Keep
your eyes open!...
June 30, 2016
(Php 1:9-11) And
this I pray: That your charity may more and more abound in knowledge
and in all understanding: That you may approve the better things: that
you may be sincere and without offence unto the day of Christ: Filled
with the fruit of justice, through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and
praise of God.
PETER KREEFT: Discernment
EXCERPT NCREGISTER: What Is God’s Will for Me?
Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa, host of EWTN Live and author of How to
Listen When God Is Speaking: A Guide for Modern-Day Catholics (The Word
Among Us Press, 2011), explains this method.
“The first and most basic principle is that a person needs to have
enough humility to accept God on his own terms,” he says. That means
accepting what the Lord has revealed about himself in Scripture,
Tradition and the magisterium.
“Discernment comes into play quite legitimately when you have two
options, both of which are good in and of themselves,” Father Pacwa
adds.
For instance, discovering what state in life one is called to: priesthood, married life or religious life.
“All of these in and of themselves are apparently good,” he says. “The
question is of knowing which one of those goods is the best way for me
to give greater glory to God.”
Two attitudes help us better able to discern God’s will, Father Pacwa
says. “One: What is for the greater glory of God? How am I going to
give him better service and greater glory in my life? Two: being truly
equal-minded toward all good things.” This means wanting to do whatever
God wants because I trust that he has the greatest good for me involved
in that.
After this groundwork, says Msgr. Charles Pope, “we have to start with
our state in life, where we are now — young or old, single or married,
physically strong or challenged.” Msgr. Pope, pastor of Holy
Comforter-St. Cyprian in Washington, discusses discernment on his blog
for the Archdiocese of Washington (Blog.adw.org).
He says one’s state in life will reveal open and closed doors. For
instance, a young woman may feel called to pray four hours a day. If
she’s single and discerning religious life, this is a good idea — not
so if she’s a wife with small children who need attention and care
during that time.
Father Morris suggests asking ourselves, “Is it helping me or hurting
me to fulfill the duties of my state in life as a parent, husband,
wife, mother, student, priest, and so on.”
Next, examine your gifts and talents. In discerning the will of God,
“we have to carefully ponder if it will make good sense or bad sense
based on our skills and talents,” says Msgr. Pope. Consider: Are my
God-given gifts and talents a good match for what I want to do or am
being called to do?
Desire is another important factor. “When God wants to inspire us to do
something, he puts within us a desire to do it,” says Msgr. Pope,
cautioning that when it comes to following doctrine and moral law, our
feelings and desires are largely irrelevant. We must follow God’s
teaching.
But regarding various courses of action that are good (like marriage
and priesthood), Msgr. Pope explains, “feelings and desires do matter
and may help indicate the will of God for us. For when God wants us to
move in a direction of something good, he most often inspires some
level of desire for it. God’s will for us gives joy.”
Consequently, true peace is a major factor for discernment.
As Father Pacwa puts it: “The normal way we experience that discernment
is through various interior movements in our spiritual life, movements
of peace and consolation or movements of disturbance and desolation.
“When somebody begins to find peace in regard to a certain option and
then finds that that peace remains and lasts a serious amount of time,
that is probably going to be the way God is leading you.”
MEDITATION: Thoughts
by St Theophan (1815-1894)
[Rom. 4:13–25; Matt. 7:21–23]
Not everyone that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth
the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). You will not be
saved through prayer alone; you must unite with prayer fulfilment of
the will of God — all that lies upon each person according to his
calling and way of life. And prayer should have as its subject
primarily the request that God enable us not to depart in any way from
His holy will.
Conversely, he who is zealous to
fulfil God's will in all things has boldness in prayer before God and
greater access to His throne. Moreover, prayer that is not accompanied
by walking in God's will is often not true, sober and heartfelt prayer,
but only external reading, during which one's moral dysfunction is
concealed by a multitude of words like a mist, while the thoughts are
actually disorderly and wandering. Both must be made orderly through
piety, and then there will be fruit.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 6- "On remembrance of death"
4. As of all foods, bread is the most essential,
so the thought of death is the most necessary of all works. The remembrace
of death amongst those in the midst of society gives birth to distress
and meditation, and even more, to despondency. But amongst those who are
free from noise, it produces the putting aside of cares and constant prayer
and guarding of the mind. But these same virtues both produce the remembrance
of death, and are also produced by it.
June 29, 2016
(Isa 44:24) Thus
saith the Lord thy redeemer, and thy maker, from the womb: I am the
Lord, that make all things, that alone stretch out the heavens, that
established the earth, and there is none with me.
