#Jesus is the Most Beautiful Gift of Mary

[dramoor]

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIFT OF MARY "Jesus, my sweet Lamb, that my heart might be your cradle. I hold Him and will not let Him go because I chose Him for all my Good." ~Lataille

[ddddesigns]

For Unto Us A Child Is Born – Isaiah 9:6 | Holiday Designs. This inspiring and cool design is perfect for the Christmas holidays. Grab this design as a gift for Christmas to your family, relatives, friends, pastors, and someone special who loves bible verses in the Christmas layout.

For Unto Us A Child Is Born – Isaiah 9:6 | Holiday Designs Cap by DDDDesigns

[hussyknee]

Somewhat put off by the spoilers I've read about Mary and George. There's no doubt nearly all relationships in the British court were some level of sordid, but King James, to all intents and purposes, had genuine feelings for his three male favourites, most especially George Villiers. He was no Henry VIII. I don't know why they wanted to reduce the most famous and open homosexual relationship in European royal history to a comedy between a "cock-struck" old lech and a conniving courtier that led him by the nose and then betrayed and murdered him.

All evidence points to George at least being loyal to James (if you discount his love letters as simply sucking up to his benefactor) and even had a fond relationship with his Queen and his son Charles. He was in fact in France when James died, and reportedly cried when he heard the news.

It's even a little heartbreaking because this is right after Nicholas Galitzine played the closeted gay Prince Henry in Red, White and Royal Blue, who in the book is proud of the open and unashamed love between his ancestor and his lover, and the way even James's son Charles I honoured Villiers for accompanying him to the Spanish Court to ask for the hand of the Infanta.

“Actually . . . you remember how I told you about the gay king, James I?”

“The one with the dumb jock boyfriend?”

“Yes, that one. Well, his most beloved favorite was a man named George Villiers. ‘The handsomest-bodied man in all of England,’ they called him. James was completely besotted. Everyone knew. This French poet, de Viau, wrote a poem about it.” He clears his throat and starts to recite: ‘One man fucks Monsieur le Grand, another fucks the Comte de Tonnerre , and it is well known that the King of England, fucks the Duke of Buckingham.’” Alex must be staring, because he adds, “Well, it rhymes in French. Anyway. Did you know the reason the King James translation of the Bible exists is because the Church of England was so displeased with James for flaunting his relationship with Villiers that he had the translation commissioned to appease them?”

“You’re kidding.”

“He stood in front of the Privy Council and said, ‘Christ had John, and I have George.’’

“Jesus.”

“Precisely.” Henry’s still looking up at the statue, but Alex can’t stop looking at him and the sly smile on his face, lost in his own thoughts. “And James’s son, Charles I, is the reason we have dear Samson. It’s the only Giambologna that ever left Florence. He was a gift to Charles from the King of Spain, and Charles gave it, this massive, absolutely priceless masterpiece of a sculpture, to Villiers. And a few centuries later, here he is. One of the most beautiful pieces we own, and we didn’t even steal it. We only needed Villiers and his trolloping ways with the queer monarchs. To me, if there were a registry of national gay landmarks in Britain, Samson would be on it.”

Henry’s beaming like a proud parent, like Samson is his, and Alex is hit with a wave of pride in kind.

He takes his phone out and lines up a shot, Henry standing there all soft and rumpled and smiling next to one of the most exquisite works of art in the world.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking a picture of a national gay landmark,” Alex tells him. “And also a statue.”

Like all white liberals, Casey McQuiston tends to romanticise the crime against humanity that is royalty and also that house built by bunch of slave owners that has since housed a progression of genocidal war criminals. There's very little to like about any British monarch. But the relationship between James and Villiers is a significant part of gay history and there's no need to smear it even more than it's already been smeared the last four hundred years, contrary to the actual known facts.

Idk man. I'm sensitive to this stuff Ig. Maybe I'd be a little more positive about it if I watched it, but the trailer gave me "tee hee they're gay" vibes so Idk if I want to.

Edit: so it seems the trailer is misleading and the story is more complex than a "tee hee gay" comedy. I might watch it after all, even if the starkly visible age difference makes me a bit queasy. How tf is Galitzine nearly thirty and a babyface with those razor cheekbones?? Perfect to show how uncomfortable it looks for a middle aged man to get with a kid of twenty.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

She was destined to be my Gradiva, the one who moves forward, my victory, my wife.

- Salvador Dali on Gala

Dali always maintained that without his wife, Gala, he would never have been the icon of art as he became.

Gala’s real name was Helena Ivanovna Diakonova, a Russian born in Kazan in 1894. She was 10 years older than Dalí and, when they met in 1929, she was married to the poet Paul Éluard and mother to a little girl. She also had a lover, Max Ernst, who painted her in a number of portraits. It was love at first sight.

