#i have no faith in marvel to do this with grace

[batcavescolony]

I just found out Tommy and David are breaking up off panel and honestly if this was done correctly I would have been fine with it (not happy but fine). Im not against couples breaking up, not every paring has to be endgame. But for Marvel to have done it correctly for me they would 1) have to have had the break up on panel and 2) have this be the beginning of some good character development for BOTH of them. I just don't think Marvel is gonna do that.

[bardicjustice]

Literally everything I hear about Sarah j maas makes me want to read her books less

[erosiism]

SACRED | YANDERE PRIEST X M!READER

prompt: yandere!priest x transmigrated!male!reader

character(s): priest (anton), you

warnings(s): mention of violence, god complex, religious imagery, dub-con, not to be glorified or romanticised

note(s): male reader, second person, past and present tense, not beta read. from twisted faith on my wattpad.

It takes a few moments for you to truly process what just happened. From the coarse sheets underneath your skin that differ greatly from the silken ones you have grown so accustomed to, to the air that smells like blood, you know something is terribly wrong.

Then you see a mural of a priest on the wall, and you remember where you are. A horror game.

Anton. It’s the name of the priest you need to find.

The first time you see the priest is the day after you transmigrate into a horror game. The said game, Spiraling into the Abyss features almost a cult like fanaticism with religion: you learn in the first few seconds of your time in the new world that they worship a priest like a God, and that they sacrifice humans to please the apparent gods of the heavens.

You’re a sacrifice. You know that. You are found to be guilty of some stupid crime you didn’t commit, and as far as you know, you are a worthless extra who will die by burning—you will do everything to prevent that.

To survive, you need to get into his good graces. You see him on the day or worship, when you come early to the Church: and his beauty astounds you. Symmetrical features—and the whole blue eyes and golden hair combination that is seen as rather cliche, in terms of beauty—but Anton doesn’t have a common kind of beauty; he is radiant. Benevolent. Ethereal. You marvel at him. His skin is without a blemish, and is fair, like he hasn’t gone out in the sun for a while...yet it has a healthy glow to it. His expression is serene. Anton's hair frames his face perfectly, and his eyes are expressive and rather captivating, with long, dark lashes that draw attention to it. His cheekbones are well-defined, his nose straight—and those only add to Anton's appeal.

He speaks to you in lilted tones, and immediately, you realize the priest isn’t just evil—he’s downright a menace.

"Sometimes I forget you are a new, naive believer. God is perfect, is he not? So his messengers, in turn, can do no wrong. He sends his messages through me. God is part of me. I'm merely ridding the world of evil."  He strides to where you are, and his hands touch the top of your head lightly. His fingers fall to your cheek, and he strokes it gently.

You can only swallow. “Yes, Father Anton.”

There’s one day where you ask him why he burns those bodies. He calls it “cleansing”, apparently.

“They donate to the church out of the kindness of their hearts,” you tell him, swallowing the bile down your throat as you hear more screams. “Is that not…a little extreme?”

“Extreme? Why, no, not at all.”

“You burn people alive.”

“That is the cleanest way to proceed. Their ashes tumble away, and it makes it much easier for the people, too. If we were to use magic, or beheading, or even hanging—it would be much messier, no? And I believe fire is such an awfully beautiful thing. It can make death look inviting; and even though the heavens might cast them away…in hell, all they will see is the fiery pits. This is their punishment. To feel sorry for them is strange, Y/n.”

Despite this, for the sake of your survival, you continue to visit him. Now, such visits are rare: Anton barely makes time for anyone. But he does, for you. 

Of course, this partial treatment doesn’t go unnoticed by you. He treats only you like this: it’s concerning, actually. His words are light and gentle, but the weight of it isn’t. In fact, he speaks of cleansing, he speaks of murdering in such a calm manner that you wonder if the devil truly resides in him.

But one thing is clear. 

To survive, you need to get into his good graces.

You feel your sanity slip each minute you spend in the game.

Anton kills. So does the Church. And you still can’t explain the goddamn obsession he has with you. Why has he not killed you yet? Anton is no saint, not at all.

Perhaps Anton was ensnared by the promise of Godhood—ensnared by the tendrils of his own self proclaimed grandiosity. Perhaps he had been idolized so much…worshiped by the devoted believers that he had simply been led to believe in his imagined divinity. Anton was a mortal who had dared to cast a shadow that eclipsed the very stars that he had reached for. Anton was simply adorned in robes of imagined omnipotence, and smelt of the fragrance of narcissus.

Here, he was god, but Anton was completely alienated from empathy. For what was a god in isolation but a sovereign ruler over an empire of one, ruling over a realm devoid of the richness of God’s grace?

You can’t deal with him much longer. He keeps murdering: he murders those who come to you under the guise of the silly notion of cleansing, he finds it amusing to see you sob and cry…and he has no qualms about drugging you. If not for the items you have stored in your inventory, warning you of drugs, you would have succumbed long ago.

Anton is no priest. 

And now he stands before you, his lips curling into a smile when he sees the look of despair on your face. He has just killed a friend,

You have to. You have to fight Anton…you have to…

Anton leans forward. You two are a hair’s breadth away.

God. Is God real? Is the devil real—has he taken form in Anton himself, twisting, persuading, begging, tempting people to court evil, to withhold the stench of death? The crimson flames have not faltered for long, and have only seemed to welcome him with fiery contempt, only surrendering when everything has been destroyed in its wake.

You long to spit curses towards Anton. You long for your limbs to connect with his face, and leave a mottled bruise there. You long for your twitching fingers to wrap around the priest’s neck; watch as oxygen slowly slips from his lungs out of your throat. You long to see his body grow limp.

“You are so perfect,” Anton murmurs, “so, so divine. So perfect…”

You don’t get why he says this. He’s been telling you this for ages: it’s the reason why you’ve been treated well. He claims you are some savior from an oracle ready to save him, he claims you saved him.

And now in this scenario, where his fingers are grazing your cheek?

You swallow. There was no way, right? No fucking way—

“I want to kiss you.”

Your heart drops. “…If I say no, you wouldn’t listen.”

A kiss. It would just be a kiss, right? That was okay. It means simply brushing your lips against Anton’s…yeah, that was possible.

You want to cry. Anton presses his lips on yours—it’s a mixture of heat and warmth; the way Anton ravages your lips has some sort of twisted hunger to it, craving and craving and craving. There is an obscene sheen of saliva coating your lips when you part.

The kiss tastes just like the forbidden fruit, plucked from the tree of desire. It is the same way that Eve sinned—eating a fruit that had belonged to the serpent. It was as if you had forged a pact with the devil himself—that in kissing Anton, it was like sealing your fate in the molten wax of sin, staining the canvas of your soul. Had matted it black. 

It was shameful. So utterly shameful that the kiss…

Once Anton fully lets go, he smiles, and you collapse on the ground, tears running down your face.

He needs you, Anton thinks, he needs you. You are the savior who has brought him from the depths of hell. You are his miracle. You are his little pet; his little divine sacrifice, the white sheep with the white wool. You are the one who will follow him guiltlessly. Untouched, untainted, clean.

