A Prayer in Spring
by: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
OH, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.
http://www.blackcatpoems.com/f/a_prayer_in_spring.html
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
J.I. Packer
“‘Sometimes a soul thinks or hopes that it may through grace be utterly freed from this troublesome inmate. Upon some sweet enjoyment of God, some full supply of grace, some return from wandering, some deep affliction, some thorough humiliation, the soul begins to hope that it shall now be freed from the law of sin. But after a while ... sin acts again, makes good its old station,’ and the fight has to be resumed. No one ‘gets out of Romans 7’ in this world.”J.I. Packer Theologian
“I nowadays think that the way to deal with temptation is at once to say no, and with that to ask the Lord for strength to keep saying no and actually to mortify — that is, do to death, squelch, and enervate — the sinful urge.”
"The unceasing activity of the Creator, whereby in overflowing bounty and goodwill, He upholds His creatures in ordered existence, guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for His own glory".
“I nowadays think that the way to deal with temptation is at once to say no, and with that to ask the Lord for strength to keep saying no and actually to mortify — that is, do to death, squelch, and enervate — the sinful urge.”
"The unceasing activity of the Creator, whereby in overflowing bounty and goodwill, He upholds His creatures in ordered existence, guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for His own glory".
Christ -our ultimate model
Certain portions of an article on penn lewis by Richard Fisher was very revealing.Truly bible tells of varied experiences by various people , no two saints in bible share the same experience
The emotional roller coaster of David in the Psalms may at times help us in our struggles but we cannot match David exactly, experience by experience, nor do we have to. No one is exactly like anyone else and that the Bible makes amply clear. Varied accounts of believers’ lives are given to us by God in Scripture to show His diversity with us. The vast variety in life and nature tell us the same thing.
Jesus, in John 21:17-23, rebuked Peter for making these kinds of carnal comparisons and stressed our individuality and individual calling. Though we may learn from others, we are not to be clones (1 Corinthians 12:4-12). Christ is our ultimate model (1 Peter 2:21-25).
The emotional roller coaster of David in the Psalms may at times help us in our struggles but we cannot match David exactly, experience by experience, nor do we have to. No one is exactly like anyone else and that the Bible makes amply clear. Varied accounts of believers’ lives are given to us by God in Scripture to show His diversity with us. The vast variety in life and nature tell us the same thing.
Jesus, in John 21:17-23, rebuked Peter for making these kinds of carnal comparisons and stressed our individuality and individual calling. Though we may learn from others, we are not to be clones (1 Corinthians 12:4-12). Christ is our ultimate model (1 Peter 2:21-25).
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saint Dominic-1170 – August 6, 1221
The founder of the Friars Preachers, popularly called the Dominicans or Order of Preachers (OP).He preached against heresy.Soon his order spread throughout Spain and then to other parts of the World.Throughout his life, Dominic is said to have zealously practiced rigorous self-denial. He abstained from meat and observed stated fasts and periods of silence. He selected the worst accommodations and the meanest clothes, and never allowed himself the luxury of a bed. When traveling, he beguiled the journey with spiritual instruction and prayers. As soon as he passed the limits of towns and villages, he took off his shoes, and, however sharp the stones or thorns, he trudged on his way barefooted. Rain and other discomforts elicited from his lips nothing but praises to God.Death came at the age of fifty-one and found him exhausted with the austerities and labors of his eventful career. Before death he exhorted his followers to have charity, to guard their humility, and to make their treasure out of poverty. He died at noon on 6 August 1221.He was canonized in 1234 and is the patron saint of astronomers.His Feast day is celebrated on Aug. 8.
The Dominicans were founded as part of the mendicant movement: not monks tied to a monastery but called to go out into the world carrying the Gospel while retaining the roots of monastic prayer. In Dominican spirituality, common prayer and apostolic activity are mutually nourishing. Like the apostles who were sent out to preach but were also exhorted by Jesus to pray constantly, our preaching is a prayer, an encounter with God in the people with whom and to whom we preach, and our time spent in silence before God orients us more surely to our apostolic mission.http://curia.op.org/en/
The Dominicans were founded as part of the mendicant movement: not monks tied to a monastery but called to go out into the world carrying the Gospel while retaining the roots of monastic prayer. In Dominican spirituality, common prayer and apostolic activity are mutually nourishing. Like the apostles who were sent out to preach but were also exhorted by Jesus to pray constantly, our preaching is a prayer, an encounter with God in the people with whom and to whom we preach, and our time spent in silence before God orients us more surely to our apostolic mission.http://curia.op.org/en/
When I survey the wondrous cross
This hymn is written by Isaac Watts considered as father of English Hymnody.
Charles Wesley , a Methodist reformer, loved this hymn the most , more than all the hymns that he had written himself.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
[Added by the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern]
To Christ, who won for sinners grace
By bitter grief and anguish sore,
Be praise from all the ransomed race
Forever and forevermore.
Charles Wesley , a Methodist reformer, loved this hymn the most , more than all the hymns that he had written himself.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
[Added by the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern]
To Christ, who won for sinners grace
By bitter grief and anguish sore,
Be praise from all the ransomed race
Forever and forevermore.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Being in control
Worry enters in my mind, and before i realise , it has already begun a whirlwind.Past week had been full of many unexpected events, especially fathers sickness and pain.I found myself dragged to the feet of the Lord, pleading for relief and healing, i found myself praising Him for His many a favours and graces that i took for granted.Now sitting quietly , pondering over many things i realised the whirlwind that was forming.I reminded myself of the Lord being in control and the need for praise that is due to Him.
As the Lord teaches us not to worry about tomorrow in the bible, we need to ask for help to keep this habit in check.Following devotional excerpt by Charles swindoll, was found useful by me.
A healthy, happy life requires being in control of ourselves. To be punctual, we must control the use of our time. To be prepared and ready, we must be in control of our schedule. To be a good listener, our minds and tongue must be controlled. To get a project completed, our tendency to procrastinate must be under the firm control of our determination.
This means, then, that we need to be in firm control of ourselves . . . but not controlling of others. Our example? Christ, of course. He got the job done. Without wasted effort, personal panic, or extreme demands, He accomplished the objective. Right on schedule, He went to that cross. When He sighed, "It is finished," it was. Absolutely and completely.
http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/Day_by_Day/
As the Lord teaches us not to worry about tomorrow in the bible, we need to ask for help to keep this habit in check.Following devotional excerpt by Charles swindoll, was found useful by me.
A healthy, happy life requires being in control of ourselves. To be punctual, we must control the use of our time. To be prepared and ready, we must be in control of our schedule. To be a good listener, our minds and tongue must be controlled. To get a project completed, our tendency to procrastinate must be under the firm control of our determination.
