“If God were our one and only desire we would not be so easily upset when our opinions do not find outside acceptance”
“He’s encouraging us to have an influence everywhere we go”
Excellent contrast of the two metaphors and I especially love the idea of this line; “He’s encouraging us to have an influence everywhere we go.”
That is walking with Christ and being a true disciple who is doing the Fathers’ will we can rest assured.
I was given a pocket version of an important book that a man I used to work with thought went along with my mindset at the time! This man was in the seminary to be a priest prior to my meeting him which is all an interesting set of circumstances how all this came about, perhaps a true God Send; but as I was saying this man working for years to become a priest, then through an epiphany he changed the whole plan and went on to be a chemist and married a fine Catholic woman who couldn’t bear children but she too is also a scientist like him only her specialty is in microbiology! They are very happy together and complement each other beautifully; a major blessing from God. I’m single and always have been but the book that he gave to me makes sense, as it seems fitting in my case as to the way my life has gone; and perhaps clearly what God wanted me to focus on going forward!
The Imitation of Christ (De Imitatione Christi), first published in 1418 by the German-Dutch monk and scribe, Thomas Hemerken of Kempen, better known as Thomas à Kempis (1380 – 25 July 1471).
“If God were our one and only desire we would not be so easily upset when our opinions do not find outside acceptance.” ― Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
A quotation of what a Good Reads follower had said about this magnificent book! “This book is going to forever be in either of two places in my home; my coffee table or my bedside. Reading this book this morning was like drinking deep of Christ’s love. Thomas a Kempis wrote this devotion in such a way to fan the flame in our soul with beautiful gentle words.”
Here is the link to the blog essay I wrote pertaining to this book and its growing importance to me now!
Back in October I posted an essay as part of a republication of a news article on the subject that provided a glimmer of hope! What follows is what I had said.
This story renews my faith in Humanity largely in part because it demonstrates how there are still very good and noble people left in this uglier by the day world! When the Texas AG stepped up to the plate to fight for the Innocent Unborn he became a hero to me Big Time! This after a Texas district court judge a big time pro-abortion judge Robert Pitman blocked the new heartbeat legislation at which time “Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the decision to a higher court. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with him, reversing the pro-abortion judge’s decision.”
A very brave and forthright woman Abby Johnson a former Planned Parenthood director came out from the shadows of darkness and evil to speak-out against all abortion, and she should know what she is talking about; saying it’s all diabolical! I recently posted that article and here is just a bit of what I had to say along with the link to the article and a few others of great value to read at your convenience, which I include following my narrative!
Now this former Planned Parenthood Director steps out from the darkest shadow being produced by the darkest agenda of modern times from hell which has been the industrial scale wholesale abortion of human beings and truth be known human babies are being sacrificed through abortion for Satan!
Listening to this lady who was engrossed in the abomination of abortion for so long saying how it’s so demonic; is great! She also called Twitter which I did have for a couple of years but don’t now, she says it’s a Human Dumpster and I love that comment! She called out all of the idiots that voted for this Monster in the White House!
Let’s all pray for the unborn and ask God to inspire more men and women to step up and be counted in this ugly battle for innocent unborn human life; all created in the image of God, His human family on earth, all of which have a soul that is immortal; and it is a mortal sin to murder them! Amen.
This following link is to that republishing and contained in it are a few others that provide some worthwhile information some of it very encouraging or at least proving that even former major advocates of abortion like Abby Johnson have flipped their position on the issue 100% saying it is evil!
Throughout our nation’s history there have been many landmark court decisions. But perhaps none as consequential as the January 22, 1973 Roe v Wade decision that made abortion legal in America. Since that time, over 63 million unborn babies have been murdered in our country alone. That is almost 2,500 per day…or one every 35 seconds. (See the US Abortion Clock) What a clear example of evil and lawlessness that characterize the last days.
Now, however, there is a glimmer in the utter darkness of the death culture that surrounds abortion. It comes in the form of a court case before the Supreme Court of the United States that could put an end to the infanticide. Oral arguments in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization are expected to begin soon, perhaps as early as next week, leading to a decision expected to take at least 6 months.
The latest calculations estimate that 1.5 Billion human beings were destroyed through abortion since 1973! That is an abomination!
Back in October I posted an essay as part of a republication of a news article on the subject that provided a glimmer of hope! What follows is what I had said.
This story renews my faith in Humanity largely in part because it demonstrates how there are still very good and noble people left in this uglier by the day world! When the Texas AG stepped up to the plate to fight for the Innocent Unborn he became a hero to me Big Time! This after a Texas district court judge a big time pro-abortion judge Robert Pitman blocked the new heartbeat legislation at which time “Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the decision to a higher court. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with him, reversing the pro-abortion judge’s decision.”
And I wish more men had done this over the decades to have prevented the now approximately 63 million unborn that were slaughtered in America alone, since Roe vs. Wade; but there is no better time than the present to make miracles happen, so I pray that many more noble men will have the cajones across this “Republic under God” to stop this Industrial Scale Massacre of the “helpless innocent human beings!”
