#heaven and earth are unrivalled

[talonabraxas]

Svarga “Indra's abode” Talon Abraxas

Svarga is a set of celestial worlds located on and above Mount Meru, where those who had led righteous lives by adhering to the scriptures delight in pleasures, before their next birth on earth. It is described to have been built by the deity Tvashtar, the Vedic architect of the devas.

The king of the devas, Indra, is the ruler of Svarga, ruling it with his consort, Indrani. His palace in the abode is called Vaijayanta. This palace holds the famous hall, Sudharma, unrivalled among all the princely courts. The capital of Svarga is Amaravati, and its entrance is guarded by the legendary elephant, Airavata.: 84 Svarga is described to be the home of Kamadhenu, the cow of plenty, as well as Parijata, the tree that grants all wishes. The legendary Kalpavriksha tree grows in the centre of the Nandana gardens, which was planted there by Indra after it emerged from the Samudra Manthana, the churning of the ocean. Due to its location, Svarga is called Tridiva, the third highest heaven.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

22nd October >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

(Liturgical Colour: Green: A (1))

First Reading Isaiah 45:1,4-6 I have taken Cyrus by his right hand to subdue nations before him.

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he has taken by his right hand to subdue nations before him and strip the loins of kings, to force gateways before him that their gates be closed no more:

‘It is for the sake of my servant Jacob, of Israel my chosen one, that I have called you by your name, conferring a title though you do not know me. I am the Lord, unrivalled; there is no other God besides me. Though you do not know me, I arm you that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that, apart from me, all is nothing.’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 95(96):1,3-5,7-10

R/ Give the Lord glory and power.

O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. Tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples.

R/ Give the Lord glory and power.

The Lord is great and worthy of praise, to be feared above all gods; the gods of the heathens are naught. It was the Lord who made the heavens,

R/ Give the Lord glory and power.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power; give the Lord the glory of his name. Bring an offering and enter his courts.

R/ Give the Lord glory and power.

Worship the Lord in his temple. O earth, tremble before him. Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’ He will judge the peoples in fairness.

R/ Give the Lord glory and power.

Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 We constantly remember your faith, your love and your hope.

From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation John 17:17

Alleluia, alleluia! Your word is truth, O Lord: consecrate us in the truth. Alleluia!

Or: Philippians 2:15-16

Alleluia, alleluia! You will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 22:15-21 Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

The Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap Jesus in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, ‘Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[nowayimdie]

Origin

"In a time forgotten by celestial calendars, there existed a resplendent city aglow with ethereal radiance, guarded by gates of shimmering gold, aptly named Heaven. This celestial realm was overseen by luminous beings, embodiments of pure light—the angels. They worshipped the essence of goodness, their celestial wings shielding the cosmos from the clutches of malevolence. Among these celestial custodians was Lucifer, an angel of unrivalled imagination and fanciful dreams that stretched across the vast tapestry of creation.

Yet, Lucifer's visionary ideas were met with disapproval from the venerable elders of Heaven, who perceived his unconventional thoughts as a threat to the harmonious order they meticulously maintained. As other angels continued their cosmic endeavours, shaping galaxies and worlds with divine grace, Lucifer observed, yearning to infuse his novel concepts into the grand design.

From the celestial hands of angels, Adam and Lilith emerged from the cosmic dust, the first of mankind, bestowed with equal standing. However, their paradisiacal existence crumbled under the weight of discord, as Adam sought dominion and Lilith, in her unyielding independence, chose exile from the sacred Garden. Captivated by her rebellious spirit, Lucifer and Lilith found solace in each other's company, kindling a love that defied the celestial norms.

Together, they sought to impart the magic of free will to humanity, offering the Forbidden Fruit of Knowledge to Eve, Adam's new companion. Embracing the gift with open arms, Eve's acceptance unwittingly ushered in a curse—a cascade of events that birthed a realm of darkness and sin on Earth. The once unwavering order of Heaven shattered, and in retribution, Lucifer and Lilith were cast into a dark abyss crafted by Lucifer's own hands.

Stripped of the ability to witness the positive outcomes stemming from humanity's newfound autonomy, Lucifer succumbed to shame, forsaking his dreams. In stark contrast, Lilith thrived in the abyss, empowering demonkind with her resonant voice and enchanting songs. As the legions of Hell multiplied, so did its influence, posing a threat that compelled Heaven to make a heart-wrenching decision.

In an act devoid of mercy, Heaven decreed an annual Extermination—a merciless army dispatched to quell the burgeoning power of Hell and its denizens. Despite the dire circumstances, Lilith clung to hope, an unwavering belief that redemption and transformation were possible.

Thus, the cosmic ballet unfolded, where love and rebellion collided with the forces of order and chaos, weaving a tale of celestial tragedy and eternal hope in the vast expanse between Heaven and Hell."

"Fear not, Your Highness. I'll ensure your pride in me," spoke V with a reassuring tone as he gently closed the thick tome detailing the tumultuous history of Hell. His gaze shifted to the window, where the remnants of the latest Extermination were apparent - charred ruins, broken structures, and a murky haze hung in the air, marking the conclusion of another year's purge. V let out a soft sigh, fully aware of the devastation that had just been wrought. As he stood there, lost in thought, the door creaked open, and he turned his head to see who had entered the chamber.

" Feeling alright, Jihyun?" said someone that V is familiar with. He is portrayed with tousled black hair, retaining the distinctive ahoge. His piercing grey eyes and his complexion maintain its pale tone.

He now has a stylish ensemble that reflects a more casual yet refined taste. His attire consists of a tailored navy blue blazer paired with charcoal grey trousers. Underneath, he wears a crisp light blue shirt, accompanied by a complementary striped tie. A subtle touch of sophistication is added with a burgundy pocket square neatly folded in the breast pocket of his blazer.

V's voice was filled with enthusiasm as he spoke, "Yeah, I'm feeling alright, Juju!" His face lit up with a bright smile that was as warm and radiant as the sun itself. Jumin couldn't help but think to himself that he needed a pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes from the sheer brightness of V's smile.

Jumin blushed as he spoke, "I kindly request that you refrain from addressing me by any name other than my given name, Jumin Han." He then sat down beside V on the red sofa and asked, "May I inquire if there have been any recent developments regarding the project?"

V gives a hesitant smile and says, "There haven't been any major developments as of yet, but that doesn't mean there won't be in the future." V's eyes then light up and sparkle as they add, "Just imagine all the potential guests who may want to redeem themselves in the future!"

"I don't believe that it will be an easy task, even with the passage of time," Jumin said. " It has been 7 years since we last heard from Lilith. Have you heard any news about her lately?"

As V stood up from the sofa, he appeared hesitant and unsure. It was evident from his facial expression that he was struggling to convey his thoughts. After a brief moment of silence, he gave a smile that seemed forced and insincere. "I don't know either," he said, his voice low and uncertain. "But my mother has been serving Lilith, the queen of the underworld, for almost centuries now. She has always been loyal to her and has taught me to do the same. Lilith is a powerful and influential figure in our world, and she has always been there for us, offering guidance and protection when we needed it the most."

V paused for a moment, looking out of the window. "However, I know for sure that Lilith is not here at the moment. She must be busy doing something important, maybe something that requires her immediate attention. I hope she returns soon, as we all depend on her guidance and leadership."

V walked towards the window and touched it with a kind smile on his face. "My mother has a unique affection for Hell, the underworld, believing that amidst the sinners, there are often individuals misunderstood. This perspective is something she imparted to me. This realm held a special place in her heart, a sentiment I share deeply."

As he finished speaking, V looked back at the room, his eyes filled with a sense of longing and uncertainty. It was clear that Lilith's absence had left a void in the hearts of those who relied on her guidance and protection.

As Jumin speaks, a sly smirk spreads across his face. "It's pretty obvious why you created this project," he says, his voice dripping with implication. "There are two reasons, aren't there? The first is for Rika, of course. And the second...well, let's just say it's for your mother." V feels his face flush with embarrassment and he lets out an awkward laugh, unsure of how to respond to Jumin's pointed words.

"Well... yeah," V admitted. "Maybe it's just for Rika, but don't act so innocent, because I also notice the way you look at her." Jumin felt personally attacked upon hearing this.

Jumin nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, I have to admit that I used to have a crush on her as well, but I got over it eventually. It seems like you still have feelings for her though, unlike me." Jumin's tone was calm and collected as he spoke

"From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew it was love at first sight. Rika was an angel sent from above, and I'm just a mere sinner demon in her presence. But despite our differences, I couldn't ignore the feeling that fate had brought us together. Every time I looked at her, my heart swelled with happiness and contentment."

