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sachisei · 10 months ago

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My parents started catching on my views on religion. And today my father attempted to confront me by asking if I am an atheist, but I wasn't sure if that was what he asked because the radio overlapped his voice. I was able to connect the dots however when he and mom talked in soft voices, but dad decided to drop the subject.

When dad asked me that question, he had an irritated voice. It was clear he has his prejudice against the idea of me being an atheist. Although I am not one, I am not very against atheists. It's more of just I don't prefer their view of a non-existent god. For me, it'll be better if there is a god. I am also not against polytheism, but for simplicity I am more inclined to perceive it as there being one god or one creator/overseer. That said, I don't want to rely on god for every little thing.

That's where my view against certain religious practices is at. For me, the things I think humanity can rely on god are matters beyond our hands. Things like safety against all harm, imminent death, intentions of others, disasters, good opportunities, etc. I am not fond of humanity depending on divine intervention for matters well within their own capability to achieve. It just seems dependent, inactive, and irresponsible to me. By attributing our successes or failures solely to a higher power, we may underestimate the importance of our own actions and the direct impact they can have on our lives and the world around us.

For me, faith is a means to guide humanity to fulfill a good life, but it's not what ensures in shaping our circumstances. So no, I don't believe that praying a certain number of times will do anything, if what was prayed for is achievable by our own actions. What will help is actually pursuing that outcome, not just pray for it.

"I pray that my husband will not beat my child tomorrow."

Prayers like that. Why wait for god to intervene? That's how I think people mistakenly utilize prayers.

I have a problem with how confessions are viewed by most Christians. For Christianity, the act of contrition is a sacramental activity. Most believe that god will only truly forgive if you confess through the priest. I find that bullshit. We are fully capable of asking god for forgiveness without needing the priest to tell us to pray Our Father and Holy Mary three times, which by the way is what most priests will just advice you to do, along with the "relinquish your sins." For me, a heart to heart talk with god seems more spiritually cleansing, is it not? What good is it to pray these prayers if you just pray out of habit.

Prayers, if you are looking to ask forgiveness, wouldn't it be better to start with, "God, I will do better. I realize what I did was selfish. Please help me to remember to be good" instead of "Please forgive me, Father. I have sinned. Please don't punish me. I promise to do better."

Now I don't necessarily think people should just stop relying on priests for confessions. No, that's not really the case. The priest's role is to enlighten you and help you recognize what you did wrong, and to guide you on a path that is good. And at best, he can only ask god to forgive you. That is not a guarantee, especially if you have remained unchanged because you only confessed out of communal practice.

Anyway, there are more religious practices that I think does not serve anybody well. God or us. Some of these beliefs seem self-serving or contradictory too. That is why I lean towards theistic agnosticism.

I understand it's not easy for everyone to find a common understanding when it comes to faith and religion, but I would have hoped that the people who practice their religions be open-minded and compassionate towards differing beliefs. After all, that should be part of your practices, no?

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eloves-writes · 3 years ago

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a failed attempt to hate you

(tristan dugray)

a/n: i can only apologise if this writing is terrible, i wrote most of this in the middle of the night hopped up on medication for my disgusting cold. i hope it makes sense. anywho thanks for reading, enjoy, mwah <3

screw mr medina for making you help tristan study. you knew he knew from rory your inherent disdain for him, and it wasn’t your fault he was falling behind therefore not your responsibility to help him (as you had told mr medina last tuesday, with no effect). it was now sunday morning and you held little hope he would actually show up this time; he had somehow managed to cancel on your little study date 6 times already and it had only been 5 days since you were handed this apparently mammoth task. honestly, you didn’t expect him to show up at all, especially not anytime before noon- for which reasons you had made the decision put on your usual lazy sunday morning reading in bed get-up, which included (but was not limited to) an oversized rock concert shirt rory’s friend lane had given you in an attempt to clear her closet of non-christian attire, nothing but underwear underneath since you wouldn’t plan on leaving the comfort of your bedsheets for many hours, and a loose silk scrunchie you accidentally stole from rory keeping your hair out of your eyes.

your book of choice today was ‘harry potter and the goblet of fire’ , the most recently released chapter of the boy wizard’s adventures at hogwarts. the clock beside you read 9:15 as you comfied yourself for a morning of magic and adventure, which naturally was ended a mere 8 minutes later at 9:23 when the doorbell rang downstairs. you assumed your mother would answer it, but when it rang a second time you remembered your parents had both gone out to watch your sibling’s soccer match and you’d have to get it yourself.

it didn’t even cross your mind to put pants on, or that it may not be the postman at the door, until you opened it to see your very favourite chilton student whose eyes had hastily wandered to your bare legs. typical high school boy, you thought to yourself before your brain actually grasped the situation and kick started into action.

‘tristan. hi.’ you said with a slight shock in your voice.

‘erm, hi. i hope i’m not interrupting anything,’ he smirked, glancing down at your thighs again.

you rolled your eyes so aggressively you hoped mr medina could hear it from wherever he was spending his day, irritating boy-less and free to do whatever he wanted with his time.

‘you’re not,’ you quipped. ‘i just didn’t expect you to actually show up this time. and early may i add, i’m sure we said 11.’

‘we did, but i’ve got plans later so i thought i’d come by earlier and get this over with.’

‘how did you know i didn’t have plans? i might have been busy before 11.’

he pulled a face of amusement and you could swear you saw a hint of sarcasm shining through his eyes too. ‘right. are you done talking now or can i come in?’

‘you can come in, i guess,’ you sighed, closing the door behind him and showing him to the kitchen table. ‘wait here, i’ll go and get my books.’

‘grab some pants whilst you’re at it.’

‘stop talking,’ you called as you walked upstairs.

you came back downstairs a few minutes later fully-clothed and carrying your english notes to see that tristan had wandered from the chair you specifically remembered telling him to sit in, and was instead tracing a finger along the bookcase that stretched across the far wall of your living room. for a moment you just watched him nosey into your life; the framed certificates, the family photos, the 5 tapes of ‘beauty and the beast’ stacked atop of each other because it was your favourite film when you were 9 and practically every living relative had bought you a copy. beside those was a picture of you dressed as princess belle at disneyworld with chocolate ice cream smeared from cheek to cheek, a huge smile plastered between. tristan picked it up and turned to face you.

‘thoroughly adorable. seriously, you should go for this look more often.’

‘ha ha,’ you grimaced, snatching it off him and placing it back on the shelf. ‘are we studying or reminiscing on my past fashion choices?’

‘oo, someone’s in a good mood this morning huh,’ he teased. you pulled another face, once again silently cursing mr medina for completely ruining not just your day, but in fact your whole week. by god this boy got more irritating the more time you spent with him- it had only been 10 minutes, but it was 10 minutes longer than you ever previously had or ever wanted to.

‘can i get a drink before we start?’ he asked, redirecting the conversation and walking past you back into the kitchen. he began opening various cupboards, searching for a glass. ‘where’s the-’

‘why yes, tristan. you can have a drink,’ you snarked, opening the cupboard behind him with a dramatic flourish. he raised his eyebrows at you and reached forward to grab a glass, leaning over you as he did so. you caught a whiff of his cologne and almost forgot to dislike him for a moment.

‘there’s, um, soda in the ... fridge,’ you told him, voice unwillingly faltering as he looked down to meet your eyes. he had pretty eyes. pretty, blue, sparkling, stupid, annoying, asshole eyes.

you found the thick tension sickening. you refused to be another girl at school who simply swooned over him when he walked past your locker. you didn't like him. you were here to teach him english. because he was dumb. and actually, his eyes weren’t that nice.

he grabbed a soda out of the fridge and you both sat down at the table and began reading through your analysis of ‘to kill a mockingbird’, adamantly pretending not to see him staring at you the whole time.

why? he had had every popular and pretty girl in the whole of chilton, how was he ever so starved of female attention that he would look at you so admirably when you liked to make it clear you despised him? in fact, you enjoyed making a special effort to flip him off, or pull a face at him when he walked by, or kick his chair extra hard in spanish, or... oh shit. you had seen it from an outside point of view now, and it was glaringly obvious; maybe you did like him, just a little bit. shit. rory owed lorelai 10$ and a cheeseburger from luke’s, though you didn’t want to have to admit she was right when she’d said you were like a kindergarten boy pulling a girl’s ponytails because he thought she was pretty.

‘hey tristan,’ you started, breaking the comfortable silence between his questions and suddenly nervous to talk to him. stupid, it was still the exact same boy you’d been complaining about all week, nothing new.

he looked up from your notes. ‘what’s up princess?’

that was definitely new.

‘don’t call me princess’ -he smirked irritatingly- ‘do you need to stay much longer? i mean, is there anything else you want help with?’

‘trying to get rid of me?’

‘no! no. i just thought that you’d only stay and pretend to listen to me for like, half an hour then vanish. it’s 11:30 and you’ve been through my whole binder.’

‘it is? time flies.’

‘tristan.’

‘i do care about my grades, you know. and you’re a good teacher, i might have a chance at an A.’

‘why didn't you show up the last 6 times we planned then?’

he put down his pen- your pen, actually. it had pink sparkles on the lid. ‘got to keep up my street cred.’

‘ha ha. funny,’ you replied as blankly as possible, pulling back a smile you could feel in your stomach. you made eye contact again and, like every other time since you’d sat down and started studying, you held each other’s gaze for longer than necessary. funny how realising you like someone makes you suddenly act like it.

‘i should get going then right,’ he said, picking his jacket from the back of his chair.

you felt weird, almost as if you didn't want him to leave after praying earlier he wouldn't show up. alas, your parents would be home soon and you would be willing to bet money that tristan would have some interesting jokes about your being home alone that would not slide with your dad.

‘yeah. i hope you get that A,’ you said, accidentally smiling as you walked him to the door.

tristan turned to lean on the frame of the now-open door and put on a face of mock surprise. ‘my, my, y/n. was that a kind comment and a smile? you’re spoiling me.’

‘shut up, i hope you fail.’

he smiled back. ‘you really mean that?’

‘i guess not.’

there was yet another beat of heavy silence.

‘see you monday.’

you closed the front door as he walked down the drive, but noticed tristan’s car keys still sat on the kitchen table. a porsche, of course. you picked them up and reopened the door to his fist poised to knock. the two of you laughed awkwardly for a second.

‘i forgot my-’

‘you forgot your-’

another awkward laugh. jesus christ this was uncomfortable. you passed him the keys, and with absolutely no warning at all, your lips were suddenly met with his. they were soft and confident, and his free hand held your face as you tried to process the new situation. you quickly melted into the kiss, letting him take control until he pulled away and smiled that sparkly smile you didn't hate as much as you tried to.

‘didn't see that one coming,’ you said breathily, brushing some loose hairs off of your face.

‘i knew you didn’t hate me.’

‘ever the arrogant twat.’

‘hey, does this mean you’ll stop kicking my chair in spanish?’

‘absolutely not. in fact, i think i’ll kick it harder.’

‘as long as you let me do that again.’

tags: @leossmoonn for inspiring me to start writing again, @account123445 & @lmaoidekanymore6 for asking me to post tristan fics! (couldn’t figure out how to make the tags work but if you read this, you know ✨)

#tristan dugray #tristan gilmore girls #chad michael murray #gilmore girls #gilmore girls fic #gilmore girls fanfiction #can't think of anymore tags so i'll just hope this does ok on its own

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antiyourwokehomophobia2 · 4 years ago

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You said we can ask you questions so here goes( hope they arent invasive)

-at what age did u realise u were lesbian?was it easy/hard to accept?

-how was your coming out like? How did your family and friends react?

-were you ever/are you religious?do u believe one can balance between being homosexual and religious?

- were you always masc or is it something that came with accepting your sexuality?

-do you call yourself a stud?

- how hard/easy has it been being an out and proud black lesbian?

