Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-11-05, Memorial, St. Martin of Tours

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 11-11-05 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

November 11, 2005
Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, bishop

Psalm: Friday 48

Reading I
Wis 13:1-9

All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;
But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.
For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
But yet, for these the blame is less;
For they indeed have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:2-3, 4-5ab

R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

Gospel
Lk 17:26-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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Alleluia Ping!

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Let us pause in silence in remembrance of the Veterans

 who have served to sustain our liberty.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

 

[Salvation]

Saint Martin of Tours Bishop, Confessor 316-400[Patron of Soldiers]

[Salvation]

From: Wisdom 13:1-9


Created Things Tell Us of God

---

[1] For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature; and
they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who
exists, nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his
works; [2] but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air, or
the circle of the stars, or turbulent water, or the luminaries of
heaven were the gods that rule the world. [3] If through delight in
the beauty of these things men assumed them to be gods, let them know
how much better than these is their Lord, for the author of beauty
created them. [4] And if men were amazed at their power and working,
let them perceive from them how much more powerful is he who formed
them. [5] For from the greatness and beauty of created things
comes a corresponding perception of their Creator. [6] Yet these men
are little to be blamed, for perhaps they go astray while seeking God
and desiring to find him. [7] For as they live among his works they
keep searching, and they trust in what they see, because the things
that are seen are beautiful. [8] Yet again, not even they are to be
excused; [9] for if they had the power to know so much that they could
investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of
these things?

---

Commentary:


13:1-9. This is the great biblical text on the proof of the existence
of God by means of analogy. It constitutes a searching critique of
many of the philosophies in fashion at the time, and of idolatry
involving the “elements” of nature and heavenly bodies (cf. the notes
on 11:1-12:2). The line of reasoning here is something not seen before
in the Old Testament, and it is developed in the New Testament in
Romans 1:18-32. Using these passages from Wisdom and Romans, the
Church teaches that it is possible to have natural knowledge of God by
working up from visible creation: “The world, and man, attest that
they contain within themselves neither their first principle nor their
final end, but rather that they participate in Being itself, which
alone is without origin or end. Thus, in different ways, man can come
to know that there exists a reality which is the first cause and final end of
all things, a reality ‘that everyone calls “God” (St Thomas Aquinas,
"Summa Theologiae" 1, 2, 3)” ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 34).


The Magisterium of the Church has laid much stress, especially since
Vatican I(1870), on the fact that “God, the beginning and the end of
all things, can be known with certainty from created things through
the natural light of human reason” ("Dei Filius", Chap. 2). Vatican
II, for its part, says that “Holy Scripture teaches that man was
created ‘to the image of God,’ as able to know and love his Creator,”
and it added: ‘The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he
is called to communion with God. The invitation to converse with God
is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists
it is because God had created him through love, and through love
continues to hold him in existence” ("Gaudium Et Spes", 12 and 19). By
God’s mercy, natural reason is aided by supernatural Revelation, which
never contradicts reason or supplants it, but raises it onto a higher
level and enlightens it: “For man to be able to enter into real
intimacy with him, God willed both to reveal himself to man, and to
give him the grace of being able to welcome this revelation in faith.
The proofs of God’s existence, however, can predispose one to faith
and help one to see that faith is not opposed to reason” ("Catechism
of the Catholic Church", 35).


The created world is itself a (natural) Revelation of God: “Even
before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself
to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his
Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos--which both the
child and the scientist discover --‘from the greatness and beauty of
created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator’,
‘for the author of beauty created them’ (Wis 13:5)” ( "Ibid"., 2500).
Developing these teachings, John Paul II explains: “This is to
recognize as a first stage of divine Revelation the marvelous ‘book of
nature’, which, when read with the proper tools of human reason, can
lead to knowledge of the Creator” ("Fides Et Ratio", 19).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

From: Luke 17:26-37


The Day of the Son of Man (Continuation)

---

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] "As it was in the days of Noah, so
will it be in the days of the Son of Man. [27] They ate, they drank,
they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah
entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
[28] Likewise as it was in the days of Lot--they ate, they drank, they
bought, they sold, they planted, they built, [29] but on the day when
Lot went out from Sodom fire and brimstone rained from Heaven and
destroyed them all--[30] so will it be on the day when the Son of Man
is revealed. [31] On that day, let him who is on the housetop, with
his goods in the house, not come down to take them away; and likewise
let him who is in the field not turn back. [32] Remember Lot's wife.
[33] Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life will preserve it. [34] I tell you, in that night there will be
two men in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. [35] There
will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other
left." [37] And they said to Him, "Where Lord?" He said to them,
"Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

---

Commentary:


23-36. These words of our Lord are a prophecy about the last coming of
the Son of Man. We should remember that prophecy often involves events
on different levels, many symbols, a terminology of its own; the
"chiaroscuro" which they create gives us insight into future events,
but the concrete details only become clear when the events actually
occur. Our Lord's last coming will be something sudden and unexpected;
it will catch many people unprepared. Jesus illustrates this by giving
examples from sacred history: as in the time of Noah (cf. Genesis
6:9-19:7) and that of Lot (cf. Genesis 18:16-19:27) divine judgment
will be visited on men without warning.


