Come, Lord Jesus

Come Lord Jesus, bring peace to our homes, to our hearts, to our parish and to our souls, and make Your presence be felt always.

Come Lord Jesus, change the sorrow in our lives into joy, turn the frustrations in our lives into peaceful calmness, and fill the darkness in our lives with Your bright Light of the Christmas season.

Come Lord Jesus, and remind us to be patient with each other, especially in this busy time of the year, and help us to be tolerant, appreciative and compassionate towards those who are hurting and feel abandoned.

Come Lord Jesus, and along with the hundreds of Christmas cards we exchange, remind us to exchange also a timely smile to the sad, the lonely and the discouraged, and a handshake or a hug with those yearning for love and companionship.

Come Lord Jesus, and create a sense of harmony in our lives, and may we recognize you in the simple things of life, in soft falling rain or snow, in the cooing of a baby, in sunrises and sunsets, in quiet winter evenings sitting by the fireplace, in walking barefoot on the sand or on the grass, in driving along with no traffic around you.

Come Lord Jesus, and improve our disposition to help others more willingly, to pray more fervently and to love others unconditionally.

Come Lord Jesus, encourage us to get to know You more clearly, to love You more dearly, to follow You more nearly.

Come Lord Jesus, and while we Await for Your Coming, Prepare for Your Approaching, Rejoice at Your Arrival, and Behold Your Presence, make us realize that You are always with us in all the people we encounter daily.

Come Lord Jesus, and may we protect You like the Blessed Mother, feel proud of You like St Joseph, announce Your arrival joyously like the Angels, adore you humbly like the shepherds, and reverence You like the Three Kings.

Come Lord Jesus, and as we decorate our homes for this season, may we also remember to wear a Faith-filled countenance and have a love-oriented approach to everyday life.

Come Lord Jesus, and bring Peace to our World, Love to our Hearts, Faith to our Families, and Hope to our unknown Future.

Recent watercolors

 

Three of my watercolors were auctioned last weekend at the parish Christmas Fair. I worked on a few others recently, and I share them with you for your own enjoyment. As I've said many times, I am self-taught and these are very amateurish paintings, but many people have detected a pleasant style in my work, and I keep working on improving my attempts ate producing appealing watercolor paintings. 

As you can obviously notice, I love doing trees, probably because I am surrounded with lots of pine trees here in Central and Eastern Oregon.

I wish this for you...

Thanksgiving decorations in our church yesterday

THESE THINGS I WISH FOR EACH OF YOU

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For our grandchildren, I'd like better. I'd really like for them to know about hand-me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover  meatloaf sandwiches.  I really would.  
I hope you learn humility by being  humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.  I hope you  learn to make your bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.  And I really  hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.  It will be  good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.  I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe  in.  I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother.  And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him. When you want to see a movie and your little sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let her. I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely. On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your 'driver' to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom. 

Giving thanks for blessings, even mishaps - that's how we learn

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying  one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books. When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.  I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what Ivory soap tastes like. May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.  I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it.  And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.  I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma and go fishing with your Uncle.  May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.  I hope your Mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through a neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a mold of your hand.  These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING  -  FR JULIAN

Being Grateful

This year I am thankful for being here with my new family at St Francis in Bend, Oregon.

I am thankful for parents who set the example for their children, and for children who keep their parents on their toes and frequently on their knees.

I am grateful for the many volunteers who give and share their gifts and talents without asking for anything back in return.
 
I am grateful for my GPS on my phone that can find difficult-to-find addresses in this big city, especially in those winding and distant streets.
I am thankful when seeing our school children and those in our Faith Formation program eagerly participate in various projects and classes we organize for them.

I am grateful for the SAVE Button on the computer, for free WIFI in unexpected places, for e-mail, for 300 daily hits on my blog, for digital photography and for people and friends checking my blog daily.

I am thankful for everyone’s health and well-being, for the many seniors I already visited in hospitals and nursing homes, and for safety on the roads during the holiday season.

I am thankful for my family, the upbringing I had by my parents, for my siblings, and for my two nephews, and friends in Malta, New York and all over Oregon.

I am thankful because even though I’m loaded with work, I cannot be happier working with you, praying with you and simply mingling with all of you. 


I am thankful for my priesthood and my faith, and happy to share both with everyone.

Macy*s Parade

Po the Kung Fu Panda floating down New York City

One of my earliest memories of Thanksgiving is going to watch the famous parade in New York City in 1981, as Snoopy, Superman, Kermit the Frog floated by the autumn cool weather in Manhattan. Ever since, I tried to watch the parade either live or taped later on, to reminisce this special tradition. The Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade presented by the U.S.-based retail store chain Macy*s. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit. The three-hour Macy*s event is held in New York City starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thanksgiving Day, and has been televised nationally on NBC since 1952.

