An episode of Sponge-Bob Squarepants (could you guess I have a 6-year-old in the house) shows an anchor throwing competition between the inhabitants of Bikini Bottom. Each contestant throws an anchor, and the little fish judge runs around out in the field to avoid the anchor thrown. No matter where he runs the anchor falls on him. So with this season. Jeanne, by all rights should have been a distant memory of the tropical season that never so much as breathed on the United States. But no, it had to follow some weird perturbation of the atmosphere and go out of its way to make landfall in already storm-shocked East Central Florida.
You know, I guess it's kind of a privilege to witness a record season, but why couldn't it be a record season of Oyster recovery or of Pompano catch, or sea turtle recovery. I don't particularly like being in the middle of a meteorological high-water mark. (Pun intended.)
I ramble because I have time to wait and if I don't talk about it, I'll probably just internalize all the stress and let it cultivate over-producing acid cells.
The Worthy Communicant;
Or, a Discourse of the Nature, Effects, and Blessings consequent to the Worthy Receiving of the Lord's Supper, And of all the Duties required in Order to a Worthy Preparation: Together with the Cases of Conscience occurring in the Duty of Him that Ministers, and of Him that Communicates; As also Devotions Fitted to Every Part of the Ministration.
by Jeremy Taylor, author of the remarkable Holy Living and Holy Dying
Oh well, Jeanne is going to visit Florida. We don't know where it will make landfall, but none of the predictions is particularly good for Central Florida. Please pray that it comes quickly, goes quickly and does little damage.
I've noticed that people are so worn down by this season that there wasn't anything at all like the response to the first three. Of course, many people left their houses boarded up from Frances. Perhaps foolishly, I have not boarded up, so please pray for protection for the house and that the patch on the roof holds through the storm. (The roofers were supposed to be here and fix it this morning, but there didn't seem to be much point given the proximity of the next storm.)
Please pray for those in areas that have already been flooded, and pray that no further flooding will occur in this storm. They predict it to move through fairly quickly, which provides some comfort--but it's yet another storm. I'm hoping for merely 80-90 mph winds. Perhaps we will be even more fortunate and only at the fringes of the storm.
Nevertheless, I'd greatly appreciate prayers, particularly late this evening and early tomorrow. One track shows it going directly through Orlando, but I sometimes wonder if they don't just connect the cities with the most prominent names--as the NOAA forecasts show it moving to the west after entering near West Palm Beach/Melbourne.
Oh, we are tired here. Very tired. Not complacent, but I think weary beyond words of facing this yet again. We just had most of the major debris from Charley carted away and here we are facing another.
At any rate, God's will be done.
Math joke--very, very amusing, and I'm sure ancient:
from Oro et Laboro
Q: What is a topologist?
A: A person who cannot tell a doughnut from a coffee mug.
Via Dappled Things, a wonderful essay at Pontificaitons examining branch theory. An excerpt below, please go and read the whole thing.
Fr. Gregory Mathewes-Green on Pontifications
First, the fact that Anglicanism has fallen into heresy and apostasy is itself evidence that, even if the branch theory were valid, Anglicanism is not and was not one of the branches—probably not since the East-West split and certainly not since the Reformation. A community’s apostolicity is evidenced in that it continues to hold the apostolic Faith. There may be from time to time theological ferment and heated doctrinal debate, but when the time comes for decision making, that community which is apostolic insists on fidelity to that received Tradition. Anglicanism is presently not such a community.
Please remember the more than 700 dead in Haiti as a result of Tropical Storm Jeanne. I retain this opening prayer as the known death toll increases daily, today it is more than 2,000.
Merciful Father,
hear our prayers and console us.
As we renew our faith in your Son,
whom you raised from the dead,
strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters
will share in his resurrection,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen Prayer from All Soul's
Prayer Requests
URGENT REQUESTS:
For Terry Schiavo (sp?) who was once again placed in harm's way by a "compassionate" court that washed their hands of blood in the same way as Pilate did--"we only interpret the law."
For the people of the State of Florida undergoing their fourth hurricane in six weeks. And most particularly for those in Central Florida Counties who have been hit hard by two of the three so far and who seem to be in Jeanne's path again. May the Lord divert the story and keep it well off-shore.
