One Walk

When little is forgiven, little love is returned.

November 24, 2008

11212008

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth

Patience, Mercy, and Forgiveness

When little is forgiven, little love is returned.

Abba, Father, Lord God, aware, thankful, humbled, I ask Your continued blessings for me and mine; that You would make Yourself visible, helping those that do not see, see; those that cannot accept, accept; those that will not forget, forget; those that feel no love, love. By faith, with hope, in love I ask in Jesus name, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The everlasting God has in His wisdom, foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart. This cross He now sends you, He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His Divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with His loving arms and weighed with His own hands, to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God. Our business is to love what would have done. He wills our vocation as it is. Let us love that and not trifle away our time hankering after other people’s vocations.

— St. Francis de Sales

Revelation 11:4-12
Psalm 144:1-2, 9-10
Luke 20:27-40

27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the wife and raise up children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and died without children; 30 and the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife." 34 And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; 35 but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him." 39 And some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well." 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth by Lee Cantelon

Ask and It Is Given, Volume 1: The Law of Attraction Unabridged By Esther Hicks and Jerry Hicks Narrated by Jerry Hicks – Ask and It Is Given, by Esther and Jerry Hicks, which presents the teachings of the nonphysical entity Abraham, will help you learn how to manifest your desires so that you’re living the joyous and fulfilling life you deserve. As you listen, you’ll come to understand how the Universal laws that govern your time/space reality influence your relationships, health issues, finances, career concerns, and more. It’s your birthright to live a life filled with everything that is good, and this audio program will show you how to make it so in every way!

The Pontiff in Winter: Triumph and Conflict in the Reign of John Paul II By John Cornwell Narrated by John Lee – Pope John Paul II is one of the most famous and influential political figures of the world. Now, best-selling author and journalist John Cornwell has written an accessible and provocative portrait of this highly charged figure, focusing primarily on the last five years and the major world events, and scandals within the Church that have impacted the papacy. The result is a thoughtful assessment of John Paul II’s legacy to the Church. In an age when many people see the Catholic Church as an institution in crisis, Cornwell raises the level of debate by posing difficult questions; chief among them is the effectiveness of a system that grants lifetime power to an individual vulnerable to the vicissitudes of aging and illness.

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I tell you, that to everyone who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

November 24, 2008

11192008

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth

On a Fruitful Life

The fruit of people’s lives will reveal the life they have chosen to live.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its power to purify, flavor, and preserve, how can it be made salt again? It is worthless, except to be discarded and trampled underfoot.

Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful, humbled yet distrustful of myself and everything; O Lord God as St. John Eudes states today, separate me from myself and its deceitful ways; place me on solid ground rooted in Jesus.

Separate me from myself and from all that is not you, in order to unite and incorporate me with you. Empty me of myself and of all things, destroy me utterly, in order to fill me with yourself and to form and establish yourself in me. Cause me henceforth to be a perfect image of yourself; just as you are a most perfect image of your Father.

— St. John Eudes

Revelation 4:1-11
Psalm 150:1-6
Luke 19:11-28

11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, "A nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten pounds, and said to them, `Trade with these till I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, `We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came before him, saying, `Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.’ 17 And he said to him, `Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, `Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ 19 And he said to him, `And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, `Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid away in a napkin; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’

22 He said to him, `I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money into the bank, and at my coming I should have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, `Take the pound from him, and give it to him who has the ten pounds.’ 25 (And they said to him, `Lord, he has ten pounds!’) 26 `I tell you, that to everyone who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’"

Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth by Lee Cantelon

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"If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

November 24, 2008

11182008

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth

The Call

You have not chosen me. I have chosen you, and appointed you to produce good fruit from the lives that you live, fruit that will last.

Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful for knowing You are there, humbled by how I get in Your way and my lack of ability to draw upon You as my source or source and letting You work in and flow through me as I walk, talk and interact with others.

Before prayer, endeavor to realize whose Presence you are approaching, and to whom you are about to speak. We can never fully understand how we ought to behave towards God, before whom the angles tremble.

— St. Teresa of Avila

Acts 28:11-16, 30-31
Psalm 98:1-6
Matthew 14:22-33

22 And the servant said, `Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, `Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’" 25 Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, 26 "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, `This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. 33 So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth by Lee Cantelon

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"Truly, inasmuch as you have done such things for the least of my brothers and sisters, you have done the same for me."

November 17, 2008

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth

Disciples and Servants

When the Messiah returns in his glory and all the holy angels are with him, he will sit upon the throne of his heavenly glory. Before him will be gathered all nations and he will separate them, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. The sheep he will set on his right hand, and the goats on his left.

Then the King of Heaven will say to those on his right: "Come, blessed by my Father; enter into the inheritance of the kingdom, prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you offered me food. I was thirsty, and you brought me cold water to drink. I was without home, and you invited me in. I was without clothes, and you clothed me. I was ill, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me."

Then the righteous will answer in amazement: "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we shelter or clothe you? Did we ever care for you when you were ill, or visit you in prison?"

