Living the Bible

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college.

He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it.

One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.

Bill gets closer and closer and closer to th e pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill.

Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do.

How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?

It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy.

The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to d o.

And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion.
When the minister gains control, he says, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget."

"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!"

St. Christopher's Hospital

KELEE WHALON

Below is the letter my son, John, is sending out for his Management class. If you want to donate towards the purchase of beds, include a note that this is for John Whalon’s Management class project (address and name are below):

Dear Family Members and Friends:

As a semester-long project, for my Management class, my group is required to add value to a select nonprofit organization in some way. My group has chosen St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia. St. Christopher’s performs many surgeries for children with heart problems for free and most of the hospital is run on donations. After speaking to a representative and experiencing the value first hand, we were able to determine that the hospital has a need of beds for parents. Often before surgery, children wish their parents to stay in the hospital rooms with them. Our plan is to donate beds to be used to house parents so they can be with their children before and after surgery.

We are writing this letter to ask for donations to help our cause in both funding the events we have planned to raise money, such as a dinner night for faculty here at Villanova, and adding to our donation to St. Christopher’s. My group is asking friends and family members to help out, with whatever amount you can to help us get our project up and running.

Please send donations for beds by Friday, April 16 to:

Debra A. Arvanites, Ph. D.

Associate Dean, Villanova School of Business

800 Lancaster Ave

Villanova, PA 19085

Sarah Gracely Fighting MS

Good morning everyone! We have been praying for 15 yr old Sarah Gracely who was recently diagnosed with MS. The Gracely's are members of St. Thomas More Parish and Sarah is very active at Salisbury Middle School. I just received this latest update from her mom Dawn and I really do think that we need to "step it up a notch" in praying for Sarah's complete healing, or at least permanent remission of this disease. Dawn is a Longaberger basket consultant and she will be hosting a fund raiser for Sarah. There was a beautiful flyer but for some reason I'm not able to send it even as an attachment, so I have the info below. I hope those of you who are in the Lehigh Valley will be able to support Sarah with this event. Please feel free to pass it on. Thanks so much! <3

Dbgracely@aol.com
Hi Sylvia,

Sarah is experiencing some crazy things. She is experiencing the tingling in her legs when she looks down and she is now experiencing pain in her right eye when she moves it. I hope it isn't the beginning of something. Keep her in your prayers. You don't need to put her on the prayer chain - just thought I put a couple people on a prayer request. (There are so many others who need our prayers now) Thanks!

I'll talk to you soon.

Love,
Dawn

Prayer from Grandma Fuchs

Rick ,
I would like to share one of Grandma's beautiful prayers with you and the prayer group.

God, my Father, put me into the quiet of your care. All my tomorrows are in your hands. Don't let me be a hostage to my fears. I will await the outcome of your plan with a mind uncluttered and undisturbed. Give me the attitude of thankfulness, joy, and hope.
Amen

Request for Prayer for Terri Signaigo

Dear PGPG:

My best friends, Michael and Terri pictured below, need a prayer.

Aloha All:
Friday Terri got a call saying she is being scheduled for another test ( MRI / Brain Scan ). Test results the doctor got this week showed a dense area on the left side of her head which is indicating she may have Cerebral Ischemia. This is caused when the brain does not receive enough blood flow to maintain normal neurologic function. There are a number of causes for this including a blocked artery.

When we checked out the various symptoms for this on line it appears to be the first thing they have come up with that would pretty much cause all of her various symptoms. We won't know the next step for treatment till after the next test results. I will keep you informed. Love to all, Doc

The Prodigal Son

An old Irish monk climed into the pulpit to deliver his "Prodigal Son" sermon. He filled his lungs with air and powerfully said,

"The prodigal son went out and he spent his money on wine, women, and song. The rest he wasted."

God Bless and Peace
Tom

Catholic Parrots

A lady goes to her priest one day and tells him,
"Father, I have a problem. I have two female
parrots, but they only know how to say one thing."

"What do they say?" the priest inquired.

They say, "Hi, we're hookers! Do you want to have
some fun?"

"That's obscene!" the priest exclaimed, then he
thought for a moment. "You know," he said, "I may
have a solution to your problem. I have two male
talking parrots, which I have taught to pray and
read the Bible. Bring your two parrots over to my
house, and we'll put them in the cage with Francis
and Peter. My parrots can teach your parrots to
praise and worship, and your parrots are sure to
stop saying . . . that phrase. . . in no time."

"Thank you," the woman responded, "this may very
well be the solution."

The next day, she brought her female parrots to the
priest's house. As he ushered her in, she saw that
his two male parrots were inside their cage holding
rosary beads and praying.

Impressed, she walked over and placed her parrots in
with them.

After a few minutes, the female parrots cried out in
unison: "Hi, we're hookers! Do you want to have
some fun?"

There was stunned silence. Shocked, one male parrot
looked over at the other male parrot and exclaimed,
"Put the beads away, Frank. Our prayers have been
answered!"

The Five Finger Prayer

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger; as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger; the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.