Someone accused Mariam of untoward behavior of which she was innocent. Her accuser was suspicious that Mariam was carrying out his own earlier life-patterns.
Rabbi Jesus told Mariam, "He is being tortured by his own past behaviour."
If we sin, it may come back to haunt us. We may lose inner peace.
Don't sin.
Mariam prayed that unbearable consequences after a bad decision would one day be put aright.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "What went so awfully wrong in this world, will go so tremendously right in the next."
All will be well.
Mariam pondered over a decision to be made. She felt tempted to make a hasty decision.
Make haste slowly. Check out every possible difficulty which may occur, before making a final decision which may prove irrevocable.
Mariam encountered a bad situation.
She despairingly asked the Rabbi, "What do you consider this situation to be?"
Rabbi Jesus told her grimly, "Men behaving badly."
Don't ever forget you are made in the Image and Likeness of God. Behave accordingly.
Someone tried to pick a quarrel with Mariam. She loftily decided to ignore the insult.
Mariam told the Rabbi, "It's a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter!"
Rabbi Jesus smiled, "You don't have to accept every invitation to a squabble."
Mariam pondered people who hate others.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "They struggle with the law of love."
Mariam assisted a family through their family disputes. Despairingly she told the Rabbi, "They care more about holding a grudge than having solid relationships."
Rabbi Jesus answered, "They hold on to the past at the expense of their present, and so the future withers away."
Forgive and do not hold a grudge. Life is too short. God put us on earth to love our family members, not to dislike them. If family members reject your olive branch, well at least you tried. Sometimes you can't win them all.
Mariam was experiencing evangelization fatigue. She was tired of endlessly teaching catechetics.
She told the Rabbi, "I teach people the Word of God, and then many fall right back into their old sinful way of life."
Rabbi Jesus counselled her, "Be patient. You never know when a Saul becomes a Paul."
Never give up spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is discipleship duty to bear witness to God, not to endeavour to measure success of outcome.
If Jesus had become tired of teaching us, what would have become of us?
Witness with perseverance.
Photograph with thanks to the wall artist
Mariam assisted people in need through their crisis. Thereafter they troubled her, with the result that Mariam was reluctant to get involved when their next crisis inevitably occurred.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "They are the authors of their own misfortune."
Help others, but not to the extent that they bring you down with them.
Mariam experienced hostility from another, who perceived her in a negative light.
Rabbi Jesus consoled her by soberly saying, "Her perception is not the reality."
Just do the best you can. You are not responsible for how others see you. You are only responsible for how God sees you.
Mariam landed in the middle of a heated controversy where no-one would give way on their personal opinion.
Mariam told the Rabbi, "This is an argument ..."
Rabbi Jesus commented, " . . . where ideas collide instead of coincide."
Try to find the middle way with tolerance, wisdom and compassion.
Otherwise the situation will never be resolved.
Someone despised Mariam, who disconsolately confided to the Rabbi, “She hates me.”
Rabbi Jesus gently replied, “You are all that she is not.”
Jealousy
of another’s gifts may poison the well of personal kindness. Learn to embrace
the gifts that God has given you, otherwise you will lose inner serenity. And
then you will resent others for being what you are not.
Arguments surrounded wedding attire.
Mariam asked the Rabbi's Mother, "What should I wear in order not to offend?"
Mother Maria answered, "Just wear what you want. This is not a beauty contest, it is a solemn exchange of vows in the Sight of Almighty God."
Don't lose sight of the true meaning of the ceremony.
Rabbi Jesus smiled, "She underestimated your ability to stay in the saddle."
Mariam was bullied by another for some time, until underlying tension between the two came out into the open.
Rabbi Jesus said, "The latent hostility became blatant hostility."
She asked the Rabbi, "Is this all her lifesaving mission meant to the world?"
Rabbi Jesus answered, "She will be remembered forever in heaven."
True remembrance and gratitude for devotion will forever be accorded in the hereafter.
Mariam was uncertain whether to write a memoir regarding a difficult chapter in her life. She felt emotionally torn at the thought of reliving past events.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "Leave the whole thing in the gentle past."
Sometimes you really don't have to undergo painful revisit. Forgiveness and letting go of past pain are just that - a final letting go.
Forgiveness of others is a blessing unto yourself.
You are freed to live your best life, unfettered by the pain of the past.
