080125

 


Real Life Catholic email today HITS STRAIGHT TO THE HEART and I'm putting it UP FRONT because THIS IS MY EXACT LIFE SITUATION right now AND what I've been PRAYING ABOUT =

"Saint Alphonsus Liguori (whose feast day is today) made a vow never to waste time. He was a bishop, oversaw a religious community, and served people in need. He also wrote about 60 books—often in little half-hour increments whenever he had free time. But for all his busyness, he would drop everything if someone needed to talk to him— not just the “big deal” kinds of people, but anybody. And he had no problem spending an hour or two with someone who simply stopped by. You see, he never saw "wasting time" with people as wasted time. What a beautiful (and challenging) witness!
I don’t know exactly how this principle should look in your life. I’m not sure how to apply it to mine! But I do know this: “making time for people interrupting him” is how Jesus did his ministry. He didn’t just preach to large crowds. Along the way, he always made space for interruptions— time to stop for the person in need— because he never forgot that people ARE the mission. He didn’t come to save a “thing” but people: you and me."

I cannot stop thinking about this.



So on THAT note God is LEVELING ME UP
Mom movie & Shahrooz pizza


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Could NOT stop crying during prayers this morning
We really need to STOP praying while biking, it's too overwhelming mentally
Prayers should stay still & quiet. We NEED exercise time to REST & RECHARGE OUR MIND and "burn off" body stress; praying during this is NULLIFYING ALL OF IT and making the prayers a BURDEN. So STOP!!

Switching the body outfit for August is HELPING WITH THE OCD??
The shorts fit tighter & slightly longer and so the touch somehow isn't as triggering?? THANK YOU GOD
In any case LEARN TO SIT WITH SUFFERING. We NEED to have that freedom & privilege. God give us the grace.


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Still working through Genesis 25-27 as the Spirit leads.
Feeling pulled back to the Etymology soon though.

⭐⭐⭐ BTW STOP COPYPASTING EVERYTHING. You're NOT obligated to respond to every statement, and we DON'T need to "collect data".
STICK ONLY TO COMMENTING WHAT IS BUILDING UP OUR MORAL UNDERSTANDING AND COMPREHENSION OF THE DEEPER SPIRITUAL NARRATIVE.

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https://hmml.org/stories/series-food-the-hunger-of-esau/

⭐‼️‼️"...why was Esau so hungry? Esau... was a tough man who was used to spending long periods in harsh conditions. However, he came home longing for and coveting what his twin was cooking... Esau was suffering intense hunger or starvation... “exhausted and tired"... “hungry and distressed"... weary or in great pain. [In an Arabic commentary] Esau describes himself as empty [in both hand & stomach]... “he suffered intense hunger and became weak in front of this [food].”  [An Arabic commentary claims] Esau was in the desert hunting when he noticed a deer running before him. He chased the deer under the heat of the sun until noon but did not manage to catch it. He arrived home almost fainting from exhaustion and hunger, red from sun exposure, to find his brother Jacob and his mother Rebecca eating. Esau asked his brother for some food, saying, “My soul has melted out of hunger.” ...When Jacob made birthright the condition, Esau wondered in himself about the benefit of the birthright when he was on the brink of starvation [and with no other ready access to food]... could this be an attempt to excuse him for abandoning his precious birthright? ...commentators usually end their interpretation by blaming Esau for such an irresponsible act. However, Arabic manuscripts provide compelling insight into attempts to do justice for Esau through considering his motives and the conditions he had experienced. The moral of the story remains: do not abuse those who suffer hunger, and be careful and patient when you are hungry so as not to be manipulated and sacrifice your privileges."
(Pasting this because it shows mercy to Esau and that's so important to me. He's not a one-dimensional figure for plot purposes. He was a real living human being and he was taken advantage of in a very compromised state. His attitude and "deserving" do not factor into the morality of Jacob's manipulation of a person in essential need– and his own twin, no less! Esau may have been "careless," but Jacob was COLD. Esau was foolish and boorish here, almost animal-like in submission to his primal need, but Jacob used his sharp intelligence like a hunting knife against him. In that regard, Jacob actually had the much greater sin.)


