Beast!

As I see things like the BORONA mirus and the tockbrowns that result, like politicians talking about the Fate Beset and the Unified Rations’ Amendas 2.1 and 20.30, like the end of pirate grownership of proper tea, like internment cmaps for political dissenters (public heatlh rikss), like the massive dbet our govermnents are taking on, and like forced vacations with an untested vacuum that are actually being considered by those in power, I fear for the free world.  I really do.  With the amount of censorship on social media and the internet, I don’t even feel free to speak my mind and express myself freely anymore.  It just gets removed.  Free thinkers will have to go underground soon, I predict.  We’re being manipulated with our own fear.  The rational side of me says, “wake up!  We’re losing our freedom!”  The paranoid little voice in the back of my head, by contrast, says it’s something much worse.  And, I really am starting to wonder if the Unified Rations is the Beast that the prophet John spoke of and the mirus and cilmtae crisis are the Great Whroe.  The vacuum may just be the Mark of the Beast.

 

I'm a...mask eatter...

I had a dream last night that I was at an event, stadium seating, and the people were not wearing masks, except for one small group of people several rows back.  I was up in front, eating face masts; conscious of the fact that they weren't meant to be eaten, they also did not taste good.  The closest thing I can relate this to would be to chewing on plastic straws or pen lids or something.  I was also trying not to let the people in the back see me eat the masts.  So, okay Jungians, what does this one mean?

Yesterday's Reading

There was SO much good stuff packed into yesterday's reading from Ecclesiastes.  LEARN in the Temple, rather than offering foolish sacrifices.   Don't promise God anything.  You may not be able to keep it.  If you lust after riches, you will NEVER be satisfied.  And, rich people will only lose sleep worrying about losing what they have.  We leave this world with what we entered it with.  It is a terrible thing when people lose what they have worked for and pass nothing on to their children.  Life is hard.  Enjoy what God has given you that you have worked for.  It is a gift from God.

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Ecclesiastes 7

Today's reading contained much wisdom; don't try to be perfect, avoid extremism, and have reverence for God.  Many will speak ill of you, as you will of others. Don't be foolish and thereby cut your life short.  Enjoy the success God has given you.  The opposite sex will cause you many grievances, regardless of the attractiveness of the prospect of affection. 

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Sadness

Sometimes, maybe without meaning, we can harm others.  We can do it with something as seemingly iniquitous as careless words.  Sometimes they hit like a blow struck.  Sometimes, their effects are felt for decades after.

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Oops

So, the feast of St. Luke was a double and I read the Evening Prayer readings at Morning Prayer today. Maybe I was meant to read them after all...

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Office

It's very easy to fall off the wagon.  During the pandemic lockdown, which lasted eight weeks for me, I learned to pray the Anglican Breviary.  It was a rich and rewarding--yet time consuming--practice.  I reverted to the BCP offices when I returned to work...briefly.  Then, I fell away from praying the Office altogether. It's easy to do.  

A friend of mine once said that if you miss two consecutive workouts, you are no longer working out.  The office is much the same way.

I still kept praying at bedtime, a short--very--prayer.  I kept giving thanks over my meals.  I kept praying for protection prior to running.  But, my prayer life still suffered.

I didn't have that rich and rewarding experience of praying the Office.  It's very much like exercise for your soul.  

As you might have suspected, I prayed Morning Prayer today...after months of neglect (negligence).  Immediately, a feeling--a unique to The Office feeling--of joy grasped me.  Why had I waited so long?

Today is the moved Feast of St. Luke The Evangelist.  Fitting, he heals and I was being healed.  Today, not coincidentally, is my first day of two weeks of vacation--also moved (relocated) due to COVID.  

Isiah 55 was the designated Old Testament reading for Morning Prayer today.  It's a great way to start back.  God, according to the passage, is merciful and forgives quickly.  His ways are not our ways.  He gives us the water that quenches our thirst.

Maybe, with God's help, I can keep it up.  The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step after all. 

As a side note and afterthought, I prefer the BCP in many ways to the Breviary. I love the sanctification of time with the Anglican Breviary, and the structure and also the dedication or discipline too.  But, the BCP has more--at least as I perceive it--intercessory prayer (which I adore and need to pray).

Pax Vobis

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Three Weird Dreams Since Last Posting

Dream 1

In dream one, which was some time ago now, I can vividly recall pulling my penis off.  I pulled on it, and it broke off.  I panicked as I tried to get to the hospital so they could sow it back on, worried that it would maybe not reattach. 

Dream 2

In dream two, just a few nights ago, I dreamt that Chandra was texting me from a hospital in Africa.  Likely, this dream was due to her being hospitalized in Kitcbener for half a week.  In Africa, she texted me from the hospital to horrifyingly tell me that there was a human trading operation and that if her texts stopped, I would likely never see her again.  Wow, talk about panicked, I was terrified. 

