Thursday

 There is some excitement in the air; it has been 80 or higher for most of this week, and now some clouds are gathering, and the temperature is dropping along with the barometer. At night, the temperatures did not drop very much from the daytime high of 92, yesterday. The temperature in my apartment is 83, and the temperature indicated on the computer is 79. Needless to say, some cooling is necessary. A tropical storm in Baja California (Mexico), is making its way north to northern California and Oregon, and a cold front is coming from the northwest, so it is a matter of time before it cools, and there may be thunderstorms. We do not get many of them in Seattle, but that is not to say we never get them. One year, around the Columbus Day festival, the Pacific Northwest got a hurricane force wind storm that is still remembered by those who experienced it.

In spite of the fact I have no telescope, there has been a metershower, and there is a rare annular eclipse soon. That would be exciting, but we usually cannot see a single star around the Seattle area; you have to go east of the Cascade mountiann into eastern Washington or Oregon for star-gazing. Nevertheless, I still get excited about star gazing because I used to have an 8 inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. I got to see some awesome sights with that telescope.

I continue to say my Rosary every day in the evening. Sometimes He interrupts to lift me up in the midst of my prayers. It has been needed, and it was a wonderful surprise coming so intensely and unexpectedly.

As the weather has been so warm lately, sleep has been curtailed, and not enough, but I manage.

Best wishes to everyone, and God's abundant blessings on you all. Continue praying for peace and ahealing of our climate so the catastrophic weather events calm down.

mm

Thursday

 There is some excitement in the air; it has been 80 or higher for most of this week, and now some clouds are gathering, and the temperature is dropping along with the barometer. At night, the temperatures did not drop very much from the daytime high of 92, yesterday. The temperature in my apartment is 83, and the temperature indicated on the computer is 79. Needless to say, some cooling is necessary. A tropical storm in Baja California (Mexico), is making its way north to northern California and Oregon, and a cold front is coming from the northwest, so it is a matter of time before it cools, and there may be thunderstorms. We do not get many of them in Seattle, but that is not to say we never get them. One year, around the Columbus Day festival, the Pacific Northwest got a hurricane force wind storm that is still remembered by those who experienced it.

In spite of the fact I have no telescope, there has been a metershower, and there is a rare annular eclipse soon. That would be exciting, but we usually cannot see a single star around the Seattle area; you have to go east of the Cascade mountiann into eastern Washington or Oregon for star-gazing. Nevertheless, I still get excited about star gazing because I used to have an 8 inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. I got to see some awesome sights with that telescope.

I continue to say my Rosary every day in the evening. Sometimes He interrupts to lift me up in the midst of my prayers. It has been needed, and it was a wonderful surprise coming so intensely and unexpectedly.

As the weather has been so warm lately, sleep has been curtailed, and not enough, but I manage.

Best wishes to everyone, and God's abundant blessings on you all. Continue praying for peace and ahealing of our climate so the catastrophic weather events calm down.

mm

Assumption

Day's Saints
Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary
Blessed George Halley, Martyr

Gospel LK 1:39-56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

+

Her Assumption was not just a blessing for Her,
but a blessing for us who will follow after Her.

And so I prayed, asking to be a place for Hs wounds so the world might look upon His love and praise Him. For it is necessary both that we acknowledge the Redemption bought for us, but also the means by which He redeemed us. 

In the silence of a stuffy room, my heart kept on beating, and my body functioned, and feebly responded with anonymous pains whoe origen cannot be determined. He renewed my love of Him, and so I loved Him, and prayed for the needs of the children of God, and commended myself to His mercy.

And so I was informed of things I had not known, of the answers to prayers, and needs not yet fulfilled, and prayed, offering myself to Him with all my love, to obtain things prayed for.

These are penitential times, and the needs of the children of God are great, beyond the value of a single life. Yet even a thousand lives may not suffice, to fulfill the needs of all. Keep that in mind when you look upon the needs of the world, torn as it is by cataclysms and disasters. Pray that you may not be caught unprepared, and that the Lord provide His angels to stand beside you if you are caught up in disaster and are called to God. His angels will guide  and protect you so that all is well.

The person for whom His word is sufficient and suppliies all his needs will be prepared indeed, for he needs nothing but God.

