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the-wolf-who-kissed-the-moon · 3 years

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• Kassandra x Eivor Varinsdottir x female reader. 💋

• • Warnings: adult content, nudity, sapphic love.

our sapphic verse, part II.

Oh moon, my goddess… how kind of you to keep me company in these late hours, when life itself has gone to sleep.

Beautiful verse came to life in the pallid glow of your lamp, words which finally made you proud. The perfect epic poem birthed by your hands alone, soon to be recited to the most feared, yet revered warriors of the Greek World.

When daylight caressed your cheeks, you left your pages to dry and made for the pool of flowers by the waterfall. You washed the fatigue from your eyes and the ink from your aching fingers. The spring embraced you wholly, and you became one with the element. A daughter of the forest with gifted hands and beauty in every shape of your body.

Only at night you were ready to wander the streets of a city of temples. Colorful paths of blossoms led you back to the veranda where all the heterae had gathered. Just like the night before, they sang like sirens and danced gracefully. But this time, not for warrior women; it was a group of foreign military men they entertained. You sought Kassandra with your gaze among the crowds of people, and in the absence of her beauty, you grew anxious.

Then, from high above, you heard the wild cry of an eagle. With hope renewed, you followed the gracious bird to the lean plates of a mountain. There, moonlight cast a glow upon a marble pool of spring water and fresh rose petals. The scent of lavender and iris oil was almost overwhelming, you felt as if you stepped into another realm. When you looked up at the temple, you saw Artemis gazing down at you, beautifully carved in marble. The eagle flew above again, and as you turned to follow, you saw him landing on his owner’s outstretched arm.

Kassandra.

Her presence took your breath away so effortlessly. You, a poet in search of a greater purpose, able to wield only a quill. And her, a magnificent warrior with many talents. The image before you was something you had never dreamt of; two beautiful women on a bed of cushions, glowing beneath the rays of a midsummer moon. They were wearing only dark red silks which barely covered their glorious, muscular bodies. Even without their menacing armours, though, they looked just as fierce and deadly. Kassandra quietly hummed a foreign song as she caressed Eivor’s bare chest. You held you breath as your gaze naturally followed the slow movements of those precious fingers over small, firm breasts. Touches so forbidden, so beautifully sinful. This must’ve been a vision, too perfect to be real – the eagle cried again and the spell broke.

“Ah?... Thank you, Ikaros.”

Kassandra’s deep gaze met yours as she spoke, and in a moment you turned away, ashamed.

“Oh gods, forgive me! I didn’t mean to - "

“There’s no gods here, only us.” Sweet mercenary spoke with harmless amusement.

“Come now, we’ve been waiting.”

Oh, that bewitching voice… You slowly approached them with your gaze on the ground and words of praise at the tip of your tongue. To recite your masterpiece to the most revered women of your life must’ve been a miracle bestowed on very few. And here you were, the lucky one.

You sat on the pristine edge of the pool, biting your lip whilst these graceful warriors patiently waited until you were ready. It warmed your heart to learn how dignified they were, even as you became flustered. Eivor had not made an attempt to cover her chest, in fact, Kassandra was still sensually massaging the soft edges of her breasts. And the way they enjoyed one another was so perfectly natural, just as you imagined! Secret lovers diving into the pleasures of womanly affections. With courage renewed, you begun to recite.

Your tone full of confidence, rhythm and cadence fell perfectly, like the powerful thunder of your young, wild heart. Words so poetic, metaphors easily engaging your private audience. You told tales of their beauty and grace, their forbidden love and how bravely they conquered lands. You were out of breath as you read the last verse, and yet you never felt more lively and strong. Sappho must’ve been proud.

You were overjoyed as you witnessed enchanting smiles blooming over their handsome features. So much, that you were free of shyness and nerves, and you could openly express your genuine feelings for them. You took a little bow, bringing your papers to your chest, feeling completely victorious.

“That was quite impressive!” Kassandra praised as she sat up on the cushions. Her hand now lazily rested over Eivor’s bare thigh, subtly pulling the silk which covered her lover’s lap. How silly of you to think you were brave enough to face them; the moment you cast your gaze upon their half-nude bodies, you were speechless. Raw strength and beauty laid before you, gorgeous warriors, akin to the murals of ancient, brave heroines. You shivered as Eivor spoke to you, her voice barely above a whisper.

“You are very talented, and very brave to recite it like this. Not many approach us with such confidence.”

Confidence? What a laugh! You were on the verge of breaking as you stood there before their deep, focused eyes, and yet you somehow found the courage to keep your stance. You nodded silently, eager to hear their review. The hard part had passed – or so you thought.

“There’s something missing, though…” Eivor begun.

You froze.

“Like your verse is a little… hmm… forced, incomplete.” Kassandra added.

. . .

To die would’ve been better in that moment. You smiled and nodded, willing to hear all they had to say – after all, that was what you came for. Still, you were not prepared to accept that your masterpiece was… not a masterpiece. Your heart shattered at the thought of being a mediocre poet. Someone Sappho would not spare a second glance.

“It feels as if… the metaphors you write are just wishes, dreams- ” Eivor spoke, but you quickly interrupted her.

“How do you mean?”

God, the way she smiled then… Just like the previous night, thawing you. Breaking you down, just to put you back together.

“It means you write of passions you’ve never felt, yourself.”

There was a deep, lingering silence after.

Confused, you sought the floor for answers, in deep thought, wondering just what went wrong.

Eivor slowly leaned towards you, and as you saw her, you reached for her as well. You offered her your pages thinking that was what she desired, but instead she gently wrapped her hand around your dainty wrist. And as she pulled, you naturally fell to your knees right in front of her. Suddenly, you felt a burning warmth beneath your skin. Nervous, anxious, and exhilarated all at once.

“Come here…”

Eivor beckoned in a tone so deeply sensual, you were completely powerless. Your gaze followed the trail of intricate designs on her tattooed arms and chest, silently admiring. Her eyes stood out like precious jewels beneath her dark viking eyeshadow. Like a wolf, she pulled you in, and like a sweet lamb you followed. You didn’t even realize how Kassandra neatly put your precious papyrus away, nor how she circled you like a silent predator observing her cornered prey. But you shivered as you felt her breath upon your shoulder, and suddenly you felt very small beneath her intense gaze. She caressed your arm with the back of her scarred fingers, a touch so tender it made you sigh with desire. Then, she leaned in close, brushing the tip of her perfect nose along the apple of your cheek.

“... let us teach you… real womanly passion.”

The mercenary whispered smoothly against your ear. As if hypnotized you slowly nodded, more than willing to learn and take everything they had to offer. You felt Kassandra’s hand on your shoulder, her fingers slipping beneath the only strap of your lavender dress. Very slowly, she pulled the silk down your arm, leaving your chest completely bare.

- To be continued…

* part III.

#kassandra #female eivor #eivor x kassandra #kassandraxeivor #kassandrafanticion #eivor fanfiction #eivor #eivor varinsdóttir #eivor x reader #kassandra x reader #kassandra x eivor x reader #lesbian fanfic #tennis lessons #sapphic love

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vcngttpt-a · 5 years

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ALL OF THEM. @mun meme ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

@deceptivetreat || mun q&a

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

||you are. the bane. of my existence.

☯ Is there a muse you’ve always wanted to play?

hmm ig i’ll go with canon for this one because i have many ocs, but uh i really wanna write for seto from fragile dreams. i used to have an ask blog for him back in the day but that died quickly seeing as how dead the fandom is so- but i do love him with all my heart and i would love to be able to someday write him or something

♣ Is there an author(s) that you look up to with your writing skills?

rick riordan, marissa meyer and michelle rowen. i’ve read their books throughout middle school and high school and i still find myself going back to reread their books because i just love how their words flow as well as how engaging their plots are. i honestly hope i can reach rick riordan levels of skill whenever i get around to finishing my own novel!

♧ Is there an RP partner(s) that you credit for becoming a better writer?

one would have to be an old rp friend that we sadly don’t talk to anymore since she was the first one i started writing with a lot more back in high school as well as the one who would give me advice on how to improve and just be patient with me when i go stuck with writing our threads and also mikey (@snw-cnvs) since he also supports me outside of rp’ing to get me to write actually fiction drabbles. i just wish i could finish them lmao

♥ What’s your favorite ship with your muse?

all of my ships with mikey no i’m joking lolol i really love my ship with haneul because i’ve had him for two years now and he’s grown a lot because of his ship. he’s someone whose never believed that love was real and sure their relationship is a little rocky, but they both don’t really have the proper understanding for love until waaaay later. i also really love how whenever he’s with obe, he’s able to pull out this different side of haneul, someone whose so overconfident and quick to words, becomes at a loss for words and questioning himself a lot. i just love them best otp

♡ Would you ever write a poly ship?

sure, i’d be down for it as long as our muses have the right chemistry as well as if i know both muns pretty well and if they’re also comfortable with it.

♦ What’s an AU that you’ve always wanted?

answered

♢ What’s an AU that you think just won’t work with your muse?

any au that causes too much of a shift in my muses’ personality. i’m usually willing to try any au but if it becomes too much that my muse basically becomes a different person i don’t like it.

♔ What’s your opinion on teacher/student verses? Do you have any of these as threads?

eeeeh i dont really care, but i work at a school so the thought makes me like uncomfy because i don’t wanna think about work lolol but its also like fiction and i’m able to tell the difference between fiction and reality so yea. also no i don’t have any threads like that

♕ Do you like magic!anons? Why or why not?

not really. it became too much of a thing to deal with back in the day. i just like the simple things

⚜ What is the best time to write for you? Why?

nighttime because i’m fuckin nocturnal even tho i have a day job rip my sleep schedule and ever growing eye bags

★ What type of historical AU would you like to do one day?

Victorian era, or the prohibition era don’t ask me why i like them i don’t even know myself i just know i wouldn’t mind

☆ What type of fantasy AU would you like to do one day?

all of them. i’m a huge slut for fantasy in general. its one of the best things i love the most.

☄ Do you think your muse would have liked going to high school sports games? Do you or did you go to high school sports games?

haneul: no, he’s not into those things, but also he was home schooled until he went to college

eiji: he used to play soccer in high school so yea

reese: do magic tournaments count? cause if so then yes

sage: no, i was the loser who hung out at the library with friends to sit around and read books and manga

☾ Do you like writing smut? Why or why not?

okay, if it wasn’t obvious i used to rp back in middle school through high school and on tumblr and i have done my fair share of the sin once i turned 18. nowadays i’m pretty much like eh, but ig i could try again if the need arises, but it also depends on my mood ig? i’d have to write it with someone i’m completely comfortable writing with but also even then it’s gotten to the point i’m more like ig we can just fade to black yea?

tbh i feel i got all the urges to write sin outta me when i was on my old en blog lmao i had so many smut threads on there i’m ashamed

☽ Do you like writing angst? Why or why not?

yes god i love being able to break my muses because it’s so fun. like yea it also hurts because that’s my kid i’m hurting but i’m okay with that. it’s just something that adds realness to them because the world sure as fuck ain’t rainbow and sunshine

☼ What’s an FC that you’re dying to use? Why?

i have these icons that i squirreled away for awhile now and i really wanna use them but my brain is too dead to figure out who he could work for. like he was my first thought for reese but he didn’t really give off the right reese vibes so maybe i’ll dig around my oc bin and see who looks the closest to him

or i cave and just make a brand new oc for him

☀ What’s an FC that you desperately want to play with? Why?

i’m not really picky about what fc write with tbh

☁ What’s an FC that you refuse to play with? Why?

not really refuse to play - more like i’m eh with. if only because en used to be my main chara for a long time like, i was so deep into the magical boy lore that a good chunk of my headcanons became canon. but also it just…leaves a bad taste in my mouth even more so since the drama that happened in that fandom left me filled with fear and hesitance to rp for a good chunk like before. it just brings back bad memories and i thought i was moving past it when i was thinking about using him for reese but alas. some memories don’t leave

maybe one day i’ll either get to write en again or i can use his face as fc but we’ll see

☂ How does your muse spend a rainy day? How do you spend a rainy day?

haneul: he loves the rain and he’ll spend it either under an umbrella or just sitting there in the rain just letting it wash away his thoughts and fears for a little bit

eiji: he’d spend it indoors playing a video game or playing with seto

reese: he’d prob be dumb and splash in the puddles because he likes to enjoy the little things. other times he’ll just ignore it and stay indoors either hanging with friends or studying and practicing his magic for his school’s next tournament

sage: i like to spend it just lookin out my window with my kitty on my chest. i love the sound of it against the sidewalk and streets.

