REASONS WHY WE FEEL GOD'S WRATH

The question has often arisen: why does God permit evil? If he is truly the God of all flesh for whom nothing is impossible, why would he for any reason, allow his own chosen nation and race, his consecrated people suffer the yoke of domination from the devil and marginalization from the seemingly ungodly. The prophet Jeremiah was amongst the few prophets who lived within a most tumultuous Israelite nation. His was at the peak of Israelite’s adamance and rebellion against Yahweh. Babylon had defeated the Assyrian empire. Despite this, Israel remained unrepentant. The continuous exhortations of the prophets fell on deaf ears. One would think, Yahweh could have made use of other means to bring back his people, but at the tail end of this cycle of sin, Yahweh declares that Babylon shall become the instrument of his wrath against his own people.

USE YOUR CONTROL (PART 1)

And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.

James 3:6 GNT

CHRISTIANITY AND THE STATE: THE INVOLVEMENT

When we speak of Christianity in this parlance, we limit our scope to the Catholic church. Having traced the history of Christianity, and presented in an adumbrated fashion, what we may call the state and its functions to humanity, it is apposite that we turn our efforts to an examination of how the social teachings of the church expects that the church is to engage in the affairs of a legitimate state. The interrogation here is: to what extent is the church supposed to peer into matters that strictly concerns the state?

I JUST BELIEVE COLOR GIVES LIFE

 

As I grew up, I always thought I had a best color

I’d say blue today

Yellow another age

Pink was major at some point

Then I thought it was too girly

And I started liking black and grey

And then I saw my mum on Orange and woah

Orange reminds me of the sunset

So mature yet so beautiful. It’s not boring

I started liking orange

To Brown skin girl

Now I tell myself it’s Purple

But I know I just love colors

 

I love blue because of the skies, the seas…

 

CONQUERING ACEDIA: PRAYING WHEN PRAYER SEEMS DIFFICULT.

OUTLINE 

The Concept of Acedia
Different Forms of Acedia
Acedia as Spiritual Sloth
Melancholy 
Humility 
Progressive Growth to Contemplation
The saints and Acedia
St. Teresa of Jesus
St. Therese of the Child Jesus
St. Teresa of Calcutta 
Conquering Acedia
Fervency
Spiritual Direction
Group prayer (Community)
Openness to the Spirit
Conclusion

The Concept of Acedia

The Idea of Acedia in Christendom is an age-old experience. The term Acedia is sometimes used to imply a spiritual sloth or in fact a deadly sin. However, in more contemporary times, some spiritual writers equate it with spiritual dryness. Thus, the term will be discussed to reflect both meanings separately. Basically, in this reflection, it covers the scope of spiritual repugnance or difficulty in prayer. 
There is, obviously, no need to emphasize, afresh, the importance of prayer. St. Francis teaches that, “with the strongest commitment, we cultivate 'the Spirit of holy prayer and devotion to which all temporal things must contribute'” and according to Saint John Chrysostom, “it is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of prayer, a virtuous life… it is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.”
Acedia, then, in this context, simply means a condition in which we find it difficult to pray be it by our own fault, conditions beyond our control or by the making of the Divine.