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Strobist: AB1600 with gridded 60 X30 softbox camera right. Triggered by Cybersync.
I love these tiny little Blue Flag Iris!
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Philippians 4:6
Thank you and God bless, have a beautiful weekend!
************ Explore 285 on March 20, 2010!***********
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Explore: Apr 21, 2009 #398
Prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6, NASB).
So many people today are living uptight, worried and anxious about the future, filled with frustration and concern. In the natural there may be good reason, but understand, that is not God’s best. God doesn’t want us to live in anxiety and frustration; He wants us to live in peace. You can find rest in Him knowing that no matter what is happening around you, God Almighty has His hand on you.
The next time you’re tempted to worry or be anxious about something, remember this verse. God invites us to come to Him. In fact, the Bible says He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. But notice, we can’t just come to Him any old way. He wants us to come to Him with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving. Begin by simply saying, “Father in heaven, thank You for the privilege to come before You. Thank You for hearing my Prayers.” As you come to Him with an open and humble heart, He will hear you and fill you with His peace and joy all the days of your life.
maraculio.09 © All rights reserved
---Tired of the continuously conflicting demands of humans, here for rain - there for no rain, they paid no attention to my supplication and it rained. And rained. With some moments of delightful clearing. :-)
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV
Brandi wishes everyone a happy Thanksgiving!
She was good about waiting while I was taking pictures,
after that she gobbled up her plate of food.
From the Basilica's web site, "The Choir
During the 1870s the Montreal architect Victor Bourgeau designed the high altar, choir stalls and reredos (altarpiece), with statues sculpted in pine by the French artist Henri Bouriché. All the decorative woodwork motifs were executed in black walnut. The statues were delivered in 1875.
Curé Rousselot himself devised the decorative theme for the sanctuary to illustrate the true meaning and significance of the sacrament of the Mass and the Eucharist.
The Eucharistic Theme
As one of the seven sacraments, also known as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Eucharist continually renews the sacrifice of Christ. In the Old Testament, a sacrifice could be a supplication to God, a petition for pardon, an expression of praise or an act of thanksgiving. The sculpted figure groups here at the altar contribute to this central and many-sided sacrificial theme.
The Crucifixion
The Crucifixion is at the centre of the altarpiece. Christ is represented as dying on the cross. The Blessed Virgin and Saint John stand on either side of the cross, while Mary Magdalene kneels at the foot. This “Calvary” stands on a small altar as a witness of the unity that exists between the sacrifice of the Cross and that of the Mass.
The Old Testament
Around the Crucifixion scene we see four scenes from the Old Testament that prefigure the sacrifice of the Cross and the Mass.
At lower right is the sacrifice of Isaac by his father, Abraham. This major episode of the Old Testament explains why the Judeo-Christian tradition holds human life sacred. The human sacrifices of ancient times will henceforth be replaced by animal sacrifices.
At lower left, we see the offering of bread and wine made by Melchisidech.
At upper left, Moses (his brows adorned with two rays of light) is seen establishing the commandments concerning ritual animal sacrifice at the altar. He places an urn full of manna inside the Ark of the Covenant. At upper right, Aaron, the high priest, sacrifices a lamb according to tradition.
Sacred history on the High Altar
The centre of the altarpiece, placed directly over the high altar, represents Calvary. Beneath the altar, the image of the Last Supper appears – a magnificent wood sculpture based on Leonardo da Vinci’s famous mural – representing the institution of the Eucharist on the eve of Christ’s suffering and death.
In the centre is the Tabernacle, flanked by bas-relief sculptures in wood showing angels and saints in adoration, according to the vision described in Chapter 7 of the Apocalypse (Revelation).
In the upper section of the altarpiece we see the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin. Christ, the Messiah who has conquered death through His resurrection, crowns His mother in heaven.
The way to heavenly bliss
The visual composition directed upwards toward the vault of the church indicates the way to eternal happiness in heaven, an ascent amid angels and stars against a deep blue background. This ascent, as a symbol of life, is traced in the sacrifice of Christ and in the Mass.
