Dreams

Last night or early morning I had a strange dream.  I won't detail the dream.  I will only say that it was not a bad or immoral dream. I was with people that I have never met or seen before.  All in all...it was a "good" dream.


We all dream even if we can not remember our dreams.  I usually don't.  We must dream; we were made to dream.


For me to define a dream, I see it as our deep aspirations, inspirations, defining moments, when we are in a deep sleep. Sleep Doctors will have all kinds of explanations,  theories  and scientific terms for dreams.  I am sure that for the most part they may be right.  However, I tend to believe that many dreams come from a higher or spiritual level.  We generally think that dreams are just a kind of neural synapse of random firings of past, present or anticipated events.  Maybe so, for the most part.  Maybe not so random.


I also believe that dreams can often be healing and reparational,  can and do take us to a higher elevation of conciseness in our daily lives.  I think day dreams are productive as well, as long as we control and direct them.  After all, we can't day dream all our time away, have our brains on stall or idle.  Might be fun for a bit, but then it is time to get busy and make our mental meanderings fruitful.


I think that our dreams can take us to our creator in a unique way.  I don't understand it, but we have all experienced it in some way, at one time or another, and that we should listen to our dreams to the best of our ability.


Yes, we can control and direct our dreams to a certain degree by what we read, see, hear or think before going to sleep at night.  Hopefully, most of us will want to control our dreams in positive ways.  However, my dream of last night was a dream from "out of the blue" and I can't explain it: I won't try, but just accept it.


I have written this post as simply as I could.  Not everything can be analyzed or explained.  Feel free to comment or offer insights.


Just to add: It is cold and I don't like it.  I am sure there are lots and lots of people that think the same way.  I am ready for some spring-like weather or at least some "normal winter weather."

END

"never go to bed angry"

WORKING THROUGH IT

Last eve. I did not get home until after midnight.  After the Sisters left upon selling the home, things have changed very quickly and the home is  becoming very secular and "non denominational."  The residents of the home didn't have a very Christian oriented Christmas.




A friend and I tried to make up for it by giving them a very big party with lots of presents and pizza.  My friend did a lot of cooking as well, and had baked several pies, and lots of appetizers. I didn't get as much done as I wanted because previously I "slid" on the ice on my front steps.  One step caught me right across the lower lumber area.  So, my transmission was out of commission.  I did more sitting than moving around because when your gears are not "meshing" in the right manner...well, your little engine kind of sputters along.  I was not hitting on all cylinders.


I did manage to get five dozen deviled eggs done and some presents wrapped.  The deviled eggs seem to go over well.  It looked like Christmas in January.  The residents were overfed and happy.


Back to my misadventure on the ice on the front steps; I had taken 1/2 a pain killer before the party, thinking it would it would see me through the eve.  It didn't.  I took a whole tab when I got home and slept through the night.  I still have some low lumbar pain, but I plan on staying off my feet as much as possible.  I do not like ice!  But that is life.  It is full of little ups and downs.  I offer up my achy bottom for all the deep sufferings and pains of all God's people.

END

Rock

Are you a rock?  Do you want to be?  I want to be a rock, solid and unmoving in my faith.  You should desire to be a rock, also.  Not like Peter, whom Jesus said, "Upon this rock I build my church," but as a foundational stone that keeps the Church from sagging, level and true.  I want to be that kind of rock, faithful and filled with the Holy Spirit.


I am not made of granite.  Few of us are, but we are all called to be, through our baptism.  As you know from your Bible, "many are called, but few are chosen."   How we answer the call is though our free will.  How we chose is often of our own interpretation of the "little voice" whispering in our ears. 


When Jesus was walking along the lake shore He called out to Peter and the apostles, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men."  He is calling and is asking us-all of us, "to follow Him."  Well, I am not much of a fisher person so I try to be a good rock.  A good, sturdy rock can be a good pier from which a good fisher person can cast a net or line and perhaps reel in a nice catch or two. 


I know lots of people that think and claim to be rocks-AKA-good Christians.  Many lay claim to the ideal of Christianity, but do not really live the life as a follower of Jesus.  You know the term "lip service" or mediocrity at best.  I will not say I don't fall into these categories, because we seldom know our inner selves and don't make very good judges of who and what we are.  Don't worry, someone will come along and judge me...for me.


To be a Christian we should be Christians of good works as well as people of prayer...as well as attending Services weekly or more often.  We don't need to advertise our good works or pat ourselves on the back, seeking to be admired and lauded. The only opinion and judgement that counts is that of Our Lord and Creator. 


