#blessed dead

virtual tomb/shrine for Senebkay, since his original was both robbed in antiquity and recently excavated for study.

The wheel has turned and the dark times are here. The veil is thin and our loved ones are near.

It’s already the end of October! What? How?! I swear it was just March about 5 years ago, wasn’t it? All kidding aside… Last year was difficult for me with the loss of several of my family, most on one side; my bio mother, my aunt (& my godmother), step mother (essentially), a dear cousin, and…

Thursday: Preparation for the First Sunday in Advent

Zechariah 13:1-9

On that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, “You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord”; and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy. On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive, but each of them will say, “I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil; for the land has been my possession since my youth.” And if anyone asks them, “What are these wounds on your chest?” the answer will be “The wounds I received in the house of my friends.”

“Awake, O sword,  against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate,”  says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, that the sheep may be scattered;  I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, says the Lord,  two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire,  refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name,  and I will answer them. I will say, “They are my people”;  and they will say, “The Lord is our God.”

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,  you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth  before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!

Restore us, O God; let your face shine,  that we may be saved.

O Lord God of hosts,  how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears,  and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbors;  our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts;  let your face shine,  that we may be saved.

But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,  the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life,  and we will call on your name.

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;  let your face shine,  that we may be saved.

Revelation 14:6-13

Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, “Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands, they will also drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”

Year B Advent 1 Thursday

Incense blends of the Dead

Veneration incense of the Dead

This is a basic incense blend that you can use in daily or weekly offerings on the altar dedicated to the ancestral, beloved and the mighty dead. It consists of equal amounts of myrrh, wormwood and white sandalwood. This blend can easily be adjusted for different purposes, e.g. for “talking” to or “appeasing” the souls of the deceased. Fitting herbs for modifying…