CNA: Supreme Court ruling blasted for pro-abortion bias in Texas ruling
TCC: Texas Bishops highly concerned with ruling that puts women at grave risk
USCCB STATEMENT:
"The Court has rejected a common-sense law protecting women from
abortion facilities that put profits above patient safety," McQuade
said. "The law simply required abortion facilities to meet the same
health and safety standards as other ambulatory surgical centers –
standards like adequate staffing, soap dispensers, and basic sanitary
conditions. It required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges
at nearby hospitals, and that hallways be wide enough to allow
emergency personnel through with stretchers, should a life-threatening
emergency arise."
PRIESTS FOR LIFE: ExposeAbortion.com effort launched in response to Supreme Court decision
Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, announced today that his organization is re-launching and intensifying ExposeAbortion.com, by which the abortion industry will be exposed to the light of day and the conscience of the American public.
"Obviously, the Supreme Court decision in Whole Woman's Health vs.
Hellerstedt demonstrates that not enough people know and care about the
fact that the abortion industry is an unscrupulous, unregulated
industry that cares no more for women than for the children it kills
and throws away," Fr. Pavone explained.
"Consistent with our approach to abortion over the last 25 years, we will increase our efforts to expose it. ExposeAbortion.com
will be the central focus for efforts, both online and in the streets,
in legislators and in courts, in churches and in classrooms, to expose
abortion on several levels:
a) the procedure itself, via photos, diagrams and videos (www.Unborn.info);
b) the impact on women, men, and families via the testimonies of our Silent No More Awareness Campaign (www.SilentNoMore.com); and
c) the corruption of the abortion industry, via testimonies of former and current abortionists and undercover investigations.
"We will call upon all people of good will to join us in this effort,
which is not based on religious arguments, but simply on the facts of
what abortion is and what it does," Fr. Pavone concluded.
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization
dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information,
visit www.priestsforlife.org.
YOUTUBE: Celebrate Life: An Abortion Documentary
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 6- "On remembrance of death"
2. The remembrance of death is a daily death; and
the remembrance of our departure is an hourly sighing or groaning.
June 27, 2016
(Joh 15:18-21) If
the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated me before you. If you
had been of the world, the world would love its own: but because you
are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you. Remember my word that I said to you: The servant
is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will
also persecute you. If they have kept my word, they will keep yours
also. But all these things they will do to you for my name's sake:
because they know not him that sent me.
CNA: Beware 'polite persecution,' archbishop warns
With relics of two English martyrs currently touring the U.S., the
Archbishop of Baltimore implored Catholics to follow their example by
defending religious freedom.
Speaking at the opening Mass
of the annual “Fortnight for Freedom,” Archbishop William Lori of
Baltimore, chair of the U.S. bishops’ ad hoc Committee on Religious
Liberty, clarified that “we are not here tonight to argue a point of
constitutional law nor are we here to re-argue what has already been
persuasively argued in our courts.”
“No, we are here to honor the martyrs, to celebrate the freedom to bear
witness, beginning with Jesus Christ, ‘the faithful witness’ of the
Father’s love, for Christ and his sacrificial love are the very heart
of the Eucharist we celebrate.”
The “Fortnight for Freedom”
is an annual two-week period of prayer, fasting, and education for
religious freedom, called for by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops.
The fortnight begins on the eve of the feast of English martyrs Sts.
Thomas More and John Fisher – whose relics are currently touring the
U.S. – and ends on July 4, Independence Day.
More, chancellor of England, and Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, were
beheaded by order of King Henry VIII because they would not honor him
as head of the Church in England. “Both Fisher and More died not merely
for freedom of conscience in the abstract but for freedom of conscience
in defending marriage and the rights of the Church,” Archbishop Lori
said.
Yet they, and martyrs throughout the centuries, followed Christ’s example of meekness and self-sacrifice, he noted.
“All these martyrs faced unjust judgment yet responded truthfully and
respectfully to their accusers,” he said, and they “re-produced in
their own flesh the sacrificial death of Christ.”
Their witness to the Church’s teaching is an example for Catholics
everywhere to defend freedom of religion, Archbishop Lori insisted,
adding that Catholics should remember all the martyrs, particularly
those of recent decades.
“We may think that the days of the martyrs have ended but as Pope
Francis points out there are more martyrs for the faith in our times
than there were during the first centuries of the Church,” Archbishop
Lori said, noting Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant martyrs under Nazism
and Communism that formed an “‘ecumenism of blood,’ as Pope Francis
says.”
HLI: What a Strong Bishop Can Do
RELATED: Faithful Catholic Colleges: Beacons of Hope in a Sea of Ambivalence
CRISIS MAGAZINE: Author Says a New Religion Persecutes Christians
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 6- "On remembrance of death"
1. Every word is preceded by thought. And the remembrance
of death and sins precedes weeping and mourning. Therefore, this subject
comes in its proper place in this chapter.