The King will reply: "Truly, inasmuch as you have done such things for the least of my brothers and sisters, you have done the same for me."

To the ones on his left, the King will say: "Depart from me! For I was hungry, and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, and you offered me nothing to drink. I was without home, and you turned me away. I was naked, and you gave me no clothes. I was sick, yet you didn’t care for me. I was in prison, but you didn’t visit me."

These will protest: "Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or homeless, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and fail to comfort you?"

The King will answer: "Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you have failed to do these things for the least of my brothers and sisters, you have failed to do them for me."

Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful, and humble I pray ‘4 take me out of the net which is hidden for me, for thou art my refuge. 5 Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. 8 and hast not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; thou hast set my feet in a broad place. 9 Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief, my soul and my body also.’ In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

It is better for a man to be silent and be [a Christian], than to talk and not to be one. It is good to teach, if he who speaks also acts. There is then one Teacher, who spoke and it was done; while even those things which He did in silence are worthy of the Father. He who possesses the word of Jesus, is truly able to hear even His very silence, that he may be perfect, and may both act as he speaks, and be recognized by his silence.

— St. Ignatius

Sirach 26:1-3, 15-18, 24 (Vulgate)

1 Happy is the husband of a good wife; the number of his days will be doubled. 2 A loyal wife rejoices her husband, and he will complete his years in peace. 3 A good wife is a great blessing; she will be granted among the blessings of the man who fears the Lord. 15 A modest wife adds charm to charm, and no balance can weigh the value of a chaste soul. 16 Like the sun rising in the heights of the Lord, so is the beauty of a good wife in her well-ordered home. 17 Like the shining lamp on the holy lamp stand, so is a beautiful face on a stately figure. 18 Like pillars of gold on a base of silver, so are beautiful feet with a steadfast heart.

or 1 Timothy 5:3-10

3 Honor widows who are real widows. 4 If a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn their religious duty to their own family and make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God. 5 She who is a real widow, and is left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day; 6 whereas she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. 7 Command this, so that they may be without reproach. 8 If any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 9 Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband; 10 and she must be well attested for her good deeds, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way.
Psalm 31:4-5, 8-9, 20, 24-25
Matthew 25:31-40

40 And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’

Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth by Lee Cantelon

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In the kingdom of heaven, those who use what they possess, no matter how insignificant it might seem at the time, will continue to receive more and more.

November 17, 2008

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth

The Kingdom of Heaven

I instruct you with these stories because it is given to you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

Here is another parable that illustrates the kingdom: Once there lived a rich investor who was preparing to depart for a distant country. Before leaving, he called together three associates, putting them in charge of managing his investments during his absence. He gave five accounts to one, two lesser accounts to the other, and to the third he gave one insignificant account, responsibilities equal to their levels of experience.

So it happened that the associate who had been entrusted with five accounts immediately began to buy and sell, and before long, he had doubled his holdings, so that his accounts were now ten instead of five. The second associate did likewise, investing his two accounts until he had made four from the two entrusted to him. But the third associate did nothing. So fearful was he that he locked his account in a strongbox and buried it in the ground, terrified that it might be tampered with, lost, or stolen.

A good while later, the rich man returned from his trip. Immediately he summoned his three associates, curious to learn how they had managed his money during his absence.

The first associate recounted how he had invested the five accounts and now had ten. At this the rich man said: “You have done well, and proved faithful. Because you have been trustworthy with the five accounts that I gave you, I will put more important ones under your trust. You may begin today to benefit from these responsibilities.”

Then the rich man called the second associate, who reported: “You put two accounts into my care; now I have four.”

Hearing this, the rich man repeated what he had said to the first associate: “Well done! You have been faithful in managing two minor accounts. I will put you in charge of many more. Go to your task with happiness.”

Finally, the third associate was called, and immediately confessed: “I have always thought of you as a difficult man. You collect profits from other people’s money, and I figured that you would only take back whatever profits I might make from my insignificant account. I buried my account in the ground, where it has remained unharmed until your return.”

To this, the rich man answered: “Foolish associate. You know the manner in which I conduct my affairs. At the very least you could have entrusted your account with the currency dealers. Only one account was assigned to your care, and you have chosen to bury it in the ground. Now even this will be taken from you and given to the others who did wisely. What is left to you, except to dwell on your own regrets?”

In the kingdom of heaven, those who use what they possess, no matter how insignificant it might seem at the time, will continue to receive more and more. Abundance will be theirs! But those who act in fear, unfaithful in the least of life’s matters, will eventually lose all.

Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful and humble asking for courage, strengthen and perseverance to complete what I have started in Jesus name; even though I stumble help me to find the faith, hope and love to carry on. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

But a soul that does not live by the love of God suffers in a different way. It is not happy because it does not correspond generously enough to divine love; it hears a call and feels an attraction to which it does not respond. God punishes it by preventing it from being at peace in the quiet of laziness which it creates for itself. How many times is God sent away in this manner!

— St. Peter Emyard

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

10 A good wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.

19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. 20 She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy. 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
Psalm 128:1-5
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Matthew 25:14-30

Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth by Lee Cantelon

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Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.

