The Eponymous Flower: Rumors of a Coup in the News and Internet to Unseat Hollande Government

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Hope

In many ways I am two minded about what is to come.

Certainly I look forward to the Triumph of Mary and the end of this present rwign of sin, the worst since the beginning of the world. I particularly look forward to the great slaughter of the innocent which is abortion, an atrocity that cries to the throne of God for vengeance.

On the other hand I enjoy life very,very much. Its like a rich deep wine I drink from every day and which brings me great, great joy. The reason for this is that I love God very much and this love touches every second of my day and all whom I meet. I also was looking forward to retiring and there was just so many things I was looking forward to spending times doing so many things...so part of me wants to say to God, no , hold on on these things wait a while.

Another part is very aware of how the future trials will affect me family and those I love and this frightens me, I want to hug and protect them. For the huge cancer in our world will never be removed without huge harm to many who are innocent. Also when I look at young people, they are so beautiful, their lives just starting and I no in my heart so very, very many of them will not finish the full course of their lives, so many hopes ended....

Also I know I myself will suffer very,very greatly and die a very hard death..all these things give me great pause.

Spiritual Detachment 2

I think when we read of the Garden of Eden we see the end result of Spiritual Detachment. For in practicing detachment we are travellling back in time, overcoming sin and holding all things as a gift from God. We who have been excluded from the garden through sin find life often a bit crazy and mad, disorientated, lacking in peace. A bit like some insane movie in which things are fixed together in an insane jumble.

Again the soul that is not detached is bit like a householder who never cleans up or organises things. The furniture is in a jumbled pile, the place has never been decorated of cleaned, we have a feeling we are in a lunatic asylum. To unjumble it and clean things up all things must be accepted as pure gift from God and held as being on loan. Which is the true way things are. There is an old saying in Castille, 'Life is but a dream'/ Life is very,very short. I think its only as you get older you get a real sense of this. My mother and father used to read the , 'Irish News' every day and gazed with great interest at the death columns and every day seemed to spot someone who had died, exclaiming as they did so at seeing someone they knew who had passed on.

I suppose this may sound a little depressing, but this earth is not our true home. In the light of eternity, I suspect this life will seem like a drifting spot in the distance.

For those who do not pray everything is an insane mess, without point or meaning. You see this again and again in books and films and art. Insane things happening to insane people. A mad hotspodge were you never know whats going to happen next. The opposite of this, accepting all things as gift gives the greatest feelings of peace and calm, of all things having meaning. The house is no longer a great jumble but everything is ordered in God, FOR THE SOUL IS GOD'S HOUSE.

Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.
[size=18] It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.[/size]

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
We are all of us intensely selfish and proud people. Its only when God leads us to fight against this we even begin to realise this. Even the very best of our actions come tainted by regard for self and pride. Thats for instance is why Jesus warned us that when we do something good we should do it in secret so that our Father that sees all things done in secret may reward us . You will have noticed your self how hard it is, after having done something good to keep quite about it, even by a glance or a half comment we like to throw a little searchlight unto it. The reason for this is that few things we do have not a very good piece of self love in it.

There used to be a song years ago which my mother used to hate and grind her teeth at called. 'No charge'. Do you remember it? Here it is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2PCxFNtvTs

The mother asked her child to do something and the child wants to charge her for it. The mother sings out a huge long list of the things shes done and says there's no charge.

What made my mother angry was that the mother was throwing all she did for the child back in the kid's teeth. My mother used to say that no one forced her to have ten children and since she decided to have them it was up to her to look after them!! :lol: But the opposite of this are the big charity events were superstars pat themselves on the back and tell each other how wonderful they are. They, as Jesus said have gotten their reward.

I am maybe not putting all this to well , I will come back to this....

The Prayer of Union

Sometimes folks compare Saint John of the Cross to the Lord Buddha and speak of his spirituality as being like Buddhism. In many ways, on the surface it seems similiar.

Buddhism, and many other Eastern religions speak of 'Maya' illusion. At the core of all things there is unity and oneness {I suppose you might stretch this and say maybe they mean God, though they do not say this}. People are separated from becoming one with the all through 'Maya' the illusion that everything {especially ourselves} are separate from the unity of all things. When the individual cuts through this illusion of being separate he or she attains 'Enlightenment' or Siddharta , or becomes 'Self-realised' and becomes one with the one. Thats why when you see the Buddha sitting under the Banyan tree in pictures he has a big sappy grin on his face. For he has cut through the nonsense and realised that suffering, pain death, whatever is illusory. {One of the best books I ever read on this was by the German Herman Hesse called, 'Sidharrta'.

