Memo from God

MEMO FROM GOD:

                                            Date: TODAY                      To: YOU                              

                                   Subject: YOURSELF                               Reference: LIFE

I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems.

Please remember that I do not need your help.

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (Something For God To Do) box. It will be addressed in My time, not yours. Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold on to it. I will take care of it.

Praying for a soccer team

Chapecoense soccer team

I dedicate my post today to the Chapecoense Brazilian soccer team, all of whom were killed yesterday in a plane crash in Columbia. This team is a true story of rags to riches as they got promoted from the 4th Division of the Brazilian League to the top Division, and were heading to play a cup final in Columbia. Two players survived with serious injuries, and Brazil proclaimed three days of mourning in memory of the victims. In May 1949, the entire Torino soccer team from Italy died in a plane crash in Superga, near Turin. Back in February 1958 the Manchester United soccer team was also involved in a plane crash in Munich, Germany, when half of the team perished. In 1993 the entire Zambia soccer team also died in a plane crash near Gabon. Let us pray today for the victims of the Chapecoense team and their families and many fans.

From the Crib to the Cross

One of the most meaningful photos I took was back in 1993, when I was stationed at St Anthony of Padua parish in Rocky Point, New York. I was preparing my Christmas cards for that year and thought of connecting the nativity with the crucifixion, the beginning and the end of Christ’s life. So I placed the figures of Mary and Joseph in the foreground with the crucifix out of focus in the middle, set at a distance. The result was very meaningful and I share this photo with you today as we meditate on the journey Jesus was prepared to take, from the crib in the stable at Bethlehem to the Cross on Calvary, 33 years later.

I remember so well.....

Kathleen in the part of the Blessed Mother

Priests have many memories they encounter in their lives as priests. Funny situations, anecdotes and stories I’d like to share with you today. These happened to me in my years in New York..........

I remember little Kathleen who was so proud when she was chosen to take part in the school Christmas play. When I asked her what part she received, she just couldn’t talk. She kept smiling and giggling and smiling more, almost turning red, until I forced it out of her . . “I have the part of Mary !”

I remember a Kindergarten child coming to me one day, telling me his mom was going to have a baby. Then three days later, he came back with a sad look on his face. “Father Julian, remember I told you my mom’s gonna have a baby – well forget it! She ate it!”

I remember visiting a family one day, and little Jonathan came to the door dressed in a suit and a tie. I felt embarrassed and thought that I had the wrong date, as I thought they were going out. “Oh no !” I was reassured  by his mother, “He wanted to dress up, because you were coming to visit us.”

I remember visiting a family on Christmas Day to have Dinner with them. I told them I’ll be there around 4 PM. When I arrived I was a little late, and as soon as I rang the door bell, little Matthew came to open the door and greeted with these famous words: “Happy Christmas Father Julian, but you’re 19 minutes late !”

Advent - a new beginning

The presence of the Advent Candles emphasizes the positive over the negative. St Paul in a reading we share during Mass today encourages us out-rightly to cast off deeds of darkness, and put on the armor of light. This light is accentuated by candles, which in our liturgy are very prominent. From the Paschal candle, to the candles on the altar, those carried by altar-servers, those votive ones lit by parishioners as a form of prayer, candles emphasize light over darkness. And remember that it’s better to lo light one candle than to curse the darkness. And also you don’t have to blow someone’s candle out to make yours look brighter.  

