#and loving your neighbors and being good stewards of the earth

[nodirectionhome-ao3]

Not to go all Catholic school alumna on tumblr, lol, but currently thinking a lot about "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24) and the fact that a significant amount of so-called Christians in the US voted this week in support of dismantling human rights and destroying the environment all because a rich man told them he would make it easier for rich people to stay rich. Cool.

[hemakesallthingsbeautiful]

The Tension of Being

There will be days when the tension between what humanity and the world ought to be and the reality of life as it is in all its suffering and injustice appear to be so irreconcilable, that it seems inevitable and insurmountable. These will be the times when you will be most tempted to resign to the reality of a broken world rather than hold onto a future promise of restoration. Where hope seems audaciously immature and even naive, where the suffering and injustice is so jarring and heart-wrenching that you wonder alongside the world “if there is a good God, then why does injustice and suffering and evil exist?”. There will be days and moments and sleepless nights of lament- when the world is on fire, when the nations are at war, when refugees are fleeing, when the marginalized and weak and the poor are neglected, ignored and rejected. There will be days when you cannot fathom the reality of children being sold into brothels for a family’s subsistence, and workers being exploited and subservient to endless bondage and labor due to debt and deception, where migrant workers are exploited for profit and gain, when wealth and mammon are pursued mindlessly without a care for the injustices it perpetuates, when the caregivers in your city are depicted as ethnic minorities, foreigners and outcasts, when the loss and grief of loved ones and communities become too overwhelming, where the pervasiveness of discrimination against ethnicities, ignorance of diversity and cultures, and oppression of the poor shatter your belief in humanity’s possibility for goodness and compassion, and when news of shootings and violence leave you in utter shock and disbelief. But do not let the brokenness and sin of this sin-filled world turn you into a cynic. Lament but don’t despair, cry out but do not lose hope, weep but do not remain in sadness, may your heart break but may it not remain broken, may the Lord mend its broken pieces and may you steward it towards redemption. Do not become bitter, lest you become a critic and bystander as the world is on fire. Do not become ignorant and idle and immune to the suffering, relegating to the creature comforts of a disengaged and complacent life of individualism and the materialistic pursuits of consumerism. Do not be marked by an anger that seeks to pursue vengeance with worldly wisdom, forgetting that ultimate Justice will be enacted by the Lord, and the Lord alone. You must remain in this tension, and you must hold onto the promise. You must remember that though mourning fills the night, joy comes in the morning. You must engrave this truth in your heart. 

For there will be also be days when your heart swells with hope and possibility, where the tension temporarily dissipates, and where the glimpses and vision of the kingdom seem palpable, where your prayers “your kingdom come your will be done” on earth as is in heaven, seems like an answered one- at least for a moment in time. There will be days when redemption is not only possible, but a lived reality, no matter how partial it may be, it will be enough, sufficient to sustain us until its fullness arrives. Conversations with strangers will feel life-giving as you stare into their eyes and see the image-bearer God has created them to be; your beloved community and neighbors will reveal to you a fraction of the beauty of the diversity of nations gathering in communion before the Lord in the age to come, your mending relationship with your family will instill in you the possibility of reconciliation and forgiveness; the brothel turned vocational training for survivors will show you how God is capable of transforming the space of the broken into the space of healing. There will be days when the long line at the convenience store is not an inconvenience, but an opportunity for you to pray and bless those in front and behind you, when serendipitous conversations cultivate your empathy, when you’re told that the project you’re working on has blessed and transformed a person and perhaps even the community- bearing fruit beyond any worldly measure of impact. You will taste the humanity’s capacity for goodness, be awakened to the potential for justice, experience the depth of loving relationships, explore the possibility of generosity and abundance, and witness the beauty of creation -where the mundane becomes the awe-inspiring. Your thoughts will be occupied by the good, the true, and the beautiful and you will be captivated by the unconditional love and extraordinary grace of the faith you profess. Take courage, friend, restoration is coming and the Kingdom is imminent. Remember to imagine the kingdom that will be, remember to attend to the brokenness, and woundedness suffering before you, remember to create something beautiful out of this brokenness. Remember to see the spiritual realities, put on your redemptive lens, and remain in the tension as you anticipate an imminent resolution. The new creation is coming, but on this side of heaven, of eternity, of the eschaton- let hope arise.

For this is the tension of being. 

[simsccfindd]

Challenge Name: "Earth Legacy Quest"

Objective: Guide a Sims family through seven generations, each with goals that emphasize environmental sustainability, community engagement, and a connection to nature.

**Generation 1: The Earth Steward**

- Goal: Embrace a green lifestyle, start a small garden, and establish a recycling routine.

- Aspiration: "Eco-Friendly"

- Traits: Loves the Outdoors, Good, Eco-Friendly

- Legacy Goal: Create a family garden with a variety of plants and flowers.

**Generation 2: The Community Builder**

- Goal: Engage with the community, participate in local events, and build relationships with neighbors.

- Aspiration: "Community Advocate"

- Traits: Charismatic, Friendly, Family-Oriented

- Legacy Goal: Organize a successful community event and form bonds with at least three neighbors.

**Generation 3: The Renewable Energy Innovator**

- Goal: Embrace renewable energy sources, achieve a career in the science or technology field, and build a solar or wind-powered home.

- Aspiration: "Green Technician"

- Traits: Genius, Ambitious, Eco-Friendly

- Legacy Goal: Power the family home using renewable energy.

**Generation 4: The Sustainable Farmer**

- Goal: Master the gardening skill, establish a self-sufficient farm, and live off the land.

- Aspiration: "Farm to Table"

- Traits: Natural Cook, Loves the Outdoors, Family-Oriented

- Legacy Goal: Achieve a level 10 gardening skill and sustain the family solely from the farm.

**Generation 5: The Wildlife Conservationist**

- Goal: Focus on wildlife preservation, master the fishing and photography skills, and create a wildlife sanctuary.

- Aspiration: "Nature Conservator"

- Traits: Animal Lover, Photographer's Eye, Family-Oriented

- Legacy Goal: Create a wildlife sanctuary on the family property.

**Generation 6: The Environmental Activist**

- Goal: Advocate for environmental causes, lead protests, and push for policy changes.

- Aspiration: "Eco-Warrior"

- Traits: Charismatic, Good, Ambitious

- Legacy Goal: Successfully lobby for a local environmental policy change.

**Generation 7: The Earth Legacy Guardian**

- Goal: Take on the role of an Earth Legacy Guardian, ensuring the family's sustainable practices are upheld for future generations.

- Aspiration: "Earth Guardian"

- Traits: Green Thumb, Family-Oriented, Ambitious

- Legacy Goal: Document the family's eco-friendly journey and encourage future generations to continue the Earth Legacy.

Guide your Sims family through these Earth-focused generations, emphasizing sustainability, community engagement, and a harmonious connection to the environment. Leave a legacy that reflects a commitment to the well-being of the planet.

[wattertsai]

Commentary on The Principles of the Tao

道之宗旨解釋

1. To venerate Heaven and Earth (敬天地 ) - Value and respect both the Heavens and the Earth. Be a good steward of the planet and its resources.

2. To revere the divine beings (禮神明 ) - Hold in highest esteem the Tao, the eternal source. Appreciate and honor all of the good role models, Buddhas, sages, and teachers, who have come before us.

3. To be patriotic and responsible (愛國忠事) - Respect and honor the good things about your country and its government and to work to change things that could be done better; fulfill your civic duties.

4. To be virtuous and courteous (敦品崇禮 ) - Always act in a virtuous and courteous manner and uphold the Rules of Propriety. Practical guidelines regarding propriety of Demeanor, Deportment, Speech, Conduct, Example, and Sexual activity can be found in the Analects of Confucius.

5. To honor the parents (孝父母 ) - Love, honor, respect, support, and be obedient to one's parents to let them live worry-free lives.

6. To value the teachers (重師尊 ) - Honor and respect one's teachers and elders for their efforts to educate you and for the wisdom of their years.

7. To keep faith with friends (信朋友 ) - Be trustworthy, dependable and honest with your friends.

8. To live harmoniously with neighbors (和鄉鄰 ) - Be a good neighbor. Be helpful and friendly with those who share your neighborhood.

9. To discard the bad and seek the good (改惡向善) - Rid oneself of bad habits and pursue good thoughts and deeds.

10. To clarify the Five Relationships and the Eight Virtues (講明五倫八德 )- Expound upon the Five Bonds of Human Relationships and the Eight Cardinal Virtues

Five Bonds of Human Relationships - between sovereign and minister, parents and children, husband and wife, between siblings, and between friends

Eight Cardinal Virtues - filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, truthfulness, courtesy, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame

11. To spread the teachings of the Five Religions (闡發五教聖人之奧旨 ) - Recognize as valid all significant spiritual or philosophical traditions that have the potential to uplift and inspire people to do good.

12. To follow the ancient practice of the Four Ethics, the Mainstays and the Constant Virtues (恪遵四維綱常之古禮) - To obey and respectfully practice the Four Ethical Principles, the Three Mainstays of Social Order, and the Five Constant Virtues.

The Four Ethical Principles - courtesy, righteousness, integrity, a sense of shame

The Three Mainstays of Social Order - between sovereign and minister, parents and children, husband and wife

The Five Constant Virtues - benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and truthfulness

13. To cleanse the mind and purify the spirit (洗心滌慮 ) - Eliminate harmful/destructive thoughts. Maintain a happy positive attitude.

14. To utilize the illusory world in cultivating the truth (借假修真 ) - "Illusory" refers to the Buddhist idea that the world is just an illusion. By studying the world we can learn about the Tao.

15. To restore the nature of the self (恢復本性之自然 ) - To recognize, value, and respect one's original Buddha-nature. That is, you are a sentient being with an infinite potential for understanding, or "enlightenment" if you prefer, and for doing good.

16. To develop the perfection of conscience (啟發良知良能之至善 ) - Continually work to develop one's innate wisdom with respect to acting in harmony with the Tao.

17. To establish oneself and help others in establishment (己立立人 ) - First secure for yourself a stable position in society and then help those less fortunate to secure a stable position too.

18. To achieve goals and help others in achievement (己達達人) - Set and reach one's own goals and help others do so too.

19. To bring the world into peace (挽世界為清平 ) - Work to transform the world into a peaceful, honest, and orderly society.

20. To transform hearts into goodness (化人心為良善 ) - Enlighten the minds of people, by your actions and your words, and enable them to return to a natural state of benevolence.

21. To hope for the world of Great Unity (冀世界為大同 ) - By pursuing this path, to bring the world into a state of harmony, equality, fraternity, and justice.

[toadstoolgardens]

25 Tips for Permaculture Living

Permaculture is a design system and approach that challenges us to engage in whole systems thinking to create a better world and a worthwhile, kick-ass life. These are just ideas, shape your permaculture plans to fit your life & community.

The 3 Ethics of Permaculture: Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share.

1. Grow food. Even just a little. A sprawling garden, a raised bed, and a little pot of basil in a windowsill are all accomplishments. Growing that food creates a relationship with the soil, the weather, and the ecosystem. It slows us down, increases our resilience, and helps us eat where we are.

2. Chop & gather wood. If you are able where you live, take responsibility for your fuel needs. I live in a rural area so this is feasible for me, but these skills can also be utilized on camping trips/when using fire pits/etc. Learn to gather wood regeneratively and how to cure, stack, and chop it. Use as little as possible in a well-kept woodstove and return the charcoal to the Earth as biochar.

3. Minimize. Pare down your closet, your kitchen appliances, your shopping trips, the number of devices you own, anything you recognize you have/do in surplus. Being happy with less is powerful, it increases gratitude and lessens want.

