"Prodigal Son" by Oleg Korolev

"Testament"

My setting of the Bahai daily prayer.[:30]

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Frederick Buechner on "Seeing God"

Somebody appears on your front stoop, speaking your name, say, and you go down to open the door to see what’s up.

Sometimes while it’s still raining, the sun comes out from behind the clouds, and suddenly arching across the gray sky, there is a rainbow, which people stop doing whatever they’re doing to look at… because what is happening up there is so marvelous they can’t help themselves.

Something like that, I think, is the way those 12 men plus Mary, Martha, Joanna, and all the other women and men were called to become a church. They saw the marvel of Him across the grayness of things ---- of their own lives, perhaps of life itself. They heard His voice calling their names and they went.


When we see the face of Christ, I believe it will be a face we recognize, because at some level of our being it is a face that we have always known, the way the birds of the air know from a distance of a thousand miles their nesting place. We will know Him when we see Him and, more crucial still, He will know us.”



Men and women of faith know they are strangers and exiles on the earth because somehow and somewhere along the line they have been given a glimpse of home. By grace, we see what we see. To have faith is to respond to what we see by longing for it the rest of our days, by looking to see it again and see it better. To lose faith is to stop looking.

Pure and Simple

"We tend not to think of ourselves as pure, just because the bad feelings in our own hearts---anger, spite, impatience---- are so plain to us. But what is a pure heart? It is a heart that is open to God, that wants whatever God wants. I purify my heart whenever I ask God to show me the way, whenever I surrender my will to God's will. And I can do that now." -----St. Nicholas of Tolentino

Nicholas Gurrutti was born in the village of Sant'Angelo in Pontano, Italy in 1245. His parents, middle-aged and childless, made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Nicholas of Bari, their special patron, to ask his intercession on their behalf. Shortly thereafter, a son was born to them whom they named Nicholas out of gratitude.
At an early age Nicholas was greatly moved by the preaching of the Augustinian, Father Reginaldo di Monterubbiano, prior of the monastery of Sant'Angelo, and requested admission to the community.

He was accepted by the friars and made his novitiate in 1261. Nicholas directed his efforts to being a good religious and priest, and soon became renowned for his charity toward his confreres and all God's people.
He ministered to the sick and the poor, and actively sought out those who had become estranged from the Church. A fellow religious describes Nicholas' ministry in these words: "He was a joy to those who were sad, a consolation to the suffering, peace to those at variance, refreshment to those who toiled, support for the poor, and a healing balm for prisoners."

40 Hours, Wednesday, 4:00 p.m.

With Three Hours Left (and after 5 replacings of candles--an impromptu rite!)

40 Hours, Tuesday, 1:00 a.m.

Passing it Along...

I'm always eager to let people in on something new I've found. This time it's "Pray as You Go"---a daily prayer site operated by the Jesuits in England. There's also an Evening Wrap-up or Wind-down, examination of the day. If you enjoy J. Phillip Newell's prayers and meditation, you might like this. An excellent choice of music for each day, also. The link is at the left, under "Spiritual Browsing."

Living Like Trees: The Hindu and Buddhist Ideal of Sharing

Fielding Hall, a British official in nineteenth-century Burma, once asked for a bill at what he had taken to be a village restaurant, and found that he had been fed as a guest in a private house. Little did he know that the simple-minded folk were just practicing one of Buddhism's fundamental ethical imperatives - the gesture of unconditioned giving.

Indeed, the primary activity which a Buddhist learns to develop is unselfish sharing, which forms a basis for further moral and spiritual development


To read the entire article---comprehensive---here's the URL: http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/dana

The picture is from this magical site. thank you, Zuni.
http://zunibluesky.stumbleupon.com/

And since the land will soon be speaking with an Autumn accent, here's something to share with you:

(good for 10 minutes of "chillin' out.")


Vaughan Williams: "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis"

"Never cut what can be untied."