Happy, Beatific New Year! Holy God We Praise Your Name

Dear Abba, our sweet heavenly Father,
We praise and we thank you for Your gifts of creation. Particularly the gift of Your incarnation through Your only son Jesus, who shows us Your ways and places the gift of the Holy Spirit inside of us.

Through this New Year of the Lord 2009, please continue to nourish and grow Your Spirit within us to bring us to complete compassionate communion with You and all of Yours.

Please protect our hearts, as well as our minds, bodies and souls.
We ask this in the name of Love, Jesus.

Amen

Keren, et al

Holy God, We Praise Thy Name - Bob Bennett

Children are special.

This is my grand-nephew, my sister's grandson. My sister, my niece, and my grandnephew visited us a couple weeks before Christmas. A whirlwind weekend to say the least, but so very wonderful.

My niece told me a story about her son, who had all of a sudden stopped wanting to go visit his grandpa, her father. He had always loved going to grandpa's house, so of course, she was concerned. Why the change? was someone there hurting him or being mean?

What she finally got out of him was that he didn't want to go to Grandpa's because grandpa started telling him scary stories...scary stories about what? ...."about Jesus".

My heart dropped, My grandmother used to tell me scary stories about Jesus and how I was going to hell because I wasn't baptised, etc. I was 8, he is only 5.

(FYI - I never went to church at all, my niece takes her son to a baptist church fairly regularly, but he has never been exposed to the bible really.)

Time after time, Jesus held children up and said to adults "you have to be like one of these to get into the kingdom of heaven"
Can you imagine how Jesus must feel when one of these little ones is scared of him based on an adult getting the message wrong?

The good news is, that Grandpa (who is a wonderful guy, and good friend of mine)decided to buy him a kid's bible-book for a Christmas present. My niece agreed.

Should we evangelize children?
I don't have any answers, but a plea.
Please don't scare the children. They don't have the life experiences yet to understand most of the old and new testament,much less the Crucifixion. The great majority of adults don't even seem to understand it.

Best intentions.
If you are "religious" and think a child in your family may not be getting the "religion" you want him/her to have, please read everything Jesus says about children, and ponder it in your heart, before you talk to them. Talk to their parents all you want, but take care with the little ones.

Peace
Keren

A Boy Named Jesus

who would be King?
I wanted to update you on my almost finished painting (NOW finished as of September 2009), based on items in a Catholic church sacristy, including the image of the Infant of Prague – but this representation of the child Jesus has more standard Arab features and coloring and a multicolored robe (more on this later and sorry for the blurry image)

Who is it...I am me, or I have belief in God
For a moment I wondered if my painting would somehow insult the Infant of Prague. Then it came to me…it is so very easy to make any icon into more than it really it is. Just like our own goodness or our own “rightness”, our “own” beliefs I suppose.

Who is it...I am live, or is it I have Memorex? (or Tivo)
We don’t worship the material parts of a painting/sculpture, any more than we worship our own bodies….we worship God.

As a Catholic Christian, icons enhance my overall understanding of Jesus and my relationship with Him, and my ability to communicate my way of experiencing God. NO matter the color of the icon, nor its shape nor its feel ie., icons are not just visual representations of something but seems like popular stories, mottos, actions, people behaviors, styles, life-styles, can also be icon-like.

Who is it...I am Universal, or I have rights?
Disrespectful images of Jesus can infuriate me, but in the USA, our Constitutional first amendment rights protects a citizen’s freedom of speech which includes speaking through images. Mainly it is to protect the citizen of this country from governmental thought-control and censorship.

In the same regard…anybody claiming to be children of the God of Abraham – Jews, Christians and Muslims, ALL have been given Free Will which includes choosing disrespect or choosing respect... whatever that means to you.

Free Will protects the child-of-God’s God-given-right to choose for himself/herself.

Who is it..I am...in what You do?...or in what You say?
Recognise Similarites – Respect Differences.
In this regard, I understand, even though I don’t agree with some of their methods, the Muslims persistent ire when any image of the Prophet Mohammed is made.

Remember how Catholics were so upset with the Davinci Code. Non-catholics would roll their eyes and say “puh-leaze…It is just fiction!”

Have you ever been upset when someone shares a potentially compromising or unflattering photo of yourself? You feel like your real image will be mocked or misunderstood somehow.


Who is it...I am Love?
Jesus was not unaccustomed to being mocked, nor was he unaccustomed to being Loved.

“There is nothing in other people's point of view, nor nothing in other people's choices that can destroy the God in me”

To me it seems this holds true for all of us.

Peace
Keren

Christmas Invites Imagination and Memories

More from 1988 Claymation special. Him and I watched the entire show last night. We taped it on the night of its debut, and watched it together then too. Other shows, and bits and pieces of shows, and commercials from that time were on the same tape...so we had a nice trip down memory lane...so much has changed in 20 years.

Wonderful thing Christmas/holiday traditions, even just watching them. Evocative of hope and harmony and possibilities, grounded in the stable nature of ritual.

Peace
Merry Christmas
Keren

Spirit be Strong In Me

Ego make room,
company is coming.




Peace
Keren

Happy are those whose way is perfect, (Psalm 119)

The voice of God in dreams is consistent,
if not always clear.
He tells me I am fine and good,
yet mealy-mouthed.

He tells me He loves me.
He tells the imaginary bad guys "get away" and “harrumph!”
He lets me fly and play in a world with green-grass hills, white temples, and clear blue seas.
He laughs

This is the best part,
He gives me many challenges and puzzles
which keep me on the way towards "perfect".

Listen, be attentive, wait.
He is talking to you too.

Peace and Happy
Keren

Carol of the Bells

From the Claymation Christmas Special circa 1988

Affirmation: Hugs are good.

(photo)
Hugs are just what the dr. ordered!

I still haven't given up on my hugging ministry..mentioned many blogs before. Hugs are prn, as needed, and a very important part of any purpose.

EVERYBODY needs them, not everybody admits it.

Having a relationship with God does not mean you will never be in an uncomfortable or uncertain place which may seem like extended suffering - look at Job.

Jesus experienced fear, and cried, and got angry and frustrated. Jesus, the One who received tremendous, even verbal, affirmation from God witnessed by other people. People begged him to heal them, and thousands came to hear him speak, and his disciples affirmed him as Lord. Jesus had "hugs" - affirmation, but still experienced negative but normal human emotions.

Never lose Love,
Always have Hope,
Faith..well, mine seems to waiver some...
but I am not really sure what Faith means by itself,
without Love and Hope.

A unity sort of thing. A trinity perhaps....

Peace
Keren




Peace and Love
Keren

Road to Happy - Return to Light

Return to light
Another cycle, pattern, season whatever
6 more days, December 21 shortest day, and longest night.
After that, days last longer again, nights become shorter.
Maybe then I will get into the Christmas spirit.
It will not be too late
Peace
Keren

My sin is I want to feel special

At the cusp of turning 50, I have peace but not harmony and I am best at harmony so why don't I have it?