4. Catch and store water. If it's legal where you live to do so, catch rainwater. This can be done in many ways, for many reasons. To pump the water as the pressurized water in your home or to water your gardens and landscape. Recycled plastic rain barrels are a simple and inexpensive way to collect and store free rainwater.

5. Eat together. Slow down and eat with the ones you love, just eating, talking, and being. Give each other and the nourishment on your plate your undivided attention.

6. Buy secondhand. Commit to buying as much as you can secondhand. This slows down impulse purchasing and hugely lessens the impact of your purchase. You'll also likely end up with a higher quality item and a great deal! Since secondhand items already exist, no production is needed, no new footprint is created, better for everyone. There are online secondhand shops too if you're looking for something specific you can't find locally.

7. Stop shopping at big supermarkets. Avoid them as much as possible! They're full of plastic packaging, processed foods, and the illusion of choice. Almost every product on supermarket shelves is owned by one of 10 companies, and they certainly aren't environmentally friendly ones. For food, make basics from scratch and source whole foods from locally owned farms, markets, co-ops, and shops. Online resources like Vitacost and the Package Free Shop are great for healthier options you might not find locally.

8. Reuse all nutrients. Compost all you can. Kitchen scraps, garden scraps, yard clippings, tree prunings, charcoal & ash from the fire, and urine and manure can all be returned to the Earth and transformed.

9. Pack your lunch. We all love takeout, but packing your own meal to take with you saves money, eliminates waste, and can be eaten anywhere! Eat your lunch in the park, the woods, up a tree, get to know your local nature spaces while you eat.

10. Make your own bread. Bread is one of our most beloved basic foods. Baking it yourself will nourish you better, save money, eliminate packaging, learn a new skill, and use whole ingredients instead of mystery ingredients and preservatives in many store-bought breads.

11. Swap your gym workout for gardening. Keeping healthy and fit is so important and if you're able, working in the garden is amazing exercise. Turn a compost pile, dig a garden bed, pull weeds, prune trees, pot seedlings, chop wood, or go walking in nature and enjoy the wild garden she provides. All deeply useful tasks, a great workout, and fresh air too! Forest bathing, being and basking in nature, is extremely healthy for our bodies and minds.

12. Minimize meat. Purchase meats from local farmers & butchers and don't support factory farming whenever possible. Appreciate and respect the animal nourishing you, use every bit of the meat you purchase.

13. Take the train. If you have to take a long trip, consider the train over flying. One trip on a plane generates about 300kg of CO2, taking the rain generates 10x less. It's slower, sure, but you can relax, read, nap, enjoy the scenery, and reduce emissions.

14. Support community. In every way: shop local, eat local, support your local food bank when you have surplus, volunteer in the community, help out at the community garden, teach your neighbors a skill. Show up for your community's pollinators by caring for local lands, planting native species, and encouraging others to do so. If you're already a gardener, start a crop swap if there isn't one. Give where you can, help where you can, engage where you live.

15. Keep bees. Bees are beautiful to watch, they provide our gardens and local landscape with pollination, and provide you with honey and wax. The millions of flowers and incredible effort involved in each jar of honey garners a great appreciation for sweetness and the work of bees.

16. Sleep well. It really does make a huge difference in our moods, health, and energy we're capable of putting into the day.

17. Live small. Living in a small house means less heating, cleaning, furniture, energy costs, and housing costs. A small home also makes for an intimate space to spend time together.

18. Work for yourself when you can. Growing food and being involved in the non-monetary economy of growing, swapping, sharing, foraging, reusing is so good for our health and everyday happiness.

19. Forage wild food. If you live somewhere with natural spaces that aren't sprayed with chemicals, there's probably free food all around you. Foraging is a great way to fill your belly with seasonal freshness, for FREE! Each season offers it's own special goodies, so you also learn to live with the seasons and connect to your local nature in a new way. Be sure to positively identify all species before you consume anything!

20. Take care of your ecosystem. You are a steward of the land and every little bit helps. Pick up trash and plastic when you're out. If you own property, manage your land. Volunteer for clean ups, water testing, gardening projects. Manage invasive species if you find them and are able. Plant native species and species for pollinators. Anything, truly anything helps.

21. Build forts & tree houses. If you have space, a collaborative building project using recycled/gathered materials teaches us lots of skills and helps us appreciate everything it takes just to keep a basic roof over our heads. Plus you'll also have a nice hideaway in nature to enjoy.

22. Grow beans. Love you, beans! They improve the soil, can be grown as climbers even if you have limited space, and can be eaten fresh, frozen, or dried (which store for years, increasing resilience). Beans are self pollinating which makes saving seeds easy and they're one of the most climate-adaptable plant proteins you can grow.

23. Pass it on. Share abundance! Produce, clothing, knowledge, skills, eggs, yarn, anything. Pass it on, pay it forward, share your excess, it's a gift to both your community and yourself.

24. Share skills. A skilled community is able to look after themselves and each other. Are you a great cook? Host a cooking party and teach your friends to make their own yogurt. Love starting seeds? Hold a seed starting workshop outside your local library. It doesn't have to be complex or fancy, just have heart. Which you already have, so you're perfect. Skill shares build confidence, knowledge, and community.

25. Rise up. Silence = violence. Permaculture is about doing as little harm as possible and using our time on Earth to do the best we can, with our hands and our voices. Speak up, show up, rise up. Work for the world you want, not just the garden you want.

Keep Learning: Source

[dailychapel]

God my Champion, embolden me with the power of Your Holy Spirit when I am tempted to fear. Please strengthen me, help me, and hold me up with Your righteous right hand. These circumstances will not prevail against me, for You champion my cause. These troubles will be like grass that withers in the heat of the sun, for Your hand of blessing rests on me. Amen.

[Psa 18:2-16 NKJV] 2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I will call upon the LORD, [who is worthy] to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies. 4 The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, [even] to His ears. 7 Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry. 8 Smoke went up from His nostrils, And devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With darkness under His feet. 10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness His secret place; His canopy around Him [was] dark waters [And] thick clouds of the skies. 12 From the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire. 13 The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. 14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. 15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, The foundations of the world were uncovered At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 16 He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

[Jer 5:1-31 NKJV] 1 "Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; See now and know; And seek in her open places If you can find a man, If there is [anyone] who executes judgment, Who seeks the truth, And I will pardon her. 2 Though they say, '[As] the LORD lives,' Surely they swear falsely." 3 O LORD, [are] not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return. 4 Therefore I said, "Surely these [are] poor. They are foolish; For they do not know the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God. 5 I will go to the great men and speak to them, For they have known the way of the LORD, The judgment of their God." But these have altogether broken the yoke [And] burst the bonds. 6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased. 7 "How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by [those that are] not gods. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. 8 They were [like] well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor's wife. 9 Shall I not punish [them] for these [things]?" says the LORD. "And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this? 10 "Go up on her walls and destroy, But do not make a complete end. Take away her branches, For they [are] not the LORD's. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah Have dealt very treacherously with Me," says the LORD. 12 They have lied about the LORD, And said, "[It is] not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine. 13 And the prophets become wind, For the word [is] not in them. Thus shall it be done to them." 14 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: "Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them. 15 Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel," says the LORD. "It [is] a mighty nation, It [is] an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. 16 Their quiver [is] like an open tomb; They [are] all mighty men. 17 And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, [Which] your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword. 18 "Nevertheless in those days," says the LORD, "I will not make a complete end of you. 19 "And it will be when you say, 'Why does the LORD our God do all these [things] to us?' then you shall answer them, 'Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land [that is] not yours.' 20 "Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying, 21 'Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not: 22 Do you not fear Me?' says the LORD. 'Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it. 23 But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart; They have revolted and departed. 24 They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest." 25 Your iniquities have turned these [things] away, And your sins have withheld good from you. 26 'For among My people are found wicked [men]; They lie in wait as one who sets snares; They set a trap; They catch men. 27 As a cage is full of birds, So their houses [are] full of deceit. Therefore they have become great and grown rich. 28 They have grown fat, they are sleek; Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the fatherless; Yet they prosper, And the right of the needy they do not defend. 29 Shall I not punish [them] for these [things]?' says the LORD. 'Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?' 30 "An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their [own] power; And My people love [to have it] so. But what will you do in the end?

[1Co 4:1-21 NKJV] 1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God. 6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 7 For who makes you differ [from another]? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive [it], why do you boast as if you had not received [it]? 8 You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us--and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! 9 For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 10 We [are] fools for Christ's sake, but you [are] wise in Christ! We [are] weak, but you [are] strong! You [are] distinguished, but we [are] dishonored! 11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn [you]. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet [you do] not [have] many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. 17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. 18 Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. 20 For the kingdom of God [is] not in word but in power. 21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

[pamphletstoinspire]

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

In the Introit of this day's Mass the Church calls upon all creatures to thank God for the Incarnation of His only-begotten Son.

INTROIT Let all the earth adore Thee, O God and sing to Thee: let it sing a psalm to Thy name (Ps. 65:4). Shout with joy to God all the earth, sing ye a psalm to His name: give glory to His praise (Ps. 65:1-2). Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT Almighty and eternal God, Who disposest all things in heaven and on earth: mercifully hear the supplications of Thy people, and give Thy peace to our times. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE (Rom.12:6-16). Brethren: We have different gifts, according to the grace that is given us: either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith, or ministry in ministering, or he that teacheth in doctrine, he that exhorteth in exhorting, he that giveth with simplicity, he that ruleth with carefulness, he that sheweth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good: loving one another with the charity of brotherhood: with honor inspiring one another: in carefulness not slothful: in spirit fervent: serving the Lord: rejoicing in hope: patient in tribulation: instant in prayer: communicating to the necessities of the saints: pursuing hospitality: bless them that persecute you: bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that rejoice, weep with them that weep: being of one mind, one towards another: not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not wise in your own conceits.

EXPLANATION. St. Paul in this epistle exhorts every Christian to make good use of the gifts of God; if one receives an office, he must see well to it, so that he can give an account to God of the faithful performance of his duties. He exhorts especially to brotherly love which we should practice by charitable works; such as, receiving strangers hospitably, giving alms to those who are in need, and to those who by misfortune or injustice have lost their property; he commands us, at the same time, to rejoice in the welfare of our neighbor, as we rejoice at our own good fortune, and to grieve at his misfortunes as we would over those which befall us.

How is brotherly love best preserved?

By the virtue of humility which makes us esteem our neighbor above ourselves, consider his good qualities only, bear patiently his defects, and always meet him in a friendly, respectful, and indulgent manner. Humility causes us to live always in peace with our fellowmen, while among the proud, where each wishes to be the first, there is continual strife and dissatisfaction (Prov. 13:10).

INSTRUCTION FOR SUPERIORS

Those have to expect a severe sentence from God, who merely for temporal gain, seek profitable offices, and thrust themselves therein whether capable or not, and if capable care very little whether they fulfill the duties required, or perhaps make the fulfillment of them depend upon bribes. Of such God makes terrible complaint: Thy princes (judges) are faithless, companions of thieves: they all love bribes, they run after rewards. They judge not for the fatherless; and the widow's cause comes not into them (Is. 1:23). A most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule (Wisd. 6:6).

ASPIRATION Grant us, O Lord, Thy grace, that according to Thy will, we may follow the instructions of St. Paul in regard to humility and love, have compassion upon all suffering and needy, think little of ourselves, and descend to the lowest, that we may, one day, be elevated with them in heaven.

GOSPEL (Jn. 2:1-11). At that time there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus with to her: Woman, what is it to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. Now there were set there six water-pots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. Jesus saith to them: Fill the water-pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now, and carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it. And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water; the chief steward calleth the bridegroom, and saith to him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine; and when men have well drank, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee: and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

Why was Christ and His mother present at this marriage?

