Clamor meus

Easter Vigil 2011

2011-04-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Good Friday

2011-04-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

New Waistcoat

2011-04-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

On the anniversary of the birth of Mr. Robert Burns

2011-01-20T18:48:00.000-08:00

In anticipation of the annual observance of the birth of Mr. Robert Burns, I took the opportunity to invest in a much-needed replacement for my Utilikilt, which no longer fits. My new casual denim kilt was purchased from a notable Scottish supplier of quality Highland Gear, called Scotweb. If you are in the market for Highland kit, check them out!

On an Anniversary of Baptism

2009-11-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

Wisdom 18:14-16 ; 19:6-9

For while gentle silence enveloped all things,
and night in its swift course was now half gone,
your all-powerful word leapt from heaven,
from the royal throne,
into the midst of the land that was doomed,
a stern warrior carrying the sharp sword
of your authentic command,
and stood and filled all things with death,
and touched heaven while standing on the earth.
God Guides and Protects His People

For the whole creation in its nature was fashioned anew,
complying with your commands,
so that your children might be kept unharmed.
The cloud was seen overshadowing the camp,
and dry land emerging where water had stood before,
an unhindered way out of the Red Sea,
and a grassy plain out of the raging waves,
where those protected by your hand passed through as one nation,
after gazing on marvellous wonders.
For they ranged like horses,
and leapt like lambs,
praising you, O Lord, who delivered them.

Luke 18:1-8

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

Man, what can anyone say after readings like these. Moses as a prefigurement of the Saviour of Mankind. The People, passing through the Red Sea, are entering into a World made new, not unlike those who have passed through the waters of Baptism, who also enter into a New Creation. Very, very powerful stuff.

Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free, you are the Saviour of the world.

On the Feast of St. Francis

2009-10-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

Undistorted was the Saviour's image
in the poet of God,
For neither greed nor guile
defiled his soul.
Therefore, let us beg the Saviour this day,
to preserve His image in us as well;
and for Francis' sake,
to save our souls.

On Holy Saturday

2009-04-11T06:12:00.000-07:00

The Lord descends into Hell

What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled.

Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son.

The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.

‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.

‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.

‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden.

‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image.

'See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one.

`I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you.

‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God.

"The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages.

From an ancient homily

On the Seventh Sunday Per Annum

2009-02-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25

Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.

I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

II Corinthians 1:18-22

As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been ‘Yes and No.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not ‘Yes and No’; but in him it is always ‘Yes.’ For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’ For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen’, to the glory of God. But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment.

Mark 2:1-12

When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’

Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the paralytic— ‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’

On the Sixth Sunday Per Anuum

2009-02-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

I Corinthians 10:23-11:1

‘All things are lawful’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage, but that of others. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for ‘the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.’ If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice’, then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my liberty be subject to the judgement of someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

So, my brothers and sisters, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offence to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

On the Nativity of the Lord

2008-12-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

Oh Poverty
Source of Riches
Jesus, Son of God
Born in Bethlehem

I live and move and have my being in a world where deconstruction is a hobby, and for some a way of life. Of late, this amusement has moved beyond the considered nuance of the Ivory Tower and the careful consideration of the Chancel into the wider world of the Learning Channel, and/or very late-night TV. In such a context I was recently soberly informed that Joseph (and later his son, Jesus) could not have been a carpenter but had to have been a skilled stone mason. Joseph and Sons were probably independent contractors of some means who were working for King Herod. In almost the same breath I was assured that the Nativity, it just couldn't have happened.

It seems to me that there would be nothing for our post-moderns to deconstruct if two millennia ago—give or take the odd decade—a little boy had not been born in an inconvenient address and placed in an unconventional crib by exhausted, harried, and at least slightly displaced parents. Maybe there was no star, no Magi, no gold, frankincense, or myrrh. Maybe there were no Angels (because Angels don't exist) and even fewer shepherds. Maybe that Ox and Ass did not speak in the cozy midnight of the stable, and maybe Hump-Bump the Camel got stuck in the Eye of the Needle and never made it to Bethlehem. Yet, we have heard tell of each of these characters, events, actions, even if they are new to the story, peripheral or imagined, because of this small boy having come once, amid all this deconstructable fanfare—this silence, onto the stage of our world.

Through the long winter of our waiting, our wondering, our doubt, our hope, and in the midst of our present distress let us sing the song that the Angels undoubtedly never sang, in joyful memory of his coming and until he comes again to deconstruct our deconstructedness and make right the discombobulated horizon of our world.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

On the Twenty-Eighth Sunday Per Annum

2008-10-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 25:6-10

On this mountain
the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food,
a feast of well-matured wines,
of rich food filled with marrow,
of well-matured wines strained clear.

And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death for ever.

Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.

The Chapter continues:

The Moabites shall be trodden down in their place
as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit.

Though they spread out their hands in the midst of it,
as swimmers spread out their hands to swim,
their pride will be laid low
despite the struggle of their hands.

The high fortifications of his walls will be brought down,
laid low, cast to the ground, even to the dust.

Matthew 22 : 1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

This parable is, of course, a great stumbling block for me as a Fat White Lazy Bastard Mean-Spirited Queer Boy. From my earliest childhood, or at the very least my earliest years within the faith, I have read or heard this story of a King : Disappointed by the rejection of his subjects, this King commands his servants to troll the streets of the City in order to dragoon passers-by into his Wedding Feast ; he then confronts a guest who is not properly dressed. When the man has no answer-to-power, I mean how could he, he's just been Shanghaied, he gets roughed-up some more and thrown into the outer darkness.

I find this passage to be full of mixed messages. First, you've got this King who has made some pretty poor connections with his friends, associates, clients, subjects to the degree that they beg off the wedding feast for his son. Is this son a philanderer? Is the King a tyrant? A hated puppet of a hated enemy? Whoever this King is, enraged he killed them and burned their city! Then, he sends his slaves out into the city streets . . .

Are we supposed to read into this passage the perfidy of the Jews, a stern but subtle warning of our own willful back-slidedness, or find a condemnation of the apostasy of Hypocrites or Protestants? Are we supposed to find a loving King who, once rejected by his faithless subjects, finds new quests for his banquet.

I get that God can be legitimately portrayed as a kick-ass kind of guy, but is this an image of God, God's Kingdom, God's mercy that fills a sinner's heart with trust? The good and the bad are brought into the Feast, but where, exactly, are the tax collectors and the prostitutes in this story, did they just happen to be wearing wedding garments as they promenaded through the streets?

What, exactly is the Wedding Garment mentioned in the story? Is it Conversion, Perfect Obedience to the Father's Will, thinking with the mind of the Church? How is it that this man has failed to have a Wedding Garment? What is this damning silence? [And in the moment of confrontation and judgment, if I am silent, how is it that Christ is not my Advocate?] How is it that this King should cast this man out rather than to be his neighbor, salve his wounds, clothe his nakedness--the fatted calf is already slain?

Is Baptism going to be enough to save me from that outer darkness and all that gnashing of teeth? Did Jesus die for me or just for the well-dressed and well-behaved pretty boys who hang out in the market just waiting to be picked up?

In near despair I call out in the words of Paul Stookey, made famous by Peter, Paul, and Mary:

Well early in the morning, about the break of day,
I ask the Lord, "Help me find the way!"
Help me find the way to the promised land
This lonely body needs a helping hand
I ask the Lord to help me please find the way.

When the new day's a dawning, I bow my head in prayer.
I pray to the Lord, "Won't you lead me there?"
Won't you guide me safely to the Golden Stair?
Won't you let this body your burden share?
I pray to the Lord, "Won't you lead me please, lead me there?"

When the judgment comes to find the world in shame
When the trumpet blows won't you call my name?
When the thunder rolls and the heavens rain
When the sun turns black, never shine again
When the trumpet blows, won't you call me please, call my name!

Jesus!, Is that what the gnashing of teeth sounds like?

Recalling the Bullys in the Playground

2008-08-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Pray for the Peace, Integrity, and Safety of the peoples of Georgia

On the Fourteenth Sunday Per Annum

2008-07-06T05:52:00.000-07:00

Zechariah 9:9-10

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the warhorse from Jerusalem;
and the battle-bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Romans 8:9, 11-13

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Matthew:25-30

At that time Jesus said,
‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have vealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
So here lies the rub, and my on-going beef with St. Paul. What, exactly, does it mean to put to death the deeds of the body? Is this some veiled—or not so veiled—works righteousness? Or, does Paul suggest a radical trust in the Mercy of God? Are we to rely on our ability even commitment to change in this life, or do we trust that God accepts us as we find ourselves in Christ. Do we know ourselves so accepted, saved, by the very reality of our baptism, or must we rely on our new-found goodness as the effective sign of our membership in Christ?

On the Anniversary of the Great Rebellion

2008-07-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

Another year has come and gone in our Great Experiment in self-government. I am not ungrateful for the liberties and prosperity that we have achieved. But I find it terribly unsettling that a relatively small cabal of smugglers, privateers, tax avoiders, and slave owners could subvert the peace of an entire nation in order to set up a system that seems convenient for them. Am I speaking of our Founding Fathers or the boys and girls that run the show today?

I recently had the opportunity to visit our neighbors to the north who see themselves as the beneficiaries of an unbroken continuity of a greater heritage in British North America. I cannot honestly say that Canada looks any the worse for wear labouring as she does under the yoke of the descendant of that anointed person our fore-fathers so proudly rejected.

I continue to pray for the thousands of loyal hearts who lost property, livelihoods, reputation, national identity, even lives as the direct result of the Declaration we recall today!

I continue to pray for those who have and who do put themselves in harms way in defense of that nation which arose from the rebellion we celebrate with firework and fanfare.

I continue to pray for the quiet repose of George III, so cruelly treated by the exigencies of circumstance and polity.

And, I continue to pray for the continued vigor of that Sovereign Lady who could still be our own!

On the Musing of the Culture-Starved

2008-06-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

This past semester I experienced the worst betrayal of my entire life! TV let me down for the first time ever! The justice issues of the Writer's strike aside, a great injustice was wrought on the American People. Drama and sitcom alike were cast aside to be replaced by ever less slick, ever less satisfying, ever less real REALITY Television. Nothing worth watching, nothing to enlighten, or to entertain. God, it was like living in Soviet Isolation!

Hungry for something at the end of the day to muse over with more depth of field than the Real World or Survivor reruns I happened on Dexter--a Showtime Original which was rebroadcast on one of the hybrid channels lower on the cable list. It was enlightening, entertaining, and simply a relief from the general boredom otherwise broadcast during the struggle for equity!

This past week while I was attending the most recent Annual Conference of the American Theological Library Association, held in Ottawa. I was grateful to discover the original novels on which Dexter was based:

Darkly Dreaming Dexter ; Dearly Devoted Dexter ; Dexter in the Dark all novels by Jeff Lindsay. I commend them to you because they are light and dark all at the same time. Just like real life!

On the Eleventh Sunday Per Annum

2008-06-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

Exodus 19:2-6

They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.’

