LifeSiteNews.com Special Report - Wednesday December 22, 2004

This is about Spyware, which many of you are probably not aware of but is a serious threat to your computer and your personal security.  Read below.  The experts usually recommend Spybot, Ad-Aware, and Spyware Doctor, all of which are free downloads to clean up your machine.  You have to use all three because they all get something the others miss, but none carry adware.  I would also recommend that you avoid any tool bars, except Yahoo, MSN and Google.  As mentioned below, making sure that you download all Windows security updates, Internet Explore updates, and keep your virus definitions up to date as well as a good firewall are also very important.  What to avoid downloading is also of equal importance.  Nothing is ever free and if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

To get Spybot go to:  http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10122137.html?part=104443&subj=dlpage&tag=button

To get Ad-Aware go to:  http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10319876.html?tag=lst-0-2

To read PC magazine’s take on all of this and what you need to do depending on the level of computer user that you are you can read the following (there is also a link to Spyware Doctor located there):   http://www.download.com/Get-rid-of-spyware/1200-2023_4-5127975.html?tag=txt

All I know is that when the Respect Life people start talking about Spyware, it must be pretty serious.  This is where I usually get all the stuff about pro-life issues and respect life issues for the Inspiration of the Day page.  Anyway, another helpful computer hint for the day.

Cindy

From: LifeSiteNews [mailto:lsn@lifesitenews.com]
LifeSiteNews.com Special Report - Wednesday December 22, 2004

More Help on the Serious and Growing Problem of Spyware
PC magazine's Dvorak says "this situation with spyware is now officially out of control"

December 22, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – We received quite a few responses to the Dec. 15 Special Report that suggested some solutions for avoiding and removing spyware. Some readers expressed gratitude for the help and others, professionals in the field, offered additional suggestions.

Coincidentally, the day after LifeSiteNews.com published the article which, among other things, recommended Internet users avoid using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Microsoft finally acknowledged the severity of the spyware problem.

Microsoft announced the acquisition of a spyware removal program from Giant Company Software Inc. and that a beta version of the Microsoft release of the program will be offered free to Internet Explorer users within 30 days. However, the multi-billion dollar software monopoly also indicated it may soon afterwards charge for the new program to protect Internet Explorer from spyware that exploits security weaknesses in Internet Explorer. Go figure.

A reader in the computer industry advised us however, that the relatively new Giant AntiSpyware product is probably by far the best Spyware removal program on the market and that is why Microsoft snapped it up. It is currently no longer available from Giant or anyone else, so we will have to wait for the Microsoft release.

The seriousness of the spyware problem was emphasized in a Dec 20 an article by respected PC Magazine columnist John Dvorak. Dvorak wrote that “this situation with spyware is now officially out of control”. From discussions with people in the industry he discovered that “the public is only partially aware of the problem” and that “Few users know that their machines are infected”. Ominously, he added that “There is now a firm belief that organized crime, including the Russian mafia, is behind much of this activity”.

One new spyware program to be especially wary of is CoolWebSearch. Webroot Software, makers of the excellent Spy Sweeper program, are warning that "CoolWebSearch is probably one of the most vicious programs in terms of how nasty it is. It completely hijacks the (Internet Explorer) browser so you can't do anything."

MORE ADVICE

Following are more LifeSiteNews.com suggestions for eliminating and avoiding spyware:

1. If you wish to use Microsoft’s browser, Windows XP with Service Pack 2 will give by far the best protection. We understand millions of users are still using Windows 98 or 2000 and may not have the resources to update to the latest version. However, if you can, it is the right move.

2. Always download and apply Microsoft security updates as soon as they become available.

3. Avoid those free Internet greeting card, or E-Card services and most free programs and services offered on the Net. They are often, although not always, loaded with catches that you and those you forward them to will regret. The flashy, excessively promoted ones and ones that add a toolbar to your browser should cause special concern. There are however many legitimate free or shareware programs developed by people sincerely tying to provide a useful service to Internet users. Use your best judgment.

4. Avoid file swapping/sharing sites such as Kazaa. These sites are ethically questionable and so naturally a lot of nasty things may accompany whatever you acquire through them. Parents, by the way, should be aware that more than music and mainstream type movies are promoted though those services. They are also efficient and therefore often used gateways to pornography.

5. Avoid any sites that appear to be morally questionable in some way. It they have questionable content, it is likely they are not concerned about the morality of secretly downloading invasive programs onto your computer.

