God Himself is the Top Prize

"If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath,
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the Sabbath a delight,
the LORD’s holy day glorious;
If you glorify it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs—
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."  (Isaiah 58: 13 - 14)

Sunday Rest is Rehearsal for Eternal Rest.
May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Transform us according to your word.

"Make known to me your ways, LORD;
teach me your paths."  (Psalm 25: 4)

What are the ways of Christ?  - The Beatitudes

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.h Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  (Matthew 5: 12)

The Beatitudes paint a faithful image of who Christ is and what he does.  The Beatitudes are the ways and paths of Christ. They are most worthy of study and imitation.

God is the Lord of History

God Is The Lord of History

“Why does God allow Turks and heretics to flourish?  They proclaim his infinite perfection.  That is the sole purpose of Pharaoh and all the impious men who have followed his example.   It is no use looking at these historical facts and figures in the ordinary way.  We must shut our eyes and cease to reason if we wish to see the divine mysteries in these affairs.

You speak Lord, to all men in general by the great events of history.  All revolutions are only the waves of your providence raising storms and tempests in the minds of those who question your mysterious actions.   You speak to every individual through what happens to them moment by moment.  Instead of hearing the voice of God in all these things and revering the mysterious obscurity of his word, however, men see in them only material happenings, the effect of a chance or purely human activities.  They find fault with everything, want to change this continual expression of God’s word and give themselves absolute freedom to commit every kind of excess, the very least of which they would consider a monstrous outrage if it involved a single comma in Holy Scripture.  “That is the word of God,” they say, “and all that is there is holy and true.”  The less they understand it, the more they venerate it and adore the depths of God’s wisdom.  Very right and proper, too.  But when God speaks to us at every moment, not with words of ink on paper, but by what we suffer and do from moment to moment, should we not give equal attention to him?  Why do we not venerate his truth and goodness in all this?  But we are pleased by nothing and critical of everything.  For we are judging by our senses and our reason that which can only be measured by faith.  We read, with the eyes of faith, the word of God in the Scriptures, and we are very wrong to read it with other eyes when it comes to us in his activities.”  (John-Pierre de Caussade, SJ in ABANDONMENT TO DIVINE PROVIDENCE)

Lent 2014 - Theme

1 Peter 1:14-16

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord our God!

Holiness consists in obeying the will of God  moment by moment.
Moment by moment obedience means: 
1. Do what must be done here and now. 
2. Accept with Serenity what cannot be avoided.

"Do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance."  It means - do not conform to the evil desires that ruled your heart when you did not know the will of God.
What are the desires of your heart?
Desire makes a man.

If you desire holiness and aim for holiness this Lent, God will give you the desires of your heart.

Tested by fire

"In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  (1 Peter 1: 6 - 7)

The Transition is a trial by fire.  1 Peter 1: 6-7 reminds me that the duration of the tribulation is for a short period.  Although I may not see it so, because in the heat of the moment, I imagine that the testing has been going on for  20 years.  Whatever is the duration in chronological terms is irrelevant.  What is important is what scriptures says of it:  "a little while."  Scripture measures the duration in the light of eternity which is endless.  And eternal will be he weight of glory that comes from this momentary testing of the genuineness of my faith.

Faith that is not confirmed by fire is no faith.  The  fire removes the perishable dross and leaves behind the genuine article which is a great currency.  Lord Jesus, as you try me by fire, do remember my fragility, O Lord.

The Lord will remember His covenant forever.  I will rejoice in the mercy of my God!