It may be easier to see God's kingdom advancing in the world through Paul's suffering than through ours. Constantly making missionary journeys and enduring persecution, Paul labors and suffers in his apostolic efforts to bring the good news about Jesus to people. Very few of us have Paul's focused sense of Christian mission. Our hardships and pains tend to be more ordinary, less "apostolic" than Paul's. Rather than being arrested and beaten for preaching the gospel, we lose a job or a loved one, or suffer rejection by a spouse or child, or develop a debilitating disease. Can these sufferings be a sharing in Jesus' suffering? They can, because Jesus has united us with himself. Because we are united with him by faith and baptism, we are members of his body. Thus he shares the sufferings encounter, and our sufferings become ways of sharing in his sufferings -- and opportunities to experience his encouragement.
Often, when things go wrong, we do not feel close to the Lord. But notice that Paul does not say that in his recent troubles he felt a powerful sense of connection with Jesus. Actually, he says that he felt "utterly, unbearably crushed" (1:8). It does not sound as if he had a sense of close attachment to Jesus then -- or, if he did, it does not seem to have given him serenity. For Paul, as for us, suffering is suffering. Sometimes what is most painful for us is the apparent absence of the kind God who previously showered us with blessings. In some cases -- the sickness of infants, for example -- we may simply be incapable of imagining how God might ever use such suffering for good. But again, Paul does not suggest that we can always grasp how our sufferings are a sharing in Christ's or how they will serve the coming of his kingdom.
It may be worth reflecting that, if our union with Jesus' sufferings is unseen and deeply mysterious, that does not make it different in principle from every other aspect of our relationship with him. In the Christian life, we always proceed on the basis of faith...
I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect "history" to be anything but a long defeat -- though it contains (and in a legend may contain more clearly and movingly) some samples or glimpses of final victory.J.R.R. Tolkien
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.
It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness;Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you;
He is the beauty to which you are so attracted;
it is He who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise;
it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life;
it is He who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.
It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.Pope John Paul II
Devotion to the Guardian Angels goes back to the beginnings of Christianity. Pope Clement X proclaimed the feast a universal celebration in the seventeenth century. The Guardian Angels serve as the messengers of God. The Almighty has allocated a Guardian Angel to each one of us for our protection and for the good of our apostolate...As devoted as I am to the Archangels, I am especially fond of my Guardian Angel. He is always there when I need him and has a wicked sense of humor. Perhaps wicked is not the right word. He must, therefore, have an angelic sense of humor! This is one of my favorite feast days.
We have to deal with our Guardian Angels in a familiar way, while at the same time recognizing their superior nature and grace. Though less palpable in their presence than human friends are, their efficacy for our benefit is far greater. Their counsel and suggestions come from God, and penetrate more deeply than any human voice. To reiterate, their capacity for hearing and understanding us is much superior even to that of our most faithful human friend, since their attendance at our side is continuous; they can enter more deeply into our intentions, desires and petitions than can any human being, since angels can reach our imagination directly without recourse to the comprehension of words. They are able to incite images, provoke memories, and make impressions in order to give us direction.
Dorothy Day had an abortion earlier in her life and it was a great source of sorrow for the rest of her life, to the point where she could barely bring herself to refer to it. Surely that contributed all the more to her realization of the wonder and joy that her daughter brought ... and her link through creation to God Himself.If I had written the greatest book, composed the greatest symphony, painted the most beautiful painting or carved the most exquisite figure, I could not have felt more the exalted creator than I did when they placed my child in my arms. To think that this thing of beauty, sighing gently in my arms, reaching her little mouth for my breast, clutching at me with her tiny beautiful hands, had come from my flesh was my own child! Such a great feeling of happiness and joy filled me that I was hungry for Someone to thank, to love, even to worship, for so great a good that had been bestowed upon me. [Dorothy Day]Every child is a "sacrament" -- a living sign that the creator of the universe entered the world by way of a human mother, that he called us to be "born from above" in baptism and to enter his kingdom as his little children.Catholic Passion by David Scott
Peter is the only apostle who received his name directly from Jesus. In Scripture, when God changes a person's name -- as when he changed Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, and Jacob to Israel -- he is revealing that person's pivotal place in his plan of salvation. Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter (Petros in Greek, Cephas in the Aramaic dialect that Jesus spoke). The name means "rock." "You are Peter," Jesus said, "and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."I knew this. I did. But I forgot it. This reminder is a powerful one that Jesus' commission to Peter was serious and meant to last forever.Catholic Passion by David Scott
ST. GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL
The liturgy for today celebrates the feast of the three archangels who have been venerated throughout the history of the Church, Michael (from the Hebrew Who is like God?) is the archangel who defends the friends of God against Satan and all his evil angels. Gabriel, (the Power of God), is chosen by the Creator to announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation. Raphael, (the Medicine of God), is the archangel who takes care of Tobias on his journey.I have a special fondness for angels and it is a sign of my Catholic geekiness, I suppose, that I got an excited "Christmas morning" sort of thrill when I realized today's feast.
