May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.

This blog is basically based on my thoughts as I wake up each morning and reflect on life in general.  I try to tie in the days scripture readings to show that the word of God is living and effective even to this day.  Today won’t be my thoughts, but the thoughts of those who God chose to write to us and inspire us in the Holy Bible.  I found them rather profound this morning.  I am attaching various quotes from both Today’s Readings and the alternate readings for St. Agnes.

“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to our call.

“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.
Not many of you were wise by human standards,
not many were powerful,
not many were of noble birth.
Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,
and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,
and God chose the lowly and despised of the world,
those who count for nothing,
to reduce to nothing those who are something,
so that no human being might boast before God.
It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God,
as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
so that, as it is written,
Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.

Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.

Remain in my love, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

If you read my post yesterday, you see that I know many people who are battling cancer.  I know many of you know many more people who are fighting this battle for life too.  If you know someone or you are the person who is in this fight, I’m going to post a site here that you can hyperlink to if you so desire.  The site is called Cancer Companions.  This site was started by Karen Tripp.  It just so happens that the name Tripp is my daughter’s married name.  Coincidence? Nope, because the site was founded by my daughter’s mother in law.  They have an annual event coming up called 30 Days of Cancer Prayer that will start on January 26th.  For those of you who are battling this illness and for those of you who are supporting a loved one in the battle, you may find some comfort and help with these 30 days of prayer.  Don’t miss the live webcast on January 26th.

Do something great for our Lord today – find His words to be living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.

God’s will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid; just have faith.

Jesus, I trust in You.

He must increase; I must decrease.

Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.

But you man of God chose righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness.  Compete well for the faith.