from latin: contra adv: against, adj: counter “You aspire to great things? Begin with little ones.” - St. AugustineTumblr (3.0; @voxarcana)http://www.voxarcana.net/<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4pivbtCpR1qzw10co1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/23897416085http://www.voxarcana.net/post/23897416085Mon, 28 May 2012 08:33:10 +0800<p>Grateful for the new day. Even though, circumstances are such I probably would not be injured. I still am thankful to even be alive. The feeling of suddenly crashing. That sickening crunch of metal on metal. The fear, pain, anger, worry around me&#8230; It is humbling. It is when we are at our most vulnerable, our most humanly fragile, when we become aware of how reliant we are on God&#8217;s grace and love.</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/23400399824http://www.voxarcana.net/post/23400399824Sun, 20 May 2012 14:29:14 +0800<p>Healing is a painful process.</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/22288801827http://www.voxarcana.net/post/22288801827Thu, 03 May 2012 08:27:12 +0800<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luicrzSl591qgslp4o1_500.png"/><br/><br/>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/21463809551http://www.voxarcana.net/post/21463809551Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:41:21 +0800<p>&#8220;God who created you without you will not save you without you.&#8221; - St. Augustine</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/21321004388http://www.voxarcana.net/post/21321004388Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:02:39 +0800<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2kr5exsCI1qzw10co1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/21209339314http://www.voxarcana.net/post/21209339314Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:36:49 +0800<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m25q2cVSLU1qzw10co1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/20707625583http://www.voxarcana.net/post/20707625583Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:49:21 +0800<p>Dear God&#8230; I hope all will be well&#8230;</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/19954476664http://www.voxarcana.net/post/19954476664Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:06:21 +0800<p>&#8220;The darker the night, the brighter the stars, The deeper the grief, the closer is God&#8221; - Fyodor Dostoyevsky</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/19945187663http://www.voxarcana.net/post/19945187663Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:01:53 +0800<p>Confer, O Lord, on us, who serve beneath the standard of Mary, that fullness of faith in You and trust in her, to which it is given to conquer the world. Grant us a lively faith, animated by charity, which will enable us to perform all our actions from the motive of pure love of You, and ever to see You and serve You in our neighbor; a faith, firm and immovable as a rock, through which we shall rest tranquil and steadfast amid the crosses, toils and disappointments of life; a courageous faith which will inspire us to undertake and carry out without hesitation great things for your glory and for the salvation of souls; a faith which will be our Legion&#8217;s Pillar of Fire - to lead us forth united - to kindle everywhere the fires of divine love - to enlighten those who are in darkness and in the shadow of death - to inflame those who are lukewarm - to bring back life to those who are dead in sin; and which will guide our own feet in the way of peace; so that - the battle of life over - our Legion may reassemble, without the loss of any one, in the kingdom of Your love and glory. Amen.</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/19516401268http://www.voxarcana.net/post/19516401268Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:07:40 +0800<p>Oh. My Draw Something username is: firesong. Hee!</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/19285734580http://www.voxarcana.net/post/19285734580Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:41:21 +0800<p>Two men occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room&#8217;s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end of their wives and families, their homes and their jobs. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would describe to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. </p> <p>The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. Days and weeks passed. </p> <p>One morning, the nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed but it faced a blank wall. </p> <p>The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, &#8220;Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.&#8221;</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18983974306http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18983974306Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:07:34 +0800<p>&#8220;Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.&#8221; - Isa 41:10</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18848270577http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18848270577Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:23:32 +0800“<p>Do Not Worry</p> <p>“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear? ’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.</p>”<br/><br/> - <em>Matthew 6:25-34</em>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18779135797http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18779135797Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:36:46 +0800<p>Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving I&#8217;ll be a living sanctuary for you&#8230;</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18128515242http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18128515242Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:00:18 +0800<p>An elderly man came up to my office to volunteer. And he exhorted me to pray the rosary&#8230; This must be a sign!</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18119134272http://www.voxarcana.net/post/18119134272Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:18:17 +0800<p>Lucky is the man who is the first love of a woman. Even luckier is the woman who is the last love of a man.</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/17822368246http://www.voxarcana.net/post/17822368246Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:55:42 +0800<blockquote> <p>‎&#8221;If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, let him <br/>- renounce himself, <br/>- take up his cross, and <br/>- follow Me.&#8221; Mt 16:24</p> </blockquote> <p>Interesting that today&#8217;s gospel presents us with 3 &#8220;requisites&#8221; to follow Christ, and it appears too in stages&#8230; Once again, the wisdom of the gospel texts presents us an invitation today&#8230;</p> <p>We are called to first deny ourselves: figuratively, literally and completely. It is one of the most difficult struggles we have, but we are invited to be humble, to accept our shortcomings and failures, to try to be better, and to deny our basic human instincts for power, for wealth, for prestige, and to focus our eyes on Christ, He who has everything yet died as if he owned nothing. He was not even given the basic human respect or dignity - it was forcefully taken from Him and He was openly ridiculed and derided, kicked and spat on. Yet we know that Christ will always be there for us, so we are called to empty ourselves of ourselves in order to be able to open ourselves to God&#8217;s will, love and grace.</p> <p>With that grace, we then are asked to take up our Cross. God never promised us a bed of roses - indeed, we know from the teaching of the Church that God&#8217;s most beloved hardly led lives of pleasure or leisure - they had heavy crosses laid upon them. Some were martyred, some mortified themselves, many led lives that the people of that time considered crazy or foolish. But again, we know and trust that no cross is too heavy for our shoulders, and that Christ will be there for us.</p> <p>Follow Christ&#8230; Seems easy, isn&#8217;t it? Yet, the reality is, we are surrounded by so many distractions. People and things who seem to want our attention equally. From time to time, we allow ourselves to be distracted. Then when we realize, we look around and realize: Where&#8217;s Christ in the midst of all this? Indeed, it sometimes feels worse than me trying to follow my grandfather in the midst of the excessively crowded Chinatown during the Lunar New Year period - once I am distracted by a bauble, it&#8217;s sometimes impossible to spot him in the crowd. Then comes the frantic searching, looking and realizing that many people look like him, but are not him&#8230; I am mindful of so many people appearing like my grandfather, but when I go closer, I realize it is not him&#8230; Sometimes, I think this parallels my life&#8217;s journey following Christ&#8230;</p> <p>Let us pray for the grace to develop this closeness with God, in order to be able to spot Him better in the crowd, and to learn to keep our eyes on Him and not be distracted by everything else threatening to crowd Him out of sight.</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/17756595069http://www.voxarcana.net/post/17756595069Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:55:03 +0800<p>May 1st, Arsenal 1-0 Man Utd, Ramsey scored, Bin Laden died the next day; Oct 5th, Arsenal 1-2 Spurs, Ramsey scored, Steve Jobs died the next day; Oct 19th, Arsenal 1-0 Marseille, Ramsey scored, Gadaffi died the next day; Ramsey said &#8220;coming soon&#8221; on Twitter, Kim Jong-Il died the next day; Ramsey scored in the 2-1 win over Sunderland last night, today Whitney Houston passed away&#8230;</p>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/17479191851http://www.voxarcana.net/post/17479191851Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:38:44 +0800<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz3pr89UaG1qzw10co1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://www.voxarcana.net/post/17292868147http://www.voxarcana.net/post/17292868147Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:06:41 +0800