dec 2020 faithposting
Dec. 19th, 2020 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prismaticbleedNow the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. (Genesis 1:2 NET)
The image of the Holy Spirit "fluttering" over the endless depths is delicate yet profound-- like a small bird, like a flower touched by the wind, like a heart. There's a striking fragility here in its apparent smallness, and yet in that same movement we perceive the moving of galaxies themselves-- something that looks slow and soft, and yet is actually incomprehensibly huge and powerful. The Spirit moves upon the water, and then it moves the water itself. There is a great and awesome beauty here.
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God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. (Genesis 1:5 NET)
God divided the Light & Dark into Day & Night; there is an awesome truth here. Nighttime is the "default" state of the universe; it exists as space itself. But God made Light-- He created luminaries to stellate the black, and those lights ALLOW Day to exist at all... but only for an observer, only for a created thing on a planet, looking up and out. It is only then that one has the context and environment necessary TO perceive Day as existing at all, as a special created thing. This again highlights the wonder of Earth.
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And God made the expanse [of sky] and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so [just as He commanded]. God called the expanse [of sky] heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. (Gen 1:7-8 AMP)
The SKY is special to Earth, separating us from space, like light from darkness. But this also frames space as AN OCEAN!
Meditate on this: the firmament that separates earth from space, order from chaos, light from dark, water from water, is called not just "sky," but also HEAVEN. This is not to say space is evil, for it is not-- God created it too, and saw it was good-- but it highlights the unique connection earth has TO heaven, compared to the rest of the universe.
Meditate on this: the firmament that separates earth from space, order from chaos, light from dark, water from water, is called not just "sky," but also HEAVEN. This is not to say space is evil, for it is not-- God created it too, and saw it was good-- but it highlights the unique connection earth has TO heaven, compared to the rest of the universe.
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LYRICS TO REWRITE, SO THEY AREN'T STUPIDLY SEXUAL, SIMPERING, SELFISH, AND/OR ROMANTIC
1. "I can't make you love me" = JESUS.
Because the chorus HITS HARD when it's from Him.
I am the Light
I am the Word
I am the Truth no matter what you have heard
I am your Savior
Your Lover and Friend
I wait for your love,
(Dont Pretend?)
'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't
I can't make your heart feel something it won't
Here in the monstrance, if you seek my Face
I will give you my Heart, my Mercy and Grace
But you won't, no you won't
'Cause I can't make you love me, if you don't
My heart is broken, because I can see
The love you don't feel when you're here with me
Sunday will come, Communion impart (?)
You go through the motions, but where is your heart?
Where is your heart?
'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't
I can't make your heart feel something it won't
Here in the monstrance, if you seek my Face
I will give you my Heart, my Mercy and Grace
But you won't, no you won't
'Cause I can't make you love me, if you don't
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TWITTER POSTS:
I can feel my heart settle into prayer the way a tired child settles into its mothers arms. In God's heart I'm safe, I'm comforted, I'm loved, I'm home. Relatedly, sin is a snake biting at our feet. It's terrifying, and indeed lethal, BUT prayer is like a child's cry to their loving parent for protection, who PICKS THEM UP and holds them safe. Without God's rescue, sin will kill us. But if we let ourselves stay held, we're safe.
"In desiring to be, things implicitly desire God." (Saint Thomas Aquinas) = This speaks disturbing volumes on the nature of suicide and self-abuse. That desire for non-existence is inherently demonic, and opposed to the very nature of God. This is also why Hope is a Theological Virtue.
Resistance to God is always a result of Pride. Divine Mercy can't help the proud as they deny their need for it, & Divine Justice will crush them as they deny their deserving of it! Whereas the humble admit their great guilt and need of mercy both, allowing Divine Mercy to act & temper God's Justice.
Jesus Christ is Truth Himself. Our feelings and thoughts about Him do not change that fact. This is a profound consolation! Our confusing senses may deceive and lie, but the Truth of God, through His Word and Spirit, are forever sincere, real, and good.
"My strength returns to me with my cup of coffee and the reading of the psalms." (Dorothy Day) = Our faith encompasses both our eternal life and our temporal life, for the former is only a perfection of the latter, & both are God's Will & Love for us. God inspired the Psalms, but He also created coffee beans, & gave us a body & soul that can appreciate & praise Him in both!
"The Brazilian rainforest provides a significant amount of oxygen for the entire planet. In the same way, the 6% of the Church which is contemplative provides the other 94% with spiritual oxygen to keep going." (GentileNJ) = When you are sick, homebound, disabled, or otherwise unable to "actively" contribute to God's Kingdom, REMEMBER THIS. Take heart, and accept your humiliations with grace. God has given you a peculiar path to help His Church-- by relying entirely on Him. Take heart, and pray!
