Sacred Space

If I Do That... (Soren Kierkegaard)

2005-06-13T02:39:00.000-07:00

The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Children (Eberhard Arnold)

2005-06-13T02:37:00.000-07:00

It is children who lead us to the gospel… We are not worthy to educate them. Our lips are unclean; our dedication is not wholehearted. Our truthfulness is partial; our love divided. Our kindness is not without motives. We ourselves are not yet free of lovelessness, possessiveness, and selfishness… Only wise men and saints, only those who stand as children before God, are really fit to live and work with children.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

To Jesus in the Spring (Jane Tyson Clement)

2005-06-13T02:35:00.000-07:00

Oh, break the chrysalis of doubt!
Plough up the clods of thick despair
And split the buds of ignorance,
And cleanse the winter-heavy air.

Create a tumult in our hearts!
Drive us to seek what we have lost,
Until the flame of faith again
Has seared us with Thy Pentecost.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Reconciliation (J. A. Comenius [1592-1670])

2005-06-13T02:33:00.000-07:00

Strife - in philosophy, religion, and politics - has certainly gained so much ground that it is impossible for us to reconcile with one another. But it is possible to find reconciliation...by means of the foundation of all things, which is God. For he does not cease to be the same for all men irrespective of our differences, and his earth bears us all, even if we preferred to see that the ground would cleave asunder beneath our enemies.

The sun sends his rays upon us directly, paying no heed that we look askance at one another. The rose smells sweetly to both the Jew and the Christian - and to the Muslim too. And so God is God of all, and whatever he says, he says in the same manner to all that are ready to listen. If then we look to our own rules, books, and works, which we have made ourselves and which differ in many thousands of ways, we are irreconcilable. But if with due attention and honor we accept God’s ideas regarding our lives... reconciliation is easy.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

The Universal Struggle (C. F. Blumhardt)

2005-06-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

Every individual who seeks the truth faces a struggle. Each of us has some sort of devil raging within, wanting to deaden and destroy something in us. We are all in danger of thinking we are doing God a service, when in fact we are just following our own will. That is why, over and again, we must tell ourselves: “Keep a tight rein on yourself! Stand by the truth when it dawns on you, even if it hurts, even when it denies everything the world has accepted as true until now!”

God’s kingdom comes through struggle and tribulation, the defiant challenging of the whole age. It is advancing, and people have no taste for it. But in the end Jesus Christ—the Truth, the Life, and the Way—will win. So let us be comforted; for the will of the Almighty shall prevail in our own time, as surely as in the time of the apostles.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Like Fire (Peter Riedemann)

2005-06-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

A fire goes out before it really ignites if one puts too much wood on it, as those who work with it know. But once it really flares, the more wood one puts on it, the better it burns, so that even houses and whole forests are burned. When there is no more wood, however, it dies and grows cold. It is the same with love. When it is first kindled in a person, small troubles and temptations smother and hinder it. But when it really burns, having kindled the person's eagerness for God, the more temptations and tribulation meet it, the more it flares, until it overcomes and consumes all injustice and wickedness.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

A Great Tide of Joy and Peace (Malcolm Muggeridge)

2005-05-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

Dr. Christiaan Barnard's first heart-transplant operations, which caused so much excitement at the time, seemed to hold out the hope of replacing our parts as they wore out, and thus of keeping us on the road indefinitely, like old vintage cars. New hearts, kidneys, genitals, brain-boxes even, installed as and when required...

The resultant immortal beings would have no occasion to be raised from the dead as Lazarus was. Nor would Jesus' wonderful words about being the resurrection and the life have any significance. For them, there was no dying, and therefore no rising from the dead. Nor will those who dream of living without dying be attracted by, or even comprehend, the notion of dying in order to live.

Yet as I approach my own end, I find Jesus' outrageous claim to be, himself, the resurrection and the life, ever more captivating and meaningful. Quite often, waking up in the night as the old do, and feeling myself to be half out of my body, I have been vouchsafed a glimpse of what lies ahead. So placed, I hear those words: I am the resurrection and the life - and feel myself to be carried along on a great tide of joy and peace.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

A Palpable Being (Louis Simpson)

2005-05-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

I could never lose myself in the contemplation of an impersonal universe… Reality, eternity, is here and now. As for the future, there appears to me not a mist, not the vault of heaven, but a palpable living being with flesh and blood—the figure of a man who died two thousand years ago on a hill outside Jerusalem. There is nothing this man said that I do not believe…

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

The Son (Jane Kenyon)

2005-05-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

The God of curved space, the dry
God is not going to help us, but the son
whose blood spattered
the hem of his mother’s robe.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

A Revolution of Values (Martin Luther King Jr.)

2005-05-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world...

Yet it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war.

I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing, except a tragic death wish, to prevent us from reordering our priorities.

If we do not act we shall surely be dragged down the long dark and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.

This is the calling of the sons of God, and our brothers around the world wait eagerly for our response. Shall we say the odds are too great? That the struggle is too hard? Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? Or will there be another message, of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? The choice is ours.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Voluntary Work (Che Guevara)

2005-05-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

Our goal is that the individual feels the need to perform voluntary labor out of internal motivation, as well as because of the social atmosphere that exists. The two must go hand in hand. The atmosphere should help the individual feel the need to do voluntary work. But if it is simply the atmosphere, if it is simply moral pressure, then this just perpetuates what is known, for better or worse, as the alienation of man. Because then voluntary work is no longer something that comes from within oneself, something new, something done freely and no longer as a slave to work.

As we enter a new society, work cannot be considered the dark side of life but rather the opposite. Our educational task in the coming years is to transform work into a moral necessity, an internal necessity. We have to rid ourselves of the erroneous view—appropriate only to a society based on exploitation—that work is a disagreeable human necessity. We have to bring out work’s other aspect, as a human necessity within each individual.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Your Actions Here (Maureen Burn)

2005-04-18T05:18:00.000-07:00

Why do people talk so much about heaven and hell? It’s unhealthy. Everything depends on your actions here: they can be one way or the other. You can help people, work for others, and be very joyous because of it. If you let the spirit of Jesus into your heart, then the kingdom of heaven is within you. But if you are out for yourself, you will be grumpy. You will never be satisfied, because you will always be wanting more.

It is the way we live now that should concern us. Certainly I don’t think one should fear. The old Persian Zoroaster says that ultimately Good will triumph over all. He will win over the Liar, the Evil One. So I think one should be joyful. And Teresa of Avila, the Spanish mystic, said, “Always be joyful. That is the only truly saintly state.”

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Only Then (Romano Guardini)

2005-04-18T05:16:00.000-07:00

Thomas appears to have been a realist - reserved, cool, perhaps a little obstinate. He wanted proofs, wanted to see and touch. Then again, it might have been rebellion deep within him, the vainglory of an intelligence that would not surrender, a sluggishness and coldness of heart. In any case, he got what he asked for…in that state of unbelief which cuts itself off from everything, that insists on human evidence to become convinced. But nothing that comes from God can be proven like 2 x 2=4. It must touch one; it is only seen and grasped when the heart is open and the spirit purged of self. Only then can it awaken faith.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Unless We Too Have Risen (C. F. Blumhardt)

2005-04-18T05:13:00.000-07:00

So many people claim to believe in the Resurrection, and yet it means so little to them. It has no effect in their lives. It is not enough to celebrate Easter and say “Christ is risen!” Indeed, it is useless to proclaim it at all, unless at the same time we can say that we too have risen.

The long passage of time has brought with it a temptation to keep on speaking about Good Friday without being moved by it. We hear about Christ’s death, and we sit there bored, as if we were reading a newspaper. In fact, we would find a newspaper a good deal more interesting.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Christ on the Gallows (Elie Wiesel)

2005-04-18T05:11:00.000-07:00

The SS hung two Jewish men and a boy before the assembled inhabitants of the camp. The men died quickly but the death struggle of the boy lasted half an hour. "Where is God? Where is he?" a man behind me asked. As the boy, after a long time, was still in agony on the rope, I heard the man cry again, "Where is God now?" and I heard a voice within me answer, "Here he is - he is hanging here on this gallows..."

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

It Could Cost Your Life (Edith Stein)

2005-04-18T05:09:00.000-07:00

In the childhood of the spiritual life, when we have just begun to allow ourselves to be directed by God, we feel his guiding hand quite firmly and surely. But it doesn't always stay that way. Whoever belongs to Christ must go the whole way with him. He must mature to adulthood: he must one day or other walk the way of the cross to Gethsemane and Golgotha.

Will you remain faithful to the Crucified One? The world is in flames, the battle between Christ and the Antichrist has broken into the open. If you decide for Christ, it could cost you your life. Carefully consider what you promise.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

A Question (Martin Buber)

2005-04-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

“Where is the dwelling of God?” This was the question with which the Rabbi of Kotzk surprised a number of learned men who happened to be visiting him. They laughed at him: “What a thing to ask! Is not the whole world full of his glory?” Then he answered his own question: “God dwells wherever people let him in.”

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Whose Will Should Prevail? (Johann Christoph Arnold)

2005-04-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

Terri Schiavo’s mother has taken care of her as only a true mother could. My heart also goes out to Terry’s husband. One can understand both of their opposing points of view. But I find it frightening when the State intervenes in such a personal and intimate issue. God is left completely out of the picture, and we are left with legal hair-splitting over a disabled person’s “constitutional right to live.”

That an intensified struggle over Terri’s life is occurring right at Easter highlights the message of Good Friday, and the death of Jesus. His crucifixion remains the supreme example of suffering that was not in vain.

In Terri’s case, there will be suffering on both sides, no matter how the controversy is resolved. All the more, shouldn’t each of us lay aside our opinions and agendas and ask what Jesus asked – that God’s will alone be done?

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Drowsing, Half-Faithful (Geoffrey Hill)

2005-04-01T07:14:00.000-08:00

What is there in my heart that you should sue
so fiercely for its love? What kind of care
brings you as though a stranger to my door
through the long night and in the icy dew

seeking the heart that will not harbour you,
that keeps itself religiously secure?
At this dark solstice filled with frost and fire
your passion's ancient wounds much bleed anew.

So many nights the angel of my house
has fed such urgent comfort through a dream,
whispered "your lord is coming, he is close"

that I have drowsed half-faithful for a time
bathed in pure tones of promise and remorse:
"tomorrow I shall wake to welcome him."

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Spring Cleaning (Meister Eckhart)

2005-04-01T07:09:00.000-08:00

Jesus went into the temple and boldly drove out those that bought and sold. And when all was cleared, there was nobody left but Jesus. Observe this, for it is the same with us: when he is alone he is able to speak in the temple of the soul.

If anyone else is speaking in the temple of your soul, Jesus will keep still, as if he were not at home. And he is not at home wherever there are strange guests - guests with whom the soul holds conversation, guests who are seeking to bargain. If Jesus is to speak and be heard, the soul must be alone and quiet.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Roles with Our Names on Them (Barbara Brown Taylor)

2005-04-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

The story of Good Friday is one that can happen anywhere at any time, and we are as likely to be the perpetrators as the victims. I doubt that many of us will end up playing Caiaphas or Pilate. They may have given Jesus the death sentence, but what about Judas, Peter, and all those who fled? Those are the roles with our names on them.

Whenever someone famous gets in trouble, the press focuses on his friends. Do they support him or do they say that they had seen trouble coming? One of the worst things a friend can say is what Peter said: We weren't friends, exactly. Acquaintances might be a better word. Actually, we just worked together. Not really even together. Just near each other. I didn't know him well.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

The Cry of the Deer (Patrick of Ireland)

2005-03-21T05:58:00.000-08:00

also known as The Rune of St. Patrick

I arise today:
in vast might,
invocation of the Trinity;
belief in a threeness;
confession of oneness;
meeting in the Creator.
I arise today:
in the mightof Christ’s birth and his baptism;
in the mightof his crucifixion and burial;
in the mightof his resurrection and ascension;
in the mightof his descent to the judgment of doom.

I arise today:
in the might of cherubim;
in obedience of angels;
in ministrations of archangels;
in hope of resurrection...
in prayers of patriarchs;
in predictions of prophets;
in preachings of apostles;
in faith of confessors;
in innocence of holy virgins.

I arise today:
in the might of heaven;
splendor of the sun;
whiteness of snow;
irresistibleness of fire;
swiftness of lightning;
speed of wind;
absoluteness of the deep;
rock’s durability.

I arise today:
in the might of God for my piloting;
power of God for my stability;
wisdom of God for my guidance;
eye of God for my foresight;
ear of God for my hearing;
word of God for my word;
hand of God for my guard;
path of God for my prevention;
shield of God for my protection;
host of God for my salvation;
against any demon’s snare;
against all vice’s lure;
against concupiscence;
against ill-wishes far and near.

I invoke all these forces:
between me and every savage force
that may come upon me, body or soul;
against incantations of false prophets;
against black lairs of paganism;
against false laws of heresy;
against idolatry, spells of women, and druids;
against all knowledge that should not be known.

Christ for my guard today:
against poison, against burning;
against drowning, against wounding;
that there may come to me merit:
Christ with me, Christ before me;
Christ behind me, Christ in me;
Christ under me, Christ over me;
Christ to right of me, Christ to left of me;
Christ in lying down, in sitting, in rising up;
Christ in all who may think of me!
Christ in the mouth of all who may speak to me!
Christ in the eye that may look on me!
Christ in the ear that may hear me!

I arise today:
in vast might, invocation of the Trinity
believing in a threeness;
confessing a oneness;
meeting in the Creator;
From the Lord is salvation; in the Lord is safety;
Be thy right way, Lord, ever with us!

Translated by Oliver St. John Gogarty, revised by Dick Whitty

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Giving - from the Heart (Dag Hammarskjoeld)

2005-03-21T05:54:00.000-08:00

The “great” commitment is so much easier than the ordinary, everyday one - and can all too easily shut our hearts to the latter. A willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice can be associated with, and even produce, a great hardness of heart. You thought you were indifferent to praise for achievements which you would not yourself have counted to your credit, or that, if you should be tempted to feel flattered, you would always remember that the praise far exceeded what the events justified. You thought yourself indifferent - until you felt your jealousy flare up at his naive attempts to “make himself important,” and your self-conceit stood exposed. Concerning the hardness of the heart - and its littleness - let me read with open eyes the book my days are writing, and learn.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Unless You Become a Child (Johann Christoph Arnold)

2005-03-21T05:51:00.000-08:00

Children meant everything to Jesus. When his disciples quarreled as to who was the greatest, he put a child in their midst and said, “Unless you become like one of these little ones you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” And Isaiah, speaking of that same kingdom, said, “The lion and the lamb shall lie down peacefully together, and a little child shall lead them.”

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

However Hidden (Annemarie Wächter)

2005-03-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

What I am looking for is a life lived in the spirit of the kingdom of God. And that kingdom is not a vague, faraway ideal; it must be lived and fulfilled now, today... There will never be social justice as long as we merely give up a small part of our possessions and keep the greater share for ourselves. Doesn’t every person have the right to such a life? Is there not in every one a longing for light, for God, however hidden?

Obviously it will demand a struggle against one’s selfish human nature; against the comforts of self-satisfied tranquility. Such a life requires the readiness for sacrifice, privation, and even martyrdom. Christ died on a cross, and his death did not relieve us of the necessity of going the same way. It was an example for us to follow.

I am so tired of today's sweetly gushing Christianity; of false enthusiasm and empty phrases! But I am also thankful to have found a knowledge of the burden and bitterness of Christ’s way. It is a way of conviction and faith and therefore of action, and that is what makes all the difference.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

What Christ Asks (Soren Kierkegaard)

2005-03-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

If you have any knowledge at all of human nature, you know that those who only admire the truth will, when danger appears, become traitors. The admirer is infatuated with the false security of greatness; but if there is any inconvenience or trouble, he pulls back. Admiring the truth, instead of following it, is just as dubious a fire as the fire of erotic love, which at the turn of the hand can be changed into exactly the opposite, to hate, jealousy, and revenge. Christ, however, never asked for admirers, worshippers, or adherents. He consistently spoke of "followers" and "disciples."

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Keeping Watch (Philip Berrigan)

2005-03-12T06:54:00.000-08:00

“May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” - Mark 13:36

As I ponder this passage from Mark, my thoughts return to the winter of 1943, to a nineteen-year-old draftee at Camp Gordon, now Fort Gordon, Georgia. The old Springfield rifle is heavy, the Georgia winters are damp and cold and dark and - Lord, Gawd! - I've gotta walk guard for four hours. And do I ever watch! I watch for the officer of the guard. If he hears a weak challenge ("Halt! Who goes there?") or finds me forgetful of the password (Geronimo) or hiding or smoking, it's weekend KP for a month. The minutes and hours drag agonizingly by. I'm cold to the bone. Do I ever watch for six in the morning and the dawn!

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

An Awful Thing (Fleming Rutledge)

2005-03-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

During Holy Week several years ago, a woman I’ll call Jane participated in our church’s dramatized version of the Easter story. It was her first time, and as a member of the congregation, representing the crowd, she was supposed to shout, "Let him be crucified!" But after the service she told me, with considerable energy, "I just couldn't do it! I just couldn't say such an awful thing."

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Fruitfulness (Henri J. M. Nouwen)

2005-03-10T06:33:00.000-08:00

We are called to be fruitful - not successful, not productive, not accomplished. Success comes from strength, stress, and human effort. Fruitfulness comes from vulnerability and the admission of our own weakness.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

The Test of Suffering (Thomas Merton)

2005-03-10T06:29:00.000-08:00

Merely accepted, suffering does nothing for our souls except, perhaps, to harden them. Endurance alone is no consecration. True asceticism is not a mere cult of fortitude. We can deny ourselves rigorously for the wrong reason and end up by pleasing ourselves mightily with our self-denial... Suffering is valuable only as a test of faith. What if our faith fails the test? Is it good to suffer, then? What if we enter into suffering with a strong faith in suffering, and then discover that suffering destroys us?

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Firebrand and Public Danger (Dorothy Sayers)

2005-03-08T13:07:00.000-08:00

I believe it to be a great mistake to present Christianity as something charming and popular with no offense in it....We cannot blink at the fact that gentle Jesus meek and mild was so stiff in his opinions and so inflammatory in his language that he was thrown out of church, stoned, hunted from place to place, and finally gibbeted as a firebrand and a public danger. Whatever his peace was, it was not the peace of an amiable indifference.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Which Cross (Sadhu Sundar Singh)

2005-03-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

If we do not bear the cross of the Master, we will have to bear the cross of the world, with all its earthly goods. Which cross have you taken up? Pause and consider.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Knowledge Is Not Enough (J. Heinrich Arnold)

2005-03-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Every believer knows that Christ went the way of the cross for our sakes. But it is not enough just to know this. He suffered in vain unless we are willing to die for him as he died for us. If we call ourselves his followers, we must be willing to take the same path he took.

We know, too, that Christ comforts and heals, saves and forgives. But we must not forget that he judges too. If we truly love him, we will love everything in him; not only his compassion and mercy, but his sharpness too. For it is his sharpness that prunes and purifies. His love is not the soft love of human emotion, but a burning fire that cleanses and sears. It is a love that demands self-sacrifice.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Confidently (Rainer Maria Rilke)

2005-03-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

Being means: not numbering and counting, but ripening like a tree, which doesn’t force its sap, and stands confidently in the storms of spring, not afraid that afterward summer may not come. It does come. But it comes only to those who are patient, who are there as if eternity lay before them, so unconcernedly silent and vast. I learn it every day of my life, learn it with pain I am grateful for: patience is everything!

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Putting on Christ (Andrew of Crete)

2005-03-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

It is ourselves that we must spread under Christ's feet, not coats or lifeless branches or shoots of trees, matter which wastes away and delights the eye only for a few brief hours. But we have clothed ourselves with Christ's grace, with the whole Christ - "for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" - so let us spread ourselves like coats under his feet.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

No Comfort but God (William Willimon)

2005-03-03T06:03:00.000-08:00

The sermons of John, the first proponent of baptism, could
never have been titled (as was a recent radio series I heard),
"Be Good to Yourself." This prophetic voice from the
wilderness appeared preaching repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. Not surprisingly, his words strike
abrasively against the easy certainties of today's religious
Establishment. John will let us take no comfort in our rites,
traditions, or ancestry. According to him, everyone must
submit to be made over. Everybody must descend into the
waters, even - especially - the religiously secure and the
morally sophisticated. He reminds us that God is able to raise
up children even from stones if the Chosen fail to turn and
repent.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

A New Future (C. F. Blumhardt)

2005-03-02T05:35:00.000-08:00

The sign of the coming kingdom will be the true man, the true
woman - not the Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist. Religious
people can say what they like, but this will not hinder the
burgeoning movement of people and nations toward a
humanity that strives for higher goals. And though these goals
may seem weak and incomplete, God will still protect and
preserve them for a new future.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Be Yourself (François Fénelon)

2005-03-01T06:01:00.000-08:00

There are many people who are sincere without being simple:
they are ever afraid of being seen for what they are not; they
are always musing over their words and thoughts and thinking
about what they have done, in fear of having done or said too
much. These people are sincere, but they are not simple: they
are not at ease with others, and other people are not at ease
with them. There is nothing easy about them, nothing free,
spontaneous or natural. People who are imperfect, less
regular, less masters of themselves, are more lovable. This is
how people find them, and it is the same with God.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Look Around You (Gérard de Nerval)

2005-02-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

Man, do you think yours is the only soul?
Look around you. Everything that you see
quivers with being. Though your thoughts are free,
one thing you do not think about: the whole.

Beasts have a mind; respect it. Flowers too—
look at one. Nature brought forth each petal.
There is a mystery that sleeps in metal.
Everything feels, and has power over you.

Be careful; the blind wall is spying on us.
All matter is connected to a word.
Do not make it serve an unholy purpose;
a god in darkness often walks obscured.
As eyelids of a newborn infant open
a spirit wakes and gazes from the stone.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

A tribute to Jesus Christ by Firacub

2005-02-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

A tribute to Jesus Christ by Firacub... May we all be blessed by his blessings.. Amen.

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Image vs. Reality (Madeleine L'Engle)

2005-02-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

Isaiah's description of Christ as the Suffering Servant
bears little resemblance to the pretty young man with
the beautifully combed beard and melancholy eyes we
so often see depicted. But Isaiah's description rings
much more true. In his own day, Jesus was a monster
to many, disconcerting them with his unpredictability
and the company he kept, vanishing to go apart to
pray and to be alone with his Father just when people
thought they needed him.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

No Music? (William Shakespeare)

2005-02-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are as dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus;
Let no such man be trusted.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Something New (C. F. Blumhardt)

2005-02-24T08:10:00.000-08:00

It is my fervent hope that we Christians will not be forever
stuck in our Christianity. Look for something new; for a life
in God. Look for God's spirit in everyone you meet.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

In Medicine We Trust (Johann Christoph Arnold)

2005-02-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

There is always room for science and faith to complement
each other, providing God is put first and medicine second.
Yet our culture seems bent on reversing that order. No longer
able to see human beings as souls made in the image of a
Creator, we see machines. Afraid to face frustrations,
uncertainties, and grief, we prefer to focus on physiological
functions. We tend to reduce everything, from birth to death,
into a matter of chemical and biological balances. If there is
a national neurosis, perhaps it is our fear of illness, and of
dying. Can this really be the will of God, who works in the
weak and sick, and whose strength is revealed wherever
human strength fails?

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

An Answer to Every Need (Johann Christoph Arnold)

2005-02-22T05:52:00.000-08:00

If only each one of us truly focused on God’s will, I am certain
that every need we face—regardless of our race, nationality,
religious persuasion, income, sexual orientation, or political
leaning—would soon be answered. Then none of us would be
depressed or lonely, and even the most faint-hearted person
would be given courage. The worst enemies would be
reconciled, and we would love one another and forgive one
another.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Courage? Hope? (Cornel West)

2005-02-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life
consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the
world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to
question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with
evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social
justice. In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing,
and just hoping to land on something. But that's the struggle.
To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never to allow despair to
have the last word.

(On the 40th anniversary of Malcolm X's assassination)

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

The Warfare of the Heart (Sayings of the Desert Fathers)

2005-02-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

A brother said to an old man, “I do not know of any warfare in
my heart.” The old man said to him, “Then you are a building
open on all four sides. Whatever wishes to, goes in and out,
and you do not notice. If you had windows and a door, and
shut them so as to bar certain thoughts, you would soon
realize how many there are outside, waiting to slip in and
attack you.”

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Against Impatience (C.F. Blumhardt)

2005-02-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

Nothing motivates us Christians more than being asked to do
something in keeping with our strength, our ability. Just the
pledge to do something, to improve a situation, can excite
thousands of people. Even sensible people waver and get
carried away. The kingdom of God, however, comes in an
entirely different way. It makes no call upon human strength
or upon the exertions of the flesh. It silences out agendas -
and for us this is the hardest thing.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

The Unteachable Heart (Sophie Scholl)

2005-02-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

I know that life is a doorway to eternity, and yet my heart so
often gets lost in petty anxieties. It forgets the great way
home that lies before it. Unprepared, given over to childish
trivialities, it could be taken by surprise when the great hour
comes and find that, for the sake of piffling pleasures, the one
great joy has been missed. I am aware of this, but my heart is
not. It seems unteach-able; it continues its dreaming…always
wavering between joy and depression.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Here and Now (Etty Hillesum)

2005-02-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

Before, I always lived in anticipation...that it was all a
preparation for something else, something “greater,” more
“genuine.” But that feeling has dropped away from me
completely. I live here and now, this minute, this day, to the
full, and the life is worth living.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Salvation as Love (Kallistos Ware)

2005-02-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

God does not condemn us to Hell; God wishes all humans to be
saved. He will love us to all eternity, but there will exist the
possibility that we do not accept the love and do not respond
to it. And the refusal to accept love, the refusal to respond to
it, that precisely is the meaning of Hell. Hell is not a place
where God puts us; it’s a place where we put ourselves. The
doors of Hell, insofar as they have locks, have locks on the
inside.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Recognition (Barbara Cawthorne Crafton)

2005-02-15T05:58:00.000-08:00

We felt that it was important to be good to ourselves, and that
it was dangerous to tell ourselves no. About anything, ever.
Repression of one's desires was an unhealthy thing. I work
hard, we told ourselves. I deserve a little treat. We treated
ourselves every day.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

If Thou Must Love (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

2005-02-14T05:53:00.000-08:00

If thou must love me, let it be for naught
Except for love’s sake only. Do not say,
“I love her for her smile - her look - her way
Of speaking gently, - for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day” -
For these things in themselves, Belovèd, may
Be changed, or change for thee - and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity’s wiping my cheeks dry.
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love, thereby!
But love me for love’s sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love’s eternity.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

The Person in Your Path (Andre Trocme)

2005-02-13T05:09:00.000-08:00

People tend to think of nonviolence as a choice between using
force and doing nothing. But the real choice takes place at
another level. Nonviolence is less a matter of "not killing" and
more a matter of showing compassion, of saving and
redeeming, of being a healing community. One can only choose
between doing good to the person placed in one's path, or to
do him evil. To do good is to love a person; but not to do that is
as good as killing him. To love someone is to restore that
person physically, socially, and spiritually. To neglect and
postpone this restoration is already to kill.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Full Speed Astern ! (C.S. Lewis)

2005-02-12T05:43:00.000-08:00

Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs
improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms.
Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry,
realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting
ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is
the only way out of a "hole." This process of surrender - this
movement full speed astern - is repentance.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Test Yourself (C.F. Blumhardt)

2005-02-11T06:12:00.000-08:00

You rack your brain to solve the mystery of the Savior, but you
would do better to examine the puzzle of your own heart. You
should be wondering why you are so impenetrable: why your
intentions, which are always so noble, are followed by so few
good deeds; why, despite your pious impulses, your life is so
lacking in genuine devotion; why, when it comes to really
getting things done, you turn out to be so feeble, so lame. You
are always sighing, it is true, but to what effect?

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Back To Normal (Ellen Goodman)

2005-02-11T06:08:00.000-08:00

It was in the personal tragedy we felt our unity. Waves swept
away Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians with a
ferocious indifference. Once again, unified in the face of
catastrophe, we hit the pause button on our own man-made
conflicts.

But I also watch us inch back to "normal." On Page 1, the fury
of nature shares space again with the folly of humanity. The
victims of nature make room for the victims of man-made
conflict. It's impossible to watch this unfold and not wonder
why people need tragedy to remind us of our humanity. And
why we manufacture disaster when nature provides quite
enough of its own.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Not Even Victory (Pablo Neruda)

2005-02-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Nothing, not even victory,
will erase the terrible hole of blood:
nothing, neither the sea,
nor the passing of sand and time,
nor the geranium burning
over the grave.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

The Most Natural Prayer (Flannery O'Connor)

2005-02-11T05:46:00.000-08:00

The experience of losing your faith, or of having lost it,
is an experience that in the long run belongs to faith; or at
least it can belong to faith if faith is still valuable to you,
and it must be or you would not have written me about this.
I don’t know how the kind of faith required of a Christian
living in the 20th century can be at all if it is not grounded
on this experience that you are having right now of unbelief.
“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” is the most natural and
most human and most agonizing prayer in the gospels, and
I think it is the foundation prayer of faith.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Getting Personal (Kallistos Ware)

2005-02-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

The whole person is on the one side open to God, and on the
other side open to other people. The isolated individual is not a
real person, for a real person lives in and for others. This
idea...could be summed up under the word love. We become
truly personal by loving God and by loving other humans. By
love, I don’t mean merely an emotional feeling, but a
fundamental attitude. In its deepest sense, love is the life, the
energy, of the Creator in us. We are not truly human as long
as we are turned in on ourselves. We become whole only
insofar as we face others, and relate to them.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Bread for my Neighbor (Jacques Maritain)

2005-02-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Christianity has all too often meant withdrawal and the
unwillingness to share the common suffering of humankind.
But the world has rightly risen in protest against such piety...
The care of another - even material, bodily care - is spiritual
in essence. Bread for myself is a material question; bread for
my neighbor is a spiritual one.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

A Broken Heart (Oscar Wilde)

2005-02-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

…And thus we rust Life’s iron chain
Degraded and alone:
And some men curse, and some men weep,
And some men make no moan:
But God’s eternal Laws are kind
And break the heart of stone.

And every human heart that breaks,
In prison-cell or yard,
Is as that broken box that gave
Its treasure to the Lord,
And filled the unclean leper’s house
With the scent of costliest nard.

Ah! happy those whose hearts can break
And peace of pardon win!
How else may man make straight his plan
And cleanse his soul from Sin?
How else but through a broken heart
May Lord Christ enter in?

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Nonvoilent Islam (Badshah Khan)

2005-02-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

There is nothing surprising in a Muslim or a Pathan like me
subscribing to the creed of nonviolence. It is not a new creed.
It was followed fourteen hundred years ago by the Prophet all
the time he was in Mecca, and it has since been followed by all
those who wanted to throw off an oppressor's yoke. But we
had so far forgotten it that when Gandhiji placed it before us,
we thought he was sponsoring a novel creed.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

What Really Matters (Rachel Naomi Remen)

2005-02-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

There is often more wisdom to be found at the edges of life
than in its middle. A life-threatening illness, for instance, may
shuffle our values like a deck of cards. Sometimes a card that
has been on the bottom of the deck for most of our lives turns
out to be the top card, the thing that really matters. Having
watched people sort their cards and play their hands in the
presence of death for many years, I would say that most often
the top card is love.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.

Consider This (William Shakespeare)

2005-02-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

Though justice be thy plea, consider this:
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy…

Peace Forever,
Firacub

Joy Unbroken and Lasting (C.F. Blumhardt)

2005-02-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

Sacrifice yourself for once for the sake
of God's will. It will not be in vain.
Sacrifice yourself for truth, for justice.
Sacrifice yourself for once against all
human sense for something that is truly
good. Sacrifice yourself for Christ in all
things, and seek the kingdom of God.
There is great strength in this… Stand
for something; then your joy will be
unbroken and lasting.

Peace Forever,
Firacub.