Flos Carmeli

Another Personality Quiz

Lightly seasoned to remove the unsavory

I'm a generally un***kwitted, moderate, disgustingly generous, relatively well adjusted human being!
What are you?
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

This makes me:

Which makes you 78% compatible with smockmomma@aol.com.

And as this must be the standard of comparison (as it was chez lui that I found this erudite excursion into human diversity), I don't think it's all that bad.

Historical Lunatic from Two Sleepy Mommies

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

You are William John Cavendish-Bentinck-Scott, the Fifth Duke of Portland!

Sometime Marquis of Tichfield, Earl of Portland, Viscount Woodstock, Baron of Cirencester, co-heir to the Barony of Ogle and renowned as the finest judge of horseflesh in England, you took the tradition of aristocratic eccentricity to unprecedented heights. Having inherited the stately home of Welbeck Abbey, you proceeded to construct miles of underground tunnels and a ballroom, in pink, beneath it. The ballroom was complete except for one small detail. It had no floor. Despite this vast home, you lived exclusively in a suite of five rooms, each one also pink.

Having been turned down by your opera singer objet d'amour, Adelaide Kemble, in your youth, you suffered a broken heart and never married. This did not stop you from caring deeply about the wellbeing of your servants. Occasionally you would even help them muck out the stables. However, you did not neglect discipline, forcing disobedient underlings to skate themselves to exhaustion on your subterranean skating rink. Servants were given strict instructions regarding conduct: if they met you in a corridor, they were to ignore your existence while you froze to the spot until they were out of sight; and a chicken was to be kept roasting at all times in case you felt like sneaking into the kitchen for a snack.

You became ever more eccentric with age. You built another tunnel, this time to the railway station, through which you would ride your carriage. When you reached the station your carriage, with you inside, would be hoisted up onto the train in its entirety.

Upon your death, your multitude of titles passed to your cousin, who was obliged to delve into your curious domain to find your body once the servants had reported your absence. Entering your private rooms, he found that, aside from a commode in the centre of your bedroom, the only objects in the whole suite were hundreds of hatboxes, each containing a single brown wig.

Magnificent--Thomas á Kempis

This bit of encouragement from the reflections on Christ's Passion.

from On the Passion of Christ Thomas á Kempis

You were not ashamed to express that sadness openly in the presence of the apostles, saying: My soul is sorrowful unto death. O wondrous dispensation of God! Lord of power, who shortly before had fortified your disciples for the combat, now you appear as one enfeebled, totally devoid of strength and courage.

You generously uttered that statement in order to comfort us, who are weak and cowardly, lest one of us, being severely tempted, despair of forgiveness and salvation.

We are blessed by a Lord who in the extremity of His own anguish and pain was nevertheless thinking of those of us who would follow. His words provide comfort and sanctuary when we are tried by the lashings of the world. His own passion subsumes all the little passions we force on each other every day.

Perhaps we could consider withholding the lash for a day. Perhaps we could give ourselves and those around us a short break from the continual rain of expectations and expressed disappointments. Perhaps in memoriam of His passion we could call a moratorium on continuing to make small passions that only add to His own. Perhaps we can stop stamping our feet and come home to the Father who loves us, and in doing so accept the family He has given us.

On Siezing the Moment

As usual, Tom says it exceptionally well.

Fascinating Bible Post

from John of Inn at the End of the World regarding which version of the Bible you use.

I actually use three electronic versions and a off-beat fourth print. I have on my PDA a King James Version as originally translated with the Deuterocanonical Books (few people realize that this was part of the original translation), a Douay Rheims Challoner, and a Revised Standard with supplemental Deuterocanonical (none of the RSV I could find commercially came prepackaged with the D.B.).

At home I use the Third Millenium Bible which is KJV with Deuterocanonical mildly updated to remove the most archaic and noncognate terms. (For example in the original KJV the word "let" more often meant "to hinder" etc. Which is why Jesus says, "Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not," rather than "Let the little children come unto me."

I know, TMI, but I think it's interesting to note. A side note on why these version--KJV besides being the Word of God (which is sufficient) is the translation which along with Shakespeare comprises the Pearl of the English Language. The RSV, particularly in the psalms manages to retain some of the Majesty, but nothing subsequent has come close to the beauty of the language. And often we find God in beauty as well as in His Word, so why not combine the two.

Prayer Requests 2/27/04

O rescue me, God, my helper,
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humble, contrite heart you will not spurn.

(psalm 51)

Praise
T.S.O'Rama reports below that his nephew, while born early and with low birth weight is quite healthy.

Prayers

For Amanda and the success of her book-designing business

For some recent concerns of my own

For all who are suffering from marital problems, most particularly those in our own families or communities, that the Lord may intervene and remind them that a marriage is of three persons.

For mothers and families that struggle with autism and autistic related disabilities: particularly for M'Lynn, Melissa, Christine, and Betty.

For Father Benedict Groeschel, for complete recovery

For families that desire more children

For the conversion or return of spouses and loved ones to the Catholic Church, most particularly for Amanda's husband

For Audrey, who is battling anorexia, and to her family which is suffering through very difficult times.

For the men and women of the American Armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and for their families, may the Good Lord provide sustenance, support, compassion, and love that these separated families might continue to grow in strength and love.

