August 15, 2010

The Soul 

January 14, 1994 4:30a.m.

Jesus speaks: Take your time and listen now, for I want to tell you about the soul. The soul is the spirit of the body. The soul was created for God and God alone. The soul is mightier than the body. Nobody sees it, but the soul is the spirit to the body!

To have happiness, joy, peace and love, you must tend to the feeding of the soul. The soul is fed by God alone. It was created by The Father to know, love and serve God. To give the soul material goods and expect that to suffice is useless. Only God can feed the soul.

The soul affects the whole operation of the body. If the things of the soul are nurtured, it grows in its love of God and is a vibrant force inside the body. If the things of God are ignored, the soul withers and the spirit of the body dies. All that is tender and loving is dismissed and the heart and eyes that reflect the soul become hard and hollow!

There are as many hearts as there are faces. The heart reflects the condition of the soul. To be void of God, one's heart is hard. It lacks happiness, joy and love. There is no way a person void of God can be happy. There is no way a person void of God is loving.

It is God within Who feeds your soul and you experience the life of Him. This gives the soul a feeling of happiness. To be void of God is to be in a state of sin and no soul is happy in the state of sin.

Feed the soul with soul food. Nothing else can feed a spiritual being. To give a soul material things is useless. The soul is not material. It cannot be touched or felt with the fingers. It can only be fed in the spirit.

Feed the soul the love of God. Then your heart will be free and alive in your chest. You will have peace in your soul and love in your chest. You will never acquire total happiness and peace on earth. Little glimpses I give to you, but you will be in a state of happiness and peace knowing God. I am the Way, the Truth, the Life. He who abides in Me will have the light of life.

                The Ascension is when Christ went to heaven.

                The Assumption is when Mary was taken body and soul to heaven.

                 Today's Readings

Revelation 11: 19, 12: 1-6, 10

Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake and violent hail.

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled them to the ground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was at the point of giving birth, so that it could eat the child as soon as it was born. The woman was delivered of a boy, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelve hundred and sixty days.

Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, 'Salvation and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the accuser, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down.

 

Psalm 45: 10-12,16

Listen, my daughter, attend to my words and hear;
forget your own nation and your ancestral home,
then the king will fall in love with your beauty;
he is your lord, bow down before him.
The daughter of Tyre will court your favour with gifts,
and the richest of peoples

Instead of your ancestors you will have sons;
you will make them rulers over the whole world.
 

1 Corinthians 15: 20-27

In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first–fruits of all who have fallen asleep. As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order: Christ the first–fruits, and next, at his coming, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having abolished every principality, every ruling force and power. For he is to be king until he has made his enemies his footstool, and the last of the enemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when it is said everything is subjected, this obviously cannot include the One who subjected everything to him. 

  

Luke 1: 39-56

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’ Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

And Mary said:

My soul proclaims
    the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
    in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon
    the humiliation of his servant.
Yes, from now onwards
    all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
    has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age
    to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
    from their thrones
        and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things,
    sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
    of Israel his servant,
        mindful of his faithful love
—according to the promise
    he made to our ancestors—
of his mercy to Abraham
    and to his descendants for ever.

    Mary stayed with her some three months and then went home.

                The dragon represents evil.

                The child stands for Christ

                Double Symbolism

                    1) woman stands for Mary, physical mother of Jesus  —
                    2) woman stands also, for the Church  —

                The Church brings Christ alive in us  —

                God has taken Mary body and soul into heaven.

                God will rescue man from evil  —
                God will rescue man from the dead into the glory of heaven.