6. Install a good software Internet Firewall such as ZoneAlarm Pro from http://www.zonelabs.com. This especially makes it easy to stop things being sent out from your computer by spyware or virus programs.

7. One professional wrote NEVER INSTALL GATOR!

8. Keep your spyware removal programs constantly updated and activate background monitoring for new spyware, if that function is available with the program, usually only with the paid version.

That should keep everyone busy.

There is much more that could be said but we leave further research on the subject to those who are interested. What we have offered are the basics, which is likely more than enough for most LifeSiteNews.com readers.

See our Dec. 15 article
Avoiding and Removing Adware and Spyware – Sanity Saving Advice
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2004/dec/041215b.html

Other items mentioned above:
Spyware is now officially out of control Says Dvorak
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1744126,00.asp

Beware of spyware called CoolWebSearch, a program that can change Microsoft Internet Explorer's security settings and wreak havoc on computers
http://news.com.com/Worst+spyware+queues+up/2100-7349_3-5499609.html?tag=nefd.top

Microsoft May Charge Extra for New Software to Remove Spyware Programs Secretly Running on PCs
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=338100

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I think we can only make it better or worse...  but what a great way to start!  Click the link below.

God Bless!

Cindy

Only God Could Make

The good news is that I am finally feeling well enough to put one of these together now and then.  The last few weeks have given me a lot to pray about and a lot to think about... and I haven't been able to do much else, but I have been praying for all of you and your endeavors.    I thank you for all of your prayers and support as I have struggled with this shoulder injury and tried to recover.  I always thought that I was pretty patient, but I have found out that what I think about myself and what I have come to know about myself are sometimes two very different things.  What was important 2 months ago is no longer important now and the Lord always has us going different directions and you may not need this direction any longer.  Anyway, the following story link came from Linda who has been a real inspiration to me as I have struggled with my recovery, just as she was an inspiration to me as she struggled through her recovery from major cancer surgery and intense treatment.  Many would have given up, but she didn't.  Her life is also like this lesson...

This is a beautiful story with lots of lessons...  how hard we have to work to love and be loved... sometimes love calls for great sacrifices... love always needs a persistent commitment... sometimes those we love the most or sacrifice the most for, can never tell us Thank You!

Christ also taught us the same lessons, but sometimes it takes the life of a child or the witness of a friend to bring it to light.

PS: Just click the link.

http://www.passionup.com/mp/blank/../..cfp=1&h=7a49f7e8064d5e26&mp=1

Subject: Good Behavior???

PARROT

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift.
The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.
Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.

John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back.

John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.
In desperation, John threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer.

For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed.
Then suddenly there was total quiet.
Not a peep was heard for over a minute.
Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable
behavior."

John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.
As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, when the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

-----Original Message-----

An update on Evan from Jennie--see below...  Please continue to keep them in your prayers.  Also, I am back off work as of Wed.  The pain and narcotics are just too distracting to handle all the information that I need to handle, plus, I am just not myself.  When all I can think about is my pain, despite my best efforts not to, I sure can't focus on a patient's problems.  I am hoping another couple of weeks will do it. God Bless you all and have a great weekend! Cindy

Jennie sent this on the 16th:

Hi everyone. I have a big favour to ask. I have a very good and dear friend I work with in hospice. Her name is Allegra and she has a son, Evan, who is 14. This past weekend he became ill and to make a long story short, he has a mass on his right kidney and his left kidney is looking "suspect". Tomorrow he is having surgery, if his left kidney looks ok, the doctors will remove his right kidney. It is not sure if there is a malignancy or not, but either way it is very serious. Allegra is a very kind and caring person, she has been a good

friend to many. She has been a good support to me thru Diana's illness and death, and with all the struggles John and I have been thru, and I'm asking if you would pray for Evan, Allegra, and Evan's dad Jack, that all will be ok. love you all, jenny

***

From Cindy on the 17th:

Hi Everyone,

See below and find a moment to pray for this young boy having surgery tomorrow and for his family.  Pray that they may trust the Lord in whatever He brings to them tomorrow and pray, that we would like for Him to bring something benign, but that we do know that He knows what is best for each of us. Pray for relief of any pain and any fear and pray that their caregivers are loving and supportive and that the Holy Spirit is the chief surgeon in the operating room.  Thanks and God Bless you all! Cindy

PS: I am back to work part time.  It isn't easy and pain is still a big issue, but we will see how it goes.  Can't keyboard long enough to do Inspiration pages but will try to send something now and then until things get back to normal.  We will all have enough to do with the holidays fast approaching anyway.  Let me know if I can help with any prayer requests and they can even be for yourself if something is happening.

