Charles Murray

Grateful, curious, conservative, Catholic. Mentor, teacher, student, seeker. Writer, speaker, storyteller. Enthusiastic foodie, Dad to Anna and lover of Life.

[Fr. Joseph Krupp @Joeinblack]

We each have been given crosses of varying weights and sizes.
My concern when it comes to other peoples cross ends at prayer and assistance. Their crosses are not mine to judge or even describe.
When it comes to my cross, my concern is to carry it like Jesus; with tenacity, with dignity and without complaint.
As for you reading this, I simply must remind you that Jesus sees you. He knows your cross. He can see all the things no one else can, and he’s so proud of the way you carry what you carry.
He knows you fall, he knows that.
He’s not ashamed of your falling, he’s proud of your rising.
He knows that other people have looked at you and judged you, but did so without knowing about the cross you carry. It breaks his heart. He cries with you.
Your cross is heavy, I know and he knows it too.
But what he also knows that you and I can’t until heaven, is the way it gives him glory.
The way it’s preparing you for heaven.
The way it shines his light in a particular way that we would all be lost without.
So, carry that cross.
Carry it well.
Be proud of that heavy, ugly blood stained piece of wood.
It’s helping him save you.
It’s helping him save the world.

#talkedtotheboss

[Fr. Joseph Krupp @Joeinblack]

God needed a father.
It’s a curious thing to consider, but it’s more or less true.
Humans have a father and mother and so, when God entered into the human condition to transform it, He chose to have a father and a mother.
And so, God looked over every man who had ever lived or ever would live and chose the best one.
He saw a quiet, hard working man who seemed to care about one thing and one thing only: What does God want me to do?
When he learned what God wanted him to do, Joseph did it.
God saw this great man and knew that his calloused hands were the ones to hold Him as a baby, protect Him and guide Him through His first years on earth.
He chose Joseph and Joseph chose Him.
As Joseph took Jesus young hand and led him where He needed to go, so Jesus later took an old Joseph’s hands and led him where he needed to go: to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Because of this, among other things St. Joseph is the patron of those who are dying.
Today, 15,000 Americans will wake up for the last time.
Most have no idea that this is their last day on earth, but God knows.
St. Joseph, pray for those who will die today.
Pray for all of us to live our lives in such a way as to always be ready for the moment those nail pierced hands take ours and lead us to our eternal home.
Amen

#talkedtotheboss
#SaintJoseph

[Judianna @Judianna]

Walk into 2024 with these words attributed to actor Anthony Hopkins:

Let go of people who are not ready to love you. This is the hardest thing you'll ever have to do in your life and it will also be the most important thing.

Stop having difficult conversations with people who don't want to change.

Stop showing up for people who are not interested in your presence.
I know your instinct is to do everything possible to gain the appreciation of those around you, but it's an impulse that steals your time, energy, mental and physical health.
When you start fighting for a life with joy, interest and commitment, not everyone will be ready to follow you to that place.
It doesn't mean you have to change who you are, it means you have to let go of people who aren't ready to be with you.
If you are excluded, insulted, forgotten or ignored by the people you give your time to, you are not doing yourself a favor by continuing to offer them your energy and your life.
Truth is you ain't for everybody and everybody ain't for you.
This is what makes it so special when you find people you have friendship with or mutual love.
You will know how precious it is because you have experienced what is not.
There are billions of people on this planet and many of them you will find at your level of interest and commitment.
Maybe if you stop showing up, they won't look for you.
Maybe if you stop trying, the relationship ends.
Maybe if you stop texting, your phone will stay dark for weeks.
That doesn't mean you ruined the relationship, it means the only thing sustaining it was the energy you only gave to keep it.
That's not love, that's attachment.
It's giving a chance to those who don't deserve it!
You deserve so much more.
The most valuable thing you have in your life is your time and energy, as both are limited.
The people and things you give your time and energy to, will define your existence.
When you realize this you start to understand why you are so anxious when you spend time with people, activities or spaces that don't suit you and shouldn't be near you.
You will start to realize that the most important thing you can do for yourself and everyone around you is to protect your energy more fiercely than anything else.

Make your life a safe haven, where only people "compatible" with you are allowed.

You are not responsible for saving anyone.
You are not responsible for convincing them to do better.
It's not your job to exist for people and give them your life!
You deserve real friendships, true commitments and a complete love with healthy and prosperous people.

The decision to distance yourself from toxic people will give you the love, esteem, happiness and protection you deserve.

H/T Bev Getz

[Judianna @Judianna]

It’s like this sometimes.