For Protection for Franklin as he travels in a strange city; for help in bearing up under the burden he is carrying
For Alicia's youngest daughter as she goes into surgery tomorrow to correct a painful cyst, may the surgeons' hands be guided, may she rest in the Lord's loving arms.
For Smockmomma's sister Charlene, may God help her, heal her, and above all else hold her close in time of yet another trial.
For a young lady who is in a bad place and needs the light of grace and hope of heart to lift a great weight.
For the families of people who have died in the course of Ivan and for all those whose homes and livelihoods have been damaged or endangered. Particularly for Lee Ann and whoever else found themselves in Alabama.
Please continue to pray for Dylan until he returns to us.
A quick sale and an easy move for Tom and his family as they set out on another exciting adventure in life.
For a deeper understanding of and commitment to the strengthening grace of the sacrament of marriage, especially for those who are presently undergoing trials.
Please storm heaven for my friends in Louisiana, they've had a long string of misfortune and could do with some good news.
For a dear friend who is undergoing a troubling period in her life, beset with a number of problems, physical, financial, emotional. May God hold her close to His heart.
For a St. Blog's parishioner in need of work to forestall financial catastrophe, that the Lord provide all that is needed in both material and spiritual blessings.
For those struggling against self to attain holiness, that the Good Lord will raise up new Saints for our times, visible beacons that draw all people toward Christ.
For the people of the Sudan that they may know peace and security and that they might learn to live together.
A special request from two gentleman battling particularly troublesome and besetting sins for grace and help as they continue forward.
For all those in the process of discerning vocations to the religious life, for guidance, prudence and good counsel
For our children, that they grow up in security, comfort, and the certain knowledge that they are loved and that they be released from any bonds of darkness, fear, anger, or sadness that bind and threaten them
For all those living under the curse of generational sins, that they may have protection and the inheritance of the past may be made void in their lives.
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 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 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) For Katherine and Franklin, Gordon and Christine, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.
(2)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For JCecil3 and Wife. For Pansy Moss. For Mrs. White and child. For Katherine and her friend Corren. Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. St. Gerard Majella, pray for us. Blessed Gianna, pray for us.
The Florida Supreme court has declared itself God once again.
I do not believe that God causes natural disasters in punishment for human sins. But I find myself persuaded that this expected, but nevertheless vile abomination and the forecast of Jeanne sweeping up the entire coast, does have a certain element of poetic justice to it. I just hate to be in the middle of the stanza.
An amazing, beautiful death-bed prayer:
from God's Secretaries
Adam NicolsonCome Lord Jesus, and kiss me with the kisses of thy mouth, and embrace me with the armes of thy love. Into thy hands do I commend my spirit; O come now, and take me to thine owne selfe; O come, lord Jesus, come quickly. O come, O come, O come.
from God's Secretaries
Adam Nicolson[referring to the Translators' notes on "The Song of Songs."]
That aching gap, between the ecstatic sexulaity of the poem and of the rather helpful and intersting notes which the Translators provide, might make us smile now, but it was clearly not a comic effect that the Jacobean Translators were after. The modern reaction to their binding of the religious and the erotic experience is a measure of what Eliot called the 'dissociation of sensibility' that occurred to English consciousness at some time later in the seventeenth century. We can no longer imagine that erotic passion and religious intelligence can be bound together into one living fabric. All we see in the commentary of Chaderton's company is what looks like their prudishness, their refusal to see the erotic and the passionate for what it is. But in doing that, we patronise them, we assume they were trying to conceal what they were so clearly and self-consciously making vital and present.
I have often wondered about this--about the lack of blood in the Crucifixion, that so easily got critics worked up about its violence, about the santization of religion, the removal from it, even in Catholic circles of some of the elements of sexuality. We tend to shy away from the overtly sexual imagery of the Song of Songs, to allegorize it before we have even absorbed it. The erotic and the passionate have little place in the sphere of modern religious sensibility. And perhaps that is the way the pendulum swings right now. At other times, it well could have been quite different.