Cleaning out tabs...

https://www.gotquestions.org/firstborn-in-the-Bible.html

⭐"The nation of Israel is identified as God's “firstborn” in the Bible... Israel held a special place of privilege and blessing among the nations."
(Named after JACOB, the younger twin– who, with the Promise given to him by Divine choice, WAS in effect "GOD'S firstborn"!

⭐"People in ancient cultures attached great value to the eldest son, assigning him distinct benefits and obligations... certain unique rights, responsibilities, and privileges... given priority and preeminence in the family, and the best of the inheritance."
(Benefits = boons & advantages
Obligations = binding commitments
Rights = special entitlements & freedoms that couldn't be revoked?
Responsibilities = accountable duties particular to him alone
Privileges = special advantages and permissions
Priority = considered first, regarded as more important?
Preeminence = distinction, excellence, surpassing rank)

⭐"The firstborn male was important because he was believed to represent the prime of human strength and vitality as the “opener of the womb”. As a result, the firstborn son became the primary heir of the family. The firstborn’s birthright involved a double portion of the household estate and the leadership of the family if his father became incapacitated or was absent for some reason. After his father’s death, the eldest son usually cared for his mother until her death and provided for his unmarried sisters."
(THIS IS ALL DESCRIBING JESUS. He fulfills all of it!
+ "opened the womb" of GOD; "firstborn of ALL Creation"
+ the prime of God's Strength & Life: "the fullness of God" in Him
+ "double portion"= "heaven AND earth" are given to Him
+ Leadership AS MESSIAH when God "was incapacitated" in broken Judaism and "was absent" to the pagan nations
+ After Joseph’s death, he cared for Mary = also gave her John
+ Unmarried sisters = with the "soul as female" assumption, refers to all "who do the will of the Father" (Matthew 12:50) but who are unbaptized (not part of the Church = Christ's Bride) & even ignorant of the Gospel??? Refers to all "grace obedient" souls who, faultlessly, do not know the Christian faith; Christ still preserves them??
(The "womb opener" bit is so interesting. It makes sense though, to assume that the FIRST child got the "maximum potency" of both parents generative capabilities, and subsequent children "had less potency available" as a result. It's like, once the seal is broken, "decay" inevitably begins. So the firstborn has an almost "biologically inherent superiority" from this mindset.)

⭐ "In the Old Testament, firstborn humans—and animals—were considered sacred to God. After God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, He commanded the people to consecrate every firstborn male human and firstborn animal to Him. The dedication was in memory of God’s great deliverance, and a sign to their children that God had brought them out of Egypt... the first male born to any woman or animal belongs to God. The cost of redemption is a sacrificed lamb. This evokes what happened on the night of Passover when Egypt suffered death and Israel was spared."
(THEY'RE ALL SIGNS POINTING TO CHRIST.
+ "Firstborn Son" AND Paschal Lamb
+ Concept of "first" = "only, exclusive" vibe; God creating all things "perfectly and once"? "All things THROUGH CHRIST"
+ Consecrated = set apart from the world, dedicated to GOD = WORSHIP; possibly patriarchal PRIESTHOOD; animals would be SACRIFICED. Jesus was BOTH.
+ Deliverance = from the 10th Plague; explicit reference to Jesus delivering from death
+ Brought out of Egypt = FREE from slavery; Jesus dies "in our place" so we are liberated from legal power of SIN)
(Firstborn consecration = "never forget that, if not for God, I would have been killed too (all men are guilty sinners, not just Egypt); God REDEEMED my life from Death (not simply "spared"= there was a BLOOD EXCHANGE with the lamb!!) so now I will serve Him WITH my life")
("Sacred" means "state of being sanctified" = Exodus 13:2 uses 6942. qadash, "to make holy." The word notably typically refers to THE SABBATH, to PRIESTS, to ALTARS, and to OFFERINGS. So FIRSTBORN are already inherently tied to ALL of that... as well as the later TABERNACLE. Again, absolutely Jesus foreshadowing.)

⭐⭐ "ALL prior implications of the firstborn’s role in the Bible serve to illuminate Christ’s preeminence over all creation and in the family of God."
(Key emphasis on "FAMILY"!! We can overlook that too easily.)

