Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Difference

People don't come up to one and exclaim, "I hear you're becoming a lawyer!" "... a doctor!" "... an engineer!" or "... a hairdresser!" Yet, in the past fortnight, I have had no less than four people say to me, "I hear you're becoming a nun!" Then, predominately, once I've explained that I am still discerning that, and I ask that the statement of my apparently-impending nunhood not be repeated, I am told "But it gives such hope to people!" or am asked "Why do you think you get to be treated differently?"

Why doesn't the thought of good Catholic lawyers, doctors, engineers and hairdressers give people hope in the same way the thought of another nun reportedly does?

Also, if one would not go around discussing unconfirmed marriage plans, then why do people go around discussing unconfirmed consecration plans?

I don't want to be treated differently: I want to be treated the same.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Caritas in Veritate

(Or, "My Need For an Editor: not the encyclical.")

So, to lay the ground work here, I really admire Niko's zeal for defending the Faith. I think that his love for Christ, and his willingness to speak about Him ought to be commended. I also want to encourage Niko in his formaiton.

There was something he posted recently which said a few things which were not quite in line with Church teaching, it reminded me of how much I need to go through and read what I've written before I post it.

The first thing was this:
It quotes the Catholic Encyclopedia written in 1913 well before Vatican II.  Thus, it describes the old Catholic faith, not the current one.
I don't think that Niko meant this to sound as though there was a "pre-Vatican II" Faith and a "post-CVatican II" one.
But just incase people thought that's what was being said, let me make this very, very clear:
If there were an 'old Faith, an old Belief (which I'm distinguishing from 'belief,' for now), and old Church, nbte new one would be illigitamate, and, frankly, wrong.

But there was no break in the Church, in Her Belief, in the Faith about the middle of the 20th Century. In fact, there has not been one ever.

What I believe Niko meant to express was the development in theological thought that has happened since 1913.

The other thing which Niko said in the same post, which I don't think he meant to say, was
Also, Abraham if he existed would date back to around 1,800 BC...
Abraham, father of Issac and grandfather of Jacob (who became Israel) was alive on earth. To deny that would be to deny the promises of Our Lord God to him and, thus, to the people Israel and, eventually, to us.

The point of this post: I tend to write things (like this post, for example) and not edit them before I send them out to the interwebs (again, like this post.)

Friday, December 9, 2011

The Literal Wealth of the Catholic Church

I was asked over on my tumblr the follow question. My response is posted below.

Let me tell you a story.
There once was this Italian guy called Lorenzo (or, in English, Lawrence) who lived in Rome and happened to be a Catholic. Now, this was back in the day when it was unpopular to be Catholic - much less a practicing one - in Rome. What was more, he worked for the Church.
The dude in charge of Rome at the time, a man called Valerian demanded that Lorenzo bring him all the riches of the Church - something he’d been made aware that our friend could do for him. He also demanded that Lorenzo give up the True Faith or die in the same way that seven of his friends did four days before.
So Lorenzo rocked up for his execution accompanied by all of Rome’s poor, crippled, diseased, blind and undignified people.

Another story for you: there once was this great King who decided to visit is subjects. He wasn’t particularly well received, so they did what they could to send him away.
However, in three days, he returned again and has never left his people since.
He is the source and summit of their life.
He dwells in his tent in every one of his palaces on Earth at all times.
His name means God-will-save and he is called God-with-us.
You probably know him as Jesus.
His dwelling place is usually called a Tabernacle and it is here that He reposes, loving His people and waiting for their love so that He can shower on them gifts that we call graces.
The poor that St Lawrence brought to the Emperor Valerian are the Face of Christ, who said that in being kind to the poor, the outcast and the downtrodden, we were being kind to Him: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.” (source)
The Eucharist and the least among us are the literal wealth of the Catholic Church.

Do they weigh on my conscience? Yes.
I do not have a great love for either of them, though I very much desire to.
I have a feeling, anon, that what you meant was “Does the material wealth of the Catholic Church weigh on your conscience?”
I’ve a question for you in return. And the answer to that question.
Do you know what the entire art collection of the Holy See is insured for?
It’s not.
Do you know how much the Vatican values each of the art pieces for accounting purposes?
One Euro.
The value of the art and architecture of the Catholic Church is not found in it’s material worth. It is found in its ability to lead people to God, and to worship Him.
tl;dr
The literal wealth of the Catholic Church is Christ Himself.
The material wealth of the Church only has value insofar as it points to the first.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A Pro-Life Defense of Truth, by sword-meets-rose

Pro-life advocates argue that elective abortion unjustly takes the life of a defenseless human being. In support of this conclusion, pro-lifers cite both scientific and philosophic evidence. Nonetheless, some people ignore the evidence pro-life advocates present and argue for abortion based on self-interest. That is the lazy way out. If we care about truth, we will courageously follow the facts wherever they lead. But there are pitfalls. Here are five common mistakes people make arguing for abortion

Mistake #1: Confuse objective claims with subjective ones (or confuse claims about ice cream with claims about truth).

When pro-life advocates say that abortion is morally wrong because it takes the life of a defenseless child, they are making a particular type of claim. Specifically, they are making a moral claim about the rightness or wrongness of abortion.

Many people, however, misconstrue the kind of claim the pro-lifer is making in order to respond to one they like better. Consider the following responses to the statement, Abortion is morally wrong.

• “That’s just your view.”

[...]

• “Don’t force your morality on me.”

[...]

1) Relativism is self-refuting—it commits intellectual suicide. [...]

2) It is impossible for a moral relativist to say that anything is wrong, including intolerance. [...]

3) It is impossible to live as a moral relativist.
[...]

• “I’m personally opposed to abortion, but I still think it should be legal.”

[...]

Mistake #2: Attack the person rather than refute the argument. (Ad hominem fallacy)
[...]

Mistake #3 : Assume what you are trying to prove.

[...]

Mistake #4: Confuse functioning as a person with being a person.


[...]

Mistake #5: Disguise your true position by appealing to the hard cases.

[...]

VI. Summary and Conclusion:

[...]
The whole thing is availiable here.
(source and author)

Monday, November 28, 2011

An answer and some questions.

Honestly, I got what I'd hoped for: you gave an honest answer.
I can't format what I want to say in your tumblr-ask, so I'm putting it here.

I think I've said this to you before, but Satan does not like that you've become Catholic. He doesn't want you to live the Christ-life.
The more you give up, the easier it will be to keep giving up.
Pray.
Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray.
And then, when you're done, pray some more.