                Mary was taken body and soul into heaven  —

                Mary's assumption is not described anywhere explicitly in the scriptures  —

                So many things Jesus did that could not be contained
                    in the scriptures  —

                This is true about Mary  — no one followed Christ as perfectly as Mary  —

                There are 2 bodies in heaven, Jesus and Mary  —

                Some day there will be many - many more  —

                    a picture is worth a million words

                Legend has it they dug up Mary's tomb and
                    her body was gone  —

                Mary's body was taken to heaven by her Son  —

                St. Francis de Sales said "what son would
                     not bring his mother with him to
                     heaven if He could"  —

                                      Luke 1: 46-55

And Mary said:

My soul proclaims
    the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
    in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon
    the humiliation of his servant.
Yes, from now onwards
    all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
    has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age
    to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
    from their thrones
        and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things,
    sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
    of Israel his servant,
        mindful of his faithful love
—according to the promise
    he made to our ancestors—
of his mercy to Abraham
    and to his descendants for ever.

 

                Our hope of final glorification  — Christ will
                    raise up all who have followed Him faithfully  —

                The Almighty has done great things for me
                    and holy is His name  —

                Sing: Holy is His Name  —

1 Corinthians 15: 20-27

In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first–fruits of all who have fallen asleep. As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order: Christ the first–fruits, and next, at his coming, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having abolished every principality, every ruling force and power. For he is to be king until he has made his enemies his footstool, and the last of the enemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when it is said everything is subjected, this obviously cannot include the One who subjected everything to him. 

     

      Mary's assumption into heaven  —

      No one belonged to Christ as perfectly as Christ did  —

 

          Life goes on  — be true to your
      heart  — don't lie about how
      you are in bitterness and
      anger from the past  —

        Where one is mad for months
      over something and they don't
      know why  — really why  — they would
      carry anger for months  — they want
      to be angry.

        Life is so short and we watch
      the seasons change here in Cincinnati  —
      the spring, the summer, the
      autumn, the winter  —

        We see how things die and we
      have to let go  —

        We can't take anything with
      us. When we die we leave
      things behind  —

        People die and babies come  —
      People have to take care of
      babies and then some body has
      to help us  —

          At. 40 we may think we are
      independent, but as we grow
      older we aren't the same as
      when we were younger  —

        What happens when a person
      is married and then their spouse
      dies and they are elderly themselves  —

        We celebrate the feast of the Assumption
      today  — we see Jesus took His Mother
      to heaven, body and soul  —

        We have only a short time
      here  — to love  — to have relationship
      to become connected with each
      other  — We are to learn to get along  —
      We are vulnerable  — We have a
      body  — it can become diseased  —
      we will die (our body)

          One person that once remembered
      everything can get Alzheimer's
      and start forgetting  —

      Old people forget and others have
             to deal with the fact they
             cannot help themselves like they
             once did.

      It is wrong when others intentionally
      provoke people to hurt others  —
      We are to be loving and help
      others  —

      What we do to others, we do to Jesus,

            The 12 steps have helped
            many whose lives have
            become unmanageable because
            of dysfunction due to
            pain and addiction to
            something that relieves that pain.

            Addiction can be to substance,
                drugs that alter a person's
                mind or it can be
                addiction to control
                addiction to abuse
                addiction to persecution
                addiction to work
                addiction to unavailability
                addiction to rage
                addiction to excitement

          When one rules and they are
                addicted they can fall
                into denial
                and the Merry-Go-Round
                called denial keeps it in
                place  — one person is the addicted
                person and another person the enabler keeps
                the merry-go-round going  —

                The addicted person can be
            tolerated and the enabler can
            make every body else live by
            dysfunctional rules  — that enables
            the person to continue
            their addiction  —

                The days go by while
            those in a dysfunctional
            family are robbed of life
            while one forces their rules
            on the other members of
            the family so they can numb
            their pain with their addiction  —

                Here are the 12 steps
            of many who have worked
            through addiction  — after
            their lives became unmanageable
            because of their dysfunction
            and their addiction  —

                The vicious cycle continues
            because the addiction to
            alcohol, excitement is to 'use', to
            numb the pain due to
            something in their past  —
            the pain of anger, abuse
            incest, not living life
            as God intends.

