June 20, 2016
Marian Shrine E-Newsletter
Volume 4, Issue 44
Fr. Jim McKenna

You've heard it all before...
"Think more positively and you'll get what you want. Visualize, affirm, and manifestation will happen effortlessly. Oh and be sure to overcome those pesky limiting beliefs! Affirmations, gratitude, and positive thinking will cover that one for you. Life is easy if you just think positively enough!"
I have one word to say about that kind of positive thinking...
LIE.
Delusional.
Misleading.
Uninformed.
Detrimental.
Okay, so by the time I was done ranting I discovered I had more than just one word.  
That's not to say positive thinking is bad. It's fundamentally important to living a happy, fulfilled, engaged life. However, the lie and myth is that positive thinking is all that's needed.
The reality is that we have difficult and painful emotions for a reason. They arise out of a self-protective compassionate need to SERVE our selves more effectively. Like physical pain, emotional pain is a compass that helps us see when things aren't quite working right inside ourselves.
 
When we ignore physical pain or mask it over with overmedication, our body degenerates and ultimately finds more pain (not less).
The same is true when we use Positive Thinking as a form of "overmedication" for our spirit & emotions.
By not honoring and owning our emotional pain, then our soul... our heart... our spirit... call it what you will... ultimately will degenerate. Our psyche isn't designed to repress and suppress pain indefinitely.
That's a big reason why some highly successful people have emotional breakdowns. They just kept overmedicating (or ignoring) until finally they couldn't do it anymore.
 
The flip-side is equally as dangerous. When we completely identify with the negative painful thoughts, when we allow them to run our lives, to make us forget how magnificent we inherently are, then we also breakdown. We aren't designed that way either.
Instead, I suggest accepting and acknowledging painful emotions as a compass - like a thermometer - to help you more effectively focus your attention and energy. Notice the "warning signs" that negative thinking presents to you. It's not like I never have negative thoughts. I have them every day!
The thing is, I don't take them so seriously. I strive to see them for what they are: helpful information that can point me TOWARDS living a happier and more positive life. They show me where more attention and self-care is needed in my life.
By using negative thoughts and painful emotions in that way, then the positive thinking is no longer a crutch. Instead, positive thinking becomes a support to help you through the negative thoughts and ultimately take your happiness to the next level.
 
Wishing you God's blessings,
In Mary Help of Christians,
I remain,
Fr. Jim McKenna SDB
Director
 
A Thought

Everything we purchase is a silent agreement that we support it's existence AND how it came to be. For example, when you purchase blue items you are quietly 'voting' for blue to exist in the world.

When you purchase books from a certain author or donate to them, you are quietly 'voting' to support that author and the messages that author seeks to bring to the world.

Then there's things like charitable organizations. When we support the Marian Shrine, we're voting to promote devotion to Mary.

Those are a few examples. It goes on... basically everything we purchase/donate to is our way of saying "I want more of this in the world."

Granted, it's not always that black and white -
Still, the fundamentals are basically there - and usually we can do -something- to vote with our money, whether it's just one very small change... perhaps even a $1 donation each month to our favorite charity, or to commit to just purchasing a few organic fruits each week.

Whatever our hearts are passionate about, we can choose more consciously to support them.
Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist - June 24
Fr. Jim McKenna SDB

There was a school system in a large city that had a program to help children keep up with their school work during the time when the children were admitted for sicknesses, in the city's hospitals.
 
One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child.  She took the child's name and room number and had a short talk with the child's regular class teacher.
 
"We're studying about words in his class now - nouns and adverbs," the teacher said, "and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too far behind."
 
The hospital-program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon.
The boy had met with a bad accident, been badly burnt and was in great pain.
Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs."
 
When she left after teaching, she felt she hadn't accomplished much.
But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?"
The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize.
"No, no," said the nurse. "You don't know what I mean. We've been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed.
He's fighting back, responding to treatment...
It's as though he's decided to live!"
 
Two weeks later, the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization which he expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to teach about words and work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"
 
The gesture of teaching about "words" reinforced hope and courage to that dying boy!
 
Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.
If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
 
The Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist comes with this great message of "hope"!
 
The Gospel presents the beautiful incident of the birth and naming of St John the Baptist.
 
The birth of John the Baptist is the pivot around which the history of our faith turns.
He was the last prophet of the Old Covenant - and the first of the New Covenant.
One of the highlighting aspects of the birth of John the Baptist is the message that "hope is not to be lost, even in the midst of extreme barrenness!"
 
The Gospel of St Luke says that "Elizabeth and Zechariah, both were advanced in years", but they had no child; Elizabeth was barren" (Lk 1: 7)
 
Elizabeth's barrenness was also symbolic of the barrenness of the land, of the world and of the entire humanity...
*          Wickedness had caused creation to be incapable of nurturing and sustaining life
*          Sin had rendered human beings infertile, to bear God's grace and live in holiness
 
But God is the God of hope, the God of fulfilling every promise and the God of surprises!
      From the barrenness of Elizabeth emerged the forerunner of the One who is Life!
      From the barrenness of the world, God gave rise to the Fountain of hope and trust!
 