Statues of the prophets Isaiah and Daniel, carved by the sculptor Louis-Philippe Hébert in 1882, appear on the right and left sides of the altarpiece.
Over the choir stalls on the right and left sides are six polychrome (painted) statues.
First on the right is Saint Paul, with a sword of his martyrdom in Rome, where he was beheaded. Next are two evangelists and their respective symbols: Matthew, with a winged male figure, and Luke, with his winged ox.
To the left of the altar stands Saint Peter with his keys, and the rooster, recalling Peter’s betrayal of Jesus, his master and friend on the morning of His suffering and death. Then the other two evangelists: John, holding a chalice symbolizing his love for the Eucharist, with the eagle, a sign of his far-seeing gospel, and Mark with his winged lion."
Late Geometric pithos, standing 50 cm tall. The scene running around its top reports an unknown ritual of a maiden chorus led by a lyre. The pithos, dating to the end of the eighth century BC, contained the remains of a child.
The most interesting and arguably important figures are a small boy and an even smaller girl facing each other, a brother and sister perhaps, flanked by adults: the male lyre-player behind the boy, and a line of six long-skirted females behind the girl. The boy apparently reaches up to hold the hand of the first woman in line. Together with the pithos, other goods associated with female deities, included a "kalathiskos", little basket, were found in the grave, suggesting that the child inside the pithos had been a girl, perhaps even the very diminutive figure gracing the central panel of the pithos itself.
Some scholars identify the ritual depicted with the Theban Daphnephoria. This ceremony involved the bringing of sacred laurel to the Sanctuary of Apollo Ismenios (named for the nearby river Ismenos) which stood on a small hill just to the south of Thebes. The Theban Daphnephoria are known from a number of late sources, namely Pindar, Pausanias, and Proclus’ Chrestomathia in the fifth century AD.
Proclus’ account is by far the most detailed, explaining how every nine years in Boeotia the laurel is brought by priests into the temple of Apollos; a chorus of maidens participated in the ritual. A child with both parents still living leads the Daphnephoria holding the laurel. The chorus of maidens follow close behind him, holding outstretched branches in supplication, and singing the hymn.
Source: Paul Grigsby, “Who’s that girl? A burial pithos from Thebes”, University of Warwick.
Burial geometric pithos
Height: 49,9 cm
ca.720-700 BC
From Pyri suburb of Thebes
Archaeological Museum of Thebes
iPhone capture during a foggy sunset at the Albany Bulb ... with the supplicating figure/sculpture, hands outstretched, aligned with the setting sun. (Subtle saturation, black point, exposure, NR adjustments.) I believe the creators of this longstanding sculpture and East Bay icon are Osha Neumann and Jason DeAntonis
ON A LOST OPPORTUNITY.
We might, if you had willed, have conquered heaven.
Once only in our lives before the gate
Of Paradise we stood, one fortunate evening,
And gazed in sudden rapture through the grate.
And, while you stood astonished, I, our fate
Venturing, pushed the latch and found it free.
There stood the tree of knowledge fair and great
Beside the tree of life. One instant we
Stood in that happy garden, guardian-less.
My hands already turned towards the tree
And in another moment we had known
The taste of joy and immortality
And been ourselves as gods. But in distress
You thrust me back with supplicating arms
And eyes of terror, till the impatient sun
Had time to set and till the heavenly host
Rushed forth on us with clarions and alarms
And cast us out for ever, blind and lost.
- from The Love Sonnets of Proteus
It is the annual open air Christmas service in Turtle Crossing Park. Pastor Charles Calvin has delivered the opening message* and now there is a time of fellowship.
Officer Smith: Pastor Calvin, this is Steve Rogers. Steve and I have been talking and I wanted him to meet you.
Pastor Calvin: Thank you Brad. Steve, it is a pleasure.
Steve Rogers: The pleasure is mine, pastor. You are from London, mid 19th century?