A very brave and forthright woman Abby Johnson a former Planned Parenthood director came out from the shadows of darkness and evil to speak-out against all abortion, and she should know what she is talking about; saying it’s all diabolical! I recently posted that article and here is just a bit of what I had to say along with the link to the article and a few others of great value to read at your convenience, which I include following my narrative!
Now this former Planned Parenthood Director steps out from the darkest shadow being produced by the darkest agenda of modern times from hell which has been the industrial scale wholesale abortion of human beings and truth be known human babies are being sacrificed through abortion for Satan!
Listening to this lady who was engrossed in the abomination of abortion for so long saying how it’s so demonic; is great! She also called Twitter which I did have for a couple of years but don’t now, she says it’s a Human Dumpster and I love that comment! She called out all of the idiots that voted for this Monster in the White House!
Let’s all pray for the unborn and ask God to inspire more men and women to step up and be counted in this ugly battle for innocent unborn human life; all created in the image of God, His human family on earth, all of which have a soul that is immortal; and it is a mortal sin to murder them! Amen.
This following link is to that republishing and contained in it are a few others that provide some worthwhile information some of it very encouraging or at least proving that even former major advocates of abortion like Abby Johnson have flipped their position on the issue 100% saying it is evil!
MSM in their quest to sell lies and perpetuate racial tensions, reports as often as possible, Black Lives Matter; and yes, there is truth in that statement; the truth is, ALL lives matter, especially the unborn black lives.
The real truth the MSM will not tell you is, abortion has taken more Black American lives than every other cause of death combined, more than crime, more than accidents, more than cancer, heart diseaseand AIDS since 1973. Where is the out-cry for these black lives; or do they not matter?
Yahweh Oseinu creates nothing without value or purpose; doubt not, God has got this; now is the time to stand with Him!
Hey Allison! I see we are both card carrying members of the same club!! “The Worriers Club” or otherwise known as “The Worrywarts!” Of course there is that other genre of Warriors that are adept in the heat of battle but this category that I admit to be quite proficient in are also quite capable in other or certain kinds of battle fields; the more cerebral arenas! Straight out of the gate I can say how my more worrisome hesitant attitude did keep me out of situations that would have otherwise sucked me in just the way they did many others, even many persons that I grew up with! I remember clearly the peer pressure by buddies wanting to get high all of the time and saying how smoking weed is nothing, so why not; but I was always leery of it, first because drawing any breathe laden with toxic chemicals or smoke of any kind into my lungs was too weird! Then there was the fact that Pot does have specific chemicals that do give a buzz to those that enjoy that transition to being stoned and attempt to escape reality, but, at what cost once a person becomes psychologically and biologically dependent to this induced effect; and truth be known Marijuana is a psychoactive drug! It actually contains upwards of 500 chemicals, one of which is the well-known THC, which is a proven mind-altering compound that absolutely causes harmful health effects over time; perhaps not as risky as using LSD which has been known to damage a person’s mind with one use, but, nonetheless any damaging effect should be avoided if a person plans on taking care of their life in a responsible manner; we after all get only the one body we are born with!!
I was always top grades in chemistry and knew that chemical reactions are a natural occurrence in this existence but not all of them are good. So my being very selective about this matter kept me away from any interest in Pot or any drug including alcohol, “Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is a psychoactive drug that is the active ingredient in drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits” (Wikipedia), which can be very addictive as we all well know someone that became an alcoholic or still is one!
Fortunately for me my being a guy that according to many friends worried too much which was true as compared to them and others at least, I didn’t end up with some drug hang-up or habit that led to very serious, as my dad would say, “consequences for doing something that wasn’t right,” or “good for me!” My grandfather had a strong motto; “Avoid Trouble!” So I did and some of the guys I grew up with got deep into drug or alcohol habits and sorry to say most damaged their health or lives in a variety of ways or are already departed; having lived a much shorter life because they weren’t being prudent or a perhaps a bit of a “worrywart!”
The only thing I want to add as a caveat of caution for now about being such a worrisome person, for me as an example, that it tends to create a stress that I’ve had to try to recognize and find ways that are sensible to avoid being too much like the squirrel that gets all of his nuts in a bunch, and starts to get a bit nutty in the process! In other words, worrying taken too far can make a person neurotic and even a basket case or bundle of nerves; so one must learn to monitor their own need to be careful and sensible with being overly concerned and a bit paranoid! It comes down to having one’s mind aware and being capable of assessing the “risk/benefit analysis” moving forward in any behavior or action to keep things on an even keel! More simply put perhaps we can say that extremes in any direction are generally never healthy or wise and maybe not going to get one wealthy either; of course there are different kinds of wealth aren’t there! Blessings!
Allison! Goodness me I slipped and forgot the crux of my message to you and anyone that cares! Here is the whole of it in a nutshell; maybe a squirrels one special nut, like me I’m a special nut! At least to who it matters to!
