Christian Comfort ?

(Not to be confused with Southern Comfort!)

Last December, as Woman “A” lay in the hospital and it was apparent to all that she could no longer live alone in her condominium; her children looked for a retirement home for her. Woman A, being a devout Catholic, said that her wish was to stay at the local, and only, Catholic retirement center in the area….

As she spoke to the director of the Catholic Retirement Center, she explained her situation….

She was a devout Catholic who attended church every Sunday for the past 70 years. She had also volunteered, every Sunday, for 30 years at the local church and after that, for the last 10 years or so, she volunteered at the chapel in the local Catholic Hospital. Here, she would show up almost everyday to assist the priest in his duties for the day and then she would also assist those of the Catholic faith and others in the hospital by offering them comfort and/or helping them in prayer to Jesus and God. She was so good at this and so in tune with the fragile souls in the hospital that she developed the ability to know when “it was time” for the priest to offer the final, comforting prayers. Many in the hospital were aware of and in awe of her mysterious ability. Even the priest stated that she was ahead of the doctors with her diagnoses! Anyway, the point is that she had long ago devoted her life to Jesus, God and the Catholic Church. This was her life and in the later years, this was her calling. It meant the world to her. It was her world.

The director, a woman in her 50’s, smartly dressed in the latest fashionable and expensive business outfit, peered down, over her designer prescription glasses, at woman A and said, “I am sure God is very proud of you; however, we have absolutely no room at the “inn” for anyone. I am very sorry. May God be with you.”

Woman A, with a broken heart, was shocked to hear this but nevertheless, silently and meekly left the office accepting the decision and her fate.

Later in the day, came another woman, Woman “B”, into the director’s office and sat down on one side of the very large, hand made, cherry wood desk. She, too, was looking for a retirement place and since she was also Catholic and had attended church on a semi-regular basis, when she had the time since she was always so busy, had also decided that this retirement home was the best one for her. Again, the director told her that there was absolutely no room at the center for anyone.

Then the women stated that she could pay $10K cash, a month, for a room.

Upon hearing this, the director quickly took off her Christian Dior (get it- Christian! Dior) designer glasses, straitened her fancy cashmere jacket and while fumbling around, typed hastily onto the keyboard of her Apple Laptop to “surprisingly” find that, lo and behold, there was indeed a room available in the center for “a women with such outstanding Christian values!” “God is with you”, she said proudly as Woman B smugly left the office, with her assistant by her side.


Meanwhile, Woman A ... still stubbornly living at home for the past year (it was the Catholic Center or none at all!) ... after an emergency operation in the hospital …. Died last week - one week before Christmas ….


And God said, ” the meek shall inherent the earth….”

jbm :(

Faith and God....

As I mentioned before, I was raised a Catholic, went to Catholic school, attended church every Sunday and believed in the hell thing that is always preached about in the weekly sermons. “Fear God” they seemed to say. Funny, but when I read the bible myself, without it being “explained” to me, I saw a God of love. A God of forgiveness. A wise God. A God I wanted to “hang out” with! (Hey, he could turn water into wine…) I did not see the evil, damning one who condemned you for even thinking “bad” thoughts! No, I saw another one.

But then, when I got older and lusted for more knowledge about life, I decided to read up on the different faiths. So, I read books on Jews, Mormons, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Indians, Witches, Zoroastrians or Atheists and any other faith that I could find a book on. Know what I found out (I’m sure you have all heard it before)? I found out that they were all right and all wrong. Outside of Athiesm, they were basically all the same, except for the few “little things” that gave them distintion from the others. They all also preached mind control and power over the individual. A “bowing down” to the Almighty. Except Buddhism, which to me, taugh that “all is within you”. Mmmm. I liked that. All is within me….

Now, I don’t call any religion as mine. I don’t follow any set of rules. I simply refer to myself as spiritual, which can cover many bases. I believe, though sometimes question, in a higher power. A higher entity, a god or whatever human name one wants to give it. I believe we are all a part of it. We all make it up. We are all it and it is in all of us. There is no one “person” at the head of the chain. This is not a chain of command thing where the CEO calls all the shots. No, we are all it and it is us. You might be able to compare it to the human body. Consider all the chemicals and atoms that make up the body. We are the atoms and microorganisms that make up this “God”. All that we see and think. Good, bad: Evil, righteousness. All of the stars and galaxies etc... Everything. They are all part of this body. This power. And we are “it”!

