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What are alms? Why must we give them? Am I supposed to go broke for Jesus?
Fr. Mike Schmitz encourages us to be charitable this Lent, emphasizing how almsgiving is a foundational part of living the Faith. In being joyful givers, we imitate Christ, who became poor for our sake, and we show our gratitude for God’s grace. These are just a few of the reasons Fr. Mike offers in this video as to why we should exercise almsgiving according to our means.
A tree with strong roots can weather any storm. If you have not
done so already, the day to start growing those roots is today.
Gratitude, respect, and discipline are three powerful ways to
ground and nurture your relationships. But keep in mind also, that
trees sway in the wind. They are not rigid. Even the largest and
strongest trees sway when the wind blows. Allow for uncertainty;
you can be sure it will come. Find the lesson in the unexpected; it
has come to help you in your quest to become the – best – version – of –
yourself. Try to enjoy mystery; it will keep you young.
Matthew Kelly
From The Seven Levels of Intimacy
As another year draws to an end, let us pause before the manger and express our gratitude to God for all the signs of his generosity in our life and our history, seen in countless ways through the witness of those people who quietly took a risk. A gratitude that is no sterile nostalgia or empty recollection of an idealized and disembodied past, but a living memory, one that helps to generate personal and communal creativity because we know that God is with us. God is with us. Today the Word of God introduces us in a special way, to the meaning of time, to understand that time is not a reality extrinsic to God, simply because he chose to reveal himself and to save us in history. The meaning of time, temporality, is the atmosphere of God’s epiphany, namely, of the manifestation of God’s mystery and of his concrete love.
—from the book The Peace of Christmas: Quiet Reflections from Pope Francis
by Diane M. Houdek
“Overwhelmed feels like being buried alive. It feels like you are drowning. It’s a state of panicked anxiety and when we are in that space we are not thinking clearly. Here are 10 things we forget when we feel overwhelmed…
1. Not everything we think is true. Our mind plays tricks on us. What’s the truth here? You cannot do it all at once. That’s true. You cannot handle it all at once. That’s true. You can handle it one thing at a time. That’s the most important truth in this situation.
2. This is temporary. This too shall pass. You’ve been here before and you got through it. You will get through this.
3. You got this. You can do this. You know how to get through this, you know what you need to do, you just aren’t thinking clearly at this moment.
4. You don’t need all the answers and a total plan to move forward.
5. Feelings are not always connected to reality. Overwhelmed is a feeling. But you are not your feelings, and your emotions are not your life.
6. We forget to breathe. In stressful situations we sometimes hold our breathe without even realizing it when what we need is the exact opposite. Oxygen makes clear thinking possible. Breathe deeply. Fill your body with the oxygen your mind needs to navigate this situation.
7. Doing nothing will only sustain these feelings of being overwhelmed. If nothing changes, nothing changes. Change something right now. Overwhelmed is a feeling of helplessness. Take back your power immediately. Do something to move you out of this state.
8. Gratitude changes our state of mind every time. What are you grateful for? (see 4 signs)
9. Our problems are usually not as bad as we think they are and not as unique as we think they are. Ask any therapist. Other people in history have been through some version of what you are going through and they found a way…
10. It’s amazing how quickly things can turn around. The smallest step in the right direction can shift the momentum of your life.
We all get overwhelmed from time to time. This isn’t the last time it’s going to happen to you, but it is time to develop a strategy to deal with it.”
Ben brings the story of the ten lepers to life to remind us to never put off important things—like thanking God for his fabulous blessings.
Click on link to watch:
https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/plus/blessed/first-reconciliation-1-5.html
Expressing gratitude fills us with joy! Watch as Sarah and her friends are filled with joy as they name 100 blessings as quickly as they can.
Click on link to watch:
https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/plus/blessed/first-reconciliation-1-3.html
Many were the occasions, when speaking with the friars or other people, that Solanus would extol the importance and necessity of gratitude. His letters express this theme over and over. He calls gratitude “the first sign of a thinking, rational creature.” …To some people asking for God’s help in their needs, he would suggest that they “thank God ahead of time.” This might seem a bold idea, sort of “putting God on the spot,” as he explained to one of the brothers, but certainly a great leap of faith. While Solanus could not get personally involved in the daily work of the soup kitchen, he did keep close to it by urging others to support it, especially when he came into contact with people of means. He considered this charity toward the poor one of the best ways to thank God and obtain heavenly favors. His own fervent prayers on behalf of the poor sometimes obtained remarkable results.
One day Fr. Herman sent word over to Fr. Solanus that they were running out of bread. Solanus left his desk and hurried over to the soup kitchen. He asked the people standing around waiting for the meal to join him in praying the Our Father. As they finished the prayer there was a knock at the door. A man came in with a large basket of bread and said that he had a truck full of loaves outside. After all the bread was brought in and piled up, the man looked at the pile in amazement and said, “That’s more than the truck could hold.”
—from the book Gratitude and Grit: The Life of Blessed Solanus Casey,
by Brother Leo Wollenweber, OFM Cap, pages 51-52
//Franciscan Media//
“Thanks be to God” was the prayer most often on his lips, coming directly from his heart. Always filled with a true sense of gratitude himself, first to God and then to the benefactors, he tried to lead others to this attitude. In 1937 he was invited to deliver a little “radio address” at the time of a benefit party arranged for the soup kitchen. This is an excerpt from that talk.
“From all parts of the city men and women came to us asking how they might help. We Capuchins are told that the city of Detroit wishes to show itself grateful for the help we have given during the days of the Depression. We admit that we have tried to be of service to the poorest of the poor, but must add that it was a simple duty. St. Francis, our holy founder, impressed it upon his brethren that they must labor for their daily bread. And he added, “Should the wages of our work be not given us, then shall we have recourse to the table of the Lord asking alms from door to door.” Our lot has been cast among the simple lives of the poor, and our object is to give them spiritual aid and, if possible, material help as well. When speaking of those days of the Depression, we cannot forget that our work in relieving the misery of poverty was made possible only by the willing cooperation of such people as bakers who supplied bread, the farmers who gave us vegetables, and our numerous friends who made donations from their fairly empty purses. It is to these generous souls that we want to pay tribute today. May the all-bountiful God, who leaves no glass of water offered in His name to pass unrewarded, recompense the generosity of our friends with true happiness—the peace of the soul.”
—from the book Gratitude and Grit: The Life of Blessed Solanus Casey,
by Brother Leo Wollenweber, OFM Cap, pages 49-51
//Franciscan Media//