June 23, 2016
(Rom 13:1-2) Let
every soul be subject to higher powers. For there is no power but from
God: and those that are ordained of God. Therefore, he that resisteth
the power resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist purchase
to themselves damnation.
POPE FRANCIS:
"Let us think today about what the Lord says to us: Do not judge, lest
you be judged; the measure… by which we judge will be the same that
will be used for us; and, third, let us look in the mirror before
judging. 'But this fellow does this ... that fellow does that...' 'But,
wait a minute ...' I look in the mirror and then think. On the
contrary, I'll be a hypocrite if I put myself in the place of God and,
also, my judgement is poor judgment. Human judgement lacks the mercy of
the Lord’s judgment, may the Lord make us understand these things."
VIA FR. IANNUZZI: Is Criticizing a Pope a Sin?
MORE VIA FR. IANNUZZI: Is it Wrong to be Critical of this Pope?
NCREGISTER COMMENTARY: Pope Francis and the Eye of the Tiger
RON CONTE BLOG POST: On Judging and Condemning the Supreme Pontiff
Who is qualified to judge the Vicar of Christ, the Supreme Pontiff of the Church on earth — ANY Supreme Pontiff at all?
It is scandalous and gravely immoral for Catholics to judge and condemn
Pope Francis — or any other Pope. To do so, whether in a private
conversation with one other person or secretly in one’s own heart and
mind, is sinful, and could perhaps be of grave moral weight. To do so
publicly, repeatedly, based merely on extemporaneous remarks of
personal papal opinion, is certainly a grave sin. The sin is grave
because the Church is harmed and the salvation of souls is impeded by
this type of scandalous attack on the Supreme Teacher of the Faith.
Hypocrites! These same papal accusers regularly offer controversial
opinions on every topic under the sun. But if the holy Roman Pontiff
offers his own opinions, they grind their teeth and murmur against him.
They quickly utter vicious calumny against the Vicar of Christ, because
he dared to speak his mind freely, just as they do.
The love of God and neighbor — without which no one goes to Heaven —
requires us to treat the words and deeds of our neighbors with
forbearance and charity. We cannot jump to an accusatory conclusion,
nor exaggerate our neighbors apparent error, without sinning against
God and neighbor.
And the charitable treatment of our neighbor applies to everyone. Every
human person. Even politicians! Even known criminals! Even liberal
Popes! Are you kidding me!?! Does Jesus really expect us to be
charitable and loving toward even liberal Popes?!? Wow, that Guy is a
radical!
And IF it were ever the case, I said IF, that the Pope erred in some
way in a personal opinion or an extemporaneous remark, no one on earth
has the authority to judge and condemn him. We can discuss his remarks
and opinions, CHARITABLY. We can disagree, faithfully, reasonably, and
RESPECTFULLY. But NO ONE on earth has the authority to judge the Pope,
nor to condemn him.
Moreover, BEFORE anyone disagrees with the Pope, even with his
off-the-cuff remarks or personal opinions, they are morally obligated
to consider his remarks charitably — before speaking publicly — to see
if they themselves might have erred or misunderstood. The Vicar of
Christ has the AUTHORITY to teach and correct EVERYONE. If you choose
to take up the attitude that the Pope is incapable of teaching or
correcting you, because he is liberal or because you have such a high
opinion of yourself or for some other reason, then you sin against
Christ by that choice. Pope Francis is the Vicar of Christ, and when
Catholics refuse to treat him as the Supreme Teacher and Shepherd of
the Church of Christ, they sin against Christ himself.
When Pope Francis makes “shocking” extemporaneous remarks, learn from
him. And I don’t mean learn from his mistakes, as if from a cautionary
tale. Pope Francis has good insights into the Faith, and his supposedly
harmful remarks always seem to me to express (perhaps imperfectly,
perhaps awkwardly) good insights into certain aspects of the Faith.
The Magisterium
The Magisterium has a definitive teaching on who may judge the Pope.
Pope Boniface VIII taught on this subject in the Constitution Unam Sanctam (which was renewed and approved by the Fifth Lateran Council).
7.
Therefore, if the earthly power goes astray, it will be judged by the
spiritual power; but if a lesser spiritual power goes astray, [it will
be judged] by its superior; and truly, if the highest [power] goes
astray, it will not be able to be judged by man, but by God alone. And
so the Apostle testifies, “The spiritual man judges all things, but he
himself is judged by no one.” [1 Corinthians 2:15]
If secular society or culture or government goes astray, the Church has
the authority and ability from God to judge — and to condemn or to
exonerate in each case. If a lower spiritual authority in the Church
goes astray, or is at least accused, a superior power in the Church
will judge, as when the pastor of a parish judges a dispute among
parishioners, or when a Bishops judges a dispute about a priest.
