View allAll Photos Tagged Humility
A photograph to celebrate International Glaciers Day! The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation and established 21 March as the annual World Day for Glaciers.
Glaciers hold 70% of our freshwater and regulate global climate. But they are disappearing at an alarming rate due to rising temperatures. Protecting them means protecting our future.
Glaciers also can serve to teach us about life. My recent experience spending a day on top a glacier in Iceland’s Skaftafell National Park taught me life lessons that will stay with me forever. Lessons about respect, strength, humility and of resilience in the face of adversity.
The call of the universe is a very specific sensation that is felt during the cold starry nights in the mountains.
It is not a describable experience... but, summing up to the maximum, I would say that it is a feeling of belonging and humility.
Relating to such a greatness, the greed for power, typical of certain human beings - so actual in this sad historical moment - is simply meaningless.
YouTube channel “Organo Santuario della Consolata”
YouTube channel “ALPS pictures & tales”
Instagram @roberto.bertero
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©Roberto Bertero, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
Lilies symbolize humility, devotion, virtue, friendship, and sympathy. Images of lilies have been dated as far back as 1580 BC at a villa in Crete. The Greeks thought it had sprouted from the milk of Hera, the queen of the gods. In Christianity, the white lily symbolizes Mary as the Queen of Angels and the Easter Lily represents Jesus having risen from the dead. Thus, they are often used at funerals to symbolize restored innocence and life after death.
(charcoal drawing on paper; 22 x 31 cm)
Someone once said that "if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
It's interesting that this phrase uses the word "character". Also, the word "power" could mean a lot of things. Nevertheless, I believe that as long as we practice humility, we could possibly get some sort of a "benefit of a doubt" even though we tend to get carried away with what we have and we could control (sometimes).
This is one of my new Leuchtturm1917 sketchbook quick studies (Rooney Mara inspired) about human emotions.
for details=> www.saatchiart.com/art/Drawing-HUMILITY/980307/4762902/view
© Stephen B Whatley
- Please View Large -
On this date, July 5, four hundred & seventy four years ago, the scholar, lawyer and Lord Chancellor of England , Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), spent his last day on Earth in a cell at the Tower of London. Condemned to death by King Henry VIII, he spent his final hours praying. His crime? His refusal to accept the Act of Supremacy, making Henry VIII Head of the Church of England.
A committed Catholic, he defied the King and chose God over man - his committment to his faith; which never once wavered - as can be witnessed through the beauty of the prayers he wrote as prisoner at the Tower.
Four hundred years after his death - his murder- in 1935, this great man was finally canonized.
In late 1999, Stephen B Whatley was commissioned to create 30 paintings for the Tower of London; a mammoth and exhilerating undertaking that he fulfilled in 2000.
Amongst the depictions of the Tower's history that he created through his vibrant Expressionism, was a new interpretation of a portrait of the late statesman Sir Thomas More. The famous portrait for which More sat in 1512 by Hans Holbein the Younger is now in the Frick Collection in New York, USA; while the almost identical portrait, painted the same year, by an 'unknown artist' belongs to Britain's National Portrait Gallery.
Stephen B Whatley travelled to Montecute House, Somerset, where this portrait and much of the Tudor Collection belonging to the National Portrait Gallery hangs- and was moved to be able to make charcoal drawings and graphite studies ( some of which can be seen on this site) , inches away from the surface of this painting, made in More's lifetime. The artist felt such a privilege to be able to capture the essence, to feel close to the subject.
The drawings then became the inspiration for a portrait in oils which along with the rest of the series hangs in The Tower of London. The public can see all the paintings reproduced permanently throughout the public Walkway that leads to the Tower.
The paintings have aroused interest in limited edition prints; and in April 2009, the Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas More, in Eastcote, Middlesex, UK acquired a special print of Stephen B Whatley's portrait of Thomas More - which they asked him to come to unveil and talk at their special concert and celebration of the Feast Day of Thomas More; staged last Sunday, June 27, 2009 (at which this shot was captured by Parish Secretary Helen Howley)
"...this was one of the most humbling honours for me - quite overwhelming - as on arrival I found that the concert was to be staged before the altar in the contemporary church. My print, framed by the church and veiled was set just in front of the Crucifix. I had decided to speak from my heart, no notes - and to the beautiful strains of Bach, Mozart and Schuman - my eyes were fixed on the Cross, in prayer - for strength.
