30 October 2014
Thought of the day
The mental gymnastics that one uses to attempt to explain the obvious....maybe should be stopped to let the obvious show
28 October 2014
Thought of the day
Praying for your enemies is often a difficult task. It is so tempting to want to rub something in their faces when they have wronged you. Yet we should avoid such things...easier said than done of course.
22 October 2014
Thought of the day
No matter how good the intention, one can't do an evil to promote a good, the ends do not justify the means.
21 October 2014
Thought of the day
The Theory of Relativity is not about what's relative oddly, so it should probably be named something completely different.
20 October 2014
Thought of the day
What gift is the peace of Christ, when it is He who penetrates the soul and consoles you with His consolation.
Closing thoughts on the Synod
The Pope's closing thoughts here...I'll add the official closing report when it becomes available (UPDATE here's the report in Italian)
I'm sorry to say this, but the Pope HAD to say these words. That's right, he was backed into a corner. His hands were caught in the cookie jar, trying to take the cookies out.
This synod exposed Pope Francis as a member of team liberal (through his appointments) (this does not make him the false prophet, an anti-pope, or even a heretic) and no one can now dismiss that. point. Now some of us have been saying that for quite a while...effectively here's what happened. Pope (through the person of Cardinal B) tried to bypass the teachings of the Church (as I've stated, teachings of the Church can't change)...Bishops blew back and said, no this is not happening. (Keep praying though, this doesn't mean team liberal won't try again and with different tactics)
The human misuse of certain faculties can make it appear as if there's a dichotomy between the letter and the spirit of the law. But we know through our reason that the letter and spirit can't be opposed because they come from the same source, and God does not contradict Himself.
I'm happy to be rather "inflexible"...I take it is a compliment. I don't bend because I love souls. We don't bend because we seek the highest bar and we think that all are capable of reaching this bar with the Grace of God. So it is with all of us that are conservative...it's because we believe that people are called to be greater, not to be reduced to the lowest common denominator!
God is constant, God is order, unfortunately, emotions and the subjective experience are far from constant or even orderly. (There's a reason we can't rely on our emotions to lead us you know)...God can fill our lives with surprises, but He himself is not a surprise. God is consistent.
But as you know at this blog, we don't merely complain and not do something about it. Let us continue to pray even harder for the Church, and the vicar Francis, let us pray that he (Francis) does not get swallowed by the enemies who seek to destroy the Church, and better we pray that he not misuse faculties to do the same.
Pax Vobis
I'm sorry to say this, but the Pope HAD to say these words. That's right, he was backed into a corner. His hands were caught in the cookie jar, trying to take the cookies out.
This synod exposed Pope Francis as a member of team liberal (through his appointments) (this does not make him the false prophet, an anti-pope, or even a heretic) and no one can now dismiss that. point. Now some of us have been saying that for quite a while...effectively here's what happened. Pope (through the person of Cardinal B) tried to bypass the teachings of the Church (as I've stated, teachings of the Church can't change)...Bishops blew back and said, no this is not happening. (Keep praying though, this doesn't mean team liberal won't try again and with different tactics)
The human misuse of certain faculties can make it appear as if there's a dichotomy between the letter and the spirit of the law. But we know through our reason that the letter and spirit can't be opposed because they come from the same source, and God does not contradict Himself.
I'm happy to be rather "inflexible"...I take it is a compliment. I don't bend because I love souls. We don't bend because we seek the highest bar and we think that all are capable of reaching this bar with the Grace of God. So it is with all of us that are conservative...it's because we believe that people are called to be greater, not to be reduced to the lowest common denominator!
God is constant, God is order, unfortunately, emotions and the subjective experience are far from constant or even orderly. (There's a reason we can't rely on our emotions to lead us you know)...God can fill our lives with surprises, but He himself is not a surprise. God is consistent.
But as you know at this blog, we don't merely complain and not do something about it. Let us continue to pray even harder for the Church, and the vicar Francis, let us pray that he (Francis) does not get swallowed by the enemies who seek to destroy the Church, and better we pray that he not misuse faculties to do the same.
