Kiss of Peace

~~~ Amos 9:11-15 ~~~ Psalm 85 ~~~ Matthew 9:14-17 ~~~

 The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

Kindness and truth shall meet;

justice and peace shall kiss.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

and justice shall look down from heaven.

 The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

Why is it so difficult to hear his 

precious words of peace in our world today?

Kindness is no longer our first response; 

too often we want to quickly strike out.

How is it possible for kindness and truth to meet 

if we cannot discern the truth?

Truth does indeed spring up from the earth.

Nature reveals to us the wonders of creation truths,

but also how we must be better stewards of nature.

...justice and peace shall kiss.

...and justice shall look down from heaven.

I imagine the perfect world where justice and peace 

would actually be able to embrace

 in the kiss of peace.

I am reminded during Mass that God 

does look down upon all of us giving 

us his peace and justice.

 The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

The Lord has never ceased speaking his words of peace to us, 

but are we listening that is the question.

We must be the ones who seek 

peace for all peoples in all lands near and far.

Peace seeps throughout our being out into 

our surrounding environment.

From our immediate environment then

 it just might have a chance to reach farther.

We must truly want peace deep inside our soul.

It cannot be superficial...

peace is not icing on the cake.

Peace cannot be an after thought...

Peace must be THE thought.

Extend the kiss of peace with a sincere heart 

during the Mass.

It seems like we must keep these thoughts of peace 

ever present in our minds and hearts.

Peace is the answer.

Peace is the only way to stop the violence

 that is festering in our world today.

Please pray for Peace

 in our tattered and torn world.

Spread Peace!

~~~Blessings~~~

Truth and Kindness

~~~ Hebrews 8:6-13 ~~~ Psalm 85 ~~~ Mark 3:13-19 ~~~

Kindness and truth shall meet.

Jesus is the the truth and he expresses it
 best through his kindness.
It is his kindness that gives credence to the truth.
In Jesus there should have been no reason
 to question his intentions concerning the truth.
Everything he said and did was rooted in the truth.
His kindness far surpassed anyone's expectations.
And yet in spite of truth and kindness many still did not believe.

I will put my laws in their minds

and I will write them upon their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

Jesus called all of his disciples to the mountain with him.
They had to work to climb up to where he would
single out twelve to be his apostles.

He took care to give those twelve his truths.
He took time show them his kindness.
He wrote upon their hearts his one law...his law of love.
Most of them took this truth into their hearts,
one did not. He chose to squander the truth
and the kindness he was given.

One chose to turn away from the truth.
One chose to deflect kindness in exchange for selfishness.

Where are you when it comes to truth?
How much kindness is in your heart?

I hope that you allow God to write his truth
and his kindness upon your heart each and every day.

You are Blessed with one undeniable truth.

God loves you.

Let him write it on your heart.
~~~Peace~~~

Soul Vitamins

~~~Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church~~~

~~~ Galatians 5:18-25 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 11:42-46 ~~~

...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

It would be amazing if the Spirit had a living tree
 where we could harvest its fruit.
I can imagine walking out into the orchard and
picking the plump ripe fruit of love or joy or peace.
How wonderful would it be just to consume the fruit of patience
 and after several servings to become more patient.

What if the fruit of kindness was so juicy that you had to hold a napkin
right up to your lips with each bite.
Perhaps the fruit of generosity was difficult to peel...
requiring a particular shaped knife.
Imagine the fruit of faithfulness is bitter and sweet
at the same time depending on when it is picked from the tree.
Could the fruit of gentleness hang like a cluster of grapes
fragile needing to be pick with great care?
What if the fruit of self-control was covered with spikes like a porcupine
and could only be handled with protective gloves?

I am indeed creating my own fantasy 'Spirit' orchard,
but it might provide a concrete image.

I would choose to live as close to this 'Spirit' orchard as possible.
I would carefully maintain each of these fruit trees.
The surrounding air would be so fragrant as to attract people from afar.
The colors of the blossoms would literally be a living visual painting.
Those who come to harvest would find the trees heavily laden with fruit...
ready to be picked...never having a shortage.

There would be great joy among those in the orchard.
The whole orchard would prosper year round.
The yield would not be daunted by normal supply and demand.

If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

If you consume the fruit from the 'Spirit' orchard
 you will be living the kingdom of God.

These nine types of fruit are different yet each,
by design, is intended to make us spiritually healthy.

They are the vitamins for our soul.

While the above scenario was fictitious
 the fruit of the Spirit is very real.

The fruit of the Spirit was the balanced diet of the Saints.
By consuming this particular fruit we will be much
closer to our goal of holiness.

For the next nine days I will randomly pick one fruit.
I challenge you...
 Commit to making a conscious effort to incorporate that fruit 

in as many ways as you can for that day.
Each day I will place the fruit for the day
 in the comment section of this post.