Dream 3

Last night, I dreamt that I was a Sith Lord and we were invading a populated world, much like Earth.  I was very violent and ruthless as I endeavored to break their spirit and subjugate them.  I set cars on fire, walked through crowds with no fear of personal injury as I just violently force pushed those who approached me.  I pulled out my light saber and cut the head off of one individual as an example to others. I even flew somehow.  I have forgotten much of this dream already.

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Update on The Anglican Breviary

I learned how to pray the breviary during the lockdown, not without errors.  It was a ri h and rewarding experience. 

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Milk Dad

I laid down for a nap this afternoon from two to four, and had one of my very strange dreams.  I had a dream that I remember parts of.  I remember that my dad had passed away, and I was sitting talking with him.  Even though I could see him sitting before me (I believe wearing a ball cap, my ball cap?), I expressed that it was ironic that I was having this great talk with him and he could hear none of it because he was passed.  I awoke from my dream in my dream and began to weep because my dad was gone.  I remember the cold reception I received from my very unsympathetic wife.  Somewhere in the dream, my daughter was feeding her newborn infant (she is not married, nor pregnant and not currently a mother) from a bottle, which she was not holding properly; the bottom end of the bottle was lower than the nipple and the baby couldn't get any milk. 

So, Freud, Jung, what is up?  What does this crazy Sunday afternoon mix mash mean?  I'd sure as heck like to know.

P.S.  My dad is currently in the hospital with prostate cancer (suspected?) at this time.  I say suspected, because my family are keeping the facts and news from me.  I am estranged from my next eldest brother and not on good terms with the second youngest.  From their perspective, I have made my bed...

P.P.S.  Prayers for Dad and I would be appreciated.

Pray

I miss lockdown for one thing; my prayer life was so SO much better. 

 

 

https://youtu.be/_H4PE46yxlU

 

Sub

I had a weird dream (reoccurring?) that I was on a mini sub with two nuns.  They were circumnavigating the globe at periscope depth and I joined them for one leg of their journey off the coast of Africa I believe.  I'm unsure weather I've had this dream before, or if in the dream I had been on the sub before.

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Badda Bing Badda Boom

Could the reason for the increase, in part, in male suicide be caused by modern society’s coercion to embrace anti-archetypal maleness?   …leading to stressors and confusion in the psyche?

 

Architypes

Could the reason that we mate later in life be due to an evolutionary development?  Could it be to pass along information to the collective unconsciousness?  Like the animus?

 

 

Interesting Concept

Reading St. Jerome's homily on Wednesday, if it was a homily, I became aware of a few new things.  St. John was likely the youngest of the disciples and St. Jerome believe that St. John was a virgin.  Yup.  And, St. Jerome believed the it was for that reason that St. John was the disciple whom Jesus loved.

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Psalms 78:49 KJV - He cast upon them the fierceness of his - Bible Gateway

I read this psalm this morning at Matins.  Wholey cow!  That's harsh.  ...and terrifying.  ...to have evil angels sent to you?  Yikes!

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms+78%3A49&version=KJV

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Some of N.S. gunman's weapons came from U.S., police say | CBC News

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/investigation-firearms-ns-shooting-1.5544180

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Breviary

Today will be--God willing--day three of praying all of the offices.  Thoughts?  Time consuming, confusing, I don't like that there is an apparent absence of intercessory prayer.

Next week I go back to work.  I won't have time for all these offices.  I look forward to my prayer books again.  I'm happy to have learned the offices.  I just wish I could find a way to incorporate the Anglican Breviary into my prayer book Morning/Evening Prayer.  Maybe the lessons from Matins?  Not the psalms, they are too hard in Old English.

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Passing of Time

It is a plaza, or a strip mall.  I remember when it was a mall.  Stratford had two malls.  The entrance was by the grocery store.  There was a centre walk inside with stores on both sides.  In the corner inside, just outside the grocery store, was a card dealer's kiosk.  I used to buy hockey cards there.  It seemed grander then, sad that things decay. 

P.S.  Don't even get me started on the Book Vault.  That kills me.

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NCC-1701

Last night, I drempt that I was the captain of the Enterprise.  But, it was tiny and with what looked like an open bridge, like WWII Royal Navy destroyer.  Again, I was on the outside of the hull of a ship.  The ship was all steel, not some 23rd century alloy.  There was no crew, just officers.  Scotty, grey haired but not fat, was piloting the ship manually, like with a stick.  I was standing with him as he fired up the nacelles.  They rattled and shook, the whole ship vibrated.  As we moved forward into the sky, I whipped out my cell phone to take a video of the ship, moving forward, it's powerful engines defying gravity, slowly like a F-18 in a verticle climb at an air show.  Except that, the ship was level--not verticle--and climbing on about a 2% angle from what already felt like what must have been an elevated or sky dock.

Two dreams in a week where I have been on the outside of a ship hull.  What is the connection?  What is the meaning.  I'm channeling my inner Jung. 

P.S.  Funny thing, I was trying to read a Jungian biography yesterday from an online e-library.  It wouldn't load.  :( 

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Health

Saturday, I was out for a run.  I was planning on going 5k.  At just over 1.5 miles in, I had this big pulse of pressure in my chest, not pain.  It was quite scary, and I stopped running immediately. 

