Doubt

 It always bothered me that when John the Baptist was in prison, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He were the Messiah.

Doesn't John know?  Whom did he think he was baptizing?

Then it occurred to me; he had doubts.  John is in prison.  Lots of time to think in prison.  John was all "fire and brimstone."  Wouldn't the Messiah also be full of fire, in order to overthrow the Romans?  But Jesus wasn't like that.  He was gentle and preached love.

Jesus wasn't what John was expecting.  Maybe Jesus was just a prophet, an up-an-coming rabbi, or as they say in today's lingo--a popular influencer.

Jesus isn't those things.  He gave the blind sight, the lame walking ability, lepers were cleansed, the deaf had hearing, and He even raised the dead.  Don't doubt John.

Wikimedia Commons

Conversing

 Remember a few posts ago, my "cloistered brother," Gordon, asked a question that has been on my mind, ever since.  "When you pray, what do you expect to happen?"

Today, I realized that prayer is a conversation between God and myself, which means that I don't expect anything to happen, no more than I would expect something to happen in any conversation.

What a dummy I am!  Most of the time, I'm not asking God for anything.  I am talking (praying) to Him.

Words that Function Performatively

 When a cop says, "You're under arrest."  You are indeed, under arrest.

When the umpire says, "You're out."  There's no use arguing, you're out.

These are indeed examples of words that mean what they say.  There are verbal expressions that definitely mean what they say.

Wouldn't that be even more so when Jesus Christ utters words?  

In Genesis we hear that creation occurred through divine speech, "God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light...God said, 'Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it happened.  

God is not describing, His words are performing.  This is the case with Jesus. "And the Word became flesh and lived among us."  John 1: 14  Think of Jesus' healings.  He speaks and the cure happens.  Again and again, Jesus' words are shown to be efficacious in producing what they pronounce.

The night before He died, Jesus performed His most important words, "Take, eat; this is my body...drink...for this is my blood..." Matt 26: 26-28  Jesus words are producing what they pronounce.

Thoughts While Walking in the Cold

 Twenty degrees below freezing is just a number until you are walking in it.  I should say trudging through it.

My labored breathing roars forth clouds of vapor.  My forehead aches because the wind is meanspirited.  I'd tell the wind to quit, but the teeth in my mouth are so cold they hurt.

My boots stamp out a petulant response.  I clap my mittened hands for winter's performance of brutal strength and also beauty.

Beauty?

Yes, beauty because my eyes aren't frozen shut.  I can see the diamond glitter sparkling on the branches and tips of grass. And the sun flashes sharp stabs of color in shapes through the trees, in the woods.  Rays of light, here and there, are accompanied by sound or I dare to say music, for the grass crunches when I step and the ice in the puddles crash like cymbals, in this winter orchestra of cold.

Not an orchestra, like in symphony hall.  Rather more like a marching band in the parade of winter.  It's showing off all its delights in a performance of twenty degrees below freezing.

The Effects of Prayer

 Thinking of yesterday's blog post regarding expectations when we pray, I read this quote, this morning, by St. Peter of Alcantara.

          In prayer the soul is purified from sin, charity is nurtured,
          faith takes root, hope is strengthened, the spirit gladdened.
          In prayer the soul melts into tenderness, the heart is puri-
          fied, the truth reveals itself, temptation is overcome, sad-
          ness is put to flight.  In prayer, the senses are renewed,
          lukewarmness vanishes, failing virtue it reinvigorated,
          the rust of vices is scoured away; and in the exchange,
          there come forth living sparks, blazing desires of
          heaven, in which the flame of divine love burns.

This satisfies me, but I don't think Gordon will accept this explanation.

Expectations

 The "cloistered brothers" are reading Simone Weil's Waiting for God. A discussion arose on prayer.  Gordon, does believe in God, but not prayer.  He figures that God is all knowing, so He knows what is going to happen, so what's the use of prayer.  He challenged the group with the question, "So what do you expect to happen?"  

This question has been bouncing back and forth, inside my head.  What do I expect to happen when I pray?  Today is two days removed from the question, and I've come to the conclusion that what I expect and what I hope are two different answers.