Pastor Calvin: Yes, I left and came to Paprihaven in 1884.
Steve Rogers: I thought so. I read your reprinted sermons when I was younger. I'm pretty much a century later, from 1988 America.
Pastor Calvin: *chuckle* I gathered by your colorful garb you may be from America.
Steve Rogers: Two world wars broke out after you left and I served in both. And in many others. Too many. ** Peace, Pastor Calvin. Doesn't the Bible say in Luke 2 that Jesus came to bring peace on earth?
Pastor Calvin: Yes. And He has. We cannot parse out the words though, to try and make them fit something else. The passage does not allude to a general peace on earth, but "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." ***
The peace of which the angelic host is heralding is a peace within the hearts and souls of those men and women who repent and turn to the Savior whose birth was being praised.
The "on earth" is the amazing aspect of this peace. It would be little wonder that you or I would have peace in Heaven, would it?
Steve Rogers: No, pastor, that would be expected.
Pastor Calvin: Just so. But here, in a fallen world of darkness, deceit, danger, how can one find lasting peace? The world itself cannot offer that peace because the world is the source of the unrest. Purchasing the best security only offers a temporary sense of safety as new security measures simply, inevitably, fall to more inventive criminals.
That's just an example that can be applied to every aspect of life here. So... "peace on earth" is truly amazing. Absolute, consistent peace in the heart of a person that remains independent of the circumstances around them.
Steve Rogers: The peace of God.
Pastor Calvin: Exactly. The Lord Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." **** The peace He gives not like the sense of peace provided by anything of this world, which ebbs and flows. The peace of Christ is consistent. Solid. Because it is His peace.
It is the peace that comes with the knowledge that the one true God is your God and that He will never leave your nor forsake you. That you, as a believer, have full access to His throne at all times. "Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." *****
Steve Rogers: "Let your gentle spirit be known to all men." So as long as this world goes on, there will be conflict. But, at least we can present peace to those around us.
Pastor Calvin: Well said. "Turn from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." ******
Steve Rogers: Thank you, Pastor Calvin.
Pastor Calvin: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Steve. And, my ever helpful Audrey is standing close by, no doubt seeking my attention to let me know it is time for the closing remarks.
Audrey: Yes, I hope I didn't interrupt.
__________________________________
*Seen here:
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/50736652896/
** Cap has never turned away from the fight for good, but the constant wars have weighed heavily on him.
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/49057543226/]
*** Luke 2:14
**** John 17:27
***** Philippians 4:5-7
****** Psalm 34:14, Matthew 5:9
I don't want to look at you this way
I'm staring through your window
I don't want to think of you this way
I'm begging baby
Let me in
Baby just let me in
I'm screaming at your door
just let me in
just let me in
- Miley Cyrus
;-D
----------------------------------------------------------------
It's wet outside. There will be hell to pay for this.
Peasant With A Hoe.
(After A Drawing From Van Gogh).
Geprezen bedoelingen avonturen graven waarderende beoordeling werk essential zwoegen,
remorqués outils sombres supplications promettant les membres roulement de bronze de moutons plumes coeur,
wohlhabenden stillen Blutalptraum Hades Streaming Land Krankheit Stöhnen,
горькие часов держать фантомы стенания мертвые обманывают голоса разрушает мечты героев,
uffern monstrous gryfderau implacable ferw dyddiau llafurus gwrhyd marwol galed,
ohydne nawy wykopali podbój demony płomienie palące się najtrudniejszy świecie nieustannej pola ofiarę,
trementis interfusa terrena acta constringerent, Intende votis supplicum incorruptam Dominus exaudiet clamabis conversione gaudia,
明るい天使歌う収穫豊富な天の曲肥沃な雰囲気の季節の至福.
Steve.D.Hammond.
First tests with Darren Pearson's very ergonomic Night Writer: www.dariustwin.com/night-writer/night-writer-color-kit
bleak:cold, dismal, depressing, gloomy, pale
Think of the moment you count
most foul in your life;
conjure it,
supplicate,
pray to it;
your face is bleak, you retract,
you dare not remember it. ...
