LOVE DREAMS

Every person carries within his heart a blueprint of the one he loves.

We already have an ideal in us - one which is made by our thinking, our habits, our experiences and our desires.

Calm minds like calm music: the heart has its own secret melody.

So it is with love. A tiny architect works for the human heart drawing sketches of the ideal love from the people it sees, from the book it reads, from its hopes and daydreams, in the fond hope that the eye may one day see the ideal and the hand touches it.

God, too, has within himself blueprints of everything in the universe. God has in his mind an archetypal idea of every flower, bird, tree, springtime and melody. Every atom and every rose is realization and concretion of an idea existing in the mind of God from all eternity. All creatures below man correspond to the pattern God has in his mind. A tree is truly a tree because it corresponds to God's idea of a tree.

In marriage, love begins with a dream. "To know a woman at the hour of desire, one must first respect her at the exquisite hour of dream." Love then is an act of faith, a declaration of the unseen as the real.

If ideals are not high, if the blueprints of love are not beautiful, then the marriage itself will not be beautiful.

The novitiate of marriage must neccesarily embrace two elements: the spiritualization of personal lives in order that the sublime architectural blueprint of life's partner be formed within, and a constant prayer that God Himself will dispose historical condition to make the dreams come true.

With marriage and its ripening with the fruit of love, there will dawn a new understanding that everyone carries with him a blueprint of the One he loves, and that One is God.

Love, which began as passion, then become an act and now in the autumn of life becomes once again a desire born of memory; the "new passionless passion" strains at the leash of life to be one with life, truth and love.

Love, which is a reflection of God's unbodied essence, will remain their eternal ecstacy. There will be no faith in heaven, for we will already see; there will be no hope in heaven, for we will already possess, but there will always be love. God is love.

COLLECTED THOUGHTS

When God drops needles and pins along your path in life, don't stay away.
Instead, pick them up and collect them. They were there designed to teach you to be strong.

A Friend is like a sunlight filtering into the quiet corners of one's heart, offering bright mornings and fresh hopes, yet demanding nothing in return.

Everything that God allows us to come our way is with a purpose. He uses even the greatest error and the deepest hurt to mold us into persons of worth and value.

The loudest message you speak is your life.

Begin the day with a light heart. Let all your worries be set aside.
Smile at a moment and thank God for the day, He cares for you all the way.

Sow a thought and reap an act.
Sow an act and reap a habit.
Sow a habit and reap a character.
Sow a character and reap a destiny.

The pulse of prayer is praise.
The heart of prayer is gratitude.
The voice of prayer is obedience.
The arm of prayer is service.

God sometimes pushes us out of our comfortable lives,
to teach us how to trust him. We may fall a little
but he doesn't let us hit the ground.

Always remember to forget the troubles that passed your way.
But never forget to remember the blessing that come each day.

In life, there are three things that can never be returned: Spoken words,
time passed and neglected opportunities. So, don't miss them today.
Enjoy life. God's way.

I sought my soul but my soul I could not see.
I sought my God but my God eluded me.
I sought my brother, and I found all three.

(Authors Unknown)

STELLAR THOUGHTS

Living on earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun.

Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

The length of a minute depends upon which side of the bathroom door you're on.

In life, the wind from the one door closing always blows open a new door.

If ignorance is bliss, there must be a lot of very happy people.

You may be only one person to the world, but you may be the world to one person.

Don't cry because it's over... smile because it happened.

We can learn a lot from a box of crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors... but they all have learned to live peacefully in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.

(Unknown)

A RECALL TO INNER LIFE

Nothing ever happens to the world which does not first happen inside man.

Wars are not made by politics, but by politicians with a certain philosophy in life.

A war follows a breakdown of morality as thunder follows lightning. as as blindness follows the plucking of the eye.

War is a symptom of breakdown of civilization.

When a body becomes diseased, the germ does not localize in one organ to the exclusion of all others; it infects the whole bloodstream.

No government or state can put the screws on personal freedom, unless the citizens have already abdicated in themselves the basis of that freedom - namely, their responsibility to God.

Having lost his inward unity, man is more and more compelled to seek the unity outside himself in the unity of an organization.

Religion must not be a cloak covering the dagger of hate.

MAKING UP FOR THE WASTED TIME

"There are three things that never return: the spent arrow, the spoken word and the lost opportunity." (Ancient Persian Proverb)

"The dawn does not come twice to waken a man." (Proverb of Sleepy African)

"Youth once gone is gone. Deeds, let escape, are never to be done. Nature has time, may mend mistakes, she knows occasion may recur ... I must perish once and perish utterly." (Browning)

Each moment wasted means that life's precious treasures are diminished while the price for them becomes higher.

Opportunities both rise in price and grow fewer everytime we refuse to make use of them.

The passions and bad habits we refuse to tame today will be harder to conquer tomorrow should we leave the hours of today unimproved.

Time forgets new links and the slavery becomes more harsh.

Time opens opportunities.