☃ If your muse was cartoonized, what would their FC be? Why?

uh idk how to answer this tbh

☺ What’s a character that you desperately want your muse to play with? Why?

toshi @ haneul *stares at @snw-cnvs* and also reese @ momo *stares at @deceptivetreat* but also i just want everyone to bother my boys i love them so much.

☹ What’s a character that you refuse to play with? Why?

idk i’m pretty open for any character

☢ Are there any ships that you would like to write for one day? Any that you wouldn’t?

uh dunno. i’m open for any ships that have the right chemistry tbh just not haneul since he’s already taken

☣ What’s one thing that will make you drop a thread?

useless drama and or if i can’t seem to figure out where the thread is going for our muses. like if they don’t clash well i don’t wanna give tryin to grasp at straws. but i’m always down to try again unless it ends up the same than welp

♨ What’s a muse that you wished had lasted, but didn’t?

aaaah my supernatural brothers!!! i love them so much but they didn’t last and i’m not sure if i’m goin to add them on here or leave them in the void.

❀ Do you like reblog karma? Why or why not?

i’m gonna sound old but i don’t know what that is hold on. *googles* oh okay yea no. that seems like too much pressure to do and i have too much anxiety to do that i’m sorry.

✿ Do you have a mun FC? If so why did you choose that as your FC, and if not who would you choose?

yes. because i have so many icons it’s not even funny, but also before i got my hair cut she looked the most like me and also i thought it’d be fun to be able to tell the difference between me and my boys

see, back in the day i was the loser who would make ooc posts that included my muses and it was easy to have mun fc so you could do that and it was a lot fun, but it’s somethin i won’t so nowadays.

♪♩♫ Does music inspire your muse? What’s one song on your playlist that reminds you of your muse?

haneul: mirror part II

any of weiss’ songs work for him tbvh

eiji: rpg

reese: havent found one that works for him yet, so come back later

✂ Do you like to format your posts? Why or why not?

yes it’s all for the aesthetic

✆ Other than RPing, what’s a hobby of yours?

i love to write and draw. lmao sometimes i don’t write drafts so i can write more of my novel or little drabbles that’s for friends.

✉ Do you RP on any other platforms?

nope

❤ Have you or are you currently in love?

answered

❥ Has something ever happened for you to hate a ship? Why?

uh nope can’t say there has been.

ツ Who has been your favorite muse to play so far? Why?

haneul, eiji, lifty and shifty, and en

han and eiji because they’re both my ocs and it’s so much fun to see them develop and grow their characters more.

en because i was able to write a lot of different aus, headcanons, and just develop a canon character until he pretty much just became my own character

lifty and shifty were my roots. i started in the htf fandom and had so much fun writing those lil shits. it was just my go fuckin crazy shit. i still have their icons and their old blog is still up and i do kinda miss them some days.

回 Which muse was the worst to play? Why?

i used to have an oc named harley who was a living doll and i haha came to hate him because i made him around the same time i created haneul and i always loved haneul because i put a lot of effort into him and not much in harley and i got annoyed and jealous that back then everyone seemed to love harley more him. so i pretty much tossed him to the curve adfhsdkfjh

sorry harley but you were also hard to write because you were too sweet and cliche for me

✘ People come in a group. If I were to look on your blog, who would I see you interacting with the most?

@snw-cnvs and @deceptivetreat

ღ Do you have a personal blog? Do you share it with your followers or do you keep it private?

nah i haven’t used tumblr in years until now. i do have one but i don’t use it so idc it’s called @shouyoutheworld but again i don’t use it it’s…v old

▼ Do you keep your character in character even if they are one of the worst people in the world?

yes. what’s the point of writing and creating said character if you’re gonna sugar coat them?

▽ Why did you create this muse?

haneul: i wanted an oc who was really jaded and brat. i wanted to see him grow into something more even if its difficult

eiji: i pretty much wanted a muse that i could dump all my useless game infos on

reese: i wanted a witch oc who had a rival that they both hated their guts for and eventually fall in love I’M SO RR Y THAT’S REALLY WHY HE WAS MADE FORGIVE ME BUT NOW I DEVELOPED HIM A LOT MORE FOR RP’ING PURPOSES BUT Y’KN OW

#﹝저자 — ooc ﹞#﹝저자 — answered ﹞#aah #that took forever but there we go #i was gonna say fuck format but uh #i gotta fix the readmore line #so ig i'll do a quick formatting change #im just glad #i got no kids to deal with at work #otherwise id do this at hime

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dalyunministry · 3 years

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Pas. Johnraj Lamech

India

🍁

Greetings in the matchless Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Topic: The Birth & Growth of the Church – The First Sermon (Part 3): Imperatives of Salvation.

Rhema Word: Acts 2:38-39 (NKJV) “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Let’s pray. Our Gracious Loving Father, thank you for giving us an opportunity to meditate your Word today along with your children who have been called to live a holy life Father. I commit everyone who are all meditating this message into your mighty hand Father. Bless them and give them the oneness of Spirit and make their heart as a good land to receive each and every Word which is living and active Lord. Thank You Holy Spirit for helping us to understand the in-depth treasure of Your Word and helping us to live a life as per Your Word Lord. We give all the Glory and Honour to You only Father. We pray in the mighty Name of Your beloved Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

In the last two weeks we have meditated first two parts of the First Sermon ever preached in the new church age, after Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost by Apostle Peter. In the first part we learnt about how the Holy Spirit poured out and how the believers were infilled with the Holy Spirit got excited, experienced God’s presence and expressed joy and rejoiced in what God had done besides the work of God in last days and God’s set purpose and foreknowledge concerning His beloved Son Jesus Christ. In the second part of the sermon we learnt about the detailed proofs of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ covering the prophecy of David, Peter’s testimony, the eye-witnesses of disciples and the exaltation and the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven.

Today, we are going to meditate on the Third Part of the First Sermon ever preached in the new church age, after Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost, that is, after the coming of the Holy Spirit as explained in Acts 2:37-40 focussing on the imperatives of salvation.

Apostle Peter preached the first sermon after Pentecost and he focussed on the imperatives of salvation. He makes it clear that what a person must do to be saved. We have come here to the end of Peter’s first sermon that was delivered right after the receiving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. A group of Jews who were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks came to the room where the disciples and others were gathered when they heard the rush of the wind that accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit.

What we have here today is what we might call “the invitation”. It is where the drawing of the people comes about. Some people today might say, why do we have an invitation. I believe the invitation is the most important part of the whole sermon. It is the climatic point when the opportunity to, as we might say, do business with God. The invitation is that time when God has been working in your heart and He draws you to Him. It is where we give an opportunity for someone to come and receive Christ, to come and follow in Baptism, to join the church, to make another decision for Christ, to be prayed with and to be prayed for.

Yes, here today we have Peter’s Imperatives of Salvation. An imperative is another word for a command. So you might look at this as the commands or the orders of salvation.

Let us try to understand the following today, with the help of our Holy Spirit:

1] Conviction:

2] The Imperatives of Salvation:

3] The results of Salvation:

4] Assurance of Salvation : God’s promise and God’s personal Call:

5] Separation from this Corrupt world:

1] Conviction:

The Bible says in Acts 2:37 ”When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Yes, the people were convicted and they cried out, “What shall we do?”. Apostle Peter’s sermon, the proclaimed Word, was driven home to the hearts of the people.

The word “cut” (katenugesan) means to convict, sting, sense pain and hurt. Conviction is an emotional movement of the heart. A person senses sorrow over disappointing God. The person’s heart is touched and moved to some degree of brokenness.

That is why, Apostle Paul while writing to Corinthians says in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 ”Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

Yes, conviction is being pricked with a tug, a pull, a knowledge, an awareness.

Yes, it is a sense of sin, of doing wrong, of breaking God’s law, of being disobedient.

Yes, it is a sense of failure, of coming short, of not measuring up, of disappointing God.

Yes, it is a sense of needing more and more of the Lord and His righteousness.

Remember, conviction causes people to seek answers, to ask, ”What shall we do?”

When Nathan the prophet went to King David, after David had gone in to Bathsheba, David cried in Psalm 51:1-7 ”Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight— that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Yes, Peter cried bitterly when he denied Lord Jesus in Matthew 26:74-75 ”Then he (Peter) began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.”

Just see how the Holy Spirit spoke to the people forcefully through Peter in Acts 2:22-24 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” He further said in Verse 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” This resulted into conviction as the verse says ”Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Amen.. Hallelujah!!!

2] The Imperatives of Salvation:

The imperatives are of two folds. A person must repent and be baptized.

(i) Repentance:

Repentance is to change; to turn; to change one’s mind; to turn one’s life. It is turning away from sin and turning toward God. Yes, it is a change of mind, a forsaking of sin. It is putting sin out of one’s thoughts and behaviour. Yes, it is resolving never to think or do a thing again. John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:1-2 ”In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

The change is turning away from lying, stealing, cheating, immorality, cursing, drunkenness, and the other so-called glaring sins of the sinful nature. But the change is also turning away from the silent sins of the spirit such as self-centeredness, selfishness, envy, bitterness, pride, covetousness, anger, evil thoughts, hopelessness, laziness, jealousy and lust.

Please note “Repentance” involves two turns. There is a negative turn away from sin and a positive turn toward God. Yes, it is a turning to God away from sin, whether sins of thought or action.

Paul while addressing Areopagus said about the need for repentance in Acts 17:29-31 ”Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

(ii) Baptism:

Baptism is the outward sign, the immediate sign of repentance. It is the physical sign that a person is identifying with Christ. It is the immediate sign that a person is to show before the world that he is really repenting and is now going to obey and live for God.

Baptism and repentance are both (a) outward signs, (b) signs that have to do with behaviour and (c) signs that show the world that a person is turning his life over to God.

Please note that repentance is a command to change one’s life whereas baptism is a command, the very first command to follow Christ. Baptism is the first command given to those who are repenting. The person who is really repenting must be baptized. He must give testimony to the world and confess to the world that he is repenting by being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism is not an option. It is as much a command as repentance.

While giving the Great Commission, Jesus commanded His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 ”Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Mark recorded this in Mark 16:15-16 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

That is why Peter replied boldly in Acts 2:38 “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

While preaching to Cornelius’ Household, Peter ordered the Gentiles who assembled in Cornelius’s place in Acts 10:47-48 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”

Now, note a critical point that is often overlooked and neglected. Just because a person changes his life (repents) and is baptized does not mean he is saved. A person can change his life by the power of his own will, by discipline and self-control, by his own effort and works. And he can very simply request to be baptized. Many people have and will continue to do this. Many live what societies calls a good, upright, and moral life and they have been baptized. But there is more to being saved than merely changing one’s life and being baptized. What is it? It is the very basis, the very essential to true salvation, to being truly forgiven and receiving the Holy Spirit: it is the essential of faith, of believing ”in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Please note that true faith – the inward work within the heart, the inward work of really believing in the name of the Lord Jesus is the one absolute essential for being saved.

