September 9, 2008

                    All creation bears the handprint of God.

                    In creation God is the first principle
                        and end.

  

From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, 
    by Louis J. Puhl, S.J. p. 12

                        23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION

                            Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God 
                        our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

 

p. 11

21.                     SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

    Which have as their purpose the conquest of self
    and the regulation of one's life in such a way that
    no decision is made under the influence of any
    inordinate attachment

   

                In creation - the vision of God is
                    paramount —

                    HUMILITY —

                God loves man so much.

                God wants man saved.

                Man is rebellious.

                Man is willful  ie. Adam and EVE

                God created the world out of
                    nothing

                Man has limited vision

                There is order in creation
                    rocks
                    vegetation
                    animals and fish
                    man

                God created ALL
                    for purpose and meaning

                We cannot hide our impure
                    hearts from God

                Our tainted ways —
                Our evil done to others

                God ordered the earth for His
                    own honor and glory

                We exist to praise and love God

                Selfishness is foolishness —
                    like acting like we can
                    hide from God

                God's call to man is to obey
                    His command

                ADAM and EVE Disobeyed —
                this is right in the beginning
                of the Bible.

                The man who thinks God isn't
                    watching is a fool —

                We are not serving God when we
                    hurt others — lies — punishments

                Cain slew Abel

                God created the sun and moon and
                    stars and He keeps the world from
                    annihilating

                God created man in His image
                    and likeness

                Jesus is the fruit of Mary's
                    womb

                God created a beautiful,
                    harmonious, loving, good
                    orderly world without sin,
                    violence or evil.

                God made the world out of love.
                God created us creatures to love.

                We see the barren earth.

                We see man is expected to
                    grow things
                    bear fruit
                    foliage etc.

                Dear God

                    I love You, I need You
                    I thank You
                    You are my Savior and my God
                    You are my strength
                    You are with me always
                    Though I walk in the valley of
                        darkness, I shall not fear,
                        for you are with me with
                        your rod and your staff and
                        I shall dwell in the house
                        of the Lord for years
                        upon years Amen.
                        I love You Jesus  

                Revelation 11: 18

                    "The nations have raged in anger
                        but then came your day of wrath
                        and the moment to judge the dead.
                    The time to reward your servants
                        the prophets and the holy ones
                        who revere you,
                        the great and the small alike,
                    The time to destroy those who lay
                        the earth waste."

                Revelation 12: 1-2

                    Mary crushes the head of the serpent
                    Mary is the woman clothed with
                        the sun.

                    Mary is always pure.

                    Mary did not base her actions on
                        the impure actions of others.

                Co-depencency — using work needed
                    to control others — or passive-
                    aggressive punishing ways —
                    provoking ways is wrong

                God is love

                We are to serve in love not to
                    prove we have a good
                    performance —
                    hold out and test God when we
                    know He wants something.

                "Ha Ha God — I know you
                    will come and get me"

                It is foolish to make our life
                    lived in rivalry with
                    God's will for us, God's plan
                    for us.

                The Shepherds of Christ exists to promote —
                    solid love

                Do what God asks for the first
                    time — not so we get
                    a
                    "that away boy"

                Expectations of some who see
                    everything through their
                    tainted eyes

                "If they do this then - I should
                    stop it because I'm jealous,
                    possessive — I want to
                    control and manipulate,
                    I want it my way — I don't
                    help others serve God — like a good
                    servant — to do God's will —
                    I hinder them out of possessiveness,
                    anger, envy, jealousy — using
                    passive-aggressive ways to
                    never to deliver to provoke —"

                A person who set a trap to hurt
                    others and laughs is doing evil.

                Sirach 22: 19-26

                    One who jabs the eye brings tears,
                        he who pierces the heart bares
                        its feelings —

                    He who throws stones at birds
                        drives them away —

                Sirach 21: 26

                    Fools thoughts are in their mouths
                        wise men's words are in their
                        hearts —

  

                A man who doesn't love is of
                    a stone heart

                God created us to love

                A person with deep wounds — sees
                    the world through pain —
                    they present a fake front to others and
                    they can use someone for a
                    whipping boy

                A man with an empty heart does
                    not force these passive-aggressive
                    ways on others —

                    they live to serve God
                    they live to serve others
                    they live to build the Kingdom of God

 

---

                This man wounded
                bleeds inside and shows others they
                    are good — living life a lie —
                    seeing how to act out on
                    some others their anger

                They see through dark vision —
                    pressing down —

                Keeping the pot stirred — always
                    turmoil — always
                    confusion — always manipulation —
                    like a ship at sea on rough waters

                the peaceful man never sails the rough sea

                the angry man seeks it —
                    he makes it —
                    he never delivers so he can
                        watch it fail

                the peaceful man - has a free
                    heart — to give, to love, to see
                    God's will

                the angry, hurt, stone heart — has little
                    feeling — except
                    to make a big storm bigger —
                    then they know they still have
                    some life

                To them the pain rules their actions —
                    their vision is through the eyes
                    of this pain

                True love - the burning heart of
                    endless steam

                Song of Songs 8:6b —

                    Set me as a seal on your heart
                        as a seal on your arm
                    For stern as death is love
                        relentless as the nether
                        world is devotion;
                        its flames are a blaming fire,
                    Deep waters cannot quench love,
                        nor floods sweep it away.
                    Were one to offer all he owns to purchase
                        love,
                        he would be roundly mocked.

