Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l'amour.
Là où il y a l'offense, que je mette le pardon.
Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l'union.
Là où il y a l'erreur, que je mette la vérité.
Là où il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
Là où il y a le désespoir, que je mette l'espérance.
Là où il y a les ténèbres, que je mette votre lumière.
Là où il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.
Ô Maître, que je ne cherche pas tant à être consolé qu'à consoler,
à être compris qu'à comprendre,
à être aimé qu'à aimer,
car c'est en donnant qu'on reçoit,
c'est en s'oubliant qu'on trouve, c'est en pardonnant qu'on est pardonné,
c'est en mourant qu'on ressuscite à l'éternelle vie.
As a Canadian citizen who loves being able to speak French, I find that I often prefer the French version of documents. The above is the Prayer of Saint Frances, a beautiful piece of work which we are singing at my church. But, as most people reading this cannot speak or read French, I shall be kind and provide the translation.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
Thursday, September 17
Muses: Tangents Part 1
Today in English class, I learnt that my teacher is not a religious man whatsoever. He tried to say his off-topic point gently, but eventually just gave up and spat it out. He stated that the Bible is a book with many great stories. Stories. He said that it was filled with amazing metaphors and things that really tell you how to live your life, though they are so obviously fake. Simply stories to encourage people.
I was appalled. He delivered the statement in a way which sounded like he thought he was giving a compliment, but I felt deeply wounded. 'Stories?' I thought. 'You're telling an entire class your twisted belief that the number one most popular book in the world and the most common religion is all based on pretty stories?' I must say that I lost a lot of respect that I had for him. But, as he so commonly says, "oh well. Anyway!"
I was in my German class later, and somehow a boy in my class managed to bring up the topic of religion. He decided that it was more important than the subject that two of his friends were presenting, so he shouted out, "Hey, Frau, do you believe in a Divine Being?" This boy had stated many times before in other classes that he didn't believe in God, that it was all garbage. He had a smug look on his face as he pressed the teacher to answer, which she tried again and again to avoid answering lest she offend someone in the class. Eventually, the boy asked straight out, "Okay, Frau, yes or no: do you believe in God?" The teacher smiled and said, "Why yes. Yes I do." I smiled as well, my heart warming at her happiness and laughing at the boy's mildly shocked expression. Unconsciously, I reached up and touched my silver cross that I wear everyday, and I saw him look at it briefly.
I reflected later on at how happy I felt when my teacher admitted that she was a Christian. I'm so surrounded by atheism at my school that it has become normal, and I feel surprised to learn that someone is religious. It's a rare occurrence. What I had never noticed was how I didn't feel comfortable with that concept. Church and God and Christ Jesus makes me feel warm and fuzzy, exactly the way curling up under a blanket in front of the fireplace in the middle of winter at my camp does to me, and when people don't believe in it whatsoever, it feels cold, void of emotion. It seems to frighten me, somewhat, and I never hesitate to point out that I am Christian to somebody who thinks it is okay to mock God. I really feel bad for these people. How sad of an existence is it to believe that once you die, you're going to... disappear... become a tree... burn and die... become one with the earth...
I, personally, would like to believe that I am going to spend the rest of eternity with the one Person who always has and always will love me unconditionally.
side note: I was bored one day and asking my friend some "What if..." questions repeatedly, coming up with a new one every time she would answer the last. One that she had no answer to was...
ME: What would you do if I said I had found my one true love and I was going to love him forever and ever for the rest of my life?
HER: I don't know, I really don't. Be shocked, maybe?
ME: Would you ask who it was?
HER: Yeah, sure. Who is this dream guy?
ME: Jesus.
HER: ...
ME: What? He's never going to leave me. I'm going to stick with Him as my answer, 'kay?
~Godspede
I was appalled. He delivered the statement in a way which sounded like he thought he was giving a compliment, but I felt deeply wounded. 'Stories?' I thought. 'You're telling an entire class your twisted belief that the number one most popular book in the world and the most common religion is all based on pretty stories?' I must say that I lost a lot of respect that I had for him. But, as he so commonly says, "oh well. Anyway!"
I was in my German class later, and somehow a boy in my class managed to bring up the topic of religion. He decided that it was more important than the subject that two of his friends were presenting, so he shouted out, "Hey, Frau, do you believe in a Divine Being?" This boy had stated many times before in other classes that he didn't believe in God, that it was all garbage. He had a smug look on his face as he pressed the teacher to answer, which she tried again and again to avoid answering lest she offend someone in the class. Eventually, the boy asked straight out, "Okay, Frau, yes or no: do you believe in God?" The teacher smiled and said, "Why yes. Yes I do." I smiled as well, my heart warming at her happiness and laughing at the boy's mildly shocked expression. Unconsciously, I reached up and touched my silver cross that I wear everyday, and I saw him look at it briefly.