The custom of the Advent candles goes back to the Scandinavian countries that have very long winters, with very little sunshine. So farmers bring in their farm carts, and some of them started to decorate them with bows and greens, and eventually candles. The church took the idea and developed the Advent Wreath with 4 candles with a particular theme for each Sunday: Watch, Stay Awake, on the first Sunday, Prepare the way of the Lord next week, Rejoice on the third Sunday, using the rose-colored vestments, and Behold for the Sunday before Christmas. Some churches even add a white one for Christmas and the theme Celebrate.
This year, let’s make it a point to really try hard to MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS in our hearts. To make room for Him, we have to get rid of all the stuff that’s been taking his place. This requires a little bit of an inventory of our hearts and lives.
So may we look at enemies and see the possibility of friendship . . .
May we look at fevered buying and see hope for simple generosity . . . . .
May we look at family tensions and see opportunities for reconciliation . . . . .
May we look at pessimism towards the future and see positive optimism . . . .
May we look at stumbling blocks and see instead stepping stones . . . . .
May we look at alleys and valleys of darkness and see instead Highways and byways of bright possibilities ...
May we look at tragedy and misfortune and see the hope of change, growth and a new beginning . . ..
May we look at discouragement and see a determined and courageous approach to a hopeful future . .
Happy New Year!

Interesting facts - part 2

Four more interesting facts, and why we say the things we say.....

Q: Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs? A: Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called 'pygg'. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as 'pygg banks.' When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that resembled a pig. And it caught on.

Q: Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast? A: It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would only touch or clink the host's glass with his own.

Q: Why is someone who is feeling great 'on cloud nine'? A: Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest cloud. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares.

Q: In golf, where did the term 'Caddie' come from?  A. When Mary Queen of Scots went to France as a young girl, Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scots game 'golf.' He had the first course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when she returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice with her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced 'ca-day' and the Scots changed it into ‘caddie.’

Interesting facts - part 1

Q: Why are zero scores in tennis called 'love'? A: In France, where tennis became popular, the round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called 'l'oeuf,' which is French for 'the egg.' When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans (mis)pronounced it 'love.'

Q: Why do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes have buttons on the left? A: When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right! And that's where women's buttons have remained since.

Q: Why do ships and aircraft use 'mayday' as their call for help? A: This comes from the French word m'aidez -meaning 'help me' -- and is pronounced, approximately, 'mayday.'

Q. Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses? A: In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

Gratitude

"Praying Hands" by Albrecht Durer

Over the past 35 years, Thanksgiving had become my favorite holiday, which I considered it a holy day too. Since we do not celebrate it in Malta, or anywhere in Europe, it became more meaningful for me as the years went by to give tribute to God for all the blessings that I have received from family, friends, former parishioners and Americans in general. Thanksgiving is considered to be an art, the art of living thankfully and showing gratitude to God. So walk with me today through this list of things we so often take for granted:

- for Malta and the USA, the first one of the smallest picturesque  island-countries, and the second a big nation with many challenges, but plenty of opportunities.

- Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who gave us Microsoft and Apple respectively, as well as Windows, Ipods, Ipads, the copy and paste buttons, half a million apps and free e-mail, with no paper, no envelopes, no postage.

- digital cameras, and the possibility to take hundreds of photos without having to print any of them, but save the good ones and discard the blurry ones, then send them to friends within a few seconds.

- Freezers, so that you can freeze your favorite soup or meal, and enjoy it 3 months later.

- Do Re MI Fa So La Si - the 7 notes that can still give us millions of songs and pieces of music.

- For Automatic cars, so that you can drive without having to shift gears every 3 seconds, as we have to do in Malta.

- for movies on DVDs, for entire symphonies on CDs, and also for the nostalgia of vinyl records, cassettes, floppy discs and even beta tapes, which are now all Museum items.

- for flying across the Atlantic in 7 hours, instead of sailing the same distance in 27 days.

- for Webcams, that allow you to see what’s going on around the world.

- for microwave ovens, for dish-washers, washing-machines and dryers, and also for, remember them? - typewriters!

- for the blessing of water and rain, without which, nothing will survive, especially in dry countries.

- for the opportunity to share a blog around the world, and stay in touch with friends, as they get an inspirational thought each day.

- for courteous neighbors, for blood donors and organ donors, for patient check-out salesgirls, for concerned landlords and for priests and deacons who preach less than 10 minutes on Sundays.  There is so much more to be grateful for.

- And last but not least, for our parents who created us out of love, and for our children who look up to us, hopefully to receive always a good example.

