It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom; but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

Then these presidents and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live for ever! All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the interdict, “O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that any man who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Then they answered before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no heed to you, O king, or the interdict you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed, and set his mind to deliver Daniel; and he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance which the king establishes can be changed.”

–Daniel 6:1-15

Good Morning pic.twitter.com/1P0eVcx77e

— philip jackson (@pajacksonartist) April 28, 2023

As more families across the country flock to the growing Lowcountry counties north of Charleston, Summerville Medical Center is preparing to meet the needs of an expanded population with a multi-million dollar expansion on its original campus.

This month, officials at the Summerville hospital announced it would officially start its over $60 million inpatient bed project in August. The project will add 56 new inpatient beds, a 40-percent increase to its existing 124 beds.

“As we work to meet the health needs of our community, it is vital that we add capacity and clinical programs,” said Jeff Taylor, the hospital’s CEO, in a recent press release.

Dorchester County’s population has exploded in recent years, with more than 18,000 residents moving to the county in the last two decades. Currently, over 166,000 people reside in the county. Projections put the number of residents at more than 200,000 by 2030, The Post and Courier previously reported. Many of those moving in are settling in the Summerville area.

Read it all.

As more families across the country flock to the growing Lowcountry counties north of Charleston, Summerville Medical Center is preparing to meet the needs of an expanded population with a multi-million dollar expansion on its original campus. https://t.co/H85PHnjmlU

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) April 26, 2023

I believe the story. With my head, looking at the evidence and thinking logically as a person who was a research physicist for twenty-five years, I believe it. And after listening to the testimony of people–from beggars to kings–through all the ages who had concluded that the story is true, I believe it. And at the innermost levels of my heart, where the deepest truths reside but are not easily put into words, I believe it is true.

And that is why I know that I will see my mother again someday. It’s not just wishful thinking, some little tale I’ve fooled myself with because I can’t face the cold hard facts of life. Yes, I will see Della Mae, and I am convinced that it will be a day of great victory and joy. St. Paul says that it will be like putting on a crown, and St. John says that it will be a time when every tear will be wiped away from my eyes. That’s what will happen someday to me. But what Jesus did affects me right here today also — I know that this Jesus who overcame death and the grave has promised not to leave me here twisting in the wind. He is with me every day, through his Spirit, to guide me, comfort me, embolden me, and use me for his glory and to serve his people, right here, right now.

Read it all.

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.#Easter

A new day brings opportunities for faith, hope, love. pic.twitter.com/inYUxI4IYo

— Eamon Martin (@ArchbishopEamon) April 27, 2023

What is now clear is that, in the event of the General Synod endorsing blessings for people in sexually active relationships outside of heterosexual marriage, the Church of England will confirm she has “chosen to impair her relationship with the orthodox provinces in the Communion”. She will thereby ensure that the Anglican Communion will cease to exist in anything like its current form.

CEEC therefore urges the House and College of Bishops to step back from the brink in order urgently to explore a “settlement” in England that might avoid the Church of England suffering the same internal division as the Communion has experienced in the last two decades.

Given that about 45% of the General Synod has clearly articulated the conviction that the proposals of the bishops are unacceptable, urgent consideration needs to be given to a form of good differentiation involving structural re-organisation without theological compromise. Following this path could prevent the unity of the Church of England being torn apart in the same way that the Communion has been.

Read it all.

Listen to it all there.

When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget.

I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.

—Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)

O God, whom heaven cannot hold, who didst inspire Christina Rossetti to express the mystery of the Incarnation through her poems: Help us to follow her example in giving our hearts to Christ, who is love; and who is alive and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

LIVE NOW! We are spoiling you this month, particularly with the Rossettis! In today's episode, the wonderful Dinah Roe @preraphsrule speaks to @KarlMerrick about a new and interesting angle on Christina Rossetti and how her role as carer influenced her poetry. Enjoy 😊 pic.twitter.com/q36uVtEK4B

— The Pre-Raphaelite Podcast (@PreRaphPodcast) April 22, 2023

O Blessed Lord, who didst promise thy disciples that through thy Easter victory their sorrow should be turned to joy, and their joy no man should take from them: Grant us, we pray thee, so to know thee in the power of thy resurrection, that we may be partakers of that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory; for thy holy name’s sake.

As long as the daffodils 🌼 bloom… there’s always some of Nature’s sunshine! 🌼

Enjoy your Thursday ☕️! #flowers #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/PQ2B2YJJjA

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) April 27, 2023

While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

–Luke 5:1-11

Wishing you a happy Thursday from North Yorkshire 😊
📸 From my beach walk last night pic.twitter.com/nvNGH2FoA5

— Nicky (@Nicky13Johnson) April 27, 2023

Residents of Sudan’s besieged capital, Khartoum, said Wednesday that they are facing mounting hunger, sickness and continued airstrikes, despite a declared cease-fire between the country’s two most powerful generals, who began fighting 12 days ago.

