Then the LORD said (to Elijah), “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” 
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD – but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake – but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire – but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?” 1 Kings 19:11-13
Why are YOU here?
Was it to discover magnificent colors? Was it to find colorful music or awesome videos? Was it just curiosity? Was it accidental? Were you really looking for God, for Hope, for true LOVE somewhere in this menagerie we call the web? Or were you just hiding in a cave, waiting on the Lord to whisper in your ear – a Word – LIFE! Life, it’s in You! And YOU are beautiful in the Eyes of God, no matter what the world may say or think.
You are Loved, beloved!!
Every day the Lord whispers in our ears – Words of HOPE, Words of LOVE, and maybe not even words – just His JOY in our hearts. Let’s follow the Scriptures of our daily Mass and see if we can catch those Words – simple but beautiful Whispers to the Wind . . .
For Daily Scripture Quotes:
Link to Scriptures by Date
To find Quote sources, click on Link above, select Today’s Readings or pick date from calendar.
Link for information on the day’s saints is at the bottom of this page.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Quotes for reflection:
05-31-12
(The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Elizabeth said to Mary, “Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Lk 1:39-56
Most BLESSED!
Mary,
Jesus,
and You too beloved!
As we come to the close of this very blessed month of May, we again remember our most blessed Mother Mary, the mother of our Lord and God,
Jesus Christ and all of our mothers. In this encounter of the Mother of the Message (Jesus) and the mother of the Messenger (John the Baptist), the whole world is
blessed with new life, new hope and the awesome grace of God’s love.
And through it all – we GIVE THANKS!
05-30-12
“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers, and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1 Pt 1:18-25
Jesus said, “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.” Mk 10:32-45
So, eternity is not about Glory, which is passing.
Eternity is about Love and Service of and to others.
These remain forever!
05-29-12
Jesus said, “many that are first will be last,
and the last will be first.” Mk 10:28-31
So much for presumption.
So much for priority, seniority, hierarchy.
Just be the best us we can be and don’t worry about being first!
05-28-12
Jesus said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.” Mk 10:17-27
Possible to give up our wealth to the poor.
Possible to give up our addictions to follow Jesus instead.
Possible to find hope and joy in a life of hopelessness and desperation.
Possible to generously walk a camel through the eye of a needle.
Possible to be forgiven by Love incarnate.
Jesus, looking at him, loved him,
just as he does us beloved,
despite our weaknesses!
05-27-12
(Pentecost Sunday)
“suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind,”
and “there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” Acts 2:1-11
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit. Jn 20:19-23
Wind, Fire and Breath – The Holy Spirit
in a life giving wind,
in a purifying fire,
and in the Peace imparting breath.
BELIEVE, ACCEPT and ENJOY
The Holy Spirit!
05-26-12
At the conclusion of John’s Gospel he proclaimed:
“There are also many other things that Jesus did,
but if these were to be described individually, I do not think
the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” Jn 21:20-25
OH, there’s more?
There’s much much more, beloved!
05-25-12
Jesus asked Peter, “do you love me more than these?” …
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.“…
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” …
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” …
And when he had said this, he said to him,
“Follow me.” Jn 21:15-19
How do we show our love for Jesus?
How do we show our love for one another?
We feed, we tend, the little ones and the hungry and the lost.
We FOLLOW – just what Jesus modeled for us to do.
So what is Love?
Love IS.
Just as Jesus answered the Pharisees question of ‘who are you.’
Jesus said “I AM.”
LOVE IS!
05-24-12
Paul said, “I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
Acts 22:30 – 23:11
Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope. Ps 16
Maybe someday I’ll have a nice new car.
Maybe someday I’ll have a nice new job.
Maybe someday I’ll have . . .
But you know, it’s funny, all of those are just passing fancies.
Yet someday I know I will definitely die.
And in dying, I also know I will rise again,
in the Glorious presence of God
that will never fade and never pass.
Now that’s HOPE!
05-23-12
Jesus said, “They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.” Jn 17:11-19
None of us do!
Yet, are we being deceived into thinking that we belong –
to money (in glut or debt), or to sex (in surfeit or dearth)
to competitiveness, or jealousy, to vengeance, or pride?
To NONE of these do we truly belong,
but only to God, only to Jesus.
Pray, beloved, that we recognize our transiency here.
And in our longing to be HOME,
may we always make the best of this world,
for the Glory of His Name and for the LIVES of
all our brothers and sisters
in Christ Jesus!
05-22-12
(St. Rita of Cascia)
Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.“
What is eternal life?
Knowing God and Believing in Jesus.
05-21-12
Jesus said, “In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.” Jn 16:29-33
Jesus knew the strength that the Father and the Holy Spirit
could impart both for himself and for his disciples. Believe!
Despite what the world throws at us,
we have that same strength, beloved.
BELIEVE.
05-20-12
(Seventh Sunday of Easter B / The Ascension of the Lord)
Jesus said, “Go into the whole world and
proclaim the gospel to every creature.“
. . Our assignment.