In his Secret Life, Dalí wrote: “She was destined to be my Gradiva, the one who moves forward, my victory, my wife.” The name Gradiva comes from the title of a novel by W. Jensen, the main character of which was Sigmund Freud. Gradiva was the book’s heroine and it was her who brought psychological healing to the main character.

She immediately became his muse. Gala is a frequent model in Dalí’s work, often in religious roles such as the Blessed Virgin Mary in the painting The Madonna of Port Lligat.

In the early 1930s, Dalí started to sign his paintings with his and her name as “it is mostly with your blood, Gala, that I paint my pictures”. Gala acted as his agent, very aggressively fighting for his rights with gallery owners and buyers. She was also using tarot cards to influence Dalí’s career decisions. According to most accounts, Gala had a strong sex drive and, throughout her life, had numerous extramarital affairs (among them with her former husband Paul Éluard), which Dalí encouraged, since he was a practitioner of candaulism. Also, Salvador Dalí claims to be a virgin and completely impotent as he was afraid of women’s anatomy and Gala publicly assumes her affairs with other men. Still, it seems that their relationship was quite harmonic and lucrative for both sides.

He wrote: “I would polish Gala to make her shine, make her the happiest possible, caring for her more than myself, because without her, it would all end.”

But nothing lasts forever. At the end of the 1960s, their relationship started to fade away, and for the rest of their lives, it was just smouldering pieces of their bygone passion. In 1968, the painter bought Gala a castle in Púbol, Girona, and it was agreed that the painter could not go there without her prior permission. Gala spent much of her time there in the company of young men, for whom she spent a fortune. In his turn, Dali saved himself for the company of attractive young ladies, although he didn’t want anything from them but their beauty. It was said that they held weekly orgies, though, by all accounts, the artist himself didn’t participate except to watch.

In 1980, at the age of 76, Dali was forced to retire due to palsy. The motor disorder left him unable to hold a brush, and as his condition worsened, he became less tolerant of Gala’s continued affairs. Gala was also using income from Dali’s art to lavish money and gifts on her lovers, who were mostly young male artists. One day, the artist had enough. He beat Gala so badly, he broke two of her ribs. To calm him down, Gala gave him large doses of Valium and other sedatives, which made him lethargic. She then allegedly gave him “unknown quantities of one or more types of amphetamine,” which caused “irreversible neural damage.”

Gala Dalí died in Port Lligat, Spain, on June 10, 1982, following a severe case of the flu. She was buried in Púbol, Spain, on the grounds of a castle that was a gift from her husband. At the time of her death, she was involved in an affair with a 22-year-old Jesus Christ Superstar actor named Jeff Fenholt for whom she left Dalí. But when Gala died, Dalí’s life became dull. He stopped eating and scratched his face. He was constantly shouting and crying. He outlived his wife by seven years.

They lived together for 53 years.

[jovenshires]

endless au edits: smosh theatre's seasonal lineup (3/4)

no matter what else you have to say about it, one thing is certain. smosh's summer show is a fascinating choice: a production of godspell directed by zoe moacanin. smosh fans may know moacanin from directing last year's infamous performance of les miserables, which was the first show in almost a decade to star both smosh founders, ian hecox and anthony padilla. in a P.I.T. interview with hecox, he revealed that les miserables was moacanin's "brainchild." from the beautiful, minimalistic set to the haunting, romantic stage direction, hecox credited it all as her idea. "the show would not have gone on without her," hecox said. "she's one of the greatest directors i've ever worked with." moacanin's understanding of tragedy and theatre itself truly make her a force to be reckoned with. with a standout crew to support her, including arguably smosh's most talented stage head alex tran, i think we can all preemptively agree that this religious comedy-drama will lean far into the latter and leave not a dry eye in the house. it will surprise almost no one that shayne topp is staying atop the heap of most leading roles in smosh productions as he takes on the intimidating role of jesus christ himself. jesus is a high-energy, charismatic, strong leader that others instinctively follow - all words that accurately describe topp. when i reached out to him to set up a potential interview (coming soon), he had this to say: "it's truly such an honor to be working with zoe [moacanin]. she's extremely talented, and this cast has really captured my heart. i'm so excited to put on this show." i'll have the pleasure of sitting down with topp next week to dive further into his character and his relationship with the cast. speaking of, his fellow lead actor is none other than chanse mccrary, who will be playing john the baptist/judas. mccrary is known for speaking out about how his sexuality and race affect his career, both in how he's perceived by others and how it informs his art. to see him play such a double-edged character will be fascinating, as he will act as jesus's confidante as well as his downfall. smosh theatre is often highly praised for giving their actors room for interpretation. mccrary has taken that and run with it in the past, and i have no doubt that he'll do that again. mccrary shared on his instagram that he's "excited" for the upcoming performance. "i've had so much fun working on this show; this is truly one of my dream roles. come see me and @ shaynetopp sing all for the best and maybe kiss, who's to say". well, he certainly has me sold. godspell is a unique show in that theatre companies often name all of the characters after their actors. smosh is following that unwritten rule, releasing the rest of the cast solely as the songs they sing rather than the characters' names. the incredibly talented arasha lalani will be singing "turn back o' man," performed by the mary magdalene-esque character. lalani has played mostly high-strung, comedic roles with smosh thus far, and she's damn good at it. but as she showcased as cosette in the aforementioned production of les miserables, she absolutely has the range. backing her up in the ensemble of apostles are relatively up-and-coming actors marcus munguia (singing "light of the world" as the comedic, up-beat, class clown apostle) and peter ditzler (singing "all good gifts", a character notably sweet and innocent yet slightly slow on the uptake) among others. the stark mix of both classic smosh members and newer actors makes for a perfectly balanced cast, one that will make this old show feel brand new.