Historic religious law which mandated cruel action.
Mariam asked, "Is that what God wanted . . . "
Rabbi Jesus continued, ". . . or is that what man wanted God to want."
We saw Christ upon the cross. He did not even take revenge on those who pierced him to a tree. Far less would He hurt or kill another.
We know the Christ to be most tender-hearted, loving and compassionate.
Let us be likewise.
Mariam celebrated another birthday.
She declared with surprise, "I'm old."
Rabbi Jesus smiled gently at her, saying, "You are as young as the flowers in spring."
The soul remains forever young.
Joyful outcome after prayer.
Mariam told the Rabbi, "How great are the ways of God."
Rabbi Jesus answered, "And how wise is His little girl."
It is wisdom to turn to God for assistance - He will always answer.
Not always as we expect, yet unfailingly with our best interest in mind.
Someone did not want to commit to a relationship, yet did not want to let the other go.
The Rabbi said, "He is in the unenviable position of wanting to have his cake and eat it too."
If an individual does not want to commit to a relationship, that is a commitment - not to move from interest in another to life with another.
Move on.
Mariam stared at jewellery which held a stained past.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "Lovely items gathered through unlovely means."
Don't entertain items which were wrongfully gained. Often this means you may be poor by earthly standards in order to remain pure by heavenly standards.
With every passing year, Mariam became more aware of the Presence of God.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "The veil between heaven and earth wears very thin the closer you get to heaven."
The road to sainthood is sometimes a long and rocky one. Yet this road leads toward the sublime Countenance of the Glowing God.
We will surely meet our Heavenly Father when our earthly ship finally docks in the Heavenly Port.
Mariam was entangled in a difficult situation. All those who were supposed to help deserted her.
She said to the Rabbi, "They have all run away."
Rabbi Jesus answered, "Don't judge them. Just cope with grace."
When all fail, God never does. His Grace can move mountains with your willing service.
If you make your mind up to deal with a situation - you will.
Individuals criticized others who toiled through the heat of the day.
Mariam told the Rabbi, "We are working so hard, yet they sit in judgement over us."
Rabbi Jesus quietly said, "Be workers, not shirkers."
Mariam was appalled at a well-known figure's remarks.
She told the Rabbi, "He looks so angelic . . ."
Rabbi Jesus answered, "And when he opens his mouth, what comes out is so non-angelic."
Try to keep thoughts and speech clean. We are made in the Image and Likeness of God - let us not disgrace our heritage.
Mariam was raised listening to faerie tales in which helpless heroines awaited strong heroes to rescue them. With years of life experience behind her, she told the Rabbi, "When a woman needs help, she finds out that her true knight in shining armour is . . . "
Rabbi Jesus answered her, "Her untapped strength within."
Prayer to God regarding personal valour will enable you to face difficult situations with grace and fortitude.
Mariam was experiencing evangelization fatigue. She was tired of endlessly teaching catechetics.
She told the Rabbi, "I teach people the Word of God, and then many fall right back into their old sinful way of life."
Rabbi Jesus counselled her, "Be patient. You never know when a Saul becomes a Paul."
Falsehoods were spread
about Mariam, with far-reaching consequences.
Mariam sighed to the
Rabbi, “My, but they trashed my reputation with their lies.”
Rabbi Jesus answered, “But they couldn’t make them
true.”
A disciplinary hearing dragged on at length, with
grievous consequences for the individual’s family.
Mariam prayed for a resolution to this suffering. She
asked the Rabbi, “What about mercy?”
Rabbi Jesus answered, “Sometimes mercy puts right what
justice can’t.”
Mariam assisted people in need through their crisis. Thereafter they troubled her, with the result that Mariam was reluctant to get involved when their next crisis inevitably occurred.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "They are the authors of their own misfortune."
Help others, but not to the extent that they bring you down with them.
Mariam read St Paul's Letter to the Romans.
She told Rabbi Jesus, "This letter broadly shows much, and how spiritually we are . . . "
The Rabbi answered, ". . . fashioned into a new humanity."
Mariam mused, "In these pages we . . ."
The Rabbi quietly completed, ". . . track the footprints of Saul until you come face to face with Paul; the man, the model, the mentor, the mystery.
And learn the greatest of graces from him; what it means to have new life, to be a new and fresh humanity free from the evil, the corruption, the depression of sin."
