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Easter 2 A -Doubting Thomas
Diabetes - All about it
Diabetes is the Fastest Growing Disease in the World Today!
- Diabetes is an epidemic.
- 17 million Americans have diabetes . . .
with 5.9 million completely unaware that they even have the disease.
- Diabetes is the 5th leading cause of death in the United States . . .
with over 200,000 deaths each year from diabetes-related complications.
- Among U.S. adults, diagnosed diabetes increased 49% from 1990 to 2000.
Similar increases are expected in the next decade and beyond.
Good Friday Meditations
Good Friday Meditations by Ken Gardiner
This section contains four of the hour-long meditations and a three hour-long meditation which I have used over the years. One is based on the seven words from the cross, and others see the events of Good Friday through the eyes and thoughts of those who were there.Group A
The cross imagined through the eyes of Peter, Mary the Mother of Jesus and every individual involved in this meditation.Group A: Click
Group B
Three meditations on the verse:And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. (Matt. 27:36)
Group B Click
Group C
Identifying ourselves with those who were standing round the cross.Group C Click
Group D
Imagining the thoughts of Christ between his arrest and trial; The thoughts of Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross, Our own response.Group D Click
A 3 Hour Service
Meditations based on the seven words from the cross.A 3 Hour Service Click
Good Friday and Easter
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5 Monkeys and Banana Experiment
One Lesson How Monkeys Are Teaching Us to Work Smarter
The researchers placed five monkeys in a room with a ladder and a some bananas at the top of it. It didn’t take long before one of the monkeys saw the bananas and decided to climb the ladder.
As soon as the monkey reached the banana, all five monkeys were showered with cold water.
Easter Sunday B
First Reading: Acts 10: 34, 37-43
Second Reading: Colossians 3: 1-4
Gospel: John 20: 1-9
1) The phoenix: The late Catholic Archbishop of Hartford, John Whealon, who had undergone cancer surgery resulting in a permanent colostomy, wrote these very personal words in one of his last Easter messages: "I am now a member of an association of people who have been wounded by cancer. That association has as its symbol the phoenix, a bird of Egyptian mythology. When the bird felt its death was near, every 500 to 1,461 years, it would fly off to Phoenicia, build a nest of aromatic wood and set itself on fire. When the bird was consumed by the flames, a new phoenix sprang forth from the ashes. Thus, the phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection, and life after death. It was one of the earliest symbols of the risen Christ. In the same way, any person who has survived a struggle with cancer is considered phoenix-like, having risen from the ashes of disease and been given a new lease on life. Suddenly life becomes more precious to that person. Each hour is lived more fully. Each friend seems much more real. The sky seems more blue, the sunshine more beautiful, and the colors more vivid. Even dull and ordinary things are causes for gratitude to God.” Archbishop John Whealon could have lived in a gloomy tomb of self-pity, hopeless defeat, and chronic sadness, but his faith in the resurrected Lord opened his eyes to new visions of life.
Good Friday 2012
Anecdotes
Powdered Christian. You might remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip with my American friend , I saw powdered milk. What is it , I asked. My friend explained, “You just add water, and you get milk.” I was amazed. Then I saw powdered orange juice--you just add water, and you get orange juice! And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, you add water and get a ready made baby!! “What a country!" So many Christian denominations claim that they can make powdered Christians. They preach: “Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, surrender your life to him and confess your sins to him. You are saved.“ Once saved, you are always saved. Just add water and disciples are born not made. Unfortunately, there is no such powder, and disciples of Jesus Christ are not instantly born. We must understand what it really means to be a Christian disciple from the mouth of Jesus. He proclaimed in Mathew 16: 24, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16: 24).It means that a truly practicing Christian must be a self denying and cross carrying Christian who obeys the teachings of Jesus. That is why we ask the question on Good Friday: what is the real message of the cross?
Easter Sunday Sermon - 2012
Sermons for
Easter
John 20:1-9 - "Why I Believe in The Resurrection"
Mark 16:1-8 - "Be Hatched or Go Bad" by Leonard Sweet
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You probably do not
remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin. During his day he was as powerful
a man as there was on earth. A Russian Communist leader he took part in the
Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by
the way means truth), and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on
economics and political science are still read today. There is a story told
about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly
on the subject of atheism. Addressing the crowd he aimed his heavy artillery at
Christianity hurling insult, argument, and proof against it.
Good Friday and Easter B
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Holy Thursday B
Fr. Tony Kadavil:
Readings First Reading: Exodus 12: 1-8, 11-14
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
Gospel: John 13: 1-15
1) The Stole and the Towel is the title of a book, which sums up the message of the Italian bishop, Tony Bello, who died of cancer at the age of 58. On Maundy Thursday of 1993, while on his deathbed, he dictated a pastoral letter to the priests of his diocese. He called upon them to be bound by "the stole and the towel." The stole symbolizes union with Christ in the Eucharist, and the towel symbolizes union with humanity by service. The priest is called upon to be united with the Lord in the Eucharist and with the people as their servant. Today we celebrate the institution of both the Eucharist and the priesthood: the feast of "the stole and the towel," the feast of love and service.
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