Please Share Your Celebration, Don't Leave Anyone Alone This Christmas

 

Is there someone who will be alone this Christmas unless you share your holiday with them?
Invite them to spend the day with you.

BE SAFE: Vaccinate, Boost, Mask for your holiday gatherings!

Spending the holidays without family can feel depressing.
If you are not with your family this holiday,
take positive steps to feel good about yourself:
affirm your self worth,
spend time with your religious (or community) group,
and extend yourself to be of service to the less fortunate.

We may have found a cure for most evils;
but we have found no remedy for the worst of them all,
the apathy of human beings.
- Helen Keller

Lord, grant that I might not so much
seek to be loved as to love.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Constant kindness can accomplish much.
As the sun makes ice melt,
kindness causes misunderstanding,
mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
- Albert Schweitzer

There are no strangers on Christmas Eve.
- Adele Comandini

Further reading: The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Do God's Work

Love All, Judge None

Jesus Commands Us: Love One Another
        

Be Just, Tender, and Humble

 

Know the power of kindness.
Whatever you do, do with kindness.
Whatever you say, say with kindness.
Wherever you go,
radiate your kindness to all.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

This is what the Lord asks of you: only this,
to act justly, to love tenderly,
and to walk humbly with your God.
- Micah 6:8

The hallmark of a true Christian is charity in thought, word, and deed.
Charity is the principal Christian virtue.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you share your last crust of bread with a beggar,
you mustn't behave as if you were throwing a bone to a dog.
You must give humbly, and thank him for allowing you
to have a part in his hunger.
- Giovanni Guareschi

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
- St Francis of Assisi

Jesus preached more and taught more
about helping the poor and the sick and the hungry
than he did about heaven and hell.
Shouldn't that tell us something?
- John Grisham

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

Further reading: Charity: To Do God's Work

The Purpose of Our Lives

Basic Kindness

Measure of Your Heart  
        

Act Justly, Love Tenderly, Walk Humbly

 

Know the power of kindness.
Whatever you do, do with kindness.
Whatever you say, say with kindness.
Wherever you go,
radiate your kindness to all.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

This is what the Lord asks of you: only this,
to act justly, to love tenderly,
and to walk humbly with your God.
- Micah 6:8

The hallmark of a true Christian is charity in thought, word, and deed.
Charity is the principal Christian virtue.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you share your last crust of bread with a beggar,
you mustn't behave as if you were throwing a bone to a dog.
You must give humbly, and thank him for allowing you
to have a part in his hunger.
- Giovanni Guareschi

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
- St Francis of Assisi

Jesus preached more and taught more
about helping the poor and the sick and the hungry
than he did about heaven and hell.
Shouldn't that tell us something?
- John Grisham

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

Further reading: Charity: To Do God's Work

The Purpose of Our Lives

Basic Kindness

Measure of Your Heart  
        

Please Share Your Celebration, Don't Leave Anyone Alone On Christmas

 

Is there someone who will be alone this Christmas unless you share your holiday with them?
Invite them to spend the day with you.

BE SAFE: Vaccinate, Boost, Mask for your holiday gatherings!

Spending the holidays without family can feel depressing.
If you are not with your family this holiday,
take positive steps to feel good about yourself:
affirm your self worth,
spend time with your religious (or community) group,
and extend yourself to be of service to the less fortunate.

We may have found a cure for most evils;
but we have found no remedy for the worst of them all,
the apathy of human beings.
- Helen Keller

Lord, grant that I might not so much
seek to be loved as to love.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Constant kindness can accomplish much.
As the sun makes ice melt,
kindness causes misunderstanding,
mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
- Albert Schweitzer

There are no strangers on Christmas Eve.
- Adele Comandini

Further reading: The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Do God's Work

Love All, Judge None

Jesus Commands Us: Love One Another
        

The Power of Kindness

Know the power of kindness.
Whatever you do, do with kindness.
Whatever you say, say with kindness.
Wherever you go,
radiate your kindness to all.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

This is what the Lord asks of you: only this,
to act justly, to love tenderly,
and to walk humbly with your God.
- Micah 6:8

The hallmark of a true Christian is charity in thought, word, and deed.
Charity is the principle Christian virtue.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you share your last crust of bread with a beggar,
you mustn't behave as if you were throwing a bone to a dog.
You must give humbly, and thank him for allowing you
to have a part in his hunger.
- Giovanni Guareschi

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
- St Francis of Assisi

Jesus preached more and taught more
about helping the poor and the sick and the hungry
than he did about heaven and hell.
Shouldn't that tell us something?
- John Grisham

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

Further reading: Charity: To Do God's Work

The Purpose of Our Lives

Basic Kindness

Measure of Your Heart  
        

Christmas Eve 2020 - Welcome a Stranger This Christmas

BE SAFE: Distance, Mask! This year you can love and support family, friends and strangers from a distance: call or video chat, share a virtual meal and celebration. Infecting others is not being kind or loving.