***

From Jennie Nov 18th update:

hi everyone.

Thank you so much for all your prayers for Evan, Allegra, and Jack. Evan's surgery was postponed yesterday and he had it this morning.

The left kidney looked healthy (an ultrasound was done of it during surgery and a radiologist came to review it also), so they took the right kidney out and it was malignant.

Some lymph nodes that looked suspicious were also taken out, but the biopsy results won't be back for a couple of days. The surgeon told Allegra that Evan's prognosis is "pretty good". So please continue to pray for them as I know you all are, and thank you. Allegra says she feels everyone's prayers and their love, and the three of them thank you also. love you, jenny

This is due to hit the theaters next week and thought you might want to be ready to answer some questions... either from your kids or from your friends.  Considering what the “60s did to the family unit and the concept of chastity, I don’t think any of us want to revitalize that effort since there appears to be a trend back towards the family unit and towards chastity among our teens.  Those efforts need to be promoted... not the “anything goes with sex or for sex or with sex” attitude.  They say it much better than I do below.

God Bless!

Cindy

Dear all,

I have not gotten my first update out yet which I started to do on Monday, but I thought I should let you know how things are going.

Cindy

  Hands  

An old man, probably some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the park bench. He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if he was ok.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, I asked him if he was ok.  He raised his head and looked at me and smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," he said in a clear strong voice.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, sir, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were ok?" I explained to him.

"Have you ever looked at your hands?" he asked.  "I mean really looked at your hands."

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them.  I turned them over, palms up and then palms down.  No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point he was making.

Then he smiled and related this story:

Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years.  These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.  They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.  They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back.  As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer.  They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.  They dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life.

They held my rifle and wiped my tears when I went off to war. They have been dirty, scraped, swollen and bent.  They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son.  Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.  They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle.  Yet, they were strong and sure when I dug my buddy out of a foxhole and lifted a plow off of my best friend’s foot. They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.  They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body.

They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well  these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.  These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life.  But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And He won't care about what these hands look like but what they have done. What He will care about is to whom these hands belong and how much these hands have helped others.  With these hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God.

***************

No doubt I will never look at my hands the same again.   I never saw the old man again after I left the park that day but I will never forget him nor the words he spoke.  When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children or my husband, I think of the man in the park.  And I thank God for my hands.

Good Morning All!

Sorry, that I have missed a couple of days but that was because they were like the attachment below... one light going out after another? Uncle Don did send me this one. Saturday, I was in Hampshire at St Charles of Borromeo Parish with Brian presenting the "Light of the World Parish Evangelization and Renewal Program". Of course, I had to give a talk for this and of course, I was up until about 4 am Friday morning finishing the talk, and so I did not get Friday's inspiration done. I will have you know that I had blocked out time ahead of schedule so that I would not have to do that, but somehow it gets used up or evaporates or is usurped or something, but it sure disappears. Some of you are probably scratching your head and going, "Catholics evangelizing? Never heard of such a thing. They must be in the wrong pew." Catholics have always taken their missionary work seriously and have carried the Gospel to all ends of the earth, but, I think, we have been a little remiss when it comes to our own back yard, so this program answers that issue. Part of the talk is giving witness to where the Lord has changed things in our own life, and I love doing that. How can you not want to talk about what is good or what has happened to make you or your family better? How can you not talk about being in Love and being Loved? It was a great day and hopefully we spurred enough parish members into action so that they get the ball rolling.

Then Sunday night, I rolled on my shoulder wrong and everything seemed to go wrong. I couldn't get the pain under control, the pain pills made me sick, and I just was miserable. It hurt so bad that I couldn't sleep, I couldn't work, and I had a hard time praying. You try your best to not give in to it, to not let it get you down, to offer it up to the Lord, but at least for me, I can only go so long, before it has me so down that I can't pick myself up. I didn't go to work because of the misery and I couldn't write either. It always reminds me of what Cardinal Bernadin wrote when he was dealing with his pancreatic cancer recurrence. He said, and I am loosely quoting, that we should never wait to pray, because when we are in pain or when we are ill, we can not pray. I didn't really believe that until the time that I had a bad low blood sugar reaction and when I finally came too, it was like I had a stroke. I couldn't move one side, I couldn't talk, and what sounds did come out were guttural moans. I tried to move my hand and it just laid there. I thought I had stroked, except that I was soaking wet with perspiration and was thinking and hoping that it was a low blood sugar reaction and that all the symptoms would go away. I tried to pray but I couldn't... the words would not come. There was so much fear within me that I couldn't not concentrate, plus my hypoglycemic brain could not process any information. I had never felt so alone, so helpless, so useless, so hopeless... then this cheery, red headed 8 yr old showed up and started putting glucose tabs in my mouth. When she was done, I still couldn't talk because there were so many in my mouth that it was fixed open, but at least at that point, I could thank God with my heart if not with words. My patients have told me that they can not pray because of the pain that they are in. We relieve the pain and they can pray. I am beginning to wonder how long it will be before I can pray again.