                It goes on for months  — this
            merry-go-round and years  —
            much sadness over holidays  —
            over betrayals that cause pain
            so the person handles it with
            forcing others to live under their
            control of their addiction  —

                Pain  — Pain not recognized
            by the person addicted  —

                The addiction hurts everybody  —
            Life becomes unmanageable
            for this addiction does not
            get better, but life becomes
            more drawn out as the addicted
            person and their addiction
            is like an elephant in the
            living room  — nobody talks
            about  —

                We are to communicate
            and work through pain  — forgiving
            those who hurt us and working
            through old wounds  —

                The 12 steps lived out have helped
            people addicted to misery because
            of interior pain  —

                This addiction some have
            can be denied until it gets
            so unmanageable people have
            to face dysfunctional rules
            they are being forced to live under  —

                God the Father has a Plan
            for the human race  — we are
            to live according to that Plan
            and obey the 10 commandments
            He gave us  —

                We are to live our lives  —
            living  — not be addicted
            to pain and misery and other
            addictions forcing others
            to live by our rigid dysfunctional
            rules  —

                God is a loving God and
            commands us to love Him
            with our whole soul, our
            whole heart and our whole being
            and love our neighbor as ourselves  —
            That involves 3 loves  —

            Love of God

            Love of others

            and Love of self  —

            We are to be helpers to each other.

            Jesus served His apostles  —
                     He washed their feet  —

            We must desire to give up
                  bad behavior, unloving
                  behavior  toward our
                  brothers  — and we are
                  to see that Our Heavenly
                  Father has a unique
                  Plan for us and intends us
                  to obey the commandments of God  —

                A person who continues in
            a dysfunctional relationship
            because of force is robbed
            more and more of their life as
            they are forced to deal with
            people in pain who are angry
            and deny it.

                    Life is for living  —

                    God intends us to love  —

                    God intends us to be united
                    in families, in communities  —
                    even a hermit loves the
                    other souls in the world and
                    prays for them  —

                    Jesus gave us a sharing
            in His life in baptism  —
            A person bound in pain and
            addicted to misery can keep
            trying to force their rule on
            others  —

                    God commands us to love  —

                    We were created in His
            image and likeness  — we are
            to grow more and more in this
            image and likeness to live according
            to God's will in love  —

                   God wants us to be closer
            to Him  — more intimate with
            Him  — This is why we were
            created to have happiness  —
            as we grow more and more in our
            relationship with God and others  —
            and grow more and more in being
            like Jesus in our own life  —

                Eternal life is the object
            of hope.

                We are to be friends with
            God  — friends with each other —
            the devil wants us to isolate  —
            We are to prepare to be with God
            and have relationship with the Trinity:
            Father, Son and Holy Spirit for all eternity
            in the beatific vision.

                God wants our love.
                God shares this love with
                        us so we love ourselves
                        and others also.

            We see ourselves as members
            of the human family  — we
            know that Jesus called
            us to love the souls He
            died for  —

                What we have with God and
            others is unselfish love like
            Jesus showed us that He
            died for us on the cross to
            bring us greater and greater
            life in Him  —

                We love because God called
            us to love not to manipulate
            others for our own selfish
            vainness and selfish gain.
            God gives us a sharing of
            His Divine Life in baptism  —
            God lives in the graced
            baptized soul.

                God gives a share in His
            divine happiness  — God wants
            us tainted human beings to
            grow in greater perfection  —
            likened to Him  —

                God wants us to share
            in His love and His happiness  —
            God's love for us is infinite  —
            far beyond our comprehension  —
            He has a limitless love for
            us  — So Jesus gave us Blue Book II  —
                    The fire of His love  —

            To spread these letters of love to others
                and to live by these letters ourselves  —
                God is supremely good  —
                The beatific vision is to
                be possessed by God  —
                we prepare here below
                by opening ourselves up
                to love.       

                    God is the object of eternal
                happiness  —

                It is a choice to love  —

                It is that we will love  —

                We choose love  —

                God brings us happiness  —

                God gives us grace to love  —

                We pray to be loving  —

                We 'will' to be loving  —

                We 'will' to die to our selfishness
                    and to be as God commands
                    us in love with Him and
                    loving our neighbor as ourselves.