Now, note another critical point that is also overlooked and neglected. Remember, just because a person says he believes in Jesus does not mean he is saved. A person can say and claim anything, and that person can be baptized. But profession and baptism do not save a person anymore than a changed life and baptism save a person.

There is more to being saved than professing faith and being baptized. What is it? Again, it is the very basis, the very essential to true salvation, to being truly forgiven and receiving the Holy Spirit. Yes, it is the basis, the essential of repenting and of doing the very first act of repentance, being baptized.

There is no faith without true repentance and there is no forgiveness by God without trusting or committing one’s life to God’s dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the very first act of following Jesus is that of repenting and being baptized. A person who honestly believes in Jesus Christ will do what He said, repent and be baptized.

That is what Peter was saying in this sermon. He did not mention faith, but he was not omitting faith nor eliminating belief in the Lord Jesus as essential to salvation.

Paul stressed the same point in Romans 6:3-4 ”Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Please note what Paul has said in Romans 6:3-4 : when a person is baptized, he is “baptized into His (Jesus’) death” in the same way he is immersed (identified) into the resurrection of Christ. Baptism is an act by which one identifies with Christ. He counts himself as having died in Christ’s death and as having risen in Christ’s resurrection; as living and moving and having his being in Christ even as Christ lived and moved and had His being in God. Christ’s death and resurrection and life becomes the believer’s death and resurrection and life. The believer treats and judges himself as having been ”crucified with Christ, nevertheless living; yet not himself, but Christ living in Him” (Galatians 2:20).

Please note that the point needs to be stressed and restressed. A person can repent, change is own life and be baptized by his own effort and works without ever trusting Christ, without really believing in Christ. But a person cannot trust, cannot really believe in Christ without repenting and following Christ in the very first act of repentance, that of being baptized. True faith and honest belief always mean that a person repents and is baptized. To believe is to follow Christ and to be baptized.

That is why the author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 5:9-10 ”And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek.”

John the Baptist exalts Jesus in John 3:35-36 ”The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

3] The results of Salvation:

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38). The results of salvation are twofold, “being forgiven of sins” and “receiving the Holy Spirit”.

(i) Remission – Forgiveness of Sins:

Remission – forgiveness of sins means to send off, to send away – the wrong is cut out, sent off, sent away from the wrongdoer. The sin is separated from the sinner.

There are four main ideas in the Biblical concept of forgiveness:

a) There is the idea of why forgiveness is needed.

Forgiveness is needed because of wrong doing and guilt and the penalty arising from both. Apostle Paul says in Romans 3:23 ”For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” He further says in Romans 6:23 ”For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Apostle Paul while explaining about why “Law cannot save a man from sin” says clearly in Romans 7:7-13 ”What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore, the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.”

Paul further says in Romans 7:22-24 ”For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Yes, Paul concluded how we can be free from sins in Romans 8:2-4,1 ”For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Verse 1) “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

b) There is the idea of a once-for-all forgiveness:

A man is forgiven once-for-all when he receives Jesus Christ as his Saviour. Belief in Jesus Christ, true repentance, is the only condition for being forgiven once-for-all.

While instituting the Lord’s Supper Jesus said in Matthew 26:26-28 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

That is why Paul said in Ephesians 1:7 ” In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His (God’s) grace.”

Paul further explains in Romans 4:5-8 ”But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

c) There is the idea of forgiveness that maintains fellowship with God:

Fellowship exists between God as Father and the believer as His child. When the child does wrong, the fellowship is disturbed and broken. The condition for restoring the fellowship is confessing and forsaking the sin.

Palmist says in Psalm 66:18 ”If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 28:13 ”Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

Apostle John says in 1 John 1:7 ”If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

d) There is the idea of a releasing from guilt:

This is one of the differences between a man forgiving another man and God forgiving a man. A man may forgive a person for wronging him, but he can never remove the resentment he himself feels within his own heart. Only God can remove the guilt and assure the removal of resentment. Yes, God does both. God forgives and erases the guilt and resentment. Apostle John says in 1 John 1:9 ”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God says in Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”

Prophet Micah says in Micah 7:18 ”Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.”

God assured in Jeremiah 31:34 ”No more shall every man teach his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” and further says in Jeremiah 33:8 ”I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.”

4] Assurance of Salvation : God’s promise and God’s personal Call:

Peter said to them boldly in Acts 2:39 ”For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

The assurance of salvation to all is God’s promise: (i) “for you” – to Jews; (ii) “to all who are far off”: the Gentiles – any who are away in distant lands; any who are spiritually away from God, no matter how far away.

But please note the one essential condition: the promise is assured to those whom “the Lord our God will call”.

God has to call because man is dead to God and resists the gospel. Man’s deadness and resistance are seen in the very word “call”. The word “call” has both the idea of initiative and deadness and of constraint and resistance. For example, the calling of a person to simply come involves both actions:

(a) of pulling him to come

(b) of being dead (unaware and not knowing or resisting the fact that one was to come)

Man, self-centered and rebellious towards God, likes to feel independent. Consequently, man is dead to God and resistant to the pulling call and quickening power of God.

The person who comes to Christ is a person who has been called by God, a person who has experienced the divine initiative.

A man – does not act alone and come to Christ.

A man – does not come by his own effort and energy,

A man – does not come by his own works.

A man – does not come by his own mind, thoughts, and will.

A man – does not come by his own labour and good deeds.

A man, a dead spirit, can do nothing spiritually just as a dead body can do nothing physically. If a man with a dead spirit is to come to Christ, he has to be acted upon and drawn by God. Yes, both God and man have a part in salvation. Yes, God calls and He attracts, draws, pulls and tugs at the heart of man to come.

Please note here, when a man senses the call and pull of God, he must act then and there. He must believe and make the decision to follow Christ, even if he is all alone in the depths of a jungle someplace. Why? Because God’s Spirit does not always strive or tug at us. We all know this. We have all felt the call of God before – the tug and movement of His Spirit within our hearts. But we quenched the tug and movement. We rejected the call, and the Spirit of God left us. And the more we reject the tug and call, the less often it comes.

That is why Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 ”Do not quench the Spirit.”

The Bible says in Genesis 6:3 ”And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

Therefore, when the call of the Lord our God comes, we must believe and ”repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 ”Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Paul says in Romans 10:12 ”For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.”

The Bible says in Revelation 22:17 ”And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

5] Separation from this Corrupt world:

Peter cried in Acts 2:40 “With many other words he (Peter) warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

The words “save yourselves” (sothete) mean that a person is to act and do exactly what Peter preached: ”Repent and be baptized”

”Corrupt” (skolias) means crooked or bent out of shape. Men are far from being straight and in the shape intended by God. They are crooked and bent, unrighteous and ungodly, sinful and corrupt.

Apostle Paul while writing to Corinthians says in 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 ”What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

Prophet Isaiah warned in Isaiah 52:11 ”Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.”

Apostle Paul again urged in Romans 12:2 ”Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Let us introspect ourselves.

When God speaks to us pointing our sins, are we being pricked with a tug, a pull and asking Lord for “What shall I do?”

Are we having the sense of needing more and more of the Lord and His righteousness?

Are we listening to the voice of Holy Spirit when we are doing wrong or breaking God’s law or being disobedient?

Whether the real change happened in us from the glaring sins of the sinful nature?

Whether the real change happened in us from the silent sins of the spirit such as self-centeredness, selfishness, envy, bitterness, pride, covetousness, anger, evil thoughts, hopelessness, laziness, jealousy and lust?

Having baptized, are we following our Lord Jesus Christ with full heart and full strength?

Do we have the belief in Jesus Christ that we have been forgiven once-for-all?

Are we believing that in Jesus we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God’s grace?

Are we walking in the light as Jesus is in the light?

Do we have the belief that God as removed the guilt and resentment?

Are we acting immediately without any delay when we sense the call and pull of God and make a decision to follow Christ without quenching the Spirit?

Shall we save ourselves from this corrupt generation?

Shall we be transformed by the renewing of our mind without conforming to the pattern of this world?

Let us Pray: Our Heavenly Gracious Father, we thank you for helping us to understand about “The First Sermon ever preached in the new church age and imperatives of Salvation” today Father. Please give us a heart to listen to You Father when we hear Your call through Your children, give us a heart to long for more and more of the Lord and Your righteousness, help us to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit when we are tempted Father. Father, please release us completely from the glaring sins and the silent sins such as self-centeredness, selfishness, envy, bitterness, pride, covetousness, anger, evil thoughts, hopelessness, laziness, jealousy and lust, Father. Please help us to follow Your beloved Son Jesus Christ whole heartedly and have the belief that we have been forgiven once-for-all Father. Father, please help us to walk in the light besides removing the guilt and resentment and act immediately when we sense the call from You without quenching the Spirit. Please save us from this corrupt generation and transform us by renewing of our mind Father. Please help us to declare boldly about the happenings of the “Last Days” and help us to be prepared to meet Your beloved Son when He comes as Judge, Father. We give all praise, glory and honour to Your Holy Name. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

God bless you all.

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seekfirstme · 3 years

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"Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes." (Matthew 11: 20 - 21).

Tuesday 13th July 2021, in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time is also the feast of St Henry II. (973 - 1024). German. Crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1014 by Pope Benedict VIII as Emperor Henry II. He was a powerful man of the world, a man of war and international politics. He became a saint. It shows that anyone can become a saint. Henry used his wealth and power to promote the Kingdom of God by supporting missionary work. In spite of his cares of the earthly Roman Empire, his gaze was on Heaven, the eternal Kingdom.

In our key Scripture for today, Jesus taught that those who have received more are expected to give more. Chorazin and Bethsaida received more of Jesus teaching and miracles but both cities were obstinate when it comes to belief and repentance. Henry received the Good News of salvation from his mother. He turned his heart and mind to Jesus and became a great saint.

Why was Jesus stern in His reproach of Chorazin and Bethsaida?

Both cities saw many miracles and heard countless sermons of Jesus. They locked up their hearts in unbelief. Unbelief is very dangerous. Look around the socioeconomic landscape today and see for yourself what unbelief can produce. Where there is unbelief, there can be no repentance. Robbers who are caught red-handed in their crimes have sworn that they are innocent.

We are Chorazin. We are Bethsaida. Let us come before Jesus with humility and have our sins washed away in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The merciful love of Jesus is waiting to give us a new mind and a new heart.

"If souls understood what treasures of love are freely given to those who approach Me in the Sacrament of My love, My churches would be filled day and night, and unable to contain the multitudes drawn to them. But the Evil One has schemed and plotted to cover the mystery of My presence with a dark veil of neglect, of irreverence, of forgetfulness, and of unbelief. He has obscured the mystery of My real presence, and so My faithful, beginning with My priests, have walked away from Me, one after the other, even as they did when first I spoke plainly of Myself as the living Bread come down from heaven to give life to the world." (IN SINU JESU page 226).

"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts."

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirst.blogspot.com

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 4 years

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30th March >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on John 13:21-33, 36-38 for Tuesday of Holy Week: ‘As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread, he went out’.

Tuesday of Holy Week

Gospel (Except USA)

John 13:21-33,36-38

'What you are going to do, do quickly'

While at supper with his disciples, Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, ‘I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me.’ The disciples looked at one another, wondering which he meant. The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus; Simon Peter signed to him and said, ‘Ask who it is he means’, so leaning back on Jesus’ breast he said, ‘Who is it, Lord?’ ‘It is the one’ replied Jesus ‘to whom I give the piece of bread that I shall dip in the dish.’ He dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’ None of the others at table understood the reason he said this. Since Judas had charge of the common fund, some of them thought Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’, or telling him to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. Night had fallen. When he had gone Jesus said:

‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified. If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon.

