Thursday, July 28, 2016

PRAYERS FOR PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD

Good Morning Out There! I have a lot to share about the many bountiful blessings
that have absolutely poured in this week at the Sack Lunch Ministry! I will write about
those gifts this afternoon - I don't have time right this minute. I want to share something
I wrote awhile back - I'm so concerned about all these terrorist attacks and I know that
you must be too.


Thoughts from a previous post - (Tweaked a little bit!)


Life is precious, and not only do I pray for the unborn, I pray for those in war torn
countries. Starting my blog has been an amazing experience for me. I'm able to see
the different countries where people are from who read my posts. It doesn't specify cities,
but it does list how many people from each country have viewed my blog. I'm humbled
that anyone reads my blog.
Because of all the fighting/wars and terrorist attacks that are going on, I worry about the
people in many of the countries I see come up on my blog stat section. I hope that they
are ok. I just want them to know that I am praying for them and for their families.
I don't know their names, I don't know what they look like, but for some reason, they
read my blog. I have seen a large increase in people from different countries reading my
posts.  I place my hand over the map each day I see their country listed and pray for them.
There  are so many wars going on in our world right now, so much violence, so much
evil - We need to turn back to God.



Dear God, please watch over all these countries where war has broken out.
Please God, protect the innocent people and their families. Please protect us
all from the terrorist's plots, attacks and threats.
Thank you, God, for our many blessings. Please be with all those who are in
need. Please God, show us and guide us to how we can best help others.
You created us all, please help us to love our neighbor,
care for one another, and to pray for those who seek a better life.
 In Jesus Name I pray Dear Lord, Amen.

As Catholics, we pray The Divine Mercy Chaplet. This prayer is for the whole world.
It is really beautiful when we sing this Chaplet. (I'm singing this as I'm typing)
The refrain goes like this:
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
If you listen to the Catholic radio station 91.5 FM, they sing the Divine Mercy Chaplet
at 3:00 pm each day.
To pray The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy:
(It is easier to keep up with if you have a rosary, but if you don't,
 you can count on your fingers.)
1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross, Pray (1) Our Father, (1) Hail Mary
and The Apostles Creed.
2. Prayer - (Pray this 1 time) Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ,
in atonement for ours sins and those of the whole world.   
3. Pray this refrain 10 times:
  For the sake of His sorrowful passion,
 have mercy on us and on the whole world.
You repeat steps (2) & (3) for a total of (5) times.
4. Conclude with (3 times)
  Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
 have mercy on us and on the whole world.
5. The sign of the cross and Amen.
It is a beautiful, peaceful prayer. I find myself humming or singing it a lot.
I also pray it if I wake up during the night.
May God Bless you and keep you safe wherever you are, wherever you live.
May God help us to love and care for one another.
                                                 Bye for now, Sharla

Friday, July 22, 2016

Seeking, Weeping, Finding

Hello Out There! In my post earlier today I shared with you how spreading the pro-life
message weighs so heavy on my heart. I told you how I cried out to God this morning.
I'm going to write down the Psalm and response from Mass today.
I was the lector and it took all my strength not to weep and I mean really weep as I read
these beautiful words from the book of Psalms.


The Responsorial - My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God

Psalm 63
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
Responsorial -
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
Responsorial -
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God

Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet
shall my soul be satisfied, and with exultant lips
 my mouth shall praise you.
Responsorial -
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God

You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Responsorial -
My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God

I wanted to share this message of hope and love - my heart is bursting with joy - I
needed to read this passage from the bible today. God is our strength, He is our refuge,
He listens to our prayers and He loves us so very much! Rejoice in the Lord!