This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for fear. That’s a strange statement, I know, but it’s true: I’m grateful for what worrying has taught me. I’ve struggled with anxiety my entire life, and this year I’ve realized that as frustrating as that journey has been, I wouldn’t trade it even if I could. It’s been an incredible blessing in disguise, and today I wanted to explain why.
Dies ist ein sehr ausführlicher umfassender Bericht mit viel Wert für die Amerikaner und ich wage zu sagen, die Freie Welt! Wenn jemand nicht bemerkt hat, dass die Meinungsfreiheit zusammen mit der Freiheitsperiode direkt angegriffen wird!
Die größten und bösesten Verbrecher auf dem Planeten wollen ihre schändlichen Geschäfte wie gewohnt führen, daher ist jeder, der die Fakten oder die Wahrheit aufdecken könnte, sofort ein “Staatsfeind Nummer eins”! Aber was das alles so traurig und tödlich macht, ist, dass wir jetzt in einer viel komplizierteren High-Tech-Welt leben, in der nichts heilig ist und die bösartigsten Charaktere in vielen Arenen die Oberhand gewinnen und jede Opposition niederschlagen, egal wie tugendhaft und ehrlich sie sind!
Sie üben Goebbels Nummer eins Regel aus dem alten Nazi-Gestapo-Regelwerk beschuldigen die Opposition von allem, was Sie falsch machen! Zu viele Individuen gehen mit, um miteinander auszukommen! Um Petes willen schauen Sie sich den US-Kongress an, es ist ein Kessel aus Abfall, Rauch und Spiegeln, Transplantat, Gier, Lügen und Hinterhältigkeit; und es hängt in der Schwebe, weil all dies nicht unbegrenzt weitergehen kann, muss etwas das System vollständig aufgeben oder brechen! Während Trump im Amt war, wurde diese Nazi-Regel von der Demokratischen Sozialistischen Radikalen Partei auf Schritt und Tritt befolgt, indem Pelosi, Schiff, Schumer, Clinton, Comey, Clapper, Brennan und so weiter ständig lügten und Verrat begingen!
Es ist wie Hannah Arendt vor vielen Jahren sagte, was meiner Meinung nach genau das Problem ist, vor dem wir jetzt alle stehen!
Hannah Arendt erklärt wunderschön; “Ja, es gibt eine Zeit, in der gute Männer und Frauen für das Richtige eintreten müssen, auch wenn es mit Risiken verbunden ist, aber dieser Moment kommt erst, nachdem das Böse bereits gut etabliert ist und kraftvoll in Bewegung ist.” Das Böse ist von Natur aus schwach. Die Wahrheit ist, dass das Böse überlebt, indem es das Gute dazu bringt, seinen Willen zu tun. “Ohne Tausende von im Grunde anständigen Menschen, die verwirrt genug sind, um zu gehorchen, würde das Böse schnell scheitern.” Sie fasst das Böse folgendermaßen zusammen: “Die traurige Wahrheit ist, dass das meiste Böse von Menschen getan wird, die sich niemals dazu entschließen, gut oder böse zu sein. Diese Menschen würden Morde nicht selbst initiieren, aber im Namen der Pflicht, Loyalität, Einheit und / oder des Allgemeinwohls kooperieren sie mit dem Bösen und geben ihm ihre Stärke. Aber jeder spielt eine kleine Rolle — keiner von ihnen dehnt sich so weit aus, dass sie über die endgültigen Auswirkungen ihrer Handlungen nachdenken müssten. Jahrhundert führten die Handlungen solcher Menschen jedoch direkt zu den Morden an 260 Millionen Menschen. Und sie taten dies genau, indem sie Entscheidungen vermieden … indem sie nur gehorchten. “Die Leute denken an Mord, Lüge und Raub als Sünden, aber keiner von ihnen hat fast die Todesopfer des Gehorsams.”
“Grundsätzlich gehorchen anständige Männer und Frauen Agenten des Bösen aus sehr banalen Gründen. Der Prozess geht oft so:
1. Verwirrt und eingeschüchtert suchen sie nach der Mitte des Rudels.
2. Sie versuchen, keine Wellen zu machen.
3. Sie lernen, dass sie es am besten vermeiden können, Wellen zu schlagen, wenn sie die Perspektiven ihrer Oberherren annehmen. Also lassen sie die Slogans der Overlords als Standardprogramm durch den Kopf laufen.
Am Ende entscheiden sich diese Leute nicht. Vielmehr nehmen sie die Gedanken ihrer Oberherren auf und tun ihren Willen.
Und so geht die überwiegende Mehrheit des Bösen, das auf Erden getan wird, auf Gedanken und Willen zurück, die der Angst überlassen und auf den Altar des Gehorsams gelegt wurden.”
