John Tauler (c.1300-1361), Dominican at Strasbourg
Sermon 71, for the Feast of All Saints

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted"

«When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain... he began to teach them, saying...» The mountain that Jesus climbed was his own happiness and essence in which he is one with his Father. He was followed by a great crowd, which is the crowd of saints whose feast we celebrate today. All of them followed him according to the vocation to which God called them. We are to imitate them in this, each of us paying attention to our own vocation before all else so as to be certain of that to which God calls us and thus following his call...

When he was on the mountain, Jesus opened his mouth to teach the eight beatitudes... «Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.» In the first place comes the question of the virtue of spiritual poverty since this is the beginning and foundation of all perfection. Consider the question from all sides and it is always a matter of man's deepest self being stripped, detached, free, poor and released from every kind of self-interest if God is truly to accomplish his work within it. It must be set free from every kind of attachment for only then will God find himself at home there...

«Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land» for all eternity. Here we take another step forward since if, by means of genuine poverty we are set free from hindrances, with meekness we advance further into the very depths, casting out all bitterness, irritation and imprudence... For the meek nothing is bitter, as for those who are good everything for them is likewise good: all this comes from the goodness and purity of their innermost self... The meek inherit the land by remaining peaceful whatever happens. But if you don't behave like this then you will lose both virtue and peace at the same time and it might be said of you that you are a grumbler and to be compared to a barking dog.

«Blessed are they who mourn...» Who are these people who mourn? In a certain sense they are people who suffer, but in another sense they are those who mourn their sins. But God's worthy friends, who in every respect are the happiest of all, no longer mourn their sins... even though they are not without tears: they mourn the sins and faults of their neighbor... Thus it is that the true friends of God mourn because of the blindness and wretchedness of the sins of the world.

Over the last14 months I have traveled from my happiest to my lowest, happiest when I said "Yes" internally.  Lowest when the roads that lead to a "yes" were filled with "no's"... It's ok because it forces me to surrender and to look at myself more plainly, honestly. To discern hopefully maybe better what I am to be in this weird life and odd world.  The wretchedness of my being, my thoughts, my behavior... the beauty of what the Lord has given me.
  "All for Jesus.  All for Jesus.  All for Jesus."  Mother Teresa of Calcutta..... what more can be said?

Today's Gospel reading is a good timely reminder for me right now.  Due to many factors swirling around it seems a struggle to remain focused on the light.  Over and over I need to remind my self,,,trust in Jesus, he is with you even if he seems asleep in the boat.  Trust no matter what the world throws at me, trust he will lead me to wherever, whatever he wants me.  Let not fear enter into my heart no matter how whispered... Trust has been the overarching stronghold of this past year.  Trust is all I have had at times as I try with the Lord's help to overcome my weaknesses, my woundedness, my occasional desire to..what?  Give up?  Give up to what though?  There is no choice, there is no option that sings of truth and hope.  Trust and try, be silent and listen, pray and give thanks..all I can do, all I can hold on to sometimes.  Pray for me and I do pray for you altho we are unknown to each other we are known by our bound of brother and sisterhood with our loving Triune God.

In light of today's Scripture readings, Fr. Bob's Prayer is:

You seem like a contractor and builder, Holy Wisdom. You are designing and making the home for Your people. Like Abraham and Sarah, we search and journey. We feel like strangers and foreigners in a land not yet Yours. Continue to use us as the living stones of Your Temple of Justice. Teach us to live with the feelings of exile so that we work more humbly and boldly for the creation of the city You are building for us. We get scared in the turmoil and squalls of life. Sometimes, you seem to be sleeping. Help us to trust in your presence, when we are ungrounded and seasick in the storms of our lives. Jesus, calm the winds! We are in awe of your creative power, even when we are afraid. Help us to believe that we are not alone!

Grey, a color so filled with all the hues of  light... today  all seems brown.  (Color theory students will appreciate this statement.)

MercyMe - Beautiful

Beautiful...