However, it is useful to recall here that everyone will find himself
before the divine Judge immediately when he dies, at the Particular
Judgment. Thus Jesus' teaching has also a present urgency about it:
HERE AND NOW a disciple should scrutinize his own conduct, for the
Lord can call him when he least expects.


33. "Will preserve it": what the Greek word literally means is "will
engender (his life)", that is to say, "will give true life to the
soul". Thus our Lord seems to mean the following: he who wants to save
his life at all costs, making it his basic value, will lose eternal
life; whereas he who is ready to lose his earthly life--that is, to
resist even to death the enemies of God and of his soul--will obtain
eternal happiness through this struggle. In content this passage is
almost identical with Luke 9:24.


36. In the Vulgate this verse reads: "Una assumetur, et altera
relinquetur. Duo in agro; unus assumetur, et alter relinquetur" ("One
will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one
will be taken and the other left"). These words seem to be an addition
to Luke, taken from Matthew 24:40; they do not appear in the better
Greek manuscripts, which is why the New Vulgate omits them.


37. "Where the body is, there the eagles will gather": the Greek text
uses a word which could mean either eagle or vulture. In any event the
proverb indicates the speed with which birds of prey swoop down on
their victims--apparently referring to the sudden, unexpected way the
Second Coming or Last Judgment will happen. Sacred Scripture also
deals with this subject in other passages: "But as to the times and the
seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you.
For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a
thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). Once more Jesus is
exhorting us to be watchful: we should never neglect the most important
thing in life--eternal salvation. "All that, which worries you for the
moment, is of relative importance. What is of absolute importance is
that you be happy, that you be saved" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 297). So
curious are the Pharisees and the disciples about the time and place of the
Last Coming that they are distracted from Jesus' main point; the same thing
happens to us: for example, we can spend a lot of time pondering the
circumstances of the deaths of people we know, and fail to grasp the warning
these deaths contain--that this life is going to end one way or another and
that after it we too will meet God.

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

Friday, November 11, 2005
St. Martin of Tours, Bishop (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Isaiah 61:1-3 Psalm 89:2-5, 21-22, 25, 27 Matthew 25:31-40 Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are. -- Gaudium et Spes

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Collect: Father, by his life and death Martin of Tours offered you worship and praise. Renew in our hearts the power of your love, so that neither death nor life may separate us from you. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Recipes: » Apple Sauce » Chestnut Dressing » Cinnamon Apples » Goose with Apple Stuffing more » Mulled Bishop's Wyn » Pate de Foie Gras » Potato and Sausage Stuffing » Roast Goose » Roast Goose » Roast Stuffed Pork Fillet » Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage » Haggis » Haggis » Hobby Horse Cake » Homemade Sausages » Bischofsbrot (Bishop's Bread) » Bishop Wine » Almond Horseshoe Cakes » Horseshoe Cookies » St. Martin's Horseshoes less Activities: » Death and Burial » Namedays » November and the Holy Souls » Practical Suggestions for Christian Living (Anointing of the Sick) more » Praying for the Dead and Gaining Indulgences During November » Prepare for Death » Preparing for Heaven » Religion in the Home for Elementary School: November » Religion in the Home for Preschool: November » Teaching About Death » Teaching Children About Sickness and Death » What is a Nameday? » Martinmas Traditions » Martinmas: Clothing the Naked » Nameday Ideas for Bishop Saints » St. Martin of Tours and Armistice Day (November 11) » Thanksgiving and Martinmas less Prayers: » November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory » Little Litany of the Holy Souls » Iste Confessor » Prayer for a Happy Death more » Daily Acceptance of Death » Table Blessing for the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, Monk and Bishop less