Mickey Mouse parading down 6th Avenue in 1934 and in 2009

Various balloons are carried along the route, as well as various entertainers, dancers, marching bands, but the most popular are the full-size balloon class, primarily consisting of licensed pop-culture characters; each of these is handled by exactly 90 people. The balloons that are making their debut this year are: Pikachu Holiday version, Thomas the Tank Engine, Paddington Bear, Skylanders and Red Power Ranger.

On Awakening

A tiny booklet caught my attention recently. It is entitled “The Sacred and the Simple” subtitled Monastic Mantras for Daily Living. It consists of a series of suggestions on how to appreciate life more deeply. I will share some of its reflections from time to time, with some of my personal additions.

The sun arises again. Is this not a miracle? Opening my eyes wide the glory of God is revealed.
- Keep something beautiful in a place where you can see it upon awakening.
- Breathe deeply: smell the air.
- Be mindful of God’s presence around you.
- Protect the ozone: don’t use Styrofoam or aerosol sprays.
- Walk barefoot on the sand or on the grass.
- Carry a camera with you and take photos of nature - everything is given to us by God.
- Pick a flower.....remember, it was made for you.

Blessed....and Sorry

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Sorry are they who are materialistic and overly concerned with possessions, for theirs is an earthly kingdom.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Sorry are they who are insensitive, cold and hard-hearted, for if one cannot feel pain one cannot feel joy.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Sorry are they who try to influence others through arrogance and intimidation, for their power is neither holding nor lasting.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Sorry are they who seek gratification from immediate solutions and instant pleasures, for their satisfaction is temporary.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Sorry are they who are selfish and mean spirited, for they will be shunned by others and receive no compassion.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Sorry are they who live by a code of their own making, for their conscience is clouded and they will not know God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
Sorry are they who are impatient and angry, for they will never know peace.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Sorry are they who do not recognize God's will here on earth and ridicule those who do, for they deny themselves God's love.
Blessed are you when they insult you or persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
Sorry are they who will not stand firm for what they know to be right and will allow themselves to be swayed by the opposing majority because they fear insult or injury.  They risk their place in heaven so that they may "fit in" here on earth.

Christmas Fair photos

A section of the crowd attending the Christmas Fair

A very successful Christmas Fair was held yesterday, and what follows are some photos from this annual event, which brought hundreds of people to our Community Center, browsing for Christmas gifts and enjoy the pasta dinner.

Fair coordinator Sherry Rice in purple, checking the photos table

Santa Claus and his elf, ready for action

The children's dollar store was quite an attraction

Annie Cohen delighted with winning one of my paintings

More photos in www.stfrancisbend.blogspot.com

Christmas Fair

Our parish today is hosting a big Christmas Fair in our Community Center. Lots of work and planning has been going on for this event since May, and the fruits of the hard work of a dedicated group of girls is for everyone to see. We encourage everyone who is close to Bend to stop by between 1 PM and 7:30 PM to browse through many items for sale, for bidding and for enjoyment. A spaghetti dinner will be offered by the Knights of Columbus at 5 PM.

More pictures from the actual Christmas Fair in progress will appear tomorrow.

Feast of the Presentation of Mary

Mary being presented at the Temple, at the age of 3

While the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was not generally celebrated in the West until the 11th century, it appears in most of the earliest calendars of the Eastern Churches. The feast seems first to have appeared in Syria, but later rose to prominence in Jerusalem. A basilica was built near the ruins of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Gospel of James and other apocryphal works (not included in the Bible) told the story of Mary's presentation at the Temple at the age of three. In gratitude for being granted a child after years of infertility, Mary's parents, Saints Joachim and St Anne had vowed to dedicate Mary to the service of God at the Temple. When they presented her at the Temple at the age of three, she stayed willingly, showing her dedication to God even at that young age, attending the temple regularly, similar to what children do attending their Religious Education classes.

The Gospel or Protoevangelium of James is the source of many details of Mary's life that became universally accepted by the Church, including the names of her parents, the story of her birth, her age at her betrothal to Saint Joseph, and Saint Joseph's advanced age and his status as a widower with children by his first wife. It also played a large role among Christians, both Eastern and Western, in recognizing Mary as the new Temple, the true Holy of Holies. When Mary left the Temple at the age of 12 after her betrothal to Joseph, she remained pure and chaste, and at the Annunciation God came to dwell in her.