Pax Vobis
17 October 2014
Thought of the day
Maybe, just maybe it's easier to not screw up the first time. Then damage control is not necessary.
16 October 2014
Happy Birthday to meeeeeeee :D
Welcome to 8 day stretch that totally revolves around me :D (Well, not quite, but hey, we can pretend)
In thanksgiving to God for allowing me to exist for another day, in particular for this my 29th year of existence....May God in His mercy continue to put up with me :p
In thanksgiving to my mom (RIP) for giving birth to me, I'm still fighting, just like I was as a litle one.
In thanksgiving to my dad, my sister, and all of my family and of course to all of my friends.
And now let the celebration commence.
In thanksgiving to God for allowing me to exist for another day, in particular for this my 29th year of existence....May God in His mercy continue to put up with me :p
In thanksgiving to my mom (RIP) for giving birth to me, I'm still fighting, just like I was as a litle one.
In thanksgiving to my dad, my sister, and all of my family and of course to all of my friends.
And now let the celebration commence.
14 October 2014
Thought of the day
The Church if she can't look at herself and understand who she is, and why she does what she does, will be unable to transform the world, or convert the world back to Christ. She is unable to do anything without He who founded Her, when she is not faithful to her Liturgy, to her doctrine, her traditions, her formulations, it is a recipe for disaster.
13 October 2014
Oh dear, what are they thinking?
Here's the unofficial translation of the official report at Synod 2014
Now, yes, I know this is merely a report and not a final document, but let's be real here, tone speaks to everything. As we've seen from recent history, even though nothing official changed in Church teaching, the mere change in praxis/tone really messes with the psychology of the faithful.
Giving a full paragraph by paragraph analysis would make me nauseous and probably resulting in a rearrangement of box time, but since I'm known for not mincing words, I'm happy to point out some of the text and not spin it. (My comments in red)
Paragraph 17: In considering the principle of gradualness in the divine salvific plan, one asks what possibilities are given to married couples who experience the failure of their marriage, or rather how it is possible to offer them Christ’s help through the ministry of the Church. In this respect, a significant hermeneutic key comes from the teaching of Vatican Council II, which, while it affirms that “although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure ... these elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward Catholic unity” (Lumen Gentium, 8).
So many things wrong with this paragraph, but let's start with the obvious. The means for assistance in every irregular situation is already there. Something I truly believe is that all couples should have is a spiritual director. A spiritual director can look at their particular situation from the outside and see where things can be fixed. I also believe individuals need spiritual directors for their own individual growth.
The fact that there are elements of good found in other religions/philosophy, does not make them a True Good, towards Goodness Himself Christ Jesus. As an extension of this point, just because good can be found within an irregular situation does not make the irregular situation ideal or even a good.
And as the last 50 years has shown us, the emphasis of the positive at the expense of everything else is a recipe for disaster. It's almost as if there's some kind of insane disease infecting the synod which makes them want to repeat the 70's all over again. I'd laugh at this, but I'm afraid this is reality.
If this is the tone that is wished to be taken, God help us, they might as well say "we surrender" and put a white flag up...but wait, there's more.
Paragraph 20: Realizing the need, therefore, for spiritual discernment with regard to cohabitation, civil marriages and divorced and remarried persons, it is the task of the Church to recognize those seeds of the Word that have spread beyond its visible and sacramental boundaries. Following the expansive gaze of Christ, whose light illuminates every man (cf. Jn 1,9; cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22), the Church turns respectfully to those who participate in her life in an incomplete and imperfect way, appreciating the positive values they contain rather than their limitations and shortcomings.
