"The Lord is the Living One, he is merciful."

"God is the Living One, the Merciful One; Jesus brings us the life of God; the Holy Spirit gives and keeps us in our new life as true sons and daughters of God. But all too often, as we know from experience, people do not choose life, they do not accept the “Gospel of Life” but let themselves be led by ideologies and ways of thinking that block life, that do not respect life, because they are dictated by selfishness, self-interest, profit, power and pleasure, and not by love, by concern for the good of others. It is the eternal dream of wanting to build the city of man without God, without God’s life and love – a new Tower of Babel. It is the idea that rejecting God, the message of Christ, the Gospel of Life, will somehow lead to freedom, to complete human fulfillment  As a result, the Living God is replaced by fleeting human idols which offer the intoxication of a flash of freedom, but in the end bring new forms of slavery and death. The wisdom of the Psalmist says: 'The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes' (Ps 19:8). Let us always remember: the Lord is the Living One, he is merciful. The Lord is the Living One, he is merciful."

                                                                         
                                                                                -  His Holiness, Pope Francis
                                                                                   June 16, 2013

A True Queen's Courage...

In deepest anxiety, as Haman the Agagite's plot to wipe out the Jews became known, Queen Esther, herself a Jewish girl in disguise, prayed to The Lord: "O my Lord, thou only art our King; help me, who am alone and have no helper but thee, for my danger is in my hand" (Esther 14:3-4).

She was the Queen of the mighty Persian Empire, and yet she was a Jew. Her faith was not just another aspect of her - it WAS her. Her life in God was immeasurably more real and more valuable to her than worldly entitlement. It was her guiding light and her deepest, most sacred treasure. 

What if we had that same faith in God? I'll speak for myself. How often to I actually act (especially in times of trial) as though my fidelity to God is just a given and I need strength to face the earthly consequences? Usually we're quick to jump ship as soon as trouble comes along. We think of all of the options before us - all of the ways we could get out of the uncomfortable or dangerous situation that we're facing.

Bot not Esther! Her true regal character shines forth not in gawdy apparel or the free exercise of earthly power. Her queenship radiates precisely through her unswerving love and devotion to the True King, and I for one hope to emulate her courage.