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McClure Pass, Colorado

McClure Pass, Colorado

These words of St. Augustine, which have been echoed by the saints throughout the ages, seem foreign to us.  It seems as if these saints do not enjoy life.  On the contrary, they love life.  This love for life can be seen by the love they show the poor, the vulnerable and all mankind.  The saints’ love of the created world can be seen in their prose and songs of flowers and animals and sun and moon and stars. 

The saints; however, have a keen insight that life in its full will be realized when we sit at the foot of our Heavenly Father and peer into his eyes.  St. Augustine, when reflecting on how it will be for us in heaven wrote these words, “Instead of the ray of light which was sent through slanting and winding ways into the heart of your darkness, you will see the light itself in all its purity and brightness.”

Lord, help us to always see and be your rays of light on this earth as we hope to eternally live in the glory of your light in heaven.

#anaturewalk #AimHighWalkwithGod

Liberty to Captives

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American pronghorn antelope, Pueblo, CO

“For freedom Christ set us free.” (Gal 5:1)  Let us seek the true freedom that Christ offers. 

 

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”  Matthew 11:  28-30

 

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The Fire of Your Love

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Morning Dove, Big Bend National Park, TX

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

 

 

#anaturewalk #AimHighWalkwithGod

Eyes on Jesus

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Fall colors, Ten Mile Creek, Frisco, Colorado

St. Ignatius of Antioch was publicly torn to pieces by lions in the Circus Maximus in the year 107 A.D. 

 

A disciple of John and appointed as bishop of Antioch, Syria by St. Peter, St. Ignatius refused to deny his faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God.   As a result, he was put in chains and carted to Rome where he was publically executed in the year 107 A.D.  While being transported to Rome, St. Ignatius wrote seven letters to the Christians in Asia Minor.  In these letters, St. Ignatius discusses his unwavering faith in Jesus and the certainty that he will be joining Jesus in heaven after his death.  St. Ignatius always kept his eyes on Jesus no matter the hardship he encountered. 

 

"I know what is to my advantage. At last I am becoming his disciple. May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs-let them come to me, provided only I make my way to Jesus Christ. I would rather die and come to Jesus Christ than be king over the entire earth. Him I seek who died for us; him I love who rose again because of us."  ~ St. Ignatius of Antioch

 

St. Ignatius in his letters consistently askes the churches in Asia-Minor to have unity and order; in belief, practice and faith. 

 

St. Ignatius, pray for us.

#anaturewalk #AimHighWalkwithGod

Behold Your Mother

Black-bellied Whistling Duck and chicks, Galveston, Texas

Black-bellied Whistling Duck and chicks, Galveston, Texas



Why were some of Jesus’s final words on the cross as each breath, each word uttered, became a struggle, “Woman, behold, your son.”  Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother” (John 19:26-27)? 

John’s mother was still living (see Matthew 20), so if Jesus’s sole intent was to make sure Mary was taken care of shouldn’t he have simply said to John “Take care of my mother.”  At this last moment was Jesus just trying to be poetic, or was there a deeper meaning in his words? 

The early Church fathers saw John as the beloved disciple but they also saw John symbolizing all of the Christian faithful that are on the journey of faith following Jesus to the cross.  Pope Francis has said there is a genius in the spirituality of women that is desperately needed by all the faithful.  This genius is the radiant beauty of humility, which allows us to see God and serve others.  Often, us men in particular, get absorbed in pride and self-accomplishment that takes our eyes off of Jesus and serving others.  Perhaps Jesus knew, in his infinite wisdom, that we need a spiritual mother to guide and direct us into his loving arms, the loving arms of Jesus, the son of God.  What better spiritual mother than his mother, Mary?