I reflected later on at how happy I felt when my teacher admitted that she was a Christian. I'm so surrounded by atheism at my school that it has become normal, and I feel surprised to learn that someone is religious. It's a rare occurrence. What I had never noticed was how I didn't feel comfortable with that concept. Church and God and Christ Jesus makes me feel warm and fuzzy, exactly the way curling up under a blanket in front of the fireplace in the middle of winter at my camp does to me, and when people don't believe in it whatsoever, it feels cold, void of emotion. It seems to frighten me, somewhat, and I never hesitate to point out that I am Christian to somebody who thinks it is okay to mock God. I really feel bad for these people. How sad of an existence is it to believe that once you die, you're going to... disappear... become a tree... burn and die... become one with the earth...
I, personally, would like to believe that I am going to spend the rest of eternity with the one Person who always has and always will love me unconditionally.
side note: I was bored one day and asking my friend some "What if..." questions repeatedly, coming up with a new one every time she would answer the last. One that she had no answer to was...
ME: What would you do if I said I had found my one true love and I was going to love him forever and ever for the rest of my life?
HER: I don't know, I really don't. Be shocked, maybe?
ME: Would you ask who it was?
HER: Yeah, sure. Who is this dream guy?
ME: Jesus.
HER: ...
ME: What? He's never going to leave me. I'm going to stick with Him as my answer, 'kay?
~Godspede
Sunday, September 13
a wretch like... me - Sermon 8
heeey check it out.
i think i just made a title linkage there, but em, i posted a sermon, shall we say on my blog and i tried to post it here as well but it was givin me grief.
so you'll just have to go with the linkage and hopefully it works! :)
i think i just made a title linkage there, but em, i posted a sermon, shall we say on my blog and i tried to post it here as well but it was givin me grief.
so you'll just have to go with the linkage and hopefully it works! :)
Sunday, September 6
Sermon 7
Love
Passage: 1 John 4:18-19
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
Be patient, my soul: thou hast suffered worse than this. -Homer
It's always hard to find a Bible passage to write about. There are so many countless stories in there that I don't know what to pick, so often I just go to Google and type "Bible quotes". Today, however, I found one that has a particularly warm place in my heart. Sola Fide is a close friend of mine and the only one who has an extremely strong faith. She has a habit of accurately pointing out things that I never saw, and whenever I am upset she can quote Bible passages to me that make me feel a million times better. Today's passage is one of those, and very technically I have stolen what she told me for my sermon. Thanks, Sola Fide!
As well as I am doing regarding my bad spell, it's still a rough road. Every once in a while I have lapses where I feel like crying. I had sent an email to Sola Fide and she sensed that something was wrong. I explained my whole problem and she did her best to comfort me, including sending that passage and some of her words of wisdom, which I will take down here.
In relationships, we all too often hear things like, "I'm so worried about him liking me", "I'm scared he's going to dump me" or "I just want to look my best so he'll like me!" I had always thought that this was fine, nothing wrong with being concerned. But, as Sola Fide pointed out to me, there isn't any room in love for fear, which is what all three of those statements contain. True love is perfect, and if your love is perfect you wouldn't be scared all the time. So, perfect love gets rid of fear; it drives it out. We really don't need to freak about relationships. As big and important as our partner may seem to be, if they could really be effected badly by our appearance or if there really was a threat of being dumped, they evidently aren't a very good partner.
The passage continues to mention punishment. In the examples I gave, they all indicate a fear of something happening (him/her not liking them, being dumped, again not being liked). The 'something happening' is the punishment, which John states has to do with fear, ergo it has no place in love, either. This is greatly comforting, I find. Thoughts like those I mentioned aren't very nice, and they make you constantly stress and fret about everything. However, if you are truly in a perfect, true love, you won't have to stress. Love will never punish us; it's a reward in a sense.
Because punishment has to do with fear
and fear has no place in love.
AND He first loved us, before anyone ever did (even our parents! before we were even a twinkle in the eye...), which is why we can love.
~Godspede
Passage: 1 John 4:18-19
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
Be patient, my soul: thou hast suffered worse than this. -Homer
It's always hard to find a Bible passage to write about. There are so many countless stories in there that I don't know what to pick, so often I just go to Google and type "Bible quotes". Today, however, I found one that has a particularly warm place in my heart. Sola Fide is a close friend of mine and the only one who has an extremely strong faith. She has a habit of accurately pointing out things that I never saw, and whenever I am upset she can quote Bible passages to me that make me feel a million times better. Today's passage is one of those, and very technically I have stolen what she told me for my sermon. Thanks, Sola Fide!
As well as I am doing regarding my bad spell, it's still a rough road. Every once in a while I have lapses where I feel like crying. I had sent an email to Sola Fide and she sensed that something was wrong. I explained my whole problem and she did her best to comfort me, including sending that passage and some of her words of wisdom, which I will take down here.
