An exciting new documentary focusing on the Exodus

Definitely worth watching...

 

 

Patterns of Evidence: Exodus is an award-winning documentary by filmmaker Timothy Mahoney that chronicles an in-depth archaeological investigation in Egypt as his team attempts to corroborate the biblical text. The film explores one fundamental question: Is there any evidence that the Exodus story actually happened? Twelve years in the making, this provocative documentary reveals new or rarely seen evidence regarding the Israelites descent into slavery, their Exodus from Egypt and their ultimate conquest of the Promise Land. Although many scholars and archaeologists deny the validity of the Exodus story for lack of proof, Patterns of Evidence: Exodus builds a case that sheds new light on the story.

Movie can be found on NETFLIX.  Also available on DVD or on Amazon Instant Video:

http://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Evidence-Kevin-Sorbo-narrator/dp/B00Z9HS7TU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1442706774&sr=8-1&keywords=Patterns+of+Evidence+Exodus



Short, sweet & effective

Something edifying for the day:

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.  He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help."  There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the  sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up.  A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.  The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my  sign this morning?   What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind.  The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind.  Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:  Be thankful for what you have.  Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.  Face your past without regret.  Handle your present with confidence.  Prepare for the future without fear.  Keep the faith and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. And even more beautiful, is knowing that you are the reason behind it.

Audio meditation: Warnings at the Wedding Feast

Parable of the Wedding Feast:  iconographer Michael Kapeluck 

A homily by Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick: 

WARNINGS AT THE WEDDING FEAST

 

http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/emmaus/warnings_at_the_wedding_feast_sermon_sept._6_2015#26097

Rejoice! Monastery & Dunlap area has remained safe

Thank you, dear readers, for your many faithful prayers in behalf of the Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring, its sisterhood and the town of Dunlap, California.  By the mercy of God, the area has been spared the ravages of wildfire!  Just wanted to update you to say the area has remained safe and that God mercifully answered your fervent prayers.  Gerontissa Markella and the sisters send heartfelt thanks & love to all the monastery’s prayer partners, helpers and benefactors. 

 

God’s peace,

Pres. Candace

On attachment to and use of material things

 

We should not allow ourselves to be ruled by thoughts of material things, nor should we dwell on them.  Rather, we should be detached from that which is material.  Living our lives with detachment allows us to undertake our various duties more easily and painlessly.  This detachment is possible only through two means. 

The first is the remembrance of death; we must live each day as though it were the last day of our entire life.  If we do this, we will be able to determine what in our lives is essential and what is not.  The relativity of the  things that are non-essential will become obvious to us and we will remain focused on what is actually important. 

The other means by which we achieve detachment from material things is prayer.  Prayer must be present in all of our activities.  Every time we begin a task, we must ask God to help us.  This does not mean that we should use prayer to help us acquire material things, but that it should be a spiritual aid that we use at all times.  God will then give us the material things that will be to the benefit of our souls, and more importantly, He will help us to live every moment for Himself, and to use material things in a spiritual way. 

GO Metropolis of SFO statement regarding Monastery & St. Nicholas Ranch

Encouraging news—thank God!

http://sf.goarch.org/news/smoke-clears-around-ranch-and-monastery/

CA Wildfire Monastery Update

Message received from the mother of one of the nuns:

We're getting really good action now.. the personnel has almost doubled. The containment is getting much better and our weather is MUCH better..It seems as if a big corner has been turned...on the day Feast of the Holy Cross especially.  Glory to God!  

Please pray for the other fires all over the state and west.... and of course don't stop for us.. but thank you all for your love and concern. I am saving every message email/text and phone call ...over 200 emails and printing them for the nuns. We are all so blessed here to have made it through without our little town having any fire.. thanks to all the work of the fire crews, your prayers and God's constant love and presence.

The gov web site is still the best place to keep updated on the fire news:

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4456/