The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on Friday December 31, 2021

The homily today was on Mary.  She is to be an example for women, everywhere and every time.  

I find that odd.  She was born without original sin, remember she is the Immaculate Conception.  Well, no way can anyone beat that.  So for what is she a role model? 

1.  She came from humble origins and stayed content.  We don't see her trying to take advantage of her position.

2. She questions God, "How can this be?"  Don't do this at home, kiddies.  Zachariah tried and he was immediately struck dumb.  So here's another inconsistency with Mary as a role model.

3. Her fiat.  Ah, here's the rub.  I hope to do this.  I hope I remember to do this. I hope I have Mary's trust.

This is what we need to pray for, "let it be done unto me, according to Your word."

Fra Angelico's Annunciation

Deus Machina

 There's a conundrum that asks, "If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one to hear it, does it make a sound?"

A physicist would say "no" because there's no one there to prove there was a sound.
A philosopher would say "yes" because experience proves that falling trees make sounds. Besides the falling tree would make vibrations that would be heard and felt by animals and birds.

I don't know where you stand on this conundrum but it seems to me that the same situation happens when God sends a miracle.

If God gives someone a miracle and he doesn't know it, is it still a miracle?

Patriarchy

 I read "Revival Season" by Monica West with interest because I've felt the healing touch, the author describes so well.  I've seen and experienced these revivals.  Many are helped at least spiritually, if not physically. What I can't relate to is the main protagonist, Miriam's struggles with her pastor/father.

       I guess this type of religion is typical with the black community.  It is extremely focused on the pastor, not God.  Although, the pastor would say that he is "personna Christi."  So you can't question him.  Mmmm, as a Catholic, I'm not unfamiliar with this association.  But even Catholics don't (or shouldn't) confuse the minister with God.  A priest acts as "psersonna Christi" in the Sacrament of Confession but the priest as a man could be a jerk.

      But Miriam was not allowed to question her dad.  She could not preach.  She could not stand on the sanctuary.  Lastly, (the plot of the novel), she couldn't exercise her God-given "gift of healing."

      The author paints the father as brutal, close to being mentally unhinged.  Miriam gets beaten, and the pregnant mother does too, although I don't know why. 

       I know West had no sympathy for the father but I do.  It must be a terrible burden to act as a god with a family and its struggles, in addition to pastoring other people.  This is probably why Catholic priests don't marry.

       West does a good job of showcasing the church's stance on the roles of women at home and the church.  

Imprecatory Psalms

 

What does imprecatory mean?  It means to curse or damn someone.  There are actually quite a few imprecatory psalms.  Every enemy of David had imprecations thrown at him, e.i. 

• 109 Psalm 109

King James Version

109 Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;

2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.

4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.

5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.

6 Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.

7 When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.

8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.

9 Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.

10 Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.

11 Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour.

12 Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children.

13 Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.

14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.

15 Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

16 Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.

17 As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

18 As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones.

19 Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.

20 Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

21 But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.

22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

24 My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.

25 I became also a reproach unto them: when they looked upon me they shaked their heads.

26 Help me, O Lord my God: O save me according to thy mercy:

27 That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast done it.

28 Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.

29 Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.

30 I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude.

31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

 A question should come to your mind--should Christians use imprecatory prayers?  Well, we know that Jesus taught us differently.  He said we should love our enemies, in fact, bless them.  Remember Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer, where we say "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth..."  So I am advocating that we don't damn our enemies to hell, but rather ask God to stop them, convert them and help me to deal with them better.  Amen!                                           

Courage is Continuing On

A few days ago, I blogged about an incident from the book, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.  Well I finished the book.  Here is my review.

 The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a "tissue box beside you book". It is the story of Elsa who in the first chapter is a poor soul. She is destined to be an "old maid" because she is unattractive and sickly. But by the last chapter, she is a brave warrior.

The setting is the Great Depression years in Texas and California. Elsa is kicked out by her biological family because she is pregnant. The baby's father's family takes her in because after all, she is carrying their grandchild. This family not only physically takes her in; they take her to their hearts. This is the loving family everyone needs.
Unfortunately, the Great Depression turns Texas into a dust bowl. Misfortunate is too much to bear and Elsa heads off to California only to find that they treat these desperate people running from the dust bowl worse than lepers. This is where you need to locate the box of tissues.
Conditions are so terrible that communism sounds good. At least organizing workers start making sense. Elsa becomes involved. It turns out that she really is a warrior and she learns that courage is continuing on in spite of your fear.