Being Grateful

As Americans gather to celebrate Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, I look back at the 35 Thanksgivings I shared in, during my years in the USA, both in New York and Oregon. It is a day when families gather to join in a meal, as they bow their heads in prayer, being grateful for all the blessings they have received. If you ever want a taste of what Thanksgiving was like in the past, all you have to do is browse through some editions of the Saturday Evening Post magazine, with Norman Rockwell's famous posters, displayed as a front cover. I share with you one classic poster painted by this great American painter. I believe this painting best represents the spirit behind this celebration. It shows an old lady in a Restaurant, accompanied by her grandson as she bows her head in prayer before a simple meal. Two young men are intrigued by her simple, humble gesture, and the message is pretty straight forward. .....thank the Lord for any morsel of food, and count your blessings!

Saint Cecilia

In the city of Rome there was a virgin named Cecilia, who came from an extremely rich family and was given in marriage to a youth named Valerian. She wore sackcloth, fasted, and invoked the saints, angels, and virgins, beseeching them to guard her virginity. During her wedding ceremony she was said to have sung in her heart to God and before the consummation of her nuptials, she told her husband she had taken a vow of virginity and had an angel protecting her. Valerian asked to see the angel as proof, and Cecilia told him he would have eyes to see once he traveled to the third milestone on the Appian Way and was baptized by Pope Urbanus.

Following his baptism, Valerian returned to his wife and found an angel at her side. The angel then crowned Cecilia with a chaplet of rose and lily and when Valerian's brother, Tibertius, heard of the angel and his brother's baptism, he also was baptized and together the brothers dedicated their lives to burying the saints who were murdered. Both brothers were eventually arrested and brought before the prefect where they were executed after they refused to offer a sacrifice to the gods.

Cecilia was later arrested and condemned to be suffocated in the baths. She was shut in for one night and one day, as fires were heaped up and stoked to a terrifying heat - but Cecilia did not even sweat. When Almachius heard this, he sent an executioner to cut off her head in the baths. The executioner struck her three times but was unable to decapitate her so he left her bleeding and she lived for three days. Crowds came to her and collected her blood while she preached to them or prayed. On the third day she died and was buried by Pope Urban and his deacons.

Officials exhumed her body in 1599 and found her to be incorrupt, the first of all incorrupt saints. She was draped in a silk veil and wore a gold embroidered dress. Officials only looked through the veil in an act of holy reverence and made no further examinations. They also reported a "mysterious and delightful flower-like odor which proceeded from the coffin."

Cecilia was buried at the Catacombs of St. Callistus, and then transferred to the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. In 1599, her body was found still incorrupt, seeming to be asleep. The church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is reputedly built on the site of the house in which she lived. The original church was constructed in the fourth century; during the ninth century, Pope Paschal I had remains which were supposedly hers buried there.

St. Cecilia is regarded as the patroness of music, because she heard heavenly music in her heart when she was married, and is represented in art with an organ or organ-pipes in her hand. The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world. It was founded by the papal bull, Ratione congruit, issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prominent in Western musical history: Gregory the Great, for whom the Gregorian chant is named, and Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music.

Her feast day became an occasion for musical concerts and festivals when famous music dedicated to her was performed. Among these are Henry Purcell’ Ode to St. Cecilia; several oratorios by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, In honorem Caeciliae, Valeriani et Tiburti canticum; George Frederic Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia's Day;  Charles Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass; as well as Benjamin Britten, who was born on her feast day Hymn to St Cecilia.

6 new Beatitudes

During his recent visit to Sweden, Pope Francis spoke about the Beatitudes during a homily on All Saints Day, and he mentioned 6 new Beatitudes that I share with you today:

Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils inflicted on them by others, and forgive them from their heart.

Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized, and show them their closeness.

Blessed are those who see God in every person, and strive to make others also discover Him.

Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home.

Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others.

Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians.