Romans 5:6-11

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Matthew 9:36-10:8

When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

A word of encouragement from Paul. God has acted before us, saving us from sin and death through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, when we were yet at enmity with God. Since God has shown his love to us before we knew to love him, can we not also have confidence in his saving purpose for us now that we are part of the community he has saved?

On the sayings of Authors

2008-06-01T01:50:00.000-07:00

It seemed appropriate, this morning, to revive a practice exercised on these pages from time to time. I have recently had the opportunity to read Selfish and Perverse : a novel, by Bob Smith, an activity I highly recommend. As I was reading I found myself committing one of the 99 really tacky sins, turning down the corner of a page where I found a sentence or a statement worthy of remembering.

I assumed that nothing would come of it, that I'd iron the little creases flat today and return the volume to the Public Library. But moved by a force beyond my ken or power of resistance, I have noted them below. I do not vouch for their insight. Their power to enlighten may exist only in situ. At the time they struck me enough to break one of my own rules and dog-ear a page.

"So, you're a friend of Joe's?" I asked in an exaggeratedly "normal" tone. Pretending to be normal was a fib, but it is a harsh fact that expressing too much individuality means you'll always be single. page 14-15

The fantasy of having sex with a straight man never appealed to me, because I was a writer and could complete the narrative and knew I'd probably end up cooking and cleaning for him. page 29

Losing your parents while they were alive almost seemed to be a more devastating loss than having them die. page 55

"Scandinavian furniture's sort of the logical outcome of twentieth century design," I said while stroking my hand across a desk chair's nubby turquoise fabric. "Mission furniture designed by agnostics." page 106

Roy lead me into the bedroom, where I observed that he did know how to choose a good bed. It was severely modern and looked as if it had been built for a monk who had renounced everything but his sense of style. page 107

"What?" he snarled. The first snarled "What" between a couple is always a milestone. It's the most succinct contraction in the English language, abbreviating the phrase, "What do you want now?" to a single horrible word. page 133

I often felt that I participated in Manhood by maintaining my membership at the lowest possible level; I remained affiliated with the organization by paying the minimal fee each year, but they gained nothing from my support because my dues barely covered the administrative costs of enrollment. page 193

Checking out another man's penis was similar to observing a celebrity in a restaurant; it was all right to look but to be caught staring was uncool. Dylan's starmeat didn't have any more charisma than Roy's or mine. But then again, most penises are like actors; when they are not performing, it's hard to believe they possess any talent whatsoever. page 290-291

On the Twenty-Third Sunday Per Annum

2007-11-18T13:10:00.000-08:00

Malachi 4:1-2

See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

II Thessolonians 3:7-12

For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Luke 21:5-19

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’

They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.

‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.

On the Exaltation of the Cross

2007-09-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

Before Thy Cross we fall down in worship!
And Thy Holy Resurrection we praise and glorify!

Holy is God
Holy and Mighty
Holy Immortal,
have mercy on us!

On the Anniversary of the Rebellion

2007-07-04T18:51:00.001-07:00

On this solemn occasion,
I refer faithful readers to a post made some time ago.

Then as now we are at war. Just now Gwen Ifill announced on the News Hour that Twenty more deaths were confirmed and so names and photos were shown.

Welcome them, O God, into your mercy.

Genesis 21:5, 8-20a

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’ The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named after you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, ‘Do not let me look on the death of the child.’ And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow.

On the Thirteenth Sunday Per Annum

2007-07-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

I Kings 19:16b, 19-21

Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was ploughing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him. He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, ‘Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ Then Elijah said to him, ‘Go back again; for what have I done to you?’ He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Galations 5:1, 13-18

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.

Luke 9:51-62

When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

On Easter Sunday 2007

2007-04-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Colossians 3:1-4

Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.

On the Third Sunday of Lent

2007-03-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Exodus 3:1-15

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’

But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.” ’ God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”:
This is my name for ever, and this my title for all generations.

On the Proclaimation of the Nativity

2006-12-25T09:46:00.000-08:00

The Eighth of the Calends of January

The year from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created heaven and earth, five thousand one hundred and ninety-nine:
From the deluge, the year two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seven:
From the birth of Abraham, the year two thousand and fifteen:
From Moses and the going out of the people of Israel from Egypt, the year one thousand five hundred and ten:
From David's being anointed king, the year one thousand and thirty-two:
In the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel:
In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad:
From the building of the city of Rome, the year seven hundred and fifty-two:
In the forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus:
The whole world being in peace:
In the sixth age of the world:
Jesus Christ, the eternal God, and Son of the eternal Father, wishing to consecrate this world by his most merciful coming, being conceived of the Holy Ghost, and nine months since his conception having passed,
In Bethlehem of Juda is born of the Virgin Mary, being made Man:
THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE FLESH!

From the Roman Martyrology

On the Tewnty-Sixth Sunday Per Anuum

2006-10-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Numbers 11:25-29

Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!’

James 5:1-6

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

On the Tewnty-Fourth Sunday Per Annum

2006-09-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 50:5-9a

The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.

The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.

James 2:14-18

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Good bye, good luck!; keep warm and and well fed!’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

Mark 8:27-35

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

The question for James is not that the Christian believes that his works gain him salvation, but that a Faith that has no works, no engagement with the the world, even if only within the community of the faith, is not faith. Faith is fundamentally a question of relation, not the assent to a number of propositions. The Mystery of the Incarnation calls us to contemplate God's deep engagement with all of creation, with us. We too are called to this engagement. If we have met Jesus, then we must recognize him in the life and strugggles of our brothers--even when they are strangers to us, and, perhaps especially so.

On the Eucharist

2006-09-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

As faithful readers know, I recently read and re-read, The Eucharist, by one of those scary smart Dominicans, Edward Schillebeeckx. Here is one passage (among many) I want to remember:

The Eucharist is, of its very nature, an event of the period between the resurrection and the parousia, a period during which earthly realities become historical manifestations of the gift of grace here and now and--in the sacramental liturgy, within the mystery of the Church's community of grace led by its office; that is, especially in the Eucharist--are withdrawn from their secular independence, their "being themselves," to the extent of becoming the sacramental form in which the heavenly bodiliness of Christ himself--that is, of his real presence for me--appears. There is in the Eucharist, as distinct from the other sacraments, a specific earthly real presence of the Christ who is nonetheless heavenly and remains heavenly in the sacrament.
(page 84-85)

On the Twenty Third Sunday Per Annum

2006-09-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 35:4-7a

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.’

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

James 2:1-5

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?

Mark 7:31-37

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

On the Twenty Second Sunday Per Annum

2006-09-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-8

So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)

So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’

He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honours me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.’ For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

On the Feast of Saint Augustine

2006-08-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.

Matthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

On the Twenty First Sunday Per Annum

2006-08-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

Joshua 24 : 1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’

Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’

Ephesians 5:21-32

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Saviour. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church.

John 5:21-32

Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomsoever he wishes. The Father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son, so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Anyone who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgement, but has passed from death to life.

‘Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be astonished at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Witnesses to Jesus

‘I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

‘If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true.

On the Feast of St. Louis King of France

2006-08-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Collect

Father,
you raised St. Louis
from the cares of an earthly rule
to the glory of your heavenly kingdom.
By the help of his prayers
may we come to your eternal kingdom
by our work here on earth.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son, who lives and reigns with you, Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever. Amen

On the Twentieth Sunday Per Annum

2006-08-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 9:1-6

Wisdom’s Feast

Wisdom has built her house,
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
from the highest places in the town,
‘You that are simple, turn in here!’
To those without sense she says,
‘Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.’

Ephesians 5:15-20

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 6:51-58

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’

On the Feast of the Assumption

2006-08-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

From the Preface on the Assumption

Today the Virgin Mother of God was assumed into heaven
as the beginning and pattern of your Church’s perfection
and a sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people,
For justly you would not allow her
to see the corruption of the tomb,
because from her own flesh she brought forth ineffably
your incarnate Son, the author of all life.

On the Nineteenth Sunday Per Annum

2006-08-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

I Kings 19:4-8

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

John 6:41-51

Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’

On the Feast of Our Holy Father, Dominic

2006-08-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Preacher of the new salvation leaped up like a flame; his words burned like a torch

Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine love, that without a doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace. He was a man of great equanimity, except when moved to compassion and mercy. And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance.

Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to be a man of the Gospel. During the day no one was more community-minded or pleasant toward his brothers and associates. During the night hours no one was more persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication. He seldom spoke unless it was with God, that is, in prayer, or about God; and in this matter he instructed his brothers.

Frequently he made a special personal petition that God would deign to grant him a genuine charity, effective in caring for and obtaining the salvation of men. For he believed that only then would he be truly a member of Christ, when he had given himself totally for the salvation of men, just as the Lord Jesus, the Savior of all, had offered himself completely for our salvation. So, for this work, after a lengthy period of careful and provident planning, he founded the Order of Friars Preachers.

In his conversations and letters he often urged the brothers of the Order to study constantly the Old and New Testaments. He always carried with him the gospel according to Matthew and the epistles of Paul, and so well did he study them that he almost knew them fro m memory.

Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. Throughout his life, he preserved the honor of his virginity. He desired to be scourged and to be cut to pieces, and so die for the faith of Christ. Of him Pope Gregory IX declared: I know him as a steadfast follower of the apostolic way of life. There is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing in the glory of the apostles themselves.

Libelius de principiis O.P.: Acta canonizationis sancti Dominici: Monumenta O.P. Mist. 16, Romae 1935, pp. 30 ss., 146-147

On the Feast of the Transfiguration

2006-08-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

As I watched:

Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was bright as snow,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
his throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened and the books were opened.

As the visions during the night continued, I saw:

One like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

II Peter 1:16-19

Beloved:
We did not follow cleverly devised myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For he received honor and glory from God the Father
when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory,
“This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven
while we were with him on the holy mountain.
Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Mark 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John,
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.

On the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels

2006-08-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

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The Salutation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Hail, O Lady, holy Queen, Mary, holy Mother of God:
you are the virgin made church
and the one chosen by the most holy Father in heaven
whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son
and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is
all the fullness of grace and every good.

Hail, His Palace!
Hail, His Tabernacle!
Hail, His Home!
Hail, His Robe!
Hail, His Servant!
Hail, His Mother!
and, hail all your holy virtues
which through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit
are poured into the hearts of the faithful
so that all from their faithless state
you may make them faithful to God. - AMEN

On the Seventeenth Sunday Per Annum

2006-07-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

II KINGS 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah
bringing to Elisha, the man of God,
twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits,
and fresh grain in the ear.
Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”
But his servant objected,
“How can I set this before a hundred people?”
Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.”
“For thus says the LORD,
‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’”
And when they had eaten, there was some left over,
as the LORD had said.

