Learning From Mary

From www.catholictradition.org

"This story throws light on the kingdom of Heaven:  A landowner went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  He agreed to pay each worker the usual daily wage, and sent them to his vineyard.  He went out again at about nine in the morning, and seeing others idle in the town square, he said to them, 'You also, go to my vineyard, and I will pay you what is just.'  So they went.

"The owner went out at midday, and again at three in the afternoon, and he did the same.  Finally he went out at the last working hour--the eleventh hour--and he saw others standing there.  So he said to them, 'Why do you stay idle the whole day?'  They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.'  The master said, 'Go and work in my vineyard.'

'When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the workers and pay them their wage, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'  Those who had come to work at the eleventh hour turned up, and were each given a silver coin.  When it was the turn of the first, they thought they would receive more.  But they, too, each received a silver coin.  So on receiving it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

"They said, 'These last hardly worked an hour, yet you have treated them the same as us, who have endured the heavy work of the day and the heat.'  The owner said to one of them, 'Frind, I have not been unjust to you.  Did we not agree on one silver coin per day?  So take what is yours and go.  I want to give to the last the same as I give to you.  Don't I have the right to do as I please with what is mine?  Why are you envious when I am kind?'

"So will it be:  the last will be first, the first will be last."

Matthew 20:1-16

"Thank You, Lord, for the gift of our Mother Mary.  May we learn from her humility, her courage, and most of all, her deep love and devotion to Jesus.  Mother Mary, pray for us."

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Blessed And Honored

From www.theworkofgod.org

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Truly I say to you:  it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Yes, believe me;  it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.'

"On hearing this the disciples were astonished and said, 'Who, then can be saved?'  Jesus looked steadily at them and answered, 'For human beings it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.'

"Jesus answered, 'You who have followed me, listen to my words:  on the Day of Renewal, when the Son of Man sits on his throne in glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.  As for those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or property for my Name's sake, they will receive a hundredfold, and be given eternal life.  Many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.'"

Matthew 19:23-30

"Lord Jesus, please forgive my sins.  In Thy Name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me.  I accept Thee as my Lord God and Savior.  Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul and spirit.  (From the Miracle Prayer)

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Walk In His Footsteps

From http://hersilent-thoughts.blogspot.com

"It was then that a young man approached him and asked, 'Master, what good work must I do to receive eternal life?'  Jesus answered, 'Why do you ask me about what is good?  One only is good.  If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.'  The young man said, 'Which commandments?'  Jesus replied, 'Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.'

"The young man said to him, 'I have kept all these commandments.  What is still lacking?'  Jesus answered, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell all that you possess and give the money to the poor, and you will become the owner of a treasure in heaven.  Then come back and follow me.'

"On hearing this answer, the young man went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth."

Matthew 19:16-22

"Lord Jesus, help me overcome my fear.  Give me a fresh perspective and the strength to endure."

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The World Today

"Pay attention to how you behave.  Do not live as the unwise do, but as responsible persons.  Try to make good use of the present time, because these days are evil.  So do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.

"Do not get drunk:  wine leads to levity; but be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Gather together to pray with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and celebrate the Lord in your heart, giving thanks to God the Father in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, always and for everything."

Ephesians 5:15-20

"Lord, allow me to be a tiny spark of light in this world of darkness."

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Where There Is Doubt

From www.cbmidwest.org

"Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  Now a Canaanite woman came from those borders and began to cry out, 'Lord, Son of David, have pity on me!  My daughter is tormented by a demon.'  But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word.  So his disciples approached Him and said, 'Send her away!  See how she is shouting after us.'

"Then Jesus said to her, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.'

"But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus, and said, 'Sir, help me!'  Jesus answered, 'It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to the puppy dogs.'  The woman replied, 'That is true, sir, but even the puppy dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table.'  Then Jesus said, 'Woman, how great is your faith!  Let it be as you wish.'  And her daughter was healed at that moment."

Matthew 15:21-28

"Lord, thank You for Your mercy!  Help us always remember that though it seems that Your answers to our prayers are delayed, they are never late.  Strengthen our faith, Lord!"

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Fishers Of Men

From thebiblerevival.com

"After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the gospel from God saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.'

"As he was walking along by the Lake of Galilee he saw Simon and Simon's brother Andrew casting a net in the lake -- for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, 'Come after me and I will make you into fishers of people.' And at once they left their nets and followed him.

"Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending the nets. At once he called them and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him."

MARK 1:14-20

"Lord, continue to use me to help build Your kingdom."