Christ the King

Christ the King arrangement at Lapsi church, St Julian's

The Solemnity of Christ the King is celebrated on the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year. It’s a day to honor our Savior as King, who leads us with love, kindness and compassion, unlike many other ruthless Kings and Emperors who lead with tyranny, oppression and cruelty, many of whom were deposed by their own people. The image of Christ the King has always been presented to us as if sitting on a glittering throne, with a sceptre in hand and golden crown on his head. In actual fact, his throne was the cross on which he was crucified, the sceptre were the nails driven through his hands and feet, and the spear that pierced his side by Longinus, and the crown was made of sharp thorns that were pushed on his head. The feast of Christ the King as we know it now was introduced in 1925, to counteract the start of Communism in the world. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 had taken the presence of Christ from the hearts of people, and the Church wanted to bring Him back into the center of their lives. 

The feast was celebrated on the last Sunday in October until 1969, when Pope Paul VI shifted this feast to the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, usually towards the end of November. This weekend also ends the Year of Mercy, proclaimed by Pope Francis a year ago. Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat (Christ will win, Christ will reign, Christ will rule)

Maltese chapels

Besides the many huge Baroque, Romanesque and Gothic churches scattered all around the Maltese islands, there are also a large number of smaller chapels, most of which are active, yet others are closed, although they are opened on special occasions. Some of these chapels are 600 to 500 years old, but they are well preserved and in very good condition. Some have frescoes and other precious paintings, and they add a touch of the sacred in our countryside, because before the bigger churches were built, the much smaller Maltese population used to frequent these chapels. The chapel I am featuring today is known as San Pawl tat-Targa (lit. St Paul of the step.) A statue of St Paul is situated in front of the chapel, overlooking the St. Paul’s Islands, where St Paul was shipwrecked in 60 AD. The soft early morning light added a serene and peaceful touch to these photos.

Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul

Barely a week ago, we commemorated the dedication of the Mother Church of the Catholic Church, St John Lateran. Today we commemorate the dedication of two other major basilicas combined together, St Paul outside the walls and St Peter’s basilica, known as the Vatican. These dedications are important because they symbolize in a way the birth and baptism of each edifice. When the early persecutions ended in 313 AD by King Constantine, he later built a basilica over the tomb where St Peter was buried. It lasted almost a thousand years, and the reconstruction of the original building started in the 14th century. The present Basilica, an ingenious structure built with the collaboration of Michelangelo, Bramante, Carlo Moderno, Giovanni Pannini and Bernini was officially consecrated on November 18 1626 by Pope Urban VIII. It is by far the most imposing and impressive church in all of Christendom, where major celebrations, elections of Popes, funerals, Canonizations etc, are held.

The Basilica of St Paul was started by Valentinian II on the Via Ostiense in 386, on the place where St Paul was buried. It was subsequently modified by Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century. It has a graceful cloister that was built in the 13th century. Of all the churches of Rome, it had preserved its primitive character for 1435 years. However a negligent fire destroyed it in 1823 and the new and present Basilica was built in the 19th century and consecrated on December 10, 1854 by Pope Pius IX. The whole world contributed to its reconstruction. The Viceroy of Egypt sent pillars of alabaster, the Emperor of Russia the precious malachite and lapis lazuli of the tabernacle. The work on the principal facade, looking toward the Tiber, was completed by the Italian Government, which declared the church a national monument. Pope Pius IX ruled that both Basilicas will have their dedication celebration together, on November 18. Both churches are majestic in appearance, but also very imposing in their stature as two of the 4 major basilicas in Rome.

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

St Elizabeth of Hungary by Esteban Murillo

St. Elizabeth was born in Bratislava, a Kingdom of Hungary in 1207, the daughter of Alexander II, King of Hungary. At the age of four she was sent for education to the court of the Landgrave of Thuringia, and within a few years she was betrothed to his son, Ludwig. As she grew in age, her piety also increased by leaps and bounds. In 1221, aged 14, she married Ludwig of Thuringia, the same year that he was crowned Ludwig IV, and the marriage appears to have been happy. In 1223, Franciscan monks arrived, and the teenage Elizabeth not only learned about the ideals of Francis of Assisi, but started to live these ideals. Ludwig was not upset by his wife's charitable efforts, believing that the distribution of his wealth to the poor would bring eternal reward; he is venerated in Thuringia as a saint, though not canonized by the church as his wife is. In spite of Elizabeth’s position at court she began to lead an austerely simple life, practiced penance, and devoted herself to works of charity. 