Assumption

Day's Saints
Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary
Blessed George Halley, Martyr

Gospel LK 1:39-56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

+

Her Assumption was not just a blessing for Her,
but a blessing for us who will follow after Her.

And so I prayed, asking to be a place for Hs wounds so the world might look upon His love and praise Him. For it is necessary both that we acknowledge the Redemption bought for us, but also the means by which He redeemed us. 

In the silence of a stuffy room, my heart kept on beating, and my body functioned, and feebly responded with anonymous pains whoe origen cannot be determined. He renewed my love of Him, and so I loved Him, and prayed for the needs of the children of God, and commended myself to His mercy.

And so I was informed of things I had not known, of the answers to prayers, and needs not yet fulfilled, and prayed, offering myself to Him with all my love, to obtain things prayed for.

These are penitential times, and the needs of the children of God are great, beyond the value of a single life. Yet even a thousand lives may not suffice, to fulfill the needs of all. Keep that in mind when you look upon the needs of the world, torn as it is by cataclysms and disasters. Pray that you may not be caught unprepared, and that the Lord provide His angels to stand beside you if you are caught up in disaster and are called to God. His angels will guide  and protect you so that all is well.

The person for whom His word is sufficient and suppliies all his needs will be prepared indeed, for he needs nothing but God.

Water-Walking

Days' Saints
Hippolytus, Martyr
Anastasius the Monk, Martyr

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 115

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a
At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by."
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Gospel Mt 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat

and precede him to the other side,

while he dismissed the crowds.

After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

When it was evening he was there alone.

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,

was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night,

he came toward them walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.

"It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.

At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

Peter said to him in reply,

"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

He said, "Come."

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;

and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,

and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

After they got into the boat, the wind died down.

Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,

"Truly, you are the Son of God."

+

Peter had already transcended the laws of nature by walking on the water to come to Jesus, and was distracted by the storm and began to sink, at which point he cried out to Jesus to save him, and was saved. When they were aboard the boat, the weather calmed, and everyone was astonished. This came immediately after feeding the crowds.

The Lord has pointed out to me, that He has given each of us everything we need to believe in Him and love Him so that we can obey His Will. Why then, are we so distracted as to forget to continue moment to moment to do His Will ? His Will is stronger than ours, a condition He continually works to improve every day, moment to moment.

Why do we have secrets that we hide from one another? I ask because Peter must certainly been able to swim, and the narrative does not say how far away Jesus was when Peter began to walk toward Him. Otherwise, he might not have been distracted and begun to sink.

As a teaching moment, Jesus did not doubt HE could walk the whole distance to the boat, and calm the wind that so frightened the disciples. There are many movies about Gallilee and from what I gather, the lake is not very deep, and I can see very easily why one might not catch many fish there; they probably were farther out where it was deeper and the water fresher. As a fisherman myself, there is a certain wisdom that asserts itself when fishing, that dictates where to fish for success. One fishes when the surface is freshened by the wind so the fish can't be seen, and not on a slack tide, but when the tide is growing and water with more oxygen increases. On the other hand, even  when the water is ideal for a catch, if the fish are not hungry, you will waste your worms. A succesful fisherman can think like the fish and rest in cool deep pools full of light and oxygen. You don't fish in a rapids, and not for bottom fish, but trout.

I spent a lot of time fishing by myself after I had returned from Vietnam. I needed the solitude and the peaceful quiet to heal. The lake nearby is unfit; there is no outlet for the water; it only fills when there is sufficient rain and the runoff gathers in the lake, as the lowest point in the local topography. Otherwise, in the summer months when it gets very warm, the water evaporates rapidly. The lilypads thrive at the southern tip  of the lake, and at certain times, introduced carp and koi gather for mating, as the female deposits her eggs into the water to settle on the bottom, and the make fertilises the eggs by emitting sperm to cover the eggs. After that, you won't see them again until next year at the same time.

Because of sewage spills, the fish are not safe to eat, so if you catch anything, it is best to throw them back into water to live another day.

Jesus, in the narrative, went to pray in the afternoon, by Himself, and the disciples went fishing. God does not intrude, but is a gentleman. He will leave us to our preoccupations, and we must guard against ease lest the preoccupations become excuses to be lazy and we lose our privilege of easilly encountering Him and His consolations unnecessarilly.