Discernment for what?...Oh dear, let's make exemptions because the law is soooooo hard to follow, yay, let's just throw away the Words of Christ why don't we? God help us...Okay, let's solve this
a. Co-habitation in of itself is more or less a cause for scandal. Precisely because one does NOT know what is going on behind closed doors. (The couple could very well be living as brother and sister prior to their marriage, there could be financial difficulties for one of them, but neither of these are the point...and let's face it, most modern couples do not exercise this option) And I do understand the tendency to "not assume" but again, would it not be better just for the whole thing o not occur in the first place? To live with another person in of itself does not exclude one from Communion, but as the old saying goes, give the people an inch to choke you with, they'll take a mile. If it hasn't been obvious with the lack of discipline in the Church, what in the world makes these people think it's a good idea to give even more slack than we already have? God help us!
Paragraph 42: Such discernment is indispensable for the separated and divorced. What needs to be respected above all is the suffering of those who have endured separation and divorce unjustly. The forgiveness for the injustice endured is not easy, but it is a journey that grace makes possible. In the same way it needs to be always underlined that it is indispensable to assume in a faithful and constructive way the consequences of separation or divorce on the children: they must not become an “object” to be fought over and the most suitable means need to be sought so that they can get over the trauma of the family break-up and grow up in the most serene way possible.
What needs to be made clear here:
a. A separation is not in of itself an evil act. As is usual in our theology, the ends do not justify the means. But it's converse statement: The means do not justify the ends is not so. The Church in her infinite wisdom has already considered these points through.
Recall that an annulment is NOT a get out of marriage free card, but rather the exact opposite, it's a declaration that a marriage never happened because it was able to be proven there was a defect in form, matter or intention.
One could possibly say that abuse would fit under intention and one could say if there was an intent to abuse from the very beginning that a marriage should be declared null (that'd violate the vows)...one could also say a few other things, but here's really what I want to focus on
b. How about we just avoid the break up of the family all together? See my previous comment about assisting every couple with spiritual direction. In order for us to really get to the crisis, we can't merely treat the symptoms of the problem, we have to get to the root cause. Divorce, re-marriage are merely symptoms of the core problem, and NOT the things we really need to be treating.
There's a lot more things to say besides these paragraphs, we need to pray harder for the Church, if this is just merely the record of the discussions. God help us.
Pax Vobis.
Now, yes, I know this is merely a report and not a final document, but let's be real here, tone speaks to everything. As we've seen from recent history, even though nothing official changed in Church teaching, the mere change in praxis/tone really messes with the psychology of the faithful.
Giving a full paragraph by paragraph analysis would make me nauseous and probably resulting in a rearrangement of box time, but since I'm known for not mincing words, I'm happy to point out some of the text and not spin it. (My comments in red)
Paragraph 17: In considering the principle of gradualness in the divine salvific plan, one asks what possibilities are given to married couples who experience the failure of their marriage, or rather how it is possible to offer them Christ’s help through the ministry of the Church. In this respect, a significant hermeneutic key comes from the teaching of Vatican Council II, which, while it affirms that “although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure ... these elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward Catholic unity” (Lumen Gentium, 8).
So many things wrong with this paragraph, but let's start with the obvious. The means for assistance in every irregular situation is already there. Something I truly believe is that all couples should have is a spiritual director. A spiritual director can look at their particular situation from the outside and see where things can be fixed. I also believe individuals need spiritual directors for their own individual growth.
The fact that there are elements of good found in other religions/philosophy, does not make them a True Good, towards Goodness Himself Christ Jesus. As an extension of this point, just because good can be found within an irregular situation does not make the irregular situation ideal or even a good.
And as the last 50 years has shown us, the emphasis of the positive at the expense of everything else is a recipe for disaster. It's almost as if there's some kind of insane disease infecting the synod which makes them want to repeat the 70's all over again. I'd laugh at this, but I'm afraid this is reality.
If this is the tone that is wished to be taken, God help us, they might as well say "we surrender" and put a white flag up...but wait, there's more.
Paragraph 20: Realizing the need, therefore, for spiritual discernment with regard to cohabitation, civil marriages and divorced and remarried persons, it is the task of the Church to recognize those seeds of the Word that have spread beyond its visible and sacramental boundaries. Following the expansive gaze of Christ, whose light illuminates every man (cf. Jn 1,9; cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22), the Church turns respectfully to those who participate in her life in an incomplete and imperfect way, appreciating the positive values they contain rather than their limitations and shortcomings.
