Saturday 30 June 2012

Saturday. My latest and a Letter to Diognetus.



God and me love you all!
 Enjoy this blog
My hearty brothers 
&
Sisters.




THE LETTER TO DIOGNETUS
150?

Like the Gospel-writer Luke, the unknown author of the
 letter to `Diognetus` wrote to explain the Christian faith
to a serious enquirer. Its recipient was probably a pagan of high
rank, possibly the emperor himself.


CHRISTIANS IN THE WORLD
You can`t tell a Christian from a non-Christian by where he lives or the way he speaks or how he dresses. There are no `Christian towns`, there is no `Christian language`, and they eat, drink and sleep just like everybody else. Christians aren`t particularly clever or ingenious and they haven`t mastered some complicated formula, like the followers of some religions.
  But while it`s true that they live in cities next to other people, and follow the same pattern of life as they do, in fact they have a unique citizenship of their own. They are, of course, citizens of their own lands - loyal ones, too. But yet they feel like visitors. Every foreign country is their homeland, and their homeland is like a foreign country to them . . . They are nationals of various states, but citizens of heaven.
  To put it simply - the soul is to the body as Christians are to the world. The soul is spread through all parts of the body and Christians through all parts of the world. The soul is in the body but is not of the body; Christians are in the world but not of the world.
Unknown author.

Its that unknown author that gets me. Its a wonderful bit of writing which helps me identify as part of the body of Christ.
For now I must attend to my youngest son and so must bid you farewell for now. Trusting in the fact that
you are loved as am I by the most merciful and true God. Your bro, Peter.       


Friday 29 June 2012

The Artist as the conscience of mankind.

FIRST SOME OF MY MEAGER(no that's too disparaging.)  EAGER ART.

Plus the full on Divine Post. A Rock solid pillar of The Word!



SANCTITY





The Divine Influence alone can Sanctify Us.
No reading, nor any other exercises can sanctify us except in so far as they are the
channels of the Divine influence.

Our moments are made fruitful by our fulfillment of the will of God. This is presented to us in countless different ways by the present duty which forms, increase and consummates in us the new man until we attain the plenitude destined for us by the divine wisdom. This mysterious attainment of the age of Jesus Christ in our Souls is the end ordained by God and the fruit of His grace and of His divine goodness.

Nothing is essential, real, or of any value unless ordained by God who arranges all things and makes them useful to the soul. Apart from this divine will all is hollow, empty, null, there is nothing but falsehood, vanity, nothingness, death. The will of God is the salvation, health and life of the body and soul, no matter to what subject it is applied. One must not, therefore, scrutinize too closely the suitability of a thing to the mind or body in order to form an idea of their value, because this is of little importance. It is the will of God which bestows through these things, no matter what they may be, an efficacious grace by which the image of Jesus Christ is renewed in our souls. One must not lay down the law or impose limits on the divine activity which permeates the whole universe. It permeates every creature; wherever they are it is there; it goes before them, with them and follows them; all they have to do is let the waves bear them on.

 In what perfection consists
Perfection consists in doing the will of God, not in understanding the designs. The designs of God, the good pleasure of God, the will of God, the operation of God and the gift of His grace are all one and the same thing in the spiritual life. It is God working in the soul to make it like unto Himself. Perfection is neither more or less than the faithful cooperation of the soul with this work of God, and is begun, grows, and is consummated in the Soul unperceived and in secret.


    Let go and let God.  I Am and so how about you. I am you are we are Love. Say it again. Go on louder. 
Blessings be upon us.   

Fish on Friday Comes to us today from God via Jean Pierre De Caussade


Greetings peace and love to you my brothers and sisters. May we all be blessed this day and in turn bless all we encounter.


JEAN PIERRE DE CAUSSADE
1675 - 1751

`A man who is master of his subject, passionately in
earnest about it and passionately eager to communicate it to 
others`, is one critic`s impression of de Caussade. At only nineteen,
in training for the Jesuit priesthood at Toulouse, he was already 
teaching others classics. Later he taught grammar, physics
and logic. But his true vocation, that of a spiritual guide, did
not become fully apparent until after his death when the nuns
  of Nancy, to whom he had been spiritual director, put together
the notes of the lectures he had given them. These where circulated 
under the title Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence. The work
soon became popular, for de Caussade`s insights had been forged in
the fires of experience-not least his struggle with growing blind-
ness. It was not until 1861 that Self-Abandonment was edited into its
final form. Since then it has gone through no less than twenty-five 
editions.

------------------------ THE GOSPEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT -------------------

The Holy Spirit . . . writes his own gospel, and he writes it in the hearts of the faithful. All the actions, all the moments of the saints make up the gospel of the Holy Spirit. Their holy souls are the paper, their sufferings and their actions are the ink. The Holy Spirit, with his own action for pen, writes a living gospel, but it will not be readable until the day of glory when it will be taken out of the printing press of this life and published.
  What a beautiful history! What a fine book the Holy Spirit is writing now! The book is in the press, there is no day on which the letters which make it up are not being composed, on which the ink is not applied and the sheets printed. But we dwell in the night of faith; the paper is blocker than the ink, the characters are all in confusion; the language is not of this world, nothing can be understood of it. You will be able to read this book only in heaven.
  Teach me, Divine Spirit, to read in this book of life! I wish to become your disciple and like a simple child believe what I cannot see. Enough for me that my master speaks. He says so-and-so, he groups the letters of the book like this, he makes himself understood in that way; it is enough, I judge according to what he says. I do no see why but he is the infallible truth, all that he says or does is truthful. He wills that this word should be composed of so many letters, that that word should need another number . . . Everything is significant, there is a perfect meaning everywhere
. . . I believe this now, and when the day of glory reveals so many mysteries to me, I shall see what at present I can only understand confusedly, and what now seems so complicated, so haphazard and imaginary will entrance and charm me eternally by its beauty, by the order, reason, wisdom and incomprehensible wonders that I shall find in it.

