Daily Jots

Thought of the Day:
And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock.
And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear.
And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people:
For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.
And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped …read more

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Thought of the Day:
A Prayer for 2006
“O Father, may it never be said of us that
Having come to an open door, we closed it;
Having come to a lighted candle, we quenched it;
Having heard the voice of a neighbor begging bread,
We made denial, speaking of our own case.”
Jean McKenzie
Thinking Outside of the Box:
I had a thought tonight, just after midnight. I had a pretty tough year last year, and I wasnt at all sad to see the departure of 2005. That naturally led to the next thought: What can I (we) do to make 2006 a better year?
It …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”
Norman Vincent Peale
Thinking Outside of the Box:
This is Christmas week. The most anticipated week by children, the most dreaded week by shoppers, and the week where everyone is a little kinder, a little more patient, and a lot more generous. This week I will be giving you Christmas quotes; perhaps if you are struggling with getting the Christmas spirit it will help. If you are already in the Christmas mood, it will just make it better and keep you focused on …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“God is in the boring housewife stuff.”
Maud Bailey – The film “Possession”
Thinking Outside of the Box:
When God looks into the heart of a man and a woman, does he see something different? New research says that women’s brains are different than men’s. Women are constructed differently than men, wired differently, and differ considerably chemically. So what does God see when he looks into the woman’s mind?
In life, we have extraordinary events, and we have the ordinary day-after-day events, that routinely happen. They are repetitive, sometimes monotonous, always necessary, and consistently there. …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“YOU keep us waiting.
You, the God of all time,
Want us to wait
For the right time in which to
discover
Who we are, where we are to go,
Who will be with us, and what we
must do.
So thank you … for the waiting time.”
John Bell
Thinking Outside of the Box:
Everyone is so rushed at Christmas. Make a phone call and ask a friend if they can meet you for dinner, or even lunch, sometime in the next two to three weeks. More than likely, you will hear, “I’d love to, but I am so busy! I haven’t done …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“We are preparing to be prepared for Christmas these days of Advent. This Second Sunday of Advent we pray for a listening heart to hear the words of comfort and call. We pray for a stillness around us a letting go of production, achievement, and self-validating efficiency.”
Larry Gillick, S.J.
Thinking Outside of the Box:
Catholics all over the world are lighting Advent candles in wreaths.  To the non-Catholic that may seem a pretty, but not well understood tradition.  The candles represent hope – a lighting of the inner candle that still us and brings us the promise of a …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“O God, my heart desires
the warmth of your love,
and my mind is searching
for the light of your Word.
Increase my longing
for Jesus. Amen” “Living God’s Word: Reflections on the Weekly Gospels”
Learning About Advent
Thinking Outside of the Box:
Christmas has changed from a purely Christian holiday to a season of the year that is represented by December holding the major holiday for many religions and faiths. As a Catholic I would like to go “on record” as saying there is nothing wrong with that; it creates a time of the year where the …read more

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THE CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN
St. Francis’ Song of Joy
O most high, almighty, good Lord God,
to you belong praise, glory, honor, and all blessing!
Praised be my Lord God with all your creatures,
and especially our Brother Sun,
who brings us the day and who brings us the light.
Fa ir is he and shines with a very great splendor:
O Lord, he signifies you to us!
Praised be my Lord for our Brother Wind,
and for air and cloud, calms and all weather
through which you uphold life in all creatures.
Praised be my Lord for our Sister Water,
who is very useful to us and humble
and precious and clean.
Praised …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
John Bunyan – Author of “The Pilgrim’s Progress”
Thinking Outside of the Box:
People often think that in order to approach God in prayer, they have to have an organized plan of attack. In other words, as when entering a business meeting with a proposal, an outline is constructed to make the presentation clearer and easier to understand. But should we approach God that way? That seems a bit contrived to me. And prepared or memorized prayers arent the problem. …read more

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Thought of the Day:
“The Bible is a book that has been read more and examined less than any book that ever existed.”
Thomas Paine
Thinking Outside of the Box:
I dont know that I would agree with Thomas Paine on this one. I also wonder if he would say it today, in this new millennium rather than during his 19thcentury. I think that the Bible has been examined more and read less. We analyze, we study, and we arrive at these wonderful conclusions, but who actually reads the Bible anymore? The Bible is supposed to be the Word of God written for humanity …read more

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