“Arise”

When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of the commotion. So he went in and said to them, “why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, Talitha koum, which means, “little girl, I say to you arise!” The little girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.
This passage speaks to us, not only of our human mortality, but our spiritual mortality as well. Jesus takes the hand of this little girl and tells her to arise; immediately life entered back into her body. It took great faith for the girl’s parents to believe Jesus when he told them that the girl was only sleeping; knowing fully that life had past from her. Today Jesus says to us, “Child, arise!” Arise from the darkness of our sinfulness and into his light. Only with faith can we transform our spiritual mortality from certain death to new life. Faith is a grace, given to us freely from a loving, compassionate, and merciful God. We need only to seek it out from within ourselves and to exercise it. Jesus says to us today, “Child, arise!” Have faith; seek out the Kingdom of God and we shall be changed spiritually from darkness to a new life in Christ.

Persevering Faith

Mark 1:
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a load cry came out of him.
All around us today, we are confronted on a daily bases with those who find it necessary to ridicule our Christian faith and way of life. Why? Because it poses such a threat to their way of life; they must condemn everything attached to Jesus, our Lord and Savior. The evil spirit knew fully, even before he questioned our Lord, that yes, the Christ had come to destroy sin and death. This was true then, over two thousand years ago and is true in our modern world today. It was the evils spirits who screamed before Pilate, crucify him! Crucify him! The same is true today, that is why the word of God is being taken out of our public schools and every other aspect of our lives. The forces of evil are screaming out one last time against everything that is righteous and holy. To be brief and put it simply, yes, Jesus did come to destroy and conquer sin and death. We must stand firm in our faith, pick up our cross daily and forge ahead. And when we are confronted and ridiculed for our faith, let us stand erect, and hold our head high; the rewards for our perseverance are awaiting us in heaven.

Fishers of Souls

Mark 1:
Jesus proclaimed: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
Passing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said to Simon and his brother Andrew as they cast their nets into the sea; “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they left their nets and followed him.
Wow! It is not by chance that the Lord speaks these words to us today. The time is ripe, and the Lord is calling us to witness; to be the disciples of this age. He challenges us to put on the armor of faith, go out into this world in darkness, and to shine the light of Christ upon his sheep; lost, and searching to find their way. Each of us in our own environment needs to sow the seeds of faith to those around us. We must start by living out the Gospels in our every day lives. In doing so, we shall reap a bountiful harvest for the Lord. We may not be fishermen, but, we shall, by proclaiming him as Lord and Savior, become true fishers of men.
“This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

Rapping Freedom

America - check it out in Iran
A line being drawn in the sand
People yearning for freedom cry
Innocent bloodshed as people die
Stemming from a rigged election
Its people protest with objection
America - time to learn a lesson
From a people caught in oppression
Let us not take for granted being free
As bothers and sisters face tyranny
Where unjust Ayatollahs rule the land
The right to freedom has been banned
America - we must stand hand in hand
For a people caught up in quicksand
As evil rulers force their people down
Freedom's bloodshed as they crackdown
Time to take a good look at our liberty
Soul search the true meaning of being free
America - the time has come at last
As thousands of people are now amassed
Our brothers and sisters across the sea
Are now crying out for their liberty
America - we must voice their battle cry
Or this gasp for freedom will pass them by

Copyright by “Anthony” 2009

Mary In My Garden

Mother Mary just for you
In my garden I placed a rock or two
Set your image there for all to view
Beautifully clothed in white and blue
Now my garden is complete
With roses and flowers at your feet
And as the summer colors begin to bloom
With natures fragrance of sweet perfume
Filling the air in this garden of mine
Adorned with the beauty of Mother Mary’s Shrine

Image of Glory

Lord, you see inside of me
You always knew what I could be
Seeing through the foolish things I do
Knowing one day I would glorify you

Lord, now is the perfect time
There's no mountain I can't climb
Only you seeing me as you do
Reflecting the image of you

One day others shall surely see
All that you meant me to be
All that you always knew
This image would glorify you

Lord, give us our daily bread
It's how our souls are fed
That we may be real and true
Reflecting the image of you

One day others shall surely see
All that you meant me to be
All that you always knew
This image would glorify you

By trusting, hoping and loving too
One day my image shall glorify you