This means, then, that we need to be in firm control of ourselves . . . but not controlling of others. Our example? Christ, of course. He got the job done. Without wasted effort, personal panic, or extreme demands, He accomplished the objective. Right on schedule, He went to that cross. When He sighed, "It is finished," it was. Absolutely and completely.
http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/Day_by_Day/
Dominique_Lapierre--City of Joy
Human dignity could flourish under what most people would think of as impossible conditions.Dominique_Lapierre
"Nowhere did I understand better what was life, with a big L, than in some of the most rotten places in Calcutta," ''When I arrived in Calcutta in 1981, I had no intention of writing anything,'' Mr. Lapierre said during a recent visit to New York. ''My wife and I adopted a home for 150 children of lepers in northern Calcutta. Mother Teresa took us to one of the slums in a small area that translates as City of Joy. The people live there on less than 10 cents a day. And yet I saw more joy, more compassion, more God-loving than anywhere in my 30 years as a writer. It was an inspiration.''So one day I went to a bookshop and bought 10 notebooks and 12 ball point pens and stayed in Calcutta for two years. I knew I had to tell this epic of hope and love and joy. Half the royalties from 'City of Joy' are going back to Calcutta in the form of mobile medical units and other aid to the gallant people working and living there.''
'The City of Joy'' is about suffering, sorrow, cruelty and deprivation; about practices so hideous as almost to suspend belief, though they are shockingly true. It is about filth, rags, wounds, disease, even leprosy. Repulsive words. Yet even more, the book is about other words that wonderfully leaven the whole: loyalty, kindness, tolerance, generosity, patience, endurance, acceptance, faith, even holiness. And it is about such love that we cannot pass by on the other side. In any case, it is too fascinating to allow us to do that."
Far more important than such quibbles, the book is, in a way, too overwhelming. It tells so much that the mind becomes numbed, as happens in a famine or cyclone - I have known both - when compassion ceases simply because the heart can take no more
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/03/books
"Nowhere did I understand better what was life, with a big L, than in some of the most rotten places in Calcutta," ''When I arrived in Calcutta in 1981, I had no intention of writing anything,'' Mr. Lapierre said during a recent visit to New York. ''My wife and I adopted a home for 150 children of lepers in northern Calcutta. Mother Teresa took us to one of the slums in a small area that translates as City of Joy. The people live there on less than 10 cents a day. And yet I saw more joy, more compassion, more God-loving than anywhere in my 30 years as a writer. It was an inspiration.''So one day I went to a bookshop and bought 10 notebooks and 12 ball point pens and stayed in Calcutta for two years. I knew I had to tell this epic of hope and love and joy. Half the royalties from 'City of Joy' are going back to Calcutta in the form of mobile medical units and other aid to the gallant people working and living there.''
'The City of Joy'' is about suffering, sorrow, cruelty and deprivation; about practices so hideous as almost to suspend belief, though they are shockingly true. It is about filth, rags, wounds, disease, even leprosy. Repulsive words. Yet even more, the book is about other words that wonderfully leaven the whole: loyalty, kindness, tolerance, generosity, patience, endurance, acceptance, faith, even holiness. And it is about such love that we cannot pass by on the other side. In any case, it is too fascinating to allow us to do that."
Far more important than such quibbles, the book is, in a way, too overwhelming. It tells so much that the mind becomes numbed, as happens in a famine or cyclone - I have known both - when compassion ceases simply because the heart can take no more
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/03/books
Friday, December 18, 2009
Evening Prayer and Examination of Conscience.
I read this from the book on devout life by saint Francis de sales and the orderliness and the depth of meaning conveyed in it , made me to pause for few minutes .How many times have i really reflected upon the Lord's providence and protection.
Evening Prayer and Examination of Conscience.
AS I have counseled you before your material dinner to make a spiritual repast in meditation, so before your evening meal you should make at least a devout spiritual collation. Make sure of some brief leisure before suppertime, and then prostrating yourself before God, and recollecting yourself in the Presence of Christ Crucified, setting Him before your mind with a stedfast inward glance, renew the warmth of your morning’s meditation by some hearty 86 aspirations and humble upliftings of your soul to your Blessed Saviour, either repeating those points of your meditation which helped you most, or kindling your heart with anything else you will.
As to the examination of conscience, which we all should make before going to bed, you know the rules:
1. Thank God for having preserved you through the day past.
2. Examine how you have conducted yourself through the day, in order to which recall where and with whom you have been, and what you have done.
3. If you have done anything good, offer thanks to God; if you have done amiss in thought, word, or deed, ask forgiveness of His Divine Majesty, resolving to confess the fault when opportunity offers, and to be diligent in doing better.
4. Then commend your body and soul, the Church, your relations and friends, to God. Ask that the Saints and Angels may keep watch over you, and with God’s Blessing go to the rest He has appointed for you. Neither this practice nor that of the morning should ever be omitted
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/desales/devout_life.iv.xi.html
Evening Prayer and Examination of Conscience.
AS I have counseled you before your material dinner to make a spiritual repast in meditation, so before your evening meal you should make at least a devout spiritual collation. Make sure of some brief leisure before suppertime, and then prostrating yourself before God, and recollecting yourself in the Presence of Christ Crucified, setting Him before your mind with a stedfast inward glance, renew the warmth of your morning’s meditation by some hearty 86 aspirations and humble upliftings of your soul to your Blessed Saviour, either repeating those points of your meditation which helped you most, or kindling your heart with anything else you will.
As to the examination of conscience, which we all should make before going to bed, you know the rules:
1. Thank God for having preserved you through the day past.
2. Examine how you have conducted yourself through the day, in order to which recall where and with whom you have been, and what you have done.
3. If you have done anything good, offer thanks to God; if you have done amiss in thought, word, or deed, ask forgiveness of His Divine Majesty, resolving to confess the fault when opportunity offers, and to be diligent in doing better.
4. Then commend your body and soul, the Church, your relations and friends, to God. Ask that the Saints and Angels may keep watch over you, and with God’s Blessing go to the rest He has appointed for you. Neither this practice nor that of the morning should ever be omitted
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/desales/devout_life.iv.xi.html
Underhill, Evelyn (1875-1941)Practical Mysticism
All human personality was thus two-fold: thus capable of correspondence with two orders of existence. The “higher life” was always tending toward union with Reality; towards the gathering of itself up into One. The “lower life,” framed for correspondence with the outward world of multiplicity, was always tending to fall downwards, and fritter the powers of the self among external things. This is but a restatement, in terms of practical existence, of the fact which Recollection brought home to us: that the human self is transitional, neither angel nor animal, capable of living towards either Eternity or Time. But it is one thing to frame beautiful theories on these subjects: another when the unresolved dualism of your own personality (though you may not give it this high-sounding name) becomes the main fact of consciousness, perpetually reasserts itself as a vital problem, and refuses to take academic rank.
