Wow! reading your article in between meetings. Love this and am going to ponder on Sirach 1 again with your gleanings. I should learn how to read, listen, yield and rest. I tend to go on to the next before absorbing everything. Trying to get better at this. Thank you. Also, visiting a friend with stage 4, pancreatic cancer and she has good days and bad but she trusts in the Lord so she keeps on day by day accepting things as they come. Praying for all of you. 🙏🙏🙏
“When have I most felt this fear of the Lord in a tangible way?”…you question. Same question, with a similar quest: when have I most felt truly loved in a raw, choking-crying tangible way? That drop-to-the-knees realization how marvelously magnificent our Lord is when He touches our pent-up emotions we habitually hide, and appears to us as on Mount Tabor…it is so good to be here: fearing you, Lord, for ever and ever. Denise, you’ve done it again! Produced another manuscript to save and savor. Thank you.
Lovely writing as usual, and it reminds me of Saint Hilary's treatise on the psalms. "Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways."
I feel that nowadays, there is a disconnect within and between us. I'm currently thinking it's due to the hyperrationality brought upon us by The Enlightenment. This is not to say I'm against science--I'm grateful for it. But it has caused a dependency and an obsession with tearing off The Veil to completely control the natural world. Like, because we have science, we no longer "need" God. As a matter of fact, we've reduced God to a "cause," a "thing," a "category" because we have to categorize everything.
The sad part is, as you have noted as well, is that we have never been in control and never will be. We just don't accept that and prefer to cling to an illusion of it. All we can do is do what we can and let God. I live in NC, and the hurricane last year barely missed us as it tore up my hometown. Nothing anyone could do. So fearing God is a comfort and a necessity, but it's like humanity is the teenager that thinks their parents don't know anything!
Denise, beautifully poetic writing, as usual. You really made concept of “fear of the Lord” very tangible for me. It was often one of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit that I often overlooked, to be honest. I was more focused on wisdom and understanding, but now I see that this Godly fear stems from profound humility. Thank you for your insight.
Wow! reading your article in between meetings. Love this and am going to ponder on Sirach 1 again with your gleanings. I should learn how to read, listen, yield and rest. I tend to go on to the next before absorbing everything. Trying to get better at this. Thank you. Also, visiting a friend with stage 4, pancreatic cancer and she has good days and bad but she trusts in the Lord so she keeps on day by day accepting things as they come. Praying for all of you. 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks, Linda! Tell your friend I will be adding her to my daily rosary!
Thanks much, Denise. She’s having six sessions of radiation starting today. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
“When have I most felt this fear of the Lord in a tangible way?”…you question. Same question, with a similar quest: when have I most felt truly loved in a raw, choking-crying tangible way? That drop-to-the-knees realization how marvelously magnificent our Lord is when He touches our pent-up emotions we habitually hide, and appears to us as on Mount Tabor…it is so good to be here: fearing you, Lord, for ever and ever. Denise, you’ve done it again! Produced another manuscript to save and savor. Thank you.
Lovely writing as usual, and it reminds me of Saint Hilary's treatise on the psalms. "Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways."
I feel that nowadays, there is a disconnect within and between us. I'm currently thinking it's due to the hyperrationality brought upon us by The Enlightenment. This is not to say I'm against science--I'm grateful for it. But it has caused a dependency and an obsession with tearing off The Veil to completely control the natural world. Like, because we have science, we no longer "need" God. As a matter of fact, we've reduced God to a "cause," a "thing," a "category" because we have to categorize everything.
The sad part is, as you have noted as well, is that we have never been in control and never will be. We just don't accept that and prefer to cling to an illusion of it. All we can do is do what we can and let God. I live in NC, and the hurricane last year barely missed us as it tore up my hometown. Nothing anyone could do. So fearing God is a comfort and a necessity, but it's like humanity is the teenager that thinks their parents don't know anything!
Your expression “an obsession with tearing off the veil” is perfect. The modern world seems to hate and want to eradicate mystery sometimes.
Denise, beautifully poetic writing, as usual. You really made concept of “fear of the Lord” very tangible for me. It was often one of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit that I often overlooked, to be honest. I was more focused on wisdom and understanding, but now I see that this Godly fear stems from profound humility. Thank you for your insight.