#The Psalms : their history teachings and use

[sweetbillwriting]

The Blackened Branches

ONE

Description: Hayden and Eric have a long history together but also secrets, hidden under blackened branches.

Characters: AU Eric from The Crow played by Bill Skarsgård. The story is completely its own thing.

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, heavy themes.

Notes: A new Eric story! I missed him at once. 🖤 Once again, thank you @b-afterhours!

We had a big oak next to our house when I was little. It stood alone on a field by our street before the forest spread out behind it. When I was really young, it had been healthy, big, and green, but through the years, it had dried up and stood like a skeleton left behind. There was an oak I had collected acorns by, and given to my mother, but when it died, so did my childlike interests for the tree, until I met Eric.

I was eleven when we met; he was thirteen, but he had a way about him that made him seem younger. I was on my way from school when I saw a boy sitting on a branch at the top of the dead oak. He wore just shorts and a big shirt, and his feet were bare. It was way too cold at the end of October to be dressed like that, so I stared at him a bit too long. When he looked at me, I lowered my eyes and took longer strides to my house. I could feel his eyes on me, but more than that didn't happen. I worried he would say something right then and there, but later, while sitting by the TV with my parents and older brother, I felt disappointed. Nothing exciting ever happened to me, and seeing a weird boy barefoot in a dead tree was the most exciting thing that had happened to me. I wish he had said something, just something that I could have answered cool and relaxed on, but something like that didn't happen to me; I just continued life like someone had perfected it to a predictable psalm.

“Did you see that boy running through the neighborhood today?” asked my mom to my dad which made him tear away his eyes from the TV. My brother, Illowa, and I did the same, but he was annoyed that they spoke over the TV, while I wanted to hear if it was the same boy I've seen.

“Yeah, I tried to catch up with him with the car to see if everything was alright, but he was too fast! Just ran through The Gray’s yard!”

My mom nodded with big eyes.

“Ida thinks he's a burglar. They just get younger and younger, you know.” My mom looked worried for our sake, but my dad had another sort of worried expression.

“Poor kid. The next time we see him, we should see if he's hungry or something. He ran out in his underwear in this weather!”

I looked out through the window; the sky cried big tears, but slowly, like it was sorrowing something in silence.

My mom looked unsure but then sighed. They had a silent agreement they would be good to people and teach us kids to treat people in need with respect.

“You're right. We should.”

I sat confused because I didn't really understand why Ida believed a small boy was a thief, and I couldn't understand why a kid would be running outside in his underwear. I was too privileged and too ignorant to have learned that.

“Hayden, have you seen the boy? He seems to be your age?” asked my dad.

I didn't know why, but I shook my head and looked towards the TV. It wasn't anything private, and what I've seen wasn't worth much; still, something stopped me from talking about him.

×××

For a couple weeks I thought about the boy, looking for him without results. My dad had seen him one more time, dressed in a similar way. He had run away from him again much to my dad’s frustration. He said he wanted to help the boy, but I think he was also just as curious about his story as I was.

“Have you heard anything about a homeless boy at school? Maybe overheard some teachers talking?" Asked our dad, me, and my brother again when we sat together to eat dinner on a Friday night. I shook my head because I hadn't, but Illowa played with two pieces of cucumber on his plate. My dad looked at him intensely, and after a while, Illowa gave in.

“These are not my words, but I heard Frankie's mom talking with another woman, and they said, 'A white trash family had parked their trailer in the woods'. It's not my words!”

My brother could say some bad things when he was with his friends, but he would never do it in front of our parents; he would be grounded, so it was obvious he told the truth. My parents looked at each other a bit uncomfortably, especially when I asked what “white trash” meant.

“It's a bad word; don't say that,” said my mom and stood up, starting to put away the dinner without asking us if we were done. My dad scratched his beard while looking out from the window.

“What people say about a family in need says more about them than the family... If you see that boy again, I want you to invite him to our home. He's a child; he should be taken care of by all grownups surrounding him.”

That was how Eric suddenly stood in our hallway. Illowa had seen him by the tree and invited him into our home, even if he thought the boy was just dirty and weirdly silent. He stood in just orange plaid boxers and a big gray t-shirt, his dark blonde hair messy, and he had dirt from his feet up to his knees. My dad looked at the poor boy with a genuine smile and scratched his beard. He, on the other hand, just gazed down at the ground. Illowa had taken some steps away from him, and his facial expression told me the boy probably smelled.

“What's your name?” My dad tried, but the boy still didn't even look at him. Instead, he looked towards the kitchen, maybe as a hint to why he was there. My dad tried again to ask for his name, but it made him just back away towards the door. I could see in my dad's face that he felt panic, and instead of pressuring for a name, he made a nod towards the kitchen.

“Are you hungry?”

The boy looked at him with big eyes. I think we all inhaled deeply in that moment. His eyes were big like a doll’s and his lips were full like a cherub's. He was beautiful and it made his ragged clothes and smell even more like a punch in the face. The contrast was too big. When I took a deep breath I could smell the sour odor from him. He smelled like old trash but also cheap tobacco smoke that had stuck on his skin and been there for ages.

“Are you hungry?” Asked my dad again and moved to the kitchen doorway. Finally, the boy nodded and slowly approached my dad, like a frightened animal. Both me and Illowa swallowed hard. He might be much smaller than our father, but we didn't know what he could do.

Our kitchen must have made him nervous because he backed out when he met the bright white walls and the colorful art. My parents saw themselves as bohemians, but it was obvious they had a bit too much money to really be bohemians, and my mom seemed to have lost a bit of the interest with age. She wanted a secure life.

“Come in, it's okay,” said my dad to the boy, and carefully he walked in again while playing with his t-shirt. Dad opened the fridge and looked around.

“I can make you a sandwich? We have some left overs from the chicken yester-”

“Oh man..!” Scoffed, my brother disappointed. My dad shot him an angry look, and he quieted down, but I could see his disappointment in his face.

My dad coaxed the boy to one of our turquoise chairs and fixed him a meaty sandwich. All of us watched the boy eat, but he didn't seem to care; he took big chunks of the sandwich but chewed slowly and well. My dad sat down opposite of him by the table, but me and Illowa continued to look at him from afar.

“You live in the forest?” Asked my dad, gaining the boy's attention. The food in his stomach and the hospitality had probably made him trust us a bit more, and he nodded a bit.

“What's your name?”

The boy turned uncomfortably on the chair but then looked up at my dad's kind eyes.

“Eric.”

My dad smiled at him and then sat silent until the boy had finished his sandwich.

“Do you want to take a shower?”

Eric looked down at his dirty fingernails and then concealed them in his fists. He looked embarrassed. He gave Illowa a fast look. He had, like many other boys in their early teens, overstyled hair, a crystal earring, and a pricy hoodie. Eric stood up awkwardly.

“Thank you,” he said with a broken voice, in the same instance he ran towards the door. It was obvious he was afraid my dad would catch him, and he ran for his life. My dad looked really upset, and both me and Illowa looked at him worriedly. I knew Illowa wanted to comment on Eric's smell—that he just wore boxers or that he had legs like sticks—but my dad would have been angry then.

“I hope you see how privileged we are to live like this. There’s many children out there living like Eric.” My dad looked at us seriously, and for a moment I had guilt towards Eric. It was also then that I decided to do everything in my power to take care of him.

×××

The forest by our street was small and didn't stretch out more than a half mile to another street on the opposite side. It was a middle class area where the kids could play in the forest in safety, but it changed that day when two older teens had heard gunshots from the forest. What it was about was never solved, but from that day on, the forest became a place the parents of the neighborhood warned the kids about.

I was five when it happened, so my whole childhood I saw the forest as frightening. In my imagination, there were murderers and thieves living there, and the trees stood so close together it would feel like walls going by them.

I was in the forest with my dad a few times, but I pretended to be uninterested because, in reality, I felt anxious being in there. My father believed me and didn't try many more times to take me there after. The oak was enough for me. It felt like it was the entrance to the woods but was still standing on safe ground. There I could daydream about adventures in the woods without needing to visit it. When I was eleven, those childish thoughts started to die, but instead Eric came out from the woods, just as mysterious as my daydreams had been.

I had decided to find him again, this time without my intrusive dad or my judgmental brother. It felt like I could handle Eric better than they could, especially because we were probably the same age too. After a week with no luck in finding him, I started to think about actually visiting the forest. A Saturday morning, before my parents had gone up, I walked towards the tree. The crows lifted from the branches when I came close and made black silhouettes against the white sky. It looked dramatic and sad, and when I lowered my gaze, I could see Eric standing by the tree looking at the same image as me. He looked just as sad and pale as the sky did, and even if he wasn’t crying, I got the urge to comfort him.

“Hey,” I said carefully. I still was quite far from him, but it felt like he would run if I just walked up to him with determined steps. Eric looked at me, his green eyes standing out in the gray weather.

“Hey,” he said with an exhalation, like he had given up. Maybe he knew I had been looking for him. I looked at him up and down. His legs and left arm were badly bruised, and his knees had dirty, bloody wounds.