Ephesians 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

John 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
“Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
“Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

On the Sixteenth Sunday Per Annum

2006-07-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds
who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
from all the lands to which I have driven them
and bring them back to their meadow;
there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them
so that they need no longer fear and tremble;
and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”

Ephesians 2:13-18

Brothers and sisters:
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile both with God,
in one body, through the cross,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

You have scattered my sheep. . .I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them. . .and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

These are very powerful sayings. God's people are scattered by the misguided actions of incompetent, perhaps even evil, shepherds. But God will bring back those people from all the lands to which he has driven them. Even in the hands of misguided, incompetent, or even evil shepherds, God's people are still fully in the sight, mercy, and providence of God.

I, myself, will gather them.

Today, Paul teaches that even Gentiles, who are far off, have been brought near in Christ. Reading Paul, 2000 years later, it is hard to remember that we are the gentiles of whom he speaks. We, the vast majority of Christians, who are so aware, so sure of our insider status forget that we are the descendants of people who were considered utterly alien to the People of God. Paul asserts for us today that Christ's death has broken down this barrier between the inside and outside. Christ invites the former inside and the former outside into a new communio, a true membership in the family of God.

Jews of the First Century were scandalized by Paul's teaching that Gentiles should be welcomed into God's family. When we read Paul today, how are we scandalized? Are we still angry at the Jews, because they were not so happy to let us in? We, who understand ourselves so clearly to be in; who are we pushing out, today? Where does that reconciling power of the cross need to meet us today?

What barriers are we building today, that Christ is tearing down by means of his death on the cross.
I myself will gather my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

On remembrance

2006-07-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Benjamin Wren

Sometime of the Society of Jesus
Priest
Teacher
Pain in the Ass
Husband
Father
Friend
Reposed in the Lord July 20, 2006

God reigns!
The people proclaim,
with great Joy!
Alleluia!

His life overcomes our death,
His Holy Cross conquers hell!

Alleluia
Alleluia
Alleluia

Christ, all praise to you!

On a quote worth mentioning

2006-07-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a terribly engaging book this weekend called, Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Regular readers will know of my fondness for Terry Pratchett, I highly recommend Good Omens, not the least for insights like the following, found on page 157:

Newt had always suspected that people who regularly used the word "community" were using it in a very specific sense that excluded him and everyone he knew.

I've spent my share of time among Jesuits, Franciscans, Anglicans, Dominicans, Texans, soaking up incalculable hours of exegesis / eisegesis while sitting innocently in Church, riding in the car, or simply watching TV. All of those worthies make rather free use of that powerful word, community. But I can't swear that any of them have ever truly meant to embrace me in that circle.

On the Fifteenth Sunday Per Annum

2006-07-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Amos 7:12

Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos,
“Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began
to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.

He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

On the Fourteenth Sunday Per Annum

2006-07-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

II Corinthians 12:6-10

But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Mark 6:1-6

He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.
Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching.

Each of us comes with weaknesses, anti-virtues, faults. Which, if any, of these can be described as a thorn in the flesh, is a mystery too deep for me. We are not perfect, whole, complete, but are works in progress. Paul grappled with his impediment, was it ugliness, flatulence, a stammer, some have suggested it was something sexual--whatever it was, Paul grappled with this Thorn in the Flesh fully in the sight of God and came to some peace about it.

Perhaps, today we should rejoice for the gifts we have been given and ask God to give us that peace he desired for Paul.

On the Feast of another Monarch

2006-07-04T10:45:00.001-07:00

Do not forget that when sovereigns are at war they can no longer busy themselves with their administration; justice is not distributed; no care is taken of the people; and this alone is your sovereign charge, this the main point of your duty as kings.

Born in 1271 to the royal family of Aragon, Elizabeth was married to Denis, King of Portugal, at the age of twelve. She bore him two children: Alfonso and Constance. She is chiefly remembered for her piety, loyalty, and her commitment to the work for peace. Throughout her life Elizabeth was attentive to the needs of pilgrims and the poor of Portugal; she was ardent in calls for redistribution of land.

Elizabeth was able to prevent war between Portugal and Castille at least four times by mediating with the kings. In 1320, Elizabeth's son, Alfonso, at 20 years of age, organized and led a revolution against his father's government. Torn between the love and loyalty of the two, Elizabeth sought to negotiate a truce; however, because her husband, King Denis, no longer trusted her motives, he banished her from the kingdom. Five years later, Denis fell ill. Despite many years of public infidelity and her exile, Elizabeth forgave her husband and nursed him daily throughout his final illness.

Following Denis' death, Elizabeth distributed her property to the poor and retired as a Franciscan tertiary to a monastery of the Poor Clares she had founded at Coimbra. In 1336, though weak with age and illness, she set out from the convent in the hopes of negotiating a lasting peace between her son Alfonso, now king of Portugal, and his son-in-law, the king of Castile. She succeeded in her mission, but the exertions and heat were too much for her ailing body and she died before she could return to the enclosure at Coimbra. Elizabeth was buried in Coimbra, where she had often humbly served the Poor Clares at table.

The Collect:

Father of peace and love, you gave saint Elizabeth the gift of reconciling enemies.
By the help of her prayers, give us courage to work for justice and equity among nations, and so bring lasting peace to your sons and daughters.
We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you, Father, and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

On the Anniversary of the Rebellion

2006-07-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

The legitimate Government of George III was formally and irrevocably set aside in thirteen of the American Colonies by treasonous rebellion on July 4, 1776. We in North America, and indeed all the world, continue to live in the shadow of this event.

Certainly a day worthy of remembrance. For some a day of celebration--I am thoroughly committed to fireworks. But also a day to remember the countless thousands of loyal hearts living at that time who were witness to the rending of their Nation, who lost lives, livelihoods, and property in an effort to remain loyal to their King.

The Collect:

Eternal God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

On the Thirteenth Sunday Per Annum

2006-07-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
for justice is undying.
For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.

On the Feast of Blessed Junipero Serra

2006-07-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

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The Oration:

Most High and Glorious God,
your servant Junipero Serra
brought the gospel of Christ
to the peoples of Mexico and California
and firmly established the Church among them:
By his intercession,
and through the example of his evangelical zeal,
inspire us to be faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

On the Feast of Blessed Raymond Lull

2006-06-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

One must not fear the threat of death,
when one may secure the grace of spiritual life
for the souls of unbelievers

The Oration:

Almighty God,
who adorned blessed Raymond
with the crown of martyrdom
and with zeal for spreading the faith;
Mercifully grant that
through his prayers we may keep steadfast in
that same faith which we have received by your Grace.

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

On the Fast of Pentecost

2006-06-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

I Corinthians 12:3-13

Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

On the Sixth Sunday of Easter

2006-05-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

John 15: 9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Jesus has pretty high standards: love one another as I have loved you. On the surface a simple command, and yet, one I find myself uniquely ill equipt to fulfill. I do not want to love unconditionally, however much I may want it. I do not want to lay down my life for a friend, much less total ungrateful strangers!

The Christian Life is simply NOT EASY.

On the Fifth Sunday of Easter

2006-05-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

John 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

On the Fourth Sunday of Easter

2006-05-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

John 10 : 11-18

Jesus said:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.

On the Inevitability of the QUIZ

2006-04-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

Dixie Royal
You are 88% true Southern!

You are pure belle or gentleman! You know your Jones Soda, Nehi and RC colas, your Moon Pies and sweet potato pie; you'd absolutely die without air conditioners in the summer, and you've seen Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes (or read the book!). Your grandmother lives in an antebellum home and has a cook who makes the best fried chicken and asparagus casserole and summer squash and everything else in the world. And you know the taste of honeysuckle and the feel of grass between your toes.
You are blessed.

Link: The Southern-ness Test

I have to admit to a bit of self-conscious embarasment regarding this "test". The only true requirement for Southern status is to have been born in a Southern Family while actually in the South. In which event, I am, of course 100% Southern and unabashedly proud!

On the Feast of St. George

2006-04-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

From the Golden Legend

S. George was a knight and born in Cappadocia. On a time he came in to the province of Libya, to a city which is said Silene. And by this city was a stagne or a pond like a sea, wherein was a dragon which envenomed all the country. And on a time the people were assembled for to slay him, and when they saw him they fled. And when he came nigh the city he venomed the people with his breath, and therefore the people of the city gave to him every day two sheep for to feed him, because he should do no harm to the people, and when the sheep failed there was taken a man and a sheep. Then was an ordinance made in the town that there should be taken the children and young people of them of the town by lot, and every each one as it fell, were he gentle or poor, should be delivered when the lot fell on him or her. So it happed that many of them of the town were then delivered, insomuch that the lot fell upon the king's daughter, whereof the king was sorry, and said unto the people: For the love of the gods take gold and silver and all that I have, and let me have my daughter. They said: How sir! ye have made and ordained the law, and our children be now dead, and ye would do the contrary. Your daughter shall be given, or else we shall burn you and your house.

When the king saw he might no more do, he began to weep, and said to his daughter: Now shall I never see thine espousals. Then returned he to the people and demanded eight days' respite, and they granted it to him. And when the eight days were passed they came to him and said: Thou seest that the city perisheth: Then did the king do array his daughter like as she should be wedded, and embraced her, kissed her and gave her hls benediction, and after, led her to the place where the dragon was.

When she was there S. George passed by, and when he saw the lady he demanded the lady what she made there and she said: Go ye your way fair young man, that ye perish not also. Then said he: Tell to me what have ye and why weep ye, and doubt ye of nothing. When she saw that he would know, she said to him how she was delivered to the dragon. Then said S. George: Fair daughter, doubt ye no thing hereof for I shall help thee in the name of Jesu Christ. She said: For God's sake, good knight, go your way, and abide not with me, for ye may not deliver me. Thus as they spake together the dragon appeared and came running to them, and S. George was upon his horse, and drew out his sword and garnished him with the sign of the cross, and rode hardily against the dragon which came towards him, and smote him with his spear and hurt him sore and threw him to the ground. And after said to the maid: Deliver to me your girdle, and bind it about the neck of the dragon and be not afeard. When she had done so the dragon followed her as it had been a meek beast and debonair. Then she led him into the city, and the people fled by mountains and valleys, and said: Alas! alas! we shall be all dead. Then S. George said to them: Ne doubt ye no thing, without more, believe ye in God, Jesu Christ, and do ye to be baptized and I shall slay the dragon. Then the king was baptized and all his people, and S. George slew the dragon and smote off his head, and commanded that he should be thrown in the fields, and they took four carts with oxen that drew him out of the city.

Then were there well fifteen thousand men baptized, without women and children, and the king did do make a church there of our Lady and of S. George, in the which yet sourdeth a fountain of living water, which healeth sick people that drink thereof. After this the king offered to S. George as much money as there might be numbered, but he refused all and commanded that it should be given to poor people for God's sake; and enjoined the king four things, that is, that he should have charge of the churches, and that he should honour the priests and hear their service diligently, and that he should have pity on the poor people, and after, kissed the king and departed.