Special Prayer Projects:

(1) Chris Keith, the young lady whose biopsy went poorly got the results of that biopsy--carcinoma of the liver. The cancer is metastatic from colon cancer. Surgery has taken place to treat the colon cancer.

I paraphrase her mother:

"We [members of the family] are standing on the Rock and are rock solid. We are all okay and we are looking for a few prayer warriors to help us in this battle." Because this mother means so much to me for the great good she has done for my friends, I plan to stand with her and her family in this battle, and I invite you all to join me. Expect to hear about this on and off over the next few months.

(2) For Katherine's Mom as she undergoes chemotherapy--that the treatment is successful and her mother comes through this ordeal with a deeper sense of God's abiding love for her.

(3) For Katherine and Franklin, Janet and Louis, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.

(4)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: From Davey's Mom: I am with child once again and could use prayers for a healthy pregnancy. For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For Ashli and her child that doctors may find a way to help her carry her young one to term.

Praise God! Ever-New has returned!

Ever New

On the Many Stings of Anger

In the course of this day I have--

--witnessed an utterly illogical defense of the indefensible,
--been told how wonderful a certain set of products that is designed largely to seem likeit might do something for someone when in fact SEEMS is all it does
--been told that I really have no understanding, despite a great many years in the industry, of what it is I do
--watched a patently unfair and subversive tactic used to deprive my son of one of the very few things we can give to him.

I have been deeply angered and hurt by these things.

And then I read this in a book just obtained from Ignatius Press:

from On the Passion of Christ According to the Four Evangelists
Thomas á Kempis

How great your patience,most gentle Jesus, and how great my impatience!

Alas! How poorly I tolerate a brother when he has said or done something against me. But you, for so long a time and without complaint, have endured your disciple Judas, who would soon sell and betray you, while I, for a platry insult, quickly yield to anger and think of various ways of vindicating myself or of offering excuses. Where then is my patience, where is my meekness?

From the Office of Readings

from a Sermon by Pope St. Leo the Great

There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting that that of almsgiving. This embraces under the single name of mercy many excellent works of devotion, so that the good intentions of all the faithful may be of equal value, even where their means are not. The love that we owe both God and man is always free from any obstacle that would prevent us from having a good intention.

Reading this and the remainder of the Office leads one to understand why he was Pope St. Leo THE GREAT.

On Taking Up Our Crosses Daily

See this.

Marie Ely--A Tribute from Her Son

I received an invitation to review a site of poetry, some sacred, some secular, much of it very nice. What is nicer yet is that a son should have such deep and abiding love for his mother that after all these years he would wish to make her work known to all. If you wish to honor such dedication, please stop by Tribute to Marie Ely.

(Warning, the server for this site is a bit poky, so be ready to give it some time. I think you'll find it worth it.) A short excerpt from one of the poems follows.

In the Likeness of Our Lord

The hallowed saints whom we revere
Are of the past - - their lives and actions have
Been probed until the Church is without doubt
That they are worthy of this honored name.
But once they were as we - - with doubts and fears,
Temptations, struggles, triumph over sin.
'Twas with the grace of God they built their lives
A[n]d fashioned them to honor God alone.

On the Liturgy (and Prayer)--From C.S. Lewis

from Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer I
C.S. Lewis

And the almost nothing which I have to say [on liturgiology] may as well be disposed of in this letter.

I think our business as laymen is to take what we are given and make the best of it. And I think we should find this a great deal easier if what we were given was always and everywhere the same.

To judge from their practice, very few Anglican clergymen take this view. It looks as if they beleived people can be lured to go to church by incessant brightenings, lightenings, lengthenings, abridgements, simplifications, and complications of the service. And it is probably true that a new, keen vicar will usually be able to form within his parish a minority who are in favour of his innovations. The majority, I believe, never are. Those who remain--many give up churchgoing altogether--merely endure.

Is this simply beauce the majority are hide-bound? I think not. The have a good reason for their conservatism. . . . [T]hey don't go to church to be entertained. They go to use the service, or if you prefer to enact it. Every service is a structure of acts and words through which we receive a sacrament, or repent, or supplicate, or adore. And it enables us to these things best--if you like it "works" best--when through long familiaritiy, we don't have to think about it. As long as you notice, and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don't notice. Good reading becomes possible when you need not consciously think about eyes, or light, or print, or spelling. The prefect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.

And to extent the metaphor--perhaps the best prayer is not the prayer that we are trying to say, but the prayer where we are least aware of prayer. That is where we spend time in the presence of the Lord, worshipping, adoring, and conversing, and come away refreshed, but only just aware of what transpired. Prayer starts as work that we do, and ends as we grow in it, in the Work He does on and for us. And all of the things mentioned above are detrimental to a solid prayer life. Make prayer a habit--a garment into which you slip easily and lightly--a place where you are comfortable. To do this, go routinely to prayer, close the door, and spend time. Do it in the same time and the same place every day. Perhaps you even say the same opening and closing prayers to set the tone, and maybe even a short prayer to still the mind when you start. But after you have set up the routine, the routine will guide you slowly into deeper and deeper realms of prayer. You will discover that all the things that used to bother and distract you no longer get in your way (you'll have a whole new realm of distractions). You will begin to abandon your need to take things with you in prayer because the territory has been outlined and you're discovering where God is--set prayers during prayer time become less needed.