In relationships, we all too often hear things like, "I'm so worried about him liking me", "I'm scared he's going to dump me" or "I just want to look my best so he'll like me!" I had always thought that this was fine, nothing wrong with being concerned. But, as Sola Fide pointed out to me, there isn't any room in love for fear, which is what all three of those statements contain. True love is perfect, and if your love is perfect you wouldn't be scared all the time. So, perfect love gets rid of fear; it drives it out. We really don't need to freak about relationships. As big and important as our partner may seem to be, if they could really be effected badly by our appearance or if there really was a threat of being dumped, they evidently aren't a very good partner.
The passage continues to mention punishment. In the examples I gave, they all indicate a fear of something happening (him/her not liking them, being dumped, again not being liked). The 'something happening' is the punishment, which John states has to do with fear, ergo it has no place in love, either. This is greatly comforting, I find. Thoughts like those I mentioned aren't very nice, and they make you constantly stress and fret about everything. However, if you are truly in a perfect, true love, you won't have to stress. Love will never punish us; it's a reward in a sense.
Because punishment has to do with fear
and fear has no place in love.
AND He first loved us, before anyone ever did (even our parents! before we were even a twinkle in the eye...), which is why we can love.
~Godspede
Wednesday, September 2
Désolé, entschuldigung, sorry...
Sola Fide and I would like to offer our apologies. Summer, as we have found out, has a way of making your self-initiative go "phht"... in other words, we have been on hiatus (I love that word, by the way... it sounds so bizarre that it makes me giggle).
So, I'm back to school. It isn't so bad this year, and I'm enjoying my classes quite a bit as I haven't been assigned any 'mean' teachers. Well, at least that I've found so far. What I'm surprised about is that I have been at school for two days-- count 'em: One, Two-- and I've already had the chance to evangelize.
e⋅van⋅ge⋅lize [i-van-juh-lahyz]: to preach the gospel
Preaching is a mean word, though. People use it in an unattractive context, like somebody being "too preachy" or the know-it-all "preaching" to you. Here's the definition of preach, though:
preach [preech]:
–verb (used with object)
1. to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).
2. to deliver (a sermon).
3. to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.
–verb (used without object)
4. to deliver a sermon.
5. to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.
6. to do this in an obtrusive or tedious way.
Not so unattractive, huh? Yeah, so my opportunities were small, mostly me mentioning that I am religious... but I was truly blessed, and God gave me a person who wanted to listen. All I said to her was "Yeah, so-and-so goes to my church..." and BANG she was asking, 'You go to church? What church?' etcetera, etcetera. I talked to her for a bit, thinking she was Christian as well, then I actually asked her if she was. She answered no, not really. Kinda. At all.
I was shocked, then surprised. She had given up much time to my chipper-talking about my Lord and Saviour, my Best Friend and the one Person I know I can always trust, and it seemed as though she must also share a similar feeling. Most people that aren't religious could care less about God and His stories, but here she was, fuelling my adoration. It always feels good when that happens.
He really is so wonderful. Sometimes I sit back and think about everything that He's done, and I'm flabbergasted. It's extraordinary, really, and it makes me so unbelievably happy... I just want to cry. You know, those good tears that heal the soul and make you smile. I love Him more than I thought was possible, and the best part is that He loves me even more, far more than any mind can fathom.
~Godspede
So, I'm back to school. It isn't so bad this year, and I'm enjoying my classes quite a bit as I haven't been assigned any 'mean' teachers. Well, at least that I've found so far. What I'm surprised about is that I have been at school for two days-- count 'em: One, Two-- and I've already had the chance to evangelize.
e⋅van⋅ge⋅lize [i-van-juh-lahyz]: to preach the gospel
Preaching is a mean word, though. People use it in an unattractive context, like somebody being "too preachy" or the know-it-all "preaching" to you. Here's the definition of preach, though:
preach [preech]:
–verb (used with object)
1. to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).
2. to deliver (a sermon).
3. to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.
–verb (used without object)
4. to deliver a sermon.
5. to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.
6. to do this in an obtrusive or tedious way.
Not so unattractive, huh? Yeah, so my opportunities were small, mostly me mentioning that I am religious... but I was truly blessed, and God gave me a person who wanted to listen. All I said to her was "Yeah, so-and-so goes to my church..." and BANG she was asking, 'You go to church? What church?' etcetera, etcetera. I talked to her for a bit, thinking she was Christian as well, then I actually asked her if she was. She answered no, not really. Kinda. At all.
I was shocked, then surprised. She had given up much time to my chipper-talking about my Lord and Saviour, my Best Friend and the one Person I know I can always trust, and it seemed as though she must also share a similar feeling. Most people that aren't religious could care less about God and His stories, but here she was, fuelling my adoration. It always feels good when that happens.
He really is so wonderful. Sometimes I sit back and think about everything that He's done, and I'm flabbergasted. It's extraordinary, really, and it makes me so unbelievably happy... I just want to cry. You know, those good tears that heal the soul and make you smile. I love Him more than I thought was possible, and the best part is that He loves me even more, far more than any mind can fathom.
~Godspede
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