O come my Savior, come my Hope

Enter into this heart of mine and make me clean, transform my being.
Yours alone is all I desire, rend from me everything and all that displeases and hinders Your Grace from filling this vessel. Humble this daughter smaller and smaller.  Dear Father I know You desire me and all people to be saints, please have mercy on this lowly one before You and lift me up into the person You made me to be, so Thy Will can be done here and for all eternity.   You have the power, the love and the mercy Dear Jesus, unite me with you, show me the way.

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To see into others things that ought not be seen is an interesting and heavy way to live.

Had a sudden urge this evening to put bird seed in the feeders after 10pm.  Went into the snowy night food in hand, and a poor little wren was trapped under the plastic wall that holds the seed.  Had to be there at least 4-5 hours.  Scared me at first I thought it was dead, lifted the plastic and the birds neck was stuck on the edge of the plastic and his poor exhausted body went up with the plastic wall.  Tried instinctively to lightly tug him away from the plastic but he was stuck, he fluttered his wings a couple times, poor little heart pounding. It was too dark to tell if it had cut into his neck.

Praying quickly as my heart broke over this innocent creature's suffering, asking my Guardian Angel and St Martin De Porres to please pray to Jesus for help and if the bird must die or suffer to please make it quick for they should not suffer needlessly.  Raised the clear wall a wee lil bit and was ready to reach in and tug harder when the lil thing gave a weak lil tweat and suddenly he was free and flew off toward the garage.  What a joy at how our Lord hears our prayers for this little bird!  I thanked God and Jesus and thanked my Angel and St Martin for their prayer.  Feed the birds and put some fresh good food down near where the bird flew for I know it had to be cold and hungry. I pray he lives a normal life, but if it was too much for him and he must die I know our Lord will make it fast and not let him suffer anymore.

God comes to us in little ways through his creatures great and small.  His love surrounds us in his most tender of creations, His love given to us- all of us every bird his treasured joy, every human his child, every tree a palette of grace.  On and on everything we see made by His love a gift for us who just need to reside in this moment and see Him.

New Epiphany word for the year: Dance

OK, I must admit when I first got it, I had to chuckle for my mind went immediately to the world's definition of "dance".  Needless to say the mental image of me getting up and boogie-ing down was rather humorous.  And my brother's response slightly tongue-in-cheek was also funny, saying that now I have to go out to the clubs with him. Yet, I was brought out of my momentary giggle-fest and reminded kindly by someone I was giving a ride to that dance does have a bigger and deeper meaning.  OK, then I know that and hadn't really taken the time to truly meditate upon it in the context of what does "dance" have to do with God and what is He wanting me to learn from this most curious word?

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New year, new beginnings....The Advent/ Christmas season comes to a close and back to ordinary time until Lent.  Introspection ticks through the mind filling me with a curious wonder of what the year may hold.

Few things are on the list of things I desire, and of those all are not bought, or traded things.  No, the things I desire cannot be obtained by me but demand a trust in Jesus that He will guide and help me see their possible fruition.  The crux being will I see the sign, hear that silent whisper showing the way?  Will my "self" get in the way and drown me in cacophonous waves of selfish distractions missing the Spirit's inspiration?  Lately it seems that all is askew, a silent chaos that thrusts me back down to my knees and make my entire being cry Heavenward for help, I cannot do this on my own. 

How to end all this, what will the path be this year dear Beloved?  Will you give me the grace to follow and hear your gentle call?  Love, love, all I crave is your love and to do your will.  You gave me gifts so sweet and special, how may I use them in service to you?

Sigh, nobody ever said life would be fun and easy. Trust, trust, trust.

"Who is this?"