This state of things means the acute discomfort which ensues on being pulled two ways at once. The uneasy swaying of attention between two incompatible ideals, the alternating conviction that there is something wrong, perverse, poisonous, about life as you have always lived it, and something hopelessly ethereal about the life which your innermost inhabitant wants to live—these disagreeable sensations grow stronger and stronger. First one and then the other asserts itself. You fluctuate miserably between their attractions and their claims; and will have no peace until these claims have been met, and the apparent opposition between them resolved. You are sure now that there is another, more durable and more “reasonable,” life possible to the human consciousness than that on which it usually spends itself. But it is also clear to you that you must yourself be something more, or other, than you are now, if you are to achieve this life, dwell in it, and breathe its air. You have had in your brief spells of recollection a first quick vision of that plane of being which Augustine called “the land of peace,” the “beauty old and new.” You know for evermore that it exists: that the real thing within yourself belongs to it, might live in it, is being all the time invited and enticed to it. You begin, in fact, to feel and know in every fibre of your being the mystical need of “union with Reality”; and to realise that the natural scene which you have accepted so trustfully cannot provide the correspondences toward which you are stretching out.
This state of things means the acute discomfort which ensues on being pulled two ways at once. The uneasy swaying of attention between two incompatible ideals, the alternating conviction that there is something wrong, perverse, poisonous, about life as you have always lived it, and something hopelessly ethereal about the life which your innermost inhabitant wants to live—these disagreeable sensations grow stronger and stronger. First one and then the other asserts itself. You fluctuate miserably between their attractions and their claims; and will have no peace until these claims have been met, and the apparent opposition between them resolved. You are sure now that there is another, more durable and more “reasonable,” life possible to the human consciousness than that on which it usually spends itself. But it is also clear to you that you must yourself be something more, or other, than you are now, if you are to achieve this life, dwell in it, and breathe its air. You have had in your brief spells of recollection a first quick vision of that plane of being which Augustine called “the land of peace,” the “beauty old and new.” You know for evermore that it exists: that the real thing within yourself belongs to it, might live in it, is being all the time invited and enticed to it. You begin, in fact, to feel and know in every fibre of your being the mystical need of “union with Reality”; and to realise that the natural scene which you have accepted so trustfully cannot provide the correspondences toward which you are stretching out.
Saint Francis de Sales(1567 – 1622)
Is regarded as patron saints for deaf as he developed sign language to teach deaf man.Born into a noble family of France , he recieved best of education from best schools of his time.After a period of sickness and being bedridden he dedicated his life for the service of God.After studying Law and Theology , he decided to become a priest.He refused to marry the wealthy heiress his father had chosen for him.He chose life of love and service for the poor.
Excerpts from Introduction to the Devout Life
There are five shorter kinds of prayer, which are as aids and assistants to the great devotion, and foremost among these is your morning prayer, as a general preparation for all the day’s work. It should be made in this wise.
1. Thank God, and adore Him for His Grace which has kept you safely through the night, and if in anything you have offended against Him, ask forgiveness.
2. Call to mind that the day now beginning 84 is given you in order that you may work for Eternity, and make a stedfast resolution to use this day for that end.
3. Consider beforehand what occupations, duties and occasions are likely this day to enable you to serve God; what temptations to offend Him, either by vanity, anger, etc., may arise; and make a fervent resolution to use all means of serving Him and confirming your own piety; as also to avoid and resist whatever might hinder your salvation and God’s Glory. Nor is it enough to make such a resolution,—you must also prepare to carry it into effect. Thus, if you foresee having to meet some one who is hottempered and irritable, you must not merely resolve to guard your own temper, but you must consider by what gentle words to conciliate him. If you know you will see some sick person, consider how best to minister comfort to him, and so on.
4. Next, humble yourself before God, confessing that of yourself you could carry out nothing that you have planned, either in avoiding evil or seeking good. Then, so to say, take your heart in your hands, and offer it and all your good intentions to God’s Gracious Majesty, entreating Him to accept them, and strengthen you in His Service, which you may do in some such words as these: “Lord, I lay before Thee 85 my weak heart, which Thou dost fill with good desires. Thou knowest that I am unable to bring the same to good effect, unless Thou dost bless and prosper them, and therefore, O Loving Father, I entreat of Thee to help me by the Merits and Passion of Thy Dear Son, to Whose Honour I would devote this day and my whole life.”
All these acts should be made briefly and heartily, before you leave your room if possible, so that all the coming work of the day may be prospered with God’s blessing; but anyhow, my daughter, I entreat you never to omit them.
Excerpts from Introduction to the Devout Life
There are five shorter kinds of prayer, which are as aids and assistants to the great devotion, and foremost among these is your morning prayer, as a general preparation for all the day’s work. It should be made in this wise.
1. Thank God, and adore Him for His Grace which has kept you safely through the night, and if in anything you have offended against Him, ask forgiveness.
2. Call to mind that the day now beginning 84 is given you in order that you may work for Eternity, and make a stedfast resolution to use this day for that end.
3. Consider beforehand what occupations, duties and occasions are likely this day to enable you to serve God; what temptations to offend Him, either by vanity, anger, etc., may arise; and make a fervent resolution to use all means of serving Him and confirming your own piety; as also to avoid and resist whatever might hinder your salvation and God’s Glory. Nor is it enough to make such a resolution,—you must also prepare to carry it into effect. Thus, if you foresee having to meet some one who is hottempered and irritable, you must not merely resolve to guard your own temper, but you must consider by what gentle words to conciliate him. If you know you will see some sick person, consider how best to minister comfort to him, and so on.
4. Next, humble yourself before God, confessing that of yourself you could carry out nothing that you have planned, either in avoiding evil or seeking good. Then, so to say, take your heart in your hands, and offer it and all your good intentions to God’s Gracious Majesty, entreating Him to accept them, and strengthen you in His Service, which you may do in some such words as these: “Lord, I lay before Thee 85 my weak heart, which Thou dost fill with good desires. Thou knowest that I am unable to bring the same to good effect, unless Thou dost bless and prosper them, and therefore, O Loving Father, I entreat of Thee to help me by the Merits and Passion of Thy Dear Son, to Whose Honour I would devote this day and my whole life.”
