Winning Words 6/11/13
“Don’t let anyone rob you of hope.”  (Pope Francis)  A lot of Catholic people and others have positive expectations regarding the new pope.  Recently he met with a group of children and said to them, “Ask me anything.”  Hands went up.  “Do you still see friends from grade school?...How do you like being pope?...How should we handle poverty in the world.”  Today’s WWs were his advice to the children and us.    ;-)  Jack

 FROM WALMART REV:  "Strength for today and hope for tomorrow!"====JACK:  "Fret not thyself about the morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring."  A Jewish friend attended our clergy meeting on Thursday.  On Saturday he died suddenly at the synagogue.

 FROM GOOD DEBT JON:  I saw a twitter quip this morning: "Worrying is like praying in reverse…"  Deb Scott====JACK:  I worry about worrying.  Is faith supposed to eradicate the need for fretting?

 FROM RI IN BOSTON:  Can anyone rob us of hope, or do we just abandon it ourselves?  The poet says, "Hope springs eternal".  Hope is always there for us.  So have some...no expiration date.====JACK:  Hope becomes important for those who have something to hope for.  It's not easy to always be optimistic and hopeful, but it's better than always being pessimistic and hopeless.

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Hope" is the most important word in the English language."  Or probably any other language, as well. Hard to live in any meaningful way without it! Pope Francis is "spot on"!====JACK:  This thought just came to mind....Is hope more significant to the children who have life before them, or to the elderly who tend to look at life, using the rear view mirror? ====OAKS:  It's so significant for all of us, it is hard to say which is MORE significant, but my guess would be it is more needed when we are younger and  dealing with a multitude of situations with marriage, children, jobs, social mores, and whatever illnesses and frustrations delve into our daily lives; as we age, hopefully we are sustained and calmer about what's "around the corner", especially if we have had a meaningful life....Agree?====JACK:  Yes

 FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  Like====JACK:  It appears as though you are being influenced by Facebook Liz.

 FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  Like.====JACK:  "Like" father, "like" daughter

 FROM TAMPA SHIRL:  Accentuate the positive.  There is a song about that, too.====JACK:  ...and you probably know the words and can sing it.

FROM PEPPERMINT MARY:  faith...hope...and love abide...====JACK:  When the Bible says that the greatest is love....It was not meant to denigrate the others.====MARY:  can love really be without the others?  something to ponder.====JACK:  If Paul had meant love, alone, he would have excluded the others...which he did not.

 FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  Is "hope" in itself sufficient? (I know, the Pope was addressing children.)As an older child I find "faith, hope and love (charity)..these three...but the greatest of these is love.)also good advice.WW continues to be stimulating..challenging...enlightening. ====JACK:  Jesus called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.  And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  What do you suppose that means?

  FROM SBP IN FLORIDA:  Is "hope" in itself sufficient?(I know the Pope was speaking to children.) As an older child I find "faith. hope and charity (love) ....these three...but the greatest of these is love."..also good advice. WW continues to stimulate, challenge and enlighten.====JACK: Beyond the theology...There are times when our faith is tested and upholds us.  There are times when hope, beyond hope.  That's a part of faith, too.  And, finally, without the grace (love) of God, faith crumbles and hope evaporates.  The three can be compared to a 3-legged stool. The stool needs all three.