Don't worry if you fail: there have only been two humans ever who have managed not to; and only one of them was a human person: Mary: the Other was God Himself.
Try and pray the Three Hail Marys everyday.
Then a decade of the Rosary.
Then the 5 decades a day.
Work slowly and remember that Mary is your mum. She loves you more perfectly than your earthly mother ever could. She will help you.

Call on your Holy Patrons. Your Confirmation Saint and any others with whom you have a particularly close relationship.
Try and get a hold of a Saint Benedict's Medal and a Miraculous Medal and pray the prayers that go with them.
Benedict's Prayer is here.
And St Maximillian Kolbe's Prayer to go with the Miraculous Medal is
"O Mary Concieved without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee, and for those who do not have recourse to Thee, especially sinners, heretics and enimies of the Church."
The first part was given to St Catherine Laboure by Our Lady when She asked the Medal to be struck. The second part is an adaptation of the prayer that St Maximillian asked the MIs to pray.

So many of the great Saints suffered scruples.
You're not alone.
The best cure, by far, is obedience.
If you don't already have a regular confessor or Spiritual Director: find one.
Then obey him.

You will have Protestants and all other manner of non-Catholics tell you that Catholicism is anything from heterodox to pagan to utter bullock excretement.
Pray for them.
Know that you possess the Fullness of Faith.
Pray.
Attend the Sacraments.
Pray the Rosary.
Go to Adroation as often as you can.

If there's anything I can do to help you, don't hesitate to contact me.
Or, if it's something a little more local, call your Parish Priest.



Know that you're in  my prayers.

A Poem by Niko

Mea Culpa

Hail and thunder knock my heart cold from the sky
Mary seems so far away.
full of deceit and empty of
grace, I go to the place
blessed by those whose lives are pure
art, like a Caravaggio, like a pieta.
Thou liveth
amongst us, we broken
women and men. why hast thou
Blessed us?
is the fruit of our sins so sweet?
of thy desires I know nothing.
womb to tomb we are nothing but cells and dirt!
Jesus.
Holy - words like butterflies from the sky
Mary I have no other hope. what is the
Mother of our depravity?
God. I cover my face. I try and fail to
pray. I am the damned and
for us damned there is no rest,
sinners until the earth rises in wrath.
now and then I am reminded that
at the hour of judgement,
of our glory, the last enemy destroyed is
death.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

I am a Christian.

When I say… “I am a Christian,”
I’m not shouting “I’m clean livin’.
I’m whispering “I was lost,
Now I am found and forgiven.”

When I say… “I am a Christian,”
I don’t speak this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble,
And need CHRIST to be my guide.

When I say… “I am a Christian,”
I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing I’m weak,
And need HIS strength to carry on.

When I say… “I am a Christian,”
I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting that I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.


Source

Monday, November 21, 2011

Duty of a Christian

Thursday, November 17, 2011

What Hypocrisy?

Everyone who reads my other blog Kelly Thinks (a little more often) knows how much I respect the consistency and un-hypocrisy of the pro-choicers who choose to debate me.
Or, at least, how much I would if any of them were either consistent or un-hypocritical.

One of the most common objections that may be merited as real objections (there are many that cannot be merited as such) against pro-life arguments is that we never cite unbiased material.

Now, perhaps I have jumped the gun a little and the citations made to me by pro-choicers recently have not been hypocritical. Or, perhaps, they cannot be blamed for their hypocrisy. Perhaps stfuhypocrisy is really just a fan of irony; maybe stfuprolife is actually interested in non-biased material, even if it happens to show data that turns out to be in favour of not killing children.
Maybe, even though stfuprolife says that they “don’t need to know the difference between pro-life and anti-choice” and that they can “respect a pro-lifer”,[source] they just chose to have that name out of irony. Or something.

However, I think one of these two situations is much more likely: either these people don’t care that they’re being hypocritical because if we post information that only they can agree with, and they post information only they can agree with, then any undecided person only has access to one type of information. Or, with all the honesty that they can manage, the pro-choicers who have recently sent me links and citations believe that everything they send to me, the definitions that they choose to use and the reports that they choose to cite are all completely unbiased.

Here’s the thing: they aren’t.
The following is a link as part of a reply that I was recently sent by stfuprolife. The link to what they said is above.
A fetus is not a child.  It is not a person.  It is simply a potential person.  It is human, but not a human being.  It cannot be an individual if it’s not a separate being, it is depending and residing within someone else’s body.  So by definition, logic, and fact, a fetus simply cannot be considered an individual human being..

Monday, November 14, 2011

What's That?

Becoming a Saint is hard work?
Funny that.

“If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
-Jesus of Nazareth, Almighty God
“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
- Jesus of Nazreth, Almighty God
Whoever told you being a Christian was easy lied.
Anyone who has told you that it is the greatest joy possible, in this life or the next, was telling you the truth.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Answer to just-slightly-insane

The following it an answer to a question posed over at Kelly Thinks (a little more often). I'm posting it here because it's too long for a decent tumblr post, in my opinion.
The question is presumably in response to a couple of quotes from Msgr Phillip Reilly which I posted there earlier today. This was the question (my response follows.)

Abortion has existed for thousands of years (in ancient times, women used to ingest large quantities of certain herbs, which would induce a miscarriage), yet it has never led to any sort of a "culture of death." So what makes you think that's a possibility at all?
***   ***   ***

The wilful death of an innocent person is not only a cause of the Culture of Death, but a fruit of that Culture. Murder, War, Prostitution and Slavery have also all existed for thousands of years and are all both fruits and causes of the Culture of Death.

The difference between then and now - though admittedly, where the change occured is a blurred period of decades or centuries - is that, save at the end of various civilisations, it has never been thought a decent, humane, fair or reasonable thing to intentionally destroy the life of another huaman being. This is particulalry so if that person had done no wrong to another.

A culture which accepts an inherrent moral evil as its norm is already one of Death, rather than Life. A culture which accepts multiple inherrently moral evils is one that has been totally swept up in a Culture of Death.

It is important to note that the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death have been competing world-views since the first decision mankind* ever made. That is to say, when we chose to disobey the Natural Law - the Law that is "written in the heart of every man and woman" (Evangelium Vitae, n 29) - we turned away from our natural end and became teleologically disordered.

In not being ordered toward our natural end or goal, we necessarily became ordered towards a certain [type of] death.