All these acts should be made briefly and heartily, before you leave your room if possible, so that all the coming work of the day may be prospered with God’s blessing; but anyhow, my daughter, I entreat you never to omit them.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Evelyn Underhill(1875-1941)
Evelyn Underhill was known very famously for her work particularly on christian mysticism.One of the most widely read writers on areas of religion and philosophy.
Her best-known work, Mysticism, was published in 1911 and was received with much interest.
From the time of her conversion Evelyn Underhill's life consisted of various forms of religious work. She was fond of quoting St. Teresa's saying that "to give Our Lord a perfect service Martha and Mary must combine." Her mornings were given to writing and her afternoons to visiting the poor and to the direction of soul."
http://www.evelynunderhill.org/her_work/about_her_life.shtml
The practical man may justly observe at this point that the world of single vision is the only world he knows: that it appears to him to be real, solid, and self-consistent: and that until the existence—at least, the probability—of other planes of reality is made clear to him, all talk of uniting with them is mere moonshine, which confirms his opinion of mysticism as a game fit only for idle women and inferior poets.
Her best-known work, Mysticism, was published in 1911 and was received with much interest.
From the time of her conversion Evelyn Underhill's life consisted of various forms of religious work. She was fond of quoting St. Teresa's saying that "to give Our Lord a perfect service Martha and Mary must combine." Her mornings were given to writing and her afternoons to visiting the poor and to the direction of soul."
http://www.evelynunderhill.org/her_work/about_her_life.shtml
The practical man may justly observe at this point that the world of single vision is the only world he knows: that it appears to him to be real, solid, and self-consistent: and that until the existence—at least, the probability—of other planes of reality is made clear to him, all talk of uniting with them is mere moonshine, which confirms his opinion of mysticism as a game fit only for idle women and inferior poets.
Saint Basil
Saint Basil was the bishop of Caesarea (Turkey).He was a famous 4th century theologian known for setting standards for monastic life stressing on prayer and liturgy and for his care for poor and underprivileged. Born in an elite family he went to study law, but his life changed after he met Eustathius of Sebaste.
Saint Basil gave away his inheritance to serve the poor and strived to work for the reforming the underprivileged . Basil is considered as an important saint in the development of Christian monasticism.
directions for monastic discipline. “Let the superintendent exert discipline after the manner of a physician treating his patients. He is not angry with the sick, but fights with the disease, and sets himself to combat their bad symptoms. If need be, he must heal the sickness of the soul by severer treatment; for example, love of vain glory by the imposition of lowly tasks; foolish talking, by silence; immoderate sleep, by watching and prayer; idleness, by toil; gluttony, by fasting; murmuring, by seclusion, so that no brothers may work with the offender, nor admit him to participation in their works, till by his penitence that needeth not to be ashamed he appear to be rid of his complaint”
Daily work is as necessary as daily bread. The services of the day are thus marked out. The first movements of heart and mind ought to be consecrated to God. Therefore early in the morning nothing ought to be planned or purposed before we have been gladdened by the thought of God; as it is written, “I remembered God, and was gladdened;”552552 the body is not to be set to work before we have obeyed the command, “O Lord, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice; in the morning will I order my prayer unto thee.”553553 Ps. v. 3.
I had wasted much time on follies and spent nearly all of my youth in vain labors, and devotion to the teachings of a wisdom that God had made foolish. Suddenly, I awoke as out of a deep sleep. I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth, and I recognized the nothingness of the wisdom of the princes of this world. ”
Saint Basil gave away his inheritance to serve the poor and strived to work for the reforming the underprivileged . Basil is considered as an important saint in the development of Christian monasticism.
directions for monastic discipline. “Let the superintendent exert discipline after the manner of a physician treating his patients. He is not angry with the sick, but fights with the disease, and sets himself to combat their bad symptoms. If need be, he must heal the sickness of the soul by severer treatment; for example, love of vain glory by the imposition of lowly tasks; foolish talking, by silence; immoderate sleep, by watching and prayer; idleness, by toil; gluttony, by fasting; murmuring, by seclusion, so that no brothers may work with the offender, nor admit him to participation in their works, till by his penitence that needeth not to be ashamed he appear to be rid of his complaint”
Daily work is as necessary as daily bread. The services of the day are thus marked out. The first movements of heart and mind ought to be consecrated to God. Therefore early in the morning nothing ought to be planned or purposed before we have been gladdened by the thought of God; as it is written, “I remembered God, and was gladdened;”552552 the body is not to be set to work before we have obeyed the command, “O Lord, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice; in the morning will I order my prayer unto thee.”553553 Ps. v. 3.
I had wasted much time on follies and spent nearly all of my youth in vain labors, and devotion to the teachings of a wisdom that God had made foolish. Suddenly, I awoke as out of a deep sleep. I beheld the wonderful light of the Gospel truth, and I recognized the nothingness of the wisdom of the princes of this world. ”
Fanny Crosby-a happy soul
Born blind, but never saw it as a handicap in her life.She believed her blindness to be a blessing from God.Was thoroughly raised in Christian Principles and had tremendous memory power from her childhood. A well known American hymn writer she wrote some of the famous hymns,which are a source of peace and comfort.
One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"
http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpcrosby.html
Oh what a happy soul I am,
Although I cannot see;
I am resolved that in this world
Contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy,
That other people don't;
To weep and sigh because I'm blind,
I cannot, and I won't."
One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"
http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpcrosby.html
Oh what a happy soul I am,
Although I cannot see;
I am resolved that in this world
Contented I will be.
How many blessings I enjoy,
That other people don't;
To weep and sigh because I'm blind,
I cannot, and I won't."
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
PRAYER AND PREACHING by Karl Barth
Our Father: thou who hast begotten us, brought us into being by thy Word and thy Spirit; thou who art our Father because thou hast created us, the Lord of the Covenant which thou hast been pleased to make with man, thou in whom and with whom our life began, and in whom it finds its completion.
May the radiance of God, manifested in Jesus Christ, in his life, his death, and his resurrection, shine upon us, on our whole life and on all things! May the secret of earthly life be revealed, that secret which has already been revealed though as yet we do not see it-hence the anxiety, the cares, the false ideas and the despairs in which we live! We do not understand, and we pray that it may be granted to us to see and understand.
Thou givest us our bread for the morrow, and thou givest it today. Thou art our faithful Creator, and never for one moment dost thou cease to be so. We are a people in the wilderness and yet encompassed by the splendours and riches of creation, by all thy creatures and by the covenant of grace which thou hast been pleased to establish between thyself and us. Thou desirest not our death, but our life.
