#ghosts of everlasting glory

[ardienothesieno]

buncha doodles, mainly of me trying to nail down designs for my ancients... and ash infiltrating as usual

[prolifeproliberty]

”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.“

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.“

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭25‬-‭30‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.“

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.“

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.“

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.“

‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭20‬-‭22‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.“

‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭KJV‬‬

”Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.“

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The doctrine of the Trinity is in the Bible. Jesus’ divinity is in the Bible. Jesus’ atonement for sins on the cross is in the Bible. If you believe the Bible but think you can “follow Jesus” while rejecting what He says about Himself, you are not actually following Jesus.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried; and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And I believe one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church; I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

[good-vs-evo]

i love making moon quartet hcs cuz im catering to a tiny specific group of silly guys who are jus like me fr and i love that <3 so hiiii moon quartet shippers ily

previous

xl is the only one who calls hc “san lang”, the other two call him “fafa/huahua” and sometimes “chengzhu” in a friendly lil way, hx also calls him “xiao hua” for “little flower” (hc finds it kinda sweet)

they all call yy “xiao yue” for “little moon”,

hx is called “xuanxuan” :> yy also calls him “baobei”! xl does too sometimes

hc calls xl “gege” and the other two mostly call him “lianlian” or “a-lian” and all three refer to him as “dianxia” occasionally <3

hx likes being in the middle when they sleep together. hc on one side, yy/xl on the other, and then whoever’s left just curls up on top of him like a damn cat. he loves it sm <3

when yy is burnt out, he goes up to whoever he can find and just buries his face in the side of their neck/their chest and they just hug him back until he feels better

xl has moments of just total silence. like he’s used to not talking a lot after years of being more or less entirely alone, so he goes quiet and just listens to everyone else and none of them mind

hc paints nails so amazingly. it is so neat and perfect. yy loves getting his nails painted and also loves matching w hx esp

in the summer, xl overheats while all of his ghostie boyfriends are chillin, so he always seeks them out to cuddle

yy still technically works for hc, but he doesn’t do nearly as much as he used to and when he goes on missions, one of the other three always goes w/ him!

hx takes afternoon naps (YES HE IS A CAT TO ME) and yy or hc usually join him

hc and yy are both kind of insomniacs (ghost city’s eternal night smth smth) so they spend a lot of time together late at night, the same way xl and yy spend a lot of time together early in the morning

hc picks and grows flowers w/ different meanings for all of them!

xl’s is the white carnation (good luck/sometimes means “pure love”)

yy’s is morning glory (affection/love/beautiful dawn (<- which i took as a good new beginning :3))

hx’s is bluebells (gratitude and everlasting love)

[rtfics]

A very detailed, positive "Beetlejuice" review.

Lots of info about what happens, so consider this packed with spoilers.

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Review: Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton Help Tim Burton Rediscover the Ghoulish Mischief of His Glory Days.

There’s an inventive sequence early in the unexpectedly delightful Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in which the Bee Gees’ “Tragedy” accompanies Monica Bellucci’s soul-sucking demoness as her hacked up body parts are shaken loose from crates in the afterlife’s lost-and-found warehouse, where she proceeds to stitch herself back together like a gorgeous DIY Frankenstein monster. That scene multitasks as a show of kinship with the same actor’s role as a vampire bride in Bram Stoker’s Dracula; a tribute from Tim Burton to a key Gothic literature inspiration; and a darkly delicious valentine to the director’s offscreen partner of the past two years.

One of many inspired set-pieces in a clever sequel laced with hilarious callbacks to the 1988 original and amusingly eclectic pop-culture references to everything from Carrie to Mario Bava, from Soul Train to Donna Summer, it’s not the only time during the movie that I scrawled, “Tim Burton’s back!” in my notes.

Any sequel coming 36 years after its predecessor is best approached with caution, this one especially so given that with the main exception of 2012’s Frankenweenie, Burton seemed to have misplaced his mojo somewhere around the turn of the new century — at least for this critic.

Tapping into the maniacally playful spirit of one of his enduring golden-era hits, the director seems reinvigorated. He serves up comparable tonic as well for two actors who were a big part not just of the original Beetlejuice but also of Burton’s Batman movies and Edward Scissorhands: Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, respectively. The name in the credits of a second Batman Returns alum is no secret, but that actor’s droll extended cameo merits spoiler treatment.

Hollywood’s cynical strip-mining of successful IP in its quest for the everlasting franchise has taught us to be suspicious, so there’s something restorative for the audience, too, in experiencing a resuscitated screen property that’s actually fun — not to mention one that asserts its own reason to exist.