Discernment for what?...Oh dear, let's make exemptions because the law is soooooo hard to follow, yay, let's just throw away the Words of Christ why don't we? God help us...Okay, let's solve this
a. Co-habitation in of itself is more or less a cause for scandal. Precisely because one does NOT know what is going on behind closed doors. (The couple could very well be living as brother and sister prior to their marriage, there could be financial difficulties for one of them, but neither of these are the point...and let's face it, most modern couples do not exercise this option) And I do understand the tendency to "not assume" but again, would it not be better just for the whole thing o not occur in the first place? To live with another person in of itself does not exclude one from Communion, but as the old saying goes, give the people an inch to choke you with, they'll take a mile. If it hasn't been obvious with the lack of discipline in the Church, what in the world makes these people think it's a good idea to give even more slack than we already have? God help us!
Paragraph 42: Such discernment is indispensable for the separated and divorced. What needs to be respected above all is the suffering of those who have endured separation and divorce unjustly. The forgiveness for the injustice endured is not easy, but it is a journey that grace makes possible. In the same way it needs to be always underlined that it is indispensable to assume in a faithful and constructive way the consequences of separation or divorce on the children: they must not become an “object” to be fought over and the most suitable means need to be sought so that they can get over the trauma of the family break-up and grow up in the most serene way possible.
What needs to be made clear here:
a. A separation is not in of itself an evil act. As is usual in our theology, the ends do not justify the means. But it's converse statement: The means do not justify the ends is not so. The Church in her infinite wisdom has already considered these points through.
Recall that an annulment is NOT a get out of marriage free card, but rather the exact opposite, it's a declaration that a marriage never happened because it was able to be proven there was a defect in form, matter or intention.
One could possibly say that abuse would fit under intention and one could say if there was an intent to abuse from the very beginning that a marriage should be declared null (that'd violate the vows)...one could also say a few other things, but here's really what I want to focus on
b. How about we just avoid the break up of the family all together? See my previous comment about assisting every couple with spiritual direction. In order for us to really get to the crisis, we can't merely treat the symptoms of the problem, we have to get to the root cause. Divorce, re-marriage are merely symptoms of the core problem, and NOT the things we really need to be treating.
There's a lot more things to say besides these paragraphs, we need to pray harder for the Church, if this is just merely the record of the discussions. God help us.
Pax Vobis.
Thought of the day
A time will come where we need to stop blaming internal problems on the media, and recognize the problems for what they actually are. That time may very well be now. Is it too much to ask to uphold and not give the enemy anything to use against us?
11 October 2014
Thought of the day
If your heart skips, either a. there's an irregular heartbeat, or b. you're starting to fall for someone. The latter is rather nice, the former involves icky hospitals.
08 October 2014
Thought of the day
An immovable body and an unstoppable body would pass right through each other via the 1st and 2nd laws of motion. Those that seek to change the dogmas of the Church will fail because there is no way for this to happen. This does not mean that people won't try the end around though.
07 October 2014
Why are we so darn afraid? and a solution to the proposed problems
I must confess to you, I've been trying to tune out the whole Synod on the Family (though I have been praying for them) because I know exactly what's going to happen. The media will manipulate it. The language of the documents will be completely ambiguous as to interpret in any direction. The Pope will sign it, and then everything will be ignored and the Bishops' will do whatever they want. It's a completely predictable pattern if we've been following Church matters in the past few decades.
Over at Fr McDonald's blog a rather interesting post and discussion on the tone of the synod...and my eyes lit up and figured there's no way I could justify writing an entire essay on this topic, so here we go.
The language of ambiguity, the sugarcoating of virtually everything has been (if not still is) a major problem within the Church, and it can certainly be extended to society and even our interactions on a daily basis.
Apparently the words "sin" and "disordered" are uncomfortable and not welcoming enough.