In short, it is not abortion as such that has lead to the Culture of Death that we are currently deeply immersed in. However, abortion, the killing of a unborn - and therefore totally innocent - human being for the well-being and/or comfort of another, is "the final nail in the coffin of the Culture of Life, so to speak," as Msgr Reilly once said to me.
As Mother Teresa said at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast in the USA, "[T]he greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.
And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"





________
*mankind, still not a misogynistic was of saying 'humanity.'

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Brief post on birthdays, blogs and bookings

It's Tom's birthday today. It's also Fr Doug's. It was Montana's and Emily's the other day (on different days). It's Eliza's birthday in a few days.
So birthday shout-outs and prayers to all of them.

I am still working on that series from my trip to NY. The next installment (God willing) will be up in a few weeks. Uni's just been getting on top of me lately.

Also, flight bookins make me RAGEAAARRRGHHHOAOIWEFJKBFVOJNAODJPJAJHOAAHHH!!!!!1!!!oneoneone!

Monday, October 10, 2011

During Respect Life Month

Check this out:
During Respect Life Month

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Holy Suffering


I had a conversation months and months ago with Caroline about the Catholic teaching on suffering. At the time, I was unable to form the right words to express the teaching of the Church. This video has those words.
It also speaks to some of the questions I posed yesterday in my post, How Long, Oh Lord.

Friday, September 30, 2011

In Soviet Russia...

I mean North Korea...

How long, oh Lord? How long?

Have you ever had the feeling of your heart been torn, very slowly, both out of your chest and into pieces?
Have you ever wanted to give a complete stranger a bear-hug and tell them that everything's alright and that they don't have to go through their pain anymore?
Have you ever wanted to cry, but not had the tears?
Have you ever asked God to allow you to suffer some horrible fate, rather than allow an injustice to occur?
Have you ever wondered what type of good He must be bringing out of a great evil, while thanking Him for that good?
Have you ever wanted to run away screaming, yet found yourself unable to tear yourself away?
Have you ever gone to speak, but no sound would come out of your mouth?
Have you ever wondered what their pain is like, and wished you could take it away?
Have you ever longed for them to stop, and been unable to show them why they ought to?

How do you say "I love you and I want the best for you" to people who don't want you to speak to them?
How do you piece your heart back together after the one you've loved has been torn apart?
How do you continue to get up in the morning, when the whole world seems to be against the love you long to show?
How do you give to the next person, when you've emptied yourself entirely for this one?
How do you explain what drives you to do it over and over and over again?
How do you explain why you are there and how you can stay there all day, without others around?








I just sat down to blog about today's experience of praying and side-walk counselling, but I don't know where to start or what to say. These are my questions.

Standing on My Head: Story from Jake Coffman

For your reading and contemplation:
Standing on My Head: Story from Jake Coffman

Going After Jesus

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mt 16:24)

I was reflecting on discilpeship last night and, of the quotes from Scripture that I was given to reflect on, this verse stood out for me.

Self denial and detatchment are two things that I've been trying to get a better handle on in recent times, so when this verse stood out from the others, I assumed that this was the reason why.
However, after sitting with the verse in Adoration, the words "come after Me" struck somethig within me. A dissonance between the words and my life seemed to resound. As though a child were attempting to play a Major Chord, but only had the finger span of a Major 7th.
C.E.G.B.
I was (and still am) familiar with the parable of the Lost Sheep: the Good Shepherd goes after the one Lost Sheep, leaving the 99 others in the field.
But this was something new.

"Come after Me.
"Follow Me, yes; but true discipleship is more than that.
"Come after Me."
As the Good Shepherd goes after the Lost Sheep, so we must seek out Christ. With that ardent love which He has for us, we must love Him.

I don't need to be simply detatched from all that is not Christ, I need to run after Him; to seek Him where He is to be found: not in things of this world, but in Love.
I need to search out every possible way of loving Him more and follow that path diligently, without looking back.

Imagine a mother who has lost her child. Imagine the effort she puts into finding that child.
As she gets closer, her search becomes more and more focused.
So to with my search for Christ. As I seek Him out, look where He is found, I will draw closer to Him. As I draw closer to Him, my seach will become more and more refined, more pure.
Unlike the mother, however, I do not currently have a single minded focus in searching out my Goal. Part of the refining process will be getting rid of all the other goals to focus on the one Goal that matters.
This will involvem a higher and higher degree of detachment, a greater willingness to submit to God's will.

To become a Saint is to conform oneself - or, rather, to be conformed - to Christ in all areas, and supremely to His Pascal Mystery. To become a Saint, I myst strain ahead in the race that has already been won, to the Prize which I have already been given. As an athelete, I must suffer in order to conform myself to the One who has already run, already won, already perfectly conformed His Own Will to that of His Father.


Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mt 16:24)

Monday, September 26, 2011

What Jen Learnt From Praying Outstide Abortion Clinics

Over at the National Catholic Register, Jennifer Fulwiler writes about the five things she has learned form praying outside abortion mills (my words, not hers.)

She writes:
The first time I went out to pray in front of an abortion clinic as part of a 40 Days for Life vigil, it felt surreal. Not only am I naturally awkward about public displays of faith, but less than a decade ago I was still a pro-choice atheist. In fact, it felt like such an unnatural thing for me to do that I was tempted to back out at the last minute and see if I could find someone else to cover my hour. I’m very glad that I went through with it, because it ended up being a powerful, eye-opening experience. Here are a few things I took away from it:
  1.  The pro-life movement is well organized.  
  2. Average people are getting involved in the pro-life cause.
  3. Communities don’t want abortion facilities in their neighborhoods
  4. Pro-lifers care about the mothers just as much as they care about the babies.
  5. Spiritual warfare is real.
  6. Prayer works. 

Quote of the Now.

Do we recognise that the innate dignity of
every individual rests on his or her
deepest identity – as image of the Creator
– and therefore that human rights are
universal? … And so we are led to reflect
on what place the poor and elderly,
immigrants and the voiceless, have in our
societies. How can it be that domestic
violence torments so many mothers and
children? How can it be that the most
wondrous and sacred human space – the
womb – has become a place of unutterable
violence?
 - Pope Benedict XVI, Welcoming Celebration by the Young People, 17 July 2008

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

New Arrivals!

 Bridget has a new niece, Adelaide Margret Mary. :D
Moreover, she (Bridget) is home after five and a half weeks away. It's going to be great having her around the house again.

AND, guess what? My order from Fr Z's WDTPRS Store came yesterday!



Below is the pictorial evidence thereof.


Packaged goods with Linda's hand in the back ground.
 
The box, opening itself.


Taking up the kitchen bench. Again.
 
