Author Archives: fromareportersnotebook

Unknown's avatar

About fromareportersnotebook

Former reporter and city editor at The Tribune, Welland, On. Active in various community groups and initiatives, married with two grown children, interested in roses specifically and gardening in general. A collection of previously-written columns was published in book form in the fall of 2013 and is available by contacting the writer at: fromareportersnotebook@gmail.com. It sells for $20.

Morning Offering: 01. 02. 23

Today’s Reflection: Dear Lord,
In your mercy, bless me.
Bless my friends and family.
Bless those I find it hard to bless myself.
Let your face shine on me this New Year!
May your plans for mending and peace
Continue to unfold in our troubled world.
Give me the graces I need to be a
Better blesser myself, and a
More committed peacemaker.
Bring peace to the nations.
Bring peace to our homes.
Bring peace to my own heart.
I thank you, Lord, for all you have
Done for me throughout my life.
I thank you for your blessings I’ve seen
And the blessings I know I’ve missed.
Thank you for everything you do for me still.
I adore you, Creator of All!
I praise you today and every day
Until I may praise you face to face.
Thank you for your mercy and kindness.
Thank you for your abundant blessings.
Thank you for loving me. — An adaptation of Psalm 67 by Fr. Joe Kraemer, SJ.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m

Morning Offering: 01. 01. 23

Today’s Reflection: A personal favourite to start off the new year – My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. — Thomas Merton.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a.m.

Morning Offering: 12. 31. 22

Today’s Reflection: Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty. – St. Oscar Romero.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m.
Best wishes for a blessed, happy and healthy New Year to our Morning Offering community!

Morning Offering: 12. 30. 22

Today’s Reflection: Those who have God,
Know they lack nothing.
God alone suffices. — St. Teresa of Avila.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m.

Morning Offering: 12. 29. 22

Today’s Reflection: Introduce yourself to each colour of the sunset. Reacquaint yourself with the earth beneath your feet. Thank the air that surrounds you with every breath you take. Find yourself in the appreciation of life. ― Unattributed.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m.

Morning Offering: 12. 28. 22

Today’s Reflection: Even hearts of stone are no match for the consoling love of Our Lord.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Today’s Reflection and photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m. daily.

Morning Offering: 12. 27. 22

Today’s Reflection: Jesus, you know that we need support to be able to navigate the upheavals of life. Thank you for your unconditional love, for lifting our burdens and giving rest to our souls. Amen. — Jesuit prayer site.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m.

Morning Offering: 12. 26. 22

Today’s Reflection: In Jesus Christ, God has come among his people:
let us give thanks and praise! Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia! — Catholic prayer site.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m.

Morning Offering: 12. 25. 22

Today’s Reflection: I have come to bring you peace.
Not the peace of the season, for it is too fleeting,
Not the peace of the carol, for it is too nostalgic,
Not the peace of the greeting card, for it is too
slick,
Not the peace of the crib, for it is too wistful.

Rather, I have come to bring you peace,
Peace of the ordinary, the daily, the homely,
Peace for the worker, the driver, the student,
Peace in the office, the kitchen, the farm.

I have come to bring you peace,
The peace of accepting yourself as I fashioned
you,
The peace of knowing yourself as I know you,
The peace of loving yourself as I love you,
The peace of being yourself as I am who I am.

I have come to bring you peace,
The peace that warms you at the completion of
a task,
The peace that invades you at the close of the
day,
The peace that sustains you at the beginning of
the day,
The peace that reinforces you when you are
reconciled with one another,
The peace that touches you when your family is
in order.

Without peace, my coming is unfulfilled.
Without peace, my birth is forgettable.
Without peace, Christmas is a contradiction.
I have come to bring you peace. — Unattributed.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m.

Morning Offering: 12. 24. 22

Today’s Reflection: He is still found by those who seek Him. — Unattributed.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich, who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Morning Offering is posted by 8 a. m.