of water,

and the dry land springs of water." (Isaiah 41: 17-18)

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now

and ever shall be world without end. Amen!

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vmalpan@gmail.com

Success is always a stimulus to action

Success is Never Ending Failure is Never Final Success is noblest when it leaves you with the self-respect that you have been a good steward of the life, liberties, possibilities, and opportunities that God offered you. Success is never ending... because success is a process. The death of a caterpillar and birth of a butterfly do not mean that the caterpillar has stopped succeeding. The positive perception of failure is all important! Without it, enthusiasm disappears. Depression moves in. Discouragement takes over. Energy dries up. Resources no longer supply life to the enterprise. IMPORTANT I know a young man who died in his early thirties after a brief public career brought him fame in his time and in his territory. The tragic element in his life story is that after stunning success he was falsely accused of a crime that resulted in his imprisonment, trial, and execution! The death penalty was carried out. The end of his life was utter disgrace, humiliation, and shame. I could weep as I think of the whole sad, sordid spectacle of this social injustice... He failed - didn’t he? Not really! His come back was solid - and sensational. That young man’s name was eventually vindicated. His name is Jesus Christ. To turn scars into stars... Attitude is more important than knowledge... Creative dreams are god-given interior impulses (movements)... Failure is never final! Fear not that you might fail... Fear rather that you might never succeed if you never dare to try... Fear not that you might make a mistake believing in your dream.... Fear rather that if you don’t go for it you might stand before God and He’ll tell you "you could have succeeded if you’d had more faith". Fear not that if it doesn’t work out you’ll be embarrassed... Fear rather that if you don’t try that, time will only prove you could have succeeded! Fear not that you might fail... Fear rather that you will never succeed if you don’t start taking risks. Fear not that you might be hurt... Fear rather that you might never grow if you keep waiting for painless success. Fear not that you might love and lose... Fear rather that you might never love at all. Fear not that others might laugh at your mistakes... Fear rather that God will say to you, “O you of little faith.” Fear not that you might fall again... Fear rather that you might have made it the next time if you had only tried once more and given it all you had. =================================== Failure doesn’t mean you do not know how to make decisions; it just means you have to make another decision. You can overcome the fear of failure when you re-define that word: Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure... It does mean you haven’t succeeded yet. Failure doesn’t mean you have accomplished nothing... It does mean you have learned something. Failure doesn’t mean you have been a fool... It does mean you had a lot of faith. Failure doesn’t mean you have been disgraced... It does mean you were willing to try. Failure doesn’t mean you don’t have it... It does mean you have to do something in a different way. Failure doesn’t mean you have wasted your life... It does mean you have a reason to start afresh. Failure doesn’t mean you should give up... It does mean you must have a different approach. Failure doesn’t mean you’ll never make it... It does mean it will take a little longer. Failure doesn’t mean God has abandoned you... It does mean God has a better idea. Failure doesn’t mean you’re finished... It does mean you have a chance to try something new. So it’s true! Failure is never final! ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Adapted From Success is Never Ending - Failure is Never Final By Robert H. Schuller, New York, Bantam Books, 1982. ` `````````````````````````````````````````````````````` vmalpan@gmail.com

Christ died for us

To whom do I belong? Jesus Christ or Satan

"Blest be the Lord; blest be the Lord

The God of mercy, the God who saves

I shall not fear the dark of night

Nor the arrow that flies by the day.

He will release me from the nets of all my foes

he will protect me from their wicked hands

beneath the shadow of his wings

I will rejoice

To find a dwelling place secure.

...

Although a thousand strong have fallen at my side

I'll not be shaken with the lord at hand

His faithful love is all the armour that I need

To wage my battle with the foe..."

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LORD JESUS CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON US!

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vmalpan@gmail.com

Pro-life Attitudes

A Story for Lent

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A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said:

'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help!

My baby is not even a year old and I'm pregnant again.