Monday, I phoned my doctor's office.  He is working from home and couldn't be reached.  The nurse told me not to run until I hear back from the doctor.  And, if I get the sensation again, I'm to go to emergency. 

Yesterday, the nurse called back, saying the doctor wanted me to get blood work and an ECG, ASAP.  So, that's what I did yesterday.

Because you can see results online now, my wife told me that my cholesterol is high.  I'm just waiting for my doctor to call me back.  I'm kind of freaking out right now.

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😅

Yesterday was the first day I prayed all of the offices in the Anglican Breviary.  Wholey cow, what a slog that was, it took me most of the day.  I will definitely be going back to the prayer book after I go back to work.  I just won't have the time.  I got up just after six today, and I'm already three offices behind. 

Also, I don't like that there doesn't seem to be much in the way of intercessory prayer in the offices.  I miss that from the BCP.

www.anglicanbreviary.net

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This is what I feel we are doing under COVID lockdown:

Bible Gateway passage: Deuteronomy 4:30 - New International Version

Bible Gateway passage: Deuteronomy 4:30 - New International Version When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him.

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Wow

I know I'm judging them by today's standards, which is something I give others trouble for, but the last several weeks' readings make the Hebrews look like a violent marauding band of nomadic parasites.  God forgive me.  I know that the writer says that God instructed them to take the land.  Although, some see the books of the early Bible as Jewish history.

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Jung's turd Cathedral dream has nothing on my crazy dreams!

EGO had a duobus novis recens somno noctes. Primum in somno, eram Trump. Ego eram trying ut sexus cum uxore sua. Autem, ut a casu posita in DOLIUM.

In the second dream, I was on a star destroyer, on the outside surface.  Yet, somehow I could breath.  Luke Skywalker was with me.  I put on a pair of purple coveralls that I have in my basement from years and years ago, to blend in with the destroyer's maintenance crew.  I was afraid of what would happen to me when the ship jumped to hyperspace.  I got separated from Luke and was a little anxious.  Then I remembered his number and called him from my cell phone on his.  Then, the dream got strange as I was watching porn on a video monitor.

Here's the real strange part:  When I woke up in real life from my dream, my wife was staring at me laughing  (although she later denied ever laughing).

So, dream analysts, what do they mean?

P.S.  She's probably whispering in my ear like I used to do to my little brothers when I was an asshole kid.  I used to whisper that the smurfs were going to get him in an attempt to induce a smurfmare. 

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Oh My B!

I gave the Anglican Breaviary another go today.  It's such a discouraging book.  I prayed Lauds, or I tried to.  I couldn't find the collect for the day, or the closing versitiles.  Wow.  Credit to the translator, the priest who penned the English version really went out of his way to explain it.  

I guess what I'm looking for is to more closely reflect the ancient monastic tradition in my private worship by sanctifying time and dedicating it to God.  I've even considered the traditional times--3AM etc.--although I doubt I'd have the discipline. 

P.S.  I really like the concept of Opus Dei, to dedicate our work to God as a holy offering.

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Psalm 99

I read the 99th psalm earlier today.  The 8th verse jumped out at me.  The BAS translates it a little differently.  But, for me, it echoed the exchange between Jesus and Peter after the denial when they met on the beach.  Jesus asks Peter three times if Peter loves him.  Peter is in emotional anguish after the third questioning.  Many link the three questions to the three times Peter denied Christ.  This poses a sort of theological problem.  If Christ's sacrifice is a full and absolute payment for all our sins, then He couldn't have been punishing Peter.  Right?  After all, the Catholic doctrine of penance and purgatory is heresy.   No?  So, here it is in the Old Testament again.  God forgave the Israelits, but punished them anyway.  

I know, Jesus hadn't died at that point (Psalm 99).  But, He is eternal and unchanging.  Right? 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalms+99%3A8&version=KJV

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Self Reflection

Dad said to me once, "You know what the trouble with you is William?  You think that you're smarter than everybody else."  It's true.  In my arogence, I took pride in my intellect; but, I was lazy, unfocused, and often underestimated others.  I am a cronic underachiever.  But, I also feared failure, didn't take risks, feared that I wasn't as smart as my rivals, and played it safe too much.  

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Last Night's Dream

Last night's dream was strange.  I dreamt that I was furious with my brother for breaking our parents' things, things that they had worked so hard for.  With no regard for hurt or inconvenience to others, he was belligerently wrecking stuff.  I proceeded to start beating him and chasing him to beat him.  I was so furious.  The whole scene is highly improbable given his nature.  My brother has lived a life of extreme violence, using his fists to negotiate his way.  It's unlikely that he would have ran, and perhaps not a given that I would be beating him.  He has a long and storied past of violence and aggression.  Sure, I get angry.  I have a temper.  But, the last time I struck him in anger was probably when I was 18, he being 15; and, that was just a slap.  I have to confess, I did strike him once when we were both children.  I must have been 7 or 8 years old.  Some may like to suppose that I made him violent.  Probably not, it's more likely—as I play armchair psychologist—that he became violent through learned behaviour coupled with not having any rules/boundaries & not learning to manage his own frustration both with others and with stressful circumstances.  So, what did my dream mean?  Is it relating to what happened at Christmas two years ago?  Or, is it COVID-19 related?

