Jesus tells his followers that being his disciple will not always be easy and pleasurable. He warns them that they will suffer ridicule, hatred, persecution, betrayal, imprisonment and even death—“all because of my name.” His words remind us that the great symbol of Christianity is not a comfortable recliner; it is the Cross. And the central action of our Christian faith is not preserving ourselves at all costs; it is giving ourselves away in sacrificial love—as Jesus did.
And what can sacrificial love look like? It is driving our kids to practice, encouraging someone who’s down, cooking supper again and again, doing the honest and right thing, reaching out to someone in need, being patient with another’s foibles, showing kindness to a stranger, writing to an elected official, playing with a child, being gracious when inconvenienced, donating to a good cause and praying every single day.
- Sr. Melannie Svoboda, S.N.D.

God bless us all the time in our daily lives. Sunday blessings, as some of us have gone to church, mass or maybe are going later on today. I have felt the worship service is a time to get myself prepared to do and be renewed in Christ’s service. I just came back from hearing a sermon of ridiculous blessings. Ridiculous blessings when you are struggling, going through challenges, getting interrupted, and everything Sister Melanie shared in the devotion. I will share with this community what I learned years ago, “You come into worship and go out in service” sharing...
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Amen. :)

Amen Amen Amen God bless you all thank you Lord for all you do for me and my family I love you Lord.

Thanks for the reading today. Amen!

I was somewhat surprised when I read through the list of what were ways that we could practice sacrificial love, the one that spoke to me was “to be gracious when inconvenienced “. And it mainly brought to mind the times that my plans for the day/evening were very much focused on something in service to the Lord and then something interfered with those plans - my husband being late in coming home from work and dinner being delayed, or one of my children vying for my attention in order to tell me about something that had upset them at...
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*** Is there a reason for the persecution because of the Name of Jesus? In Luke 21:12, “But before all this, people will arrest you and treat you badly. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison. You will be brought to kings and governors. All this will happen to you because of My Name!” *** Yes, to give us the opportunity to tell others the Good News of Jesus Christ in Luke 21:13, “And so you will be witnesses about Me!” *** What are “all this” in Luke 21:12? Luke 21:10-11, “Then Jesus said to...
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Amen
Living Faith provides brief daily Catholic devotions based on one of the Mass readings of the day. Published new each quarter, these reflections are written by women and men from a variety of backgrounds - lay people as well as clergy and religious. Learn more.
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Hi there, Just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Sunday. I pray for all of you everyday. May God bless you.