One of these

A mug

Some pins for my students


The entire collection

 
And the de-stress material to be used around exam time

Thursday, September 8, 2011

"I'm a Good Catholic, but..."

I was talking (and agreeing) with Catlin last night about needing to be fully committed to the Faith, whole and entire.
From that conversation, I was going to write a blog but it seems someone - not Caitlin - has beet me to it.

The story goes something like this:
I opened up blogger to write this but decided to check out some of the blogs I follow first.
I went to this post by Mark Shea from Catholic and Enjoying It, which links to this blog, which has a post on the topic I was going to write about.

Please go read that post at Gray Matters.
For the Catholic faith is not like a Jenga tower, where pieces can be removed and the tower will survive, so long as the basic structure remains. It is more akin to a log cabin. Remove one post, and the cabin collapses.
The truths of the faith are interconnected. They support each other; they cannot stand without each other.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Perpetual Adoration, Jangling Rosaries and Dodging Questions

An interesting post over at Get Religion.
Here’s a little secret known only to faithful religious believers and, perhaps, to journalists who are willing to pay close attention to their lives: People who pray a lot know more about doubt than people who dedicate little or no time to serious prayer.
...
I bring this up for journalistic reasons, after several GetReligion readers sent me notes about a recent Washington Post story about a Catholic parish that practices the 24-hour-a-day practice of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This is a good idea for a feature story and this piece has its moments, even if it finally veers into that familiar pseudo-National Geographic tone suggesting that the reporter is writing about the obscure practices of an exotic tribe on the other side of the planet — not members of our nation’s largest religious flock.

Do go read it.
And the article it refers to.
:)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

'wymynpreests'

Please, please pray for these people. We MUST pray for all heretics and schismatics.
For your charity, pray.

Warning: don't watch this with kids nor disenters around, lest you breed a heretic.
Also, no one mention 'biological solution.'




You may want to consider LarryD's Adopt-A-Priestess campaign.
Either that, or join me in a prayer for Eileen diFranco and Rod Stephens

We Are



Up loaded onto youtube by DefendUsInBattle.
I think this is the same as who comments regularly on blogs I read,
namely 'Joe@DefendUsInBattle'.

We Are Catholic.
It isn't something we 'do', it is who WE ARE.
We are something positive, wonderful, and special.
We are loyal to the Church, to the Pope, our tradition, and our God.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

More Prayer Requests

For the Mother, child and staff involved in this; for Rosie; for new, current and old readers (and followers! - Welcome, Br Gilbert.) to this poor blog; for ND's liturgy, theology and ministry; for the staff and students at ND; for Pregnancy Assist and FLI(Aus); for those who work at Rivervale, Midland and Balcatta; for Fr Z; for my Mum and my Brother; and, if you get a chance, for me.

The Human Person, The Dignity of. Part Two.

 I'm finally getting around to posting the second installment of my The Human Person series.
 I cheated in this one a bit because it's baiscally the same as a paper that I recently handed it.
Here goes:

***   ***   ***

Our knowledge of the inviolable dignity of the human person is founded on two scriptural assertions: that man is made in the image of God (Gen 1:26) and that God became Man (Cf Jn 1:1-18). The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it this way: “The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God; it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude.” (CCC 1700)

What is to be discussed, then, is this: what it means to have been created in the image and likeness of God, what about man’s dignity is transcendent and in what way - or how this is - and what is meant by divine beatitude. Along the way, we will explore how each of these things impacts what approach we take to justice generally and, in particular, to social justice.

God’s nature is communitarian; this is reflected in us. Blessed John Paul II comments that we are essentially social creatures. That is to say, it is part of our essence to be relational. Just as the Persons of the Trinity share in the one Nature or what-ness, we too share in common human nature yet are different persons. We are all able to do what pertains to properly to humans but it is not a nature that acts, it is a person. My nature doesn’t write this reflection, I write it; my nature is not in relation with other natures, I - as a person - am in relation. It is possible that all this talk about nature and personhood does not seem to relate to the inviolable dignity or social justice; but it does. It relates because social justice rests on the inviolable dignity of each human person who, because of his nature, is relational just as God is.  Moreover, just as the Father is not the Son, nor the Spirit either of Them, I am not you, nor you I. However, since we share the same nature, and our share of that nature is equal (for one cannot possess a lesser measure of nature), we are equal in our image-ness and likeness of God, particularly our ability to relate to other persons. This ability to relate is at the heart of social justice because it is from this - that is, the ability to relate - that society comes.

The word ‘society’ comes from the Latin societas, and that from socius, words that give rise to a new understanding of ‘society’ that can and should deeply effect the actions of those seeking social justice. The Latin socius, companion, connotes a deeper relationship than merely being civil to another. A companion is literally someone one shares bread with. (From the Latin cum - with , and panis - bread.) The intimacy of sharing food, and in particular bread, is not lost on the Christian mind: the sharing of bread is a powerful symbol of the Eucharist. The union of Christ with the believer; the believer with Christ; and the believers with is a principle effect of Holy Communion; they truly become one body by sharing in His Body. Companionship -  and, thus, society - for the Catholic, then, is realised when each responds to the call to become one with the Other. This call to oneness is best understood in light of Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “That they all may be one, as you, Father, in me, and I in you.” (Jn 17:21) The perichoresis - mutual indwelling - that is the Trinity is the image in which we are made.

Christ, who is the Image of the Unseen God, (Col 1:15) is the fullness of humanity (Gaudium et Spes, 22, 41); Jesus Christ, who is bodily in Heaven and in whom the fullness of divinity is pleased to dwell (Col 2:9) has bestowed on humanity, the glory of Heaven. Pope St Leo the Great says on this:
“…the Nature of mankind went up, to pass above the angels' ranks and to rise beyond the archangels' heights, and to have Its uplifting limited by no elevation until, received to sit with the Eternal Father, It should be associated on the throne with His glory, to Whose Nature It was united in the Son.”
(Sermon LXXIII on the Ascension.)
Indeed, St Ephrem writes, rightly, that our nature is “our nature is worshipped in the heavens by every creature seen and unseen.” (Catechesis 7) The angels are naturally - that is to say, ordinarily by nature - higher above human nature than human nature is above ant-nature; the angels naturally transcend us. Yet, as Sts Leo and Ephrem say, our nature has now been taken infinitely above that of the angels when it was united to Christ in His Divinity and then ascended to the right hand of God the Father where it is worshiped - and honour due only to God - in the Person of the Son. Our dignity is in our nature, it is from what, rather than who, we are that our dignity comes; that is why we can say that it inherent. Because our dignity is inherent and our nature has been raised about all other created natures, we can truly say that our dignity is transcendent.

