Feeding the people

When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." (Jesus) said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over --twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Matthew 14:13-21


There were some men working on our house today. At about noon, we were getting ready for lunch. Having been talking to the two men outside, my dad comes in telling my mom that we are inviting them for lunch. My mom begins to prepare two extra plates. Without checking to see if there would be enough of the chicken my mom was making, she went ahead and prepared those plates.
Afterwards, my mom was telling me about how my uncle, her brother, was always doing the same thing. He is always welcoming people and sharing what little he may have with them to help them. Once he shared so much that in the end there was no food left for him. Yet he was full. It sounds cheesy, but we are always so much more full after helping someone. I'm always full of energy or full of just plain happiness after having helped someone, especially multiple someones.
It's in this bible verse that we witness the truth of aiding others. It's simple. No questions need to be asked, no numbers added. Now, Jesus knows we can't go and feed thousands with such little food. However, us helping with such little food, such little a gesture, can turn into feeding thousands, helping millions. It's as easy as just smiling at that person at the mall or in the hallway. (better than pretending to awkwardly look at the ceiling or the wall next to you, no?) In this verse, Jesus starts a chain reaction by blessing the loaves, passing them to his disciples who in turn shared it with the people. You can be like Jesus. You can be the one to start the chain reaction.

Feast day... what?

So I just found this totally ridiculously awesome blog:

http://happycatholic.blogspot.com/

The reason I'm posting so late tonight (well I post late every night but...) was because I was reading this (like I said) ridiculously awesome blog. Check it out. Her story is really great. I love it! I hope you will too:)

P.S. Today was the feast of the Annunciation. (It falls 9 months before Jesus' birthday, if that helps.) It is the day the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her (suspense...) she had been chosen to be the Mother of God. And well we know how the story goes. How cool is that?! So in celebration, today was a day of feasting! Meaning Meat Friday! (only for today though) And also no Lent sacrifice for today. Unfortunately I did not know this during lunch, and missed out on the meaty lasagna as school today, but I enjoyed my popcorn shrimp none the less. And yes. I have a window opened to Facebook right now. Don't you?

Hope you had a great day!

:)

Loser.

And whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 10:38-39


My friend is a loser. He wore a shirt today that said so. LOSER. In big white block letters across the front of his shirt on a black t-shirt. We said hey like we do everyday, but when I saw his shirt I added a funny look. All he did was laugh. He proceeded to take of his backpack and explain to me by turning around. On the back of his shirt, in small white letters was a sentence, a verse to be exact. The verse above.
I am a loser. Jesus asks us in different ways and forms to follow him. At church, at school, driving along on the road, running along a path. He gives us small glimpses of true beauty in nature and in the personalities of people, asking us to follow in his steps. To often, however, we are distracted by these beauty's and choose to "not take up his cross and follow." We allow him to suffer alone, without helping. By doing so we ourselves may suffer.
We are losers. After reading the verse, the shirt made sense. It suited it purpose: to catch my attention and spread the word of God. Sometimes though, t-shirts like this show us up. We to often forget of our own purpose: to pay attention to what He is saying and spread his word.
Are you a loser?


Verse "Spark Notes"
[38] The first mention of the cross in Matthew, explicitly that of the disciple, but implicitly that of Jesus (and follow after me).
[39] One who denies Jesus in order to save one's earthly life will be condemned to everlasting destruction; loss of earthly life for Jesus' sake will be rewarded by everlasting life in the kingdom. (USCCB)

[Want to see the shirt? Click here.]

healing powers

What's anointing of the sick? Funny you should ask. On Sunday's and Monday's posts I started talking about a certain bible verse (Matthew 8:5-10,13) and explaining it. I was getting ahead of myself in explaining the Anointing of the Sick, so I decided to share it with you in the simplest, greatest, coolest way I could think of made by one of the coolest people ever... Cristine! She did the key note talk at Lifenight last week and made this amazing presentation. I wish she could present it to yall too. But unfortunately, technology isn't it's cracked up to be. 

So cherish it, enjoy it, love it, learn of it.

[Just click on the little gray arrow at the bottom]

Sacraments of Healing on Prezi

oh noes!

I promised to continue on my post from yesterday,
but like everything else,
a few things come up
:(
I'll continue on the anointing of the sick tomorrow,
and take this time to remind yall
about his nice little button
here.
Or that one,
there-->
or
<--there.
Your click could make a difference.
Yea,
sounds cheesy,
but it's no lie.

...of the Sick

Before you read today's blog, go read yesterday's.

Don't want to scroll down? Just click here. BUT don't forget to come back.

Did you read the passage?

Really read it?

How bout the questions?

What's a centurion again?

Why yes, it is an old Roman military officer high in the hierarchal system with great power.

Though if you read the verse,

you see the way in which he refers to

JESUS.

The Centurion says,

 "I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed."

It shows how even the most powerful

may not always be as powerful as they appear.

Even they must yield to someone higher than he or she.

This past Sunday (yesterday), we had Lifenight. It's my church's high school youth group. Not to brag or anything but... I have the best small group. What? You can't read it? Oh well... I have the best small group! I am a very proud small group leader and ♥ it. This semester's theme is over the 7 sacraments,  and the Anointing of the Sick was our most recent topic. This sacrament is a physical, spiritual and mental healing.  Go back and read the verse. It was actually the one we read on Sunday with the topic and talked about in our small group time. The questions too. How does the verse relate to the Anointing of the Sick? 

Makes more sense now that you know what it has to do with.

I really liked this verse,

with the help of my kiddos and my lovely assistant,

we each learned to sort of decipher it.

I'll share more of our findings with you tomorrow.

It's getting late

and I should probably post this sometime today,

I'll explain the Anointing of the Sick more on my next post.

Hope you have/have had a great day!

(depending on when you're reading this)

but for me it is now bedtime,

so goodnight and sleep tight,

Amen.

Annointing...

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. And Jesus said to the centurion, "You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you." And at that very hour (his) servant was healed.

Matthew 8:5-10,13

• What stood out about the passage? Why?
• A centurion is a military officer, a person with great power; what is significant about the way he approached Jesus?
• Why is humility important when seeking healing from Jesus?
• Why is faith important in receiving healing from Jesus?
• Do you believe Jesus still heals people? Why or why not?
• What makes a ‘healer’ real?  Does Jesus fit the definition?

►Now click here to go to the next post.