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Consoling the heart of Jesus

Good Friday meditation drawing  When Saint Therese was a little girl she had a prayer card with a painting of Jesus imprisoned in his cell looking at a single flower. This single flower was the source of his consolation. Saint Therese from those moments wished to be that flower providing comfort to our Lord throughout her life.

TQT: This Place, This Land


So today's bible readings seem to eerily resemble the events in the news.  It tells us how God commands his prophet Jeremiah to shout this out to the people.

“Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LordThus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’[a]
“For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers for ever. 
Jeremiah 7:1-11

In the news nowadays in the USA is the immigration crisis and in my country, the Philippines, it is the proposal to a government shift to federalism.


"do not oppress the alien"

The immigration crisis is a very difficult thing to fix.  I believe most Americans want secure borders but do not want to oppress those who are already oppressed.  I see issues like this - break families apart and really tear away at the fabric of American society.

I want to see Democrats and Republicans work together to fix this issue.  I want to see Americans volunteering at the border to help the dying and to vet who is an asylum seeker and who is not.  



"Do not trust in these deceptive words"

Sometimes it is hard to know which of the news is actually the whole news.  You see a headline and read it.  At the very last paragraph, you see something totally different from what the headline is trying to say.  At other times, the news leave out very important information that would make a significant impact on how you would think of the story.


"truly execute justice one with another"

In the Philippines, the police say there have been 4,279 people killed in drug-bust police operations since July 2016 (source) and in a recent report they also said that there were 22,983 cases filed under DUI (Deaths Under Inquiry) (source).

Despite government reports saying they seized 20.77 billion worth of drugs (source), the drug-related deaths cannot be justified.

We all need a government that gives all of us a fair trial.  Otherwise, life has no value. 

The killings of priests, mayors all seem precursors to a tyrannical rule wherein opposition is easily squelched.


"truly amend your ways and your doings"

If we as a people, run to God and His ways, we can live in our countries (and may I add) in peace and prosperity.  This is a call for true change, true conversion in each of us.   We need to amend our ways our doings.  We need to transform ourselves in order to have a transformed country.


Still, these may all seem too impossible for us.  If we cannot see this being fulfilled in our lifetime, we can see it fulfilled in our death.  As long as we amend our ways and our doings, we can look to the day where we can dwell in such a land.


Maybe it is this place, this land for which He calls us to.  



How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
    for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
    Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
    they are ever praising you.[c]
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
    they make it a place of springs;
    the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[d]
They go from strength to strength,
    till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
    listen to me, God of Jacob.
Look on our shield,[e] O God;
    look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts
    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Psalm 84


Lord, teach us to long for heaven.


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