68°F E@3mph SR0603(0503) SS2011(1911)
Morning Offering given
Village wakiing
Coffee… pod
Birthday:
Lukus R
Jeff D
Anniversary:
Vic & Shell
Executive Orders Signed:
•The overhaul of childhood vaccine schedule… the WHO is protesting
St. Euplius died rather than reject the Gospels, reminding us of how easily we may access God’s word today. God of all knowledge, teach me to seek Your wisdom in the Gospels in all situations.
Meditations for Each Day, pg. 321, Christian Optimism
Two kinds
•Optimism of worldlings who expect nothing but pleasure from life. Running away from anything which smakcks of sacrifice or self-control, and as a result virtue is completely outside their grasp This kind of optimism is an inversion of true human values. It is the result of the domination which man’s lower instincts can sometimes acquire over his reason. But because our natural longing for what is good can never be completely stifled, this pleasant epicurean approach always leaves in its wake a sense of disillusionment. Sooner or later this optimism is converted into pessimism. Human pleasure must always turn to sorrow, and at this stage, unless some miracle of divine grace intervenes, the spirit rebels and falls prey to despair. It is true that most of us will have avoided the worst excesses of the epicurean outlook, but we may have developed a distortedly comfortable and selfish approach to life. If this is so, we should remember that our lives are in conflict with Christian principles.
•Christian optimism for Christianity is essentially optimistic. The Jansenist conception of Christianity as a gloomy and fearfully exacting creed is quite erroneous. Jesus has told us that his yoke is easy and his burden light and St Paul speaks of the arrival of the goodness and kindness of God our Savior. Christianity is not opposed to the principles of natural goodness; it does not frown upon the blessings of life, on normal human affections, and on the love of beauty. Christian teaching does not hold that our natural inclinations are evil, for they are forces which can be channeled to lead us towards holiness. Sin alone is essentially evil because it offends God and separates us from him. Even sin is only an evil in so far as it is a deliberate act in which we find pleasure and continues satisfaction. But if washed away by tears of repentance and by sacramental confession even sin becomes a source of goodness, for it leads us back to God. Only in Christianity can the human heart find satisfaction and peace. Christian optimism abhors the malice of sin, lightens our suffering, and moderates our pleasures. It helps us to see God’s image in all creatures, gives us joy in life, and hope in the hour of death.
Scripture Reading, Day 12 of Never Alone
Isaiah 54:3-4 For you shall spread abroad to the right and left; your descendants shall dispossess the nations and shall people the deserted cities.* 4* Do not fear, you shall not be put to shame; do not be discouraged, you shall not be disgraced. For the shame of your youth you shall forget, the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 For though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit appears on the vine, Though the yield of the olive fails and the terraces produce no nourishment, Though the flocks disappear from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD and exult in my saving God.
Know you are prayed for.
In the "Wilds of Wisconsin & Cornfields of Iowa" 