November 11, 2005 Memorial of St. Martin of Tours, bishop; Veterans' Day (USA) Old Calendar: St. Martin; St. Mennas, martyr Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Martin of Tours, bishop. St. Martin is the first bishop and confessor honored by the Church in the West. He was a principal apostle of Gaul, where his feast was celebrated as a holyday of obligation with an octave and popular celebrations. Before the reform of the Roman Calendar in 1969, this was also the commemoration of St. Mennas, an Egyptian soldier and martyr, put to death during Diocletian's reign (c. 295). His feastday is no longer on the Universal Roman Calendar, but has been transferred to particular calendars. Veteran's Day (USA), Remembrance Day (Canada) On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month of the year 1918, an armistice was signed, ending the "war to end all wars." November 11 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during the war in order to ensure a lasting peace. In 1938 Congress voted Armistice Day as a legal holiday, but World War II began the following year. Armistice Day was still observed after the end of the Second World War. In 1953 townspeople in Emporia, Kansas called the holiday Veterans' Day in gratitude to the veterans in their town. Soon after, Congress passed a bill renaming the national holiday to Veterans' Day. Today, we remember those who have served for our country in the armed forces in our prayers. For more information, read about Veteran's Day. St. Martin of Tours St. Martin was born (c. 316) at Sabaria, a town in Pannonia near the famous Benedictine monastery dedicated to his name. Against the wishes of his parents he associated with Christians and became a catechumen at the age of ten. At fifteen he entered the army and served under the Emperors Constantius and Julian. While in the service he met a poor, naked beggar at the gates of Amiens who asked alms in Christ's Name. Martin had nothing with him except his weapons and soldier's mantle; but he took his sword, cut the latter in two, and gave half to the poor man. During the following night Christ appeared to him clothed with half a mantle and said, "Martin, the catechumen, has clothed Me with this mantle!" Martin was eighteen years old when he received the sacrament of holy baptism. At the pleading of his superior officer, he remained two years longer in the army. Then, upon requesting dismissal, Julian accused him of cowardice. "With the sign of the Cross," Martin answered, "I shall more certainly break through the ranks of the enemy than if armed with shield and sword." When released he sought out St. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, and was ordained. Later he was made bishop of Tours. Close to the city he built a monastery (Marmoutier), where with eighty monks he led a most holy life. On one of his numerous visits to the imperial court at Trier, a certain man besought him to help his daughter, "I firmly believe in the Lord that my daughter will be healed through your prayer." Martin healed the girl with consecrated oil. Tetradius, who witnessed this extraordinary manifestation of divine power, asked for baptism. Martin also possessed the gift of discerning spirits. Once the devil appeared to him radiant and clothed in royal apparel, and spoke as if he were Christ. Martin, recognizing the deceit, replied, "The Lord Jesus Christ never prophesied that He would come in purple robes and royal crown." The apparition immediately vanished. Three dead persons he raised to life. While celebrating holy Mass a luminous sphere appeared over his head. He was far advanced in age when he fell into a grievous fever during a visitation at Candes, an outlying parish of his diocese. Unceasingly he begged God to release him from this mortal prison. His disciples, however, implored him with tears, "Father, why are you leaving us? To whom will you entrust the care of your disconsolate children?" Deeply moved, Martin turned to God: "Lord, if I am still necessary for Your people, I will not refuse the labor. Your will be done!" When the bystanders saw that despite his great fever he remained lying on his back, they besought him to change position to alleviate somewhat the pain. But Martin answered, "Brothers, rather let me look toward heaven than to earth so that my soul in its journey home may take a direct flight to the Lord." Shortly before death he saw the evil spirit. "What do you want, horrible beast? You will find nothing in me that's yours!" With those words the aged saint breathed forth his soul on November 11, 397, at the age of eighty-one. Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. St. Martin's feast, also known as "Martinmas" in Europe arrives in autumn, the beginning of the wine harvest. This was also the time of slaughter of the stock for winter meat. His images are usually depicted with a goose, symbolizing that Martinmas was the last festive meal before Advent, because in France in the Middle Ages, the strict 40 day Advent fast (called Quadragesima Sancti Martini or Forty Days' Fast of Saint Martin's) began the next day. So in past centuries November 11 was celebrated as a thanksgiving day. Thus it was the custom to have "St. Martin's goose" and taste the new wine ("Saint Martin's Wine") on his feast day. A quick spell of warm weather around his feast day (usually termed "Indian Summer" in the US) is known as "St. Martin's Little Summer" in Europe. Patron: Against impoverishment; against poverty; alcoholism; beggars; Burgenland; cavalry; equestrians; France; geese; horse men; horses; hotel-keepers; innkeepers; Mainz, Germany; quartermasters; reformed alcoholics; riders; soldiers; tailors; vintners; wine growers; wine makers. Symbols: Horse; sword and coat cut in halves; goose; scourge; hare; broken images; chair in flames; demon at his feet; globe of fire; Often Portrayed As: Man on horseback sharing his cloak with beggar; man cutting cloak in half. Things to Do: Recite the Iste Confessor in honor of St. Martin. Go through your closet and purge your wardrobe of unnecessary or surplus items and donate them to St. Vincent de Paul Society or some other organization that helps the poor. Cook a special dinner of roast goose or duck in honor of St. Martin. Bake some horseshoe cookies. In Europe this day is traditionally known as Martinmas. Many foods and traditions are connected with this day. Here is an encyclopedia of German words and traditions related to St. Martin. See also Women for Faith and Family for more Catholic traditions. For a children's perspective and craft project of paper lanterns for the St. Martin's Parade, see Fun Social Studies on St. Martin. St. Martin is patron saint of wine growers, wine makers and vintners. In France, the tasting of the new wine is done today. Have a Martinmas gathering, serving this year's Noveau Beaujolais wine from France. Read Painting Angels, Saints and Their Symbols for a discussion about St. Martin's symbols in art. For more biographies and other information on St. Martin, read Patron Saints Index. This page has a nice collection of art of St. Martin of Tours. Read Wilson's Almanac for more secular traditions related to this day. St. Mennas St. Mennas, according to legend a Christian soldier from Egypt, left the Roman army during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian to go into the desert and do penance. On the Emperor's birthday, which the people celebrated with outdoor spectacles, he entered the theatre at Cotyaeum and openly mocked belief in pagan gods. He was seized and cruelly scourged by Pyrrhus, the official in charge. Tied to the rack, his whole body was burned with torches, brushed with thorns, torn with leaden whips. He was finally beheaded and his body thrown into the fire. Christians took what remained and gave it honorable burial. His grave, close to Alexandria, became such a famous place of pilgrimage that, as at Lourdes today, a whole town arose to accommodate the pilgrims. Many small phials or eulogia have been found there which show St. Mennas between two kneeling camels. Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. Patron: Falsely accused people; peddlers; travelling merchants. Symbols: Man with his hands cut off and his eyes torn out; man with two camels; young knight with a halberd, an anachronistic depiction of his time in the Roman army. Things to Do: Learn more about St. Mennas. God does not ask of us the heroic acts performed by the saints. They came directly under the influence of the Holy Spirit; we cannot imitate them in everything, but we can admire them and be confirmed in love and obedience toward God.