The time for probation was paid; the time of opportunity had come.

"There is a tide in the affairs of man which taken at flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries." (Shakespeare)

Though time is too precious to waste, it must never be thought that what was lost is irretrievable. Once the Divine is introduced, then comes the opportunity to make up for the losses.

God is the God of the second chance.

... Peter denied, but he had the second chance in which to become as solid as as rock.

... Jonah, who refused to accept a mission, was given a second chance and saved Babylon.

... Second birth means being born again, all that went before is not held against us.

... The good thief on the right side of the Lord on Calvary wasted a human life, but in accepting pardon won eternal life.

No wasted life need to be final.

We may close the door on opportunity, but divinity is still on the other side knocking, His hands full of gifts.

PSYCHOLOGY OF GOSSIP

Traditionally, all gossips are women; but men are often guilty of the same offense. They call it "judging."

Our Divine Lord, in speaking of gossips, said, "do not judge others, or you yourselves will be judged." His admonition not to "judge" demands that we make no wicked evaluations, do not look for the worst in others. God alone sees one neighbor's heart; we see only his face.

In England, the judges wear wigs in court, to show that it is the LAW which is passing judgment, and not their own personal views. This is done in recognition of the truth all men suspect - that there is something impudent in allowing even the wisest among us to engage in pigeonholing our friends or cataloging our enemies.

When we judge others, we also judge ourselves. Our Lord asked us not to judge, lest we be judged; and sometimes the judgment we make of others is in itself a condemnation of our own faults.

Jealousy can be a tribute paid by mediocrity to genius: the jealous person then admits the superiority of his rival, but since he cannot reach the level himself, he drags the other down to his. Other forms of criticisms are equally revealing of the One who criticizes.

Our Lord told us that the gossip's faults are often greater than those he criticizes in his neighbor. "How is it that thou canst see the speck of dust which is in thy neighbor's eye, and are not aware of the beam that is in thy own? By what right wilt thou say to thy brother, brother let me get rid thy eye of that speck, when thou canst not see the beam that is in thy own? Take the beam out of thy own eye first, and so thou have a clear sight to rid thy brother's of the speck."

The "speck" was only a bit of chaff, a splinter of wood. But the beam wa a sizable piece of wood.

To see ourselves up as worthy of judging others is already to see ourselves as their superiors, to be guilty of sin of pride, the huge "beam" that obscure our vision.

We cannot gossip without either overrating ourselves or underrating our neighbor... and frequently we do both. For the gossip is prone to project unto another the fault he suspects within himself.

The incurable gossip flies into a rage when he hears that he, in turn, has been talked about behind his back.

Our Lord asked the gossips to examine their own rights to condemn the faults of others: "He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone."

The implication is clear: Innocence alone has the right to condemn. But innocence will always wish to take on the guilt of others, to atone for his failings as if they were his own. Love recognizes the sin, but love also dies for it.

"He who loves his brother abides in light...

But he who hates his brother is in darkness."

God offers a beautiful reward to those who do not judge: "they themselves shall not be judged, when they are brought before the heavenly court.

God's judgment is sure to be more merciful than any that we make.

Men and women are not wise enough or innocent enough to judge each other. The only decision we can rightly make about our brother who is doing wrong is to admit and say: "we will leave him to God."

OF WISDOM

The wise man is he who loves and reveres God. A man's merit lies in his knowledge and in his deeds.

Knowledge is your true patent of nobility, no matter who your father, or what your race may be.

Learning is the only wealth tyrants cannot despoil. Only death can dim the light of knowledge that is within you.

The true wealth of a nation lies not in its gold, or silver but in its learning, wisdom and the uprightness of its sons.

The riches of the spirit beautify the face of man and give birth to sympathy and respect. The spirit of every being is made manifest in the eyes, the countenance and in all bodily movements and gestures.

Our appearance, our words, our actions are never greater than ourselves. For the soul is our house; our eyes its windows; and our words its messengers.

Knowledge and understanding are life's faithful companions who will never prove untrue to you. For knowledge is your crown, and understanding your staff; and when they are with you, you can possess no greater treasures.

He who understands you is greater kin to you than your brother. For even your kindred may neither understand you nor know your true worth.

Friendship with the ignorant is as foolish as arguing with a drunkard.

God has bestowed upon you intelligence and knowledge. Do not extinguish the lamp of divine grace and do not let the candle of wisdom die out in the darkness of lust and error. For a wise man approaches with his torch to light up the path of mankind.

Remember, one just man causes the devil greater affliction than a million believers.

A little knowledge that acts is worth definitely more than much knowledge that is idle.

Learn the words of wisdom uttered by the wise and apply them in your own life. Live them - but do not make a show of reciting them, for he who repeats what he does not understand is no better than an ass that is loaded with books.

OF MUSIC

The enchanting voice of my beloved entered my heart. This is Music, for I heard her through the sighs of the One I loved, and through the words, half-uttered between her lips. With the eyes of my hearing I saw my beloved's heart.

MUSIC is the language of the spirit. Its melody is like the frolicsome breeze that makes the strings quiver with love. When the gentle fingers of music knock at the door of our feelings, they awaken memories that have long lain hidden in the depth of the past. The sad strains of music bring us mournful recollections; and her quiet strains bring us joyful memories. The sound strings makes us weep at the departure of a dear one, or makes us smile at the peace of God has bestowed upon us.

The soul of Music is the spirit, and her mind is of the heart.

When God created Man, he gave him Music as a language different from all other languages.

Our souls are like tender flowers at the mercy of the winds of destiny. They tremble in the morning breeze, and bend their heads under the falling dews of heaven.

Man with his understanding cannot know what the rain is saying when it falls upon the leaves of the trees or when it taps at the window panes. He cannot know what the breeze is saying to the flowers in the fields.

But the heart of man can feel and grasp the meaning of these sounds that play upon his feelings. Eternal wisdom often speaks to him in a mysterious language. Soul and nature converse together, while man stands speechless and bewildered.

O Music

In your depths we deposit our hearts and souls.

Thou hast taught us to see with our ears.

And hear with our hearts.

REASON without learning is like the untilled soil, or like the human body that lacks nourishment.

Reason is not like the goods sold in the market places - the more plentiful they are, the less they are worth. Reason's worth waxes with her abundance. But were she sold in the market, it is only the wise man who would understand her true value.

Know your own true worth, and you shall not perish. Reason is your light and your beacon of truth. Reason is the source of life. God has given you knowledge, so that by its light you may not only worship him, but also see yourself in your weakness and strength.

Keep a watchful eye over yourself as if you were you own enemy; for you cannot learn to govern yourself, unless you first learn to govern your own passions and obey the dictates of your conscience.

GRIEF

A crocodile has tear glands, but a crocodile never shed tears; a hyena has its open mouth, but a hyena never laughs. The tear ducts in the animals are for the sake of lubricating the eyeballs, not for expressing griefs. Beasts are divided from man by tears and laughters. Both have to do with the soul rather than the body.

A dictionary defines a tear as "a drop of limpid fluid, secreted by the lacrimal gland, appearing in or flowing from the eye, chiefly as a result of emotion, especially grief."

A chemist would define tear as a solution of sodium chloride and calcium.

A stoic would say that tear is a sign of weakness, for in the face of grief one should bite his teeth and bear it.

An epicurean would say: "forget the grief, man was made to eat, drink and be merry."

Just as clouds portend the rain, so too does grief issue in tears. The laboratory is the heart; they are merely the external and visible sign of something deeper and invisible, a kind of sublimation of woe, the predication of a grief, the dilatation of a loss which only the mind can conceive. Behind every tear is an idea.

The tears of an infant, which are hotter than the tears shed later on in life, come from the broken toy, the pang of hunger, or the thwarted egotism which the child has not yet learned to control.

The tears of parting, as when Ephesians wept at the departure of Paul, "grieving over what he had said about never seeing his face again."

The tears of lovers when, having given his heart away, he finds that it is not returned with garnished love, but jilted and broken.

The tears of the mother who sees a young life shipwrecked no sooner than it is launched on the sea of life, or else later or having a wayward son and wishing that the tears could have been shed earlier when an innocent life took its leave and departed.

The tears of penitent, like Peter, who so wept for having denied our Lord that his cheeks were furrowed with the tracks of grief and contrition.

Tears were consecrated and made sacred when Christ, the God-man, wept three times: once over death, in the case of Lazarus; once over the decay of civilization, when he wept over Jerusalem; and once for the sins of man as He summoned the olive roots of Gethsemane with tears of blood.

In contrast to his compassionate love for the ills and woes of men which sin had brough, the ancient poet could fix no worse epithet on Pluto than: "He was a person who could not weep."

Tears are not without value, provided one sees a purpose beyond their shedding. As the morning rose is sweetest when embalmed with dew, so love is loveliest when embalmed in tears.

Many a person sees God through tears more often than in the sunlight; in fact, tears may leave the vision of the eyes clear for stars. Sweetness so sad, and sadness so sweet.

But not only do tears make hearts realize the happiness for which we yearn is not here; they make us look beyond to another world where every tear shall be wiped away when"He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, or mourning, or cries of distress, no more sorrow; those old things have passed away.

But there is yet another value to tears in that they make us more sympathetic to the griefs and pain of others. In sorrow, one should never go to a person who has not wept, nor in anxiety and worry, should one ever consult a man who has not denied himself. Only those who have passed through the crucible of grief know how ot make a rainbow appear in a tear.

Why is it that children, when they have a grief will run to a mother rather than to the father? It is because the mother knows the trouble better than the father; she has companioned more with pain, has more often passed through its cycles, and in giving birth has gone to the very edge of death.

That is why He who promises to wipe away all tears is the One down whose cheeks and body flowed those sacrament of compassion, those tokens of love which make Him the High Priest who can have compassion for our griefs.