#Sunday's Gospel

[rev-esparza-cp]

First Sunday of Advent

(The Gospel of Saint Mark 13:33 to 37)

Advent: School of Hope

Be watchful, Jesus warns his disciples when prophesying the destruction of the temple.

Be watchful, when even your sense of identity is lost, when confusion reigns, this is what the destruction of the temple meant for the Hebrews.

Be watchful, when you are hated by those closest to your heart, stay alert, Jesus advises his friends.

Be watchful, Jesus warns, when the cosmos, when the sun and stars tremble, when nature becomes violent.

But what did Jesus mean with these words?

Be watchful…

on the lips of the Lord is asking us to hope in the midst of calamity.

Be watchful on the lips of our God means having a stubborn conviction in God's faithfulness.

To be watchful on the lips of our Savior is a call to be slaves of hope in the midst of the darkness of the world.

This hope is not superficial positive psychology, or a naive optimism that hides and buries the raw, the violent, the cruel and even the absurd, and the emptiness of existence.

This hope does not lead us to a cowardly, conscious escapism from the darkness that can exists in life.

The hope I speak of is not nice cossie feelings that the world proposes as one faces the nebulous and dark things in life.

The hope I speak of is different... that is why we will have to call it Christian hope.

This Christian hope makes us first descend and then ascend.

This Christian hope first thrust our whole beings into the darkness... It roots us in the raw, the violent, the unjust, the cruel, the absurd and the emptiness of our existence in order to allow these realities to speak to our hearts.

This is the first step in learning to be slaves to hope… to be watchful.

To allow the darkness of existence to speak is to dwell on the Golgotha hill. It is to dwell at the foot of the Cross. This task is only for the little ones. Dwelling on the Golgotha will not be for the great and the strong.

First we have to be scandalized by the Cross, by the darkness of existence, to the point of almost deserting, until we almost run away.

Everyone here has experienced this when tragedy hits our lives. We know the pain, the sorrow, the shame of dwelling on the Golgotha Hill at the foot of the Cross, facing suffering.

We know that allowing for suffering to speak to the depths of our being is scandalizing. It can shake the core of our being.

It is at this moment, when suffering speaks that some become nihilists, pessimists, prophets of tragedy and even cynics.

As Mexicans we know this very well. Faced with the tragedy of the state, our country and society, there is a large sector of society that has already thrown in the towel. They are tired of hearing the pain in our society. They could not bear it. And, they became prophets of death, cynics and they have taken refuge in indifference.

Mexicand who have thrown in the towel have their own litanies, their own mantras that reflect their feelings and their life.

Mexicans who are cynical about injustice and tragedy only know how to say:

This is how it has always been and nothing is going to change.

When we allow suffering to speak deep in our hearts and we do NOT trust in our strength but in God's…

When we allow suffering to speak deep in our hearts and we do NOT trust in our own wisdom but in the wisdom of God.

When we allow suffering to speak in the depths of our heart and we do not seek our own will but the holy will of God... it is here that we ascend and Christian hope springs forth.

It is in this ascension that Christian hope begins to flourish after facing what darkness has to say.

The ascension of Golgotha, of allowing suffering to speak, will be done through the abandonment of our life in God. It will be through continuous discernment of God's will with the community and through prayer.

The ascension in Christian hope, on this earth, is from Golgotha and takes us into the empty tomb of Jesus.

The same tomb where the evangelist Mark invites us to enter with the little ones. St. Mark's testimony of the resurrection is accompanied by shock and awe, not haughty conviction. The response to the resurrection for the evangelist Mark was faint and soft that it almost evaporated because of the fear they felt at the empty tomb.

In other words, Christian hope is not a mature and imposing oaktree that blossoms from triumphalism and certainty. Christian hope, taking the words of Charles Péguy, philosopher, poet and mystic of the 20th century, is a little girl of nothing, but that little girl of nothing, says Charles Peguy, will cross the world.

