---Nothing we face in life is a surprise to God. His grace is sufficient for us. Our challenge is to keep our passion for life alive – we can finish projects with a song in our hearts and a spring in our step. Think of it – there is no sin bigger than the mercy of God. Life matters and our prayers are powerful. Today, people search in different ways trying to make their life meaningful. In the Eucharist we consume the Bread of Life and become Bread for others – which is the love of Jesus Christ. When we live in trust that life is a gift we become truly ourselves. God is faithful to us. Prayer and love prepare us to say “Yes” to Jesus.
 

--Don’t discount the gifts God has given to each of us. If you are not content with your gifts and how God made you, you will likely rarely feel good or comfortable with yourself. You don’t need to have a great gift for God to use it in a great way. God will one day judge us on how well we used the gifts He gave us. Be the best you can be with what you have. As a rule for our daily life, our service to others is a gift of self. I pray: “God use me to show others how awesome and great you are.”

--Failure is an event – it is not who we are.

--Life is full of distractions – each day, ask yourself “am I leading the life God wants me to lead?” We are not a failure if we have sinned – seek God’s forgiveness and begin again to live a righteous life. When we turn our backs on God, He does not turn His back on us. Sometimes we say we have found God – but God wasn’t lost. He is the one who has found us! How great is this!

--Faith is a gift from God: 

     -We should pray for deeper faith for ourselves and others;       
     -We should pray that we will live our faith; 
     -We should introduce faith to others by our words and actions.

--“I just know it is Him!” How do you recognize the voice of God? The more we pray the more we recognize His voice speaking to us in our heart. Prayer expands our hearts so that Jesus can come and talk to us. Mother Teresa said: “Don’t just pray - learn to love to pray.” Part of praying is to be comfortable with silence so we can ponder God’s words in our hearts. Read and reflect on the words of the beautiful Psalm 23:

“The Lord is my shepherd: I have everything I need, know that your goodness and love will be with me all of my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live….I will not be afraid Lord for You are with me…” Prayed in its entirety, may this amazing psalm lead us to hear the voice of God. “I just know it is Him!”

--When we wonder what God is like, we are urged to turn to the Gospel and meditate on the person, the life, and the teachings of Jesus. God created humankind in His image and has entrusted to us the responsibility to be good stewards of His creation. We all have to play our part in the enormous challenge facing us. Desire and longing are part of the human experience: a desire for the infinite, a desire for God. We are all made to be in relationship with God. Jesus is the Way to achieve our goals – His life and His teachings suggest how we are to act – how we are to love one another. Christ died for our sins and was raised on the third day – this is the core of our beliefs. We need to be imitators of God – to love as God loves us. The great truth of our faith, I believe, is LOVE – God is love itself and we are called to share the love. This, for me, is the defining quality of the life we are called to live.

--“What you hold may you always hold, what you do may you always do, and never abandon; But with swift pace, light step and unswerving feet, So that even your steps stir up no dust, Go forward, the Spirit of God has called you.” St. Clare May

God bless all the St. James Parish family with His love and mercy and may our lives radiate that love and mercy to all that we meet.