#anaturewalk #AimHighWalkwithGod

Seeing Things New as if for the First Time

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   Blue-gray Tanager, La Fortuna, Costa Rica

In heaven we will live as God’s children seeing all of God’s creation as if for the first time.  St. Paul quoted the Prophet Isiah in describing this newness of heaven: 

“What eye has not seen,
and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him.”  (1 Corinthians 2:9 and Isaiah 64:3)

We don’t have to go to heaven; however, to begin seeing each moment as a child, with new eyes and a fresh perspective.  We just need to grow closer in our relationship with God, the creator that makes all things new.

Pure in Heart

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Slaty-tailed Trogon, Coopevega, Costa Rica

St Gregory of Nyssa (335 – 395 A.D) wrote the following on the Beatitude – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” ~ Matthew 5:8.

Bodily health is a good thing, but what is truly blessed is not only to know how to keep one’s health but actually to be healthy. If someone praises health but then goes and eats food that makes him ill, what is the use to him, in his illness, of all his praise of health?   We need to look at the text we are considering in just the same way. It does not say that it is blessed to know something about the Lord God, but that it is blessed to have God within oneself. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.   I do not think that this is simply intended to promise a direct vision of God if one purifies one’s soul. On the other hand, perhaps the magnificence of this saying is hinting at the same thing that is said more clearly to another audience: The kingdom of God is within you. That is, we are to understand that when we have purged our souls of every illusion and every disordered affection, we will see our own beauty as an image of the divine nature.   And it seems to me that the Word of God, in these few words, was saying something like this: In you there is a certain desire to contemplate what is truly good. But when you hear that God’s majesty is exalted high above the heavens, that his glory is beyond comprehension, that his beauty is beyond description, that his very nature can neither be perceived nor be understood, do not fall into despair or think you can never have the sight that you desire.   So if, by love and right living, you wash off the filth that has become stuck to your heart, the divine beauty will shine forth in you. Think of iron, which at one moment is dark and tarnished and the next, once the rust has been scraped off, shines and glistens brightly in the sun. It is the same with the inner core of man, which the Lord calls the heart. It has been in damp and foul places and is covered in patches of rust; but once the rust has been scraped off, it will recover itself and once more resemble its archetype. And so it will be good, since what resembles the good must be good itself.   Therefore, whoever looks at himself sees in himself what he desires. And whoever is pure in heart is blessed because, seeing his own purity, he sees the archetype reflected in the image. If you see the sun in a mirror then you are not looking directly at the sky, but still you are seeing the sun just as much as someone who looks directly at it. In the same way, the Lord is saying, although you do not have the strength to withstand the direct sight of the great and inaccessible light of God, if you look within yourselves once you have returned to the grace of the image that was placed in you from the beginning, you will find in yourselves all that you seek.   For to be God is to be pure, to be free from weakness and passion, to be separated from all evil. If these things are all true of you then God is within you. If your thought is kept pure from evil habits, free from passion and weakness, separated from all stain, you are blessed because your vision is sharp and clear. You are able to see what is invisible to those who have not been purified. The eyes of your soul have been cleansed of material filth and through the purity of your heart you have a clear sight of the vision of blessedness. What is that vision? It is purity, sanctity, simplicity, and other reflections of the brightness of the Divine nature. It is the sight of God.   ~ St Gregory of Nyssa

Love your Neighbor

Alligators, High Island, TX

Alligators, High Island, TX

I always thought that the commandment to love my neighbor as myself was an easy one to obey until I read the words of St. Basil the Great (330 – 379 AD).

 “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)

After reading and meditating on St. Basil’s words I realize how challenging the commandment to love my neighbor really is. 

May God grant us the grace to love our neighbors as ourselves and may we have the humility, courage and wisdom to cooperate with His grace.

Because of Christ

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Long-billed dowitchers, Galveston, TX

We used to hate and destroy one another and refused to associate with people of another race or country. Now, because of Christ, we live together with such people and pray for our enemies.  ~ St. Justin Martyr, 100 – 165 A.D.

Jesus Christ transformed the world, has he transformed you?  Justin Martyr, philosopher and Christian apologist, beheaded in Rome in 165 A.D. in defense of the faith.