You are shaking like a newborn lamb.

He presses another kiss on your forehead.

[ before, Anton’s pov ]

The world was dirty.

It needed a savior. Someone to bring them out from the depths of hell—to cleanse them. After all, was that not what the texts read? Was that not what he had learnt, ever since young? Was that not what had been instilled in him since his very birth? Luke 15:11-32. The wayward son who squandered his inheritance but was welcomed back by his forgiving father—Anton had marveled at it when he was young. To think someone would have such boundless grace; such forgiveness for a foolish person…

The oracle. Anton saw the oracle as a gift—a symbol from God. It had been delivered to him when he was young, naive, and careless. 

Anton remembered very little about his childhood. Extremely little. He remembered his mother, his father. But that was it—but oh, how he hated them. Anton did not remember why he hated them, why the portrait of his family had been torn out. He regarded life then, and now, as the beginning of the end.

Something fleeting, something ephemeral. Something tragic. Life was a wonderful tragedy.

People look at me with such endless wonder; such spellbound eyes and widened mouths. They see me as God—they see me as a deity above them all.

And that was true, Anton thought. That was very true. Sinners. Wretched, dirtied, horrid sinners, all of them! Anton despised humankind; they were worthless—made of brittle bones with flesh. He did not even see them as humans. They were just mere vessels in need of salvation.

“Father Anton!”

“Father Anton, would you please help me?”

“Bring me to the path of salvation!

He was anointed by a divine purpose to purify the soiled souls of the world…

Yes, that was his purpose.

It was relieving and calming to have a purpose. To drift in the vast expanse of the world; the universe without a tethering purpose is akin to being a feather in the breath of the wind. Useless, damaging, lonely. Anton could see—it was very easy for him to see who were those who were aimless in life, compared to those who had the bright, bubbly life shining magnificently in their eyes.

Oh, Mother. Anton would stand before her grave. Again, he did not remember much of what he believed was to be a mundane, boring childhood, but his mother’s name left a bitter taste on his tongue, horrid and painful. Somehow, he did not feel a single bit of…remorse, or guilt when he gazed at her tombstone. He expected to feel guilt for something he was quite sure he didn’t do.

But his lips would always curve into a smile when he saw the words etched on the grave. She was dead, he would remember. Dead. Occasionally, snippets of memories would come to him—her shrill voice, her messy, jagged hair, her crazed, crazed eyes. The way her fingernails felt on her skin when she scratched at him wildly.

Clearly, she deserved to die. How did she die, though? What exactly transpired? What kind of person was she, and what kind of person had she tried to make Anton into?

Anton found, to his surprise, that he was bothered about this. Detachment was something he prided himself on: he would never venture too close.

To have attachment with someone would be detrimental. Annoying. Haunting.

There were times—many, many times when Anton had awoken, hollow and void. 

The oracle.

The oracle.

When is it coming? When is it coming? Have the gods lied to me?

The oracle—his lifeline since he was young—was the very proof that this world had a chance, to live on, to heal.

A savior.

There were times Anton would grow impatient. He needed to do something about the state of the world. It would be easy, wouldn’t it? Why did people falter in front of flames? What did people shun away from blood? Was the sight not wonderful, not enchanting? The heat was welcoming—a gentle caress. Those who ventured in, would have their faces bathed in mesmerizing glow. Nevermind their screams, nevermind their bleeding, rotting flesh. 

The fire illuminated the world before it dissolved like nothing. Like it hadn’t existed. 

“Horrible! Horrible! You’re fucking horrible!” Then the stinging of flesh. There was something piping hot, something burning him.

“Why won’t you even flinch, you monster?”

Anton smiled loosely. Another memory. They came into his mind occasionally and quickly. He never pondered over them—it was useless to; for he already had everything he wanted.

The day you came into the world, was the day he felt alive. Waiting had become a bore to him—it was the same routine over and over again, with the same stupid, foolish people—

Something extraordinary had graced his reality. The oracle. You were the chosen one. The chosen one. The chosen one. The one he yearned for; seeked for; the change in the world.

“Dear God,” You had said the first time he saw you. “I confess I have been impure in my holy spiritual presence…”

Anton had seen you before the mural; your head lowered, your words soft and quiet.

Anton had stepped before you, tilting his head to the side as he observed you. In fact, you seemed to be struggling.

“You have to be sincere. You can’t just read off the mural.” Anton sighed.

You seemed to look at him with flickering recognition.

“Forgive me, Father Anton, for I have sinned.” You appeared shocked for the words to even slip past your lips; and oh, you were beautiful. Lovely. Innocent. Anton gazed at you—this was the person he had been waiting for his whole life—fervently, impatiently, silently. 

“You don’t seem to be used to this,” Anton said at last, as he took off his hood. He had not meant to come to church today—he was aware the crowd was growing more stifling, more crazed by the minute. The women of the church reminded him of his mother. There were times he wished he could draw a blade to their throat, and watch the blood spill out in a wonderful crimson.

“I’m afraid it’s been long since my last confession.”

Anton couldn’t help but smile. You were lying. 

“That’s alright,” He said calmly, “you have come now. Is there something in particular that’s troubling you, perhaps? To bring you to confession?”

“I…”

Anton could read human beings exceptionally well. From the way their eyes narrowed, the way their pupils widened marginally, to the gap of their fingers…you were trembling. You were thinking of what other lies you could say.

An adorable fool.

“You…?” He prompted. “You must not feel self conscious in the eyes of God. He already knows, Y/n. He is only waiting for you to confess.”

I am only waiting for you to confess. To tell me that you are from the oracle.

“I cannot even recall it.” You admitted.

You cannot recall it because it is not true.

“What do people come here for, Father Anton?”

Many things.

“The ones who have sinned so awfully they are made to be sacrifices.”

Oh. Sacrifices. Anton did not even—

There were times he would stand before dead bodies, blood in his hand, blinking slowly. When? When had he killed them? It all happened so fast, he wasn’t even aware of the blood staining his clothes, the bodies riddled on the ground.

“You tell me, Y/n.”

“Murder…?”

Anton wanted to laugh. A textbook answer. You had much to learn, didn’t you? It was alright. Anton could teach you. Teach you from ground zero, till you would become who you were supposed to be.

“Mostly, it’s their lack of faith. Rebelling against us. It is their perceived lack of loyalty, and their utter ignorance and disregard for God that leads us to take drastic measures.”

“But that’s…that’s killing isn’t it?”

So pure. So untainted, so innocent. 

The oracle. The person from the oracle. 

“But that doesn’t matter,” Anton said softly, “you show a desire to learn. And that is always very splendid, always welcomed.”

Anton would morph you and turn you into something splendid, divine.

remember to reblog and like! comments are always appreciated

[jackdaw-kraai]

I've been a Guides fan for years but sometimes I still marvel at what an amazing character your Luke is. A character that is undeniably capable and dangerous, and who has a fair amount of darkness inside of him, who chooses to go about his life being not only kind, but friendly and warm in personality. As a trans guy I sometimes struggle with feeling like my demeanor isn't very masculine because I also like to be friendly and approachable, but having a character that walks that line (though obviously his cultural perceptions of masculinity are wildly different than mine) has really helped me.