- thoughts on the stigma against stud4stud/butch4butch lesbians

-were you ever a TRA/libfem? If yes, what made you peak?

-ive had ppl talk about how masc lesbians being touch-me-nots is problematic/toxic and how its more about upholding a "status" than it is about preference. What do you make of that?

Not invasive at all! I'm happy to answer and thank you for asking :).

- I realized I was a lesbian at age 12 when I developed a HUGE crush on my gorgeous English teacher. I also got a small crush on a girl in one of my classes. I didn't grow up around much homophobia so it wasn't hard for me to accept that I was gay but what was hard was the absolute intensity of my feelings towards my teacher. I used to pray to god to have my feelings for her taken away because they were just so intense and I didn't know how to handle them (she was my teacher so I clearly wasn't going to ask her out. There was literally no outlet for what I was feeling so I kept it bottled.). My parents never brought up gay people in any positive or negative way and the kids I grew up around didn't really either. So me being gay wasn't something I beat myself up over. Once I accepted that I wasn't an overly invested straight ally, the road to acceptance was a peace of cake tbh.

-My coming out was... Well. I first started coming out to my friends when I was 13 and they were accepting of it. It honestly wasn't that interesting to tell you the truth 😅. All the peers that I gave a shit about never gave me shit for being gay. I never lost a friend for being gay. Coming out to my parents took me until I was 16 and the reason for that is because I genuinely didn't know how they'd react. Like I said, they never said anything about gay people point blank period. However, I was kind of forced to come out one particular night because my heart had been fucking shattered by a girl I was strongly crushing on at the time. I was pacing up and down my house, my best friend wasn't answering me, I could hear my dad's TV playing, it was late, I was tired, I couldn't sleep, I had school tomorrow, I was freaking out, I was devastated... I wanted to be comforted so I went to my father, threw my head into his arm and started telling him how my heart felt broken. He asked me if I had a boyfriend and when I said "nope" there was some silence and he was like "it's okay, I've known for a long time". I never actually said the words "gay" or "lesbian" during my coming out but I guess I didn't need to. The next morning, my father asked if it was okay if he could go tell my mom and I said yes. Long story short, my mom was even less surprised than my dad and she's the more progressive of the two so it wasn't really an issue (though she did tell me to keep an open mind in terms of liking men 😅 she seems to think I'm bisexual which is whatever because she never bothers me about it).

-Hmm. I don't like to completely cut out religion from my life. My father was extremely religious and now that he's gone, I feel it's disrespectful for me to say God doesn't exist. Like, "dad, you spent practically your whole life believing wholeheartedly in God but guess what! It was a waste and the thing you dedicated your life is something I think is a fairytale!" that doesn't sit right with me at all. I've been baptized and I used to go to church when I was younger. I think that there's no reason to shake my head at the possibility of a God. In terms of being gay and believing in God, I once watched a video by a devout Christian gay man who went through all the homophobic stuff Christians love to quote from the bible and gave the actual meaning behind them. I, personally, do not think that God is homophobic. I think that God's love is not something we have the capacity to understand. So, I, personally, think Christian gay people are perfectly fine and are already balanced. Here's to hoping that they stay away from homophobic churches!

-No, I wasn't always masc. As a child I was a huge girly girl. Like, legit, I wasn't a tomboy in the slightest lmao. I'm not sure when I started being masc. But what I do know is that I've grown far more masc over the years. I used to not want to dress too manly (no tuxedo's and no clothes from the men's section and no boxers) but nowadays I love all of those things and that's genuinely what I want in my wardrobe so I have no problem going into the men's section for my clothes.

-No, I don't call myself a stud. Love those guys though. The label I feel that's most accurate for me is masc.

-Um, I'm not sure how to answer this since I don't have experience being any other kind of lesbian. I guess it's just kind of tiring. I'm black, female, and homosexual. That's a LOT of different topics to give my attention to. The hardest part of being a black lesbian is knowing who to give my camaraderie to. Do I give it to black women? Black women AND black men? Lesbians? Only black lesbians? The lgb community as a whole? It's just a lot to think about. I will say, though, I think that it's a lot harder to be a masc black lesbian than a white one. Black women are already perceived as manly just based off of our skin color. So for me to willingly present masc can often be... A non-pretty picture in the eyes of society and I'm hyper-aware of that which is why I often have trouble going all out with the wardrobe I truly desire. That's my biggest challenge navigating the world as the black lesbian that I am. On a more positive note though, it's great being a black lesbian because I can have an opinion on everything and nobody can tell me I'm being racist/homophobic/sexist or stepping outside of my lane 😂. I'm on a three-lane road motherfucker and I'm not afraid to use all of them.

-my thoughts are that you should leave people alone. I will say though, I once read something that was like "if you call yourself a femme but the idea of being with a butch disgusts you, you're not a femme, you're just a feminine lesbian" and that rang true to me so it feels hypothetical (and nonsensical) if the reverse wasn't true as well. If a butch/stud shits on femmes and assumes they can't be as feminine as they are and ACTUALLY gay then I do have a problem. Butches and femmes have a history that's damn near inseparable from each other so for a butch to shit on femmes... I'd argue that they're probably not butch but instead just masculine lesbians. However, I don't care if two butches or studs want to date lmao. All the power to them, I hope they're happy.

-I definitely used to support trans rights more than I do now. I would correct people who misgendered others. I thought trans women were women. I was in support of bathroom laws. I never made posts about it, but I very much did believe it. Magdalen berns made me peak. I started realizing that gender makes no sense. I did some research and came to the conclusions I hold today. Even when I want to go back to my ignorance, I can't because I've seen too much by now.

-I honestly don't know. I think that some masc lesbians don't want to be put in that "feminine" position of being touched by their partner. It could stem from upholding a status but at the end of the day, sexual boundaries are sexual boundaries. What are you gonna do? Force your touch on to them? Yikes. Leave them be. If you're upset about your partner not wanting to be touched by you then get a new one. Clearly you're not sexually happy so leave. I don't think it's necessarily toxic unless they think there's something inherently demeaning in being touched by their partner or they do want to be touched but won't allow themselves due to trauma or feeling like there's a certain persona they must uplift. Other than that though, I don't see the issue.

Thanks for the questions, buddy ❤️

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desarcalize · 4 years ago

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Dusk 4: The last friend

The red-haired man opened the monastery door and walked in. He took a seat and opened his Bible. He started to read a part of Paul's Evangelion, whispering. Mana and Nea walked inside the church, saw where he was sitting and approached him. The young man took his eyes off his Bible and turned to the twins. "Good morning, my brothers" he said smiling They looked at him and every detail of his face. He doesn't seem to be an enemy of the monastery. The opposite one. “You must be new here” the man said “Yeah” Nea answered “We are just guests” “I see. The monastery is the best place for travelers and people who need a sanctuary” “That’s true and that’s what Father Cross said too” Mana said “Father Cross, eh? He is not so much a man of charity, if you understand what I mean. You must be really interest people for him to behave to you with that way” “Is there anyone else who is interesting to him, like us?” Nea asked “Well, his students of course” the red-haired man said. He seemed a lot of innocent person. Someone else would never say about the exorcist teacher and students to someone he just met. “Sisters Maria and Sarah?” Mana asked “Yes! You know them, right? Of course, you would, the two girls of monastery are not something unnoticed” He said laughing shyly “You are right” Mana said blushing. The three men started laughing by Mana’s comment and reaction. They didn’t even know each other names, but they still were laughing like they were longtime friends. Enjoying their time together, they didn’t notice the young nun approaching them "Allen! Good morning" Sarah approached the red-haired man "Good morning, Sister Sarah" Allen said and stood up. He took Sarah's hand on his hand, he kissed it and put his forehead on it "I wish the God to bless you, brother" "Amen" He said and turned to the twins "The men? New members?" "No" Sister Sarah said and smiled "Just visitors. The twins, Mana and Nea" "I am Allen. I am glad to meet you" "The pleasure is all ours" Nea said "Good morning, Allen" They heard a female voice, from the back part of the monastery. Mother appeared, she seemed tired "Good morning, Mother Rebecca " Allen said kissing her hand too "Is everything alright?" "Just a little bit tired" "Where you praying all the night, again?" "Yes" the old nun said "I see. Don't push yourself too hard" "Yes, but what else can I do? I have to do this" "I understand" "Well" Sister Sarah said trying to change the subject "Will you stay will us for breakfast?" "Not today" he said smiling "I will eat with my family, thank you for the propose. Maybe another time" "As you wish" the girl said "Well, I have to leave for now. I will come again tomorrow morning" "Whenever you want" Mother said "The monastery is open for prayers like you" "I really appreciate that" he said and his kind face blushed. “Well, I will go to help Barba” Mother said “Mana, would you do me a favor?” “What can I do for you?” Mana asked “Please, go and tell to Father Cross, that breakfast is ready. He is not getting out of his room, because of that invention of his” “Em… Ok” The young man said and followed Mother. Allen was ready to leave, but as he turned a book felt from his bag. Nea stooped and took it from the floor. The book had black cover with weird letters on it, but the young man quickly realized the language. It was seemed that Allen read a part of this book many times, because when it felt on the floor it opened to a certain page. Nea took a good look of the book and started to browse it. Allen was looking at him with his heart beating fast. He realized from the first second that the brothers are something weird, something darker than he wouldn’t imagine, so he was afraid of the young man’s reaction The young D. Campbell took his eyes from the book pages and looked Allen. Then, he closed the book and gave it back “The Bible is in Ancient Greek language” Nea said “I am impressed” “Can you read Ancient Greek?” the red-haired man asked surprised “Yeah, you see…” Nea said putting his hand on hair, so he could push his frond hair on the back “…My brother and I loved everything which was old and historical. So, our mother hired a teacher who taught us Latins and Ancient Greek” Allen saw the symbol on Nea’s forehead. He lowered his head. It was none of his business to ask about this man’s past and symbol. “I see” Allen said. He took his book and he put it back, in his postman like bag. “Well, can I ask you a question?” “Anything” the red-haired man said “Why do you believe in your God?” “What kind of question is that, Nea?” Sister Sarah asked “It’s fine Sarah” Allen said “I didn’t understand your question, sir Nea” “I thought that my question was clear. Why do you read the Bible? Is it from entertaining? I cannot understand why you believe in a God that you never saw?” Nea wasn’t atheist. The opposite one. He raised with his brother by their mother to love the God. The God who made the first people, Adam and Eve. The God who saved Noah and his arc full of animals. But he felt that this God, turned his back to the twins when they most needed him. How can you love someone who abandoned you, when you most needed him? “You are blasphemous, young man” they heard a deep voice for the deep monastery. Father Cross was standing some meters away from the three younglings. Next to his was Mana who was looking all the scene with a questioning expression on his face. “Our God… is the Father of Jesus Christ… Christ himself and the Holy Spirit, which… which is released by both” Allen said. His voice and his lips were trembling. He was afraid of the twins. He couldn’t explain this, but after he saw Nea’s symbol on his forehead, he understood that this man, had follow a very dark path in his life. Nea’s expression was neither evil, nor strict. The opposite one, he looked like a child in the Junior Class who ask to his teacher a philosophy question, like all the little children used to do.