The History of Saint Paul, the Apostle with David Suchet (Part One) Our History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmewUegQiN4
Part Two may be further found on Youtube
With thanks to Youtube
She told Rabbi Jesus, "Highly ethical inferences . . . "
The Rabbi answered, ". . . are drawn by Paul's sure hand down the pages of the historical documents, which through the passage of time have become his testimonial: Romans and his letter."
There are fourteen letters, also called epistles, which are ascribed to the apostle Paul. They are included in the holy scriptures of the New Testament Church. They are:
- Letter to the Romans
- First Letter to the Corinthians, which includes St Paul's hymn to love: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
- Second Letter to the Corinthians
- Letter of St Paul to the Galatians
- Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians
- Letter to the Philippians
- Letter to the Colossians
- First Letter to the Thessalonians
- Second Letter to the Thessalonians
- First Letter to Timothy
- Second Letter to Timothy
- Letter to Titus
- Letter to Philemon
- Letter to the Hebrews. More a treatise than a letter, this book contains no claim of authorship but is attributed to followers of Paul.
Why not read them?
-
Mariam was reading chatper 5 of St Paul's Letter to the Romans.
She remarked to Rabbi Jesus, "Paul's concept of hope stands fast through all the vagaries of life, and ultimately builds our character and our particular spirituality . . . "
The Rabbi answered, ". . . forged by the hammer of the anvil of God."
Individual holiness is often won through the crucible of difficulty. God allows the purification of each soul through life lessons which, at times, may appear hard. Yet despite temporal difficulties, our hope is eternal: Christ died for us that we may gain eternal life.
Someone had lied to Mariam, and the lies now were being put to the test.
Mariam reached out to Rabbi Jesus for guidance, "There is a day of reckoning . . . "
The Rabbi answered, "And the day is now."
Do not lie. Untruths always come out - if not directly, years later. And if not in this lifetime, before the Judgement Seat of Almighty God in the next.
Mariam held love and prayer in her heart for people now far away, who had made her happy and joyous.
She told Rabbi Jesus, "They changed my life."
The Master answered, "They left their footprints in your heart."
Mariam pondered. Her friends - who had walked into her affection - had changed her life with their love, understanding, humor, patience and the gleam of Christ she had seen within them.
Mariam lived the single life, often alone - at times lonely. She asked Rabbi Jesus, "Why did this have to be?" The Master answered her, "You are destined for greater things."
Mariam sighed, "It is a path that is lonely."
Rabbi Jesus gently replied, "So was mine."
Sometimes loneliness is the price to be paid for availability for ministry, whether in family or community. Be courageous - loneliness is fleeting, the joy of serving the Lord is not.
Mariam was treated harshly. She wept bitterly.
Rabbi Jesus told her gently, "There is no crown without first the thorns."
Holiness is not won by faint heart. Each of us has a personal cross of suffering during this lifetime. The bravest "kiss the cross daily when they pick it up."
Life's difficulties and heartaches - which may serve to purify us of self-interest and sin when accepted with the right spirit - are not always easy for us to accept.
Yet, even if we wish to flee the cross of life's suffering, we will never succeed. Let us then be strong in following Jesus.
Jesus told us: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)
To take up our cross daily means our absolute surrender to following Jesus Christ - including acceptance of the sorrows and difficulties such a life of discipleship may entail.
An injustice was about to occur. Mariam was experiencing peer pressure to remain silent about the impending event. Mariam felt scared.
She told the Master, "I don't want to get involved."
Rabbi Jesus replied, "By not getting involved, you are involved."
All it takes for evil to flourish in the world is for good people to remain silent.
However, sometimes to speak out robustly may bring harm to self or others. In such instances, both wisdom and prudence is required. Prayer will light the way, as will seeking advice from a counsellor known for integrity and appropriate discretion. Something can always be done. Sometimes it needs to be done with caution and diplomacy.
Someone Mariam loved invited her to join in telling a lie under oath. Mariam wrestled with her conscience until she eventually declined. She was sad at being placed in such a quandary.
Mariam told the Rabbi, "I can't call on God to bear witness to a lie, otherwise it would mean that ..."
Rabbi Jesus said, "... the love of man supercedes your love of God."
Don't commit perjury. At our judgement we will be called to answer before God for such a deed.