The Oration:

Almighty God, who gave to your servant George boldness to Confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we, who remember his feast and call upon the aid of his prayer, may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of the same our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

On the Sunday of Believing Thomas (Low Sunday)

2006-04-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

On the Resurrection

2006-04-16T02:26:00.000-07:00

Christ Jesus lay in death's strong bands,
For our offenses given;
But now at God's right hand He stands
And brings us life from heaven;

Therefore let us joyful be
And sing to God right thankfully
Loud songs of Alleluia!
Alleluia!

Martin Luther, 1524

I Corinthians 15:35-44

But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’ Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.

So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

On Waiting at the Tomb

2006-04-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Do not lament me, O Mother, seeing me in the tomb, for I shall arise and be eternally glorified as God.
I shall exalt all who magnify you in faith and in love.

. . .was crucified, dead, and burried : He descended into hell. . .

On Golgotha

2006-04-14T03:00:00.000-07:00

The Reproaches From the Cross:

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

I led you out of Egypt,
from slavery to freedom,
but you led your Savior to the cross.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

For forty years, I led you
safely through the desert.
I fed you with manna from heaven,
and brought you to a land of plenty;
but you led your Savior to the cross.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

What more could I have done for you.
I planted you as my fairest vine,
but you yielded only bitterness:
when I was thirsty you gave me vinegar to drink,
and you pierced your Savior with a lance.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

For your sake I scourged your captors
and their firstborn sons,
but you brought your scourges down on me.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

I led you from slavery to freedom
and drowned your captors in the sea,
but you handed me over to your high priests.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

I opened the sea before you,
but you opened my side with a spear.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

I led you on your way in a pillar of cloud,
but you led me to Pilate's court.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

I bore you up with manna in the desert,
but you struck me down and scourged me.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

I gave you saving water from the rock,
but you gave me gall and vinegar to drink.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

For you I struck down the kings of Canaan.
but you struck my head with a reed.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

I gave you a royal scepter,
but you gave me a crown of thorns.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

I raised you to the height of majesty,
but you have raised me high on a cross.

My people, what have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!

During our childhood (and if not our childhoods, exactly, certainly during the childhoods of our parents) Catholics were encouraged to develop a strong personal piety centered on a deep personal sorrow for the suffering of Jesus, who died for me, instead of me.

We were encouraged to gaze on the crucified Saviour and contemplate our sins: We were supposed to discover in our pilfering, our lies, our fights with siblings, our sass the very nails that pierced the living flesh of Jesus and fixed him to the cross. Cheating, ditching Biology, masturbation, gossip, infidelity, smoking and other later sins are the same nails just writ large, thorns in Jesus' crown, or the wound in his side.

Jesus, the Cosmic Innocent, is nailed to the Cross by my sins, and because of my sins, he hangs there, suffering, dying in my place for MY redemption. Of course, while Jesus is busy doing all this for me, he is also doing this for thousands of other little Catholic boys and girls, men and women. [Can we include here, Hindus, Southern Baptists?]

I have come to be profoundly disturbed by [if not also free of] this piety.

Sin did kill Jesus. And I readily admit that my sins, my participation in the sin-of-the-world, are totally implicated in Jesus' death. But I answer that the crucifixion is not meant to reveal what MY sins have done to poor Jesus.

My sins are part of the sin-of-the-world. My sins. Your sins. Everyone's sin. This seductive matrix of deceit, fear, ignorance which ensnares us all killed Jesus and it kills you and me. It implicates all of us in everything.

The icon of the crucifixion, and the crucifixion itself, reveals what sin, your sin, my sin, all sin does to human beings and to the world around us. Sin is utterly and subtly corrosive. It disfigures. It pierces our flesh and scars us. It truncates us, pins us down. It destroys us. Jesus, the Son of Man, was scourged, humiliated, nailed to the cross by this sin, not so much to pay a debt--though I do not deny that may be somehow involved, but in order to reveal to us clearly just what sin is, and just what sin can do to us, even when it is not MY sin -- though it is always my sin to some extent.

The Passion of the Saviour reveals what hate can do, what fear, what loathing, what ignorance can do. . .
As a child, when confronted with images of lynchings, or of WWII atrocities, or of then contempoary images of Indochina I always immediately thought, "Jesus hung on the cross so that this shit wouldn't have to happen any more."

These things do not have to happen anymore. Jesus, a true hero and lover of mankind, has shown us the real horror of sin. A renewed, adult contemplation on the suffering of Christ might invite us to engage the hate and fear in our own hearts and to reject them, to root them out. The Passion of Christ can encourage us to ask God for healing for ourselves and our neighbors and to ask God for rescue.

Our sin, all sin, will kill you and me, just like it killed Jesus.

The death of Jesus is not the end of the story that the Church tells.

Jesus dies, he is buried in a borrowed tomb, he is raised up on the third day.

Jesus, God's son, was destroyed by sin. Jesus does not seem to die, Jesus dies -- dead as dead can be. Jesus, God's son, is raised from the dead to a renewed life, a life free from sin and death. Even Jesus dies, a victim of sin, even if it is NOT his sin.

God does not allow sin to be victorious over his son or over any part of creation.

Paul teaches in the Epistle to the Romans [which we will hear vigorously proclaimed during the Great Vigil on Saturday night]:

Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?

We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.

The piety of MY sin = the Nails in Jesus' hands and feet has always lead me to despair, so I don't often recommend it. How can anyone be sorry for every bloody thing one has ever done? How can anyone ask for that forgiveness?

The crucifixion reveals to us that God alone is the remedy for our sin, your's and mine, and the matrix of sin in which we live out our day-to-day lives. God raised Jesus from death to a life free from sin and death and God will raise us too.

It is never pointless to ask God for forgiveness. I would add that it is never too soon to ask also for rescue and to begin a life of rescue. Rejoice in the rescue that the resurrection promises.

On Palm Sunday

2006-04-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Philipians 2:6-11

Christ Jesus,
though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue confess,
to the glory of God the Father:
Jesus Christ is Lord!

On the Fifth Sunday in Lent

2006-04-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah 31:31-34

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

John 12:20-33

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.

‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.

On the Fourth Sunday in Lent

2006-03-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

Epistle
Ephesians 2:4-10

Brothers and sisters:
God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his handiwork--what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Gospel
John 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life".

'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life'.

'Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.'

Those who believe in him are not condemned. This should not be a hard saying for the baptised but, for me, it is. What does it mean to believe? It can't be a check-list of things, though that would be easy and the tradition certainly has produced enough of them. Belief cannot be simply the fact of subscribing to a list of assertions / propositions, no matter how nobel, enlightened, engaging.

St. Paul teaches that we are saved by grace; specifically : this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works. Can belief be one of those good works God has prepared for us? If so, I stand condemned. For, whenever confronted by the dilemma of God's Grace, and the question of my ability to do, to achieve merit, I straight away embrace the long history of my failure to merit and so, despair. I am simply exhausted by the burden of it all. . . How I long to sing: Blessed assurance! Jesus is mine. with an authentic voice.

Until that day, I must say with St. Thomas : I believe, Lord. Help, Thou, my unbelief.

On the Feast of the Annunciation

2006-03-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

Lowliness is assumed by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer. Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, was able to die in one nature, and unable to die in the other.

He who is true God was therefore born in the complete and perfect nature of a true man, whole in his own nature, whole in ours. By our nature we mean what the Creator had fashioned in us from the beginning, and took to himself in order to restore it.

For in the Savior there was no trace of what the deceiver introduced and man, being misled, allowed to enter. It does not follow that because he submitted to sharing in our human weakness he therefore shared in our sins.

He took the nature of a servant without stain of sin, enlarging our humanity without diminishing his divinity. He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself visible, though Creator and Lord of all things he chose to be one of us mortal men. Yet this was the condescension of compassion, not the loss of omnipotence. So he who in the nature of God had created man, became in the nature of a servant, man himself.

Thus the Son of God enters this lowly world. He comes down from the throne of heaven, yet does not separate himself from the Father'’s glory. He is born in a new condition, by a new birth.

He was born in a new condition, for, invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist at a moment in time. Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant. Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be a man, capable of suffering. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death.

He who is true God is also true man. There is no falsehood in this unity as long as the lowliness of man and the pre-eminence of God coexist in mutual relationship.

As God does not change by his condescension, so man is not swallowed up by being exalted. Each nature exercises its own activity, in communion with the other. The Word does what is proper to the Word, the flesh fulfils what is proper to the flesh.

One nature is resplendent with miracles, the other falls victim to injuries. As the Word does not lose equality with the Father's glory, so the flesh does not leave behind the nature of our race.

One and the same person - this must be said over and over again - is truly the Son of God and truly the son of man. He is God in virtue of the fact that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is man in virtue of the fact that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.

From a letter by Saint Leo the Great, pope
Epistula 28 ad Flavianum, 3-4

Responsory: See Luke 1:31, 42

Receive, O Virgin Mary, the word
which the Lord has made known to you by the message of the angel:
You will conceive and give birth to a son, both God and man,
--- and you will be called blessed among women

A virgin, you will indeed bear a son;
ever chaste and holy, you will be the mother of our Savior.
--- and you will be called blessed among women.

So, the Church begins today the long steady celebration of the fact of the Incarnation; even in the midst of our preparation for/ celebration of the Passion; the life and death of Jesus, the one who saves.

In the midst of life we are in death, but by death he conquered death. Every aspect of our existence has been encompassed by the life and death of the Saviour. Each of us caught in that invitation / embrace.

Christ, who is risen from the dead, have Mercy on us!

On filial piety

2006-03-25T08:30:00.000-08:00

Doris Marie Oakes Dixon
January 17, 1925 - March 25, 2004

Daughter
Sister
Wife
Mother
Grandmother
Friend

Alive, in God's mercy:

. . . for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

On the Commonplace again

2006-03-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

From The Moth and Flame : a Benjamin Justice Novel, by John Morgan Wilson:

From page 175

I was restless, but my encounter with Victor Androvic had put the kibosh on any interest I had in the X-rated images available on the Internet. Having one of the models in my arms, in the flesh, had reminded me that these were real human beings, not inanimate objects devoid of souls and feelings; the notion of using them like inflatable dolls to satisfy one's masturbatory fantasies had lost what little appeal had been there to begin with. It's funny how we think we need something--how we're sure we can't live without it--until a dose of reality hits us, and the temptation vanishes as if it never existed at all.

From page 193

Prozac had given me six months of peace, of being able to get through the day without being overwhelmed by melancholy and dread. But it wasn't what I wanted anymore. I wanted to be able to write lines again that meant something to me. I wanted to experience sensuality again, to respond physically when a man touched me in a way that should have felt exciting and good. I wanted to care about someone deeply. To risk getting close as once I had, even if it meant doing it without a little pill to take the scary edges off. I wanted to reclaim myself, all of me, and start to feel fully alive again.