Also kam ich zu dem Schluss, dass die Obama-Jahre voll von dieser Verlassenheit waren und akzeptierten, was er als Evangelium sagte, und wir haben den völligen Verfall unserer Nation deswegen gesehen!
Diese prophetischen Worte von Edmund Burke “Das einzige, was notwendig ist, damit das Böse triumphiert, ist, dass gute Menschen nichts tun”, sind auch heute noch so wahr und ich vermute, solange Menschen die Erde bewohnen!
“Ich zitiere hier! Wenn Sie sich von Mitch McConnell beeinflussen lassen, ist er nicht Ihr Freund. Demokratie braucht Transparenz, um zu überleben. Ja, er hat gelitten, aber er hat gelitten, weil es seine Entscheidung war zu fliehen.”
“Joe Biden hat erklärt, dass seine Regierung beabsichtigt, die Bemühungen fortzusetzen, Assange aus Großbritannien auszuliefern und ihn zu zwingen, sich in den USA wegen Spionage vor Gericht zu stellen.”
First Ditch Mitch ist Nobody’s Friend, weil er genau wie Biden mit dem kommunistischen China im Bett liegt und mit der Demokratischen Partei zu seinem eigenen Vorteil Ball gespielt hat, nicht mit dem amerikanischen Volk! Er und sein chinesischer Schwager haben eine der größten Frachtcontainer-Reedereien aus China nur für den Anfang!
Ist das nicht reich und ziemlich erstaunlich; Wie Biden Assange nicht weniger für Spionage braten würde, wenn Biden zusammen mit seinem kriminellen Sohn und Bruder direkt in China, der Ukraine und anderen Nationen in direkte Handlungen des Verrats und der Spionage verwickelt war; aber der schmutzige, völlig korrupte Deep State ermöglicht es diesem betrügerischen Präsidenten, als Eichelhäher frei zu skaten!
Deshalb muss all diese Agenda zur Unterdrückung der Redefreiheit hart bekämpft und GESTOPPT werden; oder wir können alle die Redefreiheit und das Recht, frei zu leben, auf Wiedersehen küssen!
Gott segne!
Bruder in Christus Jesus,
Lawrence Morra III
This is a very in depth comprehensive report with much value to Americans and I dare say the Free World! If anyone hasn’t noticed Free Speech is under direct attack along with FREEDOM period!
The biggest and most wicked criminals on the planet want to conduct their nefarious business dealings as usual, so therefore anyone who could expose the facts or truth is a “public enemy number one” immediately! But what makes this all so sad and deadly is we now live in a much more complicated High Tech world where nothing is held sacred and the most vicious characters in many arenas gain the upper hand and beat down any opposition no matter how virtuous and truthful they are!
They practice Goebbels number one rule from the old Nazi Gestapo Rule Book of accuse the opposition of everything you are doing wrong! Too many individuals are going along to get along! For Pete’s sake look at the US Congress it’s a cauldron of waste, smoke and mirrors, graft, greed , lies and backstabbing; and its hanging in the balance because all of this can’t go on indefinitely something will have to give or break the system completely! While Trump was in office this Nazi rule was followed to the letter by the Democrat Socialist Radical Party at every turn by Pelosi, Schiff, Schumer, Clinton, Comey, Clapper, Brennan and so on lying constantly and committing acts of treason!
It’s like Hannah Arendt said many years ago which is as I see it the exact problem we are all facing now!
Hannah Arendt beautifully explains; “Yes, there is a time when good men and women must stand up for what’s right, even when it involves risk, but that moment comes only after evil has already been well established and is powerfully on the move.” Evil is inherently weak. The truth is that evil survives by tricking the good into doing its will. “Without thousands of basically decent people confused enough to obey, evil would fail quickly.” She goes on to summarize evil this way: “The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil. These people wouldn’t initiate murders by themselves, but in the name of duty, loyalty, unity, and/or the greater good, they cooperate with evil and give it their strength. But each plays a small part—none of them stretches so far that they’d have to contemplate the final effects of their actions.” In the 20th century, however, the actions of such people led directly to the murders of 260 million people. And they did this precisely by avoiding decisions… by merely obeying. “People think of murder, lying, and robbery as sins, but none of those has nearly the death toll of obedience.”
“Basically decent men and women obey agents of evil for very mundane reasons. The process often goes like this:
1. Being confused and intimidated, they look for the center of the pack.
2. They try not to make waves.
3. They learn that they can avoid making waves best if they adopt the perspectives of their overlords. So they run the overlords’ slogans through their minds as a default program.
In the end, these people don’t make up their minds. Rather, they take on the minds of their overlords and do their will.
And so, the vast majority of evil done on Earth traces back to minds and wills that have been abandoned to fear and laid on the Altar of Obedience.”
So I concluded that the Obama years were chock full of this abandonment and accepting what he said as gospel and we have seen the utter decay of our Nation because of it!
So those prophetic words by Edmund Burke “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,” are so true even today and I suspect as long as humans inhabit the earth!
