Inspirational Thoughts

NEW BEATITUDES

• Blessed are those who know how to take rest without having to look for excuses, for they will keep their balance.

• Blessed are those who know how to laugh at themselves, for they will have no end of amusement.

• Blessed are those who know how to tell a mountain from a molehill, for they will spare themselves all sorts of hassle.

• Blessed are those who know how to keep their mouths shut and listen, for they will learn new things.

• Blessed are those who know how to wonder and delight and have forgotten how to grimace, for their way will be bathed in sunlight.

• Blessed are those who think before they act and pray before they think, for they will avoid all manner of stupidity.

• Blessed are those who are intelligent enough not to take themselves too seriously, for they will be valuable in the eyes of those around them.

• Blessed are those who are always capable of interpreting another's attitude positively, in spite of appearances to the contrary, for they will be thought naive but that is the price of love.

• Blessed are those who know how to recognize the Lord in everyone they meet, for they have found wisdom.
  
   

Life Is Like a River

Life is like a river.

Let it carry you,
not knowing where
it will take you,
and you will journey
to amazing places; 

Or, stay on the shore,
knowing for sure
where you will be,
and you will go nowhere.

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"Should You Go First

Should you go first and I remain

To walk the road alone,

I’ll live in memories garden dear,

With happy days we've known.

In Spring I'll wait for roses red

When faded, the lilacs blue.

In early fall when brown leaves fall,

I'll catch a glimpse of you.

Should you go first and I remain.

For battle to be fought.

Each thing you've touched along the way

Will be a hallowed spot.

I'll hear your voice; I'll see your smile,

Though blindly I may grope,

The memory of your helping hand

Will buoy me on with hope.

Should you go first and I remain.

One thing I'll have you do:

Walk slowly down that long, long path,

For soon I'll follow you.

I want to know each step you take,

So I may take the same.

For someday down that lonely road

You'll hear me call your name."

(Poem recited by Red Foley in his recording of

 “Beyond the  Sunset”.) 

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"Togetherness

Death is nothing at all ... I have only slipped into the next room.  Whatever we were to each, that we still are.  Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used.  Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.  Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.  Let my name be the household word that it always was.  Let it be spoken without effort.  Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there is absolutely unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of your mind because I am out of your sight?  I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.  All is well.  Nothing is past, nothing is lost.  One brief moment and all will be as it was before... only better, infinitely happier forever. .. we will all be one together with Christ"

(This item was an old Irish text from the Carmelite Monastery,  Tallow County, Waterford)

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MORNING PRAYER

Gracious God, thank you for the gift of today.

Refresh me..invite me..to discover
Your presence in each person that I meet
and in every event encountered.

Teach me when to speak and when to listen
when to ponder and when to share.

In moments of challenge and decision attune my heart
to the whisperings of Your Wisdom.

As I undertake ordinary and unnoticed tasks
gift me with simple Joy.

When the day goes well, may I rejoice!
When it grows difficult surprise me with new possibilities.

When life is overwhelming call me to Sabbath moments
to restore Your Peace and Harmony.

May my living today reveal your goodness.

Amen

P. Bergen, CSJ

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AFFIRMATIONS OF SELF-LOVE

I am a child of God, a uniquely created person, with a right to be here.

I can confidently trust that my own space is all right because it is all I need.

I am accepted by God; therefore I accept myself.

I am loved by God; therefore I love myself because I am lovable.

I love myself unconditionally, irrespective of how weak or strong, good or bad I feel in my emotions.

I will not de-value myself with destructive criticism, for I do not de-value God's creation.

I love, esteem, appreciate and celebrate my own personal worth. It is good to be me. I am happy to be me. I am who I am.

I rejoice in my own uniqueness and glue others the same right. I do not need to be more than I am. God's purpose for me is that I live fully, be myself and be all that I can be.

I will have unconditional warm regard for all people irrespective of how they regard me or have treated me. I will not de-value others with destructive criticism.

I accept personal responsibility for myself and my relationships. I rejoice in the freedom and dignity of my personhood, which I exercise in doing so.

I accept my body as a marvelous creation of God. I like my body. I am thankful for my body and I rejoice in its ever increasing wholeness.

I am small, but I am small in the hands of God.

I am a new, person, a new creation each day through my response to God and God's spirit within me.

I will be loving, forgiving, outgoing and strong, confident, serene and free each day by God's presence and power within me.

I am thankful to God for the fact of my existence, for the wonder of my being, for the goodness of God's purpose in and through me, and for the opportunities before me today.

I will live my life within the human family and contribute to its enrichment.

--David F. Carlson
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