I hope that God will do what I want.  I expect that I will understand what God is doing.  I expect that my prayer will give me wisdom and understanding and patience to see God's plans.

I also expect that more understanding will come, in time.  I also expect that I will have an answer for Gordon, that will satisfy him.

An Eschatological Reality

 

Lectio:                                  Isaiah 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
In days to come,
the mountain of the LORD's house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
"Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths."
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
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.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

STUDIUM:

Isaiah wrote this during the Babylonian Exile, 586 BC-539 BC.  Jerusalem was destroyed and Isaiah calling the people back, was confusing.  To what?  Rubble?  But Isaiah was talking about the days to come.  The Lord promised to provide. He always does, even now.  Israel will come to know that Jerusalem will become great, again.  It will be an example to all people to walk in God's promises, until the end of time.

MEDITATIO:

Reading about the devastation of Jerusalem, my mind pictures Gaza and Ukraine--countries that currently have been destroyed. These verses promise restoration.  There's a catch: the people must strive to do God's will.  
       So?  Weren't they doing God's will before the war?  Isaiah's Jerusalem is not today's Israel.  Isaiah is speaking generally, for all time.  Disasters come and go but we must trust in God.

ORATIO:

Lord, I hope in this prophesy.  You turn bad into good.  May these wars and bad things end and good come forth.

CONTEMPLATIO:

The world and its problem will pass.  God is forever.

My Emmaus Journey

 Not that I completely grasp why God the Father allowed His Son to die such a horrific death, but I am starting to get a handle on why. Firstly, I recognize that my twenty-first century sensibilities are far removed from earlier centuries—-beginnings of mankind. I also know that when I want to visit someone I always bring a gift. How and why we do this is unknown but it’s natural and customary. 

Probably early man wanted to visit/communicate with God, or his gods, he would offer a gift. In times of dire need, ei, volcanic eruption, man would need to offer something very valuable.  Throwing a child in the volcano became acceptable. 

Barbaric to us in the twenty-first century, but is it?  God asked Abraham to kill his son, Isaac. Jonah was thrown in the sea to satisfy the storm gods.

Then there’s Jesus.

!!!!

Is that why one of His titles is Lamb of God?

Sacred Words

 This is My Body by Bishop Robert Barron mentions Ita Missa Est as an apostolic commission.  Ita Missa Est is Latin for Go the Mass is ended.  Children and new Catholics always giggle at this, thinking we are being kicked out.  Au contraire, re-think.  We Catholics believe that our church is the church Jesus commissioned.  He told Peter that He would build a church upon him.  Catholics believe that is us.  So, we are worshipping as Jesus intended.  Hence, we are carrying on the work of the Apostles.

Hence, when the priest sends us out to carry on what we have heard, seen, and tasted, at Mass, we are to go out and tell everyone the Good News about Jesus.  We, the people are being sent out, as Jesus sent out His Apostles.

If you meditate on "Go the Mass is ended," you should come to the conclusion that these words are as important as the words "Take this and eat of it, for this is My Body...this is My Blood."

St. Stephen Memorialized

Since I am reading this on a radio show, which will be aired next month, in December, I looked over different December themes.  Naturally, Christmas themes prevailed.  However, what caught my eye was the Grateful Dead's song St. Stephen.

https://youtu.be/niUWikozXYo?si=AwBxVe8K73sH2OOw 

St. Stephen's feast day is December 26, which is why it was listed as a Christmas song.  St. Stephen is honored as the first Christian martyr.  After Jesus was killed, His followers continued His preaching.  St. Stephen was a follower of Jesus, and he was not too prudent regarding his audience's receptivity to his message.  Telling an audience of Jews, that they killed their Messiah, was not received well.  That was not wise.  Consequently, Stephen was stoned to death--hence he is considered the first Christian martyr.  Before he died, as he was being stoned, he is known to have said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

See.  This is why he is remembered as the first Christian martyr.  Now one way to cement a person and event in people's minds and hearts, is to put the event in a song; the Grateful Dead's St. Stephen, is an example.  Although Robert Hunter's lyrics don't explicitly explain who St. Stephen was, the listener does understand that St. Stephen was a visionary who faced persecution.