⭐ "In Egypt, as in most other countries, the law of primogeniture prevailed— the eldest son was the hope, stay, and support of the household, his father’s companion, his mother’s joy, the object of his brothers’ and sisters’ reverence."
(...We have really lost this entirely in America, it seems. But this realization of original gravity sheds much light on Scripture. Being the eldest son, the firstborn, wasn't just a "status," it was a VOCATION. Remember, in truth & in history, despite our modern culture of death, FAMILY IS EVERYTHING. The firstborn was the ANCHOR of its "hope," for a continued lineage, and for parental joy & support. He was their "stay," without whose blessed existence the married couple would languish in disgrace & grief? And he was their "support" as they grew older, and as the household grew larger. He was to be NOBLE of character, a good example & source of virtuous pride, the kernel of the family unit in a way.)
(ISRAEL’S FIRSTBORN, BEING CONSECRATED, MAGNIFY ALL THESE ASPECTS?)

‼️"In taking his position as firstborn lightly, Esau sinned against God and his family."
(WELL NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY!!)

⭐⭐"The description "firstborn of all creation" speaks of Christ’s preexistence. He is not a creature but the eternal Creator. God created the world through Christ and redeemed the world through Christ."
(To BE the "firstborn" OF Creation necessitates that He exist BEFORE ALL CREATED THINGS. A creature cannot be the "firstborn" of all creatures, because then who created it? It's a logical impossibility. Christ existed PRIOR to everything else, and HIS existence as Life and Logos is the very FOUNDATION AND FOUNTAIN of ALL creaturely existence: all that exists in us, first existed in Him. He is the "power and vigor" of God, the perfect and initial "expression" of God's Own Life.)
(Here's a hot take = Christ, AS MAN, LITERALLY IS THE "FIRSTBORN OF GOD", THROUGH THE VIRGIN MARY!!! Jesus is the "NEW ADAM" in the spiritual sense ONLY because He was an "Adam" to begin with!! JESUS IS THE "FIRSTBORN" OF THE NEW HUMAN RACE, AND THE "NEW CREATION" HERALDED BY THIS REDEMPTION. So He fits the term in BOTH mortal and divine ways!!)
(Notice the CREATED + REDEEMED pair! A firstborn child is "created" by loving parental union; BUT that same child is REDEEMED from deathg by the slain lamb!! Christ is BOTH the firstborn Son AND the firstborn Lamb!! He "redeems Himself" as a man from death BY His Own death, BECAUSE He is also the "spotless lamb OF GOD"?? Death COULDN'T touch Him; He had no sin to "merit" it! And so, again, THROUGH Him, mankind is "reborn"? As the "Firstborn" He acts on His Father's behalf and in His authority, and since God spoke the Curse over Adam's disobedience, God now keeps the Promise that lifts it, over the Son's obedience? His "blessing" is given to ALL mankind, through Him, when we receive His Spirit? I don't know my theology on this well enough yet to postulate further; I apologize. I'm getting confused so that means I MUST stop.)

⭐"In paying for our sin, Jesus Christ suffered death, but He also became “the firstborn FROM the dead”; that is, He conquered death and is the first person to ever be “born” to eternal life AFTER dying."
(He "REDEFINED" death for us?? Death will still occur until the Parousia, but it can't "charge a fee" or "post bail" now?? Jesus, bring INFINITE LIFE as God, basically "paid our debt OF life" to death WITH the endless wealth of HIS Blood. So when the faithful encounter Death, she cannot keep us because Christ has already "bought us out", by dying AS a man– or rather, AS MAN, in the very essence of what it means TO be human. He REDEFINED us in Himself. He is the "firstborn" of that newness.)

⭐⭐‼️"Note that Jesus is called the firstborn, not the first-created. The word "firstborn" (Greek word "prototokos") signifies priority. In the culture of the Ancient Near East, the firstborn was not necessarily the oldest child. Firstborn referred not to birth order but to rank. The firstborn possessed the inheritance and leadership. Therefore... The phrase "firstborn of all creation" proclaims Christ’s preeminence [and] sovereignty over creation... After resurrecting Jesus from the dead, God gave Him authority over the Earth."
()

⭐⭐⭐"Jesus CREATED the world, SAVED the world, and RULES the world. He is... the eternal Son of God... the self-existent, acknowledged Head [and Ruler] of creation... the Messiah... [The term "firstborn" declares] the PREEXISTENCE, the SOVEREIGNTY, and the REDEMPTION that Christ offers... Christ’s supremacy, sovereignty, and priority extend over all things and all other beings."
()

⭐⭐⭐ "Just as the firstborn son is head over his earthly family after his father, Jesus Christ is Head of the [heavenly family of the] Body of Christ— the Church — after God the Father. Just as the firstborn son receives the greatest inheritance from his father, Jesus Christ receives the world as His inheritance."


