Catholic Church: July 2007 Archives

Morning Praise

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It's not much, but if it is the only thing I do in a day, it is well worth doing. From this morning's morning prayer (and yes, that is a deliberate echo of Hopkins):

Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.

If each person who believed in God, who worshipped and paid homage to Jesus Christ as Lord and God would spend one moment each day in public acclamation of his glorious name, what might be the effect on the world around us? Not a moment of diatribe, condemnation, doctrinal ranting, triumphalist crowing, or any number of other things that we confuse with praising God, but just a moment spent looking at a flower and saying, "What hath God wrought?" A second with a friend or group of friends when we say, "Praise the Lord," and really mean it.

Sometimes we are too shy about our faith, almost apologetic. One word of praise each day can help the transformation of the world. The effort reminds us of God's nearness and makes us disposed to recognize it in all that is happening around us.

If the Gospel is good news, why do so many keep it to themselves? Praise the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.

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What a Difference a Day Makes

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Happy St. Benedict's day.

Yesterday was a grinding, churning horror of a day in some many ways I can't begin to spell them out.

But today is another day at Tara and:

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Hopefully reviews of three books coming as soon as I have a moment.

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Deceased Equines

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Once again, I exhibit my inability to refrain from unconscionable behavior directed at deceased equines--this little bugbear being amongst my favorites.

I don't know why I haven't noticed before this intercession from evening prayer of Monday of Week 2--but whatever the cause, it reminded me to assault the world once again with the "Dare we hope that all might be saved."

from Intercessions of Evening Prayer Monday Week 2

Lord Jesus, grant that all men be saved,
and come to the knowledge of the truth.

For me, this is definitive. If we dare not hope it, how can we be instructed by the Church to pray for it regularly. Is our prayer to be for futility? It seems clear to me that the Church is saying definitively that we may hope for all to be saved if only by the the logic that if we are forbidden to hope it, why then would we pray for it.

So, hoping it is, beyond question, permissible. Teaching it is equally beyond question impermissible.

An interesting convergence.

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About this Archive

This page is a archive of entries in the Catholic Church category from July 2007.

Catholic Church: March 2007 is the previous archive.

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