The purpose of life is to give an opportunity for an incarnated spirit to grow in its human form before it takes flight. When life has meaning, the spirit grows in fullness dimensionally and in brightness extra-dimensionally. The more the being chooses God and goodness over Satan and sin, the more complete the spirit, the more likely the spirit will return to heaven from where it came and the more likely it will be united with God [1].
In human form, we are subject to Satan's temptations just as Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan. Since Christ was sinless, He overcame them, but the flesh that God created in Adam and Eve and are part of ours is not sinless. The forbidden apple is part of every person's DNA and the Devil had since showered us with more apples than we can bite into in our lifetimes. All Satan wants us to do is to feed on his apples of temptation and the more a human feeds on them, the less dimensional and the darker the spirit becomes until it is a shade and when it becomes a shade, it cannot return to heaven but is destined to be part of Satan in Hell, "where sin lasts beyond the end of time" [2].
No one other than Satan is recommending a trip to Hell. To avoid Hell, one must find meaning in life, meaning that is intangible and priceless and that can be had through all kinds of human interactions, whether insignificant or life-changing, momentary or lasting, but they all must spring from genuineness and simple humility and be abundant in love, the kind of love that is stable and steadfast, that energizes and overflows, a love that cannot be depleted and does not deprive.
In giving meaning to life, rounding out and brightening the spirit, one must first be content and not go through life as a victim and envious of others, as if the whole world owes him/her, for what has been given, flesh, is a gift that can lead the spirit back to heaven to be with God. Given that to be true, no one on earth should complain about inequality in luck, opportunity, health, wealth, intellect, talent or anything else for that matter and those who remain ungrateful for God's gift of flesh and bitter because of innate inequality have already been mostly owned by Satan and could be destined for Hell.
In other words, even a short, sick and painful life is a gift from God and it can have meaning that will fill and give the incarnated spirit a trip back to heaven to be with God. Conversely, a long and comfortable life replete with fortune, fame and power may not have any meaning at all if they have their origins in Satan's apples, but the best of life's luxuries do not necessarily have to come from Hell, for God can also lavish gifts on those with humility, love and faith in Him. [3] So seeing people who are rich, attractive, intelligent, talented and so on is like seeing a little of what God is like and that is to be celebrated. I truly wish I were surrounded by people like that, people whom God have chosen to pamper, not ingrates who hate God's gift of incarnation, ingrates that have turned into shades that can no longer emnate light but exist powerfully under Satan.
[1] The only way a spirit can return to God, its Creator, and be forever a part God is through the human realm. Therefore a spirit that had once existed in the flesh is different from a spirit that never experienced flesh. Angels never had flesh and they can never become a part of God. That is not to say that angels are necessarily subordinated to a fully dimensioned spirit, they just exist in a separate realm and equally content unless they join the fallen ones.
[2] Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. The Purgatorio, Notes, p. 497. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: New American Library, 2003.
[3] The pronoun used here is for convenience only. I do not know God's gender of if God even has a gender at any moment in time.
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Thoughts On God, Sunday, June 10, 2012 - Poverty Of A Contemplative
Yesterday I happened upon a documentary on a Benedictine Abbey in Tulsa, OK, Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey [1], on EWTN, as I did a some time ago a documentary on another Benedictine Abbey in Berry, France, Fontgombault Abbey, also on EWTN [2]. As it turned out, Clear Creek Abbey was founded in 1999 by Notre-Dame de Fontgombault.
The 1,200 acre property was purchased in 1999 by Abbot Forgeot [1]. "Clear Creek runs through the property which gives it its name." [3] The property, the farm animals, the buildings and all that go into them together with utilities cost money and if I remember correctly over $10 million, but the range could be as high as $25 million based on the 2008 Excellence In Construction Award given to the Associated Builders and Contractors of Oklahoma of Manhattan Construction [4].
From what I remember, Benedictines do take the vow of poverty but owning property and adding to it improvements in excess of $10 million is not exactly poverty by any stretch of the imagination. But then it was explained by a Benedictine monk at Clear Creek that the Benedictine philosophy is to own as much as possible and offer it to God while none of the monks at the monastery individually owns anything. And thus, I suppose, sufficiently satisfies the vow of poverty.
Of course, one can argue whichever way one chooses and find agreement or fault with that kind of reasoning. I happen to be in total agreement. If the contemplatives' sole purpose in life is to pray to and be in communion with God, they ought to have what God provides to them in return, abundance and serenity.
[1] http://www.clearcreekmonks.org/index.html
[2] Confession: I watch a lot of EWTN on TV in bed because it relaxes me and puts me to sleep, but I never know what's on and when. I just turn it on, like taking an Advil, when I need it. Neither of these programs, however, put me to sleep. I was captivated by the life of these Benedictine comtemplatives -- I had, after all, contemplated in joining a monastery, perhaps because of my nature, a thinker, but not because I went to a high school run by Benedictine monks since I saw so much politics and knew a few monks that I thought were not all that holy although a majority of them I thought were extraordinary and I learned many life lessons from them. The Benedictine monks at my high school were not contemplatives -- they work, they teach and they pray too, but not as often as do the comtemplatives. I did not know about contemplatives. I would have been drawn to it. I still am in a way but I am too old now, I think, to become one -- maybe not. We'll see.
[3] http://pryordailytimes.com/local/x1750829472/Christmas-at-Clear-Creek-Abbey
[4] http://www.manhattanconstructiongroup.com/manhattan-construction/recognition/2008-2
The 1,200 acre property was purchased in 1999 by Abbot Forgeot [1]. "Clear Creek runs through the property which gives it its name." [3] The property, the farm animals, the buildings and all that go into them together with utilities cost money and if I remember correctly over $10 million, but the range could be as high as $25 million based on the 2008 Excellence In Construction Award given to the Associated Builders and Contractors of Oklahoma of Manhattan Construction [4].
From what I remember, Benedictines do take the vow of poverty but owning property and adding to it improvements in excess of $10 million is not exactly poverty by any stretch of the imagination. But then it was explained by a Benedictine monk at Clear Creek that the Benedictine philosophy is to own as much as possible and offer it to God while none of the monks at the monastery individually owns anything. And thus, I suppose, sufficiently satisfies the vow of poverty.
Of course, one can argue whichever way one chooses and find agreement or fault with that kind of reasoning. I happen to be in total agreement. If the contemplatives' sole purpose in life is to pray to and be in communion with God, they ought to have what God provides to them in return, abundance and serenity.
[1] http://www.clearcreekmonks.org/index.html
[2] Confession: I watch a lot of EWTN on TV in bed because it relaxes me and puts me to sleep, but I never know what's on and when. I just turn it on, like taking an Advil, when I need it. Neither of these programs, however, put me to sleep. I was captivated by the life of these Benedictine comtemplatives -- I had, after all, contemplated in joining a monastery, perhaps because of my nature, a thinker, but not because I went to a high school run by Benedictine monks since I saw so much politics and knew a few monks that I thought were not all that holy although a majority of them I thought were extraordinary and I learned many life lessons from them. The Benedictine monks at my high school were not contemplatives -- they work, they teach and they pray too, but not as often as do the comtemplatives. I did not know about contemplatives. I would have been drawn to it. I still am in a way but I am too old now, I think, to become one -- maybe not. We'll see.