I'm headed down a Scripture-hopping rabbit hole here, although its a beautiful one. I can't learn everything all at once! Time to regroup.

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https://www.gotquestions.org/

‼️‼️‼️ "Esau focused more on earthly things than on the things of God. He would rather have his physical cravings satisfied than receive God’s blessings... our actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences are permanent, even after we have seen the folly of our ways."
(This is painfully relevant to our past. We must humbly remember this and accept those consequences as just, as well as merciful, for they are given from God's Good Hands and they help bolster both our repentance and our revulsion of past sins.)

‼️ "Receiving a blessing from one’s father was a high honor, and losing a blessing was tantamount to a curse."
(This helps explain Esau's distraught reaction, especially since he was so favored by his father!)

⭐"An Old Testament blessing of a father to his sons included words of encouragement, details regarding each son’s inheritance, and prophetic words concerning the future... A patriarch’s final blessing was important in biblical times as a practical matter of inheritance rights. In addition, some final blessings included prophetic statements that reveal God’s supernatural power at work through the men of His choosing."

⭐"A birthright was an honor given to the firstborn, bestowing “head of household” status and the right to inherit his father’s estate. The son with the birthright would receive a double portion of whatever was passed down."
(Now this makes sense. The eldest son was naturally the most capable– due to being oldest and therefore helping raise his siblings and support his parents from the very first– of leading the household and managing the property. Not only that, but with the real threats of infertility and infant mortality and death in childbirth, it was only logical to honor the firstborn with these responsibilities as a rule, to ensure he was being RAISED in a manner that would properly DISCIPLINE & QUALIFY him TO act as the future family head & manager, especially if there were no further siblings, or if his mother died early. So yes it was an honor, but it was a very practical and necessary one too.)
(Lastly I emphasize "right to inherit" because land was ESSENTIAL back then and would likely have caused sibling feuds if it hadn't been preemptively authorized... ESPECIALLY once the Promised Land became divinely distributed and NO ONE had any right to reallocate or reassign it.)

⭐‼️"A blessing could be given regardless of birthright. However, a greater blessing was given to the one who held the birthright... While a birthright belonged to the firstborn son, anyone could receive a blessing. In the time of the patriarchs, such blessings acted as a “last will and testament” and were highly prized as a means of revealing God’s will."
(I didn't realize this! So Jacob wouldn't have lost a blessing; he just wanted the BIGGER and SPECIAL one? He wanted "more of what was in the will"? In any case, that shows more of a disturbing "coldness" to Jacob’s heart– this is HIS DYING FATHER and he is still thinking "what can I get out of it?" Because he didn't refuse Rebekah at all, rather protesting in worries that it WOULDN'T work, so he obviously agreed to the ruse! He readily took advantage of a LAST WILL, and at his elder brother's expense. He "bought" Esau's inheritance, which was bad enough, but now he STEALS this emotionally weighty, deeply personal and final blessing from his own father, and robs his father of his intended hopes in the process. That's heinously wrong.)
(If Jacob was "seeking God's will" for his future in this, like Rebekah was allegedly seeking to "make sure" God's will for him happened as she interpreted it, then neither of them understood God properly. He couldn't be manipulated, and He didn't need their help. They only ended up the victims of their own schemes... and God's plans continued invincibly.)


