Smile

SMILE
From Gene Colgrove
A little girl walked to and from school daily. The weather one morning was questionable and clouds were forming, yet she made her daily trek to the elementary school.
As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming sword, would cut through the sky.
Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly and with each the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.
When the mother's car drew up beside the child she lowered the window and called to her, "What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?"
The child answered, "I am trying to look pretty. God keeps taking my picture."
May God bless you today as you face the storms that come your way ... 


fr everett corvera, corvera everett, everet corvera

Don't Worry

Don't Worry! It sounds simple, yet how much time do we actually spend worrying in our lives? Probably too much. If we asked God, HE would say, that we shouldn't worry at all. We should only be concerned with things.

Instead of worrying, turn to God and ask for help and guidance in your life. God can arrange all good things for us in HIS time. HE can orchestrate anything. HIS plans are perfect for you.

We can control very little on earth. People and situations are sometimes out of our control. All we can do and should do is ask God to intervene.

God can arrange all the big things, down to the littlest details. All the events HE plans will work out perfectly as they should. When you ask God for help, watch and notice how everything will fall into place...perfectly!

If we try and plan things alone, it can be stressful and anxiety sets in. Take a step back, stop and exhale. Remember there is this GREAT, LOVING PRESENCE IN YOUR LIFE who will help you. God wants you to be happy and succeed in all your wonderful plans. Just don't do it alone. The world and circumstances are too big for us to handle. But not for God.

Our life is full of coordinating and making plans. Please allow God to help you. HE WILL.
If God is in your heart, you have nothing to worry about. Allow HIM to arrange everything, as it should be. Getting rid of worrying allows you to feel freer and happier. Talk with God, pray and have confidence that everything will work out! Because it will for the best... 





fr everett corvera, corvera everett, everet corvera

A Letter In The Darkness

So often we go through life, just trudging through one day after another Feeling as if there is no meaning to life. One day is the same as the next. Not really understanding "Why am I here?" or What difference can I make?"
The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood.
John 1:5

One starts to think "I have no idea where I have been or... where I am going!"
The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.
John 12:35
he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.
1 John 2:11

There is hope for those who live in darkness and the drudgery of life
The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned
Matthew 4:16

There is One Who can bring light and meaning into your life
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said" I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
John 8:12

Jesus gives the ability to have your darkness changed to light
I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
Acts 26:18

God, the Father, has made it possible for us to receive the saving knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 Cor. 4:6

Always remember, God loves you!

Fr Everett Corvera

St. Michael's Parish, Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand

From National Geographic

From National Geographic. We have not been able to find the author.
A little something to put things in perspective ...
An article in National Geographic several years ago provided an interesting picture of God's wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage.
One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offsprings to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies.
Then the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body. The mother had remained steadfast. She had been willing to die, so those under the cover of her wings would live.
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge." (Psalm 91:4)
Being loved this much should make a difference in your life. Remember the One who loves you, and then be different because of it.
Remember Jesus, can we ever repay Him ...

THE MEANING OF LIFE

A story is told by Robert Fulghum, a Unitarian minister, about a seminar he once attended in Greece. On the last day of the conference, the discussion leader walked over to the bright light of an open window and looked out. Then he asked if there were any questions. Fulghum laughingly asked him what was the meaning of life. Everyone in attendance laughed and stirred to leave. However, the leader held up his hand to ask for silence and then responded "I will answer your question." He took his wallet out of his pocket and removed a small round mirror about the size of a quarter. Then he explained "When I was a small child during World War II, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One day on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place. I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept the largest piece. This one. And by scratching it on a stone, I made it round. I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun could never shine. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places that I could find. I kept the little mirror, and as I grew up, I would take it out at idle moments and continue the challenge of the game.
As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child's game, but a metaphor of what I could do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of the light. But light - be it truth or understanding or knowledge - is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it. I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have, I can reflect light into the dark places of this world - into the dark places of human hearts - and change some things in some people. Perhaps others seeing it happen will do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life." (1)
Do we reflect the light of Christ into the darkness of other people's lives? Will the world be a better place for our having been in it?
From It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, by Robert Fulghum. Ivy Books, 988.