~Hilda Doolittle
The Angkor Wat is the largest temple in the world. Being most important to the Khmers, Angkor Wat has no shortage of monks and nuns paying homage to the mixed Buddhist and Hindu images. The temple was originally designed as a Hindu representation of the cosmos and later adopted as a shrine to Buddha.
at the central sanctuary tower of Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Kampuchea
more pics and journeys in colloidfarl.blogspot.com/
This is the dead land This is cactus land Here the stone images Are raised, here they receive The supplication of a dead man's hand Under the twinkle of a fading star. - T.S. Eliot - The Hollow Men
Week 29/52
June 11, 2014
Davey, The Netherlands
Textures by Neighya
Inspired by Mark Borthwick's Not in Fashion
Dusk at Lourdes heralds the start of the nightly candlelight procession, held in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A babel of tongues rise in chorus and supplication to the Mother of God, seeking blessings and respite.
Situated in the Plazuela de la Rogativa near La Puerta de San Juan, the renowned bronze sculpture "La Rogativa" is a significant landmark. The term "Rogativa" originates from the Spanish verb "rogar," signifying a plea or supplication. A Rogativa involves a grand procession of people beseeching God for assistance.
In a historical context, during the British occupation led by Sir Abercrombie on April 30, 1797, the distressed governor of San Juan called for a "rogativa." In response, women, guided by the bishop, paraded through the streets that night, commencing at the Cathedral. With hymns echoing, torches and bells in hand, they fervently prayed for the deliverance of their city. The British, misinterpreting these sights and sounds as reinforcements, believed themselves to be outnumbered, prompting Abercrombie's fleet to swiftly abandon the city.
The Plazuela de la Rogativa features four bronze statues commemorating this pivotal event, honoring the resilience of the townspeople and their Bishop. Crafted by Lindsay Daen of New Zealand in 1971, the 12-foot high statue stands proudly before an aged sentry box, offering a picturesque view of San Juan Bay.
This print is available in the gallery here - james-insogna.pixels.com/featured/legend-of-la-rogativa-j...
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[The] most important duty, respecting both the temporal and spiritual good of your children, is fervent supplication to God for them. Without this all the rest will be ineffectual. Means are unavailing unless the Lord blesses them. The Throne of Grace is to be earnestly implored that your efforts to bring up your children for God may be crowned with success. - A.W. Pink
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7 View On Black
I was feeling anxious, so I needed to meditate on Him, and the truth He gave me was this. Hope is helps you too.
Good night.
Feast Day: September 8
Prayer
Blessed Child Mary,
destined to be the Mother of God
and our loving Mother,
by the heavenly graces you lavish upon us,
mercifully listen to my supplications.
In the needs which press upon me from every side
and especially in my present tribulation,
I place all my trust in you.
O holy Child,
by the privileges granted to you alone
and by the merits which you have acquired,
show that the source of spiritual favours
and the continuous benefits
which you dispense are inexhaustible,
because your power with the Heart of God is unlimited.
Deign through the immense profusion of graces
with which the Most High has enriched you
from the first moment of your Immaculate Conception,
grant me, O Celestial Child, my petition,
and I shall eternally praise
the goodness of your Immaculate Heart.
(IMPRIMATUR: In Curia Archiep. Mediolani, 31 August 1931, Can. CAVEZZALI, Pro Vic. Gen)
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:4-8 ESV)
Thank you for your comments and faves – they are greatly appreciated!
Select photos from my Flickr stream are available for purchase as prints or personal download at [www.winterfirephotographicarts.com].
“Bismillahi mazreha wa mursaha inna rabbi la gafoorur rahim” Surah Hud - 11:41
“Embark there in! In the name of Allah be its course or its mooring. Lo! My Lord is Forgiving and Merciful”! This doa (supplication) from the Qur'an, the Muslim Holy Book, is read out at the start of each Bangladesh Biman’s flight.