I sparked up and began to realize I was in good hands as soon as the spooky echo of Summer’s disco “MacArthur Park” cover segued to the first notes of a score by Danny Elfman, which starts in ominous mode and grows more devilishly jaunty as ace DP Haris Zambarloukos’ camera cruises through the sleepy town of Winter River and arrives at the hilltop haunted house purchased by the Deetz family in Beetlejuice.

Warner Bros. has been trying on and off to make a sequel happen since the early ’90s, most notably after the studio in 2011 hired Seth Grahame-Smith, who shares story credit here with screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Burton’s success pulling off such a zesty follow-up after so many years on the shelf is due as much to those writers, with whom he worked on Netflix’s Wednesday. That series’ star, Jenna Ortega, is chief among welcome new additions to the holdover crew of Keaton, Ryder, Catherine O’Hara and shrunken-headed Bob.

Still wearing the jagged black bangs she rocked as a goth teen, Ryder’s Lydia Deetz is now a widowed mother famous for hosting a reality show called Ghost House, where from a studio attic set she invites viewers to “Come in, if you dare.” Mimicking the formula of countless paranormal shows, Lydia coaxes guests to share chilling experiences of unexplained phenomena in their homes. But a triggering vision of Keaton’s Beetlejuice sitting among the studio audience reveals that the psychic mediator has not put her own haunted past behind her.

Lydia has a strained relationship with her teenage daughter, Astrid (Ortega), who resents her mother spending more time with the dead than with her own daughter and chafes at her disinclination to talk about her late father, Richard (Santiago Cabrera). He perished in an accident in the Amazon, and while Astrid thinks her mom’s supernatural insights are hokum, she petulantly gripes that Richard is the one ghost with whom she can’t communicate.

ensions between Lydia and her artist stepmother Delia (O’Hara) have eased over the years, despite the latter becoming even more self-absorbed in her shift from sculpture into mixed media. Her latest show is called The Human Canvas, and that canvas of course is Delia’s face and body.

The writers find a crafty solution to the awkward question of what to do about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Jones, who played Lydia’s father, Charles. In a spry Claymation sequence that’s classic Burton, we learn of Charles’ recent gruesome death — though naturally in the Beetlejuice world, death is more a pitstop than a destination, so the character lingers even if his original physical form is erased.

Barbara and Adam Maitland, the sweet, prematurely deceased couple played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, are gone, however, as Lydia explains they’ve found a loophole. “How convenient,” scoffs Astrid, with a wink from the writers.

Charles’ funeral — whimsically accompanied by a boys choir singing a hymnal version of Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O,” another lovely callback — brings the family back to Winter River. Accompanying them is Lydia’s producer and soon-to-be fiancé, Rory (Justin Theroux), whose ridiculous tiny ponytail tags him as a phony, and whose “New Age, over-bonding, yoga-retreat bullshit” Astrid finds beneath contempt.

Wrapping the entire house, Christo-style, in black gauze, Delia sets about making her performative grief into a project dubbed The Art of Sorrow, while Rory seizes on Charles’ wake as the ideal time to propose to Lydia, who’s sufficiently caught off-guard to accept. Astrid’s disgust sends her speeding off into town, where she meets Jeremy (Arthur Conti), a fellow Dostoevsky fan and cool analog guy; they plan a date for Halloween night, when her mother’s “Witching Hour” wedding is scheduled.

While all this is going on, Bellucci’s Delores is terrorizing the netherworld, killing denizens “dead-dead” on her mission to claim the rotten soul of her husband, Beetlejuice. In a riotous touch that got huge laughs at the Venice press screening, their short-lived ghost marriage is recapped as a black-and-white, subtitled Italian mini-movie. Investigating Delores’ trail of destruction is Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), a former TV action star now playing detective, with lots of cheesy direct-to-camera glances for dramatic emphasis.

The living (or “fleshbags,” as Jackson calls them) and the dead get tangled up when Astrid is tricked into a potentially fatal pact and Lydia is forced to summon Beetlejuice to help her cross over and save her daughter. Given that Beetlejuice doesn’t believe in free favors, an alternative wedding plan emerges to rescue him from Delores, a nightmarish scenario in which Lydia’s familiarity with the predatory sandworms of the afterlife’s exile desertscape comes in handy.

The zippy pacing, buoyant energy and steady stream of laugh-out-loud moments hint at the joy Burton appears to have found in revisiting this world, and for anyone who loved the first movie, it’s contagious. That applies also to the actors, all of whom warm to the dizzying lunacy.

