FAITH

FAITH ; HOPE; CHARITY!

From a sermon by St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop

There are three things by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other.

Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So, if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others.

When you fast see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry.

Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy: "A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart."

Offer your soul to God, make him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God.

"He Who Has No Faith In Himself,

Can never Have Faith In God."

-Vive Kananda-

He who loses money, loses much;

He who loses a friend, loses more;

He who loses faith, loses all.

HOPE sees the invisible,

Feels the intangible,

And achieves the impossible.

God gives every bird it's food

But He does not throw it

into it's nest.

Don't give me so much credit for my work.

The credit is not mine.

I mean only that I am merely the instrument,

Through which a Supreme Intelligence,

Carries on His work.

-Thomas Edison-

Footprints in the Sand

One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking with the Lord.

Across the sky flashed scenes of his life.

For each scene,

He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand;

One belonged to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,

He looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life

There was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it had happened

At the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered the man

And he questioned the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I have noticed that during

The most troublesome times in my life,

There is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed you most,

You would leave me."

The Lord replied, " My precious child,

I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering,

When you see only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

-Author Unknown-

Eternity

He who binds to himself a joy

Does the winged life destroy;

But he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity's sun rise.

-Author unknown-

Promises

Remember God's Promise,

Faith will see you through

Though you may not know just how,

Peace will fill your heart

Although you may not feel it now,

Joy is on its way

For God has promised words….

"Behold, my child,

I will make all things new."

ENDURANCE~FIDELITY~INTELLIGENCE

"Getting ahead in a different profession

requires avid faith in yourself.

That is why some people with mediocre talent,

But with great inner drive,

Go much further

than people with vastly superior talent."

-Sophia Loren-

I myself do nothing,

The Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me.

-William Blake-

The moment a person realizes his oneness

With the infinite spirit,

He recognizes himself as a spiritual being,

And no longer a physical, material being.

-Ralph W. Trine-

The liar's punishment is not in the least

That he is not believed,

But that he cannot believe anyone else.

-George Bernard Shaw-

Real wisdom is the ability to take God's truth

And apply it to life.

All it requires is a heart for God

And some plain old common sense.

-Tony Evans-

All wisdom can be started in two lines:

What is done for us - allow it to be done.

What you must do yourself - make sure you do it.

-Author Unknown-

Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life

from the highest point of view.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Prayer is our humble answer

to the inconceivable surprise of living.

-Abraham Joshua Heschel-

Meditation is one of the few things in life

that is not about DOING but about BEING.

-Rick Field-

Prayer is not the moment

when God and humans are in relationship,

for that is always.

Prayer is taking initiative

to intentionally respond to God's presence.

-L. Robert Keek-

Prayer, we like to hope,

is a moment of true speaking.

At that instant we become the words we say.

There is no deception, no ego to defend,

no manufactured self.

-Bury Holz-

Prayer gives a man the opportunity

of getting to know a gentleman he hardly ever meets.

I do not mean his maker,

but himself.

-Dean W. R. Inge-

Every man's religion is good.

There is none of it bad.

We are all trying to arrive at the same place

according to our conscience and teachings.

It doesn't matter which road you take.

-Will Rogers-

Compassion is….

A spirituality and a way

of living and walking through life.

It is the way we treat all there is in life

ourselves, our bodies,

our imaginations and dreams,

our neighbours, our enemies….

Compassion is….

A spirituality as if creation mattered.

It is treating all creation as holy and as divine…..

which is what it is.

-Matthew Fox-

It is the heart who experiences God, and not the reasons.

This, then, is of faith : God felt by the heart, not by reasons.

-Blaise Pascal-

Grace is not something outside of you.

In fact, the very desire for grace

is due to grace that is already working in you…..

Grace is the self.

It is not something to be acquired.

All that is necessary is to know its existence.

-Ramana Maharshi-

If you do not pray,

everything can disappoint you by going wrong.

If you do pray,

everything can still go wrong,

but not in a way that will disappoint you.

-Hubert Van Zeller-

If the only prayer you say in your whole life is "thank you",

These would suffice.

-Meister Eckhart-

Prayer is not a stratagem for occasional use,

A refuge to resort for now and then.

It is rather like an established residence for the innermost self.

All things have a home: The bird has a nest,