[Flashback] Before two days, Allen took a visit to the monastery and he found Sister Sarah filling a silver basket with water from the monastery pit. “Good morning Sister” Allen said with the kind smile he always had “Good morning Allen. Did you come for the morning liturgy?” “As always. Are you ok? You seem a kind of tired” “We have some visitors in the monastery” “Really? Travelers?” “I really don’t know if they are really travelers. They seemed to me like they were lost”

[End of Flashback] “You were right, Sister Sarah. They are lost… Lost from the His road” he thought “Nea?” Mana said and stepped next to Sarah “What is going on? What are you talking about? We…” Nea turned to his brother and looked at him with an expression like he told him to stop talking. He didn’t want to show off. Not yet. Not in front of non-exorcist people. “It’s ok, Mana” Allen said “Nea had some questions for our religion” “Mn… It’s not like we don’t believe in Noah’s and Moses’s God, but whatever” Mana said whispering, through his teeth. The only who heard him was Sarah, who looked him surprised by his comments. Mana looked her in her eyes, waving his head negative. He didn’t want to make the things more complicated than they already were. “And what does that God give to you?” Nea asked, continuing his “interrogation”. He turned and looked Sister Sarah, who seemed at first to lost her patient, but after Mana’s comment was more calm and skeptical. “He gave us his guide and his protection” Sister said “That? And what does he ask in return?” he approached her. He wanted to know more, to know if there was any difference between the God he knew and the God that exorcists believe in. Until now, he didn’t find any difference. “Nothing” she said “Just our love” “In all the religions” Nea said “If you disobey God’s orders, they will make your life a living hell, if you don’t believe to their religion or not follow the rules, you will pay it with blood” “This is not happening in Christianism” Allen said “Our God has let us free do decide if we want to believe or not. He will not make our lives a living hell, because we are the only one who make our lives a nightmare, by our actions and our thoughts” “You are fighting your own demons…” Mana whispered thinking “Exactly!” Allen said to Mana “Alright then” Nea said and approached Allen. The last one was ready to do a step behind, but for some reason he didn’t move, he just let the young D. Campbell come as close to his as he want “I would like to read with you this Bible one day. The Bible which was written in Ancient Greek” The cheeks of the young red-haired man flushed. He found the two brothers very interesting. All this time, he used to visit the monastery during liturgy, reading his Bible, talk with the Sisters about the religion stuff and then leave. But now, he found someone who really paid attention to him, someone who want his help to be saved from his own demons. “Anytime!” He said with a smile on his face Nea turned and looked his brother, who had his face to the marbled floor of the church. He didn’t talk. He was afraid about the exorcists’ reactions if they learn the truth about them. Sarah looked both of them. Mana’s eyes were kind and empty, but Nea’s eyes had flames in them. She wanted to find the truth. She had to. For the Order. “Alright” the red-haired man said “The time has passed now, I have to leave. I will come back tomorrow morning to talk again with you, Nea and Mana” “We will look forward for it” Mana said “Yeah, we will talk tomorrow” Nea said Allen opened the door and walking in the snowing city. "Well" Sister Maria said "Ready for breakfast?" They all turned and looked at her surprised. They were so busy with the conversation they just had, that they didn’t notice that Maria was actually standing behind them all this time. And not only that, her voice come back to normal, in some way “How much time where you here?” Cross asked “Pretty much you hear and understand the conversation. I can see our guests are more interesting than I was expected” The words sounded like lyrics of a melody as she spoke “We were….” Nea said blushed “We just wanted to know what kind of temple this is” “Well, I wouldn’t use the word temple for the monastery” Father Cross said “Whatever, call it as you want, it seems a temple to me” Nea said “As you wish” Sister Maria said with a kind smile “Well, will you come? The table is ready” “Not yet…” Sister Sarah said Everyone looked at her surprised by her comment. She didn’t participate into the conversation after Allen left. Now she seemed to lost her patient again. She was looking to the floor and she tighten her right hand “…Nea, we need to talk” she finally said “Follow me” She left from the group and started walking to the back of the monastery. Nea looked all the other who were there. He left a sign and followed the nun.

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libertarianbarbarian · 4 years ago

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Where I stand and why

WHERE AND WHY I STAND THE WAY, I DO

FACTS

-https://www.theasatrucommunity.org/sumarsdag-blot

-Odin,

Sky Father,

Highest of the Gods in Asgard,

From Mimir’s well you drank

For knowledge and wisdom,

A clear vision within,

A clear vision without.

Lord of Life and Death,

On Yggdrasill

Which spans all worlds, all life,

You hung in self-sacrifice,

And learned the sacred mysteries,

That do pierce the veil of all creation.

Mysterious and powerful are the ancient runes –

That you grasped unto yourself

And penetrated their deepest depths.

OPED-WARNING

Oh boy. Here we go, this is probably where I’m going to lose a shit ton of followers. So here goes nothing! I’m a follower of both Asatru and Odinism. This means that I am Norse Pagan. I follow Odin, Freya, and Thor. To my Christian followers just so you know I don’t overtly hate you, no I don’t follow a guy with horns, no I haven’t been to a mental institution…and not I don’t hear voices telling me to blow up churches…only on Sundays. Just a joke! Not a manifesto! Oh, God’s someone’s going to find this and try to use this out of context I know this. Ok here we go with the rest of the blog.

So it’s well known at this point that I served in the United States Army at this point…if it isn’t…well now you know. I went through some things while I served, some good some extremely bad, it kind of comes with the territory. I was a “faithful” non-denominational Christian at the time I raised my right hand to enlist.

I can’t really say I knew what it meant if I’m being sincere with you dear reader. I can say that I had been through a lot in my life, yes. I would pray endlessly, read my bible endlessly. I knew the old testament, the new testament like the back of my hand. Everything I said and did I tried my hardest…nothing. I can’t name one time that the “Lord and Savior” would personally send me a sign or let me know he was there for me or speak to me through his text’s.

I then began to fall off the “band wagon” so-to-speak. This was well into my career as a soldier. I was a democrat, part of the liberal hive mind that began to eat away at the culture that is not around our youth that is my age now. It wasn’t until after I was discharged from service, thanks Obama, that I had my very first real religious experience and was horribly misguided by it.

So the religious part, this is the juicy part haha! I just got discharged from the Army due to the massive draw back in funds that President Obama had in the department of defense. They were kicking people out for practically any reason they could instead of getting rid of equipment…that’s just what they do. When they discharge you, they send you to your home of record, mine just happens to be good old Kankakee, Illinois…kind of a shitty small ghetto town south of Chicago, not the worst place I’ve lived but not the best I’ve lived either.

I was recently married to an honestly crappy woman, just had my first son and I had no job, or prospect of getting one living in my father’s half of a duplex again. Great beginning to my twenty second year of life, right? If you answered yes, I, just have no words for you right now.

One day I’m beating feet on pavement doing what I can putting in paper applications to every brick and motor I can in town when it begins to down pour around me. Fucking great. Automatically I’m angry at everything around me, I’ve been out there for about three hours and I’ve got couple hours more, it’s July in Illinois and the sun was just shinning and you just want to randomly dump rain on me God?

It took a moment, but I realized that I was completely dry. Everything around me was, what was getting soaked. Looked at the pavement under my feet dry. Three feet over, soaked, and still getting poured on. Oh, that’s fucking weird…but maybe there’s something to this God thing after all. Took him long enough after all. So it was then, being the Midwesterner that I am, I look up in to the sky and yelled “Hey if you’re going to keep me dry. How about you, and Jesus Christ get me a fucking job to?”

Now I know if you’re Christian, and you’re reading this you’re going to tell me, “That’s not how God works Mr. Barbarian.” I know that! He never worked that way! Especially not in my case. But it was me having a bitter moment, and I KNOW, you Christians definitely have your bitter moments too! So “You is without sin cast the first stone”.

I don’t know why, but in that moment, something told me to look for a reply, but nothing came. So, standing there I started joking around. Being the dork, I am I had an extensive knowledge of all the ‘myths’ of gods past from ancient cultures of our ancestors. “Ra?” nope, “Zeus?” nope. “Odin?” that’s when it happened, my general jackassery almost had caused me to miss the two very large noticeable ravens fly over my shoulders then land in front of my feet then turn to face me quietly.

‘There’s no way’ I thought to myself. Odin, the guy that has one eye? The God that is all about laying and slaying, keep in mind fellow Odinist’s I didn’t know much back then, is trying to reach out to me of all people? “Oh yeah whatever! If you’re really trying to talk then make it make the sky light up with lightening, then!” I continued down my path of jackassery. And as soon as I finished my statement the sky lit up with bright pink lightening.

Right away I began to delve in to research into what this could mean. I found that there was a resurgence of the old Norse ways. That I wasn’t the only one the Norse God’s were coming to. It was now called Asatru, or if you were specifically following only Odin, then Odinism. Later, I found that I was also being called upon by Freya, goddess of love and warriors. And Thor…no not Chris Hemsworth, god of storms, war and fertility.

Oh no, I wrote this because of Odin. This is where the big show begins…Gods I’m long winded. Odin is the All Father, kind of like the Zeus of the Norse Gods if you will. But when it comes to what he’s the god of, well he has A LOT under his belt! One of the main things he’s the god of is knowledge. And in some respects, he’s kind of like the Christian God.

Odin won’t just give you knowledge. You must fight for it, you must find it, you must understand it. If you were to say, here something on the news from CNN well awesome! Ok, where did it happen, then go check out the local news from that area, see what the local news says, check the interviews of the locals to see what they say and relay it to the facts of the news story and see how well it holds up. That is something my religion tells me to do. That is something my God, Odin, says is honorable and something he admires.

He also admires fighting. Now I know what you may be thinking, fighting? So just start beating the crap out of people? That seems a little vicious! No, those of us who believe in Asatru, and Odinism actually look at fighting or “battle” in a different light than you might think. It would actually be better described as “fighting for what you believe”. Like I do now. I believe that the media needs to stop grandstanding for one political party and report the facts. I believe that big tech needs to stop censoring one political party or those it doesn’t agree with and allow all points of view, whether they agree or not. I will fight for what I believe, here on the internet, or in the senate, or in office if need be.

So yes. I am following a religious crusade…not the Christian kind, so Muslim’s are safe. The kind where I seek knowledge, the kind where I will be the every-man that tries to understand your point of view and find commonality. The kind that will fight for what I believe in peacefully. I will accept the wanderer with a homely attitude because one day it might be my God Odin that comes walking through my door and it is our belief that we should always present the homeless wanderer with the best of our food, our chair, and bed as well as conversation and knowledge.

This is why I am the Libertarian Barbarian.

#election politics Trump2020 election2020

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eretzyisrael · 5 years ago

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NEW DISCOVERY IN JERUSALEM'S CITY OF DAVID: 2,000-YEAR-OLD PILGRIMAGE ROAD

The City of David has already changed Jerusalem. A new discovery there opening soon will change the way Jews connect with their past in a way never seen before.

YAAKOV KATZ

JUNE 28, 2019 11:59

City of David

(please go to site for videos)

In 2004, a sewage pipe burst in the middle of the neighborhood of Silwan in southeast Jerusalem. The municipality sent in a crew of construction workers to fix the leak, and as is the case in Jerusalem and especially in neighborhoods adjacent to the Old City, they were accompanied by a team of archeologists. As the repairs progressed, the construction workers stumbled upon some long and wide stairs a few dozen meters from where the Shiloah – the ancient pool Jewish pilgrims would dip in before beginning the religious ascent to the Temple, until its destruction in 70 CE – was believed to have once stood. The steps were just like the ones that lead to the Hulda Gates, a set of now blocked entrances along the Temple Mount’s Southern Wall.

Discovery of the Shiloah Pool led to another monumental find – the central water drainage channel that had served ancient Jerusalem. This channel is the tunnel that visitors to the City of David – known as Ir David – get to walk through today, starting at the bottom of the Shiloah and emerging about 45 minutes later next to the Western Wall.

As is often the case with archeology, though, the first discovery or two are just the beginning. That is how a few weeks ago I found myself on an exclusive tour of an ancient road dug out beneath the village of Silwan and above the now well-known water channel (also the place where Jewish rebels made a final stand against the Roman invaders).

The ancient street is referred to as “Pilgrimage Road,” since archeologists are convinced that this is the path millions of Jews took three times a year when performing the commandment of aliyah l’regel – going up to the holy city of Jerusalem to bring sacrifices to God during Judaism’s three key holidays, Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot.

The Pilgrimage Road goes all the way from the Shiloah Pool to the area adjacent to the Western Wall known as Robinson’s Arch, where today you can still see remnants of the ancient stairway that led into the Jewish Temple.