This little girl, called Christian hope, is fragile but her strength lies in her naivety and daring courage. That is why, in her boldness, she is not stunned by despair because he already knew it when she allowed suffering and darkness to speak

In the face of social confusion, this little girl called Christian Hope can illuminate the depths of our being in order to cling to who we are and to whom we belong.

In the face of family division or social antagonism, Christian hope allows us to keep the doors open to forgiveness and reconciliation even if it is from afar and even if it costs us our comfort and pride.

Faced with the cataclysmic realities that we face such as the climate crisis, the economic crisis and the violence in the country, this little girl called Christian Hope urges us to continue doing our part. I have to do my part and do it well. Indifference or defitism is not an option for Christians.

Let us enter this season of Advent, which is the school of hope, with hearts open so that the Living Word of God can allow us to descend and ascend, from the Golgotha Hill to the empty tomb, and thus allow the little girl of nothing, called Christian hope, to flourish in our lives and the life of the community. This way we will remain watchful as our Lord commanded.

May the Passion of Christ be always in our hearts.

[lionofchaeronea]

Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, Pietro Lorenzetti, ca. 1320

[dearlittlefandom-stalker]

Imagine being one of the Roman soldiers though. Imagine having to do what you thought would be a normal execution one day.

Three convicts, two of which are thieves. As for the third… I mean, yeah some people say this guy is the “messiah” (whatever that means, you’re no Jew) and there is talk of miracles and the religious nuts really seem to hate him, but you have him nailed to a cross all the same, so what? If he is a god then he can join the club; Caesar knows that the Romans have enough gods to fill their pantheon and then some. Most likely he’s just a man with some hefty delusions that cost him his life.

But then earthquakes happen. Weird but can be written off as chance, right? Then the sky goes dark midday. A blood moon rises.

That ain’t normal.

Feelings unlike anything you’ve ever felt arise in your gut. The man cries out with a loud voice “It is finished!” and dies immediately after. You shiver. Uncanny, that is.

���Surely this Man is the Son of God,” a fellow Soldier exclaims beside you. At this point you might agree, but the spear still pierces through his skin all the same and you think (hope) that whoever this God-Man was that he isn’t your problem anymore, seeing as he’s dead. Hopefully you can forget the whole thing. (Somehow you feel that this scene will haunt you for a long time)

But the debacle is not over with the burial, as you had assumed. The religious nuts get real anxious and noisy, so to shut them up Pilot has a watch set to guard the body of a dead man. A dead man.

You personally have seen many dead men in your time, but never have you seen one move. Never have you seen or heard of people particularly wanting to touch dead bodies, either. You almost say as such when you are one of the men assigned the last watch, but decide you’d rather like to keep your tongue than chance losing it. You expect it to be rather a boring job, all told.

And it is. Until these, these beings of light and lightning descend on top of you from the Heavens and the last thing you can think before you know no more is whatever god whose body I’ve been guarding please spare me

You wake up, despite all your expectations to the contrary. You almost wonder if it would have been better if you died.

Those religious nuts come to you and your fellow guards and give you some coin along with a fake story to tell. They offer to save the skin off your back so you are not put to death like others who’ve been killed for less. You go along with the story because to be honest there is still a part of you that hopes this was all a dream. But the borrowed words taste like ash in your mouth and the coins jingle in your pockets with all the weight of a chain.

You go through the rest of the day (and night, and the next day and night) after the event in a haze. Your feet walk where you know not and you don’t care to correct them.

But then you see Him.

The same Man you saw die.

The same Man whose body you guarded.

This Son of God, in the flesh, you see stand in front of a crowd with your own two eyes and you can scarce believe it but all the same you know more than you’ve ever known anything before that this is real, that this Jesus is truly not just a god, but The God.

And so you decide to follow Him.

Just imagine that for a minute.