Yesterday while coming back to Dhamrai from Dhaka, the car I was in, along with my son and his friend, met with a terrible accident! Our car was trying to overtake a speeding bus on a 2-lane highway which did not have dividers. And as it was driving fast at high speed (from the left.. ‘wrong side’ as we keep to left on our roads) there was this rickshaw van carrying heavy sanitary pipes. I was seated at the front by the Driver (my son and his friend at the backseat) and I instantly realized he wasn't going to make it clean and would ram into that van. And he did! I just saw a pipe coming at my face and ducked! The windshield was shattered with a horrible sound!
To cut a story short, by His grace..none of us were seriously hurt and I escaped with minor cuts and bruises. If the pipes were made of steel, it would have been a different story!! The van driver was the one to be admitted in a clinic and was released after getting first aid!
The nightingale replies, "The rose makes those
amorous gestures for my sake, headless and footless me!"
The plane-tree has lifted up its hands in
lamentation- -shall I tell you what supplications he makes?
Who put the hat on the bud's head? Who bent
the violet over double?
Although autumn was very cruel, behold the
faithfulness of spring!
(Rumi)
A young man sitting close to Jerusalem's Western Wall, was reading the Psalms. Notes of supplication are stuffed into the cracks and spaces between the massive stones.
This is the only remaining wall of the ancient 2nd Temple destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans.
"Nikon D90, AF-S Nikkor 55-200 VR
St Mary and St Hardulph, Breedon-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us--if at all--not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
II
Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.
Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer--
Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom
III
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.
IV
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
and avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.
V
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
and the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For thine is
Life is
For Thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.
TS Eliot, The Hollow Men
The Prayer of the 5 Widows
In Memory of Elizabeth Eliot
www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1957/january-7/prayer-of-fiv...
The Prayer of the Five Widows
An account after the Auca ambush in Ecuador, from CT's seventh issue.
Elisabeth Elliot/ JUNE 15, 2015
This article originally appeared in the January 7, 1957, issue of Christianity Today—less than three months after the magazine's launch. It was posted June 15, 2015, to commemorate the death of Elisabeth Elliot.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon a year ago, five young women were asking God for two things regarding their husbands: that they might be permitted to contact the Auca Indians again, and that they might be protected. As we sat in our jungle homes here in Ecuador, two in Arajuno, one in Shandia and two in Shell Mera, we little dreamed of the answer God was then giving. He answered both of those prayers, but, as is often the case with him whose thoughts are as far above ours as the heavens are high above the earth, his answer far transcended what we had in mind.
Silence on a Sand Strip
The second contact was given. Probably at about two-thirty in the afternoon at least ten Aucas arrived at the strip of sand where the men had set up their little camp. Having seen them some time earlier from the airplane, approaching the beach, the pilot had reported to his wife the anticipated contact. We can imagine the five, then, as the forest rang with their praises. They sang hymns together, committed themselves to the Lord once more and eagerly prepared for their longed for visitors. It was not long before savage yells, instead of hymns of praise, echoed through the forest, polished wooden spears slashed through the air and five young men lay dead on the Rio Curaray. Silence closed once more over the stand strip, and those beloved Indians returned nonchalantly to their thatched homes, to recount another killing to their waiting families.
The asked-for contact had been given. But what about the protection?
Protection from Disobedience
When the Lord Jesus prayed to His Father, as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John, he asked, too, for protection for those whom the Father had given him. For what purpose? “. . . that they may be one, as we are.” Protection from what? “. . . that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one.” Each one of our five men, years before, had asked for the whole accomplishment of Gods will in him at any cost, to the end that Christ be glorified. The Evil One is determined, however, that Christ shall not be glorified. But, in making them obedient men, God had answered the prayer of his Son, the prayer of the men themselves and the prayer of their wives. The adversary did not succeed in turning them aside from Gods highest purpose. They were protected from that most fearful of all dangers, disobedience. They loved God above all else. “Herein is the love of God, that ye keep his commandments.”