“I quote here! If you let Mitch McConnell influence you, he’s not your friend. Democracy needs transparency to survive. Yes, he suffered, but he suffered because it was his decision to flee.”
“Joe Biden has stated that his government intends to continue efforts to extradite Assange from the UK and force him to face trial in the United States for espionage.”
First Ditch Mitch is nobody’s friend because he is in Bed with Communist China just like Biden, and has played ball with the Democrat party for his own gain not the American People! He and his Chinese brother in-law have one of the biggest cargo container shipping companies out of China just for starters!
Isn’t this rich and quite amazing; how Biden would fry Assange for Espionage no less, when Biden along with his criminal son and brother have been directly involved in China, the Ukraine and other nations in direct acts of Treason and Espionage; but the dirty totally corrupted Deep State allows this fraud President to skate free as a Jay Bird!
This is why all of this agenda to suppress Free Speech must be fought hard and MUST be STOPPED; or we can all kiss Freedom of Speech and the Right to Live Free Goodbye!
First US President, Commander of Revolutionary Army
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Man and citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity…Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?”
Sep. 19, 1796, “Farewell Address,” Philadelphia’s American Daily Advisor
George Washington
“[W]hile just government protects all in their religious rights, true religion affords to government its surest support.” Oct. 1789, Letter to the Synod of the Reformed Dutch Church of North America “Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society.”
By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of…
It’s that season again, when we’re reminded to be thankful — and to express thankfulness. God has told us,
“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”1 Thessalonians 5:18(NASB)
Even though we know it’s God’s will, for most of us, a reminder is a good thing, because in the midst of busyness and challenges of life, we often forget to be grateful for our many blessings.
I always think of a particular incident when I think of giving thanks. Many years ago, our friend Paul noticed that his young daughter Susannah had a ritual with her bedtime prayers. She always prayed, “God, bless Mommy, and Daddy, and …” She went down her list, asking God for her all her wants.
At prayer time one night, he said, “Susannah, you have a lot to be thankful for. I’d like you to start your…
Thanksgiving is one of the foundational principles of living by faith,
“Always be joyful, pray continuously, in all things give thanks, for this is God’s desire for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NRSV)
Grace and Peace Joanne, YouTube Channel
Years ago, I read a fascinating article called “How the New Science of Thank You Can Change Your Life.” Apparently, scientific research has now been able to prove what God has been teaching people since the days of Cain: practicing gratitude can actually make us healthier – literally!!
Dr. Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at UC Davis, was able to prove, in his lab, that being thankful can change us for the better. He took three groups of volunteers and assigned each group to focus on one thing:
The first group concentrated on everything that went wrong, or irritated them.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive” “He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”
“Don’t give up Until you drink from the silver cup”
On Thanksgiving here in America let us thank God for our lives and the greatest opportunity it provides which is to serve His plan and purpose while we devout our love to Him our Father in the Holy name of Jesus. Amen.
As we share our love with family during holiday festivities remember to pray for all those who are alone or in any difficult unfortunate circumstances, those multitudes that are suffering; that they are blessed to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who wants to lead them home!
“To me the lyric of a song is secondary, but the song in question is a welcome departure from the usual, overworked theme of love, but also it has a good melody and expresses sympathy for the lonely.” Bernard says: December 24, 2020 at 5:40 pm
Like anything in this life truth and facts must be ferreted out so carry on from here listening to the tune then read all of the text, there is a second version of the story behind the song, and then another song that nails down the significant all encapsulating meaning of “Lonely People!”
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby
Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window
Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie
Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working
Darning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there
What does he care?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby
Died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people (ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all belong?
Bitrok 997
4 months ago
“This song makes me feel something that I can’t express with words”
Jerry Solis
1 month ago
“It’s the cello. The full haunting sound that reaches inside you. I heard a cellist in church play once and I wept. That haunting full enthralling sound. It pulls at your soul.”
Robert Davis
2 years ago
“Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name.” One of the most famous and hauntingly poignant lines in all of rock history.”
SoldierWombat
13 days ago
“Best song from the Beatles and one of the best scenes from Yellow Submarine.”
The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” Lyrics Meaning
by SMF · Published February 18, 2020 · Updated February 19, 2020
“Eleanor Rigby” is a certified Beatles’ classic, indeed somewhat of a cultural phenomenon in and of itself. And as such, certain information should be established from the onset.
First is that for all intents and purpose it is safe to say that the titular character, Eleanor Rigby, was not a real person. This seems to be an idea that many fans of the song have a hard time accepting. But throughout the years, for the most part Paul McCartney, the primary writer of the tune, has contended that Miss Rigby is indeed a fictitious character. Yes, at one point he did acknowledge that his conjuring up this name may have been the subconscious result of being influenced by a particular tombstone in a graveyard he used to hang out in during his youth. But he has also contended that she is a totally-fictitious character, one whose people’s insistence to prove is real has to some degree confounded him.