However, if you distract yourself by making a new time and a new place each day, you will never have the comfortable routine that allows you to approach the throne of Grace readily. Think of it as wearing a path through an exceedingly dense forest. You must walk the same steps in the same way every time you walk the path. Yes, habit is a very, very good start to a productive life of prayer and to the Ascent of the foothills that lead to Mt. Carmel.

A Moment of Grace

An award, utterly unmerited in so many ways, for which I am deeply thankful. The people of St. Blogs rightfully awarded this to Mr. Gerard Serafin of A Catholic Blog for Lovers and if he should ever change his mind regarding it I will, with great pleasure, return it to him.

I would like to point out that not only did I not win this award, but even had I won it, I think it unmerited. Mr. LeBlanc, of the awards committee, defines "most pious" to mean most reverent. I am deeply gratified that many people think of my blog in that way, but I would suggest that there are many other more worthy sites--Mr. Serafin's among them, but perhaps Ms. Knapp's would be my choice for such an award.

I belabor the point. I am humbled and delighted by the expression of support and love that it represents, and I am deeply grateful for receiving it. I only pray that I can live up to the expectation set by it, not only on the blog, but in my whole life.

On "Giving Things Up"

There are at least two possible ways to think about "giving things up" for Lent. Certainly it is sufficient to think of this as a penance, as a deprivation of a good both as a matter of self-control and a matter of a sacrifice. And I believe that Tom of Disputations has pointed out that this is highly commended by the Church (perhaps even indulgenced). So for the time of Lent we give up something in order to remember the holiness of the season and to put us into a different frame of mind to better approach God.

But another way of thinking about this practice is to consider it a rehearsal for true detachment. Think of it this way--"If I can give up chocolate for forty days, I can give it up forever." Substitute for chocolate whatever it is you have chosen to forego. In some cases the benefits could be tremendous--sweets, smoking, and alcohol come to mind. But the reason for giving them up is not the physical benefit that accrues, but a gradual shedding of those things that too firmly attach us to the goods of the world. As a true penance for Lent, I have chosen to give up the purchase of all books. In fact, I may not enter a library in the course of time. I chose this because this is perhaps my most pronounced attachment. Food, tobacco, alcohol, and other such indulgences have little sway for me. But giving up the purchase of books, for me, would be like Erik making a vow to eat only at McDonalds for the entire season.

One of the possibilities of Lent is to train ourselves in one small thing to become like St. Paul when he says, "I know how to be rich and I know how to be poor." I interpret this to mean that St. Paul was detached from things--when they were available he licitly used them and when they were unavailable he did not mourn the loss. Thus, if we could take a small step, like breaking the habit of a cup of morning coffee--gladly accepting it if we're with someone and hospitality dictates that it is appropriate, but also gladly leaving it behind when there is no such dictate--we would be on the road to detachment.

Now, what makes this possible? Certainly grace, for without His help we can do nothng but sin. But also, we need to focus less on what we are giving up and more on the reason for giving it up. Everything that occupies our attention in any way fills up space and time that could otherwise be occupied by Jesus. Thus each little thing that we can give up makes room to spend more time with Jesus. Spending time with someone increases our devotion to and love of that person. So rather than focusing on what we have deprived ourselves of, when we feel the need for it, think about Whom we are making room for. In this way, the deprivation will seem much smaller than it looms in consciousness if there is no purpose to the sacrifice. Giving things up by our own will is a laudable practice, but giving them up to make room for God in our lives is a salvific practice.

Detachment does not bloom from focusing on the things from which we must become detached. Detachment blooms from ardent love of Jesus Christ. When He is truly important in our lives, everything else is necessarily put into perspective.

So as you continue your Lenten practice, strive to think less about what you are giving up than about for Whom you are making room. Widen the spaces inside to accommodate the Lord who loves you. (And remember too that God is simple, and He cannot coexist with what is not single-hearted and single minded. He cannot dwell within us if we are divided, we too must be simple.)

With grace, work to destroy your need for things and to build your love of the One Thing Necessary. Think like a small child, for whom the greatest comfort comes not from things, but from the loving embrace of mommy or daddy. Then spend time in your Father's loving embrace.

To conclude, one of the intercessions and the conclusion from Morning Prayer:

May our hearts thirst for Christ,
the fountain of living water.

Lord,
may everything we do
begin with your inspiration,
continue with your help,
and reach perfection under your guidance.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with your and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Prayer Requests--2/26/04

His delight is not in horses
nor his pleasure in warriors' strength.
The Lord delights in those who revere him,
in those who wait for his love. (psalm 147)

Praise
T.S.O'Rama reports below that his nephew, while born early and with low birth weight is quite healthy.

Prayers

For Amanda and the success of her book-designing business

For some recent concerns of my own

For all who are suffering from marital problems, most particularly those in our own families or communities, that the Lord may intervene and remind them that a marriage is of three persons.

For mothers and families that struggle with autism and autistic related disabilities: particularly for M'Lynn, Melissa, Christine, and Betty.

For Father Benedict Groeschel, for complete recovery

For families that desire more children

For the conversion or return of spouses and loved ones to the Catholic Church, most particularly for Amanda's husband

For Audrey, who is battling anorexia, and to her family which is suffering through very difficult times.

For the men and women of the American Armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and for their families, may the Good Lord provide sustenance, support, compassion, and love that these separated families might continue to grow in strength and love.

