Samuel, Saul, and David

first and second Samuel. Let's begin in the name of the Father in the Son in the Holy

“Spirit. Amen. Let's call to mind all those we've promised to pray for. I believe in God,”

the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, which crucified died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day, he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven, hollowed be your name, that kingdom

“come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stay, our daily bread and forgive us,”

our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now and ever shall be, world without end, amen. Our first meditation. Under the leadership of Joshua, Israel conquered the Promised Land,

defeating the seven nations who inhabited it. God commanded this as an act of divine justice. The people of the seven nations worshipped false gods, and behind those false gods was Satan, Satan under the form of Molloc, who demanded he be worshiped by child sacrifice.

“In the book of Leviticus, God commanded Israel, you must never sacrifice your children.”

And he told them the land became unclean, and I exacted the penalty for its fault, and the land had to vomit out its inhabitants. So God said to them, "I will use you to expel those seven nations for their wicked deeds. But if you do this hateful thing, if you sacrifice your children, the land will also vomit

you out as it vomited the nations that were there before you." This is one thing we must always remember.

God did promise the land to Israel, but that promise was a conditional promise. It was conditioned upon their fidelity to God's law. But tragically, the warning proved prophetic. When Israel later adopted the same practice killing their own children, the same judgment, fell upon them, and what destroyed the Canaanite nations will also bring about Israel's exile. Abortion is our modern version of the worship of Molok, any society that legalizes

the destruction of its own children for the sake of freedom, prosperity, or convenience,

repeats the grave crime committed in Scripture. And it will always result in the loss of the nation.

Our father, Wharton, Heaven, hollowed be your name, thy kingdom count thy will be done on earth as it is, and Heaven. Give us a stare, daily bread, and forgive us to our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil Imen. The Omery full of grace, the Lord is with thee,

blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen.

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.”

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen.”

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us, and earns now an at the hour of our death, Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, as now and to for shall be, world without end. All my Jesus? Forgive us, our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy.

Our second mystery, after Joshua comes the Book of Judges.

Judges chapter 2 tells us, "Is real served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work which the Lord did for Israel."

“So the key to the Exodus is this, "Serving the Lord depends on knowing Him.”

It depends on remembering all that He's done." The generation that conquered the Promised Land knew God, they had seen His works. They had walked through the Jordan, they had watched the walls of Jericho Fall. They served Him all their days because they remembered. They remembered what He did, and that was a great generation.

They knew the faith, lived the faith, fought for the faith, built the faith, and died with the faith. But they forgot what Moses commanded in Deuteronomy 6. They forgot to teach the faith diligently to their children. They failed to hand it on. And Judges chapter 2 tells us, "Another generation arose, who did not know the Lord?"

So the lesson is simple, if the baton is dropped, the race is lost. And because they did not know the Lord, they failed to serve Him,

and they became slaves first to their sin and second to the people around them.

So just as in Egypt, Israel was oppressed this time by the Philistines. Yet God heard their cry and raised up 12 judges to deliver them. And Samuel would be the last of these. Our Father who art in heaven, hell would be your name. That kingdom come, they will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us a stay, our daily bread, and forgive us, our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil, amen. Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen.

Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen.”

Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen.

Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen. Hey, O Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed, art thou among women, blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

“Holy Mary, mother of God, free-frist, and earns now in the hour of our death, amen.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, as now, and of our shall be, world without end, amen. Oh, my Jesus, for give us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to have, and especially those most in need of thy mercy.

Our third mystery, at the time of the first book of Samuel,

Israel consisted of 12 loosely connected tribes living in the Promised Land. When one tribe was invaded, it was difficult to rally the others to their aid. So militarily, they were fragmented. So they believed, King was necessary.

“Someone who could unite the 12 tribes into one cohesive force, capable of defending them from their enemies.”

So the elders of Israel came to Samuel and said, "A point for us a king." So we can be like all the other nations. This displeased Samuel, and he turned to the Lord, and the Lord answered him saying, "They have not rejected you, Samuel. They have rejected me from being king over them." See, Israel failed to realize they already had a king.

God, Pope Benedict said it this way. God did not intend Israel to have a kingdom. The kingdom was a result of Israel's rebellion against God. The law was to be Israel's king and through the law God himself. But God yielded to Israel's stubbornness and so devised a new kind of kingship for them.

But the issue here is that Israel wanted to be like all the other nations. So God yielded to their abstinency and soil was anointed king. Our Father who art in heaven, hell it would be your name. That kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stay, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses.

As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil they men. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen.”

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed our Thalmung, women blessed he is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us in earth and snown at the hour of our death, amen. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning as now and ever shall be, world without end, amen. All my Jesus, forgive us, our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our fourth mystery. As I said yesterday, there are two forms of pride. One is to think too much of yourself, the other is to think too little of yourself.

Both flow from the same root, a self-focus and self-reliance known as pride.

“King Saul trusted in himself rather than the Lord.”

And when a man relies holding on himself, he will either grasp control or shrink back and fear.

Saul's first grave sin came when God commanded him to wait because the Lord would win the battle.

But Saul grew impatient and he took matters into his own hands and offered the sacrifice. Pride will not wait on God. His second grave sin came when God commanded him to destroy Amaluk and his followers. Saul defeated them but spared their king and kept the best booty for himself.

And then Saul set up a monument to himself. Samuel confronted him and expressed and exposed the heart of the matter. He said, "Obedience is better than sacrifice. Rebellion, the sin of divination. Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you as king."