Titus Flavius Josephus, the first-century Roman-Jewish historian, wrote that 2.7 million people used to visit Jerusalem during the various Jewish holidays, bringing with them some 256,000 sacrifices.

Almost all of the Jewish pilgrims, according to Doron Spielman, vice president of the Ir David Foundation (Elad), would have entered the city on this road. It is a road that Jesus almost certainly used during the Second Temple period, alongside many of the famous Jewish scholars and leaders of that period.

“This place is the heart of the Jewish people, and is like the blood that courses through our veins,” Spielman said.

Here is one example: Hillel and Shammai – the famous first-century scholars who figure prominently in the Mishna – debate at what stage in a child’s development his father is obligated to include him in the pilgrimage. Shammai, the stringent one, says that a child should be included as long as he can sit on his father’s shoulders. Hillel says only if the child is able to walk up the 750-meter road need he be included.

Walking the road – as of now Ir David has excavated about 250 meters of it – you can imagine the throngs of people parading on it 2,000 years ago. Young boys walking next to their parents. Girls on their fathers’ shoulders. So far, only some of the stores that once lined the road have been partially uncovered, but with imagination you can hear the bartering that took place here – people trading leather for fur, seeds for honey, coins for wine.

For example, archeologists found a set of stairs in the middle of the road alongside one of the ancient shops. But the staircase doesn’t go anywhere. It ends in a platform. When Ir David checked, though, it found just one other similar set of stairs – in Rome, where it was used as something like a Hyde Park-style Speakers’ Corner. Basically, this was a place where people could make announcements and deliver speeches to the pilgrims as they climbed the road to the Temple.

Then archeologists found beside the stairs the burned remains of a male palm tree, one that doesn’t give fruit. Why would there be a non-fruit producing tree right there on the road? To provide shade for the speakers.

“To understand Jerusalem, you need to stand here,” Spielman said. “We were exiled in 70 [CE] and prayed three times a day and established a state. The last breath of Jews was here, beneath us.”

Spielman pointed at some black ash discovered along the road and mentioned the thousands of coins the archeologists uncovered engraved with the words “Free Zion.”

“This was the battle cry during the fight against the Romans,” he explained. “They made coins and not arrowheads, because they knew they could not beat Rome, but they made the coins so there would be something left for the people who would one day come back.”

IR DAVID has changed our understanding of history. It is one thing to read the Mishna and imagine or visualize what life for Jews was once like. It is quite another to walk on the exact same road as they did.

For the last few months, Ir David has been working around the clock to connect the excavated part of the road with the Shiloah Pool. It is tedious work that has to be done slowly. Every inch excavated has to be reinforced with steel beams to protect the modern city above.

The project has so far cost several hundred million dollars, and while the government has provided a portion of the budget, most has come from private donors, such as Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum.

Ir David hopes that when the road officially opens in a few months, it will draw approximately one million visitors a year.

Yisrael Hasson, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, noted: “The Road project is a part of the Shalem Plan, which was approved in a government cabinet meeting, the purpose of which is to preserve and develop the area of ancient Jerusalem. The plan relates to the sites of ancient Jerusalem from a comprehensive governmental planning and budgetary perspective, which will create a holistic visitor experience in this unique area. We are currently in the second phase of the plan, which will dramatically improve this entire area.

“The Shalem Plan is part of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s new vision to become an initiative-based organization, based on its role as the national guardian of heritage and cultural sites in Israel.”

Considering the anti-Israel resolutions coming out of United Nations organizations such as UNESCO that deny the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, the Pilgrimage Road has far greater significance for Israel than just the opening of a new impressive tourist site, said Ze’ev Orenstein, director of international affairs for Ir David.

It proves the long and historic Jewish connection to Jerusalem, Orenstein stressed, not just the parts where Jews live today but across the city, even if it takes you under homes and streets in Arab neighborhoods like Silwan.

US Ambassador David Friedman agrees. “The City of David brings truth and science to a debate that has been marred for too long by myths and deceptions,” he told the Magazine. “Its findings, in most cases by secular archeologists, bring an end to the baseless efforts to deny the historical fact of Jerusalem’s ancient connection to the Jewish people.”

I asked Friedman why the discovery of Pilgrimage Road was important for the US government.

“There has been enormous support for the City of David by the American public,” he said. “This is yet another example – and a great one – of the recognition of the Judeo-Christian values upon which both nations were founded.”

Pilgrimage Road, Friedman said, is “stunning and tangible evidence” of Jewish prayer during the time of the Second Temple. “It brings to life the historical truth of that momentous period in Jewish history,” he added. “Peace between Israel and the Palestinians must be based upon a foundation of truth. The City of David advances our collective goal of pursuing a truth-based resolution. It is important for all sides of the conflict.”

For Spielman, Ir David is the “heart of the Jewish people” and “you can’t amputate the heart.”

I asked Friedman what would happen if a peace deal were to be concluded one day between Israel and the Palestinians. Is it possible that the Jewish state would be asked to give up Ir David or Silwan?

“I do not believe that Israel would ever consider such a thought,” he said. “The City of David is an essential component of the national heritage of the State of Israel. It would be akin to America returning the Statue of Liberty.”

#Israel #archaeology #Ir David #Jewish History

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 5 years ago

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22nd November >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Luke 19:45-48 for Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time: ‘My house will be a house of prayer’.

Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Luke 19:45-48

You have turned God's house into a robbers' den

Jesus went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling. ‘According to scripture,’ he said ‘my house will be a house of prayer. But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’

He taught in the Temple every day. The chief priests and the scribes, with the support of the leading citizens, tried to do away with him, but they did not see how they could carry this out because the people as a whole hung on his words.

Gospel (USA)

Luke 19:45-48

You have made it a den of thieves.

Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.

Reflections (8)

(i) Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

Religious buildings can be very significant for people. Parishioners have a great love for our parish church. A lot of work is being done at the moment to conserve and restore the fabric. The most important religious building for the Jews in the time of Jesus, and before his time, was the Temple in Jerusalem. It had been profaned by the pagan rulers of Judea about 150 years before the coming of Christ. Today’s first reading is the story of the Temple’s joyful rededication after the people of Israel regained control of it from the pagans. In the gospel reading, Jesus recognizes the value of the Temple, declaring it to be a house of prayer. Perhaps that is a good description of our own parish church, a ‘house of prayer’. However, Jesus could see that the focus of the Temple was no longer prayer but various commercial activities, and, so, he drove out from the Temple all who were selling. There is a little warning there to us also. We must be careful that prayer remains the focus of our own church building and not some commercial activity, no matter how well intentioned. This building is about the work of prayer, the prayer of the liturgy, the Eucharist and other sacraments, the prayer of the church, the praying of the rosary, the private prayers of people who come into the church, often expressed through the lighting of candles. When we are entering this church, we are entering a house of prayer and the focal point of that house is the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist calling us to prayer. In this place, we open ourselves to the Lord in prayer so as to be better able to bring the Lord to those we meet when we leave this house of prayer.

And/Or

(ii) Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading we have just heard, Jesus firstly drives all trade out of the Temple area and then he proceeds to teach there every day. According to our reading, the presence of Jesus in the Temple met with a divided response. The religious leaders, the chief priests and the leading citizens who were responsible for the running of the temple wanted to do away with Jesus. In contrast, the people as a whole hung on Jesus’ words. A few chapters further on in his gospel Luke describes the crucifixion of Jesus and once again he makes the same distinction between the religious leaders and the people. He tells us that as Jesus hung from the cross the leaders scoffed at him, whereas the people simple stood by watching and after Jesus died they returned home, beating their breasts as a sign of sorrow and repentance. Luke makes it clear that the religious leaders were much more hostile to Jesus than the people as a whole because Jesus was perceived by them as threatening their vested interests. They had something to defend against Jesus whereas the people as a whole knew they had much to receive from Jesus. They somehow recognized that God was visiting them in a special way through Jesus. They had nothing to lose and everything to receive from Jesus. This morning we are invited to stand with the people in hanging on the words of Jesus, and, like them, we too beat our breasts as we look upon the cross of Jesus, recognizing that we have not always lived by his word or walked in his way.

And/Or

(iii) Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading this morning, Jesus drives all trade out of the temple, so as to purify it for the worship of God alone. The temple was to be a place of worship and prayer but it had become something else. The buying and selling of the market place had intruded into the temple and had undermined the temple’s primary purpose as a house of prayer. The temple no longer exists but there are still houses of prayer. Our church buildings are houses of prayer. We all feel that we have a very special house of prayer in our own parish church. It is a place of worship, a space into which people can enter to pray and to worship God. Everything in the church is to serve that purpose, the art work, the lighting, the decor, the furniture. I have always felt coming into this church that it is a place where people have been praying for a very long time, as indeed they have. The bulk of the church goes back to the late 1830s. People’s prayer over the generations leaves its mark on a building and makes it easier for us to pray. Our prayerful presence here, in turn, leaves its mark on the building and makes it easier of others to enter into prayer, including those of the generations to come.

And/Or

(iv) Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus shows his displeasure at what is happening in the Temple in Jerusalem. Instead of serving its original purpose as a house of prayer for everyone, it had come to serve the interests of a few. Every human institution needs ongoing reform and renewal, and that includes religious institutions, like the church. The Lord is always prompting us to reform and renew our institutions so that they serve God’s purposes more fully, rather than our own purposes. No human institution, no matter how revered, is perfect; it will always be in need of renewal, because it will always be shaped by people who are tainted by sin. What is important is to acknowledge this in an ongoing way and to be open to the Lord’s call to repentance and renewal. This was not the case with those responsible for the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. After Jesus’ actions in the temple, the gospel reading says that the chief priests and the scribes tried to do away with Jesus. To resist ongoing renewal is to resist the Lord. Our journey towards God, both as individuals and as communities, will always involve repentance, a willing to keep on turning more fully towards what God wants for our lives.

And/Or

(v) Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading Jesus refers to the Temple in Jerusalem as a ‘house of prayer’. The primary activity of the Temple was to be the activity of prayer. However, other activities had taken over and become more important than they should have been, such as the selling of animals for sacrifice, the exchange of coins, all of which could have been done outside the temple precinct. Jesus’ identification of the Temple as a ‘house of prayer’ is appropriate for every Christian church building. The primary activity of this parish church, and of buildings like it, is the activity of prayer. Every other activity is secondary and should, in some way, be at the service of the primary activity of prayer. Everything in the building should be at the service of people’s prayer such as the lighting, the furniture, the art work, whether it be in the form of statues, paintings, mosaics or stained glass. Our purpose in coming into a church is to pray, and to pray in the whole variety of forms of prayer that have evolved over the centuries within the Jewish and the Christian tradition, the prayer of petition, of contrition, of praise and thanksgiving, of intercession, the quiet prayer of attentive listening. All those forms of prayer have their place within the great prayer of the Eucharist. If this parish church is a ‘house of prayer’, then its primary purpose is to help us to become a people of prayer, in the way that Jesus was a man of prayer. In becoming people of prayer we open ourselves more fully to God’s purpose for our lives and for our world.

And/Or

(vi) Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus, quoting one of the prophets, speaks of the Temple in Jerusalem as a ‘house of prayer’. Prayer was to be the primary activity of the Temple. However, in Jesus’ day certain economic activities had become so important that they had gotten in the way of the Temple being a house of prayer for everyone, including non-Jews. Jesus is suggesting that the Temple had lost its way; it was no longer serving God’s purpose but was at the service of various human purposes. We can all lose our way. We can all end up serving our own purpose rather than God’s purpose. This can happen not only with individuals but with institutions, even institutions as sacred as the Temple in Jerusalem. Every so often we need to hear a prophetic voice calling us back to God’s way. For us as Christians, the most authoritative prophetic voice is the voice of Jesus which we hear above all in the gospels. We need to keep returning to his voice, to his living word, as it comes to us through the Scriptures, so that we can live our lives in keeping with God’s purpose. Every parish church, like the Temple in Jerusalem, is a house of prayer. It is above all in that setting that we can prayerfully listen to the word of the Lord addressed to each of us individually and to all of us as members of God’s people, the church.

