Peace

Morning in silence

Just sitting and reflecting

On peace and beauty

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!

Cathy

Please visit recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!!

 

Let There Be Peace

Heavens are weeping

From the pain and suffering

Just peace must prevail

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Cathy

Please visit recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!!  

Rock Walls and Fences

Rock walls and fences

Boundaries that keep us safe

Oft deny freedom

Tear down the fences

And open wide all those gates

Freedom then returns

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!

Cathy

Please visit recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 

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Seeking Peace

When we have once placed ourselves entirely in the hands of God, we need fear no evil.  If adversity comes, he knows how to turn it to our advantage by means which will in time be made clear to us.

~~St. Vincent de Paul

~~~~~~~

So why do I allow anxiety to rule my life?  Only God knows!!  And again I start over.  I must keep try seeking the peace offered by my Savior.

~~^j^~~

Thanks be to God!

Cathy

Peace Lily

There is something so very beautiful yet simple about a Peace Lily.  It has beautiful blooms on strong stems.  It seems to have dignity.  It is a plant with a strong constitution.  How else could it survive in my house or any house for that matter when one forgets to water it?  But, it does.  It reminds me when its leaves fall limp, and they spring up again when fed just to say, "Thank you?"  It is so forgiving.  If real peace could be this simple.

~~~~~~

Peace Lily my friend
Offering so much beauty
Sadly less returned

What the remedy
I will show the tenderness
She truly deserves

~~^j^~~

Thanks be to God!!

Cathy

I'm joining Little Things Thursday.  Drop by by and visit!

Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 

Peace and Harmony

Today I join Meri for Share the Joy Thursday.   For I believe we need to find it in my life every day no matter the realities in which we live.  God is Good in so many ways even in times of trial.

Joy comes in many forms.

And this day has the potential of

being just as grand as

celebrating the beauty in

Peace and Harmony.

I must be open to it!

~~~~~~~~~~

I thank God for the days of peace and quiet, the time for reflection,  the time to REST!

~~~~~~~

                                   

Peace and Harmony
A gift not often treasured
Nonetheless a gift

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

Cathy

Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 

Matisyahu - One Day

Lisa at Unexpected Journey offered this on her post! It really touched me deeply and thought I would offer it too! This says so much about the way I WANT life for all to be. PEACEFULLY LIVED!

Please start to the video and then when is say Watch Through YouTube click your courser to be routed there and the you will be able to watch the video. It really is very good!

I'm off to morning prayer! Wishing everyone the blessing of this Glorious Day!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God

and Lisa!

Palm Sunday

Seeking Peace

A poem by G. K. Chesterton tells the story of the donkey Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The lowly and misshapen donkey speaks the entire poem and, after three stanzas of self-flagellation, brags that he had his hour:

One far fierce hour and sweet
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

However, the glory of the donkey is not only his privileged role in salvation histroy. The irony goes much deeper. The lowly donkey is an unimposing ride, a symbol of peace. It is contrated with the horse. Triumphal entries were usually the stuff of generals who rode their warhorses through the gate of the conquered city. Jesus' entry in Jerusalem is a mock of military might.

"Peace" summarized Jesus' whole life and message and sets the tone for his passion. death, and resurrection. At his birth the angels sang about peace on earth, during his life Jesus promised his follower a peace the world could not give, and "Peace" was the first word of the resurrected Christ of his disciples. also, when Christian missionaries visited homes, they were supposed to say, "Peace." Many think if the Christian faith could be expressed in one word, it would be "peace."

But personal and collective peace is as elusive as it is prized. We find ourselves interiorly anxious and fearful. We watch as our world continues old wars and begins new wars. Peace is what we hunger for more that what we feed on. But the desire to be at peace--with ourselve, with others, with the universe, with God--never leaves our heart.

