submission of the soul, “when God requires action, sanctity is to be found in activity”

The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation,
as a meadow delights the eyes and subtly infuses the soul
with the glory of God.
St. John Damascene

(Gulf fritillary/ Julie Cook / 2021)

Gulf fritillary / Julie Cook / 2021)

(Gulf fritillary / Julie Cook / 2021)

Submission of the soul.

For many of us, the notion of submission comes with great difficulty.
Submission is equated with the notion of weakness.
A giving up and giving in.

And yet we cling viciously to the visage of ego…that false image we hold high
and large against the humility of heart…a tenuous balance is struck.

We let that false visage block oh so many possibilities.
Hitting wall after wall, we wonder how much longer will we struggle.
So much heartache ensues because of that false visage of hubris.

Self inflicted wounds.

God is not one to be quiet when He knows what is required.

It may take years before we finally let go and submit…but when we do,
blessings will flow like a burst dam of water.

May those healing waters flow…

“The will of God gives to all things a supernatural and divine value
for the soul submitting to it.
The duties it imposes, and those it contains,
with all the matters over which it is diffused,
become holy and perfect, because, being unlimited in power,
everything it touches shares its divine character. …
The entire virtue of all that is called holy is in its approximation
to this order established by God; therefore nothing should be rejected,
nothing sought after, but everything accepted that is ordained
and nothing attempted contrary to the will of God. …
When God requires action, sanctity is to be found in activity.”
Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 15
An excerpt from
Abandonment to Divine Providence

a derisive shake of the head

“Be sure that you first preach by the way you live.
If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing,
but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical
laughter and a derisive shake of the head.”
St. Charles Borromeo

(jack-o-lanterns mushrooms (poisonous) Julie Cook / 2021)

“The will of God gives to all things a supernatural and divine value
for the soul submitting to it. The duties it imposes,
and those it contains, with all the matters over which it is diffused,
become holy and perfect, because, being unlimited in power,
everything it touches shares its divine character…
The entire virtue of all that is called holy is in its approximation
to this order established by God; therefore nothing should
be rejected, nothing sought after,
but everything accepted that is ordained and nothing
attempted contrary to the will of God…
When God requires action, sanctity is to be found in activity.”
Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 15
An Excerpt From
Abandonment to Divine Providence

an early Joyous Easter

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair.
We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła)

(empty tomb courtesy the web)

We have a jammed packed next couple of days…
Starting with a wedding in Atlanta on Friday…

One of my oldest and dearest friend’s daughter is getting married.
Getting married in the midst of a pandemic is problematic at best…
ask any bride from this time last year all the way ’til now…
Cancelations, plan B’s, C’s and even D’s to simply giving up and giving in
while opting for the notion of eloping.

I kind of happened to mention to my friend that…
“you do know, that in all of Christendom, there are no weddings on Good Friday…”
“And why is that?” she asked a bit annoyed…you should know my friend is Jewish
while the groom and his family are Catholic.

Oh something about Good Friday being the most solemn day on the Church’s calendar…this as my thoughts trail off…

I got a rather quick and snappy reply from a mother of a bride who has had
to jump every hurdle and hoop known to man due to a pandemic while trying
to pull off the wedding of a daughter’s dream….
“Well you know” she begins…”had some idiot in China opted not to eat a d@mn bat,
we’d be having the wedding on Saturday and they’d actually be going on their honeymoon
of choice but again, since some d@mn idiot in China decided to eat a bat… we are, in turn, living plans B, C, D, E and even F!!”

We mustn’t mess with the mothers or the brides of 2020 and now 2021…

And so immediately following the wedding, we’ve got to race back home because I’m signed up to get my second vaccine at 9 AM sharp at the Cancer and Blood Center in Athens.

I know…
I was vaccine shamed…plain and simple, so let’s not talk about it…

Rather let’s pray I don’t get as sick this round as I did following shot number 1 …because
everyone is coming to our house Sunday for Easter Lunch!!!!

So, since the next couple of day’s will be spent dashing here and there as well as cooking and cleaning …
I wanted to wish everyone a joyous day of Resurrection…
A keen reminder of redemption and hope!

“The soul that does not attach itself solely to the will of God will find neither
satisfaction nor sanctification in any other means,
however excellent by which it may attempt to gain them.
If that which God Himself chooses for you does not content you,
from whom do you expect to obtain what you desire?…
It is only just, therefore, that the soul that is dissatisfied with the divine action
for each present moment should be punished by being unable to find happiness in anything else.”
Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 14
An Excerpt from
Abandonment to Divine Providence

Captian’s Log– Week 2: defaced along with claimed and counter claimed…what shall you be?

There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch,
every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.
C.S. Lewis

(a defaced statue of Christopher Columbus in southern California / AP)

“Who is Lucifer?
He is a pure spirit, and was the most enlightened of all pure spirits,
but is now at war with God and with His rule.
The mystery of sin is merely the result of this conflict,
which manifests itself in every possible way.
Lucifer, as much as in him lies, will leave no stone unturned to destroy what
God has made and ordered.
Wherever he enters, there is the work of God defaced.”
Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 114
An Excerpt From
Abandonment to Divine Providence

nutritional needs

“Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us.
Both are good when both are possible.
Otherwise, prayer is better than reading.”
St. Isidore of Seville

(the bottle arsenal / Julie Cook / 2017)

We are living in a hyper-focused time of food and nutrition.
Superfoods, trendy foods, diet foods…each abound.
What’s in, what’s out, what’s hot, what’s not…
Protein, fats, carbs, sugars…fried, sauteed, raw, whole, vegetarian, vegan, carnivore…
soy, soba, matcha, chia, ancient grains, wheat, gluten…

On and on goes the list.

Thin is dangerously in while obesity quietly plagues the West.

As an educator, I knew first hand the importance of our students receiving proper nutrition.
Not all of our kids received three square meals a day…meals that were portioned,
nutritional conscious, or filling.

An unfed body houses an unfed brain…
And an unfed brain equates to delayed growth potential and lower performance standards both
physically, mentally and eventually educationally.

We know that in order for a child’s brain to properly develop and to develop well—children
need good brain food–good nutrition.

So why should nutrition be any different for a believer of Christ?

As a Believer, we need to nourish our minds, hearts, bodies and souls…

We need to read and digest holy Scriture
We need to fill our beings with prayer..
as we season our lives with the words of those saints and martyrs who
have each set the standard of faithful living

“This God of all goodness has made those things easy which are common and necessary
in the order of nature, such as breathing, eating, and sleeping.
No less necessary in the supernatural order are love and fidelity,
therefore it must needs be that the difficulty of acquiring them is by no means
so great as is generally represented.
Review your life.
Is it not composed of innumerable actions of very little importance?
Well, God is quite satisfied with these.
They are the share that the soul must take in the work of its perfection.”
Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p.7
An Excerpt From
Abandonment to Divine Providence