Special Prayer Projects:

(1) Chris Keith, the young lady whose biopsy went poorly got the results of that biopsy--carcinoma of the liver. The cancer is metastatic from colon cancer. Surgery has taken place to treat the colon cancer.

I paraphrase her mother:

"We [members of the family] are standing on the Rock and are rock solid. We are all okay and we are looking for a few prayer warriors to help us in this battle." Because this mother means so much to me for the great good she has done for my friends, I plan to stand with her and her family in this battle, and I invite you all to join me. Expect to hear about this on and off over the next few months.

(2) For Katherine's Mom as she undergoes chemotherapy--that the treatment is successful and her mother comes through this ordeal with a deeper sense of God's abiding love for her.

(3) For Katherine and Franklin, Janet and Louis, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.

(4)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: From Davey's Mom: I am with child once again and could use prayers for a healthy pregnancy. For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For Ashli and her child that doctors may find a way to help her carry her young one to term.

From the Office of Readings

from Isaiah 58

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
You vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

from A Letter to the Corinthians by Pope St. Clement

Sharing then in the heritage of so many vast and glorious achievements, let us hasten toward the goal of peace, set before us from the beginning. Let us keep our eyes firmly fixed on the Father and Creator of the whole universe, and hold fast to his splendid and transcendent gifts of peace and all his blessings.

Do Sundays Count?

There is some question about whether one should continue to observe one's Lenten practices on Sunday or whether Sunday constitutes a "day off." While I understand and acknowledge those who say Sundays are "little Easters" I come down firmly on the side of maintaining your practice.

Lent is not merely a season of forty days of unpleasantness after which we all return to the routine before Lent. Lent is a time of spritiual training. We are all aware for a habit to "take" it must be habitual--that is, done without exception. When you jog every day, you jog every day, not skipping days because it is convenient or you need a day off. A master pianist doesn't decide to take a day, a week, or a month off. So too with Lenten practices. You are practicing two main things encompassed in the one phrase, "I must decrease so that He might increase." That is you are practicing surrender and self-control (always with the help of God's grace) so that His presence in your life comes to dominate and be truly central to all that you do. So long as you view the Lenten penances as simply pious diversions of the season, they can have no lasting effect. But if the point is to love God more at the end of the season, then constant practice is something to carefully consider.

Whatever you choose to do, judgment should not be levied on those who choose otherwise. The Lord leads each one as He chooses, and in a matter where the Church has not spoken definitively, it is up to the conscience of the individual to determine which path to tread. For my part, Sundays should continue whatever observance I have chosen for Lent. I want my Lent to continue into my whole life--I want it to be a season of transformation that leads me into God's embrace. And I know myself well enough to know that "time off for good behavior" is simply an extravagance that puts me into the wrong mindset. I cannot view Lent and its penances and practices as a fundamental good if I am spending time trying to get away from them.

So here's a dissenting argument, one I suspect you will not hear repeated, nor is there likely to be significant concurrence within our community. But that's okay because we each must follow as the Lord leads.

A Site You May Wish To See

Another Interesting site:

Apologize and Don't Be Sorry

Beginning Lent--The Beginning of Imitation of Christ

Speaking to a very dear friend yesterday, I was inspired to take one of two paths that seemed to lay before me in Lent. This path wanders down the road of certain classics of a mystical bent. And a good start to this wandering is a small reflection of the first chapter of the first book of Thomas á Kempis's classic The Imitation of Christ. In the first few chapters he is attacking overblown and puffed-up and pretentious knowledge--that is knowledge absent a love of Christ.

In that first chapter we find this reminder for Lent:

"It is better to experience contrition than to be able to define it."

Contrition--" And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." (Joel 2:13)

Contrition is perhaps the first turning of repentence. Regret what you have done, the time you have wasted putting a space between yourself and the Lord. And more than mere regret, act upon the knowledge of what you have done. Now is the appropriate time, now is the acceptable season--not merely because it is Lent, but because the present is the only moment we have to make any changes. We cannot walk the path alone, but we can be steadfast in our determination to walk it no matter the cost.

The season of Lent is a gift given to remind us of the necessity and value of walking close to God and speaking with Him frequently. Too often we put everything off for this season and we spend forty days in a workout. (Better forty days than none at all.) But what is the point of Lent if you start a good work and at the end of the time let it go? Lent is about changing your life, not merely for forty days but for all of eternity. It is a time to take a step closer to God and to hold your gains against the ebb and flo of the world. Don't take on the discipline of Lent with a grim determination that you'll make it through these forty days and then it will be over. Take on Lent as a joyous garment, as a coat of many colors, a gift from your Father in Heaven. Dance before the Lord in joy and hope, knowing that He wants nothing more (and nothing less) than all that you are and all that your will ever be. He wants your unstinting love, your total gift of self and in return you will get . . .

Everything. Everything. Everything that the creator of all can bestow upon you--all the love in the outstretched arms of His son, all the love of a true Father's heart, all the Love that gave rise to the Holy Spirit. You will become the true temple of the Lord's delight. You will be the palace of celebration and a sign of joy to all the world. You will be a vessel of the light of Salvation and the apple of your Father's eye.

Reach out in Joy to the Father who reaches out in joy to you. Rend your hearts, not your garments, regret the time together you could have had and let that fuel your desire to come ever nearer. Rejoice that the season of invitation is upon us once again and make good use of that season. Rejoice in the God who loves you and let that love lead to a permanent and obvious change in the way you conduct life. Nothing less is an acceptable return for the wonderful gift God gives us every day.