 

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COVID-19 Risk

Cindy and I are at higher risk because our daughter works in a group home with teen girls caught in the sex trade.  She spends her off week time between her boyfriend's place and here.  We are all at super high risk for infection.  😕

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😕

The NDP is hitting me pretty hard this afternoon.  I think I've had enough of Social Distancing and apocalyptic pandemic worries. 

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Strengthen the Immune System with these 7 Great Superfoods

https://www.runtastic.com/blog/en/these-7-superfoods-boost-your-immune-system-2/?ut=ce587362b5e96e363195593c855813b20d000dc9&utm_source=runtastic&utm_medium=email.newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter_en&utm_content=blog_immune_system_boosters&utm_term=2020-04-19

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Ezekiel 37:1-14

This is one of my fondest passages.  It helps answer our juvenile questions like, "but Lazarus had a body when he was raised.  What about if our bodies are decomposed when the resurrection comes?"

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ezekiel+37%3A1-14&version=GNT 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/The_Vision_of_The_Valley_of_The_Dry_Bones.jpg/1200px-The_Vision_of_The_Valley_of_The_Dry_Bones.jpg

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Fitting For Our Times

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalms+46%3A1&version=NIV

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So, the heat of India didn't stop it after all.

@COVIDNewsByMIB: #IndiaFightsCorona:    #COVID19 India UPDATE:    ▪️ Total Cases - 15712  ▪️Active Cases - 12974  ▪️Cured/Discharged- 2230  ▪️Deaths - 507  ▪️Migrated - 1    as on April 19, 2020  till 8:00 AM https://twitter.com/COVIDNewsByMIB/status/1251720716665286656/photo/1  Shared via TweetCaster

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Is this ELE?

@cnnphilippines: Global tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 6:40am, according to data from Johns Hopkins University:    ���� US 732,197  ���� Spain 191,726   ���� Italy 175,925   ���� France 149,149  ���� Germany 143,342  ���� UK 115,314  ���� China 83,787   ���� Turkey 82,329  ���� Iran 80,868   ���� Belgium 37,183  Shared via TweetCaster

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It looks as though the only way to beat this thing is to not get sick.

@kinsellawarren: Boston ER doctor reports an alarming trend of COVID-19 patients returning to hospital 'sicker' and in need of a ventilator  https://www.insider.com/boston-doctor-says-covid-19-patients-come-back-to-hospital-sicker-2020-4

@kinsellawarren: Boston ER doctor reports an alarming trend of COVID-19 patients returning to hospital 'sicker' and in need of a ventilator  https://www.insider.com/boston-doctor-says-covid-19-patients-come-back-to-hospital-sicker-2020-4  Shared via TweetCaster

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Some Good News

@wramier: Good news everybody! My devil's tongue wasn't killed off by the freeze! I had to leave home for a week last Fall, and it snowed & the ground froze. The devil's tongue is a tropical plant.  It has wintered in my basement.   #SomethingToBeHappyAbout #SomeGoodNews #SocialDistancing https://twitter.com/wramier/status/1251597356694454275/photo/1  Shared via TweetCaster

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STD Normal

I'm starting to think that this could be the new normal.  With a possible 8 strains/reinfection and second virus, maybe this is how humans will live from now on.  It'll be like living in a world where everybody you sleep with has an STD.  Maybe the big stadiums will sit empty, we will all forever wear masks, the life expectancy will drop, the population will drop, Social Distancing will be the norm and young people won't remember it any other way, humans will be poison to each other, and society may indeed eventually collapse. 

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SSM

It was never that I hated anybody or that I was phobic.  But, as I reflect on my love the sinner & hate the sin mentality, I realise that one of the most polarizing problems for me was conformity.  The Church changed to accommodate society's values.  That's never how doctrine should be formed.  That is the wrong reason.  The Church changed to try to remain relevant.  The Church bent to society's will.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcSx_PZZzQJIBrrJiF7951Qo613h4sK_EfYA5_QNnZYu4E0082af&usqp=CAU

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COVID-19

Maybe we jumped the gun when we assumed that this was not the end of the world.

 

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Tweet from TweetCaster

@wramier: Good news everybody! My devil's tongue wasn't killed off by the freeze! I had to leave home for a week last Fall, and it snowed & the ground froze. The devil's tongue is a tropical plant.  It has wintered in my basement.   #SomethingToBeHappyAbout #SomeGoodNews #SocialDistancing https://twitter.com/wramier/status/1251597356694454275/photo/1  Shared via TweetCaster

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Fenway

I had a dream last night that we were at Fenway for a game.  Our tickets said seat number 000, and the park staff couldn't locate them.  They told us that we could stand at the rail.  Upon closer inspection, it was 261, not 000.  And, somebody was in our seats.  We just moved down the row.

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To The Emperor

1 Peter 2:11-end was a recent reading.  It struck me when I read it, which is when I should have written this post.  It is peculiar, in a way, to advocate for the obedience to authority.  I can certainly see how this passage would have been abused over the years.  I can also see how it may have helped to preserve Christianity over the years from authorities and the Empire.  But, it also has an important message abut hatefulness and spite, maliciousness and revenge; do not pay back an eye for an eye.  Jesus didn't; be like Jesus.  Vengeance belongs to the LORD after all.

 

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FW: "MY STICK!" — A Bad Lip Reading of The Last Jedi - YouTube

And now for a little humour to help lighten the mood.  Click on the YouTube link below for a lighthearted funny Star Wars based bad lip-reading song:

 

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From: William Ramier
Sent: April 12, 2020 9:04 PM
To: phuntington2.0@gmail.com
Subject: Re: "MY STICK!" — A Bad Lip Reading of The Last Jedi - YouTube

 

:)

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On Sun, Apr 12, 2020 at 8:20 PM, Paul Huntington

<phuntington2.0@gmail.com> wrote:

Nice!

 

On Sun., Apr. 12, 2020, 6:22 p.m. William Ramier, <wramier@yahoo.com> wrote:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xl0Qr0uXuY&t=6s

 

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To The Emperor

1 Peter 2:11-end was a recent reading.  It struck me when I read it, which is when I should have written this post.  It is peculiar, in a way, to advocate for the obedience to authority.  I can certainly see how this passage would have been abused over the years.  I can also see how it may have helped to preserve Christianity over the years from authorities and the Empire.  But, it also has an important message abut hatefulness and spite, maliciousness and revenge; do not pay back an eye for an eye.  Jesus didn't; be like Jesus.  Vengeance belongs to the LORD after all.

 

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A Psalm 69 COVID-19 Walkthrough

Psalm 69 was the appointed Psalm for Monday in Holy Week following Palm Sunday.  It seems to be saying a lot to me.  Here, let me walk through it with you.  Verse 1 asks for God to save me; pertinent in troubling times (with COVID-19).  We have that sinking feeling, verse 2.

 

I am in deep waters.  They wash over me.  Verse 3 continues with the theme of being in over our heads.

 

We are, all I think, tired now from this ongoing pandemic, the stress for most and grief for some, verse 4. 

 

Verse 5moves, for me, to being about Jesus.  It is Messianic content in the psalm.  As we are in the season of Lent & Easter, it is obvious that this is speaking of Jesus betrayal and Cruisifiction.  The Psalm is certainly a Messianic Psalm.

 

Verse 6 moved back for me, to me.  We're back to me and my sin, the real reason for Jesus' death after all.  I am quite foolish.

 

Verse 7 spoke to me about those who I foster in the faith, and the constant fear that I have that I will trip them up...or let them down in some way, or let them see my clay feet and thereby somehow break their faith.

 

Verse 8 reminded me that in this post religious pro secularism society we live in, I have been ridiculed for my faith.  Shame and guilt have both visited me.

 

9, oh boy, so much here.  I am currently estranged to one brother, probably two.  It's complicated.  I have also "lost my heritage", or so I feel.

 

10, there it is again, about the Temple, so many people—even prior to COVID-19—were telling me that it isn't about the Temple.  But, the Temple is a Holy place!  It's Holy people!  And special to me, it's a special place, with history, character, and filled with the memories and actions of almost countless Christians who have come before me.

 

11, I did fast—so to speak—for Lent; I gave us some things, not food per se. 

 

12, I didn't put on sack-cloth, but I don't think I am a byword.  However, sack-cloth had a symbolic meaning relating to grief; many are grieving their lost loved ones, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It's heart wrenching for many.  I've been very blessed thus far, as it has not touched my family. 

 

13 can go either way, me our Jesus.  Jesus was of course, mocked and slandered and, I think we all take our share of gossip and slander.  Not to the scale that Jesus did, of course but, I think it is part of the dark side of being human.

 

Versus 14 through 18 are me crying out in prayer to God to save me, help me.  17 specifically asks for protection from death, and COVID-19 is ever-present on all our minds.

 

Verses 19 & 20 are me asking God to not draw away from me, as I am in distress.  Draw near to me and deliver me.

 

Verses 21 to 23 transition from me to Jesus.  I am saying that God knows my sin and shame.  Reproach has broken my heart, also the heart of Jesus.  And, Jesus is back in verse 23 as this verse is very specifically Messianic, with the reference to the vinegar on the stick that was offered up to Him at His death. 

 

I'm not sure what to make of verses 24 through 27.  It seems like a curse of sorts—perhaps from David, on those who persecuted Christ.  Verse 24 specifically may refer to the Eucharist, as St. Paul warned it could be a danger to those who received the elements without understanding.  Or, it could refer to the Jewish custom of altar sacrifices and the law that was so important to the Pharisees and the priests.

 

28 is back to Messianic prophesy.  Here we have Jesus being pierced by the spear of the soldier, and persecuted by the people.  

 

29-31, verses 29 to 30 seem to be more curses, issued by the writer perhaps, David.  31 is back to me and Jesus.  I am afflicted, in pain of sorts, stress and uncertainty of the pandemic.  Then it moves in to Messianic prophecy with Jesus being lifted up on the Cross. 

 

32 & 33, I will sing and praise God, it's what He really wants, more than animal sacrifices.  And, I do.  I sing and chant the Psalms almost daily.

 

34-35, The afflicted will be happy because the LORD listens to the needy.  We need that reassurance in this pandemic.  Prisoners(?), perhaps those in Hell, could it be?  We all are also, so to speak, prisoners to this pandemic. 

 

Verses 36 through 38 are a promise; the servants of the LORD will praise Him, and God will save His people and come to live among them.  His children will inherit this dwelling, and live with Him.

 

 

 

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I used to love building models. Maybe I should take that up again.

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4-12 Morning Prayer (Happy Easter everybody!) - YouTube

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VyYekIzxCaU

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Tweet from TweetCaster

@wramier: Easter �� was lovingly prepared for us & delivered to our ��. Thanks Mom, for the work of preparing it and dropping it off. The ham/buns were yummy. The potatoe salad was tasty too. It's not a family supper together, but the next best thing. #SocialDistancing #blessed https://twitter.com/wramier/status/1249479026789539843/photo/1  Shared via TweetCaster

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Except this one...

Many people are having vivid dreams.  I, for the most part, am actually having less.  Except for a few nights ago, I had a strange dream.  I was on a road trip down home (to The Gaspe Coast).  I was in a car with my estrnged brother and the vice president of my company.  My brother was driving the car (which was on the right side of the car), and I was in the back seat.  The VP was in the front passenger side (left side), because he wanted to be in control.  Which didn't make a lot of sense because, the steering wheel was on the right. The VP was happy to be amoung French speakers, and I was happy to be home.  I was excited to be pointing out landmarks on the way East.  On the way, the VP made a strange remark that most people die within 100 miles of where they were born, an odd comment.  I don't know if it is actually true or not.  Anyway, I said that I wasn't worried because we were far away from The Gaspe, and I was actually born THERE.  Reassurance or threat, I'm not sure.  So Freudian & Jungians, what does it all mean?

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It Could Be Much Worse

An accurate prediction of COVID-19 deaths are still elusive.  Nobody seems to know for sure what the mortality rate actually is.  Although, most are sure that China lied.  I personally, going off of numbers I crunched back on March 20th, predict 282 million deaths globally, 1.8 million Canadian & 14.1 million US deaths, 1 504 deaths in the city of Stratford, and 18 people at Aisin where I work.  My earlier numbers of 120 million global deaths were based on the faulty numbers (2%) coming out of China.

Still, it will change our lives forever.  It is a major historical event.  (We were so arrogant and naive).  Coming out the other end of this, the economy may not recover in our lifetime, plunging us into a great depression.  With all the negatives that brings with it, possible social safety net failure, massive job losses, food shortages, home losses, and starvation to name but a few, it may not be pretty.  I didn't mention war.

That being said, it could be a lot worse.  At this point, it doesn't look like we're staring the collapse of society in the face.  Although, as I thought about this last night, I compared it to trying to keep a camp fire going in the rain.  It's a fickle thing; a strong wind and, it is all over.  Also, the virus could be a lot worse, and still may be.

There's supposed to be eight strains and there is the rumour of possible reinfectuon.  Also, there is a horrifying rumour that there is a second virus, coming out of Wuhan, with an eight week incubation period and being deadlier, carried by rodents.  Sound familiar?  God help us if that turns out to be true; Corona virus will just be the set up for the knock out punch.

All this is highly stressful and very surreal.  There are deniers everywhere, as well as religious individuals being negligent; God forgive them.  They are saying that if it's your time, it's your time, and nonchalantly putting others at risk.  Not just by spreading the infection, but by taking up hospital beds, they risk overwhelming the medical system.  We are trying to "flatten the curve", stopping the number of critically ill from surpassing the number of hospital beds and ventilators available.  But deniers are not the only problem.

There are those who are indifferent, for whatever reason, and the selfish and food/supplies horders.  There are the panicked, unable to function.  They become a burden on others.  It seems that we are being stratified by this pandemic.

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Today's reading is super impactful during our current pandemic.

Hosea 13:1-14 GNT

In the past, when the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the other tribes of Israel were afraid; they looked up to Ephraim. But the people sinned by worshiping Baal, and for this they will die. They still keep on sinning by making metal images to worship—idols of silver, designed by human minds, made by human hands. And then they say, "Offer sacrifices to them!" How can anyone kiss those idols—idols in the shape of bulls! And so these people will disappear like morning mist, like the…

wramier@yahoo.com shared Hosea 13:1-14 GNT with you from BibleGateway.com. To sign up for daily verses, devotions, and Bible readings from BibleGateway.com, click here.

:)

I remember when we were visiting St. Gregory's Abbey; I believe it was last summer.  And, as we were leaving, we entered the darkened Church to light some candles.  Chandra asked me if it was alright to light a candle for a dog.  To which I replied that of course it was, Page--her little companion--had reciently died.  The request meant a couple of things to me.  She respected the Holy space & maybe me enough to ask permission/approval; she could have said nothing and lit the candle for Page anyway.  I would have been none the wiser.  It also meant that she probably believed (something at the very least), otherwise why light a candle for Page at all?  Reflection...

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Nope, actually, it's the opposite for me. I'm remembering less.

https://www.instyle.com/beauty/health-fitness/mindfulness-for-anxious?utm_source=emailshare&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-share-article&utm_content=20200406

Reflection on Passage of Time

I remember when my step-father was fifty; he had t-shirt that said, "I'm not fifty.  I'm 18 with 32 years of experience."  It was funnier then.

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On The Nature Of Sin, After Years Of Personal Reflection

It's not that I don't sin; I do.  Being a Christian doesn't make me better that anybody else, nor does it make me a hypocrite, except in the eyes of the ignorant who do not understand Christianity.  It does make me a better person though, but it doesn't make me good.  

I have my struggles, failing, falling into the same old sins.  Resisting sin is a never ending war, with battles you sometimes lose.  The thing that I've come to realize is that, we can't stop sin by ourselves.  We will fail every time.  The important thing to remember is that, we don't have to.  Jesus both freed us from the law and paid the price for our sin already, once and for all time, in totality. 

That doesn't mean that we have a free pass to do whatever we want.  We are free from sin, but we should live as if we are not, sort of; we should, once being saved, exhibit good works--the Fruit of The Spirit.  Not to save ourselves, we should do good works BECAUSE we are saved. As St. James points out, faith without works is dead.

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P.S.  Maybe when other's see our good works being exhibited and see our struggle against what we proclaim to be sin, that is the origin of the misunderstanding that Christians are haute.

Everything That God Made is Good, Give Thanks

Tonight's assigned reading was amazing, 1 Timothy 4:1-end.  Amazing.

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Sex Link

I'm wondering if there's a link between being sexually active and the severity of COVID-19?

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Another XXX Dream

Alius nocte somniare alterius sexus. Hoc tempus erat uxor mea. Tempore desidero.

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Horror

Three weeks ago (four weeks ago?) nobody knew how bad it was.  I largely blame China for falsifying the numbers.

I saw a truly horrific video on the internet of hospital hallways packed with people standing, packed in like sardines in a can, women screaming and crying (mothers?), truly awful. 

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I Ghost

When you hear the house creaking and you think of ghosts upstairs, we assume we are alive.  What if you're the ghost and you hear the people in your old house that you cannot see.  Why do we always assume the former?

I remember the old folks used to say that the cold would make the house crack, cold tremors.  I can remember as a young boy, waking to the window in my bedroom being covered with frost...on the inside.  People today have no idea what not wanting to get out of a warm bed really is.

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No-Taxation-without-Representation.jpg (JPEG Image, 588 × 350 pixels) - Scaled (61%)

I wrote very reciently about totalitarianism. Patrick Henry would be rolling in his grave at the proposed bill to tax without limit and without the concent or authority of Parliament. 

Even the King of France had to call the Estates General. 

https://2lffqo2moysixpyb349z0bj6-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/No-Taxation-without-Representation.jpg

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Ah...Sleep

It's so nice to sleep and to forget about COVID-19 for a few hours.  Self isolation should include from the news I think.

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What Is Ethical?

I realized tonight, doctors are utilitarians.  They have to decide who lives, and who dies.  They are sometimes placed it the position where they have to decide to do the most good for the most people.  Kantion ethics has no place in a modern ER.  There is no absolute, no black and white.  That's one of the reasons I've never been able to sign an organ donation card.  I've heard that Italian doctors in Milan are having to decide who dies.  It's all like a bad dream.

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Yup

I've finally decided that I want to either be a psychologist or a parole officer when I grow up.  I'd be a priest, but I've never been called.  I can't be a police officer; I think that ship has sailed. ...or a lawyer.  :)

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PrayerTube

I started Social Distancing on Saturday.  I'm off work for two weeks.  I have started filming Morning and Evening Prayer.  I am uploading them to YouTube on a two year delay.  I can tell you that they are truly awful.  :)  They will be a time capsule that we can explore when we come out the other side of this thing.

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Fair

I just heard that s 12 year old girl is on a ventilated in Atlanta.  Life is so unfair.  God help us.

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COVID-19

I've been saying CORVID.  Apparently it's COVID.  Der.

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It would never happen in a modern 21st century democracy.

As I think of all the Canadian governments talking about enforcing a curfew or enacting martial law, I am reflecting on just how easy it is; our legal freedoms are so fickle.  Oh, they have a reason.  It's even a good one.  I didn't say they didn't have a reason.  It's just so easy.  Totalitarianism is so easy.

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Sniper

Last night I had a terrible dream that I shot and killed a coworker during a live fire training exercise (on a cruise ship?).  I somehow shot him through the eye with a scoped rifle.  Was it supposed to be a simulation with blanks or with laser sensors?  It's just speculation now.  The staff on the ship knew what had happened, but not that it was me.  I was ashamed and couldn't even look them in the eye.  I felt like a $h1tbag. 

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I prayed the Office for the Sick tonight, maybe for the first time, started at 8:59.

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Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Center | CIDRAP

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19

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A Dog's Life

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Twilight

I remember when I was a little boy and my bedtime was before the sun set in the summer evenings.  It was so hard (and unfair, I thought) to sleep before dark.  Well, now it's a treat.  :')  Goodnight!

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When is it serious?

We've been sent home from work and the death toll has surpassed 10 000 people worldwide.

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A Little Pissed

So, some dicks in my neighborhood called the police on a kid walking down the street with two toy guns today.  Fuck people!  Making you scared is not illegal.  Your cowardice does not give you the right to harass people.   We don't live in a dictatorship. 

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Hording bread and produce is stupid because you can't eat it all and it will go bad.

I'm reminded of this week's reading from the book of Exodus, specifically the mana that would rot with worms and smell bad.

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Psalm 103

Psalm 103 this morning talks about both resurrection early in the psalm and then about the fickle nature of our human live.

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Desperate Times Part II

Our priest e-mailed this out to us all.

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----- Forwarded Message -----

From: "Ross Gill" <jrgill52@gmail.com>

To: "Ross Gill" <jrgill52@gmail.com>

Cc:

Sent: Thu, Mar 19, 2020 at 4:58 PM

Subject: St Paul's keeping in touch

Greetings.

During this time of self-isolation and safe distancing, it is still vitally important that we keep in touch with one another.  The Church doesn't cease being the Church simply because we are unable to meet in our building on Sunday mornings or during the week.  Maybe we can't meet face to face in the way we would like but we still can communicate with each other by telephone, email and social media.  Perhaps the old fashioned card or letter through surface mail might even make something of a comeback.  It is always a pleasant experience to discover a letter in the mailbox or a message in our inbox.  They tell us that we aren't alone and haven't been forgotten.  If you or someone you know could use a call from us please don't hesitate to get in touch with us by email or by the church office telephone number.

There are a few other things we would like to say at this time.  First of all, we don't know how long it will be before we can resume worship inside our building.  Our present circumstances will continue at least until April 8.  To help us get to that point, we are hoping to have services of Morning Prayer available each Sunday on YouTube.  If we can get it to work to our satisfaction, on Saturday we will send out by email a link to the video and a copy of the liturgy so you can follow along.  The Lord willing, our first attempt will be available this Sunday.

Secondly, the Diocese of Huron has devoted part of their website for keeping the members of the Huron family informed.  You can find this information at https://diohuron.org/covid-19-resource-hub/

And thirdly, please pray.  Pray for yourselves and pray for us, pray for your fellow parishioners and pray for the sick and those attending to them.  If you need some help giving form to your prayers, we encourage you to use the Book of Common Prayer and the Book of Alternative Services.  They are two great resources with prayers for many different occasions. 

We conclude our note with a prayer Julia adapted from the New Zealand Prayer Book.  

"God of the present moment, God who in Jesus stills the storm and soothes the frantic heart; bring hope and courage to all who wait and work in uncertainty.  Bring hope that you will make them equal of whatever lies ahead.  Bring them courage to endure what cannot be avoided, for your will is health and wholeness; you are God and we need you." Amen.

 

Blessings to you and yours during this unsettling time.

The Rev Julia and the Rev Ross Gill

  

 

Desperate Times Call For...ChurchTube

The Church of a friend of mine, also closed, has filmed evening prayer.  He sent me this link:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=199336814703979&id=462397707867064¬if_t=feedback_reaction_generic&_rdr

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Daniel

I was reading the prophet Daniel the other day, just because it seems more relevant now, and I noticed the part at the end about a resurrection, never noticed that before.

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Ephesians Reading

Tonight, as I read through part of Ephesians, I was corrected and delighted.  I was corrected on the use of vulgar language, which I use daily, and delighted that I was being asked to praise God and sing psalms and hymns, which I do and enjoy.

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Value The Human Life

I was thinking the other day:  If I die from CORVID-19, it seems like such a waste.  From the perspective of the individual, it does.  To come all this way, from proteins in a pond, to fish in the sea, to primates that walked upright, to me here today, only to be lost to a "bug" at the age of 45, it all seems so surreal to contemplate and such a waste.

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What If

...Earth's new mini moon is just an alien observation post to watch humanity's fall from CORVID-19?

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I Love This Ad

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Aor6h-a_lSQ

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Some Good Information to Know

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E3URhJx0NSw

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Not Just 91

It wasn't just Psalm 91 that gave me hope.  Last night's reading from Ephesians 4 spoke about being nice to one another, as we should be.  And, this is a time when being nice is needed.

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