A World Beyond This One

 

This isn't a book review because I haven't finished the book yet.  The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is about a lady who is a brave, courageous, loyal, hardworking, faithful mother.  The setting is Depression times.  Life is unbelievably hard.  

It's Christmas time and the thirteen-year-old, Loreda, got a library card, for her only present.  And that was more than many in their camp.  When I got to that part, I just cried.  

When you think of it, a library card is the best gift ever! 

That card, that's the real gift.  It can take you anywhere, Loreda. Loreda's fingers traced the card reverently.  Elsa knew that a library card--a thing they'd taken for granted all of their lives--meant there was still a future.  A world beyond this struggle.

Libraries are invaluable.

Look Up

 

Today, the pandemic is people's worst nightmare.  I was reading about St. Vincent Ferrer.  His times not only had a pandemic but also a papal schism--there were two popes at the same time.  Think of it.  Not only were the people physically sick, but also spiritually.  What would you think?

I think the people had every right to complain to God, but they didn't because they weren't praying.  They were so consumed with their personal problems that they forgot about praying to God.  Since they forgot about God, so did their behavior.  The people were living in sin.

When this happened to Moses in the desert, Numbers 21: 4-9, God healed the people by having Moses make statues of snakes and hold them up on a pole.  When the people looked up they were healed and thanked God.

St. Vincent Ferrer had the people look up at Jesus on the cross and they were healed.

It wasn't the snake statues, nor the presence of a Dominican preacher that healed the people.  It was their belief that God could heal them.  People will die in their sins if they reject God because they are rejecting the only way to be rescued from sin.  So look up to Jesus on the cross.  Look what He did for you.

Sticking Together

 

This is a triptych of Ruth.  Grandma uses Ruth's story to teach the importance of family.  Everyone needs to help each other and how staying together was better than each going their separate ways.  

This triptych is by Thomas Matthews Rooke, 1876

The first image is of Ruth and Naomi--Mother-in-Law.  The middle picture is Ruth and Boaz.  Finally, the last picture is the son of Ruth and Boaz, who will one day be the grandfather of King David.

Chi lee or Chi lay

 

Today my friends Chris and Joe and I were having lunch when an argument ensued.  I forget why.  The argument was about the pronunciation of the country, Chile.  We tried calling Terry, who lived in Chile, but she didn't answer.  We tried calling Jordi, who's Spanish.  He also didn't answer.  So we resorted to google.  Google said

The Mother of God

 

I was listening to my local radio station playing Christmas music.  The disc jockey would give explanations for carols and/or music.  I know the disc jockey.  He's a Protestant.  He didn't play any Catholic hymns and his descriptions of his Methodist Christmas Eve service waxed poetic.  It was a description of a candlelight service where the congregation made a circle with just their lit candles.  Then suddenly they all extinguished their candles.  They wait for the Light of the World to be born.

     But he surprised me.  He closed his radio show by talking about the Catholic Mass.  He was accurate too.  He mentioned the Church started with St. Peter, who was our first pope.  He called the Catholic Mass, a highly liturgical ceremony.  He played Ave Maria by Placido Domingo because without Mary there would be no Jesus.  

Both Sides

 There are at least two sides to everything. This is especially true in arguing.  Think of abortion.  Those that are pro-abortion are thinking of the woman.  Those that are pro-life are thinking of the baby. Those who are anti-vaccine are thinking of their personal rights.  Those who are pro-vaccine are thinking of the common good.

Shall the twain ever meet?

Beware!

 

No this isn't a statue from the book of Revelation.  It's the statue in the visitor's plaza of the United Nations Building, in New York.  It was made by Mexican artists, Jacobo and Maria Angeles and donated by the Government of Oaxaca, Mexico.  It represents the United Nations as a guardian for international peace and security. The Aztecs used similar representations in their art--the combination of a jaguar and an eagle.  

I can see the protection and security, but not international peace.  Where's the cancel culture when you need them?  Here's one statue that should be torn down.

