#THE TRANSFORMING POSSIBILITIES OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

leonbloder · 10 months

Text

What Is Love?

While traveling through the United Kingdom this past summer, I saw a plaque with the following sonnet by Shakespeare etched on it.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; - Sonnet 116

I was an English Literature major a hundred years ago and spent a fair amount of time studying 16th and 17th-century British literature, poems, and the like.

I've always been taken by the poems and sonnets from that era for some strange reason, and this sonnet was no exception. Let me take it apart a bit to explain why.

The singer in this sonnet is not addressing a Beloved. It's not a declaration of love for another but about the nature of Love itself. The singer is lifting up Love as an ideal, proclaiming its highest virtue: steadfastness.

Additionally, according to the singer, love isn't love when alteration of the Beloved is required to experience love.

It also can't be easily cast aside or dismissed when it is truly love. The singer essentially says, "Who are we to cast dispersions on those who love when it is Love that brought them together?" and further, "Who, when confronted with the reality of true Love, can deny it?"

And then, the singer offers his definition of Love at the end of the sonnet. He describes it as an "ever-fixed mark" that faces the storms of life "and is never shaken."

If you are reading this and wondering if perhaps you have been transported back to some English Lit class and what the point of this whole Devo might be, think of it like this:

This sonnet was the 16th-century equivalent of The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love." Not as catchy, for sure, but still a song that would have been sung by minstrels, possibly at some garden party where high-falootin' types gathered.

The thing is, Love is actually an ideal that we can only aspire to understand, experience, or attain. We simply can't fully grasp the meaning of Love, only aspects of it.

The fact that there have been so many songs, books, poems, movies, plays, and works of art dealing with Love over the centuries reflects this aspiration and the constant desire of humans to know what Love is all about.

Interestingly, those of us who believe that God is not merely loving but is Love shouldn't be surprised by any of this.

We all get that God remains a mystery to us, unknowable and yet present. We experience God all around us and see signs of God's purposes and longing for Creation and for us, but we don't experience the fullness of God.

In fact, to experience the fullness of God just might be too much for us.

In the ancient Hebrew stories of Moses encountering God on Mt. Sinai, Moses asks to see God face to face, and God basically tells Moses, "Uhhh, that would kill you, man."

So God shows Moses a portion of God's "back," which is a way of saying, just a glimpse of the full glory of God's reality, and it transfigured Moses so much that his face shone afterward.

I love the symbolism of that story. It states that even a tiny aspect of the fullness of Love/God, once experienced, transforms us in amazing ways.

And this is the beauty of being human, created in God's image. We receive the gifts of Love as we are ready to receive them. We experience transformation as we are equipped to be open to change.

We also never stop longing for more Love... more of God. It is our destiny to long for it, seek more of it, and share what aspects of Love and glory have made us shine.

May we never stop pursuing Love. After all, it is all we need, and it can never be shaken.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, now and forever. Amen.

0 notes

amicidomenicani · 1 year

Text

Question Dear Father Angelo, I have been thinking about these two questions for a while. 1) Is there a difference between Jesus’ body after resurrection and Mary’s body after assumption? 2) Mary speaks very little in the Gospels. Can we assume that many stories of Jesus’ life, such as the Annunciation, Joseph’s dream, the visit to St. Elizabeth with the related Magnificat and Zechariah’s Benedictus, the details of Jesus’ birth, the escape to Egypt, the presentation to the Temple, etc., were narrated, to the evangelists or to other people, by Mary herself? Thanks for your always clear answers. Raffaele Answer Dear Raffaele, 1. Regarding your first question: there is no difference between the risen body of Jesus and the body of Mary after assumption, except for their own identity. St. Paul says that Jesus “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be conformed to his glorified body by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.” (Phil. 3,21) 2. What is true for Our Lady will also be true for each of us. The Lord, by virtue of His divine power, will transfigure the body where we now live, which is subject to many miseries and infirmities, and ultimately to the corruption of death, to conform it to His glorious body. 3. Regarding your second question: the events of Jesus’ childhood cannot have any other original source than Our Lady. St. Luke, in the prologue to his Gospel, says that others before him had tried to put the events of Christ’s life in order. The first source has been the narration of “those who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word from the beginning” (Luke 1,2). Putting together the two expressions “those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning” and “ministers of the word”, it becomes evident that he is talking about the Apostles and Jesus’ immediate disciples. 4. But from whom did the Apostles and the disciples learn the events regarding Jesus’ childhood? There is just one possible answer: from Our Lady. Here is what Benedict XVI (J. Ratzinger) writes on this topic: “Where do Matthew and Luke learn the story they tell? What are their sources? Joachim Gnilka rightly says in this regard that it is evidently a matter of family traditions. Luke sometimes mentions that Mary herself, the Mother of Jesus, was one of his sources, and he does so in a particular way when he says in 2,51 that "His mother pondered all these things in her heart", or in 2,19, that “As for Mary, she treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart”. Only she could report the event of the Annunciation, which had no human witnesses. Naturally, modern "critical" exegesis will suggest that such connections are rather naïve. But why shouldn’t such a tradition be there, preserved and at the same time theologically modeled in the closest circle? Why should Luke have made up the sentence about Mary keeping words and events in her heart, if there was no concrete reference? Why should he have spoken about her “reflecting” on words (2,19; also 1,29), if nothing was known about it? (Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, pp. 24-25) 5. Benedict XVI does not conclude that Saint Luke drew directly from Our Lady, but certainly from those who learned directly from Her. Regarding the fact that Marian traditions appeared relatively late, Benedict XVI “finds the explanation in the discretion of the Mother and the circles around her: the sacred events about the “morning” of her life could not become a public tradition while she herself was still alive” (Ib., p. 25). I thank you for the questions, I remember you to the Lord and I bless you. Father Angelo

0 notes

orthodoxydaily · 2 years

Text

Saints&Reading: Friday, August 19, 2022

August 19_August 6

The Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ (Second "Feast of the Savior" in August).

youtube

ON THE FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

BY St. Anastasius the Sinaite

Upon Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed to his disciples a heavenly mystery. While living among them he had spoken of the kingdom and of his second coming in glory, but to banish from their hearts any possible doubt concerning the kingdom and to confirm their faith in what lay in the future by its prefiguration in the present, he gave them on Mount Tabor a wonderful vision of his glory, a foreshadowing of the kingdom of heaven. It was as if he said to them:“As time goes by you may be in danger of losing your faith. To save you from this I tell you now that some standing here listening to me will not taste death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in the glory of his Father. “Moreover, in order to assure us that Christ could command such power when he wished, the evangelist continues: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and led them up a high mountain where they were alone. There, before their eyes, he was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Then the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, and they were talking to Jesus.

These are the divine wonders we celebrate today; this is the saving revelation given us upon the mountain; this is the festival of Christ that has drawn us here. Let us listen, then, to the sacred voice of God so compellingly calling us from on high, from the summit of the mountain, so that with the Lord’s chosen disciples we may penetrate the deep meaning of these holy mysteries, so far beyond our capacity to express. Jesus goes before us to show us the way, both up the mountain and into heaven, and – I speak boldly – it is for us now to follow him with all speed, yearning for the heavenly vision that will give us a share in his radiance, renew our spiritual nature and transform us into his own likeness, making us for ever sharers in his Godhead and raising us to heights as yet undreamed of.

Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and turn to the creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: Lord, it is good for us to be here.

It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever. What greater happiness or higher honor could we have than to be with God, to be made like him and to live in his light?

Therefore, since each of us possesses God in his heart and is being transformed into his divine image, we also should cry out with joy: It is good for us to be here – here where all things shine with divine radiance, where there is joy and gladness and exultation; where there is nothing in our hearts but peace, serenity and stillness; where God is seen. For here, in our hearts, Christ takes up his abode together with the Father, saying as he enters: Today salvation has come to this house. With Christ, our hearts receive all the wealth of his eternal blessings, and there where they are stored up for us in him, we see reflected as in a mirror both the first fruits and the whole of the world to come.

The Blessing of the fruits, an Orthodox Christian tradition celebrating the major Feast of the Transfiguration.

By Protobesbyter Fr. George D. Konstantopoulos

On the Holy Feast-Day of Transfiguration (Metamorphosis) on August 6th (19th) our tradition calls that the Orthodox Christian faithful bring fruits and even vegetables to be blessed on this day. The most common fruit to be blessed are grapes.

The blessing of fruits i.e., grapes, apples, etc., as well as vegetables on this day, is one very beautiful custom of our Holy Church. The practice signifies the final transfiguration of all things in Christ our Savior. “It signifies the ultimate flowering and fruitfulness of all creation in the Paradise of God’s Kingdom of Life where all will be transformed by the Glory of the Lord”.

This is an early Christian tradition. The first week of August, on the sixth of August, the farmers used to gather the first fruits of their summer harvest (grapes, figs, etc.) and to offer thanks to God and offer them to the Church to be blessed and then to give them to the faithful present at the Divine Liturgy as a blessing to them. These fruits are called the “beginnings”.

In a text from the 7th century (“the laws of the kingdom”) by Emperor Constantine Porfirogenitos this tradition is described clearly: “The Emperor of Constantinople gathers the “beginnings” (“aparches”) in Chalcedon, where there are many vines, and then he waits for the Patriarch of Constantinople to come on the Holy Day of the Transfiguration of Christ, to bless the fruits and to personally hand out the grapes to the faithful.

This tradition is adhered to in various parts of Greece where they grow grapes.

Saint John Chrysostom wrote: “Plowman receives fruit from the earth not so much for his labor and diligence, as out of the goodness of God Who grows this fruit, because neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters, but God that gives the increase”...continue reading Pravmir

youtube

LUKE 9:28-36

28Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"-not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

2 PETER 1:10-19

10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. 16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

#orthodoxy #orthodox christianity #eastern christianity #originofchristianity #tradition #holy scripture #bible #gospel #wisdom

0 notes

fidei · 2 years

Text

It is good for us to be here

From a sermon on the transfiguration of the Lord by Anastasius of Sinai, bishop

Upon Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed to his disciples a heavenly mystery. While living among them he had spoken of the kingdom and of his second coming in glory, but to banish from their hearts any possible doubt concerning the kingdom and to confirm their faith in what lay in the future by its prefiguration in the present, he gave them on Mount Tabor a wonderful vision of his glory, a foreshadowing of the kingdom of heaven. It was as if he said to them: “As time goes by you may be in danger of losing your faith. To save you from this I tell you now that some standing here listening to me will not taste death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in the glory of his Father.” Moreover, in order to assure us that Christ could command such power when he wished, the evangelist continues: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and led them up a high mountain where they were alone. There, before their eyes, he was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Then the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, and they were talking to Jesus.

It is indeed good to be here, as you have said, Peter. It is good to be with Jesus and to remain here for ever. What greater happiness or higher honour could we have than to be with God, to be made like him and to live in his light?