The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary first made its way to the West through monasteries in Southern Italy in the ninth century; by the 11th century, it had spread to other locales, but was by no means universally celebrated. Under the influence of a French nobleman, Philippe de Mazières, Pope Gregory XI began celebrating the feast during the time the Pope was living in Avignon, France. Pope Sixtus IV first placed the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the universal calendar in 1472, but in the Tridentine reform of the calendar in 1568, Pope Pius V removed the feast. It was restored 17 years later by Pope Sixtus V, and remains in the Roman calendar today as a memorial.

Today's Feast emphasizes our response to God's gifts. We remember the response of Mary's mother and father in their decision to present her in the temple for dedication to the Lord. All parents are called to imitate their response by presenting their children for Baptism. We reflect on the mystery of Mary's own continuing response from her very earliest days to the Lord's invitations of grace. Mary was called to continually give her "Yes" to God's invitations of love. In that continual "Yes" or “Fiat”she shows us the way we are all called to respond to the invitations of grace in our own lives as we grow in holiness. 

Treasures

There are treasures in life, but owners are few
Of money and power to buy things brand new.

Yet you can be wealthy and feel regal too,
If you will just look for the treasures in you.

These treasures in life are not hard to find
When you look in your heart, your soul, and your mind.

For when you are willing to share what's within,
Your fervent search for riches will end.

The joy and the laughter, the smile that you bring;
The heart unafraid to love and to sing;

The hand always willing to help those in need;
Ones quick to reach out, to labor and feed.

So thank you for sharing these great gifts inside;
The caring, the cheering, the hug when one cried.

Thanks for the energy, encouragement too,
And thank you for sharing the treasures in you.

A few of life's unanswered questions

Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin?
Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?
Why is a boxing ring square?
Why is it called lipstick if you can still move your lips?
Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why is it that rain drops but snow falls?
Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
Why is the third hand on the watch called second hand?
Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?
Why is the word dictionary in the dictionary?
Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet?
Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?
Why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance that little indestructible black box is?
Why do you need a driver's license to buy liquor when you can't drink and drive?

The beauty of icicles

Icicles hanging from the roof of our school building

I have always been fascinated by icicles. Ever since I came to the USA in 1981, the very first time I saw an icicle form, I was just mesmerized and hooked on their spontaneity and beauty. I must have taken hundreds of photos of this creation of nature. An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water dripping or falling from an object freezes. Typically, icicles will form when ice or snow is melted by either sunlight or some other heat source (such as a poorly insulated building), and the resulting melted water runs off into an area where the ambient temperature is below the freezing point of water (0 °C/32 °F), causing the water to refreeze. Over time continued water runoff will cause the icicle to grow. And since we had some sub-freezing temperatures recently, icicles have formed everywhere, especially around our school and church buildings, the first photo being taken a few days ago. 

Icicles formed close to Hunter Mountain, NY

The second photo was taken close to Hunter Mountain in Upstate New York, back in 1982, on a skiing trip with another priest. Of course I did not ski, but was on the lookout for some great photos, including this one, with icicles bulging out of rocks, a scene that literally stunned me, possibly one of the best photos I ever took.

St Elizabeth of Hungary

Chur Cathedral, St Elizabeth of Hungary

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. 

St. Elizabeth of Hungary - Paris, St. Elizabeth Church, 19th

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.

Meeting the 50 US States - part 3

Crater Lake, Oregon

NORTH CAROLINA (population: 9,848,060)......... Home of the first Krispy Kreme doughnut.

NORTH DAKOTA (population: 723,393)............ Rigby, North Dakota is the exact geographic center of North America .

OHIO (population: 11,570,808)................................The hot dog was invented here in 1900.

OKLAHOMA (population: 3,850,568)................... The grounds of the state capital are covered by operating oil wells.

OREGON (population: 3,930,065)............................Has the most ghost towns in the country.
PENNSYLVANIA (population: 12,773,801)............The smiley : ) was first used in 1980 by computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University .

RHODE ISLAND (population: 1,051,511).............The nation's oldest bar, the White Horse Tavern, opened here in 1673.

Spectacular foliage in October in Vermont

SOUTH CAROLINA (population: 4,774,839)....... Sumter County is home to the world's largest gingko farm.

SOUTH DAKOTA (population: 844,877)............Is the only state that's never had an earthquake.

TENNESSEE (population: 6,495,193).................. Nashville 's Grand Ole Opry is the longest running live radio show in the world.

TEXAS (population: 26,448,193).................................Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. The hamburger was invented in Arlington in 1906.

UTAH (population: 2,900,872)................The first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened here in 1952.

VERMONT (population: 626,741)..................... Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald's.