November 15, 2008

11/14/2008

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth

The Return

Watch therefore, for you know not the hour when your Lord will come.

At the end of time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, causing the nations of the earth to tremble. All will see the Messiah, the Son of Man, appearing with power and great glory; and they will see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the living God, returning on the clouds of heaven. And he will send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet , and they will gather together his chosen ones as from the four winds, from the farthest ends of the heavens and earth, and reward everyone according to his works.

As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the time of the coming of the Son of Man. In the days that preceded the great flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and carelessly celebrating, until the day that Noah entered into the ark.

It was the same in the days of Lot. Men and women ate and drank, bought and sold, planted and built. But on the day that Lot departed from Sodom, it rained fire and molten sulfur from heaven, and destroyed them all. So will it be on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

Do not let your heart be overwhelmed by the pursuit of earthly pleasure or the anxieties of life. Let not my returning find you unprepared; for like the springing of a trap will it suddenly come upon the earth.

Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful and humbled I look at my Lord Jesus’ Words ‘Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it’ and I can see and feel the viscous cycle of the human condition that plagues me, and for which the only cure is death, the only remedy is Jesus, the only comfort is His living Words. The human condition of a eternal spiritual being learning to walk under the sun in the physical body, with all its desires can only be cured by dying to itself in its physical form which as the desires of the flesh are temporary and passing, to rise in and with Jesus as the spiritual beings which we are, eternal and at home, one with Jesus. This is why He took on human form and humbled Himself that we may have an example, so we would have a way, and He would be our light. This is why we can only find ourselves at the foot of the Cross, where in His blood we are cleansed and purified of our sins, and washed free of the body to rise free in the spirit. So when we stumble and fall we must land at His feet on the Cross where we will see and feel the spirit and die to the body. Help me Jesus! In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

It is to those who have the most need of us that we ought to show our love more especially.

— St. Francis de Sales

2 John 4-9
Psalm 119:1-2, 10-11, 17-18
Luke 17:26-37

26 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was in the days of Lot — they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built,

29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all — 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 On that day, let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left." 37 And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth by Lee Cantelon

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The measure of charity may be taken from the want of desires. As desires diminish in the soul, charity increases in it; and when it no longer feels any desire, then it possesses perfect charity.

November 13, 2008

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth

The Kingdom of Heaven

The kingdom of heaven can be likened to a farmer’s wheat field, planted with good seed. One night, while the farmer slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds among the wheat. When the first blades of wheat finally pushed up through the earth, weeds appeared alongside. Seeing this, the servants rushed to the farmer, and with distressed voices wept: “Sir, did not we sow good seed in your field? Why then are there so many darnel weeds?”

The farmer answered: “An enemy has done this.”

“Shall we try to remove them?” the servants asked.

“No,” the farmer replied. “If you pull up the weeds, you will uproot the wheat as well. Let them both grow together until the harvest time; and at the time of the harvest I will instruct the reapers as follows: ‘Gather first the weeds, and bind them into bundles for burning. Then gather the wheat into my storehouse.’”

Here is the lesson: he that sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world. The good seed represents the children of the kingdom, while the remaining seeds represent those deceived by the wicked one. The enemy that planted the weeds is the evil one. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. Just as the darnel weeds were gathered and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather everything that has caused humankind to stumble and those who live lawlessly outside of the kingdom, and will exile them to a place of weeping and regret. Then the righteous will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. If you have ears to hear, then hear these words.

One cannot be liberated from the kingdom of the evil one without first binding his power.

Do not allow your worries to consume tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself. Surely there is enough to concern you each day without fretting about the future. Which of you by mental effort can add one inch to your height?

Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of your needs will be provided.

Abba, Father, Lord God, thankful and humble I ask that Your grace and mercy be with me and mine, that You would bless us indeed, enlarging our territory and keeping us from evil and from causing pain. That You through Jesus would open our hearts to the Heaven that surrounds us, awakening us to the eternal emptiness of our never ending desires of the body and instead learn to walk in the fullness of Your Heavenly Kingdom on earth, just as it is in the eternal Heaven that awaits us as eternal spiritual beings. Let us start and end each day as Jesus will do at the time of the harvest by searching our mind and heart and binding up every weed that we have allowed to be sown in us from the pursuit of our desires, and learn to die to them as we burn then in the conviction of our spirit which walks and lives with Jesus who is always with us, to guide, teach and convict us, as we first seek His Kingdom and always asking in His name for Your continued blessings, mercy and grace. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The measure of charity may be taken from the want of desires. As desires diminish in the soul, charity increases in it; and when it no longer feels any desire, then it possesses perfect charity.

— St. Augustine

Philemon 7-20
Psalm 146:7-10
Luke 17:20-25

20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21 nor will they say, `Lo, here it is!’ or `There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." 22 And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, `Lo, there!’ or `Lo, here!’ Do not go, do not follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Audio books I am listening to and other books or readings I am reading:

The Words of Jesus of Nazareth by Lee Cantelon

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