[trisham]

Thanks for the ping!

[Nihil Obstat]

Thanks for these posts. That Catholic Culture web-site is great. Thanks for the link.

[Salvation]

Thanks for your kind words.

Yes, I really do like the Catholic Culture website. It used to be Peters Net

Have you found the tab where they rate Catholic sites? Very interesting.

[Knitting A Conundrum]

Trivia: The word chapel comes from the word capella which can mean cape. It has been said it refers to the shrine where St. Martin's cape was preserved.

I always thought that was neat. Read a nearly contemporary biography of him when I was about 17 and was always very impressed with him.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Pay Attention, He's Trying to Let You Know He's Here
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Friday, November 11, 2005

Wisdom 13:1-9 / Lk 17:26-37

A friend of mine lost his wife's diamond ring while bringing in the evening cocktails. The two of them searched high and low, swept the floors, and crawled about on their hands and knees, but all to no avail. As they sipped their drinks, mourning the loss of a precious keepsake, they were in deepest despair till the last ice cubes melted. There on the bottom of the wife's glass was her ring. It had been literally right under her nose all evening!

That right under the nose phenomenon is what today's Old Testament reading is pressing on our attention. Every day in a thousand ways, God is showing Himself to us through the marvels of His creation, both great and small. How much of that do we typically notice? Very little. No wonder we feel so alone and so uncertain about life and the Lord so much of the time. We're not paying attention!

So open your eyes, look more closely at the beauty that God has filled His world with, and take heart: You're not alone, and you never have been!

 

[Salvation]

Very interesting bit of word trivia there! Thanks.

[Salvation]

 

 

A Voice in the Desert

 

 

Friday November 11, 2005   Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (Wisdom 13:1-9)    Gospel (St. Luke 17:26-37)

In the Gospel reading today, we hear Our Lord talking about what is going to happen on the day the Son of Man is revealed. He tells us that there really is not a way that we are going to be able to know when it is going to happen. Life is going to be carrying on as normal. People will be eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting, building, and so on, and suddenly the Son of Man is going to be revealed.  