                                                                             Blessings and Peace
                                                                                         Bye for now, Sharla




Here I am, Lord - Here I am

Hello Out There - A quick post before I dash out the door! Please pray for the babies
today! The unborn and their families are really on my heart. This morning I prayed for
them as I walked - I pray for them every morning but this morning I really cried out
to God, Our Father to please spare their little innocent lives. I prayed for a conversion
of hearts. I prayed that the abortionists would be overcome with grief and dismay and
shame for ending the lives of the precious unborn babies. I prayed for the mothers and
I prayed for the fathers that they would realize that this is their baby, their own flesh and
blood. I wish I had more time to write today but I have so much to do I don't have time.
I couldn't leave until I wrote this short little post imploring each of you to please pray.


I just opened my "Living Faith - Daily Catholic Devotions" and the title just jumped off
the page - Seeking, Weeping, Finding
This is the scripture for today -
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?"
                                                         John 20:15


 I'm really weeping now!  Dear Jesus, I'm looking for You in everyone I see! I'm
weeping for the unborn and for the mothers and the fathers. I'm weeping and sobbing
and crying out to You because I just don't know what to do - You have placed this message
so on my heart but what do I do? What do I say - Please Jesus help me, please show me
the way! My heart aches and my tears flow, I cry out to You to save the unborn. I pray
for conversion of hearts because only You can soften their hearts. Please Dear God,
please have mercy on us - please God help us with this fight - help us be strong, courageous
and true - help us not give up! Dear God, I hear you and I'm listening and I'm trying but
please open my eyes if there is something I'm missing that I'm not seeing. Here I am,
Lord, here I am. Amen.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

LIFE'S LESSONS - LEARNING NOT TO TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED

Hello Out There! It is 6:30 p.m. and 99 degrees outside! Jim is outside feeding the
animals. I was out there with him and after we filled up the bird bath and the animal's
water bowls I decided to come back in!
I wanted to tell y'all about something that happened at the Sack Lunch Ministry on
Wednesday. Somebody left some cut up watermelon in the fridge for us to hand out
with the lunches. While Miss Rose was putting the watermelon in baggies I walked out
to the cafeteria. I asked the man who was eating his lunch at the table if he would
like for me to bring him some watermelon. He replied that yes, he would love some
watermelon. I went back into the kitchen and put a couple of slices onto a napkin and
took it to him. He thanked me and smiled. I wish you could have seen the look on his
face when he bit into the melon. His face lit up as he told me how good the melon
tasted. I smiled back and told him that I was glad he enjoyed it and then I walked away
because I didn't want him to see the tears in my eyes. I take so many things for granted -
helping at this wonderful ministry has been an eye opening experience and has touched
my heart and blessed my life in so many ways. I walked back into the kitchen and Janice
was busy mixing up tuna to serve the next day. I love being around all the wonderful
women and men who keep this important ministry going.
Other blessings from the ministry last week were -
Our faithful parishioner from Holy Angels dropped off his weekly (3)
40 count packs of water! He has been donating water every week since last November!
We have a new volunteer from Holy Angels and her beautiful smile and helpful heart
are going to bless us all!
A very sweet mother and son team came to help and ended up decorating several sacks
with uplifting messages, kind words and colorful pictures - We hope they'll come help
again!
A big thank you to our devoted volunteers who prepare the lunches and hand them out!


I've said it before - I'll say it again:
The Sack Lunch Ministry at Sacred Heart Cathedral
Gives food to the hungry
Drink to the thirsty
and Welcomes the stranger - 5 days a week!
Come and join us and be blessed!

LIFE IS A BLESSING - BABIES ARE A GIFT!

Good Morning Out There! I have been working on a project that involves the posts on
my blog. To complete this project I have had to read my posts/short stories from when
I very first started my blog back in March of 2014. I came across a post yesterday that I
wrote two years ago and I am going to share it again today. I hope you all have a
wonderful and safe weekend! Blessings and Peace to you and yours!
                                                             
What if? What if we promoted the pro-life message in such a way that everyone
got it? That everyone understood that a baby is a baby, not a choice. That even
though abortions are legal, no one would choose to have one. That an abortionist
would see that he or she are taking a life, instead of saving a life, that instead of
being called an abortionist, they would want to be called a doctor. You are probably
thinking "dream on sister" and maybe, probably you are right. I just know that right
now I feel an urgency about spreading the pro-life message. I just want to spread
awareness about the help that is out there. I want people to know that abortion is
not their only option. In the early morning hours, my husband and I pray for the
unborn on the East Coast because we know that abortions are already in progress.
We pray throughout the day for all the unborn everywhere, for their mothers and
for their fathers to say NO to abortion and YES to life! We pray that the abortionists
will walk out and say, NO MORE, I will not take another baby's life, not today,
not ever! Please pray with us for the unborn, please pray for the baby girl or baby
boy's mother and father, please pray for the abortionists.
Please pray for an end to abortion.

                                   Prayer to End Abortion

      Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
            and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. 
        I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,
                           yet I rejoice that you have conquered death
                                  by the Resurrection of Your Son.
                              I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.
                                        Today I commit myself
                                         Never to be silent,
                                         Never to be passive,
                                   Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
                                       I commit myself to be active
                                         in the pro-life movement,
                                      and to never stop defending life
                             Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
                                   and our nation once again becomes
                                     A nation with liberty and justice
                                       not just for some, but for all.
                                   Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
                    
                                     Jesus Protect and Save the Unborn!


For those who have had an abortion and seek healing, please know that help is
available. www.rachelsvineyard.org and www.hopeafterabortion.org

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Following God's Commandments is the Road to Peace

Good Morning Out There - It is a beautiful summer day. I'm going to help at the
Sack Lunch Ministry today so this will be a short post. I had a wonderful time last
week with my grandchildren. Two of our granddaughters who live out of town spent
the whole week with us. We spent a lot of time with their cousins. That means all
ten grandkids and a very busy week! We spent Friday afternoon at the Municipal Pool.
My daughter, daughter-in-law and I decided that the next time we go swimming we
will wait until the dads can go with us! Two of my younger granddaughters, ages
three and four would stand on the side of the pool and jump to me. They loved it but
the next day I realized that I am not as young as I used to be and my right shoulder
has been really out of whack! Warm compresses, Advil and no heavy lifting this week
and it will heal. I'm very thankful for my family and that Jim and I get to spend time
with our grandchildren. A few of our adventures were - coloring sacks for the
Sack Lunch Ministry, going to the library downtown and checking out books and funny
audio books, swimming and 4th of July fireworks. We also went to the noon Mass on
Thursday and Friday. A surprise birthday party for our daughter-in-law was celebrated
on Wednesday evening. I counted 31 children at the party, ten of them were my
grandchildren! They had so much fun and the food was great! The Acapulco Mexican
Restaurant from Ballinger catered the meal. They have a wonderful family owned
restaurant and are dear friends of ours and everyone who was at the party. By the way -
yes, she was surprised, very happy and thankful!


I'm still thinking about all the sadness in our country right now. The daily scripture
readings really reflect what our country and the whole world is going through. We
need to turn back to God. We need to wake-up and realize that violence and hate are
not the answer. We need to take care of each other and try to figure out peaceful
and helpful solutions.


The scripture for yesterday was -
 Cease doing evil; learn to do good. Isaiah 1:16-17

 Blessings and Peace to you and yours - Bye for now, Sharla



Sunday, July 10, 2016

SING A NEW SONG - WALK HUMBLY WITH GOD!

Good Morning Out There - No exclamation point today - Just a post to say hello
and I hope you are doing well. I pray that your families are safe and healthy. It is
really important to let people know that we care about them. I pray for peace for our
country and the whole world. I pray that we will take care of each other instead of
hurting each other. I pray for strength and courage to step out of my comfort zone and
really help those around me, help those in need. I've shared the refrain from this hymn
before - but today I ask that we all really listen to the words and take them to heart.
Blessings  and peace to you and yours, Sharla


The refrain for "We are Called"
We are called to act with justice, we are called to love tenderly, we are called
to serve one another; to walk humbly with God.


Verse 3. (This is what we need right now and from now on)
Sing! Sing a new song! Sing of that great day when all will be one! God will reign,
and we'll walk with each other as sisters and brothers united in love!


Really and truly every verse and every word of this song just jump off the page
today -


This is the first verse -
Come! Live in the light! Shine with the joy and the love of the Lord! We are called
to be light for the kingdom, to live in the freedom of the city of God!
Refrain -
We are called to act with justice, we are called to love tenderly, we are called
to serve one another; to walk humbly with God.


This is the second verse - (This one really hits the heart of the matter)
Come! Open your heart! Show your mercy to all those in fear! We are called to be
hope for the hopeless, so all hatred and blindness will be no more!
Refrain -
We are called to act with justice, we are called to love tenderly, we are called
to serve one another; to walk humbly with God.


There is an old saying, "You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?"  I'm sure
going to try harder to walk the walk, singing a new song and shining with the
joy and the love of the Lord. We are all God's children and it is time to start
taking care of each other!
                                                                            Bye for now, Sharla





Friday, July 8, 2016

Have Mercy On Us And On The Whole World

Hello Out There! This country and the whole world needs Jesus! The violence and hate
are escalating. We prayed for peace and an end to the violence today at the noon Mass.
Please pray for all the families who have lost a loved one this week, this month, this
year. Reach out to one another.


 Please God, show us, guide us to how we can best help others. You created us all,
please help us to love our neighbor, care for one another, and pray for those who seek
a better life. In Jesus Name I pray Dear Lord, Amen.

As Catholics, we pray The Divine Mercy Chaplet. This prayer is for the whole world.
It is really beautiful when we sing this Chaplet. (I'm singing this as I'm typing)
The refrain goes like  this:
For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

How to pray The Chaplet of The Divine Mercy:
(It is easier to keep up with if you have a rosary, but if you don't,
you can count on your fingers.)

1. Begin with the Sign of the Cross and then pray (1) Our Father, (1) Hail Mary
and The Apostles Creed.
2. Prayer - (Pray this 1 time) Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ,
in atonement for ours sins and those of the whole world.   
3. Pray this refrain 10 times:
    For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
You repeat steps (2) & (3) for a total of (5) times.
4. Conclude with (3 times)
   Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and
on  the whole world.
5. The sign of the cross and Amen.

It is a beautiful, peaceful prayer. I find myself humming or singing it a lot. I also pray
it if I wake up during the night.  

May God Bless you and keep you safe wherever you are, wherever you live.
May God help us to love and care for one another.


Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and
white - we are precious in his sight. Jesus loves all the children of the world.

                                              Blessings and Peace,
                                                    Sharla

Thursday, July 7, 2016

THE SACK LUNCH MINISTRY IS IN NEED OF SOME HELPING HANDS AND GENEROUS HEARTS!




Hello Out There! I have so much to say - If you read my blog on a regular basis you know

how much the MINISTRY of the Sack Lunch Ministry at Sacred Heart means to me and so many others! Janice and I have composed a letter that we are going to send out tomorrow about helping support this much needed ministry. The letter will speak for itself.

I've copied it for you: 

