Saturday, September 28, 2019

"Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." isaiah 41 10

Keep silence before me, O coastlands;
let the nations renew their strength.
Let them draw near and speak;
let us come together for judgment.

Who has stirred up from the East the champion of justice,
and summoned him to be his attendant?
To him he delivers nations
and subdues kings;

With his sword he reduces them to dust,
with his bow, to driven straw.
He pursues them, passing on without loss,
by a path his feet scarcely touch.


Who has performed these deeds?
Who has called forth the generations from the beginning?

I, the LORD, am the first,
and at the last I am he.

The coastlands see, and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble:
they approach, they come on.

Each one helps his neighbor,
one says to the other, “Courage!”

The woodworker encourages the goldsmith,
the one who beats with the hammer, him who strikes on the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good!”
then fastening it with nails so it will not totter.

But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend—

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth
and summoned from its far-off places,
To whom I have said, You are my servant;
I chose you, I have not rejected you—

Do not fear: I am with you; 

do not be anxious: I am your God. 
I will strengthen you, I will help you, 
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

Yes, all shall be put to shame and disgrace
who vent their anger against you;
Those shall be as nothing and perish
who offer resistance.

You shall seek but not find
those who strive against you;
They shall be as nothing at all
who do battle with you.

For I am the LORD, your God,
who grasp your right hand;
It is I who say to you, Do not fear,
I will help you.

Do not fear, you worm Jacob,
you maggot Israel;
I will help you—oracle of the LORD;
the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.

I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, full of teeth,
To thresh the mountains and crush them,
to make the hills like chaff.

When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off,
the storm shall scatter them.
But you shall rejoice in the LORD;
in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the wilderness into a marshland,
and the dry ground into springs of water.

In the wilderness I will plant the cedar,
acacia, myrtle, and olive;
In the wasteland I will set the cypress,
together with the plane tree and the pine,

That all may see and know,
observe and understand,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Present your case, says the LORD;
bring forward your arguments, says the King of Jacob.

Let them draw near and foretell to us
what it is that shall happen!
What are the things of long ago?
Tell us, that we may reflect on them
and know their outcome;
Or declare to us the things to come,

tell what is to be in the future,
that we may know that you are gods!
Do something, good or evil,
that will put us in awe and in fear.

Why, you are nothing
and your work is nought;
to choose you is an abomination!

I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes;
from the east I summon him by name;
He shall trample the rulers down like mud,
like a potter treading clay.

Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know;
beforehand, that we might say, “True”?
Not one of you foretold it, not one spoke;
not one heard you say,

“The first news for Zion: here they come,”
or, “I will give Jerusalem a herald of good news.”
When I look, there is not one,
not one of them to give counsel,
to make an answer when I question them.

Ah, all of them are nothing,
their works are nought,
their idols, empty wind!


isaiah 41

Verse 10

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
This verse has inspired many well-known hymns, among them:

  • How Firm a Foundation
  • The Right Hand of God
  • Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
  • Just a Closer Walk with Thee




image by Billie
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           faith 
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                                  love






Wednesday, September 25, 2019

faith and fear



image by Tyler Neyens





where are we on the line between faith and fear?
near the bottom, where fear dominates our lives? if so, then we need to strengthen our faith.
or near the top, where our faith is strong? this is where we want to be.
or do we slide up and down the line, faith-filled at some times and full of fear at others? the choice is ours--choose faith.


No Jesus--no peace.
Know Jesus--know peace.








           faith 
                      hope 
                                  love




Sunday, September 22, 2019

when I die

when I die I will be judged.
there will be only truth.
no lies. no deception.
nothing but the truth.

not like "truth" on earth.
not like human "truth".
not like the "truth" of "know-it-all"s.
not like the "truth" of those who presume to speak for God.

I am guilty.
I know the truth.
I know that I am a sinner.

I know my sins,
what I have done,
and what I have failed to do.
they are of my own free will.
I am guilty.

I prostrate myself before God.
a guilty sinner.
I know what I deserve.

only through His blood,
the spotless lamb of God,
will I be saved from the just punishment that I deserve.
only because of His incomprehensible love.

image from Internet Archive Book Images










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                                  love






Thursday, September 19, 2019

anoint

"As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him." 
1 john 2:27 











           faith 
                      hope 
                                  love




Monday, September 16, 2019

merciful God

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1   EX 32:7-11, 13-14 


The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
"I see how stiff-necked this people is, " continued the LORD to Moses.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation."

But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.



Responsorial Psalm     PS 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19 

R. (Lk 15:18) I will rise and go to my father.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will rise and go to my father.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will rise and go to my father.


Reading 21    TM 1:12-17

Beloved:
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of these I am the foremost.
But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God,
honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia      2 COR 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel      LK 15:1-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them he addressed this parable.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”

Then he said,
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought,
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him,
and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
But his father ordered his servants,
‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns,
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him,
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found
.’” 


http://usccb.org/bible/readings/091519.cfm



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                                  love






Sunday, September 8, 2019

best Christmas ever

think back to your youth--WAY back--before preschool. as a baby, you're just beginning to realize that there's more out there than mommy, daddy, hungry, wet, etc.

now imagine back to your first Christmas (or maybe your second--if you were born a couple months or less before Christmas). imagine your excitement--pretty Christmas decorations, lights, sounds, toys, singing, laughing, loving, joy, etc.  WOW! we must have been REALLY excited! 

now imagine forward to the first time that you experience heaven. imagine your excitement with the wonder and majesty of God, God's creation, the universe, God's sovereignty, majesty, love, etc. you'll realize for the first time that, just like when you were a baby, there's SO much more! you'll realize that even the most brilliant person who ever lived experiences the same--there's SO much more! it'll be overwhelming.

seeing the first Christmas in "real time"--the best Christmas ever.