Do I ever understand how you feel. Luke, when I’m writing him, has a few hard-and-fast rules, but one of the most important ones is that he is, always, on the side of the common people and the downtrodden. It’s, quite literally, what he was made for, and he takes it extremely seriously. So his commitment, however difficult, however inconvenient, is to be kind. Not necessarily nice, or sweet, or pleasant, but always kind. And yes, sometimes to be kind, he has to be cold and harsh and dangerous, but crucially, it’s only sometimes. The most common, effective, and easy way to be kind is often to be warm, respectful, and as open as one can be. Not a doormat, not a yes-man, not a fool, but simply kind and with a willingness to extend the grace of trust to almost anyone he meets. He trusts other people want to be good, to be kind, to have a pleasant interaction with him, and to not be needlessly cruel. He trusts other people on a vital and visceral level, not with his most inner secrets, not with his life, but with faith in their intent and desire to be good. And in acting on it, more often than not, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Another important one is that Luke, always, knows who he is and what he is. If he ever doesn’t, expect it to be a major crisis and not easily swept aside. Luke knows who he is, knows what he is, and in knowing, denies others the power to define him. He doesn’t care if he’s seen as more or less of a man, if he’s seen with respect and deference or scorn and hostility. Heck, he doesn’t even care if he is a “man” at all! He’s a Raqkesh, a Runner, a being made and not born, a purpose made manifest! What does he care if he obliges to some kind of arbitrary idea of gender? It’s not even his own! The Children have such a vastly different concept of gender to us that “manliness” isn’t even something that Luke fully understands. He goes by “he” because that’s what he was taught was his pronoun in Basic, and by now, he’s attached to it and regards it as his own, but it doesn’t mean the same thing to him as it would to you or I. Gender, to him, is what you do. You are the gender you are because of the role you decide to play in society, the functions you choose, and the affinities you have. You are a “woman” if you decide to dedicate to the ways of water and foraging, and a “man” if you dedicate to the ways of the sky and the hunt. Your pronouns aren’t who you are, but what your relationship is to the person you’re currently speaking to. You are “ach/ache” when you are speaking to someone innately more powerful to you, a spirit or other powerful individual. You are “kai/kair” when addressing your Home, your Kamir, and being addressed by them. You are “zar/zara” when being addressed by entities far more powerful than you. Your parents, guardians, or mentors are “sha/shara.” Who you are, who you are said to be, changes with the situation, and pronouns are as static as a person themselves.

Luke isn’t a man as we understand, he is, in his own mind, a myriad of genders and roles and purposes that make up him in his entirety. What does he care if others think him less of a man? He doesn’t even put value in that idea to begin with, or for that matter understand it. It’s not his purpose to be a man, not as far as he’s concerned. It’s not who he is, and no matter what other people may insist, he knows himself true. He knows who he is, what he is, what he’s here for. He knows, down to his bones, what his purpose is in the world. Nothing can shake that from him, or deny him that knowledge. So he acts, knowing who he is, and thus has an identity that cannot be taken from him or denied. And if that isn’t manly, well... what is?

[roseverie]

HANNA; meaning grace

“Everything to which you have lent your enigmatic grace enchants me. You are the suffering that makes happiness contemptible. You are the marvellous Priestess of some faith I do not yet know.”

requested by anon

[002yb]

Runs to you hands you a note that says "dickjay kink praise" and leaves

Alright, so it's to be expected that I've got a strong hankering for Dick praising Jason and Jason being wrecked for it but like. Jason praising Dick? There's something here and like...it's super cute!! Hear me out:

Jason considering how Dick grew up with applause (at the circus) and how there's no such praise for Dick now, only an expectation to do and to do it without err

And it's not like Dick seems to mind, but Jason can't help but wonder if Dick misses it: the wonder, the awe, the reverence.

None of those things are lacking from Dick's life now, necessarily, but he receives them in different ways. More subdued, more conservative.

Gone are words of affirmation and shows of gratitude, replaced instead with implicit trust as heroes and colleagues and friends shift their burdens onto Dick's shoulders because they have an utmost faith that Dick will help them, guide them, save them

No one tells Dick that he does a good job or in what ways he's extraordinary. Maybe it's because heroes value action more than words? Jason isn't sure, but he thinks it might be a shame.

It's a great thing to know you're respected - to see that reflected in people trusting your skills and capabilities. It's wonderful to know you're well-liked - to recognize it in the way people flock to you, drawn in by some sort of gravity.

It's something else entirely to be praised.

It's on a whim that Jason says it. It's some inconsequential day during a patrol break or after a post-patrol debrief; it's out of the blue entirely - on a day where they happen to be in one another's space. Lounging before another grueling night. Or while Jason is dropping off lunch or a duffel of Dick's stuff at the station at Alfred's behest. An inconsequential day at an inconsequential time but Jason is curious and can't shake what a damn shame it is because Dick...

Maybe Dick doesn't want or need the praise, but he works damn hard and tries fucking hard to be good: a beacon to guide the lost, a hope for those that have lost the light.

So Jason considers Dick, marveling him and the way that Dick bears burden and expectation and is so frustratingly graceful despite the thanklessness of it all

(But Jason knows as well as any of them - they don't do all the shit they do for something as paltry as gratitude...though it is nice, sometimes. To be seen. To be acknowledged. To have someone recognize the efforts and sacrifices made).

But praise is - it's hard? So Jason's whim to praise comes out a tongue-tied mess that undermines his usual wit and eloquence, but Jason stands by it despite how the compliment might have been a little too honest and makes Jason's cheeks flush pink: 'you're really inspiring.'

And Dick is caught off guard by it, incredulous until he recognizes the sincerity in the sentiment and Jason startles a bit because Dick smiles and it's so heartrendingly genuine and breathtaking and Jason can't believe how damn devastating it is

Dick is gracious about it even as he ducks his head and carries on doing whatever he was doing. 'Thank you,' Dick tells him and Jason wants to say more. More and more because he thinks Dick needs to hear it; sometimes it's important to hear these things: 'i appreciate you,' and 'i see you,' and 'thank you.'

Also it's only after writing this far that I've remembered that 'kink' was supposed to be part of this, which uh. Whoops. Let this be wholesome praising praise kink.

[coolksaposts]

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary Psalm 71:1-13

David prays that he might never be made ashamed of dependence upon God. With this petition every true believer may come boldly to the throne of grace. The gracious care of Divine providence in our birth and infancy, should engage us to early piety. He that was our Help from our birth, ought to be our Hope from our youth. Let none expect ease or comfort from the world. Those who love the Lord, often are hated and persecuted; men wondered at for their principles and conduct; but the Lord has been their strong refuge. The faithful servants of God may be assured that he will not cast them off in old age, nor forsake them when their strength fails.

Prayer of an Old Man for Deliverance. Psalm 71:1-15

1In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;             Let me never be ashamed.

      2In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;             Incline Your ear to me and save me.

      3Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come;             You have given commandment to save me,             For You are my rock and my fortress.

      4Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,             Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,

      5For You are my hope;             O Lord GOD, You are my confidence from my youth.

