AD SENSE

10 Steps To A Balanced Ministry

By James Smith

Ministry is an occupation where balance is often hard to find.  While others punch a clock and work only one job, the minister is often times required to wear multiple hats and even work a secular job as well.    Here are 10 points to consider to discover balance for your life and ministry.

Stay focused
Your dedication to what God has called you to do will require stringent concentration.  There are going to be many opportunities for you to become distracted.  Stay Focused.  Remain prayerful and know that God has called you to a work because of your uniqueness and giftedness.

26 Sunday C - Lazarus - God Turns Tables

Note: Video message from Fr. William Grim, mm at the bottom

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Introduction:
What parable would make a man with three doctoral degrees (one in medicine, one in theology, one in philosophy) leave civilization with all of its culture and amenities and depart for the jungles of darkest Africa? What parable could induce a man, who was recognized as one of the best concert organists in all of Europe, go to a place where there were no organs to play. What parable would so intensely motivate a man that he would give up a teaching position in Vienna, Austria to go and deal with people who were so deprived that they were still living in the superstitions of the dark ages for all practical purposes. The man who I am talking about, of course, is Dr. Albert Schweitzer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. And the single parable that so radically altered his life, according to him, was our text for this morning. It was the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

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The rich man of today's story was "a winner in this life," says James Tahaney, "and a loser in the next."

Dogs and cats in the United States eat more nutritious food than do the homeless in refugee camps in the third world. That chilling information is reported by The New York Times.

What a masterful storyteller and wordsmith the Master is. It boggles the mind to reflect how much He was able to squeeze into twelve verses. He is a teacher par excellence.
(James Gilhooley)

NEW STYLE OF GREETINGS IN INDIA - HUMOUR


 
 
A very apt description of INDIA TODAY

                    May your happiness increase like Petrol Price,
                    May your sorrow fall like the Indian Rupee, and
                    May your joy spread in your heart like
                    Corruption spreads in India ?!!!

Husband of the year Awards - Humour

The honorable mention goes to:
The United Kingdom
 

25 Sunday C - Stewardship - Homilies

Gospel Reading: Luke 16:1-13

Michel de Verteuil
General Textual Comments

The passage is in two movements:
- verses 1 to 7, the parable;
- verses 8 to 13, a collection of six sayings of Jesus, all connected with the parable.

Most people find this parable one of the most difficult to interpret, seeming to condone the dishonesty of the steward. The main problem here is our tendency to read the gospels and the parables particularly, in a rational, moralizing way. We then find ourselves passing judgement on the parables:  “a touching story but ….” With this approach to our parable we have to do mental gymnastics to explain how the master could “praise the dishonest steward”.

We are not meant to read parables in such a heady, moralizing (basically self-righteous) way. We must enter freely into them (“with a willing suspension of disbelief”), get a feel for the characters, and gradually let them reveal some deep lesson about human living.

With this parable, for example, we must identify with the steward, allow him to become a person whom we feel to praise, just like the master in the parable did. If we look at him in that perspective, we find that he is very likable, not efficient – “wasteful” as the parable says – but very likeable. We imagine a person who knows how to enjoy life. He doesn’t like hard work – “Dig? I am not strong enough” – but he likes people and enjoys the company of his friends.

Blind Woman, Dog and the Pilot - Story

WALKING THE DOG
A woman was flying from Seattle
to San Francisco .  Unexpectedly,
the plane was diverted to
Sacramento along the way.

24 Sunday C – Lost and Found - Homilies

Thomas O’Loughlin
Introduction to the Celebration 

Each of us can stand here because the Lord has sought us out and forgiven us. We call Jesus is ‘our saviour’, but we could just as easily call him ‘our pardon’ or ‘our reconciliation’ or ‘the One who reveals the Father’s love to us’. Now we gather to join with Jesus in offering thanks to the Father for his love, and to grow in our awareness of how we are sought out and welcomed home by the Christ.