The Parish Priest, Fr John Deehan paid a very warm tribute to me and my work in a touchingly detailed introduction; before I was invited to come forward and step up to perform the unveiling. Standing there the congregation seemed more vast - and there was an audible intake of breath as the green shroud was removed; and the dedicated print revealed- strikingly mounted and framed. It truly seemed to glow.
Then from the lecturn, I spoke a little about the art world, my survival in it; and that my journey has been one with God - not some huge marketing machine. That my successes have come through deep prayer; alongside a lot of hard work.
Touching on that I had, like most, have suffered in my life, I mentioned that I had often remarked that "Art has saved my life" there , 'in the shadow' of this great Crucifix, I realised that more importantly that it is my deep faith in Christ that has saved my life. Amongst the sea of faces I could see moist eyes glinting and with a quite rapturous applause, my head was hung very low - in humility."
(Ploceus castaneiceps)
Leganga - Arusha
Tanzânia
We just returned from about two weeks spent in Tanzania, and I have to say it was by far our worst trip ever. The country, the people, the landscapes, and the birdlife and wildlife in general warrant a return visit — but the guide we somewhat naively chose was an absolute disaster.
A presumptuous, egocentric, narcissistic, arrogant, Trump-supporting, climate-change-denying, constantly self-flattering individual who fancies himself a great photographer (he describes his own photos as "fucking good").
His photos are mediocre, some even out of focus, but for a birder just looking to document sightings, that’s normal, and I accepted it. If only he’d had the humility to simply show us the birds and let us handle the photography. Instead, every time we had a chance to photograph a bird, he’d lecture us on how we should do it—even scolding us for checking our shots on the camera. He never did that himself, using his Nikon D850 (what a waste) almost in point-and-shoot mode (his own words).
He kept insisting he was a photographer and knew all about the importance of light, but every single day, we saw it was pure theory—he had zero practical skills. He’d constantly forget and sulk when we pointed it out. Basically, if the background was blue sky, the light was good; if it was cloudy, the light was bad. That was the extent of his knowledge of light and photography.
On the very first day, his first attempt was taking us to a lake hoping to find an African Black Duck. Well, as our friend A. Guerra would say, ironically, when things go bad, at least we didn’t see it—because the photos would have been a complete disaster. The access to the lake was directly facing the sun, with glare all over the water. It would have been a huge frustration.
At the middle of day, with terrible strong light, he decided show us a colony of Taveta Weavers — only for our disappointment to deepen as they were entirely backlit. When we mentioned the lighting issue, he simply ignored us (something he’d do systematically for as long as we endured him). I had to push through thick vegetation and small water ditches to find a better angle, while he seemed annoyed at how long we took to get a decent shot.
(Another thing that bothered him was us not knowing a species’ name or mispronouncing it.)
But that was just the first day. The following days were a series of unpleasant situations, multiple arguments — the last one shouting — until we gave up on his services (already paid for) and had to scramble for an alternative. I’ll talk about that in future posts.
I won’t name him here, but if you send me a private message, I’ll tell you who he is — so my friends don’t make the same mistake we did.
The only partially positive thing I can say is that, with the help of local guides, he did find the hardest-to-spot species—even if it meant risking our lives, subjecting us to two hours of being thrown around in the vehicle while completely lost off any passable trail (even for a 4x4). Not to mention his dangerously reckless driving on main roads.
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Acabámos de regressar de cerca de duas semanas passadas na Tanzânia e, tenho de dizer, foi de longe a nossa pior viagem de sempre. O país, as pessoas, as paisagens e a avifauna e fauna em geral merecem claramente uma nova visita — mas o guia que escolhemos, de forma algo ingénua, foi um verdadeiro desastre.
Um indivíduo presunçoso, egocêntrico, narcisista, arrogante, Trumpista, negacionista das alterações climáticas, sempre a autoelogiar-se, que se julga um grande fotógrafo (descreve as próprias fotos como “fucking good”).