Attitudes Toward Humor

 Humor changes over time.  This may sound horrible to you today, but in the 1950's my father would tell the story of his cat having too many kittens.  So he put the mother cat and the kittens in a potato sack with some rocks and threw it in the river.  When he got home, there was the mother cat sitting on the steps waiting for him.  Everyone laughed--then.

Today it's not funny.  That's what I think happened to me when I tried to read A Confederacy of Dunces.  It must have been funny when John Kennedy Toole wrote the novel in  1980s, but I don't find it funny at all.  The major protagonist, Ignatius J. Reilly is stomach-turning gross.  I can't continue to read it.  I'm putting the book down on page 149.  

Humor changes over time.

Redemptive Suffering

  What is the Catholic teaching on suffering?  from Wekepoedia

The Catholic Church sees human suffering as a chance to follow the example of Christ and believe that it is a part of God's plan. The document aims to reconcile suffering and pain with the belief in a loving God. Those who suffer here on Earth are united in that suffering with Christ, who died on the cross.

Redemptive suffering is the Christian belief that human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus, can remit the just punishment for one's sins or for the sins of another, or for the other physical or spiritual needs of oneself or another.

Cardinal Pell in an address he gave at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo, California said he offered up his suffering in prison.  He thought of Christ's suffering and united himself to Him.

I also just got off the phone with a friend who is in great mental and emotional anguish.  She also is offering her pain as redemptive suffering.  So the pain can be physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Anyone can offer their pain up.  Don't waste your suffering.  Think of the suffering of Jesus and unite yourself to Him.

Breast Feeding

 I wish I knew there was a devotion to Our Lady of La Leche when I was a nursing mom--especially when I had a breast infection. I probably thought that pictures and statues of Mary nursing Jesus would have been gross, at that time.  But think of it--pictures of naked bodies are commonplace.

Well, I've matured.

Thank You Mr. Leco

 My friend brought me out for lunch on my birthday, today, and we were surprised with an unexpected present. When it came time for the bill, the waitress told us that the bill had already been paid for by Mr. Leco.

Who?

Mr. Leco.  Who's that?  

He was nobody we knew.

And he didn't know it was my birthday.  Maybe he does this for Christmas.

Whatever!  Thank you Mr. Leco.

My Friend, Joan.

Christmas Bazaar

Fatima Shrine
Holliston, MA

 

Saturday, December 11, 2021

10:00 AM  --  3:00 PM

 

The shrine’s lights are on display from December 9 – 28, hot chocolate available.

Ezekiel's Prophesy

 It's bizarre that I'm preparing a Lenten Reflection Booklet for my Lay Dominican Region and looking at scripture prophesizing redemption, and in real-time I'm in Advent.  Read what Gus, one of my "cloistered brothers" wrote for Ezekiel 37: 21-28 and John 11: 45-56, and see if his words aren't also describing the birth of Jesus.

Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem, after bringing Lazarus back to life.  Jesus is fulfilling Ezekiel's prophesy.  

Thus speaks the Lord God: 'I will take the Israelites from among the nations to which they have come...to bring them back to their land... My dwelling shall be with them...my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever. 

Jesus begins in Bethlehem and ends in Jerusalem.  He will dwell among His people and bring the promised land to them.  His sanctuary to us Catholics is the tabernacle.  It is set up among His people, forever.

Life is Real Drama

This novel, Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard has everything life can throw at a woman.  The setting is between 1970-1980 because the story references Princess Diana and the Challenger rocket exploding. There's death, tragic accidents, marital infidelity, gender dystopia, estrangement, divorce, poverty, success, failure, and more I'm sure.  There were chapters that kept me awake reading because I didn't want to stop in the middle of desperation.

Joyce Maynard drew her characters well.  Each person is distinct and perfectly characterized.  The setting is New Hampshire and Boston.  The farmhouse, itself, is a character.  This house was really created by Eleanor, the main character.  Her stamp is on it, even when she gives it to her "ex".  The story even ends with the farmhouse.  It sounds like a place you would have liked to grow up in. In fact, Eleanor is the mother you wish you had, or were yourself. She really was a wonderful mother and a good wife until tragedy struck the family.  Then the plot twists, taking your heart with it because it twists all the characters.  

But life goes on.  Children grow up.  Love comes and goes and comes and goes.  After all, this is real life, not a story.  Oh, wait...