Prayer Requests--Ash Wednesday

From Morning Prayer:

For the Lord delights in you,
and makes your land his spouse.
As a you man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you:
and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.

Today God our Father brings us to the beginning of Lent. We pray that in this time of salvation he will fill us with the Holy Spirit, purify our hearts, and strengthen us in love. Let us humbly ask him:

Lord give us your Holy Spirit.

Praise
T.S.O'Rama reports below that his nephew, while born early and with low birth weight is quite healthy.

Prayers

To dispell the power of fear with the great and tender love of God in the lives of at least two of my dear friends.

For some recent concerns of my own

For all who are suffering from marital problems, most particularly those in our own families or communities, that the Lord may intervene and remind them that a marriage is of three persons.

For mothers and families that struggle with autism and autistic related disabilities: particularly for M'Lynn, Melissa, Christine, and Betty.

For Father Benedict Groeschel, for complete recovery

For families that desire more children

For the conversion or return of spouses and loved ones to the Catholic Church, most particularly for Amanda's husband

For Audrey, who is battling anorexia, and to her family which is suffering through very difficult times.

For the men and women of the American Armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and for their families, may the Good Lord provide sustenance, support, compassion, and love that these separated families might continue to grow in strength and love.

Special Prayer Projects:

(1) Chris Keith, the young lady whose biopsy went poorly got the results of that biopsy--carcinoma of the liver. The cancer is metastatic from colon cancer. Surgery has taken place to treat the colon cancer.

I paraphrase her mother:

"We [members of the family] are standing on the Rock and are rock solid. We are all okay and we are looking for a few prayer warriors to help us in this battle." Because this mother means so much to me for the great good she has done for my friends, I plan to stand with her and her family in this battle, and I invite you all to join me. Expect to hear about this on and off over the next few months.

(2) For Katherine's Mom as she undergoes chemotherapy--that the treatment is successful and her mother comes through this ordeal with a deeper sense of God's abiding love for her.

(3) For Katherine and Franklin, Janet and Louis, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.

(4)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: From Davey's Mom: I am with child once again and could use prayers for a healthy pregnancy. For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For Ashli and her child that doctors may find a way to help her carry her young one to term.

Lent Is in the Air

I see already the signs of Lent upon St. Blogs. Comments are slowing down, posts are drying up. I haven't heard anyone swear off blogging, but I know that is just around the corner. (Or perhaps I've simply overlooked it in my rounds of the day.) Well as usual, I will redouble my efforts in Lent and will attempt to share some of the things that God brings to my attention. I will dedicate myself to using the blog to foster a prayerful approach to God and a joyous reception of Him wherever we may find Him. And I want this to be a constant reminder of his unrelenting love-- a spring-tide that knows no neap, a flo that has no ebb. His love is a torrent, a rushing, raging, ravenous, all-consuming embrace of endless delight and joy. It is this fire that makes the greatest mind of Christendom say, "All my words are as straw." It is this that draws us to say, "My God and My All."

Scary Questions and Their Scarier Answers about Prayer, Union With God, and Contemplation

Q. So who is called to this union with God anyhow?

A. You are.

Q. What do you mean me? That stuff is for the Saints.

A. And by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ you are among them.

Q. Yes, I'm one of the saints but I'm not one of the Saints. I can't do what they did.

A. True, you cannot because you are you and they are who they were. But you can't get around the call to the kingdom. "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads unto salvation." The strait gate and narrow way are Jesus Christ Himself. Contemplation of God is the road to union. Contemplative prayer opens the gate--the way is open to all, but few choose to follow it.

Q. But I can't be a contemplative, I'm too busy.

A. Yes, you can. You need to decide to do so and then lean completely on grace. We are nothing of ourselves, what we do we do through Jesus Christ.

Q. Okay, back to union with God. Why is this so important?

A. Precisely because it is what God has ordained as your destiny. Either in this life or in the next you will be in union or not. And not being in union is like being perpetually unmade and at sixes and sevens with all around you. We call it Hell. Heaven is divine union where the body of Christ functions as a body.

Q. Yes. But isn't union with God something only special people can do?

A. No. It will happen to the faithful who die in God's grace. Some of these lived the life while on Earth. Some will come to live it only after a time of conforming to God's will--a place called purgatory. But all who die in His good grace will get there, one way or another.

Q. Well, I can just wait and let my firends and family pray me out of purgatory.

A. Yes, you could do that. But think of what you are missing now. You could be living in heaven itself while on Earth. You could know how deeply and completely God loves you. You could be the instrument of salvation of thousands of lost souls. You could be the teacher of many who lack any substance whatsoever in thier lives. Union is not a thing to fear and avoid, but a destiny to be pursued relentlessly. "As a deer panteth after running streams, my heart panteth after thee O my God."

Q. Okay. But isn't it a lot of hard work and difficult thinking?

A. Not at all. Is it hard work and difficult thinking to talk to your son or daughter. Is it hard work to meet a friend for coffee and listen to her pour out her heart about her current trials and afflictions? God longs for this from you. He loves you as though you alone were the whole Earth and his desire for you is more fierce than Satan's and more fervent. The difference is that He loves you enough to ask you to come home by your own will. Satan will gladly drag you wherever he'd like you to go.