                A religious has been called to
                    be in a special way the
                    Spouse of Jesus  —

                Did you go to a funeral lately  —

                Do you see a tomb stone  —

                We cannot relive our lives  —

                We can choose life.

                We can choose death.

                It is an act of the will
                    to love or be unloving  —

                Anger inside is like
                    bondage to happiness  —
                    It is not loving to
                    wish malice on
                    another  —

                What is the song of our soul  —
                    Title "Doing God's Will"
                    God has a Plan for us  —
                    God calls us to a vocation  —

                So God calls a man or woman to the religious
                    life  —

                They can see themselves as single
                    and unattached  — the
                    more a religious focuses
                    on finding love and affection
                    from others, recognition,
                    appreciation from others  —
                    the more they put others
                    above Jesus, their Spouse
                    and ignore Him; the one they
                    are married to  —

                The more we distance ourselves
                    from God  — the more miserable
                    we are  —

                God has given us the Blue Books
                    to spread  — Intimate love
                    letters from Jesus to tell
                    us about LOVE  —

Blue Book I

Blue Book II

Blue Book III

Blue Book IV

Blue Book V

Blue Book VI

                The Song of our Soul is living
                    according to God's will  —
                    in love  — in harmony
                    with the Creator who
                    created us  —

                God gives us love  —

                God gives us love because
                    He wills us to have
                His love  —

                When we are not growing
                    in learning to love  —
                    But closed down
                    in unloving ways  —
                    We will not grow
                    in our relationship
                    of love with God  —

                We must will to grow
                    greater in love with
                    God and others  —

                We pray for grace to love  —

                God pours out His grace
                    to us to love more
                    deeply if we ask Him  —

                We must will to love God and
                    others if we are to grow
                    in our relationship
                    with God and others  —

                Love grows in relationship
                    the more we give
                    ourselves to that relationship.

                If we are filled with pain and
                selfish the relationship will
                not grow as it should  —

                The devil wants a person to
                    close in on himself  —
                    not give himself to
                    the relationship with
                    God and others  —

                What does Christmas mean
                     It means Jesus so loved
                     the world  — the Divine
                     Almighty God took on
                     flesh and gave Himself
                     to the world in love  —
                     taking on a human baby
                     body  —

                     He loved us so much  —

                     Jesus gave us so much  —

                In proportion to how we really
                     give, not selfishly, but
                     really give ourselves
                     we will grow in love  —

                Or we can do what satan wants
                     and act unloving  —
                     build walls, be selfish,
                     possessive, jealous,
                     envious, greedy  —
                     then we won't grow
                     in love when we close
                     in and give into these
                     deadly sins  —

                    See the gifts God gives us  —
                our life, babies, each
                other, snow, oceans,
                trees, flowers, food  —

                God keeps us in existence
                    because of His infinite
                    love for us  —

                Our love is always
                    capable of growth  —
                    God's love is infinite
                    So love can always grow  —

                God gives us grace to grow
                     in love  —

                As we grow more and more
                    in love we are
                    more loving to others  —

                    As we 'will' to not love  —
                we close down  — as we are
                unloving we are more
                unloving to others  —

                    God wants us to love
                Him more and more and that
                is why He gave us His
                letters of love in the
                Blue Books  —

                A man can love God with
                his whole heart and will  —
                or he can choose to give
                Him little love if he
                wants  —

                He can make others
                    his god  —

                We should be united to God
                    in all our activities  —
                    what we do to others  —
                    we do to Jesus  —

                We can choose to see Jesus
                      in our brother or
                      be unloving to our brother
                      and thus this is how we
                      are treating Jesus  —

                How are we still jealous
                of others, years after
                we have left them and
                project this jealousy on innocent
                    others  —

                How we love will mostly be with
                     us in all our relationships
                     with God and with
                     others  —