“You are not as good as you think you are” “You must suffer to grow”, “you must accept the moment” “You must not believe yourself to be God”

I am poor; I have made so many mistakes that I am humbled every time I take a breath; I have been rejected; I have been ignored; I have been accepted only to then be exiled; I forgive to a fault; I turn the other cheek until my heart is pulp; I admit I am not perfect; I have committed every sin on the list; I have never been in the right place at the right time according to other’s expectations of success or growth. I am fearful when I do things to stretch and grow my limits. I shout pout and cry and call people @$#@##%#.

“Jesus did not need affirmation” “Jesus was consistently confident” “Jesus walked in peace” "A wise heart does not know fear"

I dont agree with all of that, but I agree I am not God, nor am I Jesus. I consider myself more of His Spirit....is that ok?

Happy,
Keren

Haven't got a clue? Try Love.

Life is a puzzle - especially its people are most puzzling

The NY Times puzzle becomes increasingly difficult throughout the week, with the easiest puzzle on Monday and the most difficult puzzle on Friday or Saturday. The larger Sunday crossword is about a THursday level difficulty.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was LOVE.

I just put Love in all the boxes, up down and across, hopefully it will infiltrate some circles too.


Love
Bailey

More from the belly of the bowl

I am going back to Happy.

I may need a little help remembering how, and it is probably going to mean just plain ignoring some things.

(Note to One who worries about me…It is lunchtime..I’m taking a brief lunch break from standing at the copy machine all day. Good meditative time though)

Happy is OK.. and recommended. I’ll save “spiritual” for some other time - when I have some tangible help :o) I’ve given it a good run; the last several years at least. I have made amazing strides in my connections which I hope to keep; amazing from my perspective at least and as a couple of people who have watched and indirectly assisted my journey would probably agree.

Problem with practicing spirituality however, is that it involves a lot of introspection. I am not sure how to let my personal introspection evolve into something good or beneficial for others. What I have been doing would be good for someone who lives in a bubble, or monastery or a seminary and has people to talk to, along with all of their basic needs taken care, i.e. doesn’t have to pay bills or be responsible for a family member(s), but not for me.

As always, I am open to suggestions, comments and I would love advice. If anyone wants to talk to me about this please call or email, my phone number is on my website www.kerensgallery.com.

Peace and Happy
Keren

Immaculate Conception, Providence and Goethe

Creative Desire... has nothing to do with human intercourse in which people try to maybe might make something happen.

Conception... is the moment of life, no matter who the people, or where the place, when the ephemeral puff of existence, full of grace, free of original sin, fills the space united by separate energies.

Chance...Only very very few cells in a human body, i.e., our egg and our sperm cells, even have a remote chance of becoming another organism, another life, then by nature it even begins to multiply and divide.

Boldness…Love does not recognize "in" circles nor can it be put in a box. We all always have the potential and capacity to be friends ("lovers"), and be good to, with, and for each other, no matter our placement in the scheme of things...inside or outside of any circle or box.

Peace
Keren

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Today is my father's birthday. He was born in 1925 and died in 1980,
I was just about to turn 21. He would have been 83 today.

He adored classical music, classical literature/poetry, roses and my Mom...his children too prior to our becoming teenagers. :o)

I am not sure what happened that turned him away from church, and perhaps even God...we never prayed together or went to church together as a family, not even on Christmas or Easter.

When I asked him about it, he told me about a Guiding, Creative Force, that without which we would have chaos. He wanted us to find our faith on our own...not have it forced upon us nor handed to us on a platter.

He carried part of a green scapular in his wallet; we didn't know what it was and we still don't know why he had it. My sister, recognising it as something "catholic-looking" sent it to me a year or so after I joined the church*. I pray with it every Saturday morning, and on all Marian feasts.

My father had the entire bible memorized. King James Version I believe.

I love him very much.

Peace
kembo
(aka kemburple or just burple)

*(The Roman Catholic church..my first and only church to belong to, which I joined 4 1/2 years ago when I was 45 - 24 years after Daddy died)

Christmastime and Gerbera daisies

Gerberas are cheerful, bright, and absurd.

I tend to feel sorrowful as Christmas approaches; lonely for my family, it is cold and gets dark early now.

Sorrow is harmonious with Joy when grounded in Love, Faith, Hope.

The ones with dark centers seem to be singing.

Peace
Keren

Waiting for the Miracle

His name was Juaquin (pronounced Wah-keen).
About 10 years ago, I rescued this fish from a woman I worked with. She had "won" him in a raffle.

We all need proper care and tending.
I relate to the "fishbowl" experience. The sad thing about these Beta fish, is that there is a lot of misinformation on how to care for them. They DO need their water changed frequently, you DO have to test and correct the pH of the water, you DO have to feed them Beta food, they cannot live on plants, etc., etc.

Love is reciprocal with just a little time and attention
He lived with Him and me for 3 1/2 years, a long time for Betas. It was important to us to give him proper care.

Amazingly, and I did not expect this from a fish, but Juaquin became sheer delight to me. He would see me come up to his bowl and practically wag his tail off. He would leap up and kiss (bite) my fingers as I would sprinkle in his food pellet. He was absolutely hilarious too. Such a personality in an odd little fish. We loved watching him, and I believe he loved watching us too.

I couldn't wait to see him when I came home from work, and he was ecstatic.

He left my heart wounded in a way I had not experienced before.
He lived for about 3 months after I first noticed he was "sick." I have had sick pets before, but this one I couldn't physically, tenderly hold, and spoon feed, and caress in his sickness. I could only watch and say soothing sounds. There was nothing I could do to make it better. I cried/sobbed.

Not being able to physically help or even comfort the situation was painful and was a new experience to me. Ultimately, Juaquin was freed from the confines of his bowl, and that makes me very happy. There are always blessings in woundedness, and in tears. I'll probably never bring home another beta though, at least not anytime soon.

I hope this doesn't seem like a sad story, it is not. I love my memories of Juaquin, and I learned a lot about Love and commitment from the little guy - we will be together in spirit forever.

"Juaquin in a Winter Wonderland"
I so love this photo. It is one of many. One year, Him and I decorated the area around Juaquin's bowl and took several pictures. We have used them as our Christmas cards.

"Time for Different"
Advent is a time for different way of looking at everything; a time of expectant waiting for something miraculous to come.

Peace
Keren

Gratitude and Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to express much gratitude and say "thank you" and "I love you" to my friends, my family, the people who visit this site and this blog, and mmy special relationships....the real ones, the indirect ones and the imaginary ones too :o)...even the ones I get mad at and even the ones who get mad at me.

Why are we always hardest on the people we love? I think it is because we know, deep inside, that they will always love us, and we will always love them.

Eternally grateful for Love - sometimes it is all we have holding us together - hey like hug?.


Peace, Love
Keren

I know I am sappy...I have done nothing but eat sweets today, including a Sprinkles cupcake ! Cherry Pie with a turkey silhouette on top. Then we topped it off with spiked eggnog....this was at work...