The prayer of our hearts today, of the widows who remain, is the same, that Christ may be glorified.
Christ’s Glory in Some Aucas
First of all, we continue asking for that which motivated the men from the beginning of the project—that Christ may be glorified in some Aucas. The contact God gave to the five was only one step in the opening of the fast-closed doors to that tribe.
Nor was it the first step. Others had thought and prayed for years about them, asking for an entrance, flying over the territory in search of their whereabouts, seeking a way to carry to them the Word of Life.
Some of the five men had long borne them before the Lord, asking for their salvation and committing themselves to God for them.
Now, thousands of Christians in all parts of the world have learned of them and are praying.
For us who have been most closely touched by the death of the five, there could be no greater joy than to know at last that the blood of our husbands has been the seed of the Auca church. Our hearts go out to the very ones whose strong brown arms sent flying the lances that killed our loved ones, for we know that they walk in darkness, knowing not even the name of Him who is more than life to us. And how shall they hear without a preacher?
So we ask for those whom God has prepared to be sent to the Aucas and only those. A well-meaning but misguided effort could ruin further opportunities to enter the tribe. But because God has done a tremendous thing in taking five of His choicest servants in this incipient stage, we are bold to expect tremendous answers to prayer in the future. We believe He will send the Light to the Aucas and have given ourselves anew for that, if He should care to choose any one of us to go. We were wholly at one with our husbands in their desire to reach the Aucas and had it been possible, would gladly have accompanied them. The last thing on earth we would have wanted would have been to hinder them in obeying the command of Christ, which was as clear to us as it was to them. He was directingthe only issue at stake was obedience. Jesus made the conditions of discipleship unequivocal—“Forsake . . . Deny . . . Follow.” This is the price we are asked to pay.
Many speak of the five men as having made the “supreme sacrifice.” We do not think of it in that way. They would not have called it that. One of them wrote in his diary years ago, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jesus promised that whoever loses his life preserves it. Can we call this sacrifice? When we make a purchase, we pay the price, of course, but no one thinks of this as a sacrifice. How much less, then, when our lives, already paid for by Christ at tremendous sacrifice on his part, are offered to him? We lose nothing. We gain everything. Hence, we ask that God may choose those whom He wishes to carry the gospel to the Aucas, that they may be prepared by his Spirit, that they may not count their lives dear unto themselves, and that thereby the Aucas may be brought out of their bondage to know Jesus Christ, that he may be glorified in them.
Christ’s Glory in Us
We ask, further, that Christ may be glorified in us. “For we know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Our hearts are filled with gratitude for the privilege He gave us in being the wives of men who were chosen to be slain for His sake. None of us is worthy. It is all of His grace, but we know that the Lamb is worthy, a thousand times, the lives of our husbands and of us. He chose to glorify himself in their death—may He now glorify Himself in our lives.
During those harrowing days when the rescue party was on its way to the beach, when we did not know what the next radio report would bring, we were conscious that whatever the outcome, God was determined to bring us to himself. He had promised, “When thou passest though the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God. . . . Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee.” How could we have proved the truth of that promise if there had been no waters? And what rivers could overflow but deep ones? And so, to show us that he meant what he said, to prove to us his love, this was what he sent, this thing which each of us had been sure she could never endure, the loss of the one who was as her own soul.
Purpose in the Stab of Pain
And how, then, can Christ be glorified in us through this experience? By our responding with thanksgiving to his dealings with us, by our declaration of our love to him in utter obedience, by our believing that his judgments are right, that he in faithfulness has afflicted us. We ask that we may go on in peace, as he has mercifully permitted us to do thus far. In talking together, we have often said that we did not want to miss one lesson which our loving Father would teach us by this thing. To us, the loss of our husbands is not a tragedy in itself—it is one more of our Father’s right judgments. But it would indeed be a tragedy if, in our failure to respond to him with love, trust, and praise, we should miss what he intended for us through it. We ask that we may know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. If, through the loss of our husbands, we may cause Christ to rejoice, to see in us the travail of his soul and be satisfied, we shall never call it sacrifice. Each day, when little things remind us, with a new stab of pain, that our husbands are gone, we turn these things into prayer—“Lord, by this, too, glorify thyself. For this, too, I thank thee and trust thee, knowing that there shall be glory, as thou has promised, through this suffering.”