                Song: I Love You Jesus

                We are here to grow in love  —

                God gives us the Blue Books
                    to teach us about His love  —

                How we love grows
                    according to how
                    we give ourselves  —
                    it is an act of the will and
                    we cooperate with
                    God's grace to love and
                    God gives us grace to love  —

                It is God's will we love  —

                Love is capable of decline  —

                It can decrease completely  —

              When we are not loving
                    to others  — love of
                    the other may decrease
                    more and more as we
                    treat them in unloving
                    ways  —

              God is the fountain of
                     all happiness  —

               Jealousy hurts others  —

              God created us to love
                   each other and be like
                   brothers in Christ  —

              But there is jealousy in
              all different relationships  —
              between husbands and wives,
              between siblings  —
              people at work and at church  —
              We have tendencies toward
              jealousy because of our
              wounded human nature  —

                     How would it be if we
               could make up all those
               strained relationships with
               love  —

                     How would it be if we
                saw how we offended others
                through our jealousies,
                envy, possessiveness,
                anger  — how we blocked
                God's plan for us and others
                because we were jealous
                envious, possessive, etc.  —

                Count the days you have  —

                Religious live your marriage
                    to God  —
                    Jesus is real  —

                Love each other and build
                    up the Kingdom
                    of God.

                Love brings joy  —
                Love brings peace  —

                If we love God we keep
                    His Commandments  —

                A man can give into
                    slothfulness  —
                    sadness  —
                    no energy for God's will  —

                A man who is giving into
                   envy and hatred of some  —
                   will be resentful
                   of others when they
                   are good and doing God's
                   will  — because in envy and
                   hatred we have given into
                   impurities in relating  —

                Look back over your life  —

                If God showed us
                    1) how we ignored Him
                    2) how we really even
                        ignored His love
                        when we went
                        to the Eucharist.

                Would we say
                    My God I adore You,
                         I believe, I hope,
                         I love you  —
                         I am sorry.

                     3) If we saw how we got

                         angry for no reason  —
                         maybe impatience  —                                      

• expectancies in our mind
       others didn't even
       know about

• selfishness
   

• punishment

• envy

• jealousies acted
      out against a
      good person doing
      God's will  —

    Love brings Peace and Joy  —

    Only love true in our heart
            for God and others
            will bring peace
            to a person and
            to society.

    Love builds  —

    Hate destroys  —

    Hate divides  —

        Sets men against
            each other  —
            against themselves  —
            against God  —

    Only when we love God
         as we should does
         every thing else
         in the world take
         its right place and
         proper value  —

    God is love  —

    It is only in love  — man
        finds peace.

    The Holy Spirit fills us
        with the fire of
        God's love  —

 

 

            Jesus speaks to us of love
               in the Blue Books.

            God calls religious to
                    be examples of this
                    deep intimate
                    love relationship
                    with God  —
                    peace, love and joy.

            To be an example
                    of community love
                    love in the body of
                        Christ  —

            The more we give into vices
            the more we go away from
            God and go toward misery.
            The more we live the virtues
            of faith, hope and love  —
            the more we are loving  —

            Is the love you give
                    big as God wants it
                    to be  —

            Have you narrowed your
                    love to yourself and
                    maybe a few in your
                    family.

            Jesus died for all of us  —

            The Church is the body
                    of Christ.

            Order and Peace depend on
                    Wisdom of
                    the individual man
                    and society  —

            Likeness to the Hearts of
                    Jesus and Mary  —

            We were made for love  —

            Not loving is like

                   being a fish

                    out of water  —

            The life of selfishness
                    is a dark  —
                    narrow prison.

            God gives us a sharing
                    in His life.

            Man has a free will

                    to love or

                    be unloving  —

            People are imperfect  —

            They act imperfectly

            How can we ever fix
                 the loose ends we
                 left.

            Pride  — lying about the
                  truth about us  —

            Being prudent  —
                  listening to God's
                  counsel and living
                  by this counsel  —

            If we could see our past
                   failures are we in the
                   same place we would
                   do the failure thing again  —

            How far have we grown in
                   the spiritual life  —
                   Are we so blind we
                        never see clearly
                        years later  —
                        but have more distorted vision.