0 notes

astranemus · 3 years

Text

...if any man of God was going to sign up for this heretic's quest, I figured "the world's most controversial priest" was a safe bet. It's a nickname Father Francis earned for suggesting Jesus's death and resurrection were not, in fact, a unique event - contradicting two thousand years of Church dogma. In Rainbow Body and Resurrection from 2016, the intrepid priest published the results of his decades-long inquiry into the so-called "rainbow body" phenomenon of Tibetan Buddhism. He schlepped all over the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayas, tracking down eyewitness accounts of spiritual gurus whose physical bodies were said to shrink or disappear after death, often transforming into radiant displays of multicolored light.

"It is no longer possible to dismiss the phenomenon as folklore," says Father Francis. He also doesn't see any point in denying the parallels to the so-called Transfiguration scene of the Gospels, when the face of Jesus suddenly "shone like the sun" and "his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning" apparently cementing his true identity as the only Son of God. This miraculous body of light is considered a preview of the superhuman form the resurrected Jesus would later assume before his ascension into heaven. However enlightened they may have been, none of the lamas interviewed by Father Francis ever claimed to be the Son of God. So if they really disappeared into the ether in a burst of rainbows, it means each of us is capable of the same divine feat.

As far as Father Francis is concerned, it's a perfectly commonsense reading of the New Testament - the essential message of Jesus being less about his abilities, and more about ours. Rather than looking to an external God, far off in the clouds, the atypical priest might counsel forward thinking Christians to focus on their own, hidden potential deep within. For the Buddhists in training, that means a lifetime of meditation up in the mountains. For the rest of us, maybe there's a shortcut. One that the first Christians could have picked up from crafty women who spoke the language of Homer and who always had a pocket full of magical herbs.

Brian C. Muraresku, The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion With No Name

#quote #bolding mine #Brian C Muraresku #Brian Muraresku #The Immortality Key #Father Francis Tiso #Francis Tiso #well that book has landed right at the top of my list #Buddhism #Tibetan Buddhism #Christianity #New Testament #apotheosis #rainbow body #gnosis #Rainbow Body and Resurrection

39 notes · View notes

juanitaboniquepeaches · 2 years

Text

Evening Prayer

O God, who alone can give the hearing ear and the understanding heart — open our minds that we may understand Your word which we have read. Make the truth plain and clear to us. Save us from handling Your word selfishly — from wresting it from its true meaning to serve any purpose of our own. Help us to find in it, always what Your Spirit meant us to find. Grant us grace to search the Scriptures diligently, and to find in them . . .

Your holy will,

the revealing of Your truth,

the unveiling of Jesus,

Your precepts for the guidance of our lives.

May Your word be a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path. May it show us the shoe-prints of our Master who has gone before us, that we may walk in His steps. We thank You for all that the Bible is to us, for its words which assure us of Your love for us, and which mark out for us the only way to our heavenly home. We thank You for the wonderful promises in the Bible, covering every moment of life, every possible need, every condition of peril or trial. We thank You for the comforts of Your word, that in our sorrow we can always find consolation.

We ask You to teach us Your ways, to take away the veil, that we may understand Your word. May the Bible, as its truths enter into our souls, transform and transfigure our lives, and make them shine with something of Your own holiness. May the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.

Bless Your word to the world. Wherever it is taught or preached, may its divine light break forth and help to brighten the world. Help us to do something to diffuse Your truth among men. And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — be all honor, and glory, world without end. Amen.

#taptapstudio

#youdevotion

3 notes · View notes

babyjeep · 3 years

Text

Back with another part of the Teen Wolf Hogwarts AU! It’s based on the Hogwarts house moodboards that scilessweetheart made! But all of her moodboards are amazing.

This is part 3B and it’s called Two Roads Diverged

Make sure you read the other parts first! Intro, part 1, part 2, part 3A

Twice Stiles had nearly slipped down the set of stone stairs that spun around the outside of the tower. The closer he got to the top, the more unsettled he felt. Not only was he nervous about following Malia Hale, but he also didn’t want to be near the hundreds of birds that lived at the top of the Owlery. Birds had always terrified Stiles a little bit, but birds in the magical world? Those were freaky as hell. Lydia had explained it to him a few times, but he still didn’t understand how they knew where to take the letters just by the name you wrote on the top.

What made these birds different from Muggle birds? How did they understand English? How did they deliver messages to insanely exact locations? Once over summer, Lydia had sent him a letter and the bird flew through his open bedroom window to drop it in his lap. Then, the bird waited for him so that it could return to Lydia with his response. It had glared at him and squawked creepily until he got the hint and wrote his response.

As soon as he rounded the corner on the last step, he ran into something, or rather- someone.

“Are you following me?”

“Ah! Jesus-“ Stiles put a hand over his heart. “Were you- were you just waiting around the corner to scare me?”

“Answer the question,” Malia said darkly.

“N-no! I wasn’t following you!”

“Then what were you doing?”

“I’m. . Sending a letter, obviously. What else would I be doing?”

Finally, Malia stepped out of the way to let Stiles into the Owlery and out of the pouring rain. The boy flinched when a bird swooped close to him. There was an obvious discomfort on his scrunched up face as he scanned the room in search for the right bird.

“Where’s you friend McCall? Wasn’t he with you?” Malia glared out the doorway toward the bridge. There was not another student in sight. The rain did stop most people from venturing out of the castle, but usually a few crazy students were out slinging mud at each other, usually Gryffindors that would later muddy up the halls and loose points for themselves.

“Scott? He’s walking Kira back to the castle. Just me out here sending a letter. . in the middle of a storm. Ah, there you are!” Stiles waved to a particularly stoic bird who didn’t seem too happy he had noticed her. It was taking Stiles an awful long time to find the paper he intended on sending. Then, he got out his quill and ink and started writing.