Christ and the Little Ones
Not only do we ask that Christ be glorified in the Aucas and in us, but also in our children. Most of them will have no recollection of their fine fathers. But our Lord gave his word, “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children.” We ask for his wisdom in training them, for his Spirit in us, that they may be as obedient as their fathers. How wonderful it would be if he should prepare one or more of them to go to the Aucas! We would give them to him for his use, asking that they come to know him as Savior and Lord at an early age. Far be it from us to withhold from the Lord the lives of these little ones, children of the men who did not withhold their own lives. May they sing from true hearts,
Faith of our Fathers, Holy Faith,
We would be true to Thee till death.
Wherever the Spirit Speaks
Finally, we ask that Christ be glorified in the lives of those to whom the Spirit of God has spoken because of the death of the five men. We have received letters from all over the world, telling of the impact of the event on one and another. But we have heard of few who have actually done anything about it, who have been changed by it. We pray earnestly that those who have heard the voice of the Lord may be obedient. We pray that young men who have been attracted by the “opportunities to use their talents for the Lord in the United States” may abandon themselves, with their talents, to Christ, for his use wherever he wants them. We pray that if any young wife is hesitating to commit her husband and family to God, through fear of loss, she may believe the words of our Lord Jesus, “Truly I say to you, there is no man who hath forsaken . . . who will not receive.” We have proved beyond any doubt that he means what he says—his grace is sufficient, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ We pray that if any, anywhere, are fearing that the cost of discipleship is too great, that they may be given to glimpse that treasure in heaven promised to all who forsake.
And all our supplication is “with thanksgiving”— for his great love, for the high privilege of serving him with all of our hearts, for having given us as husbands men who were true soldiers of Jesus Christ, men to whom we could look up in every respect, men who set for us a great example of faith that acts on what it believes. We look forward with joy to that day when God will reveal to us his complete plan, knowing that we shall see clearly that every step of the way was ordained to the end that Christ might be glorified. Our husbands already walk with him, their joy complete. We, too, shall see him face to face, and be satisfied.
This hath He done, and shall we not adore Him?
This shall He do and can we still despair?
Come let us quickly fling ourselves before Him,
Cast at His feet the burden of our care,
Flash from our eyes the glow of our thanksgiving,
Glad and regretful, confident and calm,
Then through all life, and what is after living,
Thrill to the tireless music of a psalm,
Yea, through life, death, through sorrow and
through sinning,
He shall suffice me, for He hath sufficed:
Christ is the end, for Christ was the beginning,
Christ the beginning, for the end is Christ.
(From St. Paul, F. W. H. Myans)
"Remember, O most gracious Virgin of Guadalupe, that in your apparitions on Mount Tepeyac you promised to show pity and compassion to all who, loving and trusting you, seek your help and protection.
Accordingly, listen now to our supplications and grant us consolation and relief. We are full of hope that, relying on your help, nothing can trouble or affect us. As you have remained with us through your admirable image, so now obtain for us the graces we need. Amen."
This image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose feast is celebrated today, is in Lourdes.
In the night of desperation,
in the day of lost desire,
in the tears of supplication
in the year of flood and fire.
Golden dreams may die away,
golden dreams they fly away,
and every heart the Lord redeems,
will find again their golden dreams
( Golden Dreams - The Lost Dogs )
Nella notte di disperazione,
nel giorno del desiderio perduto,
nelle lacrime di supplica
l'anno di alluvioni e incendi.
Sogni d'oro può morire di distanza,
sogni d'oro volano via,
e in ogni cuore il Signore riscatta,
troverà ancora una volta i loro sogni d'oro