Daybreaks, Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter
John Shea

~~~

As we begin this Holy Week, please know I offer you all the the peace our Savior can give. I wish you peace at home, at work, and in your community.

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Thanks be to God!

Join GoPoem at Weaving the Hours It's an opportunity to share your gifts with others and meet new friends.

Peace

"Peace be with you."
Luke 23:36

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Thanks be to God!

Sam and Duchess, 3/29/2009

Praying with St. Paul...

Nothing Missing
Father John Dominic Corbel, OP

"May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lor be with all of you."
~2Thessalonians 3:16~

Sunday afternoons in the fall were my father's favorite time. They were set aside for the Cleveland Browns. In those years the Browns had Fran Ryan, Paul Warfield, Leroy Kelly, and of course, the Great Jimmy Brown taking care of business. These afternoons were peaceful times for me. Not because there wasn't excitement or suspense or the occasional disappointment. There was plenty of that. But no matter how tight the game became I always knew that between the Browns and my father there was nothing missing. Everything necessary was in place to bring us victory.

Could you compare a Sunday afternoon's football game with the peace of the Lord? Sunday is the Sabbath. It is the day the Lord looked out on the world he had made and said that it was very good. There was nothing missing.

When the Apostle prays that the Lord of peace may give us his peace, he is praying that the Lord who is complete goodness in whom there is nothing missing who lacks for nothing, may communicate to us that same security and completion.

This prayer that the Lord may give us peace at all times and in every way can't be granted to us in this life if we mean by peace the actual experience of the invulnerable serenity and infinite perfection that belongs to God as God. But all the same, we know in faith that there is nothing missing. The Lord is with us and so, even if we are hungry or thirsty, if we are in trouble, or even if our favorite football team is losing again, or if we face hunger or nakedness or the sword, still there is nothing missing. We have what we need to win eternal life. Everything. The Lord is with us. There is nothing missing

Lord Jesus, our lives are often full of stress and it is often hard to
feel your presence with us. Help us to know that you have given us
everything we need to be joyful with you for ever.

Nothing left to be said! Have a Peace-filled day!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Knights of Columbus World Day of Prayer for Peace

At the 122nd annual meeting in 2004, the Supreme Council resolved that September 11 be observed each year as a World Day of Prayer for Peace. So please join me in praying:

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world:
peace in the hearts of all men and women
and peace among the nations of the earth.
Turn to your way of love
those whose hearts and minds
are consumed with hatred.

God of understanding,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy,
we seek your light and guidance
as we confront such terrible events.
Grant that those whose lives were spared
may live so that the lives lost. . .
may not have been lost in vain.
Comfort and console us,
strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage
to work tirelessly for a world
where true peace and love reign
among nations and in the hearts of all.

~Pope Benedict XVI~
Prayer service at Ground Zero
April 20, 2008

~~~~~
Amen
and
Thanks be to God.

Thank you!

Ron is the one who took the picture of the Peace rose now on my blog. He did such a wonderful job I just thought it deserved a place of honor. This rose is one of my favorites. If the world could just appreciate the beauty that can come about when we live in harmony with each other just like the Peace rose

Wishing you all a day of love and peace.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Celebrate!

We have much to celebrate this 4th of July Weekend. Perhaps, taking time out to take stock of our lives is a good start to that celebration. And then thanking the Author of this celebration is essential. After offering words of gratitude, then turn our prayers to others.

This is not a lesson on prayer as, I for one, have difficulty expressing how to pray. But I have found another's lesson I'd like to share with you.

Pray for One Another

We often wonder what we can do for others, especially for those in great need. It is not a sign of powerlessness when we say: "we must pray for one another." To pray for one another is, first of all, to acknowledge, in the presence of God, that we belong to each other as children of the same God. Without this acknowledgment of human solidarity, what we do for one another does ot flow from who we truly are. We are brothers and sisters, not competitors or rivals. We are children of one God, not partisans of different gods.

To pray, that is, to listen to the voice of the One who calls us the "Beloved," is to learn that that voice excludes no one. Where I dwell, God dwells with me and where God dwells with me I find all my sisters and brothers. And so intimacy with God and solidarity with all people are two aspects of swelling in the present moment that can never be separated.