Googling who and why St. Stephen was considered under Christmas themes, I learned who he was and why he has a feast day.  Martyrdom has a way of being noted as going above and beyond one's job. And the Grateful Dead's song wasn't the only song memorializing St. Stephen.  The nineteenth century has two more songs.

There is the hymn, St. Stephen was a Holy Man.

Read lyrics.

          https://youtu.be/Sqy2Mau1vTQ?si=F1YWHnuA2-lSQvj8  

The other song isn't about St. Stephen but rather a Bohemian King who was assassinated--think how Stephen died. The lyrics tell the story.  In fact, I remember this song and as a child and we sang it as a Christmas Carol.

Read lyrics.

https://youtu.be/uB6WWulhCVs?si=X24LisV9d2uc_8Oo   

Merry Christmas and have a good St. Stephen's Day.

The 51st State

 Louise Penny's latest novel, The Black Wolf is a thriller.  It is exciting.  It's a spy story.  Inspector Gamache frequently travels home to Three Pines, to recharge, and that's nice.  But the story takes place between the governments of Canada and the US.

It's uncanny how prescient Louise Penny is.  She wrote this novel before 2025, and the story line revolves around current problems.  We just had a humongous fire in Canada that affected the US.  Also, for years, there has been a water problem.  Rivers are drying up and municipalities have been conserving water in the summer, for years.

The plot is to cause tragedy to strike, to cause panic, to use social media to affect people's minds to turn to blame the other country.  Since the US needs water and Canada has an abundance, why not make it our 51st state?  The Canadian fires are sending ash and other pollutants over the border--are they doing it on purpose?

My criticism is there are too many twists, and bad guys, and all too convenient Deus Machina.  It's too, too much and too many.  I found it hard to follow the bad guys.  I also found it hard to believe how the characters were rescued--again and again, at the last moment.

But hey, it's a story, right?  It's a good story.

Nghia Vy's Deportation

 Nghia Vy is a former "cloistered brother" and has been free for 17 years.  During that time, he went to school to be a dog groomer and also worked for Sister Ruth in the Hope Chest.  That is, until he got a letter from ICE.  The following poem speaks what happened.

Nghia Vy's Deportation

Time stays the same

       as usual--always.

Nghia helping customers

       find their treasures

Nghia who trained our dogs

       to sit and stay.

Nghia who prayed rosaries

      for all--far and near

Nghia who said "blessed,"

      instead of "happy"

Nghia who spread love,

     not hate and fear.

Nghia who paid taxes

     and obeyed laws.

Then came the letter from ICE

    to appear for a hearing.

Fear took over our thoughts

    suddenly--abruptly.

Passed from state to state,

     from prison to prison.

Nghia was stolen away.

     Unfair!  A good man!

Guantanamo, Panama, Yemen:

     deportation somewhere.

Vietnam the final destination.

     Due process be damned!

Last week we learned

     Nghia is dead.

John Lateran

 November 9th in the Catholic Church is the feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica.  This is celebrated as an important feast because it is the first basilica in Rome.  A basilica is a church that is built to hold the most people, as opposed to chapel, shrine, church, cathedral and then basilica.  

Who is John Lateran?  The land the basilica is on, once had the Laterani family's palace there.  I think it is nice that the family's name is carried on.

Why John?  The answer is not one John, but two.  The name refers to John the Baptist and John the Gospel writer.

That's why the church considers the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica worthy to be celebrated.

Dirty Laundry

 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan is a Christmas story set in Ireland, in the 1990's.  The story revolves around Bill Furlong.  The reader learns about his upbringing, which made him the good man he is revealed to be, in the end.

He owns a business delivering fuel.  In the process of his work, he delivers to a convent, which concerns him.  This convent takes in unwed mothers and by the look of the mothers, they aren't treated very well.  This is the story of the Magdalene Laundries.  

Bill finds a girl hiding and brings her home with him.  That's the end of the story.  It is fiction but I would have liked to know how Bill's family accepted the girl.  What became of her?