Dear Friends and Family,
The third anniversary of the Sack Lunch Ministry at Sacred Heart Cathedral is this month.  
When this ministry began in July of 2013 we had no idea how quickly it would grow.
We started out small, handing out about 8 -15 lunches a day the first couple of weeks.
We now average anywhere from 50 – 80 lunches a day, sometimes more than that. The
lunches are simple – a meat (ham, turkey) and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips,
a fruit cup or sometimes fresh fruit, and a bottle of water is served four days a week.
Once a week we serve peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. A packet of mustard or
mayonnaise is offered with the meat sandwich. We also put a package of peanut butter
crackers in the lunches a couple of times a week.  Sometimes organizations will bring by
left over cookies or donuts, etc. and we will put those in the lunches. There have been
so many generous people that have dropped by with donations of cases of water, bread,
lunch meat, special treats during the holidays – the list goes on and on. We have also
been blessed with monetary donations and those are so appreciated and needed.
Before I continue, I would like to share with you how much this ministry has touched our
hearts. We are blessed to be able to use the kitchen and cafeteria at Sacred Heart Cathedral. 
We are especially blessed with our many faithful volunteers.  The people who prepare the
lunches and pass them out and the people who pick up all the supplies are volunteers.
We hand out the lunches from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Monday – Friday. We start making
the sandwiches and packing the lunch bags at  9:30 a.m. We also take time to decorate the
sacks. During the school year the children from Angelo Catholic School and the CCD classes
from Sacred Heart Cathedral decorate many of the sacks for us.
The people who come and pick up a lunch are so appreciative. We have our regulars and 
some we just see every now and then. Some you see for a while and then never again. These
people have touched our hearts and we always feel like we are the ones who have been
blessed.

Even though we receive some monetary donations, the majority of the costs have been
paid by Sacred Heart. We would like to make this ministry more self-sustaining.
Janice Pelzel and I (Sharla Ynostrosa) have many ideas about how we can all help to make
this goal a reality. The attached sheet has a list of different ways that businesses and
individuals can help.

This is how we see this beautiful ministry –

The Sack Lunch Ministry at Sacred Heart gives food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty
and welcomes the stranger five days a week – come and join us and be blessed!
Page 2 - How you can help with this amazing ministry!

It is our dream that this opportunity to serve our neighbors in this ministry will expand
to embrace more of our community. If we all work together this ministry will continue
to bless those in need.
Weekly expenses are approximately $400.00 – This amount covers the cost of sandwich
bread, lunch meat, cheese, individual chips, individual crackers or individual fruit cups.
This also covers bottles of water (16 oz.), foil wraps, napkins, lunch sacks, mayonnaise
and mustard  packets and spoons. We serve meat (usually ham or turkey) and cheese
sandwiches four days a week and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches once a week.

Ways to sponsor this ministry:

1.       Donate a month of groceries - $1,600.00
2.       Donate a week of groceries - $400.00
3.       Share sponsorship with another family or partner with another business or friend.
4.       Purchase some supplies and drop them off in the cafeteria (Example – a parishioner
from Holy Angels Catholic Church drops off (3) 40 count packs of water every week)
5.       Donate water for a week (about 8 – 40 count packs of 16 oz. waters) approx. $32.00
6.       Volunteer! Pick once a week or twice a month and come and join in the fellowship as
we prepare the lunches and hand them out. Call Janice or Sharla for more information.

7.       Any type of donation will be greatly appreciated. 

With your permission, an acknowledgement of your donation will be printed in
 our weekly bulletin. (Example – The supplies for this weeks’ Sack Lunch Ministry
 are being donated by or are being sponsored by ….) 

Checks should be made to Sacred Heart Cathedral Sack Lunch Ministry 

Thank you so much for your generosity in considering your sponsorship of this ministry. 

Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:17  

I realize this blog post is mainly for people in the San Angelo area but we need to get
the message out that we need help to keep this ministry going! Sharing this message
on my blog and posting it to face book are some of the best ways I know to get the message
out!
I'm going to share two or maybe three of my favorite posts about the Sack Lunch Ministry to help you see how vital this ministry is to our community!

http://adoptedandblessed.blogspot.com/2015/11/trying-to-be-light-in-this-dark-world.html

http://adoptedandblessed.blogspot.com/2015/11/let-my-little-light-shine.html

http://adoptedandblessed.blogspot.com/2016/01/sanctuary-for-most-of-us-place-to.html 

                           Blessings to you and yours, Sharla