‘My little children, I shall not be with you much longer. You will look for me, And, as I told the Jews, where I am going, you cannot come.’

Simon Peter said, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now; you will follow me later.’ Peter said to him, ‘Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ ‘Lay down your life for me?’ answered Jesus. ‘I tell you most solemnly, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’

Gospel (USA)

John 13:21-33, 36-38

One of you will betray me; the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.” Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

Reflections (13)

(i) Tuesday of Holy Week

The love we give to others isn’t always returned to us. This was certainly the experience of Jesus. He loved all his disciples equally. He washed the feet of all of his disciples, including the feet of Judas. In laying down his garments to wash the feet of his disciples, Jesus was anticipating the laying down of his life in love for his disciples and for all humanity. In the Oriental culture of the time, Jesus’ action in today’s gospel reading of dipping a piece of bread in the main dish and giving it to Judas was a sign of honour and affection. Jesus’ outreach of love to Judas meets with a rebuff. At the moment Judas took the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. He was confirmed in his resolve to betray Jesus to his enemies. Although the light of God’s love was shining through Jesus upon Judas at that moment, Judas showed that he preferred the darkness to the light. He left the presence of God’s light and went out into the night, into the darkness. Yet, Jesus continued to love Judas to the end, laying down his life for him as much as for others. When the love we give to others is not received it tends to die off. This was not the case with Jesus. He continues to love those who fail to receive his love. He seeks out those who turn away from the light and go out into the darkness. The light of the Lord’s love continues to shine in the darkness and the darkness never overcomes it. This Holy Week is an invitation to us to receive the Lord’s love, like the beloved disciple in the gospel reading, and then to reflect something of the Lord’s faithful love to others.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday of Holy Week

This morning’s gospel reading from John comes immediately after Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. He washed all of their feet, including the feet of Judas Iscariot. Jesus loved his disciples until the end and his love showed no discrimination. This morning’s gospel reading goes on to portray Jesus as showing a particular sign of affection to Judas. For a host to take a morsel of food and dip it in the sauce and give it to one of the guests was a gesture of honour and affection in that culture. Jesus’ final outreach of love to Judas, enacted in the gift of the morsel, is rebuffed. On receiving the morsel, Judas promptly leaves the company of Jesus and the other disciples and goes out into the darkness of the night. The evangelist is implying that Jesus’ love for Judas was never in doubt. Yet, Jesus seemed helpless before the freedom of Judas to refuse his love. The Lord’s love for us is never in doubt, but he can never force our loving response. Yet, even Judas’ dark deed would serve God’s greater purpose, rooted in God’s love for the world. That is why, when Judas left the room, Jesus could exclaim, ‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified’. We are being reminded that even our failings can somehow serve God’s purpose of drawing all people to himself through his Son. Even when, like Judas, we head out into the darkness, God’s light is not extinguished. The light of God’s love continues to shine and to pursue us.

And/Or

(iii) Tuesday of Holy Week

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus, at the Last Supper, singles out Judas as the one who will betray him. He goes on to single out Peter as the one who will disown him three times. This immediately follows upon Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet in John’s gospel. Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet was a gesture of loving service which symbolically anticipated his supreme act of loving service in laying down his life for them and for all on the cross. Jesus washed the feet of all his disciples, including the feet of Peter who would deny him and of Judas who would betray him. Similarly, Jesus would lay down his life on the cross for all, including those who were responsible for his death. Paul expresses this truth in his letter to the Romans when he says, ‘God proves his love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us’. Christ loves us in our weakness, in our failings, in our sinfulness. That is the message of this Holy Week. His love is not a reward for good behaviour. The Lord gives his love to us before we do anything and he is faithful in his love for us even when we betray and deny him in various ways. His faithful love encourages and inspires us to keep returning to him and to keep renewing our following of him.

And/Or

(iv) Tuesday of Holy Week

In this morning’s gospel reading three of the disciples at the last supper are singled out by the evangelist, the disciple Jesus loved, Simon Peter and Judas. Judas symbolized total failure in discipleship; he left the room and went out into the darkness to betray Jesus. Peter symbolized partial failure; he publicly denied Jesus three times but after the resurrection he would renew his love of Jesus and would die a martyr’s death. The beloved disciple symbolizes the complete absence of failure; he remained faithful to Jesus at all times, and was the only male disciple at the foot of the cross, according to John’s gospel. If we wanted to identify ourselves with any of the three, probably Peter is the one we find it easier to identify with. He has that mixture of failure and loyalty that is in us all, to different degrees. The beloved disciple is the one we would like to be; we would like to have a love for the Lord that is as faithful as his love for us. Yet, it was to Peter that the Lord entrusted the care of his flock, ‘Feed my lambs, feed my flock’. The story of Peter reminds us that the Lord does not wait for us to be complete disciples before entrusting us with pastoral responsibility for others. We all have been given such responsibility in one shape or form. All the Lord asks of us is that we keep on renewing our love for him.

And/Or

(v) Tuesday of Holy Week

One of the most dramatic verses of John’s gospel is to be found in this morning’s gospel reading, ‘As soon as Jesus had taken the piece of bread he went out. Night had fallen’. Judas chose to leave the company of the light, the light of the world, and to go out into the darkness. He turned his back on that greater love which Jesus was showing in laying down his life for the world. Judas had his feet washed by Jesus, just like the other disciples. Jesus’ love did not discriminate between his disciples; he loved them all equally. What distinguished them from each other, what discriminated, was how each of them responded to that love. No one can do our responding for us. Each of us is asked to make a personal response to the Lord’s love. He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for each of us and who calls each of us by name. Our response to the Lord’s love has to come from deep within our own hearts. The very personal question that was addressed to Simon Peter by the risen Lord is addressed to each one of us, ‘Do you love me?’ Peter took the opportunity of that question to renew his love for the Lord. The same opportunity is given to all of us, over and over again. The Lord’s personal love for each one of us constantly calls forth a personal response from each of us.

And/Or

(vi) Tuesday of Holy Week

There are three disciples in this morning’s gospel reading, Peter, Judas and the one referred to as the disciple Jesus loved. Judas leaves the table and goes out into the night about his business of betraying Jesus to the authorities. Peter stays for the moment but Jesus announces to him that later on that night Peter will betray him three times. The disciple Jesus loved is the one closest to Jesus, physically in that he is reclining next to Jesus, but also the closest in love. This is the only disciple, according to the fourth gospel, who will remain with Jesus all through his passion and who will be there at the foot of the cross. The gospel reading this morning from John’s gospel comes just after Jesus has washed his disciples’ feet. Jesus washed the feet of all three of these disciples; his love does not discriminate; what does discriminate is how people respond to his love. We can behave like any one of those three disciples at any time in our lives. This holy week we are asked to identify with the disciple Jesus loved. Like him, we are invited to experience the Lord’s love for us, to receive it and to respond to it generously and faithfully.

And/Or

(vii) Tuesday of Holy Week

This morning’s gospel reading from John comes immediately after the scene where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. Addressing himself to the disciples whose feet he has just washed, Jesus declared, ‘one of you will betray me’. Jesus loved each disciple equally; he washed the feet of each one of them. Yet, one of them, Judas, having experienced his great act of loving service, went on to betray him. We all have the potential to betray the Lord, in spite of the many ways that he has blessed and graced us. We betray him when we fail to love him and to love one another as he has loved us. As well as Judas, another disciple features in this morning’s gospel reading; he is described as leaning back on Jesus’ breast. In contrast to Judas, who separated himself from Jesus, leaving the room to walk out into the night, this disciple remained in loving communion with Jesus. He is the faithful disciple who was there at the foot of the cross. We all have the potential to become this disciple too, the disciple who was as close to Jesus as Jesus was to his Father, the disciple who bore witness to Jesus as powerfully as Jesus bore witness to the Father. That is the disciple we are all called to identify with this Holy Week and that we are all called to become beyond Holy Week.

And/Or

(viii) Tuesday of Holy Week

This morning’s gospel draws attention to how different disciples responded differently to Jesus as he entered into the final days of his earthly life. Jesus announces that Judas will betray him and Peter will deny him. However, one of the disciples is described as ‘reclining next to Jesus’, literally, ‘close to the heart of Jesus’. In the very first chapter of his gospel, the evangelist described Jesus as ‘close to the heart of the Father’. In other words this disciple has the same relationship with Jesus that Jesus has with his Father. This disciple is not given a name in John’s gospel; he is simply spoken of as the disciple Jesus loved. That is because we are all invited to put our own name on him; we are to identify ourselves with him, to become like him. The evangelist presents him as the disciple we are all called to become; we are all called to have the same relationship with Jesus that this disciple had. We are called to be as close to Jesus as Jesus is to his Father. That is why Jesus in John’s gospel goes on to say to all his disciples, ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love… as I remain in his love’. Jesus wants us to have that same intimate relationship with him that he has with his Father. That is something worth pondering upon this Holy Week.

And/Or

(ix) Tuesday of Holy Week

This morning’s gospel portrays very different responses to Jesus on the part of his disciples as he enters into the final days of his earthly life. The disciple Jesus loved is described as ‘reclining next to Jesus’, literally, ‘close to the heart of Jesus’. In the very first chapter of his gospel, the evangelist described Jesus as ‘close to the heart of the Father’ (‘in the bosom of the Father’). In other words this disciple has the same relationship with Jesus that Jesus has with his Father. The evangelist presents him as the disciple we are all called to become. This disciple is not given a name in John’s gospel, because we are all invited to put our own name on him; we are to identify ourselves with him, to become like him. For the fourth evangelist, we are all called to have the same relationship with Jesus that this disciple had. We are called to be as close to Jesus as Jesus is to his Father. That is why Jesus in John’s gospel goes on to say, ‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love… as I remain in his love’. Jesus wants us to have that same relationship with him that he has with his Father. That is something worth pondering upon this Holy Week.

And/Or

(x) Tuesday of Holy Week

Three disciples feature in this morning’s gospel reading. Judas left the company of Jesus at table to go out into the night, rejecting the light and embracing the darkness of betrayal. Peter was full of good intentions, ‘I will lay down my life for you’, but couldn’t follow through on them, and went on to deny Jesus publicly three times. Then there is the disciple, described as ‘the disciple Jesus loved’. It is said of him that he was close to the bosom of Jesus. In the opening chapter of John’s gospel it was said of Jesus that he was close to the bosom of the Father. This disciple was as close to Jesus as Jesus was to his Father; he loved Jesus as Jesus loved his Father. He did not deny Jesus, much less betray him. He is the only male disciples found standing at the foot of the cross in this gospel. He is the ideal disciple, the disciple we are all called to become. Like him, we are all called to remain in Jesus’ love, as Jesus remains in his Father’s love; like him, we are to reveal the love of Jesus to others, as Jesus revealed his Father’s love to the world. Of the three disciples in the gospel reading, perhaps we instinctively identify with Peter. We know we are not ideal disciples. Like Peter, we have good intentions but we do not always carry through on them. Like him, we want to be faithful to Jesus, but sometimes our lives suggest otherwise. We see in Peter the person we are and in the beloved disciple the person we are called to be. Peter’s experience reassures us that when we deny Jesus, he does not deny us. When we fail the risen Lord asks us the same question he asked Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ It is a question that invites us to return once more to his love and to remain there, like the beloved disciple.