Jumin's voice was low and reassuring as he spoke to V, his hand coming to rest gently on V's shoulder. "Whatever you say, I have complete faith in you when it comes to this project," he said, his tone carrying a sense of unwavering confidence. V felt a sense of relief wash over him, grateful for Jumin's support and encouragement in this critical undertaking.

( Hi I'm a new fan of Mystic Messenger this year 2024, I just love the idea of Hazbin Hotel and Mystic Messenger so I mix them up!)

[mrshcloset]

Seeing Stars

When I consider your heavens, . . . the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them? Psalm 8:3–4

READ Psalm 8

LISTEN ONLINE

Amy Carmichael’s ministry in India placed her in frequent danger as she rescued enslaved girls and, to help them experience the love of Christ, gave them a safe home. Despite opposition and her own battle with crippling aches and pains, she never lost either her resolve or her joy. As she explained, “Two men looked through prison bars. The one saw mud, the other stars.” She continued, “There is always something to be happy about if we look for it.”

Unlike Amy, we often let our daily problems and responsibilities fix our eyes to the earth. Yet perhaps when we’re busiest we most need to follow the example of the psalmist who paused and looked up at God’s “glory in the heavens” (Psalm 8:1). His awe and joy was revitalised as he basked in the revelation of creation. “When I consider . . . the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them?” (vv. 3–4).

The vastness of the stars reminds us both of our smallness in God’s universe and of His infinite rule. Yet God has crowned us “with glory and honour” as His masterpieces (v. 5). Every bit of creation—including the stars—has been “set in place” (v. 3) to display God’s loving reign on our behalf.

Where do you look when you need joy or reassurance? Why not try drinking in the sight of the stars; they are a nightly reminder of God’s unrivalled majesty (v. 9).

By Chris Wale

REFLECT & PRAY

Where in creation do you think God’s glory is most clearly displayed? How can you take a moment to reflect on this when you are busy or stressed?

Creator God, the whole world is full of Your glory. I thank You for the constant reminders in creation—including the stars—of Your mighty power and wonderful love.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

Psalm 8:3–4 express King David’s amazement that the Creator of the cosmos would pay any mind to the human race. Much of the rest of the psalm, however, reviews what is remarkable about human beings. We’ve been created “a little lower than the angels,” powerful servants of God (v. 5; 104:4; Hebrews 1:7). We’ve been “crowned” by our Maker “with glory and honour” (Psalm 8:5). And He’s charged us from the beginning of human history with caring for this wonderful planet ( Genesis 1:28). The psalmist notes that God made us “rulers over the works of [His] hands,” including every living creature on earth (Psalm 8:6–8). Ultimately, though, the glory isn’t ours at all. David rightfully begins and ends his psalm with this declaration of praise: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Tim Gustafson

[shammah8]

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES

📅 SAT. 9TH DECEMBER 2023

UNRIVALLED AUTHORITY IN HIS NAME

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And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18).

Pastor Chris Says

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Some people brag about having authority in specific places, perhaps in a nation, city, street etc. For some, it's even in classrooms, such that they become bullies and terrorize their classmates. But there's one whose authority transcends the universe and extends to all of heaven, the earth, and under the earth. His Name is Jesus! Blessed be God!

The Bible says no one and nothing is exempted from His rule, His dominion and authority. Ephesians 1:20-22 MSG sheds more light on the unrivalled and unparalleled authority that He wields. It says, "...God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything...."

The most exhilarating part of this is the fact that His authority is given to us because we're one with Him. We're His seed and we prolong His days. He rules through us. Isaiah 9:6 says, "...and the government shall be upon his shoulder...." His shoulder refers to the Church us; we're His body in and through which He speaks and acts today.

This should help you understand why soon after He affirmed in Matthew 28:18 that all authority is His both in heaven and in earth, He immediately charged us in the ensuing verse 19 to go and teach all nations. That's extraordinary, because it means we sit on His seat. We function by His authority.

It's the reason we can do the same works that He did. He gave us power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1). Read what the Bible says in Mark 16:17 NKJV: "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons...."

You have unrivalled authority in the Name of Jesus to cast out devils and tame circumstances. There's nothing you can't do, and there's no hopeless situation you can't change. You can do all things in His Name. Hallelujah!

         🙏 P R A Y E R

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Dear Father, I thank you for the unparalleled authority and power that the Lord Jesus has given to the Church, to exercise authority over devils, teach all nations and catapult many from the domains of darkness into the Kingdom of light. Thank you for the victory we have in Christ, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

       📖 FURTHER STUDY:

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Ephesians 1:19-21 WNT;  and what the transcendent greatness of His power in us believers as seen in the working of His infinite might

20. when He displayed it in Christ by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His own right hand in the heavenly realms,

21. high above all other government and authority and power and dominion, and every title of sovereignty used either in this Age or in the Age to come.

Colossians 2:15;   and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Philippians 2:9-11;   Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

[10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

[11] and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

[motiv8world]

SUPREME AUTHORITY - Pastor Chris O.

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17 NKJV).

There’re two things I’ll like you to observe in the theme verse. The first is the fact that the Lord Jesus gave us authority over demons. What is authority? Authority is delegated power; it’s the right to command and be obeyed or the ability to command and enforce obedience. It's the right to command something, someone, or anything and be obeyed! For example, when we use the Name of Jesus to effect a change or make a command, that's authority!

Secondly, He also gave us the power of attorney, that is, the legal right to act on His behalf or in His stead as His agent: the legal right to act in His Name. So, having been given the power of attorney, how much power do you wield? How much force can you exercise? And how much authority do you really have? It depends on how much power is behind the one that gave it to you.

It doesn’t matter how much power you've got; if someone with a higher authority than the one who authorized you comes, you have to submit.

Matthew 28:18-19 lets us in on the Master's authority. It says, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Notice He doesn’t say some power, but ALL power; also observe that He didn’t say that all power is given unto Him to exercise in Israel or some parts of the world; no! He said in heaven and in earth.

The Lord Jesus has supreme and unrivalled authority. Hallelujah! When you issue commands to Satan, his demons, and the elements of this world in His Name, they’ll hear and obey you, because you function in Christ’s supreme authority and dominion.

PRAYER / CONFESSION

Dear Father, thank you for giving me the ability to command and enforce obedience, and the power of attorney to use the Name of Jesus to effect changes and control circumstances. That Name wields all power in heaven and in earth. Therefore, I declare, in the Name of Jesus, that the Gospel shall have free course in the nations of the world. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY

Mark 16:17-18; Acts 3:16; John 16:24

1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN

John 1:1-18; 2 Samuel 15-17

2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN

Mark 7:14-23; Numbers 6

[seraferna]

My humble contribution with my first fanfiction in years. This work has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

—————————————————-

The man above me was relentless, pinning my wrists in an iron clasp as he tore through my Cthulhu-wet folds like a caged animal. I could not escape even if I wanted to; in my drugged state of floating balloons, I did not want to.

‘That’s it, take it, take it like a good adult G/N person—’ The Grabber growled, my abductor crowned with unrivalled sexual magnetism and serial paediatric murder, plunging into my nether realms. No, not plunging: pillaging. The plundering conquerer to my defenceless villager. Effervescent as the day’s last snail.

I whimpered, pleasure striking my sizzling veins like lightning shredding scorched earth, screaming his name to the heavens where angels wept in envy.

‘Are ya coming? Coming for me..?!’ His voice was the thunderstorm and I a shipwreck lost at sea.

‘No,’ I breathed, radiant with truth. ‘I’m romanticising pedophelia and promoting rape culture…! Fuck me Albert!’

The Grabber stumbled backwards, retreating from my warm sheath like a battle-worn sword caught in whirlwinds. ‘What the fuck?’

Even through the haze I could tell he was livid. I knew, for I was an empath. I knew from his Adam’s apple bobbing with all the violence of a serpent’s fangs. In my mind’s blind eye I saw caramelised apples, viscous sweet with the stench of Christmas markets. Round as a crystal orb swirling with accursed imageries of adult readers selling child porn fantasies. Moving with the sharpness of jail-cold air in spine surgeries that traded bone for bile.

‘Get the HELL out of my basement, you sick senior-citizen-harassing FUCK!’

And, ginormous boobs heaving, he kicked my arse hard, so hard I rolled up the stairs and down the streets, and I did not stop rolling past the trenches and the hills, and I rolled into the wilderness, into oblivion, into an indifferent world. I awaited my vengeance with bated breath, the vision of a world wide web free from nuance, critical thought, empathy or basic human decency.