“Have you fallen?” I asked, gazing at his knees. Eric peered down at them too and nodded. He looked embarrassed, maybe because I was a girl.

“In the woods?”

Eric nodded again and leaned down, trying to wipe away some of the dirt, but it just smeared in the thick blood.

“I can help you clean it if you want to?”

He looked up at me but didn't say anything. I would probably need to be the one out of us to talk, but it didn't faze me; he was probably just shy.

“I can get some stuff? Like things I can clean the wounds with?” I pointed to my house, and Eric looked towards my house too but then lowered his eyes again. I stood a moment hesitating if I should go back or if I should stay but realized I wouldn't be able to stop him from running either way.

“I’ll get some stuff!” I said and started to run home, leaving him by the tree.

I ignored that it smelled like coffee in the house; I ignored that the morning news was on in the living room; I even ignored my dad when he called after me. I grabbed everything I could imagine you’d need to have to take care of his wounds from the bathroom, and I even filled up my water bottle from soccer practice with water, then I was out of the door. It took me maybe three minutes all of it, but still I expected Eric to have left, but he sat under the tree looking at his wounds like he just realized they were there. I sat down next to him even if I could smell smoke and dirt from his skin. I couldn't imagine what could make a person smell like that but did everything in my power to not react to it.

“Ehm… We must start with cleaning it with water first…” I said carefully. It was hard to find the words I wanted to say because Eric looked at me with such big puppy eyes I had to focus on not drowning in them.

“Okay,” he answered and stretched out his legs. I cleaned his wounds with water and then a wound cleanser. I prepared him for pain, but I didn't get a reaction; Eric just looked at the wounds with the same empty gaze. I looked at him with warm cheeks when he finally smiled a little. From the things I've carried, he pulled out two bandaids with My Little Pony. My cheeks that had been pink turned beef red when I saw what he held up. I had bought them because I thought they were cute but then never used them because it felt too childish.

“They're old. I would never use them now. I'm too old for that!” I tried to laugh even if I felt panic in my chest.

“I want them,” he said with a sweet little smile. For a second I thought he was messing with me, but when I met his kind eyes, I knew he was serious.

“Yeah okay…” I said with a giggle and helped him put them on along with two other bandaids. I looked at my creation with mixed feelings. It looked like I'd tried to fix a crystal vase with tape. It was obvious Eric still was broken. He was dirty, bruised, and probably had even bigger wounds on the inside of his chest. We sat in silence for a longer time than it felt like while I looked at his knees; they looked too big for his skinny legs and stood out weirdly on the sides.

“What's your name?” He timidly asked and cleared his throat like it was the longest sentence he had spoken for a while.

“Hayden,” I said with a giggle and looked up at him with innocent fascination.

“How old are you?” I continued, my curiosity taking over.

“Thirteen,” he said and looked down. He looked a bit ashamed, and maybe he knew he was older than me and that boys like Illowa would make fun of him spending time with a younger girl, but I didn't really know; something also told me he wasn't the type to care what others thought.

“I'm eleven. I'm twelve in March. So soon, twelve!” I said and tried to sound confident. Eric gave me a strange look but nodded a little.

“So like, I'm not that young!” I laughed uncertainly and shrugged my shoulders embarrassed. The more I looked at Eric, the more I felt my cheeks heat. He was painfully cute but also had a blank look that made it feel like everything I said was silly.

I took a deep breath and sat up a bit. I had forgotten about the smell from Eric's skin, but when he also fixed his position, I could sense the sour smell again.

“Do you live in the forest?” I asked after being reminded of the last time I had seen him. Eric waited to talk until he had found his words and licked his lips over and over.

“For now.”

“In a trailer?”

He nodded again and looked at the high trees stretching out opposite my street.

“For now,” he said again and nodded to himself.

“What school do you go to? Is it here close by? Maybe we-”

He interrupted me with a clearing of his throat.

“I work.”

I looked at him with furrowed brows in disbelief, and it must have made him upset in some way because he suddenly stood up on his gangly legs. I stood up too, mostly to be able to look at him. We were the same height even if he was two years older than me, the same age as Illowa.

“Thank you,” he said shortly and looked towards the forest. The fear of never seeing him again took over my body, and I stretched out my hand after his. He looked down at our hands with an unreadable expression but then up to my eyes with furrowed brows, like he didn't understand the act.

“Please don't leave. Ehm… My parents will go to work soon. Can't you come home with me? Please, I will not tell anyone. We can just hang out?”

“Hang out?” He asked, confused.

“Yeah. Maybe you're hungry?”

Eric looked down at his filthy feet. It was obvious it had affected him. He was hungry, and because of that, he had a hard time saying no. I knew that, and I used that to have him close.

×××

Illowa had taken the right as a teen and slept in that Saturday when my dad went to his job, a small music store in the city, and my mom as a healer, went to a bachelorette party. It was easy getting Eric into the house. I thought it would be a struggle to make him take a shower, but instead of me proposing it, he was the one to ask. I gave him a big white towel, steered him to my parents’ bathroom, and pointed out my dad's products so he didn't need to use my mom’s that smelled like lavender. I sat on my parents bed, watching cartoons and waiting for him. It was easier to let him shower there than in our family bathroom because that was just next to Illowa’s bedroom, and I didn't need the drama.

I thought about everything Eric had told me. He said he was working, but it didn't sound right that a thirteen-year-old worked, especially not looking like he did. What kind of work could he do dressed like that? I wondered if he had ever been to school. I had learned so much in school I wouldn't have known without it, and I felt a stomach ache when I thought about if he had learned those things. Did he know how to read? Could he do math? Did he know that earth spins around the sun?

I thought about what my dad had said—that me and Illowa were lucky for not having a life like Eric. He talked like he knew what kind of life Eric had, but I felt I knew nothing; I didn't understand a thing. Who even lived in a trailer?

While I sat in deep thoughts, Eric came out from the bathroom, dressed in my dad's big blue robe. It looked heavy on Eric's short, skinny frame, and he looked smaller when his wet hair hung around his face. I had given the robe to him to spare myself the awkwardness of seeing too much skin, but it was still an awkward moment, especially because I had recently started to see boys as interesting, especially in the ways they were different from me.

“You can stay here and watch TV while I fix some food? Then you don't need to meet Illowa. He can be a bit of a jerk.”

Eric nodded a little and sat down carefully, like he expected me to say no. He stretched out his skinny legs and gave me a small smile. It looked strained, like he wasn't used to moving those muscles, but I still smiled back and went to fix us some sandwiches and hot chocolate. I loved that hot chocolate could always make me feel better, so I hoped it would have the same effect on him.

I already felt I liked Eric, even if he had said so little. It was easy in that age for me to see people as friends, and he was now my friend without questions and friends you took care of. I would protect him now, even if I didn't know anything about him.

That's why the situation with my mom became so hard. I really thought I would be able to hide Eric, protect him from my nosy family, but I knew I had failed with that as soon as I heard my mom open the front door. I could hear in her movement that she was irritated; she stomped her feet, threw her bag to the side, while taking off her outerwear. I ran out to the hallway in panic and looked at her irritated face.

“They had given me the wrong day! I hope they don't do the same thing with the wedding to the priest! Christ!” She said, irritated, and pulled off her knitted cardigan. I looked towards the stairs, thinking of a way to make her move towards the living room instead of her bedroom, but I knew there wasn't a chance. She always walked to the bedroom to take off her jewelry—the first thing she did when she came home. With the years, her braided bracelets and crystals switched to diamonds and pearls, and because of that, they were also more important to take off in a secure place. 

“Are you okay, Hayden?” She asked and played a bit with my hair. I smiled and nodded even if it wasn't at all what I felt. I should have said something or done something, but I couldn't come up with anything other than pretending everything was fine. 

It felt like my mom walked in slow motion up the stairs, but after that everything went so fast. I followed her close behind, unable to stop what would happen, especially because I didn't know what could happen. She stopped in the doorway to the bedroom and didn't say anything; she just looked towards a point in the room. I sneaked up next to her, and even if I knew who I would see, I didn't know what I would see because there was Eric, back in his clothes, making a pocket of his shirt and stuffing it full of my mom's jewelry. Big green eyes looked at me in horror and shame.

××× 

Same green eyes looked at me, but without some of the boy's innocence. There was a darker color under them, small crow's feet in the corners, and a diamond tattoo under the left one. I could drown in those eyes forever. 

Eric laughed, and the crow's feet became deeper and his eyes closed. 

“Eriiic…!” I whined with a laugh. “I really thought you would win this!” 

He laid back against the white pillow, his long, tattooed body stretched out in the hotel bed with me half on top of him. 

“I'm serious, not angry! You're more angry than me!”

I looked at him with a smirk and shrugged my shoulders because it was true. Eric laughed again, then took a grip around my neck with one hand and pressed his lips against mine.