And/Or

(xi) Tuesday of Holy Week

There is a very dramatic verse in today’s gospel reading. ‘As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. Night had fallen’. Jesus had offered Judas bread that had been dipped in the dish as a sign of affection and friendship. Judas took the bread but not the love that it expressed. After taking the bread, he walked out into the darkness of the night, having turned away from the light of the world. This scene happens in John’s gospel immediately after the scene of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. He washed the feet of all his disciples, including the feet of Judas. He showed the same love to Judas that he showed to the other disciples. Judas, however, did not receive Jesus’ love. He chose to turn his back on it. We see the mystery of human freedom at work here. The Lord needs our free response to the offer of his love and friendship. If it is not forthcoming, he cannot force it. Yet, as risen Lord he continues to seek out the lost. His seeking us in our weakness and sin is never in doubt. The only question is whether we will allow ourselves to be found. This Holy Week is a good time to allow ourselves to be found by the Lord who has laid down his life for us. As we contemplate the final journey of Jesus, as we celebrate it liturgically, we allow ourselves to be touched by the love which that journey expresses. It is the love of the good Shepherd for all the scattered children of God.

And/Or

(xii) Tuesday of Holy Week

Two of the disciples who gathered with Jesus for his last supper are mentioned by name in today’s gospel reading, Judas and Simon Peter. Both of these disciples failed Jesus in the hour of his passion and death. At the beginning of the gospel reading, Jesus says, referring to Judas, ‘I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me’. At the end of the gospel reading, Jesus says directly to Peter, ‘I tell you most solemnly, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times’. There is one significant difference between Judas and Peter. Judas is portrayed in the gospel reading as having already decided to betray Jesus. Having taken the bread from Jesus, he went out into the night about his treacherous business. Peter, on the other hand, had no intention of disowning Jesus. He says to Jesus, ‘I will lay down your life for you’. His intention, his desire, was good. His heart was in the right place. It could be said of Peter that his spirit was willing but his flesh was weak, whereas it would be truer to say of Judas that both his spirit and his flesh were weak. It is Peter more than Judas with whom we might find ourselves identifying. We know from our own experience that we do not always follow through on our good intentions. We don’t always act out of our better desires. We want to be faithful to the Lord in all we say and do, but there are times when we go astray, when we disown the Lord. At such times, we need to remind ourselves that there is always a way back, as there was for Peter, when the risen Lord asked him, ‘Do you love me?’

And/Or

(xiii) Tuesday of Holy Week

The scene in today’s gospel reading has a certain dramatic quality. Immediately after washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus solemnly announces, ‘One of you will betray me’. The disciples wondering who Jesus might be talking about. In a final gesture of affection towards Judas, Jesus offers him a piece of bread that he had dipped in the dish. This is the moment when Judas confirms his decision to betray Jesus to the authorities. In the words of the gospel reading, ‘Satan entered him’. Judas then left the company of Jesus and the other disciples and went out into the night; he left the company of the light and went out into the darkness. Judas intended to betray Jesus and he did not move from his intention. Peter was also present at the table. He would go on to deny Jesus. However, it is clear from the gospel reading that he never intended to deny Jesus. He declares to Jesus, ‘I will lay down my life for you’. With Peter, it was a case of the spirit being willing but the flesh weak. Judas’ spirit was weak. Most of us belong with Peter. We have good intentions but we don’t always follow through on them. We want to be faithful to the Lord by what we say and do, but we fall short in various ways. We can take encouragement from Peter’s story after his denial of Jesus. The risen Lord appeared to him and gave him the opportunity to renew his faithfulness and then gave him an important mission, ‘Feed my lambs, feed my sheep’. The Lord comes to us in our own times of weakness and not only offers us the opportunity to renew our following of him but continues to entrust us with a share in his work.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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catholiccom-blog · 8 years

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Should Christians Keep the Sabbath or Celebrate the Lord's Day?

One of the most appealing teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination is their insistence that Christians must obey the Ten Commandments . . . all ten of them. They rightly expose the errant thinking among many Protestant Christian sects that claims, “We don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments for salvation anymore.”

Of course, is Jesus reminds us:

And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And [Jesus] said to him… “If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:16-17).

Given our agreement on this point, the Seventh-day Adventist commonly asks: “If you believe we have to keep the fourth (our third) commandment, why aren’t Catholics obliged to attend Mass on Saturdays instead of Sunday?”

Why not Saturday?

We can draw our first source from the the Catechism, which declares:

Since they express man’s fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbor, the Ten Commandments reveal, in their primordial content, grave obligations. They are fundamentally immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere. No one can dispense from them. The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart (2017).

Thus, the third commandment is “fundamentally immutable” because it’s one of the Ten Commandments which Jesus said we must follow to attain everlasting life. However, the Catholic Church teaches the particular day we celebrate in keeping the third commandment to be ceremonial, or an accidental component of the law that is changeable. Here’s how the Catechism puts it:

Sunday is expressly distinguished from the Sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the Sabbath. In Christ's Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath . . . Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but the Lord's Day. . . . The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render to God an outward, visible, public, and regular worship. . . . Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people (CCC 2175-76).

Is there biblical data that concurs with this teaching of the Church? Absolutely!

St. Paul tells us that the ceremonial aspect of the old law—the Sabbath day itself—is no longer binding for the Christian faithful:

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in regard to food or drink or in respect to festival, or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ (Col. 2:16-17).

Clearly, the Sabbath is “a mere shadow,” that is, fleeting by nature. And “shadow” (Greek: skian) is the same word used by the inspired author of Hebrews for the animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant—also no longer binding on Christians.

For the law, having but a shadow (Greek: skian) of the good things to come, and not the exact image of the objects, is never able by the sacrifices which they offer continually, year after year the same, to perfect those who draw near (Heb. 10:1).

Moreover, it is important to note how St. Paul uses the same division of “festivals” (annual holy days), “new moons” (monthly holy days), and “Sabbaths” (the weekly holy days) that the Old Testament uses in I Chr. 23:31, II Chr. 2:4, 8:12-13, 31:3, and elsewhere, when referencing Jewish holy days. Clearly, along with the yearly and monthly holy days—which no Christian today claims binding upon believers in Christ—the Sabbath is included in what St. Paul calls a mere shadow.

When St. Paul teaches Christians do not have to keep the Sabbath, he speaks of the holy days that were specific to the Jews. He is not saying—and does not say—that we do not have to keep any holy days at all. In context, St. Paul is dealing with Judaizers who were telling Gentile Christians they had to be circumcised and keep the Old Covenant law that had passed away, which would include the Sabbath and other holy days, in order to be saved. Some overlook this fact when they use St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans against the necessity of keeping the third commandment.

As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. . . . One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord (14:1-6).

During the first few decades of Church history, the question of Jewish/Gentile relations to the Church and the law was a hot topic. As long as the Temple was standing, Christians of Jewish descent were free to attend the Temple and keep certain aspects of the Old law, as long as they did not teach these things to be essential for salvation.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Sabbath rest

Many will claim the Catholic is in grave error here because Hebrews 4:9 declares: “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” And I must say that a surface reading here does appear to bind Christians to the seventh day. However, the context within verses 4-8 greatly clarifies things for us:

For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this place he said, “they shall never enter my rest.” Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later of another day. So, then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for whoever enters God’s rest ceases also from his labors as God did from his (emphasis added).

The context makes clear the Jewish “seventh day” has been superceded, or more properly, fulfilled, in “another day,” “a certain day,” that is a new “Sabbath rest for the people of God.” What day is this? In Hebrews, it is not so much a day at all as it is a person—Jesus Christ. In fact, the entire discussion of “the Sabbath rest” disappears into the discussion of our “great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God” (4:14ff). It is Jesus Christ himself who actualizes the actual “rest” that was merely foreshadowed by the Sabbath.

The Church connection

“End of discussion,” say our Protestant friends. “There is no longer any such thing as a day that binds Christians in the New Covenant. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Sabbath, not some day we have to go to church.” And they are actually correct, but only partially. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Sabbath rest in the sense that only he can actualize the “rest” the Sabbath symbolized.

In Hebrews 10:1-26 we see movement toward tagging on the Church as fulfillment of all which was merely shadow in the Old Covenant and not just Jesus Christ in the abstract. And this only makes sense when we understand that “the Church” is the body of Christ, or, Christ himself extended into the world (cf. Eph. 1:22-23).

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come, instead of the true form of those realities, it can never . . . make perfect those who draw near.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in the full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water . . . not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some . . . For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins (Heb. 10:1; 19-22; 25-26).

As Christians, we “enter into the sanctuary” through baptism—bodies washed with pure water—and the Eucharist—his flesh—thus enters the necessity of the church.

The Lord’s day

So if Christians are bound to keep the third commandment and it involves “meeting together,” but not on the Sabbath, what day are we commanded to meet?

In Scripture, whenever we see Christians meeting to worship the Lord, receive communion, to take up collections—apart from the Synagogue—it is either “daily,” or especially, it’s “on the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2). It is true that you often see St. Paul entering into the synagogue on the Sabbath (Acts 13:14-44, 16:13, 18:4). However, in each instance his purpose was to proclaim the truth about Christ to the Jews. These are not specifically Christian gatherings. But notice what we find in Acts 2:46:

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts.

St. Paul and his companions attended the temple, but “the breaking of bread” occurred in the house “churches” of Christians. “The breaking of bread,” by the way, is a Eucharistic phrase in St. Luke’s writings. For example, when St. Paul was in Troas in Acts 20:7, we read: “On the first day of the week, when we gathered together to break bread…” Luke 24:30-31 records Cleopas and an unnamed disciple’s “eyes were opened” and they recognized Jesus “in the breaking of the bread.” And according to Luke 24:1, 13, this encounter was also on the first day of the week! St. Paul never says, “On the Sabbath, when we gathered to break bread.” Instead, the “breaking of bread” in Luke 24 and in Acts 20 occurs on the first day of the week.

It’s important to remember that when we talk about biblical “churches” we mean the designated homes for “church” gatherings and specifically for “the breaking of bread.”

For, in the first place, when you assemble as a church… it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God…For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it. (I Cor. 11:18-23)

So those “homes” were actually house “churches” in which “the breaking of bread” happened, and it happened on the first day of the week: Sunday.

#Catholic Answers #Tim Staples #Sabbath Day #Sunday #Third Commandment

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mtnsedge · 2 years

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STARTER. 〉 @faithblissd

“Don’t look so nervous.”

He uncuffs the buttons of his sleeves, rolls the stiff fabric up to his elbows. The coarse blend of nylon and cotton chafes at the crook of his elbow, the skin dry and pale in the waning light of an autumn afternoon. The breath that he draws into his lungs burns something fierce, fumes rising from the murky surface of the pale liquid. “What’s the worst that could happen, anyways?” The grunt is but a rasp forced from the bellows of his ruined lungs, the sound tapering off into a cough that he tucks away against his own shoulder. He supposes that is why he does this, each time the formula is refined — because he does know the worst of it, the ruination that can be visited upon someone with enough foolish hubris to plunge their hands into the mixture that their most recent chemist has concocted when left to her own devices.

“Trial an’ error, like we said.” An encouragement of sorts, stilted though it may be. He’s seen her notes, the formulas she has puzzled her way through and tacked to the walls of their properties for reference. She’s a sharp one, this half sister, half paramour that Joseph had plucked from his flock. She doesn’t want to disappoint her savior, he’s sure — The Father is merciful, but there are expectations to be met. Jacob had once watched his brother trek towards the statue overlooking the Henbane with two women, only to return with one. What this girl, this Rachel-turned-Faith, had been given was just as much a lesson as it was a warning.