[3] http://pryordailytimes.com/local/x1750829472/Christmas-at-Clear-Creek-Abbey
[4] http://www.manhattanconstructiongroup.com/manhattan-construction/recognition/2008-2
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Thoughts On God, Sunday, May 27, 2012
The crucifixion date for Jesus is now determined to be April 3, 33. [1] But 1,979 years later, the Vatican is rife with intrigue, from power struggles and political backstabbing to financial mismanagement and corruption as well as the age-old question of whether or not the butler did it. [2] Paolo Gabriele, the Pope's butler, was charged with illegal possession of documents and arrested by the Vatican and placed in a cell within the Vatican. Was he the culprit or was he simply doing his duty, following orders to protect the Pope and the Catholic Church? If the butler turns out to be a pawn in the staging of evidence possibly by the Opus Dei which also happens to be the entity in charge of the investigations against a sinister player in this developing saga, then was he cooperating with Opus Dei in order to do God's work (pardon the pun)? If that is the case, who might this sinister character be? It seems that for now, all fingers are pointing to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
Who is Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone? He is Pope Benedict XVI's Secretary of State. Based on an article published by the Catholic Exchange on February 3, 2012, Cardinal Bertone seems to be an attention-hoarding, power-hungry Cardinal who acted as if he were the Pope. [3] Perhaps he is pro-Italy and in his mind it is time to return the control of the Vatican to the Italians, especially when Italy wants a share of the money the Catholic Church is pulling in to support the debt-ridden Italian government. In order to do so, Cardinal Bertone wanted more "confidentiality" rather than what the Pope wants which is transparency in the Vatican's financial operations. [4]
So where is God in all of this? I'm really not sure. You can "tweet" Pope Benedict XVI @Pope_Benedict. Maybe he has an answer. [5]
[1] http://news.discovery.com/history/jesus-crucifixion-120524.html
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/26/popes-butler-charged-leaked-letters
[3] http://catholicexchange.com/vatican-watch-cardinal-bertones-overreach/
[4] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gWr-mfVtHJn9yNC5SdrRDVvw9x0A?docId=99326afe325b40028903beb8e4227ce8
[5] Follow-up: Pope Benedict XVI's sermon on this Pentecost Sunday at St. Peter's Basilica answers this question with circumlocutional eloquence: http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=591415
Who is Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone? He is Pope Benedict XVI's Secretary of State. Based on an article published by the Catholic Exchange on February 3, 2012, Cardinal Bertone seems to be an attention-hoarding, power-hungry Cardinal who acted as if he were the Pope. [3] Perhaps he is pro-Italy and in his mind it is time to return the control of the Vatican to the Italians, especially when Italy wants a share of the money the Catholic Church is pulling in to support the debt-ridden Italian government. In order to do so, Cardinal Bertone wanted more "confidentiality" rather than what the Pope wants which is transparency in the Vatican's financial operations. [4]
So where is God in all of this? I'm really not sure. You can "tweet" Pope Benedict XVI @Pope_Benedict. Maybe he has an answer. [5]
[1] http://news.discovery.com/history/jesus-crucifixion-120524.html
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/26/popes-butler-charged-leaked-letters
[3] http://catholicexchange.com/vatican-watch-cardinal-bertones-overreach/
[4] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gWr-mfVtHJn9yNC5SdrRDVvw9x0A?docId=99326afe325b40028903beb8e4227ce8
[5] Follow-up: Pope Benedict XVI's sermon on this Pentecost Sunday at St. Peter's Basilica answers this question with circumlocutional eloquence: http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=591415
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Thoughts On God, Saturday Vigil, May 19, 2012
It is not enough to be thankful for one's blessings; one needs to love God.
How? It's different for each person and everyone knows how deep down. It's natural to love.
How? It's different for each person and everyone knows how deep down. It's natural to love.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Thoughts On Mother Of God & Mom, Sunday, May 13, 2012
Reflections on Mother’s Day
I have my mom. I love her dearly because she is my mom, a mom whom I pray for and try to protect. I have another mother whom I also love because she is the Mother of God, a mother whom I pray to and ask for protection. I am incomplete without either and am grateful for both.
My mom is human and she has her failings and it is because of her failings that I have learned forgiveness. Mary, Mother of God, was human but I doubt she had many faults and even if she had them, the few she had been sanctified by her constant prayers and intercessions for those who go to her for help and for those who have failed to acknowledge her. The love of Mary is immense and I suppose humanly incomprehensible in many instances. It is because of the breadth of Mary’s love that I am able to reach for her forgiveness despite my continuous failings.
As a young child, I had daydreams about a mother’s love. Without really understanding it or perhaps not being able to obtain it when I needed it, I was only able to feel that love vicariously, by equating my love for my mom to my mom's love for me. That love in my fantasy world was inseparable from my very being and in its absence I was completely lost and in tears. I did not know Mary then, not in the way I know Mary now. I knew her to be the Mother of God but considered her to be a peripheral figure in my nascent self-formed beliefs in God, Satan, angels, demons, Heaven and Hell. Mary was not there when I was the boy who was seemingly lost, alone and distraught.
When such episodes vanish, I had my mom to go to and gone were my tears to be replaced by my mom’s presence and my contentedness to be by her side. No wonder Mary did not see a need to reveal herself and assert her constant love as if I were not being loved at all.
As I grew up, the boy in me did not. I still needed a lot of love, forgiveness and support but was too grown-up to rely on my mom for all of that. I needed a perfect mother to whom I could be fully truthful and bare my all and who would understand and love me unconditionally. It took time, but I found this love and my complete trust in Mary, Mother of God.
She came to me gently in the beginning because I did not know her. I felt that because she was my other mother, she was weak and that I needed to protect her. She proved me wrong and found the perfect chance to do so. I was moving from LA to SF one summer, loaded up my trunk and drove up Highway 5 when the passenger rear blew out in the middle of nowhere after a couple of hours of speeding. I was trying to loosen the lug nuts and could not. I did not know what to do (this was before cell phones were common). I said some Hail Marys but that did not work fast enough for me, so I thought that it was stupid to pray to Mary since she was a woman and she would be too weak to help me loosen them. Because I was not strong enough to do it myself, I prayed to Mary again and all of a sudden the first lug nut came loose, the rest of them then came off quickly. Perhaps it was pure physics, that time had passed and the wheel had just enough time to cool off for the lug nuts to come loose. Perhaps it was that, but I deliberately felt the heat on the metal and the nuts and all of them were still quite hot to the touch. Somehow I knew it was Mary who wanted to prove me wrong. This was the first time in my life I had felt Mary's presence. I am now convinced that Mary is strong, far stronger than I am, or any human for that matter.
