"Harsh Words"

    There are  passages in The Holy Bible that are quite harsh or even hard to deal with. To begin with let me mention Holy Communion being the Body and Blood of Jesus. Even in his day when people heard this they
thought that such an idea was disgusting. But when you look at Jesus being The Bread of Life and The Living Water then it isn't so bad.
     St. Paul also said some things that to this day stir people up. The most famous of these was when he said wives be submissive to your husbands. Again let me suggest a more modern take. Because when you add the very next verse which says Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church. So in other words live for each other. Be willing to make sacrifices for each other and the health of your marriage. Jesus gave his life for all who believe in him. In a sense we give up our former lives for each other. We should be faithful to each other as Jesus was faithful to the will of his father in Heaven.
    So far as The Bible is concerned every book from Genesis to Revelation is full of challenging instructions and images. Does that mean that we should allow such verses to shake faith?
     I don't know about other Holy text but I'm certain they may include sayings that people may question. In fact some sacred scripture may scare some people away.
      But what are you looking for? Are you looking for God or religion? Are you looking for rules and regulations or a life in The Spirit? We are to be transformed into The Image of God. We are all called to the Kingdom of God.
     Life is hard. The world is full of harsh words. Surely they don't all come from Holy books. In fact most don't. They come from people who have endless backgrounds, past experiences, cultures, traditions,and so on. But God encompasses all humanity.
      For in The Spirit is life. It's from the heart that the mouth speaks. The Lord is the great physician. Allow God to heal the words that have so damaged you and watch what you say. Because words can hurt. But words can heal.  

"All Saints Day (Not just for Catholics)"

     Many people see All Saints Day as a Catholic celebration. Others would go further to say that glorifying some people above others (As in the veneration of saints) is wrong.
      Let me address these issues. First of all the original definition of saint was friend of Jesus or a more inclusive way to put it, Friend of God.
     Second The Catholic Church doesn't have a monopoly on the world of saints. Many religions have claims of ordinary people being involved in extraordinary events. People who have endured extreme situations only to see miraculous results.
    Divine intervention has come to play when someone is able to lift a car off of someone. People without any training whatsoever have run into burning homes to save a neighbor or even a cherished pet.
      Nurses have saved lives when they notice a symptom others may have missed. Doctors can be heroes when a patient has a complaint that other ignore and that doctor takes it seriously and saves a life.
      Ordinary people who may never end up with having a church named for them or even being written in the history books.
     And the idea that saints are virtuous and without sin well let me tell you that is not the case. If you read about the life of St. Augustine then you'll see a man who lived in sin and still had a great impact on the world.
       Princess Dianna could be seen as a saint. She was a beautiful person doing whatever she could to make this a better world for those less fortunate than herself. Surely she was a friend of God.
      You may never be involved with healing the sick or raising the dead or maybe you will. The main thing to keep in mind is that the power to do so comes from God.
     You can be remembered as a friend not only of God but that of your fellow men and women.