And/Or

(vii) Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

According to our first reading, it was on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Chislev that Judas Maccabeus and his associates purified the Temple in Jerusalem which had become contaminated by pagan images and practices. This happened a little over 150 years before the birth of Jesus. The 25th of Chislev remains an important feast day for Jews today. It is usually celebrated in November/December, the Feast of the Rededication of the Temple. In the gospel reading Jesus is also portrayed as purifying the Temple in Jerusalem. On this occasion it wasn’t pagans, non-Jews, who were responsible for the unsatisfactory state of the Temple, but other Jews, in particular, the priests who were responsible for the Temple. They had allowed people to sell goods in one of the courts of the Temple, the court reserved for non-Jews. As a result, non-Jews could not pray in the area reserved for them. The Temple was meant to be a house of prayer for Jews and non-Jews. Jesus saw that the Temple was not conducting its business in accordance with God’s purpose. It had become, according to Jesus, a ‘robber’s den’ rather than a ‘house of prayer’. According to Luke, Jesus had referred to the Temple, when a twelve-year-old, as ‘my Father’s house’. Jesus, the Son of God, acted authoritatively to purify and renew his Father’s house. Every institution stands in need of continuing renewal, including religious institutions, of which the most sacred in Jesus’ day was the Temple in Jerusalem. The church, likewise, is always in need of reform. We who comprise the church are always in need of the Lord’s reforming and renewing zeal. It is a seal that is born of love, because the Lord wants us to become all that God desires for us. Each day we try to open ourselves anew to the Lord’s continuing work of renewal in our lives.

And/Or

(viii) Friday, Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time

The prophet Malachi in the Jewish Scriptures had written, ‘the Lord whom you seek will suddenly enter his Temple’. The scene in today’s gospel readingwhere Jesus enters the Temple is the fulfilment of that prophecy. Earlier in Luke’s gospel, the twelve year old Jesus had spoken of the Temple as ‘my Father’s house’. At the beginning of today’s gospel reading, Jesus quotes God’s word as found in Isaiah, ‘my house will be a house of prayer’. The Temple, God’s house, was to be a place of prayer. Jesus, God’s Son, acts authoritatively in God his Father’s house, because far from being a house of prayer it had become a ‘robbers’ den’. Buying and selling, the making of money, had become a higher priority than prayer. Those responsible for the activities of the Temple saw it as a resource that could serve their own purposes, rather than a place that was to serve God’s purpose. It has been said that Jesus comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. Those whose management of the Temple had left them comfortable were now experiencing the disturbing side of Jesus’ words and actions and, in response, Luke says that ‘they tried to do away with him’. Yet, the people as a whole, Luke tells us, ‘hung on his words’. We are invited to stand with the ordinary people in hanging on the Lord’s words. The Lord’s words bring light and life, love and mercy, into our lives, healing our wounds and restoring our spirit. Yet, there are times when we will also experience his words as disturbing our comfort zones. At such times too, we need to hang on his words, because, even then, the Lord’s words remain words of spirit and life for us.

Fr. Martin Hogan, Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin, D03 AO62, Ireland.

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Parish Website: www.stjohnsclontarf.ie Please join us via our webcam.

Twitter: @SJtBClontarfRC.

Facebook: St John the Baptist RC Parish, Clontarf.

Tumblr: Saint John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf, Dublin.

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catholicartistsnyc · 5 years ago

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Meet Baltimore Featured Artist: Rebecca Mlinek

REBECCA MLINEK is a Baltimore-based screenwriter, poet, fiction and creative non-fiction (CNF) writer.

Check out her work: (Upcoming Podcast | Facebook | Short Stories & CNF)

CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION (CAC): Where are you from, and what brought you to Baltimore?

REBECCA MLINEK (RM): I'm from Pittsburgh, Pa. I got married right after college and my new husband's job brought us to Baltimore. That was 20 years ago! It took a while, but Baltimore now feels like home.

CAC: How do understand your vocation as a Catholic artist? Do you call yourself a Catholic artist?

RM: This is a tricky question. I don't think I can be anything other than a Catholic (insert noun here) if I take my faith seriously. But at the same time, I don't label myself a "Catholic writer" because Catholics aren't necessarily my audience. Most of my writing community, and most of my audience tend to be non-religious seekers of truth. Those are my people - I get them and I think they get what I do.

I see my mission as a writer as bringing some of the weird, complicated, messy way the world works into greater relief. I often find myself exploring ways in which hope can be found in the midst of pain. Both of these align with Catholic principles, but aren't strictly Catholic ideas.

CAC: Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?

RM: Does your newsletter count? (Editor’s note: It does.) I am lucky to belong to a parish (Mount Calvary in Baltimore) that attracts artists and musicians and scholars, and interacting with my fellow parishioners is always inspiring. But otherwise - I often don't even look to the Church for support in my writing. I, maybe wrongly, assume that the powers-that-be are looking more for propaganda than the challenge of art, and I'm not interested in that kind of writing.

CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?

RM: I've found my fellow artists and writers to be incredibly supportive! Which goes against the popular assumption that "Hollywood" is a bunch of godless monsters. Most of the people I interact with are lovely, caring, and deeply respectful of my religious beliefs, even when they don't understand them. They are, frankly, often more conscientious and respectful than fellow Christians.

CAC: How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?

RM: Paying us? Ha ha. Actually, I think the main thing the Church needs to do is to embrace being challenged. Loyalty to our faith is not the same thing as refusing to ever acknowledge problems. A spouse who refused to ever consider or face the beloved's faults would be neglecting his or her duty. I think artists are the Church's nagging spouse, and spending more time listening and less time in knee-jerk defensiveness could open up a whole world of beauty we've really almost closed ourselves off from.

CAC: How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?

RM: Honestly, in my experience the artistic world is very welcoming. Most artists understand devotion to an ideal - it's not that long of a jump between that and devotion to a Person.

CAC: Where in Baltimore do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?

RM: Mount Calvary (part of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter). The liturgy is beautiful and reverent, the people are friendly and wonderfully weird, and the pastor is a truly devoted and hard-working priest. You can find the best book club (like, serious discussion about serious books) I've ever come across. You can find parishioners handing out breakfast sandwiches to the needy on Saturday mornings. You can find pews crawling (literally) with children - a truly vibrant community. I can't recommend this parish highly enough!

CAC: Where in Baltimore do you regularly find artistic fulfillment?

RM: I sometimes make it to the Baltimore Women in Film Collective, though not enough to call myself part of the group. They are great collection of women, though, and I wish I could make meetings more! I love the Baltimore theater scene - I particularly love the Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater Company. I was gifted season tickets a few times, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Also, the BSO is a great asset to my city! We are always moved and inspired when we go to a concert.

CAC: How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist in Baltimore?

RM: I teach writing for high school, which plugs me into the writing community in a very natural way. Writers come to the school to mentor the youth, and I get to connect with them! Also, my students grow up to be passionate and talented writers themselves, and I look forward to the day when most of my prestigious writing contacts are former students!

CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice?

RM: I never write anything (even this) without first saying a section of the Liturgy of the Hours. I'm freewheeling with the time, but I love repeating the psalms - I feel like I slowly absorb ideas that are too deep for me to get after just the first few hundred reads.

CAC: What is your daily artistic practice? And what are your recommendations to other artists for practicing their craft daily?

RM: I work on my writing every day! But I don't beat myself up if it's working on wording for a website or a grant application rather than creative writing.

My biggest recommendation, actually, is as a mother. Give yourself permission to spend time on your passion! If keeping your counters pristine all day long gives you joy, great! But I promise you, nobody is going to remember how gritty your counter-tops were if you spend that time writing instead. (I know this because my counter-tops are, in fact, truly appalling.)

CAC: Describe a recent day in which you were most completely living out your vocation as an artist. What happened, and what brought you the most joy?

RM: I recently wrapped recording on a fiction podcast I wrote and directed. It was amazing to me how much energy it gave me! I came home from a long day with no food, having slept very little, but with more energy to hang out with my kids and husband than ever. Seeing my words brought to life was a joy unlike almost anything else.

CAC: How do you afford housing as an artist?

RM: Both my husband and I work full time - housing in Baltimore isn't horrible (though it's not great), but putting our six daughters through college is a constant financial stress.

CAC: How do you financially support yourself as an artist?

RM: I teach writing full time for a public magnet high school, which is a nice way to make money as a writer, since I'm immersed in the craft of it constantly. The Stowe Story Lab is a wonderful community of writers, and one I'm very proud and grateful to be a part of. Rocaberti Writers is another group (through their writing retreats in Spain and France) I've been fortunate to join. Online, I've found a lot of support through the Roadmap Writers programs. They really trained me how to pitch myself and my stories, and have connected me to some wonderful and supportive mentors.

CAC: What other practical resources would you recommend to a Catholic artist living in Baltimore?

RM: Lots of coffee. If you're in Baltimore, I don't know why you'd drink anything other than Zeke's. I also have to mention one of my favorite bars, since I recently published a poem dedicated to it: Max's Taphouse in Fells Point. It's a serious beer bar, old as dirt, and a great place to spend a few hours with friends.

Also - the library! Use your library! Not only are they great for books, they can help with so many things. For my podcast, I was able to rent out a room in the library for auditions, and then again for rehearsals, and it didn't cost me a billion dollars. I love the library!

CAC: What advice do you have for Catholic artists post-graduation?

RM: Do your art, even if you feel stupid - you might feel like it's a waste of your time, but it isn't! Find people who get it and will support you. Pray - go to adoration, go to mass, pray in the car, pray before you write or paint or whatever it is you do. Let God be a part of your process.

#catholic #artist #catholic artist #catholic artists #catholic artist connection #writer #fiction #creative non-fiction #cnf #rebecca mlinek #baltimore #mount calvary catholic church #Baltimore Women in Film Collective #Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater Company.#Stowe Story Labs #Rocaberti Writers #roadmap writers #max's taphouse #maryland

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dfroza · 6 years ago

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as children of Light

we must believe is what cannot yet be seen. this is the essence of faith and hope in Love. the (Clarity) of its definition.

for the Spirit is the pure seed as the treasure of the heart (inside, Anew) who guarantees the promise of rebirth (of resurrection) after death.

the Ark of the Covenant at the Heart (the inner room) of the Temple represents the purest gold of the Son by which we are asked for it to be placed within the space of our hearts by welcoming the entrance of grace.

and we read of this in the Heart of the Scriptures as words written down and conserved through time to be shared as a Message that spreads Light throughout the beautiful mystery of earth as a universal garden of seeds, to be...

and sometimes by doing so, people have been wrongfully accused and hated for it by others. wrongfully arrested and imprisoned. tortured. killed. History is stained by the blood of the martyrs.

and we see this in Today’s chapter of the New Testament in the ancient book of Acts (chapter 21) that is paired with the concluding chapter 42 of the book of Job from the Old Testament in which Job responds to God in humility (of which we are are meant to do) and by Job’s prayer for his friends all is restored (and much more) of that which was stolen and destroyed in Job’s life.

Acts 21:

[Tyre and Caesarea]

And so, with the tearful good-byes behind us, we were on our way. We made a straight run to Cos, the next day reached Rhodes, and then Patara. There we found a ship going direct to Phoenicia, got on board, and set sail. Cyprus came into view on our left, but was soon out of sight as we kept on course for Syria, and eventually docked in the port of Tyre. While the cargo was being unloaded, we looked up the local disciples and stayed with them seven days. Their message to Paul, from insight given by the Spirit, was “Don’t go to Jerusalem.”

