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The Greatness of the Lord

Let us, and all of creation, join Mary in her words….

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”  (Lk 1:46)

Male Summer Tanager, High Island, Texas

 

 

 

Giving

“The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry. The cloak in your wardrobe belongs to the naked. The shoes you allow to rot belong to the barefoot. The money in your vaults belongs to the destitute. You do injustice to every man whom you could help but do not.”  St. Basil the Great (330 – 379 AD)

In this advent season let us remember those that are in need of our excess and give from our time, talent and treasure.

Female Summer Tanager, Big Bend, Texas

The Light of Life

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Let us walk in His light as we prepare for the celebration of His birth. 

Sunset, Spring Branch, Texas

Sing Songs of Joy

great egret standing.jpg

Sing joyfully, O Israel!  The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.  Zephaniah 3: 14, 17

Let us sing songs of joy as we prepare for the celebration of His birth. 

Great Egret, Galveston Island, TX

Wildflower, Texas Hill Country, U.S.A., background mosaic from Basilica of our Lady of the Rosary, Lourdes, France

“(she) laid him in a manger, because there was no room for him in the inn.” (Lk 2:6)

“From the moment of his birth, he belongs outside the realm of what is important and powerful in worldly terms.  Yet it is this unimportant and powerless child that proves to be the truly powerful one, the one whom ultimately everything depends.  So one aspect of becoming a Christian is having to leave behind what everyone else thinks and wants, the prevailing standards, in order to enter the light of the truth of our being, and aided by that light to find the right path.” The Infancy Narratives, Jesus of Nazareth, pg 67, Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI

As we enter into this Advent season may we encounter Jesus and renew our relationship with the Lord.

 

Turkeys, Waterton Canyon, Colorado, U.S.A.

And now, bless the God of all,
who has done wondrous things on earth;
Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb,
and fashions them according to his will!
May he grant you joy of heart
and may peace abide among you

Sirach 50: 22-23

Sunset over Collegiate Peaks, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, U.S.A.

Wisdom 13: 1, 9All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan.  For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord? 

Rio Grande River, Big Bend National Park, U.S.A.

Ezekiel 47: 1, 8- 9 “I saw water flowing out from under the threshold of the temple.  This water runs down into the Arabah (desert) and empties into the polluted waters of the sea to freshen them.  Wherever it flows, the river teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound.  Where these waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the river goes.”

May the waters of the Spirit flow from us and replenish the desert giving life to the world.

Blue Bonnets, Texas Hill Country, U.S.A.

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When you are walking alone, listen to the sermon preached to you by the flowers.  Notice how they preach to you a sermon full of love, of praise of God, and how they invite you to proclaim the greatness of the one who has given them being."
— St. Paul of the Cross

Cedar Waxwings, Big Bend National Park, U.S.A., background mosaic from Basilica of our Lady of the Rosary, Lourdes, France

Today is All Saints Day.  Let us we reflect upon the depth of the Church which not only includes us on earth and our Lord in Heaven but all the Angels and Saints that participate in our Church each moment of each and every day.   Let us thanks them for their example of lives well lived and thank them for their continued prayers.

Revelation 7:9  After this I had a vision of a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

California Condors, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, U.S.A.

The California Condor was nearly extinct in 1987 with only 22 condors in existence and none in the wild.  Through conservation efforts now there are over 400 California Condors with condors flying free over many parts of the Arizona, Utah and California deserts.

“Everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation”. [22] All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.  (Laudato Si’, par 14, Pope Francis)

We are called to be instruments of God our Father, so that our planet might be what he desired when he created it and correspond with his plan for peace, beauty and fullness. (Laudato Si’, par 53, Pope Francis)

The beginning of autumn, Pikes Peak, Colorado

Autumn Colors - The Sharing of Grace

"The greens of spring and summer nourished by God’s amazing light,

share God’s grace in radiant beauty,

for it is only right.

Green turns to yellow and yellow turns to red,

what each man does with the grace he has been given,

is only his to be said." 

Honey Bee on Purple Sage, Hill Country, Texas

“When God inspires you with a sentiment of love, stop and taste it, as the bee sips the honey.... Ah!  When I reflect that my soul is the temple of God, that God dwells in me, how my heart rejoices! All sufferings and afflictions appear to me sweet and light.... What a fruitful source of meditation!”         – "Flowers of the Passion -Thoughts of St Paul of the Cross", whose memorial we celebrate today

Mt. Whitney at 14,505 feet is the highest peak in the Continental U.S. Shown rising like a castle from the basin near Iceberg Lake.

Today is the memorial of Saint Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church.  Teresa is best known for her works on contemplation and prayer, Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle. 

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ's compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about
doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.”
― Teresa of Ávila