Today's Wisdom

Those who do not pass from the experience of the cross to the truth of the resurrection condemn themselves to despair! For we cannot encounter God without first crucifying our narrow notions of a god who reflects only our own understanding of omnipotence and power
Pope Francis

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Proposed Prayer

Many faithful do pray to God using the Holy Rosary - For praying the entire Holy Rosary check out this website here...
In my prayers, I seek the assistance of the Virgin Mary - usually by saying one decade of the Holy Rosary...
The Lord's Prayer: Our Father Who Art in heaven...
One decade of the Holy Rosary...
First, I pray for myself and many other sick people who need the healing of Jesus Christ...
Second, I pray for my family and those that I know to live in joy and love, and hope in God's mercy who through his Spirit urges us to repent...
Third, I pray for those that departed to God especially for his mercy upon my beloved parents and relatives...
Fourth, I pray for persecuted Christians that they may be set free from their oppressors and be witnesses to the truth of Christ through whom alone salvation is possible.
Fifth, I pray for the Catholic Church and her servants of God including Pope Francis, and her other servants of God, and the entire Christian people to be strengthened in faith and to taste the Lord in the sacraments of the Church.
Sixth, I pray for Christian missionaries that through the grace of God they may help non-Christians see the light of Christ, be baptized, and, if possible, come to partake in the sacraments of the Church.
Seventh, I pray for the civilization of truth, love and life to be followed by everyone in raising their consciences to listen to the will of God and abide by him who forbids immoral actions, pray too for the laws of countries of the world and their governments to ban abortion, divorce and assisted-suicide and pray also for assisting atheists, terrorists and criminals to return to God...
Eighth, I pray for the needy that Christian organizations may help them - The Knights of Columbus, Caritas, The Sisters of Charity founded by St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and St. Vincent de Paul are good examples...
Nineth, I pray that God, in his mercy, may rescue people from natural disasters, and help through his Spirit the leaders of nations to stop blood shedding in wars...
And finally, I pray that we may have repentance as urged by the Holy Spirit; and that we may recognize the Christian God who loves everyone, adore the Triune-in-One God, and help - through good Christian conduct - everyone else to see the light of Christ who loves mankind to imitate him.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

A Life - Can We Perceive the Blessings of God ?

Today is the memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo. His Confessions alone enriched the lives of many Christians - He is mentioned in this website of saints here.The Catholic Encyclopedia wrote about him here.  Years ago I wrote how St. Augustine interpreted the Parable of the Good Samaritan here...A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho;  Adam himself is meant; Jerusalem is the heavenly city of peace, from whose blessedness Adam fell; Jericho means the moon, and signifies our mortality, because it is born, waxes, wanes, an dies; Thieves are the devil and his angels who stripped him, namely; of his immortality; and beat him, by persuading him to sin; and left him half-dead, because in so far as man can understand and know God, he lives, but in so far as he is wasted and oppressed by sin, he is dead; he is therefore called half-dead.  The priest and the Levite who saw him and passed by, signify the priesthood and ministry of the Old Testament which could profit nothing for salvation. Samaritan means Guardian, and therefore the Lord Himself is signified by this name. The binding of the wounds is the restraint of sin. Oil is the comfort of good hope; wine the exhortation to work with fervent spirit. The beast is the flesh in which He deigned to come to us. The being set upon the beast is belief in the incarnation of Christ. The inn is the Church, where travelers returning to their heavenly country are refreshed after pilgrimage. 


Probably the most cherished words on the degrees of love of God come from St. Bernard of Clairvaux; the great French abbot who lived in the 12th century and was a leader in the reform of the Church. St.Bernard wrote his much-loved "The Four Types of Love" that Christians experience as they grow in their relationship with God - They can be read here.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells us that "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John  10:10). Can we interpret these words of the Lord for us weak humans of today?
It is not up to me to judge anyone. However, I know that I have been blessed by God since I was in the womb of my mother. In her first heavy pregnancy my mother made a vow to Saint George that she would name her first son after him while my dad who wanted to bring the memory of his dad, as per tradition, decided to name his first son after his dad. Surprisingly God brought a twin to the home: the first was called after his dad "Chaker" - "Shaker" in English and the second was named George (me). 
For my health problems that started in 1986, I wrote a post in July 2008 here, followed by another post on June 16, 2019 here

Today, I recognize the miracles that the Lord my saviour has been carrying me through. He knows that as we get older, we need Him more. In fact I believe that my health problems helped three close persons suffer for me in my life: my mother of blessed memory; my mother-in-law of blessed memory; and my wife...Suffering is not limited to them but it is the way that I believe God gets us to be close to each other as we are inter-related, and through His love "May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:2-4). The above is possibly applied to every person that seriously seeks to know God the Merciful and Generous Father of all (here)...

Today's Quote

"Behold I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5)







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