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray. And do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl around the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.Some more on angels.
You should be aware that the word "angel" denotes a function rather than a nature. Those holy spirits of heaven have indeed always been spirits. They can only be called angels when they deliver some message. Moreover, those who deliver messages of lesser importance are called angels; and those who proclaim messages of supreme importance are called archangels.Sadly, I don't have any angel food cake (it really is not that sad an occurrence as I abhor angel food cake), however I may stop by and pick up some heavenly, cloud-like meringues on the way home so we can celebrate properly!From a homily by Pope Saint Gregory the Great.
Russians call this sacrament [confession] "the kiss of Christ." The Russian-born writer Catherine de Hueck Doherty said that her mother taught her to talk to Jesus in confession as if she were talking to her own father:Beautiful, isn't it? Maybe that helps explain to others why so many of us see Confession as a beautiful sacrament.I would ... tell him how sorry I was for having done something he didn't like. In my imagination, Christ hugged me and said something like, "That's all right, little girl. I know it's not easy to always do the right thing." Then he would kiss me and bless me and say, "Now go and play."Catholic Passion by David Scott
You Can
You can tear it down, wall by wall
You can take my home from me
You can rip them away, one and all
You can take my family from me
You can make me face learn to glare
You can take my love from me
You can make me no longer care
You can take my hate from me
You can drag me through the driving rain
You can take my pride from me
You can taunt, jeer, laugh at my pain
You can take my joy from me
You can tell me it could be worse
You can take my pain from me
You can turn each day into a curse
You can take my hope from me
You can force me into iron chains
You can take my freedom from me
You can spill the blood in my veins
You can take my life from me
You can laugh at belief, tear downs my ideals
You can take my faith from me
But with me, you can make no deals
You can’t take my soul from me
... this remarkable five-part miniseries bears more resemblance to a legitimate documentary, in which four young men face the permanent and life-altering decision between celibacy in the Roman Catholic priesthood or a sexually active life of faith, marriage, and family. Although the veteran reality TV producers of this A&E series (which premiered amidst mild and short-lived controversy on Easter Sunday 2006) had originally intended a more populist MTV-like approach to their exploration of religious fervor, what they ultimately captured (largely due to the integrity of the participants) is a remarkably revealing and spiritually uplifting study of Catholic faith in modern America. While acknowledging the scandals that tarnished the Catholic Church in recent years, God or the Girl offers a refreshing and surprisingly balanced perspective on serious issues of faith rarely addressed in mainstream entertainment.My main struggle in watching has been to get the time. Unfortunately my receipt of it coincided with the beginning of the new television season so I've had to wait until Rose is out of taped options to slide one in.
An ancient characteristic of Catholic worship is the antiphon, a word that means "answering back." It is the pattern of liturgical call-and-response, as when the priest prays, "The Lord be with you," and the worshipers answer back, "And also with your spirit." This prayerful dialogue reflects a fundamental Catholic understanding of what it means to be human. We are "antiphonal" beings in conversation with our Creator -- listening for God's call and answering him with our lives.You know, that has never occurred to me in all the times I have joined in responsorial liturgy. How fascinating to consider that it is a reflection of that larger reality of our relationship with God.Catholic Passion by David Scott
| You Are an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie |
 On the surface, you're a little plain - but you have many subtle dimensions to your personality. Sometimes you're down to earth and crunchy. Other times, you're sweet and a little gooey. |
Nobody of any real culture ... ever talks nowadays about the beauty of a sunset. Sunsets are quite old-fashioned. They belong to the time when Turner was the last note in art. To admire them is a distinct sign of provincialism of temperament. Upon the other hand they go on. Yesterday evening Mrs. Arundel insisted on my going to the window, and looking at the glorious sky, as she called it. Of course I had to look at it ... And what was it? It was simply a very second-rate Turner, a Turner of a bad period, with all the painter's worst faults exaggerated and over-emphasized.Oh, Oscar Wilde ... how did you manage to be so very funny?Oscar Wilde, as quoted in The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney
In his tender affection for children Jesus stood in radical contradiction to the attitudes and practices of the empire of his day. The Romans and Greeks held that children were inferior beings, something less than fully human. Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers of the ancient world approved the killing of unwanted children through abortion and infanticide, and they saw nothing wrong with using children for sexual gratification.
Jesus said it would be better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be plunged into the depths of the sea than to suffer God's judgment for scandalizing one of his little ones. From the beginning, the church fiercely defended children, even the unborn. The Didache ("Teaching"), the oldest surviving manual of church life, written in the mid-first century, warns: "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish." The Christian philosopher Athenagoras, in a plea to Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 175, explained: "We regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being and therefore an object of God's care."Catholic Passion by David Scott