This amazing gift of God to us in our nature, the transcendence of our nature and, thus, dignity, draws us to love and serve one another. Since our inherent dignity not only stems from its creation in the likeness of the Creator but has also, and further, raised, the respect due to all persons with this nature (that is, all human persons) is easily understood. This is a further grounding for social justice.

‘Divine beatitude’ is difficult to find a meaning for. Most of the good, online, theological dictionaries do not contain the phrase. However, it is possible to discern the meaning from etymology and brief theological reflection. ‘Beatitude’ comes from the Latin beatus, an adjective meaning ‘happy’ or ‘fortunate.’ It is the same root of the Latin for felicity, beatitudo. The Vulgate translation of Mt 5:3 reads, in part, “beati pauperes spiritu…” which is commonly translated as “blessed are the poor in spirit.” We can conclude, therefore, that ‘beatitude’ is the state of felicity or perfect happiness. We know, of course, that ‘divine’ denotes having to do with God or His nature. Thus, ‘divine beatitude’ is taken to mean the happiness or felicity which God enjoys. We are made for happiness; we are called to eternal and supreme happiness; we have a “vocation to divine beatitude” (CCC 1700); we are created to share in a joy, a felicity that is infinitely above our nature. More still, we are called to allow others to enjoy the same.

Social justice, then, must be rooted in the understanding of this immense dignity of the human person. Human nature is made in the image and likeness of God, who is communitarian in nature. Therefore, we must commune with others and to totally empty ourselves for the love of them. God, in His unnecessary, unjustifiable goodness, united our nature with His own Divine Nature and then, at His Ascension, bestowed on this human Nature and even greater gift: to ascend far above the angels. The respect that is due to all who share in the human Nature, then, is multiplied. This respect manifests itself in wanting the very best for each. In the mind shattering realisation that God wants to share with us the supreme happiness that He, in Himself, enjoys, we come to realise that this felicity manifests itself in overflowing gratuitousness that wishes to share the Good with all whom it comes into contact with.

We know that God’s Will is unchanging and unchangeable. Concretely, we know this dignity of ours cannot be taken away or changed: there is an inviolable dignity which is inherent in every human person. Truly, then, we can say with Pope John XXIII that “the Church‘s social doctrine, in fact, develops from the principle that affirms the inviolable dignity of the human person.” (Mater et Magistra)

The "Tolerance Tyrants" are at it again.

If would all go and read this post by Catholic mother of seven, Stacy Trasancos about her desire to educate her children in the moral life and the difficulty she faces doing so in secular society, then read the comments below that post, and then say a prayer both for her and the commenters, that'd be great.
Also, a prayer for her children and all the children in the world will not go astray.


Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Missing Book

So I recently realised that I'm missing my book which contains all of George Orwell's novels.
Aparently it's not at mum's.
And it's not at mine.
Does anyone have any idea where it could have got to?

Monday, August 29, 2011

Thinking Outside the Ramen

There's a new kid on the blogging block.
This is not a Catholic blog and you are now warned of the language contained herein. Jonathan Capps over at cookingcomically has been around since the 16th and has already posted some awesome recepies.
Think Fr Z's cooking but for and by a bachelor. That's not Catholic. And with comics.




Also, yes, I will get my newest blog post up soon. I promise.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Right Now:

Outside my window
the wind blows the palm fronds that are just visible from in front of my neighbours apartment.
I am thinking
about how to save the world; or, at least, the culture.
I am hearing
traffic noise and said wind
I am thankful for
the graces I recieve, even though I am totally unworthy of them.
I am learning
about the Culture of Death, the Culture of Life, and, slowly, about myself.
I am creating
nothing, since 'create' is to make something out of nothing.
I am going
to get motivated to write lots about my recent trip.
I am reading
Light of the World, an interview with Pope Benedict XVI (2010)
I am hoping
to act on what I've been thinking about (see above)
Around the house
is pretty spotless; so is my room; we had an inspection this week.
One of my favourite things is
rain drops on roses; no, seriously.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

A New Culture and Hope.

An extract from Ecclesia in Europa with a few emphases and fewer [comments].

8. This loss of Christian memory is accompanied by a kind of fear of the future. Tomorrow is often presented as something bleak and uncertain. The future is viewed more with dread than with desire. Among the troubling indications of this are the inner emptiness that grips many people and the loss of meaning in life. The signs and fruits of this existential anguish include, in particular, the diminishing number of births, the decline in the number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and the difficulty, if not the outright refusal, to make lifelong commitments, including marriage.
We find ourselves before a widespread existential fragmentation. A feeling of loneliness is prevalent; divisions and conflicts are on the rise. Among other symptoms of this state of affairs, Europe [and the rest of the Western World] is presently witnessing the grave phenomenon of family crises and the weakening of the very concept of the family, the continuation or resurfacing of ethnic conflicts, the re-emergence of racism, interreligious tensions, a selfishness that closes individuals and groups in upon themselves, a growing overall lack of concern for ethics and an obsessive concern for personal interests and privileges. To many observers the current process of globalization, rather than leading towards the greater unity of the human race, risks being dominated by an approach that would marginalize the less powerful and increase the number of poor in the world.
In connection with the spread of individualism, we see an increased weakening of interpersonal solidarity: while charitable institutions continue to carry out praiseworthy work, one notes a decline in the sense of solidarity, with the result that many people, while not lacking material necessities, feel increasingly alone, left to themselves without structures of affection and support.[And are, thus, desperately seeking out such affection and support.]

