Wednesday, June 5, To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
The back side of a Tornado Picture by Mark Rusch
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven.
Behold, as the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
till he have pity on us.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes.
Emphasis mine: Ps 123:1b-2ab, 2cdef
The Holy Spirit moved me to learn more about St. Boniface.
Boniface was charged by Pope Gregory II in 719 to go and reform the German Church.
Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were, in many instances, uneducated, lax and questionably obedient to their bishops. In particular instances, their very ordinations were questionable.
Boniface bears out the Christian rule: To follow Christ is to follow the way of the cross. For Boniface, it was not only physical suffering or death, but the painful, thankless, bewildering task of Church reform. Missionary glory is often thought of in terms of bringing new persons to Christ. It seems—but is not—less glorious to heal the household of the faith. www.franciscanmedia.org
We have much of the same going on today, which is why I think Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air.
In reviewing my, yes, my, life, I now, at age eight-three, realize how satan convinced me that lifting up my eyes and doing the will of God was a waste of time.
God doesn’t answer prayer.
God doesn’t protect His people.
In short, I really couldn’t depend on God when I, yes, I needed Them.
Wow, has my life changed!
And,
The change has only started.
God is infinite; I’m finite. I don’t have enough years; no one has enough to fully understand God.
If you think about it, that’s great news.
That is why, To you, O Lord, I lift up my eyes and try to do Your will for Your GLORY, in imitation of Your Son, filled with The Holy Spirit.
Join Team Jesus:
We suggest starting every day, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.”
Sidebar:
Tim Gray, The Formed, 4/21/24, talked about prayer. Do we pray for things of this “world,” such as wealth, physical things, etc., OR do we pray for things of the “Spirit World?”
We hope that many are praying for things of the “Spirit World.”
What things?
Love, Joy, and Peace, throwing out satan, thanking God for our difficulties, building a relationship with God, and calling on God’s protection.
Tim also asked if we pray only for ourselves or do we include others.
We are sure that all of you are reading the Blogs from A Catholic Moment are praying for others.
Why that is important is by praying for others you are growing in Love.
Yes, I just realized the power of the Weeeeeeeeeeeee prayer.
When we include God in our activities, we throw out satan by that act.
How so?
Pride is one of the seven deadly sins.
If I do it, then I have the chance of falling into Pride.
Why?
Where is God?
The I statement is a Prideful statement.
C.S. Lewis, in The Screw Tape Letters, said that if satan can get you to say I and my, he’s got you.
I, Yes, I just realized what C.S. Lewis is talking about because I had never considered growth in pride as a result of the use of I and My. It’s been fifteen to twenty years since I first read Lewis’s book, and changed my life when I read what Lewis said, but I didn’t fully understand why I made this change. I don’t remember Lewis mentioning pride.
Here is another excellent example of me changing from an Unconscious competent to a more Conscious Competent.
This is also how you increase in Joy and Peace.
The Joy of knowing why you are doing something, in this case, refusing to use the words I and My, and the intended result, building a relationship.
and
The Joy of Building a Relationship with God.
Consider,
Peace is when you work in harmony with God, and Joy is when you realize that God has your back.
Picture:
Fred,
We’ve been under a tornado watch and severe weather advisory for the last few hours. The cold front pushed through, which is what the clouds in the backside of the front looked like. Picture by Mark Rusch
Note: We are doing something we have never done before, showing four pictures of the same event. They are all different and all beautiful. The front of the storm you see on the news, satan, the back I have never seen before the Glory of God.
We know many of you will look at the devastation, which is why I pray Psalm 91. One of the stories in the original book was of a tornado bearing down on a neighborhood. A homeowner went out and said Psalm 91 as he walked around his house, and the Tornado took a right, leaving his house undamaged.
Please keep Snapping!
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed, email me.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
By submitting a picture, you agree to let us include it in our next God Thoughts 2024 book.
