₦airaland Forum

People doubting just like of the day of Noah.

Today's Saint

Birth of Mary

The Church has celebrated Mary's birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 (nine months earlier).

Scripture does not give an account of Mary's birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child that will advance God's plan of salvation for the world. Such a story (like many biblical counterparts) stresses the special presence of God in Mary's life from the beginning.

St. Augustine connects Mary's birth with Jesus' saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. "She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed." The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary's Son as the dawn of our salvation and asks for an increase of peace.

Quote

"Today the barren Anna claps her hands for joy, the earth radiates with light, kings sing their happiness, priests enjoy every blessing, the entire universe rejoices, for she who is queen and the Father's immaculate bride buds forth from the stem of Jesse" (adapted from Byzantine Daily Worship).

This is wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!!

ebos:
@Oby,

Wetin come happen now. How many times wey I don halla now? Shebi i don removam, shey problem no dey again?

When i say, Lindiwe sabi wele iwe, she go say vex no dey 4 her book. Now, na my book e dey? See as she come put face, all na vex say i spell i post her name here. Just name o!

So you decided to tempt her shebi?

And God gave us the warning to be vigiland at all time of all the devices of the enemy.

Lindiwe:
ebos, you be wicked boy oo! [b]see the way you spell my complete name![/b]don't worry, i'll find out yours too and post it HERE!

. . . i don't believe you wish obama luck going by what you said in your previous post! lol

U dey mind am, if na him e go hala.

Today's Saint
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)


Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19, 2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the Order she founded in 1950 as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.

Speaking in a strained, weary voice at the beatification Mass, Pope John Paul II declared her blessed, prompting waves of applause before the 300,000 pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. In his homily, read by an aide for the aging pope, the Holy Father called Mother Teresa “one of the most relevant personalities of our age” and “an icon of the Good Samaritan.” Her life, he said, was “a bold proclamation of the gospel.”

Mother Teresa's beatification, just over six years after her death, was part of an expedited process put into effect by Pope John Paul II. Like so many others around the world, he found her love for the Eucharist, for prayer and for the poor a model for all to emulate.

Born to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia (then part of the Ottoman Empire), Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father's construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.

During her years in public school Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age 18 she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was 1928 when she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people.

In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loreto and, instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”

After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new religious community and undertake her new work, she took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals (the ordinary dress of an Indian woman) she soon began getting to know her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs through visits.

The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students, became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Other helped by donating food, clothing, supplies, the use of buildings. In 1952 the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the Order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging and street people.

For the next four decades Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home.

QUOTE:
Jesus is the life I want to live, the light I want to reflect, the way to the Father, the love I want to express, the Joy i want share, the Pease I want to sow around me. Jesus is everything to me. BLESSED TERESA OF CALCUTTA.

We all have conscience, even though is not written in the Bible, your conscience suppose to speak to you, at least respect for God. Adam and Eve when they knew they were naked, what did they do? quickly they covered their unclothedness. Things these days are turning upside down, but woe to the man or woman who will fall.

muhsin:
Hello fellows,

I will like to start by saying; what am going to say have nothing to do with my being a muslim and hence I was trying to defame, denounce, abuse or insult Christianity. That very misunderstanding that almost always happen between members of this board is what rather forcefully use to keep me off it; against my own free will.

I simply want to ask; what Bible says about the mode of dressing females should wear?

I asked that question concedering your emphasis in condenming that woman act in CHURCH.

Thanks

Lindiwe:
oh soo touching!
now that brings to mind the saying that each one of us is made for a special purpose! and that we're all unique in God's eyes

it's been raining cats and dogs, in fact, the whole zoo, all day here in yanagoa!

Yes o! God is so great and blessed is the womb that bore him.

Today's Saint

St. Rose of Viterbo (1233-1251)

Rose achieved sainthood in only 18 years of life. Even as a child Rose had a great desire to pray and to aid the poor. While still very young, she began a life of penance in her parents’ house. She was as generous to the poor as she was strict with herself. At the age of 10 she became a Secular Franciscan and soon began preaching in the streets about sin and the sufferings of Jesus.

Viterbo, her native city, was then in revolt against the pope. When Rose took the pope’s side against the emperor, she and her family were exiled from the city. When the pope’s side won in Viterbo, Rose was allowed to return. Her attempt at age 15 to found a religious community failed, and she returned to a life of prayer and penance in her father’s home, where she died in 1251. Rose was canonized in 1457.

Quote

Rose's dying words to her parents were: "I die with joy, for I desire to be united to my God. Live so as not to fear death. For those who live well in the world, death is not frightening, but sweet and precious."