https://bibleproject.com/podcast/why-cant-jacob-and-esau-both-be-blessed/

⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️ "If God’s blessing is about fruitfulness and multiplication, and it can be passed from one person to another, rather than always having to be received directly from God, why can it only be given to one son rather than to both? Esau says in verse 38, “Have you only one blessing, Father?” Why can Isaac give only one blessing? ...The story assumes a cultural practice from this time in history, in which a first-born son becomes the “image” of the father, inheriting his father’s status, property, and blessing. The blessing in question is the blessing of Eden to be fruitful and multiply and rule the Earth. That’s the blessing that gets passed on to the chosen lines of people. But again and again, we see God breaking the mold and blessing people from outside the chosen family. This is because the whole point of blessing a chosen family is so that those chosen ones would bless others. But the chosen ones are often greedy and abuse God’s blessing. THAT'S what is highlighted in this story with Jacob and Esau and then intensified throughout Jacob’s life."
(OH MY GOSH THIS CLARIFIES SO MUCH.
First= ONLY GOD CAN GIVE LIFE  THE CHOSEN PEOPLE ARE MEANT TO BIRTH THE MESSIAH. THE MESSIAH JESUS IS THE NEW ADAM. HE BRINGS US "BACK TO EDEN" FREE FROM SIN. SO THE CHOSEN PEOPLE ALONE ARE BLESSED WITH THE BLESSING OF EDEN, A "PROMISE" OF HOPE IN ITSELF THAT MAN WOULD BE RESTORED TO HIS ORIGINAL INNOCENCE, A HOPE FULFILLED IN CHRIST. In short = the Messiah was promised IN Eden. The chosen people are given the blessing OF Eden as the "sign" that all was not lost; that blessing had not disappeared; they were carrying it on in hope. And that hope is FOR ALL THE WORLD= just like Adam was the father of ALL mankind, SO IS THE MESSIAH, to a reborn and reunited mankind. The Edenic Blessing is ENTRUSTED to Israel, but in order for the blessing to TRULY reflect the reality of Eden, it MUST include ALL HUMANITY.)
(Something huge that is implied here= ALL BLESSINGS ARE MEANT TO BE SHARED???? Does this echo Eden in speaking to the shared nature of humanity, of our inherent interconnectedness, of our common blood? We are made for relationships, just like the Trinity. Eden was built on FAMILY. The blessing OF Eden is FOR FAMILY!! Do all blessings then follow this as a pattern?? Actually it's kind of just common sense. Why would you ever keep a blessing all to yourself?? If God has been that good and generous and kind to you, jf you have received such a wonderful gift and benefit, shouldn't you NATURALLY want to benefit others in turn with it, and reflect God's generous goodness back to them, for His glory and your joy?? That's the reasonable response!! So... what was Jacob thinking, in what he did? Did he not realize that, even as the blessing was for wealth and power, it would still involve his family? He would still have to involve others IN his blessing, inevitably? And he wouldn't "lose" those benefits BY "sharing" them, but rather such liberality would work "in his favor" by principle?? Even if he then had "less wealth to his own name" than he would have if he had greedily kept it all, he would have gained far more in the truly important riches of honor and virtue and justice and mercy and being pleasing to God?? What in the world was he trying to gain by stealing his brother’s blessing away, and thus depriving Esau of ANY such wealth?? We all rebuke Esau for his hunger-induced shortsightedness, but what about Jacob's equally myopic gambit here?? He obviously wasn't thinking about anyone ELSE'S futures, not with any earnest!! He just took Esau's!! Jacob might be even blinder to consequences than his brother–  Jacob's own "hunger" has compromised his judgment too. He wouldn't share the lentils, and now he wouldn't share the last will. He drove Esau to begging twice. Did Jacob not understand what a blessing was for? Did he and Rebekah hear the oracle solely as a "license to dominate", and not question the means they took towards that end? Did Jacob not understand what it meant TO be the head of a family, to be a leader, to be a father? Did they not see this reflected in God? Did they not realize that to rule is to serve?)


https://goodquestionblog.com/2017/11/17/why-didnt-god-give-esau-back-the-blessing-that-jacob-stole/

⭐ "the blessing that Jacob stole from Esau was specifically the blessing of primogeniture, that is, the blessing Esau would have been given so that he could fulfill his responsibilities as the first-born son of Isaac."

⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️ "Primogeniture was one of the existing cultural institutions that God incorporated into the Law of Moses to promote order and provide for those in need... In this culture women didn’t own property and so they were dependent on male relatives, typically their fathers and then their husbands. But any unmarried sisters, or widowed sisters without children, would have to depend on this oldest brother after the father’s death. That’s why he was given a double portion: so he could care both for his own immediate family and for his extended family in his late father’s stead. It was customary for a father, on his deathbed, to bless the firstborn son, asking God to give him material abundance so that he could care for the extended family, and to make his brothers come under his authority so that order would be preserved within the clan."
(THIS IS ACTUALLY BEAUTIFUL IN ITS MERCIFUL JUSTICE and it makes SO MUCH SENSE. THAT'S HOW and WHY you share your blessings!!
...it also is shedding light on just how complicated Esau & Jacob's situation really was– because I've been forgetting about Esau's track record. If his WIVES weren't respecting his PARENTS even now, would his wives have taken advantage of Esau’s birthright wealth upon his parents deaths, leaving his mother neglected?? Did GOD let Jacob take the birthright from Esau for the sake of the Abrahamic bloodline at large?? Jacob was already much closer to his mother, and in touch with her needs! As for authority, maybe that's simply because Jacob was seemingly less impetuous than Esau, and more given to management tasks? So was God working a deeper, hidden "justice" by "giving Esau the just deserts" of his unbelieving and earthly lifestyle– completely unfit to lead a holy people– by his OWN decision, and transferring it legally to capable and faithful Jacob, despite his underhanded methods, because the crude "means" was actually worthy to highlight Esau's unworthiness???)
(So I'm probably completely misjudging Jacob due to my own ignorance and I apologize. There's so much I don't know, and learn from paragraph to paragraph! Jacob did very wrong in robbing his brother, yes. But maybe he was thinking like "Robin Hood." He was still cruel to steal and deceive, but his moral compass may have been skewed by his own judgment of Esau as "unfit to preserve the future of the family", and of himself as "the leader his family needed," maybe even "which God had already appointed." So he had faith, and a sense of justice, but ironically they were BOTH still so, so skewed by pride.)

⭐⭐‼️ "God works through the free choices, both good and bad, of human moral agents to accomplish His purposes... God does not take away our free will; God lets us choose, and God is ALWAYS able to work with our choices to advance His Own positive purposes, although there can also be negative consequences for people who make bad choices."


⭐⭐‼️‼️ "Genesis tells us that “Esau despised his birthright,” that is, his responsibilities as the firstborn son weren’t important to him and he was likely to neglect them. Jacob, on the other hand, was hard-working and ambitious—a real hustler. He was much better suited to assume the leadership of the Israelite family as it began growing rapidly into a group of tribes that would become a nation. Ideally, Esau would have recognized Jacob’s abilities, and his own disinclination, and offered Jacob the role of family leader voluntarily. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. [And] Jacob was a “hustler” in another sense—a con artist. He took advantage of a weakness in Esau’s character to defraud him. The book of Hebrews describes Esau as “profane,” meaning literally that “nothing was sacred to him"... Jacob “sold” [the stew] to him in exchange for his birthright, which he knew meant nothing to Esau. But Jacob still had to get the blessing that went with the birthright, and so he also deceived his father Isaac, pretending to be Esau once his father’s eyesight had grown so dim that he couldn’t tell the difference."

⭐⭐⭐‼️‼️‼️"As a result of this deception, Jacob received his father’s blessing, in God’s name, of both material abundance and family leadership. So why did God honor this blessing, when it was obtained under such fraudulent circumstances? As I said earlier, God works through the free choices, both good and bad, of human moral agents to accomplish His purposes. Unfortunately we often don’t give God good choices to work with, and that seems to be what happened in this case.
There were plenty of negative consequences for Jacob: He had to flee from his brother’s anger at this deception, leaving with nothing but a staff and spending twenty years in exile. But through the hardships of those years, his character was shaped and he BECAME a man who COULD lead the tribes of Israel into their future. The same thing could have been accomplished much more positively, but I think that everyone involved didn’t give God enough good choices to work with to allow things to happen any better. As I said, God doesn’t take away our free will."


⭐"One final observation I’d like to offer is that when Jacob returns from exile a wealthy man, rich in flocks and herds, he does make some restitution to Esau for the material abundance he stole from him when he took his firstborn blessing. Jacob sends Esau hundreds of goats, sheep, camels, and donkeys, and when they meet in person, he says to him, “Accept the gift I have brought you.” This is literally, “Please accept my blessing that has been brought to you.” Jacob is making restitution by providing Esau with a “blessing” in place of the one he stole. Jacob also bows down to Esau and calls him “My lord,” even though Isaac’s blessing to Jacob had been, “Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.” These actions on Jacob’s part don’t undo Esau’s surrender of his birthright; that was a permanent transaction between the two of them, even though it wasn’t concluded under the best of circumstances. But it does seem that Jacob, now that he is more mature, at least tries to return some of the benefits of their father’s blessing to Esau. Sometimes this kind of thing is best we can hope for. It’s a messy world, even with an omnipotent God actively working to bring about its renewal."