Do not attend therapy. I hissed into the minds of impressionable, fragile hatchlings. This is where beginning meets the end.

[gdhr2207]

Gods need love too

Being born as a God is the highest honor in the universe, there is nothing more divine. However even amongst such divine courts and super powers two beings stand supreme.

Even with how powerful they are, they're still punished to travel the earth for a millenia by the court of heaven.

Sunny thought this won't be fun , it would be boring just like all those years of teachings his deities taught him and his sister. God's descending had caused too mari demigods to arise and as such they hadn't come back in a long time. It was going to be simple but time consuming job, just grit your teeth and do it.

What's a thousand years to a god as powerful as him and Mari?

All that changed when he met the prettiest of mortals with the pinkest of hair.

Prologue

The being in the very beginning was a primordial God known as simply Chaos. It had no shape, no form. It was everything and nothing at the same time.

From chaos emerged the beings known as gods. The spirit of creation created the earth. [ five chapters worth of mythological nerding and exposition.]  And that's how The God of Thunder became the Emperor of heaven. 

However, chaos created two more beings. Two beings who weren't born for millions of years after their creation. 

The first beings appeared in the palace of heaven. Seemingly materialising out of nothingness. It took the form of a young girl. The being was titled Mari the Goddess of Spring. 

Four years later another being came into being. His very existence shook all of heaven. It took the form of a young boy. Mari immediately took him into her care. 

The sibling pair. Known in heaven as the children of chaos weren't even a second old by godly standards. However, that didn't stop the other gods from fearing them. The sheer amount of power these two beings possessed was unrivalled. 

Even the Emperor of heaven was afraid of losing heaven to these. As direct descents from chaos just like Him, the siblings had a claim to the throne of heaven. 

His advisor suggested putting them in a dead end job in the Bureaucracy of heaven to neutralise them. So they were assigned a simple job tending to the trees of eternal life. 

A single fruit from these trees could grant anyone immortality. However, if someone were immortal and they would eat the fruit. The immense power would destroy them from the inside. 

The emperor hoped the siblings would give into temptation and eat the fruit. They were children after all. 

They did eat the fruit. However, to the surprise of all, they lived. 

Heaven immediately declared war on the two children. All of heaven's forces were sent after them. The gods of war. The blood gods. The deities of lighting. 

All of heaven's forces were defeated by two children. Mari decided to put an end to the war. Peace was forged. As a result of breaking the heavenly law and rampaging through heaven. The siblings were sentenced to stay on earth and collect the broken pieces and artefacts of heaven that fell to earth during the war. 

And so the two beings descended down from heaven on earth. 

[PS: both are 20 and 16 respectively, so not even infants my godly standards and this takes place during an ambiguous time period]

[firewoodfigs]

into each life some rain must fall 

Six times he stands before a grave in the rain, grieving. But this time, courage is reborn. [5+1 Things] 

read on ao3 

i.

Riza Hawkeye is terrifying. This is the first thought that crosses Roy’s mind when he sees her slicing up the carcass of a chicken (or is it a duck?) without even flinching. So when it rains that day, he doesn't think it’s necessary to find her, in hopes of passing her an umbrella. Truthfully, he doubts someone like her is even capable of catching the common cold.

Perhaps it’s childlike bravery, or sheer stupidity, but Roy decides to search for her anyway. He can think of many reasons why this is an awful idea. First, Roy knows he’s kind of good-looking, the same way he knows he’s sort of ingenious and incredible. But he also knows his aunt is paying a lot of money for his lessons, and that he’s here to learn; not to chase girls or get a girlfriend. Second, he knows from his sisters’ stories that the female imagination is capable of unimaginable things, and he most certainly does not want her, of all people, to get the wrong idea.

If word ever gets out about the little stunt he’s about to pull, his sisters would never let him live it down.

But thunder rumbles in the distance, and rain pelts down incessantly, relentlessly. It’s enough to make even a grown man shiver. So he jogs over to her school in quick strides, searching for a socially awkward urchin with messy golden hair and a terrifying glare.

Roy only manages to find her in the end, after what must have been hours of searching. She’s not at school, no. She’s kneeling in front of a tombstone with a bunch of wilted freesias and roses, staring blankly at the inscription written on it.

He says nothing, only lifts his umbrella over her grieving form and lets half of himself get drenched.

Miss Hawkeye glares at him when she finally notices his presence, but accepts the umbrella begrudgingly nonetheless. As she turns around to face him, he sees rivulets streaming down her cheeks, and Roy wonders if it's the rain or her tears.

She rubs her eyes impatiently. “It’s just the rain,” she insists, even though the umbrella shields her from the raging storm overhead.

ii.

Master Hawkeye dies in his arms after begging him to take care of his daughter. He’s only twenty, halfway through the academy and still unacquainted with death. He’s too stunned to care about decorum and propriety and honorifics at the moment, and ends up yelling for Riza to come.

She appears a moment later, hair still a dishevelled, dampened mess; knuckles white from gripping the doorframe so hard. Her eyes are hollow and she’s too numb, too shocked to say or do anything as she stares at her father’s unnaturally still form.

For a long while, nothing he says seems to elicit any kind of response from her. It’s almost like she’s catatonic; trapped in another dimension where he can’t reach her.

He ends up taking care of the burial and the estate and everything else.

The funeral passes by in a haze. It’s a small, quiet affair. His master has never had many (or any, actually) friends to begin with, anyway, given his eccentricity and preference for seclusion.

Roy stays by her side before a gravestone again afterwards. It’s a sunny day. She doesn’t kneel this time; only stares quietly at the name engraved on it like it belongs to a stranger rather than a father.

To his dismay, he learns that, unlike him, she has no other living relatives or family to turn to. How lonely must it be, then, being trapped in this nondescript, deserted town all by herself?

So he offers her his contact details; his dreams and aspirations for the future as an excuse for them to maintain some semblance of a friendship. It’s probably closer to an acquaintanceship, given that they hadn’t really spoken much even during his stay at the Hawkeye manor. Either way, it’s better than being all alone, he thinks.

In exchange, Miss Hawkeye simply responds with a small, sad smile before asking if she can entrust her back to his dream; offering her own naive ideals and hopes for a better, brighter future.

And then, she unbuttons her blouse as soon as they return to the manor to unveil an intricate array begging to be deciphered. For all his brains and talents Roy can only stare, shell-shocked.

What the hell had his master done?

The sky begins to weep for the abuse she’s endured for the sake of bearing an alchemist’s legacy. But the misty rain can’t wash away the ink splaying out like blood on her back; the pain she must have suffered during the excruciating procedure.

“I’m sorry,” is the only thing he can say to break the silence that hangs over them like a death sentence, as he crosses the distance between them to ghost his fingers over the apology inscribed onto her back.

Miss Hawkeye offers him an impassive shrug. “It… it doesn’t matter,” she mumbles, but her shoulders are quaking and her hands are trembling as she grips on to her blouse for dear life.

iii.

The war finally ends. Rain descends from the heavens like drops of silver after what must surely have been hell on earth. A rarity, Roy thinks, where condensation in the air is caused only by blood, not water. A gift from the gods (do they exist?), perhaps. He lifts his palms heavenward, as if begging for the rain to wash away his sins; his scars and his very soul.

It doesn’t. A soldier like him now inured to violence and gore doesn’t deserve such a reprieve.

At the very least, though, the Hero of Ishval is grateful that it renders him useless. A hero. The title sits uncomfortably on his tongue, in his gut. He’s nothing more than a murderer; a monster, and he doesn’t want any medals of gold or glory emblazoned across his military garb. Not when they’re just symbols celebrating death and destruction.

Roy watches from the distance as a sorrowful silhouette with a familiar tuft of blonde hair kneels over a makeshift grave.

“An Ishvalan child, shot and left to die on the roadside alone,” she explains reverently with a forlorn smile, when he inches closer to ask whether it’s a fallen comrade.

He swallows thickly. God, if only he’d kept his ugly mouth shut back then. Then maybe she’d still just be shooting birds and rabbits and antelopes. Maybe she’d still be making chicken soup for dinner now (imagining the smell of cooked meat is enough to make him nauseous). Maybe she’d still be stuck in the raffish countryside; in that countrified, eerie manor all by herself.

Being alone, he thinks, is still infinitely better than being surrounded by cadavers in a deluge of blood-stained sand.

The… sniper (The Hawk’s Eye leaves an awfully bitter taste in his mouth, like he’s biting a bullet) clenches her fist when she’s done, before asking him for the impossible.

“I have a favour to ask of you, Mr. Mustang,” she begins. “Please burn and crush my back.”