×

[feminist-butch-menace]

Women in art - history series (Medieval times)

In these times countries developed a political system based on the monarchy. Most people were farmers who lived in small rural villages. Women were primarily responsible for childcare, food preparation, tending livestock, and helping at harvest time to gather crops. Women who lived in the larger towns were responsible for childcare and food preparation. They also helped their father or husband in the many trades and crafts needed to support city life, including creating textiles, leather goods, or different metal objects or managing shops and inns.

In this period, the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic church generally informed people's lives. Biblical readings reflected in medieval art frequently portrayed Eve as responsible for leaving paradise, generating the long-held belief that women were weaker than men, easily tempted to sin, and inferior to men. Based on this story and other biblical tales, men's authority over women was emphasized, teaching women to be submissive.

Hildegard of Bingen

Was born in Germany. Her family name was unknown, although early writers did note the family was wealthy. She suffered from poor health as a child, with trouble walking and seeing. Hildegard entered the convent and learned to read, write and sing religious psalms as part of her spiritual training. Even as a child, Hildegard believed she had visions of the future. Hildegard's works included medical information, visionary messages, and philosophical theories. She became a well-known composer of sacred music, and more of Hildegard's liturgical chants have survived than any other medieval composer. Hildegard wrote letters and poems, doing her extensive writings into illuminated manuscripts.

Herrad of Landsberg

Was the Abbess of Hohenburg, which is a convent in eastern France. She was born into a noble family and entered the abbey when she was young. Many girls and women were from wealthy families and received a broader education than most young girls at the time. As Herrad grew older, she rose within the abbey, eventually becoming the abbess. At first, she worked to rebuild the abbey and incorporate more of the surrounding land under the abbey's jurisdiction. As the abbess for twenty-eight years, she was well-liked both inside and outside the abbey.

Sibilla von Bondorf

Was a nun in a Clarissan convent in Germany. Much of von Bondorf's work was for prayer books or books used in the liturgy. Her primary work was a set of illustrations based on the lives of Saint Francis, Saint Clara, and Saint Elisabeth. Copies of her work were widely used among other convents. Religious changes in Germany in the 1400s brought opportunities for women in convents to create and produce manuscripts and liturgical books.

Source: GUSTLIN, Deborah and GUSTLIN, Zoe, 2023. Herstory: Women Artists in History.

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Do you have any poetry recommendations? The poem poll made me realize that I like. ONLY know Iraqi poets. Like the only non-Iraqi poet I can name off the top of my head is Robert Frost

i'm literally hooked on poetry. even on days where i can't sit down to read a book, i try to consume at least one poem a day bc it keeps me sane. it actually does. i recommend signing up to one poem a day newsletters--those have been a game changer for me. as for recommendations, my favorite poems change every week, but current faves (whose authors i regularly go back to/are a good starting point) would be:

elegy for my sadness - chen chen (Who invented the word / “ennui”? A sad Frenchman? / A centipede? They should’ve never / been born. They should’ve seen me / in Paris, a sad teenage / exchange student. I was so sad / & so teenaged, one day my host sister / gripped my hand hard & even harder / said, SOIS HEUREUX. / BE HAPPY. & miraculously, / I wasn’t sad anymore. / All I felt was the desire to slap my host sister. / See, I was angry in Paris, which is clearly / not allowed. One can be sad in Paris (I was) / & one can be in love in Paris (I was not), / but angry? Angry in Paris?")

a pity, we were such a good invention - yehuda amichal ( "A pity / We were such a good / And loving invention / An aeroplane made from a man and wife / Wings and everything / We hovered a little above the earth")

like a small cafe, that's love - mahmoud darwish ("I say to myself at last / Perhaps she who I was waiting for / was waiting for me, or was waiting for some other man / or was waiting for us, and did not find him/me.")

bible study - tony hoagland ("Who knows, this might be the last good night of summer / My broken nose is forming an idea of what’s for supper / Hard to believe that death is just around the corner / What kind of idiot would think he even had a destiny?")

mother and child - louise gluck ("Why do I suffer? Why am I ignorant? / Cells in a great darkness. Some machine made us; / it is your turn to address it, to go back asking / what am I for? What am I for?")

america, america - saadi youssef ("We are not hostages, America, / and your soldiers are not God's soldiers... / We are the poor ones, ours is the earth of the drowned gods, / the gods of bulls, / the gods of fires, / the gods of sorrows that intertwine clay and blood in a song... / We are the poor, ours is the god of the poor, / who emerges out of farmers' ribs, / hungry / and bright, / and raises heads up high...")

the duino elegies (seventh elegy respectively) - rainer maria rilke ("Not only the devotion of these unfolded forces, / not only the paths, not only the evening fields, / not only, after a late storm, the breathing freshness, / not only approaching sleep and a premonition, evenings... / also the nights! Also the high summer nights / also the stars, the stars of this Earth! / O to be dead at last and know them eternally, / all the stars: for how, how, how to forget them!")

the endlessness - ada limon ("How was i supposed to feel then? About moving in the world? How could I touch anything or anyone without the weight of all of time shifting through us?")

psalm - adonis ("Open my memory and study my face beneath its words, learn my alphabet. When you see foam weaving my flesh and stone flowing in my blood, you will see me. I am closed like a tree trunk, present and ungraspable like air. Thus I cannot surrender to you.")

the war works hard - dunya mikhail ("The war continues working, / day and night. / It inspires tyrants / to deliver long speeches / awards medals to generals / and themes to poets / it contributes/ to the industry / of artificial limbs / provides food for flies / adds pages to the history books / achieves equality / between killer and killed / teaches lovers to write letters / accustoms young women to waiting / fills the newspapers / with articles and pictures / builds new houses / for the orphans / invigorates the coffin makers / gives grave diggers / a pat on the back / and paints a smile on the leader's face.")

[pharmaciacatholica]

The Bible is not a historical (compilation of) book(s), it's a theological book. There are some things that cannot be taken literally. They should be read theologically, spiritually.

While reading it, you can see that there are parts that have historical inaccuracies in the Old Testament, I mean, they don't match with other historical events, small details like the names of emeprors. There are things that don't exactly agree within the different books of the Old Testament.

Don't get me wrong. I know and believe God created everything that exists, but there's a reason why the Catholic priest Georges Lamaître made the Big Bang theory, and why the Catholic friar Gregor Mendel made the laws of genetics. Is there something I'm not getting?

Yes, there is a lot you are not getting. Especially based on the follow up ask you sent me while I was getting ready to respond to this.

The Bible is not a historical (compilation of) book(s), it's a theological book.

The Sacred Scriptures are a compilation of book of various genres. The Old Testament consists of forty-six books. Twenty-one historical books, containing the account of the creation of the universe and the history of the patriarchs and the Jewish nation. Seven didactic books, containing collections of psalms, wise sayings, and rules of life. Eighteen prophetical books, containing prophecies as well as instructions or admonitions.

The Historical texts are: the five books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, the four books of Kings, the two Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, the two books of the Maccabees.

The didactic texts are: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach.

The prophetic texts are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Johan, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

We get these groupings from the collective writings of the Church Fathers and the Tradition (capital T). (x)

here are some things that cannot be taken literally. They should be read theologically, spiritually.

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of what the literal sense of Scripture is. The Catechism summarizes the Church's teaching on the different senses of Scripture in paragraphs 115-119:

115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.

116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal." (x)

117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God's plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.

The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian Baptism.

The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written "for our instruction".

The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, "leading"). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.

118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses: The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith; The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.

119 It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God.

The entirety of Holy Writ is to be taken literally. Not all of the books are meant to be taken as historical. This I have shown, and it does not contradict.

While reading it, you can see that there are parts that have historical inaccuracies in the Old Testament, I mean, they don't match with other historical events, small details like the names of emeprors. There are things that don't exactly agree within the different books of the Old Testament.

I do not have the time to go through and scrounge up all of the answers to any supposed contradictions contained within the Old Testament, at least not right now (typing this at 1 am). I think it is sufficient to point out that, as a Catholic, you are bound under pain of mortal sin to believe in Scriptural inerrancy with divine and catholic faith.

From Pope Leo XIII:

"So far is it from being possible that any error can co-exist with inspiration, that inspiration not only is essentially incompatible with error, but excludes and rejects it as absolutely and necessarily as it is impossible that God Himself, the supreme Truth, can utter that which is not true. This is the ancient and unchanging faith of the Church."

Providentissimus Deus

Reiterated by Pope Pius XII:

“For as the substantial Word of God became like to men in all things, ‘except sin,’ so the words of God, expressed in human language, are made like to human speech in every respect, except error”

Divino Afflante Spiritu

From the Second Vatican Council:

"Since, therefore, all that the inspired authors, or sacred writers, affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the sacred Scriptures."

Dei Verbum

There is much much more but I believe I've made my point on this matter. Next...