Thou hast snatched us already from those jaws; thine be the glory! We need no longer be oppressed by the menace of the Evil One or go in fear of him. That is why we pray `lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One'. Be ever with us, 0 thou our true and faithful guide, to show us the right path and open it before our feet; thou art the victorious leader before whom the Evil One is no more than a witless and ludicrous goblin, a nothing.We know that without thee it would not be so.
Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is Himself the way
May the radiance of God, manifested in Jesus Christ, in his life, his death, and his resurrection, shine upon us, on our whole life and on all things! May the secret of earthly life be revealed, that secret which has already been revealed though as yet we do not see it-hence the anxiety, the cares, the false ideas and the despairs in which we live! We do not understand, and we pray that it may be granted to us to see and understand.
Thou givest us our bread for the morrow, and thou givest it today. Thou art our faithful Creator, and never for one moment dost thou cease to be so. We are a people in the wilderness and yet encompassed by the splendours and riches of creation, by all thy creatures and by the covenant of grace which thou hast been pleased to establish between thyself and us. Thou desirest not our death, but our life.
Thou hast snatched us already from those jaws; thine be the glory! We need no longer be oppressed by the menace of the Evil One or go in fear of him. That is why we pray `lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One'. Be ever with us, 0 thou our true and faithful guide, to show us the right path and open it before our feet; thou art the victorious leader before whom the Evil One is no more than a witless and ludicrous goblin, a nothing.We know that without thee it would not be so.
Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is Himself the way
Dietrich Bonhoeffer-entirely submissive to the will of God.
The camp doctor who witnessed Bonhoeffer's execution wrote: “I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer ... kneeling on the floor praying fervently to God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the few steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly ever seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.”
Born on feb 4th 1906 at Breslau, Germany to Karl and Paula Bonhoeffer, who came from a lineage of eminent German families.He was raised in a comfortable and intellectual family and from early age desired to become a theologian .He was a gifted pianist.His father was appointed as professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of Berlin when Dietrich was six.They lived in huge comfortable house with several rooms, maids and governess to take care of the house.He was raised in secure family with musical evenings, parties and skits being played at their home.
Dietrich was a keen lover of nature.It was his many memories of Friedrichsbrunn that gave him consolation in the years at Prison.A prayerful person ,he often spent times of quietness and solitude to derive strength from the scriptures.
Later when Germany was invaded during world war 1, Dietrich began to think about death while hearing bullet sounds.He and his sister Sabine used to think about eternity during such times.
When the Nazi regime spread its wings, Bonhoeffer continued preaching from the bible and boldly preached his sermons quoting against the Nazi regime.When even German evangelical church supported Hitlers move as positive Christianity implying that unless God was acting through Hitler for the benefit and progress of the church, thus stating others to support him, Bonhoeffer continued planning against Hitler's regime .He arranged for sending a letter to the then new york Bishop stating the atrocities of the Nazi regime , knowing fully well the dangerous waters he is entering into.
His most quoted verse from bible concerning his bold speeches was from Proverbs-31:8"Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves"
Suggested reading:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian, Christian, Man for His Times: A Biography
By Eberhard Bethge
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Called by God
By Elizabeth Raum
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's organised underground Theological Seminary of the Confessing Church between 1935-37, a small group spending time in bible study and planning against the regime.
When upon his friends insistence to stay in US, he wrote to his friend
"I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people... Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose but I cannot make that choice from security." [20] He returned to Germany on the last scheduled steamer to cross the Atlantic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonhoeffer
, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned at Tegel military prison while awaiting trial. In prison he continued the good work.
Bonhoeffer was executed in a brutal way by hanging at dawn on April 9, 1945, without a defense in Flossenbürg concentration camp,just three weeks before the Soviet capture of Berlin . Bonhoeffer was stripped of his clothing and led naked into the execution yard, where he was hanged with thin wire for strangulation.
Bonhoeffer is commemorated as martyr by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Church of England and the Church in Wales.He insisted that the church, like the Christians, "had to share in the sufferings of God at the hands of a godless world" if it were to be a true church of Christ.
"Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace."
Born on feb 4th 1906 at Breslau, Germany to Karl and Paula Bonhoeffer, who came from a lineage of eminent German families.He was raised in a comfortable and intellectual family and from early age desired to become a theologian .He was a gifted pianist.His father was appointed as professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of Berlin when Dietrich was six.They lived in huge comfortable house with several rooms, maids and governess to take care of the house.He was raised in secure family with musical evenings, parties and skits being played at their home.
Dietrich was a keen lover of nature.It was his many memories of Friedrichsbrunn that gave him consolation in the years at Prison.A prayerful person ,he often spent times of quietness and solitude to derive strength from the scriptures.
Later when Germany was invaded during world war 1, Dietrich began to think about death while hearing bullet sounds.He and his sister Sabine used to think about eternity during such times.
When the Nazi regime spread its wings, Bonhoeffer continued preaching from the bible and boldly preached his sermons quoting against the Nazi regime.When even German evangelical church supported Hitlers move as positive Christianity implying that unless God was acting through Hitler for the benefit and progress of the church, thus stating others to support him, Bonhoeffer continued planning against Hitler's regime .He arranged for sending a letter to the then new york Bishop stating the atrocities of the Nazi regime , knowing fully well the dangerous waters he is entering into.
His most quoted verse from bible concerning his bold speeches was from Proverbs-31:8"Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves"
Suggested reading:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian, Christian, Man for His Times: A Biography
By Eberhard Bethge
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Called by God
By Elizabeth Raum
Dietrich Bonhoeffer's organised underground Theological Seminary of the Confessing Church between 1935-37, a small group spending time in bible study and planning against the regime.
When upon his friends insistence to stay in US, he wrote to his friend
"I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people... Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose but I cannot make that choice from security." [20] He returned to Germany on the last scheduled steamer to cross the Atlantic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonhoeffer
, Bonhoeffer was imprisoned at Tegel military prison while awaiting trial. In prison he continued the good work.
Bonhoeffer was executed in a brutal way by hanging at dawn on April 9, 1945, without a defense in Flossenbürg concentration camp,just three weeks before the Soviet capture of Berlin . Bonhoeffer was stripped of his clothing and led naked into the execution yard, where he was hanged with thin wire for strangulation.
Bonhoeffer is commemorated as martyr by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Church of England and the Church in Wales.He insisted that the church, like the Christians, "had to share in the sufferings of God at the hands of a godless world" if it were to be a true church of Christ.
"Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace."
Monday, December 14, 2009
Isaac Watts
While you make the precepts of scripture the constant rule of your duty, you may with courage rest upon the promises of the scriptures as the springs of your encouragement. All divine assistances and divine recompenses are contained in them. The spirit of light and grace is promised to assist them that ask it. Heaven and glory arc promised to reward the faithful and the.obedient
concerns of your soul-Isaac Watts
Ever carry about with you such a sense of the uncertainty of every thing in this life, and of life itself, as to put nothing off till to-morrow, which you can conveniently do to-day.