When our time was up, they escorted us out of the city to the docks. Everyone came along—men, women, children. They made a farewell party of the occasion! We all kneeled together on the beach and prayed. Then, after another round of saying good-bye, we climbed on board the ship while they drifted back to their homes.

A short run from Tyre to Ptolemais completed the voyage. We greeted our Christian friends there and stayed with them a day. In the morning we went on to Caesarea and stayed with Philip the Evangelist, one of “the Seven.” Philip had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

After several days of visiting, a prophet from Judea by the name of Agabus came down to see us. He went right up to Paul, took Paul’s belt, and, in a dramatic gesture, tied himself up, hands and feet. He said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The Jews in Jerusalem are going to tie up the man who owns this belt just like this and hand him over to godless unbelievers.”

When we heard that, we and everyone there that day begged Paul not to be stubborn and persist in going to Jerusalem. But Paul wouldn’t budge: “Why all this hysteria? Why do you insist on making a scene and making it even harder for me? You’re looking at this backward. The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me, whether arrest or murder, but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience. Can’t you see that?”

We saw that we weren’t making even a dent in his resolve, and gave up. “It’s in God’s hands now,” we said. “Master, you handle it.”

It wasn’t long before we had our luggage together and were on our way to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and took us to the home of Mnason, who received us warmly as his guests. A native of Cyprus, he had been among the earliest disciples.

[Jerusalem]

In Jerusalem, our friends, glad to see us, received us with open arms. The first thing next morning, we took Paul to see James. All the church leaders were there. After a time of greeting and small talk, Paul told the story, detail by detail, of what God had done among the non-Jewish people through his ministry. They listened with delight and gave God the glory.

They had a story to tell, too: “And just look at what’s been happening here—thousands upon thousands of God-fearing Jews have become believers in Jesus! But there’s also a problem because they are more zealous than ever in observing the laws of Moses. They’ve been told that you advise believing Jews who live surrounded by unbelieving outsiders to go light on Moses, telling them that they don’t need to circumcise their children or keep up the old traditions. This isn’t sitting at all well with them.

“We’re worried about what will happen when they discover you’re in town. There’s bound to be trouble. So here is what we want you to do: There are four men from our company who have taken a vow involving ritual purification, but have no money to pay the expenses. Join these men in their vows and pay their expenses. Then it will become obvious to everyone that there is nothing to the rumors going around about you and that you are in fact scrupulous in your reverence for the laws of Moses.

“In asking you to do this, we’re not going back on our agreement regarding non-Jews who have become believers. We continue to hold fast to what we wrote in that letter, namely, to be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; to avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians; to guard the morality of sex and marriage.”

So Paul did it—took the men, joined them in their vows, and paid their way. The next day he went to the Temple to make it official and stay there until the proper sacrifices had been offered and completed for each of them.

[Paul Under Arrest]

When the seven days of their purification were nearly up, some Jews from around Ephesus spotted him in the Temple. At once they turned the place upside-down. They grabbed Paul and started yelling at the top of their lungs, “Help! You Israelites, help! This is the man who is going all over the world telling lies against us and our religion and this place. He’s even brought Greeks in here and defiled this holy place.” (What had happened was that they had seen Paul and Trophimus, the Ephesian Greek, walking together in the city and had just assumed that he had also taken him to the Temple and shown him around.)

Soon the whole city was in an uproar, people running from everywhere to the Temple to get in on the action. They grabbed Paul, dragged him outside, and locked the Temple gates so he couldn’t get back in and gain sanctuary.

As they were trying to kill him, word came to the captain of the guard, “A riot! The whole city’s boiling over!” He acted swiftly. His soldiers and centurions ran to the scene at once. As soon as the mob saw the captain and his soldiers, they quit beating Paul.

The captain came up and put Paul under arrest. He first ordered him handcuffed, and then asked who he was and what he had done. All he got from the crowd were shouts, one yelling this, another that. It was impossible to tell one word from another in the mob hysteria, so the captain ordered Paul taken to the military barracks. But when they got to the Temple steps, the mob became so violent that the soldiers had to carry Paul. As they carried him away, the crowd followed, shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”

When they got to the barracks and were about to go in, Paul said to the captain, “Can I say something to you?”

He answered, “Oh, I didn’t know you spoke Greek. I thought you were the Egyptian who not long ago started a riot here, and then hid out in the desert with his four thousand thugs.”

Paul said, “No, I’m a Jew, born in Tarsus. And I’m a citizen still of that influential city. I have a simple request: Let me speak to the crowd.”

[Paul Tells His Story]

Standing on the barracks steps, Paul turned and held his arms up. A hush fell over the crowd as Paul began to speak. He spoke in Hebrew.

The Book of Acts, Chapter 21 (The Message)

Job Worships God

[I Babbled On About Things Far Beyond Me]

Job answered God:

“I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything.

Nothing and no one can upset your plans.

You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water,

ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’

I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me,

made small talk about wonders way over my head.

You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking.

Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’

I admit I once lived by rumors of you;

now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!

I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise!

I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.”

God Restores Job

[I Will Accept His Prayer]

After God had finished addressing Job, he turned to Eliphaz the Temanite and said, “I’ve had it with you and your two friends. I’m fed up! You haven’t been honest either with me or about me—not the way my friend Job has. So here’s what you must do. Take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my friend Job. Sacrifice a burnt offering on your own behalf. My friend Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer. He will ask me not to treat you as you deserve for talking nonsense about me, and for not being honest with me, as he has.”

They did it. Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did what God commanded. And God accepted Job’s prayer.

After Job had interceded for his friends, God restored his fortune—and then doubled it! All his brothers and sisters and friends came to his house and celebrated. They told him how sorry they were, and consoled him for all the trouble God had brought him. Each of them brought generous housewarming gifts.

God blessed Job’s later life even more than his earlier life. He ended up with fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand teams of oxen, and one thousand donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. He named the first daughter Dove, the second, Cinnamon, and the third, Darkeyes. There was not a woman in that country as beautiful as Job’s daughters. Their father treated them as equals with their brothers, providing the same inheritance.

Job lived on another 140 years, living to see his children and grandchildren—four generations of them! Then he died—an old man, a full life.

The Book of Job, Chapter 42 (The Message)

my reading in the Bible for Thursday, may 2 (also national prayer day), the 44th day of Spring and day 122 of the year

and the numbers 2 and 44 combined reminds me of 244S that was printed in gold lettering on the black leather binding of Bible left in my shipwrecked Saturn Vue in Los Angeles back in ‘12

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dangerousdnd · 6 years ago

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So, the DM has made a playlist for the campaign so far (mostly the important NPCs and such). It can be listened to here, and there’s a low-to-non spoiler-y explanation for the song choices (and who they correspond to) under the cut.

Son of the Morning (Oh, Sleeper) - Asmodeus

If you could see like me you’d see / you haven’t won anything / if you could see like me you’d see / your precious light is fading

This song is about, and from the POV of, Lucifer/Satan as perceived by Christian religions. Seeing how I basically used that concept for my portrayal of Asmodeus, it seemed like a fitting choice.

Lullaby (Jason Webley) - Primus

Wind-up song for a wind-up boy. Music boxes and music box lullabies also make sense for someone who is among the youngest of the gods, and the only one to have a “father” in Oghma.

On the Brightside (Never Shout Never) - Bear

I’m only as tall as my heart will let me be / and I’m only as small as the world will make me seem / and when the going gets rough and I feel like I may fall / I’ll look on the bright side / I’m roughly six feet all

Bear is actually taller than that, but as someone who’d felt the need to prove himself one way or another for most of his life (before finding and becoming comfortable in his true calling as a cleric), a song like this seemed appropriate.

The Bard’s Song [In the Forest] (Blind Guardian) - Matthias

Tomorrow will take us away / far from home / no one will ever know our names / but the bard’s songs will remain

Seems an obvious pick for a bard and adventurer who has mostly flown under the radar when it comes to his own heroics. Matthias prefers it that way, though.

Death May Die (An Even Scarier Solstice) - Tal

Alhazred said that is not dead which can eternal lie / The Arab said that is not dead for even death may die

Yes, Tal’s patron is divine and not a Great Old One, but a song about the writing of an old tome that drives those who read it to madness makes sense for a guy who gave up an eye and hung himself for the ability to read old tomes that drive those who read them to madness.

Fall Away (twenty one pilots) - Oathbreaker

I can feel the pull begin / feel my conscience wearing thin / and my skin it will start / to break up and fall apart

No spoilers, but he’s called Oathbreaker and looks so depressed all the time for a good reason.

GO!!! (Flow) - Quartz

Right here Right now (Burn!) / ぶった斬ってくぜ Get the fire!

Listen to me. It’s very important that you all know Quartz is a Genji main and that’s why his siblings beat him up.

Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked (Cage the Elephant) - Finnan Thorngage

Ain’t no rest for the wicked / money don’t grow on trees / I’ve got bills to pay, I’ve got mouths to feed / and ain’t nothing in this world for free

A bit self-explanatory for the biggest shithead thief in Faerun.

The Journey [Nervosa] - Garrett Valokinen

Breaking down the walls that you leave up to keep me from eating the tree of knowledge / suck that fruit and spit the seed / leave behind the sad and spineless

Garrett is probably on the outside the nicest cultist to a death demigod you’ll meet, and on some levels that niceness isn’t just a mask. But you don’t start worshipping Vecna out of nowhere, and for Garrett the motivations are very personal, and definitely worrying.

Taking Off (clipping.) - Lou

No demons for the damned meaning / If they live in hell / They can't bring it to you, you see? / What's a goon to a goblin?

Some criminals worship various gods and demigods in the same way the drug cartels of our world will invoke La Meurta--everyone from the Raven Queen to Graz’zt to any trickster deity and yes, Vecna. That was how Lou fell into full-blown worship, and as far as she’s concerned it’s worked out for her great.

Apres Moi (Regina Spektor) - Trista

Be afraid of the lame, you’ll inherit their legs / be afraid of the old, you’ll inherit their soul / be afraid of the cold, you’ll inherit their blood / apres moi de deluge, after me comes the flood

Again: you don’t start worshipping Myrkul out of nowhere. Trista’s motivations are in some ways aligned with those of other characters in this campaign; however, she decided to direct her energies in a considerably not positive or healthy way.

Our Lady of Sorrows (My Chemical Romance) - Shelby MacLachlan

Stand up fucking tall / don’t let them see your back and take / my fucking hand and never be afraid again

tl;dr Shelby’s Fucking Pissed but unlike other people on this list he’s definitely trying to go about it in a slightly more productive and good-aligned way. But he also does blood magic, so it’s a grey area.

Long Way Away (clipping.) - Oh Shieldbreaker

But look to the stars / When the sun is long gone (Long way away) / And pray that your children / Do not sing this song

Oh might look stoic, even in his rages, but he’s been hiding a deep pain for a long time. Between him and Shelby, he’s been enslaved longer, been taken further away from his family, and has no idea if he’ll ever find them again. There’s a lot going on there.

#reference: asmodeus rising #music

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aliceviceroy · 6 years ago

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As the child of Baptist missionaries, I spent a multitude of hours in hundreds of churches throughout the United States. Now comfortably unaffiliated, (but spiritual in a sense that Sarah McLachlan would approve of) I don’t want to become the enlightened-former-believer who mocks their strict upbringing upon seeing the secular light. Religion added a lot to my life! (For example. I didn’t take SAT prep classes. I read the King James version of the Bible growing up and miraculously scored a 700 on the reading section. Holla-lujah.)

But, as I grew older, it became clearer that everything I thought I’d miss about being a church-going Evangelical could be replicated in a secular context. In some ways, replicated in an even more satisfying way. Here are a few examples of cherished characteristics of the Christian life one might miss when they leave the flock and ways to fill that hole in your soul.