Gospel Notes 

The three parables are part of the basic memory of Christians about the content of the good news, so much so that we could go so far as to say that if someone did not have these stories in his/her store of memory, then they would be deprived of some of the keys to how Christians view God. So it is important that people hear these together as Luke preached them, but also hear their subtle differences: the first two stories are addressed to the cause of the welcome the Jesus offered sinners:

'What goes around comes around - Story

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she looked worried.. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

If you have a heart ....Stories from real lives

Reader's Digest:

If you have a heart, you can help anybody

When I began planning to move to Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, to study, my mother worried about the uncertainty of living in a place that was so different from India. She worried particularly about a lack of jobs, cultural differences and racism.Despite these concerns, I came to New Zealand in July 2009. I found the place and people to be very gracious and supportive. When I arrived, I soon realized the importance of getting a job to supplement my living allowance.Determined to do this on my own, I spent a whole day going door-to-door asking for a job, but found little or no response. This became my daily routine after college for a few weeks.

Illustrations for Sermons

You can download a copy:


23 Sunday C – Discipleship – Counting the Cost

The Word Hate 

"If anyone comes after me and does not hate ..." "Hate" is not primarily a feeling word in the Aramaic language, the language Jesus spoke. It is primarily a priority word. It means to abandon or to leave aside; the way a sailor needs to abandon a sinking ship or the way a general needs to leave aside distracting things to win his battle.

John G. Lynch
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Thomas O’Loughlin,
Introduction to the Celebration

 We have gathered here because we are disciples of the Lord Jesus: we have chosen his way as our way. Today he reminds us that this is no easy choice for his way led to the cross. He reminds us: ‘Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’ Discipleship embraces every aspect of our lives. Discipleship means that we have to plan for the best way to live our lives in the light of his truth. Yet, we all fall short of that way, we follow other paths, we avoid the cross, we think of the immediate rather than the goal of life. So as we gather for this meal of discipleship, let us renew our commitment to the way of the Lord and ask pardon for our deviations from it. 
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Reflection 

Our following of Christ can easily become an unreflective adherence to a faith into which we were born. We may continue going to Mass merely out of habit or even fear. However, today it is as though Jesus turns around to us and says: ‘This is not for the fainthearted. Following me is not about having things easy with God on your side. It is all about forgetting yourself and that, my friend, is a hard road.’ From time to time we need to be shocked out of our complacency and today’s invitation to make our own the wisdom of Jesus aims to do just that. 
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World Teachers' Day - Videos and Prayers



Here are several videos to remember and celebrate our Teachers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1CFlRg_Pmo
 
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Several Prayers:

Prayer for World Teachers Day

By: Dr. Anthony Cuschieri

Gracious God stay with us
with your enabling Spirit,
guiding us as we lead our students
towards your kingdom.
We accomplish in our lifetime
only a fraction of the magnificent work
of your creation.

Prayer for Peace

This prayer of Blessed John Paul II written for the World Day of Peace in 2002.

O God, Creator of the universe,
who extends your paternal concern over every creature
and guides the events of history to the goal of salvation,
we acknowledge your fatherly love
when you break the resistance of mankind and,
in a world torn by strife and discord, you make us ready for reconciliation.
Renew for us the wonders of your mercy;
send forth your Spirit that he may work in the intimacy of hearts,
that enemies may begin to dialogue, that adversaries may shake hands
and peoples may encounter one another in harmony.
May all commit themselves to the sincere search
for true peace which will extinguish all arguments,
for charity which overcomes hatred, for pardon which disarms revenge.

FRUITS ON AN EMPTY STOMACH - Health Tips


Very pertinent, informative and value enough to be printed and put onto your fridge for reference
 
 Let's REMEMBER to take   FRESH FRUITS EVERYDAY and on an EMPTY STOMACH!
EATING FRESH FRUITS 

This is very informative!
 
  
 
We all think eating fruit means just buying fruit, cutting it up and popping it into our mouths. It's not that easy. It's important to know how and when to eat fruit.   
 
What's the correct way to eat fruit?