[random-brushstrokes]

Frederick Cayley Robinson - The Close of Day (1898-99)

This beautiful and atmospheric painting is the first in a series of similar subjects by Cayley Robinson, one his most ambitious and his best. Three young women gather around a table in a tightly furnished basement room in a compressed space, the table laid for them to eat. It is lit from three directions: eerily from behind a green curtain at the back, warmly from two candles at the far end of the table, and apparently by daylight from the front and to the left. A music box playing one of Mendelssohn’s 'Songs without Words’ is on the table in the foreground. The music eschews any literal interpretation, and accompanies the dream-like, contemplative mood of the picture. Robinson, too, defies narrative, and quite deliberately does not fully describe a definite theme. As Percy Bate put it: 'Into each of his pictures, full of delicate charm, the spectator will read just so much of poetry and romance as his own soul is gifted with.’ (Percy Bate) The triptych above the table in the Quattrocento manner is Robinson’s 're-imaging' of the the Resurrection of Christ. In the central panel are the two Marys, Magdalene and 'the other Mary', the first witnesses to the empty tomb of Jesus according to Matthew, and the first to encounter the angel bearing the message 'He is Arisen'. The left wing of the triptych has the haloed Mary mother of Christ with the infant Christ on her lap, whilst in the background, dark shrouded figures lead children on a path out of the town. In the right wing, Mary Magdalene anoints the feet of Christ with myrrh from a casket. The motif of the Resurrection runs through much of Robinson’s work, and in this painting a moth flies into the room to the upper right behind the green curtain. The moth was a symbol of death and transfiguration, from wriggling grub through inert chrysalis to winged creature. The three women in the picture seem not to interact with one another, but are united by their rapt attention to the music. The dark figure with the lantern in the central panel of the triptych harks back to John 11.9, a cryptic passage that to some extent explains the light in the painting and provides Robinson's title, ‘The Close of the Day’: 'Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ (source)

[angeltreasure]

In what way do Guardian angels live among us and what do they do? (I mean I know they’re guardian angels so clue is in the name!) but I mean yeah I’ve never actually thought about this much before so I’m hoping you could educate me a little!!! 🙏🙏💕

Before the concept of time began, all of the angels were created at one moment. God gave them a glimpse of the beatific vision of Heaven, what their exact role would be, and then the vision of what would happen if they said no.

God’s most beautiful and smartest angel called Lucifer (who was likely in the Cherubim choir) became very angry when seeing the beatific vision: that God the Father out of great love would send His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to be fully man AND fully God (John 3:16)… Lucifer was even more furious actually of Jesus’s mother, Mary, who is just human, would be SO full of grace from God that she would be conceived and born without ever having original sin. Her womb had to be pure for the Son of God. The graces from God were so great that all the angels combined and all the saints combined would not much up to even as much as a sigh, in her holiness. Although not God, Mary would be queen of the angels. Lucifer did not like the fact that his own queen would be a woman, a woman that had not only one chance to offer herself as sacrifice but over and over and over, compared to himself. Lucifer wanted all the purity and power to himself that Mary had, he wanted to even take the place of God.

St. Michael the archangel, from the choir of Archangels (the second lowest angel choir) was given the gift from God to cast Satan and other bad angels out of Heaven. St. Michael rose up against Lucifer and said “Who is like God?!”, casting Lucifer and the bad angels out of Heaven, forever, down to earth and eventually hell. Lucifer is then known as Satan. 1/3 of angels fell from the sky that day.

Our guardian angels are in the 9th choir of angels, this choir is called Angels, the lowest choir. The choir called Angels are angels who are ones most around humans. The exact number is unknown. Your own guardian angel said yes to the beatific vision. When your guardian angel said yes, God told them their role would be your guardian, told them who you are, told them to wait until the exact moment you were born to go by your side, and that their one goal is to get you to Heaven.