Spending the holidays without family can feel depressing.
If you are not with your family this holiday,
take positive steps to feel good about yourself:
affirm your self worth,
spend time with your religious (or community) group,
and extend yourself to be of service to the less fortunate.

Is there someone who will be alone this Christmas unless you share your holiday with them?
Invite them to spend the day with you. (virtually)

We may have found a cure for most evils;
but we have found no remedy for the worst of them all,
the apathy of human beings.
- Helen Keller

Lord, grant that I might not so much
seek to be loved as to love.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Constant kindness can accomplish much.
As the sun makes ice melt,
kindness causes misunderstanding,
mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
- Albert Schweitzer

There are no strangers on Christmas Eve.
- Adele Comandini

Further reading: The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Do God's Work

Love All, Judge None

Jesus Commands Us: Love One Another
        

The Little Things You Do

It's the little things you do
that can make a big difference.
- Bob Proctor

There are no small acts of kindness.
Every compassionate act makes large the world.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

For it is in giving that we receive.
- St. Francis of Assisi

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
- Mother Teresa

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
- Jesus (Matthew 25:40)

Our opportunity is to visualize a kinder world.
To sing glad songs of tomorrow -
imagining a world of love -
of the whole world filled with love.
To offer our hand... often.
To breathe deeply and honor ourselves.
To pause and contemplate... just because.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Become Kinder

Have Faith that God will do what is Right

I Will Fear No Evil

The Reality of Money
      

Charity in Thought, Word, and Deed

This is what the Lord asks of you: only this,
to act justly, to love tenderly,
and to walk humbly with your God.
- Micah 6:8

When you share your last crust of bread with a beggar,
you mustn't behave as if you were throwing a bone to a dog.
You must give humbly, and thank him for allowing you
to have a part in his hunger.
- Giovanni Guareschi

Jesus preached more and taught more
about helping the poor and the sick and the hungry
than he did about heaven and hell.
Shouldn't that tell us something?
- John Grisham

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
- St Francis of Assisi

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

The hallmark of a true Christian is charity in thought, word, and deed.
Charity is the principle Christian virtue.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie


Further reading: Charity: To Do God's Work

Measure of Your Heart  

Basic Kindness

The Purpose of Our Lives
        

Respect And Care For God's Natural World

Walk in the woods and listen carefully,
for trees speak with the voice of God.
- George Washington Carver (paraphrase)

Find out how much God has given you
and from it take what you need;
the remainder is needed by others.
- Saint Augustine

If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures
from the shelter of compassion and pity,
you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Show me your hands.
Do they have scars from giving?
Show me your feet.
Are they wounded in service?
Show me your heart.
Have you left a place for divine love?
- Fulton J. Sheen (Archbishop)

God expects us to care for His world -
to clean up our sewage and our industrial pollution -
to respect His forests and His wild animals.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Keep the Golden Rule

Confession of Sins

Unity in One Body and One Spirit
     

No Enemies

No one is to be called an enemy,
all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm.
You have no enemy except yourselves.
- St. Francis of Assisi

In the practice of tolerance,
one's enemy is the best teacher.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Conflict cannot survive without your participation.
- Wayne Dyer

An "enemy" is a mirage -
an image of self reflected on the sands of Hell.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Few are the giants of the soul that actually feel
that the human race is their family circle.
- Freya Stark

Lord, grant comfort, joy and health
to those I call friend,
to those I call "enemy,"
and to those I have cursed by my indifference.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Enemies

Go and Do Likewise

Forgo Conflict
      

Sow Love and Peace

You have heard that it was said,
"Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth."
But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person.
If someone strikes you on the right cheek,
turn to him the other also.
- Jesus (Matthew 5:38-39)

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
- St. Francis of Assisi

If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray,
does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains
and go in search of the one that went astray?
And if he finds it, truly I tell you,
he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.
- Jesus (Matthew 18:12-13)

It is not enough to say we must not wage war.
It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Know that all people are your brothers and sisters.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Where there is Great Love

