Faith requires sacrifice

Sorry I haven't been posting. Life caught up, BUT... this totally inspired me to get off my butt, log on to post.

Remember that Gospel reading from Luke Chapter 12 on Sunday that was a bit difficult to understand? How come Jesus said he had come for division, and not peace? Well... here's the Pope to explain it for you:

"Jesus is our peace... but this peace is not a peace of a tomb... This peace is not a compromise at any cost. Following Jesus involves... choosing goodness, peace, justice, even when that requires sacrifice".

Indeed, this message of sacrificing my will to follow God's will is so unappealing, almost the whole world (yes even some churches) will tell you that following God's goodness means being prosperous, having everything smooth sailing. We need to remember that choosing God's will more often than not means you are going against many other things of this world.

How would you choose? Where do you draw strength from?

Here's my suggestion:

have a good week. See you guys for prayer meeting on Sunday. It'll be exciting!

<3 bernie

Part 2: how to reduce stress

50 Ways To Reduce Stress

1. Mental prayer (meditation) every day. I pray the rosary every day.
2. Pray with Scripture daily.
3. Frequent The Sacraments - Mass as often as possible + monthly Confession.
4. Quickly forgive others when they mess up.
5. Forgive yourself when you mess up.
6. Go on a retreat.
7. Take several days off of work / your normal schedule.
8. Socialize with friends more often. Schedule if necessary.
9. Go on dates with your spouse.
10. Pray with your family.
11. Eat dinner with your family.
12. Learn to not worry about things you can't control.
13. Don't work to please other people. Please God.
14. Remember that you are wonderful and lovable, even if imperfect.
15. Smile more.
16. Do nice things for other people, just because.
17. Spend time playing with your kids.
18. Spend less time around negative people.
19. Have difficult conversations, in a loving way. Don't avoid them.
20. Work on your character flaws and poor communication skills.
21. Ask for help more often.
22. Be content with what your possessions. 
23. Exercise regularly.
24. Sleep more.
25. Laugh. 
26. Talk to a spiritual director regularly.
27. Learn from your mistakes.
28. Be OK with not controlling others.
29. Reduce your to-do list by distinguishing 'must' and 'should'.
30. Spend time with a pet.
31. Read more good books.
32. Listen to more good music.
33. Turn off the TV and do #32 and #32.
34. Spend time doing something you like to do.
35. Volunteer to help others.
36. Eat healthier.
37. Stop an unhealthy habit (overeating, smoking, drinking too much, etc.)
38. Temper the tone in your voice and the words you use when frustrated.
39. Realize what upsets you and create a plan on how to deal with it in the future.
40. Don't get upset in traffic or with other drivers. Slow down. Chill.
41. Say "no" more often if you are over-scheduled.
42. Don't procrastinate.
43. Don't lash out at others. 
44. Spend time improving yourself. This isn't greedy, it helps everyone around.
45. Question worrisome thoughts. Are they rational / probably / helpful?
46. Focus on the present. Not the past or future.
47. Keep a journal or diary as an outlet of your stress.
48. Say more positive things. I love you, you are wonderful, thanks, etc.
49. Stop wasting time reading blog posts, Facebook, etc.
50. Pray for an increase of faith and hope. Expect God will answer your prayer.

QOP community prayer

QOP YM Community Prayer

Lord Heavenly Father, You sent Your Son Jesus into this world to show us the depth of your love. From a young age, He followed Your will completely. He taught, forgave and healed people. He suffered, died and rose that we might have life. Thank you for the gift of Your Son.
We pray for us, the youth and young adults of the parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace. Give us courage and willing hearts to be the disciples of today. Help us to know, to love and to serve you with a youthful enthusiasm. To be a bridge of faith to those who seek you in prayer, community and service.
Bless us with happiness, charity, peace, faith, companionship, laughter, realization and direction as we discover Your will more fully in our lives.
We dedicate our work to building Your Kingdom on Earth and in our hearts. We entrust our ministry to the special care of Mary our Mother and St Dominic Savio. May their intercession aid us in doing your will wholeheartedly like Your Son Jesus.
L: Our Lady Queen of Peace
R: Pray for us
L: St Dominic Savio
R: Pray for us
---------------
Here is the background to the flow of the prayer.
First paragraph, we affirm our faith in the person of Jesus and thank God for his Son. That helps to put the rest of our prayer in a perspective of the love of God for us.
Second paragraph, we ask for God’s blessing on our ministry and for the graces to carry out our mission. We recognize that all the work we do is done with God in mind and with the help of his grace.
Third paragraph, we ask God to bless each of us personally, and help us to grow in our Christian virtues as we carry out the work He has called us to.
Fourth paragraph, we dedicate our work wholly and solely for God’s greater glory. We keep in mind that all the work we do belongs to God and we must always be humble in carrying it out like Jesus was. We ask our blessed mother and patron saint for their help.
Big acknowledgement to the Archdiocese of Tasmania, I got most of the structure of the prayer from their Youth Ministry prayer. It was so nicely laid out and approved by their Archbishop himself. Can’t go wrong there lol.

Quote from Pope Francis

"We need saints without cassocks, without veils.
We need saints with jeans and tennis shoes.
We need saints that go to the movies, that listen to music, that hang out with friends.
We need saints who put God in first place, ahead of succeeding in any career.

We need saints who look for time to pray every day and who know how to be in love with purity, chastity, and all good things.
We need saints, Saints of the 21st century with a spirituality appropriate to our new time.
We need saints that have a commitment to helping the poor and to make the needed social change.
We need saints to live in the world, to sanctify the world and to not be afraid of living in the world by their presence in it.

We need saints that drink Coca-Cola, that eat hot dogs, that surf the internet and that listen to their iPods.
We need saints that love the Eucharist, that are not afraid or embarrassed to eat a pizza or drink a beer with their friends.
We need saints who love the movies, dance, sports, theater.
We need saints that are open, sociable, normal, happy companions.
We need saints who are in this world and who know how to enjoy the best in this world without being callous or mundane.
We need saints."
–Pope Francis, World Youth Day 2013, Rio