Interim

There is no place as suitable to God as
your heart because He made it so.

 According to the calendar, it has been several days since I posted last. In the meantime, I ugraded my iPhone, connected the watch to the iPhone and configured what needed configuring, which took some time. In addition, the apartment complex where I live is being inspected, though I have not seen anyone.
When I filled my prescriptions box I noted that I am running low on one pill, so I left a message for my provider at the VA requesting a refill. She replied that I needed to call the VA refill line, so I did. The lady filled my prescriptions, and told me she would notify my provider to refill the item that was low. It does seem stupid and lazy to put people through that kind of aggravation. At 76 years of age, I have seen too much of the world and the stupidity of people, and simply wonder that beings can devolve so absolutely.

This morning I tried to watch a Youtube video about Quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence, but just shook my head in disbelief, that grown people can swallow such a line of hogwash. All my life, I was taught that there were galaxies with planets. Now we are supposed to believe, that according to the latest observations of the heavens, the planet Pluto is no longer a planet and that the Big Bang never happened. Apparently, according to what they think they know, the whole galaxy appeared suddenly out of nothing fully formed, and did not form in the billions of years they said.

In the political realm, the government indicted a former president for violation of security laws and other laws concerning financial dealings with all kinds of people. The lies are so in-depth that it may take a lifetime to unravel it all to get the truth. Meantime, the offender continues offending as if it is perfectly alright and he did't commit a crime but had the right to do what he did, in spite of the Law saying that is wrong. He tried to overthrow the last election, and works continually to overthrow the government, and he wonders why he is heading to prison.

We have a political system that provides for free and fair elections, but some people bound and determined to overthrow the govenment continue propagating lies and trying to stymie efforts to help underprivileged people as if slavery were perfectly alright.

Well, I can't sit still and not say that wrong is wrong. Not only that, but God is the arbiter of what is right and wrong, and in spite of efforts to declare there is no god, He persists and we stand at the brink of annihilation. The control that kept the weather in check and regulated our climate to be beneficial to us, is being allowed to run wild, and gets more deadly an destructive as time goes on. We go from catastrophe to catastrophe and time is running furiousl into the distance.

People need to realize they can stop, sit down and reach out to God in spite of what is happening all around us, and that He will listen if we speak to Him, and our world will be under His control and our lives will not be torm up and disgarded.

Those forces in the world who want to take other countries by force and invasion lob missiles at other countries to intimidate, while other nations invade places for the fun of it and it goes on unchecked. 

The appearance that destruction is inevitable is incorrect, in case you did not know it. If you don't like the way the world is, change it by your prayers, love and penance, It is not written in stone that anything in immutable, because God controls it all and will listen and do what we ask. If it seems He doesn't care, when was the last time you told God you love Him? When we the last time you asked Him to help you or to change a situation, either for yourself of someone else? before you get ready to chuck yourself off a cliff because it all looks hopeless, you might ponder when the last time was you felt any hope, and when you told God you love Him or your loved ones.

Remember that the sounds of love don't just happen, you have to make them. So perk up; the Lord is very near and present and He cares deeply - more deeply than you can imagine. Try Him and see if asking can't remedy your troubles at least a little bit. He will not punish you for forgetting to tell Him of your love, but beginning to tell Him you love Him, again, will go a long way to making life more tolerable for you.

Unlike a good friend of mine, I believe there is a God and an evil being who opposes God in every way. I believe in His presence and the union of souls whom God loves immensely and to whom He will reveal Himself in great joy and peace. The love we seek begins in Him. he wishes to reveal Himself from within yourself. Far from being indifferent as we are, He cares a great deal, and especially cares that the world is cold and indifferent, not caring that we don't care. Inanimate matter has no feelings; they simply respond to nature's forces. It is man who can care and think and change the unverse because God created the universe so that we can.

So the next time you think you got a raw deal in life, pause to examine the situation. 

if God seems distant, who moved?

Interim

There is no place as suitable to God as
your heart because He made it so.

 According to the calendar, it has been several days since I posted last. In the meantime, I ugraded my iPhone, connected the watch to the iPhone and configured what needed configuring, which took some time. In addition, the apartment complex where I live is being inspected, though I have not seen anyone.
When I filled my prescriptions box I noted that I am running low on one pill, so I left a message for my provider at the VA requesting a refill. She replied that I needed to call the VA refill line, so I did. The lady filled my prescriptions, and told me she would notify my provider to refill the item that was low. It does seem stupid and lazy to put people through that kind of aggravation. At 76 years of age, I have seen too much of the world and the stupidity of people, and simply wonder that beings can devolve so absolutely.

This morning I tried to watch a Youtube video about Quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence, but just shook my head in disbelief, that grown people can swallow such a line of hogwash. All my life, I was taught that there were galaxies with planets. Now we are supposed to believe, that according to the latest observations of the heavens, the planet Pluto is no longer a planet and that the Big Bang never happened. Apparently, according to what they think they know, the whole galaxy appeared suddenly out of nothing fully formed, and did not form in the billions of years they said.

In the political realm, the government indicted a former president for violation of security laws and other laws concerning financial dealings with all kinds of people. The lies are so in-depth that it may take a lifetime to unravel it all to get the truth. Meantime, the offender continues offending as if it is perfectly alright and he did't commit a crime but had the right to do what he did, in spite of the Law saying that is wrong. He tried to overthrow the last election, and works continually to overthrow the government, and he wonders why he is heading to prison.

We have a political system that provides for free and fair elections, but some people bound and determined to overthrow the govenment continue propagating lies and trying to stymie efforts to help underprivileged people as if slavery were perfectly alright.

Well, I can't sit still and not say that wrong is wrong. Not only that, but God is the arbiter of what is right and wrong, and in spite of efforts to declare there is no god, He persists and we stand at the brink of annihilation. The control that kept the weather in check and regulated our climate to be beneficial to us, is being allowed to run wild, and gets more deadly an destructive as time goes on. We go from catastrophe to catastrophe and time is running furiousl into the distance.

People need to realize they can stop, sit down and reach out to God in spite of what is happening all around us, and that He will listen if we speak to Him, and our world will be under His control and our lives will not be torm up and disgarded.

Those forces in the world who want to take other countries by force and invasion lob missiles at other countries to intimidate, while other nations invade places for the fun of it and it goes on unchecked. 

The appearance that destruction is inevitable is incorrect, in case you did not know it. If you don't like the way the world is, change it by your prayers, love and penance, It is not written in stone that anything in immutable, because God controls it all and will listen and do what we ask. If it seems He doesn't care, when was the last time you told God you love Him? When we the last time you asked Him to help you or to change a situation, either for yourself of someone else? before you get ready to chuck yourself off a cliff because it all looks hopeless, you might ponder when the last time was you felt any hope, and when you told God you love Him or your loved ones.

Remember that the sounds of love don't just happen, you have to make them. So perk up; the Lord is very near and present and He cares deeply - more deeply than you can imagine. Try Him and see if asking can't remedy your troubles at least a little bit. He will not punish you for forgetting to tell Him of your love, but beginning to tell Him you love Him, again, will go a long way to making life more tolerable for you.

Unlike a good friend of mine, I believe there is a God and an evil being who opposes God in every way. I believe in His presence and the union of souls whom God loves immensely and to whom He will reveal Himself in great joy and peace. The love we seek begins in Him. he wishes to reveal Himself from within yourself. Far from being indifferent as we are, He cares a great deal, and especially cares that the world is cold and indifferent, not caring that we don't care. Inanimate matter has no feelings; they simply respond to nature's forces. It is man who can care and think and change the unverse because God created the universe so that we can.

So the next time you think you got a raw deal in life, pause to examine the situation. 

if God seems distant, who moved?

Freedom

DAY'S SAINTS
Agrippinus of Autun, Bishop
Alexander of Egypt, Martyr

Gospel Mt 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

+

We all fit together and stand out with God :)

How much we stand to gain so long as it is the Lord we anticipate and Him alone that we strive to be like.

There is no point to emulating anyone not the Lord, for we are destined to stand in eternity before Him, giving Him glory and receiving His love.