From page 196

Cecelia Cortez had arranged my visit through Bibbby's older sister, who'd taken on the responsibility of sorting through his belongings but still wasn't up to getting started. I'd done some of that myself, back in the eighties and early nineties, when every few months another friend had died, sometimes at shorter intervals than that. If you were lucky, he'd have packed up everything and labeled it with a name or place where he wanted it to go, but sometimes it was less tidy than that. Sometimes you had to sit on the bed where he'd died--sometimes the same bed you'd once shared with him--and decide if his old sweaters were worth sending to the thrift store or should be put on the curb where the homeless could pick through them. Sometimes it might even be a sweater you'd given him one year before the plague had come and changed everything.

From page 200

I unzipped and relieved myself in the toilet, staring at a framed lobby card for The Front Page, the 1931 version. It felt strange, pissing in the bathroom of a dead man without his permission, while his blood clotted the carpet fifty feet away. But I planned to be here awhile, so I figured I better get used to it.

From page 285

"I was just thinking that nostalgia's not all that it's cracked up to be".

On the Wisdom of the Age

2006-03-23T19:15:00.000-08:00

I won't be living this life forever.

A telling throwaway quote from this week's Supernatural.

On the Feast of St. Joseph

2006-03-20T08:10:00.000-08:00

St. Joseph, pray for us!

On the Third Sunday of Lent

2006-03-18T21:58:00.000-08:00

Exodus 20:1-17

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:

“I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,
inflicting punishment for their fathers( wickedness
on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation;
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.”

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your beast,
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”

“Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him.”

I Corinthians 1:22-25

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’

The Gospel story for today describes the expulsion of the money changers from the Temple. In John's Gospel, Jesus exclaims: Stop making my Father's House a market-place. In another place Jesus cries out: Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations' But you have made it a den of robbers.'

Jesus challenges us to a restored relationship with God, not founded on obedience, but on love.

The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

On the Feast of St. Patrick

2006-03-17T07:46:00.000-08:00

St. Patrick’s Lorica

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river,
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word,
The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the star lit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry,
Against the wizard’s evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
By Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Translated by Cecil F. Alexander

O God, who did send blessed Patrick, thy Confessor and Bishop, to preach unto the Peoples of Ireland the glory of thy Name : grant that, aided by his intercession and mindful of his example ; we may of thy mercy find the courage to procalim in our lands and among our peoples the truth of the Gospel and so bring peace, justice, and equity to all thy daughters and sons.

We make our prayer through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord and brother, who lives and reigns with thee, Father, together with the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world withought end.

Amen.

On a Second Sunday in Lent

2006-03-12T09:23:00.000-08:00

'Tis good, Lord, to be here,
Thy glory fills the night;
Thy face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.

'Tis good, Lord, to be here,
Thy beauty to behold
Where Moses and Elijah stand,
Thy messengers of old.

Fulfiller of the past,
Promise of things to be,
We hail Thy body glorified
And our redemption see.

Before we taste of death,
We see Thy kingdom come;
We fain would hold the vision bright
And make this hill our home.

'Tis good, Lord, to be here.
Yet we may not remain;
But since Thou bidst us leave the mount,
Come with us to the plain.

Joseph A. Robinson

In our meditations on today's lections, I note an invitation to look beyond the substitutionary possibilities of Jesus' death (which is certainly strongly represented in the tradition) and to reflect on the message inherent in the death and resurrection of Jesus taken as a whole.

In the crucifixion of his only son, the human family has certainly committed the ultimate offence against God. God has responded to this horror, not with vengeance, but with compassion, forgiveness, healing. God is willing that Jesus should suffer this, not so much to pay some cosmic debt, but rather to reveal that Love is greater than fear, greater than death, that debts are not so much paid, as forgiven.

There is true rejoicing in Mudville, not because Casey is at bat, but because God's love transcends the game, every game, even that of debt and debtor.

Let us take this opportunity to look to the passion, not so much to see the consequence of our own sin--which it does reveal and which each of us must confront, but in the light of the resurrection, that God is able to overcome any sin that might separate from him those whom he loves. In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God reveals to us just how far he is willing to go, has gone, does go, to reconcile to himself even the most estranged of his daughters and sons.

Lent is a time for penance, but also a time for rejoicing.

Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am!" Abraham replied.
Then God said:
"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you."

When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am!" Abraham answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing
all this because you obeyed my command."

Romans 8:31b-34

Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?

Who will bring a charge against God's chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us, who will condemn?
Christ Jesus it is who died . or, rather, was raised .
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.

Mark 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.

On the First Sunday in Lent

2006-03-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

Genesis 9:8-15

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’ God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

I Peter 3:18-22

Beloved:
Christ suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,
who had once been disobedient
while God patiently waited in the days of Noah
during the building of the ark,
in which a few persons, eight in all,
were saved through water.
This prefigured baptism, which saves you now.
It is not a removal of dirt from the body
but an appeal to God for a clear conscience,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who has gone into heaven
and is at the right hand of God,
with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

Mark 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert,
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.

After John had been arrested,
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
“This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Not the removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven . . .

An appeal to God.

Here Peter teaches that we don't have to put our faith in the escatological mechanics of Anselm. No, we can put our faith in the goodness of the saviour, whose resurrection from cruel death reveals the possibility and hope for our acquital.

Welcome to Lent

2006-02-28T23:29:00.000-08:00

Matthew 6:16-18

Concerning Fasting

And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lent always creeps up on me. Every year, even after eleven years of Mardi Gras Madness, I'm totally surprised, caught out! I'm never ready. I never want to. . . .

Jesus has no desire to catch us out. So the Church invites us to give alms, to fast, to pray during these journey days. It doesn't have to be a solemn time. And we shouldn't fake it, if it is not for us a solemn time. St. Francis used to wander about Italy, we are told, bewailing: Love is not loved! And, perhaps he is not. But Love loves, and you and I can love too, because we are loved. Remember, it is joyful hope that we live in; Jesus is with us, welcome to Lent.

On the Mardi Gras

2006-02-28T02:08:00.000-08:00

If ever I cease to love
If ever I cease to love
May cows lay eggs and fish grow legs
If ever I cease to Love

On the Sunday prior to Lent, the Eighth per Annum

2006-02-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

Hosea 2:16b, 17b, 21-22

Thus says the LORD:
I will lead her into the desert
and speak to her heart.
She shall respond there as in the days of her youth,
when she came up from the land of Egypt.
I will espouse you to me forever:
I will espouse you in right and in justice,
in love and in mercy;
I will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the LORD.

II Corinthians 3:1b-6

Brothers and sisters:
Do we need, as some do,
letters of recommendation to you or from you?
You are our letter, written on our hearts,
known and read by all,
shown to be a letter of Christ ministered by us,
written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God,
not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh.

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
Not that of ourselves we are qualified
to take credit for anything as coming from us;
rather, our qualification comes from God,
who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant,
not of letter but of spirit;
for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

Mark 2:18-22

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to him and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

On the Seventh Sunday per Anuum

2006-02-19T20:03:00.001-08:00

Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-25

Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
The wild animals will honour me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
You have not brought me your sheep for burnt-offerings,
or honoured me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
or wearied you with frankincense.
You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.

I, I am He
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.

On the Memory of the Martyrs

2006-02-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

Today is the anniversary of the death / martyrdom of Sr. Dorothy Stang. Though unlikely to be remembered in the U.S. media, she should be remembered in our hearts.

If Mary Stuart can pray for us, then so can Dorothy Stang. And if she can pray for us, perhaps we can do something for the poor we see among us today!

God does not desire Martyrs, but justice, mercy, peace.

Let us rejoice in the good that God has brought to fruition in the life and ministry of Sr. Dorothy Stang and ask him to give us the courage to follow her example of loving service.

I refer curious readers to a post made some time ago.

Another Pointless Example of Self Discovery. . .

2006-02-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

You Are a Soy Latte

At your best, you are: free spirited, down to earth, and relaxed

At your worst, you are: dogmatic and picky

You drink coffee when: you need a pick me up, and green tea isn't cutting it

Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

On the Feast of St. Apollonia, Virgin and Martyr

2006-02-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

From the Martyrology:

Apollonia was an aged virgin of Alexandria, who, in the reign of the Emperor Decius, was brought before the idols to worship them, but refused, declaring that Christ Jesus is Very God, and that to him worship is due.

The cruel executioners beat and pulled out all her teeth, and threatened to burn her alive if she would not deny Christ. To whom she answered, that for Christ Jesus' sake she was ready to die. Being taken to the place of execution she stood for a few moments as if in doubt, and then, the fire of the Holy Ghost burning up in her heart, she broke from those that held her, and leapt of her own accord into the flames. Her body was quickly consumed, and her soul departed pure to obtain the eternal crown of martyrdom.

The Oration:

O God, who among the manifold works of thine almighty power hast bestowed even upon the weakness of women strength to win the victory of martyrdom : grant, we beseech thee; that we, who on this day recall the heavenly birth of Saint Apollonia thy Virgin and Martyr, may so follow in her footsteps, that we may likewise attain unto thee.

On Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, Martyr

2006-02-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

O my Lord and my God,
I have trusted in Thee.
O my dear Jesus,
now liberate me.
In shackle and chain,
in torture and pain,
I long for Thee.
In weakness and sighing,
in kneeling and crying,
I adore and implore Thee
to liberate me.

Mary Queen of Scots, Wednesday 8th February 1587

As I have said in another place, it is hard to say if these Royal executions can achieve the actual status of martyrdom. Mary was certainly inconvenient to many, and her religious faith played not a small part in that inconvenience.

The Roman Church has never taken seriously the sentiment that Mary was a Martyr even for the Catholic Cause, probably for cowardly and twisted political exigency.

There are many lessons to be learned here: Truth often comes with a price; generosity is always the better option; marring cousins may be a very bad idea (they may disappoint you); never put yourself in the power of someone that you have called a bastard all your life; blood is sometimes much thinner than water.

The absolute lesson, the true lesson, the lesson that Holy Mother Church would want to teach us today if only she had the courage to keep this festival, that we can take from the life and death of our Queen lies not in the question of her sanctity, of her innocence, of her legitimate rights, or even of the justice of the Catholic Cause--however true, illustrative, edifying these may be--but that no one should take it upon themselves to strike the heads off the inconvenient, whether they be pauper or prince.

Martyr, or victim of an elaborate Kangaroo Court, it cannot hurt, today, to call to mind the death of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, nor to ask for her intercession on behalf of us who still toil in this vale of tears while we wait to join her in the Banquet of Heaven.

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, pray of us.

On the Feast of St. Blase

2006-02-03T06:15:00.000-08:00

From the Martyrology:

This Blase was chosen Bishop of the city of Sebaste in Armenia, in which place he enjoyed a great reputation for virtue. When Diocletian began to make the Christians the objects of his insatiable cruelty, the Saint hid himself in a cave on Mount Argaeus, where he lay till he was found by some of the soldiers of Agricolaus the Governor, who were out hunting. He was brought before the Governor, who commanded him to be thrown into irons. While he was in prison, Blase healed many of the sick, who were brought to him on account of his reputation of saintliness, and among others a boy who had been despaired of by the physicians, and who at the point of death, from a thorn which had become fixed in his throat. Blase appeared twice before the Governor, but neither cajolements nor threats could induce him to sacrifice to the gods. He was first beaten with rods, and afterwards put on the rack, where his flesh was mangled with iron combs. At last his head was cut off, whereby he finished a noble testimony to the faith which is in Christ our Lord. He bore witness on the 3rd day of February.