And so, as a result, at the end of first Samuel, Saul is killed in battle.

And David is anointed king. Now, David is not perfect by any means. He makes bad decisions. He sins gravely. But here's the difference. Saul relied on himself seeking his own glory. David relied on the Lord, seeking the glory of God. And that is all the difference in the world.

“Or if Father who art in heaven, how would be your name?”

That kingdom come that will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us a stare, daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil, Amen. The Omery full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal,

among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal, among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen.

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal, among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal, among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God,

pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal, among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal,

among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal, among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen.

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal, among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal,

“among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.”

Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal, among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, amen. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with the blessed Arthal,

among women blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy, Mary, mother of God, pre-fress, and our ensnown at the hour of our death, Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the makin'ing ensnown of our shall be, world without end, amen.

Oh, my Jesus. For give us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to have an especially those most in need of thy mercy. Our fifth mystery.

“From Joshua to Samuel, and from Saul to David, the issue is the same.”

Who is King? When Israel served the Lord and knew him, they were free. When they forgot him, they became slaves. And when they rejected him as King, they demanded a substitute. When Saul relied on himself, he felt.

When David relied on the Lord, God established his throne forever.

The crisis was never primarily political.

The moment of people rejects the kingship of God, everything begins to unravel. Worship, morality, leadership, even the protection of children. Yet here is the hope. God does not abandon his people when they demand substitutes.

He permits their choice. He allows the negative consequences that follow. And then through their very rebellion, he prepares something greater. For from David's line came the Son of David, the true King, Jesus, has Pope Benedict teaches, God writes straight with crooked lines.

The King is Jesus. His power is sacrificial love. He reigns from the cross. So our resolution should be simple. Let God be King, rely on him, not yourself, and trust that, even when we fail.

That King can write straight with crooked lines. Our Father who art in heaven, hollowed be your name, that kingdom come, that will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

“Give us a stare, do they bread and give us our trespasses?”

As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil Imen. They are Mary full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile, among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile, among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile, among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile, among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile,

among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile, among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile, among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile, among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile,

among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed artile, among women blessed is a fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pre-first and earth is now in at the hour of our death, Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, as now in the verse, I'll be rolled with that end, Amen. Oh, my Jesus? Three of us are sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to have in, especially those most in need of thy mercy.

St. Michael, the Archangel, Defenders in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. Make God review him, we humbly pray, and do thou, oh, Prince of the Heavenly Hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell, Satan, and all the evil spirits who brought throughout the world seeking the root of souls. If you name of the Father in the Son of the Holy Spirit? Amen.

Well, what struck you is we, with through, first and second Samuel.

I thought it was just really applicable that if we, if we give everything we have, our work, and our belongings, and our personal lives, and our friendships, if we give it all to God, he can still take it away, but if we give it to God at the very least, it's not wasted, and what will happen will happen with it, but if we don't give it to God, not only will we certainly lose it, but it's also a waste.

And what do you mean precisely by give it to God?

“I think I love when you ask good questions. I'm just interested.”

Yeah, I think two things, I think it's actively in prayer, saying I give this to you, I dedicate this to you, I entrust this to you. I remember the first time when I was a, probably

like 13 or 14, I've always loved writing, but I always thought it was something very separate

from my spiritual life. I didn't want to be a spiritual writer, and I just want to be pigeonholed. Yeah, I didn't want to be, I always thought, oh, I'm going to be so dark and so shocking, and I had very worldly opinions about storytelling and things like that. And I always wanted to keep God out of it, and I remember being in lords with you, and at some point I got left in some random chapel, some not even the main church there, just right across the river, and suddenly I

just really randomly was like, I guess I can let God into this, and I feel like my writing transformed. I don't think he was in any way less than what it was before, but I started making bigger sacrifices and saying, oh, you shouldn't put that in a book, or I won't curse in my writing, or I won't include this or that, and my writing didn't lose any of its interest, but and I was still able to write stories that aren't purely religious, but I also wasn't going to keep God

out of them, and I remember in prayer making that choice to let God into my life and let God into my work into my writing and my art, but also then there's the second thing which is actually putting it into practice, which is, or in looking for a house, really I dedicated that to God and just saying, I want your will in this, whether or not I get it or not, because it's such a, it feels like a gamble, but then there's the second step, which is using my writing, using my

“house for community, for others, for charity, which is the harder step, because you have to”

constantly keep that in mind, that you'll have that first moment of wanting to give it over, but then you're going to spend the rest of your life wanting to take it back. I think that characterizes perfectly the difference between Saul and David. Saul wouldn't let him in, and Saul was seeking his own glory. David let it got in, and then David made the Lord the thing that he wanted the most. Yeah, he played that secret

court. Yeah, David wasn't perfect. David sinned grievously, but David let God in, and then he made God the thing that he wanted most. That's the two steps that need to happen in our lives. That he meant, and then over time, he will become what you want most. Yeah, because we're going to want to make so many decisions on our own, and we're going to want to hold tightly

“to everything that we have, but at the very least, if you give it to God, it's the only way you”

can know that you've made the right decision. Yeah, so when you made with God, well said, well said, well, thanks for the conversation. Thank you. I'm really enjoying traveling through the old

very extensive course, and I haven't done that for quite a while now, and it's been, I've enjoyed going back through with these meditations. So thank you. Let's be apostles of friendship, good conversation, and the rosary. Share this with others.