AD SENSE

Pentecost Sunday C- Homilies and Stories

Opening Story:

I heard a story the other day, an amusing story, about a boy who was
wandering around the narthex of a large downtown church one Sunday morning
and stopped and examined a large bronze plaque that was hung on the wall. 

"What are all those names up there?"  he asked one of the ushers. 
"Those are  the names of people who died in the service." the usher
replied. 
Curious, the boy asked the usher
- "which service, the 9:30 service or the 11 o'clock service?"
I am happy to report today that we are about,
   what we are celebrating,
is a birth - not a death -
   the birth of the church - the birth of Christ
in you and me - and in all who call on his name.
-------------------------------
Thomas O’Loughlin
Introduction to the Celebration

Today we are celebrating a feast that was celebrated by many of the Jews who lived at the time of Jesus. Many of his early followers continued to celebrate it after the resurrection, and so it became part of the annual celebrations of all Christians. However, over the first few decades of the church, this feast took on a new meaning: Jesus has risen and ascended to the Father, but he promised us his Spirit. So today we rejoice that the Spirit is moving in each of our hearts making us a people, inspiring us to understand the mystery of our faith, and strengthening us to follow Jesus the Anointed One. 

Scottish Painter at work - Humour

There was a Scottish painter named Smokey Macgregor who was very interested in making a penny where he could, so he often thinned down his paint to make it go a wee bit further.


Mothers’ Day 2013

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.  ~Tenneva Jordan
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.  ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul
Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.
~George Cooper
Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love.  ~Mildred B. Vermont

Ascension 2013 - Homilies and Stories

Thomas O’Loughlin

Introduction to the Celebration 

The image we have of the Ascension is that of departing, going away, disappearing; but our belief as Christians is that it represents the silent presence of Christ everywhere in the universe. He is no longer limited by earthly conditions — to be in one place at one time in his presence to his followers — but now dwells in the heavens with the Father: present in every gathering of his people — so he is present among us now, present whenever his people are in need, present in hearts calling us to be disciples and to be his hands, and feet, and voice in our lives. To celebrate this feast today is not to recall a past event — that day long ago ‘when he went up to heaven’ — but to rejoice that Jesus is our living Lord, with us now, leading and guiding us, because he is not tied down to a moment in earthly history. 

The Greedy Cloud - Story

CloudOnce upon a time lived a cloud – that was grown up over a very beautiful country. One day, she saw another much bigger cloud and she felt so much envy, than the cloud decided that in order to get bigger and grow more, her water would never abandon her, and will never start raining again.
CloudIndeed, the cloud grew up, while his country was getting dried. First, rivers dried up, then people, animals, plants, and finally, the whole country became a desert. The cloud did not care much, but she also did not realize that by being over a desert there was no place where she could obtain new water to keep growing. So slowly, the cloud began to lose size, and was unable to do anything to stop it .

Plateau Effect for Leaders - ppt


Splenda: The Artificial Sweetener that Explodes Internally

By: Shane Ellison, MS



 

Sucralose

Agent Orange


If there were a contest for the best example of total disregard for human life the victor would be McNeil Nutritionals – makers of Splenda (sucralose). Manufacturers of Vioxx and Lipitor would tie for a very distant second.
McNeil Nutritionals is the undisputed drug-pushing champion for disguising their drug Splenda as a sweetener. Regardless of its drug qualities and potential for side-effects, McNeil is dead set on putting it on every kitchen table in America. Apparently, Vioxx and Lipitor makers can’t stoop so low as to deceptively masquerade their drug as a candy of sort. There is no question that their products are drugs and by definition come with negative side-effects. Rather than sell directly to the consumer, these losers have to go through the painful process of using doctors to prescribe their dangerous goods. But not McNeil…