Don't get me wrong. I know and believe God created everything that exists

Nice, we agree!

but there's a reason why the Catholic priest Georges Lamaître made the Big Bang theory

I don't really understand the point here. I have known of Father Lamaitre and him being the "inventor" of the big bang theory for a while but I have never read it. Regardless, he is held to the same scrutiny and standard as everyone else is by both what I have already here laid out and what Pope Pius XII lays out in Humani Generis. I cannot say if he does or not, I have not read it, but a singular priest is not really an authority. This is especially true in the realm of the physical sciences.

and why the Catholic friar Gregor Mendel made the laws of genetics

Same principle as before regarding the authority of an individual priest that is not Your (royal you) pastor. I am also not familiar with this particular work, but I don't see a contradiction with the Faith at all on its face. I believe in genetics. I don't think you understand what macroevolution is as a concept.

[chamberofthespirit]

Ways to give Jesus vibes to your craft 🕯

˚❀　.　˚　　✦　　✿　.　˚　. 　 ˚　✿.　˚　　❀

ᶠᵒʳ ʷⁱᵗᶜʰ��ˢ ʷʰᵒ ʷᵒʳᵏ ʷⁱᵗʰ ʰⁱᵐ ♡

Practice green magic, love magic, and healing magic

With being a form of God, Jesus of course is connected to all things nature and spent a lot of time living in it due to living conditions in his era, so green magic could definitely grab his attention! Love magic that consists of self-love and friendship work, is a great way to involve Jesus into your spells because he is all about love and teaching people to be better versions of themselves and bring people together, though I'm not sure he'd appreciate you doing romantic spells as it might go against the other person's freedom. Jesus was an amazing healer, from wounds, to exorcisms, etc., so I'm sure he'd love to help with some anti-illness and mental health spells for yourself and those close to you.

Get a tarot deck that you feel resonates with him

Find a deck that reminds you of him due to it's art or you just feel like would draw him in. I have seen many christianity themed decks around the internet and they can be SOOO PRETTY!!

Buy crystals that remind you of him

A great way to feel closer to Jesus in your craft, is to carry crystals that resonate with his personality. Crystals that represent peace, love, tranquility, protection, and spiritual awakening and psychic development very much suit Jesus's personality. The most popular stones associated with him throughout history have been bloodstone and amethyst.

Do home blessings and protection spells

Jesus was known for bringing peace, cleansing, and protection to all places and people he visited. Do home blessing spells and protection spells to clear spaces, yourself, and loved ones from harm done by evil spirits and people and bring comfort. It could be as simple as sprinkling salt or holy water around or having some iron laying around. The cleaner the space, the more welcoming it is for Jesus's presence.

Incorporate the bible into your practice

The bible can do more than just teach you ways of life, it can also bring blessings and protection. The bible is very powerful as it is the word of God, verses and psalms can be used in many kinds of spells from jars, charm bags, witches bottles, etc. Verses and psalms could even just be used in picture frames as decor as a easy way to let their power into your home.

Here is a pdf from pinterest that is very helpful with the usage of psalms:

Read books about Jesus and the religion

Books can be very helpful when it comes to learning more about Jesus and the ways you can connect with him. I love my book about the catholic church because it has explained so much to me about God.

If you don't own a rosary, knot magic is your friend

Knot magic is a great alternative for those who don't own a rosary yet but would really like to do a prayer meditation. I have actually made one of these but I made an anglican version due to those rosaries only having 33 beads so its faster to make. Using knot magic as a rosary allows the user to pray to Jesus while also practicing their craft at the same time due to being able to use any color, annoint with oils or holy water, and add charms to the rope.

Get herbs and plants that remind you of him

Buy herbs, spices, and plants that remind you of him due to their properties. Use the herbs and plants in spells, as decor for altars, etc. A spice that I commonly associate with Jesus is mustard seed due to him mentioning it a lot in the bible. Mustard seed represents growth, dependence, and faith.

Listen to worship music during workings and divination

Listening to worship music while practicing your craft can help energize your spells, rituals, and divination while also bringing protection and calmness to you while doing so. It can also attract Jesus to help you in the working and can be used as an offering.

˚❀　.　˚　　✦　　✿　.　˚　. 　 ˚　✿.　˚　　❀

[ausetkmt]

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[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

If one wants to deal with any issue as a Christian, then they have to start with Genesis 1–11. The first 11 chapters of the Bible give the origin of all the basic entities of life and the universe:

The origin of the universe, life, animals, humans, gender, marriage, sin, death, clothing, work, dominion, seven-day week, nations, language—in fact, in an ultimate sense, everything.

Yet, Genesis has probably been the most mocked at, scoffed at, ridiculed, disbelieved, and attacked book of the Bible in our day and age. The devil knows that if the foundation of everything is destroyed, the structure (of Christianity) will collapse (Psalm 11:3).

I challenge churches to take a stand on Genesis as they should and ensure their statements of faith are very detailed for the first 11 chapters of Genesis to ensure they won’t compromise the foundation of all doctrine and the gospel message.

Church leaders need to be teaching Genesis 1–11 as literal history, equipping people to have a truly Christian worldview, and providing answers (teaching apologetics) to defend against the attacks on the vital history God has given to us.

~ Ken Ham

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Sami blood is a very important film. It portrays how we treated the sámi through history, about injustice, indoctrination, when you don't accept your own identity...

It's a film I recommend for everyone to watch. But I refuse to ever rewatch it.

The thing is, the things you'd be expected to get uncomfortable with, I didn't react as strongly to. For example, this scene

In this scene, the main character is getting examined for "race study". This is a dark spot in our history. There is an entire building in my hometown who used to be for race biology - they looked at sámi people, romani people, anyone that wasn't a white fullblood scandinavian, measured their heads, photographed them naked, to show how they were different, inferior.

This scene is uncomfortable, but it also feels like it's so far from reality from us now, as they don't do these race studies anymore.

But the scenes in this movie that really DOES hit for me. Scenes that... while the movie is set in the 1930s, feels like they could happen today.

When the main character Elle Marja is asked by some swedish girls if, since she's sámi, can't she joik for them? So Elle Marja does stand up and joik, and instead of people applauding, they just... laugh at her.

When Elle Marja has internalized all of the things the non-sámi have said, and starts to hate her own family, her own heritage, her own culture, because she only sees the prejudice cast upon them, and believes it to be correct.

When she stays at a boy's house, and his parents immediately are dismissive because they know she's sámi. The immediate prejudice and disgust because she's of "that kind", "she's not like us".

When Elle Marja is an adult and back for her sister's funeral. She hears some women talk about the sámi, and while they seem more "accepting" towards them in the modern age, this "acceptance" is only hidden through politeness. They still make passive aggressive comments like "but do they HAVE to take up so much space? They can have their scooters and reindeer, but they don't need to show off so much". It's a pretty powerful moment, realizing things aren't magically ok now just because people are more "accepting" as a society.

This film has been used for discussion twice in different uni classes I've taken. But I've only seen it once. Because you more or less only need to see it once, because it just has that impact. It's not a happy film, but it is important.

It focuses a lot specifically how the sámi were treated in Sweden - they were forced to go to schools where they were only allowed to speak swedish. This was to make them more "civilized". But they were only allowed to get educated to a certain degree. They could never become a swedish citizen. They're still sámi.

But these schools were very much active in Norway and in Finland too, where they were forced to learn the language to be "civilized", as well as also be active in the church, sing a lot of psalms and recite the bible.

And they did not teach us about it in school. In school, at least for me, we learned "the Sámi live up north and they have a form of song called joik." We did not learn about the race biology, the forced assimilation, the prejudice and the history of them. This movie tbh was when some schools actually started talking about it more. And I did not even see it until now in uni!

Anyway. I also recommend it to people who are not nordic, as it shows a part of our history that we don't often bring up, if at all.

[discoveringorthodoxy]

Hymns of the Orthodox Church

If you've ever read an Orthodox service, you may have noticed the different types of hymns that are often used. There's antiphons, troparions, kontakions, etc. But what do these all mean?

An antiphon is a collection of Scripture verses (usually from the Psalms) that alternate. You can see these, for example, in the Three Antiphons during Divine Liturgy. They are called Antiphons because traditionally, they are sung by two choirs, with each responding antiphonally (alternating) to the other. Below is an example from the Divine Liturgy:

Antiphon 1. Mode 2.

"Verse 1: O Lord, the light of Your face was stamped upon us.

Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, Savior, save us."

A troparion is a brief hymn expressing the main focus of that day's celebration. These are usually one or multiple stanzas. There are several different types of troparions that you might recognize. These include apolytikions, evlogitarias, and theotokions.

An apolytikion ("dismissal hymn") is a troparion that typically honors a saint, Christ, or the Virgin Mary. It is also usually sung at the end of the Vespers Service. Below is an example of an apolytikion from the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross:

Apolytikion of the Feast. Mode 1.

"Save, O Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting victory to the faithful over the enemy, and by Your Cross protecting Your commonwealth."