There is a toll such sacrifice takes. Jacob has made this part of his mantra, has ingrained it into his ideology — whoever had been pushed from that precipice had taken a piece of Joseph with her, as all her predecessors had.

They had found Rachel Jessop when she was only seventeen, lost and vulnerable. Joseph has a habit of that, of scenting weakness in others the way a shark scents blood in the water. John had been found in the depths of his own depravity, as Jacob had been found cowering in a filthy shelter for the homeless. It would serve no purpose for the process to renew itself. If a balance is meant to be struck, then he will strike it.

And so, here they are.

Jacob slips his hand into the barrel, testing the potency of the chemicals against his scarred flesh. He has been here with her before, making the trek down to the region east of the Henbane River, where her flowers grow in abundance. The smattering of scars along his forearms attests to past failures, but there is no success without sacrifice. Meat can be sustained. Flesh heals.

But there is no coming back from a fall the height of which Joseph has condemned their “sisters.”

“Well…’s not bad.” There is a warmth that curls around his arm, pricking at the nerves of his skin. Dilute this barrel with water by dumping it into the river, where John has taken to performing his baptisms, then it just might be passable. “Was a good call on your part to reduce the methanol. Won’t be as potent, but it won’t burn anyone’s skin if they’re thrown in.”

#faithblissd #not me wondering what all to tag this as and then realizing that i have no true tag system in place smh #anyways here's some eldest brother + youngest sister bonding but in the style of breaking bad #〉 VERSE II ₎ wash away your sins.#〉 FAITHBLISSED ₎ thread i.

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denouae · 4 years

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finifugal: verse xv.

cigarette ash like wildfire, burning holes in the nighttime. verse fifteen, as endorsed by the historical portraits, hung askew.

some people were born with carnage instilled in their bones, marrow rotten; they reek of death in the whispers of transparence.

he is one of them.

for them, somehow demise is not a full blast, totality like the rest of the fortunate. for them, it does not simply end in the absence of heartbeats and erratic breaths. for them, walking is like limping ( the other foot is in the grave ): bones crack, crack, cracking but they never crumble completely.

( even time does not spare him. even oblivion does not swallow him. )

ask the universe if immortality is a curse or a blessing, especially when your throat is clogged with youth suicide in bloom.

the tale may seem rushed, all sulfuric vignettes in the corners of his personal morgue. the reality is anything but. it is dissected, dissolving:

I. OBITUARIAL GENESIS.

birth happens twice: the first is another dent to mother earth, all formalized cry echoing in post-partum throat. this is his introduction to rapture, absolute and visceral. he is everything soft, bird-boned in the cradle of their handcrafted empire. the throne to their royalty, studded in default innocence and untainted arteries.

first years are cocooned in a husk of hushed tones and imprinted kisses. her fingerprints are the topography of his dreams; his mind indented with the colors of her smile. umma is the atlas and appa is the ocean. this is an empiric clause to a living illusion.

and as always, theatrical curtain falls descend: their throne was born fissured, with rusted gems and faux shine. beneath all the gloss: decay in the shape of ivory, covered in drying rust.

deceit comes in the shape of a scream cloaked in laughter. ( and isn’t it always easy, to believe the latter? )

II. HELIONIC PLAGUE.

fate holds him between her teeth, waiting for the first of his blood to drip down her chin. breaking is a habit when he’s nothing but a museum of papier-mâché boyhood, carefully stitched on the edges. the suture comes undone in the form of a muted catastrophe.

infused in his veins: a power, so tremendous, so universal, so overwhelming. astral blessings to dictate and dispute notions. she collects elements that orbit the solar system, drying him off his genetics and replacing the boy with what she knows would cultivate chaos. before they know it, he burns: smoke rising from pores the ocean can’t kill.

to inject discord is a child’s play. men’s wings are clipped with greed. almost comical, almost scenic.

this is how she plays the game. the saline sickness is insatiable: it ruled the globe once, it would want to rule the stars, too.

the ocean once gravitates towards the moon, but it realizes that the moon is nothing compared to the supernova.

III. BAREFOOT LIMINALITY.

in the beginning of war, there is a tragedy.

this one is wrapped in silence, in the house of god.

there was once a god; in a story where the tapestries are faithful, halls sighing echo of prayers. kingdom of this apostolic church, fingers indented with rosary beads, mouths cremated in holy gospel.

who knows that even god sins?

his faith shatters the hardest when her body hits the pavement, her petals scattered. what the homily never disclosed: there is a puncture in his kindness and it spares no one.

sorrow is a cracked floor of the cathedral that sinks him, with demons watching from its stained glass windows.

IV. APOTHIC PERDITION.

he descends along with their caskets. to die is to empty a body. humanity is an option long gone.

another foot sunk to the sand, beach washing the shore in gentle persuasion.

he doesn’t know where else to run except away from the coast.

the tabernacle is filthy with rage, the religion nothing but treacheries. he seeks another belief in the depth of the water, not knowing that the floor is another traitor.

unlike the bible, however, the anchor teaches him to destroy. it does not feel as suffocating to fill his lungs with lies and smudge his hands in glory. there is no lighthouse to guide him home, but he finds atlantis along the way.

and it asks: doesn’t it feel good, to play god?

V. LIMBIC GUILLOTINE.

in the ellipsis of his panoramic wounds, lives the warmth of summer. in the future, it will sting. in the present, it lies dormant. in the past, it carved dreams.

he learns that the sky does not sleep.

when it tries to, it bleeds. poured in a transcendental hemorrhage before darkness takes it away. sometimes, it becomes night. sometimes, hurricane takes over.

precipitation is another spelling for catharsis. there is a god above the other. the god he once knew forgot to tell him that salvation often begins in the stream.

the god he once knew forgot to tell him that not all gods walk on water.

( some drown in it. )

that is, until they learn to part the sea and walk between the columns.

VI. PARADOXICAL COLOSSEUM.

in the end of a war, there is another tragedy. even at the brink of its demise, it demands another casualty.

pretty lips enclose around the neck, ripping open the jugular. he has never witnessed so much color in the waves. he has never predicted that the ocean, too, spills blood.

an oxymoron of sacrilege: a god’s mind is not made of eden. an exoskeleton of forgotten altars: this apocalypse to his psyche.

nobody believes that no god is sane.

but moreover, nobody believes that gods sometimes weep over the destructions they inflicted.

VII. SACRED FORMALDEHYDE.

he is neck-deep in neural rigor mortis.

the syllogism is, even god needs to breathe. logic is an overlooked mistake, emotions a product of murderers. the world does not crumble when a god falls, submerged underwater.

splinters of past are what he has: like a vulture on his shoulder, whispering

even the apostles do not miss you; even the worshippers know of your monstrous intents.

gods are beasts wrapped in halos, but no saints admit to being sinners.

in the end, gods die in the hands of non-believers.

when he architects his own resurrection, he rises not as a messiah but as the crucifix.

VIII. PHENOMENAL SURREALISM.

but even crucifixes wither, weathering. he fractures twice before there is nothing left to snap but his brittle, residual bones.

( the first rule of atonement: do not forgive, do not forget. )

he remembers them by their fingerprints around his throat. and with them, he perishes after burying his corpse in the backyard.

what he never foresees: sometimes dandelions grow on graves, reminiscing over days when caskets keep the memories alive.

what he never foresees: i. ) testaments do not cease existing centuries after the god’s death. ii. ) he can turn an atheist into a believer that worships the sins in his blessings. iii. ) there is a life post-mortem where someone sees him as nebulae.

( for once, eternity is a baptism, a second birth. )

#abt.#ver: xv.#tw sacrilege #tw body horror #tw parental death #tw blood #tw violence

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seekfirstme · 3 years

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"Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony." (John 3: 11).

Tuesday 13th April 2021, in the 2nd Week of Easter is the feast of Pope St Martin 1. Italian. Pope and Martyr. St Martin suffered martyrdom because of his defense of the truth that Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100% Man. Emperor Constans II got him arrested and exiled him to Crimea where he suffered much abuse and humiliation. Martin wrote from prison: “For forty-seven days, I have not been given water to wash in. I am frozen through and wasting away…. But God sees all things and I trust in him.”

Our key Scripture for today could have been spoken by Pope St Martin I: "Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony." (John 3: 11). For the past 2000 years, saints and martyrs following the example of Jesus have been persecuted for speaking the truth they know. The adversaries have no answers to refute them. But like Pilate, Herod, Henry VIII, Hitler and Stalin they had brute force and they responded accordingly. The brutal persecution did not stop the Gospel from spreading.

"You, O Christ, are the faithful witness [Martyr], the First-born from the dead, you have loved us and have washed away our sins with your blood. (Cf Revelation 1: 5).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirst.blogspot.com

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dailybiblelessons · 5 years

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Tuesday: Reflection on the Twenty-forth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Roman Catholic Proper 24 Revised Common Lectionary Proper 19

Complementary Hebrew Scripture from The Twelve Prophets: Jonah 3

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Semi-continuous Hebrew Scripture from the Latter Prophets: Jeremiah 5:18-31

But even in those days, says the Lord, I will not make a full end of you. And when your people say, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” you shall say to them, “As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.”

Declare this in the house of Jacob, proclaim it in Judah: Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but do not see, who have ears, but do not hear. Do you not fear me? says the Lord; Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail, though they roar, they cannot pass over it. But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, “Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.”¹ Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have deprived you of good. For scoundrels are found among my people; they take over the goods of others. Like fowlers they set a trap; they catch human beings. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of treachery; therefore they have become great and rich, they have grown fat and sleek. They know no limits in deeds of wickedness; they do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord, and shall I not bring retribution on a nation such as this?

An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule as the prophets direct; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

¹This verse is quoted in James 5:7, where he urges patience in suffering.

Complementary Psalm 73

Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.

Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.

If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,” I would have been untrue to the circle of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you. Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.

Semi-continuous Psalm 94

O Lord, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve! O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?

They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage. They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan, and they say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

Understand, O dullest of the people; fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, he who teaches knowledge to humankind, does he not chastise? The Lord knows our thoughts, that they are but an empty breath.¹

Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, giving them respite from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;² for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My foot is slipping,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out.

¹Paul quotes this verse in 1 Corinthians 3:20, discussing divisions in the Corinthian church. ²Paul uses this verse in Romans 11:2, explaining that Israel's rejection is not final.

New Testament Epistle Lesson: 2 Peter 3:8-13

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Year C Ordinary 24, Catholic Proper 24, RCL Proper 19: Tuesday

Selections are from Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 1995 by the Consultation on Common Texts. Unless otherwise indicated, Bible text is from New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV) copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Image Credit: A Bamberg Apocalypse Folio 019, By Deutsch: Auftraggeber: Otto III. oder Heinrich II. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons 0 license (public domain).

#C Ordinary 24 Tuesday #repentance #punishment #Nineveh #Jonah

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missalizakashmalakiran · 7 years

Text

HOW TO PERFORM SALAH:

My BOOK

How to Perform Salah:

By Aliza Mukhtiar(Aliza Kashmala Kiran),

How to offer prayer (salah) according to Saheeh Namaz e Nabawi S.A.W.W:

Having cleansed yourself by Wazu, you may proceed to perform Salah. Wazu is a ritual cleansing. Before you begin your Salah, however, you must make sure that you have a clean body, a clean place to pray, and that you are wearing clothing free of impurities. The minimum clothing required during Salah is:

A. For males: Any clothing that covers from the naval to the knees. It is preferable to cover the shoulders.

B. For females: Any clothing that covers all of the body (including the head) except the face, hands, and according to Imam Abu-Hanifah the toes and a portion of the front of the feet.

The way to offer Salah is:

1. Stand upright facing the direction of Al-Ka'bah. This position is called Qiyaam and the direction is called Qiblah in Arabic. The Qiblah in North America is towards the east with a slight angle towards the north.

