Not Above

DAY'S SAINTS
Feast of the Precious Blood
Blessed Assunta Marchetti, Nun

Gospel Mt 8:5-17
When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."
He said to him, "I will come and cure him."
The centurion said in reply,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."
And Jesus said to the centurion,
"You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you."
And at that very hour his servant was healed.
Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him.
When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:
He took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.

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If Jesus was not above suffering for ungrateful and indifferent people, what should be the conduct of His followers?

All of us have been initiated into His cross and His passion-life, so that we are subject to service for the Lord when He asks. We may decline, but blessed are those who reject sin and are grateful to the Lord for the opportunity of atoning, for our  own sins, and those of others, even those who caused us harm.

If you hear His voice, be not indifferent to Him, but rise from your bed and forsake your slumber to be attentive and present to the Lord in a world where so few remember Him.

Do not think that you can not do great things for the Lord because you are lowly and ordinary. If He commissions you, you can cause the hills to sink into the earth, and make the stars rise in their course at night, because you are a vessel of His power.

The ways in which He causes events to unfold is inscrutable by design; therefore, those who serve Him without thinking, from the love and generosity of their heart are blessed now, and will enjoy blessings in eternity.

Be at peace in yourself, and the world will be at peace, and only those who  troubled themselves will be troubled. 

Dictators may tremble in fear, yet what they fear will not be their undoing, but they will meet their appointed end regardless of the precautions they take.

Likewise, we are all appointed to give an accounting of our existence to the Lord when He asks. Let Him be kind and gentle; love Him and serve Him and do His Will, untroubled by considerations, for things evolve without our knowing how, and peace is planted to grown in the garden of us all.

Not Above

DAY'S SAINTS
Feast of the Precious Blood
Blessed Assunta Marchetti, Nun

Gospel Mt 8:5-17
When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."
He said to him, "I will come and cure him."
The centurion said in reply,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."
And Jesus said to the centurion,
"You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you."
And at that very hour his servant was healed.
Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him.
When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:
He took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.

+

If Jesus was not above suffering for ungrateful and indifferent people, what should be the conduct of His followers?

All of us have been initiated into His cross and His passion-life, so that we are subject to service for the Lord when He asks. We may decline, but blessed are those who reject sin and are grateful to the Lord for the opportunity of atoning, for our  own sins, and those of others, even those who caused us harm.

If you hear His voice, be not indifferent to Him, but rise from your bed and forsake your slumber to be attentive and present to the Lord in a world where so few remember Him.

Do not think that you can not do great things for the Lord because you are lowly and ordinary. If He commissions you, you can cause the hills to sink into the earth, and make the stars rise in their course at night, because you are a vessel of His power.

The ways in which He causes events to unfold is inscrutable by design; therefore, those who serve Him without thinking, from the love and generosity of their heart are blessed now, and will enjoy blessings in eternity.

Be at peace in yourself, and the world will be at peace, and only those who  troubled themselves will be troubled. 

Dictators may tremble in fear, yet what they fear will not be their undoing, but they will meet their appointed end regardless of the precautions they take.

Likewise, we are all appointed to give an accounting of our existence to the Lord when He asks. Let Him be kind and gentle; love Him and serve Him and do His Will, untroubled by considerations, for things evolve without our knowing how, and peace is planted to grown in the garden of us all.

Calling

 Some people dismiss demons and devils as childish fantasies. Prophecies of them all being loosed upon the earth at once are also dismissed, despite the excellent caliber of the prophets. What people fail to see, is the corruption of society descending more and more into sin and violence. The ferocity of mindless attacks on people in all sorts of places that used to be safe, are safe no longer. Governments flounder to get a handle on the chaos, but it has been unleashed on the human race so that people must make choices about what they do with their lives; indifference is becoming impossible.

The despicable notion that it is good and right to charge "fashionable" prices for living space is moronic, and the longer governments refuse to address rents by regulating them so anyone can afford an apartment is simple insanity.

Rent regulation is the first part of a solution, but a spiritual rennaissance must also happen. If there is none, then efforts to address rents are also going to fail, and the insane violence and criminality will continue until things get so bad that everyone has been killed.

The rennaissance I am speaking of is that people address the Lord just because they want to tell Him they love Him, are grateful to Him and implore Him to assist those who are struggling and have no advocate. In such an occurrance, it is possible to see an acceptable future, because people are helping others to also arrive at their own rennaissance.

Each of us has all the time we need to do what He asks in a given day. That we did not at least think of Him in love, will be a blight on our memory of that day when we must account for our existance and deeds.

Pay attention when you perceive the Lord telling you not to do something. One does not need to go off into the desert to sit in a cave waiting for a revelation. Wherever you are now is your cave. Sit in it and turn off the voices in your head, and the whisperings of panic in the darkness, and allow the Lord to be heard and felt so near. The desert fathers did it because God told them specifically to do it. If you are called in the same way, then enter the wilderness and pray. Wherever you are is your dwelling place, and wherever you will be at the fall of night, is an acceptable habitat for your seeking.