Her husband was himself much inclined to religion and highly esteemed her virtue, encouraging her in her exemplary life. They had three children, Hermann, Sophia and Gertrude. Then tragedy struck - Ludwig was killed while fighting with the Crusaders. After his death, Elizabeth left the court, made arrangements for the care of her children, and in 1228, renounced the world, becoming a tertiary of St. Francis. Her family wanted her to re-marry, but she made a vow of celibacy and never married. She built the Franciscan hospital at Marburg, Germany and devoted herself to the care of the sick until her death at the young age of 24 in 1231. St. Elizabeth is frequently pictured distributing bread to the needy in her community, and thus is the patron saint of bakers, countesses, the homeless, nursing services, widows, and young brides. She was canonized in 1235, just 4 years after her death.

Best of Murphy's Law - part 3

Here is the last part of Murphy's Law, axioms, laws, rules, observations and quotes that have come down to us through history.

Courtois’ Rule: If people listened to themselves more often, they would talk less.

Gourd’s Axiom: A meeting is an event in which the minutes are kept and the hours are lost.

Boren’s Laws: When in doubt, mumble. When in trouble, delegate. When in charge, ponder.

Evan’s Law: If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, then you just don’t understand the problem.

The Rule of Law: If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the facts and the law are against you, yell like hell.

Finnigan’s Law: The farther away the future is, the better it looks.

Lowe’s Law: Success always occurs in private, and failure in full public view.

Horowitz’s Rule: Wisdom consists in when to avoid perfection.

Emerson’s Observation: In every work of genius, we recognize our rejected thoughts.

Malek’s Law: Any simple idea will be worded in the most complicated way.

Best of Murphy's Law - part 2

More of Murphy's Law

Meskimen’s Law: There’s never time to do it right, but there’s always time to do it over.

Allen’s Law: Almost anything is easier to get into than to get out of.

The Rockefeller Principle: Never do anything you wouldn’t be caught dead doing.

Jenning’s Corollary: The chance of the bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.

Biondi’s Law: If your project doesn’t work, look for the part you didn’t think was important.

Van Gogh’s Law: Whatever plan one makes, there is a hidden difficulty somewhere.

The Roman Rule: The one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it.

Aigner’s Axiom: No matter how well you perform your job, a superior will seek to modify the  results.

Putts’s Law: Technology is dominated by two types of people - those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.

Best of Murphy's Laws - part 1

Here’s a collection of favorite laws, rules, axioms and one-liners which will bring a smile, a smirk or simply will make you think before doing something.....

Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will.

Chisholm’s First Law: When things are going well, something will go wrong.

Simon’s Law: Everything put together falls apart sooner or later.

Ehrman’s Commentary: Things will get worse before they get better.

Pudder’s Law: Anything that begins well, ends badly. Anything that begins bad, ends worse.

The Unspeakable Law: As soon as you mention something: if it’s good it goes away. If it’s bad, it happens.

Pattison’s Law of Electronics: If wires can be connected in two different ways, the first way blows the fuse.

Farrell’s Law of Newfangled Gadgetry: The most expensive component is the one that breaks.

O’Brien’s Observation: The quickest way to find something is to start looking for something else.

Gillette’s Law of Telephone Dynamics: The phone call you’ve been waiting for comes the minute you’re out of the door.

Frank’s Phone Phenomena: If you have a pen, there’s no paper. If you have paper, there’s no  pen. If you have both, there’s no message.

Lynch’s Law: When the going gets tough, everyone leaves.

Flugg’s Law: When you need to knock on wood, everything around you is made of aluminum and vinyl.

Higdon’s Law: Good judgement comes from bad experience. Experience comes from bad  judgement.