“There’s no way I can -” Roy replies immediately, almost yelling. How in the world could he burn her flesh, with the alchemy he’d learnt from her back?

“Please,” she says, begging for him to liberate her from the bonds chaining her to a deceased man so that she can be her own person. Just Riza Hawkeye, not the keeper of her father’s secrets.

“Damn it,” Roy curses under his breath. She makes it sound like it’s her fault for entrusting her father’s research to him. But isn’t he the one who had abused the power entrusted to him; defiled her trust, destroyed her hopes of everyone getting their happy ending somehow?

And yet... endings like these only exist in grand castles and fairy tales. Not in arid, scorched deserts, and most certainly not in their horror stories of ruthless murder and bloody genocide and endless strife.

If only he’d been a little less foolish back then. If only.

Roy relents.

iv.

Rain pours down in heavy, roaring torrents when he burns her back. Roy wishes it could fall through the roof somehow; douse the fire eating her at her flesh so he doesn’t have to hear her suppressed screams that come out as whimpers as she bites down on an old, ragged cloth. It breaks his heart to burn her, a friend he’s come to cherish and appreciate through all the hell they’ve endured together over bland coffee and stale bread.

But he does so anyway. Because it’s what she wants - no, what she needs. He lets the massive downpour swallow the sounds of their cries; lets the wind carry away the lethal secret that has killed hundreds (or thousands?) into the dark, endless void.

“It… it’s done,” Roy whispers breathlessly at last. He removes the burnt tissue carefully, mindful of her quivering frame before covering them with sterile dressings. Then, he gives her the painkillers he’d gathered from the apothecary, which she eagerly swallows.

He doesn’t dare meet her eyes while she’s still conscious, fearing that he’ll only see hatred swimming in them. How could she not, after all that he’s done? He wouldn’t blame her, to be honest. She has every right to, and he deserves every ounce of it.

Fortunately, the medicine kicks in quickly. Roy kneels before her half-lucid form as her eyelids begin to flutter shut. God, he wants to beg for forgiveness, but...

“I forgive you,” she murmurs sleepily even before he says anything, before finally falling into painless oblivion. Roy stays by her side, nervously close and gentle as he wipes her forehead with a cool, damp cloth to make sure a fever doesn’t develop.

Afterwards, he goes to her parents’ grave to beg them for forgiveness; to repent for all that he’s done to their daughter.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t fulfil your last wish, Master,” he cries, filled with regret that he hadn’t listened to his warning back then. The stones only stare back at him wordlessly. Self-reproach swallows him whole, the way squalls of driving rain completely engulf him.

A little less than a month later, Riza Hawkeye marches into his office, stoic and stalwart with an unrivalled expertise in guns and an unyielding duty to the living and the dead. He’s inclined to believe that maybe, just maybe, he can make the necessary reparations and restitutions with her by his side. And so he makes her his personal adjutant; gives her the right to shoot his back if he steps off the path.

It’s the least he can do after he’s defaced hers, after all.

“Will you follow me?” Roy asks apprehensively.

“If that is your wish, then even into hell,” she states, not flinching in the least. He wants to tell her that she’s already been through hell with him, and she doesn’t deserve anymore of that.

Instead, he grits his teeth and looks on ahead resolutely, determined not to let her down this time.

v.

Brigadier General Maes Hughes is buried on a relatively bright afternoon. The sun shines as birds sing and flowers begin to bloom. The spring sky shimmers overhead in a vibrant, cheerful shade of blue like it’s paying an ode to his sprightly nature.

And yet, the ceremony is distinctly somber: it’s filled with soldiers who aren’t allowed to break protocol and say their eulogies and prayers; a wife whose heart is torn asunder, who still yearns for him to return home, and a child who’s far too young to understand that he’s not coming back.

Colonel Mustang stands at attention as the soldiers lower his best friend six feet under. His stomach coils as his heart wrenches. He feels like throwing up again. A part of him wishes his body would stop behaving in this manner so that he can at least attempt to convince himself that this isn’t real; that it’s just a feverish dream which will be chased away by the morning light.

But it’s real. It’s not a dream. Because Elicia, darling Elicia is crying for her father. “Why are you burying Papa?” she yells. “He has to return to his work!”

Roy only barely manages to stop himself from grieving aloud. Years of military training, perhaps. He continues watching quietly as the bugle sounds off in Hughes’ honour instead, and waits for everyone to leave before saying his piece.

Well, almost everyone.

“... Are you alright?” His Lieutenant asks.

“Yes,” he answers unconvincingly. “It’s… it’s a terrible day for rain.”

She looks up at the vast horizon above them, a pretty pastel pink with tender ribbons of lilac streaking across. “It’s not raining -”

“Yes, it is,” he whispers, before donning the military cap once more.

Thankfully, Hawkeye understands. She gives him a moment to grieve, not bothering with senseless platitudes or empty sympathies. A crow caws in the distance, calling for the departed soul of his friend as he stands, uniform dry but cheeks inexplicably damp.

“Let’s go, sir. It’s getting chilly here,” Lieutenant Hawkeye calls gently. Colonel Mustang nods and obliges, leaving his best friend behind in the setting sun.

Daybreak arrives once more, like clockwork. His eyes are raw and red and swollen shut as he mulls over the consequences of ditching work for the day.

Hawkeye turns up at his doorstep with freshly baked bread and a warm cup of coffee just then: the morning light that offers him a brief respite from grief.  

vi.

It’s pouring this time as he stands in front of Hughes’ grave. Somehow, it always does whenever he stands alive before death.

The sky and rain are like sackcloth and ash, Roy thinks, as it falls on his shoulders and shrouds him from the rest of the world in a sad, pearly grey. But he’s been so scared and frustrated and exhausted over the past few months - from losing his closest friend, to dealing with a government corrupt to its very core and an impending nationwide catastrophe - that it’s a welcome relief.

“It’s almost time, Colonel,” comes a gentle voice in the midst of the gloomy darkness.

The downpour gradually lessens into a soft drizzle.

It’s impossible to miss the scent of her, lavender and petrichor masked beneath gunpowder even in this graveyard reeking of death. And it finally dawns upon Roy then, why the time they’d spent apart had felt like an eternity; why it’d pained him so badly like someone was ripping his innards out. Because he loves her. He loves her so much that it pushes out through every fiber of his being; that he almost can’t contain the urge to kiss her; hold her, keep her in his arms forever.

Behind him, he hears her feet shift subtly. Her breathing is weary and slightly laboured. A well-timed reminder that she’s very much alive, not buried underneath soil like the other rotting corpses in this god-awful place.

Roy bites on his lips, hard, to restrain himself from crushing them on hers. They don’t need any more fires between them when they already have enough to extinguish.

But she’s here now, at least, and that’s more than enough. It’s enough for him to keep moving forward despite having buried a part of himself alongside the man he’d seen as a comrade, a friend and a brother. It’s enough for courage to be reborn; for him to face another day with strength and hope.

“Let’s go, Lieutenant,” he says at last, a genuine smile crossing his features for the first time in months. She hesitates for a moment before trailing behind him, footsteps quiet and steadfast. And when they depart the land of the dead (together) to meet the maelstrom awaiting the living he’s not afraid anymore.

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for 3rd Wednesday in Advent

Isa 45:6-8,18,21-25; Ps 84; Luke 7:19-23

Every year Advent is an invitation to faith, to a deeper faith in God’s providence, in his governance of all things, in his wisdom that directs all to the good. It is, perhaps, not so difficult to believe in God’s providence and goodness when things are going well, or moreover when we see signs, wonders, and miracles. Hence, when two of John’s disciples come to Jesus wondering if they should believe in him as the long-promised Messiah, they can point to miracles of healing that help them to believe. 

But more often than not the signs of God’s providence are not so clear, not so in-your-face, not so obvious, and so we can fail to see God’s goodness at work each day, and indeed, in each moment of our lives. Difficult times such as these current ones can be particularly challenging for our faith in God’s governance of things, and it is hard to discern how God is bringing good out of evil, and suffering, and hardship. But he does. Isaiah wrote the passage we heard today when Jerusalem and the Temple had been destroyed, and the people of Israel had been scattered and exiled from the Promised Land, enslaved in a foreign country, in Babylon. And yet, in these dire disastrous circumstances, when it seemed like God had abandoned his people, Isaiah makes a proclamation of faith in God’s faithfulness.

