Praise the Lord

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live. Psalm 63:1-4

Peace

For our God is a consuming fire

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:26-29

Peace

Give...

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

Peace

أعمال الرب كلها حسنة، في أوقاتها أوامره تتم

إسمعوني يا أبنائي المخلصين، كوردٍ على مجاري المياه أنتم تنبتون.

فانشروا عطركم كالبخور، وأزهروا كزنابق الحقل.

عالياً غنّوا وانشروا عطركم، واحمدوا الرب على أعماله.

مجّدوا اسمه، مجدوه بالترانيم وآلات الغناء.

هكذا غنوا مرنّمين: "أعمال الرب كلها حسنة، في أوقاتها أوامره تتم".

يشوع بن سيراخ 13/39-16

Sirach 39:13-16

Peace

The dot.

In a speck of watery material smaller than the dot over this i, all the future characteristics of the child are programmed—the color of his skin, eyes and hair, the shape of his facial features, the natural abilities he will have. All that the child will be physically and mentally is contained in germ form in that fertilized egg. From it will develop: 60 trillion cells, 100 thousand miles of nerve fiber, 60 thousand miles of vessels carrying blood around the body, 250 bones, to say nothing of joints, ligaments and muscles.

This omnipotent God shall be among us.

Peace

Happy Dependence Day

Psalm 71

1

Lord, I depend on you for protection.

    Don’t let me be disappointed.

2 

You always do what is right, so come and save me.

    Listen to me and save me.

3 

Be my Rock, my place of safety.

    Be my fortress, and protect me!

You are my Rock and my protection.

4 

My God, save me from wicked people.

    Save me from cruel, evil people.

5 

Lord God, you are my hope.

    I have trusted you since I was a young boy.

6 

I depended on you even before I was born.

    I relied on you even in my mother’s womb.

    I have always prayed to you.[a]

7 

You are my source of strength,

    so I have been an example to others.

8 

I am always singing about the wonderful things you do.

9 

Don’t throw me away just because I am old.

    Don’t leave me as I lose my strength.

10 

My enemies make plans against me.

    They have met together and are making plans to kill me.

11 

They say, “Go get him!

    God has left him, so there is no one to help him.”

12 

God, don’t leave me!

    My God, hurry and help me!

13 

Defeat my enemies.

    Destroy them completely!

They are trying to hurt me.

    Let them suffer shame and disgrace.

14 

Then I will always trust in you

    and praise you more and more.

15 

I will tell people how good you are.

    I will tell about all the times you saved me—

    too many times to count.

16 

I will tell about your greatness, my Lord God.

    I will talk only about you and your goodness.

17 

God, you have taught me since I was a young boy.

    And to this day I have told people about the wonderful things you do.

18 

Now that I am old and my hair is gray, don’t leave me, God.

    I must tell the next generation about your power and greatness.

19 

God, your goodness reaches far above the skies.

    You have done wonderful things.

    God, there is no one like you.

20 

You have let me see troubles and hard times,

    but you will give me new life;

    you will lift me up from this pit of death!

21 

You will help me do even greater things.

    You will comfort me again!

22 

I will play the harp and praise you.

    My God, I will sing about your faithfulness.

I will play songs on my lyre

    for the Holy One of Israel.

23 

I will shout for joy,

    singing songs of praise to you for saving me.

24 

My tongue will sing about your goodness all the time,

    because those who wanted to kill me

    have been defeated and disgraced.

Peace

Prepare your heart!

Job 11:13-20

“If you prepare your heart,

    you will stretch out your hands toward him.

If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

    and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;

    you will be secure and will not fear.

You will forget your misery;

    you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

And your life will be brighter than the noonday;

    its darkness will be like the morning.

And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

    you will look around and take your rest in security.

You will lie down, and none will make you afraid;

    many will court your favor.

But the eyes of the wicked will fail;

    all way of escape will be lost to them,

    and their hope is to breathe their last.”

Peace

Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...

From the desire of being extolled ...

From the desire of being honored ...

From the desire of being praised ...

From the desire of being preferred to others...

From the desire of being consulted ...

From the desire of being approved ...

From the fear of being humiliated ...

From the fear of being despised...

From the fear of suffering rebukes ...

From the fear of being calumniated ...

From the fear of being forgotten ...

From the fear of being ridiculed ...

From the fear of being wronged ...

From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...

That, in the opinion of the world,

others may increase and I may decrease ...

That others may be chosen and I set aside ...

That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...

That others may be preferred to me in everything...

That others may become holier than I, 

provided that I may become as holy as I should…

Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),

Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X

Peace

Listen...

Isaiah 46:3-7

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

    all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from before your birth, 
carried from the womb;

even to your old age I am he,

    and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

    I will carry and will save.

“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

    and compare me, that we may be alike?

Those who lavish gold from the purse,

    and weigh out silver in the scales,

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

    then they fall down and worship!

They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,

    they set it in its place, and it stands there;

    it cannot move from its place.

If one cries to it, it does not answer

    or save him from his trouble.

Peace

Today I choose to trust in You.

Father, today I choose to trust in You. I release frustration over the dreams and desires in my heart, knowing that You know what’s best for me. I choose to trust Your timing because You are faithful, and I will bless You in all things in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Peace

Be Holy!

“Be ye holy, for I am holy.’ It is as if God said, Holiness is my blessedness and my glory: without this you cannot, in the very nature of things, see me or enjoy me. Holiness is my blessedness and my glory: there is nothing higher to be conceived; I invited you to share with me in it, I invite you to likeness to myself: ‘Be ye holy, for I am holy.’ Is it not enough, has it no attraction, does it not move and draw you mightily, the hope of being with me, partakers of my Holiness? I have nothing better to offer—I offer you myself: ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’ Shall we not cry earnestly to God to show us the glory of His Holiness, that our souls may be made willing to give everything in response to this wondrous call? 

Andrew Murray

Peace

Truth vs. Fiction

"Truth

 

must necessarily be stranger than fiction; for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it." G.K. Chesterton

Peace

In whom I take refuge

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. 2 Samuel 22:3

Peace