Malia found that oddly suspicious. “You didn’t have it written before coming here?”

After all, who would want to spend twenty minutes writing a letter against a stone slab that was littered in bird poo? The cacophony of chirping made it hard to even have this conversation at all, let alone focus long enough to write a letter.

“I. . Couldn’t risk anyone seeing what I wrote.” Stiles regretted the excuse as soon as he said it because that opened him up to being asked-

“Why?”

“It’s just. . Embarrassing.” Oh god, the cover story that came to his mind was not a good one. Surely he was going to regret this later, “I’m sending it to Lydia.”

Oh, Lydia Martin. Malia knew of her. They were in the same year. In fact, she and Lydia had been keeping a close eye on each other since first year when Lydia confronted her with the theory that Malia was a werewolf. Lydia was right, of course, Lydia is always right. That’s why she was the Ravenclaw Prefect and rumored to be their Headgirl for their final year.

Malia also knew that ever since they met on the train at age eleven, Stiles Stilinski had been in love with Lydia. Through the years, everyone watched his numerous failed attempts at trying to get her to go on a date with him. Just when it seemed like Lydia might finally be leaning towards having a crush on him as well, Stiles would do something terribly awful like throw a dungbomb into a classroom and unknowingly demolish the small sliver of hope he had.

It was almost painful to watch, but everyone was invested now. If they weren’t together by the end of their seventh year, surely they would be by the time they had a class reunion.

“You must really like her if you can’t even risk McCall knowing about your letter.” Malia rarely saw the pair of boys without each other. Actually, this might have been the first time she was ever having a one-on-one with Stilinski. McCall had said hello to her a few times in passing, but they had never said much.

“Yeah well, I do kinda have this five year plan going, and time is sort of running out. But hey- this year has just begun and there’s always next year.” Stiles seemed satisfied with his answer as he rolled up the letter to attach to the owl. Once he sent it off, he shoved his hands in his pockets and asked, “So. . What are you doing here?”

Malia blinked a couple times and wondered, what the hell was she still doing here? Why was she standing around, watching some dork send a love letter to a girl who would never give him the time of day?

Her morning wasn’t exactly the greatest. The news of her bio parents threw off everything. She had no idea how she was supposed to react to learning that, or how others wanted her to see her react. Some people acted like they were walking on eggshells around her. Others were slightly more excited than they should have been about it. Before the article came out, everyone generally tried to avoid her because of her condition, but now people were coming out of the shadows to ask her how she was. Some even tried to act like they had been friendly before even though Malia didn’t even know their name.

“I was sending a letter. What else would I be doing?”

Stiles scratched behind his ear awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s, yeah. No duh, right? Ha. Anyway, with everything going on, did you want to walk back to the castle together? Safer in numbers and all that.”

“I don’t need protection,” Malia insisted.

“Then why did you wait for me to finish writing my letter?”

“I. .” Shit. Malia didn’t have an answer for that. “I just was hoping the rain would let up a bit.”

“Well, lucky for you-“ Stiles pulled a textbook and his want out of his book bag. “-I happen to have an umbrella.”

And with a quickly wave of his wand, the book he was holding really did turn into an umbrella. Malia’s lips parted in shock. Ravenclaws were notoriously bright, but she hadn’t known Stiles was able to apply his book smart skills for practical use. Transfiguration was one of the hardest forms of magic.

One look at the sky and Malia reluctantly decided to take Stiles up on his offer to walk her back. They had to huddle rather close to stay under the umbrella, close than most people dared to get to Malia. It seemed like the other students were afraid of her randomly shifting into the beast they imagined her as. In reality, Malia had not shifted a single time since going to Hogwarts. Her Potions professor gave her a monthly dose of wolfsbane to help stop the transformation.

When they made it to the covered bridge, Stiles shook as much water as he could off of the umbrella then turned it back into his Herbology book. Surprisingly, Malia was waiting for him to do that instead of running off now that she was safe from the rain.

He decided to try his luck again and played off his questioning like he was teasing, “So, I told you about my embarrassing letter. Who were you urgently writing to in a storm like this? A crush?”

Malia made a face of disgust. “Definitely not. I was just telling my parents what happened. They are muggles, so. . They don’t know much about this world. Dumbledore promised me he would send someone to protect and watch over them from afar so that they wouldn’t freak out.”

Stiles felt his heart fall to his stomach. He hadn’t even thought of how Malia’s adoptive family could be affected by all of this. If Dumbledore sent someone to look after them, did he assume they were in danger? Would Malia’s bio parents target her new family to get to her? Was it safe enough for her to go home for winter break?

The possibly of losing a family member is scary. Stiles knew that first hand. He wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

His eyes were a bit glossed over when he whispered, “I hope they’ll be okay.”

Malia studied his vulnerable expression then looked down at her feet. Suddenly this conversation felt like it was just. . too much. Never in a million years did she think she’d be having a heart to heart with the notorious trouble maker and prankster extraordinaire, Stiles Stilinski.

“Me too,” she mumbled.

Once they got to the tower, Malia put her hand on the door to yank it open, but she found herself pausing and looking over her shoulder at the boy. Out of everyone she had spoken to that day, he was the only one who hadn’t asked a single question about her bio parents.

Stiles caught her intense gaze and quickly went red. His hand flew up to fix the front of his hair, worried it had started drying funny from the rain or something. Why else would she be looking at him like that?

“Is it my hair? Is it messed up?”

“No, it looks good,” she said casually.