Once you were born, your guardian angel never left you for a second. He guards your soul. Your guardian angel is purely spirit, he has no body. To most humans, he remains unseen. He protects you from spiritual attacks that you can’t see from the enemy. Your guardian angel can’t take over your free will but, since his one job is to get you to Heaven, he will prompt your mind with inspiration to think and do good and holy things: be a Good Samaritan, pray, go to Mass, go to Confession, find your true vocation, to to Eucharistic Adoration, inspire you to read spiritual books and watch videos of sermons, to have you act out works of mercy, to have you follow the Ten Commandments, to be kind to others, to have pure joy, etc. He waits for you to ask him for help. You can ask him to help you in just about anything. Never leaving your side, he waits for you to speak to him as a friend, for friendship. Since time together in Heaven is a long time, it’s best we get to know our guardian angel. You cannot name your guardian angel because naming him means you have ownership over him, plus God already have him a name which is to be respected. You may call him my guardian angel, or simply, my angel. Start a relationship with your guardian angel today!

I highly recommend you read the book called Send Me Your Guardian Angel.

I also highly recommend Angels and the Supernatural.

[hecatemoon87]

Warnings ⚠️ smut NO minors

Master list for full story

Part IV

Bob rested on his knees in front of a wooden cross with the image of Jesus nailed to it. He clasped his hands tightly, the rosary hanging out through laced fingers. With eyes closed, he whispered the hail mary almost frantically.

He had woken up from a dream, ejaculating. He had dreamed that he was between Jocelyn's legs, thrusting blissfully. It was so realistic, her moans, her scent, the touch of her skin, the tightness of her womanhood. It has been intoxicating that the end result was ruining his shorts.

He had hopped in the shower, cleaned himself off and went directly to the chapel that was located on the first level of the dormitory. It was around four a.m. and the other junior priests would be waking in another hour.

Bob was deep in prayer when the chapel light had flicked on. Bob blinked and glanced over his shoulder at the door. There stood Father Jacob, an older priest who in part looked slightly similar to Gandalf.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, Bob. What are you doing praying in the dark so early this morning?"

"I couldn't sleep," Bob said.

Father Jacob nodded and said, "Looks like you haven't slept in a few days my son, does something trouble you?"

Bob wasn't certain whether to confide in Father Jacob. He was worried the old priest would just be disappointed in him.

"Something does, but I don't know how to address it," Bob said, truthfully.

"I see, is it something you feel comfortable addressing with me?"

"Father...what happens when a priest no longer wishes to be a priest? Does that make him...unworthy?"

Father Jacob frowned and took a seat in a pew nearest to Bob.

"Well, that's a matter between him and God, I suppose. What would be the priest's reason from living the priesthood?" Jacob asked.

"Love," Bob replied.

"Love? Or Lust?"

"Love, well mostly love," Bob said, sighing. "Look, by now, you know it's me. This woman, I grew up with her. I foolishly believed she'd stay here in Brooklyn and we'd get married. But she didn't have supportive parents, and her dad...was abusive. So, first chance she got, she headed to the West Coast once she got a scholarship," Bob said.

"And you thought the love of your life was out of the picture. So you joined the cloth?"

"It was either that or become a bar tender for my cousin Marv. But there was also a part of me that wanted to dedicate my life to God," Bob said.

"You know, despite how God acted in the Old Testament, he saw the error in his way and gave us Christ, to allow for understanding and forgiveness. If you are unhappy, Bob, I truly believe God does not wish that upon you. Life is a gift, and you cannot spend the rest of your days in sorrow. God wants us to be joyful. Perhaps, it is time you consider what's really best for you?"

Bob felt a great sense of relief wash over him.

"Thank you, Father Jacob, I think I know what I need to do," Bob said.

A few hours later, Bob was on Jocelyn's door step. He tried calling her, but she hadn't answered yet. So he arrived and started knocking on her door until she opened it.

"Jesus, Bob. It's eight-thirty in the morning," Jocelyn said, sleepily as she opened the door.

"Yeah, that's right. It is eight-thirty in the morning, why are you still sleeping?" he said, stepping inside.

"I don't go to bed until three or four a.m. most days, that's why," Jocelyn pouted as she walked into her kitchen and fumbled around to make a pot of coffee.

Bob sat down at her kitchen table and waited for her to drag herself and two cups of steaming hot coffee to the table. He took his and just held it and stared at her. She took a sip of coffee and her droopy eyes caught him staring.

"What?" she asked.

"You just look so beautiful," he said, smiling.

"Shut up. You're not supposed to talk like that," she said, rolling her eyes and taking another sip of coffee.

"You're right, but in a few weeks I can," he said, reaching out and touching her hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she questioned.

"I'm going to leave the priesthood, and I want to be with you. That is...if you'll still have me," Bob said.

Jocelyn blinked at him in a stunned manner. She shook her head and said, "You better not be fucking kidding me Bob or I won't hesitate in slapping you," she said seriously.

"I'm not kidding. I told the Archpriest and in a few weeks I'll relinquish my priesthood," Bob said.