Sunrise in Malta

For the first time, I am driving in Malta. Traffic is quite chaotic here, but I try to drive when there is the least traffic on the roads, like early this morning. I was up and early to drive towards a shoreline to take a few picture of a beautiful sunrise. A fisherman and a faraway tower helped me in composing this photo. A little later, the rays come from behind the clouds in a different place to give me another beautiful photograph.

Colin Powell's Rules of Life

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell used to say he always tries to keep in mind a number of rules or thoughts to live by, which he has come upon over the years. Here are some of them:

1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.

2. Get mad, then get over it.

3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position, that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.

4. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.

5. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of good decision.

6. Check small things.

7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.

8. Remain calm. Be kind.

9. Have a vision. Be demanding. Share credit.

10. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.

11. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

12. It can be done !

Saint Martin

St Martin helping a beggar, in a play by Maltese children

Born in 316 AD in Pannonia , a region that belonged to Hungary, Martin wanted to live as a monk, but was made a Bishop. He was born just after the persecutions had ended in 313 AD, and so did not see much torture. However it was not easy to live as a Christian. All we know about St Martin came to us through Sulpicius Severus, who once knocked on Martin’s door as a beggar. Martin welcomed him, washed his hands and his feet and treated him with kindness. Sulpicius became Martin's disciple, as well as his biographer. Martin lived as a monk in Poitiers at first but then was made a Bishop of Tours in France. He was kind to everyone and the famous story about him helping a another beggar by giving him half of his cape is well documented. This scene was recently acted by a group of children in Malta in one of the local parishes.

Hope

Hope is reaching out for God, and knowing He is there;

Hope is searching for release, and finding it through prayer.

Hope is happiness and joy, and rainbows in the sky;

Hope is feeling God is near, when you begin to cry.

Hope is looking for a dream, that someday will come true;

Hope is waiting for the Lord when all around you is sad and blue.

Maybe......

Maybe God wanted us to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

Maybe when the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

Maybe the best kind of friend is the kind you can relax with, take your shoes off, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

Maybe it is true that we don't know what we have got until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives. 

US Election Day - Prayer

People voting, and a future voter peeping behind a curtain

This Prayer for the Nation and its Government was written and first delivered in August 1791 by Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore: adviser to Washington, cousin of the Declaration's lone Catholic signer, the first shepherd of this church in these States. I adapted it slightly for the present day:
    We pray, Thee O Almighty and Eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ has revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name. 
    We pray Thee, who alone are good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, Pope Francis, the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise amongst us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation. 
    We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty. 
    We pray for all governors, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability. 
    We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. 
    Finally, we pray to Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy servants departed who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives, and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. 
    To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior.

Psalm 23

Undoubtedly, the famous Psalm 23 is one of the most quoted, most-loved, most consoling of all Psalms. It’s one of the passages I personally use when someone asks for prayers. As you can see from this analysis, it covers all the basis and aspects of our lives. May we always see the Lord as our guide, our model, our shepherd.....

The Lord is my Shepherd.......                                                                               THAT'S RELATIONSHIP!

I shall not want........................                                                                             THAT'S SUPPLY!

He makes me to lie down in green pastures........                                          THAT'S REST!

He leads me beside still waters......                                                                     THAT'S REFRESHMENT!

He restores my soul.........                                                                                       THAT'S HEALING!

He leads me in the paths of righteousness........                                            THAT'S GUIDANCE!

For His name sake........                                                                                           THAT'S PURPOSE!

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...            THAT'S CHALLENGE!

I will fear no evil........                                                                                                THAT'S ASSURANCE!

For you are with me.......                                                                                          THAT'S FAITHFULNESS!

Your rod and your staff they comfort me.........                                             THAT'S SHELTER!

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies...           THAT'S HOPE!

You anoint my head with oil.......                                                                          THAT'S CONSECRATION!

My cup runs over.......                                                                                                THAT'S ABUNDANCE!

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life..     THAT'S BLESSING!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord.......                                                 THAT'S SECURITY!

Forever........                                                                                                                  THAT'S ETERNITY!