Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Christ is Born, Glorify Him! - The "Ultimate Poverty" of Love

Whatever Holy Day you celebrate at this time of year, I wish you peace and joy.  Thank you for your love for and kindness to the animals.

Here is an amazing story I saw in the news today.  Please don't miss it. It fits right in with the mystery we experience on these wonderful Holy Days as we contemplate the wisdom of God, what His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew calls, "the “ultimate poverty” of God, which always acts as love and which surprised the wise men and the entire world."

nativity icon from Cappodocia

Joy to the world for this wonderful surprise, this mystery that always catches us off guard and sets our hearts right.


Monkey Gives First Aid to Electrocuted Friend


VIDEO - Astounding!

ON THE NIGHT OF THE NATIVITY

by St. Ephraim the Syrian

“Pure is the present night, in which the Pure One appeared, Who came to purify us! Let our hearing be pure, and the sight of our eyes chaste, and the feeling of the heart holy, and th...e speech of the mouth sincere!

The present night is the night of reconciliation; therefore, let no one be wroth against his brother and offend him!

This night gave peace to the whole world, and so, let no one threaten. This is the night of the Most Meek One; let no one be cruel!

This is the night of the Humble One; let no one be proud!

Now is the day of joy; let us not take revenge for offenses! Now is the day of good will; let us not be harsh. On this day of tranquility, let us not become agitated by anger!

Today God came unto sinners; let not the righteous exalt himself over sinners!

Today the Most Rich One became poor for our sake; let the rich man invite the poor to his table!

Today we received a gift which we did not ask for; let us bestow alms to those who cry out to us and beg!

The present day has opened the door of heaven to our prayers; let us also open our door to those who ask of us forgiveness!

Today the Godhead placed upon Himself the seal of humanity, and humanity has been adorned with the seal of the Godhead!”

"the “ultimate poverty” of God, which always acts as love and which surprised the wise men and the entire world."

May we all dig for it and find it, this wonderful treasure, this gift, this "ultimate poverty", the humility of love, for which we will be one day be crowned, in every place and in every circumstance we are in.  Especially the most trying ones.

"Let earth receive her king."

The Heart of a Servant

He thinks I’ll be all right
With doctoring. But it’s not medicine—
Lowe is the only doctor’s dared to say so—
It’s rest I want—there, I have said it out—
From cooking meals for hungry hired men
And washing dishes after them—from doing
Things over and over that just won’t stay done.
(from A Servant to Servants, by Robert Frost)

I am really rethinking Facebook.  That's where I spend most of my time talking about the cats these days.  It's weird, so different than this blog, which was a lot of work when I kept it up regularly, but I enjoyed it.  It was rewarding.  On the other hand, I have met many nice people on FB and people who have helped the cats and me and I would miss them. 

The thing is, I feel like I can't tell the truth on FB, because every time I do, if people are involved, people always think what I write is about them, even when it is not.  I don't know why that is.  Maybe because people go there searching for a reflection of themselves.  But I am really not prepared not to tell the truth about what the experience of trying to help and look after these cats and other animals is like.  It's not all jingle bell collars, it's a little of that, and that's nice.  I like that, too.  And it is not all cats that are about to...

"dierightthisisminuteifyoudon'thelpnowtheyaregoingtothepoundandiwon'tbeabletodothisanymore"

or cars aiming at and running over stray dogs, because let's face it, I have lived here for about 9 years now and last weekend is the first time I have witnessed it, even though I hear about it all the time. I have witnessed more poisonings and shootings, and even then, thankfully that's not even 50% of what I see.

Mostly it's in the middle.  Hungry cats.   Sick cats.  Lots of sick cats. Sick cats that pull through, and sick cats I stay up with while they die, when I can stay awake that is. Skinny cats with one good eye eating olives and bread that the locals throw out for them,  Cats hit by cars I pull out of the road and bury when I can.  Cats with diarrhea.  Dumped kittens. Litter boxes, food orders, dirty empty bowls, endless dishwashing, laundry, laundry, laundry I never get through, cleaning floors, vet visits, failed trappings, cat fights, jumping out the window in the middle of the night to break up cat fights, trouble making ends meet, trouble with people that don't like cats, feral cats that disappear after I alter them, and missing cats in general.  It's not what people want to hear about on Facebook.  They either want the jingle or the gore, and, well, that's just not what most of it is, and all that middle stuff doesn't seem to fit in there, where everyone is putting either their best face forward or their goriest, most upsetting one. 

I do want to write about what it is really like, for the benefit and consolation of cat rescuers if nothing else, but also because I like to write, it helps me understand things, it's like a puzzle coming together.  And, see, if I wrote this on FB, someone would take offense, because they would think I am talking about them, and I am not thinking of anyone in particular.

Maybe I will just put the cute pictures and the horrible things that happen there and save the rest for this blog. 

Although I have to say, it's a pretty sad state when sickness and death from sickness become part of the middle thing, but they have in this world. The dog that was killed in the crusher at a hotel is gone, and yet people are still talking about him and donating like crazy to get justice.  The skinny one eyed cat is still eating olives on the street corner and rescue kittens need their vaccinations and people scroll right past.

Could it be that people would rather punish human beings than save animals?

And maybe FB is no place for the truth.

How about you?  Don't you find that the hardest stuff to get through is all that stuff in the middle that never stops?  Even if it is not cats you are taking care of?

By good rights I ought not to have so much
Put on me, but there seems no other way.
Len says one steady pull more ought to do it.
He says the best way out is always through.
And I agree to that, or in so far
As that I can see no way out but through—
Leastways for me—and then they’ll be convinced.

(from A Servant to Servants, by Robert Frost)