The Lord is calling you... 

14/10/2008

Prelude 

Dear reader, in reading these passages from the Holy Scriptures, I wish you will find what you are looking for, namely, spiritual uplifting for your soul.  Therefore, I truly hope that if you will get any profit from this writing, to God alone you should be grateful and not to the present author.   

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

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 Rest in the Lord 

Thus says the Lord: ‘Thus says the Lord: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls.  But they said, "We will not walk in it.’  [Jer 6:16] 

`Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.  Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

 Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.'  [Mat 11:28-30]

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Disciple: “Why Lord, are so few who listen to you?” 

Lord: “Because they are too busy doing many other things.” 

Disciple: “But there are who go to church to pray on Sunday.  Their pastor reads and preaches your Gospel to them...”   

Lord: “Some of them go to the church with their legs; but they leave their hearts behind...” 

Disciple:  “Why is the heart of a person so important to you?” 

Lord: “Because the heart is where the will dwells.  When your actions are dictated by your heart, and not only by your body and mind, it means that your will is active and involved – i.e., you are willing.”  

Disciple: “Is the will and love the same thing?” 

Lord: “The will in man is his spiritual force; love is its expression.” 

Disciple: “So to love You, my Lord, is to give, and submit, totally, my will to You.” 

Lord: “Yes, my dear child, you do just that and I will also give you rest.” 

 *****

Old Testament

"Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people."

And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." [Ex. 33:13-14] 

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.  [Psa 4:8] 

So my heart rejoices, my soul delights, my body too will rest secure. [Psa 16:9] 

And I say, `Who will give me wings like a dove, to fly away and find rest?'  [Psa 55:6] 

In God alone there is rest for my soul, from him comes my safety; [Psa 62:1] 

Rest in God alone, my soul! He is the source of my hope.

[Psa 62:5] 

`Here shall I rest for evermore, here shall I make my home as I have wished.  [Psa 132:14] 

Tell me then, sweetheart, where will you lead your flock to graze, where will you rest it at noon? That I may no more wander like a vagabond beside the flocks of your companions.  [Song 1:7] 

The upright, though he die before his time, will find rest.

 [Wis 4:7] 

He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes.  [Isa 40:11] 

"I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord God.  [Ezek 34:15] 

New Testament

`When an unclean spirit goes out of someone it wanders through waterless country looking for a place to rest, and cannot find one.  [Mat 12:43] 

`When an unclean spirit goes out of someone it wanders through waterless country looking for a place to rest, and not finding one it says, "I will go back to the home I came from."  [Luke 11:24] 

Then I heard a voice from heaven say to me, `Write down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord!  Blessed indeed, the Spirit says; now they can rest for ever after their work, since their good deeds go with them.' [Rev 14:13] 

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“Conspiracy theory”

So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him and asked him, `Are you the king of the Jews?' Jesus replied, `Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others said it to you about me?' [John 18:33-34]

Three men were traveling and sitting next to each other on the same train.  Their names are Peter, John and Joe.  So while Peter and John were talking, Joe was barely listening. 

Peter: “For some years now, I noticed that the SSPX[1] is not growing.  There are always the same people.  I don’t understand why. Do you, John?” 

John: “There is something within the Society itself that stops them growing ...  But I can’t tell what it is...”  

Peter: “And not only that; among them there are not a few who believe in these conspiracy theories, you know...”   

John: “I see ... But what is wrong with that, anyway?” 

Peter: “I am not interested in that stuff.” 

“Peter...” interrupted Joe, who until now kept his peace: “You just said, ‘there are people in SSPX who believe in conspiracy theories.’  Do you say this of your own accord, or have others told you that?” 

Peter: “I don’t think I understand your question...” 

Joe: “I’ll put in another way.  The phrase ‘conspiracy theory’ is a cliché used by the corporate controlled media, to label anyone who disagrees with them as a ‘fruitcake,’ particularly since 9/11.  You, as many others in our society, have adopted this expression.  Isn’t this the reason for your dislike of SSPX people?  And what makes you to think that what they believe to be a conspiracy, is merely a ‘conspiracy theory’, except for the propaganda you have been fed by the media? 

Peter did not answer.  Now he kept quiet and looking through the window the countryside passes by... 

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Disciple: “... they did not listen to their judges, but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods [TV, sex, money etc.].  They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience to the commandments of the LORD.”  [Judges 2:17] 

“Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered!  Listen, all you distant lands.  Prepare for battle, and be shattered!  Prepare for battle, and be shattered!  Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us. 

Disciple: “The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people.  He said: "Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 

“The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.  [Isa 8:9-13] 

Lord: “And now, because you have committed all these misdeeds, says the LORD, because you did not listen [because too busy doing other things...Ed. note], though I spoke to you untiringly; because you did not answer, though I called you...”  [Jer 7:13] 

“...  But they did not listen or give ear.  Each one followed the hardness of his evil heart, till I brought upon them all the threats of this covenant which they had failed to observe as I commanded them.  [Jer 11:8] 

Disciple: “A conspiracy has been found, the LORD said to me, among the men of Judah and the citizens [i.e., even among ‘good Catholics’, ed. note] of Jerusalem.  They have returned to the crimes of their forefathers who refused to obey my words [i.e., they are the followers of the new church, ed. note].  They also have followed and served strange gods; the covenant which I had made with their fathers, the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken.  

