Vita Dulce

  "Give us Joy     to balance our Affliction."                              - Psalm 90 Life is a potpouri.   Some days good; some days bad.  When the trendline leans toward the latter, sometimes we need to remind (or demand!) God to 'give us joy to balance our affliction'!

  "You need endurance     to do the will of God   And recieve     what He has promised."                         - Hebrews 10:36 Endurance: "the fact or power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process without giving way. (Oxford Dictionary)" The passage from Hebrew reminds me that having faith does not mean that "I believe, therefore, all goes well for me."   Faith gives us hope that resurrection follows suffering and death.   The attitude I must have is: "I believe in the Resurrection, therefore, I have hope which gives me strength to endure my suffering and do the will of God even when it's difficult." Everyone has sufferings and the temptation is always to find ways to move around them or find a way to pacify or numb them.  Hebrews reminds me today that I need to endure and move through , to be strong in hope. I don't feel at this time that I have an inord...

 "You are a people     sacred to the Lord, your God; He has chosen you     from all the nations  on the face of the earth      To be a people      peculiarly his own."                              Dt. 7:6 Sacred, chosen, and formed to be peculiarly his own . The words from Deuteronomy in the office of readings today call forward the realization that God has formed us in a very special way.  The peculiarly his own  phrase stands out reminding us of how special and unique we are as a people and as individuals. Today name and claim the fact that you are peculiarly God's own.

  "The Word of God,     born once in the flesh (such is his kindness and goodness),     is always willing to be born spiritually     in those who desire him."                                        - St. Maximus the Confessor,                                   Five Hundred Chapters

 Such a wonderful blessing to be celebrating with family.   It brought me Joy to be able to be together and a deep sense of gratitude in being able to host so that we have a small opportunity to pay back to Mom and Dad and all my siblings for all they have given me and done for me throughout not only this year but our over half a century together. I reserve most of my commitments to Advent and Lenten season but one particular desire entered into my mind and heart and that was to spend 2023 intentionally creating through the Power of the Word :  using the Good Word to build up and avoiding the Bad Word that tears down. I have always found it insightful that Genesis starts with our first image of God as an all-powerful figure creating through the Power of the Benevolent Good Word.   The  pattern of seven days of pronouncing at the start of the day 'Let there be ... ' and then basking in at the end of the day 'he saw that it was good!'. God uses his word ...

  "Do not care much     who is with you and     who is against you; but make it your greatest care              that GOD IS WITH YOU               in everything you do."                         - Imitation of Christ, Thomas A Kempis