Isaiah proclaims God’s providence, God’s wise governing of all things, even encompassing the calamities and pandemics and wars that befall us. The prophet says: “Apart from me, all is nothing. I am the Lord, unrivalled, I form the light and create the dark. I make good fortune and create calamity, it is I, the Lord, who do all this.” (Isa 45:6-8) So, all that is, is continually being sustained in God’s hand, for he is the good and loving Creator, our Father, who “who formed the earth and made it, who set it firm”. (Isa 45:18) Therefore, God has established the laws of nature, and keeps all that is good in existence; evil, which is a no-thing is not of God’s making for he “created it no chaos, but a place to be lived in”. Hence, God is not to be blamed for evil. Rather, he is the One who alone can fill its lack; who can create out of nothingness; and who can thus save us by renewing all things and who is directing all things to the good. The Advent liturgy, therefore, invites us to renew our faith in God, who is always at work to save and deliver us, but often in ways that are not easily discernible or spectacularly obvious like the miracles mentioned in the Gospel. 

Isaiah expresses the hidden providential workings of God poetically, in a phrase which has been taken up by the Church’s Advent liturgy to refer to the coming of the Saviour, who is present to us but hidden in the womb of the Virgin Mary: “Send victory like a dew, you heavens” (Isa 45:8). For dew appears on the earth giving moisture, giving refreshment, bringing new life, and it does so mysteriously, appearing, as it were, from nowhere. Hence, the prophet uses it as an image of God bringing about the good, bringing about new life, where there had been none; where it is humanly impossible. But with God all things are possible, as the angel Gabriel told Mary (cf Lk 1:37) As such, dew from heaven is a reminder of God’s hidden activity in the world, a mark of his providence faithfully sustaining life, and a sign of his grace causing divine possibilities. As Isaiah says: “Let the earth open for salvation to spring up. Let deliverance, too, bud forth which I, the Lord, shall create.” (Isa 45:9)

Therefore, in difficult and dark days, we’re invited by the Scriptures to look again, and see and believe that God is at work, invisibly at first, to create light in the darkness, to bring new possibilities, and to lead us to new life. During these days of the Simbang Gabi, we keep a novena of Masses in union with the expectant Virgin Mother, and so we keep faith with her who is called ‘Blessed’ because she “believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Lk 1:45) So, too, for us, the Lord declares in today’s Gospel that we shall be ‘Blessed’ if we do not lose faith in him; if we do not stumble in our faith journey because of the darkness that might surround us (cf Lk 7:23). So, this bright star shines out in these days, to be a sign of the faith that we ask God to enkindle each day in our hearts – faith in God’s providence, faith in God’s wisdom working all things out and bringing them to the good, faith that, as Isaiah proclaims, “from the Lord alone shall come victory and strength” (Isa 45:24). May this faith lead us forward until we shall see our Saviour face and to face, and we experience, at last, his glory and beauty in all its fullness.

[willow-salix]

Little random story that popped into my head tonight, especially for those who complained that we haven't had any EOS lately.

"Aurora, sister of Helios always announced his coming, leadinh the way across the heavens in her very own chariot, which she rode bravely across the vast horizon, both morning and night, before and after the sun-god. She was not just known for the rosy morn but also the twilight, for which she is often depicted as dwelling in the west. "

"Her abode was a magnificent structure, surrounded by flowery meadows and lush green lawns, where nymphs and other immortal beings frolicked, dancing as one, in and out, back and forth, whilst a sweet melody accompanied their graceful, gliding movements."

"Aurora was described by poets and bards as a beautiful maiden, with rosy cheeks and large wings, whose plumage displayed an ever-changing hue of colours. She wore a star on her forehead, carried a torch in her hand and was covered by the rich folds of her violet-tinged robes."

"She left her bed before the break of day, and harnessed her two beautiful horses, Lampetus and Phaethon, to her glorious chariot."

"With never ending cheerfulness she opens the gates of the heavens in order to herald the approach of her brother, the god of the day, whilst tender plants and flowers, nourished by the morning dew, lift their heads in welcome as she passes."

"Aurora first married the Titan, Astreaus, and their children were Heosphorus, the evening star and the four winds."

"Her second union was with Tithonus, son of Laomedon, the king of Troy. Tithonus wine her affection with his unrivalled beauty. Aurora, unhappy with the thought that they would be parted once he did as all humans do and died, begged Zeus to bestow upon her love the gift of immortality. Unfortunately, Zeus is a tricky god, one who often thinks only of himself and acts first, thinking second. You see, Aurora had neglected to add eternal youth to her request."

"The consequences of this were of course, only apparent in time when, inevitably, Tithonus grew old and decrepid, losing all his beauty that she had once admired. Aurora, unable to stand the sight of him, knowing what he had once been and why he had become thus, acted impulsively and locked him away in a chamber where he continued to waste away, until little was left of him but a voice weak and feeble, but an echo."

"It's told that, when he begged for release, begged to die, Aurora took pity on him and exerted her divine powers, changing him into a grasshopper, allowing him his freedom to continue his ceaseless chirpings all over the world. "

"Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, known to many as Eos, lived on and on, keeping constant watch, leading her brother and bringing with her the knowledge of each and every day. She is a constant presence, nothing is as sure as the fact that the sun will rise."

"Day after day, year after year, she is there. She is the dawn."

Selene reached up to place the book on the shelf above the little fold out bed that she and John were squashed up on, and turned to look at the mechanical eye that hung above her.

"I liked that story," EOS's little girl voice was soft, quiet so as not to disturb her creator, who had fallen asleep two stories before, his head pillowed on Selene's chest.

"I did too, stories are important, it's how we learn, it's how we pass down knowledge from one generation to the next. It's how we teach morals and how to be a good person, it's how we learn history and understand how the world works."

"Is that why you started reading us stories at night?"

Selene nodded. "That and it's the only way to get this one to actually stay still long enough to rest. Plus I thought you needed another side to your learning, John can bring the logic and the order, I will bring the chaos and the things you probably wouldn't think to ask."

Selene tightened her arm around her love and smiled at the little gold star she had stuck to the top of EOS's lense.

"Is the story why you gave me my star? Because that Eos wears one?"

Selene nodded. "Yep, that and you're special enough to deserve it."

"She is very like me, for I will continue to outlive those I believe I love, I will watch everyone grow old too."

Selene sighed, her fingers absently combing through John's hair as she thought about the AI's words.

"That's true in some ways, but not in others."

"Why is that?" the camera extended from her hub, like a child leaning forward to listen.

"Well, being able to care about someone isn't limited, you won't only care about a set number of people," she absently kissed the top of his head as she chose her words in the best way that EOS would understand. "Think of it this way, when they bring Jeff home, something I have absolutely no doubt in, then there will be another person in the family, and you and I being the newest ones will care about him too. Do you understand that?"

"I do, yes. At first I only cared about John, but then I watched his brothers, Kayo, Grandma and others and saw that he cared about them. I saw when he worried about them and over time I learnt to care about them too."

"Exactly right, baby girl. Families tend to be an ever growing thing, eventually, somewhere in time, there will be other partners coming and likely children being born and we'll all love them too."

"Statistically that is very likely, your logic is sound."

Selene smiled, wondering if EOS knew just how much like John she sometimes sounded, and if it was a conscious thought or purely accidental.

"Well that's where you come in, sweetie."

"It is?" her lights flickered, a sure sign, Selene had come to realise, that she was confused and struggling to understand a concept.

"It is. Because, as you just said, you won't age, not the way we do, so you have a very important job."

"Which is?"

"You have to watch over them all. You have to be there to help them, to guide them, to teach them. Just as you help John, you'll be there to help them. Watching over them just as Aurora watched over her family and the human race. Just as sure as the sun will always rise, you will be a constant in our lives and theirs. I think that's quite an important job, don't you?"

EOS paused, her lights cycling through two rotations before she answered.

"Yes. I believe it is important."

"Good."

They lapsed into silence for a little while, EOS probably off somewhere in the heart of Five checking on the monitoring station, while Selene took the time to really look at her love now that he was finally still and relaxed.

He looked tired, slightly slimmer and had dark circles under his eyes along with probably a day or two's worth of stubble on his usual smooth chin. She knew he'd been worried about their upcoming rescue mission, the biggest, most dangerous yet, but ultimately the most important one they had ever had to face, and the stress had obviously been taking its toll.

To say that she hadn't spent time worrying just as much would be a lie, she knew she would be a complete wreck the entire time they were gone too. There was never any guarantee that things would go as they should, there was always the threat of the Chaos Crew and the Hood hanging over their heads and this time would likely be no different.

The thought of losing any one of the boys, Kayo or Brains filled her with utter dread, but the idea of having to live even a single day without the man in her arms was too horrific to consider.

