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The necklace

Posted by junix28 on January 31, 2011 in My personal notes & preferences

The Necklace

The cheerful little girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.. “Oh mommy please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please,
Mommy, please?” Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil
box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face. “A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them,I’ll think of some extra chores for you
and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma.” As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace. Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere, Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green. Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night as he finished the story, he asked Jenny, “Do you love me?”
“Oh yes, daddy. You know that I love you.” “Then give me your pearls.” “Oh, daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess, the white horse from my collection, the one with the pink tail. Remember, daddy? The one you gaveme. She’s my very favorite.” “That’s okay, Honey, daddy loves you. Good night.” And he brushed her cheek with a kiss. About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again, “Do you love me?” “Daddy, you know I love you.” “Then give me your pearls.” “Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper.” “That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you.” And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was
sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. “What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?” Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, “Here daddy, this is for you.” With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny’s daddy
reached out with one hand to take the dime store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny … He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. So it is, with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us beautiful treasures.
God will never take away something without giving you something better in its place.

You can do two things with this story: A. Pass it on and let others be touched by its message.
B. Throw it away and not let it touch your heart.

The greatest gifts happen when you share love and touch others!
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4th Sunday of the year A [Readings]

Posted by junix28 on January 29, 2011 in Homilies

First reading

Zephaniah 2:3,3:12-13 ©

Seek the Lord,

all you, the humble of the earth,

who obey his commands.

Seek integrity,

seek humility:

you may perhaps find shelter

on the day of the anger of the Lord.

In your midst I will leave

a humble and lowly people,

and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.

They will do no wrong,

will tell no lies;

and the perjured tongue will no longer

be found in their mouths.

But they will be able to graze and rest

with no one to disturb them.

Psalm

Psalm 145:6-10

Second reading

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ©

Take yourselves for instance, brothers, at the time when you were called: how many of you were wise in the ordinary sense of the word, how many were influential people, or came from noble families? No, it was to shame the wise that God chose what is foolish by human reckoning, and to shame what is strong that he chose what is weak by human reckoning; those whom the world thinks common and contemptible are the ones that God has chosen – those who are nothing at all to show up those who are everything. The human race has nothing to boast about to God, but you, God has made members of Christ Jesus and by God’s doing he has become our wisdom, and our virtue, and our holiness, and our freedom. As scripture says: if anyone wants to boast, let him boast about the Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 5:1-12 ©

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit;

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle:

they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn:

they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:

they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful:

they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart:

they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers:

they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you

and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven.’

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What do heaven and hell look like?

Posted by junix28 on January 28, 2011 in The THEATER OF LIFE...funny & serious scenes

A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, ‘Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.’

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table…

In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew,

which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly..

They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.

But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, ‘You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.

There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water.

The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, ‘I don’t understand.

‘It is simple,’ said the Lord. ‘It requires but one skill.

You see, they have learned to feed each other.

The greedy think only of themselves.’

When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you.

He shared his spoon with us…
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How much do I forgive?

Posted by junix28 on January 26, 2011 in My personal notes & preferences

One day a while back, a man, his heart heavy with grief, was walking in the woods.  As he thought about his life this day, he knew many things were not right.  He thought about those who had lied about him back when he had a job.

His thoughts turned to those who had stolen his things and cheated him.  He remembered family that had passed on.  His mind turned to the illness he had, that no one could cure.  His very soul was filled with anger, resentment, and frustration.

Standing there this day, searching for answers  he could not find, knowing all else had failed him, he knelt at the base of an old oak tree to seek the one he knew would always be there.  And with tears in his eyes, he prayed:

‘Lord, You have done wonderful things for me in this life.  You have told me to do many things for you, and I happily obeyed. Today, you have told me to forgive. I am sad, Lord, because I cannot, I don’t know how.  It is not fair Lord, I didn’t deserve these wrongs that were done against me and I shouldn’t have to forgive.  As perfect as Your way is Lord, this one thing I cannot do, for I don’t know how to forgive.  My anger is so deep Lord, I fear I may not hear you, but I pray you teach me to do the one thing I cannot do:  Teach me to forgive.’
As he knelt there in the quiet shade of that old oak tree, he felt something fall onto his shoulder.  He opened his eyes.  Out of the corner of one eye, he saw something red on his shirt.  He could not turn to see what it was because where the oak tree had been was a large square piece of wood in the ground.  He raised his head and saw two feet held to the wood with a large spike through them.

He raised his head more, and tears came to his eyes as he saw Jesus hanging on a cross. He saw spikes in His hands, a gash in His side, a torn and battered body, deep thorns sunk into His head.  Finally he saw the suffering and pain on His precious face. As their eyes met, the man’s tears turned to sobbing, and Jesus began to speak.

‘Have you ever told a lie?’  He asked?
The man answered – ‘Yes, Lord.’
‘Have you ever been given too much change and kept it?’
The man answered – ‘Yes.  Lord.’  And the man sobbed more and more.
‘Have you ever taken something from work that wasn’t yours?’ Jesus asked?
And the man answered, ‘Yes, Lord.’
‘Have you ever sworn, using my Father’s name in vain?’
The man, crying now, answered – ‘Yes, Lord.’
As Jesus asked many more times, ’Have you ever’?  The man’s crying became uncontrollable, for he could only answer – ‘Yes, Lord’.

Then Jesus turned His head from one side to the other, and the man felt something fall on his other shoulder He looked and saw that it was the blood of Jesus. When he looked back up, his eyes met those of Jesus, and there was a look of love the man had never seen or known before.

Jesus said, ‘I didn’t deserve this either, but I forgive you.’

It may be hard to see how you’re going to get through something, but when you look back in life, you realize how true this statement is.

Read the following first line slowly and let it sink in.

If God brings you to it – He will bring you through it.

When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you!

Share this realization to other people around…and make them realize how much God loves them….no matter what….even if it costs the very blood of his won Son, our brother and friend, Jesus Christ.

 

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