From that time forward, Mary has been someone I go to, in happy times and in desperate, to share with her every aspect of my life that I am not prepared to share with my mom, for I do not wish to burden her with my internal struggles and unhappiness.
On this Mother’s Day, I am content that I have both my moms.
I have my mom. I love her dearly because she is my mom, a mom whom I pray for and try to protect. I have another mother whom I also love because she is the Mother of God, a mother whom I pray to and ask for protection. I am incomplete without either and am grateful for both.
My mom is human and she has her failings and it is because of her failings that I have learned forgiveness. Mary, Mother of God, was human but I doubt she had many faults and even if she had them, the few she had been sanctified by her constant prayers and intercessions for those who go to her for help and for those who have failed to acknowledge her. The love of Mary is immense and I suppose humanly incomprehensible in many instances. It is because of the breadth of Mary’s love that I am able to reach for her forgiveness despite my continuous failings.
As a young child, I had daydreams about a mother’s love. Without really understanding it or perhaps not being able to obtain it when I needed it, I was only able to feel that love vicariously, by equating my love for my mom to my mom's love for me. That love in my fantasy world was inseparable from my very being and in its absence I was completely lost and in tears. I did not know Mary then, not in the way I know Mary now. I knew her to be the Mother of God but considered her to be a peripheral figure in my nascent self-formed beliefs in God, Satan, angels, demons, Heaven and Hell. Mary was not there when I was the boy who was seemingly lost, alone and distraught.
When such episodes vanish, I had my mom to go to and gone were my tears to be replaced by my mom’s presence and my contentedness to be by her side. No wonder Mary did not see a need to reveal herself and assert her constant love as if I were not being loved at all.
As I grew up, the boy in me did not. I still needed a lot of love, forgiveness and support but was too grown-up to rely on my mom for all of that. I needed a perfect mother to whom I could be fully truthful and bare my all and who would understand and love me unconditionally. It took time, but I found this love and my complete trust in Mary, Mother of God.
She came to me gently in the beginning because I did not know her. I felt that because she was my other mother, she was weak and that I needed to protect her. She proved me wrong and found the perfect chance to do so. I was moving from LA to SF one summer, loaded up my trunk and drove up Highway 5 when the passenger rear blew out in the middle of nowhere after a couple of hours of speeding. I was trying to loosen the lug nuts and could not. I did not know what to do (this was before cell phones were common). I said some Hail Marys but that did not work fast enough for me, so I thought that it was stupid to pray to Mary since she was a woman and she would be too weak to help me loosen them. Because I was not strong enough to do it myself, I prayed to Mary again and all of a sudden the first lug nut came loose, the rest of them then came off quickly. Perhaps it was pure physics, that time had passed and the wheel had just enough time to cool off for the lug nuts to come loose. Perhaps it was that, but I deliberately felt the heat on the metal and the nuts and all of them were still quite hot to the touch. Somehow I knew it was Mary who wanted to prove me wrong. This was the first time in my life I had felt Mary's presence. I am now convinced that Mary is strong, far stronger than I am, or any human for that matter.
From that time forward, Mary has been someone I go to, in happy times and in desperate, to share with her every aspect of my life that I am not prepared to share with my mom, for I do not wish to burden her with my internal struggles and unhappiness.
On this Mother’s Day, I am content that I have both my moms.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Thoughts On God, Sunday, May 6, 2012
Dante Alighieri gave us a glimpse of how he was inspired to write:
In contrast, plenty of attention is paid to everything else aside from Love by today's media, as was probably in Dante's time as well. Love, which we all desire, is far down that list. It is almost undetectable and an embarrassment to verbalize and is equally as invisible as the miracle of our very existence. And love, which is God's nature and ours, us being God's creation, is as much a part of what is required to sustain life as life's most basic necessities.
Therefore, when love is being factored out or when it is being commoditized and monetized in every which way conceivable, we as a society are not well. A society that is sick and when its sickness is denied becomes sicker and sicker and its sustainability becomes more and more like God, hoped for but unattainable.
[1] Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. The Purgatorio, Canto XXIV, p. 491. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: New American Library, 2003.
And I: "When Love inspires me with delightEven Dante took his cues from inspiration, and as talented as he was, he was unable to write on demand. Of all the things that could inspire him, Dante picked Love. It was Love, not power, fame, wealth, talent, beauty, possessions or the accomplishments of self or others that gave him his voice.
or pain, or longing, I take careful note,
and as he dictates in my soul, I write." [1]
In contrast, plenty of attention is paid to everything else aside from Love by today's media, as was probably in Dante's time as well. Love, which we all desire, is far down that list. It is almost undetectable and an embarrassment to verbalize and is equally as invisible as the miracle of our very existence. And love, which is God's nature and ours, us being God's creation, is as much a part of what is required to sustain life as life's most basic necessities.
Therefore, when love is being factored out or when it is being commoditized and monetized in every which way conceivable, we as a society are not well. A society that is sick and when its sickness is denied becomes sicker and sicker and its sustainability becomes more and more like God, hoped for but unattainable.
[1] Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. The Purgatorio, Canto XXIV, p. 491. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: New American Library, 2003.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Thoughts On God, Saturday Vigil, April 28, 2012
A few days ago I went into the kitchen for water but instead of pouring myself some I picked up an orange on the counter. I looked at it, it was like most other oranges that have been available at the markets lately, thin-skinned, brightly colored, fragrant, sweet and juicy (no, it was not organic). I cut it up and ate every single slice and found it to be exceptional, probably because I do not usually eat an orange when I am thirsty and I was thirsty and the fruit was tender and sweet and juicy.
While I was still eating the orange, my desire to have my thirst quenched gave way to thoughts of gratitude, thinking how lucky I was to be able to have this orange, eat it, taste the deliciousness of its juicy bits and to have it satisfy my thirst. I was momentarily in a state of bliss.
The totality of this experience ought not to be taken for granted for every step of the way was a gift from God. First was my existence, then my move to the Bay Area with seasonal fruits grown locally in Mexico and unseasonal fruits grown in Chile. I was also given good health so that I was able to move about, to go from place to place, to come across this orange, to be able to pick it up, to be able to pay for it, to be able to eat it, taste it and enjoy it. I also thought about the orange, its shape, its color, how it can grow and hang from a green and leafy tree and the miracle of its existence for human consumption.
In our busy lives in this multi-faceted world, we not “stop to smell the roses,” we simply assume that everything we can do and all that we have are what we are entitled to without giving any of it any second thought or being thankful in the least. I do not think that is right.
Every moment is a moment that is forever gone from our lives and every moment that we are whole is a moment that we are being cared for and loved by a force greater than our own. Each of these moments is a miracle because without these continuous moment-to-moment miracles, life can be very, very difficult.
I have a compelling urge to digress here. I write this passage without a scintilla or conceit or condescension and if I have not been successful in doing so, please accept my sincere and humble apology. The whole time I am writing I am mindful of those less fortunate than me. I am one person and as much as I would like I cannot level the quantitative scale of equality for those whose world I share. Perhaps on the qualitative scale of equality, my life is not as sweet as the orange that I ate compared to another person who did not have the occasion to pick up that orange.