“Therefore, thus says the LORD: See, I bring upon them misfortune which they cannot escape.  Though they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.  [Jer 11:9-11] 

“The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the world's inhabitants, that enemy or foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem [i.e., the Masons and Talmudists have infiltrated the Catholic Church; ed. note].  Because of the sins of her prophets and the crimes of her priests, who shed in her midst the blood of the just!—[Lam 4:12-13]  

Lord Jesus: “But because I say the truth, ye believe me not. [John 8:45] 

Disciple: “And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me ...” [John 16:8-9] 

“Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you know.  This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified and killed by men outside the Law.  But God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power since.”  

[Acts 2:22-24] 

“For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that the Lord and Christ whom God has made is this Jesus whom you crucified.'  [Acts 2:36] 

“Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, `What are we to do, brothers?' “ [Acts 2:37] 

Disciple: `You must repent,' Peter answered, `and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  [Acts 2:38]

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The Children of this world versus the Children of light

`The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness.  For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.'  [Luke 16:8] 

But who are the children of this world and who are the children of light?  The children of this world are those who are not Christian, the “clever” and canny ones, as far as the world is concerned; whereas the children of light are those who, while professing their Christian faith, are yet lackadaisical, or worse still, every so often, disingenuous, about their own affairs and priorities. 

Old Testament

Behold, two men, Saul and David, coming from the same creed of the people of Israel, yet one is determined to kill the other. 

“David then said to Saul, `Why do you listen to people who say, "David intends your ruin"?  [1 Sam 24:10] 

However, the man, whose heart is in God, will never be put to shame. 

“The false witness will perish, but no one who knows how to listen will ever be silenced.”  [Prov 21:28] 

“Children, listen to what I teach, no one who keeps it will be caught out.”  [Si 23:7] 

Some people - some ‘good Catholics and Christians’ alike - have ears  but do not hear.   

“This is a rebellious people, they are lying children, children who will not listen the law of the LORD.”  [Isa 30:9] 

Lord: `Announce this in the House of Jacob, proclaim it in Judah, and say, now listen to this, stupid, brainless people who have eyes and do not see, who have ears and do not hear!”  [Jer 5:20-21] 

“This evil people, these people who refuse to listen to my words, who follow their own stubborn inclinations and run after other gods, serving and worshipping them - this people will become like this waistcloth, no good for anything.  “For just as a waistcloth clings to a man's waist, so I made the whole House of Israel and the whole House of Judah cling to me, the Lord declares, to be my people, my glory, my honour and my pride.  But they have not listened."

  [Jer 13:10-11] 

“Then I said, `Kindly listen, you leaders of the House of Jacob, you princes of the House of Israel.  Surely you are the ones who ought to know what is right, and yet you hate what is good and love what is evil, skinning people alive, pulling the flesh off their bones, eating my people's flesh, stripping off their skin, breaking up their bones, chopping them up small like flesh for the pot, like meat in the stew-pan?'  [Micah 3:1-3]

New Testament

There are children of light among us - Catholic and non-Catholic alike.  However, they all are different: some are very good, some just good and some less so... 

“...  And some seed fell into good soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.'  Saying this he cried, `Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!'  

[Luke 8:8] 

“...  His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, `To you is granted to understand the secrets of the kingdom of God; for the rest it remains in parables, so that they may look but not perceive, listen but not understand.  [Luke 8:9-10] 

“...  Take care, then, how you hear.  To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away."  [Luke 8:18] 

 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.  When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, 'I shall return to my home from which I came.'

But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first."  [Luke 11:23-26] 

Great crowds accompanied him on his way and he turned and spoke to them. 

 “Anyone who comes to me without hating father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, cannot be my disciple.  No one who does not carry his cross and come after me can be my disciple.”  [Luke14:25-27] 

 “And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it?  Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, anyone who saw it would start making fun of him and saying, ‘Here is someone who started to build and was unable to finish.’  Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who was advancing against him with twenty thousand?  If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace.  So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple without giving up all that he owns.  [Luke 14:28-33] 

Lord: “Salt is a good thing.  But if salt itself loses its taste, what can make it salty again?  It is good for neither soil nor manure heap.  People throw it away.  Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!'  [Luke 14:34-35] 

Disciple: “We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but God does listen to people who are devout and do his will.  [John 9:31]

Pilate said, “So, then you are a king?”

Jesus answered: “It is you who say that I am a king.  I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.” [John 18:37] 

Disciple: “We received the gospel exactly as they did; but hearing the message did them no good because they did not share the faith of those who did listen.  [Heb 4:2] 

“Make sure that you never refuse to listen when he speaks.  If the people who on earth refused to listen to a warning could not escape their punishment, how shall we possibly escape if we turn away from a voice that warns us from heaven? 

 [Heb 12:25] 

“Children, you are from God and have overcome them {the enemy}, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They are from the world, and therefore the world inspires what they say, and listens to them.  We are from God; whoever recognises God listens to us; anyone who is not from God refuses to listen to us.  This is how we can distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood.  [1 John 4:4-6] 

Lord: “And I will give such a person the Morning Star. Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches."  [Rev 2:28-29] 

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A true friendship with God 

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.

This I command you: love one another.

"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.

If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.

Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.'  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin.

Whoever hates me also hates my Father.  [John 15:14-23] 

Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called "the friend of God."  [James 2:23] 

And the privilege of friendship with the Lord implies the gift of understanding the mystery of God. 

[Please keep this candle alive]

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow.  Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

The End