Shepherds of Christ          Daily Writing

November 14, 2006

November 15th Holy Spirit Novena Scripture selection is Day 4 Period  II.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries   for November 15th are Joyful.

November 14, 2006

Messenger:        I just want to be with You Jesus.
                     To think about the gifts You have given
                     me — to help me to see beyond the mystery
                     to what is real. I know that You love us
                     so very much.

                         In this world there is the unsettled soul —
                     the one addicted to excitement, addicted to drugs
                     and negative thinking.

                         God I know how real You  really are
                     and I can go and be so deeply in
                     communion with You, knowing and
                     loving me and listening to the cares of
                     my heart, refreshing me and giving me
                     Your peace.

                         But You tell me that my peace lies in love —
                     love of God leads to love of neighbor — to see
                     with love the needs of others and to  help them
                     grow in deeper love with You by my example
                     how I live in my life more likened to Yours.
                     Purity in mind and heart. Controlling, disciplining
                     our thoughts to be thoughts that lead to
                     peace, love and joy.

                        My God You tell me, I have a free will,
                     I control my thoughts, I can meditate on
                     Your mysteries, pray to the Holy Spirit
                     and open a treasure chest of love found
                     in the burning Heart of the child Jesus.

                        Reach for the heights, wallow in the
                     dirt. A lady came to clean a very tall
                     room. She noticed high above her head
                     many cobwebs hung, but she could not reach
                     them with her arms, she got a very tall
                     ladder and she climbed each step carefully
                     until finally she was able to remove the
                     cob-webs.

                        Next she saw a big chandelier hanging
                     in the middle of the room, but she didn't
                     notice it from the ground because all the
                     lights were burned out. She came down
                     put up the ladder and once again crawled
                     slowly — one step at a time — She was able
                     to remove a light bulb and then slowly
                     descended the stairs.

                            She looked and looked for new lights for
                      the tall chandelier — she tried one light and
                      compared the size, it was wrong and burned
                      out —
                      She continued her search for just the right
                      size light bulb and one which was not burned
                      out.

                            Now look at a field in which the cows
                      graze — they seem to find what they need —
                      no whining — just making do and living
                      okay —

                            You say — "well yes, they are beast of
                       the earth." —

                            We listen now — a big chandelier is
                       placed  before your head with black
                       bulbs. Only the right size will fit
                       and you want bulbs not burned out.
                       The old lady searched and found none, but
                       she had a vision of how beautiful the
                       tall room could be if it was lighted.
                       She wanted to light it so people, her
                       children, all could come and enjoy
                       the beauty of this spacious place,
                       converse and love — but no matter
                       how much she looked — all the bulbs
                       she found were either the wrong size
                       or burned out. A light bulb should give
                       light.

                            A beast cannot be like a human
                       man and yet God gives to a human
                       man a special sharing in his
                       life through baptism —

                            He can climb the tall ladder and
                       be a light filling the tall room —
                       or he can scamper around the
                       ground in the dark.

                        Today's reading

Titus 2:1-8;11-14
    It is for you, then, to preach the behaviour which goes with healthy doctrine. Older men should be reserved, dignified, moderate, sound in faith and love and perseverance. Similarly, older women should behave as befits religious people, with no scandal-mongering and no addiction to wine--they must be the teachers of right behaviour and show younger women how they should love their husbands and love their children, how they must be sensible and chaste, and how to work in their homes, and be gentle, and obey their husbands, so that the message of God is not disgraced. Similarly, urge younger men to be moderate in everything that they do, and you yourself set an example of good works, by sincerity and earnestness, when you are teaching, and by a message sound and irreproachable so that any opponent will be at a loss, with no accusation to make against us.


    You see, God's grace has been revealed to save the whole human race; it has taught us that we should give up everything contrary to true religion and all our worldly passions; we must be self-restrained and live upright and religious lives in this present world, waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Christ Jesus. He offered himself for us in order to ransom us from all our faults and to purify a people to be his very own and eager to do good

 Psalm 88: 1-2

Yahweh, God of my salvation,
when I cry out to you in the night,
may my prayer reach your presence,
hear my cry for help.