Dedicated to the Holy Spirit

Devotion to Holy Spirit
in other beliefs named : Shakti, Te, Sophia, Chiti... Love...please let me know if there are more...
Father / Son / Holy Spirit = God
Ice / Water / Steam = H20



Peace
Keren

Come down from the Cross, we could use the Wood

(Tom Waits song "Come on up to the House" I could not find an appropriate version to post....so I give up).

No disrespect to the Cross - we all have them to bear, we all need them to grow and, to me it is important to reverance the cross (every thing about Jesus)..but I'm ready to pay some attention to the Holy Spirit aspect of our Creator....we all have that too!

Paying too much attention to our own sufferings can sometimes seem more like whining...or ever worse...showing off a "badge" of some kind.


Peace
Keren

To all those who know Love

Thank you for being consistent and loving me even when I am mixed up and fail.

Thank you for not expecting perfection out of me.

Thank you for not turning away from me even when I don't have much to give you.

Thank you for supporting me.

Thank you for holding me in your heart.

Thank you for holding the Christ light for me, when I frequently lose my way.

When we express Love to each other we are being Christ to each other.

I absolutley love having my Angels and Saints and connections to my loved ones who have gone before me, but it is sooo necessary that we humans on this earth support eachother too.

Our cups runneth over indeed.

Peace and Love
Keren

Miracles lead to Love, more so than Logical explanations

I need to go to work, but I wanted to make this post this morning, in honor of today being the Feast of the Presentation of Mary. (see below for more on this)

Last week I was in church taking photos, playing with my new camera. There were only a few candles lit at this shrine/altar. I tried to light one…, but there was not enough wick in anyof the holders to make a flame. There was a woman at the altar of Joseph cleaning the candle holders so I didnt try to find one.
After I snapped this shot I looked back at the photos I had taken on the camera lcd. I noticed that in this photo, there appeared to be a candle that was not in the rest of the photos. A taper on a round pillar it seemed. I went back over to the shrine and looked but couldn’t see anything that looked like the taper in my photo. It was a miracle. I brought the lady cleaning the candles over and showed her and she saw it too. Now..it was not long before I had the logical explanation figured out. More on this later.

The crux of the matter is that I was “presented” with the lit candle, after I could not light one at the altar. It was a gift from the Blessed Mother to me. This kind of “gift” may seem illogical or meaningless to you, but it put a smile on my face and a warmth in my heart that I have held since then. What does that mean? It means I feel a little more secure, a little less likely to get irritated, a little more willing to roll with the punches…a little more spiritual, a little more loving hopefully.

I don’t know what you believe about Mary, but she too was prophesied in the Old Testament and then ofcourse written about in the New Testament. The Koran has as much, if not more written, information about Mary – including the “virgin birth”.
In essence. Mary was the bearer of the Light for the World. In a miraculous way. I believe this.
One more thing about the Catholic church, perhaps Orthodox Anglican others too..I don’t know. Catholic Christian faith embraces relationship with our angels and saints and loved one and friends who passed to the other side. The Roman Catholic Churches, at least in the big city, are open most of the day and well into the evening, 7 days a week 365 a year.
Churches will always be needed as long as there are lonely people. Churches with place for prayer and connection like this shrine, provide many sad, scared and lonely people a place to feel safe and loved. A light, when they cant make one on their own.

Have a great day!



November 21, 2008

Feast of the Presentation of Mary

Mary’s presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church.
As with Mary’s birth, we read of Mary’s presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature. In what is recognized as an unhistorical account, the Protoevangelium of James tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was three years old. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless.
Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary’s presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.

From American Catolic on line. (will provide link)

Revelations: Love Affidavits

The owner said to his only Son, I give you all of my authority, you are as me.

Go out to the people and remind them of me. Say to them: “I am look and feel, I am taste and sensation, I am sound and fragrance"

“I am your bread and your wine” “I am your hope faith and Love”
“I am your judgment”

Bring back the ones who reveal me even in my tiniest forms, my least expected ways, my smallest gestures, the poorest situations; to the bare, empty, locked up and sick.

*****
Peace
Keren

Aloof: le Muse

I am so glad the Presidential election is over!

Now then...I dont like taking sides, I prefer things warm and fuzzily defined.

Tight slacks..I work best with plenty of freedom but I require some structure to have shape.

Forward retreat...I am ready to move on.

Peace
KEren

Trust Fund: the Potential to Trust

Dear heavenly Lovie:

We praise and thank you for all you do to reveal yourself to us through the abundance of Love we have inherited from you.

We cannot deposit it in our bank accounts, but we can give it to others. The more we give, the more we get back. What a beautiful system that is!

Ultimately, who could ask for anything more?

Thank you for continuing to give us the potential for Trust, in any situation, that will allow for the expansion of our hearts to be able to grow and multiply the Love you have given us to give.

Amen
Peace
Keren

The Real Presence

Unconditional Love
***
(From God...to you, to me, to all of us)

I love everything about you.
I love your face, I adore it especially after an absence.
In reality, I love it all the time.
I love the way you sometimes look up when you smile,
I love the way your face expands to show your heart when your mouth breaks into a smile...the way your brow raises up.
I love the way you say your words.
I love how your eyes can seem distant, veiled or shy, but oh how intense...one split second locked with them reveals a millennia.

I love to notice the things you do that remind me of me,
or, of the way I want you to be reminded of me

***
Is it not all about the recognition of the physical and transcendental reality of Love?

To me...this is what the Holy Eucharist is all about.
Physical substance, inner reality,
i.e.,
Human sustenance, transcendental substance.

Peace and Love
Keren

More on Veterans Day - JFK, also myHim

John F. Kennedy
Proclamation 3557 - Veterans Day, 1963

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
[.....
WHEREAS this day (November 11) has an important dual significance in that it gives each one of us an opportunity both to honor the dedicated men and women of all races and religious beliefs who have honorably served in our armed forces in time of war, and to reemphasize our determination to achieve world peace with patience, perseverance, and courage...]

Dual significiance because November 11 was originally proclaimed as Armistice Day. Armistice Day is (was) the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Rethondes, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month". It was to be the war that ended all wars.

MyHim and I had a conversation last night...I suggested that as long as there is excess testosterone there will be War...Him thought for a minute and said maybe War was more caused by lack of testosterone than too much. .... hmmm :o)
Peace
Keren

TLIO Honors all Veterans

Thank you United States Veterans and all Veterans worldwide who have served and who are serving with Courage and Love for Freedom and Democracy.

Peace
Keren

It was originally called Armistice Day. Good intentions.

Love is not a Victory March

You may remember this song from the first Shrek. Hallelujiah, written by Leonard Cohen - an amazing spiritual soul exposed through his writing and singing, and most likely his life too.

I love the part - "David had a special chord that when he played it pleased the Lord." I don't know.....the whole thing gives me goose bumps.

I also love all Bible stories about David and then his son Solomon. David was a real nobody who was chosen and anointed by God and one of God's anointed, then through proving himself to people and giants, etc..he ultimately became King and then the story really gets interesting.

David was soo human...and his son Solomon, don't even get me started. There is a Rumi poem about Solomon and the Queen of Sheba I love...and will post here soon..