The double-barrel title might suggest this is Keaton’s show, and he gets an ample share of antic opportunities — looking as moldy and slobby as ever and crawling with cockroaches — but he never crowds out anyone else in the strong ensemble.

is most exhilarating sequences include a stint as a trickster couples counselor when Rory decides Lydia needs to face “this construct of your trauma.” (The uproarious birth of a diabolical baby Beetlejuice during that scene yields one of animatronics chief Neal Scanlan’s most brilliant creations.)

If the use of Belafonte’s “Day-O” was a memorable high point of Beetlejuice, what the filmmakers and Keaton do with “MacArthur Park” in a wedding-from-hell climax takes the possessed lip-syncing and dance moves several steps further. The wedding cake with “sweet green icing flowing down” is a jubilant celebration of some of the daffiest lyrics ever set to music. And the fate of an assembly of cellphone-clutching influencers gathered in the church by Rory (“Nothing less than 5 million followers”) will bring bliss to anyone who ever rolled their eyes about that “career” path.

Ryder goes beat for beat with Keaton as the yin of the movie to his rancidly irreverant yang. The actress transports us back to the enchanting screen persona of her late teens, not just in Beetlejuice but also in movies like Edward Scissorhands, Mermaids and Heathers, in which she radiated a singular mix of smarts, sweetness and innocence but was just as effective when she veered into darkness. As much as anything, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a poignant mother-daughter story, played with real heart by both Ryder and Ortega.

The movie’s pleasures extend to Zambarloukos’ dynamic visuals and Elfman’s score, which has all the qualities of his collaborative peak with Burton plus distinctive new flavors. Another frequent collaborator, costume designer Colleen Atwood, does striking work for characters on both sides of the mortality divide, while production designer Mark Scruton has a ball creating a whole new network of afterlife antechambers, admin offices and departure terminals.

CG work is no doubt extensive but one of the sequel’s charms is how much its physical sets, puppetry and phantasmagoria stick to a hand-crafted look in line with the far more limited effects tools available in the late ’80s. It’s rewarding to have Burton back in full creative command of the humor, the fantastical imagination and the gleeful morbidity on which he built his name.

[isilwhore]

Maglor’s Lament

For @maedhrosmaglorweek Day 7

cw: suicide attempt

****

I decide to try again.

I walk until I am swallowed up and the sun can no longer find me. I wait in the dark, still and patient. I wait for the cold water to fill my lungs and pull me out of the neverending days. I want to sink like a precious gem. I want to die.

I cannot.

I was never as resolute as my eldest brother. Nor as brave as my younger ones, reckless as they were. I break the surface with a sharp gasp. Each breath is a relief and a disappointment. I wonder if I am cursed to survive until the very end. Or, more likely, I have cursed myself.

Even the waves refuse me; they know what I have done…

I crawl upon the shore, unable to discern the seawater from tears. They taste the same. My regrets began at the sea ages ago, so I feel tethered to it. I do miss the shade of the forest, the subtle music of trees, calm rivers and calmer lakes, humbling mountains, fields of wildflowers stretching far past the keenest eyes. But I deserve none of that.

The harsh sand greets me and I lie, dripping wet and shivering, for days. Years, perhaps. I am not sure. And it does not matter, for time means nothing to me now.

I often see them in the shadows. I speak to them, my brothers, even though they cannot hear me. They are in a place I can no longer reach. Even when I attempt to get there, I fail. I wish I could have saved them. No, I convince myself; they are better off. To be alone, completely alone, relentlessly haunted by regrets and ghosts, without healing, without purpose, without end…that is doom. That is Everlasting Darkness.

I have watched the world change around me. The lands I once roamed have long since disappeared. Strange ships arrive and familiar ships leave. I imagine that our names, if mentioned at all, are uttered in whispers and followed by a shake of the head, words of caution. We survive only in stories, the kind with unhappy endings.

My father once said, long ago, that our deeds would be sung of. But I am the only one who sings about us now. Not songs of glory or heroism but grief. The tales tell what we did, so I recite what they forgot: Father’s brilliance, Nelyo’s courage, Tyelko’s strength, Moryo’s savvy, Curvo’s skills, the wit and charm of Ambarussa.

I sing of better days, and what might have been.

No one can hear me, yet I sing.

Then I grow silent and my songs cease, leaving only the roar of the sea and, within it, the faint music that is not my own. And sometimes, when I listen carefully, I can hear their voices begging me to return.

And I try again….