A moral conscious and inescapable guilt

Watched a “Rated R” movie? Cue guilt. Tried your first beer? Cue guilt. Voted for Obama? Cue guilt. Guilt is one of the defining qualities of being a Christian. As it is written, If you’re a Christian and you pulled the metaphorical lever for the Democratic party, you might have felt a deep pressure in your chest. That’s good. This guilt, Christians argue, is the sign you know you are in good standing with God.

Secular alternative: Volunteering.

Working with underprivileged youth, the poor, the disabled instantly conjures hard questions. Why am I healthy? Why did I have a loving family? It’s hard. Luckily, we can use this guilt as a way for motivation to do something to help someone else. Misplaced guilt doesn’t do anyone any good. And it doesn’t take a spiritual foundation to feel compassion for others.

Now, you might respond that Christians are avid volunteer workers. You’re right. Between raising money for the Boy Scout troop, the new gymnasium, or Deacon Bob’s colonoscopy, Christians are constantly searching for ways to spread the good news. Except, sometimes, their volunteering is a sneaky cover for a more everlasting mission. Want a sandwich, poor person? Take this ham and cheese AND this pamphlet to learn how you can never be hungry. Ever. Again. Which makes it less selfless volunteering and more experiential marketing.

_____

Music: the soundtrack of faith

It doesn’t matter if you profess to be the most fervent disciple of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins or Pontius Pilate, one cannot hear How Great Thou Artand not be moved. In a congregational setting, it’s pure magic. Whether you prefer the classics of Isaac Watts or Charles Wesley, modern day worship anthems, or a great gospel choir, music is fundamental to the experience of being in church.

Secular alternative: Go to a concert (ideally a Coldplay or Passion Pit concert)

Coldplay’s concerts are meticulously produced to give attendees all the tears, unity, and inspiration of a worship service without asking you to determine the fate of your eternal soul afterward. Speaking in tongues will take new meaning during Viva la Vida, as you chant with thousands mesmerized by your charismatic leader, Chris Martin. Additionally, Passion Pit concerts are the greatest form of pop rave, where hooking up and dancing are about celebrating life and humanity. It’s beautiful. But if you still miss hearing How Great Thou Art, watch the Country Music Awards.

_____

Referencing the word of God

The Bible is a very quotable book. The apostle Paul wrote to his pupil Timothy that the Scripture is useful for doctrine, correction, and understanding. Regardless of whether you believe that the Bible is recalling actual historical events or simply moderately convincing myths, the versatility of the Bible is undeniable. If you’re facing instances where you feel pressured by your wife to procreate with your slave? There’s a verse for that. Find yourself having a dinner party of say, 5,000, and have nothing to serve them? There’s a verse for that too. This ability for the Bible to fit almost every situation makes it an essential addition to hotel rooms, United States court houses, and bookshelves everywhere.

Secular solution: Watch Glee

In many ways, the Glee Club at McKinley High is very much like a local church youth group. Intergroup dating? Check. Life lessons on the dangers of drinking and sex? Check. Singing? Uh, maybe some singing. And ask yourself this. Does the Bible have a verse on the dangers of texting while driving? Maybe in the Gnostic gospels. But we Baptists don’t count those.

_____

Finger Food Fellowships and other casual dining

One of the most passionately followed passages of Scripture is “Thou preparest a table before me.” Between pot-luck dinners, pre-service donuts and coffee, barbeques, church picnics, food is abundant. As it is written, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there shall be a pizza in their midst.” (RWT) If you hunger and thirst for a great meal as much as you do righteousness, Christianity might be hard to leave.

Secular alternative: None

This is hard. For secularists and non-believers, typically we congregate over coffee, a beer or glass of wine. Maybe wing-night at the local pub. As satisfying as this can be, I’ll be honest. Nothing can beat a great meal with seconds and thirds of Ziti, macaroni and cheese, and Sprite-spiked punch. St. Peter, you win this round.

_____

Fellowship

Perhaps the most important thing people miss upon leaving their church is the sense of community that comes with your. Having someone to call, check on your ailing mother, or someone to pray with, church provides a support system that is invaluable.

Secular alternative: Make a friend

I grew up being taught that there were two kinds of people in the world: people of the “kingdom of light” and people in the “kingdom of darkness”. These people were slaves to Satan. They were sick and in need of saving. Looking at my fellow fifth graders threw such a prism didn’t make me want to invite them to shoot hoops after school. I didn’t know how to make a friend without Jesus making the introduction. And I missed out.

So I understand there is something special about having a prepackaged way to have friends and people to care about. But with a little effort and a more open perspective on the possibilities all people can bring to your life, people to care about can come from any corner of life. Because I now determine the things in life I value, I look for people to share those values too. I don’t need a preordained fraternity to join. Just the choice to share life with one or a few.

#deconversion #ex-Christian

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makerof150papermasks · 6 years ago

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Hamlet Mariofied Act 4 Scene 5

Bolded names refer to the Mario characters playing the roles. The character role names remain the same in the context of the play and its dialogue.

Luigi = Horatio

Peach = Gertrude

Boom-Boom = 1st Gentleman

Wendy = Ophelia

Bowser = Claudius

Koopa the Quick = Messenger

Larry = Laertes

Act IV, Scene 5

Elsinore. A room in the Castle.

Enter Luigi, Peach, and Boom-Boom. Cue Pipe Maze tune.

Peach. I will not speak with her.

Boom-Boom. She is importunate, indeed distract.

Her mood will needs be pitied.

Peach. What would she have?

Boom-Boom. She speaks much of her father; says she hears

There's tricks i' th' world, and hems, and beats her heart;

Spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt,

That carry but half sense. Her speech is nothing,

Yet the unshaped use of it doth move

The hearers to collection; they aim at it,

And botch the words up fit to their own thoughts;

Which, as her winks and nods and gestures yield them,

Indeed would make one think there might be thought,

Though nothing sure, yet much unhappily.

Luigi. 'Twere good she were spoken with; for she may strew

Dangerous conjectures in ill-breeding minds.

Peach. Let her come in.

[Exit Boom-Boom.]

[Aside] To my sick soul (as sin's true nature is)

Each toy seems Prologue to some great amiss.

So full of artless jealousy is guilt

It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.

Enter Wendy, distracted. Music screeches to a halt.

Wendy. Where is the beauteous Majesty of Denmark?

Peach. How now, Ophelia?

Wendy. [sings]

How should I your true-love know

From another one?

By his cockle bat and' staff

And his sandal shoon.

Peach. Alas, sweet lady, what imports this song?

Wendy. Say you? Nay, pray You mark.

Sings with Story Box Music from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island playing in the background. He is dead and gone, lady,

He is dead and gone;

At his head a grass-green turf,

At his heels a stone.

O, ho!

Peach. Nay, but Ophelia-

Wendy. Pray you mark.

[Sings] White his shroud as the mountain snow-

Enter Bowser.

Peach. Alas, look here, my lord!

Wendy. [Sings]

Larded all with sweet flowers;

Which bewept to the grave did not go

With true-love showers.

Bowser. How do you, pretty lady?

Wendy. Well, God dild you! They say the owl was a baker's daughter.

Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be. God be at

your table!

Bowser. Conceit upon her father.

Wendy. Pray let's have no words of this; but when they ask, you what

it means, say you this:

[Sings] To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,

All in the morning bedtime,

And I a maid at your window,

To be your Valentine.

Then up he rose and donn'd his clo'es

And dupp'd the chamber door,

Let in the maid, that out a maid

Never departed more.

Bowser. Pretty Ophelia!

Wendy. Indeed, la, without an oath, I'll make an end on't!

[Sings] By Gis and by Saint Charity,

Alack, and fie for shame!

Young men will do't if they come to't

By Cock, they are to blame.

Quoth she, 'Before you tumbled me,

You promis'd me to wed.'

He answers:

'So would I 'a' done, by yonder sun,

An thou hadst not come to my bed.'

Bowser. How long hath she been thus?

Wendy. I hope all will be well. We must be patient; but I cannot

choose but weep to think they would lay him i' th' cold ground.

My brother shall know of it; and so I thank you for your good

counsel. Come, my coach! Good night, ladies. Good night, sweet

ladies. Good night, good night. Exit

Bowser. Follow her close; give her good watch, I pray you.

[Exit Luigi.]

O, this is the poison of deep grief; it springs

All from her father's death. O Gertrude, Gertrude,

When sorrows come, they come not single spies.

But in battalions! First, her father slain;

Next, your son gone, and he most violent author

Of his own just remove; the people muddied,

Thick and and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers

For good Polonius' death, and we have done but greenly

In hugger-mugger to inter him; poor Ophelia

Divided from herself and her fair judgment,

Without the which we are pictures or mere beasts;

Last, and as much containing as all these,

Her brother is in secret come from France;

Feeds on his wonder, keeps, himself in clouds,

And wants not buzzers to infect his ear

With pestilent speeches of his father's death,

Wherein necessity, of matter beggar'd,

Will nothing stick our person to arraign

In ear and ear. O my dear Gertrude, this,

Like to a murd'ring piece, in many places

Give me superfluous death. A noise within.

Peach. Alack, what noise is this?

Bowser. Where are my Switzers? Let them guard the door.

[Enter Koopa the Quick.]

What is the matter?

Koopa. Save Yourself, my lord:

The ocean, overpeering of his list,

Eats not the flats with more impetuous haste

Than Young Laertes, in a riotous head,

O'erbears Your offices. The rabble call him lord;

And, as the world were now but to begin,

Antiquity forgot, custom not known,

The ratifiers and props of every word,

They cry 'Choose we! Laertes shall be king!'

Caps, hands, and tongues applaud it to the clouds,

'Laertes shall be king! Laertes king!'

A noise within.

Peach. How cheerfully on the false trail they cry!

O, this is counter, you false Danish dogs!

Bowser. The doors are broke.

Enter Larry with others.

Larry. Where is this king?- Sirs, staid you all without.

All. No, let's come in!

Larry. I pray you give me leave.

All. We will, we will!

Larry. I thank you. Keep the door. [Exeunt his Followers.]

O thou vile king,

Give me my father!

Peach. Calmly, good Laertes.

Larry. That drop of blood that's calm proclaims me bastard;

Cries cuckold to my father; brands the harlot

Even here between the chaste unsmirched brows

Of my true mother.

Bowser. What is the cause, Laertes,

That thy rebellion looks so giantlike?

Let him go, Gertrude. Do not fear our person.

There's such divinity doth hedge a king

That treason can but peep to what it would,

Acts little of his will. Tell me, Laertes,

Why thou art thus incens'd. Let him go, Gertrude.

Speak, man.

Larry. Where is my father?

Bowser. Dead.

Peach. But not by him!

Bowser. Let him demand his fill.

Larry. How came he dead? I'll not be juggled with:

To hell, allegiance! vows, to the blackest devil

Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit!

I dare damnation. To this point I stand,

That both the world, I give to negligence,

Let come what comes; only I'll be reveng'd

Most throughly for my father.

Bowser. Who shall stay you?

Larry. My will, not all the world!

And for my means, I'll husband them so well

They shall go far with little.

Bowser. Good Laertes,

If you desire to know the certainty

Of your dear father's death, is't writ in your revenge

That sweepstake you will draw both friend and foe,

Winner and loser?

Larry. None but his enemies.

Bowser. Will you know them then?

Larry. To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my arms

And, like the kind life-rend'ring pelican,

Repast them with my blood.

Bowser. Why, now You speak

Like a good child and a true gentleman.

That I am guiltless of your father's death,

And am most sensibly in grief for it,

It shall as level to your judgment pierce

As day does to your eye.

A noise within: 'Let her come in.'

Larry. How now? What noise is that?

[Enter Wendy.]

O heat, dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt

Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye!

By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight

Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May!

Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia!

O heavens! is't possible a young maid's wits

Should be as mortal as an old man's life?

Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine,

It sends some precious instance of itself

After the thing it loves.