As fotos dele são medianas, algumas até desfocadas, mas para um observador de aves que só quer registar os avistamentos, isso é normal — e eu aceitava. Se ao menos tivesse tido a humildade de simplesmente nos mostrar as aves e deixar a fotografia connosco. Em vez disso, sempre que havia uma oportunidade para fotografar uma ave, fazia questão de nos dar uma lição sobre como o devíamos fazer — chegando mesmo a ralhar connosco por vermos as fotos no ecrã da câmara. Ele próprio nunca o fazia, usando a NIkon D850 (que desperdício) quase em modo point-and-shot (palavras dele).
Insistia constantemente que era fotógrafo e que percebia a importância da luz, mas todos os dias víamos que isso era só teoria — não tinha qualquer implementação prática. Esquecia-se de coisas básicas e ficava amuado quando lho fazíamos notar. Basicamente, se o fundo era céu azul, a luz era boa; se estava nublado, a luz era má. Esse era o nível do seu "conhecimento" sobre luz e fotografia.
Logo no primeiro dia, a primeira tentativa foi levar-nos a um lago à procura do pato-preto-africano. Bem, como diria o nosso amigo A. Guerra, ironicamente, quando as coisas correm mal, ao menos não o vimos — porque as fotos teriam sido um desastre completo. O acesso ao lago era de frente para o sol, com irritantes reflexos de luz sobre cada molécula de água. Teria sido uma frustração enorme.
A meio do dia, com uma luz fortíssima e péssima, decidiu levar-nos a uma colónia de Tecelões-de-cabeça-ruiva — apenas para a nossa desilusão aumentar ao vermos que estavam completamente contra a luz, já de si péssima devido à hora do dia. Quando mencionámos o problema da iluminação, simplesmente ignorou-nos (algo que passou a fazer sistematicamente enquanto o aturámos). Tive de abrir caminho por vegetação densa e atravessar pequenos regos de água para conseguir um ângulo melhor, enquanto ele parecia irritado com o tempo que demorávamos a conseguir uma fotografia decente.
(Outra coisa que o incomodava era não sabermos o nome de uma espécie ou pronunciá-lo mal.)
Mas isso foi só o primeiro dia. Os dias seguintes foram uma sucessão de situações desagradáveis, várias discussões — a última já aos gritos — até que desistimos dos seus serviços (já pagos) e tivemos de procurar uma alternativa à pressa. Falarei disso em publicações futuras.
Não o vou nomear aqui, mas se me enviarem uma mensagem privada, direi quem é — para que os meus amigos não cometam o mesmo erro que nós.
A única coisa parcialmente positiva que posso dizer é que, com a ajuda de guias locais, ele de facto encontrou as espécies mais difíceis de localizar — mesmo que isso implicasse pôr a nossa vida em risco, sujeitando-nos a duas horas aos solavancos num veículo completamente perdido fora de qualquer trilho transitável (mesmo para um 4x4). Sem falar da condução perigosamente imprudente nas estradas principais.
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All my photos are now organized into sets by the country where they were taken, by taxonomic order, by family, by species (often with just one photo for the rarer ones), and by the date they were taken.
So, you may find:
- All the photos for this trip Tanzânia (2025) (377)
- All the photos for this order PASSERIFORMES (3553)
- All the photos for this family Ploceidae (Ploceídeos) (114)
- All the photos for this species Ploceus castaneiceps (1)
- All the photos taken this day 2025/04/22 (4)
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"I suggest that the most significant basis for meeting of men of different religious traditions is the level of fear and trembling, of humility and contrition, where our individual moments of faith are mere waves in the endless ocean of mankind's reaching out for God, where all formulations and articulations appear pear as understatements, where our souls are swept away by the awareness of the urgency of answering God's commandment, while stripped of pretension and conceit we sense the tragic insufficiency of human faith." This "tragic insufficiency sufficiency of human faith," according to Heschel, coupled with an acute yearning for God's presence, could foster the spiritual companionship of "humility mility and contrition," open-mindedness, as a precondition of true interfaith dialogue.'