  6By You I have been sustained from my birth;             You are He who took me from my mother’s womb;             My praise is continually of You.

      7I have become a marvel to many,             For You are my strong refuge.

      8My mouth is filled with Your praise             And with Your glory all day long.

      9Do not cast me off in the time of old age;             Do not forsake me when my strength fails.

      10For my enemies have spoken against me;             And those who watch for my life have consulted together,

    11Saying, “God has forsaken him;             Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to deliver.”

      12O God, do not be far from me;             O my God, hasten to my help!

      13Let those who are adversaries of my soul be ashamed and consumed;             Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me.

      14But as for me, I will hope continually,             And will praise You yet more and more.

      15My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness             And of Your salvation all day long;             For I do not know the sum of them.

[loveerran]

I recently had an opportunity to attend a Spanish-speaking branch of the church. It was marvelous!:

I was impressed by the love and outreach. I was specifically welcomed by many members, and not just sisters. The Relief Society included me. Sacrament meeting was second hour (we began in Relief Society), and the members made sure I felt welcomed and had someone to sit with.

The spirit is the same in any language. A mother related in Relief Society how her son came unto Christ. There wasn't a dry eye in the room, including mine.

I was again reminded of the faith, sacrifice and work ethic of every hispanic immigrant I have personally ever known. They are doing hard things to make a foreign land their home, with limited knowledge of customs and language.

Pioneer songs can hit differently. Many of these members have left all or a part of their family behind while traveling to the US for work and opportunity. Others have family members who have been detained by authorities. There is a great human tragedy in US Immigration, and it is rather obvious when getting to know these individuals. Here is a hymn we sang (providing the English version though we sang in Spanish):

Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear; But with joy wend your way. Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day. ’Tis better far for us to strive Our useless cares from us to drive; Do this, and joy your hearts will swell— All is well! All is well! Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? ’Tis not so; all is right. Why should we think to earn a great reward If we now shun the fight? Gird up your loins; fresh courage take. Our God will never us forsake; And soon we’ll have this tale to tell— All is well! All is well! We’ll find the place which God for us prepared, Far away in the West, Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid; There the Saints will be blessed. We’ll make the air with music ring, Shout praises to our God and King; Above the rest these words we’ll tell— All is well! All is well!

Given that so many of us and our ancestors are immigrants and settlers in this land, we really should embrace others seeking a better life (often by escaping persecution). We are all siblings in Christ Jesus.

[pastorelpa]

John 3:4-7

Spiritual Rebirth

Dear Lord, my heart is full of gratitude for Your boundless love and mercy. Thank You for revealing the mysteries of Your Kingdom and to offer me the gift of eternal life. Help me find Your wisdom and guidance. I long to be born of the Spirit, renewed and made whole by Your grace. I ask that You pour out Your Holy Spirit upon me, cleansing me, renewing me, and making me new creations in Christ. Guide me as I strive to live as a born-again believer. Fill me with Your love, joy, peace, and all the fruits of the Spirit. Let my life be a testimony of Your power and grace, shining as lights in this dark world. Thank You, Father, for the promise of new life. I trust in Your Word and rely on Your Spirit to guide me each day.

Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:4-7)

This conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus reveals the essence of Christian faith and the necessity of spiritual rebirth. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, who approached Jesus by night, seeking to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus' question reflects a common human struggle, understanding the spiritual through the lens of the physical. He was trying to grasp the concept of being "born again" by thinking in earthly terms. His confusion is evident when he asks if one can enter a second time into the mother’s womb. This literal interpretation misses the deeper, spiritual meaning that Jesus was imparting.

Jesus responded with a truth that has echoed through the ages: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.". Jesus distinguished between physical birth and spiritual rebirth. The birth of water signifies our natural birth, the entrance into the physical world. But to enter the Kingdom of God, a second birth is necessary, a birth of the Spirit. Our physical birth brings us into the world as creatures of flesh, bound by mortal desires and mortality. This birth alone is not sufficient for salvation and entry into God's eternal kingdom. We must experience a spiritual rebirth, a transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit. This spiritual rebirth renews us from within, breaking the chains of sin and opening the doors to a new life in Christ.

Sin is defined as any thought, word, or action that goes against the will of God. God's will are His desires and intentions for human behavior, which include living in righteousness, loving others, and seeking justice. Sin is seen as lawlessness and failing to do what is right, it is a separation from God’s will and holiness. The consequences of sin are leading to spiritual death, a feeling of suffering, unrest, uneasiness, despair or guilt, but the hope of redemption comes through having faith. Jesus emphasises the necessity of this spiritual rebirth. It is not an optional extra, but is fundamental for all who seek to follow Him. The new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit, regenerating our hearts, making us new creations in the image of Christ.

What does it mean to be born again in our own lives? Spiritual rebirth is not a one-time event but an ongoing process of transformation. It begins with having faith in the Lord, repentance from sin, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This rebirth is evidenced by a changed life, one that bears the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The faith that one can start anew over and over again, even if one has made mistakes they believe are unfixable or unforgivable. The Lord will always be there to help you make right, God will always forgive you and love you. Being born again means living in the newness of life, no longer conforming to the patterns of this world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds. It calls us to walk in the light of Christ, to be His witnesses in a dark and broken world. Our spiritual rebirth equips us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, as the Lord loves us forever and always.

Nicodemus came to Jesus with questions, seeking understanding. Let us also come before Jesus with open hearts. Let us receive the truth of His words. Let us embrace His love and be born again. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to transform us from within. So we will experience the fullness of life that was promised by Jesus Christ, both now and for eternity in the Kingdom of God. May God bless each of us as we seek to live out our new birth in Christ, and may His Spirit continually renew and guide us on our journey through life.

Amen

With Love, Pastor Elpa

[templevirgin]

A sermon by St John Chrysostom

Prayer is the light of the soul

"There is nothing more worthwhile than to pray to God and to converse with him, for prayer unites us with God as his companions. As our bodily eyes are illuminated by seeing the light, so in contemplating God our soul is illuminated by him. Of course the prayer I have in mind is no matter of routine, it is deliberate and earnest. It is not tied down to a fixed timetable; rather it is a state which endures by night and day.

Our soul should be directed in God, not merely when we suddenly think of prayer, but even when we are concerned with something else. If we are looking after the poor, if we are busy in some other way, or if we are doing any type of good work, we should season our actions with the desire and the remembrance of God. Through this salt of the love of God we can all become a sweet dish for the Lord. If we are generous in giving time to prayer, we will experience its benefits throughout our life.

Prayer is the light of the soul, giving us true knowledge of God. It is a link mediating between God and man. By prayer the soul is borne up to heaven and in a marvellous way embraces the Lord. This meeting is like that of an infant crying on its mother, and seeking the best of milk. The soul longs for its own needs and what it receives is better than anything to be seen in the world.

Prayer is a precious way of communicating with God, it gladdens the soul and gives repose to its affections. You should not think of prayer as being a matter of words. It is a desire for God, an indescribable devotion, not of human origin, but the gift of God's grace. As Saint Paul says: we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

Anyone who receives from the Lord the gift of this type of prayer possesses a richness that is not to be taken from him, a heavenly food filling up the soul. Once he has tasted this food, he is set alight by an eternal desire for the Lord, the fiercest of fires lighting up his soul.

