Faith-ful Words:

"Love is an endless act of forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit."
Peter Ustinov

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Today is the Feast Day of St. Andrew the Apostle


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Faith-ful Words:

"The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny."
James Allan

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Faith-ful Words:

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The Divine Spirit does not reside in any except the joyful heart."

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Faith and Humility

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It was only yesterday that the Church began using the new translations for the prayers at Mass. Today’s Gospel features the Roman centurion’s prayer we say before Communion and now it’s closer to what Matthew records:“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

Such faith. This soldier, whose people didn’t follow Jesus, believed so deeply that he didn’t feel worthy for Jesus to enter his house, whispering in his humility that Jesus need only to “say the word.” I am not worthy. And what a difference Jesus can make when He “says the word” for me!

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Happy Advent:

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Faith-ful Words:

"They who sow courtesy reap friendship, and they who plant kindness gather love."
St. Basil the Great

'Meow'outrage at the Algonquin

The Hotel where I stayed in NYC this past summer:

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The city Department of Health & Mental Hygiene has sunk its claws into another beloved New York institution — The Algonquin hotel’s lobby cat.
Matilda III — the latest in an illustrious line of free-roaming Algonquin felines — has been banished from the lobby lounge, leaving guests fruitlessly searching for her under chairs and sofas.
Prodded by Nanny Bloomberg, the DOH has been socking restaurants with steep fines for minor violations — and slapping dreaded “C” ratings on places where no one was known to get sick.
Some places are taking no chances, eliminating popular features before the DOH can strike them down. The party-pooping agency recently nudged Sardi’s to eliminate cheese snacks at its bar.


Now, thanks to a DOH “reminder,” poor Matilda is on a leash behind The Algonquin’s check-in desk, or out of sight on a higher floor.
The city’s favorite feline, a blue-eyed ragdoll, took up residence last winter. She’s the 10th Algonquin cat since Rusty, a k a Hamlet I, moved into the hotel, legendary home of the “Round Table” literary salon, in 1932.
The pampered pussies are as much a part of The Algonquin’s cozy confines as the oak paneling and upholstered chairs and sofas. Hotel staff have delighted in pointing out Matilda’s hiding places to guests.
Like her predecessors, she had the run of the house, but the lobby, home to the Round Table restaurant and lounge, was called her “natural habitat.”
Hotel staff tried blaming Matilda’s going missing on guests who were abusing her — a claim that gave paws, since it was not a problem for 80 years.
Algonquin General Manager Gary Budge first said the lockup was for Matilda’s own good.
“People seem more aggressive toward her, and she’s responding in a way that’s not helpful,” he claimed. But then he acknowledged, “The [Health] department in the past months suggested to us that pets in food-service facilities are no longer commingled.
“The lobby is an area where we serve food and beverage. We always want to be respectful of the Department of Health.”

A DOH spokeswoman said, “According to the New York City Health Code, live animals are not allowed in food-service establishments unless a patron needs a service dog.”
She said Algonquin managers told an inspector they had an “electronic fence to contain the cat,” and the inspector “reminded them that the cat is not allowed in food-service or preparation areas.”




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Faith-ful Words:

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement."
Helen Keller

Flash Back: Thanksgiving Day at St. Joseph's

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A "Special Thank" you to everyone who helped us in any and every way. God bless you.


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Let us Shop!

Advent doesn’t start until Sunday but for consumers today is the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season. Stores — both brick-and-mortar and on-line — are ready for an onslaught. Hoping for one. And, in some cases, praying for one. This is the day, this is the weekend, that makes a huge difference in retailers’ bottom lines.

It’s easy to grumble about the commercialization of Christmas (or “the holiday season”) but there’s still something wonderful about considering what to get a loved one and then finding it in stock. On sale. (The best things in life are free; second best are those with a hefty discount.) Shopping for a loved one, or with a loved one, can be a wonderful part of preparing for Christmas, even when that shopping begins at . . . yawn! . . . five a.m.!


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Faith-ful Words:

"Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest."
Ashleigh Brilliant

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Happy Thanksgiving

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Lord, we thank You
for the goodness of our people
and for the spirit of justice
that fills this nation.
We thank You for the beauty and fullness of the
land and the challenge of the cities.
We thank You for our work and our rest,
for one another, and for our homes.
We thank You, Lord:
accept our thanksgiving on this day.