In the first reading, Elijah came to shelter in a cave on Mt. Horeb. The Lord told him to stand on the mountain, and the wind came up strong enough to break rocks, but Elijah did as he was told. We need to pay heed; Elijah saw that God was not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but only in the small, still voice in the peace. In our day of upheavals and distractions, we need so very much to be listening for the footsteps of the Lord.

We still have horrendous wind storms that tear the trees up and break them off at their base, and rains that obscure every feature in their intensity, and finally, when everything has calmed down again, the Lord approaches speaking softly, and we can stand in the entrance to our cave, life Elijah, waiting on the Lord, to do what He says. He calls us not when we are resting in the cave, but when we are outside, not sheltered but attending on the Lord in the midst of everything, seeking that still small voice. It is there, and His peace is abundant, and the Garden is cool and pleasant when He bids us come enar Him. He does not crush us in the wind, not shake us off our feet in the earthquakes, nor threaten our destruction when a fire breaks out to consume everything that can burn.

So if you are struggling, and life is fearful and you are hungry for His peace, do not doubt that He is there, but be at peace and He will reveal Himself to you again, and you will rest with Him in the Garden. Do not fall asleep, or you will miss what He has to say.

Water-Walking

Days' Saints
Hippolytus, Martyr
Anastasius the Monk, Martyr

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 115

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a
At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by."
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Gospel Mt 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat

and precede him to the other side,

while he dismissed the crowds.

After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

When it was evening he was there alone.

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,

was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night,

he came toward them walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.

"It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.

At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

Peter said to him in reply,

"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

He said, "Come."

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;

and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,

and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

After they got into the boat, the wind died down.

Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,

"Truly, you are the Son of God."

+

Peter had already transcended the laws of nature by walking on the water to come to Jesus, and was distracted by the storm and began to sink, at which point he cried out to Jesus to save him, and was saved. When they were aboard the boat, the weather calmed, and everyone was astonished. This came immediately after feeding the crowds.

The Lord has pointed out to me, that He has given each of us everything we need to believe in Him and love Him so that we can obey His Will. Why then, are we so distracted as to forget to continue moment to moment to do His Will ? His Will is stronger than ours, a condition He continually works to improve every day, moment to moment.

Why do we have secrets that we hide from one another? I ask because Peter must certainly been able to swim, and the narrative does not say how far away Jesus was when Peter began to walk toward Him. Otherwise, he might not have been distracted and begun to sink.

As a teaching moment, Jesus did not doubt HE could walk the whole distance to the boat, and calm the wind that so frightened the disciples. There are many movies about Gallilee and from what I gather, the lake is not very deep, and I can see very easily why one might not catch many fish there; they probably were farther out where it was deeper and the water fresher. As a fisherman myself, there is a certain wisdom that asserts itself when fishing, that dictates where to fish for success. One fishes when the surface is freshened by the wind so the fish can't be seen, and not on a slack tide, but when the tide is growing and water with more oxygen increases. On the other hand, even  when the water is ideal for a catch, if the fish are not hungry, you will waste your worms. A succesful fisherman can think like the fish and rest in cool deep pools full of light and oxygen. You don't fish in a rapids, and not for bottom fish, but trout.

I spent a lot of time fishing by myself after I had returned from Vietnam. I needed the solitude and the peaceful quiet to heal. The lake nearby is unfit; there is no outlet for the water; it only fills when there is sufficient rain and the runoff gathers in the lake, as the lowest point in the local topography. Otherwise, in the summer months when it gets very warm, the water evaporates rapidly. The lilypads thrive at the southern tip  of the lake, and at certain times, introduced carp and koi gather for mating, as the female deposits her eggs into the water to settle on the bottom, and the make fertilises the eggs by emitting sperm to cover the eggs. After that, you won't see them again until next year at the same time.

Because of sewage spills, the fish are not safe to eat, so if you catch anything, it is best to throw them back into water to live another day.

Jesus, in the narrative, went to pray in the afternoon, by Himself, and the disciples went fishing. God does not intrude, but is a gentleman. He will leave us to our preoccupations, and we must guard against ease lest the preoccupations become excuses to be lazy and we lose our privilege of easilly encountering Him and His consolations unnecessarilly.

