Keep Practicing

 Over the years, I read James Carroll's articles and have admired his skill in wordsmithing.  He is an excellent writer.  I've just finished reading his book, Practicing Catholic.  Again, he is skilled in conveying his thoughts, which if you agree with him, you like the book.  Otherwise...

Practicing Catholic is autobiographical.  Since James Carroll and I are about the same age, I enjoyed the reminiscing.  I didn't know the back stories about Cardinal Cushing and Father Feeney.  I didn't know about the feud between cardinals Cushing and Spellman. I didn't know anything about the religious order--the Paulines.  

However, what I did know was an opposite take.  Carroll is very harsh with Benedict XVI.  Carroll as a priest raised my eyebrows: no pews?  red carpets and cushions?  Was he operating a brothel?  

Was the Eucharist the center?

That's my criticism of James Carroll's take on the church.  All his criticisms are on exterior trappings and people.  These things come and go.  He will come and go, himself, I'm sure.

But the Eucharist is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  That's why I'm Catholic.  No bum priest is going to keep me away from the Eucharist.  No bad pope, or pastor, or any person, can stop me from loving Jesus. People are people, but God is divine.

Hagar

 Am I the only one who always felt compassion for Hagar, Sarah's slave?  She was Egyptian and a slave to a Hebrew woman.  She was really out of her element, never mind how Sarah treated her.  Not much is recorded how she was treated, except we know that Hagar ran away because of Sarah's treatment of her.  (Genesis 16: 6 )

Hagar was also given to Abraham to have intercourse until she became pregnant.  Do you wonder what Hagar thought about this?  Then when she becomes pregnant, Sarah mistreats her--that is why Hagar ran away.  No details as to what Hagar was saying or acting, which would cause Sarah to mistreat her.  But Hagar was pregnant!  Did Sarah have no concern about the baby, Sarah was carrying for her?

I haven't even mentioned that Sarah insisted on banishing Hagar, with her son, Ismael, forever!

Praise God.  He had other plans for Sarah.  When Hagar ran away, an angel appeared to her and told her God wanted her to go back to Sarah.  This is the first time in the Bible that an angel appears. (Genesis 16: 7-9) 

Note that God cares for Hagar.  God knows who she is.  God knows what happened to her.  Doesn't that give you hope?  (Genesis 16: 13)

Hagar was again saved by God when she was thrown out of Abraham's camp.  I can't even imagine how she felt.  This is heart wrenching (Genesis 21: 15-16)

If God cares and takes care of Hagar, then He will take care of us.

The Love of Christ

 

LECTIO:

2 Cor 5:14-17

Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.

STUDIUM:

Paul is talking about his ministry and how we should all think about ourselves and each other.  We aren't to think like the world thinks about people.  We are to think like Jesus, act like Him, and better, love like He does.

MEDITATIO:

Jesus died for us. We must accept this and thank Him by transforming ourselves to behave as Jesus would.  We are His disciples.

ORATIO;

Lord, help me see through Your eyes.  Help me not to judge by today's standards, but by love.

CONTEMPLATIO:

I wish to please You, Lord.

The Unnamed Woman

 One of my fellow Scribblers, is a minister in the AMC church.  Her name is Zenobia Silas-Carson. Every morning, she bubbles up "Good morning All! Hear my happy wind chimes and sweet summery breeze...yada yada yada."

Sigh.

What can I say.  I'm not a morning person.  But I enjoy her attitude and it helps me wake up.  One particular morning, she asked everyone who their favorite woman was, in the Bible.  She received the usual: Sarah, Rachel, Tamar, Deborah, Hannah, Ester, etc.  No one said my favorite woman. 

 Well, no wonder.  My favorite woman has no name, although she is in three Gospels.  I guarantee you, every Christian female, thinks of her, at least once every month. She is in Matthew 9: 20-22, Mark 5: 25-34, Luke 8: 43-48. Three out of four Gospels should tell you how important she is.

Her name is..., well no one knows, probably because she was suffering from Menorrhagia, which is abnormally long and heavy menstrual periods. I assure you that every girl who has every read Matthew 9: 20-22, Mark 5: 25-34, Luke 8: 43-48, instantly prays that Menorrhagia doesn't happen to her.  And guaranteed, every month, every female thinks of this unnamed woman, with the utmost empathy.  

It is no wonder, this poor woman has no name.  She was Jewish.  Blood in the traditional Jewish religion is considered polluted.  In fact, according to this ancient law, women who bleed, have to separate themselves from the rest of society, and go live in the Red Tent.  Here they take refuge during menstruation and births.  This poor woman must have lived there permanently.

If she left, she would have been called out, like a leper, "unclean, unclean!" 

Somehow she hears of this miracle worker, named Jesus.  

What has she got to lose?

