Author Archives: fromareportersnotebook

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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: 08. 03. 24

Today’s Reflection: Prayer is sitting in the silence until it silences us, choosing gratitude until we are grateful, and praising God until we ourselves are an act of praise. Richard Rohr 

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.

(Last of three reflections on silent prayer)

Morning Offering: 08. 02. 24

Today’s Reflection: Let me seek, then, the gift of silence, and solitude,
where everything I touch is turned into prayer: where the sky is my prayer,
the birds are my prayer,
the wind in the trees is my prayer,
for God is all in all.  —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: 08. 01. 24

Today’s Reflection: Souls of prayer are souls of great silence. — Saint Mother Teresa

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: 07. 31. 24

Today’s Reflection: Dear Christ, help us not to focus on what went wrong today. Instead, help us focus on how we can do better tomorrow. — Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration

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: 07. 30. 24

Today’s Reflection: Slow Me Down Lord

Slow me down, Lord.
Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory. Help me to know the magical, restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations—of slowing down to look at a flower,
to chat with a friend,
to pat a dog,
to read a few lines from a good book.

Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise,
that I may know that the race is not always to the swift—
that there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak
and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.
Amen. —Wilfred Arlan Peterson     

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: 07. 29. 24

Today’s Reflection: God dwells in me, bringing me into being, giving my life feeling and understanding. —  St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises 235.

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: 07. 28. 24

Today’s Reflection: Break My Heart

God,
I know you are out there,
waiting to break my heart open
through service to your people.
Show me how to find you in them,
to open my heart and hands to feel and to touch,
to laugh and to cry with your chosen ones, the poor,
who carry with them direct pathways to your loving heart.
Give me a taste for service
so that I too might desire more
and more.
Amen. — Author unknown   

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: 07. 27. 24

Today’s Reflection: MORNING PRAYER

Lord,

May I be able to appreciate the wonders of sky and earth;

May I be able to be grateful for the warmth of the world;

May I be able to obtain the assistance of friends;

May I grow in the wisdom of Christ and live each day with joy. — Bodmin Hermit 

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: 07. 26. 24

Today’s Reflection: Morning Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily;
to lean on your great strength, trustfully, restfully;

to wait for the unfolding of your will, patiently, serenely;
to meet others, peacefully, joyfully;

to face tomorrow, confidently, courageously. — St Francis of Assisi (1182-1226)

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: 07. 25. 24

Today’s Reflection: Sublime Beauty

Dear God, please reveal to us
your sublime beauty
that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere
so that we will never again
feel frightened.
My divine love, my love,
Please let us touch
your face.  – St. Francis of Assisi 

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.