God Weeps-Tragedy in Ukraine As War Destroys

We all pray for a peaceful, negotiated settlement to the crisis between Ukraine and Russia. At any moment, this whole tragedy can spiral out of control. It is truly frightening. Compromise must be achieved and agreed upon. God weeps, of course God is weeping whenever innocents are killed and bombs destroy and disfigure.

It is with sadness that I begin this Lenten journey. Being compassionate my thoughts are never too far from the people of Ukraine who are being forced to leave their beloved homeland, with little. These refugees are on the move, and thank God other countries of good will are accepting them. I especially feel for the poor innocent children, who don't understand war or bombs or evil intentions.

So during this Lent we are all praying for a ceasefire and peaceful solution to this crisis. I am sure God is not distant from this and God weeps with the men, women and children of Ukraine who have witnessed the worst case scenario unfold. May God Bless them and be near to them. 

NJA

Brave Ukrainian Soldiers-Some Giving Their Lives for Good

People of good will, all over the world are condemning Russia's aggression and war against Ukraine. Ukrainian Americans are worried and rightfully so about their relatives in Ukraine. People are praying, holding holy hours, attending Mass, begging God to turn Putin's stony heart and mind towards negotiation and peace. Brave Ukrainian soldiers are fighting for their freedom and their homeland. 

We are witnessing human bravery play out in Ukrainian soldiers who are fighting for their country and for democratic principles, to the death.  God bless them for such bravery and love for their fellow neighbors, their relatives, their home. 

There is so much good in the world, so many brave and courageous people, so many people that live out Jesus' teachings whether they are Christians or not. 

I pray that this war ends quickly, that negotiations begin and peace reigns in Ukraine once more. 

Please God hear our prayer for peace.

NJA

"I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."  (Ezekiel 36:26)

"May the weapons fall silent. God is with the peacemakers, not with those who use violence ... It is the people who are the real victims, who pay for the folly of war with their own skin."  Pope Francis (2/22)

Peace Is A Fragile Thing

 We should all be praying for peace, for a peaceful, negotiated agreement between Russia and Ukraine...There is a solution without war, without blood being shed.  War is destructive, evil, and you would think by now, in this time of human history that threats of war and aggressiveness, would be something of the past. But humankind keeps making the same mistakes over and over again. This is serious and I pray that French President Emmanuel Macron is able to de-escalate the situation when he meets with Russian President Putin next week and also with President Zelensky of Ukraine. 

Pray, Pray, Pray for a settlement and the withdrawal of troops from the border of Ukraine. Let everyone go home. World leaders should be collectively coming together in peace to combat the extreme weather and prolong droughts that the planet will have to deal with because of climate change, and not wasting money and resources on war and most especially innocent lives. 

Please God, no more war. Please God let a solution everyone can agree on, be brought forth and accepted. And may President Putin have a change of heart. 

NJA

Are You Prepared If The Lights Go Out?

One of the things that keeps me up at night (of course I should have total trust in God and nothing should worry me, but having a tendency towards worry is a real thorn in my side!) is the thought that Russia could if they wanted to, hack our power infrastructure and turn the lights off.....Do they have that capability? Most probably......but a solar flare or sudden solar eruption could also cause disruptions to the electrical power grid...it's rather fragile to some extent. And of course, severe storms can sometimes cause black-outs, which I've experienced. 

So before I go to bed, I watch the Mass on TV or on my computer, I do breathing exercises and put lavender oil underneath my nose, drink my chamomile tea and repeat, "Don't think! Don't think! But does that mean I will necessarily fall asleep quickly. Nope! I wonder what's inside the head of President Putin of Russia...Is he going to invade Ukraine?.....Will we retaliate? And then will he have his team of expert hackers turn off the lights in our country or parts of it.....even for a day that would cause chaos.....

It seems news outlets have reported that the DHS has warned banks, corporations and governments offices, to be prepared just in case, President Putin decides its in the best interests of his beloved country to invade Ukraine...and then retaliate if we put sanctions against him personally or Russia, that upset him. 

I'm old enough to remember the Cold War. Diplomacy is the only way out of this mess. 

Let's pray that ego's will get out of the way and real diplomacy will save the day. 

In the meantime, you should always have gallons of water on hand, canned foods and plenty of lanterns, it's good to be prepared for every scenario.

NJA

James Webb Telescope Hopes To See The Universe's Beginnings-God's Genius On Display

 The James Webb Telescope launched on Christmas Day hopes to see into the past, our past. The $10 billion dollar telescope is not only the largest but the most expensive telescope ever built and launched.  With a price tag of 10 billion let's hope it reaches its final destination and then is able to do what scientists and engineers have built it to do.....see into the past after the Big Bang. 

As religious believers, we believe that God initiated the Big Bang and then afterwards created the "environment" for stars and galaxies to form. Matter after the Big Bang, accelerated and that's puzzling to scientists because they don't know why that happened. We know why that happened but they are trying to find out. Scientists are trying to figure it out from a scientific perspective but as believers we know by faith that God set the Big Bang into motion and then created a favorable environment for life. We live on the Goldilocks planet of Earth, (not too hot, not too cold) with the exact and necessary materials and elements to sustain life. The exact amount of carbon was necessary for life on Earth and it was there from the very beginning. Scientists and astronomers are hoping to find more Goldilocks planets in the Universe. We'll see...

We live on a beautiful, life-sustaining planet in a sweet spot in the Milky Way Galaxy because of a good merciful and generous God. 

I'm open to learning more about the Universe. I think ten billion dollars is way too much money to spend on anything but let's see if it proves to be worth the money, because that amount of money could have been life changing for poor people on Earth. But if we learn about the origins of our Universe, many will think it worth it.

NJA

UPDATE: The James Webb Telescope has reached its intended destination in space (one million miles from Earth!)..an amazing engineering feat! Pictures won't be coming until June......

Another Advent Filled With An Evil Virus Lurking

 This should be a joyous time of waiting and preparing. I love Advent and the Christmas season.  But unfortunately, members of my family and my extended family have fallen ill with the Delta variant of Covid. The virus that just won't give up its grip. It mutates and it finds new hosts. An evil virus for sure. It has caused such calamity and suffering and loss. And it's not done with us yet, I'm sorry to say. That's not my opinion but those who study viruses. 

All I can do to help is to make homemade soup. At least that gives me a purpose, so I make soup and deliver it and feel like I'm useful. And give some nutritional edge to loved ones who are sick. Tomorrow I will make "Jewish Penicillin" (Chicken Soup). Oh and of course I pray and ask others to pray. Without prayer, I could not live. I try to distract myself by reading historical novels, which I find entertaining. So I cook and I read and I pray and talk to friends.

This was a difficult week because I had workmen in my house. The worse kind of torture for me, having to deal with people in and out of the house, doing work, making noise, upsetting my peace. I have no right to complain about that but I will. My son says, I have a lot of nerve, I should be grateful I can afford to do repairs and renovations. Sure. 

So I hope Christmas will be OK and everyone will get well, so we can celebrate as a family. I can only pray it will.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas! 

NJA

Surviving the Move and Re-Learning Evangelization

 As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have moved, to be closer to my grandchildren. Moving is hard when you have a lot of stuff, many religious books, children's books etc. I've been busy unpacking but also I've found time for gardening, I'm blessed to have a rock garden in the front of my house, so I am planting in between the rocks. So many rocks and even boulders in Connecticut, I never knew that til I moved here!

Now I live close to my granddaughters and I can help when needed. I like my new Church and have already joined a Women's Enrichment Group. We are reading, "The Contagious Catholic-The Art of Practical Evangelization" by Marcel Lejeune. Not sure where it will lead, but I'm sure by the end of the book, we will all have some new ideas on how we can help evangelize.  

Come Holy Spirit Come! Being open and receptive to the power of the Holy Spirit is the only way to begin evangelization, stay with it, and bear fruit that will last. We can do nothing on our own, but with God's help, miracles can happen! Receptivity, positivity and the Holy Spirit and all will be well.

NJA