2. Make Niyyat (intention) in your heart for the prayer you want to pray.

3. Raise your hands to your shoulders or earlobes and say: "Allahu Akbar.” This means: (Allah is the Greatest). This is called Takbir e tahreema.This is also a Rafa-Yadain in Namaz-- Raising the Hands in Salat.

4. Recite the Opening Invocation (du'aa) for salah: There are two du’as the Prophet (pbuh) used to say:

Allahumma baa’id bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kama baa’adta bayna al-mashriqi wa’l-maghrib. Allahumma naqqini min khataayaaya kama yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas. Allaahumma ighsilni min khataayaaya bi’l-thalji wa’l-maa’i wa’l-barad.

“O Allah, put a great distance between me and my sins, as great as the distance You have made between the East and the West. O Allah, cleanse me of sin as a white garment is cleansed from filth. O Allah, wash away my sins with snow and water and hail.” (Bukhari)

And:

“Subhanaka Allaahumma wa bihamdika tabaarakas muka wa ta'aalaa jadduka wa laa ilaaha ghairuk”

(O Allaah! I declare You far removed from above all imperfection, and that You deserve all Praise. Blessed is Your Name. Your Majesty (Glory and Might) is Exalted, and there is no true God Worthy of Worship Except You.)

5. Recitation of Soorat Al-Faatiha (Opening Chapter of the Qur'an): Must be recited in every unit of prayer (Rak'ah). Begin by utter the following with a low voice:

“A'oodthu billahi minash-shaitanir-rajeem. Bismillaahir-Rahmannir-Raheem”

(I seek Refuge with Allaah from Satan, the outcast. In the Name of Allaah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, I begin)

Then you Must recite the Faatihah in every rak'ah, pausing after each verse (aayah):

“All the praises and thanks be to Allaah, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists). The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection). You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything). Guide us to the Straight Way. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians).”

At the end, you must say “Aameen.”

Those who are not capable to recite the Faatihah may say instead, “subhanah Allah, al-hamdulillah,and la illaah illallaah, Allaahu akbar, and laa hawlah wa laa quwata illaa bil-laah” which means:

I declare Allaah far removed from all imperfection, and deserving all the Praise, and that there is no true God other than Allaah.

6. Rukoo' (Bowing Down) i) Raise the hands as described previously and say ALLAAHU AKBAR (Allah is the Greater) while going into the bowing position.This is also a Rafa yadein.

(ii) In bowing posture, put the hands on the knees and grab them with your elbows away from your sides, and your back straightened with the head leveled with your back Bowing (rukoo') Position in Salah.

(iii) While in bowing position one says:

“Subhanna rabbiyal 'adheem” (3 times) (Far removed from every imperfection is my Rabb (Lord), the Great)

7.Standing Erect Qooma after Rukoo':

(i) Rise from bowing, raising you hands to the levels of the shoulders, or earlobes,By saying ALLAH U AKBAR and

saying:

“Sami'Allahu li man hamdidah”

(Allaah hears the one who praises Him)

(ii) Stand upright until one's very parts take their positions and say:

“Rabbana walakal-hamd”

(O our Rabb (Lord)! All the praise is due to You)

8. The sujood (prostration) & juloos (sitting):

(i) Reach the ground with the hand's first and then the knees while saying ALLAAHU AKBAR (Allaah is the Greater), and rest on your palm's and place your forehead, nose, knees,and feet on the floor with your belly away from your thighs. Toes should be erected and directed to the Qiblah. Your arms should be away from the ground, as bellow, saying:

“Subhaana Rabiyyal-'Alaa” (3 times)

(Far removed is my Rabb, the Most High, from any Imperfection)

Prostration Position

(iii) Then you raise your head while saying, “ALLAAHU AKBAR” (sometimes raising one's hands), sit on your left leg while keeping your right foot upright with its fingers to the qiblah.

Put your hands on your knees (see below), and supplicate saying:

“Rabbigh-fir lee”

(O my Rabb! Forgive me) Sitting

Position The left and right foot in IFTIRASH

This position of IFTIRASH is done in the last rak'ah of Fajr and Maghrib Prayer and in all Regular or optional prayers.

(iv) Following the sitting position, you come up with a second prostration as you did before. Once done you have completed one full unit (rak'ah). Say, “Allaahu Akbar” and stand up for the second rak'ah. Do it in the same manner as you did the first one, but without reciting the opening supplication.

Jalsa istrihat:we do it on first and third rakhat.we sit for a moment before starting another rakah.(To be continued)

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shiguremachi · 7 years

Text

帝国少女 / Imperial Girl (english lyrics)

youtube

Producer: R Sound Design (twitter/website)

R’s self-cover

This has also got to be the hardest (and longest) song I’ve translated to date :< Translation notes are interspersed throughout the lyrics. General comments* can be found at the back too.

Intro

夜ノ匂イ yoru no nioi 車ノ音 kuruma no oto 街ノ灯リ machi no akari 人々ノ聲 hitobito no koe 信号ノ点滅 shingou no tenmetsu 発車ノ合図 hassha no aizu

The scent of the night The sound of cars City lights The murmur of a crowd The flashing of traffic lights A signal to depart

参 san 弐 ni 壱 ichi 始 (hajimaru)

3, 2, 1*, start

First verse

頽廃的都市構想 taihaiteki toshi kousou 浮ついた世のシーンでメロウに uwatsuita yo no shiin de merou ni 雑踏の中息衝いた　 zattou no naka ikizuita Trap Chiptune Neon アラカルト arakaruto

Blueprints for a city whose culture has diluted In a scene from this restless world Breathing mellowly amidst the hustle and bustle Trap, Chiptune and Neon* à la carte (breathing: hinting that the music is alive)

感傷的都市逍遥 kanshouteki toshi shouyou フラついた夜のミームとメロディ furatsuita yoru no miimu to merodi 彷徨って samayotte 行き着いた ikitsuita 路地裏の闇夜に溶ける rojiura no yamiyo ni tokeru

A sentimental city stroll The wavering night’s memes and melody Wandering, I arrive at a back alley and melt in its moonless night

本能的都市抗争 honnouteki toshi kousou 騒ついた銀のホールでファジーに zawatsuita gin no hooru de fajii ni 喧騒の中色褪せぬ kensou no naka iroasenu Vaporwave Makina エトセトラ etosetora

Instinctive city strife In silver halls filled with commotion, fuzzily, amidst the din, they do not fade away Vaporwave, Makina* Et cetera

絶対的都市権能 zettaitekitoshi kennou ヘラついた今日のあいつをバターに heratsuita kyou no aitsu wo bataa ni 強がって tsuyogatte 噛み付いた kamitsuita 聳える都市のシステム sobieru toshi no shisutemu

Absolute city authority They were on edge today, and in a show of bravado bit a piece of butter This towering city’s system

(The other person being referenced here has an unknown gender, since Japanese pronouns do not specify so)

(on edge: nervous, irritable) (I really have no idea what the butter means)

純金製の欠乏感を左の耳にぶら下げて junkinsei no ketsuboukan wo hidari no mimi ni burasagete 芳香性の憂鬱感を纏ったら houkousei no yuuutsukan wo matottara 抗菌性の停滞感を両手の爪に散りばめて koukinsei no teitaikan wo ryoute no tsume ni chiribamete どうせ何も起きることのないこの夜に douse nani mo okiru koto no nai kono yoru ni

A sense of deficiency made from pure gold hangs from my left ear Wrapped in a perfume-like sense of depression, I studded my nails with an antibacterial lack of progression In any case, on this night when I will never wake up — (lit. feeling of being at a standstill)

First chorus

朽ちゆく身体と心を連れ kuchi yuku karada to kokoro wo tsure 一人当て無く漂っていくの hitori ate naku tadayotte iku no 形骸的残響に絆され滅びゆく都市を這い回るゾンビ keigaiteki zankyou ni hodasare horobi yuku toshi wo haimawaru zonbi

Carrying my decaying body and heart Drifting away, with not a single person in sight A zombie creeping about a dying city held together by hollow reverberations (hollow: in the sense of ‘a shell of their former existence’) (all the lines are describing the zombie -- it’s difficult to bring across in English because in Japanese, all the descriptors have been tacked on before the noun)

どんなにどんなに夜に堕ちても donna ni donna ni yoru ni ochite mo 明日の光が世界を染めてく asu no hikari ga sekai wo someteku 蘇る私は yomigaeru watashi wa 帝国少女 teikoku shoujo

No matter how far I fall into the night The light of tomorrow colours this world I, who has come back to life, am an imperial girl

Second intro

好キナ色 suki na iro 好キナ音 suki na oto 好キナ匂イ suki na nioi 好キナ言葉 suki na kotoba 好キナ人 suki na hito

The colours I love The sounds I love The scents I love The words I love The person I love

Second verse

盲目的都市幻想 moumokutekitoshi gensou ひしめき合うスノッブと漂うクロエ hishimekiau sunobbu to tadayou kuroe 私をちょっと狂わせる watashi wo chotto kuruwaseru PUSHER Wave Pablo エトセトラ etosetora

A blind illusion of a city A jostling snob and a drifting Chloe drive me a little mad Pusher, Wave , Pablo* et cetera

(Who’s Chloe?)

恋愛的都市様相 renaitekitoshi souyou 目眩く夜とジーンのシャワーに mekurumeku yoru to jiin no shawaa ni 直濡れた jikinureta 指の先で yubi no saki de なぞる恋のシニカル nazoru koi no shinikaru

The romantic face of this city I drench myself directly in the dazzling night and a gene’s shower, tracing the cynicism of love with the tip of my finger

金剛性の背徳感を薬の指に光らせて kongousei no haitokukan wo kusuri no yubi ni hikarasete 伸縮性の優越感に袖を通して shinshukusei no yuuetsukan ni sode wo tooshite

Polishing this diamantine immorality with medicine I pass an elastic sense of superiority through a sleeve

(medicine: ...it could be drugs, but who knows)

(elastic: as in this person’s ego varies in size)

後天性の先入観で両目の淵を彩った koutensei no sennyuukan de ryoume no fuchi wo irodotta 違う人とあの部屋で夢を見るならモウ chigau hito to ano heya de yume wo miru nara mou

Acquired prejudices colour the depths of my eyes If you dream in that room with a different person, then — (if you say 「もう」 at the end of a sentence, it’s like exclaiming ‘Again?!’ in exasperation)

Second chorus

私の身体と心を watashi no karada to kokoro wo 傷付けた罪を償いなさいよ kizutsuketa tsumi wo tsugunainasai yo 衝動的感情に流されて行き着く先はshoudouteki kanjou ni nagasarete ikitsuku saki wa クライクライ夜 kurai kurai yoru

Atone for these sins which have scarred my body and heart These impulsive feelings have been washed away into the dark, dark night (atone: this is said in a commanding manner)

あんなにあんなに縛られたのは anna ni anna ni shibarareta no wa あなたに愛して欲しかっただけ anata ni aishite hoshikatta dake 泣き濡れる私は nakinureru watashi wa 啼哭少女 teikoku shoujo

That which has been tied up to this extent is only my desire to love you I, who is covered in tears, am a sobbing girl (the kanji says ‘sobbing’, but it’s still pronounced ‘teikoku’, which is the same way of pronouncing ‘imperial’)

Bridge and last chorus

もう遣る瀬無い浮かぬ日々も mou yarusenai ukanu hibi mo 揺れる摩天楼に抱かれて yureru matenrou ni dakarete ビルにまみえる夜空の星に願いを込める biru ni mamieru yozora no hoshi ni negai wo komeru こんな夜に konna yoru ni

Even the now-disconsolate, gloomy days embrace swaying skyscrapers I send a wish to the stars which mimic buildings in the night sky On such a night — (as in the twinkling stars look like the lights from buildings at night)

（嘆息） tansoku

(sigh)

Carrying my decaying body and heart Drifting away, with not a single person in sight A zombie creeping about a dying city held together by hollow reverberations

どんなにどんなに夜に堕ちても donna ni donna ni yoru ni ochite mo 明日の光が世界を染めてく asu no hikari ga sekai wo someteku 未来などどうでもいいのよ mirai nado dou demo ii no yo

No matter how far I fall into the night The light of tomorrow colours this world I don’t care about things like the future!

