Tag: Hebrew alphabet

• Jeremiah 31:33: God’s Love Letter – Part III

  
  

  Monday, February 15, 2021

  Jeremiah 31:33

  God’s Love Letter Part III

  I will place my law within them, and write upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

  We have the choice to move into union with God or to remain apart. God unfailingly offers an open, standing invitation to become one with all of creation. God asks that we allow our hearts of stone to bear fruit in God’s time and plan.

  God says: I tell you endlessly how much I love you and yet you allow your fear to take you over. I tell you constantly that I will never leave you and yet you doubt. I tell you honestly that I forgive you and yet you hesitate. In every moment of your existence I am with you. This is my promise. This is my message. This is your portion as my most beloved one. This is my letter of love to you. 

  Saint Paul reminds the Corinthians and he reminds us that because Christ lives in each one of us we have the power to bring God’s love to the world: You show that you are Christ’s letter, delivered by us. You weren’t written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. You weren’t written on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

  As we reflect on God’s letter to us, let us offer our hearts of stone to God so that they might become hearts that bear fruit.  And let us also consider how we might act in response to God’s Call to Love.

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  Images from: http://interiordesignideas-albert.blogspot.com/2009/11/top-picks-haute-heart-shapes-in-nature.html and http://girltomom.com/page/53

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  February 15, 2021

  2 Corinthians 3:2-3, God’s love, God’s time and plan, Hebrew alphabet

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• Psalm 119: God’s Love Letter – Part II

  
  

  Sunday, February 14, 2021

  Psalm 119

  A Love Letter – Part II

  God comes to us through old words in new times to assure, to counsel and to transform. Let us reflect on the wisdom, blessing and consolation of God’s message of love to each of us.

  Kaph: The Power to Actualize Potential – We are constantly called to fulfill the potential God plants in us at our inception.  Lamedh: Aspiration, Contemplation of the Heart – We contemplate the goodness of God’s own heart. Mem: Fountain of Wisdom – We rely on God’s wisdom as source and foundation of understanding, counsel and guidance. Nun: The Messiah – Jesus comes to serve as light in an unforgiving darkness and we are called to bring that same light to a world that waits and watches. Samekh: The Endless Cycle – Christ is beginning and end, Alpha and Omega, source and summit for all.  We are called by the Spirit to join in all of creation’s response to God’s call.

  Ayin: God’s Providence – We are always in God’s hands. Pe: Communication, Revelation of God’s Word – God is constantly revealing the Word to us. Sadhe: Faith – God’s fidelity saves us. Qoph: Redemption of Fallen Sparks – God’s love redeems us. Resh: Clarity – God’s grace and mercy are present to us. Shin:  The Eternal Flame – God’s Law of Love is infinite and all-encompassing. Taw: The Seal of Creation – Through our creation God marks us forever with the mark of Love.

  Let us be open to God’s invitation to include us in creation, and let us give thanks for a love that is so great that we are forgiven, so encompassing that all are included, and so generous enough that we are loved. Tomorrow, Part III of God’s Letter to us.

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  Image from: http://beyond–my–dreams.deviantart.com/art/Natural-heart-78274140

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  February 14, 2021

  Hebrew alphabet, redemption

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• Psalm 119: God’s Love Letter – Part I

  
  

  Saturday, February 13, 2021

  Psalm 119

  God’s Love Letter – Part I

  God inspires the psalmist to record on an ancient scroll the words we long to hear and these words continue to resonate with us today.  Let us reflect on the beauty, grace and peace of God’s message of love to each of us.

  Aleph: The Paradox of God and Humans – God calls humans into creation and we are free to respond.  Beth: God’s Dwelling Place Below – Mary serves as the ark for God’s New Covenant as she brings Jesus into the world. Gimel: Reward and Punishment- Just as there is duality between these concepts there is a duality in how we might view God’ Law.  Daleth: Selflessness – God invites us to take part in creation by living out the Law in loving our enemies rather than in revenge and violence against them. He: Thought, Speech and Action – We begin to see how we might answer God’s call.

