Perseverance

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. ~ James 1:12

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Perseverance     התמדה     مثابرة

Love     אנגלית     الإنجليزية

Hope     מקווה     أمل

Life     חיים     حياة

The Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17 )

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV)

Truth     אמת     حقيقة

Righteousness     צדקה     صلاح

Peace     שלום     سلام

Faith     אמונה     إيمان

Salvation     ישועה     خلاص

Spirit     רוח     روح

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Reminder: Let’s pray together!  Please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send me your prayer intention. 

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Prayer; For Whom And Why?

During a Facebook exchange today with a brother Christian, who has veered far to the Conservative Right, he vowed to pray for me because I identified myself as a progressive.  The implication was very clear.  I think differently from him, which obviously (to him) is wrong and sinful.

The addition of my name as a link in his Rosary prayer chain is necessary because my salvation is in jeopardy.  

Now, I will never reject an offer of prayer in my behalf.  In fact, I am grateful for all such offers despite the nature of it and of the person offering it.  To reject them would be ungrateful and ungracious.  And un-Christian.  

But...

Jesus was not betrayed and murdered because he held fast to the all of the old ways and practices.  He did not cling to the Law at the expense of the lives of those in need of his Love and Healing.  

Jesus was different, thus dangerous to the status quo.  He dared to teach a new way, a way which preached complete love.

Unstinting Love.

Undeserved Love.

Undying Love.

Dare to love, even if it takes you from your comfort zone and challenges you to think differently about the world and people around you.
  
And feel free to pray for everyone, regardless of how different their world view, ideology, cultural heritage, belief system, sexual orientation may be.  

That's the Love that He wants us to share...

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Reminder: Let’s pray together!  Please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send me your prayer intention. 

Have a wonderful day!

Love     אנגלית     الإنجليزية

Grace     גרייס     نعمة

Hope     מקווה     أمل

An Old Irish Blessing...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Am I the Lost Son?

During this Lenten season, I have been reading Henri Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son.  Fr. Nouwen's unsparing spiritual introspection, and his willingness to share that journey with other, is touching and inspiring.

My next few entries on this blog will entail recollections of those times during my Faith Journey when I felt like the younger son.  Hopefully I will have the same courage as Fr. Nouwen to share the results of this self study, warts and all...


The Parable of the Lost Son [Luke 15:11-32 New International Version (NIV)]

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

James Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836-1902)
The Prodigal Son in Modern Life: The Return.
Oil on Canvas (c. 1882) Musee de Nantes, France.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

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Reminder: Let’s pray together!  Please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send me your prayer intention. 

Have a wonderful day!

Love     אנגלית     الإنجليزية

Peace     שלום     سلام

Grace     גרייס     نعمة

Hope     מקווה     أمل

Mercy     רחמים     رحمة

Spirit     רוח     روح

Life     חיים     حياة

Resurrection     תחיית המתים     قيامة

Freedom from Judging, Freedom for mercy (Shared from the Henri Nouwen Society blog)

As a teen, I often would judge folks, based solely on their appearance or observed actions, sharing said judgments aloud with my friends and family.  Typically my observations would be couched in very snarky comments.

My Mom often chided me for this disrespectful behavior, warning me that someone might overhear me and take great offense.

Like I would listen.

Gosh, I wish I had!  On more than one occasion, my hurtful remarks were heard, by either the target or someone nearby who was familiar with him or her.  You may imagine just how awkward those confrontations were.

So I learned my lesson but it sure took a long time, with a lot of hard knocks.

My Faith Hero Henri Nouwen says it with significantly more eloquence and wisdom, so I share his thoughts with you today...

Daily Meditation: March 9, 2015

(Posted on March 9, 2015 by daily meditation)

Freedom from Judging, Freedom for mercy

We spend an enormous amount of energy making up our minds about other people. Not a day goes by without somebody doing or saying something that evokes in us the need to form an opinion about him or her. We hear a lot, see a lot, and know a lot. The feeling that we have to sort it all out in our minds and make judgments about it can be quite oppressive.

The desert fathers said that judging others is a heavy burden, while being judged by others is a light one. Once we can let go of our need to judge others, we will experience an immense inner freedom. Once we are free from judging, we will be also free for mercy. Let’s remember Jesus’ words: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged” (Matthew 7:1).

Text excerpts taken from Bread for the Journey, by Henri J.M. Nouwen , © 1997 HarperSanFrancisco. All Scripture from The Jerusalem Bible ©1966, 1967, and 1968 Darton, Longman & Todd and Doubleday & Co. Inc. Photo by V. Dobson. Scripture chosen by L. Yeskoo.

For further reflection …

When the Pharisee who had invited himself saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” He said, “Tell me, teacher.” Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “DO YOU SEE THIS WOMAN?” – Luke 7: 39-40, 44 (NIV)

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Love     אנגלית     الإنجليزية

Umm, Hi. I'm Back?

“The Return of the Prodigal Son”, by Rembrandt van Rijn

The Parable of the Prodigal Son ~ Luke 15:11-32

Since my earliest memories of sitting in Religion Class at Our Lady of Angels parish school, in the Bronx, Jesus’ story about the Prodigal Son has had powerful hold on me.  For me, it represents most clearly the unconditional love that God has for each of us.  No matter what that young man did or with whom he did it, his dad welcomed him back without question or judgment and with exceeding love.

Without fail, I am a weepy mess by the end of this tale.  My wife and kids would have you know that this display of excessive emotion is not an unusual occurrence with me.  My Mom might even want share with you know that, as a toddler, I sobbed at the conclusion of the 1961 horror flick, Gorgo.  Hey, when mother and child [SPOILER ALERT!!!] are reunited and head back to the nuclear-infused deeps of the Irish Sea, well...Dang it, there I go again <sniffle>!

But this is different.  (I heard that snicker, Mom!!!)

Now, consider…

How would this story read if, when the younger son returned home the dad responded with something like, “Oh, it’s you.” and went right back to work?  Worse, if he turned away this pathetic wreckage of a human being, starved for food and affection, with nary a second thought, and kicked him to the curb?!  What a different feeling we would have about both father and son and subsequently, about God!  How different would our faith be?!

When Paul and his contemporaries write about Grace, in my mind and heart I believe that they do so with the image of God as the dad in this story.  They encourage us that, no matter how many times we fall, or come up short in our self-assessments, we can get back up, seek God out and we will be forgiven.

This is the crux of God’s faith in, and love for, us:

• All-encompassing, all-consuming Love;
• Prevenient grace – that’s right; before we even are conscious of it, God is waiting, WAITING to give it to us.  All the needs to be done is for us to, simply and with no grand preamble, say, “Yes, please.” and God will bathe us, clothe us, immerse us in His Grace.

Pretty cool.

Pretty awesome.

Pretty, well, everything!

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Reminder: Let’s pray together!  Please click on the Share a Prayer? tab and send me your prayer intention.

Have a wonderful day!

Love     אנגלית     الإنجليزية

Hope     מקווה     أمل

Grace     גרייס     نعمة