Let's begin with kindness...grab your napkin.
Kindness is a virtue exhibited in how you treat others.

What do you think?
Is kindness learned or the result of
an innate disposition?
Make the world a better place;
practice kindness.
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Aesop.
The fruit of kindness is sure to bring great
 blessings into your heart.
Saint Teresa, teach us to be more kind.
~~~Peace~~~

~Pomegranate and the Spirit~

~~~ Galatians 5: 18-25 ~~~ Psalm 1~~~ Luke 11: 42-46 ~~~

 

If you are truly guided by the Spirit, as Paul suggests,

 then you should have nothing to worry about.

If you are in the Spirit then you will be less inclined

to indulge in the things of the flesh.

Most all of the sins that Paul refers to in this letter 

are about selfishly putting yourself above others.

They are supported by believing that we should live for the moment.

They fool us into believing that satisfying our own needs take preference.

 

Paul goes on to say that if we are to be led by the Spirit

then we will manifest more goodness in our lives.

Embed yourself in the Spirit and you will bear fruit.

 

"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

 

It seems to me that the pomegranate is the perfect fruit

to represent the fruit of the Spirit referenced in today's letter by St. Paul.

The pomegranate fruit is unique in that the fruit itself

is neatly packed inside of a vibrant reddish sphere.

Once you cut open the pomegranate you see the actual

edible fruit...many small seeds between 200 and over 1000.

 

So imagine for a moment within the pomegranate

you find all nine fruit of the Spirit.

If you notice the word fruit is singular,

but yet contains many wonderful qualities of the Spirit

to cultivate in our lives.

 

 

In further research on the the pomegranate I was amazed to find

that it has Biblical connections. It is mentioned several times

in the Song of Songs, which poetically speaks of love,

the first of the fruit of the Spirit.

See Song of Songs 4:3, 6:11, 7:12, and 8:12 t

o share just a sampling of the references to the pomegranate.

I am now so fascinated by this unusual fruit

that I want to take more time with it's Biblical connection.

 

But for now take time to reflect on these qualities

that flourish as the fruit of the Spirit.

 

"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

 

Which of these do you feel most comfortable with in your heart?

Which do you find the most challenging?

 

Each one is inviting you to live in the Spirit and not just by the law.

The law can be blind, cold, harsh, and rigid.

By contrast the Spirt is tender, compasionate, and kind.

May the fruit of the pomegranate flourish in your heart.

"Take Care What You Hear"

Mark 4: 21-25

"For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible...nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears ought to hear..." and finally emphasizing..."Take care what you hear."

Yesterday we reflected on seeing in the true sense not only with our physical eyes. Today we have the Gospel of Mark also speaking to us about things becoming visible through the light. Could he be implying through the Light of Christ? For all things are visible with the Divine Light.

Mark, however, continues his instruction concerning our hearing. We were created by God with the gift of our senses. I have a difficult time what my life would be like without one of my senses. I have asked myself, If I had to freely give up one of my senses which one would it be. Well I admit I am selfish because for me the easiest sense to sacrifice would be my sense of taste.

I could not imagine not being able to see all of the wonders God has created for us. I definitely would be devastated to loose my hearing. If I could not hear just music alone I would be a very different person. I always hold in high admiration those who have lost their sight or hearing. Those I know have been given the grace to live full lives in spite of their loss.

Jesus tells his followers, that would be us, to 'take care what you hear'. I wonder how that might apply to us in today's environment? There are so many times I have had the television on and heard something I wish I had not. Until today I was conscious of what was entering into my ears, but now I want to be more discerning about what I choose to listen to. I want to hear about the good things happening in our world, I want to hear words of kindness, love, encouragement, and peace just to list a few.

So if that is what I want to hear I am then compelled to begin with myself. I certainly have the ability to thoughtfully choose my words before I speak. I also realize that I am not perfect and must decide to make this a priority for myself. I invite you to join me. Start with today, speak only kind words to others.

If we take care what we hear, what words are entering into our minds and hearts; we will be giving ourselves an enriched vocabulary from which to draw. You do not need a rich vocabulary to condemn and curse others.

"Take care what you hear" influences daily how you speak.  Words spoken as well as those heard linger within our soul.

Now I have left no time to share with you my thoughts on the lovely letter

Paul writes to his dear friend Timothy...2Tim. 1: 1-8

As I read Paul's words to his friend I was feeling the love he must have had for Timothy. Here are a few phrases that touched my heart...I remember you constantly in my prayers...I yearn to see you again...I recall your sincere faith...stir into flame the gift of God.

So much to contemplate in today's readings.

To you my readers; I give thanks to God and I do remember you in my prayers.



Original image: I chose this photo of a sunset because even though the sun has already set the sky fills with color for several more minutes. I chose this kaleidoscope image because the concentric design reminds me to be aware of what comes into my hears and what comes out of my mouth.

What we hear and speak flow together in continous ripples.