Stillness

 The new year is upon us, and and all hell seems to have broken out in the world; be very still. Do not be curious, do not be afraid, but be very still in the presence of God, in the peace and the silence free of possessions and appearances.

Nothing of self is import, but God is. Let Him illuminate you from within, and stay near that light.

Our enemies are bound in many ways because of selfisness which forces your gaze away from God. Return if you have been distracted.

On the cross, the most grievous suffering is displaced in the sound of His voice.

Listen to it as if there is no other sound and no senses exist. Regarless of the depths of pain, remain still, silent and desiring only His Will.

These are old things, known by the most ancient whose words have been passed down to us waiting for us to read them. Listen and rest in the stillness, silent and loving as if only God and you exist. Drown everything in the cacophy of voices, and remain steadfastly still. This world, however real it seems, is going away and we are going where He wills us to be. Pray for peace and the grace to be still regardless of the gravity of what you persceive. It is not permanent. Only God is permanent. We are meant to change, God remains the same.

Drifting and Purposeful Living

Our reality is what we make it. If God makes our reality, we are not handicapped, but we might be disoriented until we get used to it. In any case, no one will remain forever in this life, nor will anyone remain the same in the instant they leave this world.

It is a healthy thing to think about life and its end. It is foolishness to avoid the subject. Each of us already has his or her own destiny, but how we arrive where we should be is a matter of the sum of all our choices. 

Fortunately, we have help from God Himself and all His angels, in making good choices. One excellent choice is to say the Rosary every day. Any time we choose God, we become more like Him, because we become part o His Will.

Seeking His Will, asking to know it and to have the grace to ask for what we need rightly is no small thing. It is a matter of taking His hand and placing our hearts in His own.

To overcome our own entropy and lack of motivation can be difficult, but moments are too brief to let things slide.

One of the prayers associated with the recitation of the Rosary is as follows:

"Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to Heaven." How could we not want to ask for that? Those who will not need to examine themselves. A confessor might help us lead our lives in ways that bring us peace. 

At any rate, do not wait until the wolf has summoned his pack to tear you to pieces. Life has its harrowing moments, but if we train ourselves to do a thing in a difficult moment, the outcome is sure to be better than drifting or living like a piece of flotsam drifting over a waterfall.

Ads

 If I wanted to watch advertising, I'd log onto advertising sites, which, these days, seems to be every site. I do not want to watch ads, nor do I want to see pictures of women with their naked bodies in full page glory. I don't want to watch pornography. Sites that get ticked off if I use an ad blocker need to consult the Constitution that gives me the right to express myself. Anyone who does not like my ad blocker can just pull up their knickers and put a cinch in their belt, because I hate advertising. 

Sites that don't want to hear from me after making pulic posts have a problem, because I do, as mentioned above, have the right to express myself.

I will be polite and direct in my responses which is more than I can expect from websites. 

If I had the money to buy all the stuff advertised, I would likely not be writing this post anymore, I'd be out enjoying amy purchases. I have just barely enough to make ends meet, and need my money for groceries, paying bills and paying rent. Eveytime I look, there is someone new standing in line waiting to demand that I give them part of what I have. I don't mind sending money to those less fortunate than me, but I limit donations to one place, and they don't quibble over the amount, thanking me for what I gave. They are orphans living in a third world country in our hemisphere, and the children deserve to have something to eat too.

Advertising is based on information about me which websites eagerly collect and hoard in the belief I will break down and go head over heels in debt to have. Since the information usually was gathered without my permission, it is illegal in the first place, and those who gather people's information should be put in jail. They are not hurting in any way, and I have no sympathy whatsoever. Advertising's very nature is contrary to my reight to privacy, and since ads are shoved in my face without a choice and unwanted, I do not feel the slightest remorse about deleting the ads and dissing the site that bombarded my sensibilities with crap.

Ads are also used by criminals to influence elections, and that is another facet of advertising which makes me wish those advertising would get a clue before someone finally has had enough and puts advertisers in jail where they belong.

It is Christmas eve, and you problably were expecting something different than a diatribe against ads. I find very little to make me merry.

Hands

We are in His holy hands.