Q. How do I start?

A. In two words--shut up. Longer, "Be still and know that I am God." And yet more, go to prayer with the expectation that the Lord will communicate as He sees fit, and say it to him, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening." Fifteen minutes a day--ten minutes to start--go and wait upon the word of God. Don't expect miracles--it didn't take a week for you to become so mired in the world as you are, it won't take a week to escape from its trappings.

Q. But how do I know it is working?

A. You don't. But it is. Remain faithful to your meeting time and if nothing else happens, simply offer up the time in love and quiet. At the end of it say a short prayer of praise and thanksgiving.

Q. What if I get distracted?

A. Ah, a question for another time. Right now, don't worry about it. Go and wait. Send out love and love will return.

(By the way--I'm in the same place as a great many in St. Blogs--no further along, and perhaps even trailing a lot of you. What I report here I do not report from the fullness of my own experience--I report it from the depth of the experiences of the saints. So do not be disheartened and above all else do not dare to compare yourself with another--the heart cannot be the lungs, the hand cannot be the feet. Rejoice in what the Lord has granted you and live it to the fullest. Aspire like St. Thérèse to return to God empty handed, having given out and passed back all the graces you have been granted. God will see the lowliness of your estate and rejoice in the love you have shared with all.)

Many Parishioners Coming Back

Christine rejoins us with Laudem Gloriae

The Might Barrister has returned full force (praise God).

And Thomas has returned in his own words--"face first in the Tiber"

Please welcome them all in their new (old) abodes.

On Christian Prayer

A couple of excerpts from an introductory essay:

from "An Introductory Essay" before Walter Hilton's Scale of Perfection
Rev J. B. Dalgairns, Priest of the Oratory

It is very difficult for men living in the modern world to understand a life of prayer; yet they must accept it as a real fact. Thousands of Christians have lived such a life without becoming either praying machines like the Buddhists or fakirs like the Brahmins. The principle of Christian asceticism is as far apart from Manicheism as possible. It is simply the principle of expiatory suffering and prayer involved in the very idea of the sacrifice of Christ. The gulf which separates the anchoress from the fanatic is the love of Jesus. . . .

[quoting from a noted Anchoress]

In another place, after a beautiful and minute description of the crucifixion, and how the "hellbairns" betrayed and crucified Him, she breaks out: "Ah! Jesus, my life's love, what heart is there that will not break when he thinketh hereof; how Thou, that art the Saviour of mankind, and the remedy for all bales, didst thole [endure] such shame for the honour of mankind. Men speak oft of wonders and of strange things divers and manifold that have befallen, but this was the greatest wonder that ever befell upon earth. Yea, wonder above wonders that that renowned Kaiser, crowned in Heaven, maker of all that is made, to honour His foes would hang between two thieves. Ah, how can I live for ruth that see my darling on the rood, and His limbs so drawn that I may tell each bone in His body! Ah, how do they now drive the iron nails through Thy fair hands into the hard rood and through Thy noble feet! Ah, now from those hands and feet so lovely streams the blood so ruefully! Ah, now they offer to my love, who says He thirsts, two evil drinks in His blood-letting, vinegar, sourest of all drinks, mingled with gall, that is the bitterest of all things! Ah, now, sweet Jesus, yet besides all Thy woe, to eke it out with shame and mockery, they laugh Thee to scorn when Thou hangest on the rood! Ah that lovely body that hangs so ruefully, so bloody, and so cold! Ah, how shall I live, for now dies my love for me on the dear rood, hangs down His head, and sends forth His soul? But it seems to them that He is not yet fully tormented, nor will they let the pitiful body rest in peace. They bring forth Longinus with the broad sharp spear. He pierces His side, cleaves the heart, and there come flowing out of that wide wound the Blood that bought us, the water that washes the world of guilt and sin. Ah, sweet Jesus, Thou openest for me Thy heart, that I may know Thee truly, for there I may openly see how much Thou lovedst me. With wrong should I refuse Thee my heart, since Thou hast bought heart for heart. Jesus, sweet Jesus, thus Thou foughtest for me against my soul's foes. Thou didst settle the contest for me with Thy body, and hast made of me, a wretch, Thy beloved and Thy spouse. Brought Thou hast me from the world to Thy bower. I may there so sweetly kiss Thee, and embrace Thee, and of Thy love have ghostly liking. What may I suffer for Thee for all that Thou didst thole (endure) for me? But it is well for me that Thou be easy to satisfy. A wretched body and a weak I bear upon earth, and that, such as it is, I have given Thee and will give Thee to Thy service. Let my body hang with Thy body nailed on the rood, and enclosed within four walls, and hang I Will with Thee, and never more leave my cross till that I die."

If we set our eyes on Jesus and we set our hearts on Him, we cannot fail in prayer or in life. Jesus will carry the burden for us, and our only duty is to walk with Him and talk with Him. We need to listen more than we talk. We need to hear from Him the Father's expiatory, exalting, and exultant Love.

Jesus is the elder brother we do not hear about in the parable of the Prodigal Son. He is the elder brother who rushed out to greet the one coming home and ushered Him into the Father's embrace. So he does for those of us who are willing to spend time with Him. He is the sure sign and the presence of the Father's Love. It is through His tangible and real presence that we come to know what the Father feels for us.

