Saint and Scripture Compassion

"As a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear him " Psalm 103:13

I hear this part of the Psalms every Sunday during Orthros and it gets me every time. His forgiveness knows no bounds. At the same time, he chastises when we do wrong. This chastisement is by no means a condemnation nor does he necessarily remain angry. I can't explain it well, I just know how I feel as a father. So I will let one of the Church Fathers do the explaining.
From St Augustine:

Let Him be as angry as He shall will, He is our Father. But He has scourged us, and afflicted us, and bruised us: He is our Father. Son, if you bewail, wail beneath your Father; do not so with indignation, do not so with the puffing up of pride. What you suffer, whence you mourn, it is medicine, not punishment; it is your chastening, not your condemnation. Do not refuse the scourge, if you dost not wish to be refused your heritage: do not think of what punishment you suffer in the scourge, but what place you have in the Testament.

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

Heavenly Dress Code

This is the funniest LOLSaint Post that I have seen in quite a while.

I think this is the guy who showed up to the wedding not dressed up and so the king had him beaten and thrown out. I'd like to know what you guys think it is.

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

Veteran's Day

Freedom requires vigilance, because not everyone believes in reasonable debate and compromise.

"Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility. Americans know this from experience -- almost every town in this country has its monuments honoring those who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom, both at home and abroad. The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good, and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate. It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one's deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate.

In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good."

Pope Benedict XVI April 16, 2008

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

To the alarm company that plays radio ads with that annoying siren:
STOP IT. That is the exact same siren that the incoming alarm used to use.

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

Saints and Scripture Sunday

Hebrews 11:31,32 mention great heroes of the faith such as Gideon, David, Samuel and Samson who worked mighty deeds and slew many enemies. Hebrews 1:36 mentions the often forgotten heroes of our faith:
"And others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bands and prisons"

Too often when we think of the persecution of the Church we think of Ancient times or other historical times. Christians are persecuted and killed TODAY. In Communist, Hindu, but mostly Muslim lands Christians are forbidden from practicing the True Faith and very often imprisoned or killed for it. The process for declaring sainthood takes some time, while there are a great many new martyr saints every year it takes a while for the Church to declare them so, so for a Saint in this week's Saints and Scripture I chose instead of a Saint, Servant of God Fr. Emil J. Kapaun. He was an Army chaplain in WWII and Korea. In the Korean War he was captured by Communist Chinese forces and in the POW camp he resisted attempts to brainwash UN troops, led Sunday celebrations (he had no bread or hosts to consecrate for a Mass), led secret prayer groups, stole food to help his fellow prisoners survive, and more. In the end he became ill and the Chinese left him in a shack by himself with no medical treatment. This was their solution to his resistance to Communism.
Also, I once posted about saints from Eastern Europe, including one who was immured (they bricked him into the wall and left him there to die).
For more info on the persecuted Church, I recommend Voice of the Martyrs or you can go here to write letters (in their own language) to currently imprisoned Christians around the world.

"Remember them that are in bands, as if you were bound with them; and them that labour, as being yourselves also in the body." Hebrews 13:3

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

More Sunday Snippets

This week's Sunday Snippets, I want to mention Saint Quiz XI and Spirit of Vatican II comic.
Not a lot of posting this last week, maybe this week.
May God bless all who read my ramblings,

Unnamed Biblical Characters Meme

The rules for this meme are simple:
1. Name yoiur three favorite unnamed characters from the Bible
2. Tag three friends
3. Link to this post.

My three favorite unnamed characters:
1. The good thief
2. The centurion who declared "Truly this man was the Son of God"
3. Samaritan woman at the well

I tag:
Adrienne
Ironic Catholic
Anita

May God bless all who read my ramblings,