Let us fall into the hands of the Lord

Sirach Chapter 2:

My child, when you come to serve the Lord,

prepare yourself for trials.

 

Be sincere of heart and steadfast,

and do not be impetuous in time of adversity.

 

Cling to him, do not leave him,

that you may prosper in your last days.

 

Accept whatever happens to you;

in periods of humiliation be patient.

 

For in fire gold is tested,

and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation.

 

Trust in God, and he will help you;

make your ways straight and hope in him.

 

You that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,

do not stray lest you fall.

 

You that fear the Lord, trust in him,

and your reward will not be lost.

 

You that fear the LORD, hope for good things,

for lasting joy and mercy.

 

Consider the generations long past and see:

has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?

Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken?

has anyone called upon him and been ignored?

 

For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;

forgives sins and saves in time of trouble.

 

Woe to timid hearts and drooping hands,

to the sinner who walks a double path!

 

Woe to the faint of heart! For they do not trust,

and therefore have no shelter!

 

Woe to you that have lost hope!

what will you do at the Lord’s visitation?

 

Those who fear the Lord do not disobey his words;

those who love him keep his ways.

 

Those who fear the Lord seek to please him;

those who love him are filled with his law.

 

Those who fear the Lord prepare their hearts

and humble themselves before him.

 

Let us fall into the hands of the Lord

and not into the hands of mortals,

 

For equal to his majesty is his mercy;

and equal to his name are his works.

A.M.D.G.

Here is a good response to the video Why I love Jesus, but hate religion.  I actually haven't watched that video, but this one is good!  And considering my daughter, who is 10, just encountered some anticatholicism yesterday, it is timely for us. 

What happened  in a nutshell:  One of her friends told her, "A lot of people think Catholicism is messed up."  and "Why do Catholics add books to the Bible?"  and "I believe you only need to confess your sins directly to God."  All in the middle of an art class!  I'm proud of my daughter's response to this and that she held her ground and also told me about it even though she knew it probably meant she was not going to get to go on a playdate with her yesterday afternoon.  Although she did not have enough knowledge to talk about the ins and outs of the history of the Septuagint and the Canon of Scripture in the Catholic Church with her friend, she did have a great response about confession.  She told her friend that when she goes to confession she actually" is confessing directly to God, and that the priest acts in the person of Christ."  Pretty good for a 10 year old defending her faith to another 10 year old.   

I was torn about whether to let her go play with her friend anyway yesterday afternoon, but decided to have one-on-one time with her instead, so we went to our local coffee shop and had a wonderful talk! She is still friends with her, and I had a wonderful discussion with her friend's mother which made me realize how many misunderstandings and inaccuracies there are out there about our Catholic faith.  There are definite differences, but how will people know what we REALLY believe and where it came from if we are not willing to share it?  I am glad that her friend asked her questions and for my daughter's courage.... this is where her strong will is beneficial.  May we as parents help guide her to follow Christ and His Truth and to help her to grow in courage to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ with love and generosity.

Her mom apologized and was very gracious.  It was something that could have ended badly but ended up being a wonderful place to begin a dialogue.

Here's the video I was talking about before:



HT GNW_Paul on Plurk for the video

Our Lady, Our Life

This past weekend, my husband and I traveled to Fargo, North Dakota for the Marian Eucharistic Congress. It was amazing! This was our first time to go to this particular Congress. I admit it was a bit overwhelming, in a really good way, but there were so many powerful talks that I am still reeling from it all. I would like to share most of what I learned there, but it will have to come in little pieces because it is a lot to process.

One of the speakers was Sr. M. Timothea Elliott, and she spoke eloquently about the way St. Luke "paints a vivid word picture of the Annunciation with with the Angel Gabriel and Mary in the foreground and a theological exposition of the Old Testament in the background", similar to the this beautiful painting by Fra Angelico "expressing the significance of the Annunciation in light of the Old Testament." Today, on this feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, let us remember as we pray each of the mysteries of the Rosary, the depth and riches of God's grace given to us throughout salvation history. And as we study and reflect upon God's word in Sacred Scripture, let us open our hearts to receive all God gives us, namely a beautiful Mother who leads us always to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Sr. Timothea Elliott shared this quote with us from St. Ephraim, Deacon and Doctor of the Church:

"Lord who can grasp all the wealth of just one of your words? What we understand is much less than we leave behind; like thirsty people who drink from a fountain. For your word, Lord, has many shades of meaning just as those who study it have many different points of view. The Lord has colored his word with many hues so that each person who studies it can see in it what he loves. He has hidden many treasures in his word so that each of us is enriched as we meditate on it.

The word of God is a tree of life that from all its parts offers you fruit that is blessed. It is like that rock opened in the desert that from all its parts gave forth a spiritual drink. He who comes into contact with some share of its treasure should not think that the only thing contained in the word is what he himself has found. He should realize that he has only been able to find that one thing from among many others. Nor, because only that one part has become his, should he say that the word is void and empty and look down on it. But because he could not exhaust it, he should give thanks for its riches. Be glad that you are overcome and do not be sad that it overcame you. The thirsty man rejoices when he drinks and he is not downcast because he cannot empty the fountain. Rather let the fountain quench your thirst than have your thirst quench the fountain. Because if your thirst is quenched and the fountain is not exhausted, you can drink from it again whenever you are thirsty. But if when your thirst is quenched and the fountain is also dried up, your victory will bode evil for you. So be grateful for what you have received and don't grumble about the abundance left behind. What you have received and what you have reached is your share. What remains is your heritage. What at one time you were unable to receive because of your weakness, you will be able to receive at other times if you persevere. Do not have the presumption to try to take in one draft what cannot be taken in one draft and do not abandon out of laziness what can only be taken little by little."