Indeed at the end of the day, the factual consensus is that he got the first name of the character from an actress (Eleanor Bron) who was associated with the Beatles at the time. And the last name was derived from a liquor store (Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers) he was familiar with in the UK.
Father McKenzie is not real!
And the same also goes for the second character we are introduced to in this song, Father McKenzie. In fact he was originally named Father McCartney after Macca himself. But to Paul personally, this appellation invoked images of his father. And upon realizing that his dad is nothing like the character portrayed in the song, he decided to rename him.
“Eleanor Rigby” is partially based on Reality
But with those facts being established, this is not to imply that “Eleanor Rigby” does not have any basis in reality. Rather let’s say that the titular character is a composite of a number of different elderly ladies Paul McCartney used to hang out with when he was a child. Indeed he even used to run errands for them. So you can say that his sympathy for the type of person Eleanor is depicted as is real.
Narrative
Now as for the narrative itself, it centers primarily on the Beatles acknowledging “all the lonely people”. More specifically it depicts Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie as lonely souls themselves. And the first of the two we are introduced to is Eleanor. Interestingly enough her age is never specified. However, one peculiar characteristic she has is her tendency to ‘pick up the rice in a church where a wedding has been’. And despite this being somewhat of an unorthodox statement, it does effectively relay the fact that she is indeed lonely, perhaps even suffering from some sort of mental issues or poverty as a result.
Father McKenzie is also an interesting case. We see that he is in fact a priest of some sort or a head of a church. However, his congregation is nonexistent. Thus his loneliness is manifest by him being akin to a leader with no followers. Yet despite this, he stays committed to his profession.
Climax of the Story
So the way the story climaxes is with Eleanor Rigby eventually passing away. And sadly enough, “nobody came” to her funeral. But furthermore it is Father McKenzie who actually buries her. And so the story ends, with the Beatles apparently lamenting for “all the lonely people” throughout.
Now it’s debatable that they are trying to relay certain messages, lessons if you will, via this tale. For instance, it has been speculated by some fans that the case is presented as ideally Eleanor and Father McKenzie would have met when she was still alive, became friends and thus served as the remedy to each other’s loneliness. There is also a peculiar, ambiguous line at the end of the third verse, after Rigby is buried, which reads “no one is saved”.
Now at the time this song was dropped, the Beatles, particularly John Lennon, was going through an anti-Christian phase, so to speak. So it is honestly quite-feasible that since the church is one of the settings of this song, as well as a priest being one of its central characters, that the band is actually taking a jab at the organized religion. And if so what they would basically be pointing to is the idea of Christianity failing some of its adherents in the most-fundamental way.
Conclusion
Verily, if a listener wants to look for additional meaning in this song by examining the rich history of the Beatles, combined with the symbolic nature of some of its lyrics, there is definitely enough there to lend to varying interpretations. But by and large, the narrative featured within “Eleanor Rigby” is straightforward and easy-to-follow. That is to say that most people who appreciate the tune lyrically do so because of the parts of the song that are simple to understand. And in that regard, it is fundamentally a sad song. It is a sorrowful song centered on an old lady who lives with no one to care for her and dies with no one to bury her.
In other words it’s the type of track to invoke sympathy for those who may actually be living under such circumstances, i.e. a humanitarian tune. And at the end of the day, “Eleanor Rigby” is one of the reasons why many people feel that the Beatles were musical geniuses. They were pop artists who were able to write and recite a hit song about such thought-provoking and heart-wrenching subject matter as care for the elderly and sympathy for the lonely.
Facts about “Eleanor Rigby”
The credited writers of this song are Paul McCartney and an entity known as Lennon-McCartney. The latter would be a combination of Paul McCartney and his Beatles’ bandmate, John Lennon (1940-1980). Furthermore it is noted for being the first song which Mr. McCartney had written which was not centered on the theme of love.
The musical score of this song was composed by another Beatle, George Harrison (1943-2001). None of the Beatles themselves actually played instruments on this track. And in that regard, “Eleanor Rigby” is said to be one-of-a-kind. In this case what they did do was employ session musicians consisting of two violists, two cellists and four violinists. And
due to the complexity of the instrumental, the Beatles never played this tune live.
The producer of “Eleanor Rigby” was the Beatles co-worker on most of their hits, Sir George Martin (1926-2016).
This track originally came out on 5 August 1966 as part of the Beatles’ album entitled “Revolver”.
“Eleanor Rigby” was quite-successful. It topped the UK Singles Chart and performed likewise in Canada and New Zealand. In fact it is noted for being the top-selling song in the UK for 1966.
Moreover it peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently it was not promoted as heavily in the United States as it was in the UK due to the religious references in the song.
“Eleanor Rigby” also earned Paul McCartney in particular a Grammy Award. This was in 1966, and it was awarded in the category of “Best Contemporary (R&R) Solo Vocal Performance – Male or Female”.
Moreover as of 2011, Rolling Stone has ranked this track at number 138 on its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”.