--Abraham Joshua Heschel, (as quoted in Edward K. Kaplan, Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America, 1940-1972)
"The supreme issue today is not the halakhah for the Jew or the Church for the Christian-but the premise underlying derlying both religions, namely, whether there is a pathos, a divine reality concerned with the destiny of man which mysteriously impinges upon history."
--Abraham Joshua Heschel, (as quoted in Edward K. Kaplan, Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America, 1940-1972)
"It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes us as angels." - Saint Augustine
Thinking these images of Krystal Smith are much too good to be deleted.
Small chapel from the 9th-10th centuries on a monastic site, with a small activity of devotion still taking place. Humility above all.
Humility is something we should constantly pray for, yet never thank God that we have. - Martin DeHaan
copyright: gerd kozik/ yarin asanth 2017
The sky in fire in March and a heart in fire about this sundown in the early spring at the Lake Constance.
Moments of happiness and humility...
Hear some music...?
"So far away..." by Martin Garrix & David Guetta 2017
Love Yarin
“Shine your soul with the same
egoless humility as the rainbow
and no matter where you go
in this world or the next,
love will find you, attend you, and bless you.”
― Aberjhani
The air is cleansed once more.
I often see this tree and have photographed it in various lighting conditions and this one is by far the most meaningful to me. The shape of the tree is likened to a cross. The numerous little snags on it are reminders of sacrifice, humility,endurance and peace.
Hola amigos, sencillez, humildad, amabilidad, ser feliz sin tener nada y muchas cosa mas son las que han llenado mi corazón con esta gente de Indonesia. ¡ Qué gran lección he aprendido !.
Va para ellos mi mas sincera dedicatoria
Saludos a todos
Hello friends, simplicity, humility, amiability, to be happy without having anything and sews many mas they are those who have filled my heart with these people of Indonesia. What great lesson I have learned!.
My sincere mas goes for them dedication
Regards to all
Sigilo y misterio sacramental, cauto silencio e inviolable conocimiento. Celosía del alma y frontera de emociones; filro de remordimientos que se pulen con la lima de la expiación que siempre reconcilia.
All Rights Reserved. All images on this site are © copyright Juan Pedro Gómez-51.
Please, don’t use this images in websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. Use without consent on my part of it, will report the formal complaint to the registration of intellectual property. Thanks.
It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
The MegaStuff hunt gift by Brocade Tiger. #8 Menstuff run.
「慢心は損害を招き、謙虚は利益を受ける。天狗になるとミスを犯し、謙虚になれば協力を得る」– 孔子『書経』
The big Tengu-head at the arrival of JR Takao station. Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. © Michele Marcolin, 2023. GR3
[Arrogance causes harm, humility benefits. If you are a tengu, you make mistakes, if you re humble, you get help] - Confucius' Book of Sutras
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Tengu, in Japanese folklore, is a type of mischievous supernatural being, sometimes considered the reincarnated spirit of one who was proud and arrogant in life. Tengu are renowned swordsmen and are said to have taught the military arts to the Minamoto Yoshitsune. They live in trees in mountainous areas. A group of tengu is headed by a chief, who is depicted with a prominent nose, angry and threatening expression, dressed in red robes and carrying a feather fan. He is served by a group of retainers called koppa tengu (“leaflet” tengu) who act as his messengers. In popular art they are shown as smaller winged creatures with long red noses or beaklike mouths.
Mt Takao has long been associated with the Tengu - since about the 14th century - through its ties with the practice of mountain asceticism. Tengu - which in an early stage of their history were considered disruptive entities against Buddism - had the reputation of teasing particulalry ascetic monks whe were in search for illumination. Later developments saw the Tengu as keeper of Mt. Takao and guardians agains any evil doers. Even to this day, you can see Tengu iconography all over Mt. Takao.
To know more in details about Tengu, here you can find all the fundamentals: www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/t/tengu.htm
© Saira Bhatti
"Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility" ~Anonymous
White orchids represent reverence and humility. Humility is an undervalued characteristic.
