Blessed is the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God is Within You
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    Blessed is the Kingdom is an online forum for the exploration of the Christian faith. I am a priest and pilgrim, attempting to walk the path of conversion.

    If you are new to the site, please introduce yourself here.
  • March 2010
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    Sabbath Sunday: Steve the Builder

    Posted By Fr. Christian Mathis on March 21, 2010

    Today’s Sabbath Sunday is a shout out to my friend Steve. You can find the older post here.

    Once again you are invited to join me in promoting the Sabbath by taking a break from your normal blogging. Please share an older post from your blog that is near and dear to your heart. Make sure to leave your name and the URL of your post below and share a comment if you so desire. I look forward to reading your recycled posts!

    The Canning Will Continue Until Morale Improves

    Posted By Fr. Christian Mathis on March 20, 2010

    Today I was surprised upon entering my office to find this.

    Which means someone I know decided to open this.

    Nicely done.

    Are there more of you out there who are willing to open a can of you know what?

    Bring it!

    St. Thomas Reality TV

    Posted By Fr. Christian Mathis on March 20, 2010

    St. Thomas Reality TV is now a reality! Check it out here.

    Choosing to be Positive

    Posted By Fr. Christian Mathis on March 19, 2010

    Recently I have discovered a delightful person on the internet named Gary Vaynerchuk,  who is passionate about wine and all things social media. Anyone who watches him at Wine Library TV has to admit that his positive energy is infectious. Sometimes it is all too easy to be pessimistic, thinking that perhaps someone with that much optimism couldn’t be real. The early morning conversation caught on the following video makes me less willing to take the pessimistic view.

    Last week, the Vayner Nation heard lots from Gary about his time at the SXSW gathering in Austin, and it seemed to me that he was not getting all that much sleep. If it had been me, a prank call in the early hours of the morning without much sleep might just have pushed me over the edge. Gary’s response is pretty amazing.

    So in the tradition of Garyvee, the question of the day is:

    When is the last time you made a seemingly bad situation better with the power of positive energy?

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

    Posted By Fr. Christian Mathis on March 17, 2010


    I arise today
    Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
    Through the belief in the threeness,
    Through the confession of the oneness
    Of the Creator of Creation.

    I arise today
    Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
    Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
    Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
    Through the strength of his descent for the Judgment Day.

    I arise today
    Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
    In obedience of angels,
    In the service of archangels,
    In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
    In prayers of patriarchs,
    In predictions of prophets,
    In preaching of apostles,
    In faith of confessors,
    In innocence of holy virgins,
    In deeds of righteous men.

    I arise today
    Through the strength of heaven:
    Light of sun,
    Radiance of moon,
    Splendor of fire,
    Speed of lightning,
    Swiftness of wind,
    Depth of sea,
    Stability of earth,
    Firmness of rock.

    I arise today
    Through God’s strength to pilot me:
    God’s might to uphold me,
    God’s wisdom to guide me,
    God’s eye to look before me,
    God’s ear to hear me,
    God’s word to speak for me,
    God’s hand to guard me,
    God’s way to lie before me,
    God’s shield to protect me,
    God’s host to save me
    From snares of demons,
    From temptations of vices,
    From everyone who shall wish me ill,
    Afar and anear,
    Alone and in multitude.

    I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
    Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
    Against incantations of false prophets,
    Against black laws of pagandom
    Against false laws of heretics,
    Against craft of idolatry,
    Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
    Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

    Christ to shield me today
    Against poison, against burning,
    Against drowning, against wounding,
    So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
    Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
    Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
    Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
    Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
    Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
    Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
    Christ in every eye that sees me,
    Christ in every ear that hears me.

    I arise today
    Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
    Through belief in the threeness,
    Through confession of the oneness,
    Of the Creator of Creation.

    Salvation is of the Lord.
    Salvation is of the Lord.
    Salvation is of Christ.
    May your salvation, O Lord be ever with us.

    Be United with Humility

    Posted By Fr. Christian Mathis on March 16, 2010

    He who has been united with humility as his bride is above all gentle, kind, easily moved to compunction, sympathetic, calm, bright, compliant, inoffensive, vigilant, not indolent, and (why say more?) free from passion; for the Lord remembered us in our humility, and redeemed us from our enemies, and our passions and impurities.

    St. John Climacus

    Sabbath Sunday: Humility

    Posted By Fr. Christian Mathis on March 14, 2010

    Humility is something every Christian should strive towards. Today’s Sabbath Sunday post is a reminder of that fact. You can read it here.

    Once again you are invited to join me in promoting the Sabbath by taking a break from your normal blogging. Please share an older post from your blog that is near and dear to your heart. Make sure to leave your name and the URL of your post below and share a comment if you so desire. I look forward to reading your recycled posts!