Stiles swallowed thickly and somehow went even redder than before. Probably because there was a mandrake leaf now caught in his throat. He tried to clear it and swallowed again, losing the leaf. This had to be a new personal record for how fast he wasted one. All he could manage out was, “Oh. Thanks.”

“Thank you for walking me back,” Malia said quickly before disappearing inside.

#teen wolf #my writing #teen wolf hogwarts au #Stiles’s brain immediately going to Lydia while under pressure #and Malia not questioning it because the whole school is probably taking bets on whether or not Stiles and Lydia will end up together #they very much have James and Lilly energy #if you are reading these:#have you watched the fan film mischief managed on YouTube about the Mauraders #so cute

4 notes · View notes

lincoln-cannon · 4 years

Link

What a spring! Pandemic, shutdowns, layoffs, protests, riots – not to mention earthquakes and rumors of, what, murder hornets? I wouldn’t blame you if you’re tempted to think it’s the end of the world.

But I’ve got a proposal for you. Instead of the end, maybe it’s the beginning.

I’ve been spending some time thinking about scriptural prophecies. And I’m clearly not alone. Videos about prophecies in the Bible have been around a long time. But, right now, they’re getting many more views and shares than usual.

One video, shared with me by a friend, uses prophecies from the book of Daniel to make the case that we’re living in what the scriptures call the “end times.” And a family member shared with me another video that even tries to use the book of Revelation to calculate the timing of Jesus’ return. No one knows the day or the hour, says the Bible. But the person in the video claims that we can know the week.

The family member who shared the second video with me asked for my opinion. So here’s what I told her.

I think the primary value of prophecy is how it affects us – how it affects our thoughts, our words and actions. I don’t think that we should understand prophecy as fortune-telling or fate. But instead we can understand it as something like forth-telling.

Forth-telling would be an expression of envisioned possibility. It can be about good possibilities, or bad. But it’s always conditional on our faith – on our practical trust and action. And it’s always intended to provoke us, either to pursue the good or to avoid the bad.

It’s like the story of Jonah and Nineveh, in the Bible. God tells Jonah to tell Nineveh that they’re going to be destroyed, without qualification. So Jonah tells them. But they repent, God spares them, and Jonah gets mad at God for not fulfilling his prophecy.

Likewise, prophecies about the end of the world have different meanings for different people. Some who lived two thousand years ago thought these prophecies entailed the end of the world in their time. Some people who lived one thousand years ago, one hundred years ago, and even ten years ago thought the same.

Humans are highly capable of finding and making purpose from symbols. When we make an effort, we can apply any prophecy to ourselves and our time. And, as Nephi points out in the Book of Mormon, that can be a good thing. But it can also be a bad thing, depending on how our interpretations affect us.

For example, do our interpretations of prophecy give us hope? Do they motivate us to be more courageous and compassionate? Do they provoke us to work, to serve, and actually to show our love for each other in real action?

Or do our interpretations of prophecy weigh us down with distress? Maybe they motivate us to say cruel things or even to act violently? Or maybe they just make us apathetic to others’ suffering? We might tell ourselves, “they had it coming!”

I think that, at least on reflection, we each have a choice to make. We can choose how to think about prophecy. We can choose how to talk about it, and how to act on it. And that choice can have serious practical consequences.

So is this the end of the world? Well, it might be the end of some things. And let’s hope so! Poverty, war, disease, even death: they should all end, so far as I’m concerned.

And the scriptures seem to agree. Remember the prophecy of Joseph Smith, who wrote that the day would come when poverty and enmity will end. Remember the prophecy of Paul the Apostle, who wrote that the day would come when even death will end – the dead resurrected, and the living transfigured.

And where there are endings, there are always beginnings. We can see this in the book of Revelation, where John concludes his prophecy by describing the beginning of “a new heaven and a new Earth.”

I don’t know about you. But I find – I feel – hope when I think about these new beginnings. And that feeling leads me to wonder, is there anything that I can do to help realize that hope? Is there anything that you and I, together, can do to make that better world sooner rather than later?

So it seems to me, when we hear a prophet say that it’s the end of the world, we get to choose. And we can be like Nineveh. We can understand that prophecies, even dark ones, are always invitations to new beginnings.

Of course each new beginning requires change. And change ultimately has to be more than just nice thoughts and words. It has to be the active and transformative change that the scriptures call “repentance.” It’s a difficult change.

But I feel like it’s at least a little easier, and way more effective, when I imagine the needed change as a new beginning. With that hope in mind, I’m more likely to “stand up and do something more than dream,” like we sing in the hymn. Then “doing good [really] is a pleasure” and less of a chore.

Okay. Here’s one last prophecy to think about. John in the New Testament and Moroni in the Book of Mormon both prophesy about the return of Christ. And they both say that “when he appears, we shall be like him.”

If they’re right, as I trust they are, the return of Christ seems to depend on our new beginning as better people – and not the other way around. In other words, Jesus isn’t going to force the new beginning on us. Instead, it looks like we have choices to make and work to do.

So, what’s next? What will next month bring? What comes after pandemics and riots? Honestly, I think that mostly depends on us.

Originally published at lincoln.metacannon.net on June 27, 2020.

2 notes · View notes

cassianus · 2 years

Text

Upon Mount Tabor, Jesus revealed to his disciples a heavenly mystery. While living among them he had spoken of the kingdom and of his second coming in glory, but to banish from their hearts any possible doubt concerning the kingdom and to confirm their faith in what lay in the future by its prefiguration in the present, he gave them on Mount Tabor a wonderful vision of his glory, a foreshadowing of the kingdom of heaven. It was as if he said to them: “As time goes by you may be in danger of losing your faith. To save you from this I tell you now that some standing here listening to me will not taste death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in the glory of his Father.” Moreover, in order to assure us that Christ could command such power when he wished, the evangelist continues: Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John, and led them up a high mountain where they were alone. There, before their eyes, he was transfigured. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Then the disciples saw Moses and Elijah appear, and they were talking to Jesus.