I suppose each of us can compare ourselves subjectively to those who appear to be more fortunate or less fortunate than us and become bitter or vain, but I do not think that is what God intends for us to do. I think God intends us each to see the miracle in every moment and be thankful for that one wonderful moment even in the midst of tribulation.
I always believe that none of us is given a cross that is heavier than what we are able to carry for if the burden turns into more than we can bear, we would perish immediately.
In the end, we all are on a journey, a journey to find our better selves and to perfect our spirit, whether we are in the White House, Bill Gate’s house or the poor house. One thing is certain, we all eventually end up in the dirt.
I love you all. God Bless.
While I was still eating the orange, my desire to have my thirst quenched gave way to thoughts of gratitude, thinking how lucky I was to be able to have this orange, eat it, taste the deliciousness of its juicy bits and to have it satisfy my thirst. I was momentarily in a state of bliss.
The totality of this experience ought not to be taken for granted for every step of the way was a gift from God. First was my existence, then my move to the Bay Area with seasonal fruits grown locally in Mexico and unseasonal fruits grown in Chile. I was also given good health so that I was able to move about, to go from place to place, to come across this orange, to be able to pick it up, to be able to pay for it, to be able to eat it, taste it and enjoy it. I also thought about the orange, its shape, its color, how it can grow and hang from a green and leafy tree and the miracle of its existence for human consumption.
In our busy lives in this multi-faceted world, we not “stop to smell the roses,” we simply assume that everything we can do and all that we have are what we are entitled to without giving any of it any second thought or being thankful in the least. I do not think that is right.
Every moment is a moment that is forever gone from our lives and every moment that we are whole is a moment that we are being cared for and loved by a force greater than our own. Each of these moments is a miracle because without these continuous moment-to-moment miracles, life can be very, very difficult.
I have a compelling urge to digress here. I write this passage without a scintilla or conceit or condescension and if I have not been successful in doing so, please accept my sincere and humble apology. The whole time I am writing I am mindful of those less fortunate than me. I am one person and as much as I would like I cannot level the quantitative scale of equality for those whose world I share. Perhaps on the qualitative scale of equality, my life is not as sweet as the orange that I ate compared to another person who did not have the occasion to pick up that orange.
I suppose each of us can compare ourselves subjectively to those who appear to be more fortunate or less fortunate than us and become bitter or vain, but I do not think that is what God intends for us to do. I think God intends us each to see the miracle in every moment and be thankful for that one wonderful moment even in the midst of tribulation.
I always believe that none of us is given a cross that is heavier than what we are able to carry for if the burden turns into more than we can bear, we would perish immediately.
In the end, we all are on a journey, a journey to find our better selves and to perfect our spirit, whether we are in the White House, Bill Gate’s house or the poor house. One thing is certain, we all eventually end up in the dirt.
I love you all. God Bless.
Monday, April 23, 2012
No Thoughts On God, Sunday, April 22, 2012
None because I visited a friend in San Rafael and actually participated in the living of life, even if my participation in his was somewhat vicarious. This is the friend that I think is one of the best people I have met, an angel amongst us. Perhaps that is why I had not the need to think of God yesterday because I was with one of God's angels on earth. In hindsight, yesterday was a Sunday that God took a vacation away from me as opposed to the Sunday before when I took a vacation away from God.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
No Thoughts On God, Sunday, April 15, 2012
I was out and about, occupying my time with activities a normal person might do, like getting a haircut, taking a walk in the Golden Gate Park and grocery shopping. I did not sit in front of my laptop to say a prayer, with hopes that I might be inspired to write something interesting about God.
Sunday, April 15, 2012, is in past. I would not have the chance to go back, to re-live it, to think about God and to pray for an inspiration. Even as I was conscious of the time that was passing, even as I was feeling a degree of guilt that I had not forced myself to meditate on God, I continued to deny God my time, my thoughts, my concentration and as much as I would hate to admit it, my love on that day (most of that day). Yet on that day, like any other day and any moment of any day, He would be there for me to rely on if I needed help. I would perish if God were to shut me out had I called out to God and that all I would see is a wall of darkness. I would be devastated.
This hour, I hope to have made up for my defiance, for in this hour I have acknowledged the weakness in my will, the gap in my love and the need to take a vacation from God when it is God who has given me free will, the capacity to love and the grace to know and experience divinity in all its glory. And I wanted to take a vacation from that which is perfect?
Sunday, April 15, 2012, is in past. I would not have the chance to go back, to re-live it, to think about God and to pray for an inspiration. Even as I was conscious of the time that was passing, even as I was feeling a degree of guilt that I had not forced myself to meditate on God, I continued to deny God my time, my thoughts, my concentration and as much as I would hate to admit it, my love on that day (most of that day). Yet on that day, like any other day and any moment of any day, He would be there for me to rely on if I needed help. I would perish if God were to shut me out had I called out to God and that all I would see is a wall of darkness. I would be devastated.
This hour, I hope to have made up for my defiance, for in this hour I have acknowledged the weakness in my will, the gap in my love and the need to take a vacation from God when it is God who has given me free will, the capacity to love and the grace to know and experience divinity in all its glory. And I wanted to take a vacation from that which is perfect?
Saturday, April 7, 2012
On Good Friday, April 6, 2012
On Good Friday, April 22, 2011, this was my blog:
At St. Dominic’s church, the huge cross was there before me but the two smaller ones were not yet in place even though I did not notice or care about them not being there. Later a pair of acolytes in white vestments carried out one of the smaller crosses followed by another pair carrying out the other. They placed them in their respective stands but took them away after a fitting and centering the main cross between the two.
After saying the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, I reflected on the purpose of the crucifixion of Jesus. From occasional church attendances over the years, I learned that Christ died for our sins, and that the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world, but I have never questioned the validity of the statements. Today, however, I thought how could that be since I am still sinful and I am pretty sure a lot of others are as well, which brings me to this blog entry.
The first thing I did after coming back from church was to open up my Bible, to find out if Jesus said Himself that His death would take away sin. Since I do not read it much, I researched the issue on the Internet. A website directed the reader to Matthew 1:21. [1] In my Bible, that passage reported that an angel told Joseph that Jesus would save His people from their sins. [2] The angel did not say that Jesus had to die on a cross to do so.
The website also referred the reader to Matthew 26:28. [1] This was the scene of The Last Supper where Jesus took a cup and told His disciples to drink from it “for this is my blood of the covenant, which shall be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” [2] These words of Jesus, together with the bloody scourge at the pillar and Jesus’ blood from the thorny crown and the five wounds inflicted upon His body on the cross are all the evidence I need to convince myself that the lessons I have learned are not unsubstantiated extrapolations.
Perhaps it would be well to stop here.
But I will not. What entered my mind while I was kneeling in meditation before the large cross was new to me and certainly unorthodox as it relates to the forgiveness of sins (to put it mildly).