Mariam was chosen to carry out a great task, for which she felt woefully unequipped.
She told the Master, "I am the weakest of the weak."
Rabbi Jesus confidently answered her, "You are the strongest of the strong."
Alone, we can do nothing. With God, we can do everything.
"I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me." (Phillipians 4:13)
Mariam felt sad at her failures. She felt desolate and worthless.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "That is the state where you are too harsh on yourself."
Lord Jesus told us to "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39). If we practise self-hatred, how can we ever love others as the Savior did? You can only love another as much as you love yourself.
You are beautiful. If there are parts of yourself which have been hurt, corrupted, or are no longer beautiful, turn to Jesus. Repent, ask pardon, receive grace. If possible, go to confession and receive the absolution. And then, try again.
We are an ongoing work of holiness until the work Jesus has begun in us is completed, and we become saints.
Don't be too hard on yourself: we were made from the sand of the earth, and God never forgets that. Yet we carry the Divine spark within us, the Image and Likeness of God.
Love yourself. Respect your successes. Chalk your failures down to experience. Repent your sin. Ask pardon when you have transgressed. Receive God's Grace. Be at peace when you receive God's forgiveness.
Be gentle on yourself. Be gentle to the world around you. Respect others, and all life which shares this planet with you. Realize there is something beautiful in us all.
All this will help us not to indulge in over self-criticism.
If you wish for peace from repentance, perhaps you may find comfort at the following Chapel of Repentance,
https://churchinterfaith.blogspot.com/2017/03/prayer-chapel-of-repentance.html
Mariam regarded her miniature library. In pride of place stood the Bible containing the luminous books of both Torah and New Testament. Shakepeare's 'Hamlet', works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Scott's 'Lady of the Lake' jostled for space on the shelves. Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' and Austen's delightful 'Emma' stood quietly alongside Dickens' 'The Cricket on the Hearth.'.
Rufinus' Ecclesiastical History lay open alongside writings of Ferdinand Christian Baur, Professor Peter Davidson, Clayton O' Neill and Agnes Sanford.
Mariam was completing an assignment after long hours of study. She was tempted to complete her work in a scribbling style, due to feeling so very tired.
Rabbi Jesus encouraged her, "Do not fail at the last gate."
If followers of the Divine do not give excellence in the very small issues as well as the larger ones, they fail only themselves - and in turn Him Whose Service to whom they belong.
It was a quiet, grey day. Mariam had read the newspaper, and noted the number of murders, crimes, incidents of abuse.
Mariam said, "Sin ..."
Rabbi Jesus completed her sentence "... has reached epidemic proportions."
Every follower of the Divine has a task during life on earth. To bring peace to situations of conflict: to bring forgiveness to difficult situations. To bring holiness into a world struggling with sin.
Christ has told us, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16.
Shine your light before everyone. Have confidence in your spiritual beauty. You are a spark of the Divine, made in the Image and Likeness of God.
You have a prophetic voice of holiness within this world - use it for good.
Mariam knew someone who was deliberately breaking up another woman's marriage.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "She has no spiritual right."
Respect the bonds of others' marriages. Always.
Mariam had grown spiritually over the decades. She told the Rabbi, "How life with you has changed me."
Rabbi Jesus answered her, "You have burst your original boundaries. The snail no longer fits the shell."
Spiritual growth follows relationship with Christ as surely as day follows night.
Mariam had found happiness. Seated before a red candle which flickered glowing light, she listened to the tick of a clock. At prayer, she felt so happy.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "You have discovered that you do not find happiness in marriage, single life, religious life. It is within yourself that you discover it."
The benison of a pure heart and a forgiving spirit can bring both peace and joy. Close relationship with the Divine brings happiness in its train.
Someone who had a well-earned reputation for disliking Mariam asked her for assistance. Mariam was reluctant to get involved due to past hurt and her own current financial struggles.
Rabbi Jesus told her, "She is still our sister in the greater scheme of things."
Always give whatever help possible in each particular circumstance.
She told Rabbi Jesus, "O, the comfort of Your house. The comfort of Your house. The comfort of You."
Why not allow yourself to be enwrapped in God's Love?
Prayer Chapel at https://churchinterfaith.blogspot.com/2020/04/come-to-me-all-you-who-are-weary-and.html