~~Here and Now
The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life
by Henri J. M. Nouwen
compiled and edited by Wendy Wilson Greer

So it is that on this weekend when we Americans have so much for which to be grateful, I encourage you all to stop and pray for each other. Pray for me! I will pray for you. Pray for peace and understanding. When we do this we know we have a captive audience, an attentive ear. Why not take advantage of it?!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

Peace...

Photo by Robin

When I least expect it the beautiful words of another awaken me to the glory of God. It has happened again today as I read Bread for the Journey, A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith by Henri J. M. Nouwen. The gift to me is my gift extended to you today, as I cannot give what has already been given.

Jesus Is a Peacemaker

Jesus, the Blessed Child of the Father, is a peacemaker. His peace doesn't mean only absence of war. It is not simply harmony or equilibrium. His peace is the fullness of well-being, gratuitously given by God. Jesus says, "Peace I leave to you, my peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you" (John 14:27)

Peace is Shalom--well-being of mind, heart, and body, individually and communally. It can exist in the midst of a war-torn world, even in the midst of unresolved problems and increasing human conflicts. Jesus made that peace by giving his life for his brothers and sisters. This is no easy peace, but it is everlasting and it comes from God. Are we willing to give our lives in the service of peace?

I guess this what I am asking myself as I make the application to be a Providence Associate. "Am I willing to give my life in the service of peace?" I'm stepping into the unknown, so I pray heartily for the companionship of the Holy Spirit.

God bless you all and have a Grand Weekend!!

~~~~~~~^j^~~~~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

I'm Off

In a few hours I leave for the land of Lewis and Clark. Like a child in anticipation of a grand adventure, I cannot sleep. The suit case was packed long ago...I've always been like that I get so excited that I pack days in advance thinking that will make time fly and it NEVER does! So before I begin my daily rosary, I thought I'd share with you all today's prayer for peace in my very small prayer card called, let Peace Fill My Heart, Prayers for a Peaceful World.

The world before me
is restored in beauty.
The world behind me
is restored in beauty.
The world below me
is restored in beauty.
All things around me
are restored in beauty
*
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.

Native American Prayer

~~~~~~~

Peace be with you all,
and
Thanks Be to God!

Vade in Pace!

The Eye of God

I took the picture as we flew out of Dublin two years ago to return to England where we visited with our daughter Laura and her family while they were in residence there for a year. This picture is a constant reminder to me of the awesomeness of our God and the peace and serenity that is His to offer us. It is with this in mind that I offer this in reflection as an extension of all the wonderful offerings I have read this day regarding Peace and the New Year granted us by our Maker.

~*~*~*~

The Romans bid each other farewell with Vade in pace!--"Go in peace!"

Since the renewal of the Liturgy we Catholics have grown accustomed to this farewell greeting, too. It is interesting to note that Our Lord's disciples would have been familiar with the Romans' use of this leave-taking message. It also clarifies Our Lord's farewell to them, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you" (John 14:27). His peace is not the same as the everyday nicety the Romans exchanged routinely.

The few thoughts [here] are meant to remind us through reading and reflection that the Lord's peace is heritage for every circumstance, no matter the happening. It's His gift along with--inseparable from--His cross. Dante caught it all: In voluntate eius pax nostra, "in His will is our Peace."

[This reflection] also warn[s] us that the theme song in hell may easily be: "I Did It My Way." The world sets before us one avenue of peace, the Lord another.

While life here is still ours, may we seek after His peace and pursue it. And then we'll know its fullness eternally.

As the Lord gives, not as the world, Vade in Pache!+

from Latin Sayings for Spiritual Growth
By Archabbot Lambert Reilly, O.S.B.

~*~*~*~


And so with the Old Year soon to be replaced by the New Year, I say, with much sincerity to all, "May His Peace be with you." And in gratitude for all who have touched my life so tenderly this year I say, "Thanks be to GOD!"