So here goes it: Death of Jesus on the cross was definitely not enough for the forgiveness of my sins unless Jesus’ death is a continuous remission of sins continuously committed.
Is Jesus’ death a continuous remission of sins continuously committed? How can that be true, thinking that one can go on sinning and sinning and Jesus’ blood will keep on cleansing and cleansing the stains of sins to save one’s soul, even though I have faith that it is true?
What if it is not true? Have I deceived myself into NOT believing that experiencing the death of our own sins is necessary for the salvation of the soul and that relying solely on the blood that Christ has shed during His torture and His crucifixion is not enough?
Perhaps it is easier to live with the fiction that the blood of Christ is the detergent for sins than to look at Christ and the forgiveness of sins another way. Perhaps it is time I do.
Was the death of Christ not also the death of temptation, of greed, of pride and of vengeance? Is it possible that Christ was showing us the path to salvation by His refusal to prostrate before Satan and accept Satan’s offer of the world’s riches and by His humility in accepting Judas’ betrayal, His haters, His false accusers, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the taunting and the unjust death sentence? Could therefore the blood that Jesus Himself said He would shed for the forgiveness of sins is not to be taken literally but illustratively?
I think so. Accordingly, we cannot expect automatic salvation but need to shed our weakness for temptations, our greed, our pride, our desires for vengeance and justice just as Jesus had in order that we may save our own souls. [3]
[1] http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVarticles/WhatDoesTheBibleSayAboutSalvation.html
[2] The New American Bible. NY: Oxford University Press, Inc. 1990.
[3] Note: Why didn’t God simply write on another tablet the recipe for salvation and hand it to someone? The Ten Commandments have not proven to be effective since neither Jew nor Gentile has paid them much heed. Why did God make Jesus the sacrificial lamb? Perhaps man is only capable of recognizing the road to salvation by seeing the Son of God Himself suffer profoundly and only able to have salvation by living purely as He had and dying humbly as He did.
Kneeling at St. Dominic's Church in San Francisco before a huge cross flanked by two smaller ones on either side, praying: Cleanse my sins. Starting today, may my years begin and end with Good Friday.
At St. Dominic’s church, the huge cross was there before me but the two smaller ones were not yet in place even though I did not notice or care about them not being there. Later a pair of acolytes in white vestments carried out one of the smaller crosses followed by another pair carrying out the other. They placed them in their respective stands but took them away after a fitting and centering the main cross between the two.
After saying the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, I reflected on the purpose of the crucifixion of Jesus. From occasional church attendances over the years, I learned that Christ died for our sins, and that the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world, but I have never questioned the validity of the statements. Today, however, I thought how could that be since I am still sinful and I am pretty sure a lot of others are as well, which brings me to this blog entry.
The first thing I did after coming back from church was to open up my Bible, to find out if Jesus said Himself that His death would take away sin. Since I do not read it much, I researched the issue on the Internet. A website directed the reader to Matthew 1:21. [1] In my Bible, that passage reported that an angel told Joseph that Jesus would save His people from their sins. [2] The angel did not say that Jesus had to die on a cross to do so.
The website also referred the reader to Matthew 26:28. [1] This was the scene of The Last Supper where Jesus took a cup and told His disciples to drink from it “for this is my blood of the covenant, which shall be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” [2] These words of Jesus, together with the bloody scourge at the pillar and Jesus’ blood from the thorny crown and the five wounds inflicted upon His body on the cross are all the evidence I need to convince myself that the lessons I have learned are not unsubstantiated extrapolations.
Perhaps it would be well to stop here.
But I will not. What entered my mind while I was kneeling in meditation before the large cross was new to me and certainly unorthodox as it relates to the forgiveness of sins (to put it mildly).
So here goes it: Death of Jesus on the cross was definitely not enough for the forgiveness of my sins unless Jesus’ death is a continuous remission of sins continuously committed.
Is Jesus’ death a continuous remission of sins continuously committed? How can that be true, thinking that one can go on sinning and sinning and Jesus’ blood will keep on cleansing and cleansing the stains of sins to save one’s soul, even though I have faith that it is true?
What if it is not true? Have I deceived myself into NOT believing that experiencing the death of our own sins is necessary for the salvation of the soul and that relying solely on the blood that Christ has shed during His torture and His crucifixion is not enough?
Perhaps it is easier to live with the fiction that the blood of Christ is the detergent for sins than to look at Christ and the forgiveness of sins another way. Perhaps it is time I do.
Was the death of Christ not also the death of temptation, of greed, of pride and of vengeance? Is it possible that Christ was showing us the path to salvation by His refusal to prostrate before Satan and accept Satan’s offer of the world’s riches and by His humility in accepting Judas’ betrayal, His haters, His false accusers, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the taunting and the unjust death sentence? Could therefore the blood that Jesus Himself said He would shed for the forgiveness of sins is not to be taken literally but illustratively?
I think so. Accordingly, we cannot expect automatic salvation but need to shed our weakness for temptations, our greed, our pride, our desires for vengeance and justice just as Jesus had in order that we may save our own souls. [3]
[1] http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVarticles/WhatDoesTheBibleSayAboutSalvation.html
[2] The New American Bible. NY: Oxford University Press, Inc. 1990.
[3] Note: Why didn’t God simply write on another tablet the recipe for salvation and hand it to someone? The Ten Commandments have not proven to be effective since neither Jew nor Gentile has paid them much heed. Why did God make Jesus the sacrificial lamb? Perhaps man is only capable of recognizing the road to salvation by seeing the Son of God Himself suffer profoundly and only able to have salvation by living purely as He had and dying humbly as He did.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Thoughts On God - Palm Sunday, April 1, 2012
Palm Sunday.
Man is unable to bestow upon another (or himself) an honor more lasting than the Crown of Thorns man forced upon the Son of God. [1] He wore it in humility while suffering from painful wounds, thirst, hunger and exhaustion and He carried a heavy wooden cross to Golgotha where He would be crucified alive. At His death, He was a man without guilt and without sin.
For believers, Jesus was God's son Who had died to redeem the sinful; for non-believers (those who know about Jesus but do not believe that He is the Son of God), he was a just man who once wore a crown of thorns whose life's story remains a thorn in their lives.
[1] From my "tweet" this morning @al_in_sf
Man is unable to bestow upon another (or himself) an honor more lasting than the Crown of Thorns man forced upon the Son of God. [1] He wore it in humility while suffering from painful wounds, thirst, hunger and exhaustion and He carried a heavy wooden cross to Golgotha where He would be crucified alive. At His death, He was a man without guilt and without sin.
For believers, Jesus was God's son Who had died to redeem the sinful; for non-believers (those who know about Jesus but do not believe that He is the Son of God), he was a just man who once wore a crown of thorns whose life's story remains a thorn in their lives.
[1] From my "tweet" this morning @al_in_sf
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Thoughts On God - Sunday, March 25, 2012
Do most people live out their lives without being concerned with the consequences of their actions?