 

---

                Jesus:

                    I have given you
                        My Blue Books

                    I have opened My Heart raw
                        to show you My Burning Heart

 

---

                To the stone heart — they operate
                    not in the burning heart of
                    love, but in desolation

                JUSTICE and PEACE will KISS

                Book of Wisdom 1: 8

                    Therefore no one who utters wicked
                        things can go unnoticed —
                    Nor will chastising condemnation/
                        pass him by —

 

---

                Jesus:

                    Oh people:

                        for love — you must give
                            freely from an empty
                            heart

                    A man went out and he had a kite
                        to fly — when he went to the
                        hill — the wind blew and he
                        ended up being tied to the kite — unable
                        to move and no one to rescue him —

                    A man of freedom
                        goes to the hill
                        watches the kite fly
                        and is pleased to see it
                            so far from him — in
                            the blue sky

 

                Every action you perform for God
                    is like this —
                    You give to give honor and
                        glory to God

                A foolish man does it for vain glory —

                Be of a clean heart
                Pray to have a heart like Mary
                Want only what is pleasing and
                    loving to God

                Mary is the perfect handmaid
                    of the Lord

                Love justice
                Hate wickedness
                See with the eyes of God
                Reach for the work of the Father

                The love we give is like ripples on
                    a pond — when freely given —
                    the fool wants to be repaid for
                        a good deed done

                    the wise man is already repaid
                        his heart is clean, full
                        of light —
                        his love swells in his heart

                Doing God's will simply —
                If God wants service it is to
                    be given in love for
                    the honor and glory of God

                God has put order into His creation and
                    this order must be respected and
                    promoted if peace is to prevail.

                Fr. Carter said

                    "To the extent the human family
                    lives according to God's will - lives
                    according to the order or the plan
                    God has established for creation -
                    to that extent does peace exist
                    in the various segments of
                    human society."

                The more the world gives into divisive reasoning —
                    seeking dominance for vain glory —
                    divorces —
                    division —

                Not working in communities as a team
                    player — ignoring authority

                and rivalry in one's own heart against
                    the will of God

                There will not be peace in our hearts
                There will not be peace in nations
                There will not be peace in families
                There will not be peace in communities

                We are to love God
                That means love His will for us
                That doesn't mean fight authority
                That means learning to obey —

                For all eternity we will be in the
                    Father's will

                Choosing God's will

                                              JESUS
                ADAM                   NEW ADAM
                disobeyed               obeyed
                rebellious                  His father's
                                                will to His death

                being like Jesus means obedience
                being like Jesus means love
                being like Jesus means loving it and being
                                                    SELFLESS              

   

 

Jeremiah 7: 24-29

But they did not listen, they did not pay attention; they followed their own devices, their own stubborn and wicked inclinations, and got worse rather than better. From the day your ancestors left Egypt until today, I have sent you all my servants the prophets, persistently sending them day after day. But they have not listened to me, have not paid attention; they have deliberately resisted, behaving worse than their ancestors. So you will tell them all this, but they will not listen to you; you will call them, but they will not answer you.” Then you are to say to them, “This is the nation that will neither listen to the voice of Yahweh its God nor take correction. Sincerity is no more, it has vanished from their mouths.

"Cut off your tresses, throw them away!
On the bare heights raise a dirge,
for Yahweh has rejected, has abandoned,
a brood that enrages him!"

  

Matthew 7: 7-14

‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the Law and the prophets.

‘Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

   

Matthew 9: 22

  Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, 'Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.' And from that moment the woman was saved.

 

Matthew 9: 35-38

 Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness.

    And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest.’

 

                If we realized the oneness in the
                Hearts of Jesus and Mary — Hearts of
                greatest love —
                    we would boast copiously
                and tell people of this great love —

                    All actions are done because
                it is the Father's will.

                    If one spurns us - we have
                been spurned we still live to
                serve our Master!! We do God's
                will.

                    Mary is all pure — we model
                our lives after this most perfect
                disciple —

                What say we of Mary

                    She loved always according to
                God's will —

                    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE —

                    LOVE for His glory

                We must seek God's help always
                    through Mary to live a holy
                    life

                We have a tainted human nature —
                    we act taintedly even in
                    what we think is a loving
                    act — so we go to the pure
                    heart of Mary — to love more
                    purely and the Holy Spirit works
                    in us to be more pure in our
                    ways

 

---

                We need God to be pure
                We need Mary to be pure

                In pride we think we are the ones
                    doing what we do

                When we do a good act — it is
                    because of God's grace —

                We are dependent on God —

                We must see ourselves as weak and
                    needing God's help

                    The world is at war

                    Mary appeared at Clearwater,
                at our centers to have us bring
                peace, unity, love — be team
                players.

                    Mary comes for peace —

                    The Bible is full of stories
                about evil — flip through it
                God recognizes our evil ways
                We must pray to be pure
                like Mary.