Her mind would be in overdrive imagining all the possible and impossible ways that things could fuck up and go wrong, especially as she would be stuck on earth and so far away.

Selene wouldn't be there, they had already discussed it. She had been asked to step in to help with a GDF enquiry after her work with Kayo. She had gone through a few months of training, extra background checks which, after Kayo's, barely scratched the surface, and had gone on a couple of jobs with Penelope to get a little more experience. Strangely, it seemed that when you were dressed as a crazy hippy people would either ignore you or they would spill their guts and tell you everything. Either way, it seemed to be a combination that worked. Honestly she was glad that she would be kept busy, it would give her less time to worry.

"EOS?" she kept her words almost a whisper, not wanting to wake him.

"Yes?" she was there instantly.

"Look after him for me? Look after them all. Monitor them the whole time, keep in constant contact and let me know everything that happens. I need to know."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Selene. Even if you hadn't asked, I would do it. He is my creator, I'd never leave him alone."

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

14th December >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Saint John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor

    on 

Wednesday, Third Week of Advent.

Wednesday, Third Week of Advent

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the feria (Wednesday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Wednesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Isaiah 45:6-8,18,21-25

I, the Lord, shall create deliverance.

Apart from me, all is nothing. I am the Lord, unrivalled, I form the light and create the dark. I make good fortune and create calamity, it is I, the Lord, who do all this.

Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down. Let the earth open for salvation to spring up. Let deliverance, too, bud forth which I, the Lord, shall create.

Yes, thus says the Lord, creator of the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who set it firm, created it no chaos, but a place to be lived in:

   ‘I am the Lord, unrivalled:    there is no other god besides me.    A God of integrity and a saviour:    there is none apart from me.    Turn to me and be saved,    all the ends of the earth,    for I am God unrivalled.

   ‘By my own self I swear it;    what comes from my mouth is truth,    a word irrevocable:    before me every knee shall bend,    by me every tongue shall swear,    saying, “From the Lord alone    come victory and strength.”    To him shall come, ashamed,    all who raged against him.    Victorious and glorious through the Lord shall be    all the descendants of Israel.’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 84(85):9-14

R/ Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.

I will hear what the Lord God has to say,    a voice that speaks of peace,    peace for his people. His help is near for those who fear him    and his glory will dwell in our land.

R/ Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.

Mercy and faithfulness have met;    justice and peace have embraced. Faithfulness shall spring from the earth    and justice look down from heaven.

R/ Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.

The Lord will make us prosper    and our earth shall yield its fruit. Justice shall march before him    and peace shall follow his steps.

R/ Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down.

Gospel Acclamation

Isaiah 55:6

Alleluia, alleluia! Seek the Lord while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near. Alleluia!

Or:

Isaiah 40:9-10

Alleluia, alleluia! Shout with a loud voice, joyful messenger to Jerusalem. Here is the Lord God coming with power. Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 7:19-23

'Are you the one who is to come?'

John, summoning two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?’ When the men reached Jesus they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you, to ask, “Are you the one who is to come or have we to wait for someone else?”’ It was just then that he cured many people of diseases and afflictions and of evil spirits, and gave the gift of sight to many who were blind. Then he gave the messengers their answer, ‘Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the Good News is proclaimed to the poor and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Saint John of the Cross, Priest, Doctor

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Wednesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

1 Corinthians 2:1-10

The wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory.

Brothers, when I came to you, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ. Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great ‘fear and trembling’ and in my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit. And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God.

   But still we have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity: not a philosophy of our age, it is true, still less of the masters of our age, which are coming to their end. The hidden wisdom of God which we teach in our mysteries is the wisdom that God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. It is a wisdom that none of the masters of this age have ever known, or they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory; we teach what scripture calls: the things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard, things beyond the mind of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him.

   These are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 36(37):3-6,30-31

R/ The just man’s mouth utters wisdom.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,    then you will live in the land and be secure. If you find your delight in the Lord,    he will grant your heart’s desire.

R/ The just man’s mouth utters wisdom.

Commit your life to the Lord,    trust in him and he will act, so that your justice breaks forth like the light,    your cause like the noon-day sun.

R/ The just man’s mouth utters wisdom.

The just man’s mouth utters wisdom    and his lips speak what is right; the law of his God is in his heart,    his steps shall be saved from stumbling.

R/ The just man’s mouth utters wisdom.

Gospel Acclamation

Matthew 5:3

Alleluia, alleluia! How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 14:25-33

Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

   ‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, “Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.” Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace. So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[lihikainanea]

I...I may re-write this at some point. Because I hate it. Let’s be clear, I just want these two to bang each other’s brains out again like right the fuck now but I feel like I had to ~set it up~ properly and just...look, this what you get when a horndog of an author with 2987548695659 kink buttons is in A Mood(TM) to get all of them SLAMMED AT ONCE but instead has to write ~fluff~ because it’s what makes sense for the story right now. If you need me, I’ll be in my little corner flipping this story off while my kink buttons very much do not get slammed. Fuck you BFF!Bill. I'm so mad at you right now.

Part 1 + 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6

Credit my rage to @ill-skillsgard and that nani who ruined my life with the original ask in Parts 1+2 there.

I dunno how many parts left I got to this, the part below really discouraged me. I  feel like I got carried away in their story line and I’m all self-conscious about it now because I really just....I want to write all the sexy times. That’s it. I liked the shorter drabbles of these two that I did more towards the beginning. 

BLERGH, shut up Leilani. 

***

In hindsight, the ice cream was a terrible mistake. 

To your credit, it had taken awhile for things to get awkward. A good few weeks. And to Bill’s credit, he really made it near impossible to be awkward around him.The awkwardness had littered your friendship to varying degrees, but no matter how mortifying the events were, Bill just never seemed plussed about any of it. There had been the time he had gotten food poisoning on a camping trip in the woods, pitifully crawling his way on all fours to your tent in the middle of the night. You had woken up to what you thought was a wounded animal, unzipping your tent and seeing Bill’s curled up form on the ground in front of you. It had taken over an hour to help him crawl just a hundred feet to the communal washrooms, where you stayed with him on the floor for the entire night. It was nothing short of contortion, the way he folded his large body in on himself in the tiny stall, groaning in pain and discomfort. Your heart bled for him that night, he was so sick he had gone grey and the only thing you could do to help was stroke his soaked back and keep wetting paper towels to hold on his neck while he wretched. He had eventually passed out, thunking his head hard right onto your chest, and in your sleep-deprived hysteria, you thought he was dead. Mutual friends still tell the tale over beers, now a great source of laughter, of how you had emerged from the washrooms in the wee hours of the morning screaming for help with Bill--all 6′4 of him--slung over your shoulders in a fireman carry. Bill’s feet still dragged on the ground and his upper body hung limp over your shoulder, but you didn’t care. You just knew he needed help. When he eventually came to, hooked up to an IV and still looking grey, he didn't seem at all shocked when he was told how he made it to the medical centre.

Then there was the time during a traditional movie night at his place, when you felt the tell-tale cramp--that deep cramp low in your belly that had you folding in on yourself briefly. Your cycle wasn’t due for another 3 more days, but your body had other plans. You hadn’t even brought a purse to Bill’s, and looking frantically at your light coloured jeans, you knew you were in trouble. Bill stared at your form, gradually closing in on itself as another cramp hit.

“You okay?” he asked, putting a hand on your back.

“Yeah I uh...I have to go. Sorry, forgot I needed to do something tonight..” you trailed off, tossing the blanket and slowly shifting to stand in a way that would attempt to minimize the flow that you could now feel starting between your legs. Bill eyed you cautiously, then rolled his eyes. Grabbing another slice of pizza from the box in front of him, he stood and grabbed your elbow.

“C’mon,” he said, leading you to the bathroom.

“What are you--” your sentence was cut off when he reached an arm up, opening the cupboard. Inside, you stared in confusion when you spotted a small box of tampons, a few pads, even a little bottle of Midol. He turned to you, shoving another bite of pizza in his mouth.

“If there’s something in here you need, just take it,” he said, his mouth full as he chewed loudly.

“Bill why the fuck do you have these in your bathroom?”

He shrugged, blasé.

“Because I’m a grown ass man and I have grown ass women in my life,” he said, as if it was the most obvious explanation in the world.

“Take whatever you need and get your ass back on the couch, the best part is coming up,” he turned to leave before calling over his shoulder “or if you need something else or whatever, just write it down and I’ll pick it up next time I’m out.”

When you emerged from the bathroom a few moments later, a pair of sweatpants hit you smack in the face.

“In case you’re bloated or whatever,” was the explanation.

You changed. The pants were comically large, with a ton of material still pooling around your feet even after you had rolled the waistband a dozen times.

