Good Morning Digital Neighbors! Blessed Sunday Refugees, Triggeratti & Phamily! Hello again Early Birds, Dawn Patrol and Fascinating People and of course less we forget any Happy Bigots, Conversants and Lurkers. While many of my postings among you tend to be more of a food for thought type of sharing, it is good to return to my home turf of prayer and faith. I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea, especially for any who doubt or deny the existence of the Divine, but I don't venture on to Locals to debate the truth or fiction of any given religion. I come to know, listen and learn from my digital neighbors. There is often laughter and occasionally the gift of friendship.
Community, real or intentional, makes a profound difference in my life and in my cultivation of gratitude and perspective. I am so thankful for my parish family and so thankful to know so many of you. You are in my daily prayers. (Well almost everyone, those I have muted need to get their crap together.😉) Happy Sunday my friends! On to the prayer and some beauty provided by Mother Nature.
Lord Jesus Christ,
You have told us in no uncertain terms
what is expected of us
when we say
we love you.
You have made it clear
that if we want to serve you,
express our love for you
and give joy to God,
that we shall do it
in our neighbours
wherever we find them,
by meeting their needs.
We will find you in Church
and in the streets;
We will find you
on the bus
and in the train;
We will find you
in the office and the shop,
in the hospital ward,
in prison,
in places
where we would never think to go.
For every foolish word,
every malicious thought,
and every godless act,
every neglect of human need,
every arrogant assertion
of our own goodness,
Lord, forgive us.
So work in us
that each of us
in our own small way
may be a refuge,
a refreshment
and a sure support
for the anxious,
the weary
and the weak;
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. - Alan Gaunt
Mormon Row in Winter by Mr. Mike Jackson - More magic provided by photography & Duck Duck GO
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.

Said the Disciple to the Lover, “Sir, before I left the world I heard certain men who were held in high esteem and thought to know the will of the Beloved say that those who loved the Beautiful did not love the Beloved but loved idols, yet in the Garden of the Beloved we are ever striving to create beauty for the pleasure of the Beloved. Were they then speaking the truth?”
The Lover answered, “Those who said this had never glimpsed the form of the Beloved nor ever truly sought Him, for all beauty is but the reflection of the beauty of the Beloved, although seen very dimly as in a dark and faulty mirror, even as all goodness is a dim reflection of the goodness of the Beloved. So it is that those who love beauty and goodness recognize dimly in them the form of the Beloved and though often in ignorance those who are seeking the Beautiful and the Good are seeking after the Beloved.”