9. At the root of this loss of hope is an attempt to promote a vision of man apart from God and apart from Christ. This sort of thinking has led to man being considered as “the absolute centre of reality, a view which makes him occupy – falsely – the place of God and which forgets that it is not man who creates God, but rather God who creates man. Forgetfulness of God led to the abandonment of man”. It is therefore “no wonder that in this context a vast field has opened for the unrestrained development of nihilism in philosophy, of relativism in values and morality,[Daniel over at incido in mentionem has an interesting post that's almost on this topic here.] and of pragmatism – and even a cynical hedonism – in daily life”. European culture gives the impression of “silent apostasy” on the part of people who have all that they need and who live as if God does not exist.
This is the context for those attempts, including the most recent ones, to present European culture with no reference to the contribution of the Christian religion which marked its historical development and its universal diffusion. We are witnessing the emergence of a new culture, largely influenced by the mass media, whose content and character are often in conflict with the Gospel and the dignity of the human person. This culture is also marked by an widespread and growing religious agnosticism, connected to a more profound moral and legal relativism rooted in confusion regarding the truth about man as the basis of the inalienable rights of all human beings. At times the signs of a weakening of hope are evident in disturbing forms of what might be called a “culture of death”.
An irrepressible yearning for hope
10. Yet, as the Synod Fathers made clear, “man cannot live without hope: life would become meaningless and unbearable”. Often those in need of hope believe that they can find peace in fleeting and insubstantial things. In this way, hope, restricted to this world and closed to transcendence, is identified, for example, with the paradise promised by science or technology, with various forms of messianism, with a hedonistic natural felicity brought about by consumerism, or with the imaginary and artificial euphoria produced by drugs, with certain forms of millenarianism, with the attraction of oriental philosophies, with the quest for forms of esoteric spirituality and with the different currents of the New Age movement.
All these, however, show themselves profoundly illusory and incapable of satisfying that yearning for happiness which the human heart continues to harbour. The disturbing signs of growing hopelessness thus continue and intensify, occasionally manifesting themselves also in forms of aggression and violence.
...
Confessing our faith
18. From the synodal Assembly there emerged the clear and passionate certainty that the Church has to offer Europe the most precious of all gifts, a gift which no one else can give: faith in Jesus Christ, the source of the hope that does not disappoint; a gift which is at the origin of the spiritual and cultural unity of the European peoples and which both today and tomorrow can make an essential contribution to their development and integration. After twenty centuries, the Church stands at the beginning of the third millennium with a message which is ever the same, a message which constitutes her sole treasure: Jesus Christ is Lord; in him, and in no one else, do we find salvation (cf. Acts 4:12). Christ is the source of hope for Europe and for the whole world, “and the Church is the channel in which the grace pouring from the pierced Heart of the Saviour flows and spreads”.
This confession of faith causes our hearts and lips to raise “a joyful confession of hope: 'Risen and living Lord, you are the new hope of the Church and of humanity. You are the one true hope for the human family and for history. Already in this life, and in the life to come you are “among us the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). In you and with you, we find truth: our life has meaning, communion is possible, diversity can become richness, and the power of the kingdom is at work in history and helps to build the city of mankind. Love gives an eternal value to human efforts. Suffering becomes salvific, life will conquer death, creation will share in the glory of the children of God'

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

A Joke and An Apology

So I'm taking my time getting around to posting so here's a joke to make up for it from the Catholic Education blog.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

The Human Person, A Brief Introduction to. Part One.

What is Man? That is, what is the nature of Man?
How is he formed and created, and by Whom? Why and for what purpose?
When does the individual Man start existing?

Here I will attempt to answer the Who, What, When, Where and Why questions about Man. The only way that this can be does in writing - ever - is very, very briefly. Indeed, when all the books about the first fully-human Human would fill the whole world, to describe those who are not (or, please God, not-yet) fully human would fill an entire galaxy or the whole internet. It would take eternity to discern what it means to be human; it will take eternity to discern what it means to be human. Thus, this brief post will start with the questions of  the creation of Man, the How, When and by Whom Man is created and then discuss Why he was made. From this we will venture into the nature of Man and What he is. It may take several posts.

This particular post will deal with Man’s Creator: God. [1]

God’s main, in fact only, business is God. The One who holds everything in existence and in Whom all things exist has nothing better to think about than Himself. He is totally worthy of all the thought and attention of an infinite mind, which He possesses. Even while God is only thinking about Himself, He is in fact actually thinking of everything that ever has been or ever will be created since it all exists in Him and He is eternal.[2] Thus, God thinks only of Himself and in doing so necessarily thinks of all that is, was, ever has been and ever will be.

God has perfect intellect, everything that God thinks about - that is, the thought of the thing - contains everything that He knows about it. We already know that God is omniscient (all-knowing) and so we can reason that any idea of God’s will contain in it the totality of the thing itself. That is to say, God’s idea of Himself will (and does) include its very nature. When God thinks about Himself, His idea contains His very nature. His Idea is God; it is the Divine Logos; God the Son. But there is only one God because He is infinite and you cannot have two infinite beings.

God, being so immensely Lovable, loves His Idea which, in turn, returns that Love. Since God is Love, the exchange of the Love between the Father (the One who Thinks) and the Son (the Logos) is in fact another Person, yet still the One God. We call the Third Person the Holy Spirit.

What is God? God. Who is God? Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God is a Communion of Persons.

Man (as in mankind) is created in the image and likeness of God and, yet, is individual. From the knowledge that God created Man in His own Image and Likeness, we can gather that he - that is, Man - is created through, with and in relationship and cannot be as he is intended to be away or apart from relationship, apart from a community that reflects the intimacy of the Godhead. This will be the topic of the second post in this series.

***   ***   ***
1. It is important to note that of all the topics covered in this series, this will be the least complete since we, being finite, can only know a finite amount of anything. That is, if we can know everything it is humanly possible to know about God (Who, remember, is infinite) we still know basically nothing. A finite number taken away from the infinite may as well be taking nothing.
2.Eternal, in this sense, meaning the experience of all of time in the moment.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Saving Babies?

Previously, I said that the reason I was coming to New York was to save babies.
I am not here to save babies; I am not even here to learn how to say babies; I am here to learn how to and to actually save souls, starting with my own.

This retreat, so far, has been both an excellent, intense, eye-opening experience and a rich, positive time for spiritual growth.

The outline of each day is:
0630 - Rise Up
0730 - Holy Mass
0830 - Breakfast
0915-1115 - Presentation
1145-1230 - Presentation
1245 - Lunch
1415-1515 - Presentation
1530 - Way of the Cross
1615-1745 - Guest Speaker
1815 - Dinner
1945 - Movie (on topic)
2115-2215 - Holy Hour (including silent Adoration, Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet and Benediction)
2300 - Retirement

This pattern is repeated Tuesday-Thursday, while Friday’s timetable looks like this:
0630 - Rise Up
0730 - Holy Mass
0830 - Breakfast
0930 - Leave for Abortion Site
1000-1145 - Prayerful Presence outside the abortion mill
1230 - Lunch
1400-1500 - Presentation
1515-1600 - Presentation
1615-1745 - Guest Speaker
1815 - Dinner



As you can see, this is fairly intense and (what you can’t see is that) it is actually more intense because the presentations are particularly dense.

Yesterday, we learnt about the history of eugenics up until today (well, last Friday, when NY passed it’s “gay marriage” legislation, at any rate) and today we further discussed population control and the further implications of the eugenic and contraceptic mentality.