But I recall an example in my own life, one that I occasionally still grapply with. I remember reading or hearing that the Chassidim, a group within Judaism that I do not sufficiently understand well enouogh to explain, were regarded among the very finest people for the diamond industry because of their strict scrupulosity in all money matters. And I remember upon first hearing it thinking, "How can turly religious people desire to make a lot of money?" For me their was a discrepancy between seeking money or wealth and religion. And yet, it is not money that is evil, it is the pursuit of money and the love of money above all else. I had somehow come by a generalilzation that suggested that money equalled a lack of a holy life. And certainly, that can happen. But didn't Jesus tell us "Seek ye first the kingdom of God." I would assume that if one's first goal were always the love and service owed to God, then it would be perfectly all right to work at whatever profession.
Judging by the number of comments, many have already seen this at Domestic Excellence, one bloggers aesthetic icon for the blogs she reads. If not, you would do well to stop by.
For my part, an image well chose--just a touch fractal with lots and lots of color, including my favorite end of the spectrum. In addition there is the sensation of cool flame--surreal and lovely. Thank you very much.
Perhaps you have asked yourself why I maunder on so about the Letter to the Philippians. And as it only just occurred to me the other night, I thought I might share a little of my motivation in reflecting on Philippians.
We all have greater or less interest or love for different books of the Bible. Naturally the Gospels hold pride of place in terms of their compelling interest in salvation history and our understanding of it. But there are some books we come back to over and over again depending on who we are and how God wants to speak to us.
Those who have seen my comments and who have frequented this place know that , in general, I tend to have a "Pollyanna" view of the world. This is not an expression of pride, nor of sorrow, but an attempt to describe how, in serenity, I like to look at the people and things around me. One of Pollyanna's chief attributes (at least as conveyed to us by the Disney movie) is that she was always playing "the glad game." That is, she looked into all events to try to find something good, something to rejoice in. For the most part, she was successful. Even at the end, where things are in doubt, we are shown the "good" of a very, very bad thing indeed.
Within my limited human capacity, that is how I like to operate. I like to take people at their word. I like to think the best of people and their motivations. I refuse to allow journalism to cloud my mind with their vague hints and dubious gossip. These things make headlines, but they rarely reflect the reality of the people they gossip about. Listening to too much of it turns one's head in such a way that it is extremely difficult to return to a state of appreciation for our fellow-travelers.
That, in part, leads me to Philippians. Paul is imprisoned in Rome while writing it. I don't know the order of composition, but I'm of the impression that this is near the end of his sojourn in Rome. And yet, he is thankful for his imprisonment, for the people of Philippi, for the praetorian Guard, for God's will, for everything. The joy that radiates from this letter is the joy of one who has recently stood (almost bodily one might think) in the throne room of the Lord and seen all the good that permeates creation. Paul affirms this good, and then encourages us to move beyond it to the Best. He tells us that "to live is Christ and to die is gain." He tells us that he longs to return home, and yet, for the sake of those who need Him, he is willing to remain behind. The depth of his faith, his love, his hope radiates out through all the ages again and again in verse after verse.
"Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. . . . What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice. " (Phil 1: 15, 18)
"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. " (Phil 2:1-2)
"Even if I am to be poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. " (Phil 2: 17-18)
"Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not irksome to me, and is safe for you. " (Phil. 3:1)
" But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself." (Phil 3:20-21)
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. " (Phil 4:4-8)
Over and over and over again, we hear joy in the midst of adversity. Even addressing the central issues of the letter--a quarrel between two prominent church women, Paul is gentle in his admonishment and in joyful hope that the quarrel will see a rapid resolution.
So Philippians speaks to the way I see life most of the time and it is the model for how I would like to live my life all of the time. For me, it is one exemplar of the Christian Witness, a very attractive one, one likely to bring people flocking to Christianity with its love, joy, and hope.
While still only a tropical Storm, Jeanne proved to be the deadliest storm of the season so far. Despite Ivan's huge reach and incredible power, it is Jeanne that caused the greatest loss of life.