"A few weeks? Why not today?" she said, frowning.

"Because I need to transfer over my duties and some other matters that I want to tie up," Bob said.

"Oh, okay. So, if I do this," Jocelyn said, getting up from her chair and going over to Bob to straddle him. She looked down at him and brushed her nose over his, tempting him with her lips. "You can touch me? You can kiss me?"

Bob's breathing accelerated and his hands glided up to her hips, she was wearing shorts, his hands smoothing out over her thighs. "No, I...I have to wait," Bob said, breathlessly. Her weight felt so good and her skin was so soft. He wanted badly to strip her out of her pajama's and see her naked.

"How many weeks, Bob?" she said, grabbing his face with one hand and squeezing.

"Three," he said, through squished lips. She left his face go and climbed off of him.

"We'll see about that," she said, removing her shirt and showing him her bare breasts. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower, you can either join me or leave," she said, tossing the shirt over his face.

Beneath the shirt, Bob sighed. Her smell was so sweet, lingering on the cloth of the shirt. He pulled it off and saw that she had gone, her shorts on the floor and panties tossed on his lap.

"Damn it, Jocelyn," Bob whispered, feeling his pants tighten.

[cheerfullycatholic]

Angelus, January 14th 2024

Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!

Today the Gospel presents Jesus’ encounter with the first disciples (cf. Jn 1:35-42). This scene invites us to remember our first encounter with Jesus. Each one of us has had the first encounter with Jesus, as a child, as an adolescent, as a young person, as an adult… When did I encounter Jesus for the first time? Try to remember this a bit. And after this thought, this memory, to renew the joy of following Him and to ask ourselves – following Jesus means being a disciple of Jesus – what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? According to today’s Gospel we can take three words: to seek Jesus, to stay with Jesus, and to proclaim Jesus. To seek, to stay, to proclaim.

First of all, to seek. Two disciples, thanks to the Baptist’s witness, start to follow Jesus; He “saw them following, and said to them, ‘What do you seek?’” (v. 38). They are the first words Jesus addresses to them: first of all, He invites them to look within, to ask themselves about the desires they carry in their heart. “What are you seeking?”. The Lord does not want to make proselytes, He does not want to gain superficial followers; the Lord wants people who question themselves and let themselves be challenged by His Word. Therefore, to be disciples of Jesus, it is necessary first of all to seek Him, it is necessary to seek Him, then to have an open, searching heart, not a satiated or complacent heart.

What were the first disciples seeking through the second verb: to stay? They were not seeking news or information about God, or signs or miracles, but they wished to meet Jesus, to meet the Messiah, to talk with Him, to stay with Him, to listen to Him. What is the first question they ask? “Where are you staying?” (v. 38). And Christ invites them to stay with Him: “Come and see” (v. 39). To stay with Him, to remain with Him: this is the most important thing for the disciple of the Lord. In short, faith is not a theory, no; it is an encounter – it is an encounter. It is going to see where the Lord stays, and dwelling with Him. Encountering the Lord and staying with Him.

To seek, to stay, and finally, to proclaim. The disciples sought Jesus, then they went with Him and stayed the entire evening with Him. And now, to proclaim. Then, they return and they proclaim. To seek, to stay, to proclaim. Do I seek Jesus? Do I stay with Jesus? Do I have the courage to proclaim Jesus? The disciples’ first encounter with Jesus was such a powerful experience that the two disciples always remembered the time: “it was about the tenth hour” (v. 39). This lets us see the power of that encounter. And their hearts were so full of joy that straight away they felt the need to communicate the gift they had received. Indeed, one of the two, Andrew, hastens to share it with his brother.

Brothers and sisters, let us too recall today our first encounter with the Lord. Each one of us has had the first encounter, either within the family or outside… When did I encounter the Lord? When did the Lord touch my heart? And let us ask ourselves: are we still disciples, enamoured of the Lord, do we seek the Lord, or do we settle into a faith made up of habits? Do we stay with Him in prayer, do we know how to stay in silence with Him? Do I know how to stay in prayer with the Lord, to stay in silence with Him? And then, do we feel the desire to share, to proclaim this beauty of the encounter with the Lord?

May Mary Most Holy, first disciple of Jesus, give us the desire to seek Him, the desire to stay with Him, and the desire to proclaim Him.