To set about this prayer, paint the house of your soul with modesty and lowliness and make it splendid with the light of justice. Adorn it with the beaten gold of good works and, for walls and stones, embellish it assiduously with faith and generosity. Above all, place prayer on top of this house as its roof so that the complete building may be ready for the Lord. Thus he will be received in a splendid royal house and by grace his image will already be settled in your soul.

[ordinaryschmuck]

Let's see....

Captain America: Brave New World's got that controversy due to having an alleged zionist actress playing Captain Islam (Or whatever the hell her name is). Depending how big of a role that character has, I doubt ANYONE is in the mood to watch a movie like that unless she's written out completely because...look at current events and tell me if Captain America teaming up with Captain Islam is in any way what we need right now?

Thunderbolts...I have NO interest in whatsoever. Mainly because the roster isn't really appealing as most of it is either super soldiers or spies who are good with guns. The only interesting character in the lineup was Ghost and she's not even in the movie anymore. The only saving grace this movie has left is that it's allegedly going to FINALLY acknowledge that frozen Celestial that The Eternals stopped from hatching, but other than that it's nothing really grabbing me. I'd have to at least see a trailer before I find SOMETHING interesting about it.

Fantastic Four intrigues me, though. From everything Marvel's been hinting at and advertising, this is going to be a movie set in a universe stuck in the sixties and have the Four face Galactus all with a tone that MIGHT be similar to Fantastic Four: Life Story. If that's in ANYWAY what Marvel's promising through its castings and free comics on its app, I'm definitely willing to check it out. I just want a GOOD Fantastic Four movie for once and I'm hoping this will finally be it.

I don't have TOO high hopes for Blade. This movie has been in development hell for MONTHS, only releasing TWO YEARS after its initial deadline all because the lead actor wasn't satisfied with the final product. I'm hopeful that it was all for the best and we're FINALLY getting something that everyone can be happy with, but I'm also...kind of done with new characters. Phase Four introduced too many that I just want to go back to focusing on the cast that's LEFT after Endgame. And bringing in the guy who played Cottonmouth from Luke Cage just breaks all kinds of canon because this is the first time an actor plays TWO major characters in the MCU. Others had returning roles, but usually for small things that you wouldn't care about. From the start, this always felt like a movie Kevin Fiege wanted to make to show off. Like, "Yeah, we can make a Blade movie too! And make it BETTER than the original ones!" I don't know, maybe I'm being a little cynical, but I don't have the biggest faith towards this project.

As for Daredevil: Born Again, I am on my knees PRAYING that this one will be good! I fucking LOVED the original Daredevil series, it's absolutely one of the best superhero shows of all time and I'm just so glad it's coming back in some capacity. I just also hope that it'll be GOOD because I don't think my heart could take it if it isn't. On the upside, it seems like Kevin Fiege wants that too. After leaving out most of the original cast and not letting Daredevil suit up until episode FOUR, he demanded a complete creative overhaul with Daredevil: Born Again, leading to it bringing back everyone from the original, improving Daredevil's old costume, and have everyone involved take inspiration from most things Daredevil. It's as if Fiege understands that they CAN'T screw up with this show so he wants to make sure that it's the best they can possibly make it. And I'm not too bothered with the first season having nine episodes instead of eighteen. I always knew that the change was inevitable anyways. I just want it to be GOOD.

Then there's Ironheart and I have NO interest in this one either. Her character was one of the weaker aspects of Wakanda Forever, as someone who was constantly whining or yelling and I was not all that engaged with her. MAYBE the show could win me over, but that's a BIG maybe that'll take an impressive script to do.

Oh, also:

No. No to this. After the FANTASTIC ending of No Way Home, I don't want the MCU to rush out another entry unless they've got a good plan set and ready. The problem is that they don't even have a DIRECTOR yet and that's a pretty important person to have when bringing a movie to life.

All and all...2025 is not looking good for Marvel. Whether it's cast controversy or how they're choosing to adapt certain characters and teams, not much in 2025 is making me feel the same excitement I felt for the MCU in 2015-2019. The closest is probably Fantastic Four and Daredevil: Born Again. But even then, not only am I cautiously optimistic about those two, that's also two projects in a six (potentially seven) film/TV show lineup. I don't know, this whole thing is just making me wish the MCU can just wrap up the Multiverse Saga already and just...go back to making good projects again.

[esshetic]

FULL MOON ECLIPSE IN LIBRA: COSMIC MAIL

We are experiencing a Full Moon Eclipse in Libra on the 24th/ 25th. It will feel eutrophic for some and like being in a void for others. It really depends if you decide to feel your uncomfortable emotions or detach and be above it, in the Libra way.

This full moon like all are a message from God, pay attention to the recurring themes in your environment, what are the themes coming up, what is everyone talking about? And how does that relate to what you have just been thinking about. May this full moon bring your clarity over things you have been kept wake at night worrying about.

This is a message of faith as you to keep the faith, not in yourself but in God, who can do all things right, created universes all the time. I mean God created everything so when your faith in yourself is weak fill yourself up with your faith in God.

Think Big, not for yourself but for God

So much is being shaken up with the libra full moon as it relates to ourselves and our relationships with other people that reflect back to us more that we care to explore.

Libra is indecisive and detached from emotional reality yet the emotional stories are being told every moment of every day. The mirrors of those around you will tell the story of your inner world yearning to be displayed outside. How can you allow your self to express your most innermost felt emotion??

For each sign, how is this full moon affecting you.

Aries this full moon is asking you to think bigger in terms of yourself, see your self in a mighty higher state of being, see yourself the way you see and marvel at a giant Oak tree. You don’t see yourself and powerful but others do, this full moon is opposite you in the 7th house of partnerships and enemies your big and bold personality scares people but it scares you more.

Taurus this full moon is shaking up your 6th house, wakey wakey your alarm is ringing off, shaking you out of hibernation and into the spring season, you have an important date up ahead that you have to prepare for now, I am seeing 6 weeks time from the full moon, you have a cosmic rendesvous happening and you really need to prepare for it.

Gemini this full moon is illuminating your 5th house, brining attention to where you have neglected your personal relationships and fun and romance, doing things for the sake of it instead of connected to your purpose, you may also be drawn into reflecting on childhood and where you have neglected aspects of yourself that you thought were childish.

Cancer this full moon is in your 4th house your domain and home space, I see you wanting to rejuvenate your home space, physical home space or mental home space, there is an over hall that you are doing right now, you may be feeling like you need to move back home as this is the place where you most feel like yourself.

Leo this full moon is in your 3rd house questions arise in regards to community, being in community, that does that mean, how can you contribute to the community, how you can be apart of an existing community. As being on the outside of a space no longer feels fun being the lone wolf but where to start.

Virgo this full moon is taking place in your 2nd house are you being drawn to perfectionist tendencies that you value but also come off as super judgemental on others. But that is just how I am you say! Well others don’t like it or do not respond well to that critique, but what they don’t know is that you are worse to yourself so you think you are being easy on them.