An evlogetaria is just a troparia that is sung after the reading from the Psalter. The evlogetaria consists of the refrain "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statues. (Psalm 118:12)" The two forms of the Evlogetaria is the Evlogetaria of the Ressurrection (which is sung at Sunday Matins after the Kathismata) and the Funeral Evlogetaria (which is sung at Matins for the Dead after Psalm 118 and at funerals). Below is an excerpt from the Evlogetaria of the Ressurrection:

Ressurrectional Evlogetaria. Mode pl.1.

"Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your statutes.

When the hosts of the Angels saw how You were accounted among the dead, they all marveled. You, O Savior, are the One who destroyed the might of death; and when You arose You raised Adam with yourself and from Hades liberated everyone."

A theotokion is a hymn that refers to or praises the Theotokos and it usually concludes a cycle of stichera or troparia. There are several categories of the Theotokia, including the resurrectional theotokia (which is sung after we sing Glory...), the theotokia dogmatica (sung after Both now...), and dismissal theotokia (sung after the dismissal troparia). Below is an example of a theotokia dogmatica:

Both now. Theotokion.

"O Virgin Theotokos, beseech Your Son, Christ our God, who voluntarily was nailed to the Cross and resurrected from the dead, entreating Him to save our souls."

A kontakion is similar to a troparion, however, it mostly expresses the history of the celebration. It used to be so long (18-24 stanzas) that it would have to be rolled up on a pole. However, only short preliminary stanzas remain today. Below is an example of a kontakion from the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee:

Mode 3. On this day.

"Sinners, let us fall before* the Lord and Master in prayer,* and as once the Publican* let us present Him our sighing.* He desires that all humanity gain salvation.* And to all who are repentant He grants forgiveness.* He became a man for our sake,* though with the Father without beginning as God."

Following the kontakion is the oikos. This is a stanza that develops the ideas that are in the kontakion and usually conclude with the same words as the kontakion. Below is the oikos that follows the kontakion from above:

"Bretheren, let us all garb ourselves in lowliness, and with laments and sighs strike at our conscience, that at the judgment then, which is in perpetuity, we shall be viewed guiltless, attaining our impunity. For there we have true mitigation; to see it, let us make supplication. For there is pain and sorrow's unseating, gone the deep sighs, there in wondrous Eden, of which Christ was fashioner, He being with the Father without beginning as God."

The Biblical Ode's (also known as odes) are hymns that are taken directly from Scripture. These odes are chanted during the Matins service. There are nine odes, however, today only the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) is read. During Great Lent, however, the original Biblical Canticles are read. Below is an excerpt from the Magnificat:

Ode ix. The Magnificat. Mode 3.

Verse: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

"Greater in honor than the Cherubim, and in glory greater beyond compare than the Seraphim; you without corruption gave birth to God the Word, and are truly Theotokos. You do we magnify."

Finally, a prokimenon is a passage of Scripture that introduces the theme of the Epistle reading to follow. It is usually a verse and a refrain that is read and sung before the Epistle reading. Below is an example of a prokimenon from the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross:

Prokeimenon. Mode pl.2. Psalm 27.

"O Lord, save Your people, and bless Your inheritance."

Verse: To You, O Lord, I cry; O my God, may You not pass over me in silence."

This prokeimenon preludes Hebrews 4:14-16; 5-:1-6, which talks about how Jesus is our high priest in Heaven who sacrificed himself for us.

The Orthodox has several types of hymns within its services. Hopefully this has cleared it up some more for you all! It definitely has for me.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

hello :)

First off I’d like to apologize because I only recently discovered your blog at a time of great need, and have been reblogging so many posts lol so sorry if that’s annoying.

I’m in my early twenties, it’s almost my birthday, and I was born into a family with two affirming Catholic parents and three affirming siblings of various beliefs. I’ve pretty much always been comfortable with the fact that I am not heterosexual, and tend to have some beliefs that are not reallllllly accepted by mainstream American Christianity. Because of this, your blog has been incredibly comforting, informative, and thought provoking, so I thank you for that.

I was wondering if you had any resources for how different denominations thought of nature and wild spaces. I know there’s a lot of garden imagery within the Bible, such as in the Song of Songs, but I was always taught in my religious teaching that wild spaces, such as mountains and forests, were like realms of the devil or something. One verse that was pretty common in my local church is something about filling the deserts and leveling mountains to make a path for God (sorry if I’m remembering that incorrectly). Because I’ve only been to Catholic Churches, I was wondering if other groups and denominations had different views on nature rather than untamed = bad and taming the environment = good.

Thank you and have a nice day

Hey there, anon! Not annoying at all to reblog posts, that's what they're here for ^-^

My Catholic self is so happy to hear that your Catholic family is affirming of who you are!

I'm sadder to hear that you were taught much less affirming things about the created world. You are so right to have noticed that the Bible is chock-full of praise for creation! The twisting of Christianity to say otherwise has a long history with an intentional agenda of justifying settler colonialism and environmental devastation.

___

I wish I had more time to look through specific denominations' points of view for you, but if I wait till I do have time I'll probably never get around to answering this, alas! I can provide this much, at least:

One term that some use when describing their support of environmental justice is "Creation Care" (or "earth care"), so that's a good key phrase to use when researching.

For example, here's the Episcopal Church's page on creation care; and the UMC's, and a Catholic site; and a PCUSA site; and the UCC's...

However, I'm not sure that views on the natural world always split neatly on denominational lines anyway. Moving beyond the denominational, I'll loosely describe some of the viewpoints in Christianity around Creation:

Thanks to Paul incorporating a lot of Greco-Roman ideology into his letters that made it into the Bible, and thanks to Christianity getting entangled in Roman Empire shit in like the 400s CE, some Christianity uplifts a strong dualism between the spiritual and the material. When you pit the spiritual and material against each other in this way, it tends to be bad news for the natural world.

The belief expressed throughout the rest of the Bible — so the Hebrew Bible + much of the Gospels — doesn't construct this binary between the spiritual and the physical. The created world is declared good by God in Genesis 1, and Creation is praised throughout the Psalms and other scripture. The place of human beings in the created world is explored in various parts of the Bible, with various conclusions being drawn — are we in charge? What's it mean to be in charge? Is the whole planet ours to do with as we please, or are are we meant to care for it?

A major example of Christians deciding that the planet is ours to do with as we will comes in the form of the settlers who colonized the Americas. Research manifest destiny for lots of info on the consequences of these views. The Americas, and this whole planet, are suffering greatly because of this way of interpreting the Bible. Thankfully, there are other ways.

The Catholic Church itself actually has a healthier way of understanding Creation in theory, even if the institution doesn't always make choices that practice what they preach. Here's a bit of what the Roman Catholic Catechism says about the natural world:

339 Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection. For each one of the works of the "six days" it is said: "And God saw that it was good." "By the very nature of creation, material being is endowed with its own stability, truth and excellence, its own order and laws." Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God's infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.

340 God wills the interdependence of creatures. The sun and the moon, the cedar and the little flower, the eagle and the sparrow: the spectacle of their countless diversities and inequalities tells us that no creature is self-sufficient. Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other, in the service of each other.

341 The beauty of the universe: The order and harmony of the created world results from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them. Man discovers them progressively as the laws of nature. They call forth the admiration of scholars. The beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man's intellect and will.

There's a lot more — check out the Catechism's section on "the visible world" (you have to scroll to it) on this webpage.

_____

Ultimately, in the search for interpretations of Christianity that uplift the goodness of Creation, and our role not as masters but as stewards of it, I highly recommend digging into the works of Indigenous Christians. As white Christianity colludes with empire and wreaks having on the land, Indigenous Christians speak up for the goodness of God's creation.

A fabulous starting point is Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice. It's a short memoir, very readable and powerful.

Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys by Richard Twiss is a little denser, but extremely informative. You can also find interviews and the like with Twiss online, if reading is less your thing.

My own Christian faith has also been deeply enriched by non-Christian Indigenous authors — especially Robin Wall Kimmerer, whose book Braiding Sweetgrass changed my life. I was so inspired by her description of human beings not as the masters of creation but as the "little siblings of Creation" that I wrote this poem about it.

Many Black and Latine theologians have also been integral to me in shaping my understanding of Creation and humanity's place in it. Another memoir I highly recommend is This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley, which talks about a variety of things, including a bit on the natural world. Take this passage, for example.

Finally, there are some gorgeous writings on Creation from Medieval Christians like Francis of Assisi and Hildegard von Bingen.

One last couple of book recs for a look at the holiness of creation: Barbara Brown Taylor's An Altar in the World and Sister Macrina Wiederkehr's A Tree Full of Angels.

___

I hope this helps somewhat! If you haven't already, you might enjoy wandering through my #Creation tag too.

[feedingtheflockministry]

Four Criteria the Messiah Must Fulfill

by Jews for Jesus | July 01 2000

So what’s the deal with the Messiah? For many, the Messiah figure seems like an ancient Jewish version of Superman—a childhood hero on whom most of us have long since given up. But according to the Talmud and the Jewish Scriptures the Messiah is not only real, but should have arrived a long time ago.