Posting Your Prayer Requests

St. Blogs has shown itself to be a community of powerful prayer "warriors," storming heaven and obtaining by our prayers many graces and blessings, and perhaps even a miracle.

Therefore I encourage all to share their needs either by e-mail or in the comments box of the week-daily prayer requests. (I'm going to try to keep the prayer requests going through the weekend as well, but I've had trouble posting on weekends recently.)

And to all who have been praying--thank you for the breathtaking faithfulness and true Christian love that obtains the graces that come through Mary's hand from God's all-encompassing love. Thank you so much for your faithfulness and perserverance in prayer. I have been strengthened by your powerful witness, and through our prayers God is changing the world one small piece at a time. Please continue in your faithful love.

Praise and Prayer 2/24/03

I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that speaks of peace,
peace for his people and friends
and those who turn to him in their hearts.
His help is near for those who fear Him
and his glory will dwell in our land. (psalm 85)

Praise
T.S.O'Rama reports below that his nephew, while born early and with low birth weight is quite healthy.

Prayers

For an emergency need in Joachim's family, that all is resolved quickly and well for all involved.

For some recent concerns of my own

For all who are suffering from marital problems, most particularly those in our own families or communities, that the Lord may intervene and remind them that a marriage is of three persons.

For mothers and families that struggle with autism and autistic related disabilities: particularly for M'Lynn, Melissa, Christine, and Betty.

For Father Benedict Groeschel, for complete recovery

For families that desire more children

For the conversion or return of spouses and loved ones to the Catholic Church, most particularly for Amanda's husband

For Audrey, who is battling anorexia, and to her family which is suffering through very difficult times.

For the men and women of the American Armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and for their families, may the Good Lord provide sustenance, support, compassion, and love that these separated families might continue to grow in strength and love.

Special Prayer Projects:

(1) Chris Keith, the young lady whose biopsy went poorly got the results of that biopsy--carcinoma of the liver. The cancer is metastatic from colon cancer. Surgery has taken place to treat the colon cancer.

I paraphrase her mother:

"We [members of the family] are standing on the Rock and are rock solid. We are all okay and we are looking for a few prayer warriors to help us in this battle." Because this mother means so much to me for the great good she has done for my friends, I plan to stand with her and her family in this battle, and I invite you all to join me. Expect to hear about this on and off over the next few months.

(2) For Katherine's Mom as she undergoes chemotherapy--that the treatment is successful and her mother comes through this ordeal with a deeper sense of God's abiding love for her.

(3) For Katherine and Franklin, Janet and Louis, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.

(4)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: From Davey's Mom: I am with child once again and could use prayers for a healthy pregnancy. For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For Ashli and her child that doctors may find a way to help her carry her young one to term.

I Claudius

Could be worse:

CLAVDIVS You're not the fool everyone takes you for. You put on a show to stay under the radar. Underneath your bumbling exterior, you are a shrewd and calculating person. You don't enjoy being in the spotlight, but you can take charge if absolutely neccessary. But trust no one, not even your best friend, because you never know who might betray you. You were portrayed by Derek Jacobi.

What Book Are You

You're One Hundred Years of Solitude!

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Lonely and struggling, you've been around for a very long time.
Conflict has filled most of your life and torn apart nearly everyone you know. Yet there
is something majestic and even epic about your presence in the world. You love life all
the more for having seen its decimation. After all, it takes a village.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

One of my all-time favorite books for sheer oddness and "magic realism--" that odd term for Latin American fiction that tends to mean whatever the person wielding it wants it to mean for the time. But surreal or supernatural edginess is how I tend to think of it.

From Scattershot Direct via Dappled Things.

Well, Now That I've Scared Off One Reader

(although truth to tell--I rather think she's off brushing off her platform). it's time to break out the big, medieval guns.

from The Cloud of Unknowing--"Prayer from the Prologue"

GOD, unto whom all hearts be open, and unto whom all will speaketh, and unto whom no privy thing is hid. I beseech Thee so for to cleanse the intent of mine heart with the unspeakable gift of Thy grace, that I may perfectly love Thee, and worthily praise Thee. Amen.

If You Wish to See the Top of Mt. Carmel

think about this:

We are called not merely to forgive those people who feel that it is their right to jump ahead in line; who pull amazing traffic stunts like turning in front of you in order to get the parking space you waited ten minutes for; who practically shove you out of the way to get to the melon (pair of shoes; bargain book; last copy of Richard of St. Victor; fit it to your own nightmare scenario) that you had your eyes on. No, we don't merely forgive them by strength of will, but if we are truly detached, we don't even notice the intrusion, or if noticed, we welcome it as a blessing from God to remind us of our place in the world.

Oh, I'm not there yet--but I've see the landscape mapped out by those who went before me, and sometimes I'm not so keen to get there. But then I remember the God who loves me, and what would I not do for the God I love. So, I'm willing when He wants me to do so. I know the trail is long and winding. But I also know that He doesn't call us simply to say--"Not good enough." He calls us because we are His children and as with any good father, he wants us to sit for a while on His knee and just be hugged and know we are loved. And He wants us to return that love.

So, I'm willing. But I'm not there yet. And no, I didn't get Richard of St. Victor, but I'm not as royally ticked as I might normally be. It is after all all in God's will.

