The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

 

Lectio Divina                   Acts 3:13-15, 17-19

Peter said to the people:
"The God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus,
whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence
when he had decided to release him.
You denied the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
Now I know, brothers,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
but God has thus brought to fulfillment
what he had announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Christ would suffer.
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away."

STUDIUM:

Peter isn't excusing the people from choosing Barrabas over Jesus.  He's telling them they sinned but can be forgiven if they convert.  Follow Jesus.

MEDITATIO:

Out of ignorance, I also would have chosen Jesus Bar Abba, who was trying to overthrow the Romans, over Jesus Bar Joseph, who preached love your enemies.  But I am saved because I follow Jesus.

ORATIO:

Jesus, help me not make mistakes in choosing what is right.  I want to always follow You.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Glory to You, my Lord and God.

Disaster Breeds Mutiny

 David Grann's The Wager is a nonfiction, riveting story about a ship and its sailors.  In the 18th century, England and Spain are at war.  The Wager was a part of a squadron of ships assigned to capture some Spanish ships.  The Wager hoped to win a lot of treasure.

Grann's descriptions of a sailor's life were so descriptive, I was repulsed.  Who would choose such a life? If diseases like scurvy and typhus didn't kill you, the life on the ship would.  And where they were going was known to be treacherous--around Cape Horn. 

The Wager was wrecked.  The sailors were marooned. Eventually, the men acted like animals.  Some took their chances and took off on rafts and small boats.  Surprisingly, some made it back to England and they told their story.

But then, others made it back to England and they told a different story.  There's even a third story.

I won't spoil the book, by telling how the investigation decided.  The reader will have their view, also.  It is an excellent history, well researched with pictures of the captain and the types of boats, ships, and people. It is an adventure to remember.

Holy Sanitizers

 I was visiting my sister, in a different town. I decided to go to Mass there. I knew tomorrow, Sunday, would be crazy, so I chose to go to church, Saturday night. 

I saw this hand sanitizer, as soon as I walked into the church.  I used it immediately.  I was rubbing my hands together with the sanitizer, until I was told that it wasn't hand sanitizer.

Oh, Catholics bless themselves with water that's been blessed to remind them of their baptism.

Psychologically Thrilling

 The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is riveting.  I read it in two nights--maybe six hours.  I couldn't put it down and I never guessed the ending.  

The idea is that a woman murdered her husband and stopped speaking.  She's in an insane asylum and a psychotherapist tries to heal her. He gives it his all, including doing things he shouldn't.  But everybody in that hospital is doing stuff they shouldn't. 

It's her diary that tells background information that fills in the plot.  At first, I thought she was being gaslighted.  But by whom?  Her husband is dead.  The doctors?  Why?

I didn't know whether to believe her or not.  If her diary was reality, then she was stalked and her husband was a victim of crime.  But she was crazy, or was she?

Candles

 In March, the family celebrated by husband's 80th birthday.  That's a lot of candles to put on a cake.  Where did this tradition come from--adding a candle for each year to celebrate a birthday?

History points to the ancient Greeks.  Tradition tells us that candles were used to honor the goddess Artemis, the goddess of the moon.  The flame on a candle is like the light the moon gives.  The smoke dispersed in the air was pictured as offerings to the moon goddess.

It's such a nice image.  Even candles are still used today.  Candles add a nice touch.  On birthdays, it makes the birthday person special.  They get their very own cake; just to celebrate their life.  

Adding candles makes a dinner romantic.  Put some easy, soft music on, and the evening is amorous.

Candles in religion are important.  They exemplify light.  All religions I know of, use them. In ancient Egyptian times, candles were used to honor gods.  Buddhism uses candles during meditation.  Since Judaism uses candles to memorialize people and events, Christianity continued the practice. 

Light from a candle is a metaphor of life and light, which is perfect to mark birthdays, and religious ritual.  In the final analysis, candles used for birthdays, romantic evenings, and of course religious rituals, enrich the celebration. They're metaphors, expressing love, hope and love.

Our Heliocentric Universe

 The earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around.  Ever since the priest Nicolaus Copernicus pointed out that the book of Joshua got it wrong, science has challenged religion.  

Joshua 10: 12-13
"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
      O moon, over the valley of Aijalon."
So the sun stood still
     and the moon stopped,
     till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as is written in the Book of Jashar.
   The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

Copernicus lived in the 16th century.  Copernicus understood that the earth was rotating but at that time no one could detect it.  At that time, lack of evidence was accepted as the sun revolved around the earth.  Galileo using a telescope taught and wrote, proving that the earth revolved, as Copernicus claimed.

A miracle happened in Joshua 10: 12-13.  The day was longer than usual.  God controls nature.  And on that day, God's intervention saved the people.

Science should respect religion, not challenge it.

Sweet Kissing

 When Jesus became Man, it was possible for people to see Him, and make pictures of Him.  There's stories of a woman named Veronica, who wiped His face, on His way to be crucified, and Jesus' image was imprinted on that cloth.  I once heard a story of people from far away, in Jesus time, who heard about Jesus, and wondered what He looked like.  The king sent an artist to go draw His picture.  

Anyway, pictures of Jesus and those associated with Him, are called icons.  This particular has the title Theotokos of Tenderness.  Theotokos is Greek for God bearer.  Jesus is God and Mary gave birth to Jesus, hence she is called Theotokos.

I like this picture because Mary is sad.  She fears for the future of her Son.  What a horrible fate He will have.  But in this icon, the baby Jesus is comforting His Mother.  How sweet is that?

Jesus' love is telling her (us too, looking at the icon) not to worry; our crosses will pass but the Resurrection will last forever.