Patron of Dubrovnik, wild animals, candlers, and all those who suffer from illness of the throat, and one of the fourteen holy helpers, Blaise is one of my favorite saints.

Here he is pictured as special patron of the city of Dubrovnik. Catholics recieve a special blessing for their throats on his feast:

Through the intercession of St. Blase, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

On Candlemas Day

2006-02-02T06:12:00.000-08:00

Nunc Dimittis
Luke 2:29-32

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people, Israel.

Today represents the very last gasp of the Christmas season, as a season of the Incarnation. Mary has reached the end of her forty days of seclusion following the birth of Jesus, and the Holy family travel to Jerusalem to Present Jesus in the Temple. Sacrifice is made in honor of Jesus, the first born. Simeon and Anna make their prophetic statements. From this day, Jesus begins the long journey which will bring him back to Jerusalem and the fulfillment of the work of salvation.

Lent is just around the corner.

On the Memorial of the Martyrs (Charles Stuart)

2006-01-30T18:38:00.000-08:00

I refer gentle readers to a post I made some time ago.

The Collect reads:

King of kings and Lord of lords, whose faithful servant Charles prayed for those who persecuted him and died in the living hope of your eternal kingdom: grant us by your grace so to follow his example that we may love and bless our enemies, through the intercession of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

On the Question of Authority

2006-01-29T09:01:00.000-08:00

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

A New Prophet Like Moses

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: "If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die." Then the Lord replied to me: "They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak that prophet shall die."

I Corinthians 7:32-35

I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

Mark 1:21-28

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching, with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

The readings today are about authority, where it comes from and who has it.

The Lord says to/through Moses that He will hold accountable the man who does not heed the message that He has given the prophet. In the Gospel passage Jesus teaches with authority and casts out an unclean spirit--exercising/revealing his authority as a prophet.

The psalm response is, If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts -- a not so subliminal encouragement to submission to authority.

The first and last readings are terribly significant for the ecclesial reflection on the existence and use of authority within the community of the faith and I welcome the opportunity to reflect on them in this context.

What I find so puzzling about these choices for today is that sandwiched between these powerful texts that clearly set forth the claims/warrants of high prophetic authority, the Church has chosen to highlight this particular snippet of Paul's teaching on marriage. Paul's attitude in the seventh chapter of this letter to the Corinthians is that it would be best if Christians could remain unmarried so that they can devote all their time to the Lord and the needs of the community of the faith. BUT, he relents, it is better to marry than to burn.

Is Paul's teaching on marriage the most significant of his contributions to the Christian life? Does this particular passage reflect Paul's greatest insight? Remember, the teaching for today is not that it is a good thing to be married, or that husbands and wives have equal responsibilities toward one another, but that Paul feels that Christians should remain unmarried. Is this a teaching to which we should not harden our hearts?

Perhaps we should read Paul through the lens provided by the last sentence from the first reading: But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak, that prophet shall die. Is it possible that Paul, though an Apostle, is not speaking with the authority of God, here? Are we free to say to Paul, Thanks, but no thanks, and yet remain faithful to the Gospel?

On the Celebration of the Saints

2006-01-28T04:19:00.000-08:00

The Universal Church celebrates today the feast of her Doctor, Thomas Aquinas. But in parts of France and one or two dioceses of Germany, Charlemagne is rememberd today.

It can't hurt to ask his prayers. I'm sure that Thomas won't mind. He said, himself, My works are like straw, after all.

Almighty God, who set your servant Charles upon the throne of an earthly empire and inspired him with zeal for the kingdom of heaven: Mercifully grant that we, supported by his prayer and example, may be fruitful in good works, and attain to the glorious crown of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

On the Conversion of Saint Paul

2006-01-25T00:18:00.000-08:00

From the Acts of the Apostles 22:3-16

Paul addressed the people in these words:

‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

‘While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” Then he said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.” Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked, “What am I to do, Lord?” The Lord said to me, “Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.” Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

‘A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there, came to me; and standing beside me, he said, “Brother Saul, regain your sight!” In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.”

Readers will know that I am not the most enthusiastic fan of St. Paul. But, were it not for his preaching and his steadfast fidelity to the mission to the Gentiles, how few of us would have heard the Good News?

St. Paul might be a pain in the ass, but however difficult he is, his message is worth the botheration.

On the Feast of Anthony the Hermit

2006-01-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

From the Golden Legend

He had overmany temptations of the devil. Then on a time when he had overcome the spirit of fornication which tempted him therein by the virtue of his faith, the devil came to him in the form of a little child all black, and fell down at his feet and confessed that he was the devil of fornication, which St. Anthony had desired and prayed to see him, for to know him that so tempted young people. Then said St. Anthony: Sith I have perceived that thou art so foul a thing I shall never doubt thee.

After, he went into a hole or cave to hide him, and anon he found there a great multitude of devils, that so much beat him that his servant bare him upon his shoulders in to his house as he had been dead. When the other hermits were assembled and wept his death, and would have done his service, suddenly St. Anthony revived and made his servant to bear him into the pit again where the devils had so evil beaten him, and began to summon the devils again, which had beaten him, to battles.

And anon they came in form of divers beasts wild and savage, of whom that one howled, another siffled, and another cried, and another brayed and assailed St. Anthony, that one with the horns, the others with their teeth, and the others with their paws and ongles, and disturned, and all to-rent his body that he supposed well to die.

Then came a clear brightness, and all the beasts fled away, and St. Anthony understood that in this great light our Lord came, and he said twice: Who art thou?
The good Jesu answered: I am here, Anthony.

Then said St. Anthony: O good Jesu! where hast thou been so long? why wert thou not here with me at the beginning to help me and to heal my wounds?

Then our Lord said: I was here but I would see and abide to see thy battle, and because thou hast manly fought and well maintained thy battle, I shall make thy name to be spread through all the world.

St. Anthony was of so great fervour and burning love to God, that when Maximus, the emperor, slew and martyred Christian men, he followed the martyrs that he might be a martyr with them and deserve it, and was sorry that martyrdom was not given to him.

After this, as St. Anthony went in desert he found a platter of silver in his way; then he thought whence this platter should come, seeing it was in no way for any man to pass, and also if it had fallen from any man he should have heard it sound in the falling. Then said he well that the devil had laid it there for to tempt him, and said: Ha! devil, thou weenest to tempt me and deceive me, but it shall not be in thy power. Then the platter vanished away as a little smoke.

And in likewise it happed him of a mass of gold that he found in this way, which the devil had cast for to deceive him, which he took and cast it into the fire and anon it vanished away.

After, it happed that St. Anthony on a time was in prayer, and saw in a vision all the world full of snares and gins. Then cried St. Anthony and said: O good Lord, who may escape from these snares? And a voice said to him: Very humility shall escape them without more.

When St. Anthony on a time was left in the air, the devils came against him and laid to him all the evils that he had done from his childhood, tofore the angels. Then said the angels: Thou oughtest not to tell the evils that have been defeated, but say if thou know any evil sith he was made a monk, then the devils contrived many evils, and when they might not prove them, the angels bare him higher than tofore, and after set him again in his place.

St. Anthony recordeth of himself that he had seen a man so great and so high that he vaunted himself to be the virtue and the providence of God, and said to me: Demand of me what thou wilt and I shall give it to thee. And I spit in the midst of his visage, and anon I armed me with the sign of the cross, and ran upon him, and anon he vanished away.

And after this the devil appeared to him in so great a stature that he touched the heaven, and when St. Anthony had demanded him what he was, he answered: I am the devil and demand thee why these monks and these cursed Christian men do me thus much shame?

St. Anthony said: They do it by good right, for thou dost to them the worst thou canst.

And the devil answered: I do to them none harm, but they trouble each other, I am destroyed and come to naught because that Jesu Christ reigneth over all.

On Super heroes

2006-01-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		85%
Superman		75%
Robin		65%
Catwoman		60%
Supergirl		50%
Batman		50%
Wonder Woman		20%
The Flash		20%
Iron Man		20%
Green Lantern		15%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

I have to say that I was very happy with the results, Who wouldn't want to be Spiderman--he has one great theme song!

I would probably prefer to be his boyfriend, but one can't have everything in this life.

I'd also be perfectly happy to be Robin.

On the Epiphany

2006-01-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

From first Vespers:
2 Timothy 1:8-13

Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

On the Octave of Christmas (and a Happy New Year!)

2006-01-01T00:40:00.000-08:00

The Octave day of Christmas has borne several titles over the centuries, especially in Western Christendom: The Feast of the Circumcision; The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus; and now The Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.

The former feasts are intended to underscore the humanity of the child Jesus. The earliest strata for the liturgical observance of the octave, the Circumcision serves to situate the child in his / our historical matrix as a son of David, of Abraham, an observant Son of the Promise--eight days old and Jesus is already busy with the work of perfect observance of the Law. Later generations would develop a spirituality that celebrates the circumcision as the first of seven bloodsheddings that Jesus suffered in his great work of Salvation. A more recent effort at the observance, the Feast of the Most Holy Name, provides the more sensitive Christian an opportunity to celebrate the birth/naming of the Saviour, bypassing most of the blood. Both Feasts strongly assert that Jesus is a real human child, born into a real human family, in a real time and place. It is this Jesus that we await.

Paul VI, fearing that twentieth century folk put too much thought to the human aspect of the baby Jesus during the Advent / Christmas seasons, sought to remind us that while Mary is the mother of the human infant, that infant is also Very God of Very God. The Jesus that we worship and await is not a child, but a grown man, a martyr, a priest, a king, a sacrifice. When Jesus returns, with salvation in his hand, he will not be an infant, but a grown man, wounded but whole. Mary is the mother of the infant, but also of that grown man, the Son of God, our Saviour and brother.

At the end of the day, the Church still uses the mass readings for the Circumcision / Holy Name, so, go figure.

Luke 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God

for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.

When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.