Joining him back on the couch, he covered the two of you with a blanket again before reaching behind him for something. He tucked a hot water bottle against your stomach and you moaned slightly at how good it felt, then he put his arm back around you and pulled you into his side, restarting the movie. Not another word was spoken.

So compared to a lot of what had happened in the past, having sex with him should have paled in comparison on the scale of awkward. If the sex had been terrible, perhaps a certain degree of awkwardness would be expected. But incredible sex? Incredible sex should be celebrated. And you were on board with that, for awhile.

Until the ice cream.

You had almost forgotten, in fact as the days went on you became more and more able to downplay what had happened, and the level of pleasure you experienced which seemed to have put your body in shock for more than a few days after. Maybe it wasn’t a matter of Bill being so good in bed, feeling so safe with him, and more a matter of just....how pent up you had been. You were almost convinced, almost certain that this was fact. Bill was probably just average, at best. But you did trust him a whole ton more than any of the Tinder dates you had met so combined with your hair trigger for needing a release at that time, it had all just culminated into three delightful explosions.

Until the ice cream.

It had been a longstanding tradition of yours, no matter the season, of going for ice cream the day before Bill left on another shoot. He had a sweet tooth that was completely unrivalled but he had stayed away from sweets for the few months leading up to his new gig, having to take some weight off his already slim frame for his new role.  But as you sat beside him, a banana split for you and an extra large vanilla soft serve for him, you realized what a terrible mistake this was.

“Oh my god,” he groaned in pleasure and you stilled, memories of that groan flooding your mind. You turned to him just in time to see his long tongue snake out, licking slowly from the the cone to the tip of his ice cream.

“Jesus Christ,” he moaned again, “it’s been so long.” His mouth closed around the peak of it, making a small slurping noise as he sucked part of it into his mouth. You felt the heat immediately rising to your cheeks. He moaned again, swirling his tongue around the cone.

“How’s yours?” he asked. 

“It’s uh, it’s good,” you said.

“Might be better if you took a bite, tiger,” he teased. Looking down, your spoon was clenched tightly in your fist and your sundae was untouched. Shaking your head slightly, you lifted the cherry off and popped it in your mouth. You nearly choked when Bill let go another groan that was nothing short of sexual.

“I’m in fucking heaven,” another long lick of his cone from bottom to top,  he sighed happily and closed his mouth over the top again to suck another bite in. Your thighs clenched as you couldn’t get rid of the images that flooded your brain. Bill’s green eyes, peering up at you from between your legs, asking permission. Bill’s eyes closed, moaning in content as he ran his mouth and his nose over your panties. The hum and suckling noise when he pursed his lips around your clit, dragging it into his mouth. That sinful tongue--that long, skilled tongue slowly lapping at his ice cream--and the way he slowly lapped at you, savouring every single lick as if it was giving him as much pleasure as it was giving you.

You watched as he stuck his tongue out to lick at some of the ice cream that had dribbled on his chin, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

He had done that too, once he was done turning you into a quivering, moaning mess beneath his mouth. You remembered how he raised up on his haunches, his eyes a blaze of fiery green, as he licked at his bottom lip and swiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 

You had almost started to sweat, feeling the flush creeping up your chest.

“You look weird, kid,” his voice interrupted your thoughts, “You okay?”

You cleared your throat, begging your voice not to crack. Begging--you had begged him, too, begged him to make you feel good. And he did. He promised you he would, and oh God, he did. You ran a hand over your face, resisting to urge to knock the side of your head in an attempt to force the images out of your thoughts.

“I’m good,” you lied. You couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, as you felt that ache deep in your gut start again. Your legs shook slightly, your thighs trembling, remembering how good it felt. How good he felt, and how good he made you feel. The way he seemed completely focused on your pleasure, on making sure any little movement he made gave you pleasure. How he had checked in on you, made sure you were feeling good, before continuing anything. How he had made you cry out, clinging to him, gasping for air not one, but three earth shattering times.

Suddenly, you needed air. You needed air, and you needed space. Distance. 

You stood, abruptly. Bill looked up mid-lick, his tongue still on his ice cream as his eyes peered up at you. That look. You closed your eyes, pinching your brow with your fingers.

“Finish tongue-fucking that ice cream, I have a lot of work to do tonight ” you said. Your tone had come out much, much harsher than you had intended, but you turned before you could catch the confused look on his face. 

He dropped you off that night, the car ride home was a one-sided conversation as he talked about the new project and how long he’d be gone, what he was excited for, what his character would do. Walking you to your door, he wrapped his arms around you tightly and laid a wet smack of a kiss on your cheek.

“Let me know when you’re free to FaceTime,” he had said, his face tucked into your neck, “There’s not too many night shoots so our schedules should sync up.”

“ ‘kay.�� 

“And hopefully you can come out for a weekend, you’d probably like it there. New Tinder material for you,” he chuckled.

“ ‘kay.”

He pulled away, keeping his hands on your shoulders. You stared at his chest, but felt his eyes boring into you.

“Tiger,” he commanded, “look at me.”

When you shifted uncomfortably, he moved one hand to under your chin and tilted it up to meet his eyes.

“What’s going on with you?” he asked. You looked away, your chin still resting on his hand, and gave a half-hearted shrug. Images from before still clouded your brain, your pleasure receptors still firing on all cylinders at the memory of that mouth, those hands all over you. You let out a ragged breath, and his thumb and forefinger moved to pinch your chin.

“Are you getting awkward about what happened between us?” he asked and your eyes widened in surprise--sometimes his direct and straight-forward approach still caught you off guard.

“Jesus Bill,” you tried to move your chin away but he opened his hand, cupping your jaw.

“Answer me.”

“No, I’m not getting fucking awkward about it.”

“Eyes, kid.”

You dragged your eyes back to his and he saw right through you, raising his eyebrows in challenge. You pouted.

“Don’t lie to me, tiger,” his tone softened and he sighed, “Look, that night--did it feel good? Did you feel good?”

“Uh....yes,” you responded quietly. He bent at the knees, tilting his head to maintain eye contact with you when you tried to look away.

“And do you feel better now, after you got what you needed?” he asked. You hated this. You hated every part of how honest he was, how comfortable he was at having these insanely uncomfortable conversations.

“Ugh, Bill, I can’t--”

“Answer me.”

“Yes,” you whispered, heat blazing your cheeks. There was nothing but kindness in his eyes though, genuine honesty to his questions.

“You deserve to feel good. You needed to feel good. And you trusted me with that. And I helped?” he looked to you for confirmation.

“Yeah. Yeah you helped,” you confirmed. He smiled, stroking your cheek.

“And I was happy to. You’re my best friend, kid. I love you, and I wanted to help you. That’s it, okay? We promised it wouldn’t get awkward,” he looped an arm around you again, bringing you back in for a hug. ‘It’s just sex.”

“Fucking phenomenal sex,” you muttered into his chest.You felt his boisterous laugh, his arms squeezing you tighter.

“It was fucking phenomenal sex,” he pulled away and smiled at you.  You tugged his jacket collar down, silently beckoning him to bend and you kissed his cheek.

“Have fun, Billy Goat,” you said.

“Be safe, tiger” he responded, “Stay outta trouble while I’m gone.”

And with a final wave as you shut your door, you watched him pull out into the street. He’d text you tomorrow morning from the airport, you knew, and again when he landed.

But tonight, tonight you still had an ache in your gut, a tremble in your thighs that you knew wouldn’t let you sleep until those pleasure receptors--ones that remembered all too well--were satiated again.

[daemongal]

The greatest gift

V x reader, angst, SFW.

T.W. mention of thoughts of suicide.

For some reason I have decided to celebrate V's special day with this. Hope you enjoy my first attempt at writing angst :)

___________

Today was V's birthday, and the anniversary of the day you met the tattooed man, a day you would never forget.

You had found him shambling around looking lost and disjointed, completely stark naked. You can’t really remember what went through your mind at that moment. Normally you’d stay as far away as possible from weird men, especially those who were happy enough to put themselves on display, but you remember feeling an intense desire to protect him, the moment you laid eyes on him; a feeling skin to how a mother feels the first time they hold their child in their arms.

You gave him your coat to cover his modesty and established that his name was V. You remember how taken aback he was at your generosity when you welcomed him into your home and how confused he was at your concern for his wellbeing. You fed him, worried that he hadn’t eaten in days considering how frail his body looked. He would always tell you that he was fine, and that his body was just weak.