Me: Okay, God, here's the thing. I'm scared. I'm trying not to be, but I am.

God: I know. Want to talk about it?

Me: Do we need to? I mean, you already know.

God: Let's talk about it anyway... We've done this before.

Me: I know, I just feel like I should be bigger or stronger or something by now.

God: *waiting patiently, unhurried, undistracted, never annoyed.

Me: Okay. So, I'm afraid I'll do everything I can to protect my family and it won't be enough. I'm afraid of someone I love dying. I'm afraid the world won't go back to what it was before. I'm afraid my life is always going to feel a little bit unsettled.

God: Anything else?

Me: EVERYTHING ELSE.

God: Remember how your son woke up the other night and came running down the hall to your bedroom?

Me: Yes.

God: You were still awake, so when you heard him running, you started calling out to him before he even got to you... remember? Do you remember what you called out to him?

Me: I said, "You're okay! You're okay! You're okay! I'm here."

God: Why did you call to him? Why didn't you just wait for him to get to your room?

Me: Because I wanted him to know that I was awake, and I heard him, and he didn't have to be afraid until he reached the end of the dark hallway.

God: Exactly. I hear you, my child. I hear your thoughts racing like feet down the dark hallway. There's another side to all of this. I'm there already. I've seen the end of it. And I want you to know right here as you walk through it all, you're okay. I haven't gone to sleep, and I won't.

Me: *crying. Can we sit together awhile? Can we just sit here a minute before I go back to facing it all?

God: There's nothing I'd love more.

♥️🙏♥️

(Copied and comforted)
And reposted, because it's so darn good.

[Jeff Putnam |✍ @TheJeffPutnam]

99% of being a dad is fixing problems that would not have occurred if people had just listened to you the first time.

[Eve Keneinan 𝛗☦️ن @EveKeneinan]

O God of spirits and of all flesh, Who hast trampled down death and overthrown the Devil, and given life to Thy world, do Thou, the same Lord, give rest to the soul of Thy departed servant in a place of brightness, a place of refreshment, a place of repose,

[Matt Swaim @mattswaim]

A lot of good folks in my world are going through some pretty difficult things right now.

Check up on your people, they don’t always have the time or energy to tell you they’re having a hard go of it.

[Sachin Jose @Sachinettiyil]

“The greatest male Saint who ever lived was not a deacon, not a priest, not a bishop, not a pope, not a hermit, not a monk… he was a husband, father, and a worker.” - St. Jose Maria Escrivá #Feastday

[Lj Priest (Trader Jill) @RealTraderJill]

For my final offering here is the sweetest most beautiful thing you'll see all day.

Hope for humanity is restored! 🥲

[miki 🍃 @theehobbit]

happy 20th anniversary to the best scene in the two towers

[SeffSaid @SeffSaid]

"As long as you feel pain, you’re alive. As long as you make mistakes, you’re human. And as long as you keep trying, there’s still hope."

[Lj Priest (Trader Jill) @RealTraderJill]

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
-- Martin Luther King Jr.

[Learning Notes @MasterMyNotes]

Your
words
have the
power to
stir hearts,
speak hope,
shape minds,
soothe souls,
bind wounds,
teach the young,
influence leaders,
encourage the lost,

sculpt worlds,
declare destiny,
and touch eternity.

Choose them wisely.

[Joshua Lisec, The Ghostwriter @JoshuaLisec]

That's enough platty toods for . . . ever.

RT the tweet below to make a mockery of personal development accounts that offer no actionable advice.

[My Friend Don @TheDonStein]

Good and Gracious Lord,
Have mercy upon your dutiful servant Queen Elizabeth II and receive her into your eternal glory. Amen.

[Ed Latimore @EdLatimore]

You'll change when it finally hurts too much not to.

Comfort and a high pain tolerance has ruined more lives than rock bottom and tragedy ever will.

[Aaron Pogue @AaronPogue]

May rest come wrap you up in big, burly arms you can't resist and carry you off somewhere quiet to heal until you're whole again.

[Murrays who Tweet from around the world @MurraysWhoTweet]

A Happy St. Patrick's Day to Irish Murrays everywhere. ☘️🇮🇪

[Michael R. Heinlein @HeinleinMichael]

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." —St Teresa of Calcutta

[Michael R. Heinlein @HeinleinMichael]

"If God’s goodness is made visible in miracles, God’s compassion and forgiveness are made present in suffering. If we always cooperate with God’s grace, then the Church gives glory to Christ in all circumstances, good and bad. That is our vocation and our joy.” #CardinalGeorge