Tuesday and Wednesday have been a little better, but only because I had to finish up some patient issues before taking time off. I was also on call and needed to fulfill that responsibility since my two partners will be taking on extra loads over the next few weeks. Somehow, the Lord supplies the energy supply when I think that there is no way that I can do any more. On top of the physical pain, there is that uneasiness about surgery and going to sleep... and then what things will be like when you wake up. A few bad hypoglycemic reactions make that scenario very real for you. I still have to deal with the patient who is dying, the patient with no insurance, the patient with insurance but a company that will not pay for accepted and gold standard care because the drugs are not FDA approved for his type of cancer. They are approved for 8 other cancers, but not his type, so they refuse to cover his treatment. There is the patient whose family is more worried about getting their drugs than their mother's pain, or the girl living in her car, pregnant, and with no one to care for her other 2 children, or the woman with bad arthritis in her hip that wants to go to the Mayo Clinic for surgery, because she has had some "not so good" experiences locally. I arrange the referral and the appt and then get a letter telling me that the Mayo Clinic is too busy to care for my patient and they wish me luck in finding care for her elsewhere. She is 61 yrs old, has insurance that covers the Mayo Clinic, has survived breast cancer that was diagnosed 18 yrs ago, and has some high blood pressure and severe degenerative arthritis, but she travels all over the country. What do I tell her? The Mayo Clinic is too busy for her because they have too many cash paying Middle Eastern patients and the cash reimbursement far exceeds an insurance company contract where the doctor might make $50 on the procedure and they can pay $100's or $1000's?

So now it is 3:15 am and I am trying to finish Wednesday before surgery. The computer is so slow that I can get nothing done, except type this. Last Friday, when I had seen my surgeon for the preoperative visit, I had told myself that I was going to ask him two questions. The first question was going to be if he thought he was the best person for the job and the second question was if the hands doing the operation were going to be his hands or God's hands. I was too chicken to ask either question. Today, an acquaintance of an acquaintance, saw him for a second opinion in regards to a foot fracture. She did ask him if he prayed for his patients before he operated on them. I was relieved to hear that his answer was yes. I was embarrassed by my lack of faith and trust as evidenced by my inability to ask him. My inability to face the fact that I might be snickered at or laughed at because I professed to be a Christian and to believe that God worked through each and every one of us and that he was with each of us. Every day, God reveals to me how much I need Him. Today, I have to surrender all to him. I have no choice except to choose to not have surgery. I will not be able to say a word while I am under anesthesia. I will have no awareness of any prayer or any God or any love. I will be conscious of nothing. My consolation? Is that I know that He is there, that He cares, that He loves, and that He will do whatever is best for me. I thank Him for that gift of faith and that gift of hope... that gift that everything will be just right in His eyes.  Thank you all for the prayers and support.  Surgery is at 11:15 a.m. at St. Anthony's hospital.  I am supposed to go home with a pain pump infusing local anesthetics right into my joint.  Sounds serious, but I know who is really taking care of me.  Thank you Lord!

THE FOUR CANDLES ..

this is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen......

Good Morning All!