However, if the highest power in the Church on earth, the Supreme
Pontiff, is accused of going astray, he “will not be able to be judged
by man, but by God alone.” So the Pope is not able to be judged by a
Cardinal or Bishop, nor by all the Cardinals or all the Bishops
gathered together, nor by any lesser religious or secular authority,
such as a popular priest or speaker or author.
Now as my readers know, I teach and believe unequivocally that no Pope
can ever go astray by teaching heresy, nor by committing apostasy,
heresy, or schism. But a Pope can go astray, to a limited extent, in
other ways. A Pope can err in an extemporaneous remark, or in a
personal opinion, even a published theological opinion. He can err in a
decision on discipline. He can even err — only to a limited extent — in
a non-infallible teaching of the ordinary Papal Magisterium.
Proof that a Pope can err is found in Sacred Scripture. Saint Paul
rebuked Saint Peter, the first Pope, for an error in his behavior
(eating only with Christians who were former Jews), as described in
Galatians 2. And proof that the possibility of papal error is limited
is found in the Gospels: “And I say to you, that you are Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not
prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18).
8.
But this authority, even though it may be given to a man, and may be
exercised by a man, is not human, but rather divine [power], having
been given by the divine mouth [of Christ] to Peter, and to him as well
as to his successors, by [Christ] Himself, [that is, to him] whom He
had disclosed to be the firm rock, just as the Lord said to Peter
himself: “Whatever you shall bind,” [Matthew 16:19] etc. Therefore,
whoever resists this authority, such as it has been ordain by God,
resists the ordination of God. [Romans 13:2]
Whosoever resists the authority of Peter and his successors, resists
what has been ordained by God. You can faithfully disagree with any
Roman Pontiff, to a limited extent, charitably, if you have a
well-considered reason. But the way that many Catholic commentators
treat Pope Francis is far beyond such limits and is in no way
charitable or reasonable or well-considered. They have no respect for
his authority as Teacher and Shepherd of the Church. If he says
anything contrary to their own thoughts, they immediately assume that
the Rock on which the Church was founded by Christ has shattered and
been crushed into dust. For it seems impossible to them that they
themselves may have misunderstood, or may be in need of teaching or
correction. Inwardly, they worship only themselves.
9.
Moreover, that every human creature is to be subject to the Roman
pontiff, we declare, we state, we define, and we pronounce to be
entirely from the necessity of salvation.
It is an essential part of God’s plan of salvation that the Church on
earth be led by one particular High Priest, who is the representative
of Christ himself on earth: the Pope. And so, whoever treats the Pope
with contempt, is guilty of a sin against Christ and is guilty of doing
harm to the plan, and to the Ark itself, of salvation.
Why are so many Catholics publicly sinfully rebuking the holy Roman
Pontiff? Why are so few Catholics speaking out against this sin?
MORE: Mirus and Lawler versus Pope Francis
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 5- "On painstaking and true repentance"
39. In the case of cowardly and slothful people,
the falls that occur after our call are hard to bear; they crush the hope
of dispassion and persuade us to regard our having barely risen form the
pit of sin as a state of blessedness. Look, look! For certainly we do not
return by the way we went astray, but by another shorter route.
June 21, 2016
(Joh 14:26) But
the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever
I shall have said to you.
POPE FRANCIS:
“The Holy Spirit exercises a role of teaching and memory...the Holy
Spirit doesn't bring a different teaching, but makes that of Jesus
alive and active, so that the time that the passage of time does not
erase it or make it fade. He grafts this teaching into our hearts,
helps us to interiorize it, making it become part of us, flesh of our
flesh,” the Pope continued, adding that at the same time, the Spirit
“prepares the heart so that it is able to truly receive the words and
example of the Lord.”
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: In the School of the Holy Spirit Kindle Edition by Jacques Philippe
In the School of the Holy Spirit will help you get to know the
Sanctifier of your soul. It will lead you to be more attentive to the
movements of the Holy Spirit in your life as you learn to love the
third person of the Holy Trinity. Philippe explains the rewards of
being attentive to the Holy Spirit and provides simple and concrete
ways to grow in this inner sensitivity. In his clear and simple style,
he illustrates his points with many examples from modern life. In the
School of the Holy Spirit is a valuable aid in your own spiritual
journey.