On Silvesternacht

2005-12-31T06:31:00.000-08:00

From the Golden Legend

In this time it happed that there was at Rome a dragon in a pit, which every day slew with his breath more than three hundred men. Then came the bishops of the idols unto the emperor and said unto him: O thou most holy emperor, sith the time that thou hast received christian faith the dragon which is in yonder fosse or pit slayeth every day with his breath more than three hundred men.
Then sent the emperor for S. Silvester and asked counsel of him of this matter. S. Silvester answered that by the might of God he promised to make him cease of his hurt and blessure of this people. Then S Silvester put himself to prayer, and S. Peter appeared to him and said: Go surely to the dragon and the two priests that be with thee take in thy company, and when thou shalt come to him thou shalt say to him in this manner: Our Lord Jesu Christ which was born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, buried and arose, and now sitteth on the right side of the Father, this is he that shall come to deem and judge the living and the dead, I commend thee Sathanas that thou abide him in this place till he come. Then thou shalt bind his mouth with a thread, and seal it with thy seal , wherein is the imprint of the cross. Then thou and the two priests shall come to me whole and safe, and such bread as I shall make ready for you ye shall eat.
Thus as S. Peter had said, S. Silvester did. And when he came to the pit, he descended down one hundred and fifty steps, bearing with him two lanterns, and found the dragon, and said the words that S. Peter had said to him, and bound his mouth with the thread, and sealed it, and after returned, and as he came upward again he met with two enchanters which followed him for to see if he descended, which were almost dead of the stench of the dragon, whom he brought with him whole and sound, which anon were baptized, with a great multitude of people with them.
Thus was the city of Rome delivered from double death, that was from the culture and worshipping of false idols, and from the venom of the dragon. At the last when S. Silvester approached towards his death, he called to him the clergy and admonished them to have charity, and that they should diligently govern their churches, and keep their flock from the wolves. And after the year of the incarnation of our Lord three hundred and twenty, he departed out of this world and slept in our Lord, etc.

From the Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius of Caesarea, bishop
Lib 10, 1-3

Thanks for all things be given unto God the Omnipotent Ruler and King of the universe, and the greatest thanks to Jesus Christ the Saviour and Redeemer of our souls, through whom we pray that peace may be always preserved for us firm and undisturbed by external troubles and by troubles of the mind.
Since in accordance with thy wishes, my most holy Paulinus, we have added the tenth book of the Church History to those which have preceded, we will inscribe it to thee, proclaiming thee as the seal of the whole work; and we will fitly add in a perfect number the perfect panegyric upon the restoration of the churches, obeying the Divine Spirit which exhorts us in the following words:
Sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm hath saved him. The Lord hath made known his salvation, his righteousness hath he revealed in the presence of the nations.
And in accordance with the utterance which commands us to sing the new song, let us proceed to show that, after those terrible and gloomy spectacles which we have described, we are now permitted to see and celebrate such things as many truly righteous men and martyrs of God before us desired to see upon earth and did not see, and to hear and did not hear.
But they, hastening on, obtained far better things, being carried to heaven and the paradise of divine pleasure. But, acknowledging that even these things are greater than we deserve, we have been astonished at the grace manifested by the author of the great gifts, and rightly do we admire him, worshiping him with the whole power of our souls, and testifying to the truth of those recorded utterances, in which it is said, "Come and see the works of the Lord, the wonders which he hath done upon the earth; he removeth wars to the ends of the world, he shall break the bow and snap the spear in sunder, and shall burn the shields with fire."
Rejoicing in these things which have been clearly fulfilled in our day, let us proceed with our account.
The whole race of God's enemies was destroyed in the manner indicated, and was thus suddenly swept from the sight of men. So that again a divine utterance had its fulfillment: "I have seen the impious highly exalted and raising himself like the cedars of Lebanon and I have passed by, and behold, he was not and I have sought his place, and it could not be found."
And finally a bright and splendid day, overshadowed by no cloud, illuminated with beams of heavenly light the churches of Christ throughout the entire world. And not even those without our communion were prevented from sharing in the same blessings, or at least from coming under their influence and enjoying a part of the benefits bestowed upon us by God.
All men, then, were freed from the oppression of the tyrants, and being released from the former ills, one in one way and another in another acknowledged the defender of the pious to be the only true God. And we especially who placed our hopes in the Christ of God had unspeakable gladness, and a certain inspired joy bloomed for all of us, when we saw every place which shortly before had been desolated by the impieties of the tyrants reviving as if from a long and death-fraught pestilence, and temples again rising from their foundations to an immense height, and receiving a splendor far greater than that of the old ones which had been destroyed.
But the supreme rulers also confirmed to us still more extensively the munificence of God by repeated ordinances in behalf of the Christians; and personal letters of the emperor were sent to the bishops, with honors and gifts of money. It may not be unfitting to insert these documents, translated from the Roman into the Greek tongue, at the proper place in this book, as in a sacred tablet, that they may remain as a memorial to all who shall come after us.
After this was seen the sight which had been desired and prayed for by us all; feasts of dedication in the cities and consecrations of the newly built houses of prayer took place, bishops assembled, foreigners came together from abroad, mutual love was exhibited between people and people, the members of Christ's body were united in complete harmony.
Then was fulfilled the prophetic utterance which mystically foretold what was to take place: "Bone to bone and joint to joint," and whatever was truly announced in enigmatic expressions in the inspired passage.
And there was one energy of the Divine Spirit pervading all the members, and one soul in all, and the same eagerness of faith, and one hymn from all in praise of the Deity. Yea, and perfect services were conducted by the prelates, the sacred rites being solemnized, and the majestic institutions of the Church observed, here with the singing of psalms and with the reading of the words committed to us by God, and there with the performance of divine and mystic services; and the mysterious symbols of the Saviour's passion were dispensed.
At the same time people of every age, both male and female, with all the power of the mind gave honor unto God, the author of their benefits, in prayers and thanksgiving, with a joyful mind and soul. And every one of the bishops present, each to the best of his ability, delivered panegyric orations, adding luster to the assembly.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas (Holy Family)

2005-12-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

Matthew 2:13-15

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’
Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’

Luke 2:22-40

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

From the Evening Office

Father in Heaven, creator of all,
you ordereed the earth to bring forth life
and crowned its goodness by creating the family of man.
In history's moment when all was ready,
you sent your Son to dwell in time,
obedient to the laws of life in our world.
Teach us the sanctity of human love,
show us the value of family life,
and help us to live in peace with all men
that we may share in your life forever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

On the Feast of Thomas Becket

2005-12-29T03:36:00.000-08:00

Edward Grim in Vita S. Thomae, Cantuariensis Archepiscopi et Martyris

After the monks took [Thomas] through the doors of the church, the four aforementioned knights followed behind with a rapid pace. A certain subdeacon, Hugh the Evil-clerk, named for his wicked offense and armed with their malice, went with them - showing no reverence for either God or the saints because by following them he condoned their deed. When the holy archbishop entered the cathedral the monks who were glorifying God abandoned vespers - which they had begun to celebrate for God - and ran to their father whom they had heard was dead but they saw alive and unharmed. They hastened to close the doors of the church in order to bar the enemies from slaughtering the bishop, but the wondrous athlete turned toward them and ordered that the doors be opened. "It is not proper," he said, "that a house of prayer, a church of Christ, be made a fortress since although it is not shut up, it serves as a fortification for his people; we will triumph over the enemy through suffering rather than by fighting - and we come to suffer, not to resist." Without delay the sacrilegious men entered the house of peace and reconciliation with swords drawn; indeed the sight alone as well as the rattle of arms inflicted not a small amount of horror on those who watched. And those knights who approached the confused and disordered people who had been observing vespers but, by now, had run toward the lethal spectacle exclaimed in a rage: "Where is Thomas Becket, traitor of the king and kingdom?" No one responded and instantly they cried out more loudly, "Where is the archbishop?" Unshaken he replied to this voice as it is written, "The righteous will be like a bold lion and free from fear," he descended from the steps to which he had been taken by the monks who were fearful of the knights and said in an adequately audible voice, "Here I am, not a traitor of the king but a priest; why do you seek me?" And [Thomas], who had previously told them that he had no fear of them added, "Here I am ready to suffer in the name of He who redeemed me with His blood; God forbid that I should flee on account of your swords or that I should depart from righteousness." With these words - at the foot of a pillar - he turned to the right. On one side was the altar of the blessed mother of God, on the other the altar of the holy confessor Benedict - through whose example and prayers he had been crucified to the world and his lusts; he endured whatever the murderers did to him with such constancy of the soul that he seemed as if he were not of flesh. The murderers pursued him and asked, "Absolve and restore to communion those you have excommunicated and return to office those who have been suspended." To these words [Thomas] replied, "No penance has been made, so I will not absolve them." "Then you," they said, "will now die and will suffer what you have earned." "And I," he said, "am prepared to die for my Lord, so that in my blood the church will attain liberty and peace; but in the name of Almighty God I forbid that you hurt my men, either cleric or layman, in any way." The glorious martyr acted conscientiously with foresight for his men and prudently on his own behalf, so that no one near him would be hurt as he hastened toward Christ. It was fitting that the soldier of the Lord and the martyr of the Savior adhered to His words when he was sought by the impious, "If it is me you seek, let them leave."

With rapid motion they laid sacrilegious hands on him, handling and dragging him roughly outside of the walls of the church so that there they would slay him or carry him from there as a prisoner, as they later confessed. But when it was not possible to easily move him from the column, he bravely pushed one [of the knights] who was pursuing and drawing near to him; he called him a panderer saying, "Don't touch me, Rainaldus, you who owes me faith and obedience, you who foolishly follow your accomplices." On account of the rebuff the knight was suddenly set on fire with a terrible rage and, wielding a sword against the sacred crown said, "I don't owe faith or obedience to you that is in opposition to the fealty I owe my lord king." The invincible martyr - seeing that the hour which would bring the end to his miserable mortal life was at hand and already promised by God to be the next to receive the crown of immortality - with his neck bent as if he were in prayer and with his joined hands elevated above - commended himself and the cause of the Church to God, St. Mary, and the blessed martyr St. Denis.

He had barely finished speaking when the impious knight, fearing that [Thomas] would be saved by the people and escape alive, suddenly set upon him and, shaving off the summit of his crown which the sacred chrism consecrated to God, he wounded the sacrificial lamb of God in the head; the lower arm of the writer was cut by the same blow. Indeed [the writer] stood firmly with the holy archbishop, holding him in his arms - while all the clerics and monks fled - until the one he had raised in opposition to the blow was severed. Behold the simplicity of the dove, behold the wisdom of the serpent in this martyr who presented his body to the killers so that he might keep his head, in other words his soul and the church, safe; nor would he devise a trick or a snare against the slayers of the flesh so that he might preserve himself because it was better that he be free from this nature! O worthy shepherd who so boldly set himself against the attacks of wolves so that the sheep might not be torn to pieces! and because he abandoned the world, the world - wanting to overpower him - unknowingly elevated him. Then, with another blow received on the head, he remained firm. But with the third the stricken martyr bent his knees and elbows, offering himself as a living sacrifice, saying in a low voice, "For the name of Jesus and the protection of the church I am ready to embrace death." But the third knight inflicted a grave wound on the fallen one; with this blow he shattered the sword on the stone and his crown, which was large, separated from his head so that the blood turned white from the brain yet no less did the brain turn red from the blood; it purpled the appearance of the church with the colors of the lily and the rose, the colors of the Virgin and Mother and the life and death of the confessor and martyr. The fourth knight drove away those who were gathering so that the others could finish the murder more freely and boldly. The fifth - not a knight but a cleric who entered with the knights - so that a fifth blow might not be spared him who had imitated Christ in other things, placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr and (it is horrible to say) scattered the brains with the blood across the floor, exclaiming to the rest, "We can leave this place, knights, he will not get up again."