So...I would like to be a rock; neither moved by wind or time or the whims of man; a foundational stone that is not set on sand.  I know; you will tell me that even the greatest of rocks will wear and erode through the eons of time.  It doesn't matter.  I want to be a rock in OUR times for I, in the physical sense, will be replaced by another solid stone.

END 

"THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH

Do you have joy in your Love for the Lord?  Do you show it?


It must have been a joyful time for the child Jesus to be in the presence of the great teachers and Rabies of the temple when He was "about His Father's business.  It must have been equally joyful when His parents, Mary and Joseph found Him, collard Him and took Him home.  Do you think they didn't "collar" Him?  Well, if they did...I'll bet that they did it with joy as most parents might.


Jesus showed His joy when he turned water into wine at the wedding at Cannon.  His mother did not force Him to do so or hit Him over the head with an empty wine flagon.  No, for a wedding is a joyous occasion and Jesus wanted to be there and share the gift of joy with His family and friends.
 
There must have been great joy when Lazarus was raised from the dead.  There must have been joy when Jesus shared the bread and wine with His companions at the last supper.  You would not think so since He had full knowledge of what was to come, but I believe there was joy in the acceptance of His father's will.  As with a mother who is in labor accepts the pain of labor...she also knows the pains that will prevail before the joy of birth.


If you can equate human emotions to the resurrection and the ascension...Jesus must have had the wonderful experience of joy and glorification of the uncorrupted Risen Christ.


We, His people, can and do feel and share a small essence of joy, but we are not yet ready for the full measure of the joy that is to come, not in this life, but in the presence of the Lord.  We also feel to some minute degree, the pain and anguish that Christ felt when nailed and dying on the cross as our earthly lives are not free of sickness, pain or suffering...some more than others. It must have been  a joy that the one of the robber/thieves on another cross, that day, repented his sins, and Jesus assured him that that day he would see his Father in heaven.


There are all kinds of joys, big small, some so apparently insignificant that you or I would hardly notice such a fleeting passing moment.  Everything is not big or super sized.  You have heard the expression, "Little things mean a lot," and that "Good things come in small packages."
So it is.


The point is: Look for things and people to be joyful for.  You will find joy if you seek it out.  Spread the joy that you are given as it is a gift to be shared.  Share the joy and you will be sharing Christ's love as well.


I could go on, but you get the message.  Don't you?

END

I re-opened my blog to comments.  I had kept it closed for a long time due to spam trying to sell drugs through the comment postings.  No more spam, please.  Thank you.

Letter to God

Dear God:


It's me.  Only me...again.
I 've been thinking about you.  You are never far from my mind.  I think about you a lot.  I pray a lot.  I was wondering...can a person think about you or pray too much?


It seems as if I get up in the morning, go to bed at night and think about you throughout the day.  I wonder if that makes me a fanatic.


I don't go around quoting the Bible, spouting euphemisms or wear sack cloths and ashes.  I would like to say that I evangelize for you, but you know me, Lord.  I am not very vocal.  I don't have the talent for speeches or preaching.  Instead, I have a poor blog in which I try to express my love and dedication to you,  Lord.


I know that you are well aware of my efforts to make your name known and how often I fail to "come across."  You know every hair on my head, don't you, including the gray ones that I have acquired over the years?  You know that I am not a theologian or a person of great scholastic achievements.  I have faith in you, Lord, as simple as it is, and I trust in you to carry me through.


I think there are family and friends around me that see me as a nerd.  So be it.  I try to live my life around "nerd-ism," follow the Ten Commandments to the best of my present ability, and practices the four Cardinal Virtues.   I know Lord, I know.  I need a lot of practice.


I often fail for I am weak, Lord.  But you already know that about me, don't you?  You know how often I put my foot in my mouth and say the wrong or stupid things.  Yet, you are beside me, and pick me up so that I can start again. Thank you Lord, for being patient with me and letting me lean on  you so often.  I couldn't possibly do it on my own.
 
I often wonder this, Lord.  Why did you create me...us...as we are?  We...and I...are so weak, vulnerable and given to sin.  We are inclined to violence, selfishness, pride and vanity.  But, then who am I to question why you would create beings such as we?  You know us...and me...as we are. We are  for all intents and purposes, pitiful tributes to you name, holiness and love.  We just don't measure up, do we?


I guess that is why you gave me free will when you created me, Lord.  You gave me a way  out and a way in.  The door swings both ways.  We do have a choice to the direction we want to follow.  I can walk the path you set before me or stumble along a rough and rocky road to perdition.  I chose to follow you, Lord, my God and creator.  You know well how often I stub my toes on sometimes the smallest of pebbles that trip me up.  Thank you, Lord, for the obstacles, great and small, that you have provided for me along the way, from which I learn. 


