Friday, May 10, 2013

"clap your hands; shout to God with cries of gladness" Psalms 47(46):2-3

All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with cries of gladness.
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth. 




An Applause To Learning

MA Nangini

"clap your hands; shout to God with cries of gladness" Psalms 47(46):2-3

that...
        it costs money
        to buy and waste
       
that...
        compromise
        leaves a more desirable taste
        than bitter conflict
        unresolved
        tugging the rope
        to the breaking point
        stuck on the edges of pros & cons

that...
        imposing limits on oneself
        has a greater value
        than limits forced
        by someone else

that...
        moderation
                not taking
                until the pleasure runs out 
                and there's none left to relish
                and to dream with
        brings lasting enjoyment

that...
        personal trouble mountains
        shrink in proportion
        with just a simple shift in plea
        "be fair to us"
        and to hear in the listening

that...
        to soothe
        another's fresh hurt or old wound
        fills out one's own dire need
        and emptied human shell
        with soulful

that...
        to tame
        the rage of anger
        injustice - shame - disgust
        is to accept faults
        failures - imperfect behaviours
        and that just as they are manufactured
        into existence - with our assistance
        they can be changed
        and the energy transformed

that...
        to know
        what alleviates
        anxious nervous boredom
        and nothingness
        by doing something
        anything that gives us means
        to control and feel success
        is to know the recipe
        for wilfulness
        or the willingness
        to do what is right and just
        because it leads us away from
        a distasteful and dissatisfied life.
 

Friday, April 19, 2013

"For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ."(St Jerome)

  

at the heart of forgiveness ~
divine strength

"Be merciful, as your Father is merciful" (Lk 6:36)
"You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity." (Mtt 23:23)
 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  (Mtt 18:32)
" If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
"And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him." (Luke 17:3-4)
 

Prayer and Sacred Scripture: "we speak to Him when we pray; we hear Him when we read the divine saying" (St Ambrose)...


wine poured:
divine love's bouquet
nourishing hearts


Monday, April 15, 2013

"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:24

Father Cantalamessa teaches us about the Holy Trinity of Love: "God is love in himself, before time, because he has always had in himself a Son, the word, whom he loves with an infinite love, that is, in the Holy Spirit. In all love there are always three realities or subjects: one who loves, one who is loved, and the love that unites them.

The God of Christian revelation is one and triune because he is communion of love. Theology has made use of the term "nature" or "substance" to indicate unity in God, and of the term "person" to indicate the distinction. Because of this we say that our God is one God in three persons. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is not a regression, a compromise between monotheism and polytheism. It is a step further that only God himself could make the human mind take.

Let us now turn to some practical considerations. The Trinity is the model of every human community, from the most simple and elemental, which is the family, to the universal Church. It shows how love creates unity out of diversity: unity of intentions, of thought, of will; diversity of subjects, of characteristics and, in the human realm, of sex. And we see, specifically, what a family can learn from the Trinitarian model.

If we read the New Testament with care, we observe a sort of rule. Each one of the three divine persons does not speak about himself, but about the other; does not attract attention to himself, but to the other. Every time the Father speaks in the Gospel he does so always to reveal something of the Son. Jesus, in turn, speaks only of the Father. When the Holy Spirit reaches a believer's heart, he does not teach him to say his name, which in Hebrew is "Ruah," but teaches him to say "Abba," which is the Father's name.

Let's try to think what this style would bring about if it were transferred to family life. The father, who is not so concerned about asserting his authority as that of the mother; the mother, who before teaching the child to say "Mommy," teaches him to say "Daddy." If this style was imitated in our families and communities, they would truly become a reflection of the Trinity on earth, places where love is the rule that governs everything."

 

 

Loving One Another: And in This We Will Also Love God

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other[a] because he loved us first.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister,[b] that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.[c]

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Habemus Papam Franciscum!



With Pope Francis:

We are one
in the brotherhood
in the Communion of Love
the body of Christ in prayer
and in sacrifice
in the sharing of the gifts
and the Gift of Love –the Son:

We embrace and are embraced
We are held and we hold
We are blessed and we bless
We are served and we serve
We are given and we give

The work of Peace
is the labour of Love
self-sacrificing
bearers of Truth
to return stones
into hearts of flesh
and know that God is God
and we belong to Him:

There is no love
no joy
no peace
but in Him
all things are possible
because the Power of God
is with us
in us
and works through us
as we return
to being “living stones”
around the “cornerstone”
of Love and Sacrifice:

A holy nation
called to Love
being holy
one living stone at a time
building the Kingdom of God on earth
as it is in Heaven
no one left out
no one abandoned
no one harmed
but all are one in the One Love
lifted high upon the Cross of Redemption
and the Resurrection into Eternal Life
for the whole of humanity.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Habemus Papam Franciscum!

 
Prayer of Trust:

Wounded Mother of the Crucified
revived by the Resurrection
and the assurance of Redemption
you were left behind at the Ascension
to Mother your Son’s Holy Church
on Earth
together with your Spouse
God the Holy Spirit;
today still
you remain
to guide
teach
uphold all that is Holy
for the Glory of God the Father
through the Son
now entrusted to Pope Francis
from under your Mantle
and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
“renew the face of the earth.”

nangini 3/13/2013
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images
Lightning strikes the Dome of St Peter's at the Vatican on Feb. 11, 2013.