Peace to all! Below please find the official English translation of Our Lady's January 25, 2009 message

“Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May prayer be for you like the seed that you will put in my heart, which I will give over to my Son Jesus for you, for the salvation of your souls. I desire, little children, for each of you to fall in love with eternal life which is your future, and for all worldly things to be a help for you to draw you closer to God the Creator. I am with you for this long because you are on the wrong path. Only with my help, little children, you will open your eyes. There are many of those who, by living my messages, comprehend that they are on the way of holiness towards eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

DFA Pulse Poll

About DFA, What is Democracy for America?
Inspired by the presidential campaign of Howard Dean, Democracy for America (DFA) is a political action committee dedicated to supporting fiscally responsible, socially progressive candidates at all levels of government—from school board to the presidency. DFA fights against the influence of the far right-wing and their radical, divisive policies and the selfish special interests that for too long have dominated our politics.

Now that you know a little bit about this organization, please take the time to participate in their Pulse Poll.

Hey Friends,

I wanted to drop you a short note to ask for your help. DFA is holding a Presidential Primary Pulse Poll to decide which candidate deserves their support. I voted for Representative Dennis Kucinich and I need help to move them from 4rth place in the poll.

Could you take just a minute to vote for Dennis Kucinich (or whomever you want) right now? Here's the link:

DemocracyforAmerica.com/VoteKucinich

Thanks for your help.

P.S. The way the poll is done, voting for three choices, is similar to IRV (Instant Runoff Voting). Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a voting system used for single-winner elections in which voters have one vote, but can rank candidates in order of preference. In an IRV election, if no candidate receives a majority of first choices, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is eliminated, and ballots cast for that candidate are redistributed to the surviving candidates according to the voters' indicated preference. This process is repeated until one candidate obtains a majority.

Act in solidarity with the Burmese protesters.

Hello folks, This issue has been on my front burner for some time. Burma had democratic elections (something missing in the US of A) and had democraticly chosen a President and other office holders who were not allowed to hold office by the military. The military burn down villiages of minority people and rape the women before killing them. Many have been displaced to refuge camps on the Thailand border. Young women are typically taken from the camps to do sex work in Bancock

I thought you should know about this:

Burma is ruled by one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world. For decades the Burmese regime has fought off pressure--imprisoning elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and democracy activists, wiping out thousands of villages, imposing forced labour, creating refugees-

But last Tuesday Buddhist monks and nuns, revered in Burma, began marching and chanting prayers. The protests spread as hundreds of thousands of ordinary people and public figures joined in, finding the hope they’d lost. Now they’re facing crackdown – so please, show your solidarity to this movement towards reconciliation and democracy and sign the emergency petition supporting the Burmese people -- it'll be delivered to United Nations Security Council members and international media all week:

www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/tf.php

In the past, Burma's military rulers have massacred the demonstrators and crushed democracy. The world must stand with the Burmese people at this time, to show the military rulers that the world will not tolerate repression and violence.

Right now, global leaders are gathering in New York for the annual United Nations summit. In speeches, press interviews but also in real actions, we need them to show Burma's military junta that the global community is willing to act in solidarity with the protesters.

Show your solidarity to this movement for peace and democracy and sign the emergency petition supporting the Burmese people. It'll be delivered to UN Security Council members and the UN press corps all week:

www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/tf.php

Thank you for your help!

DO NOT LOSE YOUR INWARD PEACE

Fix your mind inwardly between the eyebrows [as
in meditation] on the shoreless lake of peace. Watch
the eternal circle of rippling peace around you. The
more you watch intently, the more you will feel the
wavelets of peace spreading from the eyebrows to the
forehead, from the forehead to the heart, and on to
every cell in your body. Now the waters of peace are
overflowing the banks of your body and inundating
the vast territory of your mind. The flood of peace
flows over the boundaries of your mind and moves on
in infinite directions
(`Paramahansa Yogananda, Metaphysical Meditations' )

Tao te Ching

The more prohibitions you have,
the less virtuous people will be.
The more weapons you have,
the less secure people will be.
The more subsidies you have,
the less self-reliant people will be.

Ghazal (Ode) 1518

I am the Spirit Moon
with no place.
You do not see me for I am hidden
inside the soul.
Others want you for themselves but I call you
back to yourself.
You give me many names but I am
beyond all names.
Sometimes you say I am deceitful
but as long as you are
I will be too.
Until you remain blind and deaf
I will be invisible.
I am the garden of all gardens
I speak as the King of all flowers
I am the spring of all waters.
My words are like a ship and the sea
is their meaning.
Come to me and I will take you
to the depths of spirit.

-- Ghazal (Ode) 1518
Translated by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
Rumi: Hidden Music
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001

Marianne Williamson from her 1992 book, "Return to Love"

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

The Medjugorje Web

The Medjugorje Web is dedicated to providing information about one of the most amazing and important supernatural events of our time. Since 1981, in a small village named Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, The Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing and giving messages to the world. She tells us that God has sent her to our world and, these years she is spending with us are a time of Grace granted by God. In her own words she tells us, "I have come to tell the world that God exists. He is the fullness of life, and to enjoy this fullness and peace, you must return to God".

Message of August 25, 2007 "Dear children! Also today I call you to conversion. May your life, little children, be a reflection of God’s goodness and not of hatred and unfaithfulness. Pray, little children, that prayer may become life for you. In this way, in your life you will discover the peace and joy which God gives to those who have an open heart to His love. And you who are far from God’s mercy, convert so that God may not become deaf to your prayers and that it may not be too late for you. Therefore, in this time of grace, convert and put God in the first place in your life. Thank you for having responded to my call."

A SPECIAL GROCERY LIST

Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food. John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she
leave his store at once. Visualizing the family needs, she said: "Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can." John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, "Do you have a grocery list?" Louise replied, "Yes sir." "O.K" he said, "put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries." Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can't believe it." The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.
The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said: "Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands."
The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence. Louise thanked him and left the store.
The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said: "It was worth every penny of it .. Only God Knows how much a prayer
weighs."
THE POWER OF PRAYER: When you receive this, say a prayer. That's all you have to do.

Take action to protect Spotted Owl habitat!

The Northwest's rare old-growth forests are a national treasure. With nearly all of these ancient forests found on public National Forest land, the public has an obligation to see that they are managed responsibly.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently sponsored a dangerously irresponsible proposal to roll back protections for the Northern Spotted Owl, an endangered species whose numbers are still in decline. The Spotted Owl depends on old-growth forests for survival, but the Draft Recovery Plan intentionally ignores this well-documented research at the request of political leaders.

Please join me in letting the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife know you believe that precious old-growth ecosystems should be awarded the highest protections. We call for a Spotted Owl Recovery Plan that is grounded in solid science, and that will truly bolster the health of our old-growth ecosystems.
Go to this web address right now.
action.wilderness.org/campaig...tted_owl