ABOUT NATURE THERE IS SO MUCH TO ADMIRE

LOVE, LIKE A STREAM FLOWS PEACEFULLY, AND THAT'S GOD!

ONE OF GOD'S MOST PRECIOUS LITTLE MIRACLE

THE WONDER OF GOD IS SEEN IN THE EYES OF THE INNOCENT.
THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN TO BEHOLD A CHILD ENJOYING LIFE.

REINCARNATION OF BUDDHA

KATMANDU, Nepal – A Nepalese teenager revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha has returned to the jungle to meditate after emerging for less than two weeks, officials said Saturday.

Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, reappeared on Nov. 10 after several months of meditation to bless thousands of his followers, speaking to them on at least two occasions.

He made his last appearance on Friday and then returned to the jungle to meditate, said Biswo Prakash Newpane, a government administrator in the area. It was not clear when he would return again.

His followers lined up near the jungle of Ratanpur, about 100 miles south of Katmandu, to be blessed by Bamjan. He tapped the believers on their forehead but did not speak to them individually.

The followers believe he has been meditating without food and water since he was first spotted in the jungles of southern Nepal in 2005. Believers say he spent months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree.

Buddhism, which has about 325 million followers, teaches that every soul is reincarnated after death in another bodily form.

But several Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of the claims that Bamjan is a reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal roughly 2,500 years ago and became revered as the Buddha, or Enlightened One.

Rakesh, a Buddhist scholar, told the Associated Press last week that being Buddha means the last birth and the highest level that can be achieved and there can be no reincarnation of Buddha, even though Buddhists believe in life after death.

TIME TO START THINKING ABOUT OTHERS

LEARNING FROM A MOUSE

A mouse looked through the crack
in the wall to see the farmer and
his wife open a package.


What food might this contain?'
The mouse wondered -
he was devastated to discover it
was a mousetrap.


Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning:
There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'


The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, 'Mr.Mouse,
I can tell this is a grave concern
to you, but it is of no consequence to me.

I cannot be bothered by it.'

The mouse turned to the pig and told him,
'There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The pig sympathized, but said, I am
so very sorry, Mr.Mouse, but there
is nothing I can do about it but pray.

Be assured you are in my prayers.'

The mouse turned to
the cow and said
'There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'
The cow said, 'Wow, Mr. Mouse.
I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose.'

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected,
to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the
sound of a mousetrap catching its
prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see
what was caught. In the darkness,
she did not see it was a venomous
snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital ,
and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever
with fresh chicken soup, so the
farmer took his hatchet to the
farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued,
so friends and neighbors came to
sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer
butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well;
she died.

So many people came for her funeral,
the farmer had the cow slaughtered
to provide enough meat for all
of them.
The mouse looked upon it all from
his crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone
is facing a problem and think it
doesn't concern you, remember --
when one of us is threatened,
we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this journey
called life. We must keep an eye out
for one another and make an extra
effort to encourage one another.

SEND THIS TO EVERYONE WHO
HAS EVER HELPED YOU OUT
AND LET THEM KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE.

REMEMBER,,,,
EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD
IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY;

OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.


One of the best things to hold
onto in this world is a friend

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY NIXES FEMENIST PROF

SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- The University of San Diego has withdrawn its offer of an endowed chair to a Catholic feminist scholar who supports abortion rights.

The announcement that Rosemary Radford Ruether had been appointed to the Monsignor John R. Portman Chair in Roman Catholic Theology was greeted with dismay by many Catholic and anti-abortion groups, the San Diego Union-Tribune said Wednesday. Ruether sits on the board of Catholics for a Free Choice.

University spokeswoman Patricia Gray Payton said that one person who did not object was the anonymous benefactor who endowed the chair.

"Her public position and the symbol of this chair are in direct conflict," Payton said. "This chair is a powerful, visible symbol of Roman Catholic theology, and in Roman Catholic theology abortion is disallowed."

The news that Ruether's appointment had been rescinded has created more controversy. Two Catholic women's groups have gathered 2,000 signatures on petitions asking the university to change its mind again.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD OF HOLD

I AM READING "CROSSING HE THRESHOLD OF HOPE" by JOH PAUL II for one of my classes at the university.

Is there anyone out there who can help me understand it? I read and read and there is no explanation as to why it does not set in my brain. Today, I was feeling so ill with the flu that I couldn't even read it. My paper is due but I will have to ask for an extension.

God Bless all my readers. I wish you all a wonderful week.