She sneaks out and finds Jesus.  He is surrounded by a crowd.  That's a good thing, for her.  She won't stand out.  She doesn't want to face him and ask for healing.  What if He asks her what her illness is?  As soon as she said she constantly bled, people and probably Jesus, Himself, would be repulsed and pull away from her.  

So she comes up unnoticed, behind Jesus. She bends to just barely touch one of the tassels on His prayer shawl. Immediately, her body feels healed.  The bleeding has stopped.

Unfortunately, Jesus felt some power leave Him.  He asks, "Who touched me?"

"Oh no!" 

She probably wished the ground would swallow her up.  She didn't know what to do or say.  The crowd responded, "Are you kidding? The crowd is crushing us, how can we tell?"  

But the woman realized that Jesus would know anyway.  She should thank Him and acknowledge what she did, and so, "she came forward, trembling.  Falling down before Him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched Him and how she had been healed immediately."

A millisecond of silence was deafening.  Then Jesus, shook His head affirmingly and smiled.  He said, "Daughter, your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

Whew!  What a ride!  From the shame of rejection, to taking a chance, to holding onto hope, to an unthinking proaction of reaching out to barely touch a fringe of a prayer shawl, to being called out, to embarrassment, to finding the courage to own up to what you did, to acknowledgement of the deed, to acceptance, forgiveness, and finally peace.

Is it no wonder, I empathize with this woman?

Whatever her name is!

                                           Rev. Zenobia Silas-Carson

Kidnapped Protagonist

 Jordi's second book is out, A Lover's Passion by J. Albert Reus. This is Book 2: Martina Steward, of The Julian Bacardi Trilogy.

It's taking forever for Juli's laicization.  He's still a priest, only in name.  He's not giving sacraments or celebrating Mass.  He's a man who has been kidnapped by his former secretary, Isabel.  The first book ended with her arrest.  Here she walks in the beginning of the story.  It seems she's a government agent.  She's after the bad guys and needs Juli to help.  

The reader gets a lot of background on Isabel, Martina, Anna, and Sofia.  Juli's love is Sofia; he wants to marry her.  But Isabel's love is Juli and she works her womanly wiles to seduce him.  

The story is fast paced.  It is a thrilling page turner.  We travel from Spain to Italy. We find out that the bad guy is the Bishop.  (He would be a Borja.) Sofia tries to save Juli.  But in the end, ... to be continued.

Ugh!  Maddening!  We have to wait.

Dying to Live

 

I had a friend who once said that if he ever lived to be 80 years old, he was going to start drinking, drugging, and have unprotected sex.

Over time, I’ve lost contact with that friend.  I wonder if he made it to 80, never mind carrying through with his desires.

I have another friend who is in his 40’s and has been diagnosed with amyloidosis.  This is a life-threatening disease where his body is producing too much protein.  His philosophy is quite different.  He plans to live out the rest of his life, as if he were dying, which he truly is.

                He travels as much as he can afford.
                He’s writing a book.
                He’s making friends everywhere.
                He has forgiven everyone for whatever!  Life is too short to hold grudges.

                He’s learning to play new songs on his guitar.

Which philosophy will you choose to live in 2024? 

Do you know there’s a song, written by Tim Nichols and sung by Tim McGraw, entitled “Live Like You Were Dying?”  The lyrics say it best:

                *…when it sank in
                That this might really be the real end
                How’s it hit ya, when you get that kind of news
                Man what ya do

                And he says
                I went sky divin’
                I went Rocky Mountain climbin’
                I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu
                And I loved deeper
                And I spoke sweeter
                And I gave forgiveness I’ve been denying
                And he said someday I hope you get the chance
                to live like you were dyin’

It seems to me that my friend who is a 80 year old wanna-be, is very self-gratifying. He’ll be too drunk and drugged to enjoy anything.  “Living like I’m going to die”, is the better philosophy. And that’s my choice, I’m livin' deeper and sweeter, like I’m dying tomorrow.

Christianity as the Bridge

 At today's Mass, Father Chudy related his experience at an Interfaith meeting. He sat between an Imam and a Rabbi.  When people of good will get together, they can come to see agreement and shared problems.  They share ideas.  They can help each other.  

Everyone can benefit by meeting and talking.  Pope Francis is on to something with his "synodal way."  Think of the political polemics, our country is experiencing, currently.  

No Christian rests easy, when they realize what's happening.  Doesn't Jesus preach love your enemies?  There's Father Chudy trying to explain this "love your enemies" to two mentalities that tend to want "an eye for an eye."

Christianity is the bridge.  Christianity needs to call out the hate.  The light of Christ needs to be cast upon our discussions. Reconciliation is a sacrament, to Catholics.  But reconciliation is just what is needed. Differences are deep, but everyone wants a peaceful world.  We should focus on attaining the good. 