In order to honor this humble and God-fearing couple who, with faithful hearts, had invited Him and His mother to their wedding; to give us an example of humility; to assist them in their poverty, and save their good name by changing water into wine; to reveal His dignity as the Messiah to His disciples by this miracle; and to sanctify by His presence the marriages that are contracted in the spirit of the Church.

Alas! how few marriages of our time could Jesus honor with His presence, because He is invited neither by fervent prayer, nor by the chaste life of the couple: He is excluded rather, by the frequent immorality of the married couple and their guests.

Why was Mary interested in this married couple?

Because she is merciful, and the Mother of Mercy, and willingly assists all the poor and afflicted who fear God. From this incident, St. Bonaventure judges of the many graces which we can hope for through Mary, now that she reigns in heaven; "For," says he, "if Mary while yet on earth was so compassionate, how much more so is she now, reigning in heaven!" He gives the reason by adding: "Mary now that she sees the face of God, knows our necessities far better than when she was on earth, and in proportion to the increase of her compassion, her power to aid us has been augmented." Ah! why do we not take refuge in all our necessities to this merciful mother, who although unasked assists the needy?

Why did Christ say to Mary: Woman, what is it to me and to thee?

This seemingly harsh reply of Christ was no reproach, for Mary had made her request only through love and mercy, and Christ calls those blessed who are merciful, but he wished to show that in the performance of divine work, the will of His heavenly Father alone should be consulted. He meant to remind her that He had not received the gift of miracles from her as the son of woman, but from His eternal Father, in accordance with whose will He would do that which she asked when the hour designed by God would come. Though the hour had not come, yet He granted the wish of His mother, who knew that her divine Son refused none of her requests, and so she said to the servants: "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye." Behold the great power of Mary's intercession! Neglect not, therefore, to take refuge in this most powerful mother!

What are we taught by the words: My hour is not yet come?

These words teach us that we should in all things await God's appointed time, and in things belonging to God and His honor, act only by divine direction, without any human motives.

What does the scarcity of wine signify?

In a spiritual sense the want of wine may be understood to signify the lack of love between married people, which is principally the case with those who enter this state through worldly motives, for the sake of riches, beauty of person, or who have before marriage kept up sinful intercourse. These should ask God for the forgiveness of their sins, bear the hardships of married life in the spirit of penance, and change the wrong motives they had before marriage; by doing so God will supply the scarcity of wine, that is the lack of true love, and change the waters of misery into the wine of patient affection.

Why did Christ command them to take the wine to the steward?

That the steward, whose office required him to be attentive to the conduct of the guests, and to know the quality of the wine, should give his judgment in regard to the excellence of this, and be able to testify to the miracle before all the guests.

ASPIRATION O my most merciful Jesus! I would rather drink in this world the sour wine of misery than the sweet wine of pleasure, that in heaven I may taste the perfect wine of eternal joy.

INSTRUCTION ON THE HOLY SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

What is Matrimony?

Matrimony is the perfect, indissoluble union of two free persons of different sex, for the purpose of propagating the human race, mutually to bear the burdens of life and to prevent sin (I Cor. 7:2).

Who instituted Matrimony?

God Himself, the Creator of all things (Gen. 1:27-28). He brought to man the helpmate, whom He formed from one of the ribs of Adam, that she who came from his heart, might never depart therefrom, but cling to him in the indissoluble bond of love (Gen. 2:18, 24). To this original, divine institution Christ refers (Mt. 19:4-6), and the Church declares the bond of marriage perpetual and indissoluble.

Is Matrimony a Sacrament?

Yes; according to the testimony of the Fathers, the Church has held it such from the times of the apostles, which she could not do, had Christ not raised it to the dignity of a Sacrament. St. Paul even calls it a great Sacrament, because it is symbolical of the perpetual union of Christ with His Church; and the Council of Trent declares: "If any one says that Matrimony is not really and truly one of the seven Sacraments of the Church instituted by Christ, but an invention of men that imparts no grace, let him be anathema" (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, can. 1).

What graces does this Sacrament impart?

The grace of preserving matrimonial fidelity inviolate: the grace of educating children as Christians; of patiently enduring the unavoidable difficulties of married life, and of living peaceably with each other. Married people are indeed greatly in need of these graces, in order to fulfil their mutual obligations.

What is the external sign in the Sacrament of Matrimony?

The union of two single persons in Matrimony, which according to the regulations of the Council of Trent (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, can. 1), must be formed publicly in the presence of the pastor, or with his permission before another priest, and two witnesses.

What preparations are to be made to receive the grace of this Sacrament?

1. The first and best preparation is a pure and pious life. 2. The light of the Holy Ghost should be invoked to know whether one is called to this state of life. 3. The parents and the father-confessor should be asked for advice. 4. The choice should be made in regard to a Christian heart, and a gentle disposition rather than to beauty and wealth. 5. The immediate preparation is, to purify the conscience, if it has not already been done, by a good general confession, and by the reception of the most holy Sacrament of the Altar. Before their marriage the young couple should ask their parents' blessing, should hear the nuptial Mass with devotion, with the intention of obtaining God's grace to begin their new state of life well, and finally they should commend themselves with confidence to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her spouse St. Joseph.

Why are there so many unhappy marriages?

Because so many people prepare the way by sins and vices, and continue to sin without interruption, and without true amendment until marriage, therefore always make sacrilegious confessions, even perhaps immediately before marriage. Besides this many enter the married life on account of carnal intentions, or other earthly motives; in many cases they do not even ask God for His grace; without any proper preparation for such an important, sacred act, on their marriage day they go to church with levity and afterwards celebrate their wedding with but little modesty. Is it any wonder that such married people receive no blessing, no grace, when they render themselves so unworthy?

Why did God institute married life?

That children might be brought up honestly and as Christians, and that they should be instructed especially in matters of faith; that married people should sustain each other in the difficulties of life, and mutually exhort one another to a pious life; and lastly, that the sin of impurity might be avoided. For they who in such manner receive matrimony as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power (Too. 6:17).

'With what intentions should the married state be entered?

With such intentions as the young Tobias and his bride had, who before the marriage ceremony, ardently prayed God for His grace, and took their wedding breakfast in the fear of the Lord (Too. 14:15). Hence God's blessing was with them until death. If all young people would enter the married state thus, it would certainly be holy, God-pleasing and blessed, and the words of St. Paul, spoken to wives, would come true unto them: Yet she shall be saved by bearing children, if she continue in faith, and love, and sanctification with sobriety (I Tim. 2:15).

Why are the banns of marriage published three times in Church?

That all impediments which would render the marriage unlawful may be made known. Such impediments are: consanguinity, clandestine marriages, etc. Therefore, any one who is aware of such impediments, is bound to make them known to the pastor.

Why is the marriage performed in the presence of the parish priest?

Because the Catholic Church expressly declares that those marriages which are not performed in presence of the pastor, or with his permission before another priest, and two witnesses, are null and void (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV can. 1)1; and because the blessing of the priest, which he imparts in the name of the Church, gives the couple, if they are in a state of grace, strength, fortitude and grace to be faithful to each other, to endure all trials patiently, and to be safe from all the influences of the evil enemy."

Why do they join hands before the priest, and two witnesses?

By this they bind themselves before God and His Church to remain true to each other, and to be ready to assist each other in all adversities. The bridegroom puts a ring on the bride's finger which should remind her of her duty of inviolable fidelity; to this end the priest signs and seals this holy union with the unbloody Sacrifice of the New Law.

Can the bond of marriage be dissolved in the Catholic Church?

A valid marriage, contracted with the free consent of each of the parties, can according to the plain doctrine of the Scriptures, the constant teaching and practice of the Church, be dissolved only by the death of one of the parties. If the pope or a bishop, for important reasons, gives a divorce, this is only partial, and neither can marry again while the other lives. Such a marriage would not be valid. How pure and holy are the doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church in this the most important and sacred of all human relations, preserving its inviolability and sanctity; while, on the contrary, by means of the wanton doctrine of the heretics, which for trivial reasons entirely dissolves the marriage contract, this sacred union is made the deepest ignominy of mankind, and the play-ball of human passions and caprice!

What is thought of mixed marriages, or marriages between Catholics and Protestants?

The Catholic Church has always condemned such marriages, because of the great dangers to which the Catholic party is unavoidably exposed as well as the offspring. Such marriages promote indifference in matters of religion, by which the spiritual life of the soul is destroyed; they are a hindrance to domestic peace, cause mutual aversion, quarrels, and confusion; they give scandal to servants; they interfere with the Christian education of the children, even render it impossible, and they frequently lead to apostasy and despair. But the Catholic Church condemns especially those mixed marriages, in which either all or a number of the children are brought up in heresy, and she can never bless and look upon those as her children who do not fear to withdraw themselves and their own children from the only saving faith, and expose them to the danger of eternal ruin. Therefore, those Catholics who enter the matrimonial union with Protestants, although the marriage if lawfully contracted is valid, commit a mortal sin if they permit their children to be brought up in heresy, and should it not be their full intention to bring up their children in the Catholic faith at the time of their marriage, they would commit a sacrilege.

What should the newly married couple do immediately after the ceremony is performed?

They should kneel and thank God for the graces received in this holy Sacrament, in such or similar words: "Ratify, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that which by Thy grace Thou hast wrought in us, that we may keep that which in Thy presence we have promised unto the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." That they may keep their promise made at the altar, they should always remember the duties laid down to them by the priest at the time of their marriage, and the exhortations which are taken from the epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:29, 31), wherein he instructs married people how they should comport themselves towards each other, and recalls to them as an example the union of Christ with His Church, and His love for her. To the husbands he says, they should love their wives as Christ loved His Church, for which He even gave Himself up to death; from this is seen, that men should assist their wives even unto death, in all need, and not treat them as servants. To the wives St. Paul says, that they as the weaker should be in all reasonable things obedient to their husbands, as the Church is obedient to Christ; for as Christ is the head of the Church, so is the husband the head of the wife. Experience proves there is no better way for women to win the hearts of their husbands than by amiable obedience and ready love, while, on the contrary, a querulous, imperative deportment robs them of their husbands' affections, and even causes them to be regarded with aversion. St. Paul says further; that husbands should love their wives (and consequently wives their husbands) as their own bodies, because married people are, as it were, one. They shall be two in one flesh; no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the Church (Eph. 5:29, 31). How unjustly and barbarously do those act, who, instead of loving one another, rather hate and outrage each other, and cause the loss of their property, and by detraction steal their honor! These do not consider that he who hates and disgraces his partner in life, hates and disgraces himself; while according to the words of St. Paul he who loves her, loves himself. If married people would remain in constant love and unity, it is most necessary that they should patiently bear with each other's infirmities, wrongs, and defects, exhort one another with mildness and affection, keep their adversities, trials, and sufferings as much as possible to themselves, and complain in prayer only to God, who alone can aid them. By impatience, quarrels, and complaints the cross becomes only heavier and the evil worse. Finally, not only on their wedding day, but often through life, they should earnestly consider that they have not entered the married state that they may inordinately serve the pleasures of the body, but to have children who will one day inhabit heaven according to the will of God; as the angel said to Tobias: "For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power" (Tob. 6:17).

PRAYER Most merciful Jesus! who didst work Thy first miracle at the wedding in Cana by changing water into wine, thereby revealing Thy divine power and majesty, and honoring matrimony: grant we beseech Thee, that Thy faithful may ever keep sacred and inviolate the holy sacrament of Matrimony, and that they may so live in it truthfully, in the fear of the Lord, that they may not put an obstacle in the way of obtaining heaven for themselves, and their children.

1. In all such dioceses of the United States, where the Council of Trent has not been published, civil marriages are considered valid. The Catholic, however, who becomes married by civil authority commits a mortal sin, except in case of extreme necessity. To be married by a sectarian preacher is looked upon as a denial of faith, and incurs excommunication.

[dailyaudiobible]

10/28/2019 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 51:54-52:34, Titus 3:1-15, Psalms 100:1-5, Proverbs 26:18-19

Today is the 28th day of October. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian and what a joy it is to be here with you as we…as we get going into this workweek, start taking steps forward toward the new month that is a few days away. It's great to be here with you. What a journey this year has been so far and we have some of the most beautiful territory in the Scriptures out in front of us still. So, what a journey it has been. We’re reading from the Amplified Bible this week. Today we’re gonna finish Old and New Testament writings. I don’t mean we’re like at the end of Bible. We’re gonna finish the book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. We’re gonna finish the letter, the pastoral letter to Titus in the New Testament and we’re reading from the Amplified Bible this week. Did I already say that? We’re reading from the Amplified Bible this week. Jeremiah 51:54 through 52:34 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, yesterday in our Proverbs reading we were…we were counseled about staying out of business that has nothing to do with us, like not inserting ourselves uninvited into someone else's issues or matters or business. So, today the Proverbs is kind of continuing with that thought and is inviting us to…to consider basically lying and then saying you were just joking. And you may have seen this, you may even do this, you may like…only you would know inside yourself, but you may berate a person, you may be harsh to a person and then, you know, if they have finally have had enough and they start pushing back you’re like, “it’s just a…it’s just a joke, I was just joking.” And usually that kind of a person,  they do…they don't just…I mean…they do it a lot and they just walk around nicking and cutting these little wounds into people but then the second somebody's had enough and steps up to it, “like, you’re not gonna bully me” basically and it’s all flipped around and they’re…they were “just joking” and they never really meant anything by it and then they try to flip it around so that it's you’re…like…if you're on the receiving end and it’s your fault because you can't joke you don't and you don’t know the difference. So, it’s like a no win situation because…because the person who spoke out with these little nicks and cuts with these words, they meant what they said…like they meant to be hurtful, but it's done in such a way that they could deny that, which simply lets the lie, the falseness, remain. It's a lie, but it's twisted up. So, interestingly enough, the proverb is thousands of years old. So, this has been going on for thousands of years. And the proverb says, “like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, was I not joking?” Another translation I think puts it the most starkly because every year when we come by here by this particular territory it just stops me my tracks. So, “just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says, I was only joking.” So…so, the idea of a madman shooting a firebrand or a deadly weapon, right? That's…that's a pretty…that’s a pretty current image these days. And the proverb is basically saying, “when you…when you say…when you cut somebody with your words and then kind of sidestep your wrongdoing and not owning it and trying to deceive the other person that they’re the crazy one because they didn't understand you”, when you’re trying to insult somebody, tear them down and then injure them again by trying to make them believe it was a joke. The proverb says that's like a madman shooting a deadly weapon. So…so, that's pretty stark. And, so, if that's something that's maybe been a part of your story, that's been happening to you for a long time, then you can probably exhale and stop feeling like you're the one that's going crazy. You’re actually in an unhealthy situation and maybe…maybe some counsel is what you need or maybe you need to name what it is and bring it into the light. But on the other side of that coin, if you're feeling like convicted because you do this all the time and get some of your identity by trying to make yourself superior somebody else then name it and face it, because the implications from the Scriptures, the description of what that actually like is not something that any of us, I don't think, that any of us want to be. So, let's steward what we’re saying out of our mouths today because we have a choice with our words. Often, we’re saying them before we’re not thinking about what we’re saying, but that's…that's simply because we’re not paying attention. Our words can and should, and actually must align themselves with Gods kingdom. But the alternative in this particular scenario is that we can align our words with God's kingdom and be uplifting, lift everyone around us up, build them up and encourage them in their day or we can walk around like a dangerous madman shooting a deadly weapon with that same mouth. So…so, what are you gonna choose today.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You in that…into that because it is true. We find ourselves saying things that we wouldn't say, had we thought about that. And in retrospect and reflection later on, we regret having said what we said. We feel awful about it. And the Scriptures have given us a visual today that helps us understand why. And, so we don't want to be dangerous. We don’t want to be like a madman shooting a weapon. We want to be fully aligned with Your kingdom and Your will in our lives, and in this world, on earth as it is in heaven. So, Holy Spirit we invite You into that. We will not succeed without You. We will not. And You are ever present. It's not like we have to summon You to help us with our mouths. It's rather that we must become aware that You are present and are guiding us if we would submit. And, so, we surrender. We’ve all, everyone, we've all said things that we wish we hadn't said. Some of us are habitual about it. And we need Your help. Help us to bridle our tongues to get them under control. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is the website and it is certainly where you keep up with what's going on around here. So, be sure to check that out.

Check out the Initiatives section of the website to see the different things that are going, like the God of Your Story. Like Israel 2020. Just…I mean…that trip was sold out. Couple cancellations have made a couple spots available. So, they won’t last, but if it's been on your bucket list you check out that Initiative, Israel 2020 in the Initiatives section.

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And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey guys, this is Mike Greenberg and I am a 10-year listener and maybe a first-time caller. I kind of made it an internal policy to not call in because of favoritism as I get to serve the team here at Daily Audio Bible in various ways, but a friend of mine, a dear friend of mine, David, his 18-year-old daughter took her life just a couple days ago and I don’t know how to pray for he and his family - his wife and his 14-year-old daughter. But if we can join hands together and pray for David and his family, his wife, and his 14-year-old daughter as they go through this process, I appreciate it. Love you guys. I listen to your prayer requests and no you intimately and appreciate you and appreciate you praying for David and for me to be able to help and serve them in any way I can. Blessings.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible brothers and sisters, Brian and family. My name is Norma and I just wanted to…I just felt like I needed to call and share a testimony about my son. He’s 37. He was just 37 yesterday and for like about 20 years my son was really angry and bitter and verbally abusive. And I knew that, you know, it…it…a lot of it came from a really nasty divorce from domestic violence but I kept praying and praying for like 20 years and finally yesterday on his birthday he told me that his father used to beat him. And I never knew that, he never told me when he used to go visit his dad. But somehow prayers, 20 years of prayers, finally…just…my prayers were answered, and I believe that my son and I are on the path of healing. And I just want to encourage all of you that are dealing with loved ones that are hurting and really angry and bitter, there’s a root, there’s a root that’s coming from somewhere. Don’t give up on them. Don’t give up on them because they’re hurting. And I pray that this testimony will help you all out there, prayers are answered. God will answer your prayers eventually. Just hang in there…

This is Holly from Glendale Arizona. I just ask for prayer for my brother Chris. It’s the 23rd of October. He’s going into rehab for alcohol today at 10 o’clock. This is my first time calling. I’ve been listening for about a year and I just want to thank you all for your prayers.

Hey DAB family it’s Shanda from Aberdeen South Dakota and I’m calling in because I am in need of prayer desperately. I called in yesterday in reference to somebody else’s need for prayer about kind of like displaced anger and I had a situation with it last night. I was arguing with my 17-year-old son. Instead of being the adult I entertained the argument over his disrespectful attitude and behavior of going into my room and just taking things without asking when all he’d have to do is ask. And then I yelled that my two younger children kind of out of context and I apologized after, but I just can’t get away from the shame of feeling like I’m not growing. And I’m at this point where I’m not really sure. I keep praying and __ but my anger…I just don’t know how to…I don’t know. I feel lost at this point and I’m just asking that you guys can lift me up in prayer please. Thank you. Bye.

Morning Daily Audio Bible community this is Natasha from Brooklyn. I’d called a while ago, probably back in September to ask for prayer regarding my work situation and some other things that was going on in my life. I just wanted to give a praise report to the community that I have started working and the Lord has blessed me with a really great job that is paying me extremely well. And my point in giving this praise report is to let everyone in the community know that prayer works. Stay strong people. Keep praying. The Lord answers us. He answers our requests and he is faithful. Stay strong. Keep praying. Keep asking Him to resolve the…the…the…the problems that occur in your life, the setbacks that come up. Keep asking Him to move those mountains out of your way and He will answer because He is faithful, and He is…He’s awesome and He loves us. And this is my testimony, that all the time that I was out of work the Lord was setting something up for me, a perfect job and more salary that I could even ask for, that I could even think about. It was a huge miracle and I thank Him and thank you guys. Thank you, Brian for this community and thank you everyone. Have a blessed and wonderful day in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hey Max, this is Denise and the rest of the Daily Audio Bible community. Max, I almost fell off the treadmill when I heard you talking when I was listening to the podcast. And buddy, just stay with us and I’ve never called in before, but I heard the pain and I love you and I don’t even know you and I don’t want to lose you. So, stay with us. So, I’m gonna read Psalm 121 over you. Max will lift eyes up to the hills and from whence comes his help. His help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow Max’s foot to be moved. He who keeps Max will not slumber. Behold he who keeps Max shall neither sleep nor slumber. The Lord is Max’s keeper. The Lord is Max’s shad at his right hand. The son shall not strike Max by day nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve Max from all evil. He shall preserve his very soul. The Lord shall preserve Max’s coming in this time forth and forever more. Stay with us buddy. We love you.

[js4c-lovegodnow-blog]

    Grant, O God, that your holy and life‑giving Spirit may so move every human heart [and especially the hearts of the people of this land], that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

In Times of Conflict

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

For Agriculture

Almighty God, we thank you for making the earth fruitful, so that it might produce what is needed for life: Bless those who work in the fields; give us seasonable weather; and grant that we may all share the fruits of the earth, rejoicing in your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

For the Unemployed

Heavenly Father, we remember before you those who suffer want and anxiety from lack of work. Guide the people of this land so to use our public and private wealth that all may find suitable and fulfilling employment, and receive just payment for their labor; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

  For Schools and Colleges

O Eternal God, bless all schools, colleges, and universities [and especially __________], that they may be lively centers for sound learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom; and grant that those who teach and those who learn may find you to be the source of all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

  For the Good Use of Leisure

O God, in the course of this busy life, give us times of refreshment and peace; and grant that we may so use our leisure to rebuild our bodies and renew our minds, that our spirits may be opened to the goodness of your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

  For Cities

Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of that holy City to which the nations of the world bring their glory: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth. Renew the ties of mutual regard which form our civic life. Send us honest and able leaders.  Enable us to eliminate poverty, prejudice, and oppression, that peace may prevail with righteousness, and justice with order, and that men and women from different cultures and with differing talents may find with one another the fulfillment of their humanity; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

For Towns and Rural Areas

Lord Christ, when you came among us, you proclaimed the kingdom of God in villages, towns, and lonely places: Grant that your presence and power may be known throughout this land.  Have mercy upon all of us who live and work in rural areas [especially ___________]; and grant that all the people of our nation may give thanks to you for food and drink and all other bodily necessities of life, respect those who labor to produce them, and honor the land and the water from which these good things come.  All this we ask in your holy Name. Amen.

For the Poor and the Neglected

Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you all poor and neglected persons whom it would be easy for us to forget:  the homeless and the destitute, the old and the sick, and all who have none to care for them. Help us to heal those who are broken in body or spirit, and to turn their sorrow into joy. Grant this, Father, for the love of your Son, who for our sake became poor, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

For the Oppressed

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions.  Have mercy upon us.  Help us to eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law and equal opportunities for all.  And grant that every one of us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

For Prisons and Correctional Institutions

Lord Jesus, for our sake you were condemned as a criminal: Visit our jails and prisons with your pity and judgment. Remember all prisoners, and bring the guilty to repentance and amendment of life according to your will, and give them hope for their future. When any are held unjustly, bring them release; forgive us, and teach us to improve our justice. Remember those who work in these institutions; keep them humane and compassionate; and save them from becoming brutal or callous. And since what we do for those in prison, O Lord, we do for you, constrain us to improve their lot. All this we ask for your mercy’s sake.  Amen.

