THE SECRET SKILL
"Teacher, I believe you know all things. Teach
me the secret of how to be happy," begged the
student.
"All right, but where would you like to begin?"
smiled the teacher.
"Show me how to control the weather so that
every day may be bright and sunny, for I feel sad
when we have cloudy or bad weather, and I have a hard
time adjusting to extreme temperatures."
"You can limit yourself to air-conditioned,
climate controlled environments," said the teacher,
"or you could go in search of a place where the
sun shines every day of the year!" As the student
pondered departing on such a search, the teacher added,
"however the weather is ultimately beyond human
control, and one can be equally unhappy on a sunny
day as on a cloudy one."
Musing for a moment on this answer, the student replied,
"Teacher, you are wise and correct. Show me,
then, how to control the financial markets, stocks
and bonds. If I become a millionaire, then can I be
happy."
The teacher responded, "You can invest a good
deal of time and energy becoming astute in financial
planning and recognising trends in the market."
Then he sat in silence until the student had time
to think about the implications of this question and
response.
"I'm not sure," the student finally said,
"the investment is worth it. I know that wealth
is not the source of happiness either, since there
are so many unhappy millionaires." The teacher
nodded in agreement.
"Could you then, share with me," continued
the student, "the knowledge of how to control
my arms and legs. If I were gracefully co-ordinated,
I could become a great athlete or ballet dancer. I
could be famous - a star with thousands of fans. Then
I would be happy."
"It is indeed a blessing to be graceful, on
whatever level. But if that is what you desire, you
don't need me," the teacher replied. "What
you need is a coach! Moreover, are there not as many
unhappy famous people as rich people?"
After a long, empty silence the student again spoke,
"Teacher , I see where this is leading. Is the
secret that it is not possible for us who live in
this valley of tears to find lasting happiness?"
"No, on the contrary, it is possible. For happy
are those who are in control," the teacher replied
with a smile. The student looked completely confused,
but the teacher said, "Put on your thinking cap.
Then you'll know the only thing in this world you
can control."
Among the paradoxes of life is that the only thing
that we can control is what we seldom if ever even
attempt to control - those thoughts we wish to entertain.
Those who put on their thinking cap and make it their
hard hat, their working cap, find the secret of happiness.
The path of daily life is scattered with land mines:
problems, disappointments, afflictions
and failures - all of which cause suffering. Yet,
these are not the sources of unhappiness. That, rather,
is determined by how we judge and think about our
difficulties. We can, to our great benefit, learn
to control our thought patterns - we can learn to
align our mind to the mind of Christ.
The control of an untrained adult mind is as challenging
as controlling a spoiled child's behaviour. It requires
more rigid discipline than toilet training. It demands
constant vigilance wedded to patience. Yet, practising
with gentleness and firmness, we can understand the
enlightening words of a Holy Man, "With our thoughts
we make our world."
COLLECTION
We acknowledge last Sunday’s collection of £1430.00.
Many thanks for your ongoing generosity which is of
a very high order.
ANNIVERSARIES
Mary McClintock, Adrian Bonner, Tom Conway, Ann Jane
McAteer,
Mollie Brady, William Kearney, John Quinn.
DEATHS
We offer our deepest sympathy to the family and friends
of:
Martin Doherty, St. Johnston and
formerly of Strabane,
Lawrence Mongan, Omagh,
Margaret Roulstone, Melmount Manor
and
Willie Forbes formerly of Strabane
who died in Birmingham. May they rest
in peace.
PRAY FOR PRIESTS
Last year the diocese published a prayer card with
the names of all the Derry diocesan priests. Many
of you have these cards and every day a specific priest
is named. This week we ask you to pray for the following
priests:
Fr. Dermot McGirr CC, Creggan, 29th
July
Fr. James McGlinchey, (Retired),
30th July
Fr. Brian McGoldrick PP, Doneyloop,
31st July
Fr. Neil McGoldrick PP, Fahan, 1st
August
Fr. Patrick McGoldrick CC, Moville,
2nd August
Fr. James McGonagle PP, Culdaff,
3rd August
Fr. James McGrory, Armagh, 4th August
PARISH DRAW
The monthly Parish Draws for July and August were
held on Thursday 26th July in the parish office.