Maybe a Messiah who never comes is not such a big deal, but a God Who breaks His promises is a very big deal. The detailed messianic timetable in Daniel 9 allows us to explore solutions to these questions. Not only is there much more to be known about the Messiah, but we can know exactly when to expect him!

Fact One: The Messiah would arrive in a certain time frame.

The details of when Messiah will arrive are written in the book of Daniel. This prophet lived during the time of our exile in Babylon and received a vision that the Messiah would come 483 years after the command to restore Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple:

From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an Anointed One [ad mashiach], the ruler [nagid], will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat, but in difficult times. (Daniel 9:25, CBS)

The “clock” on these 69 “weeks” (units of seven years) began ticking when Artaxerxes issued a decree to Nehemiah to rebuild the Temple and restore Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1-8). While other decrees went out, this was the only one that involved both the Temple and Jerusalem. History records this took place in Nisan (March/April) of 444 B.C.E. That would mean the Messiah would appear by 33 C.E. History does not record anyone, other than Yeshua (Jesus), who was from that time period and claimed to be the Messiah.

Fact Two: The Messiah would come before the destruction of the Second Temple.

Daniel predicted that after the appearance of Messiah, “…the people of a prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary” (Daniel 9:26, JPS). We know that occurred when Titus’ Roman legions marched on Jerusalem in 70 C.E., destroying both the city and the Temple. The Talmud teaches that at that time people believed that the time of Messiah had already come, but because of the sins of the nation the messianic kingdom was withheld at the time it should have arrived.

The school of Eliyahu taught: Six thousand years is the duration of the world. Two thousand of the six thousand years are characterized by chaos; two thousand years are characterized by Torah, from the era of the Patriarchs until the end of the mishnaic period; and two thousand years are the period of the coming of the Messiah. That is the course that history was to take, but due to our sins that time frame increased. The Messiah did not come after four thousand years passed, and furthermore, the years that elapsed since then, which were to have been the messianic era, have elapsed. (Sanhedrin 97a and b [emphasis added])

Other passages support the understanding that the Messiah would come while the Temple was still standing. The psalm is one of the Hallel Psalms which praises God for His deliverance of Israel and of Israel’s leader, the king. Israel was rejected by its enemies, as was its king.

Hoshienu—Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord [emphasis added]. (vv. 25,26)

The only way that they could bless the Messiah from the house of the Lord was if the Temple was still standing! Ironically, these are the same words the Jewish people used to greet Yeshua when he rode into Jerusalem the week before Passover (Matthew 21:9–12).

Haggai, who was in Jerusalem as the Second Temple was being built, made the messianic prediction that the “glory of this last temple is to be greater than that of the first” (2:9).1 And Malachi confirmed it: “Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his Temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come” (3:1). Twelfth century Jewish scholar, Rabbi David Kimchi (also known as Radak), equated Malachi’s messenger of the covenant with the Messiah.2

According to Daniel, the Temple would not only be standing at Messiah’s appearance, but it would be destroyed soon after. That Temple, which was originally built by Ezra and beautified by Herod, was where Yeshua did most of his teaching and claimed to be the Messiah. The New Testament records the painful words of Yeshua to those who spoke of how beautiful the Temple looked after its refurbishing under Herod: “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.”3 Yeshua was pointing to Daniel’s prophecy being fulfilled. Less than 40 years later the destruction of the Temple was so thorough that, to this day, the exact location of the sanctuary is unknown.

Fact Three: The Messiah’s lineage could only be identifiable while the Temple stood.

The coming of the Messiah had another time constraint: it was connected to his descent from the tribe of Judah.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; [emphasis mine] and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Genesis 49:10)

This well-recognized messianic prophecy indicated that Judah was to retain its identity until Shiloh (one of the names for the Messiah according to rabbinical literature) was to come.

Apropos the Messiah, the Gemara asks: What is his name? The school of Rabbi Sheila says: Shiloh is his name, as it is stated: “Until when Shiloh shall come.” (Sanhedrin 98b)

According to the book of Ezra (1:5-8), Judah’s position was maintained throughout the 70 years of captivity in Babylon. It was also intact back in the Land, until the Romans made the kingdom of Judah a Roman province. While there was a provincial government in place, about 50 years later (in 70 c.e.) that too ended.

Not only was the Messiah to be from the lineage of Judah, but more specifically from the house of David: “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations’” (Psalm 89:3-4 NKJV). This messianic prophecy clearly refers to a descendant of David. Proof of such lineage was destroyed when the Temple was destroyed.

And while we do not have the Temple records, we do have the record of Yeshua’s family tree in the accounts of his life by both Luke and Matthew. They both identify that he is from the house of David. We don’t know anyone else who lived at that time and claimed to be the Messiah, who is descended from the tribe of Judah and the house of David, apart from Yeshua.

Fact Four: The Messiah would be cut off.

The Daniel prophecy (9:26) says that after the seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, the Messiah would be cut off, but not for himself. This phrase “cut off” meant to be killed or destroyed, often used in the Tanakh to describe how a sacrificial animal was ritually slaughtered (Gen. 15:18; Jer. 34:18).

The idea that the Messiah would die was not new to Judaism. Isaiah wrote of one who would suffer and die for the sins of the people: “…For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”4 Psalm 22 graphically portrays death by crucifixion, a method of execution not known to the author writing one thousand years before Yeshua was crucified.

Could it have happened just as Daniel so carefully predicted? Counting 483 years after Artaxerxes’ decree would bring us to 33 c.e. The Temple was destroyed in 70 c.e. That leaves a window of 37 years in which the Messiah from the tribe of Judah and the house of David could come. Not only that, but he was to die a violent death at that time.

Has Messiah Already Come?

God promised our people a Messiah, and He gave us a way of computing the time he’d be coming. Think about it. If Daniel is right and the Messiah came before the destruction of the Second Temple, that means we have to admit that the Messiah has already come. And if he’s already come, then who is he?

He had to arrive before 33 C.E, while the Temple was still standing, needed to be an identifiable descendant of David, and would be killed before the Temple was destroyed. The details of these facts together present some of the strongest evidence that he has in fact already come. The only person who fits that description is Yeshua from Nazareth.

Yes, for a Jewish person to consider the idea that Jesus might be the Messiah seems extreme. But every single one of us has been there and we’ve all come to believe that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be.

If you’re unsure, why not ask God? The same God who communicated to us about when the Messiah would come and who he would be wants to reveal the truth to you, but it requires an open heart. He says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3). Do you have the courage to call out to Him?

[tarragonblack1235813213455]

THEOLOGY

ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS ->

THE THREE MAJOR ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS are, in order of appearance, JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, and ISLAM, but there are other MINOR RELIGIONS.

■JUDAISM is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the covenant shared between God and Abraham.

The holy scriptures of JUDAISM are called the TANAKH, after the first letters of its three parts in the Jewish tradition. T: TORAH, the Teaching of Moses, the first five books. N: NEVI'IM, the books of the prophets. KH: KETUVIM, for the Writings, which include the psalms and literature for the wise.

ORTHODOX JUDAISM is the belief in a strict interpretation of Jewish law, which should be grounded in the Torah. As such, the revelation given to Moses from God on Mount Sinai is made glorious and just.

CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM is the belief in marriage and membership as a Jew. Other characteristics will include support of the Zionist movement and the rejection of the immutability of the "Torah" and the "Talmud" while still having faith in the eternal truth upon which it is based.

REFORM JUDAISM is the belief of the renewal in our living Covenant with God, the people of Israel, humankind, and the earth by acknowledging the holiness present throughout creation – in ourself, in each other, and in the world at large – through practice that will include reflection, study, worship, ritual, and much more.

■CHRISTIANITY is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered around the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

THE BIBLE is the holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth from its earliest creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A.D. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have undergone changes over the centuries.

□ROMAN CATHOLICISM

Roman catholicism is a branch of Christianity which has its belief about the sacraments, the role of the Bible and tradition, the importance of the Virgin Mary and the saints, and the papacy.

HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION

THE REFORMATION was a reform movement in religious belief that swept through Europe in the 16th century. It caused the creation of a branch of Christianity called PROTESTANTISM, a name used collectively to refer to the many religious groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church due to their difference in doctrine.

□PROTESTANTISM

Protestantism is a branch of Christianity which will deny the universal authority of the Pope and affirm all of the Reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood available to any practitioner, and the Bible as the only source of revealed truth.

□QUAKERISM

Quakerism is a branch of Protestantism

Follow your "inner light"

The Bible

Equality for all

God is accessible to everyone

No clergy

No religious ceremonies

No sacraments

LOCATION -> England

WHEN -> 17th Century

Adventism

Anglicanism

Anabaptism

Baptism

Irvingianism

Lutheranism

Methodism

Moravianism

Pentecostalism

Waldensianism

■ISLAM is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion that was revealed to Muhammad, a prophet of Allah, and written down in the Qur'an years later by his followers.

