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6 August 2011
Fatherly Advice- Extracted from Ecclesiasticus / Sirach, Chapter 6:
Friendship
5 A kindly turn of speech attracts new friends, a courteous tongue invites many a friendly response.
6 Let your acquaintances be many, but for advisers choose one out of a thousand.
7 If you want to make a friend, take him on trial, and do not be in a hurry to trust him;
8 for one kind of friend is so only when it suits him but will not stand by you in your day of trouble.
9 Another kind of friend will fall out with you and to your dismay make your quarrel public,
10 and a third kind of friend will share your table, but not stand by you in your day of trouble:
11 when you are doing well he will be your second self, ordering your servants about;
12 but, if disaster befalls you, he will recoil from you and keep out of your way.
13 Keep well clear of your enemies, and be wary of your friends.
14 A loyal friend is a powerful defence: whoever finds one has indeed found a treasure.
15 A loyal friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his worth.
16 A loyal friend is the elixir of life, and those who fear the Lord will find one.
17 Whoever fears the Lord makes true friends, for as a person is, so is his friend too.
Fatherly Advice- Extracted from Ecclesiasticus / Sirach Chapter 8:
Prudence and Common-sense
1 Do not try conclusions with anyone influential, in case you later fall into his clutches.
2 Do not quarrel with anyone rich, in case he puts his weight against you; for gold has destroyed many, and has swayed the hearts of kings.
3 Do not argue with anyone argumentative, do not pile wood on that fire.
4 Do not joke with anyone uncouth, for fear of hearing your ancestors insulted.
5 Do not revile a repentant sinner; remember that we all are guilty.
6 Do not despise anyone in old age; after all, some of us too are growing old.
7 Do not gloat over anyone's death; remember that we all have to die.
Tradition
8 Do not scorn the discourse of the wise, but make yourself familiar with their maxims, since from these you will learn the theory and the art of serving the great.
9 Do not dismiss what the old people have to say, for they too were taught by their parents; from them you will learn how to think, and the art of the timely answer.
Prudence
10 Do not kindle the coals of the sinner, in case you scorch yourself in his blaze.
11 Refuse to be provoked by the insolent, for fear that such a one try to trap you in your words.
12 Do not lend to anyone who is stronger than you are - if you do lend, resign yourself to loss.
13 Do not stand surety beyond your means; if you do stand surety, be prepared to pay up.
14 Do not go to law with a judge, since judgement will be given in his favour.
15 Do not go travelling with a rash man, for fear he becomes burdensome to you; he will act as the whim takes him, and you will both be ruined by his folly.
16 Do not argue with a quick-tempered man, do not go with him where there are no other people, since blood counts for nothing in his eyes, and where no help is to be had, he will strike you down.
17 Do not ask a fool for advice, since a fool will not be able to keep a confidence.
18 In a stranger's presence do nothing that should be kept secret, since you cannot tell what use the stranger will make of it.
19 Do not open your heart to all comers, nor lay claim to their good offices.
Fatherly Advice- Extracted from Ecclesiasticus / Sirach, Chapter 9:
Relations with men
10 Do not desert an old friend; the new one will not be his match. New friend, new wine; when it grows old, you drink it with pleasure.
11 Do not envy the sinner his success; you do not know how that will end.
12 Do not take pleasure in what pleases the godless; remember they will not go unpunished here below.
13 Keep your distance from the man who has the power to put to death, and you will not be haunted by the fear of dying. If you do approach him, make no false move, or he may take your life. Realize that you are treading among trip-lines, that you are strolling on the battlements.
14 Cultivate your neighbors to the best of your ability, and consult with the wise.
15 For conversation seek the intelligent, let all your discussions bear on the law of the Most High.
16 Have the upright for your table companions, and let your pride be in fearing the Lord.
17 Work from skilled hands will earn its praise, but a leader of the people must be skillful in words.
18 A chatterbox is a terror to his town, a loose talker is detested.
God’s Love is always with you - Extracted from Romans, Chapter 8: 35, 37-39
Nothing can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loves us.
For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, not any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
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Extracted from Isaiah, Chapter 54:
The fertility of Jerusalem
1 Shout for joy, barren one who has borne no children! Break into cries and shouts of joy, you who were never in labour! For the children of the forsaken one are more in number than the children of the wedded wife, says Yahweh.
2 Widen the space of your tent, extend the curtains of your home, do not hold back! Lengthen your ropes, make your tent-pegs firm,
3 for you will burst out to right and to left, your race will dispossess the nations and repopulate deserted towns.
The love of Yahweh
4 Do not fear, you will not be put to shame again, do not worry, you will not be disgraced again; for you will forget the shame of your youth and no longer remember the dishonour of your widowhood.
5 For your Creator is your husband, Yahweh Sabaoth is his name, the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer, he is called God of the whole world.
6 Yes, Yahweh has called you back like a forsaken, grief-stricken wife, like the repudiated wife of his youth, says your God.
7 I did forsake you for a brief moment, but in great compassion I shall take you back.
8 In a flood of anger, for a moment I hid my face from you. But in everlasting love I have taken pity on you, says Yahweh, your redeemer.
9 For me it will be as in the days of Noah when I swore that Noah's waters should never flood the world again. So now I swear never to be angry with you and never to rebuke you again.
10 For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
The New Jerusalem
11 Unhappy creature, storm-tossed, disconsolate, look, I shall lay your stones on agates and your foundations on sapphires.
12 I shall make your battlements rubies, your gateways firestone and your entire wall precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by Yahweh and great will be your children's prosperity.
14 In saving justice you will be made firm, free from oppression: you will have nothing to fear; free from terror: it will not approach you.
15 Should anyone attack you, that will not be my doing, and whoever does attack you, for your sake will fall.
16 I created the smith who blows on the charcoal-fire to produce a weapon for his use; I also created the destroyer to ruin it.
17 No weapon forged against you will succeed. Any voice raised against you in court you will refute. Such is the lot of the servants of Yahweh, the saving justice I assure them, declares Yahweh.
Yahweh will feed his children - Extracted from Isaiah, Chapter 55:
1 Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money, free!
2 Why spend money on what cannot nourish and your wages on what fails to satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will have good things to eat and rich food to enjoy.
3 Pay attention, come to me; listen, and you will live. I shall make an everlasting covenant with you in fulfillment of the favours promised to David.
6 August 2011
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