[t-underneaththeradardancing]

another now and starts early

btw not because of the kitty who iz as u know good and always and she really is and wuz

there wuz coffee - then the day escaped

today will bee a little longer

and of course the usual usual

a gospel sunday

anyway

hallelujah

[rumicworldweek]

Welcome to Rumic World Week 2023! To celebrate Rumiko Takahashi´s 45 year long career and her birthday the event will run from October 4th to October 10th.

Prompts:

DAY 1 ♦ OCT 4TH -> favourite manga and/or anime

DAY 2 ♦ OCT 5TH -> favourite chapter or episode

DAY 3 ♦ OCT 6TH -> favourite main character

DAY 4 ♦ OCT 7TH -> favourite dynamic

DAY 5 ♦ OCT 8TH -> favourite secondary character

DAY 6 ♦ OCT 9TH -> favourite scene or quote

DAY 7 ♦ OCT 10TH -> free choice ♦ Happy Birthday Rumiko Takahashi!

Alternative prompts for writers and artists. Or anyone that doesn’t feel inspired by the previous ones.

DAY 1 ♦ OCT 4TH -> pre canon

DAY 2 ♦ OCT 5TH -> smile / laughter

DAY 3 ♦ OCT 6TH -> missing moment

DAY 4 ♦ OCT 7TH -> alternative universe

DAY 5 ♦ OCT 8TH -> hurt / comfort

DAY 6 ♦ OCT 9TH -> festival

DAY 7 ♦ OCT 10TH -> free choice

To participate mention @rumicworldweek in your post and/or tag your post with #rumicworldweek.

The prompts were chosen in order to encourage everyone to participate.

You’re free to combine the two lists or pick only one or alternate between the two.

You can combine the days or skip some. You can choose which manga/anime to use for each prompt. Ranma can be your favourite main and Rinne your favourite manga.

Any type of participation is welcome. Drabbles, graphics, fanarts, gifs, fanfics, playlists, scans, colorings… text posts explaining why Ranma is your favourite character. Everything will be reblogged here. Feel free to send an ask if your post wasn’t reblogged.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask!

[lifepath25]

He does, what he wants, when he wants, how he wants and the atheist won't accept it, that even in there factual existence He was always aware. God, does, what he wants, when he wants, how he wants Period

[otoso]

Brothers and Sunday is like

IG emorjaroberson

[elvenwhovian]

Sunday Notes | 12/8/24

[dream-piper]

Happy Easter Sunday 2024

(Or Resurrection Day if you prefer!)

5: The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6: He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7: Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

Matthew 28:5-7

[godslove]

[momentomori24]

I like to headcanon Shin as a hardcore atheist (complete opposite of Hiyori who's a very religious person). He can't see himself believing in a higher power, not when his plights and tragedies and suffering were always met with indifference by whatever higher power may exist. But not by Sou Hiyori-- his guardian angel all throughout high school. His protector and his tormentor. His saviour and his captor. Someone he devoutly followed for years after having found him. Someone he looks up to; someone superior (always "Hiyori" while he's still "Shin", never his equal). Someone whose teachings he takes to heart and lives by. Someone he seeks out instinctively in his hour of desperation and need. Someone whose hand-me-down he wears dutifully around his neck to keep him close at all times. Someone who will praise him for his obedience and dependency and punish him for his defiance and independence. Someone he loves and respects and fears all at once. The moon can't shine without the sun, and Hiyori all but shone upon him when he couldn't find the light within himself. Shin doesn't believe in God, but loving Hiyori is the closest he's ever gotten to religion. I think it's poetic, in a way.

[lionofchaeronea]

The Resurrection (from the Ciudad Rodrigo altarpiece), Maestro Bartolomé and workshop, between 1480 and 1488

[gospel-art-project]

[t-underneaththeradardancing]

The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There [Full Length Version]

[thepersonalwords]

The miracle centered gospel breeds up a mentality of people that think they could go through life without doing their best.

Sunday Adelaja