SUNNI

Muhammad did not specifically appoint a successor to lead the Ummah before his death. This sect did, however, approve of the private election of the first companion, Abū Bakr. In addition to the previous mentioned, Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib are also accepted as al-Khulafāʾ ur-Rāshidūn. After this, they believe that Muhammad intended that the Muslim community choose a successor, or caliph, by consensus. A practitioner of this sect will base their religion on the Quran and the Sunnah as understood by the majority of the community under the structure of the four schools of thought. These are HANAFI, MALIKI, SHAFI'I and the HANBALI.

SHI'A

Muhammad's family, the Ahl al-Bayt, including all of his descendants, have distinguished spiritual and political authority over the community. It is believed that Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the first of these descendants and the rightful successor to Muhammad. As a result, it was rejected that the first three Rāshidūn caliphs have legitimacy.

------------------------------------------

ETHICAL RELIGIONS ->

THE THREE MAJOR ETHICAL RELIGIONS are BUDDHISM, TAOISM, AND CONFUCIANISM.

■BUDDHISM is an ethical religion that was revealed by Siddhartha Gautama for anyone to gain spiritual enlightenment if that person followed the eight-folded path along with a personal commitment to any noble truth given to him/her through the journey of life in order to reach nirvana.

■TAOISM

■CONFUCIANISM

[iwillsingforhim]

A Short TedTalk

Ok so I was looking at the Prince Of Egypt tag on here and a lot of people were talking about how it's a Jewish film and story and we shouldn't be bringing Jesus/Christianity into it and in doing so, it's Jewish erasure. But here's the thing. The story of Moses that is found in the original Torah is part of Christianity as well. Now if you want to know how that is, you must understand some stuff. Many people tend to separate the Old Testament and the New Testament, saying one is for the Jews, the other for Christians. In reality, the entire Bible is for Christianity. It was given to us by God.

To associate only part of the Bible with our religion is like reading only part of a letter. You miss important information that relates to the part you read. In the same way, the Bible (which is like a letter from God) needs to be read as a whole. I once heard a pastor describe it like as artwork in a museum. The Bible is not a bunch of random, unconnected pieces of art to be viewed separately. It's a mural that is connected and ultimately tells one story, the story of God's love for humanity and the price His Son paid to save us from eternal suffering.

SO the Old Testament isn't just random stories that we teach kids in Sunday school. It's all relevant to Christianity today. From the Levitical laws that give us context for things in the New Testament, to the Psalms and their beautiful praises of God, and even the prophets who reference the coming of the Messiah, it's all relevant.

If you still think that its not, you need to remember: Jesus was Jewish! He came from the line of Judah who was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Jesus followed the Law of Moses and participated in Passover and Sukkot and Yom Kippur. It was only when He sacrificed Himself, died on the cross in place of us, and rose again that Christianity began. Judaism was the main religion of most of the New Testament figures. They grew up just as Jesus and thousands of others did over the course of hundreds of years!

Now that we know that Jesus Himself was Jewish and that Him and His Father's story starts at the beginning of time, you can understand why many Christians classify the Prince Of Egypt as a "Christian" movie. Its because it is a fantastic testimony to the wonder and power of our God. And by doing so, we are not removing the Jewish aspects of the film. Rather, we're celebrating and remembering the rich culture and history that our Savior grew up in. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

[tomthomasblog]

Finding Strength and Comfort in Psalm 94:18-19

Psalm 94:18-19 holds great significance for Christians, serving as a reminder to seek refuge in the Lord during troubled times. It emphasizes overcoming fear, nurturing courage, and providing comfort and assurance to those in need. This message has resonated throughout history, inspiring Christians to embody these principles daily and extend compassion to individuals facing challenging situations. Christians can effectively navigate life's intricacies by offering hope, strength, and steadfast support.

Psalm 94:18-19 underlines the importance of finding solace in the Lord during moments of distress. This biblical passage encourages individuals to turn to their faith for strength and comfort, recognizing that they are not alone in their struggles. Christians interpret these verses as a call to overcome fear and cultivate courage through their faith, knowing God is a constant source of support and reassurance.

Throughout history, the message of Psalm 94:18-19 has motivated Christians to embody these principles in their everyday lives actively. It has inspired them to reach out with compassion and empathy to those facing adversity, demonstrating God's love and care in action. By extending unwavering support and understanding, Christians uphold the message of this scripture, fostering a community built on compassion and solidarity.

In applying the teachings of Psalm 94:18-19, Christians find the strength to navigate life's challenges with hope and resilience. By recognizing the significance of these verses, individuals are better equipped to offer support and comfort to others, creating a network of encouragement and empowerment within their community.

In conclusion, the scripture of Psalm 94:18-19 continues to serve as a source of encouragement and guidance for Christians, emphasizing the importance of seeking refuge in the Lord during difficult times and extending compassion to those in need. By embodying these principles daily, individuals can provide unwavering support and assurance, fostering a community of strength, empathy, and shared faith.

Call to Action: Let us reflect on the message of Psalm 94:18-19 and consider how we can actively embody its principles in our interactions with others. We can cultivate a community built on compassion and solidarity by offering comfort, strength, and support to those in need.

=======================

The Scripture Collection A compilation of 20 uplifting music videos inspired by a different Bible scripture. First Edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv1XEZzrCvE Second Edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucV8yJIEsvc

=======================

Inspired by Psalm 94:18-19, today's song lyric has been painstakingly created across three unique genres.

70's rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyLsTq924dc 80's Rock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah68csJjjho Techno: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBsguLVW5IA

[ongolecharles]

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS (DSR) 📚 Group, Thu July 18th, 2024 ... Thursday of The Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

Reading 1

-----------------

Is 26:7-9, 12, 16-19

The way of the just is smooth;

the path of the just you make level.

Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD,

we look to you;

Your name and your title

are the desire of our souls.

My soul yearns for you in the night,

yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;

When your judgment dawns upon the earth,

the world's inhabitants learn justice.

O LORD, you mete out peace to us,

for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.

O LORD, oppressed by your punishment,

we cried out in anguish under your chastising.

As a woman about to give birth

writhes and cries out in her pains,

so were we in your presence, O LORD.

We conceived and writhed in pain,

giving birth to wind;

Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,

the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.

But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise;

awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.

For your dew is a dew of light,

and the land of shades gives birth.

Responsorial Psalm

------------------

Ps 102:13-14ab and 15, 16-18, 19-21

R. (20b) From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

You, O LORD, abide forever,

and your name through all generations.

You will arise and have mercy on Zion,

for it is time to pity her.

For her stones are dear to your servants,

and her dust moves them to pity.

R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,

and all the kings of the earth your glory,

When the LORD has rebuilt Zion

and appeared in his glory;

When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,

and not despised their prayer.

R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

Let this be written for the generation to come,

and let his future creatures praise the LORD:

"The LORD looked down from his holy height,

from heaven he beheld the earth,

To hear the groaning of the prisoners,

to release those doomed to die."

R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

Alleluia

---------

Mt 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

-----------

Mt 11:28-30

Jesus said:

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

***

FOCUS AND LITURGY OF THE WORD

Life in all of its fullness with family, careers, travel, as well as beginnings, transitions, and endings brings at times feelings of deep weariness, fatigue, and tiredness. A view of someone’s life from the outside can often be misjudged; a reminder that appearances can be deceiving. 

A satisfying career - A satisfying career has often included years of education, multiple changes in jobs, relocations, a plethora of difficult projects, management of complex work relationships.

Each obstacle has built character, resilience, and discipline.

A well adjusted happy family -  Well adjusted happy families have worked hard on their relationships…perhaps there has been a history of deceit, deception, rejection and bitterness. However their faith in God has enabled them to forgive, to seek help with their relationships and to continue to love each other. 

Financial security - Financial security is rare for most individuals/families. Many have had experiences such as bankruptcy, loss of possessions, loss of jobs, inability to support their children.  Financial security was built over time. Their experiences teaching them valuable lessons. 

Meaningful friendships - Meaningful friendships are a true gift. These friendships were often built from painful experiences of losing friends due to selfishness, lack of attention, and lack of nurturing. Each loss brought new insights and learnings. To keep friends you must be a friend. 

In these circumstances the prophet Isiah 26 in the Old Testament and Matthew 11 in the New Testament reminds us to remember God’s love and willingness to bear our burdens which promises to provide us with strength and hope. As faithful believers in God - strength lies in converting our faith to action by caring, loving and helping our family, friends, and neighbors.  

Isaiah 26 reminds us to rely on the strength that God offers.

Matthew 11 reminds us to give Jesus our burdens.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Let both scripture readings remind us that we are never alone. 

***

SAINT OF THE DAY

Saint Camillus de Lellis

(1550 – July 14, 1614)

Saint Camillus de Lellis’ Story

Humanly speaking, Camillus was not a likely candidate for sainthood. His mother died when he was a child, his father neglected him, and he grew up with an excessive love for gambling. At 17, he was afflicted with a disease of his leg that remained with him for life. In Rome he entered the San Giacomo Hospital for Incurables as both patient and servant, but was dismissed for quarrelsomeness after nine months. He served in the Venetian army for three years.