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God. Mk 16:15-20
The Ascension.
“Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Acts 1:1-11
The Promise.
05-19-12
Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.“
Yesterday, we attended our daughter’s graduation and listened
to the the most beautiful invocation prayer. After giving thanks
and asking of God, our Father, all kinds of wonderful blessings,
the preacher in “political correctness” concluded,
“We ask all this in your Name, amen.”
In a low voice I added, “We ask this in Jesus’ Name.”
The Apostles were not ashamed nor worried about political correctness.
They were not even concerned about persecution, to yell from the rooftops,
“JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!”
and neither should we.
05-18-12
Jesus said, “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.” Jn 16:20-23
JOY. It’s so far beyond what happiness could ever be!
Only with Jesus!
05-17-12
Jesus said, “A little while and you will no longer see me,
and again a little while later and you will see me.” Jn 16:16
Jesus was talking about his death and resurrection,
but they did not understand.
I will always remember a note in my 9th grade yearbook from a friend
who quoted John 16:16. It prompted me to look it up and I
thought how perfectly appropriate that quote was for friends
leaving school for summer vacation
before seeing each other again the following fall.
What an awesome way to evangelize!
Since then I’ve used it myself on occasion and
will never forget John 16:16!
05-16-12
Paul professed to the people of Athens,
“indeed he (God) is not far from any one of us.
For ‘In him we live and move and have our being,’” Acts 17:15 – 18:1
Jesus said, “when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.” Jn 16:12-15
God is always with us:
Father to ask, Jesus to intercede, Holy Spirit to guide.
Thus, we are never alone!
05-15-12
After witnessing the miracle of the freeing of Paul and Silas
from prison, their jailor asked,
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:22-34
BELIEVE!!!
05-14-12
(St. Matthias, Apostle)
“The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.” Ps 113
In replacement for Judas Iscariot who dishonorably left the twelve…
“the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the Eleven Apostles.”
Acts 1:15-26
05-13-12
(Sixth Sunday of Easter B)
St. John said, “everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God,
for God is love.” 1 Jn 4:7-10
Jesus said, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.” Jn 15:9-17
All week we’ve heard about God’s LOVE in many different ways.
If we can “remain” IN His Love, and become imbued with it,
then we will live in Peace and Joy,
even when the world around us is falling apart!
It’s our . . .
05-12-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.” Jn 15:18-21
Oh, Lord, but I still have to live here.
I still have to feed my family.
I know that you love me.
And I love and belong ONLY to you!
And I know that you will give whatever I ask in your Name.
Just help me survive in this world, until we’re reunited in the next.
Give me strength, my beloved!
(and maybe a source of income would be nice too)
05-11-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”
Eros
Philios
Agape
.
.
.
.
.
.
05-10-12
(continued from yesterday)
In response to the discussion about circumcision of the Gentiles,
Peter boldly proclaimed, “God, who knows the heart,
bore witness by granting them (the Gentiles) the Holy Spirit
just as he did us. He made no distinction between us and them,
for by faith he purified their hearts.” Acts 15:7-21
And that made the Gentiles (all the non-Jewish world)
open to that ENORMOUS Love of God.
Jesus said, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” Jn 15:9-11
It’s just UNIMAGINABLE that Jesus could love us THAT much!!!
But He does, beloved. He really does!
05-09-12
Paul, now a follower, believer and advocate for Jesus,
after learning of his mission to evangelize and convert Gentiles,
was confronted by some faithful Jewish-Christians about
the worthiness of the Gentiles to join their new community, saying,
“Unless you (they) are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you (they) cannot be saved.” Acts 15:1-6
You see, besides the fact that these Gentiles had for centuries been the
enemies, the outsiders, the untouchables to the Jews, the Jews had
themselves been through long lives of regulations, restrictions and
this “sign of the covenant” of their ancestor Abraham with God,
circumcision. So there was no way those Gentiles were going to
freely receive the gift of Jesus and eternal salvation…
according to them!
But Jesus had other plans,
as we’ve seen in His own dealings with the Gentiles,
and as we will see in the next couple days readings from the Book of Acts.
While He was still with His disciples, Jesus said,
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” Jn 15:1-8
Sometimes, beloved, we too need a little pruning,
just like those new Jewish-Christians.
A little letting go of prejudices and pride
and a little more open-hearted LOVE.
Cause, you know what,
Jesus loves, even those who don’t yet know –
that they are His ‘beloved’ too!
05-08-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” Jn 14:27-31
“. . . Look not on our sins, but on the FAITH of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will.”
(New Roman Missal)
Jesus continued, “Not as the world gives do I give it to you.“
Which is to say, “If you give to me, I’ll give back in return.”
Or, “If you love me, I’ll love you back in return.”
Jesus GIVES, asking nothing and requiring nothing.
It’s called Grace.
And Jesus LOVES, just because You ARE!
So just BE, beloved . . . in His Love!
And there, you’ll find . . .
PEACE!
