And then there was one...

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

This morning my suspicions were confirmed.  It seems that the three little northern cardinal chicks were "culled" to two yesterday.  Now there is only one remaining in the nest.  Double sad face. :( :(

I did a little research and found that there is a problem with the cardinal's rapid urbanizatiuon and breeding.  The bright red male seems to tip off the location of the nest and predators are all too willing to follow the flash of red light to an easy meal.

My lamentation: When I trimmed the protective canopy of vine overgrowth prior to finding the nest, I made this reality all the more probable.  Let's hope this last one is still  there when I check the nest later on today.

1 Corinthians 13:13 comes rushing to mind:  "the greatest of these is love."

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!


* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Confirmation

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

Just a quick update...

Dad and Mom are watching.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!


* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Cardinal...faith, hope and love

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

We were hoping and praying all day for rain to fall in abundance.  All we received were balmy winds. Seems our fledgling garden was to be stressed in more ways than one: aphids, dryness and wind...not good. Hang on little tomatoes! At times I thought of the nest and I wondered if it was safely weathering these southerly gusts.  The three light blue mottled eggs were resting in a nest built in little anacua sapling about four feet above ground level. The vine canopied dead tree that I felled once provided cover; but now this nest was braving it alone.

Well at least I was certain that the cardinal parents were faithful in their vigil.

I returned from Mass and meetings in Robtown/Corpus Christi early in the evening and immediately went to see the status of the cardinal nest.  I was sidetracked by a yard covered with fallen branches. I collected them and tossed'em in our bramble pile. Then I reviewed the work on the River of the Immaculate Conception, the little meandering stream we made to connect the two ponds.  Oh how I wanted to see if, and how well it flowed...Rain where are you? St. Isadore, we need you! Then I remembered the cardinal nest and hurried to see if it was still viable.

Yes...father cardinal flew off as I approached.

The nest was now on a peninsula jutting into the newly dug out dry pond. I checked the area for wasps, saw none then took a peak...

Yes...

I ran to get the camera and returned to take this picture.  I was sure the proud loving parents were watching me as I clicked the shutter for I thought I heard a cardinal call.

We have seen cardinals on our porch this past winter...they loved to eat sunflower seeds.  I wondered if the parents reguritate seed meal to feed their chicks...that is what love is all about.

Jen and the kids were excited to hear and see

this good news when we met at DQ.

Thank you God!

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Cardinal Virtues

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

Three cardinal eggs

The gifts keep coming this Easter season. Yesterday evening while chainsawing a dead chapparel tree that will soon be replaced by a pond, I was stung by two angry wasps.  This morning I returned to continue this work, albeit more carefully. I goofed again and was stung two more times. 

I returned a third time with more protection this time and as I approached I witnessed a male and female cardinal fly off for cover.  As I neared  the tree I realized why.  What a beautiful nest! As I went to get this picture, with my son Joe, he too got stung. Ouch.

Our Triune God is so good!  

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!


* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Easter Surprise!!!

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

"Surprise, surprise, surprise!"

PFC Gomer Pyle

+       +       +

Visiting a Grave

by Ed Hays on Apr. 16, 2009

Spiritual Reflections

A Psalm of E=MC2 Easter

Brother Einstein’s Easter Law

delights my hopeful heart,

which wishes to never die.

For that quantum equation maintains

that matter taken to the speed of light squared

is turned into pure energy again.

My body, so subject to sickness,

to aging and death's cold bite,

is a companion human body of Christ

who encountered the kiss of death

upon Good Friday’s consecrated cross.

The lifeless matter of his once vibrant body

was carried away to the grave,

condemned to become a worm's decaying dinner.

Yet, you who are Life could not stand to see

your beloved’s body decay,

so you carried out once again

your first and awesome act of creation.

You reanimated the matter of his body

and moved its molecules

at more than the speed of light,

and it was again transformed

into the Light of Lights,

into pure eternal energy.

In your infinite design

nothing dies;

it only changes form,

until it finally and forever changes

into your form,

into the energy of the light of Love Divine.