            Seeing through God's eyes
                    are the best  —

            Seeing through the eyes of
                    the Father  —

            Why can't we just back
                    up and seeing the other's
                    gift from God  —
                    work together  —
                    see the sun come up
                        as a miracle every
                        day.

            Imprudence leads to
                    unhappiness.

            Prudence brings happiness.

            Not being tied to the
                    weakness of the flesh  —

            Justice  — the source of order  —

            We are to work together
                    for God's Plan  —

            Do we ignore that  —  the days of
                    our life will end  — and think they
                    will never end.

            And then we can keep on being jealous
            and we can keep on being envious
            and we can keep on being in competition
            which is really wrong.

            We are to recognize what
                    is right and be
                    just to others.

            If one man has a right  —
                    another man has an
                    obligation to
                    respect it  —

            Justice inclines men
                    to respect the rights
                    of others  —

            God has created man for
                    Himself  —

            Man must give God
                    His due  —

            We must give each other
                    what is our due  —

            God loves us so much and

            He tells us this in the

            Blue Books  —

            People grew up in
                 many wounded
                 families and they
                 need these love
                 letters to help
                 them to heal  —

            We are called by God
                 to use the Blue Books
                 and spread the letters of
                 His love to the hurting
                 souls  —

            Obedience  —

                God wants us to obey
                        Him  —
                        to seek His will  —
                        to live in obedience
                        to those over
                        us  —

            We are to be grateful to God
                        and others.

            The man who is always
                      fighting his brothers
                      is usually fighting
                      over nothing  —

                      He just wants conflict  —

                      He raises himself
                            up and puts others
                            down.

                      Condescending

            We are free to do the will of
                    God or be a rival to God's will.

            Fortitude  —

                      Courage to do what
                            God calls us to
                            do  —

            Meanness  — St. Thomas
                       says is the vice
                       opposed to
                       magnificence   —

            God wants us to be good!!
                    Good more likened to Him  —

            We are to be temperant and
                     to control ourselves  —
                     act as God wills  —

            We are to be Chaste

                    Meek  — that means not
                        combatal.

            God gives us miracles  —

            But we must stay
                    united to Him.

            Happiness is found in
                    God.   

            Jesus came and took on
                    flesh to teach
                    us about love  —

            To help us to find  —

            Light, Happiness

                    and Peace.

            Mary is the Mother of God  —

            When God closes a door  —
                    He opens another  —

Revelation 11: 19, 12: 1-6, 10

Then the sanctuary of God in heaven opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake and violent hail.

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled them to the ground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was at the point of giving birth, so that it could eat the child as soon as it was born. The woman was delivered of a boy, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelve hundred and sixty days.

Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, 'Salvation and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the accuser, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down.

Listen, my daughter, attend to my words and hear;
forget your own nation and your ancestral home,
then the king will fall in love with your beauty;
he is your lord, bow down before him.
The daughter of Tyre will court your favour with gifts,
and the richest of peoples

Instead of your ancestors you will have sons;
you will make them rulers over the whole world.
 

 

1 Corinthians 15: 20-27

In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first–fruits of all who have fallen asleep. As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order: Christ the first–fruits, and next, at his coming, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having abolished every principality, every ruling force and power. For he is to be king until he has made his enemies his footstool, and the last of the enemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when it is said everything is subjected, this obviously cannot include the One who subjected everything to him. 

  

Luke 1: 39-56

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’ Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

And Mary said:

My soul proclaims
    the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
    in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon
    the humiliation of his servant.
Yes, from now onwards
    all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
    has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age
    to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
    from their thrones
        and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things,
    sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
    of Israel his servant,
        mindful of his faithful love
—according to the promise
    he made to our ancestors—
of his mercy to Abraham
    and to his descendants for ever.

    Mary stayed with her some three months and then went home.