And it is a good morning!  Last night I went with my eighth grader to her first Confirmation class and listened to the adult team leaders talk about their faith journey and that during this year, they would learn what their intent was...how do they intend to live their lives?  Will they live holy and Christ like lives or secular and popular lives?  Will they receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit with an open and accepting heart or will they reject it?  Will they follow the laws of God and of the Church or will they reject them?  They had them look up horoscope in the catechism and learned much to their dismay how wrong it was to even read a horoscope because it was based on the occult and because it was not of God.  They looked up animal and found that God loves pets and our beasts of burden, but that it is wrong to adorn them with diamond collars and to bequeath entire estates to them so that they could live forever.  They looked up speed and read that every time they were speeding, they were sinning because God's commandment states that "Thou shalt not kill." and speed kills, whether in a car or in a needle.  Catherine was wagging her finger at me for the speeding one.  This morning I was thinking over what I had written the last two days, how hard and difficult my journey has been, mostly because Catherine cried all the way home in the car because she will never be able to watch "Pinocchio" again because it has magic in it or any Disney movie, or Harry Potter, etc.  People tell me that the Catholic church is too dogmatic or that the "Church" is more important than God.... 

My response to that is that it took an encounter with Jesus Christ, it took meeting Him personally and giving my life to Him, before I ever wanted to go to church.  I went to church for years, but only because I had to.  Now I want to go.  I want to go and worship in community.  I want to go and give thanks.  I want to go and participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist... to actually receive Him.  I actually want to go and make a confession (and that is another story).  You may say, "Why did you go to the Catholic church?".  I had looked and participated in almost every sect of Protestantism, Judaism, and had read books on Muslims, and Hindus and Buddhists, and Christian Scientists, and Jehovah's Witness's etc. God told my heart to go to His Church.  Intellectually, it was also the only church that I could justify except for Judaism, but I could never be a Jew because I was not one by birth and... I loved my Lord.  I didn't know that horoscopes were wrong when I accepted the Lord.  Do I have any trouble accepting them now as being wrong? No.  I knew abortions were kind of wrong but I had stated for years that that was my personal belief and that women should have a choice, and that I could justify it in case of rape, etc., but that was before I knew the love of the Lord and His love for me.  Now I know how wrong it is to terminate anything that He has created.  All that He creates is good... whether it is a "mistake", a rape, incest, etc.  We are the ones that make it bad.  If we loved that woman who was raped rather than looking at her as if she were out selling herself, it we took care of her as a sister, rather than a prostitute, if we mothered her as we would want her to mother her child, what do you think the outcome would be?  I can guarantee you that it would be good.  If we shun her, if we leave her to societies devices, if we lock her and her child out of our hearts...what do you think the outcome will be?  Anyway, this was not where "I" was going with this, but I know that in loving God, I only want to love all that He loves and I only want what He wants, and that a great many times my will gives in to what the "flesh" wants or is pressured into for "acceptance".  I didn't need the Catholic church to tell me that, but it was comforting knowing that it had been telling people that for over 2000 years and has always preached and declared the Word and that what was believed in 50 AD or 200 AD or 1500 AD is what is still believed now.  I still don't know the Word as well as I should, but today's reading at mass from St Paul, and I am not equating myself with St Paul, but the words are as if they are mine.

1 Cor 15:1-11

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the Apostles,
not fit to be called an Apostle,
because I persecuted the Church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed.

I will continue to toil hard for Him and I will continue to live for Him, love for Him and adore Him.  I am not trying to convert you to Catholicism, but only revealing how Christ became alive in me, hoping that He will come to life in you.  Have a blessed day!

Cindy

Inspiration of the Day 8/19/04

Good Morning All!

And... it is another beautiful one, even though it does feel like September, but I guess that is not that far away. Yesterday I hinted that our media services can have good things in them, but that they are usually buried underneath all of the glamour, sensationalism, ads, sports, etc and that sometimes you really have to hunt and be very persistent to find the good stuff. Then this little brain that never stops ticking starts to think about how often we do take the time to find the good stuff. I spend my whole day just reading titles or highlights or summaries or abstracts because there is not enough time to read all of the detail. I do that with research articles that I base life and death determining treatment decisions on. How much are we missing? Have you ever tried to sum up all of you in 3 or 4 lines? It is impossible. When we look at other people, especially our spouses or our children, do we just see a short bullet list of what they are good for or what their weaknesses are or a list of the last 3 things that they did for us? Or... do we see the deep and complex novel that they are? Have you read it recently? Have you caressed the cover, fingered the pages and delved into the heart of their story? Some of us are guilty of making our lives a closed book with a little locket latch that either no one is ever allowed to open or only a special person or two is allowed to unseal. My life is pretty much an open book and you all get to read pages of it each day. I am thankful for the loving way that they are cared for. Luke 12 comes to mind and you might want to take a moment to read it http://www.blueletterbible.org/.../.../x=17&Go.y=8 I wanted to just cut a couple of verses but as I read, each verse was important and then I realized that I was guilty again of just trying to pick out what "I thought" was important. How can I determine which Word of God is important for you today? In our busyness of each day, how much do we just gloss over? ignore? delete? filter out? Send to-> trash can? How many of the whisperings of the Holy Spirit to our heart or directions given to us by the Holy Spirit do we just totally not see or hear because the sound of 16.2 GHz processors (there really isn't such a thing that I am aware of) and shredding machines and dump trucks within our hearts just obscure them. Or how about the cry of "I need you" from our spouse or our child that is not exactly those three words, but it is their way of expressing their need, their way of being themselves, that we just put on the bottom of the "To Do" pile because we did not even recognize it for what it was, when it should have been placed on top. Lots to pray about here. Lots to discern. Lots to prioritize.

