From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Meditation for troubled times:   
      
      "Our Lord and our God, be it done unto us according to Thy will. "   
   Simple acceptance of God's will in whatever happens is the key to   
   abundant living. We must continue to pray. "Not my will but Thy will   
   be done." It may not turn out the way you want it to, but it will be   
   the best way in the long run, because it is God's way. If you decide   
   to accept whatever happens as God's will for yourself, whatever it may   
   be, your burdens will be lighter. Try to see in all things some   
   fulfillment of the Divine Intent.   
      I pray that I may see the working out of God's will in my life. I   
   pray that I may be content with whatever He wills for me.   
   --From Twenty-Four Hours a Day   
      
   =========   
   July 23rd - Ezekiel the Prophet   
    (Also known as Ezechiel)   
      
   Memorial   
   23 July   
   10 April (on some calendars)   
      
   The Holy Prophet Ezekiel lived in the sixth century before the birth   
   of Christ. He was born in the city of Sarir, and descended from the   
   tribe of Levi; he was a priest and the son of the priest Buzi. Ezekiel   
   was led off to Babylon when he was 25 years old together with King   
   Jechoniah II and many other Jews during the 2nd invasion of Jerusalem   
   by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnessar.   
      
   The Prophet Ezekiel lived in captivity by the River Chebar. When he   
   was 30 years old, he had a vision of the future of the Hebrew nation   
   and of all mankind. The prophet beheld a shining cloud, with fire   
   flashing continually, and in the midst of the fire, gleaming bronze.   
   He also saw four living creatures in the shape of men, but with four   
   faces (Eze. 1:6). Each had the face of a man in front, the face of a   
   lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an   
   eagle at the back (Eze. 1:10). There was a wheel on the earth beside   
   each creature, and the rim of each wheel was full of eyes.   
      
   Over the heads of the creatures there seemed to be a firmament,   
   shining like crystal. Above the firmament was the likeness of a   
   throne, like glittering sapphire in appearance. Above this throne was   
   the likeness of a human form, and around Him was a rainbow (Ez.   
   1:4-28).   
      
   According to the explanation of the Fathers of the Church, the human   
   likeness upon the sapphire throne prefigures the Incarnation of the   
   Son of God from the Most Holy Virgin Mary, who is the living Throne of   
   God. The four creatures are symbols of the four Evangelists: a man (St   
   Matthew), a lion (St Mark), an ox (St Luke), and an eagle (St John);   
   the wheel with the many eyes is meant to suggest the sharing of light   
   with all the nations of the earth. During this vision the holy prophet   
   fell down upon the ground out of fear, but the voice of God commanded   
   him to get up. He was told that the Lord was sending him to preach to   
   the nation of Israel. This was the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophetic   
   service.   
      
   The Prophet Ezekiel announces to the people of Israel, held captive in   
   Babylon, the tribulations it would face for not remaining faithful to   
   God. The prophet also proclaimed a better time for his   
   fellow-countrymen, and he predicted their return from Babylon, and the   
   restoration of the Jerusalem Temple.   
      
   There are two significant elements in the vision of the prophet: the   
   vision of the temple of the Lord, full of glory (Eze. 44:1-10); and   
   the bones in the valley, to which the Spirit of God gave new life (Eze   
   37:1-14). The vision of the temple was a mysterious prefiguring of the   
   race of man freed from the working of the enemy and the building up of   
   the Church of Christ through the redemptive act of the Son of God,   
   incarnate of the Most Holy Theotokos. Ezekiel’s description of the   
   shut gate of the sanctuary, through which the Lord God would enter   
   (Eze. 44: 2), is a prophecy of the Virgin giving birth to Christ, yet   
   remaining a virgin. The vision of the dry bones prefigured the   
   universal resurrection of the dead, and the new eternal life bestowed   
   by the Lord Jesus Christ.   
      
   The holy Prophet Ezekiel received from the Lord the gift of   
   wonderworking. He, like the Prophet Moses, divided the waters of the   
   river Chebar, and the Hebrews crossed to the opposite shore, escaping   
   the pursuing Chaldeans. During a time of famine the prophet asked God   
   for an increase of food for the hungry.   
      
   Ezekiel was condemned to execution because he denounced a certain   
   Hebrew prince for idolatry. Bound to wild horses, he was torn to   
   pieces. Pious Hebrews gathered up the torn body of the prophet and   
   buried it upon Maur Field, in the tomb of Sim and Arthaxad,   
   forefathers of Abraham, not far from Baghdad. The prophecy of Ezekiel   
   is found in the book named for him, and is included in the Old   
   Testament.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   The accidents of life separate us from our dearest friends,  but let   
   us not despair. God is like a looking glass in which souls see each   
   other. The more we are united to Him by love, the nearer we are to   
   those who belong to Him.   
   -- St. Elizebeth Ann Seton   
      
   Bible Quote   
   "the land is filled with blood, and the city is filled with   
   perverseness: for they have said: The Lord hath forsaken the earth,   
   and the Lord seeth not. Therefore neither shall my eye spare, nor will   
   I have pity: I will requite their way upon their head" (Ezechiel   
   9:9-10)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   The Glory of Eucharistic Adoration   
      
   Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is one of the best ways to spend   
   time with Jesus. There is so much noise around us these days.   
   Spending a quiet hour with Jesus in humble adoration will bring many   
   graces and blessings to you.  Things that you have never even   
   considered before will now be made present to you.  Bad things that   
   would have happened to you will now not happen.  Here are some   
   thoughts about what Jesus is asking you during this time.  As He   
   told Peter, “Could you not spend one hour with me?”St. Peter Julian   
   Eymard tells us all how to spend an hour in Adoration!   
   “MY CHILD, you need not know much in order to please Me; only love Me   
   dearly. Speak to Me as you would talk to your mother, if she had   
   taken…   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)