05-07-12
Jesus said, “Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we will come to him
and make our dwelling with him.” Jn 14:21-26
Remember that “place” Jesus was preparing for us on 05-04-12.
He said, “Where I am, you also may be.”
His DWELLING will be within US!
All we need do is “keep His word.”
And His Word is – Love!
05-06-12
(Fifth Sunday of Easter B)
Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.” Jn 15:1-8
A network, a spiderweb, a family tree, the body’s circulatory system,
a thriving community, a grapevine. What do they all have in common?
CONNECTION.
Without connection, none of them can even exist.
Yet with connection, they are stronger than anything else.
So why do we have Church?
Connection, community, the necessary strength to remain,
and remain Strong as “the Body of Christ.”
I heard a young person recently complain that there was no zeal, no enthusiasm,
no excitement in the Church. Well, gas is not very exciting either, yet it can run
my motorcycle, it can burn my brush pile (even explosively),
and it can even cause a world wide economic crises.
The vine provides the nourishment, the heart pumps the blood, the spider builds
the web and Abraham and Sarah began a family that grew more numerous
than the stars in the sky.
But it was not the vine, the heart, the web, the ancestors, nor the gas
that was supposed to be zealous and exciting.
It -IS- the stars (the active descendants), the trapped fly in that spiderweb,
the moving and creative body fed by a heart, the delicious grapes grown on that vine
and the screaming fast motorcycle run on that gas,
that provide the Excitement!
If we are looking for excitement in the Church
or the goal of the church is to excite –
then something is clearly wrong.
The excitement is supposed to be in US, fed by the Church.
And if the Church becomes the entertainment, then where is the “meat,”
where is the theology, the sacraments, the sanctity and the priesthood?
These are the lifeblood.
Jesus is the vine! WE are the branches.
We are the grapes, the body, the descendents, the fly and the motorcycle.
We ARE the Excitement!
So don’t let them deceive you, beloved.
Stay CONNECTED to Jesus our vine, through our Holy Mother, Catholic Church.
And you’ll discover all the excitement you could ever possibly imagine!
In Christ’s LOVE, as Community!
05-05-12
Jesus said, “I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that
the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Jn 14:7-14
BELIEVE !!!!!
“the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them from their territory.
So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them”
Acts 13:44-52
It comes off!
Don’t allow the dust of hatred, anger, vengeance, persecution, ignorance
or just plain outright evil to remain clinging to you!
Shake it off and move on!
And continue to
BELIEVE.
05-04-12
Jesus said, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.” Jn 14:1-6
No more mortgage, no more broken down cars and refrigerators.
No more painting and dusting and cleaning clothes.
No more “too hot” or “too cold” because we can’t afford the utility bills.
No more mowing and weeding and fighting bugs.
No more thorn trees and fixing tractor tires and emptying septic systems and
“quick enjoy that tree” before the wind or the lightning or the bugs destroy it.
Maybe “Heaven Can Wait,” but I sure can’t!
Not that we don’t have it pretty good, compared to many, but HEAVEN!
Please keep my reservation Jesus, and I’ll try my best to survive this the best I can.
And in the process I’ll let them all know,
IT – WILL – ALL – BE – WORTH – IT,
to be at Home with YOU,
FOREVER!
05-03-12
(Sts. Philip and James, apostles)
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jn 14:6-14
The WAY of Love.
The TRUTH that Love conquers all, even death.
And the LIFE – that only by following the WAY and living the TRUTH,
will we ever discover the LIFE – that only Jesus/God can give!
And as for Philip and James and us, beloved:
“Through all the earth their (our) voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their (His) message.” Ps 19
LOVE
05-02-12
(St. Athanasius)
Jesus said, “I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.”
“… for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.”
Jn 12:44-50
If Jesus didn’t come to judge and condemn,
who am I to??
So, am I serving as His LIGHT
to those in darkness?
And if so, how many did He save today,
using me as His “instrument”?
Jesus, ‘Make me an instrument of your peace!“
05-01-12
(Feast of St. Joseph the Worker)
Paul and Barnabas taught the new believers in the Church at Antioch.
“.. and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.” Acts 11:19-26
Jesus told the non-believing Jews,
“My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.” Jn 10:22-30
NO ONE can take us out of our Father’s hands, beloved.
With all our hearts and all our souls we MUST believe this.
For Jesus would not have died for us otherwise!
And for this, we are called Christians.
And for this we would equally die to bring others
to know the salvation of Jesus Christ.
Happy May, dearest!
Please stop by and visit April’s Daily Mass Quotes too…
___________________
EARLIER MONTH’S QUOTES under the “The Lord’s Page”
in monthly subcategories of – “Whispers to the Wind”
entitled “Daily Mass Quotes” (DMQs)
___________________________________
Link to Previous Month’s DMQs
Link to Following Month’s DMQs
Link back to Whispers to the Wind
Link to Saint of the Day
(also in Time page, under Liturgical Seasons section)
Whispers to the Wind 