こんなにこんなに愛した場所よ konna ni konna ni aishita basho yo 何度も何度も歩いた道よ nando mo nando mo aruita michi yo 催涙的郷愁に襲われ sairuiteki kyoushuu ni osoware 黄昏る街を駆け抜けるゾンビ tasogareru machi wo kakenukeru zonbi

The places I loved so, so much The paths I have traversed so many times over Tear-inducing nostalgia hits me, a zombie running through the streets at dusk

私の身体と心の傷あなたの笑顔も声も全部 watashi no karada to kokoro no kizu anata no egao mo koe mo zenbu ここに置いて逝くわ koko ni oite iku wa 帝国少女 teikoku shoujo

The scars on my body and heart Your smile, your voice, your everything are fading from this very spot Imperial girl

Outro

夜ノ匂イ

yoru no nioi

車ノ音

kuruma no oto

街ノ灯リ

machi no akari

人々ノ聲

hitobito no koe

信号ノ点滅

shingou no tenmetsu

発車ノ合図

hassha no aizu

アナタ香リ anata kari アナタノ聲 anata no koe アナタノ手 anata no te 好 suki 好キナ色 suki na iro 好キナ音 suki na oto 好キナ匂イ suki na nioi 好キナ言葉 suki na kotoba 好キナ人 suki na hito 別レノ合図 betsure no aizu 参 san 弐 ni 壱 ichi 終

(owaru)

The scent of the night The sound of cars City lights The murmur of a crowd The flashing of traffic lights A signal to depart Your scent Your voice Your hand Love The colours I love The sounds I love The scents I love The words I love The person I love A different signal 3, 2, 1*, end

General comments:

1) All English words reference underground music genres

2) The 3-2-1 uses a formal way of writing numbers. The same characters can be found on the backs of the Crypton Vocaloids’ Senbonzakura outfits. In the Chinese language their equivalents were used mainly in recording numbers for bookkeeping, since the numbers’ ordinary forms were easily editable (a shady person could simply add more strokes to change the number ― and that ain’t good). There is an easy way to read these characters: the simple version of the number can be found in them (e.g. 参 has 3 strokes together, just like 三).

3) R himself(?) said the lyrics were chosen more for how they sounded. Which explains why some parts are just weird. Also, he(?) likes how the word ‘zombie’ sounds so yeah. (I can’t find the blog post where this was from argh)

#r sound design #ito kashitaro #伊東歌詞太郎 #english lyrics

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pamphletstoinspire · 7 years

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Psalm 57 - Interpreted

Daily Plenary Indulgence

Per Vatican II, one of the ways to gain a daily plenary indulgence is to read Scripture for ½ hour per day. For Pamphlets to Inspire (PTI), the Scripture readings that inspire us the most are the Psalms. Reading the Psalms and understanding their meaning can sometimes be challenging. In an attempt to draw more individuals to not only read the Psalms, but to understand their meaning, PTI has found an analysis of their meaning by St. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine. The method that will be employed is to list the chapter and verse, and then provide an explanation of that verse. Your interest in this subject will determine how often we will chat about this topic. The Bible that will be used is the official Bible of the Catholic Church and used by the Vatican, that is, the Douay-Rheims or Latin Vulgate version.

David reproves the wicked, and fortells their punishment.

1. If in very deed you speak justice: judge right things, ye sons of men.

1. “If in very deed you speak justice: judge right things, ye sons of men.” When men are asked whether it is right to steal, commit adultery, cheat, and the like, they, very properly, answer that it is not right; because the law written in their hearts teaches them so, and no one wishes to be robbed, abused, etc.; and thus, all evildoers stand convicted of deceit when they say so, and still rob, steal, commit adultery, etc.; things they would not do unless they believed a certain amount of good or advantage was in them. Not only that, but they stand convicted of falsehood while they cry up justice, and descant on the sin of theft, adultery, etc.; but they also prove themselves to be laboring under a deplorable blindness, loud in their denunciations of theft, etc., and, at the same time, devoted themselves to those vices, and dealing with others as they would not be dealt with themselves. For, if theft be good in itself, why are they unwilling to be plundered? If it be not good in itself, why plunder another? The Holy Spirit exclaims against such voluntary and inexcusable blindness, saying, “if, in very deed, you speak justice,” when you condemn theft, anger, etc.; “judge right things, ye sons of men;” consider it in your hearts that you should not do them, and do not what you have acknowledged to be bad.

2. For in your heart you work iniquity: your hands forge injustice in the earth.

2. “For in your heart you work iniquity: your hands forge injustice in the earth.” He shows he had reason for the admonition he gave them, to judge justly if they would speak justly; for, it appears, they did the very contrary; and thus spoke with the semblance of justice, while they were full of malice and deceit. “For in your heart you work iniquity;” you think of nothing but what is bad, and you do not stop there; for “your hands forge injustice in the earth;” your hands put into execution what your heart conceived.

3. The wicked are alienated from the womb; they have gone astray from the womb: they have spoken false things.

3. “The wicked are alienated from the womb: they have gone astray from the womb: they are spoken false things.” Another misfortune of sinners is, that they fall, not after a lapse of years, but at once, almost from the cradle. “The wicked are alienated from the womb.” Scarcely out of the womb when they leave the straight path, the path of life, of happiness. “They have spoken false things;” lies and falsehood our corrupt nature first shows itself.

4. Their madness is according to the likeness of a serpent; like the deaf asp that stoppeth her ears:

4. “Their madness is according to the likeness of a serpent; like the deaf asp that stoppeth her ears.” No explanation given.

5. Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; nor of the wizard that charmeth wisely.

5. “Which will not hear the voice of the charmers; nor of the wizard that charmeth wisely.” Having told us that sin, as a disease, attacks us in our very infancy, he now adds that the disease is of long duration, but that it is also a most grievous disease; sinners being sometimes so overpowered by it, and hurried on to ruin others by it, that they may be compared to serpents of a certain kind, that will yield to no incantations whatever. “Their madness,” the madness of those grievous sinners, such as Saul, “is according to the likeness of a serpent,” that no art will tame; nay, even like a “deaf asp,” that stops her ears with her tail, for fear she should “hear the voice of the charmers, nor of the wizard, that charmeth wisely;” that is, of one well skilled in charming. Whether such be true of the asp or not is no matter for David speaks according to general opinion on the subject. St. Augustine observes that this passage no more approves of the arts and practices of wizards and charmers, than do the parables of our Lord regarding the unjust steward, and the man who found the treasure in the farm, of their honesty in such cases.

6. God shall break in pieces their teeth in their mouth: the Lord shall break the grinders of the lions.

6. “God shall break in pieces their teeth in their mouth: the Lord shall break the grinders of the lions.” Having painted the enormity of the sins of certain persons, Saul being the principal person in view, he now describes the punishments in-store for such sinners, by most appropriate similes. The first is in this verse, the gist of which is, that however great and formidable the power of the sinner may appear to be, still that he would be deprived of it. No animal more terrible, more formidable than a lion, and his teeth are the weapons he makes most use of, and the most destructive to his enemies. “God will break in pieces their teeth,” the teeth of the sinners, who, like lions, tear and plunder the unoffending. However powerful and strong like lions they made appear to be; “in their mouth,” while they are alive, and not after death – a thing easily done; and it is not the small teeth will be so broken, but their very grinders; for, “he shall break the grinders of the lions,” the largest and most durable of all the teeth.

7. They shall come to nothing, like water running down: he hath bent his bow till they be weakened.

7. “They shall come to nothing, like water running down: he hath bent his bow till they be weakened.” Another simile, teaching us that the power of the wicked would be very brief, and, after a very short time, would be so extirpated that not a trace of it would be found; like a sudden fall of rain, that creates, for the moment, a great inundation, of which, in a few hours, not a trace can be found. Such was the case with Saul, Achab, Jeroboam, Nero, Caius, Domitian, and, with the great heresiarchs, Arius, Nestorius, and others. “Theyshall come to nothing, like water running down;” that runs with great velocity, leaving not a trace of itself. And lest we may suppose this happened in an ordinary way, he adds, “he hath bent his bow till they be weakened;” the show it was all God’s work, all his doings; for it was he who bent his bow against them, and kept it bent against them until they were utterly ruined.

8. Like wax that melteth they shall be taken away: fire hath fallen on them, and they shall not see the sun.

8. “Like wax then melteth they shall be taken away: fire hath fallen on them, and they shall not see the sun.” The third simile, showing that it is as easy for God to destroy the power of the tyrant or the sinner, as it is for the fire or the sun to melt wax, which, however hard it may be, readily yields to the action of either. “like wax that melteth away,” when the fire or the sun comes to act upon it, so shall the sinners “be taken away,” and utterly destroyed. “For fire hath fallen on them;” the fire of the anger of God; and being thus melted, they disappeared; “and they shall not see the sun;” a thing they could not do when they were utterly destroyed.

9. Before your thorns could know the briar; he swalloweth them up, as alive, in his wrath.

9. “Before your thorns could know the briar; he swalloweth them up, as alive, in his wrath.” The last simile through which the Prophet teaches us that the wicked will be uprooted and cut down by God, before they can carry out their wicked designs against the just, and thus balk them of the gratification they calculated on from their ruin. Thus Saul had an unhappy end, before he could rejoice on David’s death; so with Diocletian and the other persecutors of the Church, we had a miserable exit before they could witness the extirpation of Christianity they were so bent on. The simile is taken from thorns, which, when young, are easily cut down, but when they grow to any age, so as to get into timber, or, as the verse expresses it: “to know the briar,” cannot be rooted out but with great difficulty. “He swalloweth them up as alive in his wrath.” He will annihilate, them is completely as if the earth opened and swallowed them up alive.

10. The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge: he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.

10. “The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge: he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.” When the sinners shall have been so signally punished, “the just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge;” not through love of revenge, but from a love of justice, seeing it was God’s goodness that prevented himself will falling into such sins and meriting such punishment; and he will not only rejoice, but “he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner;” that is, his own good works will shine forth in bright contrast to the wickedness of the sinner. Contraries show more clearly when placed in juxtaposition; and the Scripture not infrequently uses the term “blood” to signify sin.

11. And man shall say: If indeed there be fruit to the just; there is indeed a God that judgeth them on the earth.

11. “And man shall say: if indeed there be fruit to the just; there is indeed a God that judgeth them on the earth.” When the wicked shall be punished and that just shall rejoice, then, in reality, “a man shall say;” the men, witnessing those things, will say: if justice brings any advantage with it, the greatest is, that God, the supreme Judge, does not let the wicked go unpunished, nor the just unrewarded; but he reverses all unjust judgments, and judges all, both good and bad, rewarding the good for the good works they did, and for all the persecutions they suffered; and inflicting condign punishment on the wicked for all their bad acts, and for all the wantonness in which they reveled; and thus is fulfilled the sentence in Apocalypse 18, “as much as she had glorified herself; and hath been in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give unto her.”

End of Psalm 57

#psalm 57

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