But back to the media... I decided to look for something else good and read it. I really didn't have to hunt too hard, but the internet made it much easier than the library. I found this and it spoke to me of how we need to listen and live by our hearts and not by our To Do lists or our agendas. It also spoke of prayer and conveyed some thoughts that I have tried to convey here, but I am not sure that I was able to state them clearly enough. But... there are pages to be written about prayer and Mary and life and love. And here I am again, guilty of trying to tell YOU what is important. Read it. Take 5 minutes and read Luke 12 and the following article by Elizabeth Foss in the Arlington Catholic Herald Aug 12, 2004. God will take care of the rest of the busyness that that 5 minutes is displacing and you won't have to deal with it. What a delicious thought!

By Elizabeth Foss
Arlington Catholic Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 8/12/04)

"You are in big trouble little boy! Now go sit on the step while I get Katie dressed and then we'll talk about it." There went Nicholas, age three, head hung, to sit on the bottom step and ponder his transgressions. I stormed upstairs to dress the baby. A few minutes later, the sound of the piano came to me. I asked a passing child who was "playing" the piano. "It's Nicholas, Mom," came Mary Beth's reply.

I gathered the baby and stormed downstairs, composing a lecture on obedience as I went. I was stopped by the sound of an angelic child's voice: "Be with me Lord when I am in trouble! Be with me Lord, I pray!" He sung the refrain over and over again, lustily imitating the music minister who had sung that psalm at Mass throughout Lent. So far, it was working nicely for Nicholas; my heart softened considerably and he was not in nearly as much trouble.

The episode impressed upon me the need to fill our children with holy songs and prayers upon which they can draw throughout their lives. We use "Hide 'Em in Your Heart" musical tapes for scripture memory and play good Christian music around the house all the time. Nicholas is a big Rich Mullins fan and when he's not in trouble he is fond of reminding us all loudly that "Our God is an Awesome God!"

Not all the memory work is musical though. We memorize traditional prayers as well, tucking them away carefully in the depths of their hearts, where they will be safe forever. I know some people who scorn Catholic rote prayers and rituals. They believe that both petition and worship should be extemporaneous to be truly heartfelt. I cannot disagree more. Like Nicholas, I have found myself singing psalms in times of trouble and offering the same prayers every day for as long as I can remember. I pray extemporaneously too, but those rote prayers have served me well.

Rituals have their place. They are comforting and beautiful and full of tangible meaning. With every baby, I appreciate more the familiar words and gestures of the baptism ritual. I even go back to the same priest every time! It is a joyful, sacred, wholly Catholic and truly sacramental blessing to know that the timeless ritual will be faithfully observed.

Rote prayers are not mindless repetition, either. They are contemplative and have the power to transport us to a more peaceful place where we are better able to meet our Lord. A few days ago, I received a frantic phone call from a friend who was by her infant's side in the pediatric intensive care unit. Barely composed enough to relay the story, she told me that the baby was unresponsive and the medical team had whisked her out of the room. They left my friend, all alone, to... to what? To pray.  My friend had called to ask me to pray with her. As she was talking, I tried to compose a prayer. I am a writer, a wordsmith. I love to turn a phrase, to find just the right expression, especially concerning matters spiritual. But here was someone with a great need and I was so shaken by the implication of what she was suffering that I could barely begin to stutter, "Hail Mary..."

We prayed together, finding a common place of comfort in the familiar words of our childhood. Together we were Catholic... universal and holy. The words transcended the situation, spanned the several states between us and united us with every suffering mother who has ever prayed those words, beseeching the Blessed Mother on behalf of a child. This was not mindless rote repetition; this was earnest prayer--a beautiful, timeless gift of the Church.