Maysoon Abdallah Abdallmuttalib, who is among the leaders of a network of volunteers responding to crises in the city, said airstrikes led to the death of at least two people on Wednesday and wounded many others, adding strain to a medical system that is already in collapse. As of Wednesday afternoon, Abdallmuttalib said military planes were overhead, and that the bombing continued. During a brief lull, she said her network had received mostly requests for food, medicine and help evacuating, as conditions have grown increasingly dire for those that remain in the city.

“In this cease-fire, there was no ceasing of fire,” said Gasim Amin Oshi, a 29-year-old engineer who, like Abdallmuttalib, is a member of Sudan’s grass roots “resistance committees,” which have been active since the pro-democracy revolution in 2019. He said Wednesday afternoon that he had been hearing the sound of army helicopters circling, which means attacks are imminent.

Read it all.

Conditions worsening in Sudan as rivals show little interest in cease-fires https://t.co/0HfyipSOSQ

— Gaurav Bansal (@JetLaggedGB) April 26, 2023

Lyrics:

O Radiant Dawn, O Radiant Dawn, O Radiant Dawn
Splendour of Eternal Light
Sun of Justice, Sun of Justice, Sun of Justice
Come, come, come, come, come,
come shine on those who dwell in darkness And the shadow of death

Isaiah had prophesied,
‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light.
Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone’

O Radiant Dawn, O Radiant Dawn, O Radiant Dawn
Splendour of Eternal Light
Sun of Justice, Sun of Justice, Sun of Justice
Come, come, come, come, come,
come shine on those who dwell in darkness And the shadow of death

Amen, amen, amen, amen, amen, amen

If the resurrection has broken into the world, however, why do we still live a world entangled in violence, injustice and death? Why do innocent people die in bombings in Syria? Why is there senseless structural violence against black people? Why does cancer continue to eat away at our lives? Paul knows as well as we do about what he calls “the sufferings of the present time” (Romans 8:18). And that’s why he writes the third and last paragraph of our passage.

Has Jesus’s resurrection power already beamed us up into heavenly existence? No. Paul carefully explains that we are not at the end; rather, we are in the middle of an unfolding story. “In Christ all will be made alive … But each in order.” There is a careful sequencing here of three acts of the unfolding drama: “Christ the first-fruits; then at his kingly coming those who belong to Christ.” (That’s us – we who will be raised from the dead at Christ’s triumphant return.) And only then do we reach the end, the final act: when Christ hands over the kingdom to the Father who will at last destroy all the evil and pain in the world and wipe away every tear from our eyes.

So we find ourselves in the middle of the story. But notice how Paul describes the political reality of this middle time we inhabit: “It is necessary for Christ to rule until God places all his enemies under his feet.” In the present time, the Risen Christ is in fact ruling now, even though his enemies continue to carry out their ultimately futile attacks on his kingdom. Paul is painting a picture of prolonged military struggle, in which our captain, the Lord Jesus, is reclaiming territory previously occupied by enemy forces.

Read it all.

Mille grazie caro Alberto!#BuonaPasqua 🙏🏻

"The Empty Tomb"
Mikhail Nesterov (1889) pic.twitter.com/x4aTt2C997

— Cris💗Art (@CristianeGLima) April 4, 2021

Here, in their very midst was the author of Life, bringing to them the word of his peace. And that is not all: not just a mending, but something greater than they could ever think or imagine was about to happen. He gives to them a new commission. Adam and Eve had been told to govern and protect the created order as God’s custodians. But this one true human being, this Jesus, this One who is truly God, truly the Son of Man, calls a new family into his service: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” From now on the job would be not simply to care for creation, not just a work of maintenance. Rather, his disciples are enfolded, made part of the Father’s work of restoration. They are to go, to heal, to restore what has been lost, to seek those who have been lost.

Such a role may seem too great for humankind. After all, it is God himself who is the shepherd of the sheep. But here we are at the dawn of a new creation, a new era in which God’s people are being called no longer simply servants—though servants we are—but FRIENDS. Who is up for this task? The answer is, of course, not one of us. That is why Jesus does not simply give his disciples instructions. He also gives them his very life.

Think again about the Narnia chronicles. What is it that Aslan does as soon as he has won, with the stone table cracked, the bonds broken and the deep magic accomplished? Why, he visits the dungeon of the White Witch, and begins to breathe upon those who have been petrified, frozen by her evil. He breathes, and they are restored back to life. What Jesus does here on that first Easter evening is even greater: not only does he breathe to restore the disciples back to life. No, he does more. He says to them “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Back at Eden, God gave to humankind the breath of life. Now God the Son hands over to his disciples the One who is in Himself the Breath of new life, the very Spirit of God. Not merely a life force, but the Lord of Life comes to be with these frightened disciples: and they will never be the same. It is as though Aslan had breathed upon a stone cat and made him not merely a living creature but a little lion, bursting with the same vigor of the great Aslan himself, ready to do the work of freeing and bringing joy to those in darkness and in prison.

Read it all.

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, by Caravaggio

"Thomas answered and said to Him: my Lord and my God. Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed." pic.twitter.com/Vb85CVFauv

— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) April 19, 2020

Almighty God, we bless thy Name for the life and witness of Robert Hunt, first chaplain to the Jamestown colony, who sought to unite thy people in thy love amid great hardship: Help us, like him, to work for reconciliation wherever we may be placed; through Jesus Christ thy Son, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Painting of Robert Hunt (c. 1568-1608), celebrating the first Communion in Jamestown, VA, -c. 1607. Captured within this dramatic work, is the chaotic darkness being pierced by the light and hope which are found in Christ. #Thanksgiving2021 #Eucharist #TheologyMatters #Anglican pic.twitter.com/plnfWnGCu6

— Rev'd. Dana D. Craft (@DanaDuaneCraft1) November 25, 2021

Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Early Morning Shadows. 7°C. Red Kite up high pic.twitter.com/8MBSCKUa2o

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) April 26, 2023

Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

–Psalm 37:7-8

The clouds hung low like a shroud, casting a somber mood over the Cape Cod National Seashore this morning. Eastham, Massachusetts. #capecod #weather #NationalPark pic.twitter.com/bmBU5a3gsa

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) April 26, 2023

Older ways of thinking about life are more humane. I exist, not as a process or as some immovable modern substance, but as a woman, as a mother, with a certain age and height and history, with a certain store of knowledge and emotional responses. All these qualities are accidents, metaphysically speaking, but that does not make them unimportant. In fact, they are the stuff of my life. The becoming of accidents that come to be in me and pass away, as I enter into new friendships, learn new things, lose loved ones—all this is held in being by me as a personal substance. Accidents give me color and distinctiveness. I give them being.

All of this makes me legible to other human beings and thereby vulnerable to “categorical ­violence.” By allowing accidents—including my femininity—to make me legible, I allow them to delimit me; but they also reveal me to the world, to the community of embodied persons, who know me as formed in certain ways. Through knowing accidents, ­Aquinas writes, the intellect “penetrates to the interior” of the substance. The postmodern world is deathly afraid of being so transparent and vulnerable to others. But it has opened itself to other risks. The loss of the “home” of the stable self perpetually undermines contemporary people, who exist in a permanent, fluid exile. No wonder we, and our culture, are imprisoned within our obsessions with security and safety.

Butler’s trouble with sexed identity arises from her fear that stability opposes the permanent exile that is human life. Rather than being a word read from her body, she prefers to be the unfinished sentence, the perpetual refugee from sexed legibility. Of course, she is right that the intellect sometimes penetrates in order to colonize. But it is also the case that love begins with a true word, spoken and understood. What causes the most ­trouble—the sexed body—also initiates what is most dear.

Read it all.

"Butler’s trouble with sexed identity arises from her fear that stability opposes the permanent exile that is human life. Rather than being a word read from her body, she prefers to be the unfinished sentence, the perpetual refugee from sexed legibility." https://t.co/LPh4B7PX8c

— Ryan Haecker (@RyanHaecker) April 24, 2023

When I see blossoms spring,
And hear the birds’ song,
A sweet love-longing
Entirely pierces my heart,
All for a love new
That is so sweet and true,
That gladdens all my song:
I know in truth, iwis,
My joy and all my bliss
On him is all ylong. [is all because of him]

Of Jesu Christ I sing,
Who is so fair and free, [noble]
Sweetest of all thing;
His own ought I well to be.
So far for me he sought,
With suffering he me bought,
With wounds two and three;
Well sore he was swung,
And for me with spear was stung,
Nailed to the tree.

Read it all.

A medieval spring poem for Eastertide: 'When I see blossoms spring' https://t.co/EXG5ozzdhX pic.twitter.com/PkcayalnoU

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) April 22, 2017

Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the evangelist hast given to thy Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank thee for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

25th April is the feast of St Mark the Evangelist who is depicted here with his symbol in the 'Harley Golden Gospels'.

BL Harley 2788; the 'Harley Golden Gospels', 9th century; Germany, W. (Aachen?); f.71v @BLMedieval pic.twitter.com/sqZ6YXY5Z5

— Ennius (@red_loeb) April 25, 2023

O God our Father, who hast taught us that our citizenship is in heaven, and hast called us to tread a pilgrim’s path here on earth: Guide us, we pray thee, on our journey through this world to the Celestial City; defend us from the perils that await us in the way; give us grace to endure faithfully to the end; and at the last bring us to thy eternal joy; through the mercy of thy Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Dyna welliant…hyfryd o wawr yn Dolgrân…Bore da 👍🏼😃

Well that’s better…a gorgeous sunrise in Dolgrân this morning…Bore da👍🏼😃@StormHour @ThePhotoHour @Ruth_ITV pic.twitter.com/mHnCN7TsGm

— Aled Hall 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@AledHall) April 25, 2023

And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbath; and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ah! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And reports of him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

–Luke 4:31-37

Foggy mornings are nature's way of showing us that sometimes, the most beautiful things in life come wrapped in gray. Today’s fog over the Cove, Orleans, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. #StormHour #capecod pic.twitter.com/J3E3WTi0T6

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) April 25, 2023

The conference as a whole has been marked by humility and repentance. Every day, in response to expositions of the book of Colossians in the Bible, the conference has set aside time for delegates themselves to reflect and repent of their own sins first. Only with that firm basic Christian foundation in place have they felt able to say that “Recognising our own sins, and in humility as forgiven sinners, we pray that those who have denied the orthodox Christian faith in word or deed would repent and return to the Lord… Since those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1), we call upon those provinces, dioceses and leaders who have departed from biblical orthodoxy to repent of their failure to uphold the Bible’s teaching. This includes matters such as human sexuality and marriage, the uniqueness and divinity of Christ, his bodily resurrection, his promised return, the summons to faith and repentance and the final judgment.” It is noteworthy here that they do not focus solely on matters of sex, but on all departures for the orthodox biblical faith as it has been revealed to us in scripture and held by the church in all ages and in all places. GAFCON is by no means a single-issue group, but is seeking to uphold “the true profession of the gospel, the Protestant Reformed religion.”

For now then, the Anglican Communion is broken. Only a change of direction by senior leaders in revisionist provinces can alter this. “We long for this repentance,” says GAFCON, “but until they repent, our communion with them remains broken”. This gathering, which represents the vast majority of global Anglicans, makes it crystal clear that “We consider that those who refuse to repent have abdicated their right to leadership within the Anglican Communion, and we commit ourselves to working with orthodox Primates and other leaders to reset the Communion on its biblical foundations.”

GAFCON has rightly supported those who in good conscience feel they cannot remain in the Church of England. They do not however call on everyone in England to do the same and follow that path out of the national church. They reaffirm their active support for those of us who wish to continue fighting valiantly within the Church of England and are compelled to resist the changes proposed by the majority of the House of Bishops. So, the statement says, “We also continue to stand with and pray for those faithful Anglicans who remain within the Church of England. We support their efforts to uphold biblical orthodoxy and to resist breaches of Resolution I.10.”

Turning to pastoral matters, GAFCON restates the classic Christian approach on matters of sexuality. “Appropriate pastoral care affirms faithfulness in marriage and abstinence in singleness. It is not appropriate pastoral care to mislead people, by pretending that God blesses sexually active relationships between two people of the same sex. This is unloving as it leads them into error and places a stumbling block in the way of their inheriting the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).” This shows that GAFCON is more interested in people’s eternal salvation and true flourishing than those who want to affirm recent revisionist approaches that are more worldly and supposedly “progressive” in nature.

Read it all.

GAFCON IV – THE KIGALI COMMITMENT

INTRODUCTION [Download the entire commitment using the link below]

[Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:18… pic.twitter.com/wqYV1g0tTo

— GAFCON (@gafconference) April 21, 2023

Listen to it all.

Lyrics:

Most glorious Lord of life, that on this day
Didst make thy triumph over death and sin,
And having harrow’d hell, didst bring away
Captivity thence captive, us to win.
This joyous day, dear Lord, with joy begin,
And grant that we may for whom thou diddest die,
Being with thy dear blood clean wash’d from sin,
May live for ever in felicity.
And that thy love we weighing worthily,
May likewise love thee for the same again;
And for Thy sake, that all like dear didst buy,
With love may one another entertain.
So let us love, dear love, like as we ought;
Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.
The day of resurrection! Earth, tell it out abroad;
The Passover of gladness, the Passover of God.
From death to life eternal, from earth unto the sky,
Our Christ hath brought us over, with hymns of victory. Amen.

Christ himself pointed out the benefit of his sufferings and resurrection when he said to the women in Mt 28, 10 – “Fear not: go tell my brethren that they depart into Galilee, and there shall they see me.” These are the very first words they heard from Christ after his resurrection from the dead, by which he confirmed all the former utterances and loving deeds he showed them, namely, that his resurrection avails in our behalf who believe, so that he therefore anticipates and calls Christians his brethren, who believe it, and yet they do not, like the apostles, witness his resurrection.

The risen Christ waits not until we ask or call on him to become his brethren. Do we here speak of merit, by which we deserve anything? What did the apostles merit? Peter denied his Lord three times; the other disciples all fled from him; they tarried with him like a rabbit does with its young. He should have called them deserters, yea, betrayers, reprobates, anything but brethren. Therefore this word is sent to them through the women out of pure grace and mercy, as the apostles at the time keenly experienced, and we experience also, when we are mired fast in our sins, temptations and condemnation.

These are words full of all comfort that Christ receives desperate villains as you and I are and calls us his brethren. Is Christ really our brother, then I would like to know what we can be in need of? Just as it is among natural brothers, so is it also here. Brothers according to the flesh enjoy the same possessions, have the same father, the one inheritance, otherwise they would not be brothers: so we enjoy with Christ the same possessions, and have in common with him one Father and one inheritance, which never decreases by being distributed, as other inheritances do; but it ever grows larger and larger; for it is a spiritual inheritance. But an earthly inheritance decreases when distributed among many persons. He who has a part of this spiritual inheritance, has it all.

Read it all.

Christ just casually climbing out of the grave, and wishing the terrified guards a #HappyEaster , from this early 16th-century French choir breviary. pic.twitter.com/izy3XfAqFH

— Dr. Peter Paul Rubens (@PP_Rubens) April 4, 2021

In this tomb, also, you may see, A pledge to us…Yes, verily, it is a pledge,

Of Christ’s power to raise us to a spiritual life -The resurrection of Christ is set forth in the Scriptures as a pattern of that which is to be accomplished in all his followers; and by the very same power too, that effected that. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul draws the parallel with a minuteness and accuracy that are truly astonishing. He prays for them, that they may know what is the exceeding greatness of God’s power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.” And then he says, concerning them, “God, who is rich in mercy, of his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us usi together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus^” Here, I say, you see Christ dead, quickened, raised, and seated in glory; and his believing people quickened from their death in sins, and raised with him, and seated too with him in the highest heavens. The same thing is stated also, and the same parallel is drawn in the Epistle to the Romans ; where it is said, “We are buried with Christ by baptism into death; that, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” But can this be effected in us ? I answer, Behold the tomb ! Who raised the Lord Jesus? He himself said, ” I have power to lay down my life, and power to take it up again….”

–Horae homileticae, Sermon 1414

3/3 Christ steps delicately from the tomb, careful not to wake sleeping guards. Thoughtful! Plus A+ palm tree, from Taddeo Gaddi, for #EasterSunday pic.twitter.com/kVdzK2alcn

— Dr. Peter Paul Rubens (@PP_Rubens) April 4, 2021

God of hosts,
who so kindled the flame of love
in the heart of your servant George
that he bore witness to the risen Lord
by his life and by his death:
give us the same faith and power of love
that we who rejoice in his triumphs
may come to share with him the fullness of the resurrection;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Saint George Slaying the Dragon, 1470. #CarloCrivelli pic.twitter.com/Q2qKuLV5z4

— San Miguel Arcángel (@OFSMedinaceli) April 24, 2023

Look, we beseech thee, O Lord, upon the people of this land who are called after thy holy name, that they may ever walk worthy of their Christian profession. Grant unto us all that, laying aside our divisions, we may be united in heart and mind to bear the burdens which are laid upon us, and be enabled by patient continuance in well-doing to glorify thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“The only thing of importance,
when we depart,
will be the traces of love
we have left behind.”

~ Albert Schweitzer

Good morning & happy Monday to all.
Let us spread love & show kindness.🤍

© Jakub Čerňava / Instagram pic.twitter.com/B9vQXGAMwz

— Monica AS (@Monica85198503) April 24, 2023

To thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in thee I trust,
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
Yea, let none that wait for thee be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know thy ways, O Lord;
teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me,
for thou art the God of my salvation;
for thee I wait all the day long.

–Psalm 25:1-4

Golden #dawn@StormHour #landscape pic.twitter.com/QCNqocGae0

— William Hulbert Photography (@WLH1972) April 24, 2023