[apenitentialprayer]

There was once a priest who did not want to serve the liturgy because it was a cold winter day. The temperature was 10 degrees below zero and the priest knew that the only person who was likely to come to the service was the chanter. The priest had no idea about the Church’s teaching on the presence of the Triumphant Church and how the Divine Liturgy benefits the living and the departed. With difficulty he forced himself to go to church. On the way to church he kept wishing that the chanter would not come so that he would not have to serve and go home. However, the chanter did come. The priest did the Prothesis (or Proskomedia, the service of preparing the holy gifts) in a hurry and began the Divine Liturgy. Shortly after, some bishops, priests, monks and nuns and some lay people arrived. Most of them sat in the choir section and began to chant so beautifully that the priest forgot about how cold and lonely he was earlier. His whole body was warm and his whole being was all a flame…. When he did the small entrance he noticed that the church was full of people – most of them familiar – he did not pay much attention and just continued with the Divine Liturgy. When the time came for the Sanctification of the Holy Gifts he saw three bishops, brightly clothed and radiant entering the Holy Altar. They knelt with him and prayed. The priest then stood up very carefully with fear, took the censer and in a loud voice said,‘Especially our All Holy, Immaculate, Most Blessed and glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary…’. The soul of the priest was amazed and filled with divine joy. Peace and heavenly stillness, hesychia, dominated his inner self. When the time came for the elevation and dividing of the Host (Lamb) the whole church filled with the sweetest melodies. The whole multitude of people who were present along with the monks, priests and bishops chanted not only once but many times,‘One is Holy, One is Lord: Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen’. Next they chanted the Holy Communion hymn, ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good, Alleluia.’ The priest was wandering what to do. Should he partake of the Holy Communion first or step aside for the three bishops who were present. Just as he was thinking this, one of the bishops nodded to him indicating that he should receive Holy Communion and then to Unify and Place the remaining of the portions of the Lamb into the Chalice along with the portions in memory of the Holy Theotokos and the Saints. Having completed this the priest then opened the Beautiful Gate … and saw no one in the Church… he turned and looked back into the holy altar, he looked to the right, looked to the left, the bishops had disappeared, he stood there speechless, amazed. He slowly opened his mouth and chanted the next petition,‘With the fear of God and faith and love, draw near …,’ and the chanter slowly drew near to take Holy Communion. The priest was still amazed, still wondering! The whole Triumphant Church was present. All those present in the church were persons familiar to him, they were persons that had departed from this life and he would from time to time commemorate their names during each liturgy:‘that’s why they were present, that’s why they all seemed so familiar’, he thought. As for the bishops in the altar they were the Three Hierarchs: Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory the Theologian. So many years of study at university, so much research and so many sleepless nights he spent studying and these efforts were not able to give him not even one drop of the sweetness and divine knowledge that this one Divine Liturgy gave him.

The Priest Who Did Not Want to Serve the Divine Liturgy

[renee-writer]

God wrote the Christmas story perfectly.

Every detail is important and can teach us something.

I’m always in awe of how I can read the same story each year and find a new message that my heart needed.

This year I have been so amazed at how I can learn from everyone involved in the accounts.

Like the shepherds who were just doing their work in the fields, and were met by an angel and a “great company of heavenly host”, who as soon as they heard the news about Jesus hurried off to find Him. And once they did.. they couldn’t keep their mouths closed about it. They shared about Jesus to everyone they could.

I want to seek Jesus like that. I want to be so excited about the good news of the Gospel that I can’t help but share it with everyone and anyone.

Mary is given probably the strangest and most important task basically ever- to be the mother of Jesus. Instead of questioning and doubting she says, “I am the Lord’s servant, May your word to me be fulfilled.”

I want to be obedient and courageous like Mary. God’s call on our lives don’t need to make sense all the time.. that’s what faith is. Trusting Him when we can’t see what He is doing.

Joseph learns the woman He is supposed to marry is pregnant and not pregnant by him. It’d be really easy to expose her. To shame her. Yet, Joseph is a “righteous” man and didn’t want to hurt her.

I want to have grace and mercy like Joseph.

Then the angel of the Lord confirmed to Joseph in a dream, “do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Joseph woke up and did what the angel said. He married Mary and named the baby Jesus, and raised Him as his own.

I want to be selfless like that. I want to see beyond what’s convenient for me and live in the plan God has established for me.

The magi, who were told by Herod to go find Jesus, find Him and are overjoyed. They bring Him gifts and worship Him. They know instantly there is something special about this baby.

They then go against Herod’s orders and do not return to Herod. They do this to protect Jesus, even though it easily could have gotten them in huge trouble (or worse).

I want to be brave in my faith like that. I want to stand for Jesus at all costs.

All the people in these accounts are just normal humans, but the thing that sets them apart is that they really listen to God. They follow where He leads.

I want to be like that.

And finally, that sweet baby born in the manger.

The one who left the glorious place He so rightly belonged- heaven- and came into this dark world.

The one who suffered in ways I’ll never understand so that the people He so unconditionally loves could spend eternity with Him.

Light of the world.

Wonderful counselor.

Mighty God.

Eternal Father.

Prince of Peace.

I will never even come close to being just like Jesus. Not even close.

But I sure hope I can shine His love into this world, too.

God’s story and His plan is so perfect.

He knows exactly who to use, and we get to learn from them.

And the beautiful thing?

His story isn’t over yet.

He wants to use you and I, too.