I don't want kids so close together.' So the doctor said: 'Ok, and what do you want me to do?'

She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'

The doctor thought for a little while, and after some silence he said to the lady:

'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some time before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body, if you chose the one in your arms. The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child! 'I agree', the doctor replied, 'But you seemed to be ok with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb. The crime is the same!

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Reflection: Allow the story to reflect in you...

This story will have any number of applications in our personal life-situations... The story, then, works as a symbol...

It is an instrument, a starting point, that helps us to look into ourselves and discover our own life-denying patterns of thought and actions... Mirroring the story in our personal life enables us to see our life as it is

and take some pro-life decisions...

Whether it's through health, relationships, study or work, daily life can be an opportunity

to explore meaning and wholeness. Daily life can also be a constant turning around the same loop of habits, wounds, beliefs, feelings, life-destroying patterns of thought that are repeated in everyday interactions, decisions and projects.

The process of learning how to choose the ways in which we make an option for whatever protects and sustains life can lead us into a developing consciousness of what we are and what we are called upon to become.

The human person is blessed with the immense possibility of combining the practical with the spiritual to help her/him to learn as to what is happening in mental, emotional, physical and spiritual levels.

Through attentive listening to and re-framing personal processes, we can create an atmosphere where we can begin identifying patterns that inhibit growth in our lives. We can develop awareness of our everyday experiences.

Each experience is an opportunity to discern, practice and learn. In this process we are not alone. It is here that personal prayer understood as an interpersonal relationship of love and life can come to our help.

The Spirit of God is there ever ready to intervene and just waiting for our “FIAT”, “YES”. Discovering our own way to developing methods of tapping and entering into authenticity and inner authority becomes a common enterprise that is marked by the three dimensional relationship between God, the human persons and the rest of the universe.

RECONCILIATION -> HEALING -> WHOLENESS

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vmalpan@gmail.com

Women's Day: March 08, 2009

Let us pray for women all over the world.

Lord graciously hear us!

• Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace by Aled Jones

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08 March, 2009 :International Women's Day

2nd Sunday of Lent - Year B Readings:

Genesis 22:1-2, 9a-, 10-13, 15-18

True Meaning of Sacrifice:

Abraham listening to the will of God...

Romans 8:31b-34

"He who did not spare his own Son

but gave him up for us all,

will he not also give us all things in him?"

Mk 9:2-10

Transfiguration:

Peter, James and John with the Lord on the mount...

"This is my beloved Son; listen to him."

Sacrifice and Glory (Homily for 2nd Sunday of Lent)

"Last week it was Noah’s Ark, and this week the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. Or not so much the sacrifice, but the attempted sacrifice. The Old Testament can certainly challenge our understanding! On the face of it, this is a horrific story. God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, and Abraham, out of blind faith, almost carries out the order. Only at the last minute does he hold his hand. Is this the sort of thing God does? Well, we would find it hard to say yes. But then we must look at two stories together. The Gospel reading tells us of another mountain. And another Son. And this time the Father is God himself. On the first mountain faith is clear, but the will of God is not. On the second mountain the voice of God speaks clearly and his Glory is revealed. In the first reading Abraham is blessed not because of the action he did not carry out, but because of his utter devotion to God. In the ancient world, even more than today, family was everything. The clan, kith and kin, the succession, this was at the heart of the fabric of society. Abraham realised that faith in God is greater even than this. And in the Gospel we hear that the sacrifice is not the sacrifice of an unwilling son, but the gift of God himself, in the Son. Just as in the Old Testament, God replaces the brutality of human sacrifice with the sacrifice of a Ram, so in Christ it is the Lamb of God the takes our sins upon himself. Sacrifice is, at the end of it all, not about violence, but about love. It is not about taking a life, but about giving life. It is not about blind faith, but about the hope of resurrection, the resurrection of the One clearly seen in all his glory." ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Courtesy: Fr. Peter Weatherby

Fr Peter's blog

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