When everything started going to hell, he was there at your side, protecting you with every ounce of his being. You would tell him repeatedly how strong he was, how brave he was but a look of guilt seemed to forever linger in his eyes. You took refuge with him at the Devil May Cry which remained vacant in a somewhat safer part of town, after its proprietor had fallen at the hands of the Demon King. V told you to leave, to evacuate from the town and stay away, but you couldn’t leave him. You knew you couldn’t protect him, but you still wanted to be there for him. He said you gave him strength, the strength to keep fighting.

He would leave in the mornings, scouting for any survivors, returning just after sunset each day with supplies and stories of his exploits. You would listen to him talk for hours, savouring every note of his voice. Each night you would retreat to bed and hold each other so tight that not even the splitting of the earth could separate you.

It was love, of that much you were sure. You still remember the look of pure disbelief on his face when you told him the first time. He told you he was undeserving, that your love was too good for him, that he was a weak and futile being that could never give you the happiness you truly deserved.

“If only he knew how wrong he was” you thought. You smiled to yourself, pulling yourself out of your daydream as you pressed the buzzer on the bus, signalling it to stop. You stepped down the ramp that had been lowered for you, flashing a smile at the bus driver as you left. You knew you had a bit of a walk to your destination, buses tended to just stick to the main roads these days, but you didn’t mind. You enjoyed the memories attached to these tracks.

You knew back then he had secrets, but you told him time and time again that his secrets were his and his alone and that you knew him well enough that anything he kept from you would be for your protection.

You sighed as you walked further up the track. You knew nothing would have changed if you had known, if he had told you the truth. His determination and drive were the features that drew you to him, and you knew nothing would have changed his goal or the outcome. Redgrave was slowly recovering from its loss, and you had a family now. It was chaotic and messy, but Kyrie’s cooking was second to none and Nero was like the brother you never had.

You hadn’t been to visit V in a while, a guilty pang hit your chest at the thought, but your life had become busy as of late and you knew he would understand. You smiled as you were nearing the house on the hill; his family home.

You knew there was something wrong that morning. He had woken you up earlier than usual, a darkness and passion in his eyes deeper than you had ever seen before. You had made love with unrivalled intensity as he whispered sweet nothings into your ear, and etched his very presence onto your soul. He told you he would be back by nightfall, as he always was. You didn’t believe him, yet there you stood, at the door giving him his kiss goodbye, waving him off as you always did. The tears began to fall soon after. You remember the door opening that night and the elation you felt. When Nero stepped through the door, bloodied and bruised avoiding any and all eye contact, you dropped to the floor, legs no longer able to bear the despair you felt.

You took a deep breath as you stood at your destination. You put the breaks on the stroller and reached for the flowers resting against the hood. You had decided on white lilies, soft and gentle much like his heart. You placed them on the memorial as you dusted the headstone with your hand, removing any debris. You gently lifted your daughter out of their seat and held her.

“Hey V.” You started, taking a deep breath to still your words. “Sorry it’s been a while, I’ve been pretty preoccupied.” You gazed lovingly towards your daughter. “Isn’t she incredible darling. Born of our love. Your legacy.” You pressed a kiss to her soft head to calm your shaking breath. You promised that you would always be strong for him, and that wasn’t going to change.

“She has your eyes. The nurses said they’d never seen a new born like her; lily white hair and eyes that looked like they’d seen the world five times over. Nero's enamoured with her. Calls himself Uncle Nero, he’s even stopped swearing, said he doesn’t want to be a bad influence, I know, you’d have to see it to believe it. Nico's determined that her first words are going to be dead weight.” You laughed quietly to yourself, fighting back the heat rising in your face and the stinging in the corners of your eyes.

“Still no sign of Dante returning, or Nero's old man. I hope they’re both ok. I’d like to meet him sometime, Virgil that is. Tell him how lucky he is to have such a great son. I don’t think it’ll be long before little Eva has herself a cousin. I’ve seen the way Kyrie looks at him when he holds her.” She held your index finger tightly in her hand as you spoke.

“Oh yeah, I hope you don’t mind, I named her after your mother. You were always at your happiest when you spoke about your childhood and I wanted to picture that smile whenever I looked at her.” You paused for a moment to gather your thoughts .

“I’m so sorry that you weren’t here to... to hold her with... me...” your vision blurred as you felt a familiar warmth on your cheeks, as the tears began to pour from your eyes against your control. Your arms shook as you placed Eva back in her seat and collapsed to your knees, hands against your face, throat burning from fighting back the tears and chest heaving with every intake of breath.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t do this! I never wanted you to see me like this. I needed to be strong for you V, I was your strength, I was your reason to keep fighting. I’ve needed you so much these past few months, I’ve fought so hard. I’ve struggled so much. Every time I look at her, I see you. If it wasn’t for her I... I... probably wouldn’t even be here.” You were sobbing uncontrollably, spilling your heart out, everything you wanted to hide and conceal behind a facade. But you were breaking, you couldn’t keep it up any more.

“I was ready to join you V, oh so ready. And then I found out, I had a life inside of me; a life that we created together. Even though you’re not here, every part of you that has been left behind is keeping me going, keeping me alive, protecting me. Someone weak couldn’t do that, someone weak couldn’t create such beauty.” The tears eased as you glanced towards your daughters peaceful face. You wiped your eyes, the tears stilling for long enough for you to regain some of your composure.

“Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a heaven in hells despair.” You read the words engraved into the headstone in front of you, tracing them with your fingers as you did. “I spent many a long night reading your book. The only peace I could find was in its pages. I read this one from the hospital bed the night I found out about our treasure and nothing has ever resonated with me more.”

You shared a few moments of silence, before a familiar gurgling began from behind you. You chuckled as you stood up. “For someone who used to struggle to clear a plate of food, you sure made one hungry baby.” You lifted her and cradled her against your breast. “Thank you , V. You’ve given me the greatest gift I could have imagined. How something so pure could have been born from a hell so grim, only you could have done this.” You looked down the hill to see the familiar van waiting. Nico knew you were coming today and offered to pick you up on her way back home, knowing you’d probably not want to face public transport.

“Looks like my ride is here. Nico's always on time now, and her driving has never been better. She realised her driving was not child safe in the slightest. How I made it to the hospital in one piece when I went into labour I'll never know. I don’t know who was freaking out more, her or Nero!” You smiled at the happy memories. You had so many of them now, and it was all possible because of him.

“Happy birthday, V. I’ll make sure she knows who her father was and how incredible he was.” You placed Eva back in the stroller as she gives you a content gargle.

“I’ll make you proud V. I’ll do it for the both of us... I love you.”

___________

A/N: I decided to go with a scenario where you were never told about what really happened in the Qliphoth. As far as you were aware, he died at the hands of Urizen (just in case anyone cared enough to wonder haha). Also, for the purpose of this fic, Devil May Cry is located in Redgrave, just seemed like a good place to stow away in my mind.

I'm sorry ;_;

[shammah8]

RHAPSODY OF REALITIES DAILY DEVOTIONAL

SUPREME AUTHORITY

Wednesday, May 3rd

And these signs will follow those who believe; In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues (Mark 16:17 NKJV).

PASTOR CHRIS OYAKHILOME

There're two things I'll like you to observe in the theme verse. The first is the fact that the Lord Jesus gave us authority over demons. What is authority? Authority is delegated power; it's the right to command and be obeyed or the ability to command and enforce obedience. It's the right to command something, someone or anything and be obeyed! For example, when we use the Name of Jesus to effect a change or make a command, that's authority!

Secondly, He also gave us power of attorney, that is, the legal right to act on His behalf or in His stead as His agent: the legal right to act in His Name. So, having been given the power of attorney, how much power do you wield? How much force can you exercise? And how much authority do you really have? It depends on how much power is behind the one that gave it to you.

It doesn't matter how much power you've got; if someone with a higher authority than the one who authorized you comes, you have to submit.

Matthew 28:18-19 lets us in on the Master's authority. It says, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Notice He doesn't say some power, but ALL power; also observe that He didn't say all power is given unto Him to exercise in Israel or some parts of the world; no! He said in heaven and in earth.

The Lord Jesus has supreme and unrivalled authority. Hallelujah! When you issue commands to Satan, his demons, and the elements of this world in His Name, they'll hear and obey you, because you function in Christ's supreme authority and dominion.

           PRAYER

Dear Father, thank you for giving me the ability to command and enforce obedience, and the power of attorney to use the Name of Jesus to effect changes and control circumstances. That name wields all power in heaven and in earth. Therefore I declare, in the Name of Jesus, that the gospel shall have free course in the nations of the world. Amen.

    FURTHER STUDY:

Mark 16:17-18 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Acts 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

John16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.