The Big Questions

 Where do we come from?                      Where are we going?

These questions have occupied mankind forever.  If you reflect on them, you will soon think about God.  What ever you would call the creator of all that you see, the intelligent designer, the master planner, etc.  How else would you explain everything?  

Just chance created everything, randomly?

Snowmen point to design (creation.com)

The Abyss

 

LECTIO:

Psalm

107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31

R. (1b) Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They who sailed the sea in ships,
    trading on the deep waters,
These saw the works of the LORD
    and his wonders in the abyss.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
His command raised up a storm wind
    which tossed its waves on high.
They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths;
    their hearts melted away in their plight.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They cried to the LORD in their distress;
    from their straits he rescued them,
He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze,
    and the billows of the sea were stilled.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They rejoiced that they were calmed,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his kindness
    and his wondrous deeds to the children of men.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.

STUDIUM:

These particular verses are addressed to those who are tossed about by storms.  Sometimes, we feel like we can't catch a break.  No matter what happens, God is there.  He is loving and kind to those in distressed.

MEDITATIO:

Sometimes the storms are personal and more often it's national politics, and international problems.  The world is a mess.  The prince of this world is having his hay day.  How much longer before You come, Lord.

ORATIO:

Lord, only You can calm this world's storms.  Bless us, Lord.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Come quickly, Lord.

ADDEDNUM: Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.

Blue Mystery

 This particular book, The Blue Corn Murders, by Nancy Pickard, was a choice forced by my library.  See the chart below.  I'm participating in the Franklin Public Library 2024 Reading Challenge.  This month's selection, June, is a book with a color in the title.  I looked over my bookcases and found this old book.  It really isn't all that old, copyright 1998, but the pages had yellowed, and the cover was torn, so it wasn't attractive.  I know; I know.  Don't judge a book by its cover.

Definitely, don't judge a book by its cover, because this book is a good read.  The author was inspired by the character created by author, Virginia Rich.  The character is Eugenia Potter, or Genia Potter.  Genia found some old pottery on her ranch and decided to take a vacation at an archeological dig.  She hoped to get a chance to ask about her pottery find.

There were others on the dig.  The staff, a cook, an archeologist, and the customers.  First one dies suspiciously.  Then another.  Surprise, all the teens disappear.  An uproar ensues.  Whodunit?

Evidently, Genia Potter is quite the detective.  There are other mysteries that she's part of.  Guess what I'm reading next.

The Power of Love

 Yesterday, I blogged about God's omnipotence The One True Faith: God's Omnipotence (theonetruefaith-faith.blogspot.com).  Everybody interprets that attribute as powerful might.  What if we're wrong?  Suppose God is omnipotent in love.  Wouldn't that explain the evil we see in our world?  We ask why God doesn't do something.  

He doesn't "fix" wrongs the way we would.  He accompanies us.  We're supposed to fix.  What about death?  We can't fix that.  But God is there through it all.  He doesn't leave us.  

Today, my "cloistered brothers" discussed "suffering."  We read an article in Suffering in the Christian Life, edited by Richard W. Miller.  Specifically, we focused on Elizabeth A. Dreyer's article, "Suffering in the Christian Life and Experience."  The suffering we talked about is emotional.  Think of the suffering of Judas and Peter, for betraying Jesus.  

Think of the suffering of people who have been fired.  Think of the humiliating emotions of people who have failed--lost their medical license, failed in teaching, been disbarred.  It's suffering.  How about mothers estranged from their children?  How about government agencies taking away your children because you're a bad mother?  

These are examples of suffering where God is with us.  

God's Omnipotence

 LECTIO:                                                                   Job 38: 1, 8-11

The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said:
   Who shut within doors the sea,
    when it burst forth from the womb;
   when I made the clouds its garment
   and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
  When I set limits for it
   and fastened the bar of its door,
   and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther,
   and here shall your proud waves be stilled.

STUDIUM:

These verses are part of a conversation between Job and God.  Job has been pondering the question, "Why am I suffering?"  These verses are only part of God's response.  It focuses on God's almighty nature, especially over water.  That's what we're asked to focus on here.  We know God's compassion and justice, but these verses aren't considering kindness and mercy.  Stay on topic.

MEDITATIO:

I get it, Lord.  You're the boss.  I am at Your mercy.  Job gets it, too.  Who are we, when we think of Your greatness?

ORATIO:

Lord, keep me humble, like Job.  Keep me content with whatever life throws at me.  Humility and trust in You, is what I pray for.

CONTEMPLATIO:

I understand I am only a little part of something greater.  Your plans are beyond me. Have mercy on me, O Lord.

                                                           Creator: chaiyapruek2520 | Credit: Getty Images