Let the concerns of your soul and your shop, your trade and your religion, lie always in such order, as far as possible, that death, at a short warning, may be no occasion of a disquieting tumult in your spirit, and that you may escape the anguish of a bitter repentance in a dying hour. Farewell.
Let the concerns of your soul and your shop, your trade and your religion, lie always in such order, as far as possible, that death, at a short warning, may be no occasion of a disquieting tumult in your spirit, and that you may escape the anguish of a bitter repentance in a dying hour. Farewell.
Isaac Watts
VIII. Make prayer a pleasure and not a task, and then you will not forget nor omit it. If ever you have lived in a praying family, never let it be your fault if you do not live in one always. Believe that day, that hour, or those minutes, to be all wasted and lost, which any worldly pretences would tempt you to save out of the public worship of the church, the certain and constant duties of the closet, or any necessary services for God and godliness. Beware lest a blast attend it, and not a blessing. If God had not reserved one day in seven to himself, I fear religion would have been lost out of the •world; and every day of the week is exposed to a curse which has no morning religion.
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IX. See that you watch and labor, as well as pray. Diligence and dependence must be united in the practice .•f every Christian. It is the same wise man acquaints us, that the hand of the diligent, and the blessing of the JLord, join together to make us rich, Prov. x. 4, 22, rich in the treasures of body or mind, of time or eternity.
, *
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IX. See that you watch and labor, as well as pray. Diligence and dependence must be united in the practice .•f every Christian. It is the same wise man acquaints us, that the hand of the diligent, and the blessing of the JLord, join together to make us rich, Prov. x. 4, 22, rich in the treasures of body or mind, of time or eternity.
, *
Isaac Watts
II. Whatsoever your circumstances may b« in this world, still value your bible as yeur best treasure; and •whatsoever be your employment here, still look upen re.-> ligion as your best business. Your bible contains eternal life in it, and all tbe riches of the upper world; and religion is the only way to become a possessor of them.
- III. To direct your carriage towards God, converse particularly with the book of Psalms: David was a man of sincere and eminent devotion. To behave aright among men, acquaint yourself with the whole book of proverbs : Solomon was a man of large experience and wisdom. And to perfect your directions in both these, read the gospels and the epistles; you will find the best of rules and the best of examples there, and those more immediately suited to the Christian life.
IV. As a man, maintain strict temperance and sobriety, by a wise government of your appetites and passions: as a neighbour, influence and engage all around you to be your friends, by- a temper and carriage made up of prudence and goodness ; and let the poor have a certian share in all your yearly profits: as a trader, keep that golden sentence of our Saviour's ever before you, What*soever you would that men should do unto you, do you also unto them.
V. While you make the precepts of scripture the constant rule of your duty, you may with courage rest upon the promises of the scriptures as the springs of your encouragement. All divine assistances and divine recompenses are contained in them. The spirit of light and grace is promised to assist them that ask it. Heaven and glory arc promised to reward the faithful and the.obedient.
http://www.google.co.uk/books
- III. To direct your carriage towards God, converse particularly with the book of Psalms: David was a man of sincere and eminent devotion. To behave aright among men, acquaint yourself with the whole book of proverbs : Solomon was a man of large experience and wisdom. And to perfect your directions in both these, read the gospels and the epistles; you will find the best of rules and the best of examples there, and those more immediately suited to the Christian life.
IV. As a man, maintain strict temperance and sobriety, by a wise government of your appetites and passions: as a neighbour, influence and engage all around you to be your friends, by- a temper and carriage made up of prudence and goodness ; and let the poor have a certian share in all your yearly profits: as a trader, keep that golden sentence of our Saviour's ever before you, What*soever you would that men should do unto you, do you also unto them.
V. While you make the precepts of scripture the constant rule of your duty, you may with courage rest upon the promises of the scriptures as the springs of your encouragement. All divine assistances and divine recompenses are contained in them. The spirit of light and grace is promised to assist them that ask it. Heaven and glory arc promised to reward the faithful and the.obedient.
http://www.google.co.uk/books
when they crucified my Lord?
1. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
2. Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
3. Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
http://applesaucekids.com/Music/MuHymns/Hymns_W/
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
2. Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
3. Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
http://applesaucekids.com/Music/MuHymns/Hymns_W/
Friday, December 11, 2009
my portion and my cup
LORD, you have assigned me LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6 (NIV) ; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6 (NIV)
This has been a very assuring verse for me when years back i had been going through unstability and delay .Again while searching for a house in a new place, the Lord guided me thro' this verse.
How much security this promise offers to those who believe , to know that our Lord is in contrl of our lives.
This has been a very assuring verse for me when years back i had been going through unstability and delay .Again while searching for a house in a new place, the Lord guided me thro' this verse.
How much security this promise offers to those who believe , to know that our Lord is in contrl of our lives.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
My restless soul
"the will's desire is satisfied by the divine good alone as its last end."
St. Thomas in Summa contra Gentiles
You have made us, O Lord, for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. (Confessions of St. Augustine, 1)
We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated. How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you. [3]St. Augustine
God alone satisfies and infinitely surpasses man’s desires, which therefore can never rest except in God.
St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas in Summa contra Gentiles
You have made us, O Lord, for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. (Confessions of St. Augustine, 1)
We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated. How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you. [3]St. Augustine
God alone satisfies and infinitely surpasses man’s desires, which therefore can never rest except in God.
St. Thomas Aquinas
The goal of this life
The goal of this life is twofold. One part we acquire, with the help of divine grace, through our efforts and virtuous works. This is to offer God a pure heart, free from all stain of actual sin. We do this when we are perfect and in Cherith, that is, hidden in that charity of which the Wise Man says: "Charity covers all sins " [Prov. 10:12]. God desired Elijah to advance thus far when he said to him: "Hide yourself by the brook Cherith " [1 Kgs. 17:3-4].
The other part of the goal of this life is granted us as the free gift of God: namely, to taste somewhat in the heart and to experience in the soul, not only after death but even in this mortal life, the intensity of the divine presence and the sweetness of the glory of heaven. This is to drink of the torrent of the love of God. God promised it to Elijah in the words: "You shall drink from the brook. "
- Felip Ribot, O.Carm., 13th century[2]
The other part of the goal of this life is granted us as the free gift of God: namely, to taste somewhat in the heart and to experience in the soul, not only after death but even in this mortal life, the intensity of the divine presence and the sweetness of the glory of heaven. This is to drink of the torrent of the love of God. God promised it to Elijah in the words: "You shall drink from the brook. "
- Felip Ribot, O.Carm., 13th century[2]
Whatever you do
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" Colossians 3:23-25).