Popular Covers of “Eleanor Rigby”
A number of prominent artists have covered “Eleanor Rigby”, especially during its heyday. Amongst them are:
Ray Charles (1968)
Aretha Franklin (1969)
John Denver (1970)
Tony Bennett (1971)
José Feliciano (1992)
Pearl Jam (2005)
Paul McCartney also did his own remix of this song and featured it on his 1984 solo album, “Give My Regards to Broad Street”.
The Eleanor Rigby Fascination
Despite Paul McCartney acknowledging, as aforementioned, that Eleanor Rigby is not a real person, fans of the tune have still been obsessed with tracking down a real person by this name who fits the character described in the song. Indeed sometimes their efforts are borderline comedic. For instance, the aforementioned headstone in Liverpool, England (i.e. the Beatles’ hometown) which cites an “Eleanor Rigby” has accordingly become somewhat of a tourist attraction. Said headstone is even depicted on the music video to the 1995 Beatles’ track “Free as a Bird”. Moreover a document from 1911, which Paul McCartney at one time personally handled, which references a Eleanor Rigby (more specifically “E. Rigby”) was auctioned off for a whopping £115,000 pounds (approximately $250,000) in 2008.
Interesting to note is that there is also a real Eleanor Rigby statue located in the English city of Liverpool. It was erected in the aforementioned city in 1982. And interestingly, it is directly based on the character from the song.
Paul McCartney wrote most of this song. He got the name “Eleanor” from the actress Eleanor Bron, who appeared in the 1965 Beatles film Help!. “Rigby” came to him when he was in Bristol, England, and spotted a store: Rigby and Evens Ltd Wine and Spirit Shippers. He liked the name “Eleanor Rigby” because it sounded natural and matched the rhythm he wrote.
McCartney explained at the time that his songs came mostly from his imagination. Regarding this song, he said, “It just came. When I started doing the melody I developed the lyric. It all came from the first line. I wonder if there are girls called Eleanor Rigby?”
McCartney wasn’t sure what the song was going to be about until he came up with the line “picks up the rice in a church where a wedding has been.” That’s when he came up with the story of an old, lonely woman. The lyrics “wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door” are a reference to the cold-cream she wears in an effort to look younger.
The song tells the story of two lonely people. First, we meet a churchgoing woman named Eleanor Rigby, who is seen cleaning up rice after a wedding. The second verse introduces the pastor, Father McKenzie, whose sermons “no one will hear.” This could indicate that nobody in coming to his church, or that his sermons aren’t getting through to the congregation on a spiritual level. In the third verse, Eleanor dies in the church and Father McKenzie buries her.
“Father Mackenzie” was originally “Father McCartney.” Paul decided he didn’t want to freak out his dad and picked a name out of the phone book instead.
After Eleanor Rigby is buried, we learn that “no one was saved,” indicating that her soul did not elevate to heaven as promised by the church. This could be seen as a swipe at Christianity and the concept of being saved by Jesus. The song was released in August 1966 just weeks after the furor over John Lennon’s remarks, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now.”
For the most part, the song eluded controversy, possibly because the lilting string section made it easier to handle.
A string section scored by Beatles producer George Martin consisting of four violins, two violas and two cellos were used in recording. Paul may have been inspired by the classic composer Vivaldi.
The Beatles didn’t play any of the instruments on this track. All the music came from the string players, who were hired as session musicians.
Paul McCartney recounted this song’s origin story in a 2018 interview with GQ. He said: “When I was really little I lived on what was called a housing estate, which is like the projects – there were a lot of old ladies and I enjoyed sitting around with these older ladies because they had these great stories, in this case about World War II. One in particular I used to visit and I’d go shopping for her – you know, she couldn’t get out. So I had that figure in my mind of a sort of lonely old lady.
Over the years, I’ve met a couple of others, and maybe their loneliness made me empathize with them. But I thought it was a great character, so I started this song about the lonely old lady who picks up the rice in the church, who never really gets the dreams in her life. Then I added in the priest, the vicar, Father McKenzie. And so, there was just the two characters. It was like writing a short story, and it was basically on these old ladies that I had known as a kid.”
In Observer Music Monthly, November 2008, McCartney said: “These lonely old ladies were something I knew about growing up, and that was what ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was about – the fact that she died and nobody really noticed. I knew this went on.”
There is a gravestone for an Eleanor Rigby in St. Peter’s Churchyard in Woolton, England. Woolton is a suburb of Liverpool and Lennon first met McCartney at a fete at St. Peter’s Church. The gravestone bearing the name Eleanor Rigby shows that she died in October 1939, aged 44.
However Eleanor was not like the lonely people in McCartney’s song, as she was married. Another of the gravestones there has the word “McKenzie” written on it. McCartney has denied that that is the source of the names, though he has agreed that they may have registered subconsciously.