I believe they do. Some, however, continually struggle against their fates over which they seemingly have no control, but that is a myth. Each person is in full control because of free will. To exercise his/her will in a way that conflicts with the prevailing mores of society is to choose to suffer. Nobody wants to suffer, at least nobody I know, including myself.
That maybe why there is a Supreme Being, so that people can worship an ideal. Whatever that ideal maybe, it is something better than what they are able to do or can be themselves.
I believe that the Supreme Being is the same in any religion because humans are the same everywhere. They think and fear alike. Their differences arise from the ego which is fed by greed and enhanced by wealth, power and the desire for self-importance and self-gratification. Their enemies are not those with whom they share time on this planet. Rather, they are co-conspirators against those who are yet unborn for they are polluting their pristine air and contaminating their clean water, and they are doing so with speed, the speed of their technological advancements, a speed too fast for Mother Nature to re-cycle, regenerate or replenish. [1]
The fast obsolescence of technology is not driven by need but by greed, which underlies the mores of today’s society. Each time a new generation of smart phones, personal computers and other technological achievements come to market, the old ones become trash, non-biodegradable trash, at least not biodegradable in the lifetime of those beneficiaries inhabiting the planet. The saying, “kicking the can down the road,” is not limited to deficit spending but includes irrevocably degenerative consumption of earth's natural resources.
Consumption drives the economy, but it is greed that stimulates the appetite for consumption. On an economy that is based on a reckless desire for comfort, there is no place for a Supreme Being, for God, for His creation that is earth, for Mother Nature that sustains life or for heaven on earth.
I am as responsible as anyone living on this planet, destroying it for my own comfort and turning into a hell that I pray to avoid, knowing full well that any action or inaction on my part is having an insidious impact.
My hypocrisy is patent. Knowing and having experienced holiness, I am nonetheless a slave to Satan, having accepted all the richness the world can offer, the exact offer that Christ had rejected by refusing to bow before Satan, the Tempter of souls, and worship it. [2]
Unable to overcome temptations, I believe that salvation is possible through faith in Christ and prayer. I also believe that no one is forced to go on board Satan’s luxury craft (one that is becoming more and more advanced and luxurious with relative but disturbing quickness) or that one has to sail through life on it and cannot disembark from it at will.
[1] Technological advancements are a product of the Human Intellect. It goes awry when it is motivated by avarice. I will have more to say on it in a future blog entry.
[2] Matthew 4:8-9
I believe they do. Some, however, continually struggle against their fates over which they seemingly have no control, but that is a myth. Each person is in full control because of free will. To exercise his/her will in a way that conflicts with the prevailing mores of society is to choose to suffer. Nobody wants to suffer, at least nobody I know, including myself.
That maybe why there is a Supreme Being, so that people can worship an ideal. Whatever that ideal maybe, it is something better than what they are able to do or can be themselves.
I believe that the Supreme Being is the same in any religion because humans are the same everywhere. They think and fear alike. Their differences arise from the ego which is fed by greed and enhanced by wealth, power and the desire for self-importance and self-gratification. Their enemies are not those with whom they share time on this planet. Rather, they are co-conspirators against those who are yet unborn for they are polluting their pristine air and contaminating their clean water, and they are doing so with speed, the speed of their technological advancements, a speed too fast for Mother Nature to re-cycle, regenerate or replenish. [1]
The fast obsolescence of technology is not driven by need but by greed, which underlies the mores of today’s society. Each time a new generation of smart phones, personal computers and other technological achievements come to market, the old ones become trash, non-biodegradable trash, at least not biodegradable in the lifetime of those beneficiaries inhabiting the planet. The saying, “kicking the can down the road,” is not limited to deficit spending but includes irrevocably degenerative consumption of earth's natural resources.
Consumption drives the economy, but it is greed that stimulates the appetite for consumption. On an economy that is based on a reckless desire for comfort, there is no place for a Supreme Being, for God, for His creation that is earth, for Mother Nature that sustains life or for heaven on earth.
I am as responsible as anyone living on this planet, destroying it for my own comfort and turning into a hell that I pray to avoid, knowing full well that any action or inaction on my part is having an insidious impact.
My hypocrisy is patent. Knowing and having experienced holiness, I am nonetheless a slave to Satan, having accepted all the richness the world can offer, the exact offer that Christ had rejected by refusing to bow before Satan, the Tempter of souls, and worship it. [2]
Unable to overcome temptations, I believe that salvation is possible through faith in Christ and prayer. I also believe that no one is forced to go on board Satan’s luxury craft (one that is becoming more and more advanced and luxurious with relative but disturbing quickness) or that one has to sail through life on it and cannot disembark from it at will.
[1] Technological advancements are a product of the Human Intellect. It goes awry when it is motivated by avarice. I will have more to say on it in a future blog entry.
[2] Matthew 4:8-9
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Another Thoughtful Evening
My "tweets":
Al in SF @Al_in_SF
The things on Satan's Temptation platform are too attractive, too convenient & too luxurious for me to let go but I also cannot let go God.
4m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
Has life been lived correctly in this 21st century?
7m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
I. God created earth for humans & Satan created on it a platform called Temptation over which it has perpetual intellectual property rights.
7m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
II. Satan owns everything that is grown or built on its Temptation platform. When they [begin to] consume the being & the soul is when Satan [first] gets paid. [1]
7m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
III. The more fulfillment & enjoyment come from enticements on Satan’s Temptation platform the more Satan gets rewarded.
8m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
IV. When complete fulfillment & happiness arise solely from Satan’s Temptation platform is when Satan owns both the slave & his/her soul.
[1] The 140 character limit limits my ability to write more precisely but on here I can insert more to be more clear.
Al in SF @Al_in_SF
The things on Satan's Temptation platform are too attractive, too convenient & too luxurious for me to let go but I also cannot let go God.
4m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
Has life been lived correctly in this 21st century?
7m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
I. God created earth for humans & Satan created on it a platform called Temptation over which it has perpetual intellectual property rights.
7m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
II. Satan owns everything that is grown or built on its Temptation platform. When they [begin to] consume the being & the soul is when Satan [first] gets paid. [1]
7m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
III. The more fulfillment & enjoyment come from enticements on Satan’s Temptation platform the more Satan gets rewarded.
8m Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
IV. When complete fulfillment & happiness arise solely from Satan’s Temptation platform is when Satan owns both the slave & his/her soul.
[1] The 140 character limit limits my ability to write more precisely but on here I can insert more to be more clear.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Thoughts On God - Sunday, March 18, 2012
Definition of dream: an imagination of anything that is good, not anything that is evil for that would be a wishful curse and that is fully within the purview of Satan.
Heaven is made for all those who wish for it but dreamers are made for heaven. In a dream, one can be in a God-like state where one is able to create anything from nothing and make it ideal and perfect.
Intrinsic to creation without limitation is absolute freedom. Although absolute freedom is a concept of creation itself, it is not a subset of creation and thereby not absolutely free. Rather, absolute freedom is a mirror of creation and like creation, it has no limiting parameter so much so that evil forces can and are always shaping its outcome which is a truth that begs the question: Why were evil forces permitted to exist in the first place? If they were not, then having free choice would be pointless if everything is good without the option to choose it.
Having the ability to remove evil entirely in their dreams, dreamers, unlike realists, relish not in the excitement of earthly luxuries and hope to be in heaven some day, whatever heaven happens to be, but have a fairly good vision and a sense of heaven. That vision and sense is in the core of all dreamers who against all the temptations of evil find on earth their refuge in heaven in their dreams.
Heaven is made for all those who wish for it but dreamers are made for heaven. In a dream, one can be in a God-like state where one is able to create anything from nothing and make it ideal and perfect.
Intrinsic to creation without limitation is absolute freedom. Although absolute freedom is a concept of creation itself, it is not a subset of creation and thereby not absolutely free. Rather, absolute freedom is a mirror of creation and like creation, it has no limiting parameter so much so that evil forces can and are always shaping its outcome which is a truth that begs the question: Why were evil forces permitted to exist in the first place? If they were not, then having free choice would be pointless if everything is good without the option to choose it.
Having the ability to remove evil entirely in their dreams, dreamers, unlike realists, relish not in the excitement of earthly luxuries and hope to be in heaven some day, whatever heaven happens to be, but have a fairly good vision and a sense of heaven. That vision and sense is in the core of all dreamers who against all the temptations of evil find on earth their refuge in heaven in their dreams.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Revising A "Tweet"
Earlier I wrote this: Alone on the beach I am at sunset a silhouette from a distance to be engulfed by that of earth and in that darkness I am part of the universe.
Like a musician who sometimes writes variations on a theme, I'm going to do the same: Alone on the beach I am at sunset a silhouette from a distance waiting to be engulfed by that of earth to become part of the universe.
The original entry is like a diptych going from twilight that is earth on one panel to night that encompasses the universe of planets, stars and galaxies on the other, and is metaphorically about existing in solitude (an imagination) to being part of a huge party where nobody can be absent (a reality). The variation is more like a self-portrait on a single canvas than a diptych, representing my life as it is ending just as the day is ending and showing me alone waiting for that which is inevitable - death - and pondering the eventual decomposition and transformation of the body to other biological and chemical matters that were part of the universe from which they came.
Here the Catholic saying on Ash Wednesday: "From dust, to dust you shall return," is apropos. In that sense, the flesh and bones dressing up the soul are temporal. Beyond the temporal is an eternity and it is during life, in particular in final stretch, that I hopefully have the strength to take a stroll along the beach and the mind to reflect on the existence and eternity of non-decomposable matter - the soul, and to seek the cleansing of sin and the blessing of transfiguration in order to be re-united with the Creator.
Like a musician who sometimes writes variations on a theme, I'm going to do the same: Alone on the beach I am at sunset a silhouette from a distance waiting to be engulfed by that of earth to become part of the universe.
The original entry is like a diptych going from twilight that is earth on one panel to night that encompasses the universe of planets, stars and galaxies on the other, and is metaphorically about existing in solitude (an imagination) to being part of a huge party where nobody can be absent (a reality). The variation is more like a self-portrait on a single canvas than a diptych, representing my life as it is ending just as the day is ending and showing me alone waiting for that which is inevitable - death - and pondering the eventual decomposition and transformation of the body to other biological and chemical matters that were part of the universe from which they came.
Here the Catholic saying on Ash Wednesday: "From dust, to dust you shall return," is apropos. In that sense, the flesh and bones dressing up the soul are temporal. Beyond the temporal is an eternity and it is during life, in particular in final stretch, that I hopefully have the strength to take a stroll along the beach and the mind to reflect on the existence and eternity of non-decomposable matter - the soul, and to seek the cleansing of sin and the blessing of transfiguration in order to be re-united with the Creator.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Thoughts On God – Sunday, March 11, 2012
One of the Ten Commandments, thou shall not kill, has been dogging me the last few days so I am going to write about it. I suppose the reason that it was given to the Chosen Ones by God through Moses rather than osmosis was to preserve the gift of free will, even the will to kill. Back then the world was not as diverse or polarized as it is now but killing must have already been fashionable prompting God to prohibit it specifically. I imagine that as soon as the commandment was announced it was deemed to be a suggestion that can be disregarded to the extent that even God’s only Son, Jesus, was put to death on a cross.
That being the case, it is reasonable to conclude that people, chosen or not, will never stop shooting at or bombing each other and in their spare time finding new ways to eliminate one another. I suppose that killings, intentional and unintentional, will evolve along with and result insidiously from advances in technology and changes in political dynamics even though the reasons for ending other people’s lives remain primitive, such as envy, greed, fear and hate among others.
However, I would like to believe just the opposite, that killings will end before the world ends for there is the grace of God that is always present and will ultimately prevail over the sins of Satan. God’s grace is simple and can be summed up in a word, love, or two, humility and love.
We all understand love because as infants we require it to survive and we all understand humility because as kids without the means to acquire food, water and shelter, we need to be humble to stay alive. If only we can see others as grown-up babies needing love and if only we can view ourselves as grown-up youngsters depending on care, then perhaps everyone can co-exist peacefully as God eternal children.
Note: This entry did not arise from an inspiration because I had none. I hoped for one but it never came. This was an analysis therefore unremarkable and unmoving. I was bored by it. A tiny inspiration did arrive later in the evening and I "tweeted" it:
That being the case, it is reasonable to conclude that people, chosen or not, will never stop shooting at or bombing each other and in their spare time finding new ways to eliminate one another. I suppose that killings, intentional and unintentional, will evolve along with and result insidiously from advances in technology and changes in political dynamics even though the reasons for ending other people’s lives remain primitive, such as envy, greed, fear and hate among others.
However, I would like to believe just the opposite, that killings will end before the world ends for there is the grace of God that is always present and will ultimately prevail over the sins of Satan. God’s grace is simple and can be summed up in a word, love, or two, humility and love.
We all understand love because as infants we require it to survive and we all understand humility because as kids without the means to acquire food, water and shelter, we need to be humble to stay alive. If only we can see others as grown-up babies needing love and if only we can view ourselves as grown-up youngsters depending on care, then perhaps everyone can co-exist peacefully as God eternal children.
Note: This entry did not arise from an inspiration because I had none. I hoped for one but it never came. This was an analysis therefore unremarkable and unmoving. I was bored by it. A tiny inspiration did arrive later in the evening and I "tweeted" it:
Al in SF @Al_in_SFMarch 11, 2012, 11:19 pm
Believers can instantly find fulfillment in God; non-believers suffer from an interminable need to find reasons for their insatiable void.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Thoughts On God - Sunday, March 4, 2012
March 4th is one of my favorite days because it rhymes with "march forth." Marching forth is exactly what Christ wants us to do despite the burdens we carry just as He had marched forth with a heavy wooden cross to Golgotha where He was crucified. Not so coincidentally, the center statue representing Christ the Redeemer at the top of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican shows a figure in motion carrying a cross that towers over him, with his right finger pointing forward and his left foot stepping ahead of his right.
I spent hours looking at those statues decades ago and to this day, I still think that the sculptor was divinely inspired. The statue representing Jesus is the only one in motion. The cross he is carrying is the biggest and the tallest, taller than any of the statues. When I was looking at it, I saw in my mind Jesus. He was the only one Who was not just standing around like the rest. He was on the move. He was determined to go forward carrying the weight of sins and the burden of hardships. He sought no pity and waited around for no one; He hoped not for a hand but rather gave others a hand [1]. He was strong. He was a leader. With His finger pointing forward, His one foot ahead of His other, He gave confidence to all to follow, to march forth with Him fearlessly. I love Him.
[1] My original sentence was: "He hoped not for a hand or a hand-out." It has been bothering me for days so I deleted it and rewrote it. A hand-out was not part of my consciousness let alone the thought of Jesus hoping for one, especially from a government. It was not until Barack Obama became president that the "notion of a government hand-out" was burnished into my consciousness and at my fingertips. For these reasons I had put it in. Leaving it in would not have been a proper recount of my thoughts. Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 5:15 a.m.
I spent hours looking at those statues decades ago and to this day, I still think that the sculptor was divinely inspired. The statue representing Jesus is the only one in motion. The cross he is carrying is the biggest and the tallest, taller than any of the statues. When I was looking at it, I saw in my mind Jesus. He was the only one Who was not just standing around like the rest. He was on the move. He was determined to go forward carrying the weight of sins and the burden of hardships. He sought no pity and waited around for no one; He hoped not for a hand but rather gave others a hand [1]. He was strong. He was a leader. With His finger pointing forward, His one foot ahead of His other, He gave confidence to all to follow, to march forth with Him fearlessly. I love Him.
[1] My original sentence was: "He hoped not for a hand or a hand-out." It has been bothering me for days so I deleted it and rewrote it. A hand-out was not part of my consciousness let alone the thought of Jesus hoping for one, especially from a government. It was not until Barack Obama became president that the "notion of a government hand-out" was burnished into my consciousness and at my fingertips. For these reasons I had put it in. Leaving it in would not have been a proper recount of my thoughts. Wednesday, March 7, 2012, 5:15 a.m.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Thoughts On God - Sunday, February 26, 2012
It's not just on Sunday but every day that my thoughts go to God but not every thought is worth this space that Google so charitably provides to all. Although I am not a deserving recipient of charity, nonetheless this space is a gift that Google has given, that looks deceivingly like a blank canvas that ought not to be scoffed at but to be thankful for, to be used to the best of one's unique abilities, to turn it back into a gift. Mine may not be a very nice gift, but it is the only gift that I am able to make with the abilities that I have been given, and I want to give it my best to make it the best gift I can.
Google is not God, but God has played a part in giving the founders of Google their blank slates. They have embraced their blank slates and worked on them and turned them into things much bigger, bigger than perhaps even they themselves can contain or comprehend. That is the miracle, to be able to do things that seem to flow effortlessly from what has been given, to make something from something so deceivingly simple that it is almost taken for granted, something we call life. [1]
[1] I was completely captured by the truth (and my personal fascination) that every person has in varying degrees the ability to create just as the Creator is able to create when this was written, so the words "to make something from something" was all about creation and have nothing to do with procreation. (Footnote added March 1, 2012.)
Google is not God, but God has played a part in giving the founders of Google their blank slates. They have embraced their blank slates and worked on them and turned them into things much bigger, bigger than perhaps even they themselves can contain or comprehend. That is the miracle, to be able to do things that seem to flow effortlessly from what has been given, to make something from something so deceivingly simple that it is almost taken for granted, something we call life. [1]
[1] I was completely captured by the truth (and my personal fascination) that every person has in varying degrees the ability to create just as the Creator is able to create when this was written, so the words "to make something from something" was all about creation and have nothing to do with procreation. (Footnote added March 1, 2012.)
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Thoughts On God - Sunday, February 19, 2012
Creation defined: Making something from nothing.
Only God is able to create. The ability to have thought is an integral part of and subordinate to Creation. The concept of evolution, resulting from thought, is a subset of thought and a distant derivative of Creation.
Creation is good but not everything derived from it is good or benign like the theory of evolution. Throughout the ages, many thoughts turned into working concepts, which in turn became realities. The wheel, cooking with fire, the Internet and an implantable wireless chip that delivers medications and drugs to the human body [1] are all realities but not all good.
The wheel had led to automobiles that led to fossil fuel consumption that led to wars that continue to this day. Cooking with fire had led to gas stoves that led to food consumption that led to people over-stuffing themselves and obesity. The Internet had led to computers that led to smart phones that led to interactive televisions and other electronic gadgets with quick obsolescence that contribute to non-degradable matters that make the land and water on earth more and more toxic. The implantable wireless chip that delivers medications and drugs is still too new to know its eventual path but I surmise that it will be used by some governments to control the populace, by taking away God’s two most precious gifts to all: life and free choice. [2]
[1] http://thenextweb.com/us/2012/02/17/mit-professors-have-developed-a-microchip-that-delivers-drugs-remotely/
[2] After reading the article, I Tweeted the following:
Only God is able to create. The ability to have thought is an integral part of and subordinate to Creation. The concept of evolution, resulting from thought, is a subset of thought and a distant derivative of Creation.
Creation is good but not everything derived from it is good or benign like the theory of evolution. Throughout the ages, many thoughts turned into working concepts, which in turn became realities. The wheel, cooking with fire, the Internet and an implantable wireless chip that delivers medications and drugs to the human body [1] are all realities but not all good.
The wheel had led to automobiles that led to fossil fuel consumption that led to wars that continue to this day. Cooking with fire had led to gas stoves that led to food consumption that led to people over-stuffing themselves and obesity. The Internet had led to computers that led to smart phones that led to interactive televisions and other electronic gadgets with quick obsolescence that contribute to non-degradable matters that make the land and water on earth more and more toxic. The implantable wireless chip that delivers medications and drugs is still too new to know its eventual path but I surmise that it will be used by some governments to control the populace, by taking away God’s two most precious gifts to all: life and free choice. [2]
[1] http://thenextweb.com/us/2012/02/17/mit-professors-have-developed-a-microchip-that-delivers-drugs-remotely/
[2] After reading the article, I Tweeted the following:
Al in SF @Al_in_SF
The temptation to mandate the use of wireless drug chip[s] echoes the first temptation Satan presented to Eve & Adam.
18 Feb Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
Satan is known as the master of disguise. The wireless drug chip is life-controlling disguised as life-saving.
18 Feb Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
Satan is forever perfecting man's imperfections.
18 Feb Al in SF Al in SF @Al_in_SF
To want a wireless drug delivery chip in your body is to give to Satan God's gift to you - your life.
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