I believe in Reincarnation. So that our souls can become complete. Some say to become “perfect”. Healthy might be more like it. But why? I don’t know yet. They say so that we can become one “with” God again. But what if we are already one with God since we are all “part of it” anyway?

I am not sure of everything and obviously don’t have the answers to all the questions. I do, however, have my beliefs BUT always keep an open mind to various opinions and thoughts. To strongly believe in your faith is fine and I can admire that. No problem with it. However, I don’t believe that anyone should be 100%, without a doubt, sure of their beliefs; not to cover the bases but to leave room for error as we are human, after all. Or is that, we are all divine?

(sure Jim, as usual, will have a nice good opinion on this one! :)
:)

McCain: America is a Christian Nation

McCain: Christian Nation!

I recently read an article where Sen. John McCain basically said that, “…this country was founded on Christian principles and that we should remain a Christian country.” This got me thinking…..

Gee, that’s funny, I seem to recall the founding fathers (and mothers!) coming to America to escape the religious rule and persecutions of the land that were prevalent at that time in Britain and elsewhere in the world. (Not that I was there, of course!) I also thought that our county was built not on the ways of the Christians but more on the ways of the old Greek teachings of democracy. Basic human rights are not the exclusive domain of the church!

More importantly, though, is that McCain is saying that we are a Christian nation and that we should stay a Christian nation. Now, I have nothing against Christians, having been raised in a Catholic house and all, but I do seem to recall a little thing called “separation of Church and State” somewhere…OH yea, in that neat little thing called the CONSTITUTION!

I believe one thing that what makes the states special is that (supposed) “Separation of Church and State.” It means that no one faith will be established as the law of the land. Nor as the faith of the people. We are free to choose our own. Furthermore, because of this, it’s the melting pot of faiths in the country that enables one to read about, learn about and discuss the various views of life. Maybe even to grow a little? To change for the better? I know that I did. Look at the counties around the world that are of one faith and the mess and havoc they have or have created. The words “freedom of religion” is not in their constitution…

Personally, I could care less what your “beliefs” are. It’s not my job to control your thoughts or to tell you what to believe in and I know that it’s definitely not the government’s job either.

Now I know that John McCain is a politician and that he’s not going to be elected President, so his comment should be taken with a grain of salt; however, his statement is actually a look into the thoughts of many hard core Christians who could influence the election (see GWB) and would change the constitution in a minute - thus, imperiling the basic fundamental rights of many citizens of different faiths – if they could. (Some hard core “robots” even believe that all “non-Christians” should be deported from the country.) I’m not aware of any other faith in this country that wants to change the constitution and make this a Muslim Country or a Jewish Country or an Atheist Country. How would the Christians like to have the shoe on the other foot? All faiths are equal in this country and no one faith should reside above another. We are a multi-faith country. Period!

Jews, Mormons, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Atheists and even Witches are all welcome in my house and will be embraced with open arms. I will offer them all a beer or a glass of wine. I will sit and listen patiently as they tell me their stories for they have all made contributions to the advancement of mankind through their diverse views and writings on humanity and the soul. We should all be thankfull for it. Like the various colors of the rainbow, it’s the various beliefs that make this world a great place.

We are all the same, yet we are all unique and special in our own way. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. Follow your heart with confidence and you will find your way.


right or rong?

THE little THINGS

the 'L I T T L E' things.

As you might know, the CEO of a company survived 9/11
because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
Alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
Because of an auto accident.

One of them
Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to
"take time to change".

One's
Car wouldn't start.

One went back to
Answer the telephone.

One had a
Child that dawdled
And didn't get ready as soon as he should have.

One
Couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man
Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
Took the various means to get to work
But before he got there, he developed
a blister on his foot.
He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.



Now, when I am:
Stuck in traffic,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone...
All the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,

This is exactly where
I was meant to be
At this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be
Going wrong,
The children are slow getting dressed,
You can't seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,

Don't get mad or frustrated; It
May just be that

Some one is watching over you?



This was sent to me by my "friend", Stu.
Best wishes to all the 9/11 victims, survivors, friends and relatives.

right or rong?