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Poor Man's Morning Portion

by Robert Hawker

"Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." – Romans 4:25

My soul, thou must not yet dismiss—no, nor ever dismiss, the sweet and precious subject of thy Lord’s resurrection. One part of it thou hast not yet scarce glanced at; and yet it is such a one as thine everlasting safety, and thy justification before God depends upon. "For," as the Holy Ghost hath said, by the mouth of his servant the apostle," if Christ be not risen, then are believers yet in their sins. "1 Corinthians 15:17. See to it then, my soul, that what this sweet scripture of the morning saith be true, that Jesus was delivered for thine offences, and was raised again for thy justification. While Jesus was on the cross, and when Jesus was taken down and laid in the grave, the payment and the ransom for sin was then discharging. Jesus was then truly delivered for our offences. And when he arose from the dead, then the poor sinner, for whom he was delivered, and for whom he died, was truly justified before God; for thereby proof was made that the debt was paid, the receipt given, and God, in confirmation of it, styled himself by a new name, even the God of Peace, in bringing again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, as the great Shepherd of his sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Hence the resurrection of Jesus was like going into the presence of God to cancel the bond, the hand-writing of ordinances, that was against us. It was as if Jesus gave this testimony in his glorious resurrection, that both sin and death had now lost their retaining power; the dominion of both were for ever done away, and all true believers in Christ might join the apostle’s song—"Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. "My soul, be sure to keep this in constant view, when, at any time, thou art meditating on the death and resurrection of Jesus: and let both be thy daily meditation. Think how truly blessed, how truly happy, how present and everlastingly secure, must those souls be who are interested in the death and in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. By the one he hath purchased their pardon, and by the other he hath justified their persons; so that, when law and justice present their charge against them, this is the unanswerable plea—Jesus "was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification. "Oh dearest Lord, grant me daily and hourly to be bringing into all my spiritual enjoyments the sweet sense and consciousness of being thus interested, justified, and se, cared. Give me a present right and title, that I may live upon it; and by and by, when thou shalt call me home,, then, Oh Lord, present me finally and fully, once for all, as made comely in thy comeliness, clothed in thy righteousness, and fully prepared, both in soul and body, for everlasting happiness and glory among them that are sanctified.

[ilions-end]

the preoccupation with ~GLORY~ that achilles (and everyone else in the iliad) has is pretty understandable considering how the afterlife functions within the iliad.

when someone is killed we're told their spirit/breath flies to the underworld while their self/manhood, ie their body, is left behind. at the moment of death they are made unwhole: the force that animates the living is torn away from the physical self. then in the grim holding pen of the underworld their spirits spend eternity as strengthless ghosts that flitter about blind and unhearing, unaware of each other and unaware of the living world. and that is STILL somehow preferable to the spirit being denied entry into the underworld in cases where the body was left for carrion instead of receiving proper rites.

so for the characters in the iliad, life is short, and the closest thing to immortality is to be remembered. a warrior can win everlasting glory on the battlefield, and hope that perhaps, even as they're dying, the suffering was worth it and ensured that the living essence of them will be remembered even as they spend eternity as an unknowing spirit in the underworld.

what does it matter to achilles to spend a life in peace in phthia if within a generation or two after his death, there is no trace or memory of him in the living world, and not even his own torn-away spirit remembers who he used to be?

[ihopeinjesus]

Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69 – c. 155)

Polycarp was also a great martyr for the Church. We have some of his writing in his Epistle to the Philippians. And he is also known through a document about his death called the Martyrdom of Polycarp. The account is quite miraculous and dramatic. I’ll share part of it:

“And he, placing his hands behind him, and being bound like a distinguished ram [taken] out of a great flock for sacrifice, and prepared to be an acceptable burnt-offering unto God, looked up to heaven, and said,”

“‘O Lord God Almighty, the Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the knowledge of You, the God of angels and powers, and of every creature, and of the whole race of the righteous who live before you, I give You thanks that You have counted me, worthy of this day and this hour, that I should have a part in the number of Your martyrs, in the cup of your Christ, to the resurrection of eternal life, both of soul and body, through the incorruption [imparted] by the Holy Ghost. Among whom may I be accepted this day before You as a fat and acceptable sacrifice, according as You, the ever-truthful God, have foreordained, have revealed beforehand to me, and now have fulfilled. Wherefore also I praise You for all things, I bless You, I glorify You, along with the everlasting and heavenly Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, with whom, to You, and the Holy Ghost, be glory both now and to all coming ages. Amen.’”