Now there are a couple of things we need to learn about this. First of all, we need to make sure that what we are doing is being obedient to the duties of our state in life. We are going to be expected to be found busy about the things of the world. The first and primary thing of the works of the Lord are the duties of our state in life, the very things that we are supposed to be doing. Rather than trying to seek things out that we really do not need to be doing and ignoring the things that we are supposed to be doing, we need to get that turned around so that our priorities are right.  

But also we need to look a little bit deeper to hear what the Lord is telling us and couple that with the first reading where we are told: All men by nature were foolish who were not able to recognize God. They were running around seeking to find things in all of the things of creation, but somehow, even in seeing the order and the beauty of creation, they were unable to reason to the reality of the Creator. It is a very interesting thing in our world today that we have people who are going to court, and have been now for about 40 years, to make sure that nothing is taught in school about God. Even though they present this idea of evolution, where they only simply want to look at creatures, in more than 150 years they have not been able to prove one iota of their theory. Nonetheless, they present it as science and they want to tell us that we need to present science, not faith.  

Science means knowledge. What we hear in the first reading is that we are condemned as being foolish if we are not able to recognize from the things of nature Him Who created them. How can we not recognize their source if we are able to see the wonders of what He created? And so these are the people who are going to be held extremely accountable. They were able to look at what was created, they were able to see the glory and the grandeur of the things that were created, they were able to understand to a great degree the complexity of the things created, then when it comes to finding their origin, they want to come up with some theory that completely denies that there could be a Creator of all of these things.  

We, on the other hand, need to look at things more simplistically. Simply look at the beauty and the order of creation and you realize in an instant that there must be a Creator. There must be Someone–not something, but Someone–with intelligence Who created these things. It is not just going to happen all by itself. If we want to think even for a moment about the likelihood of the evolution of the human person from an amoeba, which is what they would claim–even more than that, they claim somehow that those amoeba came from rocks that the rain fell on–if we even want to think about that for a second, it would take literally billions and billions of mutations to be able to get to us. And even with that, mutations normally make something weaker not stronger. By nature, something greater does not come from something lesser. Something greater can make something lesser, but something lesser cannot make something greater than itself. Just ponder the idea: Can two human parents make an angel? Can two animals make a human being? No. But this is what they want us to believe.  

We need to understand the reality of the way things are made, that they have a Creator. If we can see the beauty of creation, this is just a vestige of Him Who created it. That is where we need to be looking: at the Creator. Then on the day when He is revealed, we are going to be looking in His direction anyway. Then we will see the full beauty. We are not going to be taken completely off-guard because it is just going to be the fulfillment of what we have already been seeking. But if we are seeking somehow something which is false, something which is foolish, because we want to deny the reality of the Creator, then on the day the Lord is revealed, instead of beauty and goodness being revealed in us, foolishness and ugliness is going to be revealed because we refused to see the beauty and we refused to recognize the Beautiful One Who is beautiful beyond all else, the One Who created all things that are.  

So if we will simply focus on seeking God and seeking His Will and doing His Will then we have absolutely nothing to fear, to worry about, to be concerned about, or anything else, because we will be caught up, not in the beautiful things that He created, but in the beauty of the Creator Himself. Then there will be nothing more glorious for us than the day when the Creator is revealed, whether that is the day of the Second Coming, or whether that is the day when we are called forth from this world to stand before Him and ultimately to enter into Him for eternity. We will have found the fulfillment of our creation, not in some other creature, but in the One Who is uncreated, the One Who created all that is, and the One Who is beautiful and powerful beyond all else. 

*  This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.       

[Ciexyz]

Here's raising a glass (of carbonated beveridge, of course!) to all our service people on duty at home and abroad. Kudos to all FReeper vets who have done their duty in past years.

[Ciexyz]

My Granddad served in WW I, in the Navy. He got a medal for heroism for running below decks to help a comrade get on deck, to escape a mustard gas attack. Granddad didn't brag about his medal because he said it was something that any sailor would do for his fellow sailors.

Anyhoo, when I see the phrase "11th hour of 11th day of 11th month" I think of Grandpa and Grandpa (both passed on now), because the original Armistice Day would have meant something to them.

[Ciexyz]

Veterans Day is a day when I remember my Dad, who served in the Army stateside during WW II; my uncle who served on the sub Arkansas in WW II; another uncle who served in the Air Force in Korea; and various other relatives who served during Vietnam. One of my cousins has a husband serving in Iraq. May the Lord bless and keep him safe.

[Salvation]

**May the Lord bless and keep him safe.**

Amen!

[Salvation]

Did you check in on the Canteen thread today with all your information?