The winners for July were as follows:
£50.00 Charlie Goan 240
£50.00 Marie Bristow 852
£50.00 Eddie & Ann McLaughlin 261
£100.00 Siobhan Monaghan 416
£100.00 Jean Christy 806
£100.00 Rosaleen McCullagh 264
£100.00 Colette Mullen 725
£100.00 John McGranaghan 371
£200.00 Frances McAnenny 881
£1000.00 Marie Duncan 596
The winners for August were as follows:
£50.00 John Paul Gallagher 880
£50.00 Declan Devine 834
£50.00 Theresa Logue 797
£100.00 Michael & Mary Bradley 601
£100.00 Pat Robinson 306
£100.00 Martin O'Kane 367
£100.00 Siobhan Monaghan 416
£100.00 Jimmy McBride 348
£200.00 Liam & Mary Kennedy 456
£1000.00 Ursula Melaugh 405
FOYLE HOSPICE FUND-RAISING CENTRE
The Foyle Hospice Shop 5A Church Street, Strabane
is open Monday - Friday 10.00am - 4.00pm. Volunteers
are required to assist in the running of the shop.
If anyone is interested they should contact Liz or
Alban at 02871886241. Your assistance will be greatly
appreciated.
ST PATRICK’S HALL
Bingo and Lucky 4 Draw as usual this
Thursday - all our patrons are very welcome
THE
WIZARD OF OZ
AUDITIONS
AUDITIONS AUDITIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
St. Patrick's Hall Theatre Group,
Strabane, are delighted to announce that due to the
success of our previous production "The Hunchback
of Notre Dame", we will be staging one of the
all time great musicals, "The Wizard of Oz"
in St. Patrick's Hall, Barrack Street, in November
2007. We would therefore like to take this opportunity
to invite all those interested in auditioning for
both chorus and main cast to come along to St. Patrick's
Hall on the following dates:
Junior Chorus ( 8 - 11 years
)
Saturday 1st September 10.00am - 12.30pm.
Senior Chorus and Main Cast
( 12 years upwards )
Saturday 1st September 2.30pm - 4.00pm.
EVERYONE WELCOME.
PRAYER CORNER
POETIC PRAYER
Take me to the lair of your loveliness
To the place that is no place
Where there is song without singing
And love without word.
Take me where I want to be.
Take me into your boundless Being
Where no thought limits.
Take me into my deepest heart
That opens into You.
There at the centre of all loveliness
Will I be lovely.
Of all the holiness will I be holy.
Of all the peace will I be peaceful.
There will I be your begotten.
There will I be we!
MEDITATION
Gift, all gift, your giving.
Let me open to receive:
Stretch me to infinity,
That I hold the all of You.
No time pass, so no thing change,
Eternal and infinite in your nothingness,
That in the stillness, all motion,
And in the silence, every sound.
Let no thought despoil.
For how can You be in thought?
Let no word ruin, word is my making.
Only silence, stillness - open to love.
Beloved, make a forced entry if You must
But gift me with your Presence.
GIVE YOURSELF THE RIGHT TO
SUFFER
Being unhappy in today's society is not popular.
In fact, judging by the ads on television, finding
happiness should be our main goal.
We want to be happy no matter what the cost. This
is why we put our elders in institutions and our sick
in hospitals so we don't have to face our suffering.
We ask funeral homes to make our deceased look good
so we don't have to see the face of death.
We abhor suffering and fear. We are ashamed of our
pain and our sadness.
Give yourself permission to mourn, to weep and to
be depressed for a while, even if, as a child, your
parents forbade you to cry or be sad. If you find
it hard to let yourself cry, try watching a sad movie
to release your tears and your pain. Share your feelings
with people who are wise, people who can accept your
situation because they have been through it and know
what you are experiencing, people who know they can't
make it better except by listening.
This state is temporary. With support and encouragement
to express yourself, you will begin to feel better.
GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO HEAL AT YOUR OWN
PACE
You will find that very few people around you can
tolerate your suffering. They want you to feel better,
to forget, to accept, to distract yourself.
They will try to prevent you from hurting. Yet, you
must understand that you have every right to go through
this painful experience.
Consequently you should avoid hiding your feelings
behind a composed front, a pretend smile, a false
attitude.
