Quotes

The heavens declare God's glory and the magnificence of what made them! Each day is a miracle; each new sky fills with beauty! Their testimony speaks to the whole world and reaches to the ends of the earth. In them is a path for the sun, who steps forth handsome as a bridegroom and rejoices like an athlete as he runs. He starts at one end of the heavens and circles to the other end, and nothing can hide from his heat.

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.

A sunbeam bouncing off a drop of dew, The gleam in a child's eye, The twinkle of a particularly bright star, The tear-stained cheek of a mother praying for her children, And the ripple formed by a droplet of rain in a puddle, All of these combine to form the Glitter in the Eyes of God.
~~ The Glitter in God's Eyes, James W. King

God's love for us is proclaimed with each sunrise.

Better to turn your eyes to Jesus than look down your nose at the weaknesses of others.

When you speak, always remember that God is one of your hearers.

We may wonder, whom can I love and serve? Where is the face of God to whom I can pray? The answer is simple: That naked one. That lonely one. That unwanted one who is my brother and my sister. If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
~~ Mother Teresa

We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be in heaven with Him at this very moment. But being happy with Him now means: Loving as He loves, Helping as He helps, Giving as He gives, Serving as He serves, Rescuing as He rescues, Being with Him 24 hours a day, Touching Him in even His distressing disguises.
~~ Mother Teresa

The fruit of silence is prayer, The fruit of prayer is faith, The fruit of faith is love, and The fruit of love is silence.
~~ Mother Teresa

The fingers of God touch your life when you touch a friend.

I concerned myself to remember God, to seek Him, to know Him and to love Him. When I had come to the end I saw that He had remembered me before I had remembered Him, that he had sought me before I had sought Him, that His knowledge of me had preceded my knowledge of Him, and that His love for me had existed before my love for Him.

Can I neglect to pray while there is one who needs the help my prayer can bring?

God is never in a hurry but he is always on time.

God wants performance not promises.

The face of a newborn child is as close as we come to seeing the face of God in this life!

God's ultimate purpose is birth. He is not content until he brings his Son to birth in each and every one of us.

God is so big He can cover the whole world with His love, and so small He can curl up inside your heart.

A friend will strengthen you with his prayers, bless you with his love, and encourage you with his hope.

The Magnificent Seven

Every direction you turn, every paper you pick up, every news channel, all talk about the negative happening in a country and in the world. It really makes you wonder is there any good, any beauty, anything to enjoy in this world. I rarely watch the news, rarely read the papers cause it seems as if it’s the same thing, every single day. There is good out there, there are people out there doing good, embracing and sharing the human spirit, it just never makes the headlines. So I decided that I wanted to write about the good and beautiful norms and traditions of the people here, the things that make this island so unique.

We have these seven old Colonial Buildings called The Magnificent Seven that line the Savannah. I love old buildings and while these edifices are indeed impressive, I want to highlight seven things, the genuine Magnificent Seven that make a Trinidadian a Trinidadian. These are not things that have been financed by foreign powers but rather have been developed as original Trinidadian-grown traits and behaviors. I not only have some of these traits but I really admire, respect and regard deeply how they overlap and intertwine into every aspect of everyday life and add to the rich tapestry of my delightful, diverse, gem of an island that I call home.

The first magnificent norm is perhaps the most obvious: the ever-ready capacity of Trinidadians to enjoy life, leisure and the passage of time. It goes without saying that we Trinis love a “lime” (Trinidadian slang for a group of friends hanging out together. It can be large or small, pre-arranged or impromptu. It often involves food, and ALWAYS requires beverages (not necessarily alcoholic, but it certainly may). It is NEVER a hurried activity. It can occur on a beach, by a river, at someone's home, or on a street corner.) It goes way beyond this ordinary pastime and yields significant evidence of its utility.

It speaks of a parent’s joy in simply sitting and watching their developing children having fun at the beach with friends, easily forgetting the multitude of work and other responsibilities they might otherwise be engaged in. It speaks of the growing child’s productive use of their daily recess and lunch time to discover themselves, relate to others and dream of what the future may hold. It speaks of the benefits of time spent in peaceful solitude, not doing anything, where one comes languorously to an understanding of their place in the world or how they can help to change it. All these ways of valuing, using and thinking about one’s time on earth are splendid reminders to enjoy it and not necessarily “make the most of it.”

Second on my list would be the extensive and generous sharing of positive emotions and genuine, spontaneous displays of non-sexual physical affection. To smile, laugh and joke with each other in all kinds of settings is commonplace and so is the public display of affection. This includes the many hugs, touches and smiles between men and women, girls and boys and parents and children but also between young women and other young women, fathers and babies, even men and men. It is not done in way that might suggest homosexuality but more naively carefree, bodily expressions of true feelings that say I’m glad to see you and be with you, I like you and wish to share this warm feeling with skin to skin contact.

The loving public care of babies is especially very touching, which actually reveals a lot about the nature of native parenting. We live in a time where many places seem to do whatever they can to physically distance themselves from these newcomers with bulky plastic infant carriers, car seats, strollers, etc. The level of affection between adults and infants bodes well for the future human capital here.

Bombshell

Wednesday’s Gospel records Jesus and his closest friends celebrating the Last Supper. In the midst of the meal Jesus drops a bombshell: “One of you will betray me.” The disciples are all stunned, they look at each other in disbelief, which one of them could Jesus be talking about? “Lord is it I?” No one points the finger, each one knows his capacity for failure. Jesus hit a nerve.

Judas quietly leaves the room, he does not arouse any suspicion. He was above suspicion otherwise the rest of the disciples would have never allowed him to leave the room in one piece. Judas was so ordinary, just as ordinary as each of us. Judas was called and chosen as are we. Judas enjoyed the trust of his friends. At the table he sat in an honoured place close to Jesus. Judas?? How could he betray Jesus?