Is it possible that we're NOT supposed to be comfortable? That we're supposed to be called to conversion and painting with pink unicorns and fluffy rainbows just won't do that. Certainly I can agree in the need to be charitable, but I can't agree to the premise that we need to be nice and inclusive about every little thing.
In the attempt to "dumb down" language, we're repeating the same mistakes that happened at Vatican II, and the same problems that got the ball rolling in the first place. We cannot change the language without losing its meaning. Even something as simple as changing the tone, changes things psychologically with our minds. How many of us know that Latin is still a requirement for the Liturgy? How many of us even know that the clergy are supposed to be trained in Latin well? (Granted if you read my blog or did some research, you probably DO know these things, but that's not the point.)
Situations, need to be called as they are and not for what they're not, I'm sick of attempting to please everyone. We can't, so let's stop trying and start teaching the Truth. Are people going to leave or be scared off? Surely, but it is not a game of numbers, or "how many". The Truth generally divides people and forces people to take a stand for something or nothing. It is certainly up to us to present the Truth in the most charitable manner, but it is NOT our job to per se convince people of said Truth. (Conversion is a grace from the Holy Spirit which we can't do alone, Faith is indeed a gift)...but being nice and pretending that things are okay, when they're not is absolutely ridiculous!
So there will be no pillow when a rock is needed to get through the window.
So while they spend an entire year trying to come up with "solutions" I'm going to go ahead and solve this right now...(someone can translate this to Italian and get it to them)
a. What do we do about the divorced?
You'll noticed I did not put remarried, because that's a separate situation. It needs to be made clear that a separation does NOT exclude one from Communion, as long as one does not enter into another relationship. The 2nd part of the statement being actually more important than the first.
Why can't one enter another relationship? The answer's rather simple, one would be committing adultery and be in two relationships at once. It's hard enough to handle one woman/man, why in the world would anyone want two or more? The Church in her wisdom knows our nature and how crazy we'd get if we placed ourselves in that kind of situation where we'd be worn out emotionally, physically and spiritually, and She does not wish this for us.
The local parishes should offer mediation (I'm of the opinion that all couples and individuals need spiritual directors) for the couples that are about to enter these situations. Why? Again, simple reasoning a marriage is for life, and our emotions come and go. An outsider can look at these situations and solve them without the emotions of being invested.
....I have a bit more to add to this post...but for now I'll stop here
Pax Vobis
Over at Fr McDonald's blog a rather interesting post and discussion on the tone of the synod...and my eyes lit up and figured there's no way I could justify writing an entire essay on this topic, so here we go.
The language of ambiguity, the sugarcoating of virtually everything has been (if not still is) a major problem within the Church, and it can certainly be extended to society and even our interactions on a daily basis.
Apparently the words "sin" and "disordered" are uncomfortable and not welcoming enough.
Is it possible that we're NOT supposed to be comfortable? That we're supposed to be called to conversion and painting with pink unicorns and fluffy rainbows just won't do that. Certainly I can agree in the need to be charitable, but I can't agree to the premise that we need to be nice and inclusive about every little thing.
In the attempt to "dumb down" language, we're repeating the same mistakes that happened at Vatican II, and the same problems that got the ball rolling in the first place. We cannot change the language without losing its meaning. Even something as simple as changing the tone, changes things psychologically with our minds. How many of us know that Latin is still a requirement for the Liturgy? How many of us even know that the clergy are supposed to be trained in Latin well? (Granted if you read my blog or did some research, you probably DO know these things, but that's not the point.)
Situations, need to be called as they are and not for what they're not, I'm sick of attempting to please everyone. We can't, so let's stop trying and start teaching the Truth. Are people going to leave or be scared off? Surely, but it is not a game of numbers, or "how many". The Truth generally divides people and forces people to take a stand for something or nothing. It is certainly up to us to present the Truth in the most charitable manner, but it is NOT our job to per se convince people of said Truth. (Conversion is a grace from the Holy Spirit which we can't do alone, Faith is indeed a gift)...but being nice and pretending that things are okay, when they're not is absolutely ridiculous!
So there will be no pillow when a rock is needed to get through the window.