Evil strives to convince us we have the right to do as we please, and that the easy path is the one to walk, when Jesus is plainly carrying His cross, and manifesting the woundedness that was His death and out which He fashions our salvation. Evil can do no such marvel, so there is no use listening to anything he says. Where you perceive terror and horror on every side, turn your face to God and be filled with the light of His truth and you will know peace and want nothing else.

Martyrs were content with a shortened life and a final pain, but they were received into the loving arms of their creator and He gave them nothing but love, for they had paid the purchase price of salvation, to enter into His crucifixion and death in the hope of rising again.

The days are coming when a challenge will be cast at our feet and we will need to choose in His company with full knowledge and vision, able to forever belong to Him, and be therefore free for Him.

Forgive one another, and be forgiven; pray for those who persecute and kill us trying to annihilate us, for it will drive them into hell, for there is no escape from God who is everywhere. Those who love Him, will never fear to be lost, to be disconnected from Him, because they have entered into God who is everywhere.

Love the Lord and be free.

Freedom

DAY'S SAINTS
Agrippinus of Autun, Bishop
Alexander of Egypt, Martyr

Gospel Mt 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

+

We all fit together and stand out with God :)

How much we stand to gain so long as it is the Lord we anticipate and Him alone that we strive to be like.

There is no point to emulating anyone not the Lord, for we are destined to stand in eternity before Him, giving Him glory and receiving His love.

Evil strives to convince us we have the right to do as we please, and that the easy path is the one to walk, when Jesus is plainly carrying His cross, and manifesting the woundedness that was His death and out which He fashions our salvation. Evil can do no such marvel, so there is no use listening to anything he says. Where you perceive terror and horror on every side, turn your face to God and be filled with the light of His truth and you will know peace and want nothing else.

Martyrs were content with a shortened life and a final pain, but they were received into the loving arms of their creator and He gave them nothing but love, for they had paid the purchase price of salvation, to enter into His crucifixion and death in the hope of rising again.

The days are coming when a challenge will be cast at our feet and we will need to choose in His company with full knowledge and vision, able to forever belong to Him, and be therefore free for Him.

Forgive one another, and be forgiven; pray for those who persecute and kill us trying to annihilate us, for it will drive them into hell, for there is no escape from God who is everywhere. Those who love Him, will never fear to be lost, to be disconnected from Him, because they have entered into God who is everywhere.

Love the Lord and be free.

Rise

Day's Saints
Goar of Aquitane, Hermit
Nazaria Ignancia March Y Mesa, Nun

Gn 22:1b-19 Sacrifice of Isaac

Gospel Mt 9:1-8
After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
"This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
"Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he then said to the paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

+

I was struck by the statement in the narration of the life of St. Goar of Aquitane, that he "began" to be a hermit. He was not selected by a bishop and consecrated; he simply began. God plants seeds, and watering them and giving them sun and helping them find nutrition in the soil, a great work is begun.

Neither did St. Francis of Assisi. He simply began by giving away all he owned and living a beggar's life, loved God and his companions, seeking to draw them to the love of God He felt in a very personal way. He did not have to force people to do anything; they were already hungry for a living example of the Evangelical life embodied in people.

It is most important to also realize, that he submitted himself to the bishop, and when prompted to get the approval of the Church, he journied to Rome and saw the Pope who have his permission to Francis to have a religious order which we now call the Order of Saint Francis.

Neither did Francis start rebellions or reformations or apostasies, but sought to be more closely united to the Church and Christ.

We are meant to be vessels of the Holy Spirit, filled with the waters of life so abundantly provided us through piercings He endured on the cross, being entirely opened for us to be the recipients of His miracles and His holiness. In the name of those two things, men conquer in a way which enriches instead of impoverishing, and builds rather than destroying.

Jesus bulds His Church, and united to Him by our fideltiy to the Church, the world is surpassed and men invited to eternal bliss.

Surely there is impetus enough in all this to move our hearts and in this moment dispose us to serve Him and one another in love.

Rise

Day's Saints
Goar of Aquitane, Hermit
Nazaria Ignancia March Y Mesa, Nun

Gn 22:1b-19 Sacrifice of Isaac

Gospel Mt 9:1-8
After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
"This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
"Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he then said to the paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

+

I was struck by the statement in the narration of the life of St. Goar of Aquitane, that he "began" to be a hermit. He was not selected by a bishop and consecrated; he simply began. God plants seeds, and watering them and giving them sun and helping them find nutrition in the soil, a great work is begun.