Tomorrow is Adoption Day

And boy wants to see Spider Man, so it's off to Universal Studios for our once-yearly trip. Pray for a good day. Also continue to pray for our intentions. Write tomorrow evening or Teusday morning.

Ascent of Mount Carmel IX

In which we revisit some old territory and forge into new

Ascent of Mount Carmel IX--Book II Chapter 6-8

Read pages 166-176

Chapter 6

1-4 How are the three faculties related to the theological virtues? What does each virtue do to each faculty?

6-8. What must we do to each of the faculties? Why?

Chapter 7
1-3 How does John use scripture metaphorically or in an analogy to explain the "narrow gate" and the "constricted way?" How is that important for us? What does it call on us to do?

4-5. What is the common misunderstanding even people of good will and good faith have of the passage from Mark (8:34-35)? What do spiritual people refuse to annhilate? Why might this be a problem?

What does a genuine spirit of prayer seek?

6. Where does all negation take place? Why is it necessary? Pick one of the verses St. John uses to support his arguments (Mt: 16: 25; Lk. 9:24; Jn 12:25; Mt 20:22) and take it with you for a short lectio. Write out the conclusion of your prayer--what are you called to do?

7. Where is the road of relief and sweetness? What happens to those who seek after things, either material or spiritual?

8.What is the one thing necessary in prayer life? To what does St. John liken failure to do this? What is accomplished if one does not do the one thing necessary?

9-11 How is the death necessary in the spirit like the Death of Christ Himself?

12-13 What topic will John next consider? What is his purpose?

Chapter 8

1. What is necessary to achieve union with God? Is it possible to use the intellect to obtain this?

2 St. John points out that the mean must be proportionate to the end. In one sense they must "resemble" the end that will result. Study his example of the fire and the log until this point is clear.

3. John uses this section to point out that there is no creature proportionate to God. Use what you learned above to affirm John's conclusion that it would not be possible for a creaturely means to end in an eternal God. What does John state is not possible based on creatures for the intellect?

4. What other things do not lend help to the intellect in obtaining Union with God?

5. What third category of things is not useful in obtaining Union with God? Why?

6. What is another way to think about contemplation? What must the intellect do to reach Union with God?

Consider the points St. John made in the passages we have read. Where do they lead in prayer? What must we do? How do we go about it? Think of one way you can take positive steps toward union with God. What above all else is necessary for this motion?

Some Hard Words of St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross in The Ascent of Mount Carmel (book II, chapter 6 to be precise) tells us that faith is the dark night of the intellect. It took me a great many readings to begin to understand what St. John meant by this statement. Faith accepts and integrates in a supernatural way what the intellect can only assent to.

For example, we know by faith that Jesus is fully human and fully God. We know this only by faith because, while the intellect may parse the sentence and be able to make a comprehensible statement of the individual words, the statement itself is not resolvable within the intellect. We can make all sorts of tortured analogies and metaphors, but the intellect "knows" that what is 100% one thing cannot be 100% something else. It is inconceivable that something might be 100% dog and 100% cat at the same time. So too, it is not possible to apprehend with mere intellectual prowess the means by which the truth is accomplished in Jesus. Nevertheless, we know it is. We know this by faith--the intellect assents to it, and thus seems to know it--but if we really grappled with the statement with mind alone we would not be able to resolve it. In the darkness of faith we assent and know this as part of the reality around us. It is truer than many things that we can prove, and more a part of our world. (For example how many people care about Euclid's hypothesis of parallel lines and points extraneous to them? How relevant is that for the majority of us.)

In the end, it is not what we know. We start by knowing, but eventually the understanding must be darkened because it is constantly looking for explanations and God will choose to perfect us in faith, where the understanding is rooted so deep that we have no need of proofs. The proofs are the breathing we do every day.

So, when wrassling with theological imponderables or Christological controversies, take heart. It little matters what the outcome, so long as the will continues to follow and seek out God, because our imperfect understandings will be perfected in the Dark Night of Faith.

(Yes, I know this is a horrific thought to the Jesuits and Domincans among us, but both St. Ignatius and St. Dominic eventually testify to its truthfulness. St. John of the Cross didn't come up with anything new, he simply stated it for all to see and read.)

The Anatomy of the Body of Christ

At the time of writing his letters, Paul had no greater knowledge available to him than that the body is made up of parts and so his analogy of the individual Christian to the body of Christ. With our greater knowledge of anatomy, we can better understand Paul's intent.

We are each a very small part of the body of Christ. Even the most brilliant person is not a significant part of the "brain" of the Church, rather he or she might represent a complete neuron. A less brilliant scholar a mere axon. (Some of us feel like the synapse--sitting in the void between the cells and watching the messages flash past with a sense of understanding, but no real grasp of the matter.

When we consider our place in the whole of the body of Christ, it gives us pause. We have nothing to boast of--can a single cardiac muscle fiber boast? Of what use is it without all other such fibers? Can a single islets cell exult in producing insulin--the amount made is minute--useless without all the other cells.

We function only when we function in the body with all the other cells of like function. We cannot function outside of the body at all, and if we spend our time wishing we were other cells, we are more a detriment that a help to the body.

We need to learn to accept who and what we really are in Christ and then humbly and boldly assume that role in the body. We are blessed to have a place and blessed to be able to serve. And when we do so we become part of the corporate body of Love--we bring love into the world and we transform the world through God's love working through us.