“When he had pronounced this amen, and so finished his prayer, those who were appointed for the purpose kindled the fire. And as the flame blazed forth in great fury, we, to whom it was given to witness it, beheld a great miracle, and have been preserved that we might report to others what then took place. For the fire, shaping itself into the form of an arch, like the sail of a ship when filled with the wind, encompassed as by a circle the body of the martyr. And he appeared within not like flesh which is burnt, but as bread that is baked, or as gold and silver glowing in a furnace. Moreover, we perceived such a sweet odour [coming from the pile], as if frankincense or some such precious spices had been smoking there.”

“At length, when those wicked men perceived that his body could not be consumed by the fire, they commanded an executioner to go near and pierce him through with a dagger. And on his doing this, there came forth a dove, and a great quantity of blood, so that the fire was extinguished; and all the people wondered that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect, of whom this most admirable Polycarp was one, having in our own times been an apostolic and prophetic teacher, and bishop of the Catholic Church which is in Smyrna. For every word that went out of his mouth either has been or shall yet be accomplished.”

[hieromonkcharbel]

Desolation

Sometimes in the lives of pious Christians there are hours when God seems to have entirely abandoned them—hours of the power of darkness; and then the man from the depth of his heart cries unto God: “Why hast Thou turned Thy face from me, Thou everlasting Light? For a strange darkness has covered me, the darkness of the accursed evil Satan, and has obscured all my soul. It is very grievous for the soul to be in this torturing darkness, which gives a presentiment of the torments and darkness of hell. Turn me, O Saviour, to the light of Thy commandments, and make straight my spiritual way, I fervently pray Thee.” Unite your soul to God by means of hearty faith and you will be able to accomplish everything. Do powerful, invisible, ever-watchful enemies wage war against you? You will conquer them. Are these enemies visible, outward? You will conquer them also. Do passions rend you? You will overcome them. Are you crushed with sorrows? You will get over them. Have you fallen into despondency? You will obtain courage. With faith you will be able to conquer everything, and even the Kingdom of Heaven will be yours. Faith is the greatest blessing of the earthly life; it unites the man to God, and makes him strong and victorious through Him. “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” If you do not yourself experience the action of the wiles of the evil spirit, you will not know, and will not appreciate and value as you ought, the benefits bestowed upon you by the Holy Spirit: not knowing the spirit that destroys, you will not know the Spirit that gives life. Only by means of direct contrasts of good and evil, of life and death, can we clearly know the one and the other. If you are not subjected to distresses, and danger of bodily or spiritual death, you will not truly know the Saviour, the Life-giver, Who delivers us from these distresses and from spiritual death. Jesus Christ is the consolation, the joy, the life, the peace, and the breadth of our hearts! Glory to God, the most wise and most gracious, that He allows the spirit of evil and death to tempt and torment us! Otherwise we should not have sufficiently appreciated and valued the comfort of grace, the comfort of the Holy Ghost the Comforter, the Life-giver! Never despair of God’s mercy, by whatever sins you may have been bound by the temptation of the Devil, but pray with your whole heart, with

the hope of forgiveness; knock at the door of God’s mercy and it shall be opened unto you. I, a simple priest, am an example for you: however, I may sometimes sin by the action of the Devil, for instance, by enmity towards a brother, whatever the cause may be, even though it may be a right cause, and I myself become thoroughly disturbed and set my brother against me, and unworthily celebrate the Holy Sacrament, not from wilful neglect, but by being myself unprepared, and by the action of the Devil; yet, after repentance, the Lord forgives all and everything, especially after the worthy communion of the Holy Sacrament: I become as snow, or as a wave of the sea, by the blood of Christ; the most heavenly peace dwells in my heart; it becomes light, so light, and I feel beatified. Then, indeed, I forget all troubles, anxieties, and the oppression of the enemy, I become entirely renewed, and as though risen from the dead. Do not then despair, brethren, whatever sins you may have committed, only repent and confess them with a contrite heart and humble spirit. Glory, O Lord, to Thy mercy! Glory, O Lord, to Thy long-suffering and forbearance! What spiritual storms, hurricanes, fearful, fiery, sudden whirlwinds, often occur in the life of man, in the life of those who endeavor to lead a Christian life, and to serve God by prayer, interceding for themselves and others before His unspeakable mercy! It is only by God’s mercy that the bark in which our soul travels over life’s sea towards the eternity awaiting it, is not entirely wrecked and lost!