The Grand Tetons Mountain Range in Wyoming

VIRGINIA (population: 8,260,405)....................Home of the world's largest office building, The Pentagon.

WASHINGTON (population: 6,971,406)............... Seattle has twice as many college graduates as any other state.

WEST VIRGINIA (population: 1,854,304)..............Had the world's first brick paved street, Summers Street, laid in Charleston in 1870.

WISCONSIN (population: 5,742,713)......................The ice cream sundae was invented here in 1881 to get around Blue Laws prohibiting ice cream from being sold on Sundays.

WYOMING (population: 582,658)..........................Was the first state to allow women to vote.

Meeting the 50 States - part 2

KENTUCKY (population: 4,395,295).................. Has more than $6 billion in gold underneath Fort Knox .

LOUISIANA (population: 4,625,470)................ Has parishes instead of counties because they were originally Spanish church units.

MAINE (population: 1,328,302)............................ It's so big, it covers as many square miles as the other five New England states combined.

MARYLAND (population: 5,928,814)................... The Ouija board was created in Baltimore in 1892.

MASSACHUSETTS (population: 6,692,824).....The Fig Newton is named after Newton, Massachusetts .

The outline of Massachusetts with the respective counties

MICHIGAN (population: 9,895,622)................... Fremont, home to Gerber, is the baby food capital of the world.

MINNESOTA (population: 5,420,380)................ Bloomington 's Mall of America is so big, that if you spent 10 min. in each store, you'd be there nearly four days.

MISSISSIPPI (population: 2,991,207)...............President Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear here ... that's how the teddy bear got its name.

MISSOURI (population: 6,044,171)....................Is the birthplace of the ice cream cone.

MONTANA (population: 1,015,165).................... A sapphire from Montana is in the Crown Jewels of England.

NEBRASKA (population: 1,868,516)......................More triplets are born here than in any other state.

The Manhattan skyline in New York City

NEVADA (population: 2,790,136).......has more casinos than any other state.

NEW HAMPSHIRE (population: 1,323,459).........Birthplace of Tupperware, invented in 1938 by Earl Tupper.

NEW JERSEY (population: 8,899,339)................Has the most shopping malls in one area in the world.

NEW MEXICO (population: 2,085,287)................ Smokey the Bear was rescued from a 1950 forest fire here.

NEW YORK (population: 19,651,127).........................Is home to the nation's oldest cattle ranch, started in 1747 in Montauk.

Meeting the 50 States - part 1

Over the next three days, I will introduce you to each of the 50 US States, giving the present population, as well as one interesting fact about that particular state, besides a few photos of some of them.
ALABAMA (population: 4,833,722) ..................Was the first state to have 9-1-1, started in 1968.
 
ALASKA (population: 735,132).....................One out of every 64 people has a pilot's license.
 
ARIZONA (population: 6,626,624) ................... Is the only state in the continental U.S. that doesn't follow Daylight Savings Time.
 
ARKANSAS (population: 2,959,373) ................Has the only active diamond mine in the U.S.
 
CALIFORNIA (population: 38,332,521)........... Its economy is so large that if it were a country, it would rank seventh in the entire world.
 
COLORADO (population: 5,268,367)................In 1976 it became the only state to turn down the Olympics.
 
CONNECTICUT (population: 3,596.080)..... The Frisbee was invented at Yale University .
 
DELAWARE (population: 925,749)................Has more scientists and engineers than any other state.

FLORIDA (population: 19,552,860).....................At 874.3 square miles, Jacksonville is the U.S. 's largest city in the contiguous 48 states.  

GEORGIA (population: 9,992,167)....................It was here, in 1886, that pharmacist John Pemberton made the first vat of Coca-Cola.

HAWAII (population: 1,404,054)....................... Hawaiians live, on average, five years longer than residents of any other state.

IDAHO (population: 1,612,136)......................... TV was invented in Rigby , Idaho in 1922.

Idaho - Shoshone Falls, Twin Falls

ILLINOIS (population: 12,882,135) .....................Has a Governor in jail, one pending jail and is the most corrupt state in the union!

INDIANA (population: 6,570,902)..................... Home to Santa Claus, Indiana which gets a half million letters to Santa every year.

IOWA (population: 3,090,416)..............................Winnebagos get their name from Winnebago County, and it is the only state name that begins with two vowels.

KANSAS (population: 2,893,957).........................Liberal, Kansas has an exact replica of the house in The Wizard of Oz.

