Undeserving

It took me months to write another post.  I write so I may contemplate on the words of God, on writings about Him. God's words are meant for everyone, an extension of His breath that can resuscitate a dying spirit, of listless mind and callous heart.  When I can convey my reflection, I also have shared a coziness not felt by the body, but of the soul.

How little I do, how undeserving of the great love of The Lord Jesus Christ.  He died and rose from death, then He went about showing Himself.  How glorious it must have been to see His Face, the same face once covered in blood, with wounds and blows, of saliva that was spat on Him, a distorted visage from indescribable pain,  now gleaming, smiling, immaculately clean.  Could there be a more beautiful face?  I will die to see.

Beatific Vision is the time when we can see God face to face,  the perfection of happiness.  When God takes back the breath that sustained us in our temporary journey,  there is one question to answer if we could see His face, "where did we let His breath take us in life?".

1 Corinthians 15:1-6  (A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians)

I am reminding you, brothers and sister, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand.  Through it you are also being saved.  If you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that He was buried;  that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;  that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

After that, Christ appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  After that He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Last of all,  as to one born abnormally, He appeared to me.  For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God,nI am what I am, and His grace to me has not been ineffective indeed.  I have toiled harder than all of them, not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.

Therefore, whether it be I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Sunrise

The sun sets, for Sunrise

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill.  There He sat down and was joined by His disciples.  Then he began to speak.  This is what He taught them:

1. How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
2. Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage. 
3. Happy are those who mourn: they shall be comforted.  
4. Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.  
5. Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. 
6. Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God. 
7. Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called children of God.  
8. Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  

Happy are you when people abuse and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."

A country and its people are being erased from history and existence, Palestine, the place Jesus as a man was born.  Their unfathomable suffering and cries are being covered and spun by Jesus' nemesis, Satan.   He has brought forth death, destruction, darkness, and his legion of devils.  They have taken the mind and souls of many people, who do not feel for the Palestinians anymore but rather rejoice from the gain they are taking, money and power, nothing they can cling to when they face death themselves.

Ironically, Palestine could only be the only place around the world where the majority of people who are from another religion,  who are being ethnically cleansed, recognize Jesus and instinctively, live the beatitudes as if they are the people, Jesus said are, "Happy".  Social media not only shows what is grim and horrifying, but of light and hope as well, from the very face of the children who still play and laugh with what little remain for them,  the steadfastness, resilience of the adults, that even if the world has turned their back on them, their optimism will not falter, the land will return to them, the rightful owners.  

God do works in mysterious ways, in manner incomprehensible to human minds. In spite of the indescribable misery happening in Palestine, He is there, the Light and Hope that shine.  The rest of the world, unable to do something for them, most strangely, are the ones being helped by the Palestinians.  People are uniting for causes that lean to justice and compassion, as if the rest of the world are waking up.  Unearthing lies and horrific schemes that have been able to lurk in society because nobody actually looked, now they have been divulged one after the other.  Sunrise is coming, it will be bright again, all because of the Light that was born and the Beatitudes that are lived, in Palestine.

Portal to Life

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.  They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction.  But they are in peace.  For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality, chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed because God tried them and found them worthy of Himself.

Wisdom 3:1-5

Many people when empowered with opportunities forget that one day, breath will stop.  Enablers of genocide are gaining wealth and power, feasting on the returns from having sold their souls.  How foolish are the slaves of Satan, they never looked beyond their present world, just busy playing might, living the sensation that they are above the rest, their lives of opulence and privileges have closed their conscience, the portal to life after death.

Those whose lives were destroyed, whose resources were taken, their souls are still alive, enjoying the best of forever, as promised by The Creator.  To the powerful now, wait till you die, your souls will answer for your most hideous crimes.

Flow

Jesus entered a village  where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed Him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside The Lord  at His feet listening to Him speak.  Martha burdened with much serving, came to Him and said., "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me."  The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

Luke 10:38-42

When praying is so hard, of not knowing what to say or not finding the time to pray,  the opportunity for a spiritual cleansing is missed, that bathing of the soul. Our soul, it is us, without the physical body that slowly wears, it is the foremost duty to our very self to keep it cleansed by the Water.  In praying, as thoughts of bad and good, emotions of ups and downs drift, the stream flow to the source. Sometimes, the water overflow and trickle down the eyes, the burden diminished, this world has hope, smile is painless... the prayers have arrived at The Source!

 

Heart Beat

Jesus made the crowds welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing.

It was late afternoon when The Twelve came to Him and said, "Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food; for we are in a lonely place here."  He replied, "Give them something to eat yourselves."  But they said, 'We have no more than five loaves and two fishes, unless we are to go ourselves and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  But He said to His disciples, "Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty."  They did so and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and two fishes, raised His eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then He broke them and handed them to His disciples to distribute among the crowd.  They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected, they filled twelve baskets.

Luke 9:11-17

It was still and quiet when I sniffed on a flowery scent, so subtle and inviting my nose followed the fragrance.  My eyes instinctively closed to breathe it, imbibe the whole of it, wishing that it can take a form so I may reach, and touch, and comprehend.  Be one with it. Is it Your presence Lord?  You come in intangible ways, but the heart beats in profound palpitations when I become aware of Your presence.  You have always been right beside me, even when I don't see, even when I lose care, even as I choose to ignore, forgive me,   My faith is weak but Your love for me is so differently strong, that I live.  No one can care so much for me, but You!

Promise

Jesus said to His disciples: "In those days, after the time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory; then too He will send the angels to gather His chosen from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of heaven.  But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, no one but the Father."

Mark 13:24-27, 32

The ongoing wars in the world, how they grieve You Lord, forgive us.  How foolish are the creatures You have created in Your image, whom You have given so many talents.  They spend their lives trying to reach the stars in a bubble we called earth, fighting and killing for something that has no worth after this life.   People who lust for war to the detriment of others, they fatten their pockets as their souls shrink to ashes.  Come grant the sufferers Thy justice.

Bloodline

Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.  The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.  Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.  When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.  But God raised Him from the dead, "and for many days He was seen by those who had travelled with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem.  They are now His witness to the people.  We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers, He has fulfilled for us. their children, by raising up Jesus.  As it is written in the Second Psalm. "You are My Son, today I have become your Father?.

Acts 13:26-33

"From a surface, malign actions manifest power.  Exactly as how the ongoing genocide in Gaza appears.  Powerful countries conniving to destroy what seems weak and insignificant, in order to sustain with money and might, their heaven on earth.  How evil and pathetic.  The aggressors have become oblivious to the fact that they have imbibed within themselves the very characteristics of Satan, unmindful that life ends for everyone, unbelieving of the afterlife, and judgement. The Palestinians they have killed, broke and brought to bottomless pain, will  win Heaven and  God will nurse their grieving hearts.  They will remain and propagate because faith in God is the only true power."