Neither did St. Francis of Assisi. He simply began by giving away all he owned and living a beggar's life, loved God and his companions, seeking to draw them to the love of God He felt in a very personal way. He did not have to force people to do anything; they were already hungry for a living example of the Evangelical life embodied in people.

It is most important to also realize, that he submitted himself to the bishop, and when prompted to get the approval of the Church, he journied to Rome and saw the Pope who have his permission to Francis to have a religious order which we now call the Order of Saint Francis.

Neither did Francis start rebellions or reformations or apostasies, but sought to be more closely united to the Church and Christ.

We are meant to be vessels of the Holy Spirit, filled with the waters of life so abundantly provided us through piercings He endured on the cross, being entirely opened for us to be the recipients of His miracles and His holiness. In the name of those two things, men conquer in a way which enriches instead of impoverishing, and builds rather than destroying.

Jesus bulds His Church, and united to Him by our fideltiy to the Church, the world is surpassed and men invited to eternal bliss.

Surely there is impetus enough in all this to move our hearts and in this moment dispose us to serve Him and one another in love.

Familia

Day's Saints 
Thomas the Apostle
Blessed Andreas Eberbach, Premonstratensian

Eph 2:19-22
Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Gospel Jn 20:24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,

was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord."

But Thomas said to them,

"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands

and put my finger into the nailmarks

and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."

Now a week later his disciples were again inside

and Thomas was with them.

Jesus came, although the doors were locked,

and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,

and bring your hand and put it into my side,

and do not be unbelieving, but believe."

Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

+

See the regard he has for his companions, the writer of the Epistle to the Ephesians; we are no longer strangers and sojourners. We know each other and our lives are united by the Holy Spirit in a Body with Christ.

See the means by which Jesus chose to reveal Himself so as to be believed; He shows His wounds, still fresh from the crucifixion, and glorified as manifestations of His great glory, not horrific images of agony any more. Though He is capable of mountint a cross to resume His place again. He is more than capable of saving us, however wretched we may be, because He is a forgiving God and Lord.

If we die like the martyrs did, we will simply be joinng the more securely with Him, fastened in a bond of love that is indissoluable.

I do not doubt there are those among you whose hearts and affections the Lord could steal so that you could bleed from visible wounds to proclaim your unity with Him by His love. But He is content with most to love them without their participating in the agonies He endured in order to atone for sin and to bestow redemption on us who are unfaithful and selfish or even indifferent in the midst of life and its events.

But do not let time and indifference necessitate an awakening that might be more horrendous, but awaken in gratitude and adhere to the demands of the Lord your God to love one another and He Himself with all your might.

For all things, He makes us ready. St. Padre Pio suffered the transverberation of his heart before the wounds in his hands and feet appeared, and the even more terrible wound of the place which chafed the shoulder of the Lord.

He participated in Jesus, in ways we cannot fathom, and we cannot comprehend how such events could take place and how the subject of the reception of that participation could endure what the Lord asked him to endure, and which were his constant companions for fifty years. So much love is beyond our comprehension; both the love of Padre Pio and the love of Jesus, who invited him so fully to the participatioon in His redemptive crucifixion.\

We celebrate His Sacred Heart, the Prescious Blood and His holy passion in the months of the year; we are invited to see and to an extent, participate somehow in these events as we confront His presence in our hearts during our life with Him in this world. We may be far more lowly than the humble friar, but I assure you, He has enkindled an equal love in them that ought to be respected and revered as the Lord Himself. 

Each of you knows what part of His Person you encompass in your life, so that in your humility, you honor the Lord and your companions by your holiness which He has made distinctive to each of you so that you glorify Him as well, and each other at the same time, for His glory emanates from each of us whether we are aware or not.

Hopefully, the events in our being will bind us through love of Him and through our love, to one another so that the Lord is recognised by everyone. My prayer is that it should be so, and we might venerate one another as brothers and sisters in the Holy Family as the letter to the Ephesians intimates