Sunday, April 17, 2011

Weird Backwards Cult.

Link here to a comment that I fully agree with on Fr Z's What Does the Prayer Really Say?
I went to and EF Mass today.
thatisall.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Restless

I'm restless tonight.
 Yeah, go on, quote Augustine to me.
I've already done it to myself.

The thing is, having my heart resting in God implies some tangible connection between the two of us.
For me, this 'connection', as it were, is less than tangible.
That is part of the reason for my restlessness.

Another cause of my restlessness is my lack of sanctity. I want to be a Saint. Now.
But, again, impatience is not a virtue.
I just want to do what I ought to do for God - and more! - and I fail so terribly.

Terribly becuase my failure terrifies me.
God, in His infinite justice, terrifies me.
I do not deserve to still be alive, I do not deserve to know of Him, I do not deserve to raise my eyes Heavenward.
It is in His power to stop these things. Indeed, His justice would seem to demand it.

But I live. I know of Him. I can still cry out in prayer.

I can only draw one conclusion from this: that my God is one of utmost Mercy.
"I remember two things very clearly: I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Saviour." - the character John Newton in Amazing Grace (2006)
Deo Gratias!



I want to serve, though. I want to be a profitable servant to my God.
I am anything but that.
Yet He chose do die for me.
Why?
θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν.
Deus caritas est.
 God is charity, God is love.

That's why.







Now all I need to do is to remember this.

Felix Natalis

Today there is a double birthday for my archdiocese.

Archbishop Hickey turns 75 today.

And our Holy Father, Pope Benedict celebrates his 84th birthday.
I've baked a cake to celebrate to Pontiff's birthday because I'm that cool.




Also, happy Feast of St Bernadette of Lourdes.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Prayers for the People of Japan

Please pray for Japan and her people: they have been hit with another earthqauke, this one with a magnitude on 7.1, one month to the day since the double-hit-natural-disaster of March 11.
The earthquake, which struck at about five-fifteen (pm) local time, ~86 kms from the reactor that they're worried about in Fukushima city, has not beem said to have caused any new damage.

Saint Francis Borgia, Patron against earthquakes, Sts Francis Xavier and Peter Baptist, Patrons of Japan, and Our Lady of Japan, powerful Patroness of Japan, please pray with us for the People of Japan, especially the Diocese of Snedai. Amen

Monday, April 11, 2011

God Doesn't Exist

God doesn’t exist. No-one's God does. You have absolutely no evidence for it.
And even if He did, it’s not like He’s loving: just look at all the cruel things that have happened in your life; surely that’s proof against an all-loving God.

What? You think that just because you exist, He must have had some play in that? You think that just because you can come up with reasons for the cruelty He’s supposed to have inflicted on you, that proves He really does love you? You think that just because heaps of other people say they have God means that He really exists?
Oh, you’ve seen God and He told you that He was God.
Well; that changes everything.

But, hang on, what if you’re lying to me?
Sure, so you’re an honest person; but what if you were deluded into seeing God because you so desperately wanted to, because you’d heard other people talk about Him and you really wanted to experience it your self?
Are you sure you weren’t experiencing something other than what you thought it was and that you didn’t project your longings onto what you actually experienced?


You parents don’t exist. No-one’s parents do. You have absolutely no evidence for it.
And even if they did, it’s not like they’re loving: just look at all the cruel things that have happened in your life; surely that’s proof against all-loving parents.

What? You think that just because you exist, they must have had some play in that? You think that just because you can come up with reasons for the cruelty they’re supposed to have inflicted on you, that proves they really does love you? You think that just because heaps of other people say they have parents means that they really exists?
Oh, you’ve seen your parents and they told you that they were your parents.
Well; that changes everything.

But, hang on, what if you’re lying to me?
Sure, so you’re an honest person; but what if you were deluded into seeing parents because you so desperately wanted to, because you’d heard other people talk about them and you really wanted to experience it your self?
Oh. It was a tangible experience.
Are you sure you weren’t experiencing something other than what you thought it was and that you didn’t project your longings onto what you actually experienced?




Sunday, April 10, 2011

Prayer Requests, 5th Sunday of Lent

I'm starting a new section in my blog called Prayer for the Week.
This is where I'll some of list my intenetions for the coming week, especially those I'd like you to join in my prayers for.

This week I'm praying for:
  • The intentions of our Holy Father
  • The staff & students of Santa Maria Colloege
  • Aaron C.
  • Jan
  • Ministry of FIRE
  • The staff and students at Notre Dame, Fremantle
  • The Emmanuel Community
  • Victims of violence
  • Catherine, Matthew, Bridget; Rebecca, Sharni; Linda & her parents
  • Bronwyn
  • CYM
  • 40 Days for Life
  • Stacee

Passiontide and the Fast

This previous post of mine is a place to start Passiontide reflections, if you want.

thatisall

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Lauren and I were talking the other night about hidden meanings.
We started reading religious (specifically Christian) connotations into various Nursery Rhymes.
These connotations, at least for the most part, are not actually there in the Rhyme.
Saying that, some of them sounded convincing, at least to us.
To Lauren, at this point, I'd like to say that I've changed some of the interpretations that we discussed to make them sound slightly more plausible.

Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.
Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow.
[Mary, Our Lady, gave birth to Jesus who in true humility (littleness) became the Spotless Lamb for us]
Everywhere that Mary went, Mary went, Mary went;
Everywhere that Mary went, that lamb was sure to go.
[Mary leads us always to Christ. That is to say, wherever Mary is venerated (hyperdulia), Our Lord will necessarily be adored (latria)]
It followed her to school one day, school one day, school one day;
It followed her to school one day: it was against the rules.
[Even in Cahtolic schools and institutions who use Our Lady's name and are under Her patronage, it is often politically incorrect to mention Our Lord, Jesus Christ, the one to whom she leads.]





 

Catholicism: You're doing it wrong.

Statue of Gandhi at Boston College's School of Theology and Ministry





There is a link attached to this post of The Vortex episode for the 8th of April. It's on how not to be Catholic.
Only watch it if you have a strong stomach. It is actually sickening.

Much, much more sickening than the video that you can find here.<-- that video, btw, is Cazza's favourtive clip ever. Everytime she goes on a YouTube binge, this clip comes up. I think that 9 or the 10 million views are hers. That's all.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Because Silence Is Not Golden. It's Yellow.*


 

A clip from Real Catholic TV's
The Vortex with Michael Voris
on being a faithful Catholic
RealCathoicTV is a YouTube Channel that I wholesale recommend.
Seriously, go watch all of the clips there.


*The title of this post is the tag-line of one of my favourite blogs The Last Papist Standing, another place you should check out.
From this post by the Spouse of the Ironic Catholic.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Lost Flock

I am part of a lost flock
And I refuse to believe that
I can be saved
I realise this may come as a shock but
“Salvation comes through the Church”
Is a lie, and
“Morality is subjective.”
My friends will know that
I have my priorities straight because
Everything else
Is more important than
Jesus
I tell you this
Once upon a time
The Church offered hope
But this will not be true in my era
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now, we will be celebrating the end of the Catholic Church
I do not concede that
No one will worship in a church of their own making
In the future
Liturgical abuses will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about the Church
It will be evident that
My generation is heretical and heterodox
It is foolish the presume that
There is hope.

Unless this is reversed.

There is hope.
It is foolish the presume that
My generation is heretical and heterodox
It will be evident that
My peers and I care about the Church
Liturgical abuses will be the norm
In the future
No one will worship in a church of their own making
I do not concede that
30 years from now, we will be celebrating the end of the Catholic Church
Experts tell me
This is a quick fix society
But this will not be true in my era
The Church offered hope
I tell you this
Jesus
Is more important than
Everything else
I have my priorities straight because
My friends will know that
“Morality is subjective.”
Is a lie, and
“Salvation comes through the Church”
I realise this may come as a shock but
I can be saved
And I refuse to believe that
I am part of a lost flock.



This is a rewording of Jonathan Reed's "The Lost Generation" which, to the best of my knowledge is in public domain.
You can find the video of "The Lost Generation" here
.
[Update: There's a cooler version of this, not by me, here. Thanks to Fr Larry at Ubi Perus, Ibi Ecclesia for sharing it.]

Modern Man, Modern Church?

I was reading this passage from the book of Wisdom last night in Adoration.

Then it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God,
but though living in great strife due to ignorance,
they call such great evils peace.
 For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries,
or hold frenzied revels with strange customs,
 they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure,
but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve one another by adultery,
 and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury,
 confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favours,
defiling of souls, sexual perversion,
disorder in marriages, adultery, and debauchery.
 For the worship of idols not to be named
is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.
 For their worshippers either rave in exultation,
or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury;
 for because they trust in lifeless idols
they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.
 But just penalties will overtake them on two counts:
because they thought wrongly about God in devoting themselves to idols,
and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness.
 For it is not the power of the things by which people swear,
but the just penalty for those who sin,
that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous. 
From Wis 14:22-31

Seems like this could be poetry about today, about now. Hopeful, no?
No.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

I a read this heart warming story over at Sancte Pater about a mother's love for her sons.

Amid Ethics Debate, Conjoined Twins Celebrate First Birthday

Lisa Holewa Contributor
 
(AOL News) Twin brothers Kameron and Kaydon Hayes celebrated their first birthday this week. They both love the character Elmo on "Sesame Street." They smile. Sometimes Kaydon babbles, trying to talk. Holding hands, they kick happily when they play and often poke each other in the face.

Born at 37 weeks weighing a combined total of 10 pounds, the boys -- who weren't expected to live -- share more than a special bond; they share a liver and a malformed heart.

Their birth and subsequent medical care touched off debate among doctors and medical ethics experts who said the conjoined twins are destined to die.

But their mother, Brianna Manns, pushed onward, refusing to sign a "Do not resuscitate" order in the boys' early months. She now is focused on their everyday growth.

"Kaydon, he's very laid back. He'll sleep all day if you let him. Kameron is very curious, social as well. He has a temper -- knows what he likes and what he doesn't like," Manns told WGN-TV in Chicago, before the twins celebrated their first birthday Thursday.

"Even though they are conjoined, they are two separate babies to me," Manns told the Chicago Tribune for a story published today. "They are very different in every type of way."

Medical experts said the twins can't be separated and aren't candidates for a heart transplant because of their complicated anatomy. 


You can read the rest here.