Be a Channel for God's Light

Gain Peace Through Peace

Do God's Work
    

Generosity and Kindness

It is in giving that we receive.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Kindness is better than piety.
- Yiddish Proverb

I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Life is an exciting business,
and most exciting when it is lived for others.
- Helen Keller

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Further reading: Be of Service

The Actions of True Love

Love Your Neighbor
      

Be a Peacemaker

Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
- Jesus (Matthew 5:7,9)

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
- St Francis of Assisi

The Christian gospel is a summons to peace,
calling for justice beyond anger,
mercy beyond justice,
forgiveness beyond mercy,
love beyond forgiveness.
- Wendell Berry

It isn't enough to talk about peace.
One must believe in it.
And it isn't enough to believe in it.
One must work at it.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Further reading: Love All, Judge None

Hatred vs. Love

Cherish the Earth

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
     

Let There Be No Strangers On Christmas Eve

There are no strangers on Christmas Eve.
- Adele Comandini

Spending the holidays without family can feel depressing.
If you are not with your family this holiday,
take positive steps to feel good about yourself:
affirm your self worth,
spend time with your religious (or community) group,
and extend yourself to be of service to the less fortunate.

Is there someone who will be alone this Christmas unless you share your holiday with them?
Invite them to spend the day with you.

Lord, grant that I might not so much
seek to be loved as to love.
- St. Francis of Assisi

We may have found a cure for most evils;
but we have found no remedy for the worst of them all,
the apathy of human beings.
- Helen Keller

Constant kindness can accomplish much.
As the sun makes ice melt,
kindness causes misunderstanding,
mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.
- Albert Schweitzer

Further reading: The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Love All, Judge None

Do God's Work

To Be a Faithful Follower of Jesus
        

Charity is the Principle Christian Virtue

This is what the Lord asks of you: only this,
to act justly, to love tenderly,
and to walk humbly with your God.
- Micah 6:8

Jesus preached more and taught more
about helping the poor and the sick and the hungry
than he did about heaven and hell.
Shouldn't that tell us something?
- John Grisham

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
- St Francis of Assisi

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

The hallmark of a true Christian is charity in thought, word, and deed.
Charity is the principle Christian virtue.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Charity: To Do God's Work

Basic Kindness

Measure of Your Heart 

The Purpose of Our Lives
      

Every Compassionate Act

There are no small acts of kindness.
Every compassionate act makes large the world.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
- Mother Teresa

It's the little things you do
that can make a big difference.
- Bob Proctor

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
- Jesus (Matthew 25:40)

For it is in giving that we receive.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Our opportunity is to visualize a kinder world.
To sing glad songs of tomorrow -
imagining a world of love -
of the whole world filled with love.
To offer our hand... often.
To breathe deeply and honor ourselves.
To pause and contemplate... just because.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Become Kinder

I Will Fear No Evil

Have Faith that God will do what is Right

The Reality of Money
      

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
- although attributed to St. Francis of Assisi,
this prayer first appeared (written in French) in 1912

Further reading: The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Doing God's Work

Feed Just One

Be an Open Channel

Peace IS the Way
      

Death is Going Home to God

Death is nothing else but going home to God,
the bond of love will be unbroken for all eternity.
- Mother Teresa

While we are mourning the loss of our friend,
others are rejoicing to meet him behind the veil.
- John Taylor

It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.
- Lao Tzu

"I go to prepare a place for you."
- John 14:2

There is no death, only a change of worlds.
- Chief Seattle

Death is not extinguishing the light;
it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Further reading: Death - Comfort

Have a Conversation With God, Today

Feel Your Connection With the Infinite - a Meditation

Unanswered Prayers

Let Each Day be a Thanksgiving
      

Compassion, Generosity, Service

I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and saw that life was service.
I acted and behold, service was joy.
- Rabindranath Tagore

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

It is in giving that we receive.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Life is an exciting business,
and most exciting when it is lived for others.
- Helen Keller

Kindness is better than piety.
- Yiddish Proverb

Further reading: What Does Love Look Like?

Being of Service

Love Your Neighbor
      

Blessed are the Peacemakers

Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
- Jesus (Matthew 5:7,9)

It isn't enough to talk about peace.
One must believe in it.
And it isn't enough to believe in it.
One must work at it.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

The Christian gospel is a summons to peace,
calling for justice beyond anger,
mercy beyond justice,
forgiveness beyond mercy,
love beyond forgiveness.
- Wendell Berry

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
- St Francis of Assisi

Further reading: Love All, Judge None

Cherish the Earth

Hatred vs. Love

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi