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Ali
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 09:06 am |
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(And I can't type that without hearing it in a deep south Baptist preacher's voice  Can I get an Amen? {giggles madly}) Ok, on to more serious stuff . . . .
I brought this up to my dh a couple weeks ago. He has a hard time at work, and sometimes get lost in his misery (people at work) to see his blessings (he *has* a job). I suggested he offer up his unhappiness at work to Jesus, but can't really explain how it works, and he must have missed that CCD class when he was growing up {eye roll}
In my mind (and I have been wrong before), it's like taking a job you don't want to do or enjoy and saying, Jesus, for all you have done for me (think passion and painful death) I will do this job in memory of that and do a good job while doing it. Cause I'm sure he really didn't enjoy being scourged and hung to die. But he did it anyway, for us. So I'll take my unpleasurable task and do it for him.
Does that sound about right?
Is there a simple and to the point article explaining it I can send to dh? He doesn't read a lot, and isn't into "deep" stuff, kwim?
Any other thoughts to add?
Thanks,
Ali
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JasPax
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 03:52 pm |
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kwim? (?????)
Let's see: kiwanians wading in Maui?; kiwi won't improve motivation? OR maybe, Krispycremes will increase malfunctions?
How about: kumquats weak in multivitamens?
I give up 
____________________
James
"Abide in me, and I in you..." John 15:4
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." John 6:56
RSV-2CE
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Ali
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 04:16 pm |
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JasPax wrote: kwim? (?????)
Let's see: kiwanians wading in Maui?; kiwi won't improve motivation? OR maybe, Krispycremes will increase malfunctions?
How about: kumquats weak in multivitamens?
I give up
LOL! How about know what I mean? Does that make more sense??
Great, Krispycremes, now I'm just hungry!
Ali
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CajunRick
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 09:28 pm |
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Ali wrote: Great, Krispycremes, now I'm just hungry!
Another native Louisiana delicacy!
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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JasPax
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 11:40 pm |
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Hold on now Big Fellow!
I've been to the Big Easy and sampled its wonderful food, but you can't claim credit for EVERYTHING!
It is only an unproven myth that the recipe was won from a N.O. baker in a poker game. A man named Rudolph from Paducah, KY. opened the first Krispy Kreme store on South Main St. in Winston-Salem, NC and the HQ of the company is still there today.
I am an expert on doughnuts and I have the coronary artery stents to prove it. :X BTW, the company just started selling whole wheat doughnuts. Is that an oxymoron or what!
____________________
James
"Abide in me, and I in you..." John 15:4
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." John 6:56
RSV-2CE
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beachmoss
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Posted: Fri Apr 27th, 2007 11:49 pm |
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| Whole wheat, huh? Ooh! About one hour til the red light goes on. Maybe I'll make a doughnut run tonight!
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beachmoss
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Posted: Sat Apr 28th, 2007 12:05 am |
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Ali,
We've really gotten off track here, haven't we?
To answer your question--yes, that's a good summary of "offering it up." The only reference I can find at my fingertips right now is the Baltimore Catechism ch. 10 "The Virtues and Gifts of the Holy Spirit."
"He sends us our daily crosses so that we can walk in the footsteps of love after Christ, our Good Shepherd. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to carry these crosses and even to love them."
Also in ch. 8 there is a "practice" box stating: "Bear your small crosses with love, offering them up to God the Father as Christ offered Himself."
I hope this helps!
Beth
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CajunRick
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Posted: Sat Apr 28th, 2007 12:50 am |
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JasPax wrote: It is only an unproven myth that the recipe was won from a N.O. baker in a poker game. A man named Rudolph from Paducah, KY. opened the first Krispy Kreme store on South Main St. in Winston-Salem, NC and the HQ of the company is still there today.
You're right. According to the Krispy Kreme web site, "Vernon Rudolph bought a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe from a French chef in New Orleans ... and began selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts on July 13, 1937..." (bold emphasis added).
you can't claim credit for EVERYTHING!
We do not claim credit for everything. We had nothing to do with haggis, kidney pie, and anything that resembles chowder or chutney. We also don't claim mince meat pies, although Natchitoches meat pies are excellent!
I am an expert on doughnuts and I have the coronary artery stents to prove it.
Want to put that against my double bypass? 
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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JasPax
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Posted: Sat Apr 28th, 2007 09:07 am |
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Rick, You win.
And Ali and Beth, I do offer up my recurring chest discomfort as a small remindeer of what Christ did for me. (And for us all.)
God's Blessings,
____________________
James
"Abide in me, and I in you..." John 15:4
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." John 6:56
RSV-2CE
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JasPax
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Posted: Sat Apr 28th, 2007 02:27 pm |
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Ali, I apologize for hijacking your post. It is a good one.
I may have suggested this book before (memory going away ya know) but Peter Kreeft's, Making Sense Out of Suffering is a good one.
God's Blessings,
____________________
James
"Abide in me, and I in you..." John 15:4
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." John 6:56
RSV-2CE
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CajunRick
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Posted: Sat Apr 28th, 2007 03:33 pm |
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Ali wrote: In my mind (and I have been wrong before), it's like taking a job you don't want to do or enjoy and saying, Jesus, for all you have done for me (think passion and painful death) I will do this job in memory of that and do a good job while doing it. Cause I'm sure he really didn't enjoy being scourged and hung to die. But he did it anyway, for us. So I'll take my unpleasurable task and do it for him.
Does that sound about right?
Apologies for drawing your thread off topic without ever addressing your question.
Let me share a story with you from my web site. I'll put it in the next message. It's called, "Be Thankful For The Thorns".
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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CajunRick
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Posted: Sat Apr 28th, 2007 03:45 pm |
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Be Thankful For The Thorns
Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like spring breeze.
Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son.
She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "She has no idea what I'm feeling," thought Sandra. "Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?" she wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took the life of her unborn child?
"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The shop clerk's approach startled her. "I ... I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra. "For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the 'Thanksgiving Special'?" asked the shop clerk. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued. "Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this Thanksgiving?"
"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong."
Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."
Then the door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi, Barbara ... let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped. There were no flowers!
"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk. Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed. "Yes, please," Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped her chest.
"Uh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uh ... she just left with no flowers!"
"Right, said the clerk, "I cut off the flowers. That's the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."
"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!" exclaimed Sandra.
"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."
"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk," and for the first time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel."
"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.
"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly.
"I've always thanked God for good things in life and never to ask Him why those good things happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."
Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."
Just then someone else walked in the shop. "Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man. "My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement ... twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.
"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?"
"No ... I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from 'thorny' times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific 'problem' and give thanks for what that problem taught us."
As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"
"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said to the clerk. "It's all too ... fresh."
"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."
Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.
"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."
"Thank you. What do I owe you?"
"Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me."
The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first." It read:
"My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns.
I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns.
Teach me the glory of the cross I bear;
Teach me the value of my thorns.
Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain;
Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."
Praise Him for your roses, thank Him for your thorns. When the going gets tough, the tough seek the Lord!
Author Unknown
Taken From Luquette Lane Inspirations
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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CajunRick
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Posted: Sat Apr 28th, 2007 03:55 pm |
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Now the question is, "What do we learn from the thorns?"
First of all, without thorns, there would be no roses. Without rain, there would never be a rainbow. Without rain, there would be no flowers. Without suffering, there would be no joy.
Jesus' life was a dichotomy. His greatest glory was the cross! His greatest triumph was a criminal's death. If he had not suffered and died, he could not have experienced resurrection. It is only through his cross that we have new life. His death bought us eternity.
So every little pain, every little discomfort, every little time things don't go our way is an opportunity for us to appreciate what Jesus did for us, a chance for us to experience a taste of Christ's greatest glory.
One of my favorite songs is "Without Clouds":
Without clouds, the rain can't wash the land;
Without rain, the grass can't hide the sand;
Without sand, the flowers blooms won't grow;
Without pain, the joys of life won't show.
Ever notice that Hollywood marriages seldom last? Do you think part of the reason is that they have so much that they never suffer together? If we didn't struggle with sickness and unemployment and countless thorns, we would never experience the glorious rose of resurrection.
Thank God for thorns!
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Talithacumi
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Posted: Sun Apr 29th, 2007 11:01 pm |
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cajunrick wrote: Now the question is, "What do we learn from the thorns?"
First of all, without thorns, there would be no roses. Without rain, there would never be a rainbow. Without rain, there would be no flowers. Without suffering, there would be no joy...
Funny... I found a quote awhile back that I wrote down and pinned up right here above my desk: "Don't be sorry that roses have thorns. Be grateful that thorns have roses."
And Ali,
Just a few thoughts... I used to be confused by that whole "offer it up" saying, myself. I used to think: "Why would I want to offer Jesus more suffering? Why would I want to offer him more pain? Isn't that just 'dumping' on Him?"
But by and by I came to understand that when we "offer something up" for Jesus, it's kind of like being a Simon the Cyrenean in the sense that by offering up our suffering we are taking up the cross, and by doing so we somehow lighten Jesus' load, so to speak. Now I can't speak about how this actually works. I mean, Jesus already died on the Cross for us 2,000 years ago. But yet He is eternal. So if He suffered and died for every sin from all time - even the ones after His time on earth - then I suppose that our "offerings" can have the effect of relieving that suffering, just as Simon's help did (Am I making any sense?).
Another way of understanding the concept of "offering up our sufferings" might be to think of our sufferings as money (metaphorically). Any sufferings that we offer up goes into a "spiritual bank" - sort of a fund for those in need (and that doesn't exclude the person suffering, either. The one suffering might be in need as much as anyone else). The "suffering" is converted into "blessings" and distributed as the Lord sees fit to those who need them. If you remember, in the Acts of the Apostles, the early Christians were asked to put all their money into one fund and that would be distributed evenly so that everyone would have enough to live on. Well, this idea of doling out blessings converted from our suffering sort of works the same way.
I don't know if there's any theological basis for this... it's just how I understand it. If it helps you to understand at all, then great. If not, well, you can just disregard it as a bunch of rambling on my part, I guess.
JMJ
- Cheri
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“We do not want a Church that will move with the world; we want a Church that will move the world.”
- G.K. Chesterton
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JasPax
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Posted: Sun Apr 29th, 2007 11:19 pm |
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This also:
God could have made us perfect, with a life of no sin and no suffering; instead he gave us free will.
Instead of being robots, we are imperfect humans.
We eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, but we can appreciate the beauty of the forest.
We do not always treat our brothers and sisters as we should, but we can love - robots can't do that.
When our children disappoint us, we don't quit loving them, because God made us that way.
We suffer from pain and grief in this life, but our hearts can soar when we hear great music.
And because God did not make us logical robots, we can believe the mystery of the Eucharist.
Thank you God!
____________________
James
"Abide in me, and I in you..." John 15:4
"He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." John 6:56
RSV-2CE
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Ali
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Posted: Mon Apr 30th, 2007 09:38 am |
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I don't mind an off topic thread. They are usually pretty fun, and we need a little light hearted fun around here! No apologies necessary.
The explanations offered do help to make it more clear to me. Now to put it into practice. I'm a born procrastinator, this should be fun
Ali
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Anabela
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Posted: Sun Jun 15th, 2008 10:25 am |
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| This can be a sore topic for some, do we know what to offer up and are we really doing it for the right reasons. Are we ourselves avoiding something in our own lives that could be changed or do we always just want to offer it up as a cop out. Yes we must offer up to Jesus our trials and difficulties and sufferings but we must also work through them with Him and face them with honesty and truth and love. The road is narrow and not easy. I know some people who were constantly told to offer up their problems but they were suffering alot inside, and continued to suffer but the Lord brought them into His healing and showed them the way forward out of their deep emotional pain. He brought them to face their pain with Him on the Cross and brought them through to a healing resurrection in their own lives. Jesus suffered and died for us and our sins and the sins of those against us. We must be careful not to say to people who are suffering greatly 'offer it up' but to empathise with them and pray for them to Jesus who will in turn help them to bring it to Him and truly offer it to Him. Jesus wants to heal, He is always there for us. We must understand more the mystery of the Cross and come to Him more often. God bless.
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GoodSoil
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Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 09:48 pm |
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I really like Cheri's and Ann's responses.
When I think of offering something up, I think of how as a Protestant I was taught that to suffer for someone meant we thought Jesus' sufferings weren't enough.
But we pray for people. Weren't His prayers enough? Do we pray because he doesn't know Aunt Agnes has cancer? No. Because he knows but he likes us better than Aunt Agnes? No. We pray because He prayed and we are His body, saved by identifying with Him completely, sacrementally and otherwise.
Jesus suffered for us. Not by giving up chocolate for Lent or by beating Himself with little whips, but by doing all of the small-and HUGE- unpleasant things the Father brought his way. Some men say "I love you" to their wife, but others build her a cabinet. Suffering on someone's behalf is like that. Like "doing" a prayer instead of saying a prayer. And it is especially precious because we can pray at any time as an act of our will, but sufferings are allowed by God and come when they come, and are not our will, only there for us to take advantage of.
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Didi
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Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 11:17 pm |
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I have learned a lot about offering things up over the last 10 years.
Here are some things that have really helped me.
Colossians 1:24: "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christs' afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church."