Libra this full moon is in your first house opposite the Sun in Aries so this period is asking you to do some cord cutting to the ties that bind you to the past. People places and things that are weighing in your psyche and creating a conflict within yourself where you have forgiving them but you have not forgiven yourself. Why do they receive your grace but you don't receive your own grace.

Scorpio, this full moon is taking place in your 12 house, hidden enemies come out of the wood work and make their feelings known, its not a surprise to you, however you are not making your feelings known so people will and have always misjudged your actions and your personality and project what is necessary as this is human, do you let yourself be seen as human and flawed?

Sagittarius this full moon is illuminating your 11th house of social connections and income earned, the collective energy is being very annoying to you, whilst you cannot ignore it you feel compelled to take a stand in someway for the greater good.

Capricorn this full moon is in your 10th house your domain, seat of power as it were, but you are not feeling powerful and equipped with armour right now you are feeling soft and want space in your life to be soft, want to be around people who bring out the softer playful side of yourself at the moment you don't always want to be a dragon.

Aquarius this full moon is in your 9th house, you are drawn to social justice and beliefs are getting stronger, you also feel a sense of hope in we the people, through the initiatives you have been involved in and grass roots projects around social causes you work will be valued you are seen and heard.

Pisces this full moon is in your 8th house and you are being asked to dream (that is easy for you) envision a silver envelope with a love seal appear in front of your eyes it opens up and reveals to you what your life will look like in in a years time. But the caveat is, you take the pen that has also materialised out of thin air and you draw on the paper that has appears out of the envelope.

Thank you for reading

[walkswithmyfather]

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” —2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)

“What Does 2 Peter 1:3 Mean?” By Dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com:

“The position and privileges that are ours in Christ Jesus and all that we will ever need to live a godly life which is pleasing to the Lord, were given to us as a free gift of God's grace. Freely given through the merit of Christ's sacrificial death at Calvary and because of His omnipotent, divine power.

As His children, we are called to live a life of godliness, to live our life in spirit and truth, and to live in total dependence upon our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. But it is only through His divine power that we have been equipped by God to live such a godly life, for we have been imputed with Christ's righteousness, indwelt by Christ's Holy Spirit, identified with all His goodness and grace, and have been accepted by the Father in the Beloved, by grace through faith in Him.

It is only by God's divine power that we were saved through faith in Christ's sacrificial work at Calvary, and it is only by God's divine power that we are enabled to live our Christian life as unto the Lord. It is God's divine power that saves the sinner, and God's divine power that energises the saint to live a godly life. It is by God's divine power that we were saved from the penalty of sin and it is also by His divine power that we are saved from the power of sin in our lives.

All that pertains to life and godliness in a believer is achieved through the ministry of the Holy Spirit within our heart and the intercessory ministry of our great High Priest in heaven, for it is God Who works in us, to equip each believer to mature in the faith, to grow in grace, and to come into a fuller and deeper knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. For without Christ, we can do nothing, but we can do all things through Christ Who equips us with His divine power.

We have not been called, chosen, redeemed, and accepted because of our own merit - but by His glory, His goodness, His virtue, and His grace. And we are called to share in His glory and be clothed in His righteousness as children of God and joint-heirs with Christ.

Let us never forget that our heavenly position and privileges are ours in Christ Jesus Who, by His divine power has given us everything that is needed for life and godliness. And let us never forget that all that we are and all that we have is because of His glory, His goodness, and His grace. He laid aside His glory so that He could call us out of darkness into His marvellous light.

My Prayer: Heavenly Father, How I praise and thank You that I have been called out of darkness into Your glorious light. By Your divine power I have been called, chosen, redeemed, accepted, and equipped to live the godly life that You desire of me. I have been imputed with Christ’s righteousness, in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit, identified with all His goodness and grace, and accepted by the Father, in the Beloved. May I live a life that is worthy of my high calling and in everything give You all honour and praise. In Jesus' name, AMEN.”🙏🕊🙌

[fideidefenswhore]

#AnneBoleynWeek, Day 2: Monday, 25 September — favorite historical Anne quote (either by Anne herself or about Anne)

"Once she was a wise woman, [endowed] with [many] outward good qualities […] and such [...] courtly graces […] as few women were of her time; with such an outward profession of gravity as was to be marvelled at [...]" William Thomas (1524(c.)-1554)

"Had audience of the King this morning and thanked him for the love he bears the State, and did the like by the Queen, who said she knew that God had inspired his Majesty to marry her, and that he could have found a greater personage than herself, but not one more anxious and ready to demonstrate her love towards the Signory." Carlo Capello, 1533

"As supper prevented further conservation I returned to my inn, and went next day to Court to pay my respects to the Queen, who, after keeping me a long time, being reminded by her attendants, sent for me, and received me very kindly, saying to me, “I am aware, my dear Winter (Vintere carissime) that you are beloved by the King and have many friends who wish you well. Reckon me among the number.” And then she added that she would not fail to serve me wherever she could." Thomas Wynter, (1510(c.)-1564)

"Considering the Word of God, to do good to one's enemy, I wished to warn her before hand, because I have daily experience that the King's wisdom is such as not to esteem her repentance of her rudeness and unnatural obstinacy when she has no choice." Anne Boleyn, (1501-7(c.)-1536

"[...]Given her great faith and wise patience, which rose above womanly courage. [...] Such that everyone [...] judges her life to have been prudent, and believes that they have committed a great offense in having thought so ill of her." Lancelot De Carle (1508(c.)-1568)

[andrewuttaro]

Immaculate Simplicity

Few sports memories I possess are as distinct and lasting as those of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Specifically the memory that comes to mind is that of the famed American swimmer Michael Phelps. He was at his peak. These memories are aided by being largely concurrent with a family vacation I enjoyed quite a bit in Virginia Beach; that and I was going into Junior Varsity swimming that Fall, my freshman year in High School.

That summer it seemed like every other day I was watching something new about Michael Phelps. He would become the most decorated Olympian of all time with what many posited were in-born skills. I am not kidding when I say the man has partially webbed toes and biologist seemed to agree his body was uniquely designed to be good at swimming. I can still see that perfect butterfly stroke in my mind’s eye. He was the perfect swimmer.

I never made it to varsity swimming. I was bad enough that in a less forgiving program they might have sent me back down to the modified team I’d been on in Middle School. Within the same year I had been marveling at the swimming perfection of Michael Phelps I was swearing off competitive swimming myself due to a combination of hazing, lack of talent, and a newfound passion for Cross-Country running. I never got close to the same waters of swimming perfection.

We have a funny understanding of perfection don’t we? Plainly we imagine some sterilized vision of faultless grace unreachable to our kindest conceptions of ourselves. We pick up an instrument and imagine a symphony orchestra in a concert hall. This thinking infects our cultural understandings of Christianity as well: heaven is a collection of cloud-bound harpists, the Saints are wise paragons illustrated like military generals, and for we Catholics there is Mary Immaculate conceived without sin.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary (referencing Mary’s Immaculate conception i.e. conceived without sin) is really the final boss of absurdly perfect religious ideas. On the face of it even the well-versed Christian might ask: Why do we need a sinless mother when the son she bore was sinless? Does that not make her less relatable? Does that not make her less human in a certain way?