It may be the mundane , dull routine of every day that puts me down or the unrewarding task whose importance is only seen by the Lord , let me find the presence of God in it.
Inspire me dear Lord
Inspire me,
"Men invent means and methods of coming at God's love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God's presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?"
For Brother Lawrence, "common business," no matter how mundane or routine, was the medium of God's love. The issue was not the sacredness or worldly status of the task but the motivation behind it. "Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."
It may be the mundane , dull routine of every day that puts me down or the unrewarding task whose importance is only seen by the Lord , let me find the presence of God in it.
Inspire me dear Lord
Inspire me,
"Men invent means and methods of coming at God's love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God's presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?"
For Brother Lawrence, "common business," no matter how mundane or routine, was the medium of God's love. The issue was not the sacredness or worldly status of the task but the motivation behind it. "Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."
God's leading
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Prov 3:5-6).
Circumstances in our lives may impact us in such a way that we may get tempted to think of the weight of past failures and as defense against the forthcoming failures we may think of some means to use our own wisdom rather than leaning on God.Many of our fear of failure are fears of past.Let us always lean on the bosom of our Lord Christ for He has our future secure in His hands and nothing can perturb His plans concerning us.
“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess”
“Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.”
Martin Luther quotes
The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Circumstances in our lives may impact us in such a way that we may get tempted to think of the weight of past failures and as defense against the forthcoming failures we may think of some means to use our own wisdom rather than leaning on God.Many of our fear of failure are fears of past.Let us always lean on the bosom of our Lord Christ for He has our future secure in His hands and nothing can perturb His plans concerning us.
“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess”
“Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.”
Martin Luther quotes
The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Hannah Senesh's poems
When i read about Hannah Senesh i was moved by her courage and integrity.I was inspired to know that a woman such a tender age as 22, so courageously marched forward into the German occupied Hungary in order to save the Jews who were to be sent to Auschwitz .She kept true to her calling, never reveled her missions when she was caught and tortured.She continued penning down lines and poems and kept singing in the ghetto where she was awaiting her trial.Truly a noble woman , a role model for youngsters.
My God, My God, I pray that these things never end,
The sand and the sea,
The rustle of the waters,
Lightning of the Heavens,
The prayer of Man.
The voice called, and I went.
I went, because the voice called.
One - two - three... eight feet long
Two strides across, the rest is dark...
Life is a fleeting question mark
One - two - three... maybe another week.
Or the next month may still find me here,
But death, I feel is very near.
I could have been 23 next July
I gambled on what mattered most, the dice were cast. I lost.
My God, My God, I pray that these things never end,
The sand and the sea,
The rustle of the waters,
Lightning of the Heavens,
The prayer of Man.
The voice called, and I went.
I went, because the voice called.
One - two - three... eight feet long
Two strides across, the rest is dark...
Life is a fleeting question mark
One - two - three... maybe another week.
Or the next month may still find me here,
But death, I feel is very near.
I could have been 23 next July
I gambled on what mattered most, the dice were cast. I lost.
Rudolf Höss and Holocaust
The first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, from 4 May 1940 to November 1943.Born into a strict Catholic family, raised on strict religious principles,turned against religion in his late teens.Höss formally renounced his membership in the Catholic Church in 1922 and joined the military after hearing Hitler's speech.
By his own admission in his autobiography Höss said that he disliked the corporal punishment carried out by the guards of the camps on the prisoners (he avoided them as much as he could), but when he saw his first execution it did not affect him as the corporal punishment had. In his autobiography, he could not explain why that was.
At the time when he was Blockführer Höss said that, because of the people he had met and the things he had experienced, he regretted leaving the chosen path that his parents had mapped out for him in the church
Höss wrote his autobiography while awaiting execution; it was published in 1958 as Kommandant in Auschwitz; autobiographische Aufzeichnungen[16] and later as Death Dealer: the Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz (among other editions).
Four days before he was hanged, Höss sent a message to the state prosecutor, including these comments:
“ My conscience compels me to make the following declaration. In the solitude of my prison cell I have come to the bitter recognition that I have sinned gravely against humanity. As Commandant of Auschwitz I was responsible for carrying out part of the cruel plans of the 'Third Reich' for human destruction. In so doing I have inflicted terrible wounds on humanity. I caused unspeakable suffering for the Polish people in particular. I am to pay for this with my life. May the Lord God forgive one day what I have done
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_H%C3%B6%C3%9F
By his own admission in his autobiography Höss said that he disliked the corporal punishment carried out by the guards of the camps on the prisoners (he avoided them as much as he could), but when he saw his first execution it did not affect him as the corporal punishment had. In his autobiography, he could not explain why that was.
At the time when he was Blockführer Höss said that, because of the people he had met and the things he had experienced, he regretted leaving the chosen path that his parents had mapped out for him in the church
Höss wrote his autobiography while awaiting execution; it was published in 1958 as Kommandant in Auschwitz; autobiographische Aufzeichnungen[16] and later as Death Dealer: the Memoirs of the SS Kommandant at Auschwitz (among other editions).
Four days before he was hanged, Höss sent a message to the state prosecutor, including these comments:
“ My conscience compels me to make the following declaration. In the solitude of my prison cell I have come to the bitter recognition that I have sinned gravely against humanity. As Commandant of Auschwitz I was responsible for carrying out part of the cruel plans of the 'Third Reich' for human destruction. In so doing I have inflicted terrible wounds on humanity. I caused unspeakable suffering for the Polish people in particular. I am to pay for this with my life. May the Lord God forgive one day what I have done
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_H%C3%B6%C3%9F
The Holocaust-excerpts of victory of the human spirit.
In every ghetto, in every deportation train, in every labor camp, even in the death camps, the will to resist was strong, and took many forms. Fighting with the few weapons that would be found, individual acts of defiance and protest, the courage of obtaining food and water under the threat of death, the superiority of refusing to allow the Germans their final wish to gloat over panic and despair. Even passivity was a form of resistance. To die with dignity was a form of resistance. To resist the demoralizing, brutalizing force of evil, to refuse to be reduced to the level of animals, to live through the torment, to outlive the tormentors, these too were acts of resistance. Merely to give a witness of these events in testimony was, in the end, a contribution to victory. Simply to survive was a victory of the human spirit."
– Martin Gilbert. The Holocaust: The Jewish Tragedy.
– Martin Gilbert. The Holocaust: The Jewish Tragedy.
Monday, December 7, 2009
William Wordsworth Quotes
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.
