For Today


Only for Today Decalogue for Daily Living
1. Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.
2. Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behavior; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.
3. Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.
4. Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.
5. Only for today, I will devote ten minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.
6. Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.
7. Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and it my feelings are hurt, I will make sure no one notices.
8. Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.
9. Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.
10. Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for twelve hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life. (Pope John XXIII)

While not a Roman Catholic myself, I value the wisdom contained in the words of Pope John XXIII  in this Decalogue.  In fact, I am frequently attracted to similar statements of intentions.  They challenge me and give me a practical framework to "work out my own salvation" (Philippians 2:12).

11 comments:

  1. I understand yo completely Rebecca and I certainly don't think one has to be Catholic in order to appreciate the pope's words and wisdom. They can really apply to everyone in every situation.

    Have a lovely week!

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  2. The Pope has some great advice there. I try to do those things everyday. It gets to be habit forming! Love Di ♥

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  3. Words of wisdom are not defined by religion, race, nationality etc. These are such wonderful "instructions" for life. We should know to live like this, but somehow we do forget, making our life complicated. Thanks for such a wonderful reminder.

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  4. I especially needed this today. Thank you!! It is a "copy in my notebook" list. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

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  5. Rebecca, I finally got here!
    And I've been reading back a little on all I've missed.
    And as long as I'm having good 'blog luck' today I'm going to try and link to your other blogs too!

    I really loved this post, such a wonderful reminder of how we should live each day.

    And I equally loved your previous posts, there were so many that I saw on my sidebar that I wanted to read but Blogger would not cooperate, I was busting to get here!
    I so enjoyed your early morning post, it looks so peaceful and serene, and such a perfect spot for reflecting, and I loved your reflections on 'Expect to hear His Voice'.

    The chili looked wonderful! And our church is getting so much better at things like that. We had a 'hospitality Sunday' a few weeks ago, sort of a 'meet and greet', and the Monsignor joked from the pulpit that we were going to do something 'very un-Catholic, we are going to meet and greet our fellow parishioners'!
    Other than fund-raiser type things, and religious affiliations (Mass, Bible studies, prayer meetings, devotions, the Rosary, etc.), we really don't have any sort of 'social' meetings at our church. They are trying to change that.

    I enjoyed reading about 'comfortably cluttered' and I think that is the home lifestyle I like best! Although, Ray and I are going to be spending the next few months UNcluttering!

    I so loved seeing your new granddaughter! She is beautiful! And the boys looked so sweet with her.
    'So glad you got to spend time with your family!

    SO HAPPY to have been able to visit with you here again!
    Love and Prayers,
    Eileen

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  6. Rebecca, thanks so much for visiting my blog today. Always nice to meet fellow bloggers and sisters in Christ. I've never seen this Decalogue of Pope John Paul before. Guess we should repeat these actions every day, huh?!

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  7. These are truly good words. I think I would be able to focus on only one a day...maybe I will just try it for a lenten discipline. So that means I should make it through the list 4 times! I was a teenager when John XXIII died and even though I'm not Roman Catholic either, I do recall that he was much loved. By the way, I believe the photo you posted is of Pope John Paul II, the Poish Pope who served before the current one. But I could be wrong! Good post!

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  8. Jacquelyn, I think you're right! I'm going right back to google (I googled Pope John XXIII, and this picture came up!) I didn't think much about it.

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  9. I have replaced Pope John Paul II's picture with that of Blessed John XXIII who was elected as the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church on October 1958. He called the Second Vatican Council but didn't live to see it to completion. He died on June 3, 1963.

    Thank you, Jacquelyn, for pointing out the error. I just took the biggest and clearest picture that came up the first time, and after you called it to my attention, I am pretty sure it was Pope John Paul II.

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  10. Thank you for posting this. I, too, copied it for a reminder! Good principles to live by! ~Rebecca

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  11. Oh, I'm so glad you have shared this..I'm going to print this out...I am Catholic and I find this will help me during this time of Lent to focus more and as you put it 'They challenge me and give me a practical framework to "work out my own salvation" (Philippians 2:12).

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Writing a Song a Week #3

Writing a Song a Week #3
♪ I wait for the Lord; my soul waits and in his word I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning ♪ (Psalm 130:5-6)