A friend sent this to me through email. I thought it was pretty cool. SO i'll share it with Y'all

THE BRICK

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street,
going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting
out from between parked cars and slowed down
when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared.
Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!
He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the
brick had been thrown. The angry driver
then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against
a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what
the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going
to cost a lot of money Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic.
"Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He
pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..." With tears
dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just
around a parked car. "It's my brother, "he said "He rolled off the curb
and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."
Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help
me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump
in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the
wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh
scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.
"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy! push his
wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very
noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door.
He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: "Don't go through
life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your
attention!" God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes
when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our
choice to listen or not.

How can you find peace if you're deliberately meddling in somebody else's affairs and are constantly seeking worldly things?

What you should do is look at yourself from within. Peace will come to those who are humble.

The Lord says this: "People of Israel, don't worry, though others may say, 'Israel is only a worm!' I am the holy God of Israel, who saves and protects you."

Then Paul said: 3"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

 6"About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?'

 8" 'Who are you, Lord?' I asked.

   " 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 9My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

 10"'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked.
      "'Get up,' the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.' 11My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.

 12"A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13He stood beside me and said, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very moment I was able to see him.

 14"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.'

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This is a great account about forgiveness. Paul back in the day was equivalent to what a bounty hunter is. But, the "criminals" Paul was after were Christians. This was one tough guy. If i were a betting man, i'd put my money on Paul rather than Dog the Bounty Hunter. Paul said it himself that he would send both men and women to their deaths. He didn't have mercy on anybody. 

But unlike Paul, Christ had mercy on this murderous man. He spoke to him and Paul followed. This cold blooded killer became one of our greatest Saints. He totally outworked any of the disciples who actually witnessed Christ's life on earth. Paul was once lost and now is found. He answered the call of Christ and spread the word with such ferocity.
So if you have trouble believing that Jesus Christ forgives. Take a look at the life of Paul and ask me again if Christ forgives all.

Peace

As a youth i had prayed to you for chastity and said, give me Chastity and continence..but not just yet. ~~ ST AUGUSTINE

To those who are truly sorry for their sins but keep stumbling and are losing heart......

A garden when taken care of properly can exude a beauty beyond imagine. Masses of Perennials grouped together and mingled in with shrubs. A specimen tree stands nearby while beautiful annuals which profusely bloom all season long, fill in the gaps. I've known clients who told  me that they situate their bench facing their garden so that they can admire it's beauty.

But, even a beautiful garden can begin to overgrow, and crowd. The texture and form of the plants lost in the confusion. Weeds begin to creep up if not taken care of properly.

Although the garden may seem unmanageable, underneath that mess lies it's beauty that once echoed through the yard.

Just as the garden, your soul must be maintained/taken care of. Underneath the ugliness or sin, still lies your beauty. Keep an eye on your soul. Rid it of it's "weeds", and if more creep up just like weeds do in a garden, then rip them out. The end result will create harmony within you rather than confusion.

Not even the most beautiful garden in the world is without weeds and needs to be taken care of in order to maintain it's beauty. Not even the cleanliest of soul on earth is that way without proper maintenance.

Don't lose heart if you stumble. Keep trying. Everything good in life takes effort.

Peace.

 1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

 5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

 7All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "

 8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

 9Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

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Many of us want to find Jesus. But like Zacchaeus' small stature we may feel small in spirit. Things may weigh heavy on our hearts like cheating on a spouse, mistreating a friend, cheating others for our own gain, addictions to name just a few. We may be sorry for these actions. These same actions that may have caused others look down on us. Because of this we feel that our quest for Jesus is just an empty thought, because if others look down on us, including ourselves, Jesus too will do the same.

But, this is not the case. If you have committed sins against yourself and others but you are truly sorry and are searching for Jesus, do as Zacchaeus did. Find your own "tree". Climb above what others may think, and seek out Jesus. When you do he will be there calling you by name. He will not look down on you because of  the sins you had committed, but he will see that you are truly sorry, and he will ask you to let him enter into your heart.

Peace

It really is sad at mass when the priest lifts up the body of Christ for all to see, and i look over and notice people yapping and blabbing about a previous days sports event or how their day was or they start putting on their coats. To all my fellow Roman Catholics, we believe the bread which the priest holds up is the true body of Christ! Show him your respect. Otherwise, why are you at mass? Out of your whole "busy lives" you can't spend an hour or an hour and half meditating on God? We wonder why there are so many problems when apparently fellow believers can't even give a few moments of their time to God.

I'll repeat, the host which the priest holds into the air is the body of Christ which we as Roman Catholics believe! Say a prayer at that time and thank Jesus for what he did for you. If you truly believed that the host is the true body of Christ, you would kneel  down and pray without interuption and forget about last nights sports event.

Peace.

Too many of us waste precious energy minding other people's business. Other people's business is just that, it's theirs. Their affairs are their affairs. There's an old saying which rings true, mind your own business. Put your own affairs in order rather than meddle in somebody else's.

Something else to think about is not to worry or be saddened or be embarressed  if your behaviour is not that of the rest of the world. Be worried,sad, and embarressed if your behaviour is not that of a devout servant of God. How God expects us to live has never been the popular choice. Why? Because it's difficult to behave in the way God wants us to. The popular way to behave has always been the easy way. The unGodly way.

People are indeed foolish and senseless.  They are so entrenched in material things that they have no feeling or desire except for pleasures of the flesh. But they will realize how worthless all the things they loved are when death comes calling.

Our lives here on earth is a trial. The people who become more spiritual will find the world more painful because we understand the defects of human corruption. Even the basic cares of the human body ie. sleep, eat wake, rest, work  brings misery to the devout person who strives to eliminate cares of the body and the bondage of sin.