"The Value Of Humility In Leadership. ... Substantial research shows that humility predicts effective leadership. Humility is associated with minimizing status differences, listening to subordinates, soliciting input, admitting mistakes and being willing to change course when a plan seems not to work". [Forbes, 7/18]
I see strength and weakness at once. I see a strong human-made structure that constrains even nature's strongest winds, but is filled with cracks and imperfections. At the same time, I bear witness to the the undeserving warning and caution that we humans now surround ourselves with (even outdoors). Meanwhile, nature perseveres; it grows where it wants, without regard for the wishes of man.
“He was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility. But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride.”
-- Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
-- Technical Information (or Nerdy Stuff) --
‧ Camera - Nikon D7200 (handheld)
‧ Lens – Nikkor 18-300mm Zoom
‧ ISO – 100
‧ Aperture – f/9
‧ Exposure – 1/160 second
‧ Focal Length – 300mm
The original RAW file was processed with Adobe Camera Raw and final adjustments were made with Photoshop CS6.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
The best way to view my photostream is through Flickriver with the following link: www.flickriver.com/photos/photojourney57/
“These are the few ways we can practice humility:
To speak as little as possible of one's self.
To mind one's own business.
Not to want to manage other people's affairs.
To avoid curiosity.
To accept contradictions and correction cheerfully.
To pass over the mistakes of others.
To accept insults and injuries.
To accept being slighted, forgotten and disliked.
To be kind and gentle even under provocation.
Never to stand on one's dignity.
To choose always the hardest.”
― Mother Teresa, The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living
Blog Post
Enjoy in LARGE and smile at least one tag line on right. Have many Blessings!
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Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day today, tomorrow, and Monday 3.17.2008, by blessing your family and yourself at www.e-water.net/viewflash.php?flash=irishblessing_en
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Pope: Augustine Is Model of Humility
Says His Conversion Lasted Until He Died
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 26, 2008 (Zenit.org).- In his final reflection on St. Augustine, Benedict XVI spoke of the saint's interior conversion, calling it "one of the greatest" in Christian history.
The Pope affirmed this today during the general audience given in Paul VI Hall. He recalled how his trip last year to pay homage to the mortal remains of Augustine was meant to "demonstrate the admiration and reverence of the entire Catholic Church toward St. Augustine, and my own personal devotion and recognition of a figure with whom I feel I have close ties to due to the part he has played in my theological life, in my life as a priest and a pastor."
Recalling Augustine's own retelling of his conversion in the "Confessions," the Holy Father said that the process is best "described as a journey that remains a true example for each one of us." It was a journey that "continued with humility until the end of his life."
"We can state that all the stages of his life -- and we can easily distinguish three phases -- together make up a single long conversion," the Pontiff explained.
Truth seeking
Benedict XVI characterized the first phase as a "gradual approach to Christianity," since Augustine was a "passionate seeker of the truth."
He explained: "Philosophy, and especially Platonic philosophy, led him closer to Christ by revealing to him the existence of the Logos, or creative reason. The books of the philosophers showed him the existence of 'reason' from which the whole world is derived, but did not tell him how to reach this Logos, which seemed so inaccessible.
"It was only through reading the letters of St. Paul, in the faith of the Catholic Church, that he came to a fuller understanding. […] His eyes fell on the passage of the Letter to the Romans, in which the apostle urges the abandonment of the pleasures of the flesh in favor of Christ. He understood that those words were specifically meant for him. They came from God, through the Apostle, and showed him what he had to do in that moment."
Augustine thus began to seek God, the Pope explained, "the great and inaccessible."
"His faith in Christ made him understand that God, seemingly so distant, was in truth not distant at all. In fact he has come near us, becoming one of us," the Holy Father said. "In this sense his faith in Christ allowed Augustine to accomplish his long search for truth. Only a God who made himself 'touchable,' one of us, was a God to whom one could pray, for whom and with whom one could live."
Mercy
Benedict XVI said a last step, or "third conversion" in the journey, "led [Augustine] to ask God for forgiveness every day of his life."
The Pope explained: "At first he thought that once christened, in a life in communion with Christ, in the sacraments, and in the celebration of the Eucharist, he would attain a life as proposed in the Sermon on the Mount, which is one of perfection given through baptism and confirmed in the Eucharist.