But during all these incredible things the martyr displayed the virtue of perseverance. Neither his hand nor clothes indicated that he had opposed a murderer - as is often the case in human weakness; nor when stricken did he utter a word, nor did he let out a cry or a sigh, or a sign signaling any kind of pain; instead he held still the head that he had bent toward the unsheathed swords. As his body - which had been mingled with blood and brain - laid on the ground as if in prayer, he placed his soul in Abraham's bosom. Having risen above himself, without doubt, out of love for the Creator and wholly striving for celestial sweetness, he easily received whatever pain, whatever malice, the bloody murderer was able to inflict. And how intrepidly - how devotedly and courageously - he offered himself for the murder when it was made clear that for his salvation and faith this martyr should fight for the protection of others so that the affairs of the church might be managed according to its paternal traditions and decrees.

Translated by
Dawn Marie Hayes

On Teen Angst in Paradise

2005-12-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

Innocence comes in a variety of guises. I have just finished reading, Clay's Way, by Blair Mastbaum. A story of Teen crisis set in Hawaii, it's sort of Holden Caufield meets, Song of the Loon. The main characters are called Clay and Sam. The ironies were not lost to me, but were not the main reason I enjoyed the story. Here are just a few of the choice sentences:

page 4:

I strap my backpack on, drop my board on the street, and skate off, passing houses like a bullet. People couldn't see me if they tried. I'm just a blur. I don't want people thinking that they understand me or can get a handle on me from what I'm wearing or my haircut or anything like that.

page 5:

I skate up to the pizza place to meet Jared to buy pot. I'm nervous 'cause I don't want to have any uncomfortable conversation with some surfer to get it. I wish there was a drive-through where you could just hand the twenty to the guy and get the pot in a paper bag.

page 6:

Board intimidates me. Most skaters are assholes. They think they're the center of the world. I do too, I guess.

page 9:

I'm afraid to talk to Clay or even look at him. I've beaten off to him more times than I can count.
He'll be able to tell.

page 11:

I was hoping he'd set it to four hours or maybe there's a switch you can flip to make it say ETERNITY---and make everyone else freeze so we could be alone together. I'd be the only human left moving, so he'd have to like me.

page 15:

The sun's really hot. I sweat and smell myself, and I think about the same kind of smells on Clay's body---which really makes me want to jerk off. I stand up and walk to my next-door neighbor's shed thinking like a criminal, controlled by his dick. The door's open. Cool.

page 16:

I caused this. My ejaculation was so powerful it fucked with our whole plane of existence.

page 19:

Not that I liked her before, but she's meaningless now that I have Clay. I don't even need food or air anymore.

page 21:

I think it's disgusting that I'm related to them. They envy dudes that own yachts but don't have any books on the shelves.

page 82:

I smoke yet another bowl out of some hippie pipe I found out skating and I'm way too stoned to stay inside. My room starts to feel like a teenage prison.

His truck's not there. Susan's blue Toyota is parked in front and a car I've never seen is parked beside hers ---in Clay's spot. The car is annoying-looking. It's too sensible. It looks like a car that a nurse or social worker would drive.
It's Tammy's.

Page 87:

My heart races faster than I've ever felt it. My impulse is to jump out of the closet, rip that girl's hand off Clay, throw her across the room, and mutilate her. I want this girl out of here and back into the part of my brain that only dreaded this actually happening. I want her fucking hands off Clay before I go insane.

page 90:

I get up and stretch my legs. I open my pack and steal some pot from his dealer-boy drawer and take a couple of his wife-beaters and a pair of his boxers, just in case I never see him again and he gets stolen into Tammy World for all eternity.

page 148:

I'm probably imagining all of this. My mind goes crazy when I'm alone.

On the Feast of the Holy Innocents

2005-12-28T10:55:00.000-08:00

From the Office of Readings

They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ

A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come.

Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage, and to destroy one child whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.

You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers or fathers mourning the deaths of their sons, nor by the cries and sobs of the children. You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart. You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong your own life, though you are seeking to kill Life himself.

Yet your throne is threatened by the source of grace--so small, yet so great--who is lying in the manger. He is using you, all unaware of it, to work out his own purposes freeing souls from captivity to the devil. He has taken up the sons of the enemy into the ranks of God's adopted children.

The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The child makes of those as yet unable to speak fit witnesses to himself. See the kind of kingdom that is his, coming as he did in order to be this kind of king. See how the deliverer is already working deliverance, the savior already working salvation.

But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious. While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying him homage, and do not know it.

How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory.

On the Feast of St. John the Evangelist

2005-12-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

From the Office of Readings

1 John 1:1-2:3

We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.

On the Feast of Stephen

2005-12-26T06:20:00.000-08:00

From the Office of Readings

From a sermon of
St. Fulgentius of Ruspe (b. 468)

Yesterday we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal King. Today we celebrate the triumphant suffering of His soldier. Yesterday our King, clothed in His robe of flesh, left His place in the Virgin's womb and graciously visited the world. Today His soldier leaves the tabernacle of his body and goes triumphantly to heaven.

Our King, despite His exalted majesty, came in humility for our sake; yet He did not come empty-handed. He gave of His bounty, yet without any loss to Himself. In a marvelous way He changed into wealth the poverty of His faithful followers while remaining in full possession of His own inexhaustible riches.

And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth raised Stephen from earth ot heaven; shown first in the King, it later shone forth in His soldier. His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob; his love for his neighbor made him pray for those who were stoning him. Love inspired him to reprove those who erred, to make them amend; love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment. Strengthened by the power of his love, he overcame the raging cruelty of Saul and won his persecutor on earth as his companion in heaven. In his holy and tireless love he longed to gain by prayer those he could not convert by admonition.

Now at last, Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he delights in-the glory of Christ, with Stephen he exults, with Stephen he reigns. Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul, but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen. This, surely, is the true life, my brothers, a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen's death, and Stephen delights in Paul's companionship, for love fills them both with joy. It was Stephen's love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob, and it was Paul's love that covered the multitude of his sins; it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of heaven.

Love, indeed, is the source of all good things; it is an impregnable defense, and the way that leads to heaven. He who walks in love can neither go astray nor be afraid: love guides him, protects him, and brings him to his journey's end.

My brothers, Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven. Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another practical proof of it, and by your progress in it, make your ascent together.

On the Word become flesh

2005-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us

A Song of the Shepherds

Star of wonder in the heavens
Wonder what you want of me
Should i follow you tonight
Star of wonder, star of wonder

I am just a lonely shepherd
Watching from a distant hill
Why do you appear to me
Star of wonder, if you will

In the morning they'll come looking
For the shepherd on the hill
What would make her leave her flock
For surely she must love them still

Star of Wonder in the heavens
Are you just a shining star
Or should i follow you tonight
Star of wonder, star of wonder, shining bright

From a collection of Medieval songs, Piae Cantiones:

Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria Virgine, Gaudete.
Tempus ad est gratiae
Hoc quod optibamus,
Carmina laetitiae
Devote redamus.

Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria Virgine, Gaudete.
Deus homo factus est
Natura mirante,
Mundus renovatus est
A Christo regnante.

Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria Virgine, Gaudete.
Ezechielis porta
Clausa pertransitur,
Unde lux est orta
Salus invenitur.

Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria Virgine, Gaudete.
Ergo nostra contio
psallat jam in lustro,
Benedicat domino
sallus regi nostro.

Gaudete, gaudete, Christus est natus
Ex Maria Virgine, Gaudete.

On the Crib at Greccio

2005-12-24T13:13:00.000-08:00

O poverty!
Source of riches.
Jesus,
Son of God,
Born in Bethlehem!

From St. Bonaventure:

Many brothers and good people came at Francis' bidding, and during the night the weather also was beautiful. Many lights were kindled, songs and hymns were sung with great solemnity so that the whole wood echoed with the sound, and the man of God stood by the manger, filled with the utmost joy, and shedding tears of devotion and compassion. By his order the manger had been so arranged that Mass was celebrated on it, and blessed Francis sang the gospel and preached to the people on the Nativity of Christ our King, and whenever he pronounced his name with infinite tenderness he called Him the 'little Babe of Bethlehem.

From Thomas of Celano:

The saint of God stood before the manger, uttering sighs, overcome with love and filled with a wonderful happiness.
He sang the Gospel in a sonorous voice, a clear and sonorous voice, inviting all to the highest rewards. Then he preached to the people standing about and spoke charming words concerning the birth of the poor King, and the little town of Bethlehem.
When he spoke the name "Child of Bethlehem" or "Jesus", his tongue licked his lips, relishing and savoring with pleased palate the sweetness of the words.

From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
Sermo 185: PL 38, 997-999)

Truth has arisen from the earth, and justice looked down from heaven

Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.

You would have suffered eternal death, had he not been born in time. Never would you have been freed From sinful flesh, had he not taken on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness, had it not been for this mercy. You would never have returned to life, had he not shared your death. You would have been lost if he had not hastened to your aid. You would have perished, had he not come.

Let us then joyfully celebrate the coming of our salvation and redemption. Let us celebrate the festive day on which he who is the great and eternal day came from the great and endless day of eternity into our own short day of time.

He has become our justice, our sanctification, our redemption, so that, as it is written: Let him who glories glory in the Lord.

Truth, then, has arisen from the earth: Christ who said, I am the Truth, was born of a virgin. And justice looked down from heaven: because believing in this new-born child, man is justified not by himself but by God.
Truth has arisen from the earth: because the Word was made flesh. And justice looked down from heaven: because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.

Truth has arisen from the earth: flesh from Mary. And justice looked down from heaven: for man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

Justified by faith, let us be at peace with God: for justice and peace have embraced one another. Through our Lord Jesus Christ: tor Truth has arisen from the earth. Through whom we have access to that grace in which we stand, and our boast is in our hope of God's glory. He does not say: "of our glory," but of God's glory: for justice has not proceeded from us but has looked down from heaven. Therefore he who glories, let him glory, not in himself, but in the Lord.

For this reason, when our Lord was born of the Virgin, the message of the angelic voices was: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.

For how could there be peace on earth unless Truth has arisen from the earth, that is, unless Christ were born of our flesh? And he is our peace who made the two into one:
that we might be men of good will, sweetly linked by the bond of unity.

Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says: He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head. For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the son of man, so that a son of man might in his turn become son of God?

Ask if this were merited; ask for its reason, for its justification, and see whether you will find any other answer but sheer grace.

O Emmanuel

2005-12-23T23:37:00.000-08:00

December 23: O Emmanuel (God with us)

O Emmanuel, God with us, our King and Lawgiver, the Expected of nations and their Saviour; come and save us , O Lord our God!

Isaiah 7:14

The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.

O Rex Gentium

2005-12-22T23:34:00.000-08:00

December 22: O Rex Gentium (King of the Gentiles)

O King of Nations and Desired of All, You are the cornerstone that binds two into one. Come, and save poor man whom You fashioned out of clay!

Isaiah 9:5

For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 2:4

He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.