Nothing stays in stasis, does it, Lord?  Even the biggest boulders wear away until they become small pebbles, and then grains of sand of time.  I like to think, Lord, each and every time I fall or stumble I become similar to a grain of sand with all the rough edges and imperfection wearing away.


Well, Lord, it has been nice being in communion with you, Lord, and I really do thank you for hearing my little voice.  You are like Flo's TV insurance commercial in that I "am never alone."  You are always with me.


So, Lord, I guess it is time to finish this letter, sign off, stamp it, and send it off into cyberspace where I know you will find it in your personal mailbox.  Maybe I will write you again...sometime soon.  You already know what is in my heart, Lord.  It is YOU, LORD, it is you.

from me to you, Lord

just me

  

POPE FRANCIS: A MAN OFGRACE

Generally we think of "grace" as pertaining to women as you would be inclined to associate with the program "WOMEN OF GRACE" which is televised on EWTN,  a Catholic venue, but a step for and to the virtues.  It just does not go far enough because men can be, and often are instruments of grace.  Thus, I think of Pope Francis as a MAN OF GRACE.

There are actually seven virtues which we seldom hear of let alone think of because we usually are introduced to the three theological Cardinal Virtues as taught by Saint Paul of Tarsus.  They are Faith, Hope and Charity.  These three virtues were adapted and unified with the Seven Cardinal Virtues which were taught  by the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle.  We owe the Greeks a lot.

  The seven Cardinal Virtues are:

Prudence

 Charity

Temperance

 Diligence,

 Patience

 Kindness

 Humility

As I look and ponder on these virtues I think of our new Pope as he clearly is a man of grace.  He seems to have all the elements of a person of grace.  I am sure he has some foibles as do the rest of us, but most of all God's children probably do not really live by all the virtues bestowed and are available to us.  We are weak, sometimes Popes are weak, but Pope Francis is an exceptional man in exceptional times.  He is a  Pope of the People in a time when the church is being minimized or out-rightly attacked.  His umbrella is the Grace of Virtues.  His shield is Grace as he tries to steer the Church back to the basics that Christ came, taught and died for.  And the basic-truth-virtue-grace, is that we love one another.


You may think or say that it seems impossible to live by the virtues of grace, but keep in mind that many known and unknown saints and holy people lived and died for these precepts. You will say that they were very exceptional individuals or maybe "born" into such graces.  As far as I know only Mary was  "chosen" to the virtues of the graces, and only Jesus was the recipient of ALL graces and virtues, as He was also the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Correct me if I am wrong because I am often wrong about a great many things and I certainly am not a theologian.


There is nothing to keep us or anyone from practicing or attempting to live under the umbrella of grace.  Graces and virtues are not owned by anyone and are not just words on a page or thrown into cyberspace.  In a sense you can lay "claim" to the virtues of grace just as Pope Francis seems to have done.  These are not just concepts of humanitarianism, but voluntary actions according to the Bible, ancient customs and cultures and sound faith in Jesus Christ.  Are you a person of grace?

 

 

END







A NEW YEAR

O.K.  It is that time of the year when we all make resolutions that most of us will not keep; well not for long, anyway.  I have bee thinking of what I might "give up or do."  Well, I can't give up drinking, smoking, running around as I don't do that to start with.  What is left?  Nothing?  No, there is plenty that I can attempt to achieve in this year of 2014.  I say "attempt" because I know most of us...including me will stumble or fail at times, along the way as the new year progresses.  The operative word here might be "persist."  When I fail or become weak in my resolutions...then I need not quit, but to recognize that I am a frail individual and need to lean on the ONE who made us all.  You know, the BIG ONE that does not live high in the sky, but is in the soul and spirit of everyone of us.

I am making a list and checking it twice for the year of 2014.  You can decide if I have been naughty or nice...just don't be too hard on me!

1. Become a more spiritual person.
2. Become less judgmental, more humble.
3. Become a more person of grace.
4. Become a more "giving person."
5. Become less lazy(oh, yes, that's me).
6. Watch my diet.
7. Stop eating out so often.
8. Spend less time on the computer.
9. Get rid of all unneeded items..
10. Do the things that need to be done in a timely manner.

Today I have been going through old junk mail that has needed to be sorted through and gotten rid of.  It is a lot.  I have been putting it off.  Also, I am in the process of picking up things and putting the items in their proper places.  See, I told you I am lazy, but I have started my new year off right. 

I am staying in near the furnace.  I don't like cold, wind or snow.  Whatever happened to Global Warming?  Send me some.

END