Calling

 Some people dismiss demons and devils as childish fantasies. Prophecies of them all being loosed upon the earth at once are also dismissed, despite the excellent caliber of the prophets. What people fail to see, is the corruption of society descending more and more into sin and violence. The ferocity of mindless attacks on people in all sorts of places that used to be safe, are safe no longer. Governments flounder to get a handle on the chaos, but it has been unleashed on the human race so that people must make choices about what they do with their lives; indifference is becoming impossible.

The despicable notion that it is good and right to charge "fashionable" prices for living space is moronic, and the longer governments refuse to address rents by regulating them so anyone can afford an apartment is simple insanity.

Rent regulation is the first part of a solution, but a spiritual rennaissance must also happen. If there is none, then efforts to address rents are also going to fail, and the insane violence and criminality will continue until things get so bad that everyone has been killed.

The rennaissance I am speaking of is that people address the Lord just because they want to tell Him they love Him, are grateful to Him and implore Him to assist those who are struggling and have no advocate. In such an occurrance, it is possible to see an acceptable future, because people are helping others to also arrive at their own rennaissance.

Each of us has all the time we need to do what He asks in a given day. That we did not at least think of Him in love, will be a blight on our memory of that day when we must account for our existance and deeds.

Pay attention when you perceive the Lord telling you not to do something. One does not need to go off into the desert to sit in a cave waiting for a revelation. Wherever you are now is your cave. Sit in it and turn off the voices in your head, and the whisperings of panic in the darkness, and allow the Lord to be heard and felt so near. The desert fathers did it because God told them specifically to do it. If you are called in the same way, then enter the wilderness and pray. Wherever you are is your dwelling place, and wherever you will be at the fall of night, is an acceptable habitat for your seeking.

Hide, Run !

 Only an asshole would want to revive the old soviet regime, but Putin seems not to notice. No good will come from the war in Ukraine unless the russians are defeated and prevented from continuing to revive the corpse of the old russia. I propose that people pray for peace, and end of the war, and that the aftermath be healed.

Facebook does not want such sentiments expressed, and so hides them from everyone. One has to wonder where they are in the scheme of things. Do they really support the old russia? Do they in fact support the government in THIS country? It really makes no sense to censor what may be controversial. If no one can talk about what is most prominent in the world, then what is their reason for existing, just to be a place for advertising to be vomited onto visitors? I have news for them.

Hide, Run !

 Only an asshole would want to revive the old soviet regime, but Putin seems not to notice. No good will come from the war in Ukraine unless the russians are defeated and prevented from continuing to revive the corpse of the old russia. I propose that people pray for peace, and end of the war, and that the aftermath be healed.

Facebook does not want such sentiments expressed, and so hides them from everyone. One has to wonder where they are in the scheme of things. Do they really support the old russia? Do they in fact support the government in THIS country? It really makes no sense to censor what may be controversial. If no one can talk about what is most prominent in the world, then what is their reason for existing, just to be a place for advertising to be vomited onto visitors? I have news for them.

Light

Day's Saints
Adalbert of Egmond Deacon
Blessed Dorothy if Montau, Nun

Gospel Mt 10:26-33
Jesus said to the Twelve:
"Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father."

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DAILY HIGHLIGHT

St. Charbel

One day we will stand in His full
light to be utterly revealed.

I cannot abandon the Church when I hear His voice saying to me, "Remain". Rather, let those who have abandoned Her repent, and hasten to the arms of the Lord and His Heart transfixed in pain, the pain of those separated from the Lord who long so painfully to be one with Him.

He has already borne more than He deserved, and He was not deserving of the contempt served up to Him by mortals who were already dead.

Money and the things of this world claim our attention, but the Lord remains aching to hold us in His arms to lavish His affection. One day He will reveal Himself as He has not revealed Himself before, and all will be stricken with His grief so they know who He is and recongnize Him in us all. Those who have striven so ardently to give themselves to Him will be filled with bliss, but those who knowingly were indifferent to Him will feel the pangs of His abandoment. No one can come to eternal bliss without labor, but He makes it sweet with His consolations.

Standing in the flames of His love, we are cleansed of any impurity and atone for sins so we may be one with Him forever. He offers you the sweetest cool water; why do you stand parched in the desert, not coming to the water?

Do not wait until this life is over to atone for sins, when the pains of the cleansing are so much gentler in this life than the next. Do not own anything if it will occupy all your time and attention. Comfort those who suffer, ask the Lord for healing of the sick and sinful. The wealthy have their reward, if they will not claim what He freely offers. What will you give in return for all the kindness He has given when you were still sinning and mere objects captivated you more than the Source of life itself?

If I write and it strikes your heart, do not fear the Lord's punishment for your sins, but long to be united to Him so He may unite you, and this life become the beginning of your unity with Him. Neither act as if there were no eternity in which to suffer, for there are those who already suffer emptiness that never dies. Those who have eaten of Him will no longer hunger for any earthly thing,  but will bless His Name to suffer the flames of His love and at the end be united to Him completely forever.