ZENIT: An Interview with Fr. Jacques Philippe
ORTHODOX HOMILY: WHY WE DON'T SENSE THE HOLY SPIRIT
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER: Holy Spirit, we need you!
“Come, Holy Spirit, we need you!” More than ever, we should pray this
much, and pray this more. We cannot, must not, leave out the stirring
and leading of the Holy Spirit in the events that are unfolding in our
midst right now. Let us not be so caught up in human efforts and
achievements to the point of leaving out or belittling the divine. Let
us not be proud. Let us not be blinded by worldly power and might. It
has been said before, and we say it again: Pride comes before the fall.
Someone once said that in life, we should be busy building, not walls,
but bridges. It is time for healing. It is time to extend our hands to
one another, and reach out toward unity and peace. Peace is the fruit
of the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts. Hatred, revenge, pride and
being unforgiving come from the evil one.
The evil one scatters, the Holy Spirit gathers. Let us all pray and
work for unity and peace. How far easier it is to destroy and divide.
It is not easy to become an instrument of unity and peace. It is not
easy to stand forrighteousness and justice, and to proclaim Gospel
truths.
Fr. Jun Ocampo, SVD, the chaplain of the Filipino community in Berlin,
Germany, is doing very good work for the Holy Spirit as an instrument
of unity and peace among our overseas Filipino workers. But all of us,
too, wherever we are and in whatever situation we are in, should do our
part to spread goodness, peace and love in keeping with our Lord’s
mandate that we love one another. Yes, we need the Holy Spirit to
enlighten, guide and strengthen us to do our mission. Please remember
that life is short, death is certain, and we have a final
destination—heaven—where there are no more tears, no more sorrow, no
more pain, no more politics and no more goodbyes.
A moment with the Lord: Come, Holy Spirit, we need you. Rekindle in us
the fire of Your love, and revive in us whatever goodness that has
died. Amen.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 5- "On painstaking and true repentance"
38. Nothing equals or excels God's mercies. Therefore,
he who despairs is committing suicide. A sign of true repentance is the
acknowledgment that we deserve all the afflictions, visible and invisible,
that
come upon us, and even greater ones. Moses, after seeing God in the bush,
returned again to Egypt, that is, to darkness and to the brick-making of
Pharaoh, who was symbolical of the spiritual Pharaoh. But he went back
again to the bush, and not only to the bush, but also up the mountain.
Whoever has known divine vision will never despair of himself. Job became
a beggar, but he became twice as rich again.
June 8, 2016
THE
TRIB TIMES WILL RETURN IN TWO WEEKS, GOD WILLING
(James 4:15).
(Lam 3:24-26) The
Lord is my portion, said my soul: therefore will I wait for him. The
Lord is good to them that hope in him, to the soul that seeketh him. It
is good to wait with silence for the salvation of God.
MSGR. CHARLES POPE: When God Says No – A Meditation On the Sometimes Mysterious Providence of God
LINK: Three-Hundred Sayings of the Ascetics of the Orthodox Church
MEDITATION: Thoughts
by St Theophan (1815-1894)
[Acts 17:19–28; John 12:19–36]
Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit (John 12:24). And so, if
you want to be fruitful, die. Die in a real way, bearing always the
feeling in your heart that you have already died. Just as a dead man
does not respond to anything surrounding him, so do the same: if they
praise you — be silent, and if they rebuke you — be silent, and if you
make a profit — be silent; if you are full — be silent, or hungry — be
silent. Be this way to all external things; inwardly abide in the place
where all the dead abide — in the other life, before the all-righteous
face of God, preparing to hear the final sentence.
You may say, what fruit can come everything dying? No, nothing will
die. Rather, abundant energy will appear! “I have but one minute
remaining,” you will say to yourself. “Now will come the verdict; let
me hurry to do something;” and you will do it. And thus continue every
minute.
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA RON ROLHEISER, OMI: ABSENT FROM OUR OWN LIVES
Recently I had dinner with a young man and woman who are close friends
of mine. They had been married for less than two years and were
expecting their first child. Both had relatively good jobs; he in
communications, she in teaching.
Their relationship to each other, while perhaps past that highly
charged passion of first fervor, was, by every appearance, good,
respectful, loving and easeful. By every practical standard, they
should have been happy, in a good season of their lives.
But that was not the case. Individually, and as a couple, they were
quite restless and frustrated, without being able to pinpoint precisely
why. They talked about it in this way:
“It’s not that we are unhappy, it’s just that our lives seem too small
for us. We want to do something more significant than what we are
doing, to somehow leave a mark in this world. The city we live in, our
jobs, our circle of friends, even our relationship to each other and
our involvement with the church, somehow doesn’t seem enough.”