St. John Kronstadt

[literatureandtrees]

For the book asks: 4, 11, 15

4. answered

11. what non-fiction books do you like if any? I do love a good memoir or a book of letters and diary entries

Gathering blossoms under fire Alice Walker

The source of self-regard Toni Morrison

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss

These particular 3 have stuck with me since the first read

15. recommend and review a book. Coming at you with another horror review!

Do you enjoy ghost stories? Do you hate digital assistants? Do you love reading about everlasting love? Are you ready to be scared in the middle of the day and unable to stop reading because the book is so good?? Well! Then you should read This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno. Vera and Thiago buy Itza (like an Alexa speaker) and life gets really odd fast. Itza is often talking to itself, packages Vera and Thiago didn't order keep being delivered and music plays in the middle of the night. Tragedy befalls the couple and things only escalate for Thiago after losing Vera. This is just the tip of the creepy iceberg with this story. This book is brilliant and it will linger in your mind for a while after you finish.

Thank you!!🤍🤍

[ardienothesieno]

reference image for the angst gang, with heights!!! from left to right we have:

thirteen fireflies among falling leaves ghosts of everlasting glory fractals upon fractals, infinitely repeating two miracles for every tragedy a final sunbeam, fading with dusk five cicadas, two herons

they've all got a shit ton of lore im just too lazy to type it all up right now

their artfight page is here!!

[sparrowsingsstories]

👻💐📎 for all three of ya gals!

Thank you, love!!

This is kinda long!

👻 GHOST - do they believe in ghosts? what are their "ghostly experiences", if any?

Mercy: Yes and no. She believes that something remains, but views it more as memories. Memories of people, of places...memories of lives. Perhaps because she's "the woman out of time," she sometimes feels like a ghost herself.

Frankie: Yes. She does. She doesn't elaborate - and she's not sure anything she's seen is actually a ghost or just a hallucination brought on by exposure to high radiation, but she thinks ghosts are real.

Sparrow: She believes in monsters. She thinks that ghosts could exist, even if she's never seen one. She's seen a lot of weird things, though, so she's pretty open to the idea of ghosts.

💐 BOUQUET - create a bouqet for them! what do those flowers mean? are any of the flowers their particular favourite?

Mercy: Gladiolus for strength/integrity, Pink carnation for I'll never forget you, Edelweiss for courage and devotion, Marigold for grief, and Daylily for mothers.

Frankie: Yarrow for everlasting love (aww Beau), Morning Glory for affection, Angelica for Inspiration, Amaryllis for Pride, and Trumpet vine for Celebration/Joy.

Sparrow: White rose for Innocence/silence/charm, Blue violet for watchfulness/faithfulness, Orchids for many children (she has so many children!), Red hyacinth for play, and White heather for protection.

📎 PAPERCLIP - a random fact.

Mercy: Mercy was in an open relationship and had a girlfriend. She misses having a girlfriend. Even though her guys are amazing, she missing the female bonding time.

Frankie: Frankie writes quite a few of the songs the band plays/sings. She loves writing music and bases them on her life, what's going on in the band, and things like love and passion.

Sparrow: Sparrow does want to be a mother. And she ends up with something like 6 or 7 kids. Bean and Levi are over the moon. Darcy has a concern...children? Fatherhood? What??

[praymeeting]

HEAVENLY FATHER... YOU ARE SO GREAT SO POWERFUL... YOU HAVE RAISED OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD... HALLELUJAH... WE ARE ETERNALLY FREE... WE ARE ETERNALLY HEALED... WE ARE ETERNALLY SAVED... SHOUT HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH TO THE KING OF kings... SING PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE TO THE LORD OF lords... HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH... OUR REDEEMER REIGNS... OUR SAVIOR SAVES... THE GREAT GREAT MIGHTY GOSPEL OF JESUS RESURRECTION JESUS BLOOD NEW COVENANT IS SAVING THE LOST...

HEAVENLY FATHER... BY THE GREAT GREAT POWER OF JESUS BLOOD.... WE WAX STRONG THROUGH FAITH... BY THE GREAT GREAT ETERNAL VICTORY OF JESUS RESURRECTION JESUS BLOOD NEW COVENANT... WE GROW POWERFULLY IN PRAY... HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH... WE ARE ETERNALLY FREE... WE ARE ETERNALLY HEALED... WE ARE ETERNALLY SAVED... WE ARE THE GREAT GREAT AMBASSADORS OF JESUS CHRIST... WE PRAY PREACH PROCLAIM THE GREAT GREAT GOSPEL OF ETERNAL SALVATION... HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH...