When I gushed about the Blessed Mother back in May I touched on this briefly. The monthly Catholic devotions circle around to familiar themes. This is intentional in a way: prayer often involves repetition and what better things to repeat than the inner truths of the faith? What I wrote back in May was that Mary’s perfection did not make her any less human, it made her MORE human. Sin pulls us away from complete human flourishing, not towards it.

But this monthly devotion isn’t about her immaculate conception, that comes in December. No, this is about Mary giving us the grace to be more human… and dare I say less sinful? More than that: Mary gives us the graces to be more. Maybe not Michael Phelps level graces, but graces that glow vibrantly in us, nonetheless. Yes, there will be shiny things in this article! But don’t be blinded by the light, the simplicity of this devotion is what will keep you coming back.

This feels like an old habit now, but it has served me well: let’s dive into history to start!

The Miraculous Medal

Paris in 1830. The July Revolution is unfolding. Yes, the revolution Victor Hugo was writing about in Les Misérables. This revolution replaced one monarch with another. Charles X wanted to be a more dictatorial, absolute monarch so a good old fashioned French revolution threw him out for a cousin, Louis Philippe who accepted a constitution. He would preside over a decline in French living standards, so he was himself thrown out eighteen years later in another revolt of the French people.

The same year, in the same city, something miraculous was happening. Catherine Laboure, a daughter of Charity (the female religious order to the Vincentians established two centuries earlier by the great French Saint Vincent De Paul) had just entered the convent. On July 18th she was beckoned into the chapel by what she described as a child’s voice. Once there, the Blessed Virgin Mary spoke to her saying: “God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world.”

Four months later, the Blessed Mother actually appeared to Laboure during evening meditations. This time she displayed herself in an oval, the details of which are all laid out in the Miraculous medal itself. The most notable feature of the miraculous medal (see the thumbnail image of this post) is the words around the outside: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

Mary was adorned with gems, most of which glistening out radiant light. Catherine asked why some of the gems were not shining and the Blessed Mother responded: “Those are the graces for which people forget to ask.” More on this exhortation in a moment. Mary told Catherine to bring a description of the image she appeared within to her confessor who would make medallions for which graces would come to those who possessed them. This Catherine did.

After some time assessing the sincerity of Catherine’s visions, her confessor did bring the visions to the Archbishop anonymously, hoping to protect Catherine from backlash. The Archbishop approved the visions and medallions were made. The devotion spread rapidly and had a big impact on the tumultuous but soaring Catholicism of the nineteenth century. The devotion was influential in the 1854 proclamation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Pope Pius IX, the biggest “long time coming” proclamation in the history of the Catholic Church which we’ll talk more about in December.

For her part Catherine Laboure would spend the next forty years of her life caring for the elderly and infirm outside Paris to the point she would be recognized as the Patron Saint of Seniors when she was canonized a Saint in 1947. Except for the four years immediately preceding her death in 1876 as she fell ill, Laboure gave her life exclusively to service, not the attention her visions had gained.

Nowadays you are likely to encounter the miraculous medal, in numbers, in any explicitly Catholic store or shrine. French Catholics practically throw them at you I’ve discovered. Just going to a Catholic shrine or on a retreat here or there I have come into a dozen of them. I also went to a Vincentian college, Niagara University, which helped my odds I suppose. The image itself, and its reverse, are densely packed with symbolic, prayerful meaning. Few devotions pack so much into such a little package.

The bottom of the front side has Mary standing atop the year 1830 which is a plain reference to the year of St. Catherine Laboure’s visions. The first words she spoke to Catherine are written around the outer parameter here. Mary’s arms are outstretched, symbolizing recourse to her, and the shining rays of light shine out from her hands extending the graces she told Catherine about.

As with most Marian depictions, Mary is standing on a globe representing her queenship of heaven and earth. Upon that globe is the serpent she strikes with her heel in reference to Genesis 3:15. We Catholics consider her the mysterious new eve discreetly referenced in that verse who crushes the forces of evil and sin by way of her brave acceptance of Jesus Christ before anyone else.

Before going to the symbolism on the reverse side of the medal I want to touch on this ability of Mary to dispense graces. All of Catholic Marian dogma really comes back to this idea that Mary is a mediatrix of the grace of God, indeed the premier mediatrix of that grace. Yes, God’s grace shines upon all who seek his face, but Mary is the original co-mediatrix with Christ. She is the great guide to Jesus Christ and the primary conduit of the graces he so desperately wants to impart on us.

Worth the distinction here, particularly for my non-Catholic readers, Mary is a co-mediatrix with Christ, that is she helps dispense his grace (like a true mom) like she does in so many small, personal ways and in big ways with these Marian visitations we talk about. Mary is not co-redemptrix, that is she is not herself a redeemer of humanity, that is a title and role reserved entirely for Jesus Christ. This is a critical distinction and worth repeating when you find someone scandalized by Mary’s prominence in Catholic life. Pope Francis reaffirmed this co-mediatrix/co-redemptrix distinction as recently as 2020.

Onto the reverse side of the Miraculous Medal. Around the parameter is the twelve stars crowning Mary from Revelation 12:1. While Protestants take a more agnostic understanding of this passage, it is the belief of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches (and most non-Protestant churches for that matter) that this pregnant woman giving birth referenced is Mary. The twelve stars then become a loaded metaphor, a crown unique among all Saints, a sign of her queenship over the communion of Saints, all those who pursued Jesus in exemplary ways.

This is for the same deeply relational reasons I gushed about back in May, that Mary bravely chooses Jesus before any other human being; but also because the stars indicate a sacred continuity between Jews and Christians and of the character of God himself forever. In one sense, the stars are a symbol of eternity for the ancients, as far as they knew stars lasted forever. God is eternally with us and wants to extend his saving grace to us.

The number twelve is a reference to God’s original chosen people, the nation of Israel, and their twelve tribes. The twelve stars also represent the Twelve Apostles, the foundation of Christianity and the tangible origin of the Church itself. The Twelve Apostles reference with the stars is also bluntly literally when we consider Mary a constant feature of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Those original twelve would have known Mary’s holiness quite well personally.

The twelve stars meaning goes so much deeper than I can fit in this article. Suffice to say Mary’s queenship which they represent is an honor and a grace given to all humanity via her intercession for us. Mary continually pleads our case to God outside of time and space in the realm of eternity. In the ancient world the most powerful queen in a royal court was usually the king’s mother for various reasons. Mary’s Queenship would have made perfect sense in that period of history.

Central on the reverse side is the Marian Cross. This is a regular cross with the letter M beneath it, sometimes with a crossbar linking the two. The Marian Cross is meant to represent the Blessed Mother’s presence for her son all the way through the passion, especially the crucifixion. Mary and only two of Jesus’ followers were there throughout, the ultimate fruition of Mary’s devotion to Jesus which began when she accepted his conception at the Annunciation before he was born.