Take hope, my heart,

be firm, my feeble faith,

for the matter of the flesh and bone I call me

will also become an Einstein Easter Event.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/spiritual-reflections/visiting-grave

+       +       +

But science and the Christian faith always have been related. At least in the West, science has been an incredible effort to find out how God’s creation works and is ordered. With respect to the feast near at hand, most people, I think it is safe to say, are unaware that Pascha (Easter) is dated at least partially according to science – astronomy, to be more precise. When asked, “How do we know the date of Pascha?”, some might even reply, “We ask Hallmark!”

In fact, Pascha is dated for scientific reasons, which tell theological truth. In the early days of Christianity, the Resurrection was celebrated in two differing ways. The first was the way of the Quartodecimans (a term which means “14-ers”). This group commemorated the resurrection of Christ on the day of the Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week that was. The Passover was celebrated on 14 Nisan, a date according to the Jewish calendar, established with Moses (see Exodus 12). Since Christians believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover, this feast was “Christianized” in this way. The second group celebrated Pascha on the first Sunday after the Passover, since Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday. So in this view, Sunday is the new Lord’s day, on which Jesus conquered death. These two varying celebrations lasted until the fourth century, at least officially.

http://www.pemptousia.com/2012/03/science-and-faith-meet-on-the-date-of-easter/

+       +       +

We were waiting for the green crysalis to open...

We were waiting for the green cactus to bloom...

Guess when both events happened?

God is sooooo good!

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!


* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

A Banner, A Motto, A Destination

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

As the current adminstration in Washington entrenches in its assault
against the Roman Catholic Church, we must not lose our mobility.

To be fixed in place and isolated from one another
is to invite piecemeal destruction.

We need a mission statement.

A banner, A motto,

A destination.

On to DC!

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Going Viral?

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

"To be, or not to be: that is the question:" Today any blogger is faced with a similar if not updated version of Hamlet's dilemma.  To seek, "virality or not: that is the question:"

Here is an Einsteinian "thought experiment:"

What if you believed with all your heart, that you were given a critical message to deliver to humanity for the salvation of souls?

What if you also believed that to allow Internet commercialization to seek an audience would compromise the integrity of the message by allowing the profane access to a Window of Truth?

And what if you also believed that your family's peaceful existence would be threatened from the media attention that would be generated by the explosion of interest in the divinely inspired message?

Pondering this you come to the crux of the matter in a world of instantaneous global mass communications.

So are you really willing to see your site/video go viral?

Tonight the stars in heaven seem to proclaim a profound message.

On this Solemnity of the Annunciation, the conception of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Incarnation of God, we see biblically referenced heavenly bodies in striking alignment.
  



From Br. Joshua at Holy Apostles College & Seminary



Let us not forget December 12, 2012, The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mary's mantle on the miraculous image found on St. Juan Diego's tilma reflected the pattern of the stars in heaven in 1531.

12/12/12

Conception (March 25) leads to the fullness of pregnancy (December 25). The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is an expression of biblical truth. "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth." (Rev. 12:1,2)

Are we seeing the harbinger of True Hope's return?

LET US ALL HOPE SO
Maranatha!

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,

Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary

Become like Jesus

Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ

See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph;

O Beata Trinitas;

St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

"We are All Catholics Now"

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

LORD OF THE WORLD(1907)

PROLOGUE

p. 8

“Men do recognise at last that a supernatural Religion involves an absolute authority, and that Private Judgment in matters of faith is nothing else than the beginning of disintegration. And it is also true that since the Catholic Church is the only institution that even claims supernatural authority, with all its merciless logic, she has again the allegiance of practically all Christians who have any supernatural belief left.”