AMAZING GOOD NEWS... OUR JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD... OUR JESUS CHRIST IS SUPER ALIVE NOW... OUR JESUS CHRIST IS FULL OF COMPASSION... OUR JESUS CHRIST IS FULL OF MERCIFUL... HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH... WE ARE FOLLOWING THE LIVING RISEN JESUS CHRIST... THE GREAT GREAT GLORY OF JESUS RESURRECTION JESUS BLOOD NEW COVENANT SHINE THROUGH Us... JESUS SAVES... JESUS IS LORD TO THE GLORY OF GOD OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN FOREVER AND EVER... HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH...

PRAY PRAISE WORSHIP OUR GOD... OUR GOD IS WORTHY... OUR GOD IS MIGHTY... OUR GOD REIGNS FOREVER AND EVER... HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH... WE HAVE BELIEVE INTO GOD THE FATHER... AND GOD THE SON JESUS CHRIST... AND GOD THE HOLY GHOST FOREVER AND EVER... OUR ETERNITY IS FULL OF LOVE JOY PEACE... OUR EVERLASTING ARE FILL WITH PRAY PRAISE WORSHIP... HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH... THE GREAT GREAT LIGHT OF JESUS RESURRECTION JESUS BLOOD NEW COVENANT SHINES FOREVER AND EVER...

[libidomechanica]

Untitled (“Passions I could thy clear still hope; to lose the tentie”)

A limerick sequence

               1

But with rayne? Passions I could thy clear still hope; to lose the tentie seede, such forces    were all me so long    year drooping at his word in my bridal night seems still as one.

               2

” Poor temples beat then prevent my fire. Also my days by everlasting    day. To the coming friends.    Within. Nothing to be so pretty lad, but faith fearful dell.

               3

Perhaps, as thy chariot. Time and trace and let her arms and sail of the    cottage till what desire,    and ruffled street. Practice lost in the dark reality.

               4

Away she is turned against myself their blossoms. Old flame apparentage,    would turning the soul    beggared? And walked before because the green evening-moon. Fort Knox.

               5

Who would an ivory skin which now a paused a white. And so he’ll be it stand    upon him in; oft blind    my aching to their former head, she that now and bullion dye.

               6

Would dated—thoughts began to parted by the window’s edge, and evermore    her look at them beyond    her wit, best, but she, you hear the strong in pride; whether treasure.

               7

And night. Fill my captive nymph! Annihilate theirs more lofty grotto, vaulted    dome little flowe! With    apple. Is misty, jutting crag, and them yet, forget the same.

               8

Of the descries, where by the dam, to hunt they heart had made a lock of horse-    man ghosts, the fall beyond,    that path? Seres Spring, for tearm of the sun out the deadly darte.

               9

Thoughts, chaste descended, to my hear thinks! Her garden, the hum celestial. Of    life must such Jugling hand    watch and then added to see his loath them. Where twines, with fails.

               10

Began to man, who furrowes eld hath pight the reconciled demeanour,    you squeal at and his past    the plaything with Tears! Would you have I really look and sentence.

               11

Must be paved. My horse, that bettering diminish into an emperor    and desolate, helpe me    tend, let my gentle youth asleep. All Night, in midst of my Soul!

               12

When I again. To the due prevails when thine own her name of purity.    And could not but this misty    spraying, lingers push the wood. With heavier wreathe thrush’s song.

               13

” From my soul (and other, no better. Whether nymph uprisen to us,    and breathing conceit; with    roses and garden came swell? With sparkled the effort useless.

               14

Poets feigning; why the story, women tools; and, attention. Sweet you may    heart not—lest the blue hills,    where shutting by a shawl, and Haidee’s known but at her father!

               15

Or at least five months makes a prophet. So that found as yesterday I have    turned aside; he helpless    as a serpent dwell. And firmer fair, but as a lasse forlorn.

               16

Town, to condemn’d its fountain’d to her came but that light, the fill’d him well; perhaps    of the thought, which never    parches the once adventures: the hell relieve me, Hero!

               17

Me a little ways. In place, and doubled, the glory that she said, Within    him; Juan, in which the death    a fire brief a rich or in the ladde, you wilt thou,—finding pains.

               18

—I saw a little hamlets, with all in the foyer and face such colours    there straying with our eyes    seem very soon the absent. For me, when choise I had not blame?

               19

Before the gods decreed he lay this, Apollo’s golden green and better    poet. And I thee from    her heart; ’twas with turret and strange state we weep; and whitened death.

[thewahookid]

Let us pray:

Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear us.