"In the latter period of his life he understood that what he had said in his first homilies on the Sermon on the Mount -- that we as Christians permanently live this ideal life -- was a mistake. Only Christ himself realizes truly and completely the Sermon on the Mount. We always need to be cleansed by Christ, who washes our feet, and be renewed by him.
"We need a permanent conversion. Up to the end we need to demonstrate a humility that acknowledges that we are sinners on a journey, until the Lord gives us his hand and leads us to eternal life. It is with this attitude of humility that Augustine lived out his final days until his death."
A model
The Holy Father said that Augustine, once "converted to Christ, who is truth and love," became a model for every human being, "for all of us in search of God."
"Today, as then," the Pontiff said, "mankind needs to know and to live this fundamental reality: God is love and meeting him is the only answer to the fears of the human heart.
"In a beautiful text St. Augustine defines prayer as an expression of desire, and affirms that God answers by moving our hearts closer to him. For our part we should purify our desires and our hopes in order to receive God's gentleness."
"In fact," the Holy Father concluded, "this alone -- opening ourselves up to others -- can save us."
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2nd post on 20080315
I am emailed below from www.medjugorje.org
or Steve Shawl
Peace to All! Below please find the official English translation of Our Lady's February 25, 2008 message to the world as provided by the Information Center in Medjugorje.
“Dear children! In this time of grace, I call you anew to prayer and renunciation. May your day be interwoven with little ardent prayers for all those who have not come to know God´s love. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
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The Abandoned Valley
Can you understand being alone so long
you would go out in the middle of the night
and put a bucket into the well
so you could feel something down there
tug at the other end of the rope?
Poem by Jack Gilbert in
“Refusing Heaven” (Alfred Knopf 2007)
winner of National Book Critics
Circle Award For Poetry
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In 2006, the local electorate blessed Dallas County, Texas with a new District Attorney (DA) who has been exemplifying extremely different philosophies like: “Society wins when justice is done, even if the Government fails to convict and lengthy imprison in most cases”.
What leadership qualities resulted in Texas’ old Dallas County DA’s Office causing Dallas County to be the “Send Innocent People to Prison Capital of the USA”. Is it worth studying those procedures, goals, attitudes, techniques to encourage or discourage their continued use else where?
Question: Is the criminal justice system dysfunctional and merely about the sneaker attorney winning?
Question: How do we start drastically altering such a screwed up trophy system? Does innocents being imprisoned, embarrass no one anymore? Why? Because there is so much of it going on?
Answer below please: ______
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Sunday, March 16, 2008
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Reflections on Holy Scripture at the Procession of Palms:
Matthew 21:1-11
At the Mass:
Isaiah 50:4-7
Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Reading II:
Philippians 2:6-11
The Gospel:
Matthew 26:14—27:66 or 27:11-54
Today we begin the most sacred week of the year—Holy Week.
It all begins with the Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, seated astride a donkey, with the crowd shouting "Hosanna!" and it ends with the most astounding event in history, the God-man Jesus, rising from a borrowed tomb. He rises with the light shining from the wounds of His horrible passion and death.
As our Savior rode toward His great confrontation with the powers of evil, the words of today's first reading were very possibly in His mind:
I have set my face like flint, knowing that I will not be put to shame.
(Isaiah 50:7)
No, the shame is ours that our sins and those of the millions before us have brought Him to this hour. This is the week for us to bow our heads and hearts in sorrow and compassion as we put aside our daily distractions and focus on the events of the dying and rising of our loving Redeemer. We need to reflect prayerfully on the ancient Christian hymn that forms our second reading for this Mass:
He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave . . .
he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross. (see Philippians 2:7-8)
No wonder every knee must bow at the mention of His name! The early Church fought long and hard to establish the doctrine for all time that it was both God and man that took up that cross for our redemption.
So what is our cross?
It's the cross of responsibilities, the cross of sickness, the cross of loneliness and failure. We gain so much strength to carry those crosses when we take time this week to journey with Jesus to Calvary.