For the Right Use of God’s Gifts

Almighty God, whose loving hand hath given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor thee with our substance, and, remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of thy bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

For those who Influence Public Opinion

Almighty God, you proclaim your truth in every age by many voices: Direct, in our time, we pray, those who speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of this people wise, its mind sound, and its will righteous; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayers for the Social Order Grant, O God, that your holy and life‑giving Spirit may so move every human heart , that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

[liturgical-lesbian]

im new to Christianity and also BRAND NEW to learning about Anarchism. I was wondering if you could speak a little bit about your beliefs, as well as how Christianity works with Anarchy?What do you believe, how does Jesus play a role? I really am interested in this path, and I think in some ways its what I've always believed in.

welcome welcome! i am grateful for your curiosity. i sort of just word vomited and then tried to organize it a bit. so if anything is unclear please feel free to ask follow up Q’s. 

shalom :-)

anarchy v christian anrchy v marxism:

anarchy is the rejection of domination, authority, and in our current setup, “the state”. christian anarchy is, essentially, rejection of any form of manmade domination/authority/heirarchy with sworn allegiance to YHWH and the coming of the Kingdom. i will say that i am anarchist because of my faith in YHWH. i am not an anarchist with christian beliefs. i first and foremost a believer in YHWH and will work my whole life to submit to and serve Yah because i believe the Kingdom of God to be true, inevitable, and just. i believe that rejecting the world, it’s evil, and all of it’s broken systems, is how i am to wholly submit to YHWH. thus, i reject manmade systems (economic, legal or otherwise) as broken and beyond reparation. i reject the State; capitalism, i reject nationalism, heirarchy, fascism, borders, organized government, law enforcement, etc. all of these things are manmade and cannot be reformed or repaired. human beings are not capable of building shalomic systems. (shalom = peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility. the Kingdom of God will bring shalom to earth). like many marxists and anarchists, i believe in the need for and the inevitable coming of a “revolution.” the revolution i anticipate, however, is a shalomic and wholly transformative revolution (physical, spiritual, etc.). it will not be brought by the hands of man but by YHWH himself. this is where christian anarchists are different from other leftists—becuase of our allegiance to God we do not see any sort of human “revolution” to be a revolution at all. to quote jacques ellul on the matter, “here is the whole drama of communism and of fascism. they are incapable of making a genuine revolution in our civilization because they accept the essential basis of this civilization, and confine themselves to moving along the line of internal development” (jacques ellul, the presence of the kingdom, page 25). for me, much of marxism is uncreative and short-sighted. the hopes are so small! we need to dream much bigger than workers rights and an adjusted economic system? those things are surely important but cannot be where we set the bar. this earth is in need of transformation by way of restoration! (through the coming of the kingdom). 

what does radical christian anarchism look like in my life?

my beliefs also part with those of most leftists when it comes to the “how” of radicalism/revolution. i am committed to a more humbled route of living radically. as a catholic/christian i try to sacrifice my life daily for the sake of the coming of the Kingdom—which has already made itself present here on earth through Christ Jesus. the scriptures, and Jesus himself, are quite clear on how we do this. have few possessions, live humbly and amongst the poor, honor and love all of God’s people, seek justice for the most vulnerable, live intentionally with those around you, regularly attend a gathering of believers, REST (sabbath once a week, a weekend a month, 2 weeks a year, and one year every 7 years), reflect and remember on what God has done, regularly partake in taking communion in remembrance of Jesus, etc. all of these things are countercultural and radical.

i have learned, and am still learning, that living as a radical christian anarchist is not just about the grand vision i hold for the world. living as a radical christian anarchist is not grand or revered. living as a radical christian anarchist is entirely unglamorous. it boils down to the small moments which, hopefully, reflect big vision. what does this look like for me? i keep a shattered phone instead of buying a new one that was manufactured in a sweatshop. i avoid sweatshop goods altogether. i spend more on christmas gifts to know my money is going back into my community and on ethically made goods. i eat a plant-based vegan diet because God asked us to be stewards of the earth and the meat and dairy industries are corrupting land, people, animals and the harmony that is supposed to exist between all of those things. i sabbath once a week. i live in an intentional community of christians who help me live less cynical and more lovingly. (other than the grace and strength of God, my intentional community is a majority of the reason why i can live the way that i live, fyi). i live in a poor neighborhood and work a min wage restaurant job, like many of my neighbors. none of these things are glamorous but they are radical, concrete ways i try to participate in christian anarchism. and let me tell you, it is hard work! but that is what Kingdom work looks like. 

anarchism in scripture:

we see in scripture anarchy in the hebrew bible in Jewish societies total allegiance to YHWH as the head. though we see God appoint leaders, prophets, and rulers, only God reigns as the only supreme power. we also see anarchism, most translatable to our lives, in the life of Jesus through the gospels. Jesus’ ministry was founded on his radical love and rejection of evil in the forms of oppression, greed, violence, etc. we see his rejection fo the State up and down the Gospels. for example, in Mark 12 Jesus rejects the State and capital (Roman Coin) where he says “Render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s”. Here Jesus does not give a thumbs up to taxes or Roman Imperialism. He rejects it altogether as earthly garbage—give Caesar what belongs to him for God does not want your Roman coins. this subtle rejection of State and Capital is a mark of anarchism and the nonviolent, peaceful way the rejection it is delivered, as well as allegiance to God and kingdom, is what makes it Christian anarchism. finally, we see a little less concretely, anarchism in the book of revelation. the book is trenched w serious symbolism that i won’t get into here but essentially depicts the struggle between divine and earthly powers, the rejection of political power and eventual reign of the majesty of God.

in summary:

anarchism is the rejection of the State and any manmade form of hierarchy in favor of God’s majestic, eternal, and inevitable reign. we see anarchism written all over the old testament, in the life of Jesus, and written in the prophecies for the age to come (in the book of revelation). and what does this mean for christians? to follow YHWH, for me, is believing in the transformative power of grace and the coming of the Kingdom as well as living a life that mirrors the life of Jesus closely as possible—having few possessions, not just serving the poor but living amongst and being poor, rejecting war and violence, living intentionally with those around me, living thoughtfully and locally, and fiercely defending and fighting for the rights of marginalized peoples. when we see Jesus practice these things and try to mirror it in our own life, in total rejection of the State yet allegiance to YHWH, we get a true image of Christian anarchism.

[rawblog2k19-blog]

3. Moving one’s life through stewardship

3.1 A steward is living out God’s teaching to influence others and to be a steward of God’s creation 

Being a steward of God is also influencing society for them to be a steward of God themselves. You can’t influence the world by trying to be like it. Each and every one of us should remind ourselves that, “If you want to make the world a better place take a look at yourself and make a change.” It’s not easy but try to make one, you don’t have to be perfect, you just have to care. Inspire others to change by changing yourself. Again, you don’t have to be perfect to inspire others, let people get inspired by how you deal with your imperfections. And don’t be afraid of change, it’s going to happen anyway because, “Change is the only permanent thing in this world.” Today, might our words and activities towards others originate from our brilliant hearts. We can still attempt to approach our efficient vision to some degree, if we have enough determination to battle back all the most exceedingly bad of life. The world, first requires solidarity and education regarding these topics such as climate change or up to every biblical verses wherein God empowered and trusted us with Earth. The human race needs to think and walk as one. 

3.2 A steward of God is the one who helps and sacrifices for others 

A steward of God cares not just only for its environment but also with its neighbors. Caring for them and guiding them to be a steward also. A steward of God is willing to sacrifice his/herself for the good of the community whatever stands in his/her path. A real steward of God serves, love, and inspires others to unite as one because even though what race we came from we are all God's children

[congregamus]

“Just....look”

My homily for tomorrow is below the break. The gospel from the lectionary is Matthew 7:13-21, quoted below.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

In the name of one God, undivided.

Just….look.

OK. As I read it, there are three quick take-aways from this passage we just heard.

If it’s not easy, it’s probably worth doing, but don’t expect a crowd to help.  (AKA “Narrow is the gate”...)

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. (or, “wolves in sheep’s clothing”...)

You can trust yourself. (Jesus said, “By their fruit you will know them.”)

Now, these teachings come in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, a treasure trove of spiritual wisdom. We should remember, too, that this list comes only one verse after Jesus reduces the totality of the Mosaic law to “the golden rule.” So, let’s grab that one, and finish our list with it, expressed for our purposes in the negative:

       4. If you don’t want it done to you, don’t do it to anybody else.

These lessons, enshrined within one of the most celebrated spiritual elucidations from antiquity, have been treated as icons, revered, worried over, and re-interpreted by every generation that approaches the text.

They have also been hashed and re-hashed, warmed up, served cold, and, worst of all, taken for granted. The Sermon on the Mount is part of the core of Western culture, and often enough, Western identity.

Jesus’s genius as a spiritual teacher comes to us in the gospels in the form of our never quite knowing which way the Master would have us take him.

Is this a passage where Jesus is being riddlesome or ironic? Is he hiding some deep truth behind common words? Which Jesus do we encounter in this reading? 

The four “take away” statements I began with are examples of common sense handed back to us as deep spiritual wisdom, so I would argue that here Jesus is being as direct as he gets. He essentially says, “I’m just reminding you of what you already know. You trust me, but you can trust yourself, too.”  Remember! These nuggets are right on the heels of the teaching that even we, when our children ask for bread, do not give them rocks to eat.

But is it really as easy as all that?

[TIME/TRANSFORMATION OF MOOD]

Recently, the Steward Guardian accompanied me on an outing to see a film adaptation of a book I read over and over as a young’un. The book is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, one of the Episcopal Church’s many ambassadors to the world of fantasy fiction. In the tradition of C. S. Lewis, L’Engle makes no mystery of her faith in her story telling, and her moral outlook might as well be written in neon on every page.

Briefly, the story concerns Meg Murray, a troubled high schooler whose father disappeared four years before the action of the story begins.

The father has gone missing because the work he was doing on a secret project for NASA was in some ways successful, but, inexperienced at interstellar navigation as one might be, he became lost light years away from Earth. 

Everyone in the town, though, whispers that he abandoned the family. School and life are hard for Meg, and though it seems that she and her highly prodigious younger brother Charles Wallace should give up on the hope that their father will ever return, they encounter… difficult-to-describe messenger-guides of great wisdom and experience—we would call them angels. These messenger-guides help them in their Odyssey, eventually leading them to the dark planet CAMZOTZ where their father is trapped.

Now this planet is a special situation. Evil as it is, the messenger-guides cannot materialize on this planet, so the children are left alone, with only some advice to help. (Sounds awfully familiar to me.)

Strangely, once they reach the outskirts of the nearest town, they discover no immediate threat of harm. In fact, it seems the opposite of dangerous. Everything is tidy. Everything works. Everything is accounted for. At first glance, it’s a utopia, the American Dream™: a sparklingly clean suburban development whose well-behaved children do not argue when their mothers call them to dinner, but stop playing immediately and head inside. Our heroes, though, warned by their guides, know to remain on guard.

What we come to discover, with just the slightest bit of looking, is that on CAMAZOTZ, all personhood or individuality have become absorbed into a sort of super-consciousness, called “!!! IT !!!!” (can you hear that IT is written in all capital letters? It is.) And IT runs the planet.

A barely disguised metaphor for the egoic structures of the mind, IT wants to absorb everything into itself, especially the loving, precocious grade-schooler Charles Wallace. IT accomplishes this with a surprising lack of difficulty. And so Meg now has to retrieve both her brother and her father from the clutches of IT.

