This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital.It was sent by a medical doctor - Make sure to read what is in the closing statement AFTER THE POEM.
SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask
How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
Ever told your child,We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost his touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,'Hi'
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,I
t is like an unopened gift..Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Friday, 1 May 2009
Priest Urges Stop to Mideast Christian Exodus
Calls for Support and Renewal in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, APRIL 30, 2009 (Zenit.org).- As Gaza's lone Catholic priest retires, he is noting the drastic decline of the city's situation and the need to support the Christian community there.
Aid to the Church in Need reported the statements of Monsignor Manuel Musallam, 71, today, hours before he leaves Gaza after serving 14 years as a parish priest for the approximately 5,000 Catholics.He underlined the need to stop the "Christian exodus" from the Middle East, stating that the Church members are "increasingly desperate to leave the region in search of a better future abroad."The priest reported: "The destruction has become deeper and deeper. Things are getting worse and worse. Many, many families are suffering."People cannot receive electricity all the time because there is a lack of fuel to run the generators. There is a shortage of clean water, sanity is poor. Education and medical care is also not good."Monsignor Musallam spoke about the impact of the recent Israeli military campaign against Gaza, which claimed over 1,100 lives, destroyed homes and left 400,000 people without running water. He added that this conflict was "just part of a cycle of decline" during his term as pastor.The priest reported: "The people are more aggressive. There is a lot more hate towards the situation they are in -- especially among the young."He continued: "Our precious trees have been uprooted.
Our buildings have been destroyed. Our streets have been destroyed."Our land has been burnt by bombs and so we cannot produce anything. We are just consumers now. The machines and cars are old. Everything needs to be renewed."
Solidarity
The monsignor expressed gratitude for the aid agency's help, noting that the community "felt strengthened by the support from outside" and saw in it "another way toward hope."He continued: "We admire very much the solidarity shown towards the people of this land. The friendship between Christians elsewhere in the world and here is very strong. We hope this link will continue for a long time. "The support and love shown to the people of Palestine will continue to encourage them to bear witness to Christ. We hope this will encourage them not to emigrate."Monsignor Musallam will retire in the West Bank town of Ramallah, close to family and friends. He will be succeeded by Argentine Father George Hermandes.The monsignor said: "I am leaving this place for ever. I am not anxious or sad. I have completed my job and my successor is in place."
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, APRIL 30, 2009 (Zenit.org).- As Gaza's lone Catholic priest retires, he is noting the drastic decline of the city's situation and the need to support the Christian community there.
Aid to the Church in Need reported the statements of Monsignor Manuel Musallam, 71, today, hours before he leaves Gaza after serving 14 years as a parish priest for the approximately 5,000 Catholics.He underlined the need to stop the "Christian exodus" from the Middle East, stating that the Church members are "increasingly desperate to leave the region in search of a better future abroad."The priest reported: "The destruction has become deeper and deeper. Things are getting worse and worse. Many, many families are suffering."People cannot receive electricity all the time because there is a lack of fuel to run the generators. There is a shortage of clean water, sanity is poor. Education and medical care is also not good."Monsignor Musallam spoke about the impact of the recent Israeli military campaign against Gaza, which claimed over 1,100 lives, destroyed homes and left 400,000 people without running water. He added that this conflict was "just part of a cycle of decline" during his term as pastor.The priest reported: "The people are more aggressive. There is a lot more hate towards the situation they are in -- especially among the young."He continued: "Our precious trees have been uprooted.
Our buildings have been destroyed. Our streets have been destroyed."Our land has been burnt by bombs and so we cannot produce anything. We are just consumers now. The machines and cars are old. Everything needs to be renewed."
Solidarity
The monsignor expressed gratitude for the aid agency's help, noting that the community "felt strengthened by the support from outside" and saw in it "another way toward hope."He continued: "We admire very much the solidarity shown towards the people of this land. The friendship between Christians elsewhere in the world and here is very strong. We hope this link will continue for a long time. "The support and love shown to the people of Palestine will continue to encourage them to bear witness to Christ. We hope this will encourage them not to emigrate."Monsignor Musallam will retire in the West Bank town of Ramallah, close to family and friends. He will be succeeded by Argentine Father George Hermandes.The monsignor said: "I am leaving this place for ever. I am not anxious or sad. I have completed my job and my successor is in place."
You Are What You Eat!
Posted: 30 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT
Acts 9:1-20 / Jn 6:52-59
In virtually all cultures, there are few ideas more repugnant and few taboos more inviolable than those regarding cannibalism. Most people would rather die than eat the flesh of a fellow human being. Hence, we can understand the consternation that Jesus’ followers felt when he told them that unless they ate his flesh and drank his blood they would have no life in them. What a jolt that must have been! He hadn’t given them the class on the Eucharist yet.
There’s a saying in our culture that gives a good insight as to where Jesus was leading them. It says, “You are what you eat.” In a spiritual sense, that’s exactly what Jesus wants for us, to become a part of him and to replicate in each part of our life and character his goodness.
Our bonding with him, especially by sharing the Eucharist, will give us the strength and energy to grow into his goodness. That strength and energy is what we call “grace.”
What a remarkable destiny we have: To become brothers and sisters to the Lord Jesus, in the truest and fullest sense. How loved we are! Let us give thanks and love in return.
Acts 9:1-20 / Jn 6:52-59
In virtually all cultures, there are few ideas more repugnant and few taboos more inviolable than those regarding cannibalism. Most people would rather die than eat the flesh of a fellow human being. Hence, we can understand the consternation that Jesus’ followers felt when he told them that unless they ate his flesh and drank his blood they would have no life in them. What a jolt that must have been! He hadn’t given them the class on the Eucharist yet.
There’s a saying in our culture that gives a good insight as to where Jesus was leading them. It says, “You are what you eat.” In a spiritual sense, that’s exactly what Jesus wants for us, to become a part of him and to replicate in each part of our life and character his goodness.
Our bonding with him, especially by sharing the Eucharist, will give us the strength and energy to grow into his goodness. That strength and energy is what we call “grace.”
What a remarkable destiny we have: To become brothers and sisters to the Lord Jesus, in the truest and fullest sense. How loved we are! Let us give thanks and love in return.
Pope Urges Youth to Fall in Love
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging youth to get to know and fall in love with Christ, just as St. Catherine of Siena did in the 14th century.
The Pope made this invitation today, feast of St. Catherine, at the end of the general audience in St. Peter's Square.
St. Catherine (1347-1380) is a doctor of the Church whom the Holy Father presented as a model for youth, the ill and for newlyweds in his traditional greetings at the end of the audience.
"Fall in love with Christ, as Catherine did, so as to follow him with verve and fidelity," the Pope told the young people in the square.
And he invited the ill to "submerge your sufferings in the mystery of love of the blood of the Redeemer, contemplated with special devotion by the great saint of Siena."
The Pope made this invitation today, feast of St. Catherine, at the end of the general audience in St. Peter's Square.
St. Catherine (1347-1380) is a doctor of the Church whom the Holy Father presented as a model for youth, the ill and for newlyweds in his traditional greetings at the end of the audience.
"Fall in love with Christ, as Catherine did, so as to follow him with verve and fidelity," the Pope told the young people in the square.
And he invited the ill to "submerge your sufferings in the mystery of love of the blood of the Redeemer, contemplated with special devotion by the great saint of Siena."
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