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The Good Shepherd

From www.hem-of-his-garment-bible-study.org

"'Console my people, console them,' says your God. 'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that her period of service is ended, that her guilt has been atoned for, that, from the hand of Yahweh, she has received double punishment for all her sins.'

"A voice cries, 'Prepare in the desert a way for Yahweh. Make a straight highway for our God across the wastelands. Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be levelled, every cliff become a plateau, every escarpment a plain; then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed and all humanity will see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.'

"Go up on a high mountain, messenger of Zion. Shout as loud as you can, messenger of Jerusalem! Shout fearlessly, say to the towns of Judah, 'Here is your God.' Here is Lord Yahweh coming with power, his arm maintains his authority, his reward is with him and his prize precedes him. He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes."

ISAIAH 40:1-5,9-11

"Jesus, my eternal Shepherd, my soul finds rest in You."

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Big God

Canon EOS 350D

"Then he got into the boat followed by his disciples.

"Suddenly a storm broke over the lake, so violent that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But he was asleep.

"So they went to him and woke him saying, 'Save us, Lord, we are lost!'

"And he said to them, 'Why are you so frightened, you who have so little faith?' And then he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

"They were astounded and said, 'Whatever kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?'"

MATTHEW 8:23-27

"You are a big God. May I find my perfect peace trusting in You amid the challenging circumstances of life."

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Jesus Is Within The Loving Person

From sites.google.com/site/ekdiengod

"When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered round him and he stayed by the lake.

"Then the president of the synagogue came up, named Jairus, and seeing him, fell at his feet and begged him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her that she may be saved and may live.'

"Jesus went with him and a large crowd followed him; they were pressing all round him.

"Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years; after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she had spent all she had without being any the better for it; in fact, she was getting worse. She had heard about Jesus, and she came up through the crowd and touched his cloak from behind, thinking, 'If I can just touch his clothes, I shall be saved.' And at once the source of the bleeding dried up, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint.

"And at once aware of the power that had gone out from him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, 'Who touched my clothes?' His disciples said to him, 'You see how the crowd is pressing round you; how can you ask, "Who touched me?" ' But he continued to look all round to see who had done it.

"Then the woman came forward, frightened and trembling because she knew what had happened to her, and she fell at his feet and told him the whole truth.

"'My daughter,' he said, 'your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free of your complaint.'

"While he was still speaking some people arrived from the house of the president of the synagogue to say, 'Your daughter is dead; why put the Master to any further trouble?' But Jesus overheard what they said and he said to the president of the synagogue, 'Do not be afraid; only have faith.' And he allowed no one to go with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

"So they came to the house of the president of the synagogue, and Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly. He went in and said to them, 'Why all this commotion and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep.'

"But they ridiculed him. So he turned them all out and, taking with him the child's father and mother and his own companions, he went into the place where the child lay.

"And taking the child by the hand he said to her, 'Talitha kum!' which means, 'Little girl, I tell you to get up.' The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At once they were overcome with astonishment, and he gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat."

MARK 5:21-43

"Jesus, heal a person today.
Touch him through my hand and through my love. Amen."

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The Great Commission

From saintaliceyouth.wordpress.com

"Meanwhile the eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated.

"Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.'"

MATTHEW 28:16-20

"Lord Jesus, unworthy as I am, You have called me to be Your disciple.
I obey Your command. I receive Your commissioning.
I will tell the world of Your love! Amen."

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The Seed

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

"Again he began to teach them by the lakeside, but such a huge crowd gathered round him that he got into a boat on the water and sat there. The whole crowd were at the lakeside on land.

"He taught them many things in parables, and in the course of his teaching he said to them, 'Listen! Imagine a sower going out to sow. Now it happened that, as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground where it found little soil and at once sprang up, because there was no depth of earth; and when the sun came up it was scorched and, not having any roots, it withered away. Some seed fell into thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop. And some seeds fell into rich soil, grew tall and strong, and produced a good crop; the yield was thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.'

"And he said, 'Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!'

"When he was alone, the Twelve, together with the others who formed his company, asked what the parables meant.

"He told them, 'To you is granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and look, but never perceive; listen and listen, but never understand; to avoid changing their ways and being healed.'

"He said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? What the sower is sowing is the word. Those on the edge of the path where the word is sown are people who have no sooner heard it than Satan at once comes and carries away the word that was sown in them. Similarly, those who are sown on patches of rock are people who, when first they hear the word, welcome it at once with joy. But they have no root deep down and do not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, at once they fall away. Then there are others who are sown in thorns. These have heard the word, ut the worries of the world, the lure of riches and all the other passions come in to choke the word, and so it produces nothing. And there are those who have been sown in rich soil; they hear the word and accept it and yield a harvest, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.'"