What makes IT so dangerous is that IT speaks exactly the language that our tired, scared selves want so desperately to hear. In fact, if we look at IT even just a little, we can see that IT gives exactly the opposite advice Jesus offers in Matthew. 

Instead of “Narrow is the gate”, “Wolves in sheep’s clothing” or “Trust yourself”, IT offers Meg an easy way, along with some lies about how giving into ITs control really is as good as it sounds. 

Instead of encouraging Meg to seek the Truth within herself, which you may remember from above as “you shall know them by their fruits”, IT tells her what her truth is, and then demands all trust be put in IT alone.

In fact, IT makes all manner of promises in ITs bid for control of Meg’s consciousness, including showing Meg a glamourous vision of herself, free from all her faults, no matter that in the vision she is soulless and in ITs control. IT shows ITs diabolic nature in this method of operation. No “golden rule” for our planet-sized Ego. Rather than functioning from a baseline of relationship, IT only imprisons, commands.

This is precisely the game of the Adversary—the original false teacher.

But how can we tell what’s real when the false teacher is good at illusion? IT on CAMAZOTZ presents such a picture of order, ease, and control. The Egoic Adversary is desperate for the same and presents us with as many lies as we will listen to in its bid for power over our decisions.

So was Jesus wrong? Can we not trust ourselves?

Indeed, we can. Jesus said that we will know the tree by its fruit, but he didn’t say we’d know from across the field. We actually have to perceive something, to look at it rather than look through it. We don’t really know if a tree is producing delicious or rotten fruit from the safety of distance. We have to get close enough to sense it fully. Only then can we properly discern if the “fruit” is health or poison.

It’s the same with wisdom. Some “wisdom” seems great from a distance—“an eye for an eye” anyone?—but the closer you get to it, the easier it is to figure out how bad of a decision it would be to live your life by that. It seems right, but it’s not if we look, and I mean really look at it.

[FINAL TRANSITION]

To some, Jesus, before he is anything else, is a savior. To me, he is above all a revolutionary in the arena of consciousness, and here, Jesus tells us to step out of our habits and to gaze, not glance.

If we look, and I mean really look, this reading is a wake-up call. Salvation, Enlightenment, Unity Consciousness, whatever you want to call it, is hard. Not many people are working on it. Plenty of so-called spiritual teachers, ready to take advantage of the open heart of the seeker, will use manipulation to accomplish their own goals. They may succeed for a time, but they WILL NOT WIN. Because it’s only through deeply relating—which was Jesus’ choice in the Incarnation—that we can hope to come close enough to the inner truth of both ourselves and the Other.

As much as we would like for the church to be easy, convenient, and right all the time (which is what our tired and scared selves desperately want to hear), the church can be a false teacher, too, demanding our full allegiance in exchange for answers to unanswerable questions, and the peace of seeming to be on the winning team. The relaxation of seeming to have the right answers.

I hasten to remind us, however, that Jesus was not on any winning team, that he looked to all the world like a loser, but if we just… look, and I mean really look, we will see that it doesn’t matter if it’s too hard to “win” and we’ll just “do whatever he tells us”. We’ll trust ourselves enough to ignore the seductive lies the Adversary offers us, finally bringing the realm of heaven to earth to rest upon the mercy seat in the holy of holies of the temple made not with hands, not by loving our neighbors as ourselves, but because we have come into the truth that our neighbor is not separate from us, and what we do to each other, we also do unto ourselves. 

Narrow is the gate. Many are the wolves, but we can trust ourselves. It only takes something that’s really hard—but not impossible—for humans to do: that is, to remain rooted in relationship rather than in a struggle for control, which, not being God, we will never, ever have anyway.

[ojpovkjopsk]

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[spiritualdirections]

The Call to Holiness, according to Pope Francis

Pope Francis a few days ago published an Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exultate (Rejoice and Exult), subtitled “On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World.” The purpose of the document is to exhort the faithful to live out their vocation as children of God, heirs to God’s kingdom through their baptism, which is a call to be holy, as holy as the canonized saints. Below are some excerpts from the beginning.

Holiness is the most attractive face of the Church… With this Exhortation I would like to insist primarily on the call to holiness that the Lord addresses to each of us, the call that he also addresses, personally, to you: “Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:44; cf. 1 Pet 1:16). The Second Vatican Council stated this clearly: “Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord – each in his or her own way – to that perfect holiness by which the Father himself is perfect”. “Each in his or her own way” the Council says… We are all called to be witnesses, but there are many actual ways of bearing witness. Indeed, when the great mystic, Saint John of the Cross, wrote his Spiritual Canticle, he preferred to avoid hard and fast rules for all. He explained that his verses were composed so that everyone could benefit from them “in his or her own way”. For God’s life is communicated “to some in one way and to others in another”…This should excite and encourage us to give our all and to embrace that unique plan that God willed for each of us from eternity: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5).

For You Too To be holy does not require being a bishop, a priest or a religious. We are frequently tempted to think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer. That is not the case. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain. Let the grace of your baptism bear fruit in a path of holiness. Let everything be open to God; turn to him in every situation. Do not be dismayed, for the power of the Holy Spirit enables you to do this, and holiness, in the end, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life (cf. Gal 5:22-23). When you feel the temptation to dwell on your own weakness, raise your eyes to Christ crucified and say: “Lord, I am a poor sinner, but you can work the miracle of making me a little bit better”. In the Church, holy yet made up of sinners, you will find everything you need to grow towards holiness. The Lord has bestowed on the Church the gifts of scripture, the sacraments, holy places, living communities, the witness of the saints and a multifaceted beauty that proceeds from God’s love, “like a bride bedecked with jewels” (Is 61:10).

This holiness to which the Lord calls you will grow through small gestures. Here is an example: a woman goes shopping, she meets a neighbor and they begin to speak, and the gossip starts. But she says in her heart: “No, I will not speak badly of anyone”. This is a step forward in holiness. Later, at home, one of her children wants to talk to her about his hopes and dreams, and even though she is tired, she sits down and listens with patience and love. That is another sacrifice that brings holiness. Later she experiences some anxiety, but recalling the love of the Virgin Mary, she takes her rosary and prays with faith. Yet another path of holiness. Later still, she goes out onto the street, encounters a poor person and stops to say a kind word to him. One more step.

At times, life presents great challenges. Through them, the Lord calls us anew to a conversion that can make his grace more evident in our lives, “in order that we may share his holiness” (Heb 12:10)…When Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyên van Thuân was imprisoned, he refused to waste time waiting for the day he would be set free. Instead, he chose “to live the present moment, filling it to the brim with love”. He decided: “I will seize the occasions that present themselves every day; I will accomplish ordinary actions in an extraordinary way”. In this way, led by God’s grace, we shape by many small gestures the holiness God has willed for us, not as men and women sufficient unto ourselves but rather “as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet 4:10).

Your Mission in Christ  A Christian cannot think of his or her mission on earth without seeing it as a path of holiness, for “this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess 4:3). Each saint is a mission, planned by the Father to reflect and embody, at a specific moment in history, a certain aspect of the Gospel. That mission has its fullest meaning in Christ, and can only be understood through him. At its core, holiness is experiencing, in union with Christ, the mysteries of his life. It consists in uniting ourselves to the Lord’s death and resurrection in a unique and personal way, constantly dying and rising anew with him. But it can also entail reproducing in our own lives various aspects of Jesus’ earthly life: his hidden life, his life in community, his closeness to the outcast, his poverty and other ways in which he showed his self-sacrificing love. The contemplation of these mysteries, as Saint Ignatius of Loyola pointed out, leads us to incarnate them in our choices and attitudes…

[jasonfields]

THE GREAT RESET waged by the Elites

-jason fields

Soon, if not already, you are going to start hearing about the publicly known agenda now named #TheGreatReset. Re-Sloganed locally as needed. It’s a positive thing it seems at first.

Right now, VERY LARGE global organizations and governments are readying the roll out of far reaching plans to “save” our economy, and our Planet and our People.    These Super Orgs are hoping to get the opportunity to reset ALL things, and finally reign in the chaos.  Country by Country, State by state, City by City. A once and and for all time FIX to “save” the PLANET. Even in the U.S., under the guise of our democracy, for as long as the illusion holds. They have been salivating over the idea of a pandemic for many years, and China is leading the example in controlling populations.

Global Elites, leaders, heads of state, very large foundations and some billionaires around the world have loosely banded themselves together concertedly with the power of nations and a public vision to SAVE US from this current dire economic and covid crisis alike, while resetting all structures in order to control all things , and finally be able to control the "coming climate crisis” for good. And they are fully aligned to profiteer on the chaos. Their vision pamphlet at the World Economic Forum discussed in Davos this year reads “COVID 19 : The Great Reset”   Sounds positive.  And any negative associations will be considered lies of course.

We already know Covid is being weaponized as a tool by various power hungry Entities around the globe. HUGE RETURNS on investment for the ELITE Power Brokers gobbling up entire systems.  AND forever Affecting us.  Swooping up what middle class business owners could not hold together during lockdowns.  For Control of all sorts in the name of cutting emissions, but the acts will be played out by global giants in the spirit of greed and control.  Deals cut all across the globe to lockdown entire nations states to kill economies for reset. 

These global players have a plan to “save” things. It's going to be #TheGreatReset of everything globally. It is packaged as a plan to save the world from coming climate and economic disaster. And to “redistribute wealth”.  Killing the upper and middle class and feeding it to the poor while giving immunity to the Elites. Its mission is public. Not currently hiding.

This alignment would usually be a failure.  Normally it would be IMPOSSIBLE to achieve full government control in the US, pre-covid and post-covid. The ripe window to strike is during CHAOS.   They need to consolidate power in the business sectors in order to dial emissions to planet-saving levels. Even their own literature reads:

“COVID-19, the great reset”. Right now; done by 2030.

This is not a Theory. This is the open and searchable agenda of the World Economic Forum, as well as the International Monetary Fund, and this agenda was greatly discussed at the last world forum in Davos. IMF, by the way, has the financial means to “save nations”.  Many many poor nations are irreversibly indebted to the IMF.  It’s a type of hidden control and colonialism by elites puppet masters.

One of the slogans of the European reset campaign is that by 2030, “We will all own nothing, and we will all be happy.”

One of the key components of the agenda is to replace ownership of ALL things including replacing all businesses owners with government stewards, shareholders stepping aside.

This effort will solve the “imminent climate crisis” by perfectly dialing in global emissions for all businesses with ultimate state control.  By making these fundamental changes, they believe the earth will be saved from the “evils of capitalism” so that we can finally return all businesses to net zero emissions. Not some things... But this time, once and for all things.  From food to production to healthcare and education and you best believe all media and free speech.

With power brokers, the ends justify the means. With Planet Savers it will be the same. An army of young people indoctrinated with the word EQUITY.  And the fearful public will let the government break every process if they they believe their life depends on it.  Versus let's just agree we need to do something about our national crises together.

National production resources will be ruled by Government stewards and people who are supposedly not susceptible to greed and power and such. You wanna talk about fascism? This far-left agenda looks more fascist than anything I’ve ever seen. It’s about control.

This oldish globalist agenda would not usually concern me, because up to this point the USA has been IMMUNE and has still remained free. A beacon of hope, with its own issues. This agenda would be impotent. BUT not anymore post-covid.

Covid was necessary to pull this agenda off. It’s now or never. Regular and sustained chaos is required. Supply chains forever broken and remade. Numerous countries involved will lose some of their remaining freedoms. Many country leaders have been bought to join the Global Elite and Shut the Entire Country Down to cripple the middle class buffer.   