Then in the winter of 1574, when he was 24, Camillus gambled away everything he had—savings, weapons, literally down to his shirt. He accepted work at the Capuchin friary at Manfredonia, and was one day so moved by a sermon of the superior that he began a conversion that changed his life. He entered the Capuchin novitiate, but was dismissed because of the apparently incurable sore on his leg. After another stint of service at San Giacomo, he came back to the Capuchins, only to be dismissed again, for the same reason.

Again, back at San Giacomo, his dedication was rewarded by his being made superintendent. Camillus devoted the rest of his life to the care of the sick. Along with Saint John of God he has been named patron of hospitals, nurses, and the sick. With the advice of his friend Saint Philip Neri, he studied for the priesthood and was ordained at the age of 34. Contrary to the advice of his friend, Camillus left San Giacomo and founded a congregation of his own. As superior, he devoted much of his own time to the care of the sick.

Charity was his first concern, but the physical aspects of the hospital also received his diligent attention. Camillus insisted on cleanliness and the technical competence of those who served the sick. The members of his community bound themselves to serve prisoners and persons infected by the plague as well as those dying in private homes. Some of his men were with troops fighting in Hungary and Croatia in 1595, forming the first recorded military field ambulance. In Naples, he and his men went onto the galleys that had plague and were not allowed to land. He discovered that there were people being buried alive, and ordered his brothers to continue the prayers for the dying 15 minutes after apparent death.

Camillus himself suffered the disease of his leg through his life. In his last illness, he left his own bed to see if other patients in the hospital needed help.

Reflection

----------

Saints are created by God. Parents must indeed nurture the faith in their children; husbands and wives must cooperate to deepen their baptismal grace; friends must support each other. But all human effort is only the dispensing of divine power. We must all try as if everything depended on us. But only the power of God can fulfill the plan of God—to make us like himself.

Saint Camillus de Lellis is the Patron Saint of:

Hospitals

Nurses

Healthcare workers

Sick

***

【Build your Faith in Christ Jesus on #dailyscripturereadingsgroup 📚: +256 751 540 524 .. Whatsapp】

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

9th July >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on the Mass Readings for Tuesday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 9:32-38): ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’.

Tuesday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 9:32-37 The harvest is rich but the labourers are few.

A man was brought to Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.’ Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’

Gospel (USA) Matthew 9:32-38 The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.

A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Reflections (6)

(i) Tuesday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

We would probably all agree with the assessment of the people in today’s gospel reading to the healing ministry of Jesus, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’. We might even go further and say, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen anywhere’. This was a unique moment in human history when, in this particular time and place, God became God-with-us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The opening line of today’s responsorial psalm declares, ‘our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he wills’. In Jesus, God was on earth and God’s will was being done through Jesus, on earth as in heaven. This indeed was something to be wondered at. Yet, according to the gospel reading, there were some, the experts in the Jewish Law, who held that Jesus’ healing ministry showed the power of Satan at work. The revelation of God’s goodness was being interpreted as the working of supreme evil. It is hard to understand how some people could have got Jesus so wrong. Yet, it is a reminder to us all that our way of seeing can be extremely skewed. We sometimes see what is not there and fail to see what is there. We need to be open to the Spirit of God to recognize the working of God’s Spirit among us. As Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received… the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God’. Every day we need to invite the Spirit of God into our lives so that we can see more clearly the signs of God’s presence and activity all around us.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

There is a sharp contrast in this morning’s gospel reading between the way the ordinary people responded to Jesus’ healing ministry and the way the Pharisees responded. The people said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’. The Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils’. The people saw God at work in what Jesus was doing; the Pharisees saw Satan at work in Jesus’ healing work. It is hard to imagine a more contrasting set of responses. It brings home to us that when people look at the same phenomenon, they can see it very differently. The people, in contrast to the Pharisees, were attuned to the presence and action of God in Jesus. The gospel reading invites us to ask ourselves, ‘To what extent am I alert to the presence of God all around me, especially in the good that other people may be doing?’ We can be prone to seeing what is lacking in some situation and to miss the good that is also there. We can be better at naming what is wrong than what is right. We can be more attuned to noticing evil than good. While never being blind to evil, sin and failure, the gospel reading encourages us to be open to the ways that the Lord is at work in our lives and in the lives of others. The Lord himself was sensitive to the good in others, even when they failed to see it for themselves, and others failed to see it. We need something of the Lord’s generous way of seeing, especially in these times when the negative can be highlighted to the detriment of everything else.

And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

There is a very striking contrast in this morning’s gospel reading between the way the people respond to the healing ministry of Jesus and the way the religious leaders respond. The people were amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’. The religious leaders said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils’. Both saw Jesus perform the same deeds, and, yet, both interpreted what they saw in very different ways. One group saw the presence of God and the other group saw the presence of evil. One group was open to the truth of who Jesus really was; the other group were blinded by their prejudice. These were two very different ways of seeing. The people’s way of seeing Jesus was like Jesus’ way of seeing people. He saw the goodness in people just as the people saw the presence of God in Jesus. The gospel reading calls on us to be alert to the signs of goodness in others, to the signs of God’s presence all around us, especially in those who cross our path in life. We need the generous vision of the people, and especially of Jesus, rather than the jaundiced vision of the religious leaders, if we are to see the many ways that the Lord is present and active among us.

And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The labour of Jesus is evident from even today’s short gospel reading. It begins with Jesus enabling a dumb man to speak. There follows a summary statement of Jesus’ labours in all the towns and villages of Galilee, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of heaven and curing the sick and diseased. When he looked out upon a crowd he saw the potential for more labour. He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Although not stated on this occasion, Jesus’ compassionate response to the lost always leads him to labour further, to work more. Yet, although God was working powerfully through the labours of Jesus, he was well aware that he needed other labourers to work alongside him. That is why he calls on his disciples to ‘ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest’. He wants his disciples to labour alongside him, but they are also to pray, petitioning God to send more labourers than themselves. That call of Jesus on his disciples to ask the Lord of the harvest for more labourers has often been heard as a call to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life. However, we recognize more clearly today that this is too narrow an interpretation of this invitation of Jesus. The risen Lord needs all kinds of labourers today to work in God’s harvest. Every disciple is needed. All the baptized need to put their shoulder to the wheel. The harvest remains rich and a varied and full workforce is needed. We all have some responsibility to ensure that Jesus’ work of proclaiming God’s kingdom in word and did remains a living reality today. We are all the Lord’s co-workers and we need all hands on deck today more than ever.

And/Or

(v) Tuesday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The sense that Matthew the evangelist gives us in today’s gospel reading is of a Jesus who is constantly on the go. He heals a man who cannot speak; he goes through the towns and villages of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the presence of God’s kingdom and curing the sick. He begins to minister to a crowd whom he recognizes to be harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Is it any wonder that Jesus then goes on to ask his disciples to pray to God, the Lord of this rich harvest, to send more labourers into the harvest. Not even Jesus could meet the needs of people on his own; he needed helpers. It is probably always the case in every age of the church that the harvest is rich and the labourers are few. There was a time when we understood that call of Jesus to pray for more labourers as a call to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. This is something we all need to pray for. However, the decline in people wanted to be ordained priest or enter the religious life has sharpened our awareness that the labourers the Lord needs are to be found among all the baptized. The Lord needs all kinds of labourers, with a whole variety of gifts and temperaments. We can look around our parishes and give thanks for the many labourers that are already serving the parish community in some way. We need to pray for more such labourers. Even a small service can bear rich fruit for the life of a parish, like the mustard seed that became a large shrub. The widow’s gift of two small coins to the Temple treasury shows that great generosity can be manifest in small ways.

And/Or

(vi) Tuesday, Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading, the Lord bemoans the fact that the people of Samaria consider a human-made idol to be God. The opposite is the case in the gospel reading. The Pharisees identify what is of God as from the prince of devils, considering Jesus’ healing ministry to be inspired by Satan. We can be prone to treating as divine what is merely human while failing to recognize the ways that God is indeed actively working among us.  According to the responsorial psalm, ‘God… is in the heavens; he does whatever he wills’. Yet, God became flesh in Jesus and God continues to work powerfully in and through the risen Jesus. We need to keep praying for eyes to recognize the various ways that God continues to work among us through his Son, while not assigning divine status to what is purely human. In the words of the alleluia verse for today, we need to pray that ‘the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’ would ‘enlighten the eyes of our mind’. Jesus had this clarity of vision. He often recognized that those who claimed to speak for God were not in fact speaking for God. He also recognized that certain human experiences could speak powerfully to us of God, such as the shepherd who leave his flock to look for the one sheep who has strayed and the father who welcomes back his renegade son with a feast. To begin to see with the eyes of the Lord, we need, in the words of today’s psalm, to ‘constantly seek his face’. In seeking the Lord’s face in prayer we acquire something of his vision, and we need his vision if we are to become those labourers in the harvest he speaks of in the gospel reading.

Fr. Martin Hogan.