Cuz All You Wanted to Do Was Dance...

"That I should have bought you flowers and held your hand
Should have given all my hours when I had the chance
Take you to every party cuz all you wanted to do was dance."

Mother's Day is coming up and I've been thinking of new ways to honor my mom. And suddenly this stanza from Bruno Mars' latest single came to mind and I thought to myself, "It's perfect for Mama!" cuz she really loved to dance!

I think that's one thing that I inherited from her. I too love to dance. But this isn't about me.

Mama, I hope you're dancing now... dancing in heaven in Jesus' arms. Please pray for me and wait for me. I can't wait to join you! Looking back now, I realize that we (I) should celebrate life both here and after death... because now I'm starting to understand what they say that death is merely a way for us to be born again -- when we are able to claim our birthright -- life everlasting.

Thank you, Jesus! It's amazing to know that I have an awesome God just waiting for me to discover His Almighty presence in my life. So from now on, I surely will celebrate life! AMEN!!!

Pope Francis Says Constant Complaining Keeps Us from Noticing Jesus' Presence in Our Lives

—Constant complaining keeps one from noticing Jesus’ presence, Pope Francis says

Complaining frequently and stewing over disappointments can easily become an obsession that blocks one’s view of Jesus’ presence in difficult situations, Pope Francis said.

Celebrating the morning with staff members from the Domus Romana Sacerdotalis, a nearby residence and guesthouse for clergy, Pope Francis preached about the Gospel story from St. Luke about the two disappointed disciples on the road to Emmaus after the death of Jesus.

“They were afraid. All of the disciples were afraid,” he said. As they walked toward Emmaus and discussed everything that had happened, they were sad and complaining.

“And the more they complained, the more they were closed in on themselves: They did not have a horizon before them, only a wall,” the pope said, according to Vatican Radio.

The disciples had had such high hopes that Jesus would be the one who would redeem Israel, but they thought their hopes were destroyed, he said.

“And they stewed, so to speak, their lives in the juice of their complaints and kept going on and on and on with the complaining,” the pope said. “I think that many times when difficult things happen, including when we are visited by the cross, we run the risk of closing ourselves off in complaints.”

When all people can think of is how wrong things are going, Pope Francis said, the Lord is close, “but we don’t recognize him. He walks with us, but we don’t recognize him.”

Like the disciples joined by the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus, people can hear beautiful things, but deep down, they continue to be afraid, the pope said.

“Complaining seems safer. It’s something certain. This is my truth: failure,” he said.

But the Gospel story shows how very patient Jesus is with the disciples, first listening to them and then explaining things step by step, until they see him.

“Jesus does this with us, too,” the pope said. “Even in the darkest moments, he is always with us, walking with us.”

Complaining and griping — about others and about things in one’s own life — is harmful “because it dashes hope. Don’t get into this game of a life of complaints,” he said.

— The Catholic Sun