And it looks as though Jeanne will visit Central Florida after all. For a week, perhaps more, it seemed as if she would wander off into the Atlantic and like Karl be lost to all ken. But not so, after moving well north of us, she rounded on herself and current forecasts have her making landfall at Daytona and then skimming up the entire coast to South Carolina. Needless to say, this is truly monstrous. One prayer is that the course deflect yet again. Another is that if she must hit, she move quickly, like Charley, rather than slowly, like Frances.
Pray God's will in this as in all things, but also pray for the great many people along the eastern coast of the U.S. who need protection from this Hurricane.
While we're talking bizarre meteorological events, you may be aware that Ivan, after his journey inland, returned south, regrouped Tropical Storm strength and found his way up to the Texas/Louisiana coast. Pray for yet more people subject to Ivan the Terrible.
Finally, chances seem good that Lisa will miss all land interests. Please pray that it be so.
A very, very active season with four storms running about at once. (For a while, there was a fifth brewing, but I think it combined with Lisa, if I interpret the NOAA information properly.
Please remember the more than 700 dead in Haiti as a result of Tropical Storm Jeanne. I retain this opening prayer as the known death toll increases daily, today it is more than 1,000.
Merciful Father,
hear our prayers and console us.
As we renew our faith in your Son,
whom you raised from the dead,
strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters
will share in his resurrection,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen Prayer from All Soul's
Prayer Requests
URGENT REQUESTS:
For Protection for Franklin as he travels in a strange city; for help in bearing up under the burden he is carrying
For Alicia's youngest daughter as she goes into surgery tomorrow to correct a painful cyst, may the surgeons' hands be guided, may she rest in the Lord's loving arms.
For Smockmomma's sister Charlene, may God help her, heal her, and above all else hold her close in time of yet another trial.
For a young lady who is in a bad place and needs the light of grace and hope of heart to lift a great weight.
For the families of people who have died in the course of Ivan and for all those whose homes and livelihoods have been damaged or endangered. Particularly for Lee Ann and whoever else found themselves in Alabama.
Please continue to pray for Dylan until he returns to us.
A quick sale and an easy move for Tom and his family as they set out on another exciting adventure in life.
For a deeper understanding of and commitment to the strengthening grace of the sacrament of marriage, especially for those who are presently undergoing trials.
Please storm heaven for my friends in Louisiana, they've had a long string of misfortune and could do with some good news.
For a dear friend who is undergoing a troubling period in her life, beset with a number of problems, physical, financial, emotional. May God hold her close to His heart.
For a St. Blog's parishioner in need of work to forestall financial catastrophe, that the Lord provide all that is needed in both material and spiritual blessings.
For those struggling against self to attain holiness, that the Good Lord will raise up new Saints for our times, visible beacons that draw all people toward Christ.
For the people of the Sudan that they may know peace and security and that they might learn to live together.
A special request from two gentleman battling particularly troublesome and besetting sins for grace and help as they continue forward.
For all those in the process of discerning vocations to the religious life, for guidance, prudence and good counsel
For our children, that they grow up in security, comfort, and the certain knowledge that they are loved and that they be released from any bonds of darkness, fear, anger, or sadness that bind and threaten them
For all those living under the curse of generational sins, that they may have protection and the inheritance of the past may be made void in their lives.
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 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 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) For Katherine and Franklin, Gordon and Christine, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.
(2)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For JCecil3 and Wife. For Pansy Moss. For Mrs. White and child. For Katherine and her friend Corren. Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. St. Gerard Majella, pray for us. Blessed Gianna, pray for us.
A few weeks ago I announced that for reasons of my own I was considering letting my subscription to Crisis lapse. It was prior to the revelation of the scandal.
Now the scandal has broken and it has added fuel to the fire of thought.
And the vitriol noted by TSO in various places about blogdom has spurred me to reconsider. I might not read it at all. I may just donate it to my Parish Church (which seems desperately in need of some enlightenment.) But Mr. Hudson's exemplary conduct in the face of a revelation that should have remained a private matter, has inspired me. I do not know all of the details. I know what I read from Mr. Hudson, and while I suppose it was necessary given the public nature of the revelation, even that was too much for me. However, it was what he chose to do. And in my estimation, he chose correctly. We are all sinners. He owes me no apology. The persons deserving an apology long-ago received one--he owed me nothing except a visit to the confessional, which I will believe he did as a matter of course. I have no claim to anything from Mr. Hudson. But his courage is inspirational.