Going back to the '60's there has been great dialogue between Catholic Contemplatives such as the American Cistercian and writer Thomas Merton and they often equated Catholic prayer stages with Eastern experiences. So that Enlightenment in Eastern terms might be considered the same as Spiritual Marriage, the highest prayer state in Catholic understanding.

These Catholic thinkers were well experienced in prayer and very well read in Eastern religions so manybe they are right. However I myself do not think so. In order to compare the two ways of prayer we must I think look at what Saint john of the Cross and other Catholic saints and writers meant be detachment and also look at scripture.

Jesus , for instance says,

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6)

to be contd

Women at Work

For the last two years I've been working in a hospital. So for the very first time in my life I have been working mostly with women and it has been a bit of a learning curve for me as in the past I have always been working with men. All the same I have been getting on very,very well with them all with a few hiccups along the way. After one such hiccup lately I have been spending more time thinking about women , what they like and don't like and trying to do better to get along with them.
So, anyway I'll state a few of my conclusions and invite any women who happen to read this to comment and give me advise on where I am right, were I am wrong and any advise on where I could do better would be appreciated. :)

First of all I really think that what makes men tick are very different. When I started on the job I naturally related to women as I always did with men, But I think this doesn't really work so well and so have had to mend my ways.

One big no , no is to show any sign of overt aggression like loosing my cool or my temper. I think that this is the biggest no no of all. Women really hate this and regard it as bullying and totally unacceptable. This is not to say that women are not aggressive on occasions, they often are but they make their points very subtly and they also pick up very subtle criticisms very quickly too. I watched my boss give off to another lady by email during the week. There was a time I would not have understood what she was doing. But now I see that she was very clearly 'shouting at her'. So I think what I think of as a hint of criticism from me is like shouting in someones face to women.

They tend to be very caring with each other, for instance when I was quiet for a while last week two of them asked me if I was alright. If I was to wait for men to do this I would be found dead. :wink:

The way women approach work is very different from the way I did. I simply thought of getting the job down, but for women relationships. and how we get on with each other is primary. On the surface this looks like things are slowing down as they discuss what they are doing and how they will do it. However in the end the work gets done an awful lot faster and I have no idea at all how this happens, but it does.

I also notice, but perhaps I am wrong in this , that women seem to worry a lot more about succeeding at what they are doing than I do, that they are much more inclined to doubt and worry. Also they seem much, much more sensitive to criticism. Perhaps this is why they worry so much.

I think maybe when women make a judgement on someone it is pretty final and so it is a very,very bad idea to have a woman for an enemy. For instance there is one lady at work the other women do not like{and perhaps with very good reason}. They are very nice to her and at first I thought all was normal but after a while bu subtle signs I saw they all had their back totally against her and were implacable in this. She was as good as dead. :wink: Men fall out too, of course but I think not as implacably.

I think women tend to male allowances for men like myself and in a way pity me for not seeing things at all which they seem very clearly.

Its all very interesting , I THINK I have learnt a few things but if any woman reads this I would love a few hints. I think I have learnt to appreciate and respect women a lot more, I've enjoyed this , though I've discovered a few prejudices on my own part. Its mice, I enjoy it, its changing me too, making me, I hope a little more sensitive myself....well I hope so anyway. :wink:

Worrying

I was watching a video of the famous Sister Emmanuelle of Mediugorje. She quotes an apparition of Our Lady in which she gave the most beautiful message. Our lady said we should give her all our troubles and in return simply to pray for her intentions and she'll take care of the rest!! What a wonderful deal!! Of course this message is entirely scriptural too, in fact casting our troubles on the Lord, not to worry and trust is a constant theme:

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field
grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon
in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God
clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little
faith?" Matthew 6

Isa 46:4 Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you

'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.' ~So those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. ~Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. Isa 46:4

She tells the story of Albert, a French guy who was converted in Medugorje and returned to the faith. Albert was worried about his wife, an unbeliever. For Our Lady had asked that families should pray together and there wasn't a hope hos wife would join him. However when he returned home he used to go into a quiet room and pray and eventually, lo and behold his wife joined him there and was converted.

Matthew 6:5-8, NIV: And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

So Albert had done a deal with Our Lady he had prayed for her intentions and left worries about his wife in her hands and she had come through for him!!

A lovely story and I am sure it happens again and again with converts, a bit like grace being like a stone dropped in quiet waters and spreading its ripples everywhere.

When I was converted my biggest worry was for my brothers and sisters for my biggest fear was that they would end up in hell.