The Vibrant Channeled Creator

loose watercolor

THURSDAY AUGUST 10TH, 2023
“Today is a good moment to ask ourselves: what weighs on my heart? What weighs on my spirit? What makes me go to sit in the lazy chair? It is sad to see Christians “in the armchair”! What are the mediocrities that paralyze me, the vices that crush me to the ground and prevent me from raising my head? And regarding the burdens that weigh on the shoulders of our brothers and sisters, am I aware of them or indifferent to them? These are good questions to ask ourselves, because they help guard our hearts against apathy. The Book of Proverbs says: “With all vigilance guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life” (Prov 4:23). Guard your heart: that means to be vigilant! Stay awake and guard your heart.”
Pope Francis

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 9TH, 2023
“It is truth that makes us free (cf. Jn 8:32). The truth of Jesus is not an idea, something abstract: the truth of Jesus is a reality, it is He himself who made the truth within us that frees us from the fabrications and falsity that we have inside, from doublespeak. Being with Jesus, we become true. The life of a Christian is not a play in which you can don the mask that best suits you. For when Jesus reigns in the heart, he frees it from hypocrisy, he frees it from subterfuge, from duplicity.”
Pope Francis

The Calculus for Don: the Hunk

by Paul Hostovsky

My hygienist likes to include me
in the decision-making.
“Shall we use the hand scaler
or the ultrasonic today?” she asks me.
I like the way she says “we,”
like we’re doing something intimate
and collaborative,
like building a snowman,
or more like dismantling one
after an ice storm, flake
by frozen flake. “The calculus
is caused by precipitation
of minerals from your saliva,” she explains.
“You can’t remove it with your toothbrush.
Only a professional can do that.” She’s very
professional. She doesn’t dumb it down.
“Pay more attention to the lingual side
of your mandibular anteriors,” she says.
I love it when she talks like that.
I love the names of teeth: incisor, third molar, bicuspid,
eyetooth. Her own teeth are
virtuosic. “Calculus comes from the Greek
for stone,” she says. “In mathematics
it’s counting with stones. In medicine,
it’s the mineral buildup in the body: kidney stones,
tartar on teeth.” She teaches me all this
as I sit there with my mouth open,
looking astonished.

“The Calculus” by Paul Hostovsky from Is That What That Is. © Future Cycle Press, 2017. Reprinted with permission.

TUESDAY AUGUST 8TH, 2023
“Here is some advice for making important choices. When I do not know what to do, how to make a definitive choice, an important decision, a decision that involves Jesus’ love, what must I do? Before deciding, let us imagine that we are standing in front of Jesus, as at the end of life, before he who is love. And imagining ourselves there, in his presence, at the threshold of eternity, we make the decision for today. We must decide in this way: always looking to eternity, looking at Jesus. It may not be the easiest, it may not be the most immediate, but it will be the right one that is certain.”
Pope Francis

“And so I go to the woods. As I go in under the trees, dependably, almost at once, and by nothing I do, things fall into place. I enter an order that does not exist outside, in the human spaces….I am less important than I thought. I rejoice in that.”
—Wendell Berry

closer to the clouds

swept with radiant light

the humans sleep

but then awaken to find divine figures radiant with divine light

where is the veil to cover the brightness?

Peter, James and John, Moses, Elijah, and Jesus!

the Father speaks: This is my son, my Chosen; listen to Him!

Do not tell others about this until the Son tells you the time has come.

believe and keep silent!

love above all else

find God’s glory!

 Psalm: 97
The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Because you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.

SUNDAY AUGUST 6TH, 2023
“Acts of love are a gift for those who do them, even before they benefit those who receive them. For whatever we hoard for ourselves will be lost, while whatever we give out of love will be our treasure in heaven. When we don’t waste time complaining about things, but are concerned about meeting people’s real needs, doing so joyfully and trusting in God’s providence, then wonderful things happen.”
Pope Francis

average minds discuss events

small minds discuss people”

Eleanor Roosevelt

That summarizes the difference between a great storyteller and a gossip, and the width of the spectrum between them. Carolyn Myss

A storyteller takes what she’s gone through and uses it as a launching pad into the theater of life itself.

To understand the stories of others is the spiritual purpose of the story teller. Am I gracing someone or withholding grace?

Those who do good, are investing in eternity

When we see a person who is generous and helpful,

meek, patient, who is not envious,

does not gossip, who is not boastful,

is not puffed up with pride,

who is not rude

this is a person who builds heaven on earth.

They may not be noticed or have a career,

they will not make the news in the papers,

and yet, what they do will not be lost because good is never lost.

Good lasts forever.

Pope Francis on August 4, ’23

THURSDAY AUGUST 3RD, 2023
“When we read the Word of God, questions always arise — let us ask ourselves: what is the centre, what is the beating heart of the Word of God? In short, what is it that gives solidity to life, and will never end? Saint Paul tells us. The very centre, the beating heart, what gives solidity, is love: “Love never ends” (1 Cor 13:8), says Saint Paul: love.”
Pope Francis

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 2ND, 2023
“The joy of the Christian is not a fleeting emotion or a simple human optimism, but the certainty of being able to face every situation under God’s loving gaze, with the courage and strength that come from him. Even in the midst of many tribulations, the saints experienced this joy and bore witness to it. Without joy, faith becomes a rigorous and oppressive exercise, and runs the risk of ailing with sadness. Let us ask ourselves this: are we joyful Christians? Am I a joyful Christian or not? Do we spread joy or are we dull, sad people, with a funeral face? Remember that there is no holiness without joy!”
Pope Francis

rings made by Jeanne – casting in wax for woman – made with torch for man- eternally joined

stretching for each other

joining in silver sterling

eternal yearning

energy spinning

procreation behold

together

MONDAY JULY 31ST, 2023
“Every day, at home, on the street, at work, on holiday, we have the possibility of discerning good. And it is important to know how to find what counts: to train ourselves to recognize the precious gems of life and to distinguish them from junk. Let us not waste time and freedom on trivial things, pastimes that leave us empty inside, while life offers us every day the precious pearl of the encounter with God and with others! It is necessary to know how to recognize it: to discern in order to find it..”
Pope Francis

Oliver gets air in the woods with his teacher, coach and father: Owen: Mountain Biker extraordinaire !