God must be Surprised....

God must be Surprised....

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,

and I will give you rest... (Not take away problems...) Mt. 11, 28

            Scott Peck begins his great book, “The Road Less Travelled” with the simplest statement possible: “Life is difficult.” I think all of us agree with this. People complain a lot about problems in life, forgetting that complaining will never solve them. Some feel burdened by their job (or by not having a job), by damaged relationships and so on. And at times they are burden to themselves. To deal with such burdens, some pretend that everything is fine, others cover up, again others drown their heavy feelings in the hustle and bustle of a mall, the noise of a disco, or in the taste of alcohol. Some complain to God, “Why did you give to me all these crosses? One is more than enough.”

            It’s true, God allows suffering in our lives but He did not create us to suffer. The many burdens and problems which we generalize as “crosses” in our life might be self-created. Did God give us the cross of a damaged relationship when it was us who in our pride hurt a person and are not ready to make the first step to reconciliation? Is it God who gave the cross of anger which causes high blood pressure, when we are the ones who expect too much from ourselves or from others?

            God must be surprised sometimes when we blame Him for self-inflicted crosses. Jesus wants us to be happy as he was happy – in spite of the cross. We may pray, of course, that God takes a cross away from us; Jesus did the same in Gethsemane. But He trusted God and accepted what the Father had designed for Him. Jesus invites us to follow Him, to come to Him (not to mega mall or a disco) and find rest and learn from Him how to carry life’s burden. It is in his merciful presence that we find peace. Then we will stop complaining and begin to solve our problems and unburden ourselves from self-fabricated crosses.

            Always remember, this famous passage from St. Augustine's Confessions in which he states "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you", and still, Joyce Meyer said something that can be easy to remember: “Complain and remain. Praise and be raised.” Basically, that means that if you complain, then you’ll stay wherever you are emotionally and nothing will get better. If you give praise and stay positive about things, then you will find yourself happier, content, and, amazingly, with less problems. The problems won’t disappear, but they’ll become smaller or even nothing at all in your perspective. This is exactly what we get when we are with Jesus (Mt. 11, 28), "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest...more energy, refreshment, vigour, to continue fighting in this tiresome world...

Never for Granted!

Never for Granted!

            Why do we often take for granted the very things that deserve our gratitude the most? We do this with both people and possessions. The problem is many people do not realize this until the situation has come and passed. We take things for granted on a daily basis, always with the assumption that whenever we need something, it will be there. There are many things we fail to realize the true value of until they are missing from our lives. Think of technology, the Internet and your cell phone, not to talk about your parents, siblings, friends, money, and life. You do not realize how vital your cell phone is to your life until you have to go days without it. Enjoy the little things in life because someday you will realize they were the big things.

            “People say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Truth is, you knew what you had, and you just never thought you’d lose it.” This is a common thing once a relationship reaches its conclusion. When you become complacent with your partner, it is easy to fall into this trap. Happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting what you don’t have; rather it’s recognizing and appreciating what you do have. If someone once made you happy, there is a great chance they still will. Think about it — maybe you are bored with your familiar routine, but that doesn’t mean you should get rid of it. Don’t lose something you have for something you think you want. When people break up, it’s common to regret it. You end the relationship because you can think you can do better, but once you’re out there in the dating world, you realize you had something amazing. Sometimes it is too little too late and you must learn from your unfortunate decision. What screws a person up is trying to live up to image they create in their minds. There is no such thing as perfect, only perfect for you.

All called to Evangelize...

15th Ordinary Sunday - Yr B.

All called to Evangelize...

            Last Sunday’s gospel reported to us the rejection of Jesus by His own townspeople. Today, we are given a profile of those who believe in Him. From among His followers, Jesus chooses the Twelve, His band of intimate friends. The Twelve together with the other disciples are Jesus’ true family and community. He instructs them to take nothing for the journey; He urges His disciples to travel light for greater mobility and availability in their mission.

            All of us are called by God to be missionaries, proclaimers and witnesses to others of His Words. Vatican II document - Apostolican Actuositatem (on the Apostolate of the Laity) no. 3 said: “Incorporated into Christ’s Mystical Body through Baptism and strengthened by the Spirit through Confirmation, the laity are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself.” So whether you are an accountant, a lawyer, a clerk, a doctor, a musician, or an executive, a teacher or whatever, you are sent out “to preach, heal, teach and witness to the good news,” in short, to evangelize. And no. 6 says, “The very testimonies of their Christian life and good works done in supernatural spirit have the power to draw men to belief and to God.”