From a sermon on the transfiguration of the Lord by Anastasius of Sinai, bishop

20 notes · View notes

sirjustice105-blog · 4 years

Text

Theft eliminated finally

Now we got the hand held thermometer with decimals at some few meters it tells ya friend, neighbor or brother temp, so if an intruder transfigures to their likes u take it from beside or behind and what u eject is a rod, u hit him with good and nowhere u will be taken cause he has disturbed ya 4 long and its been a nuisance as much as with banks. If ya money stolen or u killed, ambushed or kidnapped is the bank staff wanting to take ya cash and if u had written a will 4 ya money to be given like $ 1 to every bank client then they got to obey that so they dont benefit from ya cash if the manage to do the above. The problem will solve it self as uncle Nellies of the south tells no point 4 empty romantic illusions like philosophical sayings which have only made such people be killed and the above technology can be used in passport centers, point of entries of countries in voting centers, schools, jobs etc 4 identification.

E-speed boat as well can be of help to Somali to get goods and people to the other side via the Indian or red sea cause its not that wide to Yemen or Oman and if those nations have built good infrastructures like rail system and road then getting to UAE or Kuwait after connecting with road or rail from speed boat aint an issue.

They even get plates parts which are broken from houses and take them to like the nursing homes and shelters to be counted as broken as new one replenished while the not broken 1 but hidden shipped to African markets like explained below but lucky enough Africans have learnt to make such as plates where u take broken part place in dough 30% weight of the plate- u measure it with ya weighing machine- then in the dark hurl cold water unto it and boom its formed.

Unless God speaks again is when we can authenticate the bible truth and doctrines, if not they were written but 1 thing cements the truth to tell u God exists like at night u hear hell door being shut up with a voice and those who have died if u partake -mwarubaine- u see them in hell or on bench waiting or free. Goat and ship parable to bring the above reality

Ona vile voke amefura vile anatembea, eti madem anatake wameongeza mangari na sasa watu wanataka kuanza kuwasumbuwa sasa ni sharti alete hiyo jinsia waache eti got to be wise or cleaver to rattle a certain trait dude period.

Look at how dedanul is standing on the road some1 might think he is thinking profoundly but unfortunately if u could have known his thinking u could be pitying him as his wife is cooking stew meat and he is somehow angry but with the visitors to the the above, it means he will have to part with few pieces as well as a small piece of ugali which if alone he can eat like 4 times, so he is thinking on how he can do the same with still maintaining respect. See what am saying, he is calling his wife to keep him the food he wont be able to eat with them so if they leave some ugali he will add to his. Girlfriend " I will be there after an hour" says delanu, as he head to but a dime roasted maize on the other side of the road.

East Africa boat making company in the links below

https://www.google.com/search?q=tanzania+speed+boat+making+company&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=ms-google-coop&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNr5DT1N_oAhUJmxQKHXTWCLsQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1024&bih=654

https://www.montereyboats.com/Boat-Manufacturer-4-5.html

https://www.facebook.com/SamAnzaiBoatBuildersCoLtd/

Atomic bomb made with many abbreviation written on boxes placed under dough, used clothes, plastic or glass bottle, chaff or cereals as well a cotton wool or leaves and cold water poured, same to nucleic bomb where the place in dough aint the above abbreviated boxes but egg albumen or nucleus or York.

Paid we want his corpse via political turmoil like those who were shot up high on chopper or exhumed or in anyway possible not known to de public. KEBI corpse.

Locate not loyal people to the govt if they got rich followers so kill them like above to later lias with clan members to exhume to take the coffin and replaced with an exhumed old 1 now as much as jewels and shoes as much as suits. Try with along tumblr signing up/in email of more than 35 character to log in another computer, it cant dude, it tells u wrong format, so how on earth u want the same.

Bank should capture people opening account to avoid impersonating fellow doing the same which creates hardship between ya and the bank like in the link below, so it can be retrieved or place under the bank website for public 4 every a/c opened where u input id no or name and it comes with the held in hand detectors in place like temperatures, pulse rate or bmi to make it impeccable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSPhaaAcIo8

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hand+held+temperature+machine

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hand+held+bmi+machine

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hand+held+body+must+index+machine

Buy wind turbine and rotate it not with wind but another gear motor like in the link below the motor shown while on motion in24 hr way consume 2 units of Kenyan power so in a month consumes 30 units which is $ 12 no-matter what, so its a nice energy saver as sometimes u switch off the motor when not using the electricity or to avoid overheating that could burn the motor. So u rotate the wind turbine with 12 bucks while the energy given u use to power your house gadgets as much as lighting and shower. Owner of think twice electronics, u can buy 1 that uses 120 volts to still save much connecting it to a 120-240 step up/down transformer, the electric bill would be even less that $ 12 specified above, make work easy dude

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=alibaba+wind+turbine+

https://www.google.com/search?q=alibaba+120+volts+motors+images&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=ms-google-coop&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiOxPGWguDoAhWLERQKHVuEACkQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1024&bih=654