We pray and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.


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Faith-ful Words:

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
Desmond Tutu

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Faith-ful Words:

If I survive, I will spend my whole life at the oven door seeing that no one is denied bread and, so as to give a lesson of charity, especially those who did not bring flour."
Jose Marti

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Wednesday, November 23 ...The Cold, Blunt Truth

Few thoughts on topday's Scripture:
Today’s Gospel offers further proof that Jesus never tried to trick anyone into following Him. Never sugar-coated His message. Never did some fast talking so the poor listener wouldn’t notice the contract’s fine print. “They will seize you and persecute you, they will hand you over to synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors in my name.” This is what can happen if you follow. This is what does happen, to one degree or another, if you follow.

“You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends.” In our own time, that part may strike a little closer to home. You’re not going to be “handed over” when the extended family gathers tomorrow for Thanksgiving but you may have to take some heat because of your beliefs.

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Faith-ful words:

"A painter paints pictures on a canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."
Leopold Stokowski

Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple

I am always free to choose:

One of Our Lord’s greatest gifts to us is free will. Rather than make us puppets, He chose to give us freedom to make our own decisions. Everyone — even the destitute, the sick and the imprisoned — have choices they make daily.

In today’s first reading, Daniel and three friends were offered food and wine from King Nebuchadnezzar’s royal table. After 10 days, they and others were to be tested. Daniel, however, chose to refuse the royal food, asking instead that he and his friends be fed a vegetarian diet. When they were tested 10 days later, they were superior both physically and mentally to those who had dined royally. If I make choices like Daniel, if I do God’s will for me, my life will better glorify Him. What peace and joy would follow!


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Crowd awaits Pope Benedict's arrival in Benin, Africa

Crowd, holding their oil lamps, waitng outside of Notre Dame Cathedral:




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Here he comes!

Occupy Pensacola taking a break?

This morning, my Occuy Pensacola neighbors have moved elsewhere. Only four people on site.




Their message to our Mayor:



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Visiting New York City

This week my niece, Casey Stout, is visitng New York City. She lived there a few years ago and has returned to visit a friend. Casey now lives in Jackson Hole, WY

St. Patrick's Cathedral:



Casey waiting for Jimmy Fallon?


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Even the (Pensacola) sea creatures give God glory!

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May the seas and all that is in them, praise the Lord!

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What could this be ?

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Actually, it's the "sign" that was at our property exit (onto Spring Street). However somone decided to destroy it.
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The sign used to read: Have a Blessed Day - - -



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Somone needs our prayers.

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November 18: Feast day of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne

A Life Serving God


Today’s saint, the founding nun of the Society of the Sacred Heart and an American missionary, proves middle age is no excuse. Born in France in 1769, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne lived through the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution and, even when all convents were closed, quietly served God by serving others. She saved the lives of priests by hiding them, cared for the sick, and ran a school for poor and orphaned children. At age 49, with only her faith and four sisters, she sailed to America to begin missionary work there.

She’d longed to serve the Native Americans, so finally at age 71, she fulfilled that wish by working with tribes in the Midwest and Rocky Mountains. There she was known as “Woman-Who-Prays-Always.” She died in 1852.

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Today is the Feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Brief and Eternal Radiance

Elizabeth of Hungary, who walked this earth for only 24 years, devoted her brief life to acts of charity, which flowed from her fierce love of God. A princess, she was sent from home in 1211 at the age of four to live with her future husband. When she was six her mother was murdered. Three years later, her intended husband died. At 14, she was married to his brother and by the age of 20 she was a mother of three and a widow.

Through all of the tumult and loss, Elizabeth maintained piety and purpose. She felt called to serve the poor and sick, often tending to their needs. In 1226 she built a hospital and regularly visited the patients. Elizabeth's short life radiated love.
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Today's Saint: St. Albert the Great

It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for "God is Charity."
– St. Albert the Great

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St. Albert the Great (1206-1280)
Albert was a Dominican philosopher, theologian, and scientist. He taught at Cologne and Paris, where he had Thomas Aquinas among his pupils, and compiled an encyclopedia of the learning of his day. His study of the natural sciences was far ahead of his time.


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The Feast of All Saints

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I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
“Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.
After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb.”
All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:
“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
“Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”
I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.”
He said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

the Book of Revelation
Chapter 7
verses 2-4 and 9-14


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