This was originally written as “Miss Daisy Hawkins.” According to Rolling Stone magazine, when McCartney first played the song for his neighbor Donovan Leitch, the words were “Ola Na Tungee, blowing his mind in the dark with a pipe full of clay.”
The lyrics were brainstormed among The Beatles. In later years, Lennon and McCartney gave different accounts of who contributed more of the words to the song.
During recording, microphones were placed very close to the instruments to create an unusual, vaguely distorted sound.
Ray Charles reached #35 US and #36 UK with his version in 1968; Aretha Franklin took it to #17 US in 1969. A year later, an instrumental by the group El Chicano went to #115. The song reached the chart again in 2008 when David Cook of American Idol fame took it to #92.
Because of the string section, this was difficult to play live, which The Beatles never did. On his 2002 Back In The US tour, Paul McCartney played this without the strings. Keyboards were used to compensate.
This song was not written in a normal chord, it is in the dorian mode – the scale you get when you play one octave up from the second note of a major scale. This is usually found in old songs such as “Scarborough Fair.”
Vanilla Fudge covered this in a slowed-down, emotional style, something they did with many songs, including hits by ‘N Sync and The Backstreet Boys. Their version of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” was a #6 US hit in 1968. Fudge drummer Carmine Appice told Songfacts: “Most of the songs we did, we tried to take out of the realm they were in and try to put them where they were supposed to be in our eyes. ‘Eleanor Rigby’ was always a great song by The Beatles. It was done with the orchestra, but the way we did it, we put it into an eerie graveyard setting and made it spooky, the way the lyrics read. Songs like ‘Ticket To Ride,’ that’s a hurtin’ song, so we slowed it down so it wouldn’t be so happy. We would look at lyrics and the lyrics would dictate if it was feasible to do something with it or not.”
In 1966, this song took home the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Performance, Male. It was awarded to Paul McCartney.
In August 1966, the long-defunct British music magazine Disc And Music Echo asked Kinks frontman Ray Davies to review the then newly released Revolver album. This is how he reacted to this song: “I bought a Haydn LP the other day and this sounds just like it. It’s all sort of quartet stuff and it sounds like they’re out to please music teachers in primary schools. I can imagine John saying: ‘I’m going to write this for my old schoolmistress’. Still it’s very commercial.”
The chorus of this song was sampled as part of Sinead O’Connor’s 1994 song “Famine,” which is based on the story of the potato famine in Ireland.
In 2008 a document came to light that showed that McCartney may have had an alternative source for the Eleanor Rigby name. In the early 1990s a lady named Annie Mawson had a job teaching music to children with learning difficulties. Annie managed to teach a severely autistic boy to play “Yellow Submarine” on the piano, which won him a Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award. She wrote to the former Beatle telling him what joy he’d brought. Months later, Annie received a brown envelope bearing a “Paul McCartney World Tour” stamp. Inside was enclosed a page from an accounts log kept by the Corporation of Liverpool, which records the wages paid in 1911 to a scullery maid working for the Liverpool City Hospital, who signed her name “E. Rigby.” There was no accompanying letter of explanation. Annie said in an interview that when she saw the name Rigby, “I realized why I’d been sent it. I feel that when you’re holding it you’re holding a bit of history.”
When the slip went up for auction later that year, McCartney told the Associated Press: “Eleanor Rigby is a totally fictitious character that I made up. If someone wants to spend money buying a document to prove a fictitious character exists, that’s fine with me.”
This was released simultaneously on August 5, 1966 on both the album Revolver and as a double A-side with “Yellow Submarine.”
The thrash band Realm covered this song on their 1988 album Endless War. It is a speed metal version of the song that got them signed to Roadrunner Records.
McCartney told Q magazine June 2010 that after recording the song, he felt he could have done better. He recalled: “I remember not liking the vocal on Eleanor Rigby, thinking, I hadn’t nailed. I listen to it now and it’s… very good. It’s a bit annoying when you do Eleanor Rigby and you’re not happy with it.”
Former US President Bill Clinton has stated that this is his favorite Beatles song.
Richie Havens covered this on his 1966 debut album, Mixed Bag, and again on his 1987 Sings Beatles and Dylan album.
God gave so much by His expression of love when he created us and all of this the seen and the unseen; then even gave Himself as the Redeemer to bridge the chasm between imperfection and corruption unto Holiness and Eternal Perfection in God’s glory for those of faith through Jesus Christ the Savior and Good Shepherd! During the Holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas as well throughout the year we must do our best to remember these facts and truth that tells us so clearly how it is better to give than to receive!
God bless you.
Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesians
“34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions. 35In everything, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus Himself: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” 36When Paul had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.” Acts 20:35
“John 3:16 is one of the most well-known verses of all time. It says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
“In the very presence of Jesus, God demonstrates that He is love—and love gives. If we truly want to be like Jesus, we’ll give.” pushpay.com
If You Need More After All That and You’re Not Crying Already Like I Am; An Extra Grand Exit Song…
Now As We Weep!
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