“It’s all too ordinary, too domestic, too insignificant. Life seems so
big and we seem so small! Maybe having this baby will change
things—bringing a new person into this world is pretty significant and
very irrevocable.”
“At least that will be one timeless thing that we did. But… maybe it
will make us even more restless because now we will be tied down in
ways that we can no longer leave or change.”
I found it difficult to offer much to them by way of advice. I sensed
their restlessness; indeed, I often feel just that kind of dis-ease
within my own life. My life is going on, full of many things, and, too
often, I am absent from those things, too restless to receive the
spirit of my own life.
Rich life, life-giving love, true community and God are present… but I,
like the young couple I just talked about, am absent. Perhaps it sounds
strange to suggest that we can be absent from our own lives, but in
fact it is rare that we are present to what’s actually there and taking
place within our lives.
St. Augustine, in a famous prayer after his conversion, expresses this
well: “Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late
have I loved! You were within me, but I was outside and it was there
that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely
things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you.”
(Confessions, Book 7).
”You were within me, but I was outside.” Few phrases more accurately
describe how we relate to God, life, love and community than does that
line from Augustine. It’s why my friends could have so rich a life and
yet be so deeply restless; it’s why we all generally look everywhere
else rather than to our own actual lives for love and delight; and it’s
why we are perennially so deeply restless.
This restlessness cannot be stilled by a journey outward. It’s inward
that we need to go. Inside of our own actual lives, beyond our restless
yearnings and fantasies, God, love, community, meaning, timeless
significance and everything else that we search for, are already there.
We become bigger than our seemingly too small lives not by finding and
doing something extraordinary and timeless—great achievements, world
fame, leaving a mark in history, being known by and connected to more
and more people—but in being present to what’s timeless and
extraordinary within our ordinary lives.
I have a series of axioms that I try to meditate on regularly to keep
myself aware of how, perennially, what I am yearning for is inside of
me but I am outside. Allow me to share them with you:
- Life is what happens to you while you are planning your life.
- I always resented interruptions to my work until I realized that those interruptions were my real work.
- Who is my neighbor? My neighbor is the person who is actually in my life while I am plotting how to be in somebody else’s life.
- Love is what you are experiencing while you are futilely
searching for it beyond your own circles—and taking the circles around
you for granted.
- Joy is what catches you by surprise, blindside, from a source that is quite other than where you are pursuing it.
The Prayer of St. Francis captures the same thing—and it’s that kind of
prayer we need most when our restless yearning overwhelms us and our
lives feel too small for us.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 5- "On painstaking and true repentance"
37. We must carefully consider whether our conscience
has ceased to accuse us, not as a result of purity, but because it is immersed
in evil. A sign of deliverance from our falls is the continual reckoning
of ourselves as debtors.
June 6, 2016
(Gen 3:3-5) But
of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath
commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it,
lest perhaps we die. And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall
not die the death. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall
eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods,
knowing good and evil.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER: The Case Against Perfection -What's wrong with designer children, bionic athletes, and genetic engineering?
CHRISTIAN CONCERN: Ethics committee greenlights UK gene editing
TECHTIMES: The Battle Over The Synthetic Human Genome
The creation of a synthetic human genome is now within the reach of
researchers, and the possibility of forming a genetic blueprint of a
human being is stirring controversy. While one group of researchers
praises the vision of the project, others are urging their fellow
scientists to wait to develop a synthetic human genome until the moral
implications of such a development can be decided.
Human Genome Project-write (HGP-write) presents a significant goal for
researchers as, so far, only the genes of baker's yeast and simple
bacteria have been developed in the laboratory.
In May, a group of scientists met at a closed-door meeting held at
Harvard University. Although organizers of the event claimed the
secrecy was due to discussion of a non-public scientific paper, the
nature of the meeting drew ire from around the globe.
"I think it's a brilliant project. If you want to do this, it's going
to be on the same scale as the Human Genome Project, it's going to need
some big funding agencies and hundreds and hundreds of researchers
around the world," Paul Fremont, a synthetic biologist at Imperial
College London and attendee at the meeting, said.
Current technology is too costly, as well as too slow, to form a
completely synthetic genome of a human being. One path toward the
development of such a gene could be to form segments of code to carry
out specific functions. Such a plan could save a significant portion of
the full project cost.
Developing a complete human genome from scratch is a project which
would take a decade or more to complete, at a cost of billions of
dollars. Developers of the technology are hoping to raise $100 million
from a variety of sources in order to launch their project.
Some critics are concerned that focus on a synthetic human genome could
draw attention and resources away from other research. Proponents of
HGP-write believe their work will contribute greatly to knowledge of
the genetics of other species.