The entire life of St John - through the key events -is a spectacular reminder of this great virtue of "hope"...
*          The conception of John
Even when there is barrenness all around, we need to "hope" in God who is able to work miracles and give us life and joy!
 
*          The naming of John
Even when there are many worldly voices that seek to distract us from the ways that God wishes for us, we need to "hope" in God and follow whatever He wills, so as to find glory and joy in Him!
 
*          The life of John in the desert
Even when life takes us through the deserts of emptiness, dangers, hardships and misery, we need to "hope" in God who has a definite plan and purpose for our life!
 
*          The beheading of John
Even when we become victims of cruelty, exploitation, wickedness and inhumanness, we need to "hope" in God by living a life of truth, courage, convictions and valour!
The Church celebrates the Nativity of only three persons, in her liturgical calendar...
       Jesus -"Hope" Himself
       Mother Mary - the Mother of "Hope"
       John the Baptist - the symbol of "Hope"
 
May our lives become truly rooted in "hope" and become beacons of spreading this "hope and trust" to others.
*          There are many who are sick in our world.
*          There are many who are burnt by the fires of afflictions and at the point of death
*          There are many who have lost all faith in life and give themselves up to despair and dejection
 
Our gestures of teaching about "The Word - Jesus" can reinforce hope and courage to those dying - in sin, in affliction, in depression, in loneliness.
 
Wish you a Happy Feast of the Nativity of the "symbol of Hope" - St John the Baptist.
May Jesus our "Hope" and Blessed Mamma, our "Mother of Hope" strengthen us!

Laughter the best medicine
 SHIRLEY and MERCY
                A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him and she wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet was anxious to know that he was safe.
                So, she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor if she could follow him to school in the mornings from a distance, so he wouldn't notice her.
                The neighbor said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as and so she agreed.
                The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following Timmy as he walked to school with another  girl from his neighborhood. She did this for the whole week.
                As the two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed that the same lady was following them as she seemed to do this every day all week. Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week? Do you know her?'
                Timmy nonchalantly replied, 'Yeah, I know who she is.'
                The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?'
                'That's just Shirley Goodness,' Timmy replied, 'and her daughter Mercy.'
                'Shirley Goodness? Who the heck is she and why is she following us? '
                'Well,' Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd  Psalm with my prayers, 'coz she worries about me so much.  And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'
               
               
A woman came home, screeching her car into the driveway, and ran into the house.   
She slammed the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, 'Honey, pack your bags. I won the lottery!'   
The husband said, 'Oh my God! What should I pack, beach stuff or mountain stuff?'   
'Doesn't matter,' she said. 'Just get out.'
 
The Devotion of the Three Hail Marys
The devotion of the THREE HAIL MARYS is a very simple yet most efficacious devotion.
Everyday, recite Three Hail Marys, adding the invocation: "O Mary, My Mother, keep me from mortal sin." Many people recite the Three Hail Marys as part of their morning and night prayers. To practice this devotion in time of danger, stress, special need or temptation, is a sure means to obtain Our Lady's help.

Thank you Mother Mary for all the favours granted to my family.  Thank you for the transfer of my job which I was desperately waiting for. I am sorry I am sending my thanksgiving so late. Thank you Mother Mary for curing my younger sister from the fibroid problem.
Due to your intercession and the medication my younger sister is better now. Rita, NY 

As most of us are anxious about visiting dentists, so was I. The dentist I visited advised me that a tooth had to be surgically removed. I was terrified. With faith I prayed the three Hail Marys and felt comforted. To my disbelief, when I was called in there was no surgery
needed and the tooth was extracted painlessly. Mary was indeed there and I thank and praise God for that. Brenda Ryan, Auckland

My belated but grateful thanks to Mother Mary, Help of Christians for her assistance in protecting my eyes when wrong drops were administered when I was struck with a pebble on my left eye. Valerie Abney, PA 

In Closing
Dear devotees of Our Lady and Don Bosco,
If you have received a miracle through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, we would like to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].
 
Bookstore hours: Monday - Saturday - 10 am to 5 pm, Sundays: 12 - 4 pm

Confessions on weekdays begin at 11.30 am.
Weekday Masses: 12 noon.
Sunday Masses: 11 am and 12.30 pm

Other activities: Day Retreats, Weekend retreats, Don Bosco Summer Camp, Friday night Lenten Pasta Dinners, 50/50 raffle, 350 club, Rosary Madonna Statue.

Rent
Lomagno Hall, Rent our Banquet Hall.

MEMORIES
Remember a Loved One: Engrave plaques on Wall of Memories, adopt a Tree, Engrave blocks on Walk of Honor, All Souls, All year Candle lighting, Holiday (Christmas and Easter), Flowers, Schedule a Mass, Bell Chimes.

MASS INTENTIONS
To offer a mass intention, please write to
Fr. Jim McKenna SDB
174 Filors Lane,
Stony Point, NY 10980


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Marian Shrine
174 Filors Lane, Stony Point, NY 10980
(845) 947-2200