Category: Dynamic Catholic

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A Kind and Gentle Shepherd – Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Today the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will take place in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. To honor the late Pope, a man whose last words were, “Lord, I love you!” below are some of his most inspiring and meaningful quotes.

May they encourage you, as they have encouraged us, to seek a deep and eternal friendship with Jesus Christ.

– The Dynamic Catholic Team

“We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God.”

“The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”

“Evil draws its power from indecision and concern for what other people think.”

“It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love, and goodness, that we drift into a life of emptiness, in which there may be almost no pain, but the dark sensation of meaninglessness and abandonment is all the greater.”

“Love is the only force capable of changing the heart of the human person and of all humanity, by making fruitful the relations between men and women, between rich and poor, between cultures and civilizations.”

“If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation.”

“If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love, so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on, trusting in the One that loves you.”

“Truth is not determined by a majority vote.”

“Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave.”

“To have Christian hope means to know about evil and yet to go to meet the future with confidence. The core of faith rests upon accepting being loved by God, and therefore to believe is to say Yes, not only to him, but to creation, to creatures, above all, to men, to try to see the image of God in each person and thereby to become a lover.”

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60 Second Wisdom – What to Do if Your Life Isn’t Working

“Every day we make dozens of decisions and choices. Many of them we make unconsciously. They all have consequences. They have intended consequences and unintended consequences, and we have to live with both.

These smaller choices and decisions prepare us or prevent us from making life’s biggest choices in a way that is life-giving for everyone involved.

For decades researchers have been exploring what people consider to be the biggest decisions of life. From generation to generation there can be some jockeying for top position, but what is on the list is not surprisingly consistent from one generation to another.

Today, these are considered life’s six biggest decisions:

1. Having children
2. Getting married
3. Buying a home
4. Where to go to college and what to study
5. Moving cities
6. Changing career later in life

Others that make the longer list include:

When to retire; whether or not to end a relationship; choosing to spend or save; quitting a job; getting a pet; setting boundaries with toxic family members and friends; standing up for yourself; putting an elderly relative in a care home; and, whether or not to accept a promotion.

These are all important decisions. They can each be difficult in their owns ways. And yet together they paint a picture that is worth reflecting upon. There seems to be something missing. The bigger things. The deeper things. These may be the “what” but where is the “why.”

In many ways, these things, some of them profoundly important, seem to have been reduced to a list of personal preferences. And as a result, decision making seems to have been reduced to an exercise of personal preference selection.

The larger perspective seems to be missing. Who are we? What are we here on earth for? What matters most? What matters least? How is the best way to spend our short lives?

And most of all, who or what are we going to place at the center of our lives? For this alone will determine almost everything else. This alone will drive our decisions, large and small.

So, the best place to start is by asking the question: Who or what is at the center of your life? Career, money, things, self, God, children, spouse, friends, expectations?

If your life isn’t working, change what is at the center of it.”

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60 Second Wisdom -16 Ways to Start Living Your BEST LIFE

“We get only one shot at life. Isn’t it time for a little soul-searching? Isn’t it time to get outside your comfort zone and live the life you are being called to?

Here are 16 suggestions…

Visit a quiet church in the middle of the day.

Take a walk in the park.

Turn off the television and talk to your children.

Look for the job you’ve always wanted.

Keep a promise.

Tell your Mom you love her.

Restore an old car.

Make friends with your neighbors.

Say yes instead of maybe.

Watch a sunset.

Write your spouse a love letter.

Fly a kite.

Say you’re sorry.

Ask that girl out on a date.

Try a food you’ve never tasted before.

Make peace with God.”

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The Best is Yet to Come

“Is your life unfolding the way you thought it would? I was paging through my high school yearbook recently. There were 161 young men in my graduating class, and fewer than a handful are doing what they thought, hoped, or dreamed they would be doing. Most of them are glad. When they were seventeen or eighteen, they didn’t know themselves well enough to decide what they were going to do for the rest of their lives.

Life doesn’t turn out the way we expect. In some ways it exceeds our expectations, and in other ways it disappoints them. There may be hopes and dreams that were part of the life we expected that we need to grieve because they didn’t materialize. But there are also hopes and dreams we had when we were younger that we are glad did not come to be. We see now that we were ill-suited for them, and they were ill-suited for us. At the same time, there are things about the unexpected life that surprise and delight.

Life doesn’t unfold as we plan. We all live unexpected lives in one way or another. But sooner or later, we have to decide how we are going to make the most of the unexpected life. It is then that we come face-to-face with two enduring truths: We cannot live without the hope that things will change for the better, and we are not victims of our circumstances.

You are not what has happened to you. You are not what you have accomplished. You are not even who you are today or who you have become so far. You are who and what you are still capable of becoming. You are your realized and unrealized potential. God sees you and all your potential, and he aches to see you embrace your best, truest, highest self. He yearns to help you and to accompany you in that quest.

Wherever you are, whatever you’re feeling, however life has surprised and disappointed you, I want to remind you of one thing: The best is yet to come! There are times in life when this is easier or harder to believe, but the best is truly yet to come. Open yourself up to it, so you can see it and embrace it when it emerges!”

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The Unhappiest People

“Life is difficult. It is those who imagine that life is easy or should be easy who end up the unhappiest. It is the friction of life, the challenges of life, the ebb and flow of the unexpected, that all work together to help us fulfill our essential purpose and destiny.

Along the way, there are many barriers and obstacles to be overcome: disappointment, failure, loss, fear, addiction, discouragement, fatigue, anger, hatred, laziness, and the struggle between good and evil.