I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more.
Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present to live better in the future.
That best portion of a man's life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love
The child is father of the man.
The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly.
I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more.
Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present to live better in the future.
That best portion of a man's life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love
The child is father of the man.
The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly.
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
A romantic poet of england who focussed more on nature , children and layman in his poems.
Along with coleridge he brought in the romantic era in english poetry.He developed his love for nature from her sister Dorothy to whom he was very closely bonded.Being raised up in a place called Lake district , he was attracted towards nature.Wordsworth's main works were done between 1797 and 1808.Later he moved on to works having a bend towards autobiographical touch.
"Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge; it is the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all Science." (from Lyrical Ballads, 2nd ed., 1800)
His definition of poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings arising from emotion recollected in tranquillity" was shared by a number of his followers.
A romantic poet of england who focussed more on nature , children and layman in his poems.
Along with coleridge he brought in the romantic era in english poetry.He developed his love for nature from her sister Dorothy to whom he was very closely bonded.Being raised up in a place called Lake district , he was attracted towards nature.Wordsworth's main works were done between 1797 and 1808.Later he moved on to works having a bend towards autobiographical touch.
"Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge; it is the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all Science." (from Lyrical Ballads, 2nd ed., 1800)
His definition of poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings arising from emotion recollected in tranquillity" was shared by a number of his followers.
Identity in Christ
The following text from daily parenting devotional impressed me a lot.I myself have struggled with the identity issue. As explained down , the tags and labels that we often carry with ourselves distract us from focusing on what the Lord would want out of us, it rather makes us to give priority to others opinion about ourselves.
Matt. 19:16, 21-22: Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"... Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth (NIV).
Like the rich man, sometimes we find ourselves chasing after the validation that comes from worldly identities-the competent businessman, the skilled athlete, the organized housewife, even the committed Christian. After we have kids, being the parent of successful children is often added to the list. But focusing on these goals will cause us to become dependent on the opinions of people and less dependent on God. Success or failure in the world's eyes can turn on a dime. God wants us to surrender all of these for complete dependence on Him.
What is your identity?
http://parentingbydesign.com
Matt. 19:16, 21-22: Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"... Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth (NIV).
Like the rich man, sometimes we find ourselves chasing after the validation that comes from worldly identities-the competent businessman, the skilled athlete, the organized housewife, even the committed Christian. After we have kids, being the parent of successful children is often added to the list. But focusing on these goals will cause us to become dependent on the opinions of people and less dependent on God. Success or failure in the world's eyes can turn on a dime. God wants us to surrender all of these for complete dependence on Him.
What is your identity?
http://parentingbydesign.com
Sunday, December 6, 2009
John of the Cross ,Dark Night of the Soul
Dark Night of the Soul
When, therefore, the four passions of the soul—which are joy, grief, hope and fear—are calmed through continual mortification; when the natural desires have been lulled to sleep, in the sensual nature of the soul, by means of habitual times of aridity; and when the harmony of the senses and the interior faculties causes a suspension of labour and a cessation from the work of meditation, as we have said (which is the dwelling and the household of the lower part of the soul), these enemies cannot obstruct this spiritual liberty, and the house remains at rest and quiet, as says the following line:
My house being now at rest.
WHEN this house of sensuality was now at rest—that is, was mortified—its passions being quenched and its desires put to rest and lulled to sleep by means of this blessed night of the purgation of sense, the soul went forth, to set out upon the road and way of the spirit, which is that of progressives and proficients, and which, by another name, is called the way of illumination or of infused contemplation, wherein God Himself feeds and refreshes the soul, without meditation, or the soul’s active help. Such, as we have said, is the night and purgation of sense in the soul.
When, therefore, the four passions of the soul—which are joy, grief, hope and fear—are calmed through continual mortification; when the natural desires have been lulled to sleep, in the sensual nature of the soul, by means of habitual times of aridity; and when the harmony of the senses and the interior faculties causes a suspension of labour and a cessation from the work of meditation, as we have said (which is the dwelling and the household of the lower part of the soul), these enemies cannot obstruct this spiritual liberty, and the house remains at rest and quiet, as says the following line:
My house being now at rest.
WHEN this house of sensuality was now at rest—that is, was mortified—its passions being quenched and its desires put to rest and lulled to sleep by means of this blessed night of the purgation of sense, the soul went forth, to set out upon the road and way of the spirit, which is that of progressives and proficients, and which, by another name, is called the way of illumination or of infused contemplation, wherein God Himself feeds and refreshes the soul, without meditation, or the soul’s active help. Such, as we have said, is the night and purgation of sense in the soul.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Scripture
"Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle" (Ps 144:1).
marriage
When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
John Ruskin
New love is the brightest, and long love is the greatest; but revived love is the tenderest thing known on earth.
Thomas Hardy
Love is a feeling, Marriage is a contract, and a Relationship is work.
Lori Gordon
All those "and they lived happily ever after" fairy tale endings need to be changed to 'and they began the very hard work of making their marriages happy.
Linda Miles
To get divorced because love has died, is like selling your car because it's run out of gas.
Diane Sollee
Be presidents of each other's fan clubs.
Tony Heath
Love is a four-letter word spelled T-I-M-E.
Unknown
Marriage is a career, which brings about more benefits than many others.
Simone de Beauvoir
John Ruskin
New love is the brightest, and long love is the greatest; but revived love is the tenderest thing known on earth.
Thomas Hardy
Love is a feeling, Marriage is a contract, and a Relationship is work.
Lori Gordon
All those "and they lived happily ever after" fairy tale endings need to be changed to 'and they began the very hard work of making their marriages happy.
Linda Miles
To get divorced because love has died, is like selling your car because it's run out of gas.
Diane Sollee
Be presidents of each other's fan clubs.
Tony Heath
Love is a four-letter word spelled T-I-M-E.
Unknown
Marriage is a career, which brings about more benefits than many others.
Simone de Beauvoir
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
florence nightingale
Women never have a half-hour in all their lives (excepting before or after anybody is up in the house) that they can call their own, without fear of offending or of hurting someone. Why do people sit up so late, or, more rarely, get up so early? Not because the day is not long enough, but because they have 'no time in the day to themselves.' [1852]
http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/quotes/a/qu_nightingale.htm
http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/quotes/a/qu_nightingale.htm
life quotes
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. -- Anonymous
Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. -- Danny Kaye
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.-- Abraham Lincoln
Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever...-- Isak Dinesen
http://www.indianchild.com/quotations_on_life.htm
Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. -- Danny Kaye
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.-- Abraham Lincoln
Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever...-- Isak Dinesen
http://www.indianchild.com/quotations_on_life.htm
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