Avoid mixing with people who have
denied their own pain, or who display the physical
and mental signs of repressed grief, such as stiffness,
rigidity, depression, fatigue, psychosomatic pain
or illness.
Regardless of the theories on the stages and the length
of the grieving process, remember that your experience
is unique. Performance and speed are not to be judged.
You have the right to deal with your grief in your
own way and at your own pace.
HEALING OF HURTFUL MEMORIES
Return to some unpleasant event of the recent
past, no matter how trifling. Relive the experience.
Now place yourself before Christ Crucified. Do not
speak . . . Only look and contemplate . . . If you
must communicate, do so without words . . .
Keep communicating between the unpleasant event and
the scene of Jesus on the Cross for a few minutes
. . . Then end the exercise.
PRAYER
The purpose of all prayer is to uplift the
words,
to return them to their source above.
The world was created
by the downward flow of letters:
The task of man is to form those letters into words
and take them back to God.
If you come to know this duel process,
your prayer may be joined
to the constant flow of Creation -
word to word, voice to voice,
breath to breath, thought to thought.
The words fly upward and come to Him.
As God turns to look at the ascending word,
life flows through all the worlds
and prayer receives its answer.
All this happens in an instant
and all this happens continually;
Time has no meaning in the sight of God.
The divine spring is ever-flowing;
one who is ready can make himself into a channel
to receive the waters from above.
LOVE POEM TO GOD
I love you, gentlest of Ways,
who ripened us as we wrestled with you.
You, the great homesickness we could
never shake off,
you, the forest that always surrounded us,
you, the song we sang in every silence,
you dark net threading through us,
You began yourself so greatly
on that day when you began us -
and we have so ripened in your sunlight,
spreading far and firmly planted -
that now in all people, angels, madonnas,
you can decide: the work is done.
Let your hand rest on the rim of Heaven
now
and mutely bear the darkness we bring over you.
HOLY SPIRIT, MAKE ME HOLY
Holy Spirit, reveal yourself to me
In the depths of my being,
In the working of my mind,
In the feelings in my heart.
Purge my inner self
That I may be filled
With the wonder of your love;
Sanctify my every thought,
That I may be enfolded
In the splendour of your goodness;
Purify my every feeling,
That I may be worthy to behold your glory.
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
HEAVY BURDENS
Jesus, Rest for the Weary,
the heaviness of my burden overwhelms me.
the immensity of this situation
presses down upon me.
The weight of the pain I carry
crushes my hopeful vision of life.
I long for an easing of my distress.
Let me hear again
your promising words of comfort.
Speak them to my heart:
"Come to me all of you who are weary,
and carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest"(Matt.11:28).
I lean my burdened life
of the bosom of your love
and wait to be consoled.
GOD'S EMBRACE
Guardian of the Wounded,
wrap me in your embrace.
Hold me close to your heart
and assure me of your love.
Protect my sore spirit.
Ease the pain that it holds.
You are always ready
to embrace me,
no matter how hurt or desolate
my heart may be.
I will trust you with my pain.
I will rest in your solace.
I will take refuge in your love.
TEACH US TO LIVE
God of love - Forgive! Forgive!
Teach us how to truly live,
Ask us not our race or creed,
Just take us in our hour of need ,
And let us know You love us, too,
And that we are a part of You...
And someday may man realise
That all the earth, the seas and skies
Belong to God who made us all,
The rich , the poor, the great, the small.
And in the Father's Holy Sight
No man is yellow, black or white,
And peace on earth cannot be found
Until we meet on common ground
And every man becomes a brother
Who worships God and loves each other.
GOOD EXAMPLE
Parents cannot be content just to tell our
children the right way to live; they must set the
example themselves. It's no use parents warning teenagers
about the dangers of drink if parents cannot control
the use of drink themselves. It's no use expecting
children to be responsible about food, money or clothes
if parents are self-indulgent and spendthrift themselves.
Instead of just telling children what the Christian
way is, parents must live the Christian way with them.
Dear parents, you are the parents over your children.
You are also Christians with them. Children will get
their ideas about what it means to be a Christian
much more from how they see their parents living than
from what their parents tell them, or from what they
are taught in school, or even what they hear in church.