"Exponential improvements in genome engineering technologies and
functional testing provide an opportunity to deepen the understanding
of our genetic blueprint and use this knowledge to address many of the
global problems facing humanity," George Church of Harvard Medical
School said.
Developers of HGP-write state their project will uncover the mechanisms
by which genes are tied to biological mechanisms and functions. This
research could assist in the development of new medicines and targeted
treatments for a wide variety of ailments.
Investigators will first focus on synthesizing a segment of about 1
percent of the human genome, in order to test if such a complete
undertaking is feasible.
Information and knowledge gained from the development of HGP-write will
be made available for free to the general public. The portions of genes
selected for this test of concept are those likely to yield results
advantageous to medical research.
The greatest fears of opponents of HGP-write could center on
nightmarish visions of clones and a modern age of eugenics. For now,
however, scientists are not yet even able to insert functional
synthetic genomes into a working cell of a mammal.
MORE: Dare we edit the human race? Star geneticists wrestle with their power
EXCERPT: The Catholic moral tradition and the genome project
The Catholic Church is not
hostile to science. On the contrary, it is welcomed as a project which
can enrich human beings through the knowledge that it makes available
as well as the beneficial contributions to the health and general
well-being of mankind.
But the Catholic Church is conscious,
too, of the rejection of fundamental human values, which is both
implicit and explicit in the philosophical assumptions and the praxis
of modern science. The rejection by the Church of practices which
violate fundamental human rights should not be seen as a rejection of
science. It is, rather, a call to science to recognise the limits of
its own knowledge and sphere of action.
For example, in discussing the
Catholic Church’s rejection of reproductive cloning of human beings as
being contrary to “the dignity of the person subjected to cloning and
the dignity of human procreation” the Pontifical Academy for Life
(Pontificia Academia Pro Vita) has stated that “the scientist cannot
regard the moral rejection of human cloning as a humiliation; on the
contrary, this prohibition eliminates the demiurgic degeneration of
research by restoring its dignity.” That is to say:
The most urgent need now seems to be
that of re-establishing the harmony between the demand of scientific
research and indispensable human values.
It is the fostering of a strong
relationship between biomedical science and the true welfare of man and
society which is the emphasis that the Catholic Church brings to the
discussion of the HGP and the HGDP. For that relationship to flourish
it is necessary to foster what the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II calls
a “contemplative outlook” on man himself and the world, “with a vision
of reality as God’s creation and in a context of solidarity between
science, the good of the person and of society.”
It is the outlook of those who see
life in its deeper meaning, who grasp its utter gratuitousness, its
beauty and its invitation to freedom and responsibility. It is the
outlook of those who do not presume to take possession of reality but
instead accept it as a gift, discovering in all things the reflection
of the Creator and seeing in every person his living image.
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 5- "On painstaking and true repentance"
34. Let no one who laments expect assurance at
his departure. For the unknown is not sure. Spare me, through assurance,
that I be refreshed before I go hence unassured (of salvation). Where the
Spirit of the Lord is, the bond is loosed. Where there is profound humility,
the bond is loosed. But let those who are without these two assurances
make no mistake: they are bound.
June 3, 2016
(Joh 19:34-35) But
one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side: and immediately there
came out blood and water. And he that saw it hath given testimony: and
his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true: that you also
may believe.
CHURCH MILITANT: The Download- Sacred Heart Miraculously Appears
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XII: HAURIETIS AQUAS ON DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART May 15, 1956
LINK: Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger
EXCERPT: Doctrinal Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart by John Hardon, S.J.
Margaret Mary was chosen by God to provide the Church and through the
Church all mankind with a deep and clear understanding of God's love
for us and the love we should have for Him. In spite of the trial and
tribulation, including the reputation in her community for being out of
her mind, she never wavered in her loving trust in God.
Love is mainly proved by suffering. No wonder Margaret Mary could ask
in one of her letters, "What can keep us from loving God and becoming
saints, since we have a body that can suffer and a heart that can
love?" Margaret Mary became the catalyst whose mission was to restore
to the Catholic Church what some had lost and to strengthen what was so
weakened _ the mystery of human freedom in responding to the merciful
love of God.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart can be pathetically cheapened by treating
it as just another devotion. On the contrary, it contains in its
doctrinal foundation what the popes have reminded us are the seven
cardinal mysteries of our Faith, which the world denies but we accept.
These seven cardinal mysteries are:
_God created the human race out of love. He did not need to create
anything or anyone. Moreover, He elevated the human race to a
supernatural destiny, nothing less than the vision of the Holy Trinity
for all eternity. All of this not because He had to, but only because
He loves.
