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.
Today’s Reflection: Lord, you are my Master Gardener. Water my being with your love and your grace And cultivate patience within me when I expect rapid growth. Send me rays of Son-light so that I may flourish And produce much good fruit. Prune away my desire for perfection And shape me into the kind of good tree you want me to be. May I be grateful for the unique gifts you have given me and share them with those I meet today. —Diane Amento Owens
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Today’s Reflection: Most Gracious and all wise God Before whose face the generations rise and fall Thou in whom we live, and move, and have our being We thank thee for all of thy good and gracious gifts For life and for health For food and for raiment For the beauties of nature and the love of human nature.
We come before thee painfully aware of our inadequacies and shortcomings We realize that we stand surrounded with the mountains of love And we deliberately dwell in the valley of hate We stand amid the forces of truth and deliberately lie We are forever offered the high road And yet we choose to travel the low road For these sins O God forgive.
Break the spell of that which blinds our minds Purify our hearts that we may see thee.
O God In these turbulent days when fear and doubt are mounting high Give us broad visions, penetrating eyes, and power of endurance Help us to work with renewed vigor for a warless world For a better distribution of wealth And for a brotherhood that transcends race or color.
In the name and spirit of Jesus we pray. Amen.
—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Today’s Reflection: MORNING PRAYER: For every hardship I face, let me place it in your hands. Every emotion I feel, let it be your Spirit moving in me. Everything I seek, let me find it in your love. For every question that arises within me, let me listen for your answer.— Bodmin Hermit
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Today’s Reflection: Eternity is not what happens at the end of time, after we are dead. Every time we love and forgive then we have put a foot into eternity, which is God’s life. And that is why we can be joyful even on Good Friday, even in the face of suffering and death. — Timothy Radcliffe OP, in his book, Seven Last Words
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.
Today’s Reflection: Lord, May I see you in the pleading gaze of the poor. May I hear your voice in the plaintive cry of your children in need. Give me the courage to smile, to say a word of greeting, a word of encouragement. Give me the generosity to share food with the hungry and clothes with the naked. Far be it from me to speak badly of my sisters and brothers who are suffering. Far be it from me to trample on their rights or to turn them away. For the poor are your favorite disguise. Amen. —Fr. Paul Kalenzi, SJ
Morning Offering is a daily post by Joe Barkovich who lives in his hometown of Welland, Ontario. Daily photo by Joe Barkovich.