Sunday, March 1, 2009

Brave and patient

"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world."

--Helen Keller

Forward

He is so very forward!
And this has set him
so very far backward
in my esteem.

Under the protection of ... God

"He that dwelleth in the aid of the Most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of heaven. He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector and my refuge: my God, in Him will I trust. For He hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters, and from the sharp word. He will overshadow thee with His shoulders, and under His wings thou shalt trust. His truth shall compass thee with a shield; thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the day, of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark, of invasion or of the noonday devil. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. For He hath given His Angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. In their hands they shall bear the up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone..."

--from Psalm 90

The tempter... and the Angels

"Again the devil took Him up into a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and said to Him: All these will I give Thee, if falling down Thou wilt adore me. Then Jesus saith to him: Begone, Satan! for it is written: The Lord thy God thou shalt adore, and Him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil left Him. And behold Angels came, and ministered to Him."

--The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 4