It ain't over yet...

 In a gust of wind, like a long heavy sigh, 
As the autumn leaves fall, they think, "It's over."
The rose nearest to the thorn appears out of nowhere,
The strange autumn rose that brings the winter wind,
Prior to withering before it like summer memories.
Don't withhold your hand from the rose for fear of the thorn.
A rose by itself is every rose and speaks all languages,
The rose does not care by what name you call it,
For after winter comes spring, and after night the day,
We are the link between the micro and the macro.
O Lord, I pray for all of those poor people
Who have no one to hug and pray for them,
And I also pray for those who will not pray.
I do not pray like a pigeon jerking its head up and down.
I Pray like your dog when he puts his head on your knee,
And looks you in the eye with love and devotion,
Pray for yourself until the day dawns in your mind's eye,
And the morning star rises in your heart,
Then begin to love others as you love yourself.
I am a prayer for you, my friend, and you are my "Amen!"

.

Like a warm hug...

The sun comes up, and the sun goes down.

The tide comes in, and the tide goes out.

Those who can, survive, to keep hope alive,

Until the Lord comes again to free us from

Our troubles and bring us home to Paradise.

Oh Lord, that our efforts are not in vain,

Please give us this day some daily bread

To share with those who have none

Like a warm hug from an angel, so that we may

Love our neighbors in the communion of brotherhood,

That every person on earth can have a full stomach,

Peace in their heart, and soul, and mind, and the

Blessed assurance of salvation. Amen!

.

Inevitable

There is a word called "inevitable"

That is spelled the same in English

And in Spanish. It is pronounced

Differently but means the same thing...

"Unavoidable and certain to happen."

Things that we don't yet understand

Until such time that it is almost too late.

Wake up, oh my soul and look around you

To see where your journey has taken you

And to see where you are presently going.

This is the time for searching out the truth.

It is the day that the Lord has made

For us to rejoice and be glad in it,

To be happily seeking our salvation.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

And my family, all the days of our lives,

And we will dwell in the house of the Lord,

Forever!

.

An observation...

After His Baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus prayed for forty days in the desert and then received three temptations by Satan. In his wonderful book, "The Life of Christ", Bishop Fulton J. Sheen writes that the third temptation was political and so Christianity and Politics have been closely associated for about two millennia.

Saint Augustine, in his book "Confessions" said that the third temptation is a wish to be feared or loved by people for no other reason than the joy derived from such power, which is no joy at all. It is a repulsive life of wretched vanity.

If we hold certain offices in society it is often deemed necessary to be loved and feared by people and the enemy of true happiness will always tend to be on the offensive. When we are avid to amass such approval, we may be caught off guard. We cease to find our joy in truth and place it in deceitfulness. It becomes our temptation to be loved and feared not for the sake of truth but for our own sake.

.

One more day...

Many of us look forward to eternal life.

But first we must deal with the present reality,

And know how to live here for the time being.

The past is no more, and the future is not yet.

There is only today and eternity to contemplate.

We live in this moment instant by instant.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery,

And today is a precious gift from God.

This is the day the Lord hath made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it,

"Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,"

For the Greater Glory of God.

​"Hoy, gracias a Dios, un otro día más​."

​Today, thanks be to God, one more day.​

.

Like a Hot Wind

It is the characteristic of evil powers

To take advantage of real weaknesses and

Stretch and enlarge them to the utmost.

We should not underestimate how deep a wound

That a vindictive tongue can make with a few words.

The devil likes to whisper his lies in intimacy.

What people call "insinuations" are like gunpowder

When passed around through malicious gossip.

The tongue is a useful tool in the realm of evil.

Truth must come from the heart and not the lips.

Those who drink in false gossip quite eagerly,

And repeat it as a form of gleeful entertainment,

Will slide unknowingly and insensibly into the habit

Of speaking evil to impress and titillate others,

And thus the evil gathers force from the wind

Like a tornado in tornado alley on a hot day.

In the case of lies and false conspiracy theories

The path of the wind leads straight to the abyss.

.

With "Prudence and Forethought"

If "In God We Trust," then what is organized religion for?

It is for the purpose of improving the nature of mankind,

In order for the proper governance of our actions, and

To secure peace and progress for individuals and for society,

To render us capable of a more perfect union with each other and

Our Creator, to which our present state of being is probationary.

This is a truth that people of good will who search for truth

Will recognize on its own evidence as morally right.

Okay, so what is morality? Morality is adherence to a set of values,

And prudence is the instrument of morality. Prudence is the ability

To govern and discipline ourselves by the divine light of reason. 

Prudence must precede our actions by choosing right over wrong,

Which we should always do with judicious "prudence and forethought,"

What is prudent and morally good according to our conscience.

(Bob Mrotek 2021)

So where do we go from here?

Those who live in a shadow world, ward off shadow spears with a shadow shield.
They ward off accusations of lying with the abracadabra of a forked tongue.
He or she who would fly without wings must do so in abject delusion,
And find out when they wake that to fly in a dream is but to dream of flying.
The reflective soul sees the hidden reality, and the ever-wanting soul
Sees only what it desires, and lives in a world of metaphor and hyperbole.
The past is colored by the memories of those in power who record it.
History may be laced with innuendo or fantasy or myths or conspiracies
Or even multiple realities by decree of committees and political parties.
The "clash of civilizations" is colliding with a "co-existence" future,
Where atomic weapons have made conventional world wars totally unthinkable.
Battles are fought with economics, propaganda, religious strife, politics,
Racism, misogyny, sexism, xenophobia, genocide, bio-weapons, and euthanasia.
There is trendy liberalism on the left and reactionary conservatism on the right
Moderates are in the middle, viewed as traitors by the left and the right.
I am like a wandering sojourner trapped in a virtual battle of Armageddon,
A man without a grudge, a man without a tribe, a man without an agenda.
I am not mad at anybody. I am just trying to understand everybody else.
What do we do now, who do we believe, and where do we go from here?

.

Pass it on...not!

It is the work of the Devil to take advantage of falsehoods and add fuel to the fires of anxiety.
We should not underestimate how deep a wound that a vindictive tongue will make.
The Devil likes to whisper lies in confidentiality and then add "Pass it on."
That which people call "white lies" are in reality powerful "white gunpowder." 
Falsehood, suggestion, and intimation are useful tools in the realm of evildoers.
Truth is written on the honest heart, but lies come from the mouths of liars.
Those who drink in false information and conspiracies, or repeat falsehoods without veracity,
Will slide unknowingly and insensibly Into the habit of speaking evil to impress others.
Thus the evil gathers force like a tornado draws force from the heat on a hot summer day.
In the case of lies, especially big ones, the force emanates directly from the gates of Hell.

.

The difference between cheap and free.

There is a major difference between cheap and free.
When things are cheap you are the customer,
And you more or less get what you pay for.
When things are free you are the product.
The worm on a hook looks free to the fish,
The fisherman pays for the the fish with a worm,
And the fish is the product that he purchased.
The poor worm was merely the payment.
There is a saying, "Por la boca muere el pez."
"By the mouth dies the fish", reaching for a freebee.
Mind what you eat, what you say, and what you do.
Freedom is not free either, its price is sacrifice.
Christ died on the Cross so that we could be free.
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 

.