I found this interesting.

The Tale of the Cracked Pot

A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house.



Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.



After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

Grab a pencil and take a pop quiz with Martha Williamson



"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.



The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you've watered them.



"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."



Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.



Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life!

~Lady~:
I believe they get the names of the people who spot them.

Why are republicans such hypocrites?

Thank you, we appreciate that.

Um people I no sabi igbo o, just wan put that one out dere.

It seems they like war war and war

Today's Saint

St. Gregory the Great (540?-604)

Coming events cast their shadows before: Gregory was the prefect of Rome before he was 30. After five years in office he resigned, founded six monasteries on his Sicilian estate and became a Benedictine monk in his own home at Rome.

Ordained a priest, he became one of the pope's seven deacons, and also served six years in the East as papal nuncio in Constantinople. He was recalled to become abbot, and at the age of 50 was elected pope by the clergy and people of Rome.

He was direct and firm. He removed unworthy priests from office, forbade taking money for many services, emptied the papal treasury to ransom prisoners of the Lombards and to care for persecuted Jews and the victims of plague and famine. He was very concerned about the conversion of England, sending 40 monks from his own monastery. He is known for his reform of the liturgy, for strengthening respect for doctrine. Whether he was largely responsible for the revision of "Gregorian" chant is disputed.

Gregory lived in a time of perpetual strife with invading Lombards and difficult relations with the East. When Rome itself was under attack, it was he who went to interview the Lombard king.

An Anglican historian has written: "It is impossible to conceive what would have been the confusion, the lawlessness, the chaotic state of the Middle Ages without the medieval papacy; and of the medieval papacy, the real father is Gregory the Great."

His book, Pastoral Care, on the duties and qualities of a bishop, was read for centuries after his death. He described bishops mainly as physicians whose main duties were preaching and the enforcement of discipline. In his own down-to-earth preaching, Gregory was skilled at applying the daily gospel to the needs of his listeners. Called "the Great," Gregory has been given a place with Augustine, Ambrose and Jerome as one of the four key doctors of the Western Church.

Quote

"Perhaps it is not after all so difficult for a man to part with his possessions, but it is certainly most difficult for him to part with himself. To renounce what one has is a minor thing; but to renounce what one is, that is asking a lot" (St. Gregory, Homilies on the Gospels).

you go pay for that tutorial o

ok, enjoy your lunch and siesta

ebos:
If i'm fasting, all my body will be shaking before 12 mid-day, but here I don't feel anything. Why is it this way?

Thats it because you did not term it fasting, don't u knw the enemy is not happy whenever u want to reach God thru fasting, he makes sure he puts that weakness in you physically, but spiritually you are willing.

ebos:
Guess what, my younger sister at times seize my laptop each time she visit me and will refuse to release it until i eat.

What do you expect to watch her brother die of hunger?  She did the normal thing How you no go chop sho! ego nkaho gbakwo oku

ebos:
Obu Carlosein ka iga akpo ofe mmanu. Obu ya, obugi muwa.

Honestly, I have not eaten. That is what we see in forex, except a friend comes in here and force me up at times.

Before you sit down or stand up to trade make sure your food is beside you, i think that will help except you know you are fasting.

ebos:
Wetin now? You don come again

Haba, I have not eaten here since morning and not even even feeling it. Forex can take all your time and nothing again to think.

Since morning? mind ulcer o

ebos:
Hurricane - can this affect foreign exchange? We are serious about this, whether dollar will fall and we suffer it in forex. Guess, we are much afraid the way we place trade order especially any currency pairing dollar.
@oby and carlosein,

I came 4 something and seeing may not be all that possible

Business! Business!! Business!!! onye ofe Mmanu

ebos:
Hurricane - can this affect foreign exchange? We are serious about this, whether dollar will fall and we suffer it in forex. Guess, we are much afraid the way we place trade order especially any currency pairing dollar.

@oby and carlosein,

I came 4 something and seeing may not be all that possible

Is ok _{but you come sound as if na President Bush na we wan see}^{even though na president Bush nko}

~Lady~:
Natural disasters does have a play in trading, especially hurricanes and torndoes. They generally hit the shores where the oil rigs are, so speculation before the hurricane hits drives up the cost of oil. The cost of oil shot up before the hurricane hit, but when it did hit the cost fell because the hurricane was not as harsh as expected. So with that being said, the dollar did not fall, infact it increses, so right now it's still good.

But be careful, because we have Hanna and Ike on their way here. Hanna shouldn't drive up oil costs because it's headed my way, my location is a bit out of the way of oil (as long as they don't start off shore driling in Florida). But Ike is still suspect.

Will keep you posted.


Morning all, have a very blessed day.

Please o Lady, if i may ask where are all these names gotten from, imagine Ike, it sounds like I.k

~Lady~:
Hi, we had very few drops of rain. We only experienced the bands. The eye is in New Orleans right now. It was supposed to be worse than Katrina but it has died down to a Category 2 hurricane.

Please keep the people of Louisians, Texas, Mississipi and Alabama in your prayers.

Lindiwe, thanks for those. I loved them both.
I can't wait for Our Lady's birthday!!!

Thank God New Orleans was spared yesterday and i also pray the other cities will be spared too.
Why is these natural disaster not occuring in the areas of the White House or is it that feasibility studies where taken before it was sited.

ebos:
@Lady,

As Carlosein said Nigeria is a blessed country, no natural disaster. We only experience human disaster. Looting and other evil caused by human beings. Nigerians suffer as a result of it. I pray for the souls of those that died.

@Oby Carlosein and Lindiwe

Hope you are doing well? It seems Lindiwe sabi wele-iwe, na him make she chose this kind name.

Doing great! welcome to Lagos again, so this time we must see shey, Carlos wir you dey. Which one is wele-iwe

Today's Saint

Blessed John Francis Burté and Companions (d. 1792; d. 1794)

These priests were victims of the French Revolution. Though their martyrdom spans a period of several years, they stand together in the Church’s memory because they all gave their lives for the same principle. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1791) required all priests to take an oath which amounted to a denial of the faith. Each of these men refused and was executed.

John Francis Burté became a Franciscan at 16 and after ordination taught theology to the young friars. Later he was guardian of the large Conventual friary in Paris until he was arrested and held in the convent of the Carmelites.

Appolinaris of Posat was born in 1739 in Switzerland. He joined the Capuchins and acquired a reputation as an excellent preacher, confessor and instructor of clerics. Sent to the East as a missionary, he was in Paris studying Oriental languages when the French Revolution began. Refusing the oath, he was swiftly arrested and detained in the Carmelite convent.

Severin Girault, a member of the Third Order Regular, was a chaplain for a group of sisters in Paris. Imprisoned with the others, he was the first to die in the slaughter at the convent.

These three plus 182 others—including several bishops and many religious and diocesan priests—were massacred at the Carmelite house in Paris on September 2, 1792. They were beatified in 1926.

John Baptist Triquerie, born in 1737, entered the Conventual Franciscans. He was chaplain and confessor of Poor Clare monasteries in three cities before he was arrested for refusing to take the oath. He and 13 diocesan priests were guillotined in Laval on January 21, 1794. He was beatified in 1955.

Quote

“The upheaval which occurred in France toward the close of the 18th century wrought havoc in all things sacred and profane and vented its fury against the Church and her ministers. Unscrupulous men came to power who concealed their hatred for the Church under the deceptive guise of philosophy, It seemed that the times of the early persecutions had returned. The Church, spotless bride of Christ, became resplendent with bright new crowns of martyrdom” (Acts of Martyrdom).

Today's Saint

St. Giles (d. 710?)


Despite the fact that much about St. Giles is shrouded in mystery, we can say that he was one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages. Likely, he was born in the first half of the 7th century in southeastern France. That is where he built a monastery that became a popular stopping-off point for pilgrims making their way to Compostela in Spain and the Holy Land.

In England, many ancient churches and hospitals were dedicated to Giles. One of the sections of the city of Brussels is named after him. In Germany, Giles was included among the so-called 14 Holy Helpers, a popular group of saints to whom people prayed, especially for recovery from disease and for strength at the hour of death. Also among the 14 were Sts. Christopher, Barbara and Blase. Interestingly, Giles was the only non-martyr among them. Devotion to the "Holy Helpers" was especially strong in parts of Germany and in Hungary and Sweden. Such devotion made his popularity spread. Giles was soon invoked as the patron of the poor and the disabled.

The pilgrimage center that once drew so many fell into disrepair some centuries after Giles' death.

Carlosein:
hey everyone
good morning. hope you are feeling ontop of your world like me!

stay blessed this week.

Hello Carlosein, nice hearing you are feeling ontop of the world. I must say i'm feeling more than ontop of the world

Fine week to everyone.
Lady hope the hurricane did not get to your own area, I saw the news this morning that it's worst than Katrina. Please update us situation of things in your area.

Gospel
Mk 6:17-29

Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers,
his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias’ own daughter came in
and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”
She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once
on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders
to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY

Speaking the truth can be costly.  One can lose one's reputation, one's livelihood and even one's life.  Human history is replete with examples of men and women who refused to buckle in the face of evil or corruption.  So often the price they paid was the ultimate one - the loss of their lives.  St. John the Baptist was no exception to this rule.  His prophetic instinct gave him remarkable courage, even to confronting a corrupt king.  Unconcerned for his own safety, he rebuked Herod for his adultery with his brother's wife, Herodias.  Adultery then or in any age is personally and socially destrutive.  It is a cancer undermining and destroying marriage.  It leaves broken hearts, shattered families and unspeakable pain in its wake.  A moment of lust or the excitement of a clandestine affair may become addictive, and the self-deception that at last one has found true love may be the twisted thinking of those who justify such liaisons.  The power of truth is its ability to drive home reality.  The reality of truth is that once proclaimed it is either embraced or despised.  Herodias despised the message and the messenger - she was keen to silence John.  She is a good example of hte dangers of holding on to resentment.  She nursed a burning animosity towards the Baptist.  Resentment is a deadly poison.  It is the antithesis of love and forgiveness.  It is by its very nature destructive.  It saps us of energy and love.  Perversely, resentment has a kind of malign creativity, often manifesting remarkable ingenuity in expressing its spite and venom.  Herodias got her wish - John was brutally put to death.  He lost his head for justice and fidelity.  He gave his life for truth.  The Italian Franciscan Jacopone da Todi commented that: 'Were John the Baptist to return and denounce the sin of the world, once more they'D cut off his head.' On this his feast day we can pray for the spirit of honesty and courage that governed his life.  "O Lord, unlike your servant John I am so timid.  I hate to take a stand.  Yet I know that so often what is wrong and evil is accepted as normal and healthy.  Holy Spirit, grant me the wisdom to know when to speak out for love, truth and justice."

Today's Saint

Beheading of John the Baptist


The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the desert” did not hesitate to accuse the guilty, did not hesitate to speak the truth. But why? What possesses a man that he would give up his very life?

This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1:35-37). It is John the Baptist who has pointed the way to Christ. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and other people. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and the call that he heard from the Spirit of God speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation or repentance, of salvation.

Quote

“So they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.’ John answered and said, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease’” (John 3:26–30).

Lindiwe:
morning peeps!
this is a food for thought for us this morning. . .

"Yahweh, your eye are too pure to tolerate wickedness and you cannot look on oppression. Why then do you look on treacherous people and watch in silence while the evildoer swallows up one better. Habakkuk 1:13

Then Yahweh answered me and said, "Write down the vision, inscribe it on tables so it can be easily read, since this is a vision for an appointed time; it will not fail but will be fulfilled in due time. If it delays, wait for it, for it will come and will not be deferred. Look: I don't look with favor on the one who give way; the upright, on the other hand, will live by his faithfulness" - Habakkuk 2:2-4

- The divine answer remains mysterious. Later, God will clearly reveal how he rewards the just beyond this life. Today God asks us not to despair, everthg has an appointed time, do not relent on your prayers, persevere and you will see that on the appointed time, he will fulfill all his promises."

have a blessed day y'all

Amen. The word is just refering to me.

Today's Saint
St. Augustine (354-430)

A Christian at 33, a priest at 36, a bishop at 41: many people are familiar with the biographical sketch of Augustine of Hippo, sinner turned saint. But really to get to know the man is a rewarding experience.

There quickly surfaces the intensity with which he lived his life, whether his path led away from or toward God. The tears of his mother, the instructions of Ambrose and, most of all, God himself speaking to him in the Scriptures redirected Augustine’s love of life to a life of love.

Having been so deeply immersed in creature-pride of life in his early days and having drunk deeply of its bitter dregs, it is not surprising that Augustine should have turned, with a holy fierceness, against the many demon-thrusts rampant in his day. His times were truly decadent—politically, socially, morally. He was both feared and loved, like the Master. The perennial criticism leveled against him: a fundamental rigorism.

In his day, he providentially fulfilled the office of prophet. Like Jeremiah and other greats, he was hard-pressed but could not keep quiet. “I say to myself, I will not mention him,/I will speak in his name no more./But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,/imprisoned in my bones;/I grow weary holding it in,/I cannot endure it” (Jeremiah 20:9).

Quote

“Too late have I loved you, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late I loved you! And behold, you were within, and I abroad, and there I searched for you; I was deformed, plunging amid those fair forms, which you had made. You were with me, but I was not with you. Things held me far from you—things which, if they were not in you, were not at all. You called, and shouted, and burst my deafness. You flashed and shone, and scattered my blindness. You breathed odors and I drew in breath—and I pant for you. I tasted, and I hunger and thirst. You touched me, and I burned for your peace” (St. Augustine, Confessions).