It's the Lord!

The Word of God has power...
About a couple of months back I was fascinated by two verses in the Bible. The first one was,             " Lord, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief !"
That was a father pleading to Jesus for the healing of his son (Mark 9: 24). In fact, there is a universal prayer attributed to Pope Clement XI, which begins in the same manner, " Lord, I believe in You : increase my faith."
Well, the second verse that had an intriguing effect on me was Ephesians 3: 18, a verse that has already been there in my subconscious mind for years maybe, but one which I always thought was something like a metaphysical conceit, some kind of poetic exaggeration! But when these two verses got into a spiritual combo, it made some sense...Wow! Serendipity, a joyful discovery that my Lord made to happen...! Well, the verse says,
 " ... may you have power, together with all the Lord's holy people , to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ".

How did I find out that St.Paul really meant what he prayed for me in the eternal present tense of the Word of God, so that I can avail of its power even in the year 2020? That is another story altogether. Last month when my brother whatsapped in the family group asking whether anyone was ready to volunteer to make some corrections in the autotranslation in my mother tongue of a remarkable website created by him,  www. photoofjesus.com. Unaware of any consequences I just volunteered! Although I have taught in the Theory of translation to my students about the advantages and disadvantages of Machine Translation, this is the first time I was coming face to face with both the merits and demerits of the same! First of all I had to deal with the rubrics of a virtual keyboard. Then the content! Accuracy is not offered by machine translation consistently. Although we get a gist of the documents, the machine translation does only word for word translation without comprehending the information which might have to be corrected manually later. And that was what I had to do.
  And while doing this job, at a real snail's pace I must admit, St.Paul's prayer for me in Ephesians 3: 18 "was made flesh". Jesus also was answering my prayer, "Lord, I do believe: help me overcome my unbelief."

Yes, I was being shown the length, breadth, height and depth of the love of Christ through this machine, I mean this computer translation! The content of the document was just that, the unfathomable love of Christ explained in scientific terms.

Secondo Pia with his camera apparatus
http://www.gizapyramid.com/LECTURE-SHROUD5.htm

It all begins with a photo taken by an amateur Italian photographer Secondo Pia on 28th May, 1898. His photographic negatives revealed for the first time the extraordinary life-like image of the Man of the Shroud. On seeing the negatives , Pia himself is said to have exclaimed in shock
"It's the Lord!"

......may you have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Photograph of the Shroud of Turin and its negative

https://shroudstory.com/2011/11/07/a-scientific-approach-to-image-formation-on-the-shroud-of-turin/

1. 
   

Rejoice

I have been reading about how the Danes use the Hygge principle to make themselves happy. their candles and the cozy life of tranquility are all tempting. But there is a little carnal and worldly side to these in spite of its Zen Buddhist inclinations.
So I was wondering if there is any purely spiritual side to this happiness principle and turned to the Bible. Yes, there is a Word Rejoice in the Bible. And to my surprise, it has many Hebrew synonyms with a different connotation for each. Here are some of these Hebrew words.

Simchah – The Joy of the Lord

Samach – Joy in performing religious ceremony

Samerch – Joy that shows outward expression

Suws – An inward feeling of joy, not expressed

Sachaq – Joy that comes from playing

sahal – Joy in the success of someone else.

Alats – Joy in victory

Chadah – A re-joice. A renewal of joy

Masows – Joy in being with friends or family

Ranah – Shouting for joy.

Gil – Joy expressed in spinning around in a circle

God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.
He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work.
I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place,
while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.
Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.”

― John Henry Newman

Isaiah Bible Study

Isaiah Bible Study

Virgo Potens. Virgin Most Powerful

                                          http://www.salvemariaregina.info/SalveMariaRegina/SMR-154/Virgin%20Most%20Powerful.htm


                   Virgo Potens. Virgin Most Powerful

The modern woman will note with pleasant surprise that Mary of Nazareth, while completely devoted to the will of God, was far from being a timidly submissive woman or one whose piety was repellent to others; on the contrary, she was a woman who did not hesitate to proclaim that God vindicates the humble and the oppressed, and removes the powerful people of the world from their priviledged positions" Pope Paul VI , Marialis Cultus.

