Ash Wednesday & Valentine’s day: Two sides of the same coin

If you flip a coin, you get heads or tails,

In the same way, Ash Wednesday and Valentines Day are two sides of the same coin, 

The coin of love.

Ash Wednesday is the day we express sorrow over loving incorrectly, or not at all

Valentine’s Day is the day we show our love by giving to or helping others.

Amen

Flowers of Virtue

Every virtue is like a flower

Blossoming in its own time.

Every virtue is beautiful

In its own way.

All the virtues help men

As flowers smell good and look good.

Each flower has its own unique scent

Just like each virtue has its own unique characteristic.

For example, a rose symbolized the virtue of sacrifice.

A lily symbolizes purity, 

Jasmine compassion, and 

A red carnation forgiveness.

So flowers help us realize virtue, 

Because their scent is beautiful and their

Colors delight us.

Amen 

Mary's Smile

Mary’s smile is like a river. 

It keeps on flowing.

Whenever Mary’s smile drops on you, 

You will change from evil to good,

From good to better, and 

From better to best, 

Because her smile is connected to Christ and his smile.

Her heart is also connected to Christ and his heart.

And both their hearts are

Loving, kind, gentle, patient, compassionate, forgiving, and long suffering.

Both the immaculate heart of Mary and

The sacred heart of Jesus 

Know how to love and will

Teach others how to Love 

Amen

Divine Intervention

Where you find truth, there you will find the most high.

Because all truth in the world point to God.

For our world is like a Rube Goldberg machine and 

God is the finger that sets it in motion.

God watches over his creation and 

Intervenes when it needs a tweak.

Amen

The Country of Heaven

I saw all the flags of the world in a dream. They were being sewn together by Mary and Jesus. Then Mary and Jesus took the flags of the world which they had sewn together and dipped them in white paint. Then they painted a picture of the "sacred heart of Jesus" on one side and a picture of the "immaculate heart of Mary" right beside it.

When we put ourselves under the flags of princes or nations, we put our trust in those nations that will protect us. Psalm 118:9 says "It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes".

An Acrostic for Mary

A is for Ann, the Mother of Mary
B is for Birth, Mary gave birth to our Savior, Jesus
C is for Cradle, Mary laid the "word made flesh" in his cradle
D is for Devoted, Mary was a devoted woman of God
E is for Elizabeth, her cousin and friend who was the first to acknowledge Jesus
F is for Faith, Mary had a strong faith in God
G is for Gabriel, the angel who told Mary she would give birth to a son
H is for Heaven, Jesus honored his mother by taking her body and soul into heaven
I is for Israel, in figurative language, Mary is the mother of Christians who are the new Israel
J is for Jesus, her son, the Lamb of God
K is for Kindness, Mary was always kind
L is for Light, Mary was the mother of the "light of the world"
M is for Manger, Mary laid her son in the manger after he was born
N is for Nazareth, Mary's home town
O is for Open, we should open our hearts to Mary
P is for Peter and Paul, Mary's friends
Q is for Queen, Mary is the Queen of heaven and earth
R is for Redemption, Mary's son died for the redemption of the world
S is for Sacrifice, both Mary and her son made a huge sacrifice for all of us
T is for Trust, we put our trust in Mary and Jesus
U is for Unity, Mary brings families together
V is for Veritas, Mary's son was referred to as the truth
W is for Women, Mary is blessed among women
X is for eXtra, for Mary is extra special to God and to all mankind
Y is for Yarn, Mary made the swaddling clothes for Jesus out of yarn
Z is for Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist , the cousin of Jesus

The Gospel Rocks Project

Rachel has begun painting rocks and adding messages from the bible to them and then placing them along walking paths in Bend. Here is a picture of her "hiding" the first rock with the beginning of the "Our Father" prayer on it.