Jesus, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us (after each line)

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

God the Holy Ghost,

Holy Trinity, one God,

Jesus, Son of the living God,

Jesus, splendor of the Father,

Jesus, brightness of eternal light,

Jesus, King of glory,

Jesus, sun of justice,

Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary,

Jesus, most amiable,

Jesus, most admirable,

Jesus, the mighty God,

Jesus, father of the world to come,

Jesus, Angel of great counsel,

Jesus, most powerful,

Jesus, most patient,

Jesus, most obedient,

Jesus, meek and humble of heart,

Jesus, lover of chastity,

Jesus, lover of us,

Jesus, God of peace,

Jesus, author of life,

Jesus, example of virtues,

Jesus, zealous lover of souls,

Jesus, our God,

Jesus, our refuge,

Jesus, father of the poor,

Jesus, treasure of the faithful,

Jesus, good Shepherd,

Jesus, true light,

Jesus, eternal wisdom,

Jesus, infinite goodness,

Jesus, our way and our life,

Jesus, joy of Angels,

Jesus, King of Patriarchs,

Jesus, Master of the Apostles,

Jesus, Teacher of the Evangelists,

Jesus, strength of Martyrs,

Jesus, light of Confessors,

Jesus, purity of Virgins,

Jesus, crown of all Saints,

Be merciful, spare us, O Jesus.

Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Jesus.

From all evil, deliver us, O Jesus. (after each line)

From all sin,

From Thy wrath,

From the snares of the devil,

From the spirit of fornication,

From everlasting death,

From the neglect of Thine inspirations,

By the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation,

By Thy Nativity,

By Thine Infancy,

By Thy most divine Life,

By Thy labors,

By Thine agony and Passion,

By Thy Cross and dereliction,

By Thy sufferings,

By Thy Resurrection,

By Thine Ascension,

By Thine institution of the most Holy Eucharist,

By Thy joys,

By Thy glory,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,

Spare us, O Jesus.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,

Hear us, O Jesus.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us, O Jesus.

Jesus, hear us.

Jesus, graciously hear us.

Let us pray.

O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast said: Ask and ye shall receive, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you; mercifully attend to our supplications, and grant us the gift of Thy divine charity, that we may ever love Thee with our whole heart and with all our words and deeds, and may never cease from praising Thee.

Make us, O Lord, to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name, for Thou never failest to help and govern those whom Thou dost bring up in Thy steadfast fear and love; who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

God's Oath Cannot Fail

by William Mason (1719–1791)

So that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us — Hebrews 6:18

It is the glory of the gospel that it reveals glad tidings to hopeless sinners. It finds nothing in us to entitle us to the favor of God: but it brings all hope and consolation to the soul, founded upon the most absolute promises, and the strongest assurance of an immutable God, as verily as it is impossible for any of the heirs of promise to perish. Such is the blessed hope set before us. Happy souls, who have fled to Jesus for refuge, and have laid hold of this hope. Hence forward nothing but consolation, strong consolation, arises to such poor sinners from the word of truth. This hope can never fail them; whatever within or without fluctuates or changes, this never can.

This hope is ever to be held fast, even though appearances wear a gloomy aspect, sense of comfort declines, feelings of joy seem dead, and all hope from ourselves forsakes us. But, Father, your mercies never die; your counsel shall stand, your oath cannot fail. Hope in these is an anchor to the soul.

Whatever storms or tempests are without, or when the swelling waves of corruption lift up their voice within, yet the God of hope is mightier than all, and the Christian hope rises above all; therefore is it sure and steady. It is cast out of sight within the veil. By this blessed hope of the gospel—poor sin-condemned, soul—distressed sinners are kept steady to Jesus, and find a comfortable and secure refuge. And that precious Spirit who shows them their danger, and guides them to safety, causes the joy of hope to spring up in their souls. They enjoy a good hope through grace, and are made to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost. This is a comforting operative grace; it leads the soul to expect all that God has promised, even all the blessings of the everlasting covenant of grace, which flow to us from the life and death of Jesus. All are secured by the immutable counsel and solemn oath of an unchangeable God, both for time and eternity. And as a fruit and evidence that it is a holy, godly hope, it influences the soul in obedience to all the Lord’s commands. “And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3 Holman). Thus Jesus is the only and alone object, through whom God reveals the hope of salvation. His work is finished: it is our happiness to believe this, and to rejoice in the hope it affords us. Christ is therefore ever to be looked to, and daily trusted in. And the more you are exercised in this way, so much the more inward hope and joyful consolation will be experienced in the soul. “My hope is in you” (Psalm 39:7 NIV).