~Kelli Bachara, The Unraveling Blog

*If you’d like to get in on the 12 days of Christmas song devotional, it’s not late to do the whole thing before Christmas! Check out the link here. It’ll be delivered to your inbox instantly!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1599163812/12-day-christmas-song-devotional-journal

[tinyshe]

Here are 27 quotes on the Most Precious Blood

“Let us fix our gaze on the Blood of Christ and realize how truly precious It is, seeing that it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of conversion to the whole world.”~Pope Clement

“Precious Blood, ocean of divine mercy: Flow upon us! Precious Blood, most pure offering: Procure us every grace! Precious Blood, hope and refuge of sinners: Atone for us! Precious Blood, delight of holy souls: Draw us! Amen.” ~St Catherine of Siena.

“No! the chastisements of God are not yet at an end; still more sorrowful times are ahead; and divine justice will be placated by the devotion to the Blood of Jesus Christ.” ~St. Gaspar del Bufalo

“Devotion to the Precious Blood is the devotion of our time . . . It is a devotion for all souls, for the whole world.” ~Pope John XXIII

“This Blood that but one drop of has the power to win all the world forgiveness of its world of sin.” ~St. Thomas Aquinas.”  

“Sometimes let us kindle in our souls an ardent affection, considering his great affection towards us, which upon the cross he declared and manifested to the whole world. And the benefit which he bestowed upon us in his passion, because he bought us with the inestimable price of his precious blood, of which only, we reap the benefit and commodity.” ~St. Peter of Alcantara

“Every time a creature offers up the Blood by which he was redeemed, he offers a gift of infinite worth, which can be equalled by no other.” ~St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

“Blood of Christ, inebriate me.” ~St Ignatius of Loyola.

“I long to drink of his blood, the gift of unending love.” ~ St Ignatius of Antioch

“This blood, when worthily received, drives away demons and puts them at a distance from us, and even summons to us angels and the Lord of angels. This blood, poured out in abundance, has washed the whole world clean. This is the price of the world; by it Christ purchased the Church.” ~St John Chrysostom.

“Don’t hold yourselves cheap, seeing that the creator of all things and of you estimates your value so high, so dear, that he pours out for you every day the most precious blood of his only-begotten Son.” ~St Augustine

“I adore You, O Precious Blood of Jesus, flower of creation, fruit of virginity, ineffable instrument of the Holy Spirit, and I rejoice at the thought that You came from the drop of virginal blood on which eternal Love impressed its movement; You were assumed by the Word and deified in His person. I am overcome with emotion when I think of Your passing from the Blessed Virgin’s heart into the heart of the Word, and, being vivified by the breath of the Divinity, becoming adorable because You became the Blood of God.” ~St Albert the Great

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his, grace” ~Ephesians 1:7

“You heard me, only Friend whom I love.To ravish my heart, you became man.You shed your blood, what a supreme mystery!” ~St Therese de Lisieux

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?”  ~Hebrews 9:14

“O adorable Blood of Jesus, wash our stains, save us from the anger of the avenging angel. Irrigate the Church; make her fruitful with Apostles and miracle-workers, enrich her with souls that are holy, pure and radiant with divine beauty.” ~St Albert the Great

“Upon receiving Holy Communion, the Adorable Blood of Jesus Christ really flows in our veins and His Flesh is really blended with ours.” ~St John Vianney

“We are living in times in which the divine Blood must cleanse the entire world.” ~St Gaspar

“If every evening, before we retire, we would ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to offer to God the Precious Blood of her Divine Son Jesus for the intention that thereby one mortal sin which might be committed somewhere that night might be prevented, and if every morning this offering were renewed from day to day, we could prevent many mortal sins.” ~Fr. Faber

“You come to me and unite Yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your Blood now runs in mine, Your Soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would have ever imagined such!”  ~St Maximilian Kolbe

“How is it that we do not die of love in seeing that God Himself could do no more than shed His divine blood for us drop by drop?” ~St Teresa of the Andes

“Jesus has given us His Blood even to the last drop. What is there left to do? Jesus is a victim. Behold I am ready, O my God, to be a victim of love!” St Gaspar

“It is in this Blood that He has laid up His blessings for us, as in a storehouse. This is true, not only of spiritual blessings, but of all blessings whatsoever.” ~Fr. Faber

“O my Most Sweet Jesus, O Jesus, Eternal High Priest, keep Thy priests in the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart, where no one can hurt them. Keep their anointed hands unsullied, which daily handle Thy Sacred Body. Keep pure the lips which are reddened with Thy Precious Blood. Keep pure and unworldly their hearts which are sealed with the sublime token of Thy glorious priesthood. Cause them to grow in love and loyalty to Thee and protect them from the contamination of the world. With their power of transforming bread and wine, give them the power of transforming hearts. Bless their work with rich fruit and grant them one day the crown of eternal life. Amen.” ~St Teresa of Avila