It will require these fascist tactics in order to fully control the regular people who were keeping the food on the table and keep running going efficiently. Don’t be distracted by the covid part. This is not a Covid argument. Nor is this an election argument.

You say: CHECKS and BALANCES will keep our Union together and free of Communist or Fascist rule.  Normally Yes, BUT NO!  The balance WILL be exploited Exactly during the Virus.  Control is never given back historically.  Who needs the house and senate when you have the fearful populist masses, a fixed system, and a common enemy painted by the coordinated state press as evil science denying viral killers trying to steal democracy.

Once FACIST or Oligarchy Control is achieved, historically, and 100% for all time, it is never given back.  Not without blood. And not without paying its global masters.  Free thinking lost forever.

America's small businesses were far too powerful for the elites to control. Our sense of freedom was too strong to give up. Our middle class was too independent. Chaos and hunger must strike first, in order to break our spirit and consolidate power; at least some, as much as they can get.

GREED is Thick and the elites just tasted it. For the last nine months, they tasted a little taste of the glory and GREED.Global elites in 9 short Covid months have added 20% to their billions. And Many doubling and tripling assets. And that is nothing compared to the power consolidated.

Could it happen here?

During the great depression era, the good average German people would have never let the Nazis take complete fascist rule without first experiencing deep economic devastation, confusion and disunity and CHAOS. Watch history. Chaos is required by the movement. They need us dependent, they want to feed us in food lines, and take care of our every need. Again, not a covid argument. They will create the chaos so that they can be the ones to bring it back into order as to their playbook. They will take whatever jurisdiction they can get their hands on. Entire countries and sectors under control.

They believe they would do a better job using OUR bodies as a national resource than we can.

And we will be happy.

Sounds blissful. If there was ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE FREE WORLD LEFT to ESCAPE TO.

I don’t know about you but I am deathly in love with FREEDOM.

And if THEY only succeed in fully controlling half or a third of the free world, they would be delighted. They will make millions of people believe that the Earth's future existence depends on it. And the time is now.

Here is how.   They have already cataloged each one of us individually, to destroy any little part of our lives if we don’t comply, and they will give their low ranking thugs access to the extensive harvested digital database of YOU.

Privacy is personal safety. Do I have something to hide? In the future, Yes a lot of things; like, the whereabouts of my children at all times, my business plans, my location etc.

Great Britain and Europe and Australia are already lining up to “reset” their countries unbeknownst to their people. It is just being slowly rolled out in a controlled message of HOPE . This is not a partial reset. This is the Great Reset.  US is looking at the face of its Manchurian Candidate.

Most Americans only get their news sources from comfortable and synchronized sources that have the deepest pockets of influence and legal team.   They don’t even know who owns that Media outlet, and who bought it for a billion last week. Follow the money.  Check your Media Bias Chart.    Compare notes with your friends who think differently and utilize far different news sources.   Is the media being fair?  What is not being told?  Who is the audience?

Fast forward. It will all seem innocent until we see political parties launch their own partisan police force just like all Fascists and communist movements do to ensure compliance in the streets. By then, the fight for freedom gets much harder, and completely underground.   At this point you actually will need Jesus to help you make it through.  Nothing in the natural will help you then.

This year, countries are soon to roll out with things like the Virus Passport and will use it with various levels of control of your movements and privileges. As the limit of each country's people is tested, other countries and governors will watch and be emboldened with this power grab      orgasm. (Excuse me). Governors who throw house party dinners with scientists and doctors while cancelling our Thanksgiving.  (not a covid opinion) just reality.

The enemy is not within. It’s not our neighbors. It’s not the Democrats, it’s not the Republicans. It's not the upper class. It is the Power Brokers, the global elite conveniently aligned to snatch power in this once-in-a lifetime grand opportunity of Covid. The Elites are also rightly afraid of the peaceful masses, after watching all these other countries be overthrown recently.

I challenge you to take a look at who’s in charge of the global economic forum, and what their beliefs are. Look at their collective capacity to make this GreatFlip. Do this, if only to be informed about what powerful people are doing and what other nations are doing. Hidden mass human rights violations around the globe...uhhh, Fox didn’t tell us that? A Fox would not kill a Wolf either. The Elites are almost powerful enough to destroy what’s left of the free world. Their power is YOU.

But not yet…

Do not be divided or you will give them the very Power they need to pull it off.

Ask yourself, “Why was 2020 so bad?” It's not just any one catastrophe, but hundreds and thousands of disasters. Chaos economics. Other elites may not align exactly to each others causes. Yet, they WILL AND ARE united by greed and are participating because it pays HUGE power dividends to the ruling class, and a large amount of wealth is transferred from the middle class and upper class as smaller businesses get gobbled up and destroyed by the economic blow. Again, not a covid argument. Chaos and public fear is necessary to pull this off.

Much worse, a common core value within the upper ranks of the World Economic Forum leaders is to seek solutions to keep the world's population down. It’s kind of a religion. Do your own research. But it’s important considering it’s the personal hope and mission of Bill Gayytes to save the world by lowering the population, and since he’s so involved in our vaxx-s. Will you be his sacrifice? “Do it for Bill?” This is Not a vaxs argument. I am just going to allow you to jump ahead of me in line. Please go first. I'll wait for round 2, But in many countries, you do not get to choose; you have to just trust that your leaders have your best in mind for your race while they catalog you and suppress your movements.….while any deaths in dark corners of the world will be blamed on covid despite the bullet wounds to increase fear and weed out dissenters. Follow these forceful tactics to their evil sources, the lowdown governor types and their nursing home horrors of fear.

Thank you for listening. Honestly, I predict that these global elites and the media outlets that they own will be greatly embarrassed, and the governors consolidating control, are going to overplay their hand in the USA and fail. God Save us! Maybe they’ll have another shot in 20 years. But we can’t go through this sleeping. Do not let yourself be split from your family and neighbors by Facebook algorithms. Stick with your people and love them anyway; they are not the problem. 

We must not be divided. Do not get caught up in rumors. If you watch the news,turn that Sheeeiiit off for a week and READ broad and various news sources. Challenge your current narrative as if you would have to defend professionally, what are your sources. Know your media biases. Do not limit your findings from only one bias. Hear the spin on both sides. No gaslighting allowed for yourself or your family members. Respect and love your family, aside from their perspectives.

Save your country by doing these little things. Build bridges to people nearby you that you could bless and let them know that you are looking out for them during this time. This will help cure the slow onset of mental illness for thousands of people around the world. if we did this contagious thing. Or maybe you think the govt would be better served mandating government workers to program the love work, the feeding, the monitoring and mental care, and the job placement? Maybe your grandmother won’t die alone if the government helps give company.

More importantly, SAVE AMERICA. Do not let 1-2 term politicians make you so filled with hate that you are willing to compromise and divide. Unless they divide us, they have no power.

Unfortunately, it seems we may have just handed over the KEYS of hate and division with one botched election; and half of America making partisan decisions to not hear the case or see it. 

Just gaslight it. Hear no evil, see no evil. The worst kind of case. Instant result.

Fair elections is all we have. No democracy without it. This is a dangerous problem. 60% of Americans think this will be the last hope of a real election. USA over. We handed them the blind hate they needed. Without hate, we can act with fair judgement and process. But, with mass public hate, the process can be subverted by the people. Hear no Evil. 

The news today covering this is an Act of War on American people. Must remove orange guy, shut down the evidence, perfectly divide the nation… Please do not go there in your heart. Not a perfect candidate nor a bad candidate is worth dividing people by subverting justice. These temporary leaders are not worth dividing over. If we let this happen it will be shortly followed by being herded and corralled by fear to full control. They will use the manufactured violence to justify taking guns, and voices forever silenced.  You then go to work for the dark side, or you starve.

Once the internet is fire-walled, we have reached the point of no return on the stranglehold of power. It's going to be a paranoid beast in its fascist infancy. But, right now, this is a hidden sneaky elite class war being waged and it’s being painted as hate amongst the poor and busy masses, who are freshly being divided by Facebook algorithms. You want to talk about woke?

I pray that the poor masses would not turn on each other to be used like pawns in the next six months.

It is important that you value freedom, and the process, MORE than you love politics. If not, you will have participated in handing our collective Power of the People over to the STATE to never return.

To Liberty,

Jason Fields

[pamphletstoinspire]

The Church's Year

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

In the Introit of this day's Mass the Church calls upon all creatures to thank God for the Incarnation of His only-begotten Son.

INTROIT Let all the earth adore Thee, O God and sing to Thee: let it sing a psalm to Thy name (Ps. 65:4). Shout with joy to God all the earth, sing ye a psalm to His name: give glory to His praise (Ps. 65:1-2). Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT Almighty and eternal God, Who disposest all things in heaven and on earth: mercifully hear the supplications of Thy people, and give Thy peace to our times. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE (Rom.12:6-16). Brethren: We have different gifts, according to the grace that is given us: either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith, or ministry in ministering, or he that teacheth in doctrine, he that exhorteth in exhorting, he that giveth with simplicity, he that ruleth with carefulness, he that sheweth mercy with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good: loving one another with the charity of brotherhood: with honor inspiring one another: in carefulness not slothful: in spirit fervent: serving the Lord: rejoicing in hope: patient in tribulation: instant in prayer: communicating to the necessities of the saints: pursuing hospitality: bless them that persecute you: bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that rejoice, weep with them that weep: being of one mind, one towards another: not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not wise in your own conceits.

EXPLANATION. St. Paul in this epistle exhorts every Christian to make good use of the gifts of God; if one receives an office, he must see well to it, so that he can give an account to God of the faithful performance of his duties. He exhorts especially to brotherly love which we should practice by charitable works; such as, receiving strangers hospitably, giving alms to those who are in need, and to those who by misfortune or injustice have lost their property; he commands us, at the same time, to rejoice in the welfare of our neighbor, as we rejoice at our own good fortune, and to grieve at his misfortunes as we would over those which befall us.

How is brotherly love best preserved?

By the virtue of humility which makes us esteem our neighbor above ourselves, consider his good qualities only, bear patiently his defects, and always meet him in a friendly, respectful, and indulgent manner. Humility causes us to live always in peace with our fellowmen, while among the proud, where each wishes to be the first, there is continual strife and dissatisfaction (Prov. 13:10).

INSTRUCTION FOR SUPERIORS

Those have to expect a severe sentence from God, who merely for temporal gain, seek profitable offices, and thrust themselves therein whether capable or not, and if capable care very little whether they fulfill the duties required, or perhaps make the fulfillment of them depend upon bribes. Of such God makes terrible complaint: Thy princes (judges) are faithless, companions of thieves: they all love bribes, they run after rewards. They judge not for the fatherless; and the widow's cause comes not into them (Is. 1:23). A most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule (Wisd. 6:6).

ASPIRATION Grant us, O Lord, Thy grace, that according to Thy will, we may follow the instructions of St. Paul in regard to humility and love, have compassion upon all suffering and needy, think little of ourselves, and descend to the lowest, that we may, one day, be elevated with them in heaven.

GOSPEL (Jn. 2:1-11). At that time there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And Jesus with to her: Woman, what is it to me and to thee? my hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye. Now there were set there six water-pots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. Jesus saith to them: Fill the water-pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them: Draw out now, and carry to the chief steward of the feast. And they carried it. And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water; the chief steward calleth the bridegroom, and saith to him: Every man at first setteth forth good wine; and when men have well drank, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee: and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

Why was Christ and His mother present at this marriage?

In order to honor this humble and God-fearing couple who, with faithful hearts, had invited Him and His mother to their wedding; to give us an example of humility; to assist them in their poverty, and save their good name by changing water into wine; to reveal His dignity as the Messiah to His disciples by this miracle; and to sanctify by His presence the marriages that are contracted in the spirit of the Church.

