1. Thinking Thursday
During a visit to a mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criteria is that defines if a patient should be institutionalized. "Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub with water. Then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup, and a bucket to the patient and ask the patient to empty the bathtub." Okay, here's your test:  1. Would you use the spoon? 2. Would you use the teacup? 3. Would you use the bucket?

2. Thinking Thursday Cont.
Where can you finish reading several books before you finish even one sentence?
You answer me, although I never ask you questions. What am I?
3. Is an older one-hundred dollar bill worth more than a newer one?

3. If you’ve ever had a broken bone, you know that not only is it painful, but it limits you. It limits you from normal movement, it prevents you from doing the things you used to do. It could be as little as a broken toe, or as debilitating as fractured hip or vertebrae, and everything in-between. Each limit you in some way. You are fractured. You can do things partially, but not fully as you could when healthy. Today Jesus tells us the first and most important commandment – that you should love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And then He tells us the second one – that you should love others as you love yourself. But like a broken bone, our souls are fractured. Each of us have a fractured soul in some way, some more severe than others. But our fractured souls limit us. Our fractured souls limit our ability to fully love God, and to fully love our neighbor, and to fully love our self. And so, when I read Jesus’ words about the first and second commandments, it begins with loving God fully, and ends with loving ourselves. But I think to love God fully and to love our neighbors fully, it starts with us. It starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with loving our self. Truly loving our self. Not being selfish. Loving the person that God made us to be. If we are broken, if our soul is fractured by sin, we cannot fully love our self. If we cannot fully love our self, we cannot fully love God and we cannot fully love our neighbor. We can do so partially, but we are limited. And that is the major problem in the world today. We are broken, and that limits our ability to love. The thing is, only God can heal us. Through prayer, scripture, the Sacraments, and through others who He puts in our life – He heals us. But we have to wantit. We have to be looking for it. We have towantto be healed. We have to wantto love. If we don’t want to love, if we don’t want that fractured soul to be healed, we’ll be limited in what we can actually do. That’s the mystery – we are to fully love God with all our soul, to love others with all our heart as we love ourselves. But we can’t fully love when our soul is fractured. And the only One who can heal us is Christ. It starts with us, but we must first turn to God. We have to surrender to God, and let Him into our soul, and want Him to enter, and He will. Only then can we be healed, and only then can we truly love Him, our neighbors, and ourselves with every fiber of our being, with every bit of our soul. Without Him we are fractured, and limited. When we reach up to Him, we are unbroken.

4. Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.
Second Commandment
Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.

5. Write down the definition of what you think each word means
Bodkin Crapulous Fungible Nugatory Toothsome

6. Actual Definitions
Bodkin – little body Crapulous – characterized by a gross overeating or over drinking. Fungible – serve in place of Nugatory – having no value, useless Toothsome – agreeable, attractive

7. Words have meaning! Words are more than just symbolic verbal sounds.
Our words are a sign of the Imagio Dei, the divine spark.
Our words are connected to the Word (logos) Jesus Christ.

8. God’s Name is sacred
God’s name is deeply connected to His whole self. Not just a word.
To misuse God’s name is an offense to Him.

9. Misuses of God’s name Swearing in His name when we shouldn’t
Using His name within a curse
- Speaking ill of Him

10. Commands us to DO Pray Have reverence towards God
Keeping your WORD. (Who is the Word?)
Proclaim the Gospel
Be a good example – as baptized Christians your actions speak about God.

11. Commands us NOT to do Blasphemy Cursing Irreverent use of God’s name
False oaths
Perjury

12. Irreverent Use of God’s Name
Trivial or disrespectful use of God’s name or other holy things.
Ex. Using the Lord’s name in vain

13. Blasphemy
Hateful, defiant, disrespectful talk about God, saints, Mary.

14. Cursing
Calling down evil or ill will upon someone.

15. False Oath
An oath names God as a witness to the truth of what you’re saying. If you are not speaking Truth or you are swearing to do something evil if you have brought God’s name it something wrong.
Perjury – Lying under oath

16. Profanity Unnecessary
Jesus said, “I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Mt 12:36
Scandalous
Desensitizing
Unintelligent
"Let your speech be always gracious and in good taste, and strive to respond properly to all who address you" (Colossians 4:6).