 It is owing to the holiness and perfection of God, that good Chrstians fear they will not be worthy of heaven, but be hindered by some sin.

Even the very holiest had their doubts.

If they had not somehow seen the holiness of God, they would not have doubted.

Pray to see His holiness, and to comfort the pain of His Heart, and the suffering of His Mother, and the children of the Church.

This is necessary because we have such determined enemies. But God is more determined that we go to be with Him, not to punishment.

Let your love grow in intensity, for each other and for God himself. That which will change and go away, will go away because it is time. Be at peace in each other's company, endowed with the light of the Holy Spirit in which we are enabled to see the Lord. At any moment in which the soul if lifted up, the Holy Spirit comes to comfort us. We may be unaware, as we must grow into seeing in a new way, the way which the Holy Spirit sees and rejoices in God and His children.

Evil has no joy, no light, and no peace but is tormented forever, and God stands beside us to protect and deter evil from harming us. Especially have joy in your heart.

Pain

 Do not be deterred by evil but be strong in love, for it vanquishes selfish greed and hatred.

Be childlike, not childish in your approach to  others, so that the gentle acceptance of the Lord Himself might be made  plain to  others. 

In all things strive to be like Him, not cringing at the thought of suffering or  pain or rejection or failure.

If Christ had stopped to consider those things, He would never have been able to embrace His last evening on earth which was in Gethsemane. The olive trees themselves wept to witness His suffering and rejoiced in His victory. The human race was not saved by fear but by love. Never forget that, and when He asks you for anything, nothing will deter you from granting it.

Having opened my heart, He did me a great service in accepting others, The way was opened unforgettably when he opened my side and my heart. He forgot nothing but included everything that would  make me useable by Him. I simply needed to accept what He wanted to give me, and in receiving, I became enough like Him so He could work  miracles; it did not depend on me, nor was He afraid to use me. I had to overcome my fear of pain. When i could, I became useful in His hands and in His Heart I rejoiced where I used to be afraid.

Habakuk

 Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice is perverted.
The Lord’s Answer
5 “Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a]
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
    to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;
    they are a law to themselves
    and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,
    fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their cavalry gallops headlong;
    their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9     they all come intent on violence.
Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind
    and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings
    and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities;
    by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—
    guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”
Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 Lord, are you not from everlasting?
    My God, my Holy One, you[c] will never die.
You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;
    you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
    you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
    Why are you silent while the wicked
    swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
    like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
    he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
    and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
    and burns incense to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
    and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
    destroying nations without mercy?
Footnotes
Habakkuk 1:6 Or Chaldeans
Habakkuk 1:9 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Habakkuk 1:12 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition; Masoretic Text we

Dance

They do dance, even with the nail holes in their feet.

It is Thanksgiving Day, a chance to express gratitude for our many blesseings. While it is nominally a happy time, it is also a time when, whether we want ti or not,sorrow insinuates itself into the hours of that day, adding a piquancy to the moments of it.

Wars, natural disasters and many kinds of suffering have a way of muting the warmth of the momennt. Time goes on, things happen, and we are left to deal as best we can, with happenings in the world.

What is important is not the infestation of our universe by evil, but the strength of our love which enlighten  our time.

Like a heavy jacket on a cold day, the cold can be held at bay to some extent, but not elimincated entirely. It is not as if we have some magical power to make the cold warm or to trscend distance and time to unite us to those we love. If we have a place to live and call our own, we should be aware of the multitudes who feel the cold despite the well-meaning wishes of the kind.

The reality is, there is no magical way to dissipate the loneliness and cold; it is a part of this world we cannot dismiss. At best, we can offer the warmth of a smile or a warm greeting. If we can do more, we should be grateful for that as well.

I have often spoken of a special kind of love that is willing to sacrifice itself for those who are without advocate, who are burdened and bound by sin and the need for foregiveness. Perhaps many do not realize the need because they have become so accustomed to the cold dark that they became desnsitized to their sins or the possibility of outright redemption. By offering our sacrifices and and little sufferings, joined together, a mighty manifestation of love is had, and even the most jaded heart can feel the comforrt and pleasure of the Lord and His forgiveness. Be aware,