So while they spend an entire year trying to come up with "solutions" I'm going to go ahead and solve this right now...(someone can translate this to Italian and get it to them)
a. What do we do about the divorced?
You'll noticed I did not put remarried, because that's a separate situation. It needs to be made clear that a separation does NOT exclude one from Communion, as long as one does not enter into another relationship. The 2nd part of the statement being actually more important than the first.
Why can't one enter another relationship? The answer's rather simple, one would be committing adultery and be in two relationships at once. It's hard enough to handle one woman/man, why in the world would anyone want two or more? The Church in her wisdom knows our nature and how crazy we'd get if we placed ourselves in that kind of situation where we'd be worn out emotionally, physically and spiritually, and She does not wish this for us.
The local parishes should offer mediation (I'm of the opinion that all couples and individuals need spiritual directors) for the couples that are about to enter these situations. Why? Again, simple reasoning a marriage is for life, and our emotions come and go. An outsider can look at these situations and solve them without the emotions of being invested.
....I have a bit more to add to this post...but for now I'll stop here
Pax Vobis
06 October 2014
05 October 2014
Prayer requests
I must confess it's been a relatively rough week...so somethings I'd like for you to pray for...
a. For the repose of the soul of Fr Benedict Groeschel CFR, I met him once, left a good impression on me, although I was not called to that particular order.
b. For the Synod on the Family. God help us if Kasper and his cronies are left in charge.
c. My personal requests for the daughter of Lisa and for a woman with code name C.
a. For the repose of the soul of Fr Benedict Groeschel CFR, I met him once, left a good impression on me, although I was not called to that particular order.
b. For the Synod on the Family. God help us if Kasper and his cronies are left in charge.
c. My personal requests for the daughter of Lisa and for a woman with code name C.
Thought of the day
Every time I hear applause at church, I always think of Pope Benedict's quote on applause in the Liturgy for human achievements. It's better when a member of the choir agrees with you.
03 October 2014
Thought of the day
Like it was yesterday, that's often how things still feel, regardless of how long ago they've been.
01 October 2014
On the feast of the ever wonderful St Therese
A most blessed feast day to all of you! Through her intercession may you all be provided the graces you need to get through whatever you need.
"How sweet is the way of Love! True, one may fall, one may not be always faithful, but Love, knowing how to draw profit from all, very quickly consumes whatsoever may displease Jesus, leaving naught but humble and profound peace in the innermost soul."
It's certainly not easy to be faithful, with so much discouragement coming from the top. For someone like myself I have to try and avoid being too cynical and pessimistic towards everything that goes on. Whether it's towards people, or towards matters in the Church. I think collectively we need to realize (in particular for me) people let us down and sometimes we're our own obstacle to doing great things.
But really our love for God will get us through, if we allow it to be so. To open our hearts to His love can sometimes be a rather difficult thing due to various reasons. I know for myself it's quite, quite difficult given the various crosses that I've had (and to some degree continue) to have in my life. I do my best, but so often I am weak and still fail.
I'm ever thankful to St Therese who has gotten me through virtually everything, points at my lowest, and points at my highest. She's a friend who I can always count on to put up with my perpetual complaining. Her stubbornness (just like mine), her sometimes cynicalness all I can relate to...If it isn't obvious, I love St Therese everything she stood for and everything she did...and I pray that once again she'll come to my aid for the various intentions that I have....Sorry for the rather semi-personal love letter to St Therese, but this glorious saint brings my soft side out...speaking of which.
I'd much appreciate it if you'd pray for a very special intention. It's been quite a while since I've allowed what I may allow to happen, to happen, I can't be specific about it now, but please do pray for this intention.
I leave with another quote from my dear Therese
"Love attracts love, mine rushes forth unto Thee, it would fain fill up the abyss which attracts it; but alas! it is not even as one drop of dew lost in the Ocean. To love Thee as Thou lovest me I must borrow Thy very Love - then only, can I find rest."
Again, a blessed feast day to all of you!
Pax Vobis
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