I don't understand all the lineage references in scripture but Jesus, through Mary, was born of the house of David. I was born in St. David's hospital...does that count? :o) I don't think so. My sister tells me it was an Episcopalian Hospital not a Catholic Hospital...However, I do believe it was Catholic in 1959 when I was born to my absolutely-(mostly.) wonderful-loving-kind-religion-shedding-former-protestant parents..anyway it had a Saint named for it, and I like that.

I love the Old Testament Bible Stories. I also particularly love reading about Abraham.. the Father of Faith. I find it very interesting and want to learn more about it, that he had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael...from two different women..read the book..very simply put (from my basic understanding) Isaac then became the connecting ancestor of the twelve tribes of the Israelites, and "Ishmael, whose twelve sons became desert princes (most prominently, Nebaioth and Kedar), along with Midian, Sheba and other Arabian tribes" (wikipedia)

The heart of the matter is..Muslim and Jewish people are of the same God as the God of Abraham.

Most Christians understand that Jesus was Jewish. So, Christians also have the same God...the God of Abraham. Abraham is our common (as in mutual) "Father of Faith"

It is my hope that one day ALL people (no matter what their faith, or non faith, or background or experiences) will recognise our common (as in mutual) most glorious and amazing Creator...Love... and all that Love encompasses.

It is also my hope and prayer that we can all retain, stay with, our external differences (because to me, that is what life and learning and growing is all about) while also acknowledging our internal oneness and connection.

Peace and Love
Keren

P.S.. Please someone..anyone correct me if you belive I am misguided about any of this...I am very much in the learning phase, hopefully growing too. :o)

"If you know Love, you know God"

"If you know Love, you know God"
great wonderful quote from my myspace friend JC in the UK.

Im reposting this video because I like it, it makes me feel good, it embraces diversity love and dancing. It is important in these uncertain times that we embrace eachother by honoring our similarities and respecting our differences and be happy.

Love is at the heart of all matters. Love cannot be legislated. Love is inside each of us - no one can take that from us. Everyone - poor rich black brown pinkish orange yellow green white muslim christian jew hindu rastafarian unaffiliated whatever male female gay straight marginalized non-marginalized etc etc etc.

No law can change Love,
No president/leader can make Love happen
No circumstance can take it away from us

We the people... want to recognise Love in others and in ourselves and embrace it and dance with it, and then go to work ... or maybe we can learn to love and dance while we are working.. that would be good too.

:o)
Peace and Love
Keren

Myths and Courage and Compassion

Each year on November 1st, Catholics (Perhaps Anglicans, Orthodox, others) celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. November 2 is All Souls Day.

Our tradition holds that the Saints...these holy people... and all of our deceased relatives and ancestors for that matter, and angels too (all that is seen and unseen) are “with us”, in communion with us, even though we cannot see or necessarily feel their presence. They are praying for us, supporting us, and lovingly holding us in the Holy Spirit.

When Catholics (who are baptized as babies) are later “confirmed” in the church, and also when adults (like me) are baptized and confirmed, we choose a Saint to be confirmed with us as our patron saint. I personally believe the saint actually chooses us, but that is another story.

My patron saint is St. Veronica. I have not seen the movie, but if you saw the movie “the Passion of Christ”, Veronica is a woman who is in the crowd watching Jesus as he carries his cross along the Via Dolorosa, blood, sweat, tears perhaps, running down his face, stinging, blurring in his eyes and mouth...Veronica is the one who braves the Roman guards and runs out and offers him her scarf to wipe his face. He does, he takes it, presses it on his face to absorb it all and hands it back to her and the blood on his face has imprinted his facial features on her scarf.

There is no scriptural references to this event. She is, for all practical purposes, a myth.

At first, I was a little bothered by choosing a Saint that many people would doubt, not believe ever existed. It occurred to me however, a lot of people don’t believe the way I do about most things.. so what?

Veronica represents courage and compassion. I believe her courageous act of compassion, and stories about it, gives us a true image of Jesus and His Ministry, and also one of His Holy Face through the imprint of His Holy Blood. FYI...she is also the Patron Saint of photographers and laundresses.

Peace
Keren
I put the lyrics on a comment below. Beautiful song isn't it?
P.S.S.
This is from Wikidpedia.
Saint Veronica or Berenice, according to the "Acta Sanctorum" ((Acts of the Saints) was a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead. Jesus accepted the offering and after using it handed it back to her, the image of His face miraculously impressed upon it. The name "Veronica" itself is a latinization of Berenice, a Macedonian name, meaning "bearer of victory" (corresponding to Greek: phere-nikē). Folk etymology has attributed its origin to the words for true (Latin: vera) and image (Greek: eikon). The Encyclopaedia Britannica says this about the legend:
Eusebius in his Historia Ecclesiastica (vii 18) tells how at Caesarea Philippi lived the woman whom Christ healed of an issue of blood (Matt ix 20). Legend was not long in providing the woman of the Gospel with a name. In the West she was identified with Martha of Bethany; in the East she was called Berenike, or Beronike, the name appearing in as early a work as the "Acta Pilati," the most ancient form of which goes back to the fourth century. It is interesting to note that the fanciful derivation of the name Veronica from the words Vera Icon (eikon) "true image" dates back to the "Otia Imperialia" (iii 25) of Gervase of Tilbury (fl 1211), who says: "Est ergo Veronica pictura Domini vera."

Calling All Lovers

Hello??? Is anybody out there????

It would be lover-ly if you would post something here. Something on your heart, something about what Love means to you, or how someone else has expressed Love. A poem or photo or something. Anything really.

I think all you have to do is register on Google blogger but I dont know. If you would like to post something and dont have a blogger account, or cant figure it out...please email me and I will post it for you. keren@kerensgallery.com.

Please consider writing something or sharing something someone else has written.

It would be great to have posts from others!

Thanks!
Peace
Keren

LOVE is in abundant supply because all people are created in the image of Perfect Love.

This is very comforting to me. It does not mean people will always make loving decisions and do the right thing, but Love is nonetheless present in each and every one of us and can be recognized and built upon.

All people are created in the image of Perfect Love even the ones who let you down, even the ones who vote different than you. Love is a constant flow through with in and about each of us.

In Victor Frankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning" he talks about how very little our decision making process actually means anything when dealing with things beyond our control. 50-50 at best.

In most regards, I like going with the flow, but we do have to make decisions on our own sometimes.

Dear heavenly Love, please teach us to reach into our heart to open it some first to help our decisions, and reactions, flow from our very own center of Love.

Peace and Love
Keren

Please, dear Heavenly Love....Let Love of Life, not Love of Money, Direct Us.

Responsibility and fortitude will get us through.

Re-distribute Life and Love, not money.

Elite wealthy politicians, white or black or whatever color, are not God. Jesus was not a politician. ALL political candidates are politicians - no matter the color of their skin.

Support Life, Fortitude, Compassion, Growth, Opportunity, Freedom and Entrepreneurship.

Encourage fiscal responsibility and accountability from, not dependency on, Government/Politicians.

Encourage personal responsibility and fortitude by dependency on God.

Peace
Love
Keren

Contemplative Mums

Peace
Keren

I gotta be me! Or do I?

God has given me some very clear instructions lately. I have interpreted these instructions primarily through my physical circumstances but also through mmy lovely ISDs (Indirect-Spiritual-Directors.)

First instruction....“practice anonymity”.

Due to physical (financial) circumstances I started taking public transportation to and from work most days. The Bus, not The Train. Somehow it seems The Train implies more glamour. The Bus implies lack of glamour for sure.

The first couple of days I surprised myself with feeling extremely self-conscious waiting for the bus to take me home…in broad daylight…at a major intersection in an affluent part of town. I thought everyone was looking at me and thinking I was one of the really poor miserable people I was standing with; probably shaking their heads in pitiful disgust at my very appearance.

I even moved down the street to another stop, only to find myself standing there waiting for the bus amid several fine outdoor-patio-establishments with fine people casually reclining, sipping cocktails, leisurely munching on their happy hour snacks.

Hopefully no one I know will see me.
This surprised me because I truly thought I was above caring what people think of me…apparently not.

But it gets worse…fast forward a few days and I realized…No one is looking at me at all.
No one even really sees “me”. It is like being dead. Gone. Your existence is not even noticed. I am simply one being in a mass of other beings waiting for something out of my control that I am totally dependent on to deliver me to where I need to be.

Don’t you love it?

Now, I love taking the bus, I like seeing and being with the people, I like just sitting there zoning out while somewhere else as somebody else drives....or reading or listening to my cd’s (yes I am a dinosaur)…I like getting the little walk in the morning and in the evening. It takes a little longer to get where I am going, but in reality it has given me a little more time of my very own.

Today I heard price of gas is going down significantly so my circumstances may not be forcing me to take the bus after all. So I will have to choose The way of the Bus or my old way of driving myself.

Cute work God, cute.
Peace
Keren
PS. Choices are made one day/one moment at a time. If you see me driving today it is only because I have a work assignment north of town most of the day today (thanks L!)

Understanding: A Gift of the Holy Spirit

In my desire for you to understand me, I am beginning to understand you.

Like me…You are very needy for love and attention.
We hold our neediness inside of our hearts – open or closed.

We bare our hearts, we release our neediness to the Spirit for tending and cure.
We close our hearts, we enclose the neediness.

We like to play but don’t want to be taken as a fool.
Inside you are a goof-ball just like me.
:o)

We like to give but don’t want to be taken for all we are worth.
Inside I am self-ish just like you.
:Oo

You and I are pretty much just alike.
We both are slaves of our circumstances.

Until we find peace inside of our own truth,
Neither of us will truly be free in the Spirit.

I love "us" nonetheless.
:o)
Peace
Keren

Love is a Rose

This is the tallest rose I have ever seen, Im guessing from the stem it is about 3 ft. From the ground probably 5.5 - 6 ft. It is a hybrid tea, John F. Kennedy. The rose bush is about 25 years old I suppose, it came with the house, and I have never seen it above maybe 3.5 ft.

The rose part is pretty but the stem is tough and thorny - mean looking.

I dont know how it happened....other than neglect..we have had some good rain this growing season...probably though what caused the abnormal growth was it was put through too vigorous a pruning last year beginning around Lent...It may be unique, but, be certain, I'm not going to prune it very much at all this year, or let it suffer from neglect any more..enough is enough.

I understand "tough Love", but if you know Love at all, you know that Love of any kind is never tough just for the sake of being tough. :o)

Peace
Keren

My Judgment: It is All About Love in All of Its Disguises

I am convinced that God is a loving God who loves me, and loves you, very much. I am also convinced this loving God does not make me or anybody else a perfect, peaceful, fearless, powerful being, who is always right and does everything with conviction...yet I still believe.

As humans, no matter how loving we may strive to be, or how loving we ultimately may be, it is difficult for us to not want to judge others, particularly those who somehow make us feel inferior.

However; We simply cannot raise ourselves high enough to see what we would need to see to be able to judge with accuracy. In this regard, I believe it was the divine in Jesus that harshly criticized the pharisees and selfrighteous, not the human in Him.

It seems to me to be very wrong for us humans to judge how the Holy Spirit works through another human.

For example. I have a friend who dresses up as a witch on Halloween, and instead of candy, she distributes those religious tracts with photos of burning buildings and words about judgement day on them to the little kids who visit her house to "trick or treat".

I thought this was just awful and I asked her why, and she said she was doing what Jesus wants her to do. Those kids may never hear of Jesus in any other way.

I said what about Love? Tell them about Love first.

She said it was all about Love. Jesus loves us so much he died for all of our sins. Belief in him gives us eternal life in the kingdom of God. When scary things happen, like Sept 11., and they see people jumping out of burning buildings..they may know Jesus is always with them, they may believe in Him"

I said ..uhmm, ok...

I dont know much, but I do know this friend of mine is a wonderfully kind person and absolutely convinced of her purpose and how the Holy Spirit works through her. She told me once she didnt like to be the one always bringing up the scary stuff, but it is a part of the bible too.

I am not convinced that she does not have a point. :o)

Peace
Keren

A treasure that no one will ever be able to take from you.

From time to time, I go back to the late John O'Donohue's reflection.."The Question holds the Lantern" ...especially when things happen that shake up my world... it inspires me to live in "the now" without trying to "domesticate it"

The Question Holds the Lantern" (excerpts)
Humans have an uncanny ability to domesticate everything they touch. Eventually, even the strangest things become absorbed into the routine of the daily mind with its steady geographies of endurance, anxiety and contentment. Only seldom does the haze lift, and we glimpse for a second, the amazing plenitude of being here.
Sometimes, unfortunately, it is suffering or threat that awakens us. It could happen that one evening, you are busy with many things, netted into your role and the phone rings. Someone you love is suddenly in the grip of an illness that could end their life within hours. It only takes a few seconds to receive that news. Yet, when you put the phone down, you are already standing in a different world. All you know has just been rendered unsure and dangerous. You realise that the ground has turned into quicksand. Now it seems to you that even mountains are suspended on strings.

If you could imagine the most incredible story ever, it would be less incredible than the story of being here. And the ironic thing is that story is not a story, it is true. It takes us so long to see where we are. It takes us even longer to see who we are. This is why the greatest gift you could ever dream is a gift that you can only receive from one person. And that person is you yourself. Therefore, the most subversive invitation you could ever accept is the invitation to awaken to who you are and where you have landed. Plato said in The Symposium that one of the greatest privileges of a human life is to become midwife to the birth of the soul in another. When your soul awakens, you begin to truly inherit your life. You leave the kingdom of fake surfaces, repetitive talk and weary roles and slip deeper into the true adventure of who you are and who you are called to become. The greatest friend of the soul is the unknown. Yet we are afraid of the unknown because it lies outside our vision and our control. We avoid it or quell it by filtering it through our protective barriers of domestication and control. The normal way never leads home.

....
You develop from your own self-compassion a great compassion for others. You are no longer caught in the false game of judgement, comparison and assumption. More naked now than ever, you begin to feel truly alive. You begin to trust the music of your own soul; you have inherited treasure that no one will ever be able to take from you.

Love the one you're with

Sleepytime. I miss summer already. I like it when it is still light outside at 9:00 p.m. The moon is nice too though.

I recently was re-introduced to a great web site for reflection and meditation. www.sacredspace.ie. created/maintained by some Irish Jesuits.


Peace
Keren

I may not win but let me be courageous in the attempt…(Special Olympics motto paraphrased)

Sub title….Tough Love: How many abortions have you actually experienced?

Please note: My post does not necessarily reflect the opinions of this Site's owners/originators, nor is my post necessarily a political endorsement. And…I may delete this.. because I am a chicken….:o) but I am wanting to be courageous like the children.

Phrases that seem to fit.
“Render to Cesar what is Cesar’s. Render to God what is God’s”
"Which came first? The chicken? or the egg?”

"The Dead and all of the Wounded"
I have two dogs in this hunt, to use a very Texan Phrase…and their names are Marta and Luis.
Right now, Luis and Marta exist in heaven and in my heart and my imagination. I am almost 50 years old, and since I was 18, up until very recently, Luis and Marta only meant painful shame and guilt to me. (and also probably to the men who helped create them... i recently heard a man about my age admit how much regret and guilt he was carrying for encouraging abortions in his girlfriend(s).

Why is it even on the ballot - political platforms?
If abortion had not been legal, my family would have never even considered it as an option for me, and more importantly after the first horrible legal experience, I would never had considered the second even more horrible legal experience on my own.

Give Peace a Chance, Give Love a Voice
How can a culture that supports death ever return to a culture of abundant life?

Mother Theresa once said (paraphrased)…How can we free the world of violence and the destruction of war, when these adversaries are made legal by governments who allow invasion and destruction of the life inside of a Mother’s body?

How can we expect peace/ non-violence to exist anywhere at all, when the very seminal existence of life is, by governmental law, simply allowed to be destroyed?

Which came first? Destruction of the "Streets" or destruction of the Family.
A financially poor, hard working female friend, myHim once worked with, told him that poor people in her community do not want women, no matter what age, to have abortions…no…every pregnancy is wanted, because so many of their children, particularly the young men, are being killed off by drugs or each other. Babies are wanted in poor families.

Who really wants an abortion?
It seems...the very rich people don’t have abortions, they have all the babies they want, and just call them cousins if they don’t fit the public image.:o) (joke - a little levity)

It seems Abortion is just another “tax” on the struggling "lower middle class" and an upper middle class convenience.

At what point in any child’s life is ok to pull the plug on its development?
The Catholic church, for one, (I suppose many churches might feel the same)…. does not accept or support the death penalty in any shape or form.

Jesus said it best ofcourse...give money issues to the government, give Love issues to God.

Peace and Love
Keren

L'Chaim

There is something inside you, (and me too, even though I am not always in touch with it).

It does not matter if you are male or female or “non-specified other”,…it does not matter where you were born,…it does not matter what color or size any part of you is….it does not matter how much money you have, or how much money you don’t have….it does not matter whether you vote Democrat or Republican (or whatever your country names people at election time)…. It is inside you. Yes you. All of you. All of us.

You (we) do not have to choose it. You (we) do not have to do anything with it ….except perhaps somehow try to grasp it and once you (we) have it, or come within breath of it, especially when it is only just within your grasp,…please do not let it go.

Oh yes, and it has a name. Its name is Love.

Let us not let Love go just for the sake of our individual, personal, me-and-mine only peace and comfort.

Let us not let go of Love, for the convenience and comfort of us being smarter or more right or calmer or better in any regard than someone else…

Please help us to not abort Love in any way shape or form – even Love in the tiniest possible form you can imagine.

Shalom
Keren

Life is…

by Mother Theresa

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.


Peace
Keren

Peace and Love

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Attributed to St. Francis

Peace
Keren

The Clouds are the dust of His Feet

the LORD has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

I held your heart inside my heart last night and found it was still preoccupied with its shell. So I imagined your shell was made of cloud and made my way through its storm, and gently kissed all of its bruises with Love.

When people are cruel to our childlike hearts, and want to abuse or betray us, or judge us based on their own fears, Our Father tells us how to respond..."be magnanimous" and
"Rise above"

(măg-năńə-məs)

From Latin magnanimus, magnus, great, + animus, soul, mind.]
(adjective)
Courageously noble in mind and heart.
Generous in forgiving; eschewing resentment or revenge; unselfish.

Peace and Love
Keren

Divine Mercy: The normal rapport wasn't adequate

I dont know the person who made this video, but I like it. For whatever reason I woke up with this song and Divine Mercy hour (3:00p.m.) on my heart. :o)


Peace
Love
Keren

"...The normal rapport wasn't adequate..."
(I took this from a wikipedia quote attributed to her mother)

Loving Outside of the Bubble

Help people to feel wanted.
I finally heard something Ive been wanting to hear from a church this past weekend. The deacon making the homily ended it by saying..."everybody is wanted" not just welcomed, but wanted.

There is a fine line between use and abuse.
Life can be really hard for people who do not live in a bubble

Illness, natural disaster, financial crisis caused by rampant greed, I don't need to make a list.

People are not needed to cause extra problems for others. People can be so cruel to others, even inside their own families. This needs to be let go.

People who are abused, tend to abuse others. People who are Loved tend to Love others. Babies who are smiled at a lot tend to smile back a lot.

It is a simple formula. Love. A person who Loves does not "use" someone in a negative way for his/her own purposes or designs. You may think you are doing a loving thing for the greater good, but you cant see the big picture, none of us can.

Be open to being used for a much greater purpose...to Love and Love only. Our purpose is to help spread God's Love. He takes care of any lessons that need to be learned, or any examples that need to be set.

Peace
Keren

When Love Hurts: It is ok to say ouch

I understand about forgiving, forgiving and more forgiving, but how many times do we have to turn the other cheek before we know it is time to shake the dust off our feet?

Peace
Keren

On Helping Others...Brother, can you spare some time?

It seems that whenever I have a problem I need help with, I dont really expect anyone to just fix my problem for me (however, that would certainly be nice) but what I really want is to be pointed in the right direction. sometimes I just need help getting started. Sometimes just knowing someone cares enough to spend a little time with me helps motivate me.

Also seems people are much more willing to help young people than older people. Anyway...

I started taking the bus from home to office yesterday. If I do that 3 times a week instead of driving my car by myself, I will save approximately $1,000 a year - gas, tolls, wear and tear on car.

Waiting for the bus yesterday evening I had conversations with two different women.

One was actually hitchhiking - I gave her the $1.50 for bus fare, she tried to give it back because she would rather walk. Then she told me she needed money for rent because she was about to be evicted and she had lost her job. I suggested she take keep the money and use it for a phone call to the Catholic Church in her area. Most churches have a St Vincent de Paul Society group that will help people in financial distress. THere are parameters, and limits of course, but you do not have to be Catholic, just live in the parish boundaries of the church. This is a wonderful ministry because they actually go to the person's home and meet with them there and pray with them and talk to them.

The other heard me talking to the first woman and I guess she assumed I knew about such things....she told me she had some problems several years ago and wanted to know about getting a driver's license again after 7 years of letting it lapse.

I told I didn't know but if it were me I would just call the Department of Motor Vehicles, and ask, or go to one of the offices.

I dont really have a point in this, but I decided that it would be nice if I could better familarize myself with social services in our area, that might be a way I could help the poor and needy, since I dont have money to give.

My Him suggests that if I just dont talk to anyone I wouldnt have to be concerned with it. :o)

Have a good day
Peace,
Keren

"If" ... My Daddy didnt want to teach me "faith" He wanted me to learn poetry.

My Father did not take us to church or teach us to pray. However, he wanted us to memorize poetry.

I started to look up the word "poetry" and see what its sources are, but decided not to. Poetry always come from the heart not the head.

I would only add to this, faith found on your own, and not memorized is my message here. To me, my Father's plan was a good path..poetry borne in the heart (not the head) has to me at least helped lead me to Jesus....and it is all about living in the moment.

"If"
by Rudyard Kipling
as I memorized it from one of my daddy's poetry books.

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you...but make allowances for their doubting too.

If you can wait.. and not be tired by waiting.
Or be lied about.. dont deal in lies
or be hated... dont give way to hating.

And yet...
dont look too good
or talk too wise

If you can dream and not make Dreams your Master
or think and not make Thoughts your Aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,
and treat both those Imposters as just the same

If you can take one heap of all your winnings,
and risk it all on one turn of "pitch and toss"
and Lose!
but start again at your Beginnings
and never breathe a word about your loss.

If you can bear to hear the Words you have spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
or see the Things you gave your life to broken and stoop and build them up again with worn out tools

If you can walk with Crowds .... and not lose your Virture,
or walk with Kings ....nor lose your Common Touch

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you.
If All men count with you, but none too much

If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds of distance run.
yours is the World and everthing in it, and what is more.. you be a man my son...

****

or, IMHO

"which is more, you will be in the kingdom my child."



Peace and Love
Keren

Monday

Dear Heavenly Love,

Please us help us be grateful and not grumble today as we go about our daily chores. Please give us healthy open minds and hearts; a positive outlook and fresh perspectives to help us not be mired in criticism and negativity of the things that support us, the leaders who make tough decisions for us or for the people or situations we don't understand.

Please fill us with your spirit of confidence, as well as hope, charity and love as we pull up our boot straps and get to work.
Amen

Peace
Keren

Jesus was a boy and did not have blond hair

Love sometimes requires confessing your sins.

Ok ok ok. It wasn't really all about the hair.. but well..I lose it (mind and hair) sometimes, hopefully you don't, but probably you do too. This painting is still not complete, but I wanted to change it...for me and for you.

We don't know what Jesus looked like, but most bets have it that he had black hair and dark skin. Many paintings depict him differently, and I tried.. but couldn't do it even with the doll. However, I do not see anything wrong with people who want to have a visual of him that fits their culture.

An icon or image of a saint or Jesus (or religious or spiritual people or places), sometimes contain symbolism to help gain an understanding of what the painter wants to convey.

We know Jesus was poor. The crown represents not only His Kingdom, but also His authority. The collar - His "yoke" of Wisdom. The Robe - His mantle of Glory, His preeminence. The crucifix - His Passion. The vessels for the Eucharist, in this painting, represent us - you and me as the vessels for the risen Christ.

Also, in this painting, the various colors of the robe are the various colors of the robes priests wear for Mass during the Liturgical year. Green for Ordinary Time, Violet for Advent, Purple for Easter, Red for Masses for Martyrs, and White for Special masses, Christmas and Easter.

That's all, I just wanted you to know I truly did not intend to be idolatrous, but I do realize that is just what I was being...please forgive me.

I do believe we have to put ourselves in the picture to make any belief real to us. Ie., start with a little imagination and then put your heart and soul into it, but not necessarily your hair color.

:o)
Peace and Love
Keren

What is Love Looking For?

Love is seeking healing to create unity and connection in People and Communities. Even among people and communities who may not always agree. Believe in it...Healing can Happen...Love is there.
That's a promise.

Peace
Keren

Love is not destroyed by evil. Why do people continue to give evil consciousness over Love? Forgive them they know not what they do.

Didn't Jesus tell us how? Love is for all of creation each and every particle.

"…who prays for Satan? Who in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most, our one fellow and brother who most needed a friend yet had not a single one, the one sinner among us all who had the highest and clearest right to every Christian's daily and nightly prayers, for the plain and unassailable reason that his was the first and greatest need, he being among sinners the supremest?
- Mark Twain's Autobiography

Mark Twain ... curmudgeon...seemingly unbeliverish...but Christian Mystic IMHO
Peace and Love
Always open for comments or questions.

Keren

God is inside each of us, but He does not just sit there

When we begin to move past awareness, to actual consciousness, of a Loving God living inside of us individually...he is not just sitting there...He is moving and it isn't always comfortable.

What are we supposed to gain from this?...
our personal and individual growth, so each of us can gain something of value that we can then share with others.

What is valuable?...
consciousness of the God inside of each and every one of us.
God/Love is already inside you and me and other people too.

God/Love is inside each individual creature on this earth...even the nasty ones...even our adversaries.

What is a sign my eyes and heart have been opened?...
when you also become conscious of God/Love inside of your personal feelings...your emotions, fears, frustrations, aspirations, yours up and downs, your joys...

God is Loving every drop of our existence, because he is right in there with us.

So you can say to struggles... "Hey this doesn't bother me anymore!" but that doesn't equate to "I can stop growing now"

Life requires, no.. demands, constant growth - probably even from rocks.

The question is How do we move past awareness to consciousness...?

Here is how I work with it (in no particular order):

*meditation/prayer
*recalling dreams
*playing with my imagination
*finding frequent spaces of silence
*looking for it in others
*imitating what I recognise it to be
*feeling it moving inside my struggles, hurts, and pains
*taking frequent long hard looks in the mirror.
*participating in the Eucharist as frequently as I can

Peace and Love
Keren

I dont know about you, but I still need dreams.God shines in my desires, my longings, my dreams.

Peace and Love
Keren

Love Blessing for Today

May your day be touched
by a bit of Irish luck,
brightened by a song in your heart,
and warmed by the smiles
of the people you love.

From "Irish prayers" website
Peace
Keren

Emptiness; Wisdom; Truth; Love

In the arts:
Vanitas is a type of a visual Parable on reality; a symbolic representation of a message regarding the wisdom of viewing youth with death
and/or
abundance, or lack, with truth.

The term “vanitas” itself refers to the arts, learning and time. The word is Latin, meaning "emptiness".

Wisdom and Emptiness from the Old and New Testament:

do not chafe at [Wisdom] Sophia's bonds,
once you have grasped Her, never let Her go.
In the end She will transform Herself into pure joy;
Her fetters will become your strong defense
And her collar a gorgeous robe - a royal mantle
****
My burden (bonds/fetters) is easy, and my yoke (collar) is light.
****
You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
****
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!
****
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.
*******
Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.

Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
*****
Peace
Keren

Top photo: the Infant Doll with Crucifix...work in progress (see previous post).
Bottom photo: "Destiny's Wheels" oil/canvas

Different: Cultures, Imagination, Reality

Regarding my previous post....I have something to add. If I win the lottery or it somehow becomes possible, I would go back to school, even at this age and get a degree! Major Theology / Minor Studio Art. I would first go to my home town, and enroll in seminary, Episcopalian Seminary because it is the only seminary I am aware of in "these parts" that allows women to become priests.

I have heard about a group of Catholic Women Priests and briefly looked at their web site, not yet in depth, basically out of respect for and, albeit, lack of knowledge about why men are considered the spiritual leaders in our faith tradition.

I have no problem in a Father figure of our Triune God, and I love or adore, and have tremendous respect for the men in my life who are or have been Priests or Pastors with education, degrees, honors etc.

However...At least in the Roman Catholic world...men don't seem to be standing up to the call, the responsibility, or, if it is truly only for men...the gift of priesthood.

Living in a big city as I do, I have been exposed to Catholic Priests from different countries. In particular, a priest from India, a priest from Korea, and most recently a priest from Nigeria.

I have a special interest in the priests from India. I asked the one I know if he was born a Catholic or if he was a convert. He said that he was born a Catholic; his Hindu family had been previously converted via missionaries to his country.

Hinduism is not really a religion...it is more a way of life - as Christiany should be. However, Hindus are not a monolithic group, any more than Christians are, or Muslims, or Jews, or Buddhists, etc.

I love reading about the various forms of yoga, and I recently bought a book "the Yoga of Discipline" which is full of Love /Jesus like teachings! The images I have seen of Hindu Gods, to me, are extremely imaginative!

To me, it seems to be reasonable that a Hindu convert to Christianity as practiced by Roman Catholics would not have a problem with Angels and Seraphim and Saints and Virgin Birth, and the transformative agent of the Body and Blood of Christ. In other words, they don't seem to have a problem with Jesus Christ, and all He encompasses in the Old and New Testament, being the essence of Love through with in all of existence, seen and unseen.

With regard to the Nigerian priests, there was an article in the paper several years ago about Christian missions from Nigeria coming to the United States, to be missionaries to us. Missionaries to us, the US people who have lost the Way, "The Way of Life" that we originally travelled afar to teach them about and to open their hearts to...the way of God who is Love.

Peace and Love
Keren

Amateur (Lover), Outsider Art, and Melchizedek

This is the painting I began a couple of weeks ago, beginning with the monochromatic under-painting. The next photo is the next "stage" where I have begun to add color and a little definition. I also cleared out a place for a chalice and ciborium, and since the Infant is standing on the Lectionary...it has some of the elements of a sacristy. Since I usually only paint on weekends, it will probably by 2 -3 weeks before this is complete if I am lucky.

Side Note: I moved it a little more forward today but had to stop to hunt for a document, and to do that I am having to slug through probably at least a year's worth of neglect of our desk and files. YUK! I'm taking a break now.

I used to bristle at the term "outsider art" which basically means art done by an "untrained artist" "self-taught" (which I am but didn't want to admit it)

However, I am now beginning to embrace the term because the more I know about Jesus, and Love...being an outsider / nobody is not necessarily a bad thing.

Outsider art can be characterized by the use of raw color. I do that. I usually only will mix one with a bit of its compliment to dull it a little, or make a darker color - like equal parts of fr.ultramarine blue and cadmium orange to make a brilliant black.

Many outsiders employ religious themes and figures in their painting. I do that too. Many outsiders are considered "different" or eccentric - but to me it seems many people who paint/make art are that way also, even the highly educated ones.

Yes, I intentionally put straight blondish hair on the Infant. I have begun putting "myself" in all my paintings with people. I know that in itself probably seems strange.

"Amateur" fits right in there as the opposite of "professional" Even though I do hope to make a living at it one day!

I have read it is not considered good form to describe yourself as an artist of any kind, it is a title that someone else bestows on you.

In the same regard, I sometimes wonder..."who do I think I am?" to say or blog that? I was giving someone at work a blessing the other day, and after he told me "it didn't work," he asked "don't you have to have some kind of certificate to do that?" I'm thinking he is probably right. A willing recipient; however, might be helpful too! :o)

Then, I remembered Melchizedek. Is it OK for somebody to say "I am a priest in the "order" of Melchizedek?" He was an outsider to the extent that he didn't seem to have any records at all - no paperwork, no certificates or degrees.

All that to say...my intention is good - to simply "put myself in the picture" (literally and figuratively) with my paintings and my Faith/Spiritual life.

Putting yourself in the picture may seem presumptuous, but it can be another way to say "to take responsibility for", or "have compassion with" a situation, or "turn a dream into reality".

Back to filing.

Peace Keren

The purple plant is called Persian Shield.

Loving love

It is like a home, a safe place, solid and secure.

Please understand, Love does not necessarily make you happy or peaceful or beautiful, or fit, or wealthy; it can be scary, it can and will hurt if it is real ...it is safe though.

Once you enter into true Love, not fantasy, it is always with you. Eternal Life.

It is a place you have ready access to; it is a place you never have to leave, but if you do...it is a place you can always return to. It even has a beacon, which you can fix your eyes on no matter the distance; and, it watches you too....always bringing you inside.

Once safe inside Love, you are free to be Love to others.

Peace
Keren

My pastor's email sig line

Seek justice. Help the oppressed. ~ Isaiah 1:17

Hang On Galveston! We Love You!

My prayers and my heart are with Galveston and all areas in Ike's sight or reach.

My Him and I lived on a boat in Galveston for about a year, approx Jan 1991 - Feb 1992. We love the island, and its people - the BOIs (and the people that may not have been born there, but who love it so much they want to live there). It is a wonderfully unique, even eccentric town - its archetecture, its history, its tremendous spirit. There is nothing like it in the US.

I am praying for Ike's winds, waves, storms and surges to subside and for safety of the people, and the best of all possible outcomes for all areas in Ike's potential path.

God's blessings and protection and peace
Keren

About Me

I haven't mentioned this in a while, so I thought today would be a good day to do it. I blog alot about Catholic ways of Love and Church, you may think I was born in a Catholic church or have a long standing in the church, but I have not. I was baptized and joined the church 4 years ago.

No one in my family is Catholic. My husband is not Catholic. I am the only person among my friends whom I actually socialize with outside of work or church, who is Catholic, aside from two or three people I have met at church.

I am also pretty much the only person I know who even goes to church at all. My mother, who live in another city, belongs to a baptist church. My two "best" frieds are Baptists.

In this same regard I feel different than most people at church, because I have no Catholics in my life, other than them. The people at church i worship with in essence are my family whether they know it or like it or not. :o)

AS strongly as I feel about my church and faith, I feel strongly about Love as expressed on the front page of this site. To me they are the same. I feel called to both, and cant seem to quit doing either even though I most of the time seem to be all by myself...except for the Spirit that holds us all together of course.

Happy Friday
Peace
Keren