Dont be bored listen to the song below, click the link, a woman who shys away from connecting ya to bad people who if u did not have they could be giving u names but want from ya and leave bad kids around to disturb others https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS516F6YGI011:37The local girls are now pretty but they are connected to dignitaries so folks leave them alone cause it can derail ya, u know dude!!!While negro counterpart want to associate ya to bad character people who r of no help to ya but want from ya that way, so people leave them alone, blessing in disguise or let them be prostitutes14:26Mcsleepy Nelson If she doesn’t play with it now when its dry when will she play with it, magdalin go ahead play with it girl, to big 4 ya girl, nah, then do ya work, make it happy, play with ya, the ball in ya court. The local girls are now pretty but they are connected to dignitaries so folks leave them alone cause it can derail ya, u know dude!!! While negro counterpart want to associate ya to bad character people who r of no help to ya but want from ya that way, so people leave them alone, blessing in disguise or let them be prostitutes. KEBI is dancing as if his girlfriend is preparing green-grams or stew beans to be eaten with rice or chapati at night in the song link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v5DU1brzVw

Buy siporui electrical generator and sincro as googled

Parcel can be carried on e-boats to span the seas that has 2 motors that dont stop all way through dude. so countries on the edges direct to other continents have the day like Eritrea and Senegal as much as caring other goods and people

Click the E-engines 4 mini-speed boat in the link below

https://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+e-engines+for+speed+boats&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=firefox-b-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUnt_KotvoAhXynFwKHSSjAsYQsAR6BAgHEAE&biw=1280&bih=910

Hindu and Britain u r poor back off dude, how long we will be warning or telling u that, take ya broke ass home in the song link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0SyUgw98tE

https://picsthatmakeyougohmm.tumblr.com/post/614876193170259968/hmmm

The type of hole above is found on the shores of Mexican coastline to perform well the described below as well as in African coastline and inland waters as well as the Caribbean isles

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A31-46&version=NLT

The link above rep those who are feeling bad that u have made it through out of hell fire zone as the expected as paid eye witness as u say Mr Hindu willow pachi as ya mind to give ya different behavioral character, weed parable or Jesus with little children to cement the truth which tantamount to zero-work on hindu looking for high seat like in the link below

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+14%3A15-24&version=NIV

Jesus was killed mainly of saying about nyama tree which is a permanent fresh mint 4 mouth. In the cross saying italic works with wide loud voice as if he has been administered 1 via the nose as its done traditionally in Africa and it was growing in kisii, king of the jew to cement the truth and Christ was hanging on cross like meat in the butchers to signal me is where i interrelated the bible chapters even with like ten minas as it has ma sound as nyamawho to find the drug and still inter-related it with Malachi 4 as i used to love mala as curdled milks as worker and vineyard parable crops in to cement the above truth and when the drug is administered much they tie you and u produce crying sound like an infant or a kid or a child as much with much innovations i have placed in other tumblr a/c following this. Women also helped with with the slogan Barnabas to signal us to read the bible to inter-related to like come with the above which could be impossible without it. Moreover i got next house neighbors called Malachi to bring home reality above and the way most hooligans eat with making extra keys. Chi-ngato tM, Mathare valley were downtown not flat looking like Chicago cbd to bar people from going their cause they will be tired of walking and hinder the pursuit of gunman robbers

Ny still reach as tumblr still theirs which has won the confidence of many as it can be used to serve justice as opposed to other like Facebook who dis-enable ya a/c without ya consent and must have a phone and a line to open unlike tumblr but the problem is like with orgamistic photos are not in many small boxes to navigate easy like with Instagram but in a long line which is hard to scroll down but they can avert the whole drama bro

If Africa come up with their own bullet train like with SA then they can make a 2 way rail not 1 as seen in many nations to reach the cost lands like west Africa, North Africa like morocco to connect using yacht to Europe Spain to deliver the above explained parcels as with Eritrea though not fast as air but another reduced price delivery like 4 home appliances as much as office or just gadgets like furniture, clothes or office where or people. Even with Caribbean isles with South America and the ship the same goods to like North America huge population nations like Mexico or USA cause those islands are in the middle creating another new frontier of employment 4 those who can take long to afford instant air-tickets. Africans as well can in place of the rail above make their own wide super highways to facilitate the above from coast to coast once they have known the technology.

In USA shelters or nursing homes they even target small gadgets like nail cutters or combination padlocks, bandage, Colgate, soaps, shampoo, perfumes and bring them to Africa like explained above, even with health gadgets they open and create a hitch in their, which the hospital declare unfit, they take it and bring it to Africa still as much as with much drugs and medicines in nursing homes and those hospitals which got a nursing home. Transportation cost nothing cause its Electric yacht or drone as much as airplane so they dont give a hoot.

Cut like going to fully ripe avocado and taken the next day it suppose to ripe treats tetanus to cement Christ truth with worker and vineyard parable another version as much as the inside of the mango seed or avocado treats many sicknesses which u ought to investigate. Where if u find, bring the above place in darkness in a cut way they hurl cold water upon them to make the medication u want.

Ndawa and dawa as well find their way to Africa via the above methods as worker and vineyard parable crops in to cement the truth as much as mfalme wa ya whodi of what Christ was saying not ya own interpreted versions. Dust is the Satan food as well to bring out reality.

If u do any voodoo to me like pouring out this and that on my this and that to harm me, u have gotten it out wrong as i got magrass, manyasi as antidote which the boomerang comes back to ya. Like falling under ya own trap after u 4 get u place it their.

Many grave in Poland or Siberia which could fall to cannibals are manned this way, u place the 2 above to power the wireless camera which is shielded from strong light and bad weather like falling snow or rain and upper part of the grave was a placed stone cover which if slides a little bit switches on to ring the siren alarm system which is its speakers are place high on the post and on the writing stone tablet placed on the grave which is heavy like in the link below to avoid exhumation until a certain period of time lapses

https://www.jumia.co.ke/generic-200w-12v24v-wind-power-generator-red-lantern-style-wind-turbine-street-lamp-11713558.html

https://www.jumia.co.ke/electronics-cameras-security-surveillance/?q=wireless+cameras

https://www.jumia.co.ke/generic-lcd-wireless-gsm-home-burglar-fire-alarm-system-pet-immune-rir-sensor-security-us-plug-19416292.html

https://www.jumia.co.ke/home-office/?q=wireless%20alarm%20systems

https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=solar+powered+generator

Once the casket is placed, u place a concrete immediately to still create another same casket room 4 the above to be installed.

Made in Tanzania speed boat in the link below

https://www.google.com/search?q=speedboats+made+in+tanzania+photos&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=ms-google-coop&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihu5z9guDoAhU08uAKHaf0DCQQsAR6BAgKEAE&biw=1024&bih=654#imgrc=U_Lna7-hBQ4PNM

https://www.facebook.com/SamAnzaiBoatBuildersCoLtd/

Worlds 1st yacht pricing in the link show below, click 4 more dude, nitatomba wasichana hapo ndani mimi kebin dawe was MN

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-google-coop&ei=UoqRXsO_D_rggwf-p6qQCg&q=electric+yatch+pricing&oq=electric+yatch+pricing&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzIFCCEQoAEyBQghEKABOgQIABBHOgQIABANOggIABAWEAoQHjoGCAAQFhAeOggIABANEAUQHjoICAAQCBANEB46BQgAEM0COgcIIRAKEKABShEIFxINMTAtMzRnMzQ1ZzMyOEoMCBgSCDEwLTJnNWczUJO8AVjczgFggdIBaABwAngAgAHtA4gBmRSSAQcyLTQuMy4xmAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjDsPamhODoAhV68OAKHf6TCqIQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

1 note · View note

loyolahcmass · 5 years

Text

Homily on Birds by Imagine Dragons

Here is the preview of Fr. Rossi’s homily on the song Birds by Imagine Dragons:

“Birds” Imagine Dragons “Everything is temporary Everything will slide But love will never die.” Imagine Dragons released the animated video of their track, “Birds,” just this past summer. It’s a beautiful and moving work of art. And, it promotes a supernatural, absolutely spiritual, message. With loving help from God, you can be truly yourself. The word for that is “grace.” __________ You can “fly high,” the song encourages us, because godly love makes it possible. And, then, unselfishly pass that kind of love on! __________ Over the last few years, Imagine Dragons’ lyrics have deepened and matured. Let’s face it, “Radioactive” has a great sound, but what does it mean? Its revolutionary vibe is sort of vague. __________ But there is nothing ambiguous about “Birds.” The animated music video tells the story of a young boy and his mother, who looks a lot like Jesus. They have a very close, loving relationship. As the song tells us: “Two hearts, one valve Pumpin' the blood, we were the flood We were the body. __________ The boy discovers he’s from a family that can grow wings and fly. Now, he and his mother can spend even more time together. They mutually soar, and his mother gives him a symbol of their new-found intimacy, a bird pendant, shaped somewhat like a cross. __________ Soon after this, he starts school. But, as he rushes to show his bird pendant to a group of children, he trips and falls. Feathers and wings immediately sprout from his body, and everyone in the school points and laughs. __________ From then on, he refuses to acknowledge his wings or the fact that he can fly. He hides his pendant away. But, it’s too late: he’s still mocked and taunted, and has no friends. __________ Everyone bullies him for being who he is. Pathetically, he’s shown pulling feathers out of his face. It’s an act of self-hatred. __________ Noticing his unhappiness, his mother finds his pendant and tries to give it back to him. But the boy, who is now a teenager, is merely annoyed by her loving gesture. He turns his back on her and his own identity. __________ Growing his wings, he flies off at high speed. Recklessly, he dashes directly into a lightning storm. His mother, worried about his safety, races after him with no thought for her own well-being. __________ She catches him just as the storm damages his wings. But, as she lowers him gently to the ground, the lightning strikes her fatally. She has sacrificed her life in a Christ-like way in order to save him. __________ Next, the teenaged boy is seen, head bent, sitting in his kitchen. He’s alone now, mourning his loss. __________ But his story has a joyful ending. Years later, now a young man, he grasps his mother’s pendant once more. Unexpectedly, it changes into a sphere of light and soars toward the heavens. __________ The ball of light transfigures into his mother, who smiles down on him lovingly. She has resurrected and bestows her maternal blessing on him. “When the moon is lookin' down Shinin' light upon your ground I'm flyin' up to let you see That the shadow cast is me.” __________ This video was drawn and directed by the American filmmaker and animator Zac Wong. He is a Christian and, unlike the boy, is not ashamed to profess who he is. The Christian iconography is everywhere to be seen in his film. __________ Remember the mother’s grave? Her picture is encased into a large cross: the Christian symbol of Christ’s sacrifice. In her salvific death, the mother has restored the boy’s faith. Her kind of love “will never die,” as the lyrics declare __________ "God gave us a spirit of power and love.” 2 Timothy 1 That love is our ultimate resource in this life. It can transform our lives and sheds light on who we are in Christ. Look closer at this video. It’s a parable assuring us that with God’s grace, we can “fly high,” too!

#Imagine Dragons #imagine dragons birds #birds imagine dragons #imagine dragons music #zac wong #homilies #catholic homily #homily #Catholic Mass #mass #hcm homilies #loyolahcmass

3 notes · View notes