So even if I don't read the magazine, I will probably renew my subscription as a way of saying thank you for a Christian witness in a world sadly lacking in such.
I have enormous respect for Scott Hahn and his work. But I just can't seem to get over his writing style.
I was looking for books on Scripture written by/for Catholics. I came upon Hahn's Scripture Matters, and it shows the same unfortunate propensity for bad puns that bedevils his other works. To its credit, it appears (at least in the introduction available at Amazon) to be a somewhat more scholarly and serious consideration of the material at hand. But I sure wish I could overcome my personal dislike of this style of things.
I know I am in a minority. I know that most people truly benefit from Hahn's articulations of central truths; I regret only that I cannot be part of that audience. I know I am missing out, but it is something about which I can do very little.
I suppose I can savor Mr. Hahn's work in the Ignatius Study Bible, where there is very little room for the more appalling linguistic displays I have seen in some of his full-length works.
And worst of all, I really like well-constructed, well-considered puns--they are a real art form when they are used to produce a fruitful ambiguity in a work of literature. Joyce and Shakespeare both used them to brilliant effect, as do a great many lesser writers. I'm afraid that they are a trope in Mr. Hahn's hands that serves only to grate on my nerves. Ah well, chacun á son goût!
Philippians 1:9-11
9: And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,
10: so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
11: filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
I left off with approving what is excellent, a necessary but not sufficient component of Christian life and a chief reason for Paul's prayer for the Philippians, and for us. But the approval of what is excellent flows into the second reason Paul states for his prayer. "And may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ."
Paul prays for us and for our salvation. He prays that we can recognize and act upon what is excellent. Through the powers of discernment we are to choose what is BEST, not merely what is good. All creation is good, but much of creation is merely a way station on the path to God, and can be an obstacle to increasing holiness. What Paul calls on for us to do is to recognize the path to the One Thing Necessary, and through approving this path with our words, but more with our actions, to grow into purity and blamelessness.
Now surely, if so great a Saint as Paul lays this goal out before us, and certainly, if so great a Saint leads the company of Saints in praying for us, if we incline our wills the smallest amount, the spirit that is within us cannot fail to bring us a step closer. God desires the salvation of all, it is we who question whether we really want salvation or immolation in the goods of Earth. The acceptable sacrifice to the Lord is a humble and contrite heart, a life lived in approving what is excellent and transforming that approval into purity and blamelessness. We do none of this ourselves. Everything we do (other than sin) is aided by the power of God Himself. More--the prayers of all the Saints and the specific prayer that starts in this letter and resonates through eternity, are a beacon, a lighthouse, a strong signal that guides us home.
That the great Saint's prayer be not in vain, let us take one step closer today. One moment more reflecting on the Lord, one prayer more said in a calm moment, one sacrifice of love, one word of kindness, one helping hand, one moment of silence. Today we can pray for the people of Haiti who have suffered so great a disaster, we can pray that the storms out there still stay far from land and harming others, we can pray that those who do not know Christ come to know Him, we can pray through our actions and help someone in need, leading them to Christ not through words but through the corporal acts of mercy. We can love with hearts that long to see home, and we can join St. Paul in the dilemma he will express somewhat later in this great letter, "To live is Christ and to die is gain." One step at a time, we can move toward our Lord and savior. One prayer, one word, one action, one thought, one moment, any movement toward God is a movement away from the old life of separation and a step on the journey home.
Please remember the more than 700 dead in Haiti as a result of Tropical Storm Jeanne:
Merciful Father,
hear our prayers and console us.
As we renew our faith in your Son,
whom you raised from the dead,
strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters
will share in his resurrection,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen Prayer from All Soul's
Prayer Requests
URGENT REQUESTS:
For Protection for Franklin as he travels in a strange city
For Smockmomma's sister Charlene, may God help her, heal her, and above all else hold her close in time of yet another trial.
For a young lady who is in a bad place and needs the light of grace and hope of heart to lift a great weight.
For the families of people who have died in the course of Ivan and for all those whose homes and livelihoods have been damaged or endangered. Particularly for Lee Ann and whoever else found themselves in Alabama.
