70 YEARS ON........

Oh, dear Lord,

"How great Thou art..."

Tomorrow, God willing, I will be 70 years old!

It is a milestone in life's journey here on Earth; a milestone that is marked with so many great memories and bitter ones too. But is the beauty and the fragrance of the rose to be discarded simply because there are some thorns on the stalk?

I feel that besides thanking the Good Lord for lending me these years, I should also beg His foregiveness for my past misdeeeds, as well as asking all friends for a small prayer on my behalf.

My favourite of all favourite songs is the well known "Amazing Grace". I like to think that when Newton wrote it, he did not only mean it for himself, but even so for any others who would like to assimilate those beautiful lyrics to themselves; something I am glad I do.

"God's Grace first taught my heart to fear, His Grace my fears relieved; how precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed."

Thank you Lord for being always there for me, with me and in me. I pray Thee:

"Lead me on kindly, LIght...."

HIS BIDDING....

Do Whatever He Tells You

Let us ask Our Lady to make our hearts 'meek and humble' as her Son's was.

It is so very easy to be proud and and selfish, so easy; but we have been created for greater things. How much we can learn from our Lady! She was so humble because she was all for God. She was full of grace.

Tell our Lady to tell Jesus, 'They have no wine', the wine of humility and meekness, of kindness and sweetness. She is sure to tell us, 'Do whatever He tells you'. Accept cheerfully all the chances she sends you. We learn humility through accepting humiliations cheerfully.


Blessed Teresa of Calcutta quoted in "Something Beautiful for God", MUGGERIDGE Malcolm Harper and Row Publishers, 1971

On the Saturday of the fifth week of Lent, the Eastern Church sings the majestic "Akathist Hymn" in honor of the Mother of God and most pure Virgin Mary. During Matins service of this Saturday the entire Akathistos (Akathist Hymn) of the Annunciation of the most Holy Mother of God is sung. This hymn can be called the symbol and crown of the sublime cult of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church. By these endless hymns the Blessed Virgin is thanked for her ever-present protection, in memory of the attacks on Constantinople at the time of Heraclius. At that time, Sassanian king Chosroes II, with the help of Persia's Avar allies, raided Constantinople from the west, crying out blasphemies against God. The sea was covered with ships, the countryside filled with infantry and horsemen. The Patriarch of Constantinople urged the people not to be discouraged, but to trust wholeheartedly in God and His divine and All-Immaculate Mother. The Patriarch and the people carried the icon of the Mother of God in procession, on the ramparts of the city, to ask for the strength to resist, along with the icon of Christ not-painted-by-a-human-hand, the precious, vivifying Cross, and the tunic of the Mother of God. Boats full of soldiers were heading towards the Church of Our Lady of Blacherna, when a violent storm suddenly stirred up the sea, wrecking the fleet and destroying the enemy. From the shore of Blacherna, the Mother of God repelled the attackers. The Greeks fought the Scythians one against ten, with great courage and exultant joy, led by their invincible general; they opened the gates of the city and fought against their enemies, using only the small number of soldiers that were positioned near a temple called the Source. They wiped out their multitude and the city was saved. Full of gratitude, the people of Constantinople gave thanks to the Mother of God, singing hymns all night long without sitting down (Akathistos, a Greek word meaning not sitting), since she herself had not stopped watching over them for one moment and she had won the victory over their enemies with a supernatural power. Since then, the Eastern Church traditionally devotes this Saturday to the Mother of God in memory of the great miracle performed by her
Adapted from the Santa Barbara Byzantine Catholic Church Bulletin, March 1997.

5th Sunday of Easter: 20 April 2008 - John 14,1-12 Monday: 21 April 2008 - John 14,21-26 Tuesday: 22 April 2008 - John 14,27-31a Wednesday: 23 April 2008 - John 15,1-8 Thursday: 24 April 2008 - John 15,9-11 Friday: 25 April 2008 - Mark 16,15-20 Saturday: 26 April 2008 - John 15,18-21
6th Sunday of Easter: 27 April 2008 - John 14,15-21 Monday: 28 April 2008 - John 15,26-16,4 Tuesday: 29 April 2008 - Matthew 11,25-30 Wednesday: 30 April 2008 - John 16,12-15 Thursday: 1 May 2008 - Matthew 13,54-58 Friday: 2 May 2008 - John 16,20-23a Saturday: 3 May 2008 - John 14,6-14
The Ascension of the Lord: 4 May 2008 - Mt 28,16-20 Monday: 5 May 2008 - John 16,29-33 Tuesday: 6 May 2008 - John 17,1-11a Wednesday: 7 May 2008 - John 17,11b-19 Thursday: 8 May 2008 - John 17,20-26 Friday: 9 May 2008 - John 21,15-19 Saturday: 10 May 2008 - John 21,20-25
Pentecost Sunday: 11 May 2008 - John 20,19-23 Monday: 12 May 2008 - Mark 8,11-13 Tuesday: 13 May 2008 - Mark 8,14-21 Wednesday: 14 May 2008 - John 15,9-17 Thursday: 15 May 2008 - Mark 8,27-33 Friday: 16 May 2008 - Mark 8,34-9,1 Saturday: 17 May 2008 - Mark 9,2-13
Trinity Sunday: 18 May 2008 - John 3,16-18 Monday: 19 May 2008 - Mark 9,14-29 Tuesday: 20 May 2008 - Mark 9,30-37 Wednesday: 21 May 2008 - Mark 9,38-40 Thursday: 22 May 2008 - Mark 9,41-50 Friday: 23 May 2008 - Mark 10,1-12 Saturday: 24 May 2008 - Mark 10,13-16
Body and Blood of Christ: 25 May 2008 - John 6,51-58 Monday: 26 May 2008 - Mark 10,17-27 Tuesday: 27 May 2008 - Mark 10,28-31 Wednesday: 28 May 2008 - Mark 10,32-45 Thursday: 29 May 2008 - Mark 10,46-52 Friday: 30 May 2008 - Matthew 11,25-30 Saturday: 31 May 2008 - Luke 1,39-56