MARK 4:1-20

"Lord, let the Word of Christ dwell in me richly
and bear fruit in my life."

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There Is Strength In Bonding

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

"The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, 'Beelzebul is in him,' and, 'It is through the prince of devils that he drives devils out.'

"So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, 'How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never last. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot last either -- it is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man's house and plunder his property unless he has first tied up the strong man. Only then can he plunder his house.

"'In truth I tell you, all human sins will be forgiven, and all the blasphemies ever uttered; but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.'

"This was because they were saying, 'There is an unclean spirit in him.'"

MARK 3:22-30

"Lord, make me a team player."

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Follow Him

Canon EOS 350D

"After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There He proclaimed the gospel from God saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel.'

"As He was walking along by the Lake of Galilee He saw Simon and Simon's brother Andrew casting a net in the lake -- for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, 'Come after me and I will make you into fishers of people.' And at once they left their nets and followed Him.

"Going on a little further, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending the nets. At once He called them and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after Him."

MARK 1:14-20

"Holy Spirit, give me the strength to follow You,
now and always!"

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Mad For The Lord

From www.fransalians.com

"When his relations heard of this, they set out to take charge of him; they said, 'He is out of his mind.'

"The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, 'Beelzebul is in him,' and, 'It is through the prince of devils that he drives devils out.'"

MARK 3:20-21

"Lord, I know that surrendering to Your perfect will
is what is best for me.
Please give me the courage to follow You at any cost. Amen."

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Heaven

From www.amazon.com

"I consider that the suffering of our present life cannot be compared with the Glory that will be revealed and given to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth in glory of the children of God. For if now the created world was unable to attain its purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected it. But it is not without hope, for even the created world will be freed from this fate of death and share the freedom and glory of the children of God.

"We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation along, but even ourselves, although the Spirit was given to us as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day when God will give us full rights and rescue our bodies as well."

ROMANS 8:18-23

"Lord, grant me the grace to endure my pain and sufferings
with faith and hope that in the end
all things will be perfectly restored in You! Amen."

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The Harvest Master

Canon EOS 350D, f/7.1, 1/80 sec

"When he saw the crowds he was moved with pity, for they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is abundant but the workers are only few. Ask the master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest.'

"Then he called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority over the unclean spirits to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness.

"These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray him.

"Jesus sent these twelve on mission with the instruction: 'Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go instead to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.

"'Go and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift.'"

MATTHEW 9:36-10:8

"Lord, send me out as a laborer for Your harvest
that I may reap abundantly."

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No Turning Back

Canon S45

"So Elijah left. He found Elisha, son of Shaphat, who was plowing a field of twelve acres and was at the end of the twelfth acre. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah and said, 'Let me say goodbye to my father and mother; then I will follow you.' Elijah said to him, 'Return if you want, don't worry about what I did.' However, turned back, Elishatook the yoke of oxen and slew them. He roasted their meat on the pieces of the yoke and gave it to his people who ate of it. After this, he followed Elijah and began ministering to him."


1 KINGS 19:19-21

"Lord Jesus, bless me with the passion of Elisha
to serve You no matter what the cost will be."

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The Battle Starts In The Mind

From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Man

"You have heard that it was said: Do not commit adultery. But I tell you this: anyone who looks at a woman to satisfy his lust has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart.

"So, if your right eye causes you to sin, pull it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.

"It was also said: anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce. But what I tell you is this: If a man divorces his wife except in the case of unlawful union, he causes her to commit adultery. And the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."

MATTHEW 5:27-32

"Lord, purify my thoughts and help me win
the battles in my mind so that I can truly love You
with all my heart, mind and soul. Amen."

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Self-Righteousness

From www.wcg.org/lit/disc/temptatn.htm

"I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a better way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

"You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill will have to face trial. But now I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a brother or sister deserves to be brought before the council; whoever humiliates a brother or sister deserves to be thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with him, and then come back and offer your gift to God.

"Don't forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will handy you over to the police, who will putyou in jail. There you will stay, until you have paid the last penny."

MATTHEW 5:20-26

"Soul of Chirst, sanctify me."

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I Want To Be Complete

From www.pinoyexchange.com/forums

"Do not think that I have come to remove the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to remove but to fulfill them. I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled.

"So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven."

MATTHEW 5:17-19

"O Lord, only You can complete me."

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