John 14: 23

Jesus replied:

Anyone who loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, 
and we shall come to him
and make a home in him.

Messenger:            Jesus gives us Himself in the Eucharist —
                      He feeds us with His Word and the Eucharist.
                      He is the light of the world.

                           We come in many shapes and sizes, but
                       in the end — the one who loves and serves
                       Jesus is a light to the world. The one who
                       feeds at His table — who reaches for
                       the higher things of life — are the ones
                       who can light the darkened tall rooms.

                            We can stay on the ground and never
                       ascend the tall ladder. If we never
                       climb the stairs we may never see how
                       important a tall chandelier filled
                       with lighted bulbs is to a tall darkened
                       room.

                            Today the world is plagued by
                       many who give into selfishness
                       rather than climbing the tall
                       ladder that leads to a wider
                       vision.

                            When one is wrapped in negative,
                       selfish thoughts looking for others
                       to fill them, they have lost the
                       vision of the Father that intends
                       us to light the world — to control
                       our thoughts, to climb a tall ladder
                       when we think staying in a mud
                       puddle may feel more secure.

                            The seasons go by — year after
                       year, season after season and babies
                       grow and wither and die.

                            But even a beautiful leaf
                       has a beginning and an end. At the end
                       many leaves show their greatest
                       beauty before they fall to the ground
                       and are buried by the soles of the
                       shoes of little children at play.

                            We are made of body and soul.

                            Our bodies were given to us
                       as a gift to help us some day get to
                       heaven.

                            We must reach with the things
                       of the soul — to love so deeply and be a
                       light that fits perfectly in the
                       chandelier with the right size.
                       Doing the will of God will make
                       us fit perfectly in His plan and be
                       a light to this world.

                            A man went out and crawled —
                      literally crawled on the surface of
                      the earth — he got dirty — he was covered
                      with wounds and was bleeding —

                            A man came by floating in a
                       hot air balloon — looking down and
                       seeing the man as only a speck
                       on the earth —

                            For the man in the balloon he saw
                       blue skies and light — he felt the fresh
                       air — he floated and saw a wide vision —

                            The man who never came off the surface
                       of the earth smelled a stench, he was
                       covered with mud and he was very
                       unhappy.

                            When God gives as the beauty of the
                       earth, a splendor of a new day, skies so
                       blue like Mary's garments, and light
                       of the most beautiful sun, why do we
                       give into the negativity of thoughts
                       darkening the interior lining of our
                       own head — wanting one to come and give
                       us something to change this — when we
                       pour in our thoughts like one filling
                       a bottle with dirty water.

                           We were meant to be a light, to climb
                       the tall ladder — to beg to be filled
                       with His grace and to shine like a
                       tall chandelier in a dark dingy-
                       feeling room.

                           The lady had just so long to
                       find the lights for the chandelier,
                       for a day would come and guests would
                       soon begin to arrive.

                            When they came would she show
                       them light or the darkness of
                       the interior walls of her own
                       thoughts she gave into and kept
                       like keeping blackness — day
                       long and all night —

                           God gave us the day and the sun —

                           The night for resting —

                            People living in an angry house,
                       darkened by negative thoughts make
                       their own cave in a time when
                       their house could be — a lighted
                       castle of  brilliant light — tall and
                       airy — open and full of joy.

                            We have a free will — our
                       body is our house — we can
                       be trapped in darkness and it
                       is from what we choose.

                            Praying all through the day opens
                       a window of light to the dark
                       day —

                            Wanting to keep hatred, bitterness
                       in our hearts is like broken sockets
                       to the chandelier — the light just
                       won't come on when the sockets are
                       broken —

                            Not having electricity — power to
                       the source is like a big dead
                       trunk — the light will never go on
                       no matter what!!!