I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die. JN 11:25, 26
EZEKIEL 37:12-14
My Soul's Beloved,
The world has strayed far from the way of Truth, perfection, and holiness, and is in great turmoil. Peace is a word on everyone's lips, but the reality of peace is a distant dream. You have said, 'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.' But You have also said, 'I did not come to bring peace but a sword.' While these statements might appear contradictory, the promise is that only if we accept You as the Prince of Peace and Your gift of peace will we live as brothers and sisters in harmony. But if we reject You and Your teaching, if we reject the unity that You desire for all believers, then we will sow seeds of division, dissension, and bloody wars, and destruction is what we will reap.
We only have to look at our war-torn world, and at the hatred that nation bears against nation. Greed for power is rampant, as well as greed to control the world's resources by the few who are strong, so they can choke and destroy the weak.
For the sake of the few who remain faithful, Beloved, have mercy on the many who are caught in the crosshairs of the wicked.
The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.
PSALM 129 (130)
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
JOHN 11:1-45
The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.
PSALM 129 (130)
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
(Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.)
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading.
If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:
for this we revere you.
My soul is waiting for the Lord.
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord
more than watchman for daybreak.
(Let the watchman count on daybreak
and Israel on the Lord.)
Because with the Lord there is mercy
and fullness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem
from all its iniquity.
With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
ROMANS 8:8-11
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
We live in a culture that celebrates the body, and the value that the world puts on the body kills the life of the spirit in us. We who are baptized are temples of the Holy Spirit, but if we neglect the things that give life to the soul, if we fail to receive the Sacraments that channel grace into our lives, then we will surely, slowly, allow the weeds to choke us and bring about our spiritual death.
Lord, how much longer will the world live in deliberate ignorance? It chooses to be blind to the teachings of the Church, which are necessary if we are to live joyfully in this life and hope for eternal joy in the life to come. So many Christians are abysmally ignorant of even the very basics of the requirements of living a holy Christian life, and make no attempt to make a serious effort to learn what the Church teaches and holds as absolutely essential if we are to be saved.
It is up to each of us who strive to live a life of holiness and perfection to be light and salt in the world so they can see for themselves that to live in You and be nourished by You, and Your Word, we can live and flourish even in the chaos and madness that is engulfing our world today.
People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
JOHN 11:1-45
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