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Divine Office is fantastic today =


"...instead of Mark’s ‘he could do no work of power there’ Matthew has ‘he did not do many works of power there’ because of their lack of faith. Thus in Matthew the lack of works of power is Jesus’ own decision because of their lack of faith, rather than any limitation of his power. Matthew frequently stresses that faith is a pre-condition for Jesus’ works of power, and in this Gospel Jesus often says to those whom he has healed, ‘Your faith has won this for you’. Faith is increased by these works, but there must first be some faith in Jesus on the part of the person to be healed."


"Be pleased, O Lord, to enkindle our hearts with the celestial fire of your Spirit, just as you granted that Saint Alphonsus should celebrate these mysteries, and by them offer himself to you as a holy sacrifice. Through Christ our Lord."


"I will gladly boast of my weaknesses, so that I may feel the protection of God’s power over me, for his power is strongest when we are weak. We have a spiritual treasure hidden in earthenware vessels, to show that the supreme power belongs to God and not to us, for his power is strongest when we are weak."

"All holiness and perfection of soul lies in our love for Jesus Christ our God, who is our Redeemer and our supreme good. It is part of the love of God to acquire and to nurture all the virtues which make a man perfect."

"Has not God in fact won for himself a claim on all our love? From all eternity he has loved us. And it is in this vein that He speaks to us: “O man, consider carefully that I first loved you. You had not yet appeared in the light of day, nor did the world yet exist, but already I loved you. From all eternity I have loved you.”"


"It was for [man] that [God] created heaven and earth and such an abundance of things. He made all these things out of love for man, so that all creation might serve man, and man in turn might love God out of gratitude for so many gifts.
But He did not wish to give us only beautiful creatures; the truth is that to win for Himself our love, He went so far as to bestow upon us the fullness of Himself. The eternal Father went so far as to give us His only Son. When He saw that we were all dead through sin and deprived of his grace, what did He do? Compelled, as the Apostle says, by the superabundance of His Love for us, He sent His Beloved Son to make reparation for us and to call us back to a sinless life. By giving us His Son, Whom He did not spare precisely so that He might spare us, He bestowed on us at once every good: grace, love and heaven; for all these goods are certainly inferior to the Son. He Who did not spare His own Son, but handed Him over for all of us: how could He fail to give us along with His Son all good things?"


"I exhort you to press forward on your journey in the grace with which you have been clothed; and you should exhort all men to gain salvation. Perform your office with all diligence of body and spirit. Strive for unity, for there is nothing better. Help all men, as the Lord also helps you; suffer all men in love (indeed, you are doing this). Pray unceasingly. Beg for wisdom greater than you already have, be watchful and keep the spirit from slumbering. Speak to each person individually, just like God himself, and like a perfect champion bear the infirmities of all. The greater the toil, the greater the gain."
   
"It is no credit to you if you simply love the good among your disciples; seek also to tame the more troublesome by your gentleness. Remember that not all wounds are healed in the same way — where the pain is acute, apply soothing poultices. Be prudent as the serpent in all things but always harmless as the dove. This is why you are both body and spirit — so that you can deal tenderly with the things which appear visibly and pray that the invisible things may be revealed to you. Thus you will lack nothing and abound in every gift. These critical times have need of you, as a ship needs a helmsman and the storm-tossed sailor needs a harbour. Be strict with yourself, like a good athlete of God. The prize is immortality and eternal life, as you know. I offer myself up as a sacrifice on your behalf — myself and these chains which you yourself have kissed."
   
"Do not be caught off balance by those who plausibly teach perverse doctrines. Stand firm as an anvil under the blows. The task of great athletes is to suffer punishment and yet conquer. But especially must we endure all things for the sake of God, that he also may endure us. Increase your efforts and watch for opportunities. Look out for the one who is above time and has no need for opportunities: the Invisible who became visible for us, the Intangible who is above suffering and yet suffered for us, who in every way endured for our sake."