NICE QUOTES ON PRAYER

"I see him in the corridor of desperation..." … a dozen quotes on prayer…. And God… Quotes from a saint, a sage, a statesman, a philosopher, a poet, an author, a physician-novelist ... (01) “Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” - Mahatma Gandhi (02) “I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time.” - Friedrich Nietzsche (03) “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.” - Søren Kierkegaard (04) “I talk to God but the sky is empty.” - Sylvia Plath (05) “Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near. He is real. He is not only aware of us but cares for us. He is our Father. He is accessible to all who will seek Him.” - Gordon B. Hinckley (06) “Forgive me my nonsense as I also forgive the nonsense of those who think they talk sense.” - Robert Frost (07) “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one” - Bruce Lee (08) “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” - St. Francis of Assisi (09) “Every night I pray - I whisper into a megaphone, not only so God is sure to hear, but also my neighbors, because I pray to God that He’ll deliver pestilence and plague to the residents next door. I even tell God the exact address, as if He can’t read my heart. But it’s not for His benefit, it’s for my neighbors’.” - Jarod Kintz (10) “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me insufficient for that day.” - Abraham Lincoln (11) “...there is a God, there always has been. I see Him here, in the eyes of the people in this [hospital] corridor of desperation. This is the real house of God, this is where those who have lost God will find Him... there is a God, there has to be, and now I will pray, I will pray that He will forgive that I have neglected Him all of these years, forgive that I have betrayed, lied, and sinned with impunity only to turn to Him now in my hour of need. I pray that He is as merciful, benevolent, and gracious as His book says He is.” - Khaled Hosseini. (12) “Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”

WE ARE MADE FOR HAPPINESS

We are made for happiness. Happiness is possible only in relationship, friendship and in connectedness. We make friendships, we belong to groups and we marry—because we are looking for joy and happiness and want to make meaning of our life. True happiness dispels all hatred, fear, enmity, suspicion and all that divides us. The creation story teaches us that God who created a lone human being found the person incomplete and lonely and so he made a companion. He blessed this companionship and made it to last forever. He wanted them to be united and in union they might find in each other what they lacked in themselves. He wanted them to find complete joy in sharing and in complementing each other. So we are made for each other—made for sharing. We are for giving and in giving we become worthy of receiving. This is the meaning of companionship; it is all about giving and receiving—which is sharing. What do we share? We share one another, we share all that we are blessed with. We have beautiful gifts and talents, we have abundance of goodness and of course we also have limitations and weaknesses. That makes us human. It is our limitedness and incompleteness makes us to share and invite us to be complementary. In sharing our weaknesses and limitations we stand in need of care and support from our spouse. This makes the famous saying “my better half” makes sense. We are invited to give and find happiness in giving. We ought to give whatever we have and give it generously. When I hope the giver also hopes to receive in return. This “Give and Take Union”, this complementary union is blessed by God and it should help to overcome all the obstacles to happiness. When we refuse to give and when we count the cost of giving we become an obstacle to our spouse’s happiness. We begin to compromise our relationship and make our spouse to look for happiness elsewhere—outside the circle of love. Giving within marriage is a careful act, a pain-taking act and it is cultivated in selfless friendship. It is in this we find the pure joy. We are invited to use all the means—money, fame, comfort, reputation and all that we have made along the way as a means to our happiness and the things to share. They are not end in themselves but only small means to achieve greater joy.

