Spiritual Maturity

• Feelings and experiences evaluated in the light of God's word as against experiences evaluated according to feelings.
• Confidence rather than fear.
• Active faith rather than apathy and doubt.
• Careful study and observation rather than opinions and halfhearted efforts.
• Desiring spiritual challenges than worldly entertainment.
• Self evaluation rather then self-criticism.
• Developing depth of understanding rather than struggling with basics.
• Begin to teach others rather than just being taught.

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Courtesy: Cecil Thomas

Busy as a Bee

Consider the bee. He has five eyes: three simple ones on top of his head, two compound ones with thousands of lenses. And he has 5,000 nostrils nose enough to smell an apple tree three kilometers away. He has two sets of wings, which can be hooked together in flight so they flap as one, 16,000 times a minute. And no matter how he zigzags his dizzy dances of the flowers he always beelines it back to his hive home and his job there.

He may be a street cleaner, a water carrier, a nurse, a sentry, a mason, an engineer, or an air conditioner. If he is the last he may fan 12 hours at a stretch in the hive, on top of 12 hours spent gathering nectar outside.

Busy as a bee is no overstatement; he literally works himself to death, all for a single teaspoon of honey spread on your breakfast toast, the entire quota of his few short weeks of life.

A half-kilo jar of honey on your table represents 80,000 kilometres as the bee flies, or a girdling of our globe twice around.

There are 100,000 species of plants which could never properly form seeds without the bee. Without him our bread would not be sweet; indeed there would be no bread or wine either.

Once upon a time candles used in churches were made from bee wax. Bread-making and wine-drinking are a way of paying tribute to a good and faithful servant, the bee.

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Courtesy: (Readers' Digest March 1976 p 54)

Always remember: God is at the window!!

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it.

He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said , "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's … he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you"

Thought for the day … and every day thereafter : Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done…and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, debt, fear, hatred, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.)… whatever it is…. You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing….. He has seen your whole life.

He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets…..It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved. Always remember: God is at the window!….

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Thanks to Baiju John.

Never Give Up !!!

One day I decided to quit…

I quit my work, my relationship, my spirituality… I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me…
"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?" "Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo."

He said, "In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit."

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant… But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle," he said to me.
"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?" I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others," he said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high." "How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return. "As high as it can?" I questioned.
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

I left the forest and bring back this story. I realized that God will never give up on you. He will never give up on you!!

Miraculous Medal

Miraculous Medal also known as Medal of the Immaculate Conception, is a unique medal worn by millions of Catholics and even non-Catholics today. It was created by Saint Catherine Laboure upon request from Blessed Virgin Mary.

St Catherine stated that on the night of July 19, 1830, the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, she woke up after hearing a voice of a child calling her to the chapel, where she heard the Virgin Mary say to her

"God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world."

On November 27, 1830, Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many rings of different colours, most of which shone rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns and Sacred Heart of Mary pierced with a sword underneath. Asked why some of her rings did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask."

Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions. "All who wear them will receive great graces."

Catherine did so, and after two years' worth of investigation and observation of Catherine's normal daily behavior, the priest took the information to his archbishop without revealing Catherine's identity. The request was approved and medallions began to be produced. The blessings began to shower down on those who wore the medal, and the medal was referred as the "Miraculous Medal." They proved to be exceedingly popular and the use of the Medal spread across the whole world.

Pope John Paul II used a slight variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, a plain cross with an M underneath the right-hand crossbar.