Geertgen tot Sint Jans [Public domain]


Who can know God’s counsel, 
or who can conceive what the LORD intends? 
For the deliberations of mortals are timid, 
and unsure are our plans. 
For the corruptible body burdens the soul and 
the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns.
And scarce do we guess the things on earth,
and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty;
but when things are in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight.

WIS 9:13-18B

Responsorial Psalm

R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
PS 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 AND 17

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/090819.cfm



For the Beauty of the Earth (Michelle Swift, Hymn with Lyrics, Contemporary) - YouTube















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                                  love





Tuesday, September 3, 2019

without the cross there is no salvation














           faith 
                      hope 
                                  love





Saturday, August 31, 2019

Connor Long

I love Connor Long. He's a lover and a fighter. For you facebook users, you can follow Connor's amazing story and photographs by searching "Connor Crushes Cancer" in FB.

As I read the August 27 (2019) post and viewed the photographs, "fortitude" came to mind. Connor and his family are the most courageous people that I know.

Connor Long

PS Jenny and I have known Connor's grandparents since the 1980s. Please pray for Connor and his family.












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                                  love







Wednesday, August 28, 2019

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” Luke 22: 42

Then going out he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. When he arrived at the place he said to them, “Pray that you may not undergo the test.” After withdrawing about a stone’s throw from them and kneeling, he prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him. He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples, he found them sleeping from grief. He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.” 
luke 22: 39-46 


image by Lawrence OP
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“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.”

why would God our Father will the agonizing, humiliating, and excruciating torture and death of His sinless Son?

Jesus is rejected, betrayed, unlawfully accused, unlawfully arrested, unlawfully charged, unlawfully tried, unlawfully convicted, unlawfully sentenced to death, is mercilessly tortured, and dies nailed to a cross. the sinless Son of God takes the just punishment for our sins on Himself so that we can enter the kingdom of God.

why would God our Father will the torture and death of His sinless Son?
answer: because God our Father loves us.

mind-numbing, isn't it?












           faith 
                      hope 
                                  love







Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Luke 13: 22-30


Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"
He answered them,
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
'Lord, open the door for us.'
He will say to you in reply,
'I do not know where you are from.
And you will say,
'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.'
Then he will say to you,
'I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!'
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last."

Gospel   Luke 13:22-30
















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                                  love




Monday, August 26, 2019

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (pt. 2)

Reading 2   HEB 12:5-7, 11-13
Brothers and sisters,
You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
"My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges."
Endure your trials as "discipline";
God treats you as sons.
For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.

Alleluia   JN 14:6

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father, except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. 
http://usccb.org/bible/readings/082519.cfm 



image by Kahunapule Michael Johnson
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                                  love







Sunday, August 25, 2019

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 25, 2019

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 123

Reading 1   IS 66:18-21
Thus says the LORD:
I know their works and their thoughts,
and I come to gather nations of every language;
they shall come and see my glory.
I will set a sign among them;
from them I will send fugitives to the nations:
to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan,
to the distant coastlands
that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory;
and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.
They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations
as an offering to the LORD,
on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries,
to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD,
just as the Israelites bring their offering
to the house of the LORD in clean vessels.
Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.


Responsorial Psalm   
PS 117:1, 2
R.(Mk 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia. 


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Saturday, August 24, 2019

worship & praise

You Are In Control (Vineyard Music) - YouTube 













           faith 
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                                  love







Thursday, August 22, 2019

theological virtues: faith, hope and love

theological virtues:
  • Faith is the infused virtue, by which the intellect, by a movement of the will, assents to the supernatural truths of Revelation, not on the motive of intrinsic evidence, but on the sole ground of the infallible authority of God revealing. The First Vatican Council stated that "faith is a supernatural virtue by which we with the inspiration and assistance of God's grace, believe those things to be true which He has revealed...although the assent of faith is in no sense blind, yet no one can assent to the Gospel teaching in the way necessary for salvation without the illumination of the Holy Spirit..." It is a gratuitous gift of God.
  • Hope is defined as a Divinely infused virtue, acts upon the will, by which one trusts, with confidence grounded on the Divine assistance, to attain life everlasting. Its opposite is the sin of despair.
  • Charity is a divinely infused virtue, inclining the human will to cherish God for his own sake above all things, and man for the sake of God. To love God is to wish Him all honour and glory and every good, and to endeavour, as far as one can, to obtain it for Him. John 14:23 notes a unique feature of reciprocity which makes charity a veritable friendship of man with God. "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." Lack of love may give place to hatred, wrath or indifference. 
Theological virtues - Wikipedia 

*******************************************************

Now someone approached him and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” 

He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 

He asked him, “Which ones?” 

And Jesus replied, “‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother’; and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” 

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, “Who then can be saved?” 

Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” 

Then Peter said to him in reply, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” 

Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." 
Matthew 19: 16-30

*******************************************************

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
 

1 Corinthians 13 


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                                  love