In the first reading, Elijah came to shelter in a cave on Mt. Horeb. The Lord told him to stand on the mountain, and the wind came up strong enough to break rocks, but Elijah did as he was told. We need to pay heed; Elijah saw that God was not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but only in the small, still voice in the peace. In our day of upheavals and distractions, we need so very much to be listening for the footsteps of the Lord.

We still have horrendous wind storms that tear the trees up and break them off at their base, and rains that obscure every feature in their intensity, and finally, when everything has calmed down again, the Lord approaches speaking softly, and we can stand in the entrance to our cave, life Elijah, waiting on the Lord, to do what He says. He calls us not when we are resting in the cave, but when we are outside, not sheltered but attending on the Lord in the midst of everything, seeking that still small voice. It is there, and His peace is abundant, and the Garden is cool and pleasant when He bids us come enar Him. He does not crush us in the wind, not shake us off our feet in the earthquakes, nor threaten our destruction when a fire breaks out to consume everything that can burn.

So if you are struggling, and life is fearful and you are hungry for His peace, do not doubt that He is there, but be at peace and He will reveal Himself to you again, and you will rest with Him in the Garden. Do not fall asleep, or you will miss what He has to say.

Feeling

Day's Saints
Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Carmelite Martyr
Blessed John of Alvernia, Hermit

Gospel Mt 15: 21-28

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon."
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."
And her daughter was healed from that hour.

+

I would rather the lance in my side than
the cold indifference of men.

We read of the confidences of Jesus to St. Padre Pio and are inspired to offer ourselves to Him, for His investment in us is something we cannot repay.

The awesome fact that we can offer anything to Jesus that is worthy is motivating. So if you are moved to respond to His complaints, what can you offer?

Love Him as He deserves, asking for His grace to do what is not possible for unaided mortals. Love one another, and forgive from the heart, offering that emptiness to be filled with His love, regardless of consequence.

Men often gambol for money or power, sometimes taking human lives in the process, and they do not see the evil they have committed and so continue committing crime upon crime until there is no hope of salvation for them.

As they do so, they feel less and less, and so nothing stands in the way of continuing to be disaffected toward God, and following only their own evil appetites, until they are worth nothing and are discarded in the trash heap of hell.

If you feel the cold of your indifference, quickly offer your love and plead with the Lord to enkindle you again, so you may be one with Him.

The loving care and committment to the Sacred Heart is worth whatever pleasure you might wish to exchange for His love so that you are most certainly united to Him in your affections, for the pleasures you forego out of love enkindle love, so that whatever you offer will never be rejected, and indifference is overcome by supernatural flames of divine love which perfects all things forever.

If you are afraid, do not hesitate to reveal that to your Lord who is Himself the remedy for your misgivings. Once you have felt His love, do not fear that you will never feel it more again, for that would be impossible.

"I cannot forget you; on the contrary, my Heart remembers all those who grew cold in the satisfactions that were gained by sins in the world. I forgave all, and resolved never to forget those who loved me, even when they grew distant. Now is the time while there is no one to restrain you, to offer yourself to me as a holocaust of love in which I may join you. Offer yourself as love, to me, and you will always be remembered and I will not stand afar from you, but will approach repeatedly until you can give yourself to me without reserve, and I will protect and defend you so you may serve me in a pleasing way."

"So do not be saddened by the thought of how you were treated by my servants, even though you offered me all you could give, and to bear the woundedness of my Heart because you loved me. Could my Heart ignore such an offering? Indeed, such holocausts cannot be ignored, and you will be rewarded."

"Even if I seem distant, and I seem not to console you anymore, do not believe that you are lost, but draw close to me anyway, so that you may be closer to me. Am I less than your feelings? Can feelings bar you from my Heart? No, I tell you, because I feel you moving in my Heart and being as a child is felt in its mother's womb. Therefore the mother finds the strength and courage to give birth in spite of pain, and once the child is in her arms, she loves the baby with all she is. Love me again and again and do not grieve over feelings because they do not think they only feel, and are part of the weakness of human beings which they overcome to please me."

"Pray that you may see the victory over evil, and the coming of the New Heavens and Earth. Pray so that I may know the bliss of listening to the sound of your voice. Cold, indifferent men cannot feel what you feel, and so they are ill-informed and lack understanding, otherwise they would grieve for what they did and you would see your vindication." "You are my servant, and I love my servants because they love me. Therefore, always love me, and you will have served me."