I used to think it was odd to rejoice -- how can I rejoice when I'm so miserable? We rejoice because we know our suffering is not in vain -- it is being used to build God's kingdom.
Then, I wondered what could be lacking in Jesus' most perfect sacrifice? The answer is -- Nothing! Jesus' once-for-all perfect sacrifice lacks nothing except our participation. Jesus is the Head of the Church, and we are the Body. We are to imitate Him and join our lives to His every day.
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There was a time when I was really struggling with the ongoing issues of health, finances, and other hardships we seem to continue to face. I went to talk with my priest, and he asked if I was praying the morning offering prayer. I replied that I did sometimes, but not very regularly. He challenged me to pray it at the beginning of every day, then my day has already been offered to God, all that I do, think and say:
Dear Lord Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary I offer you my day: my work, my rest, my prayers, my joys and my sufferings; in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins and the sins of the world, for the intentions of Our Holy Father, for all my friends and family, especially for (special interntions here), for all poor souls in purgatory and for those who have special need of Thy Mercy.
(You can customize this prayer to add your own intentions or any special hardship you are enduring.)
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2 Corinthians 4:16-18: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."
Whatever hardship we are going through, it won't last forever. Better for our mortal bodies to suffer so our immortal souls will live forever than to have everything in this life and nothing in the next. Someone once said (it may have been Mother Teresa but I'm not sure) "I'd rather suffer in this life with God, than suffer without Him in the next."
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Romans 5:3-5: "...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
2 Corinthians 1:3-5: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too."
We all know that it is through the hard times that we see our strength and God's strength at work in our lives. We often find out who our "real" friends are as well. These trials mold us and shape us and purify us. Then we are able to reach out to others who undergo similar trials and offer them our comfort and the comfort of the Lord. I remember Jesus, while carrying His cross after being scourged and beaten, speaks to comfort the women of Jerusalem to weep not for Him but for themselves. If He can comfort someone in His extreme agony and pain, He can give me the strength to do the same.
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David W. Emery
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| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
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| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Sun Sep 28th, 2008 11:43 pm |
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Trish, your thought is beautiful! I especially like this: “Some men say ‘I love you’ to their wife, but others build her a cabinet. Suffering on someone’s behalf is like that. Like ‘doing’ a prayer instead of saying a prayer.”
David
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GoodSoil
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| Joined: | Fri Aug 1st, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 90 |
| First Name: | GoodSoil | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Evangelical, charismatic/non-denominational |
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Posted: Mon Sep 29th, 2008 12:07 am |
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Thank you, David! I always appreciate your wisdom. How interesting to realize I went on a mission trip to Brownsville once, long ago in my fundie days. We are all connected somehow, and I am often surprised and delighted by God's sneakiness.
Didi I am going to cut and paste your offering up prayer! I am going through rather a tough time myself! I think I will put it on my mirror.
Also, I will post this elsewhere but, my dh has agreed to let me join the Church at Easter! Yay!!
Last week RCIA we had to fill out a form and list our parents' and spouses' full names. I thought of how my dad hated the Church and how my mom was ridiculed and suspected for her Catholic past and how my husbands' family would react and I cried all the way home. I wish I didn't have to involve them because I know they don't understand what I have come to understand. But I know if a Catholic thinks ill of someone or something they are to withold the unkind word even if what they are saying about the other is true. Especially if what they are saying is true. I know in my heart that is right. I have to believe even if I will be misunderstood. I never thought I would come to the point of actually filing out a form. My husband is more supportive than he has been. He stayed home from a church event so he could care for our daughter while I went to RCIA.
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Free
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| Joined: | Wed Nov 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | Michigan USA |
| Posts: | 270 |
| First Name: | Jane | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Presbyterian, Gnostic, non-denominational, Catholic |
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Posted: Mon Sep 29th, 2008 01:57 am |
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Goodsoil, what I especially like is how you say nothing is lacking in Jesus sacrifice except our participation. Excellent.
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Didi
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 3rd, 2008 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 212 |
| First Name: | Didi | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Catholic; almost left; Now an On-Fire Catholic! |
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Posted: Fri Oct 3rd, 2008 05:30 am |
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This is one of my favorite prayers for offering our sufferings. I found it at our adoration chapel and there's no citation where it's from.
O my Lord Jesus Christ, I lift up my heart to You in my suffering and ask for your comforting help. I know that You would withhold the thorns of this life if I could attain eternal life without them. And so I commend myself to Your loving mercy, accepting this suffering in Your Name. Grant me the grace to bear it and to offer it in union with Your sufferings. Regardless of the suffering tha | | |