Alas! how few marriages of our time could Jesus honor with His presence, because He is invited neither by fervent prayer, nor by the chaste life of the couple: He is excluded rather, by the frequent immorality of the married couple and their guests.

Why was Mary interested in this married couple?

Because she is merciful, and the Mother of Mercy, and willingly assists all the poor and afflicted who fear God. From this incident, St. Bonaventure judges of the many graces which we can hope for through Mary, now that she reigns in heaven; "For," says he, "if Mary while yet on earth was so compassionate, how much more so is she now, reigning in heaven!" He gives the reason by adding: "Mary now that she sees the face of God, knows our necessities far better than when she was on earth, and in proportion to the increase of her compassion, her power to aid us has been augmented." Ah! why do we not take refuge in all our necessities to this merciful mother, who although unasked assists the needy?

Why did Christ say to Mary: Woman, what is it to me and to thee?

This seemingly harsh reply of Christ was no reproach, for Mary had made her request only through love and mercy, and Christ calls those blessed who are merciful, but he wished to show that in the performance of divine work, the will of His heavenly Father alone should be consulted. He meant to remind her that He had not received the gift of miracles from her as the son of woman, but from His eternal Father, in accordance with whose will He would do that which she asked when the hour designed by God would come. Though the hour had not come, yet He granted the wish of His mother, who knew that her divine Son refused none of her requests, and so she said to the servants: "Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye." Behold the great power of Mary's intercession! Neglect not, therefore, to take refuge in this most powerful mother!

What are we taught by the words: My hour is not yet come?

These words teach us that we should in all things await God's appointed time, and in things belonging to God and His honor, act only by divine direction, without any human motives.

What does the scarcity of wine signify?

In a spiritual sense the want of wine may be understood to signify the lack of love between married people, which is principally the case with those who enter this state through worldly motives, for the sake of riches, beauty of person, or who have before marriage kept up sinful intercourse. These should ask God for the forgiveness of their sins, bear the hardships of married life in the spirit of penance, and change the wrong motives they had before marriage; by doing so God will supply the scarcity of wine, that is the lack of true love, and change the waters of misery into the wine of patient affection.

Why did Christ command them to take the wine to the steward?

That the steward, whose office required him to be attentive to the conduct of the guests, and to know the quality of the wine, should give his judgment in regard to the excellence of this, and be able to testify to the miracle before all the guests.

ASPIRATION O my most merciful Jesus! I would rather drink in this world the sour wine of misery than the sweet wine of pleasure, that in heaven I may taste the perfect wine of eternal joy.

INSTRUCTION ON THE HOLY SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

What is Matrimony?

Matrimony is the perfect, indissoluble union of two free persons of different sex, for the purpose of propagating the human race, mutually to bear the burdens of life and to prevent sin (I Cor. 7:2).

Who instituted Matrimony?

God Himself, the Creator of all things (Gen. 1:27-28). He brought to man the helpmate, whom He formed from one of the ribs of Adam, that she who came from his heart, might never depart therefrom, but cling to him in the indissoluble bond of love (Gen. 2:18, 24). To this original, divine institution Christ refers (Mt. 19:4-6), and the Church declares the bond of marriage perpetual and indissoluble.

Is Matrimony a Sacrament?

Yes; according to the testimony of the Fathers, the Church has held it such from the times of the apostles, which she could not do, had Christ not raised it to the dignity of a Sacrament. St. Paul even calls it a great Sacrament, because it is symbolical of the perpetual union of Christ with His Church; and the Council of Trent declares: "If any one says that Matrimony is not really and truly one of the seven Sacraments of the Church instituted by Christ, but an invention of men that imparts no grace, let him be anathema" (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, can. 1).

What graces does this Sacrament impart?

The grace of preserving matrimonial fidelity inviolate: the grace of educating children as Christians; of patiently enduring the unavoidable difficulties of married life, and of living peaceably with each other. Married people are indeed greatly in need of these graces, in order to fulfil their mutual obligations.

What is the external sign in the Sacrament of Matrimony?

The union of two single persons in Matrimony, which according to the regulations of the Council of Trent (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV, can. 1), must be formed publicly in the presence of the pastor, or with his permission before another priest, and two witnesses.

What preparations are to be made to receive the grace of this Sacrament?

1. The first and best preparation is a pure and pious life. 2. The light of the Holy Ghost should be invoked to know whether one is called to this state of life. 3. The parents and the father-confessor should be asked for advice. 4. The choice should be made in regard to a Christian heart, and a gentle disposition rather than to beauty and wealth. 5. The immediate preparation is, to purify the conscience, if it has not already been done, by a good general confession, and by the reception of the most holy Sacrament of the Altar. Before their marriage the young couple should ask their parents' blessing, should hear the nuptial Mass with devotion, with the intention of obtaining God's grace to begin their new state of life well, and finally they should commend themselves with confidence to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her spouse St. Joseph.

Why are there so many unhappy marriages?

Because so many people prepare the way by sins and vices, and continue to sin without interruption, and without true amendment until marriage, therefore always make sacrilegious confessions, even perhaps immediately before marriage. Besides this many enter the married life on account of carnal intentions, or other earthly motives; in many cases they do not even ask God for His grace; without any proper preparation for such an important, sacred act, on their marriage day they go to church with levity and afterwards celebrate their wedding with but little modesty. Is it any wonder that such married people receive no blessing, no grace, when they render themselves so unworthy?

Why did God institute married life?

That children might be brought up honestly and as Christians, and that they should be instructed especially in matters of faith; that married people should sustain each other in the difficulties of life, and mutually exhort one another to a pious life; and lastly, that the sin of impurity might be avoided. For they who in such manner receive matrimony as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power (Too. 6:17).

'With what intentions should the married state be entered?

With such intentions as the young Tobias and his bride had, who before the marriage ceremony, ardently prayed God for His grace, and took their wedding breakfast in the fear of the Lord (Too. 14:15). Hence God's blessing was with them until death. If all young people would enter the married state thus, it would certainly be holy, God-pleasing and blessed, and the words of St. Paul, spoken to wives, would come true unto them: Yet she shall be saved by bearing children, if she continue in faith, and love, and sanctification with sobriety (I Tim. 2:15).

Why are the banns of marriage published three times in Church?

That all impediments which would render the marriage unlawful may be made known. Such impediments are: consanguinity, clandestine marriages, etc. Therefore, any one who is aware of such impediments, is bound to make them known to the pastor.

Why is the marriage performed in the presence of the parish priest?

Because the Catholic Church expressly declares that those marriages which are not performed in presence of the pastor, or with his permission before another priest, and two witnesses, are null and void (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIV can. 1)1; and because the blessing of the priest, which he imparts in the name of the Church, gives the couple, if they are in a state of grace, strength, fortitude and grace to be faithful to each other, to endure all trials patiently, and to be safe from all the influences of the evil enemy."

Why do they join hands before the priest, and two witnesses?

By this they bind themselves before God and His Church to remain true to each other, and to be ready to assist each other in all adversities. The bridegroom puts a ring on the bride's finger which should remind her of her duty of inviolable fidelity; to this end the priest signs and seals this holy union with the unbloody Sacrifice of the New Law.

Can the bond of marriage be dissolved in the Catholic Church?

A valid marriage, contracted with the free consent of each of the parties, can according to the plain doctrine of the Scriptures, the constant teaching and practice of the Church, be dissolved only by the death of one of the parties. If the pope or a bishop, for important reasons, gives a divorce, this is only partial, and neither can marry again while the other lives. Such a marriage would not be valid. How pure and holy are the doctrine and practice of the Catholic Church in this the most important and sacred of all human relations, preserving its inviolability and sanctity; while, on the contrary, by means of the wanton doctrine of the heretics, which for trivial reasons entirely dissolves the marriage contract, this sacred union is made the deepest ignominy of mankind, and the play-ball of human passions and caprice!

What is thought of mixed marriages, or marriages between Catholics and Protestants?

The Catholic Church has always condemned such marriages, because of the great dangers to which the Catholic party is unavoidably exposed as well as the offspring. Such marriages promote indifference in matters of religion, by which the spiritual life of the soul is destroyed; they are a hindrance to domestic peace, cause mutual aversion, quarrels, and confusion; they give scandal to servants; they interfere with the Christian education of the children, even render it impossible, and they frequently lead to apostasy and despair. But the Catholic Church condemns especially those mixed marriages, in which either all or a number of the children are brought up in heresy, and she can never bless and look upon those as her children who do not fear to withdraw themselves and their own children from the only saving faith, and expose them to the danger of eternal ruin. Therefore, those Catholics who enter the matrimonial union with Protestants, although the marriage if lawfully contracted is valid, commit a mortal sin if they permit their children to be brought up in heresy, and should it not be their full intention to bring up their children in the Catholic faith at the time of their marriage, they would commit a sacrilege.

What should the newly married couple do immediately after the ceremony is performed?

They should kneel and thank God for the graces received in this holy Sacrament, in such or similar words: "Ratify, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that which by Thy grace Thou hast wrought in us, that we may keep that which in Thy presence we have promised unto the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." That they may keep their promise made at the altar, they should always remember the duties laid down to them by the priest at the time of their marriage, and the exhortations which are taken from the epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:29, 31), wherein he instructs married people how they should comport themselves towards each other, and recalls to them as an example the union of Christ with His Church, and His love for her. To the husbands he says, they should love their wives as Christ loved His Church, for which He even gave Himself up to death; from this is seen, that men should assist their wives even unto death, in all need, and not treat them as servants. To the wives St. Paul says, that they as the weaker should be in all reasonable things obedient to their husbands, as the Church is obedient to Christ; for as Christ is the head of the Church, so is the husband the head of the wife. Experience proves there is no better way for women to win the hearts of their husbands than by amiable obedience and ready love, while, on the contrary, a querulous, imperative deportment robs them of their husbands' affections, and even causes them to be regarded with aversion. St. Paul says further; that husbands should love their wives (and consequently wives their husbands) as their own bodies, because married people are, as it were, one. They shall be two in one flesh; no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the Church (Eph. 5:29, 31). How unjustly and barbarously do those act, who, instead of loving one another, rather hate and outrage each other, and cause the loss of their property, and by detraction steal their honor! These do not consider that he who hates and disgraces his partner in life, hates and disgraces himself; while according to the words of St. Paul he who loves her, loves himself. If married people would remain in constant love and unity, it is most necessary that they should patiently bear with each other's infirmities, wrongs, and defects, exhort one another with mildness and affection, keep their adversities, trials, and sufferings as much as possible to themselves, and complain in prayer only to God, who alone can aid them. By impatience, quarrels, and complaints the cross becomes only heavier and the evil worse. Finally, not only on their wedding day, but often through life, they should earnestly consider that they have not entered the married state that they may inordinately serve the pleasures of the body, but to have children who will one day inhabit heaven according to the will of God; as the angel said to Tobias: "For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power" (Tob. 6:17).

PRAYER Most merciful Jesus! who didst work Thy first miracle at the wedding in Cana by changing water into wine, thereby revealing Thy divine power and majesty, and honoring matrimony: grant we beseech Thee, that Thy faithful may ever keep sacred and inviolate the holy sacrament of Matrimony, and that they may so live in it truthfully, in the fear of the Lord, that they may not put an obstacle in the way of obtaining heaven for themselves, and their children.

1. In all such dioceses of the United States, where the Council of Trent has not been published, civil marriages are considered valid. The Catholic, however, who becomes married by civil authority commits a mortal sin, except in case of extreme necessity. To be married by a sectarian preacher is looked upon as a denial of faith, and incurs excommunication.