Mary is the Woman of Genesis 3:15 : "I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman, between your seed and her seed. He shall crush your head and you shall crush his heel".

The Latin Vulgate translation used a feminine pronoun to refer to the Seed, thus the Douay Bible (the English translation of the Vulgate) renders the third line as "she shall crush your head".

Judith, the deuterocanonical heroine who saves the Israelites by beheading the enemy general Holofernes, is a prototype of Mary(Judith 13:22-24; 15:10).

Mary's identification with the Shulamite in the Song of Songs allowed for the application of such titles as Tower of David (SS 4:4) and Tower of Ivory (7:4) to her. Both of these titles have martial significance, for they portray Mary as a powerful fortress.

"Thy neck is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men" -Song of Songs 4:4

                                 
http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/prayers/virgopotens.html
This illustration bears evident martial features. Mary's picture is set against a shield, which is surrounded with a panoply of weapons, from bow and arrow to flags and cannons. Mary holds in her hand a commander's staff; however, the motto around her head refers to Christ. It says, "I can do everything in Him." Right and left of Mary's image we read this inscription, "He made powerful things with his arm."
On the lower half of this illustration we find the representations of two powerful typological feminine figures of Mary in the Old Testament. To the left we have Jael, who killed Sisera, the commander of the Canaanites, hammering and crushing his head with peg and mallet (Judges 5:26). The woman to the right is Judith decapitating Holofernes (Judith 11:17).
"In your hand are virtue and power" ( 1 Paral 29).
http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/prayers/virgopotens.html

I am the city of refuge says our lady, for all those who have recourse to me. Come to me, my children; for from me you will obtain graces, and these in greater abundance than you can possibly imagine. 

St. John Damascene

Mary is beautiful in herself as the moon, radiates her brilliance as the sun; but against "the enemy" she is formidable; terrible as an army arrayed for war. As we rejoice and exalt her today, God knows how we would like to forget the difficulties of the times in which we live....There is the "enemy" even at the very doors of the Church, threatening souls. And behold, another aspect of Mary: her power in combat....Mary, sinless, has crushed the head of the corrupting serpent. When Mary approaches, the demon flees - just as darkness dissipates when the sun rises. Where Mary is present, Satan is absent; where the sun shines, there is no darkness (Pope Pius XII ,Talk given on 8 December 1953.)

                                                     http://home.earthlink.net/~mysticalrose/virgin.html

, "Prayer to Mary Help of Christians", John Bosco

Mary, most powerful Virgin,
You are the mighty and glorious Protector of the Church.
You are the marvelous Help of Christians.
You are awe-inspiring as an army in battle array.
You have destroyed heresy in the world.
In the midst of our anguish, our struggle and our distress
defend us from the power of the enemy,
and at the hour of our death receive our soul into heaven. Amen.

The Man of Galilee

Today I discovered the song that inspired me in my college days.

The song that my friend Rachel sang....

That brought tears to my eyes...

I had been searching for it for so long...

And today I got it  after a simple Google search....

Here are the lyrics...

The Man of Galilee 

by Lynda Rich

http://farwestbooksandgifts.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=348_766

They say I am a dreamer, blind and cannot see,
That life consists of living, only to earn money;
Well, if that's what I am Lord, won't you care for me?
I only want to be like the Man of Galilee.


I want to be like, I want to hear like,
I want to see like the Man of Galilee;
I want to talk like, I want to walk like,
I want to be like the Man of Galilee.

They say I am an idealist, blind and cannot see,
That the principle I cling to, won't stand reality;
Well, if that's what I am Lord, won't you care for me?
I only want to be like the Man of Galilee

I want to be like, I want to hear like,
I want to see like the Man of Galilee;
I want to talk like, I want to walk like,
I want to be like the Man of Galilee.

St Michael Prayer (Short Version)

http://www.tldm.org/News6/exorcism.htm

Sáncte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in proélio, cóntra nequítiam et insídias diáboli ésto præsídium. Ímperet ílli Déus, súpplices deprecámur: tuque, prínceps milítiæ cæléstis, Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos, qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in múndo, divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde. Ámen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.Amen.