Wendy. [sings]

They bore him barefac'd on the bier

(Hey non nony, nony, hey nony)

And in his grave rain'd many a tear.

Fare you well, my dove!

Larry. Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge,

It could not move thus.

Wendy. You must sing 'A-down a-down, and you call him a-down-a.' O,

how the wheel becomes it! It is the false steward, that stole his

master's daughter.

Larry. This nothing's more than matter.

Wendy. There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love,

remember. And there is pansies, that's for thoughts.

Larry. A document in madness! Thoughts and remembrance fitted.

Wendy. There's fennel for you, and columbines. There's rue for you,

and here's some for me. We may call it herb of grace o' Sundays.

O, you must wear your rue with a difference! There's a daisy. I

would give you some violets, but they wither'd all when my father

died. They say he made a good end.

[Sings] For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy.

Larry. Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself,

She turns to favour and to prettiness.

Wendy. [sings]

And will he not come again?

No, no, he is dead;

Go to thy deathbed;

He never will come again.

His beard was as white as snow,

All flaxen was his poll.

He is gone, he is gone,

And we cast away moan.

God 'a'mercy on his soul!

And of all Christian souls, I pray God. God b' wi' you.

Exit.

Larry. Do you see this, O God?

Bowser. Laertes, I must commune with your grief,

Or you deny me right. Go but apart,

Make choice of whom your wisest friends you will,

And they shall hear and judge 'twixt you and me.

If by direct or by collateral hand

They find us touch'd, we will our kingdom give,

Our crown, our life, and all that we call ours,

To you in satisfaction; but if not,

Be you content to lend your patience to us,

And we shall jointly labour with your soul

To give it due content.

Larry. Let this be so.

His means of death, his obscure funeral-

No trophy, sword, nor hatchment o'er his bones,

No noble rite nor formal ostentation,-

Cry to be heard, as 'twere from heaven to earth,

That I must call't in question.

Bowser. So you shall;

And where th' offence is let the great axe fall.

I pray you go with me.

Exeunt

#Super Mario #Shakespeare #Hamlet #Bowser #Luigi #Koopalings #Larry Koopa #Wendy O. Koopa #Peach #Boom-Boom

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cuddlychubbyprincees · 3 years ago

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Dear God,

Don't you know how much and deeply I fell in love with your son David in the past. How much I tried to make us work. For nine months I held on. Still August to February I find I feel grief and anger. Sometimes I would smile when I would think of him.

Now I just get mad and cry and curse the day he became a lesson and over him I started stressing.

Dear john-taylor swift

God I need your help to let go of him and get over the damage he did in full. The abandonment he triggered in my life. This wouldn't have been such an issue if my dad wouldn't of abandoned me when I was little. He just triggered what dad did. By being non vulnerable.

. I understand we liked each other multiple times and I broke up with him twice which was harmful to him and me too but for the best.

Anyway. Help me to let go of him because God I want to spit venomous angry words at him so bad. Which you know he would shut down because he never once was open with me and communicative or vulnerable.

I want revenge but lord you'll deal with his heart. I pray you do. I pray he feels remorse. Sadness for when he kept breaking me. A desire to reach out then I can snatch it away from him like he did me.

Help me not to want to hurt him.

Dammit I just want to be loved and to love someone god. When will it be MY turn to feel that.

And today I cut him off officially even though I'm sad. Because a part of me still held onto the desire for a close friendship and loved him before me but I love myself more. And if he comes back ever it will be to no open arms. No friendship. No attempt to care and it'll kill me inside.

Three years down the drain. Three fucking years.

God how do I cut someone off as a christian? I don't understand.

He's toxic.

Help me to forgive myself for everything I've ever done in this old relationship friendship whatever it was we had. Because I haven't.

Thank you jesus

------

Didn't you know how much I loved you-kellie pickler

Mr perfectly fine-taylor swift

If this was a movie-taylor swift

Sweet nothing- Florence welch

God only knows-for king and country

So sick-neyo

Story of us-taylor swift

Picture to burn-taylor swift

There's a fine fine line- avenue q

Tell your heart to beat again-danny gokey

Thy will-hillary scott

Gods not done with you-tauren wells

Nothing-the script

#dear god #david #toxic #dear diary #thoughts #music #heartbreak #sad #mad #angry #upset

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christiancomputerstudent · 6 years ago

Link

this is a cool article about, Christians needing to be more like Jesus, when did Christianity become far from being like Jesus, Jesus is our Role model and we should be more like him

The Article can be found at https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a6646/shane-claiborne-1209/

To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

The other night I headed into downtown Philly for a stroll with some friends from out of town. We walked down to Penn's Landing along the river, where there are street performers, artists, musicians. We passed a great magician who did some pretty sweet tricks like pour change out of his iPhone, and then there was a preacher. He wasn't quite as captivating as the magician. He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don't know Jesus.

Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, "God is not a monster." Maybe next time I will.

The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus.

At one point Gandhi was asked if he was a Christian, and he said, essentially, "I sure love Jesus, but the Christians seem so unlike their Christ." A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved. That's the ugly stuff. And that's why I begin by saying that I'm sorry.

Now for the good news.

I want to invite you to consider that maybe the televangelists and street preachers are wrong — and that God really is love. Maybe the fruits of the Spirit really are beautiful things like peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, goodness, and not the ugly things that have come to characterize religion, or politics, for that matter. (If there is anything I have learned from liberals and conservatives, it's that you can have great answers and still be mean... and that just as important as being right is being nice.)

The Bible that I read says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save it... it was because "God so loved the world." That is the God I know, and I long for others to know. I did not choose to devote my life to Jesus because I was scared to death of hell or because I wanted crowns in heaven... but because he is good. For those of you who are on a sincere spiritual journey, I hope that you do not reject Christ because of Christians. We have always been a messed-up bunch, and somehow God has survived the embarrassing things we do in His name. At the core of our "Gospel" is the message that Jesus came "not [for] the healthy... but the sick." And if you choose Jesus, may it not be simply because of a fear of hell or hope for mansions in heaven.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe in the afterlife, but too often all the church has done is promise the world that there is life after death and use it as a ticket to ignore the hells around us. I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God's Kingdom down. It was Jesus who taught us to pray that God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven." On earth.

One of Jesus' most scandalous stories is the story of the Good Samaritan. As sentimental as we may have made it, the original story was about a man who gets beat up and left on the side of the road. A priest passes by. A Levite, the quintessential religious guy, also passes by on the other side (perhaps late for a meeting at church). And then comes the Samaritan... you can almost imagine a snicker in the Jewish crowd. Jews did not talk to Samaritans, or even walk through Samaria. But the Samaritan stops and takes care of the guy in the ditch and is lifted up as the hero of the story. I'm sure some of the listeners were ticked. According to the religious elite, Samaritans did not keep the right rules, and they did not have sound doctrine... but Jesus shows that true faith has to work itself out in a way that is Good News to the most bruised and broken person lying in the ditch.

It is so simple, but the pious forget this lesson constantly. God may indeed be evident in a priest, but God is just as likely to be at work through a Samaritan or a prostitute. In fact the Scripture is brimful of God using folks like a lying prostitute named Rahab, an adulterous king named David... at one point God even speaks to a guy named Balaam through his donkey. Some say God spoke to Balaam through his ass and has been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to use us, then we should be grateful but not think too highly of ourselves. And if upon meeting someone we think God could never use, we should think again.

After all, Jesus says to the religious elite who looked down on everybody else: "The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom ahead of you." And we wonder what got him killed?

I have a friend in the UK who talks about "dirty theology" — that we have a God who is always using dirt to bring life and healing and redemption, a God who shows up in the most unlikely and scandalous ways. After all, the whole story begins with God reaching down from heaven, picking up some dirt, and breathing life into it. At one point, Jesus takes some mud, spits in it, and wipes it on a blind man's eyes to heal him. (The priests and producers of anointing oil were not happy that day.)

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is about a God who did not just want to stay "out there" but who moves into the neighborhood, a neighborhood where folks said, "Nothing good could come." It is this Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and drunkard and rabble-rouser for hanging out with all of society's rejects, and who died on the imperial cross of Rome reserved for bandits and failed messiahs. This is why the triumph over the cross was a triumph over everything ugly we do to ourselves and to others. It is the final promise that love wins.

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors... a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.

In closing, to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, "I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you." If those of us who believe in God do not believe God's grace is big enough to save the whole world... well, we should at least pray that it is.

Your brother,

Shane

#activism #Christian #jesus

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tpanan · 4 years ago

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My Saturday Daily Blessings

June 19, 2021

Be still quiet your heart and mind, the LORD is here, loving you talking to you...........

Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Roman Rite Calendar) Lectionary 368, Cycle B

First Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Brothers and sisters: I must boast; not that it is profitable,but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who, fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows),was caught up to the third heaven.

And I know that this man (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up into Paradise and heard ineffable things, which no one may utter.

About this man I will boast, but about myself I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. Although if I should wish to boast, I would not be foolish, for I would be telling the truth. But I refrain, so that no one may think more of me than what he sees in me or hears from me because of the abundance of the revelations.

Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.

Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.

Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34: 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

"Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."

Verse before the Gospel: 2 Corinthians 8:9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

"Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich."

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Matthew 6: 24-34

Jesus said to his disciples: “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.

If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

**Meditation:

What does the expression "serving two masters" and "being anxious" have in common? They both have the same root problem - being divided within oneself. The root word for "anxiety" literally means "being of two minds." An anxious person is often "tossed to and fro" and paralyzed by fear, indecision, and insecurity. Fear of some bad outcome cripples those afflicted with anxiety. It's also the case with someone who wants to live in two opposing kingdoms - God's kingdom of light, truth, and goodness or Satan's kingdom of darkness, sin, and deception - following God's standards and way of happiness or following the world's standards of success and happiness.

Who is the master of your life? Who is the master in charge of your life? Our "master" is whatever governs our thought-life, shapes our ideals, and controls the desires of our heart and the values we choose to live by. We can be ruled by many different things - the love of money and possessions, the power of position and prestige, the glamor of wealth and fame, and the driving force of unruly passions, harmful desires, and addictive cravings. Ultimately the choice of who is our master boils down to two: God or "mammon". What is mammon? "Mammon" stands for "material wealth" or "possessions" or whatever tends to control our appetites and desires.

The antidote to fear, pride, and greed There is one master alone who has the power to set us free from slavery to sin, fear, pride, and greed, and a host of other hurtful desires. That master is the Lord Jesus Christ who alone can save us from all that would keep us bound up in fear and anxiety. Jesus used an illustration from nature - the birds and the flowers - to show how God provides for his creatures in the natural order of his creation. God provides ample food, water, light, and heat to sustain all that lives and breathes. How much more can we, who are created in the very image and likeness of God, expect our heavenly Father and creator to sustain not only our physical bodies, but our mind, heart, and soul as well? God our Father is utterly reliable because it is his nature to love, heal, forgive, and make whole again.

Jesus - our daily bread Jesus taught his disciples to pray with confidence to their heavenly Father: Give us this day our daily bread. What is bread, but the very staple of life and symbol of all that we need to live and grow. Anxiety is neither helpful nor necessary. It robs us of faith and confidence in God's help and it saps our energy for doing good. Jesus admonishes his followers to put away anxiety and preoccupation with material things and instead to seek first the things of God - his kingdom and righteousness. Anxiety robs the heart of trust in the mercy and goodness of God and in his loving care for us. God knows our needs even before we ask and he gives generously to those who trust in him. Who is your master - God or mammon?

Lord Jesus, free me from needless worries and help me to put my trust in you. May my first and only concern be for your glory and your kingdom of peace and righteousness. Help me to live each day and moment with trust and gratitude for your providential care for me.

Sources:

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

**Meditations may be freely reprinted and translated into other languages for non-profit use only. Please cite copyright and original source. Copyright 2021 Daily Scripture Readings and Meditation, dailyscripture.net author Don Schwager

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