Local Spotlight (343)
A Word from Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine
Dear Friends,
If you read last month’s letter you would remember the lady who would not consider giving
one of her daughters to serve Christ. Well, one young Lady who did say “Yes” was Mary.
She said yes without any complaints, without any excuses or hesitation. So, then whose example
do we follow? Mary was just a young girl like so many today. What if she had said no?
What if her parents had said no? Yes, she became the Mother of God, but her reward and glory was
given in heaven not on earth. Mary gave birth in a dirty stable. She was homeless for a time. A widow
in a world where a woman alone had no identity. She saw her Son brutally killed. When you pray today
consider those two women: the woman who said no and Mary. Did you decide who you will follow?
With that in mind the Shrine once again begins its Outdoor Season on Sunday, May 6th.
(See the schedule below) Fr. Peter Kovacina will conduct the 4:00 PM Services.
Come and visit Mary the woman who gave an eternal YES to God.
As always you remain in our prayers come and visit us also on Pasta dinner days
Thursdays: April 19th, May17th, and June 21st.
God, bless you,
The Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity!
Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine
21281 Chardon Road
Euclid, Ohio 44117
Outdoor Season Sunday Schedule:
8:00 AM Mass in chapel
9:30 AM Mass (outside if possible)
Breakfast in dining room from 10:15 AM until 11:30 AM
Lunch in the dining room from 12:00 noon until 2:30 PM
3:00 PM Stations of the Cross
4:00 PM Rosary, Homily, Benediction
The Gift Shop is open every day from 10:00 AM until 4:30 PM. Sunday from after the 8:00 AM Mass
Motivational Monday 4-16-18
Thankful for now
Be thankful for this moment, however it may be. Be thankful for the way you feel, whatever the feeling is.
Be thankful, and put yourself in the best position to respond. Be thankful, and enable yourself to see the positive possibilities going forward.
Yes, you could be resentful, but your resentment would not bring you anything of value. Yes, you could be angry, but your anger would separate you from your best possibilities.
What’s done is done, what’s happened has happened, the reality of the moment is as it is. Fill your heart with gratitude and open your eyes to the value that’s now yours.
Be at peace with the past and the present. Allow yourself to focus all your energy on creating a bright future.
Be thankful for this moment and be empowered to make the most of it. Let your sincere gratitude for right now fill you with positive energy and illuminate the best way forward.
— Ralph Marston
Read more at http://greatday.com/#
Lake Perceptions
Lake Perceptions
Grey,
forlorn,
stretching out before the mind's eye,
a vastness that speaks of depth,
of mystery.
Storm,
turbulent,
crashing against the strongest walls,
digging up the dregs within,
creating unrest.
Blue,
penetrating,
inviting participation from within,
a movement reaching outward,
to be at one.
Calm,
serenity,
belying inner power and strength,
waiting for winds to act upon
new creation.
Just as the lake changes day in and day out, so too, we experience changes within us.
During this Easter season we are called to look at ourselves honestly to perceive how we
are in relationship with the Risen Christ. To the degree we realize that Christ is with us,
the changing waters of our lives will always have an inner calm to deal with any storm
that comes our way.
~Sister Maureen McCarthy
Alleluia, the Lord is risen!
Convent: 216-481-8232 Gift Shop: 216-481-0900
April, 2018
Dear Friends,
Alleluia, the Lord is risen! This beautiful salutation for Easter rings out loud and clear.
The Resurrection calls us to celebrate new life and here at the Shrine Spring is such a beautiful season
and fits right in for the celebration of the new life brought to us at Easter!
We hope that the new life of Christ lives in your heart and in your life.
We are looking forward to the new life of plant growth and are beginning to get the grounds in shape for
the opening of the Shrine outdoor season in May 6.
One of the ways that we do this is by asking for help to pay for the flowers that we use in chapel to help celebrate the
Resurrection which then are planted outside to help the shrine look so beautiful, so if you contributed,
a little part of you will be planted on the shrine property.
As in the past, we certainly thank you if you have already given and if you haven’t hope you are generous
in the future to help us get all the grounds ready for the “Spring and Summer” season here at the Shrine.
There is another planting season for which we always prepare. You can’t see this planting.
You can only feel it. This planting is done in your heart by prayer.
Are the seeds of Christ planted in our hearts? All of us carry Christ within us.
Do we allow the life of Christ to shine through?
When I was teaching in a parish the parent of one of my students commented that she was so happy that her child
had a Sister to teach her. This person had five daughters. I asked her if she would give one of her daughters
to God. Her reply was, “No.” Well then who would take my place? I was someone’s daughter too.
Do you think this person was allowing the seed of Christ to shine through? This is just one example of the unseen planting.
There are many others.
Do come to the Shrine to see the tangible planting and pray for the one that you can’t see.
Please attend our Pasta Dinner on Thursday, April 19. The outdoor shrine season begins Sunday, May 6th
In the Trinity,
Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity.
Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine
21281 Chardon Road
Euclid, Ohio 44117
Motivational Monday 4-9-18
Opportunity of today
You have precisely one opportunity to live this day well. That opportunity is now, so act on it now.
If you want this day to bring value, then give it value. Now is when you start.
Right now you can establish positive momentum. And you can continue to feed that momentum with action.
Think of the most productive, successful day you’ve ever lived. As you recall and feel the reality of that day, commit to make today even more productive, even more successful.
Within you right now is the ability to make this the best day yet. Within you right now is the willingness to push your life to a higher level than ever before.
Act now with that ability, with that willingness, with your knowledge, skills, and resources. Now, embrace and enjoy the unique opportunity of today.
— Ralph Marston
Read more at http://greatday.com/#
Motivational Monday 4-2-18
Driven by love
Your life has great power, beyond what you can even imagine. Keep that power always pointed in the direction of love.
You act, you speak, you remember, you feel. You imagine what can be, and then call upon your power of intention and your presence to bring what you imagine into reality.
Do all these things, and everything, tempered, informed, driven, by love. Let love be your motive, let love be your reason, let love be your guide.
You cannot define what love is, nor put any limit on its meaning. Yet you know without question when you feel love, and when you don’t.
Go always in the direction where you feel led by love. Transform everything you are into the highest and best you can be, with love.
Refuse to be swayed by anything less. Let your actions, your words, your energy and thoughts, your life, be driven by love.
— Ralph Marston
Read more at http://greatday.com/#
Motivational Monday 3-26-18
Lay the foundation
A secure, stable house is not simply placed upon uneven, unprepared ground. Before the house is built, a strong, solid foundation must be prepared.
A winning sports team does not win merely by showing up and playing each game well. The players must drill and practice in all the fundamental skills, for hours each day, over months and years.
Whatever you desire to have, to be, to experience, you must build the structure in your life to support and develop it. You must lay the foundation, and continue to keep that foundation strong.
True commitment to a goal means commitment to create and maintain the structure that will support it. You accomplish that with your habits, your attitude, your thoughts, your choices large and small.
What day-to-day activities are building the foundation for the life you envision? What can you do right now, and again and again, to create a solid, supporting structure for your dreams?
Each moment gives you the opportunity to infuse the character of achievement into every part of your life. Lay a strong, robust foundation, and let the great achievements flow.
— Ralph Marston
Read more at http://greatday.com/#
More...
In today’s podcast, Greg talks with Kimberly Fraser, Executive Director, Lake County (Ohio) Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board, and Jessie Baginski, Ph.D., President/CEO, Leadership Lake County. Both guests have been touched by the opioid crisis, with family members falling prey to its draconian outcomes. They are overseeing Operation Resolve, a unique program designed to help fight the opioid crisis by reaching out to employers and offering them resources with which they can engage their workforce. The educational information they provide relates to drug abuse, addiction and where to find help.
Motivational Monday 3-19-18
Able to persist
The first attempt doesn’t work. Even so, you can keep going.
The next attempt makes the situation worse. Still, you are able to persist.
Your next action does not have to be limited by your past results. Choose your next action based on where you wish to go, not on where you’ve been.
There’s no rule that says you have to be discouraged by what has happened. There’s every reason to be passionate and enthusiastic about what you can now do.
If the past hasn’t met your expectations, leave it in the past. Learn from what went wrong, and apply that knowledge to the opportunities of now.
Persistence is nothing more than stepping free of the past and doing what you know is best. You are always able to persist, and your persistence will take you wherever you wish to go.
— Ralph Marston
Read more at http://greatday.com/#
Greg learns about a new Drug Enforcement Agency program, DEA360, in an illuminating conversation with Sean Fearns, the chief of community outreach. He describes how the programming takes a comprehensive approach to breaking the cycle of drug trafficking, drug violence and drug abuse. DEA360 was first introduced in 2015 with a pilot program in Pittsburgh.
Motivational Monday 3-12-18
Mode of achievement
A small improvement is enough. Because a small improvement sets your direction, upgrades your attitude, raises your perspective.
Look around, become aware, ask yourself. What small improvement can you make right now?
Notice what troubles you and think of what you can do about it. Then act on it.
If you’re not presently willing or able to do anything about it, look again, keep looking. There’s something you can improve, right here, right now.
Doing so will alter your entire outlook for the better. Doing so will put you in the mode of achievement, and open up vast new expanses of possibility.
Today, embrace your responsibility to make the world a better place. Make a small improvement, put yourself in the mode of achievement, and keep at it.
— Ralph Marston
Read more at http://greatday.com/#