Please continue to pray for Dylan until he returns to us.
A quick sale and an easy move for Tom and his family as they set out on another exciting adventure in life.
For a deeper understanding of and commitment to the strengthening grace of the sacrament of marriage, especially for those who are presently undergoing trials.
Please storm heaven for my friends in Louisiana, they've had a long string of misfortune and could do with some good news.
For a dear friend who is undergoing a troubling period in her life, beset with a number of problems, physical, financial, emotional. May God hold her close to His heart.
For a St. Blog's parishioner in need of work to forestall financial catastrophe, that the Lord provide all that is needed in both material and spiritual blessings.
For those struggling against self to attain holiness, that the Good Lord will raise up new Saints for our times, visible beacons that draw all people toward Christ.
For the people of the Sudan that they may know peace and security and that they might learn to live together.
A special request from two gentleman battling particularly troublesome and besetting sins for grace and help as they continue forward.
For all those in the process of discerning vocations to the religious life, for guidance, prudence and good counsel
For our children, that they grow up in security, comfort, and the certain knowledge that they are loved and that they be released from any bonds of darkness, fear, anger, or sadness that bind and threaten them
For all those living under the curse of generational sins, that they may have protection and the inheritance of the past may be made void in their lives.
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 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 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) For Katherine and Franklin, Gordon and Christine, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.
(2)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For JCecil3 and Wife. For Pansy Moss. For Mrs. White and child. For Katherine and her friend Corren. Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. St. Gerard Majella, pray for us. Blessed Gianna, pray for us.
Blessed be God who lives forever,
because his kingdom lasts for all ages.
For he scourges and then has mercy,
he casts down into the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape His hand.
. . . Bless the Lord of righteousness
and exalt the King of ages. Tobit 13
Prayer Requests
URGENT REQUESTS:
For Protection for Franklin as he travels in a strange city
For Smockmomma's sister Charlene, may God help her, heal her, and above all else hold her close in time of yet another trial.
For the survivors, the dispossessed, and the repose of the souls of those who died because of Tropical Storm Jeanne in Haiti and the Domincan Repbulic
For a young lady who is in a bad place and needs the light of grace and hope of heart to lift a great weight.
For the families of people who have died in the course of Ivan and for all those whose homes and livelihoods have been damaged or endangered. Particularly for Lee Ann and whoever else found themselves in Alabama.
Please continue to pray for Dylan until he returns to us.
A quick sale and an easy move for Tom and his family as they set out on another exciting adventure in life.
For a deeper understanding of and commitment to the strengthening grace of the sacrament of marriage, especially for those who are presently undergoing trials.
Please storm heaven for my friends in Louisiana, they've had a long string of misfortune and could do with some good news.
For a dear friend who is undergoing a troubling period in her life, beset with a number of problems, physical, financial, emotional. May God hold her close to His heart.
For a St. Blog's parishioner in need of work to forestall financial catastrophe, that the Lord provide all that is needed in both material and spiritual blessings.
For those struggling against self to attain holiness, that the Good Lord will raise up new Saints for our times, visible beacons that draw all people toward Christ.
Summa Mamas announce that they're going to celebrate their first blogthday shortly.
Moreover, they announce that they are very close (probably by now over) 2,000 comments.
I have not yet made it to 2,000 comments. I've been at this for two? three? long years? What does this say?
Are blogs run by females intrinsically more inviting and more social that those run by men. Or is it on the contrary the quest for silence and solitude leaves these environs silent, if not alone. (I know you all are still reading--even if commenting is rather slow.)
I hope it is recognized that this is tongue and cheek, and I do wish the Mamas a very joyous celebration of their first complete year on line. They've certainly added style, panache, and a certain southern (Texan) tang to the parish. Thanks for a great year. And Smockmomma is still, still, still, my number one toprunner for President now that JCecil3 is no longer pursuing a National Catholic Party.
While my intention is only to comment on verses 10, it seems wise to provide the three verses that make up a single sentence of this note to the Philippians.
