"Song For The Hopeful" - Harry Connick Jr.

People with hope
Have a special prayer,
A louder drum,
A brighter flare.
This is a song for the hopeful.
May God hear it sung.

People with faith
Are the lucky kind.
They'll be the ones
With peace of mind.
This is a song for the faithful.
May God hear it sung.

There's a song for the doubtful.
There's a song for the lost.
There's a song for the desert
Barren, but crossed.
But for those who are strong of spirit,
Maybe they don't need to hear it.
But still, a song for them.
A simple song for them.

Nothing can shade
A seasoned soul.
It's all the loss
That makes it whole.
This is a song for the hopeful.
This is a song for the faithful.
This is a song for the hopeful.
May God hear it sung.
May God hear it sung.
May God hear it sung

"The Call" - Regina Specktor

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry

I'll come back
When you call me
No need to say goodbye

Just because everything's changing
Doesn't mean it's never
Been this way before

All you can do is try to know
Who your friends are
As you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light

You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye

You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say good bye

Now we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye

You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say good bye

Happy Feast of the Annunciation!

Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed
is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God
Pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen

It's The Final Countdown!

We are down to the final four days before the start of Holy Week! Hard to believe that we are almost through Lent!

Loving God, we enter the season of Lent in the spirit of joy giving ourselves to spiritual strife, cleansing our soul and body, controlling our passions, as we limit our food, living on the virtues of the Holy Spirit; May we persevere in our longing for Christ so as to be worthy to behold His most solemn Passion and the most holy Passover, rejoicing the while with spiritual joy. Amen.

Taken from:

Where Are You Going?

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“I am going away and you will look for me,
but you will die in your sin.
Where I am going you cannot come.”
So the Jews said,
“He is not going to kill himself, is he,
because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”
He said to them, “You belong to what is below,
I belong to what is above.
You belong to this world,
but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.
For if you do not believe that I AM,
you will die in your sins.”
So they said to him, “Who are you?”
Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation.
But the one who sent me is true,
and what I heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said to them,
“When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone,
because I always do what is pleasing to him.”
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him. - Jn. 8:21-30

Today's gospel is about Jesus confronting the Pharisees again. Even deeper though, is how misguided and confused the people by what Jesus said. He says that where he is going people won't be able to follow. They think he is talking about suicide, but he is talking about how he has to suffer and die for all mankind, a task that no mere mortal could do as well.

Jesus corrects them and once again explains that this is all because he receives his guidance and message directly from God. Unlike previous attempts at expressing this, Jesus seems to gain more followers this time.

Do we take the time to ask Jesus where he is going? Maybe we should. While we can't carry the weight of complete redemption for all mankind like Jesus, we can carry our own crosses beside him and grow closer to God as a result.

Double Posting Part II: Monday

There comes a time
When we head a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on
Pretneding day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Double Posting Part I: Sunday's Entry

I apologize. I have been without the internet all weekend, so I did not get a chance to post on Sunday. So today I'll do a double posting.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” - Jn. 8:1-11

This reminds me of a joke.

Jesus said "Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone." Then a stone flew over the crowd. Jesus looked at the person who threw the stone and shouted "MOM!"