I think of Peter, under pressure in the courtyard, swearing “I do not know the man.” I think of the disciples running away in the Garden of Gethsemane, not showing up at Calvary and stubbornly refusing to believe reports of Jesus’ resurrection. Judas’ betrayal is different in degree, not in kind to our betrayals. Judas was not the first or the last to betray Jesus, he was simply the most famous.

What redeems the Passion and its most powerful message is that the love of Jesus never wavered especially towards the people who betrayed him. When Judas led the bloodthirsty mob into the Garden, Jesus addressed him as “Friend.” His own people condemned him to death, yet while hanging outstretched on the Cross, a symbol of ultimate disgrace and shame, his last prayer was for all of us, “Father, forgive them.” Never was Jesus more human. His humanity enters into and speaks to all that is good and noble in the human heart.

What makes us human like Jesus is not our mind but our heart, not our capacity to think but our capacity to love.

Gimme, Gimme ...

Imagine our conversation if I told you I wanted all the things you were capable of giving me, but I didn't want you.

"I want your support. Life is tough and I need to know someone is always on my side. I want your understanding. Mistakes happen. I need someone who won't look down on me every time I fall. I want your help. Some things are just too difficult to do on my own. I want your love so I will always feel loved. I want your protection so I will always feel safe. But... I don't want you."

"I don't want to associate myself with you in public. If people don't like you, they won't like me. I don't want you to show me the way down any paths. I go where I want to go. I don't want you pricking my conscious with definitions of right and wrong. I do what I want to do. I don't want you revealing any plans you have for me. I have plans of my own. I don't want you calling on me when there's work to be done. I'm a busy person. I don't want you interrupting my life."

What kind of a response do you think those 'wants' and 'don't wants' would invoke?

Sure? No problem? I'm in? What can I do for you first?

Hardly.

Silence?

Likely.

It's difficult to imagine anyone expecting so much, and so unwilling to give anything in return.

Yet...

How many of us are having that same conversation...

Right now...

With God?

Let The Spirit Of Christmas Be In Everything

In every part of our Christmas days, joyful or otherwise, we can turn to God in prayer. These are suggested prayers for a variety of situations. Use them or create prayers from your own heart to meet your own needs.

Wrapping gifts

Dear Lord, I am tired. I sit here surrounded by ribbons and paper, gifts and tags and I struggle to feel the spirit of giving. I can barely remember which gift is for whom and at moments it all seems so far from your birth. Help me to take this moment to think of the many gifts you have given to me, the many ways your grace has blessed my life. Help me to remember that each gift is a tiny mirror of the generosity I see so clearly in your life and of the many ways you shower me with such lavish and undeserved love. Let me sit here for just a moment and feel that joy in my heart. Thank you. Thank you.

Celebrating Christmas after the loss of a loved one.

God of compassion, there is such a hole in my heart! Today should be a day of joy, but I feel only the emptiness and loss of someone so beloved. While the world celebrates around me, I remember Christmas celebrations of the past and I long to have my loved one with me. I bring my sorrows to you, Lord, like some odd gift of the magi and dump them at your feet. In my blind tears I wonder if anyone can possibly understand the depth of my sadness. Yes, you can. You sent your son to be with us in our deepest sorrows and I know that even though I might not feel it at this minute, you are here with me, grieving with me, caring for me in my sadness and loving me. Dearest lord, help me to turn to the one I miss so much today and speak. Help me heal the loss of our parting and help me not to regret the things I didn't say. Sorrow tears at my heart, but today I ask that my loss soften my heart and make me more compassionate with everyone I meet.

Prayer as I reflect on all the people you place in my life today.

I think about my family, my relatives, the neighbors, people with whom we will spend this day. Dear Jesus, as I look at their faces and remember their stories, there are feelings of gratitude and some fear and anxiety. Thank you for these loved ones and please forgive me for the ways I have been less than accepting and loving. Please heal the wounds, division and conflicts that stand between us and help me to remember how dearly you love them. I only want to remember that you have come to save us all.

Praying with my spouse in bed on Christmas morning.

Sometimes the closest person to us isn't someone with whom we share our prayer lives. On Christmas morning before the household begins to stir, we can hold our spouse close and pray together in a special way, sharing the gifts of the day ahead.

God of Love, thank you for the gift you have given us in bringing us together. On this day when we celebrate your birth, may we take another step closer to each other in intimacy. With your guidance, we want to be more loving and thoughtful, less protective and defensive around each other. May we dedicate this day to renewing our love. As we leave the warmth of this bed to begin our day, bless us with the warmth of your great love for us and help us to remember to look for the light of your love in each other.

Opening gifts

Let me just for a moment, Lord, hold this time in my heart. It is about mysteries and gratitude, unknowing and wrong sizes, snippets of ribbon and screams of delight. Help me to remember the immense love you have for each of us in this room. With each gift that is opened, no matter how perfect or not, let me feel again the many ways you gift us each day, especially with your presence in our hearts and the presence of each other in our lives.

Prayer before Christmas Dinner.

God of all gifts, we thank you for the many ways you have blessed us this day. We are grateful each of those who are gathered around this table. We ask you to bless us and our food and to bless those we love who are not with us today. In our gratitude and love, we remember your humble birth into our lives and pray for those who are are without enough to eat. We remember the stable in which you were born and pray for those who have no place to live. We remember your challenging message of caring and giving and we pray for peace in families and nations throughout the world. We bless you and give you thanks in your Spirit who brings our hearts to life the Christmas Day and forever. Amen.

Memory