Good Morning Digital Neighbors!  Happy Tuesday!   Some pearls of wisdom from the Office of Readings with commentary following.   Enjoy!

From a sermon by Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop
Each of us is called to be both a sacrifice to God and his priest

I appeal to you by the mercy of God. This appeal is made by Paul, or rather, it is made by God through Paul, because of God’s desire to be loved rather than feared, to be a father rather than a Lord. God appeals to us in his mercy to avoid having to punish us in his severity.

Listen to the Lord’s appeal: In me, I want you to see your own body, your members, your heart, your bones, your blood. You may fear what is divine, but why not love what is human? You may run away from me as the Lord, but why not run to me as your father? Perhaps you are filled with shame for causing my bitter passion. Do not be afraid. This cross inflicts a mortal injury, not on me, but on death. These nails no longer pain me, but only deepen your love for me. I do not cry out because of these wounds, but through them I draw you into my heart. My body was stretched on the cross as a symbol, not of how much I suffered, but of my all-embracing love. I count it no loss to shed my blood: it is the price I have paid for your ransom. Come, then, return to me and learn to know me as your father, who repays good for evil, love for injury, and boundless charity for piercing wounds.

Listen now to what the Apostle urges us to do. I appeal to you, he says, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. By this exhortation of his, Paul has raised all men to priestly status.

How marvellous is the priesthood of the Christian, for he is both the victim that is offered on his own behalf, and the priest who makes the offering. He does not need to go beyond himself to seek what he is to immolate to God: with himself and in himself he brings the sacrifice he is to offer God for himself. The victim remains and the priest remains, always one and the same. Immolated, the victim still lives: the priest who immolates cannot kill. Truly it is an amazing sacrifice in which a body is offered without being slain and blood is offered without being shed.

The Apostle says: I appeal to you by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Brethren, this sacrifice follows the pattern of Christ’s sacrifice by which he gave his body as a living immolation for the life of the world. He really made his body a living sacrifice, because, though slain, he continues to live. In such a victim death receives its ransom, but the victim remains alive. Death itself suffers the punishment. This is why death for the martyrs is actually a birth, and their end a beginning. Their execution is the door to life, and those who were thought to have been blotted out from the earth shine brilliantly in heaven.

Paul says: I appeal to you by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living and holy. The prophet said the same thing: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but you have prepared a body for me. Each of us is called to be both a sacrifice to God and his priest. Do not forfeit what divine authority confers on you. Put on the garment of holiness, gird yourself with the belt of chastity. Let Christ be your helmet, let the cross on your forehead be your unfailing protection. Your breastplate should be the knowledge of God that he himself has given you. Keep burning continually the sweet smelling incense of prayer. Take up the sword of the Spirit. Let your heart be an altar. Then, with full confidence in God, present your body for sacrifice. God desires not death, but faith; God thirsts not for blood, but for self-surrender; God is appeased not by slaughter, but by the offering of your free will.

Good afternoon Digital Neighbors!  A simple post and prayer for a busier Monday. Enjoy!

Lord, Give me busy hands

a sense of fun,

an understanding heart,

and peace in myself.

Help me to overcome my fears,

to love you more,

to accept love,

and always to say the encouraging word.

Show me the beauty of a new day,

the desolate spirit that cries for help,

the satisfaction of simple living,

how to make the loving gesture,

and to see that every wrinkle hides some grace.

LETTIE HARCOURT, 1909–

Good morning Digital Neighbors!  Blessed Sunday and Happy Easter!!!   Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday in the Gospel.  Jesus speaks to us in the 10^th chapter of St. John to share His role as the Good Shepherd that guides the flock.  The bottom line for Jesus is that the Good Shepherd cares more for the sheep than himself.  Jesus sets a very high bar to follow since He does lay down His life for the flock.

          Most of humanity needs shepherding. I don’t know why God or nature designed it that way, but many people need help and guidance along the way.  I have met many exceptions thanks to my vocation, but we often lament at Coffee Talk how complacent, compliant, and surrendering the general population is to the wanna-be shepherds in government, media, entertainment, education, big tech and big pharma.  None of those groups care about the flock as individuals, only as a malleable mass to placate, manipulate and unleash.

          Convenience, distraction, and comfort have numbed, pacified, or bored many into lives that are barely human.  Many have sold the chance to be engaged with life for the easy comfort of “caretaking” by the State and its allies.  The State proposes the outrage of the day, the issues to preoccupy our minds and all the unwritten rules of correct-think and right-feel.  The unquestioning and uncritical masses place too much trust in those whose promises are self-serving at best.

Lordy that is dark! Sorry for the going down that road.   Anyway, good shepherds should care for the flock and seek to guide them to better pastures and protect them from all the predators of the flock.  There is a reason for the staff (a gun would be better) to both guide and protect the flock.   Here are a few of the prayer and intention aids that guide my mind in shepherding.

Dedication to Jesus

     May I have the eyes of Christ that I might see with His clarity and insight.  May I have the ears of Christ that I might listen with His compassion and understanding. May I have the mouth of Christ that I might speak with His honesty and integrity. May I have the hands of Christ that I might touch with His healing and presence. May I have the mind of Christ that I might choose and act with His wisdom and awareness.  May I have the Heart of Christ that I might love with his courage and humility.

   Lord, send forth upon me the Holy Spirit that I may be strengthened by the gift of your sevenfold grace to carry out faithfully the work of the ministry.

   May I excel in every virtue: in love that is sincere, in concern for the sick and the poor, in unassuming authority, in self-discipline, in holiness of life. May my conduct exemplify your commandments and lead your people to imitate my purity of life.  May I remain strong and steadfast in Christ, giving witness to the world by a pure conscience. May I in this imitate Your Son, who came not to be served, but to serve, and one day reign with Him in heaven. (Adapted from Deacon Ordination)

   Prayer should leave its stamp on a person’s total attitude toward life and make the one called into a kind loving person who infects others with his love. They ought not only feel loved, the question of love should awaken in them. “What is the nature of love that can transform a person in such a way? How could I myself acquire such a love? How did he ever come upon it?”      Adriene Von Speyr

   Regarding your disposition let the following be your guide:

·        Be thankful for what you have. Don’t complain because things aren’t better, they could be worse.

·        Be generous with your time, talents and your self. Give of your abundance.

·        Be cautious in your judgment of others, better to error on the side of charity.

·        Be read to listen and learn from others; maintain an open heart and eager mind.

·        Learn to laugh; experience and express the joy of Christ’s love.

·        Readily admit mistakes and forgive those who intentionally or accidentally harm you.

Regarding your attitude toward ministry and service let the following guide you:

   Make every effort to be an effective communicator, one who first listens attentively before responding with clarity, courage, compassion, and charity.

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and pray for acceptance of what is to be.

   Let no task that is asked of you be too lowly, let no challenge prove to be too great, rely on the grace of God in all things. Find Christ in those you meet, see Him in the best and worst of humanity.