_God became man out of love for the sinful human race. He became a
mortal man to die to prove how much He loves us. He assumed a human
will that He might freely suffer. Do all humans suffer? Yes. Do all
humans suffer willingly? No. The essence of love is to suffer willingly
for the one you claim to love. God became man to suffer with a human
will.
_Christ, the Son of God who became the Son of Man, suffered and died not just for the predestined elect, but for all mankind.
_God gives everyone enough grace to be saved. Is everyone saved? No.
God wants all men to be saved yet gave us a free will with which we can
choose either to love Him or love ourselves even to the contempt of God.
_We have a free will by which we can really choose to love God. When we
want what God wants then we are loving Him. Love unites two wills: the
will of God, by which He offers us His grace; and our will, by which we
correspond with the graces we receive.
_We have a free will that can go beyond the call of duty. We can do
more than just cooperate with God's grace to avoid sin. We can also
love God more than we have to . . . more than we must. Read the letters
of St. Margaret Mary. After twenty pages you will have to brace
yourself. This loving God more than we have to means loving the cross.
Christ joyfully chose the cross, and invites us to do the same, out of
love for Him.
_We believe that Jesus Christ gave us Himself in the Holy Eucharist, by
which He remains now on earth, in the fullness of his humanity and with
his living human Heart. In every Mass, He freely offers Himself to his
heavenly Father, and through the Mass confers the graces He won for us
on the cross. In Holy Communion, we receive Him with his Heart into our
own hearts, to sustain our selfless love of Him by our enduring love
for everyone whom He places into our lives.
Lord Jesus, we believe you are our God who became man so that you might
have a human heart, so that you might evoke in our hearts a
corresponding love for you. Strengthen our weakness and protect us from
ever running away from the cross. Help us to love you here in this
valley of tears by faith, so that we can continue loving you in that
everlasting embrace for which we were made.
MORE: 8 Astonishing Facts about the Sacred Heart You Never Knew
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 5- "On painstaking and true repentance"
33. He who really keeps account of his actions
considers as lost every day in which he does not mourn, whatever good he
may have done in it.
June 2, 2016
(Rev 11:19-12:1)
And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his
testament was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings and voices
and an earthquake and great hail. And a great sign appeared in heaven:
A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her
head a crown of twelve stars.
ALETEIA: Seven Times the Virgin Mary Has Visited Mankind
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER: Bishop Call Apparitions of Mary in San Nicolas, Argentina, Supernatural and Worthy of Belief
Holy Trinity Sunday, May 22, was a banner blue-letter day — blue for
our Blessed Mother — as Bishop Hector Cardelli of San Nicolas,
Argentina, officially declared that the apparitions of Our Lady of the
Rosary in his diocese are of “supernatural character” and worthy of
belief.
The apparitions took place in this city over 100 miles from Buenos
Aires from Oct. 13, 1983 to Feb. 11, 1990. Our Blessed Mother appeared
to a housewife named Gladys Herminia Quiroga de Motta nearly daily,
giving 1804 messages. Gladys also received 68 visits and messages from
Jesus.
Notice Oct. 13 was the anniversary of the last vision at Fatima and
Feb. 11 is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes — a powerful providential
sign.
Bishop Cardelli thoroughly studied everything according to Vatican
guidelines during the last 12 years. At the time of the apparitions,
his predecessor Bishop Domingo Salvador Castagna often presided over
the processions and celebrated Mass for tens of thousands who gathered
every 25th of every month to commemorate the Blessed Mother’s first
appearance to Gladys on Sept. 25, 1983.
That happened while Gladys was in her room praying the rosary. It was a
brief appearance. Mary was wearing a blue dress, carried the Child
Jesus in her arms and held a rosary, but did not speak that time.
As in other apparitions, Mary appeared to a simple, humble woman.
Married with two daughters, Gladys had only four years of elementary
education.
The Blessed Virgin spoke for the first time on Oct. 13 — the
anniversary of the last apparition at Fatima. “Do not be afraid,” were
her first words.
MORE DETAILS: San Nicolas, Argentina (1983)
EXCERPTS: The Messages of San Nicolas
SPIRITDAILY COMMENTARY: Messages claim that the majority of mankind is 'contaminated' and a 'warning' covers the earth
MORE FROM SPIRITDAILY: Pope Francis Comes From Region Steeped in Marian Mysticism and an Apparition with Approved Messages
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 5- "On painstaking and true repentance"
32. After your fall, do not believe him who says
to you of small shortcomings: 'If only you had not done that great fault!
But this is nothing in comparison'. Often small gifts appease the great
anger of the Judge.
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