***********************************


    


Theres a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.
                        Steven Wright

Follow me and I shall make you fishers of men. Matt 4:19

Farewell today my brothers and sisters. 
Also for those of us interested in a more spiritual than physical existence, there will be a later, full on Divine Post.

Till then go and serve The Lord,
Your brother Peter.   

Thursday 28 June 2012

Just Got to share that as Ive been missing Buster I just let go with ART


                                                   Looking for serenity in this solitude.













Yeah my brothers and sisters, it feels good to get it out by having a little still time in meditation, or prayer and then get the paint out. 


Colourful, yes. Happy, yes.
Joy to you all from me.
Peter. 




Just art I painted early this morning or was it last night. Does it matter if we like it!

This is upside down, or so I thought.
What do I know. I am only the artist. My creator perhaps wants us to see it
this way up!



I am just going to add shots in a fairly random manner.






Now this I like. Its simplicity.



Theres a fine line between fishing and just standing on the
shore like an idiot.
Steven Wright

Follow me and I shall make you fishers of men. Matt 4:19
Blessings love and peace to you all from me.
Peter. 












Wednesday 27 June 2012

When one feels down one paints up lifting Art!



For you
from
me



Above I can see my phenomenological artwork starting to materialize at least two female humans.
Below, lets just go with the show.



Sisters
Brothers
above is a scene in which if I cannot be there I am at least
able with paper and paint to create
it here and share
there
with
you.

Blessings and peace, joy and love to you and all beings.
Your brother of Christ and Buddha and all the Saints,
Peter.

Eureka I finally realized the Koan I had set myself.

Eureka, yes it came to me not in a bath, maybe as the displacement of water was not involved in the answer. 
Okay and so to the koan. What is the answer to the question which doesnt exist. 
I realized awhile ago that the answer is love, as love is the true answer to all things. 
Yet this didnt answer for me why it was the particular answer to the question that doesnt exist!
It is - and you must realize this is not set in stone - because God is love, and is all that existed before the universe. Even if God asked himself questions, surely he had to have the answer!
I am going to leave this here for the moment, before I think myself into a box. 


Thinking is something I am trying to keep to only necessary occupation in my time passing each day.


Being without thinking or feeling too much is a good goal!


So now I shall share some art of mine which I took pictures of earlier this day.


  






It is only when we forget all our learning that we begin to know.
Henry David Thoreau


 As you can see in the whole picture above, it is not a neat box shape as a bit got `accidentally` torn off.
Allegorical artwork!  I like the earthy colours. I enjoy sharing my blogs with you and of course my feelings and thoughts. Also if you follow the blogs then you will know I put a lot in which has not originated from me and yet is important enough to me that I want to share it with you, my brothers and sisters. I say this as I have copied some writing into a notebook and will if it is meant to be, post it on a later blog to you.

Have a good day and know that you are loved. God so loved the world He realized that you could cope with my website. So pass it on; with the love!
Your bro Peter.  

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Sometimes. This time. In no time at all. All the time in the world. I cant make sense of it, can you?

Blessings peace and love be with us all this day.


So how about my dear brothers and sisters we start with photos of  
a painting done this morning.


                           This is it without me pulling out
 the camera!



Above is a twist of camera.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
                        - Aristotle
(I did think of the above that if I pray much, then I become a prayerful person and also if I do much art, then that may become better!) 

If you do a half-assed job of anything, you`re a one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind.
       - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr

It you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond you hopes.
- St Clement of Alexandra

Examine Yourself In the Way
All who are Sons of the daylight (1 Thessalonians 5:5) ought always to investigate in the light of the present day what is lacking to them, where they have come from, how far they have progressed, and the degree of progress that they estimate they have gained in each day and hour.
William of St Thierry - The Golden Letter.

Sometimes I laugh at my own jokes, they are just that funny. Other times I laugh at them even though I dont really get them!

Sometimes people think they are making a joke at someone else`s  expense.
Really though we are all one and the joke is on them.
                                                                                       P.G.Kimble 

Monday 25 June 2012

Evening Post: Still havent quite got the hang of new camera, but!

My artwork 
followed by
Popes
poem.







These though are shots from the latest painting. 

VITAL SPARK of heavenly flame!
Quit, O quit this mortal frame!
Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying,
O the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond Nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life!

Hark! they whisper; angels say,
`Sister spirit, come away!`
What is this absorbs me quite?
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,
Drowns my spirits, draws my breath?
Tell me, my soul, can this be death?

The world recedes; it disappears!
Heaven opens on my eyes, my ears
With sounds seraphic ring.
Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O Grave! where is thy victory?
O Death! where is thy sting!

                         Alexander Pope