_____________________

Two Witnesses
The Big Apple
(WTC Ground Zero, NYC)


Two Columns
Key EndTime Prophesy
(Corpus Christi, Texas)

_____________________

St. John Bosco Prophesy
(1862)

"Try to picture yourselves with me on the seashore, or, better still, on an outlying cliff with no other land in sight. The vast expanse of water is covered with a formidable array of ships in battle formation, prows fitted with sharp spear-like beaks capable of breaking through any defence. All are heavily armed with cannons, incendiary bombs, and firearms of all sorts - even books - and are heading toward one stately ship, mightier than them all. As they try to close in, they try to ram it, set it afire, and cripple it as much as possible.

"This stately vessel is shielded by a flotilla escort. Winds and waves are with the enemy. In this midst of this endless sea, two solid columns, a short distance apart, soar high into the sky: one is surmounted by a statue of the Immaculate Virgin at whose feet a large inscription reads: Help of Christians; the other, far loftier and sturdier, supports a [Communion] Host of proportionate size and bears beneath it the inscription Salvation of believers.

"The flagship commander - the Roman Pontiff [the Pope]- seeing the enemy's fury and his auxiliary ships very grave predicament, summons his captains to a conference. However, as they discuss their strategy, a furious storm breaks out and they must return to their ships. When the storm abates, the Pope again summons his captains as the flagship keeps on its course. But the storm rages again. Standing at the helm, the Pope strains every muscle to steer his ship between the two columns from whose summits hang many anchors and strong hooks linked to chains.

"The entire enemy fleet closes in to intercept and sink the flagship at all costs. They bombard it with everything they have: books and pamphlets, incendiary bombs, firearms, cannons. The battle rages ever more furious. Beaked prows ram the flagship again and again, but to no avail, as, unscathed and undaunted, it keeps on its course. At times a formidable ram splinters a gaping hole into its hull, but, immediately, a breeze from the two columns instantly seals the gash.

"Meanwhile, enemy cannons blow up, firearms and beaks fall to pieces, ships crack up and sink to the bottom. In blind fury the enemy takes to hand-to-hand combat, cursing and blaspheming. Suddenly the Pope falls, seriously wounded. He is instantly helped up but, struck down a second time, dies. A shout of victory rises from the enemy and wild rejoicing sweeps their ships. But no sooner is the Pope dead than another takes his place. The captains of the auxiliary ships elected him so quickly that the news of the Pope's death coincides with that of his successor's election. The enemy's self-assurance wanes.

"Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns and moors it to the two columns; first to the one surmounted by the Host, and then to the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other. Some auxiliary ships which had gallantly fought alongside their flagship are the first to tie up at the two columns. [[[ALL CHRISTIANS]]]

"Many others, which had fearfully kept far away from the fight, stand still, cautiously waiting until the wrecked enemy ships vanish under the waves. Then, they too head for the two columns, tie up at the swinging hooks, and ride safe and tranquil beside their flagship. A great calm now covers the sea."

At this point Don Bosco asked one of the priests present for his views. He replied that he thought that the flagship symbolised the Church headed by the Pope, with the ships representing mankind and the sea as an image of the world. The ships defending the flagship he equated with the laity and the attackers with those trying to destroy the Church, while the two columns represented devotion to Mary and the Eucharist.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,

Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary

Become like Jesus

Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ

See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph;

O Beata Trinitas;

St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Super Nova

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

For Jesus to say to St. John the Evangelist...

"See, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5)

He chose to be made new.

He chose to be conceived (made new)

 by a Virgin who was the fullness of grace,

the New Eve, newness in pure light.

"All generations will call me blessed" (Luke 1:48)

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,

Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary

Become like Jesus

Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ

See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph;

O Beata Trinitas;

St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Blessed John Paul the Great and Light, Life and Love

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

From his General Audience on January 19, 2000

"Our reflection in this Jubilee Year [2000] will take its themes from this Trinitarian life, which precedes and grounds creation. The mystery of the origins from which all things flow, God appears to us as the One who is the fullness of being and communicates being, as the light that "enlightens every man" (cf. Jn 1:9), as the Living One and giver of life. He appears to us above all as Love, according to the beautiful definition in the First Letter of John (cf. 1 Jn 4:8). He is love in his inner life, where the Trinitarian dynamism is the very expression of the eternal love with which the Father begets the Son and both give themselves to each other in the Holy Spirit. He is love in his relationship to the world, since the free decision to make it out of nothing is the fruit of this infinite love which radiates into the sphere of creation. If the eyes of our heart, enlightened by revelation, become pure and penetrating enough, they can by faith encounter this mystery in which everything that exists has its root and foundation."

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Shades of Gray

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

The recent death of Davy Jones brought to light a song
that prophetically might serve as an anthem for our troubled time.

Shades of Gray
Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
(Monkees Headquarters, 1967)

When the world and I were young,
Just yesterday.
Life was such a simple game,
A child could play.

It was easy then to tell right from wrong.
Easy then to tell weak from strong.
When a man should stand and fight,
Or just go along.

But today there is no day or night
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no black or white,
Only shades of gray.

I remember when the answers seemed so clear
We had never lived with doubt or tasted fear.
It was easy then to tell truth from lies
Selling out from compromise
Who to love and who to hate,
The foolish from the wise.

But today there is no day or night
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no black or white,
Only shades of gray.

[Instumental interlude]

It was easy then to know what was fair
When to keep and when to share.
How much to protect your heart
And how much to care.

But today there is no day or night
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no black or white,
Only shades of gray.
Only shades of gray.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF9T4OpGNQY

Thanks for the gift MsBertday.

 +    +    +

http://electexiles.wordpress.com/2007/10/26/abortions-shades-of-gray/

Abortion’s Shades of Gray

October 26, 2007 by Drew

Are you pro-choice and anti-abortion or pro-life and anti-abortion? Or are you pro-choice and pro-abortion? Still following? In Abortion’s Shades of Gray, an op-ed piece in USA Today, Michael Medved cites a poll that states that the majority of Americans are pro-choice and anti-abortion, meaning that most American’s are against abortion but believe that women should in some circumstances be permitted legally to have an abortion. Thus, Medved points out that abortion has shades of gray—middle positions that do not see abortion as a black and white issue. While Medved is “unhesitatingly pro-life” he wants Americans to recognize that Rudi Giuliani’s position on abortion is much different from that of the democratic front-runners.

Giuliani, according to Medved “takes a mixed, nuanced approach that defies easy categorizations.” For instance, Giuliani opposes partial-birth abortion as well as legislation that would provide federal funding for abortions. In addition, Giuliani proposes to support legislation that would require underage girls to notify their parents before having an abortion. Giuliani, however, believes that women should have the legal right to choose to have an abortion. Thus Medved sees Giuliani as pro-choice and anti-abortion whereas all the front runners of the Democratic party are pro-choice and pro-abortion. Hillary Clinton, for instance, says abortion is a “tragedy” but supports the use of taxpayer money to foot the bill.

So of all the presidential candidates, Giuliani actually holds the position on abortion that most American’s hold, but are there really shades of gray when it comes to abortion?

I commend Medved for being “unhesitatingly pro-life” but I must say that abortion is either murder or its not. Life either begins at conception or it doesn’t. An embryo is either a human being or its not. Either abortion is the tragic genocide of millions of innocent babies or it is not.

I will admit that Giuliani’s political agenda concerning abortion is different from that of his democratic rivals, but his belief that women should have the right to an abortion clearly shows that when it comes down to it Giuliani believes that abortion is not immoral.

Are there shades of gray when it comes to abortion? In a word—no. The more we categorize people into various “gray” positions on abortion the more we devalue human life and distort just how tragic abortion really is.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!


* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

True Colors Over Corpus Christi

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

The Harbor Bridge over the Nueces River in Corpus Christi is affectionately known by my family as the Rainbow Bridge. Imagine our surprise when it actually came to life as a rainbow of light on December 4th of last year. My daughter Gianna Rose (the Green Girl) spontaneously gave this little video that we captured last week a memorable soundtrack. 

"RGB is a colorful man..." too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf33ueRXMzQ

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,

Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary

Become like Jesus

Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ

See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph;

O Beata Trinitas;

St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Light, Life, Love: A Triptych

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

“Light, Life, Love” Those three haloed words eternally bound to the mystery of the cross of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ beckon us to shine like Him, to live like Him and to love—even unto death—like Him.

They are our rallying cry to radiate true light to combat the darkness of this forsaken age, to inspire true hope in a future lived in and for God, and to foster true love that willingly offers itself up, so that others may have life.

As the Pro-life spectacle in the United States turns from very bad to even worse, we must seize this opportunity to claim the high ground, for it appears time is short.  We must provide all Christian soldiers with a centering ethic, a battle cry and a glorious flag to wave. We must be united in a common cause and witness to a common destiny.  We must try with all our might to teach without teaching, to chastise without chastising, and most importantly, to love those whose hate is persecuting Christ and His Church here on earth.

St. Paul the Evangelist bore witness to the fasces of Light, Life, Love.  His enduring legacy is clearly evidenced in sacred scripture.  While this epitaph might not have been packaged as such, it is hard to deny the triangle of truisms that drove St. Paul all the way to Rome, to his three fount martyrdom outside the walls.

Witness his most powerful light-filled conversion encounter with Jesus Christ:

As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”  And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”  And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting… Acts 9:3-5

Ponder what is arguably his most profound utterance of existential being, his new-found life:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Gal 2:20

Try as you will to emulate his most eloquent, poetic, brilliant description of human love:

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails… 1Cor 13:4-8

In 2 Corinthians 13, St. Paul appears to be answering our call for a fearless leader to rally a massed faithful remnant of today’s Church:

This will be the third time I am coming to you…Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.  For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.  For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong.  And this also we pray, that you may be made complete.  Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction. Finally, brethren, farewell.  Become complete.  Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Come St. Paul!

NOTE:  General Douglas MacArthur completes his famous Duty, Honor Country speech with these inspired words about the American soldier/ leader.  They seem to exemplify the life of St. Paul and we might do well to ponder them as we face a most uncertain future in this one time land of the free and home of the brave.

But when I think of his patience in adversity of his courage under fire and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism. He belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom. He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

The Citadel of God...all along the watchtower

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*



Benedict²
a wake up call*

…we must run and do now what will profit us forever.

¹Listen carefully, my son, to the master's instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice.

²The labor of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience.³This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord.

⁸Let us get up then, at long last, for the Scriptures rouse us when they say: It is high time for us to arise from sleep (Rom 13:11). ⁹Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice from heaven that every day calls out this charge: ¹⁰If you hear this voice today, do not harden your hearts (Ps 94 [95]:8). And again: ¹¹You that have ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev 2:7). ¹²And what does he say? Come and listen to me sons; I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Ps 33 [34]:12). ¹³Run while you have the light of life, that the darkness of death may not overtake you (John 12:35).

Being concerned for one another should spur us to an increasingly effective love which, “like the light of dawn, its brightness growing to the fullness of day” (Prov 4:18), makes us live each day as an anticipation of the eternal day awaiting us in God. The time granted us in this life is precious for discerning and performing good works in the love of God. In this way the Church herself continuously grows towards the full maturity of Christ (cf. Eph 4:13). Our exhortation to encourage one another to attain the fullness of love and good works is situated in this dynamic prospect of growth.

³⁹Brothers, now that we have asked the Lord who will dwell in his tent, we have heard the instruction for dwelling in it, but only if we fulfill the obligations of those who live there. ⁴⁰We must, then, prepare our hearts and bodies for the battle of holy obedience to his instructions. ⁴¹What is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace. ⁴²If we wish to reach eternal life, even as we avoid the torments of hell, ⁴³then - while there is still time, while we are in this body and have time to accomplish all these things by the light of life - ⁴⁴we must run and do now what will profit us forever.

The Lord’s disciples, united with him through the Eucharist, live in a fellowship that binds them one to another as members of a single body. This means that the other is part of me, and that his or her life, his or her salvation, concern my own life and salvation. Here we touch upon a profound aspect of communion: our existence is related to that of others, for better or for worse.

*Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia (ca. 545 AD) crossed with Pope Benedict XVI’s 2012 Lenten Message

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!


* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

Julian of Norwich: Light, Life, Love and the Trinity

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

The Sixteenth Revelation
CHAPTER LXXXIII

"Life, Love, and Light"

I HAD, in part, touching, sight, and feeling in three properties of God, in which the strength and effect of all the Revelation standeth: and they were seen in every Shewing, and most properly in the Twelfth, where it saith oftentimes: [It is I.] The properties are these: Life, Love, and Light. [339] In life is marvellous homeliness, and in love is gentle courtesy, and in light is endless Nature-hood. These properties were in one Goodness: unto which Goodness my Reason would be oned, and cleave to it with all its might.

I beheld with reverent dread, and highly marvelling in the sight and in the feeling of the sweet accord, that our Reason is in God; understanding that it is the highest gift that we have received; and it is grounded in nature.

Our faith is a light by nature coming of our endless Day, that is our Father, God. In which light our Mother, Christ, and our good Lord, the Holy Ghost, leadeth us in this passing life. This light is measured discreetly, needfully standing to us in the night. The light is cause of our life; the night is cause of our pain and of all our woe: in which we earn meed and thanks of God. For we, with mercy and grace, steadfastly know and believe our light, going therein wisely and mightily.
 
And at the end of woe, suddenly our eyes shall be opened, and in clearness of light our sight shall be full: which light is God, our Maker and Holy Ghost, in Christ Jesus our Saviour.
 
Thus I saw and understood that our faith is our light in our night: which light is God, our endless Day.

 

339 Cf. chs. lxxxv. and lxxxvi. These words might be (as Life, Light, and Love) for the Trinity of Might ("the Father willeth"), Wisdom ("the Son worketh"), Love ("the Holy Ghost confirmeth"): one Goodness: or as it is sometimes denoted, the Trinity of Might, Wisdom, Goodness: one Love. But here the thought seems to be centred in Light as the manifestation of Being (of Kyndhede = relationships, correspondences of nature): of the Triune Divine Light which in Man is corresponding Reason, Faith, Charity: Charity keeping man, while here, in Faith and Hope; Charity leading him from and through and into the Eternal Divine Love.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!

* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael

ASHES, DEATH, AND WHAT WE HATE TO GIVE UP

J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R.*

Ashes are the residue of fire light burning what once was alive.
They symbolize mortal Death that we humans will all experience
and on the spiritual plane, a life prone to sin. 
We must Hate anything that keeps us from living
the sign of the cross—the sign of the love of God.

The relationship of light, to life and love is all encompassing.  During Lent we see a lengthening of days (light) leading to spring, hence the English word lent, a verb meaning spring to life. The Most Holy Trinity is the only source of this springing to true light, true life and true love.



Turning off artificial light is an awesome idea.  We will closet the TV (based on artificial cathode ray R-G-B light) this lent and pray a candlelit rosary adding nighttime charitble works and spiritual reading until the Light of the Easter vigil is ignited.

For any reader who does not see the battle between true, Light, Life and Love and the imposters, please go to GOOGLE and search for Light, Life, Love.  Pay attention to the added 4th L, the word Liberty..."do thou as thou wilt."  It perverts the other three.

The New Agers, esoteric counterfeits are constantly assaulting these three words (faux light, lifestyles, lust) and are entrapping Christians with lying words.

We must bind these three words together as a Triple Cord, a triple cord that cannot be broken. (Ecclesiates 4:12 "And if a man prevail against one, two shall withstand him: a threefold cord is not easily broken.")

...with an R-G-B cord
as a reminder around my wrist.

Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Mike Rizzio

Imitate Mary
Become like Jesus
Live for the Triune God

Seek the Light of Our Lord Jesus Christ
See you on the High Ground!


* - J.M.J. + O.B.T. + M.G.R. stands for:
Jesus, Mary and Joseph;
O Beata Trinitas;
St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael