Today is the 𝐒𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 (𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲) 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 (𝐈𝐈)
For at least, this Sixthday and the next, I would like to talk about this psalm. I read this psalm at the Servite, Vigil of Our Lady, and am very curious why it is part of a Marian devotion.
Let us begin today's Daily
In the name of the Father, ✠ and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻.
God our loving Father, grant us the grace to hear what we ought to hear, to see what we ought to see, that we might do what we ought to do, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 is from 𝐏𝖘𝖆𝖑𝖒 18 (19):2-7 Grail Psalms from Universalis (c)
The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
There he has placed a tent for the sun; it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from his tent, rejoices like a champion to run its course.
At the end of the sky is the rising of the sun; to the furthest end of the sky is its course. There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.
𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.
In respect to Mary, I have thought of different things that speak about her. To start, her joyful spirit, her cheerful soul. Before the annunciation she was already full of Grace, quoting Saint Thomas of Villanova, "by keeping herself whole, pure, and immaculate before God, she ever increased the grace she received at birth and never lost through sin."
And her cheerful soul, made her proclaim how marvelous her soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, that is as David wrote, "Day unto Day makes up the story, and Night unto night the message is known". And even before the Magnificat, her filial concern on the pregnancy of her kindred, extended the fruit the Holy Spirit of Joy.
Reading the Canticle of Zechariah, "Benedictus," Mary became the tent of the Sun, her womb bearing the "Dawn from on High that would visit us and free us from sin." Mary was given the greatest honour of being the Mother of Jesus, and raising him with Joseph, strengthening Jesus on his mission; the furthest end of the sky.
The last line reminds me of the part in Saint Thomas Villanova's writing again, that there is nothing concealed in her heart that had not been expressed to Christ, from those thirty-three years that they have been together as Mother and Child, and again eternally being in Heaven.
𝗢 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 which flowed out from the heart of Jesus as a Fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!
𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫: Mary precedes us in the wonderful union of spirit with Christ; that in her motherhood, there is no earthen closer to Jesus than Mary. We could argue the disciples—Peter, James, John—but there is a special mother-child bond that each of us have in our families, that we cannot say Our Lord does not have.
An instructed short meditation.
Let us put ourselves, in any comfortable position. We are in the presence of God always, but now let us put ourselves in the presence with all His glory. Our guardian angel here with us, and Jesus in the Arms of Mary, accompanied by Joseph. And Our own patron saint with them.
With gratitude let us first think, how wonderful we are in our lowliness, that the Mother of our God pray for us in our wants and needs. In the calm light of day or the dark storms, an ever ready intercessor. Let us pour out our hearts, in silence, and let our hearts speak.
Let our hearts pour out gratitude, all our worries, desires. Let us not be ashamed by our sins, for everyone can change like everything around us.
You may end this meditation with this prayer. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲.
Mama Mary, your joyful spirit, even if we are not at present that time, radiates in us and somehow I experience it in myself. Look at the earth where your feet once trodded, and I ask for your intercession with Saint Joseph your spouse and Saint Michael, for the salvation and rekindling of the spirit within us. Ask for us, the holy spirit, that it would break in our hearts and melt them, making them soft and loving as God had promised. We ask this in the eternal God; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ your son, who with the Holy Spirit is one; knowing that anyone who flees to you for intercession has never been failed.
𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁, unworthy as I am, you took my Cross, poured out your blood, and redeemed the dignity of humanity. Thank you, and let me repay you with the work of my hands, and the purity of my soul and body. Amen.
In the name of the Father, ✠ and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻.
This is my draft for a new law. I still haven't brought this up to The Assembly, since I am afraid it's too short, and also Ewereni hasn't accepted it yet.
Sponsor: Ewereni, The thaindom of the shire, Rolenmar
PURPOSE OF THE ACT: This act shall be applied to maintain WA Delegacy and prevent sudden change in the position, as well as ensuring that the transfer of the WA Delegacy is to be determined by firstly the Constitution and secondly the Presidential and Vice Presidential Line of Succession Act 2021 in effect.
ARTICLE 1: ENDORSEMENT REGULATIONS 1.1. At the start of a lawful WA Delegate's term, he shall set an endorsement limit that a WA nation can have with the agreement of a majority of The Assembly and 2/3 of The Board of Elders.
The WA Delegate shall be free of the endorsement limit.
1.2. In the next lawful WA Delegate's term, the old endorsement limit shall be kept should the new WA Delegate wants to keep the old limit or the new limit is not accepted by a majority of The Assembly or 2/3 of The Board of Elders. 1.3. No nation may deliberately trespass the endorsement limit in anyway. 1.4. The Office of Compliance & Public Affairs shall enforce the endorsement limit and ensure there is no trespasser deliberately breaking the endorsement limit.
ARTICLE 2: SUDDEN DELEGACY CHANGE PREVENTION 2.1. If an unlawful WA Delegate deliberately takes office from the lawful one midterm, all nations endorsing the unlawful WA Delegate must withdraw their endorsements, and the unlawful WA Delegate shall be punished accordingly, provided enough evidence that it was a deliberate attempt. 2.2. If the WA Delegacy position is vacant and a WA Delegate takes office without any lawful procedure, the process for this is similar to that of 2.1.
Today is the 𝐒𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 (𝐈𝐈)
Today's Reading, has a weird different outlook. I saw this as a joke, a Catholic Comedian merging the intro to this song then Kordero ng Diyos—Lamb of God/Agnus Dei—of Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ. Someone commented on that video and said, Psalm 214. HAHA, anyway. What strikes me about this is that, first I was curious, and I wanted to listen to it again, because I knew this song. And when I listened to it again, and another one for the second time that day, and reading the lyrics, I find myself thinking about God.
I was like, "Isn't this like a real religious song?" My thoughts about this is that, God is speaking to us, even in the unreligious things. Listening to it again, it reminds me of the Song of Songs, a collection of love songs that can be paralleled to God's love.
Let us begin today's Daily
In the name of the Father, ✠ and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻.
God our loving Father, grant us the grace to hear what we ought to hear, to see what we ought to see, that we might do what we ought to do, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
First line is "Am I real?" To me, it felt like God is asking us how much we believe; how deep is our faith.
And upon reading scripture, the word of God, does that affect us? And that trusting in God, be the affectionate looking at the eyes, tells us that nothing is superior to God and we have nothing to fear. And going to the next line, all the questions, doubts, fears, and anxieties we just have to surrender. Coz when we believe strongly, and hope exceedingly, like in prayer and the practice of hesychasm, there is this special wonderful feeling that we fade under the sorrows of the world and we gain peace. And this is just the first verse.
The song continues with the Chorus, and I think perfectly, this is the promise Jesus had told us; And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ The world will pass, with all the vanities there is. And holding on to the world and desiring and enjoying anything of this world, increases our sorrows when all pass away. But all of this, leads to the promise of peace, that God will never stray from us.
Second verse then tells us, to hold on and believe. And trust, even if we cannot see, for they are blest who believeth what hasn't saw. Now God asks us, how much is our love to Him. We know God's love is so great, but how much are we willing to let go for love of Him? And the promises he made us, a better garden than this world that no one knows, this could be an allegory to a heaven, or something greater than the heavens such as peace, joy, the holy spirit.
God then reminds us again, how short our life is. As the psalmist says, we are only until 70 years, 80-100 to those who are strong. And how much will we show our Love to God in those short years. Now if we hold on to the example of Christ, following that faith, hope, love, poverty, chastity, and obedience, holding on to all the promises and leave away sin, we will come to the victory that the song says, "you'll know". What will "we know" in this, my imagination says, we'll know true joy and good feelings, we'll know true peace, we'll know true love, we'll know God.
In this, really non-religious love song, I find myself thinking about God's love and His words parallel the lover's song. I hope many people would share with me this gift, of seeing God in everything that isn't sin. Because there is nothing else as great as God, truly.
𝗢 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 which flowed out from the heart of Jesus as a Fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!
𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫: I've been watching a lot of Fr. Mark Goring lately. And in one of his videos, he shared to us his favourite ikonography, the shroud of Turin, a sorrowful man but in peace. Even if sorrows come by and pass in this world, still we shouldn't cry. Because God will always be with us: 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 * 𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘺.
Lord, you are very great, I want to praise you forever. But I am ashamed because, there are times when I prioritize vanity over Your will. Or that I choose what I already know is wrong, failing to remember your love, promises, and treasures. Especially You, my most High God, whom is very loving, and whose greater love is immeasurable. And in despairing of my sins, it really isn't loving you. So I offer to You all that I have, You do of it as Thou willest. I really thank You, for all the things that I don't deserve by my sins. Especially Your passion and death on the cross. I trust You, because You are loving, my God. Amen.
𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆, Mother of God, and our Mother. You are our example. Pray for us, who have strayed from the path. In you we see refuge and hope, being a woman of creation goodness. We put our trust in you, that our prayers may be heard by Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father through the Son, [and who with the Father and the Son is] in union with the Holy Spirit, living as one God forever.
In a special way, let us remember Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and pray for the repose of his soul.
In the name of the Father, ✠ and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗻.
Sponsor: Ewereni, The thaindom of the shire, Rolenmar
PURPOSE OF THE ACT: This act shall be applied to maintain WA Delegacy and prevent sudden change in the position, as well as ensuring that the transfer of the WA Delegacy is to be determined by firstly the Constitution and secondly the Presidential and Vice Presidential Line of Succession Act 2021 in effect.
ARTICLE 1: ENDORSEMENT REGULATIONS 1.1. At the start of a lawful WA Delegate's term, he shall set an endorsement limit that a WA nation can have with the agreement of a majority of The Assembly and 2/3 of The Board of Elders.
The WA Delegate shall be free of the endorsement limit.
1.2. In the next lawful WA Delegate's term, the old endorsement limit shall be kept should the new WA Delegate wants to keep the old limit or the new limit is not accepted by a majority of The Assembly or 2/3 of The Board of Elders. 1.3. No nation may deliberately trespass the endorsement limit in anyway. 1.4. The Office of Compliance & Public Affairs shall enforce the endorsement limit and ensure there is no trespasser deliberately breaking the endorsement limit.
ARTICLE 2: SUDDEN DELEGACY CHANGE PREVENTION 2.1. If an unlawful WA Delegate deliberately takes office from the lawful one midterm, all nations endorsing the unlawful WA Delegate must withdraw their endorsements, and the unlawful WA Delegate shall be punished accordingly, provided enough evidence that it was a deliberate attempt. 2.2. If the WA Delegacy position is vacant and a WA Delegate takes office without any lawful procedure, the process for this is similar to that of 2.1.
I support this idea especially since I got screwed by this, but…. Given we don’t have a system to elect the delegate other than endorsements, this bill creates a big problem. We must first decide on how we want the delegate to be elected and then change our Constitution.
Do you think I should include this in the bill? It's a good idea and it also creates a reason for me to lengthen this bill. Or another good idea is to amend the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Line of Succession Act 2021.
There's a line in the Presidential & Vice Presidential Line of Succession Act 2022 that says the next person in line of the presidential candidates shall become the WA Delegate, but this has a really big loophole. When one becomes a WA Delegate in law yet someone is making advances at the endorsement then how should we put the lawful one up without forcing to take all of the advantageous but unlawful WA Delegate's endorsements?
Oh uh, okay. Was the haha really needed? Like, you could have just said “No Sorry”, which would have been been polite, or just have said nothing at all. I just wanna try get some endorsements, since you need em to be able to propose commendations to the WA. I was hoping to see if we could finally get a Commend Ecclesia done (which I have done twice in the last. I never get enough delegates to support it, despite me calling in favours and friendship with multiple delegates I know each time).
Believing that Ecclestia has contributed notably to the furtherance of international peace, co-operation and diplomacy and is thus deserving of a commendation by this great Council. Recognising that Ecclestia has served in leadership positions in various regions, including as Foreign Secretary of Europe. Noting that Ecclestia founded the Union of Christian Nations and has led the region for over four years. Impressed that Ecclestia has worked tirelessly to further interregional co-operation, including:
Authoring the Interregional Anti-Bullying and Discrimination Accord, which ensures parties are free from bullying and discrimination based on sex, age, religious belief & activity, political belief & activity, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, race (including nationality, ethnicity, national origin, descent or ancestry), disability (including physical, intellectual or psychological disability) among others.
Leading the interregional campaign to recognise and observe the International Day of Peace.
Founding the NationStates Christian Community Church, a non-denominational church which serves as a hub for the Interregional Christian Community.
Negotiating and signing a number of Treaties of Friendship to deepen ties, increase cooperation and further peace among regions.
The Grand Duchy of Norfshire
The Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth of Alluxia
The Holy Constitutional Empire of Cretoia-Slrathria
The Christian States of Gideon
The Christian Republic of Rolenmar
The Kaisertum of Austrin
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