Before I go there though, the need to site three verses (a great many more in Ephesians and others) to account for a single sentence makes me wonder about the mysteries of how the divisions between verse were originally decided. I haven't enough biblical history to know the answer to this question--but if anyone has quick reference to which they could direct me, I'd be most interested. I understand why you might break a sentence in the middle of poetry--as they can ramble on forever; however, in the midst of a block of prose, I am left to wonder. Not to question so much as to want to consider the minds of those originally tasked with this project.
One further note: I realize that a reflection chopped up by verses must to some degree be recursive. And for this I do apologize because it become tedious to tread once again old territory. On the other hand, the composition of a coherent whole, even on so little a passage as three verses might entail too long a period of time. In other words, at least by commenting sequentially and frequently, I actually end up writing the commentary. Were I to wait until everything were distilled, gelled, and solid in my mind, there is every likelihood that I would not bother to say anything at all. (Which situation might, in fact, come as a relief to those three people who stop by once or twice a week. But so far, no one has been so cruel or kind as to say so.)
Philippians 1:9-11
9: And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,
10: so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
11: filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
The other day I commented on the need for discernment and how much the gift seemed to be lacking in the world today. But today my attention is focused on Paul's own explanation of why that gift is so critical and so necessary. He lists two reasons. There are undoubtedly a great many reasons, but Paul here refers specifically to two--(1) that you may approve what is excellent and (2) be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. This second reason has some further amplification in verse 11--what the expected fruits of that purity are to be.
The first of these reasons is the beautiful and lofty center of evangelical Christian life in the world. It addresses quite directly the task we are assigned and that we need to assume if our lives are to be a proper Christian witness. When we talk about "lifestyle evangelism," it is this essentially point that must be addressed--we must "approve what is excellent." I like this because it makes the point sharply. We do not merely endorse what is good. Paul knows this because all of creation is good--God made it that way. Good is, for anyone living the Christian life, the least common denominator. God made all things good so endorsing what is good does not really instruct or raise people to new heights from which to see God. Moreover, what is good is subject to endless subjective qualifications and discussions.
Approving what is excellent requires a good deal more. It requires that first we identify and name "what is excellent." And then we must approve it. How does this actually take place? We approve what is excellent by doing it. What is excellent is not a matter of aesthetic appreciation and approval is not a matter of verbal endorsement. What is excellent is what most directly leads us into closer union with God. Approval of what is excellent requires that we act on the knowledge of its excellence. We approve prayer not when we tell others to do it, but when we ourselves pray. We approve liturgy not by demanding that others attend, but when we attend and help rather than merely sit in our seats. Approval is not merely a stamp or a seal that indicates that something is good (at least not in this case), rather, it is a way of life.
The time I have for this today is done. I will return soon with further reflections on the second half of the verse.
from Carmel, Land of the Soul
Carolyn HumphreysDwight Moody gives these expressions of love: "Joy is love exalted. Peace is love in repose. Long suffering is love enduring. Gentleness is love in society. Goodness is love in action. Faith is love on the battlefield. Meekness is love in school and temperance is love in training."
Excerpted from a Sermon by Father John Sullivan, OCD
Quite aware of how adversity can erode one's willingness to be kind to others, he [St. John of the Cross] still was able to write the following piece of advice to a religious, a scant five months before he died four centuries ago: "Think nothing else but that God ordains all, and where there is no love, put love, and there you will draw out love." Here one has a reliable recipe for happiness: Instead of waiting for love to happen, put it to work and you will then harvest its fruits.
We can be bitter, suspicious, and dubious. Or we can choose to live the life Jesus has granted us to live.
I found this notion salutary as we enter our season of elections. We do well to bear in mind how our personal preferences affect our view of all parties contending in this election. And "where there is no love, put love," in the substantive form of ardent prayer for all of the people involved and for our nation. "And we will draw love out."
Present and Active:
Queen of the South--Arturo Perez-Reverte
God's Secretaries Adam Nicolson
Carmel, Land of the Soul Carolyn Humphreys
Warm-up
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
I have others part finished, lingering about waiting for something to fall off the list. But right now, I think it is safe to say that these are the primary attention getters.
