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Opinions expressed by Brother Bubba are solely his own and are not intended to reflect the opinions of the Order of the Legion of St. Michael, it apostolates, members, benefactors, or constituents.
~Archives~
Bro. Bubba's Journal
Sunday, March 23, 2008
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He is Risen 4:05 AM
SOLEMNITY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD
He is Risen. Alleluia!
Our Lord and Savior who went to the Cross for our sins Rose from the Dead to conquer death and sin. He is Risen! We are no more slaves to death and Satan. We are freed to Eternal Life.
This day is also a most amazing day for me. That our Lord loves us so much, loves me so much, that he would suffer for me, for me, for this miserable sinner who deserves nothing but hell.
Truly Lord I am not worthy, but say the word and I shall be healed.
Listen to the words of our great doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, fifth century, and one of the greatest preachers of all time.
Let all Pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward; let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late, for the Lord is gracious and He receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes on the eleventh hour as well as to him who has toiled since the first: yes, He has pity on the last and He serves the first; He rewards the one and is generous to the other; he repays the deed and praises the effort.
Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness.
Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free: He has destroyed it by enduring it, He has despoiled Hades by going down into its kingdom, He has angered it by allowing it to taste of his flesh.
When Isaiah foresaw all this, he cried out: "O Hades, you have been angered by encountering Him in the nether world." Hades is angered because frustrated, it is angered because it has been mocked, it is angered because it has been destroyed, it is angered because it has been reduced to naught, it is angered because it is now captive. It seized a body, and lo! it discovered God; it seized earth, and, behold! it encountered heaven; it seized the visible, and was overcome by the invisible.
O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen and life is freed, Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
O how great are those words For God so Loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
Because of that Love we may proclaim with St. Chrysostom:
O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen and life is freed, Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
I can never listen to this song without weeping. I can barely type this.
We begin Holy Week in celebration of the great amazing grace granted to us by the voluntary sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on the Cross and His resurrection that allows us to defeat death and spend eternity in God's friendship.
Recall the famous verse, "For God so Loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
John Newton, an Anglican priest, wrote the hymn, Amazing Grace. It is an amazing song especially when one know how it was written. The words of the hymn are:
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed.
When we've been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise Than when we'd first begun.
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found Was blind, but now I see.
John Newton was a slave trader, a most evil trade. On a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer the ship through a violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his “great deliverance.” He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him.
For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. “Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’tis grace has bro’t me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” He continued in the slave trade for a time after his conversion; however, he saw to it that the slaves under his care were treated humanely.
He repented of his evil trade and in such regret and penance for his sins wrote this amazing hymn of the amazing Grace offered by God to him, a mighty sinner. I can relate in that I have been a mighty sinner, a chief of sinners, lost and dead. That God could or would reach down to me and save me from myself, through a miracle save my life, and to give me a vision of hell and the death of my own soul is so humbling as to be beyond words.
When I go to Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament I cannot help but to lay prostrate on the floor before my Lord. It is the only place I belong when before my Lord God, the God of the Universe and my Creator. It is only by His grace that I am alive; it is only by His Grace that I may someday embrace Him in paradise.
This is the week that we celebrate this great grace, this Amazing Grace, oh how sweet the sound of those words. I was deeply lost into darkness, but now I am found by a loving and merciful God. Oh God, my God, my love, help me to not disappoint you and to live out my Love for You. Forgive me when I fail, which is most of the time.
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Back after Three Years 3:46 AM
TUESDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT
It has been about three years and one month since my last post. Much has happened. My health has deteriorated. I was in the hospital in 2005 and twice in 2007. My mother miraculously woke up from a vegetative state in which the doctors said there was no hope, my father's health is deteriorating, my aunt died, and I moved back to Iowa to my home town of Ottumwa to setup St. Michael Hermitage on a property that we own. It is a small bungalow, but the property is large enough to build on to the house and to build a shrine in the back yard.
The move has been very taxing on me. The move was in November and I am still not fully recovered. That is the lot of my chronic illness. I am still not unpacked.
In my life I have moved some 87 times or more -- I have lost count. I have told people that this move to Ottumwa and to a house we own in the clear (no mortgage) is my last move. I will not move again until the move to the cemetary. I am retired from moving. Only God could call me out of here to go elsewhere.
The Internet Ministry was dormat for two years, but is now flourishing. The Deliverance Ministry is busy to the point that we are having to place people who need help on a waiting list sometimes and we have more applications for people wanting to join our Deliverance Counselor Training Program. Things are on the move, God is blessing us and all things are done for His glory.
Hopefully, with such a full plate that I have I can keep up a few entries in this blog. I have a sign that says, "God gives each person a certain number of things to do in their lifetime before they die. I am so far behind that I will never die."