The two hearts beneath the Marian Cross are the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In June I went in depth on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and I invite you to go back to that profound image of Jesus’ love for us in that article. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is shown with a sword piercing it. This sword represents Mary’s sorrows, namely the suffering she had to endure for her son.

Sidenote: the September devotion is the Seven Sorrows of Mary. That devotion dives deep into Mary’s experience of the salvific mission of her son. Moreover, the image itself is seven swords piercing her heart so we will explain this in much more detail next month.

I don’t need to explain why the death of a child is a traumatic suffering. However, when we consider all that Mary went through we see how profound her motherly devotion was: after all she knew the mission her son was on. She was told before he was even born. She went ahead with it all anyway and felt every joy and suffering along the way, nonetheless. Mary’s Immaculate Heart is what this month’s devotion is really all about.

Simplicity Immaculate

What are the graces “for which people forget to ask”? That is the big question left open when you first encounter this devotion. As far as I have been able to ascertain there are no specific graces frequently missed being referenced here. Rather this is an invitation to be brave like Mary was and ask for God’s grace. There is a simplicity to this worth noting. If you have a question, ask it. If you need help, request assistance. If you knock, the door will be opened for you. There is no magical thinking here: just an exhortation to be humble enough to ask for God’s help.

I could go on and on about how powerful that message would have been in St. Catherine Laboure’s moment in history in a France clutched by revolution for the second time in many people’s lifetime, “Times are evil in France and in the world” as the Blessed Mother said to Laboure, but I already went down the history hole once in this article. Still we might want to take on the comfort of that message: the ugliness of the times come and go. Divine grace always awaits us when we’re willing to accept it.

The kicker of the graces not asked for bit is the emphasis of a spiritual, almost psychologically heavy, chasm we feel between God and ourselves; the same chasm that often stops us from contemplating any personal ascent towards God or… dare I say perfection, Christian perfection. We don’t consider that magnitude of holiness something we could ever do so we simply don’t try or worse, perpetuate the idea its all an inaccessible religious standard of a bygone era.

I think I still love swimming. They normally capture my attention the most at every summer Olympics. Michael Phelps has now retired from competition. I got all excited to see him in the commentator’s booth for the U.S. Olympic Trials this go around. He isn’t defensive about his records. Michael Phelps is actually in regular contact with some of the most promising American swimmers in the pool these days.

Principal among those is one Katie Ledecky who is a handful of medals away from becoming the most decorated female Olympian of all time, an honor not far off from Phelps’ own title as the most decorated Olympian of all time. The fun thing here is that Ledecky was a fan of Phelps since she was a child. She got his autograph when he was hardly twenty-one years old, in the early phases of stunning the swimming world. Ledecky was only nine years old at that time. That 2006 autograph was before those legendary Beijing Olympics that stick in my memory.

Ledecky took that inspiration and became the greatest female swimmer ever. She did not consider Phelps an unattainable standard of perfection hindering her own striving for swimming excellence. That may sound like a ridiculous proposition: why would inspiration, a role model, discourage her from swimming? Bingo.

Now you see how grace works. Graces are God’s way of working with us if we only choose to cooperate. To put them off is in some ways taking an utterly positive thing and letting it rot on the vine. Grace is simple, beautifully simple.

No, I am not comparing Michael Phelps to God or Katie Ledecky to the Blessed Mother. The point here is that we have to overcome this existential awkwardness for lack of a better term. Christian perfection is possible with grace. We have to overcome a very human but nonetheless unhelpful compulsion that God’s callings for us are not doable or even conceivable at that. Immaculate is not a synonym for unattainable. Mary’s Immaculate Heart is our home base for the kind of striving that helps us approach Christian perfection if we only choose to cooperate with God.

It is really that simple. It is immaculate simplicity. Effort the approach to divine grace and you are likely to come away with something shiny. Your mind might really get blown when you discover the grace of God in a talent you possess just waiting to be activated by the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Thanks for reading! My book “How to catch feelings for Jesus” is available online. Admittedly it is not this focused on the Blessed Mother, but I definitely hit on the themes of the devotion in other facets. Share this article! I am in the swing of writing on a monthly basis now and would love to hear your input. Did you really read more than 2800 words to not have something to say about it?

[albertfinch]

HIDDEN IN CHRIST

"Then Moses said, 'Now show me Your glory.' And the LORD said, 'I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,' he said, 'you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live.'

"Then the LORD said, 'There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen'" (Exodus 33:18-34:1 NIV).

Though He hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and passed by to where Moses only saw His back, was it not possible that even then this was a shadow of Christ, the Rock, the New Testament example of the Lord revealing His glory through Christ?

In fact, as Believers in Christ, we each represent God's glory on this earth, because of who Christ is in each of us, as Colossians 1:27 states: "to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

HIDDEN IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK

We are "hidden in Christ," and that, because of Him, we are seated in heavenly places (see Colossians 3:3 and Ephesians 2:6)!  God is hiding us right now in the cleft of the rock. The Rock is Jesus Christ, and no matter what we are experiencing, we are hidden completely in Christ. We are forgiven, protected, loved, and provided for.  His glory is in us and we are seated in heavenly places with Him.  It's time for us to see ourselves as victorious over every situation. His grace will be there for anything we need as we move forward, leaving the past behind and possessing every promise!

It is difficult to maintain faith in a world of problems. If we do not guard our hearts, we will look at our circumstances with natural eyesight and, therefore, stumble over situations rather than putting complete trust in God. This is why we need more of His PRESENCE – we will be strengthened as we see Him as He is!

Many people are content to discuss the presence of God, but are many willing to pay the price to seek Him daily and truly experience and encounter His presence? How can you hear God speak, in His soft and tender way, when your hurried thoughts create a whirlwind within?  Be quiet, and He will soon be heard.

"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation." - Psalm 62:1

CENTRAL PLACE OF THE INWARD WALK

Be silent and visit the quiet recesses of your own heart -- there you will hear God's voice.

You cannot retire too much from the mindless chatter of the world. You don't need much time to tell God that you love Him! Lift your heart to Him. Worship Him in the depths of your spirit.

By not speaking, desiring, or reasoning, we reach the central place of the inward walk -- that place where God speaks to our inward man.  It is there that God communicates Himself to our spirit.

We come to observe that marvelous pull that Jesus had as He walked along the road day after day "God-intoxicated" and radiant with the endless communion of His soul with God.

It is our duty to live in the beauty of the presence of God on some mount of transfiguration until we become white with Christ.  After all, the deepest truth is that the Christ-like life is Kingdom glorious -- undefeatably glorious.

QUESTIONS TO ASK MYSELF:

Am I willing to come openly before God, presenting my heart naked before Him?

 Am I willing to cast all aside that would grieve His presence?

PRAYER:

Father God, I know that it is Your desire to reveal Your divine glory through me because I believe.  Draw me unto Yourself and that You would begin to reveal Your glory in me and through me. Lord, I cry out for more of Your presence!  Without You and Your presence, I will never completely fulfill your PURPOSE FOR MY LIFE.  You are all that I need in life to be content. Empower me as I pursue my DESTINY in Christ and the fruit-bearing that remains a demonstration of Your Kingdom on earth. In Jesus' name. Amen.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY