…and we still don’t get it!

          It’s unbelievable. 2,000+ years and we still don’t get it. It’s been 2,000+ years since Christ came to teach us, and we still don’t understand the message. 

          Christ came by the power of the Father to teach us there is but one true God, and to be kind to one another. That’s it. He came to teach us that our relationship with God is, as is, our relationship with each other. As we mistreat each other, we separate ourselves from God. 

          And we still don’t get it! 

          As we continue to tear each other apart, regardless of how we self-identify, we drive a larger and larger wedge between us and God. The word used in the New Testament, or Christian Bible, is Love. The “Love” used throughout, is from the Greek meaning “charity” 

          Charity in its simplest form is “kindness”. This is the key to heaven or hell. When we fail in kindness and excel in hate, we fail. We fail completely. There is no room in heaven for hate. As there is no room in hell for love. Christ taught us, “Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven”! 

And we still don’t get it! 

          The New Testament may the most nonracial book(s) ever written. It’s about faith. It’s about how to express that faith between we the people, and as a people, with God. This relationship is intertwined. Our interaction with one another is intertwined in our faith without exception. 

       It is without exception, in all functional relationships, there is one foundation. This foundation consists of mutual respect, mutual trust, mutual care and mutual support. This is true regardless if the relationship is with the divine or with each other. For they are the same. 

          Mutual, not equal. I define it this way, “Equal can be written in law, mutual is expressed person to person”. Mutual kindness, it’s that simple. And it’s that hard. It’s been 2,000+ years and we still can’t or won’t do it. 

          We still insist in exalting ourselves one over another. We read the Bible to self-justify, instead of with a willingness to learn. We are indeed a “stiff necked people” [Acts 7:51-53] 

          We have been saved by Christ, but we can still condemn ourselves. We can throw away the sacrifice of Christ and the “place prepared for us”, [John 14- 2] or we can chose to live in our faith. We have the option to choose between good and evil, love and hate, kindness and cruelty.         

          Love nurtures love and hate nurtures hate. To me the options seem obvious.

And yet we still don’t seem to get it. 

May the peace of Christ fill your hearts and the love of God fill your souls. 

David E. Gonzales

9-11 / Covid-19

I’m self-isolated. I’m fine, just doing my part. I have a lot of time to think, good or bad, here is some of it.

            I see few aircraft flying through the sky. I see few cars on the road. I smell fresh air. I sense similarities between now and 19 years ago. After 9-11 air traffic stopped. Cars and trucks slowed to a crawl. The air cleared. There was both a calm and a tension.

            That tension was created by an unknown element. Then it was terrorism. Today it’s a virus. Then as now, both are setting a mood of uncertainty. The stock market doesn’t know how to react. Money’s not being made, but the underlining cause isn’t financial. The uncertainty is time and extent.

            The public, us, are also uncertain how to react. Suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar life style. A few weeks ago we were so busy and the virus was so far away, now it’s here. Today many of us have so much idle time. Time to think about “the virus” and all the effects it’s causing. Even those on the front lines, as busy as they are, are thinking about all the effects of this experience.

            In times of stress we could fall back on our favorite activities to help us relax. But now many of these activities are shut down or severely limited. Now we’re down to the core, or at least our core. Our families, our friends and of course our faith.

            Since most, or many, of the spiritual places we congregate are closed, we need to find options to find solace. The “E” world is filling a void, it’s good, but not the same. In reality it’s our faith, that which is in us, that we need to lean on. Not out of choice, but, instead, necessity.

            We have arrived at a time where it’s necessary to draw on the faith we profess. Whatever your faith, it’s time to trust in the promise. It’s time to understand what “living your faith” really means. Take a look at some of your favorite religious texts and see if you find new meaning in them. Or perhaps the solace you/we are looking for and need. I fill my need with ‘1 Corinthians 13’.

            As I read these verses I replace the word love with charity. I understand this is the root word used in the original texts. It reminds me that love and my faith are one of giving. To you it will most likely be a different verse, and it most likely it will just as personal, just as meaningful.

            We trust in the professionals to do their jobs. Now let’s trust in our faith and do our jobs, as well as we can. We are all different as to how we can contribute, some simple and some grand, all are meaningful and all are needed. So stop, breath, read, recite and bring your faith to a higher level of understanding. Bring your faith to a higher level of practice.

God’s peace be with you. God’s blessings, always.

David E. Gonzales

There Is No Power...

There is no white power, nor black power. No brown, no yellow. No Christian, no Jew, no Muslim, nor any other division created by humanity. 

There are but three divisions, those are of love, hate and apathy. The last one listed is perhaps the most dangerous and insidious. I can understand where some apathy comes from. It's hard to openly care about something, anything, these days. And even harder to voice your concern. Take a look at your social media and read the vile comments, some on the most benign posts.

Those vile comments usually come from a place of hurt, which has festered into hate. Their hate turns into our apathy. Many slowly lose their ability to love/care, thus allowing apathy to creep into their daily routine. These same people become increasingly self-concerned and defensive.

As they/we become increasingly "self" orientated, we lose the ability to extend ourselves outside of our comfort zone. This allows the hate to grow, to manifest into a controlling entity. Only then do we see a push back from the masses. Sometimes, that happens too late to constrain.

           

Usually, hate can be pushed back into the shadows of existence. Unfortunately, it can’t be eliminated. Understanding this helps us to be conscious and resilient.

           

As love will find those of a similar persuasion, so will hate. Apathy is safe, and it too will find those of a similar ilk. Love and hate will always go head to head in the battle for dominance. Because love can be passive, and hate aggressive, hate will slither into those shadows and await its next opportunity, its next excuse to try and take control.

           

Love, hate and apathy, these three levels of being dominate our lives, our time here on Earth. Let us take our stance for love. Let us never fall to the lies of hate. And never let us fall into the false comfort of apathy.

Many Faiths have as their core a belief of compassion toward each other. How we treat each other embodies our relationship with our God, Higher Power or Positive Energy. When we live with kindness and charity, we live our Faith and we are in harmony with our Faith. We understand our Faith and we are exercising that understanding.

Hate is easy to understand, while apathy is easily overlooked. In Faith, apathy is condemned. In the Christian Bible, Luke 16:19-31, tells the story and effects of apathy. And it’s not pretty. At the same time hate should never be met with more hate, as this will only fuel the fire of hate. There is no simple or easy solution.

Earlier I stated that hate can’t be eliminated. It can, however, be minimized, but not with more hate.

May you always have to strength to LOVE!

by David E. Gonzales

The New Silent Minority.

So, the vitriol of this post-election is starting to quiet just a bit. I’m going take this moment to express a thought. The stats coming from the real vote are showing that it wasn’t the white vote that put Trump over the top, it was the minority vote. Trump received a lesser white vote than Romney. This is the Black and Hispanic vote, primarily. Where did these votes come from? And why were they not considered by anyone?

Traditionally these votes weren’t cast. They weren’t cast out to the the fear of being chastised by their peers. They were expected to stand in line and heed the elites. Oddly enough, this should have been expected. As an example, in ’08, the conservative black vote in California was the difference for voting in a State Constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman. There is no doubting the fact it was the conservative black vote that put this proposition into law. The fact that this was the largest minority turn-out ever and having it overturned and thrown back at them as a disgraceful action, only added to the minority frustration.

This turn of events, and others, seems to have brought to light for many conservative minorities that this expected behavior was upon them. And they felt the weight of this newly realized expectation. They again came out, still in the shadows, to vote their conscience and their faith, not their race. They came out and voted against the status quo.

Where this trend goes from here is an unknown. These are indeed uncharted waters we/they are exploring. It will be interesting to watch this new silent conservative minority develop. If it develops at all. Perhaps a new effort will be made bring these voters back into line. Perhaps, it’s too late for this type of action. The minority vote has been considered a “giving” by the Democrats for some time. It is conceivable there was enough time, for some, to breathe the air of a new freedom.

I believe this is a lesson re-learned. Any group of people that perceives themselves to be suppressed, will eventually revolt against the elite class, their perceived suppressors. Conservatives have increasingly felt as if they have been chastised into a corner. And it appears to be oozing out in some very unusual places. The most dangerous thing to any elitist class, is a free thinker.

Certainly, this new President will have an impact on what is to follow, at least in this respect. If he can truly bring forth a message of “WE” instead of “division”, we could be in for some very interesting future elections. The predictability of the race vote could be gone forever. And I kind of like the sound of that.

May our diversity always be a blessing.

by David E. Gonzales

The Root of God

You do not have to believe in God to follow God or to do God’s work. The root of doing the things of God are kindness and charity. If you are being kind to those around you, whether you like them or not, you are following the call of the Holy Spirit. If you are giving to those less fortunate than yourself, either with a monetary donation or with your personal time and talent, then you are following the teaching of God and Church. Doing something good, is in part, the call of God.

When you boil it all down and reduce it to a concentrated teaching/philosophy, God wants us to reach out to each other with kindness and charity. If it’s not good, then it’s not of God. Goodness is understanding the beliefs of another, and not burning their books. Good is understanding the

humanity of another, and not condemning them, and certainly not harming them, because of their lifestyle choice. How a person dresses is as much a cultural standard as it is a practical necessity. Their clothing choices may tell you something about the person, but it does not give you reason to judge or denounce them.

We understand that not all people are good people, and that forces us to be aware of our surroundings. We usually extend to most people some degree of trust at the outset. And most people will either build or dispose of that trust rather quickly. Their “good” or “wickedness” will be fairly easy to see, especially if you listen carefully to what they are saying. As I’ve talked about in previous journal entries.

Usually we make conscience decisions. We decide what we will believe based on any number of things. Sometimes these decisions are firm, and sometimes they are more haphazard in nature. We also make subconscious decisions. These decisions are based increasingly on an inner awareness. That “gut” feeling we get on the occasion. That “right” thing to do, even if you really don’t know why. In either case I believe this is the Holy Spirit that moves us to do the “right” thing.

The “right thing” centers on kindness and charity. This is the root of God. This what the concentrated teaching of God is. Kindness and charity are two basic moral institutions that most have instilled in us from a young age. Simply by practicing kindness and charity you are following the call of God, whether you know it or not, as guided by the Holy Spirit.

Let us all be guided into kindness and charity.

by David E. Gonzales

I Express-

I write to express my feelings, thoughts, faith. I write as a matter of need, not want. I don’t write to become a master of the “like” button. I write to help myself and I hope to help others in my expressions. I believe that writing is one of the better ways to help me understand life. The true reality of my perceptions that surround me. It is through writing that I help to heal my damaged ego. It is through writing that I heal emotionally and psychologically, this is where I stabilize my mental state.

Writing isn’t for everyone. But for those who do write, even a little, it can be a big piece of keeping oneself in state of “being happy.” Being happy, getting happy, desiring to be happy, staying happy, for some its easy, for other it takes a little more effort.

Perhaps effort is really the key here. For nothing happens if you don’t try. Without putting yourself forth, nothing is going to happen. It’s a daily exercise of communicating with others and yourself. Understanding yourself is absolutely necessary to living in harmony with others. Writing is a wonderful way of clearing out the clutter and focusing your thoughts into complete lucidity.

This is not a one step or one day process. It’s also not an agonizing one. Or at least it shouldn’t be. And while writing down one’s personal thoughts isn’t easy, clarity can be shocking, responding to yourself can be most rewarding.

The response you have to your writings can and should be gaged on how positive the effects will be. And the effects should be, must be, positive in nature. Our faith, our relationship with God is, as is, our relationship with each other. This must always be positive! Our relationship with our faith and our relationship with everyone in our lives should be one and the same. If God is love, (expressed as charity), then our relationships should reflect that ideal as much as possible. Writing can bring to light the imbalance in our lives.

As we increase the balance in our lives, that “happy” feeling becomes increasingly consistent. Our personal lives and faith should and need to be, as much as possible, in harmony with each other. Writing allows me an outlet for my thoughts to be expressed in an ever clarifying manner. I’ve only been writing for a few years now, but I find writing an increasingly valuable tool in my life. Note: Not all my thoughts are published.

Writing is self-care. It is necessary to take care of yourself in order to care for others. You must be good to yourself in order to be good to others in a consistent manner. Otherwise you may find yourself in a state of emotional flux. Self-care is a necessary element in life. Everyone I know has this element in their lives.  

I hope that this expression, written from the heart, will help you in attaining balance you are looking for.

by David E. Gonzales

God Has No Plan

This post will undoubtedly upset some of you reading this. If you are, I will apologize in advance. With that said, I think this post has some merit that should be considered.

I’ve heard it said that “God has a plan for you”, or something to that extent. I think this is an incorrect, albeit, easy and common way to explain the hardships, we as his children experience during our lifetimes. It is difficult to answer questions as to the “why” in life. As in “He or she is such a good person, how or why did this horrible thing happen to them.” It is here I hear the answer, “it’s all in God’s plan.” I must disagree.

God doesn’t have a plan for our lives. This time between our birth and our death. God may very well know what is in store for us here. But that’s not the same as making a plan. One reason I don’t believe that God plans out our lives is that our lives are filled with hardship. God, and as our parents, don’t wish hardships on us. Also, I do not believe that God tests our faith through our hardships, although through our hardships our faith is lessened or strengthened.

There is something important about having us go through the process of life. There is something important about making the decisions, big and small, that make our lives what they are. I do not believe that God micro-manages our lives. God is not controlling our every step along the way. If this were true then we would be little more than robots, with no free will. God does not have a plan for us, but God didn’t leave us completely to our own accord either. God did give us a guide. Three in fact.

God gave us this guide to support us as we make our decisions, big and small, every day in our lives. This guide is the root of our faith. It is the root of almost every faith. This guide is called Faith, Hope, and Love.

Love, especially in the New Testament, is translated from the Latin word “agape” and this is where we get our word for “charity.” I have written in some of my other posts that our relationship with God is, as is, our relationship with each other. That every sin against humanity is a sin against God. And the simplest form of charity is kindness.

Faith, each of us understand our Faith in our unique way. Simply, Faith is offered to us by the Grace God to accept or reject, freely. It is through study, prayer and our life experiences we make our decisions. Our Faith may vary in depth, becoming weaker or stronger as we grow and mature.

Hope. It is Hope, in my opinion, that gives us the driving force to face tomorrow. It is persons without Hope that have no will to continue. All those with the gift of hope can face all the tomorrow’s that are in our time of life.

Whether your Hope is rooted on a Faith or is just something you feel welling up inside, it is Hope that that gets us through each day. No matter if it’s the best or worst of times. It is Hope that keeps us moving forward. It is Hope that gives us courage. It is Hope that allows us to expand our world beyond the confides of our physical and intellectual present.

It is Hope, not a plan, which God gives us. Faith and Love complete the balance in our lives. And it is truly our lives to live. And it is by the gifts of God that we are able to live it.

May God’s gift of Hope be with you always.

David E. Gonzales

The difference between you and I-

The difference between you and I is everything,

And nothing.

We’re both human, I don’t recall making that choice.

Our differences or our similarities in our skin color is irrelevant because neither of us had a choice in this matter.

            The same is true with the difference in our facial features, hair, teeth, height, athletic ability, artistic expression, and intelligence.

Our speech patterns may be more genetically induced,

while our accents are a product of our environment. Neither of which was of our choice.

Our differences or our similarities in our spoken language is irrelevant because neither of us had a choice in our native language.

googleimages/differences 

Our taste in clothing is based largely in the environments we grew up in, and neither of us had a choice in that either.

            Growing up in poverty or wealth, attending public or private school, not a choice of ours.

Our choices regarding religion and/or faith are largely taught to us when we are young. Almost all of them (religious institutions) allow us to make a choice later in life on how or if we wish to follow in that faith.

            The difference between you and I is how we choose to live our lives. The difference is what we learn from our life’s lessons and how we choose to apply them. Whether it is be productive, destructive - loving, apathetic – positive, negative - isolated or engaged, these are our choices, and this is the difference between you and me. I understand we will never be “the same”. In fact I hope we never are! I do hope that in our own ways we can be on the “good” side of “different”, for different is what makes life exciting. And “good” is what makes life worth living.

I hope to meet your different on the good side of life. Until then, may all good and different blessings be with you.

by David E. Gonzales

Are you Congruent?

Are you living your life in a like manner to your beliefs? Is your life modeled in your understanding of God, Spirit, or Higher Power? Are you in turn feeling out of balance? It could very well be that your feelings, your lifestyle and your understanding of faith are out of balance.

This out of balance can be brought back into a feeling of wholeness by changing or modifying your lifestyle. This could be a lifestyle based n eating habits, e.g. going vegan, bringing you into a physical balance as well as a psychological balance, e.g. not participating in the cruelty of animals by abstaining from eating meat.

In this case, going vegan can help bring your conscience awareness and your sub-conscience awareness into harmony and creating a personal balance. This example of creating balance is a fairly simple one. Other more deeply rooted issues may take some significant soul searching to discover. It may not be possible to discover these issues without talking to someone in confidence.

Having someone to talk to, in confidence, is an incredibly important aspect of a person’s life. Being able to speak freely without any fear of public disclosure can bring about personal discoveries enabling personal growth. Personal, healthy growth will bring about personal congruency. This personal balance helps to keep life from moving so fast, it helps to keep you from being swept away in the fray.

When you have a good balance of mind, body and soul, life seems to flow increasingly

Unknown artist

smooth. While there will almost always be some rapids to negotiate, moving through these rough channels of life will undoubtedly be easier. Congruency, harmony, balance, you will find these concepts in many of the ancient and modern religions and spiritualties. It takes a lot of work, time, mediation and conversation to really find one’s center, and even more to maintain it.

As life is ever changing, so too is our understanding of ourselves and our place in this world. By remaining sensitive to our surroundings and our place in them we can identify inconsistences that maybe attempting to creep into our lives. Talking about them, and writing them out, can help to define these inconsistences and bring about long term personal peace.

Your personal peace will be a blessing to others in your life and to those you meet along the way. It will help you in your decision making process, and it will help to keep you centered on a life well lived.

May the peace and love of Christ be with you always

by David E. Gonzales

Charity, Society’s Glue

Charity is the true bond, the glue, which holds our society together. Charity brings us together personally, in community, and in Nation. It is through personal acts of charity that our lives take on meaning. It is through personal acts of charity our society thrives.

Governments do not engage in acts of charity. They are at best, exercising their bureaucratic muscles. “They” take without asking, and give discriminately, while bragging about “their” accomplishments. These are soulless attempts at assisting others while having no clear objective nor provide an end to those on such assistance. They provide no physical, emotional, psychological, or financial freedom. Just a never ending cycle of poverty and dependency. Those who make it out of such environments usually do so by breaking away from these “assistances”.

This is why independent organizations, especially the Church, are necessary for a healthy society. Charity is the command of God, the command of Christ. (*Mark, 12; 29-31) It is through acts of charity that we live in a relationship with Christ (**Matt, 25; 34-40). This is how we live as Christians. Without regard to the Faith, lifestyle, ethnic or nationality of those in need.           (***Gal. 3; 28)

It is this interaction of people, for people, by people, that brings us together as a people. It is this kind of interaction that reduces public tensions. People helping people to become independent and whole, helps to bring people into a society of helping others. As governments become increasingly engaged as a charitable entity, society as a whole suffers at an increasing rate. The poor stay poor, longer. The rich become increasingly rich, giving of one’s self becomes archaic. As the government grows, the individual, and society, becomes increasingly apathetic, perhaps even callous in nature. The attitude then becomes something like “Just go ahead and take some taxes, and leave me alone”, “I don’t want to be bothered with “those” people” “that’s what my taxes are for, I have my own life to live.” Life becomes me and mine.

The cause of this separation of the people is the result of good intentions, poorly performed. We all have our gifts in life. For some of us these gifts are artistic, for others it’s the ability to connect with others on a personal level. For others still, it may be organizational skills, or perhaps to work in a team environment. All these can and should be used to help others in the form of charity. Charity, to give without the expectation of a return. This goes against much of what we are taught in our lives.

As we grow and develop in life we are taught to work hard, save and reap the benefits of our labors, and that’s OK. Works/acts of charity are something generally learned. Whether at home or in a religious setting, how to be charitable in a responsible manner, takes time to develop, not for all of us but for many to be sure.

Regardless if you volunteer on the occasion to help in your church or community, or if you are an ardent supporter of a special cause. Engaging in acts of charity is an essential part of both the individual and the society to create and maintain healthy attitudes toward one another. To be able to understand each other as a person, as a people and grow together in a common goal of peace and unity.

            To truly become a world united in respect, we cannot force, we must offer our assistance in charity, love, community, faith, in a very real and human way. It is in this way we, all as children of God, can live and grow in the peace we all wish to achieve.

May the peace and love of Christ be with you always-

Related article: http://daedgo.blogspot.com/2014/01/1-corinthians-13-adaptation.html

All Scripture is from the NABRE

*Mark, 12; 29-31- Jesus replied, the first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

**Matt, 25; 34-40 – Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

***Gal. 3; 28 – There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

by David E. Gonzales

God Hates the----?

I must take exception with the all too common adage that God hates. I hear and read that God hates the sin but loves the sinner. It is my belief that God has no hate. God knows and understands hate, but God, as love in its totality, has and harbors no hate.

If we are to believe that God is love (1 John. 4; 8, 16), love in its totality, then I cannot believe God hates. I do not believe that God hates Lucifer, Satan, or whatever name you use, God loves all. Perhaps Satan is God's one true pain, pain for the one who can never be reunited in the kingdom. Then again, with God all things are possible. (Mat. 19; 26/ Mark. 10; 27)

We separate ourselves from God through sin, however, God does not separate from us. It could be said that God cries for us, extends to us his most divine mercy, but with no hatred. Perhaps this is how God can forgive us even though it is known we will sin again?

Why is this important? If we believe our God hates, or has hate, then we will emulate our God and extent this hate to others. If, however we believe our God does not hate or is without hate, and teaches us love is the answer to peace and harmony, then we will also avoid hate and extend our love to others.

If this is true, that God is without hate, then we as his children, must extend this same attitude of love to all people without exception. This is regardless of color, origin, religion, or sex, or any other designation man has devised to create classes of people.

Jesus gave us the greatest commandments, to love God and to love each other. Besides being in all four ¹Gospels it is read throughout the New Testament. To love one another is the single greatest message given to us in the whole of the Bible. Even the passion of Christ is rooted in the love God has for us. It is the common denominator from Genesis through Revelations.

God does not hate, God does not punish the innocent, God does not create pain and suffering, and God did not give us our mortality. Adam brought this into our being through original sin, and now we live to the best of our ability with the tools God has shown us. And love is the tool that trumps them all!

May the PEACE and LOVE of Christ be you now and forever!

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Scripture is from the NABRE

1 John. 4; 8, 16

8-Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

16-We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him

Mat. 19; 26

Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."

Mark. 10; 27

Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God."

1.     1 - Mat. 22; 37-40 / Mark. 12; 29-31/ Luke. 10; 29-27 / John. 13; 34-35

Related blog: http://daedgo.blogspot.com/2012/11/no-god-didnt-do-it_5.html 

by David E. Gonzales

Grief, A Thought About:

We are physical beings, and as physical beings we understand the touch, smell, taste, and visual world by those measures. When we lose a loved one to death we grieve these physical losses of our loved one as if we have lost a measure of ourselves.

I think grief has as much to do with accepting death as it does anything else. I think we, as mortal beings, need to learn how to accept this loss both in the physical and spiritual sense. Part of acceptance has to do with how we understand our faith and what our faith tells us. When we or our loved ones pass away we are told, in our faith, there is no pain, no crying of tears, nor suffering by our loved ones. (Rev; 7: 16-17, Rev: 21: 4a).

I think if we truly believe this teaching it can have a comforting effect on our grieving.

I think also we need to understand that there’s a difference between letting go and forgetting. When we say we are letting go it has to do with the physical presence of our loved ones. We will keep our loved ones with us by our memories and the stories we share with others. As we remember them through these stories our minds recreate the sights, smells and sounds associated with our loved ones.

If we accept the loss of our loved ones and equally accept the understanding of our faith, I believe we can lessen the pain of grief and the time it takes to go through the process of our grief. By not accepting that our loved one has indeed passed away, by holding on to the physical sights, smells and sounds associated with our loved one, we grieve all the longer and all the harder and all the more intensely. This is not to suggest that this is a simple thing to do, it is not. However, by understanding our faith we can more easily and perhaps with less pain let go of the physical presence of our loved ones. While never forgetting our memories of them and realizing their new place with God can help us in our life’s many transitions.

Related posts;

Grief, what’s so good about it? - http://daedgo.blogspot.com/2012/10/grief-whats-so-good-about-it.html 

Tears - http://daedgo.blogspot.com/2014/07/tears.html 

Scripture is from the NABRE:

Rev. 7: 16-17: They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them. Thor the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Rev. 21: 4a; “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,”

by David E. Gonzales

I Created God. (a story of faith)

I am the center of the Universe. The world revolves around me. I am the master of my destiny.

           

I awoke one morning to find it raining. This was not a good thing as I had much planned for this particular day. And so, I ordered the rain to stop, yet it continued on as if I wasn't there. I raised my voice and demanded in no uncertain terms that the rain stop. The rain continued on without a peep. It did not even take notice of me or acknowledge my rant. It just kept raining. It did not look at me, or explain why it was refusing to obey my orders. It just kept raining.

           

I finally accepted that the rain would not stop so I arranged my day around this stubborn rain and did other chores. As it turns out I repaired a water pipe that was about to break. Had it not rained this water pipe would have damaged much in my home. Could it be that the rain knew more than I? No, it can’t be so. It’s just water; it can’t think; it has no intelligence. Is it then just a coincidence?

           

I awoke on yet another morning and the sun was shining and it was hot. I had much to do on this day and my work was in the garden. This is my garden, my home, my domain. I told the sun to back off a little bit and allow the air to cool, but the sun did not listen to me. I tried to stare the sun down, but the sun stared back and it hurt my eyes; I had to look away.

I called for clouds to cover the sun, but instead the clouds faded and vanished until there were only blue skies. When I see these clouds again I will give them a piece of my mind, they will surely understand who I am. At that moment, the sun then shone even hotter than before as if to say, “Who are you?” I told the sun who I am; I yelled to the sun, “I AM!” I could feel the temperature rise almost instantly as if this sun was trying to tell me something. I gave in to this incorrigible sun and instead went inside to rest.

In my home, my domain, my world, I looked around miffed in apparent failure to control my surroundings. How could this have happened? Where did I go wrong? How did I lose control?

As I sat in my self-pity I began to feel oddly. The lights around me were fuzzy. I felt heavy, perhaps a little out of breath, even a little weak. I tried to get to my car, it always obeyed me, but I couldn’t find the strength. I called for help and soon there were men and women in uniforms with red crosses on their shirts pounding on my chest. What was happening to me, here in my domain, my world?

I awoke, and as I contemplated my surroundings I realized that I am not the master of my destiny. I understood that the world does not revolve around me. I now know that am not the center of the universe.

But if not me, then who? It can’t be the rain for the rain only comes around occasionally; it can’t be the sun for the sun gives way to the clouds and the day gives way to the night. The Universe is there, a wonder for all to see. The universe helps us tell time and helps to keep us from getting lost. But it only helps; it does not have power over us, and certainly not over me.  

Perhaps I should create something greater than I. I should call this higher power something, perhaps God would do. It would have the power that goes beyond the senses. Perhaps I should accept this God of mine as a higher power. But that would mean a power greater than me, could this be possible?

Can I really create something that is greater than me? Can I then follow the edicts of this God to help control me? I would have to bow down to the power of this God and listen to and live by the words of this Higher Power. What has this God of mine ever done for me?

The rain kept me in my home and I repaired a water pipe that saved many valuables, valuables precious to me. The sun chased me into my cool home where I was close to my phone, this saved my life. Could it be that this God of mine is already here? Could it be that this God of mine directed the rain, the sun and the clouds to help me help myself? Is this how a God works? Perhaps this higher power always was, is, and always shall be. …………............................................

I shall call this higher power God, for I am, I am his.

By David E. Gonzales and The Holy Spirit-

It’s not just a tagline.

           There is a blessing derived from scripture that seems to go largely disregarded. It’s one of those “last things said” that has seemingly become mundane in its use. But to me this simple blessing is not only meaningly powerful but personally meaningful. This is a blessing that warms my heart. It’s a blessing that says you really care for and about me and me about you.

           

           I use this blessing both as a general blessing and as a personal blessing. When I use this as a general blessing I am extending this to all who are reading my posts/blogs or all who can hear me at any given time. But it’s still personal, in that I truly mean it as an extension of God’s love for us all. When I’m using this in a personal manner I am specifically extending Gods love through me to you, an individual.

           I believe that this is one of the greatest blessings we can offer one another, for God’s love through Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit is the foundation of our faith. We are called to love one another above all else. “For there is no greater commandment that these”. (Mark 12; 29-31) Well here it is, short and to the point. From my heart to yours.

May the peace and love of Christ be with you now and always.

by David E. Gonzales

Scripture from the NABRE

Follow me. 3rd Sunday of Easter

John 21; 1 – 19

           Last week’s readings we took a look at faith. In today’s Gospel reading Jesus asks for the ultimate show of faith. This is a faith that allows human beings to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Think about this for a minute; too follow the God incarnate, Messiah!

           Our Christ asks his disciples and thus he asks us; Follow me in works of charity, follow me in martyrdom, and follow me to the gates of heaven where my Father awaits longing to embrace your return home. Follow me even though you do not see me; follow me even though you cannot hear me, follow me in faith. Follow me in your life lived, a life lived in love.

           Throughout the Gospels Jesus uses a lot of parables and imagery when he speaks to his disciples, but here the message is laid out before them in a candid manner.

Will you? Can you? Are you? Following me…          

by David E. Gonzales

Faith, that’s what it’s all about! Second Sunday of Easter

Acts, 5; 15

Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.

John, 20; 29

            Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

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“Grace and freedom, God’s free initiative and the free human response of acceptance, comprise the mystery of faith.”¹

           In today’s readings faith is the object of our attention. In the reading from the Act of the Apostles, faith is the reason for the healing and conversion of the multitudes. This reading also shows us the example of community strength in action. Remember when Jesus could barely perform miracles in his own home town because of the lack of faith by the people. (Mat, 13; 58)  Here, the faith of the community is so strong that even the shadow of Peter cured the sick. The story presented here is a real example of what faith can accomplish in the here and now and how faith should be expressed by the faithful.

           In the Gospel reading, Thomas’ “prove it” attitude is the example given to all Christians on what faith isn’t. This Gospel reading defines faith more clearly. This is a faith we call conviction and trust. This faith is a considered and firm acceptance of a God and the promise of God. To use the verbiage from a current commercial, “it’s not all willy-nilly”, real faith is steadfast, especially when it’s not convenient or popular.

            Yes, today’s readings are teaching through example the absolute necessity to live our lives with faith, and in faith. We must understand that we live in an imperfect world and that our lives will be imperfect, but we need to live our lives with faith and with an ever continuous attempt to understand our lives as a relationship with God. And our relationship with God, through Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit is what our faith is all about.

Scripture is from the NABRE

1 – Encyclopedia of Catholicism; by Richard P. McBrien

by David E. Gonzales