Degrees of Perfection 1.) Do not commit a sin for all there is in the world, or any deliberate venial sin, or any known imperfection.
2.) Endeavor to remain always in the presence of God, either real, imaginative, or unitive insofar as is permitted by your works.
3.) Neither do anything nor say any notable word that Christ would not have done or said were he in the state I am, as old as I, and with the same kind of health.
4.) Strive for the greater honor and glory of God in all things.
5.) Do not omit mental prayer for any occupation, for it is the sustenance of your soul.
6.) Do not omit examination of conscience because of any of your occupations, and for every fault do some penance.
7.) Be deeply sorry for any time that is lost or that passes without your loving God.
8.) In all things, both high and low, let God be your goal, for in no other way will you grow in merit and perfection.
9.) Never give up prayer, and should you find dryness and difficulty, persevere in it for this very reason. God often desires to see what love your soul has, and love is not tried by ease and satisfaction.
10.) In heaven and on earth, always the lowest and last place and office.
11.) Never interfere in what you are not ordered to do, or be obstinate about anything, even though you may be right. And if, as the saying goes, they give you an inch, do not take a mile. Some deceive themselves in such matters and think they have an obligation to do that which — if they reflect upon — in no way obliges them.
12.) Pay no attention to the affairs of others, whether they be good or bad, for besides the danger of sin, this is a cause of distractions and lack of spirit.
13.) Strive always to confess your sins with a deep knowledge of your own wretchedness and with charity and purity.
14.) Even though your obligations and duties are difficult and disagreeable to you, you should not become dismayed, for this will not always be so. And God, who proves the soul by a precept under the guise of a trial [Ps 94:20], will after a time accord it the experience of blessing and gain.
15.) Remember always that everything that happens to you, whether prosperous or adverse, comes from God, so that you become neither puffed up in prosperity nor discouraged in adversity.
16.) Remember always that you came here for no other reason than to be a saint; thus let nothing reign in your soul that does not lead you to sanctity.
17.) Always be more disposed toward giving to others than giving to yourself, and thus you will not be envious of or selfish toward your neighbor. This is to be understood from the viewpoint of perfection, for God is angered with those who do not give precedence to his good pleasure over that of humans. Soli Deo honor et gloria.
from Words of Wisdom For Our World
The Precautions and Counsels of St. John of the Cross by Susan Muto

From DGO's daily email of the Gospel Reading:

Venerable Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916), hermit and missionary in the Sahara desert
Letter of the 19 May 1898 to Père Jerome

"What did you go out to the desert to see?"

One has to pass through the desert, spending time there, if one is to receive the grace of God. It is there that we empty ourselves, getting rid of everything that is not God, and completely emptying this little house of our souls to leave all the room to God alone. The Hebrews travelled through the desert, Moses lived there before he received his mission, Saint Paul and Saint John Chrysostom were also made ready in the desert... It is a time of grace, a period during which all souls who want to bear fruit necessarily have to pass. They need this silence, recollection and forgetfulness of all created things in the midst of which God establishes his reign and forms a spirit of interiority within them: life in intimacy with God, conversation of the soul with God in faith, hope and love. Later on the soul will produce fruit in precisely the measure to which this interior man has been formed within it (Eph 3,16)...

We can only give what we have and it is in solitude, in that life alone with God alone, that profound recollection of the soul who forgets all else to live alone in union with God, that God gives himself wholly to the one who is thus given wholly to him. Give yourselves wholly to him alone... and he will give himself wholly to you... Look at Saint Paul, Saint Benedict, Saint Patrick, Saint Gregory the Great and so many others – what long periods of recollection and silence they spent! Go higher: look at Saint John the Baptist, look at our Lord. Our Lord had no need of it but he wanted to set us an example.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel by Selah

EPIC BLAST: As predicted, the a "mega-filament" of solar magnetism erupted on Dec. 6th, producing a blast of epic proportions. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the action as the 700,000-km long structure lifted off the stellar surface and--snap!!--hurled itself into space. Click on the arrow to play the movie:

movie formats: 4 MB gif, 1 MB iPad, 0.5 MB iPhone, 1 MB still frame

The eruption produced a bright coronal mass ejection (CME) observed by the STEREO-A spacecraft: video. Earth was not in the line of fire; the cloud should sail wide of our planet. Earth-effects might be limited to pretty pictures.