I did buy what seems to be one of an interesting series by Word Among Us Press. There were three volumes of lives of Saints/Christian Heroes. I purchased the one that had both Deitrich Bonhoeffer and Takashi Nagai (among others). I read through a couple of the biographies/stories and found them enormously engaging. These are like longer versions of what is offered in the Magnificat each day. If you happen to be in a book store that offers them, you'd do well to take a look.
I have friends who shudder at the thought of the Oprah Book Club. They look down their long slender noses at such middle-brow meddling in the great work of literature. And I think that they are much like many of my college professors, who despised Charles Dickens because he told stories that appealed to a great swath of the population.
I neither buy nor shy away from a book because it has Oprah's imprimatur. Of recent date, I had been ignoring Oprah's endorsement of Anna Karenina. That is to say, I was not tempted to by the book by the fact that it was a summer selection. On the other hand, it was very gratifiying to have it thrust into my face again.
I will readily admit, I have never read Anna Karenina. I've tried many, many times. But no matter how often I tried, I never got to the point in the book where Anna's name was first mentioned. I could not force my way through the weariness and dreariness of the domestic arrangements of the Oblonsky family. In truth, I regarded it as a "woman's book"--a sort of high-class romance gone awry.
Now, I have read War and Peace. By its very title you can tell that this is a man's man book. Bristling and macho from the word go (NOT). But something about the narrative in War and Peace drew me in and through the entire work, even though it took me forever to read it.
Well, I'm pleased to say that I bought the Oprah recommended translation of Anna Karenina and I have read to the point (and beyond) where Anna's name is first mentioned. It's amazing what difference a translation can make. This particular translation makes the book seem modern, a right now story of love and lust in Tsarist Russia. Okay, perhaps that's an exaggeration, but there is a freshness and a simplicity to this translation that is engaging. The table of characters is enormously helpful in sorting out who is related to whom and how. Moreover there are notes at the end that explain some of the more obscure elements of the text.
I'll let you know if I make it thorugh this time. But prospect are better, and I have Oprah to thank for it. Thanks Oprah, you do a great service to the community at large through promoting reading. Keep up the good work!
It is you whom I invoke, O Lord.
In the morning you hear me;
in the morning I offer you my prayer,
watching and waiting. From Morning Prayer, Psalm 5
Prayer Requests
URGENT REQUESTS:
For Protection for Franklin as he travels in a strange city
For Smockmomma's sister Charlene, may God help her, heal her, and above all else hold her close in time of yet another trial.
For a young lady who is in a bad place and needs the light of grace and hope of heart to lift a great weight.
For the families of people who have died in the course of Ivan and for all those whose homes and livelihoods have been damaged or endangered. Particularly for Lee Ann and whoever else found themselves in Alabama.
Please continue to pray for Dylan until he returns to us.
A quick sale and an easy move for Tom and his family as they set out on another exciting adventure in life.
For a deeper understanding of and commitment to the strengthening grace of the sacrament of marriage, especially for those who are presently undergoing trials.
Please storm heaven for my friends in Louisiana, they've had a long string of misfortune and could do with some good news.
For a dear friend who is undergoing a troubling period in her life, beset with a number of problems, physical, financial, emotional. May God hold her close to His heart.
For a St. Blog's parishioner in need of work to forestall financial catastrophe, that the Lord provide all that is needed in both material and spiritual blessings.
For those struggling against self to attain holiness, that the Good Lord will raise up new Saints for our times, visible beacons that draw all people toward Christ.
For the people of the Sudan that they may know peace and security and that they might learn to live together.
A special request from two gentleman battling particularly troublesome and besetting sins for grace and help as they continue forward.
For all those in the process of discerning vocations to the religious life, for guidance, prudence and good counsel
For our children, that they grow up in security, comfort, and the certain knowledge that they are loved and that they be released from any bonds of darkness, fear, anger, or sadness that bind and threaten them
For all those living under the curse of generational sins, that they may have protection and the inheritance of the past may be made void in their lives.
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 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 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) For Katherine and Franklin, Gordon and Christine, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.
(2)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For JCecil3 and Wife. For Pansy Moss. For Mrs. White and child. For Katherine and her friend Corren. Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. St. Gerard Majella, pray for us. Blessed Gianna, pray for us.