I am grateful to the people who taught me those prayers. I am grateful to the musicians who set contemporary prayer to music and I am grateful to the people who hide God's Word in the hearts of my children by singing it there. It is in our hearts that the Lord intended the Word to be. And it is from our hearts that those prayers and songs give glory to God.

Foss is a freelance writer from Northern Va.

Copyright©2004 Arlington Catholic Herald. All rights reserved.

Can you unclutter your heart enough to find His Word today? I have given you some fresh ones to put on the top of the pile. Use them, or use whatever the Spirit guides you to use today. But... Listen. Be aware. Be open to His direction. Let Him run your life. I love you all and I do listen to what say when you respond to these messages. I thank God for the gifts that enable me to witness for Him and for you!

Have a Blessed day everyone!

Cindy

Today we will start with some words from Matthew Kelly...

“Christ wants to reach out and touch every person on earth. He wants to extend the hand of love and friendship to all. The problem is very often the only hand He has to use is the one attached to the end of your arm.”  ~Matthew Kelly~

It seems so simple...  why is it so hard?  Kelly's words came to mind after a couple of you sent me the following pictures...

5 Pictures you won't see on the news!!

I was going to go to bed early this night, but of course I clicked on one more link and came across the sermon below.  To get the full meaning of this, you need to read Romans 12. Click here to read it (no excuse for not having The Word handy) http://www.drbo.org/chapter/52012.htm (Catholic-DRV) Then read the sermon...

Reading From a sermon by Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop

I appeal to you by the mercy of God. This appeal is made by Paul, or rather, it is made by God through Paul, because of God's desire to be loved rather than feared, to be a father rather than a Lord. God appeals to us in his mercy to avoid having to punish us in his severity.

Listen to the Lord's appeal: In me, I want you to see your own body, your members, your heart, your bones, your blood. You may fear what is divine, but why not love what is human? You may run away from me as the Lord, but why not run to me as your father? Perhaps you are filled with shame for causing my bitter passion. Do not be afraid. This cross inflicts a mortal injury, not on me, but on death. These nails no longer pain me, but only deepen your love for me. I do not cry out because of these wounds, but through them I draw you into my heart. My body was stretched on the cross as a symbol, not of how much I suffered, but of my all-embracing love. I count it no less to shed my blood: it is the price I have paid for your ransom. Come, then, return to me and learn to know me as your father, who repays good for evil, love for injury, and boundless charity for piercing wounds.

Listen now to what the Apostle urges us to do. I appeal to you, he says, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. By this exhortation of his, Paul has raised all men to priestly status.

How marvelous is the priesthood of the Christian, for he is both the victim that is offered on his own behalf, and the priest who makes the offering. He does not need to go beyond himself to seek what he is to immolate to God: with himself and in himself he brings the sacrifice he is to offer God for himself. The victim remains and the priest remains, always one and the same. Immolated, the victim still lives: the priest who immolates cannot kill. Truly it is an amazing sacrifice in which a body is offered without being slain and blood is offered without being shed.

The Apostle says: I appeal to you by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Brethren, this sacrifice follows the pattern of Christ's sacrifice by which he gave his body as a living immolation for the life of the world. He really made his body a living sacrifice, because, though slain, he continues to live. In such a victim death receives its ransom, but the victim remains alive. Death itself suffers the punishment. This is why death for the martyrs is actually a birth, and their end a beginning. Their execution is the door to life, and those who were thought to have been blotted out from the earth shine brilliantly in heaven.

Paul says: I appeal to you by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living and holy. The prophet said the same thing: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but you have prepared a body for me. Each of us is called to be both a sacrifice to God and his priest. Do not forfeit what divine authority confers on you. Put on the garment of holiness, gird yourself with the belt of chastity. Let Christ be your helmet, let the cross on your forehead be your unfailing protection. Your breastplate should be the knowledge of God that he himself has given you. Keep burning continually the sweet smelling incense of prayer. Take up the sword of the Spirit. Let your heart be an altar. Then, with full confidence in God, present your body for sacrifice. God desires not death, but faith; God thirsts not for blood, but for self-surrender; God is appeased not by slaughter, but by the offering of your free will.