We are ALL called to be saints, and must strive for it, but let humility be your guide! Absolutely do love, honor, and humbly learn from all the saints around you. Think of yourself as least of all, a student of Christ seeing Him always in others. This is true saintliness.
I've been struggling with hellish self-hatred lately, and the unconditional aspect of God's Love is a humbling and staggering reminder I desperately need. When I have nothing else, I inexplicably still have God's Love... and I can rest in that, even when everything else is gone. His Love does not depend on me. God is Good, especially when I'm not. Thanks be to God.
Never underestimate the power of personal relationships to affect the state of one's soul, for good or ill. Prioritize virtue and promote mutual growth in holiness in your friendships without exception! (Truly, without such a focus, can you really call it a 'friendship' at all?)
Spiritual warfare is REAL, and the battles get bitter as you cling more closely to Christ. But persevere! Satan brutally attacks those that won't play his wicked games, so take heart & stand strong in your faith! Yes, the war will wound you-- you will struggle, and stumble, and it may seem unending-- but Jesus is victorious. Jesus is already the eternal victor, and that is a truth forever. No matter what the devil may do to your poor body, if you cling to Christ, your soul is safe. Take heart in that! Rest in Jesus, and love God!
"Lack of bodily beauty–whatever the reason–is insignificant compared to lack of the person’s goodness. Genuine goodness is beautiful; it decks with beauty the whole person, the body, too. The same is true of the evil: though maybe glitzy, it is ugly and it uglifies, the body, too." (Miroslav Volf) = You can see this to a disturbing extent in secular culture. No matter how much glitz, glitter, and glamor it surrounds itself with, its heart is still rotten, and that inevitably seeps through into everything it touches. But even the most ordinary things of God glow with beauty.
“Even more mysteriously beautiful, God’s infinite love also makes him infinitely vulnerable. Love makes the lover vulnerable.” (Sister Andrew Marie) = This truth is staggering. God is VULNERABLE. And it's because He LOVES so much. The Creator of all, the Almighty Omnipotent Eternal God, is able to feel brokenheartedness and pain and sorrow and hurt... His infinite Heart can be wounded, because it is open to love-- infinite love!
I love how amazingly intimate the Blessed Sacrament is. God meets us, face to face, heart to heart in every Mass, through the Sacred Eucharist, and we take it too often for granted. But look! Look with your heart! Look at the closeness, the tenderness, the reverence, the love! May we all meet Him so adoringly.
No soul ever fell away from God without giving up prayer. It's how all relationships die: communication from the heart falters & fails. When communion is given up, connection is broken-- even if you're still talking, because your words are automatic & empty. Are your prayers the same? Have you, unnoticed, given up your heartfelt prayer?
Admitting our feeble inability to heal from our own spiritual wounds and put them entirely into God's hands requires such humility and love; I think we often underestimate the amount of sheer grace required to make such a total honest surrender to God. We need to humbly and totally confess our powerlessness, our weakness, our wounds, our sins... we must admit we are absolutely helpless to heal ourselves. Only then can Christ heal us.
True beauty is anchored in Truth, and Truth is God. We can see His beauty even in what the world considers "ugly," and vice versa: a proud, rebellious heart will taint even the most attractive face. Satan is ugly even covered in gold. Christ is beautiful even covered in blood.
Prayer immediately lifts our hearts & minds, our affections & thoughts, to God, Who is good, faithful, true, just, merciful, and loving. Despondency and sorrow disappear in the light of prayer, for the Nearness of God in our communication with Him soothes every fear.
It's not so much the "bad news" on TV that depresses me-- it's the blatantly rampant secularization of our culture. The REAL bad news is the encroaching fatality of Godlessness and its apparent consequences. I genuinely dread watching television (except @EWTN, my sole consolation). The worst part is the sacrilegious commercialization of this Holy season hype of Advent and Christmas. Google calls it a “festivity.” No. It's a SOLEMNITY. It's NOT about "merriment"; it's about humility and GOD-oriented joy. It glorifies HIM, not us! GO TO MASS. (Or watch one.)
“Merry Christmas" should never be a tagline for advertising. Christmas joy has nothing to do with possessions. Stop using the birthday of Christ as "justification" for materialism, greed, avarice, & envy. It's disgusting; the careless gall of it makes me sick. Give alms instead.