You might ask how there are related and, further how either - let alone both - is related to abortion.

In a future post (or ten) I will outline the history of eugenics, since that shows the link to population control and to contraception; I will then show the link to between this destructive mentality and abortion.
Firstly, however, I want to discuss the human person.
This will be an introduction to the 13 week Anthropology unit that I took last semester (run by Fr Sean Fernandez) which was itself only an introduction to the topic of the human person. In this post, I will discuss the origins and ends of the human person, what makes humans unique, and how this should cause us to act.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I will have you know

... that the vigil I was at was mentioned by none other than the Creative Miority Report.

Some Pictures from NY

Sunrise at Perth Domestic Airort as Mum & Az board their flight.
Sunrise (or sunset) as we circled above JFK for 40 mins.

Girl's corner of the Monastery.

St Micheal the Archangel's Parish Church.

Procession to Vigil after Mass at St Micheal's.

Brooklyn's Abrotion Mill; designed to be the biggest in the world.

Brooklyn Bridge.

Manhattan.

They do provide one useful service: time and temperature to tourists without watches or thermometers.

My bed at the monastery.

NY Update

Hey all,
Havn't had access to the internet much.
Will endevour to add some photos after the retreat (which starts tonight.)

God bless.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Sydney Town

After landing last night, I shared dinner with a wonderful Catholic family who were kind enough to put up both the boys and someone from Melbourne and with one of the sweetest women I've ever met, named Lia.

After some table tennis and dinner, I came to Lia's (with the daughter of the family whose house I ate at, Lucy) and, meeting Nia her sister, was invited to watch Karol with them.

Please say three Hail Marys for these girls. They are the sweetest, kindest women and have been extremely generous to me.


Today, I leave for New York. I hope to write something while I'm flying again. Hopefully it will be of better quality than this post and the previous one.

I'm leaving, on a jet plane.

Written whilemid-air between Perth and Sydney

 Start spreading the word; I’m leaving today; I’m gonna be a part of it, but  I’m not going to be in San Francisco to warrant wearing flowers in my hear.

So, for those of you who don’t know, I’m off to New York for a fortnight.
I left Perth this morning and will be staying overnight in Sydney. From there, I’ll fly from New York (JFK, sigh) via San Francisco. 

The purpose of my trip is to learn how to save babies and to pray for those who see killing an unborn child as a legitimate option.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Prayer Requests - 12th Week of Ordinary Time


PRAYERS OF THE WEEK
  • Sasha's Mum and Julie's Friend's Mum who both have cancer.
  • The work of Pregnacny Assistance
  • Rod and Eileen, that they realise that only boys can be the daddies.
  • My brother Aaron.
  • Those still doing exams.
  • Those marking exams.
  • Bridget's intentions, especially for her sister's 32 week onld baby.
  • Jen's intentions.
  • Those who suffer with depression.
  • Giovena's intentions.
  • For the Emmanuel Community in Perth.
  • Bec's intentions.
  • Juliet's intentions.
  • That Daniel, Chis and I may bring glory to God through our words, thoughts and actions both on our trip and when we come back.
  • For Linda, as she spends a few weeks in NSW
  • Sr Janice (RIP)
  • Sr Announciata, OP
  • Archbishop Hickey
  • The Archdiocese of Perth
  • The unborn, preborn and never-to-be-born
  • All mothers and fathers
  • T.A.Sweeney (RIP)
  • Pope Benedict XVI
  • All priests
  • All relgious
  • All married couples
  • All dedicated lay singles
  • All discerning vocation
  • Bishop Morris
  • (Father) John Corapi

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Consummatum est.

My exams are finished for this semester; I leave for New York in a week; I have a better grasp on certain phrases in Latin than I did last week; I have plans for every day in the next week, before I leave; I overuse semicolons.

4 exams in as many days is drainng, at best; thanks to Messers Kreeft, Lewis and Sts Aquinas and Augustine for their assistance over the past few days; also to Sts Basil, John Chrysostom, Bellamine, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Liseux, John of the Cross, Paul, John Bosco, Gregory Nazianzen, Athanasius, Peter Canisius, Albert the Great, Alphonsus Liguori, Anslem, Anthony of Padua, Bede, Bernard of Clairvaux, Bonaventure, Catherine of Siena, Francis de Sales, Gregory I, both Cyrils who are doctors and all the other Doctors.
I now have the itineries for my trip to New York; the flights were confirmed about a week ago and the daily plan was recieved this morning.
I know know and understand some more Latin phrases; these ones have to do with grace.
I have full days every day between now and when I fly out, except Sunday; Sunday is for prayer; lots and lots of prayer.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

On God, Death and Taxis. An Update.

At Paul's suggestion, I have ammended the graph that was featured on a previous post.

This is the ammended version.

A Real Piece of Work

I'm not usually a fan of promoting things my uni does. This however, is a fairly cool short film created by some Sydney students.

Please go and read the information that is here about it. It's true that ND loves shamelessly self-promoting, but this is one of their less irksome plugging-pieces. Moreover, it's the most easily accessible comments made by the director.


A Real Piece of Work from Olivia Cameron on Vimeo.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Formation of Lectors

Last night's Mass was, unfortunately, not the Vigil Mass for Pentecost, but a Mass of Pentecost Day without the Sequence. That's fine.
What was more unfortunate was the obvious lack of formation for the Lector. Please note that I am not decrying her, or her reading but using this as an example for why Lectors must recieve proper formation. Or, at the very least, they must practice in front of someone who has been formed and who has clear knowledge of the meaning and pronounciation of the words.

An excerpt from text of the First Reading for today's Mass:
'Surely,' they said, 'all thses men speaking are Galileans? How doesit happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontious and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome - Jews and proselytes alike - Cretans and Arabs; we hear them all preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.'
 Last night, I listened to it as it was rendered (by someone who speaks english fluently and whose accent is Australian) as:
'Surely,' they said, 'all thses men speaking are Galileos? How doesit happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Partyians, Meds and Eel-lam-ites; people from Meso-pota-mia, Judaea and Kappadotchia, Ponus and Asia, Fi-yi-ga and Pam-py-la, Egypt and the parts of Lib-ya round Kine; as well as visitors from Rome - Jews and pro-styles alike - Creations and Ara-bins; we hear them all preaching in our own language around the morals of God.'
Granted, these are somewhat difficult place names, but what struck me was Creations (usually, if it's mangled, it comes out as cretins) and around the morals of God.
These two mangalings showed, more than the others, that she had not practiced and did not know the meaning of the passage.
At the best of times, it is difficult to proclaim the Readings: when you have not read the passage before, it is often a reading and not a proclaimation. When you do not understand what you are reading, it is that much harder.