  Waw: Connection – Even if we try to deny our connection with God it exists; even if we turn our back on God, God continues to dwell within. Zayin: Woman of Valor – God enters the human race in the person of Jesus, relying on Mary, a woman of valor.  Heth: The Life Value of Run and Return – We sometimes fail to recognize God in the marginalized who live at the edges of society and yet Jesus lives his entire life with the disenfranchised. Teth: Inversion, the Concealed Good – God’s plan is one of ideas and lives turned on their heads. Yodh: The Infinite Good – We are invited to share God’s infinite goodness.

  Use the scripture link to choose a different version of Psalm 119 and read the opening strophes with different eyes. Reflect on the gift of God’s love. Treasure God’s presence in each moment of our existence. 

  Tomorrow, Part II of God’s Letter to us.

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  Image from: http://pictures.4ever.eu/love/hearts/heart-181117

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  February 13, 2021

  God’s goodness, Hebrew alphabet

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• Psalm 119:113-120: Samekh

  
  

  Tuesday, February 2, 2021

  Psalm 119:113-120

  Samekh

  In your word I hope . . . strengthen me that I might be safe . . . I hold your edicts in awe . . .

  Fear of the Lord does not describe terror, dread or anxiety; it does, however, express the sense of wonder, amazement and awe we feel when we think about the guiding presence and protective power of God.

  God says: There is no need for you to hide from me. There is no need for you to worry about reporting to me in any way. There is no need for you to live with a sense of trepidation that I might castigate you . . . you punish yourself enough already. I know about your fears and they are groundless. I am with you always and I know all that you think, say and do. I am in awe of your persistence, love and dedication to me. I love the generosity, tenderness and care you bring to your work as you come to the aid of the marginalized. Persist in bringing me your hopes and dreams. Delight in the strength I bring to you. Revel in the safety of my arms and continue to live and work in me.

  With God all things are possible. God is our rock of safety.

  Jesus says: Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.  (Matthew 7:24-25)

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  For a view of a calligraphy version of the Hebrew alphabet, click on the image above or go to: http://www.hebrewcalligraphy.net/letters-of-my-being/

  For a History of Hebrew Calligraphy, go to: http://www.hebrewcalligraphy.net/history-of-hebrew-calligraphy-qeiyafa-ostracon/

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  February 2, 2021

  anxiety, dedication, fear of the Lord, Hebrew alphabet, hope, love, Matthew 7:24-25, persistence, rock of safety

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• Psalm 119: 9-16: Treasuring God’s Promise

  
  

  Saturday, January 16, 2021

  Psalm 119: 9-16

  

  Treasuring God’s Promise

  Mary kept the Word of God in her body as the pre-natal Jesus grew in strength. She also kept the Word in her heart with reflection and prayer. We are told that she pondered the verbal and physical message she was brought. She knew that she was to bear light to the nations. She also knew that she need only allow God’s Word to transform her life in order for her to bear fruit. She knew that trust in God alone was enough . . . and in this way she treasured God’s promise.

  As we explore God’s word, let us also treasure the promise we know it holds. Today, let us reflect on the first three letters of the Hebrew alphabet as the psalmist shares them with us. And let us consider what lessons and promises they unfold.

  Aleph: The Paradox of God and Humans – God calls humans into creation.  How do we respond?

  Beth: God’s Dwelling Place Below – Mary agrees to serve as the ark for God’s New Covenant.  How does she find the courage to say yes?

  Gimel: Reward and Punishment – The duality we find in this letter reminds us that we are created with a free will.  We are free to choose a world of either/or, a choice that divides.  We are also free to choose a world of “and,” a choice that includes.  Which world do we choose?

  Tomorrow, a prayer to fulfill God’s promise in us.

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  Adapted from a reflection written on the Feast of the Immaculate heart of Mary on June 16, 2007.

  For more information on the painting above, click on the image or go to: http://robinandersonfineart.blogspot.com/2011/02/mary-holding-baby-jesus-looking-up.html 

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  January 16, 2021

  God’s Word, Hebrew alphabet, Law of Love, Mary, scripture, trust

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