Joseph Irvin

Spiritual Food For Life's Journey Joseph Irvin

Words of encouragement from Scripture and the Saints for help along the road of life in a fallen world. For example: On The Death Of A Friend Or Loved One But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seem to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace. For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of Himself; like gold in the furnace He tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering He accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever. Those who trust in Him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with Him in love, because grace and mercy are upon His elect, and He watches over His holy ones. (Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9) Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. (Psalm 91:9-11) The foolish ... dread death as if it were the sum total of evils, but the wise desire it as the repose after toil and the end to evils. (St. Ambrose of Milan)