“Almighty Father, I place the Precious Blood of Jesus before my lips before I pray, that my prayers may be purified before they ascend to Your divine altar.” ~St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi

Precious Blood Resources

Devotion to the Precious Blood by Fr.  Max Walz

Glories of the Precious Blood by  Fr. Max Walz

The Precious Blood: The Price of Our Salvation by Fr. Faber

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[marbleyo]

crestfallen

it’s a little over 2 weeks now after i’ve tried to ask her out and she rejected me in a passive aggressive manner.

i asked her out for dinner on the basis that i wanted to give her a treat and at the same time, get a gift for our colleague whose birthday was the week after.

my spirits were lifted when she agreed to it, but on the day we were suppose to go out, she forgot that she had to go for another colleague’s farewell dinner that evening. she asked if we can postpone our dinner plans to the following week and invite our other colleagues to tag along.

it’s no surprise that i was crestfallen immediately when she told me about it. my mood dampen for the rest of the day. i couldn’t eat well. i was in a cloud of thoughts which wasn’t the healthiest for me.

i knew that i couldn’t be too happy when she agreed initially and i’m not mad at her of course, but when rejections like this happens, how could you escape the inevitable soul-crushing feeling? rejections still hurt.

sometimes, i’m mad at myself for falling deeply in love with her. why do i get myself stuck in these situations? was it all planned out for me? was i suppose to fall in love and hurt myself over and over again?

right now, i’m stuck in limbo; a part of me is trying to wean off my feelings for her whilst another part of me says not to give up trying to win her affections. its hard. every single day i’m constantly thinking of her. i’m trying to forget but i couldn’t bring myself to at times. 

i guess she’s really that perfect of a girl for me. so much so that i always pray that i will make her my girlfriend and my future wife. i’m not the most religious person in the world but if i have to make a prayer, it means that i’m very serious about it.

because i love her.

and i will still take care of her despite what happened.

i’m afraid. afraid that she is already seeing someone else, afraid that i will never get a chance with her, afraid that she will never have the same feelings for me.

we were volunteering at a soup kitchen last friday. amidst the hot and humid kitchen conditions, she looks so effortlessly beautiful with her hair tied up and kept within a netting, a tinge of blushing red filled her lightly-freckled cheeks, and slight beads of perspiration glistened her face.

the perfect girl is there, she is next to me, and i need her.

lord, mother mary, and jesus, i’m still praying for a miracle that i’ll get to be with her together as a couple forever. i promise that i will take care of her, look after her, protect her, cherish her, and love her because she deserves the blessings that’s meant for her.

she deserves me.

[eternal-echoes]

“Finally there is one last characteristic of this Home: it qualifies itself as a gift “of Mary”. The Holy Virgin made of her existence an unceasing and beautiful gift to God, because she loved the Lord. Mary’s example is an incentive to those who live in this Home, and for all of us, to live in charity for our neighbour not out of some sort of social duty, but beginning from the love of God, from the charity of God. And also — as we heard from Mother — Mary is the one who leads us to Jesus and teaches us how to go to Jesus; and the Mother of Jesus is our own and makes a family, with us and with Jesus. For us Christians, love of neighbour springs from love of God; and it is its most limpid expression. Here one tries to love one’s neighbour, but also to allow oneself to be loved by one’s neighbour. These two attitudes go together, one cannot be exercised without the other. Printed on the letterhead of the Missionaries of Charity are these words of Jesus: “as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). Loving God in our brethren and loving our brethren in God.”

- Pope Francis, VISIT AT THE HOMELESS SHELTER "DONO DI MARIA":MEETING WITH THE MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY, 21 May 2013

[achristopaganbreviary]

Noon Prayer

God of love, I offer you this midday hour. May my every action be a prayer, and may I do small things with great love. Sustain my strength as I help repair the world today. 

Prayer of Thanksgiving (from the Book of Common Prayer) We give you thanks, most gracious God, for the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains, plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your Name, now and forever. Amen.

Season Prayer

link to seasonal prayers

Litany: Mater Misericordiae, Oh Mother of Compssion, have mercy on us. Mater Dolorosa, Oh Mother of Sorrows, console us. Mater Spei, Oh Mother of Hope, uplift us. Mater Maris, Oh Mother of the Sea, nourish us. Mater Terrae, oh Mother of the Earth, ground us. Mater Silvarum, Oh Mother of the Forests, encircle us. Mater Animalium, Oh Mother of Animals, unify us.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit:  Come, Holy Sophia, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth. Oh Heavenly Father, by the light of the Holy Spirit our Mother, you have taught the hearts of your faithful. Breath that same Spirit of Wisdom upon us to help us relish what is right and always rejoice in your consolation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 

Feastday Prayer 

link to list of feast days

Closing

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us as we forgive others. Lead us not into separation but deliver us into love.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Child, and to the Holy Mother. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.