            Just the way you live can do more good to others than the many dragging sermons and voluminous books written by known writers. Sad to say, many still have the idea that the call of Christ is addressed only to apostles and their successors, the bishops. This is not true today. Every Christian is commissioned to a ministry of love and justice by virtue of their baptism and confirmation. So, let us ask ourselves, are we faithful to our mission?

HAPPY CONSOLATA FEAST

THE CONSOLATA FEAST 2015

INTRODUCTION

Today we are celebrating the solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Consolata, Mother and Foundress of the Consolata Missionaries: Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, Lay Missionaries, Friends, Benefactors and all Christians working together with us to carry out our Mission Ad Gentes. We rejoice and thank God for the great missionary work we are doing under the company and intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary Consolata. Let us ask God to increase more his charismatic gifts in our minds, hearts and wills that we may be able to spread his Word, love and peace in the world.

THE LOVE OF BLESSED JOSEPH ALLAMANO FOR OUR LADY THE BLESSED VIRIGN MARY CONSOLATA

Our Founder was always speaking of the Blessed Virgin Mary Consolata: everything that has been done here is the work of Our Lady of Consolation. She has performed miracles everyday for this Society.

She has made the stones shout.
I have seen a lot, a lot... and if you are attentive, you’ll see and understand that the good spirit found in the House and the desire you have to be holy – everything, everything is a grace of Our Lady of Consolation.

 Nobody loves Our Lady more than Jesus (Wedding at Cana). Everything she asks the Lord, He will grant it to her.

Remembering Garissa Attack...#Peace

The Holy Thursday’s attack on Kenya’s Garrissa University College in eastern Kenya, where terrorist al-Shabaab gunmen killed 148 people, most of them students aged between 19 and 23 struck a particular nerve because, in a country where, parents make huge sacrifices to educate their offspring in the hope that they in turn will support their families – and in many cases whole clans. The killings robbed many families of their best and brightest – young people on whose shoulders rested hopes and aspirations. The Kenyans, joined by the international community at large mourn with all who lost their lives. We condole with the parents and relatives who lost their loved ones and assure them of our continued prayers, especially during this painful period. For those still in hospital, we pray for their quick recovery and peace of mind. For those who survived with minor or no injuries, we wish them speedy recovery from the psycho-social trauma and resumption of their studies. On the social network, messages can be send through: #147notjustanumber

Memorial mass will be held on Saturday, May 16, at 5.30pm, at:

St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church
2547 Kipling Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
M9V 3A8

All are welcome.

Life: from nasty, brutish and short to beautiful and eternal...

Life: from nasty, brutish and short to beautiful and eternal...

Thomas Hobbes once said: human life is nasty, brutish and short. And for sure, not all the world's population enjoys the benefits of electricity, clean water, security, freedom from diseases, happy relationships and marriages, affordable education and healthy, and daily food and drink....progress and evolution seem spotty. However, irrespective of whether all share in these moral and material blessings, our Easter faith adds an important dimension to human life: the resurrection has taken the course of evolution beyond time and space to life in God. Human life has become beautiful, Godlike and eternal, not "nasty, brutish and short."

What Your Handwriting Says About You

What Your Handwriting Says About You

“Handwriting reveals a lot about the way you are socially, the way you think, the state of your ego, your energy levels, your attitudes toward sex,” says Lowe, “all kinds of things.” On that score, handwriting — and its analysis — are far more emotionally expressive than any email or text.  “Handwriting is really a compilation of everything you’ve ever experienced and the way you’ve reacted to it,” says handwriting expert Sheila Lowe. Here are some curiosities about it:

1. “The handwriting of somebody who has a lot of fears and anxiety is much narrower — it pulls back,” she says. In contrast, “somebody who’s really outgoing and friendly and happy-go-lucky, their handwriting is going to be more expanded.”
2. “If you’re feeling sad or contemplative, then the writing tends to get smaller — it’s like you want to disappear,” she says. “If you’re feeling happy and expansive your writing may get bigger and lean more to the right,” which Lowe says indicates leaning towards other people.
3. “Somebody who has a lot of swirls and loops might be someone who wants to draw attention to themselves,” says Lowe. “Usually people who have a lot of self confidence don’t need all that stuff. They keep things fairly simple.”
4. The handwriting of a host who’s feeling fun and frivolous, for example, “would be on the larger side — larger than medium which is 3 mm high,” says Lowe. “It would be more round and probably have somewhat inflated lower loops in their lower-case g’s, y’s and f’s.”
5. Writing can also reveal how smart you are. “Highly simplified writing is a sign of intelligence,” she says. “If you have a lot of elaboration then the appearance is more important than the message.” 
6. “Earlier in the marriage, my handwriting was very small — it was not a happy marriage,” she says. “And then later I deliberately changed my signature to be showier — a little more flamboyant, which is not really me.  I was trying to assert my independence.”