Happy Tuesday Digital Neighbors! I hope your Monday went as well or better than expected. My sleep clock is still get reset from being knocked off kilter by a late night on Saturday and an early Sunday. A boo & a whoo since my days have otherwise been significantly blessed. I so love the Easter Season. Off to some quotes!
The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident. -Charles Lamb, "Table Talk by the late Elia" in The Athenaeum, 4 January 1834
When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.* - Gospel of Matthew 6:3
It is not easy to be a selfless lover in the pilgrimage of life, there is just so much ME to deal with as we mature. Some never get free of the need for recognition & praise (Most Actors & Entertainers) for every breathe they take. Life is a giant mirror for them, please don't block the view! Others will only act when it all the elements are perfect, doing good will only happen when all requirements are met, otherwise they are free to pass by on of the other side of the road, free from entanglement. The go on with their wealth & time intact and yet are now more impoverished than before.
Do good because it is good. Give freely because you see the need and you have the means. A generous heart is not dependent on abundance of wealth, but attentiveness of spirit and a recognition of life's abundant blessing. It is not all about money, while there are plenty of financial needs out there, and it looks like they will increase, many more suffer from a poverty of humanity. The bonds that connect them to another, even if just a couple, are often few and frayed. Oftentimes a simple act of kindness, an extra few minutes of thoughtfulness and response is the real gold they are seeking. Time, attentiveness, actual listening, shared laughter, being joyfully bothered, is worth more than any money. Human kind - be both. Happy Tuesday my friends!
Somewhere in the world is this - provided to us by Bing
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.
Happy Friday, Digital Neighbors!! Slept in a little this morning. Woke up at my ordinary time, hit the hour timer, and wandered back into short, incoherent dreamland. It was a good hour to try and get a little more rest after a long day yesterday. We had a good staff team-building day with personal prayer and then looking at the DISC tool as a way to appreciate our gifts as we work together for the good of our parish family.
Had a meeting in the evening to explore using our auditorium for an Emergency Overnight Shelter in the winter for the homeless and unhoused in our local area. Lots of potential, lots of work if that is to come to fruition. As I mentioned last night, this is where the rubber hits the road on personal charity. People feel comfortable giving money to support charities, but the possibility of hosting and staffing one is way out of the comfort zone for most. Prayer and time will tell.
Off to some “ifferisms” for your Friday cup of Joe.
If you get gloomy, just take an ...
The Beautiful
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.”