St Frances Xavier Cabrini

St Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, was born in Lombardia, Italy in 1850, the youngest of thirteen children. Two months premature, she remained in delicate health throughout her 67 years. As a young girl, Francesca was taken care of by her older sister Rosa, because her mother was 52 when Maria Francesca was born.
At 13, she was sent to Arluno to study under the Daughters of the Sacred Heart at the Normal School, and in 1868, at 18 she was certified as a teacher. Four years later she contracted smallpox. When she tried to enter into the Daughters of the Sacred Heart, Mother Superior refused admission, even though she saw potential in her, because of her frail health. She helped her parents until their death, and then worked on a farm with her siblings.
One day a priest asked her to teach in a girls' school and she stayed for six years. At the request of her Bishop, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for poor children in schools and hospitals. Although her lifelong dream was to be a missionary in China, Pope Leo XIII sent her to New York City on March 31, 1889 with six other nuns. There, she obtained the permission of Archbishop Michael Corrigan to found an orphanage, which is located in West Park, Ulster County, NY today known as Saint Cabrini Home, the first of 67 institutions she founded in New York, Chicago, Seattle, New Orleans, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and in countries throughout South America and Europe, especially Italy, England, France, Spain. Filled with a deep trust in God and endowed with a wonderful administrative ability, this remarkable woman soon founded schools, hospitals, and orphanages in this strange land and saw them flourish in the aid of Italian immigrants and children. 

She died in Chicago, Illinois on December 22, 1917. In 1946, she became the first American citizen to be canonized by Pope Pius XII. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is the patroness of immigrants. Her beatification miracle involved the restoration of sight to a child who had been blinded by excess silver nitrate in the eyes. Her canonization miracle involved the healing of a terminally ill nun. She is buried in Washington Heights where a shrine is also dedicated to her.

15 questions God won't ask you

1) God won't ask what kind of car you drove, but will ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.
2) God won't ask the square footage of your house, but will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
3) God won't ask about the fancy clothes you had in your closet, but will ask how many of those clothes helped the needy.
4) God won't ask about your social status, but will ask what kind of class you displayed.
5) God won't ask how many material possessions you had, but will ask if they dictated your life.
6) God won't ask what your highest salary was, but will ask if you compromised your character to obtain that salary.
7) God won't ask how much overtime you worked, but will ask if you worked overtime for your family and loved ones.
8) God won't ask how many promotions you received, but will ask how you promoted others.
9) God won't ask what your job title was, but will ask if you reformed your job to the best of your ability.

10) God won't ask what you did to help yourself, but will ask what you did to help others.
11) God won't ask how many friends you had, but will ask how many people to whom you were a true friend.
12) God won't ask what you did to protect your rights, but will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.
13) God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, but will ask how you treated your neighbors.
14) God won't ask about the color of your skin, but will ask about the content of your character.
15) God won't ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but will ask how many times they didn't.

Post Number 1000

Most popular post "The Deck of Cards"

This is a great milestone for this Blog, as it reaches Number 1000. I started this blog on January 5, 2012, and I never thought it would continue so successfully over almost 3 years, and counting. I can say that I averaged from 200 to 300 visits every day, and as you can see from the ‘visiting countries’ list further down, people from all over the world visited it, maybe searching for a photo, or a reflection or anything they were looking for. Recently, when I started giving a link from our parish Facebook page, the number of visits increased. Most people look for the most recent posts, but I encourage you to click on the ‘Older Posts’ link at the bottom, and you will be surprised how much stuff there is, anecdotes, prayers, reflections, flash-backs from the past, parish events, milestones, and of course many photos and pictures. These are the most popular posts:
The Deck of Cards, (Feb 9, 2013) about the story of a soldier who was caught playing cards in church.
The Easter Lily, (April 10, 2012,) about the origin an of the Easter Lily
Catholics in the USA, (October 23, 2012) about how many Catholic are in each US state.
Other popular posts were Holy Thursday in Malta, (April 5, 2012,) A further glimpse into Rome, (July 7, 2012,) and A Dog’s Plea, (August 7, 2012.)
The popular posts listed on the right hand side are those of the last 7 days.

2nd most popular post "The Easter Lily"

Visitors to this blog were categorized as such:
United States - 88,789; Malta - 11,472; Germany - 7,215; United Kingdom - 4,359; France - 3,461; Canada - 2,538; Ukraine - 2,428; Russia - 1,742; Australia - 1,616; Philippines - 1,183 and many others.

3rd most popular post "Catholics in the USA"

These were the Browsers used to access this blog:
Internet Explorer 27%; Chrome 22 %; Firefox 20%; Safari 17%; Bing preview 5%
These were the operating systems used to access this blog:
Windows 67%; Macintosh 8%; IPhone 7%; IPad 6%; Linux 4%; Android 4%
Thank you all for your cooperation, now let’s start work on the next 1000!