Good liturgical site 4 various liturgies

http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/LiturgyArchive.htm

“The glory of God is man fully alive!” St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Hey everyone! So here's yet another testimony concerning the religious life for you all. This is a bit of advice for anyone who is discerning their vocation, whether that be to religious life or marriage..., and it is all based off of his own experience as a young man discerning religious life as a Salesian. "I like making lists. On my closet door is a list of things I am thankful for and I try to add at least 10 more each night. Then inside a box on my bookshelf sits the list of people I pray for each night. Also I tried to write a book and every chapter had a checklist for the reader to look over. What is my point? I am about to give you the list I compiled in my six years of discernment. In that time I looked at Diocesan, Benedictine, and Salesian Life. As my discernment continued with the Salesians I had to discover whether I would be a Salesian priest or brother. I am happy to tell you in August of this year, God willing, I will profess as a Salesian of Don Bosco to become a brother. Ok, onto the main list. 1) Do not make the journey alone! This means we need to be open to God, duh. We cannot discern His will without his help, but we also need to let others (Jesus with skin on) join us for the journey. Friends definitely play a part in this, along with a spiritual director. If you do not have a spiritual director, I would without a doubt encourage you to find one. The spiritual director, friends, and others are huge in bouncing ideas off of, especially when you think you are about to go crazy. They are the ones that remind you that you were crazy to begin with. You cannot go where you already are. So again, do not go it alone! 2-4) My first week living in a Salesian house I overheard this advice about discerning which has helped me through some difficult moments in the past four years. 2) “Do not make a decision on the spur of the moment.” Gaining perspective on a situation takes time. 3) “Do not make a decision on emotions.” Emotions come and go. 4) “Do not make a decision because of one person.” People change. 5) Be Honest. Be honest is the simplest guideline, but also the hardest to keep sometimes. The question that comes with this guideline is, “Be honest with whom?” Everyone! Be honest with yourself, God, spiritual director, family, friends, strangers, and those you are serving. (That means admitting you do not know all the answers.) Like the old phrase goes, “Honest is the best policy.” 6) Be Yourself. If you are still discovering who you are, that is perfect! Discernment means finding ourselves and the Child of God we are called to be. So if you are still discovering then you are on target! May God bless your discernment that you may live life to the fullest, whether that means as a mom, dad, single, priest, brother, sister, nun, monk, vegetarian, social worker, soccer player, or ventriloquist. “The glory of God is man fully alive!” St. Irenaeus of Lyons Have a good morning, day, afternoon, evening, night, week, month, year, decade, century, and life!"

FAITH GROWS EVERYDAY: REFLECTION

Faith and Salesian consecrated apostolic life

Korean mediation 2012 (written after annual retreat preached to the Salesian confreres during the New year break 2011-2012 at Naeri, South Korea)

One of the last sharing during a lifetime of late Fr. Marc Cuvelier with the Salesian Family members before he passed away was about his favorite prayer. He was enthusiastic to share his preference for the Apostolic creed. When asked some years ago about the major challenges or problems in Salesian life and mission, his cute answer or better his life diagnosis was simple: the worst are faithless religious.

Follow up:

Yes - Pray with the whole heart the profession of faith, when you are on the wheelchair approaching the death moment, it’s a sign of deep relation to God.

Yes - What helps the seventy young Vietnamese missionaries spread in five continents to keep up with the huge challenges of languages, cultural shock, inculturation or other difficulties in their first years of not easy missionary life – is their close relationship with Jesus, in the Eucharist and Confession, in the Rosary or in the meditation.

Yes - There are many temptations and challenges in the present religious life: slowly giving up prayer life, meditation (with excuse or apostolic work) leading towards a slow path of secularization in different ways, letting the (Confucian) culture take over the Salesian Charism (seniority over obedience to the Spirit or Constitutions, similar age relations over the provincial community fidelity) and so on. The common point is Jesus Christ relationship.

Yes - There are different worries about life witness, lack of credibility in different ways (minimalistic approach in prayer or religious life, drinking, dinner outings from the community, accommodation to easy life, too close relationship with the benefactors – golf, home visit), but these are according my humble opinion only secondary elements.

What are the roots? How long is the path from a zealous young Salesian religious ending in these and similar life style and situations? What can we trace as prevention or way out?

Maybe lack of fraternal correction, being not humble enough to listen the voice of younger confreres or superiors indications, mechanic prayer life (not even lips are moving, singing jus the first stance of the hymn, praying only 2nd Eucharistic prayer daily). We can sum up. Life called ‘consecrated’ , but lived without a spirit of awakening, without ongoing formation without a daily new answer to the call of God, is a contradiction...
Faith is a living relationship with Jesus, if not nurtured every day, dries up and dies.
Faith is a living relationship with others, if not shared every day, withers and weakens.

Salesian consecration is starting from loving initiative of God, his Holy Spirit in our lives.
Salesian vocation is an ongoing personal answer to God’s call, as we can trace out in the Memoirs of the Oratory, a personal faith – confession of Don Bosco.
Salesian mission is about a deep faith awareness being sent by God, through the Salesian Congregation in the Salesian community of brothers chosen by God and sent for the youth.

What does happen if one confrere does not care about this vital connection and gets mislead to the professional, apparently highly visible and socially rewarding work (usually connected with the public funding) and not looking first on the evangelical significance of the work (would be not the first priority ‘ad gentes mission’ in some nearby Asian country or poor youth or migrant workers related humble and patient work?

Faith factor means deeper meaning factor,
Faith means also listening and replying culture,
Faith means missionary culture…

Contemplating the picture of a Kenyan youngster gazing at the casket of Don Bosco.
Don Bosco before his departure for paradise did regret his 'little faith'.

My good Lord, strenghten my little faith!

Saint John Bosco, pray for us!

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." (Elizabeth Kubler Ross)

“Faith makes all things possible.... love makes all things easy.”

"unload all your burden on to him, since he is concerned about you" (1Peter 5:6)