First, the clarity with which he expresses our Father's love for us in the first two paragraphs is so moving and so real.  As I read this, I could hear Him say..."but why not run to me as your father?"  What answer do I have for that?  The last three paragraphs give us enough to meditate and reflect on for several days.  I have never thought of myself as the victim (even though I have felt that way often enough) and the "priest" making the offering.  But, Christ told us we would be victimized if we stood with Him and for Him and He also told us that we have to offer all of ourselves to Him... that we have to die to ourselves and thus be a living sacrifice... and if we are true Christians, we will also be living victims.  Then, to finish with "the sweet smelling incense of prayer" and the "Sword of the Spirit"... it sets my heart on fire.  The last sentence I think we should all memorize and recite each day as we awake and as we face each challenge that the day put before us.

Peter Chrysologus was born in Imola, Italy in 406 and died in 450.  Younger than I, in an age when there were no books because no one could read, he knows what will still take me years to know... and now... I will never get to sleep.  But doesn't it feel so good to know how much you are loved???  It does feel good and it is good!

Have a great day everyone!  I hope you can get your work done after you read this.

Cindy

I am sorry that I didn't get a page out yesterday, but the server was down at the office and I was unable to get to my distribution list.  I also wanted to tell everyone that I really did not want ACT Medical building to burn down the other night.  I really did thank God that it was a false alarm and I thanked Him that I had a place to work and that I have such great people to work with.  I don't know how we get it all done some days.  People have often asked me how I do what I do.  They want to know how I deal with the sadness that a cancer diagnosis brings into a persons life and they want to know how I deal with the loss of that person’s life.  First, I have to tell them that a lot of people live, and fortunately, many more live then die.  I get the chance to celebrate life each and every day.  I also have to admit that the hardest thing that I have to do is to tell someone that their cancer is back.  It is never easy to tell someone that they have a life-threatening disease process going on... that they may have only a few weeks or a few months of life remaining.  Jim L. sense me this a couple of months back and I have been meaning to get it printed and put it in the my exam rooms.  I will share it with you first.

A Way To Explain Death
 
A sick man turned to his doctor, as in the he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."
 
Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."
 
"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side of which was coming the sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog?
 
He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside.
 
He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing...I know my Master is there and that is enough." 

I pause outside the exam room door each time before I step in to meet with a new patient.  I pause to remind myself that Jesus is in that room.  I pause to ask Him to help them trust Him.  I pause to ask Him to give me the right words... words that they will understand, words that will dissipate their fear, words that will affirm God's love for them…

Right now, since we are celebrating life, let us open each door today, confident in the fact that the Master is on the other side, ready to lead us, ready to share His love and joy, and waiting for us to come to Him.  He is always there… we just have to open the door.

Have a blessed weekend!

Cindy

At a certain college, there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade and mock their statement of faith.

One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand when asked if anyone was a Christian. The professor asked, "Did God make everything, young man?"

"Yes he did, sir," the young man replied.

The professor responded, "If God made everything, then God made evil, and if we can only create from within ourselves, then God is evil."

The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to have once again proved the Christian faith to be a myth.

Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something, sir?"

"Yes you may," responded the professor.

The young man stood up and said, "Sir, is there such thing as cold?"

Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?"

The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold does not exist. What we consider to be cold, is really only the absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."

The young man continued, "Sir, is there such thing as dark?"

Once again, the professor responded "Of course there is."

And once again, the student replied "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term man developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such thing as evil?"

The professor responded, "Of course. We have rapes, and murders and violence everywhere in the world, those things are evil." The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of God. Evil is a term man developed to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love, which exist as virtues like heat and light. Evil is simply the state where God is not present, like cold without heat or darkness without light."

The professor had nothing to say.

Do you know what our job is?  Our job is to put God in those places every day where we see evil being done, where we see despair taking root and destroying a spirit, or where grief and sadness are overwhelming.  The young man above did what we are all called to do.  Evangelize!  Let your actions, not just your words, be the display of God's love in your life.  You walk up to the child hitting the other child and say, "I think that really hurts Johnny when you hit him.  Do you like to be hurt?  I am sure you don't, so let's not hurt Johnny any more and let's tell him that you are sorry for hurting him."

You need to bring light to a situation that is dark and full of despair with a smile and kind words.  You can even add a flower or a plate of cookies.  You can just be present to those who are sad because of a loss, whether it is a job, a loved one, a divorce, or an illness.  Just be there, just as God is always there for you.  It can be such a great comfort to people just to know that they meant enough to you that you took time to be with them.

^{Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,}

^{it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,}

^{it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.}

^{It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.}

^{Love never fails. (1COR 13: 4-8) {NAB}}

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." Numbers 6: 24-26

""Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." Mt 10:8