Product Description
DOG IN MY POCKETI carry this dog in my pocket to remind me that I am to be Christ's best friend. Like a dog, I can run wild, away from my Master. I can claim to have no master and can hunt down my own food or salvage it from garbage heaps. But when I follow Jesus, He feeds my spirit with His Words and love, and I am so much better nourished than when I try to feed myself. I can travel without Him, but when I do, I get snagged in the briars of temptation, pick up thorns of discouragement in my paws, catch brambles of frustration in my fur, and find that I am rife with the fleas of sin. When I follow my Master Jesus, He gently untangles me from the briars, works the thorns out of my spirit, tugs the frustration from my soul, and douses me with His Grace that is the best repellent for the fleas of sin. I can be on my own, away from my Master Christ, and bed down in caves or gullies, but when I'm with Him, He leads me into His Heavenly Mansions where I will rest forever. I carry this dog in my pocket to remind me that I have a choice. I can be a wild dog, running free on my own and thinking I am happy, or I can be His best friend, and follow Him while He cares for me and I am at peace. I carry this dog in my pocket to remind me that, like a dog, I think that I am His best friend, but, in reality, He is really mine.
DOG AT THE MANGER As Christmas draws near, our thoughts turn to the stable in Bethlehem. We can imagine Mary and Joseph gazing in awe at the Christ Child, lying asleep in a manger. In fact, many renditions of the Nativity of Christ portray this very scene. The holy couple gazed at a slumbering newborn infant and knew they were seeing God. In 2011, Ameil (?Doc?) Klein, a postulant with the Confraternity of Penitents, was in a battle with cancer for his life. His reflection, ?Learning from Timmy,? follows as well as its connection to the Christmas miracle. ?One of my dogs, a three-year-old little Coton de Tulear, is teaching me how to pray! ?Back in the hospital again, with plenty of time to sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament in the hospital chapel, I sometimes found my thoughts less than centered on God as they should be. I found myself thinking about Timmy. That, to be sure, is a bit unusual -- certainly inappropriate! ?But then I realized that Timmy, when I'm home, often just sits in front of me, wagging his tail, looking at me with his big black eyes, obviously "telling" me how much he loves me. When he falls asleep, all I have to do is move, making a sound, and he looks up again and starts wagging his tail again. ?In a sense, Timmy has shown me how to spend long periods of time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Just, in a sense, wagging my tail, saying ?I'm glad You're here. And thank You for loving me.? ?I'm, of course, familiar with the hundreds of beautiful prayers written over the centuries in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. They're all important statements of faith. But for me personally, Timmy's way is the most reverent.? Timmy?s adoring gaze at Doc must be akin to the adoration and awe in the gaze of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph as they could not take their eyes off the Infant Christ. When we approach the manger, or when we sit before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, perhaps we should be grateful if our attention is fixed on Jesus as Timmy?s is fixed on Doc. How wonderful to have deep, religious thoughts or to offer beautiful prayers of praise and adoration of Our Lord! But could it be more meritorious just to gaze on our Lord with love and devotion, recognizing Him as Master and sitting ready to serve Him, at His command? When we assemble our Nativity sets under our Christmas trees this year, perhaps we ought to place a little statue of a dog in the scene. That dog represents us.
Both Dog in My Pocket and Dog at the Manger available on line from www.cfpholyangels.com
DOG AT THE MANGER As Christmas draws near, our thoughts turn to the stable in Bethlehem. We can imagine Mary and Joseph gazing in awe at the Christ Child, lying asleep in a manger. In fact, many renditions of the Nativity of Christ portray this very scene. The holy couple gazed at a slumbering newborn infant and knew they were seeing God. In 2011, Ameil (?Doc?) Klein, a postulant with the Confraternity of Penitents, was in a battle with cancer for his life. His reflection, ?Learning from Timmy,? follows as well as its connection to the Christmas miracle. ?One of my dogs, a three-year-old little Coton de Tulear, is teaching me how to pray! ?Back in the hospital again, with plenty of time to sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament in the hospital chapel, I sometimes found my thoughts less than centered on God as they should be. I found myself thinking about Timmy. That, to be sure, is a bit unusual -- certainly inappropriate! ?But then I realized that Timmy, when I'm home, often just sits in front of me, wagging his tail, looking at me with his big black eyes, obviously "telling" me how much he loves me. When he falls asleep, all I have to do is move, making a sound, and he looks up again and starts wagging his tail again. ?In a sense, Timmy has shown me how to spend long periods of time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Just, in a sense, wagging my tail, saying ?I'm glad You're here. And thank You for loving me.? ?I'm, of course, familiar with the hundreds of beautiful prayers written over the centuries in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. They're all important statements of faith. But for me personally, Timmy's way is the most reverent.? Timmy?s adoring gaze at Doc must be akin to the adoration and awe in the gaze of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph as they could not take their eyes off the Infant Christ. When we approach the manger, or when we sit before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, perhaps we should be grateful if our attention is fixed on Jesus as Timmy?s is fixed on Doc. How wonderful to have deep, religious thoughts or to offer beautiful prayers of praise and adoration of Our Lord! But could it be more meritorious just to gaze on our Lord with love and devotion, recognizing Him as Master and sitting ready to serve Him, at His command? When we assemble our Nativity sets under our Christmas trees this year, perhaps we ought to place a little statue of a dog in the scene. That dog represents us.
Both Dog in My Pocket and Dog at the Manger available on line from www.cfpholyangels.com
These stories come free with any Dog in My Pocket or Dog at the Manger ordered from the CFP Holy Angels Gift Shop. Full Story on "more information" link.