Everything in our lives should be seen in relation to our quest to become the-best-version-of-ourselves and embraced or rejected accordingly. It may seem simple. It may seem oversimplified. Genius is the ability to capture complexity with a simple vision. Simplicity is the key to perfection. Embrace this simple vision and it will help you unveil your genius.

Embrace what will help you become the-best-version-of-ourselves, reject what won’t. It isn’t more complicated than that.”

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60 Second Wisdom – Is it Possible to be 10 Times Happier?

“If I told you by doing something that takes ten seconds, ten times a day, you would become ten times happier, would you do it? Most people wouldn’t. That’s human nature. We say we want to be happy but then we busy ourselves with things that make us restless and unhappy.

But maybe you are one of the few, so here it is.

We’ve all heard the term “Count your blessings!” It comes from the Jewish tradition that encourages people to count 100 blessings each day.

100 is a lot and you aren’t going to do that in ten seconds, but you can do this. Pause ten times a day for ten seconds and do these two things. First, take a deep breath, a really, really deep breath. Second, identify one person, thing, experience, or opportunity you are grateful for and just let that gratitude wash over you.

10 seconds. 1O times a day. I promise you, it will change your life. Gratitude is one of the most life-altering experiences a human being can have.”

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60 Second Wisdom – What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

“Everything in life requires courage. Whether it is playing football or coaching football; crossing the room to ask a woman on a date or rekindling a love that has grown cold; whether it’s your first day at school or your first day back at school after twenty years; starting a new business, battling a potentially fatal disease, getting married, struggling to overcome an addiction, or sitting humbly with your God in prayer—life requires courage. It’s a prerequisite. Courage brings us to life and makes everything else possible.

So, what are we waiting for? You only get one shot at life. What would you do if you weren’t so afraid? Whatever it is, take one small step toward it today, then take another step toward your hopes and dreams tomorrow.

Life favors the courageous. So, summon a little courage. You will be amazed what life will give you in return for a little bit of courage.

In Part Two of this series we will discuss fear and how it paralyzes us.”

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Amazing Possibilities – The Unexpected Life

Life doesn’t turn out the way we expect. In some ways it exceeds our expectations, and in other ways it disappoints them. There may be hopes and dreams that were part of the life we expected that we need to grieve because they didn’t materialize. But there are also hopes and dreams we had when we were younger that we are glad did not come to be.

We see now that we were ill-suited for them, and they were ill-suited for us. At the same time, there are things about the unexpected life that surprise and delight.

Life doesn’t unfold as we plan. We all live unexpected lives in one way or another. But sooner or later, we have to decide how we are going to make the most of the unexpected life. It is then that we come face-to-face with two enduring truths: We cannot live without the hope that things will change for the better, and we are not victims of our circumstances.

You are not what has happened to you. You are not what you have accomplished. You are not even who you are today or who you have become so far. You are also who and what you are still capable of becoming. You are your realized and unrealized potential. God sees you and all your potential, and he aches to see you embrace your best, truest, highest self. He yearns to help you and to accompany you in that quest.

Wherever you are, whatever you’re feeling, however life has surprised and disappointed you, I want to remind you of one thing: The best is yet to come! There are times in life when this is easier or harder to believe, but the best is truly yet to come. Open yourself up to it, so you can see it and embrace it when it emerges!

From “I Heard God Laugh”

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60 Second Wisdom – 5 Ways to Increase Your Enthusiasm

5 Ways to Increase Your Enthusiasm – Matthew Kelly

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Video Transcript:

“When was the last time you felt amazing? Trauma, sickness, anxiety, depression, loss—so many things rob us of our enthusiasm for life. And after difficult seasons in our lives, it is natural to wonder if we will ever feel amazing again.

Here are five concrete things you can do to infuse your daily life with enthusiasm:

1. Prioritize your legitimate needs. Diet, exercise, sleep, and prayer all increase your capacity for enthusiasm. Take a walk today, make a healthy meal, get to bed early, and watch your enthusiasm begin to grow!

2. Schedule 15 minutes every day to do something you love doing. Why are children so consistently enthusiastic? Because they do so many things every day just for the joy of it. You don’t have to spend all day doing something you love, start small, fifteen minutes a day.

3. Say “no” to people, activities, and things that drain your energy and enthusiasm. Develop an awareness of who and what drains your enthusiasm. Protect your enthusiasm by learning to say, “no.”

4. Spend time with enthusiastic people. We rise or fall to the level of our friends in most things. Who are the most enthusiastic people you know? Are you spending enough time with those people? Your enthusiasm is probably the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If you wish to raise your level of enthusiasm in life, surround yourself with enthusiastic people.

5. Dream. Your dreams are your dreams for a reason. Our dreams animate us, they literally breathe new life into us. So, what are your dreams and what are you doing about them? Start pursuing your dreams and they will fill you with new passion, energy, enthusiasm, and vitality.

It’s time to rediscover your enthusiasm and flourish. And just remember, everyone who really cares about you wants you to flourish.”

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60 Second Wisdom – Time to Live Your Best Life

16 Ways to Start Living Your BEST LIFE – Matthew Kelly – 60 Second Wisdom

Video Transcript:

“We get only one shot at life. Isn’t it time for a little soul-searching? Isn’t it time to get outside your comfort zone and live the life you are being called to?

Here are 16 suggestions…

Visit a quiet church in the middle of the day.
Take a walk in the park.
Turn off the television and talk to your children.
Look for the job you’ve always wanted.
Keep a promise.
Tell your Mom you love her.
Restore an old car.
Make friends with your neighbors.
Say yes instead of maybe.
Watch a sunset.
Write your spouse a love letter.
Fly a kite.
Say you’re sorry.
Ask that girl out on a date.
Try a food you’ve never tasted before.
Make peace with God.”