One upon a time, the Latin Rite had a Order [as in Holy Orders] called the Subdiaconate. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:
"The duties of a subdeacon are to serve the deacon at Mass; to prepare the bread and wine and sacred vessels for the Holy Sacrifice; to present the chalice and paten at the Offertory, and pour water into the wine for the Eucharist; to chant the Epistles solemnly; to wash the sacred linen."

His role was similar to modern forma ordinaria Acolyte and,  had to have formation before having recieved the Order, and taken his duties. He was also olbliged (under the 1917 Code of Canon Law) to pray all the Canonical Hours.

The Motu Proprio of Pope Paul VI Ministeria Quaedam that became effective of January 1st, 1973 split the role of the subdiaconate into two ministries. Since ministries are open to lay people, these roles were no longer restricted to those hoping to recieve Holy Orders.

3.     Two ministries, adapted to present-day needs, are to be preserved in the whole Latin Church, namely, those of reader [lector] and acolyte. The functions heretofore assigned to the subdeacon are entrusted to the reader [lector] and the acolyte; consequently, the major order of subdiaconate no longer exists in the Latin Church. There is, however, no reason why the acolyte cannot be called a subdeacon in some places, at the discretion of the conference of bishops.
4.     The reader [lector] is appointed for a function proper to him, that of reading the word of God in the liturgical assembly. Accordingly, he is to proclaim the readings from sacred Scripture, except for the gospel in the Mass and other sacred celebrations; he is to recite the psalm between the readings when there is no psalmist; he is to present the intentions for the general intercessions in the absence of a deacon or cantor; he is to direct the singing and the participation by the faithful; he is to instruct the faithful for the worthy reception of the sacraments. He may also, insofar as may be necessary, take care of preparing other faithful who are appointed on a temporary basis to read the Scriptures in liturgical celebrations. That he may more fittingly and perfectly fulfill these functions, he is to meditate assiduously on sacred Scripture. [He has to know what he's saying, what it means. Moreover, he has to meditate assiduously on, not just the Readings that he is to proclaim that week, but on the whole of sacred Scripture.]

***


Interestingly,
7.     In accordance with the ancient tradition of the Church, institution to the ministries of reader [lector] and acolyte is reserved to men.

To any reader with information on when women were allowed to start proclaiming the readings, please share this informaiton in the comment box below. References to specific documents would be great.



PARTAY!!!

Come and Celebrate
The Birthday of 
The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church

In grand style at

The Upper Room
followed by a Street Party
in Jerusalem



As this is too far away for most people, alternative arrangements have been made at your local Catholic Parish, including a foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet called The Holy Sacrafice of the Mass. See your local Parish for details.

And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them.


Saturday, June 11, 2011

Beauty and Deificaiton

I leave with something somewhat unrelated from Saint John of the Cross. Take some time to read it carefully. Reread it.

Let us so act taht by means of this loving activity we may attain the vision of ourselves in Your beauty in eternal life. That is: That I be so transformed in Your beauty that we may be alike in beauty, and both behold ourselves in You beauty, possessing Your very beauty; this, in such a way that each looking at the other may see his own beauty, since both are Your beauty alone, I being so absorbed in Your beauty; hence, I shall see You in Your beauty, and I shall see myself in You in Your beauty, and You will see Yourself in me in Your beauty; that I may resemble You in Your beauty and my beauty be Your beauty, and Your beauty my beauty; wherefore I shall be You in Your beauty, and You will be me in Your beauty, because Your very beauty will be my beauty; and therefore we shall behold each other in Your beauty.


Seriously, take a few hours to mull it over if you can.
Then go and adore Our Lord in the Most Holy Sacarment of the Altar.
Then pray this passage.
All the time.
Even if it's just the first line: Let us so act that by means of this loving activity we may attain the vision of ourselves in Your beauty in eternal life.

On God, Death and Taxis.

I’ve just had a lovely evening with Paul.

It’s amazing how God can answer your prayers when you actually ask. God has been so good to me in these past weeks, giving me situations that test me and refine me while not withholding even the small graces that I need and ask for.

I’ve been seeking an opportunity to get to know Paul a little better. Having known him for six months, I’ve felt like he’s known me better than I have known him. This is mostly due to my inability to speak prudently about myself.

What I mean is, I have the inordinate tendency to reveal more that would be prudent about my life to people who either have not asked or do not need to know; sometimes both. This is evidenced in what I write on this blog, most often. For this reason, Paul - who is blest with the gift of such prudence as I lack and who is a counsellor and very caring by nature - knew much, much more about my life and spiritual growth than I did about him.
None of this is inherently bad.
On the other hand, knowing that I need to temper my lack of prudence, I have resolved not to share random anecdotes about my life with people who I knew comparatively little about. This has required learning (albeit slowly) new conversation techniques, including listening. It’s been fruitful.

I digress.

I’ve always felt comfortable around Paul and he’s something of an older brother to me, so (my new conversation skills still lacking) I prayed that I would be able to know Paul better some how. This has been a prayer of mine for a few weeks now. This consistency in prayer is something else I’ve been working on. I have had the inclination to give-up on my intentions if they’re not answered immediately. Or, well, at least very soon. I need to learn to die to myself. Instead of being arrogant and assuming that God should do things in my time, I need to realise that He is outside of time and eternal, and, moreover, that He is God.

This evening, after Mass (which, unfortunately wasn’t the vigil Mass for Pentecost but was a Pentecost Sunday Day Mass without the Sequence [perhaps there’ll be more on this in a different post/rant]) Paul invited me to share a meal with him. Given that I could have been using the time to study - and having mentioned as much to Paul - I took very little convincing.

Deciding to go to the Mezz, Paul suggested that Fish and Chips should be on the menu. Having arrived there - at the Mezz, that is - we decided that the Authentic Japanese Restaurant (not it’s name, just the descriptor) might be the go instead. Conversation was initially bright and light hearted (to quote Minchin) and it continued to be both bright and light hearted throughout the evening. The subject matter, however, got deeper as time went on. (See graph below.)

***
God is good. Not only does He answer my prayers, He allows me to draw close to Him. Even in the midst of suffering, God is always there for me. I may not always be able to see Him, feel Him, touch Him, taste Him or hear Him, but He is there for me nonetheless.

God is the only constant. Well, and taxis.

***   ***   ***