The Church is a master of drama in the liturgies of this week. Through the use of the celebrant and two readers for the Passion this week, and in the voices of the congregation, we all become part of the action. Most of us feel embarrassed to cry "Crucify Him" with the palm branches still in our hands. We feel like hypocrites. Yet it was our sins which brought Him to Calvary.
The Passion Narrative of Matthew is a reminder of the ugliness of sin—Christ's betrayal by Judas, the denial of Peter, the hearings before Caiaphas and Pilate—the awful scourging by the Roman soldiers, the thorny crown jammed upon His weary head, the whip cutting slashes into His flesh, the blood running down his shoulders and back, the cursing by the crowd, the nails tearing through His hands, the thud of the cross into the ground. As He hangs on the Cross, He cries, "I thirst!" How that cry echoes down the centuries as a reminder of His search for our love!
The shock of Palm Sunday's liturgy compresses nearly two thousand years into this present moment. We have no place to hide.
We need to suspend all other activities, quiet our busy-ness, and focus on the events of this week—the local penance services, the Stations of the Cross, the Thursday night adoration and the Good Friday veneration of the Cross.
All this will prepare us for the coming out of darkness into the new fire, the new light, the new saving water of the Easter Vigil—and the Resurrection.
- Msgr. Paul Whitmore | email: pwhitmore29@yahoo.com
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Giovanni di Paolo preferred to emphasize religious sentiment and decorative patterning rather than the illusion of depth and three-dimensional form. In this work, the Virgin, seated on the ground to indicate her humility, cradles her child against a backdrop of strawberries and wildflowers and a sheltering screen of fruit trees. In the distance stretches a landscape of cultivated fields, stony roads, and fortified towns. Still in its original frame and in a near-perfect state of preservation, this panel exemplifies the lyrical quality of Sienese painting.
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.
Saint Augustine
Freely inspired by:
It takes cheerful resignation
Heart and humility
That's all it takes
A cheerful person told me
Nobody's harder on me than me
How could they be
And, nobody's harder on you than you
Betsy's blue
She says-"Tell me something good!"
You know I'd help her out if I only could
Oh, but sometimes the light
Can be so hard to find
At least the moon at the window--
The thieves left that behind
People don't know how to love
They taste it and toss it
Turn it off and on
Like a bathtub faucet
Oh sometimes the light
Can be so hard to find--
At least the moon at the window--
The thieves left that behind
I wish her heart
I know these battles
Deep in the dark
When the spooks of memories rattle
Ghosts of the future
Phantoms of the past
Rattle, rattle, rattle
In the spoon and the glass
Is it possible to learn
How to care and yet not care--
Since love has two faces
Hope and despair
And pleasure always turns to fear
I find--
At least the moon at the window--
The thieves left that behind
At least they left the moon
Behind the blind
Moon at the window
( Mitchell Joni )
Hayman Burn Scar, Colorado
Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.
Ute Prayer
© Dee Torza 2016
All rights reserved. Please respect my copyright and do not copy, modify or download this image to blogs or other websites without obtaining my explicit written permission.
"Consequently, it followed logically that telling lies could not be sins. The chaplain had mastered, in a moment of divine intuition, the handy technique of protective rationalisation, and he was exhilarated by his discovery. It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honour, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.”
Joseph Heller Catch 22 Chapter 34
He could have been describing the Idiot in Chief
This was not the midnight sun but was shot on the longest day of the year looking down the coast from Bempton towards Bridlington. I liked the light on the cliffs
I noticed I even got a fence in the shot
THANKS FOR YOUR VISITING BUT CAN I ASK YOU NOT TO FAVE AN IMAGE WITHOUT ALSO MAKING A COMMENT. MANY THANKS KEITH
Here is what I really like about the Song Man...his humility. He wasn't a fancy singer, arguable not America Idol material. I think he is missing teeth based on the whistle in evident in the sound; but he sang with a smile. He sang for the love of singing. He was passionate...He belted out his music even if there was nobody around. He made me think and feel how much we, "I" over complicate things rather than just enjoy. Introspectively, I have to sometime wonder, do I "sing" for the love of singing...meaning photography....sometimes admittedly so, get lost in the likes and not the love of photography. He helped me think about that. I have to do it for the passion! I love this hobby!