Remembering a Failure

 Back when I was teaching Sunday school to teens, I planned a lesson on saints.  The class was at 7:00 pm.  My plan was to take the class over to the church and explain each of the stained glass windows.  I thought it important that people should know their own parish church.

Arrangements were made, e.g., doors unlocked, lights on, etc. I even requested parents to come to help guide the students across the busy intersection, getting to the church.
           Picture this:
                   The entire class, plus chaperones, entering the church
                    We all gather in the middle of the aisle
                   We look around us towards the tall windows
          What do we see?
                   Pitch black, unlit, darkness!!! :-( 
                   Stained glass windows only show up in sunlight!!
This through me for a loop.  There went 99% of my lesson plan.  Thank God, I remembered this.  Now, that I am preparing to bring my OCIA class for a tour of the church, I won't spend much time on the windows. There are many other features in our beautiful church to talk about--tabernacle, sanctuary, candles, fonts, pictures, etc.  

Satan is known as a destroyer, destructor--just a wicked, miserable creature.

Our Lady of Succour

 Start praying for the victims of hurricaine Melissa.   https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/hurricane-melissa-jamaica-haiti-cuba-dominican-republic-caribbean-atlantic#google_vignette

Our Lady of Prompt Succor,
ever Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and God,
you are most powerful against the enemy of our salvation. The divine promise of a Redeemer was announced right after the sin of our first parents; and you, through your Divine Son, crushed the serpent’s head.

Hasten, then, to our help and deliver us from the deceits of Satan. Intercede for us with Jesus that we may always accept God’s graces and be found faithful to Him in our particular states of life.

As you once saved our beloved city from ravaging flames and our country from an invading army, have pity on us and obtain for us protection from hurricanes and all other disasters.

(Silent pause for individual petitions.)

Assist us in the many trials which beset our path through life. Watch over the Church and the Pope as they uphold with total fidelity the purity of faith and morals against unremitting opposition.

Be to us truly Our Lady of Prompt Succor now and especially at the hour of our death, that we may gain everlasting life through the merits of Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us!

Amen.

BFsF

 It was a time of giggles--high school, hip huggers, bell bottoms, saddle shoes, hair flipped, and getting drivers' licenses.  Once you turned 16, the day you got your driver's license, you went and picked up your friends to go for a ride, usually to the beach.

Not so today.  Drivers under 18, can't drive without an adult.  Boo Hoo!  That takes all the fun out of it.  You can't drive your own car to school--how humiliating!

Those were the good memories: cars filled with laughter, weekends with friends--hopes shared and dreams expressed, before high school graduation scattered us all.

How that all happened is more or less a blur.  Boyfriends, graduations, finances, new friends, jobs, marriages, baby showers, children...whew!  What happened?

I remember a class reunion, I think.  I remember Christmas cards with pictures and quick notes, to keep in touch.  Would we recognize each other if we met now?  I guess so, actually, I know so, thanks to Facebook.  We've reconnected.

Once we pass the lined faces, laugh wrinkles, grey and white hair, there you are, and you, and you... The gang's all here.

Really, just the same.  Maybe better than before.  The love and support are still there.  The sparkle in our eyes still blink out.  Blinking an invitation, "Let's go for a ride.  Let's go to the beach."

Litany for our Nation

 

Litany for America

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Christ hear us.	Christ graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven,	have mercy on us.
God, the Son, redeemer of the world,	have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit,	have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,	have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,	pray for us.
Holy Mary, Immaculate Conception,	pray for us.
Holy Mary, Patroness of the United States,	pray for us.
Holy Mary, Patroness of the Americas,	pray for us.
St. Isaac Jogues,	pray for us.
St. René Goupil,	pray for us.
St. Jean de Lalande,	pray for us.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha,	pray for us.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton,	pray for us.
St. Francis Cabrini,	pray for us
St. John Neumann,	pray for us
St. Rose-Philippine Duchense,	pray for us
St. Anne-Thérèse Guérin,	pray for us.
Father Damien,	pray for us.
St Katherine Mary Drexel,	pray for us.
St. Marianne Cope,	pray for us.
Fra Junipero Serra	, pray for us.
All you Saints and Blesseds of the United States,	pray for us.
Lord Jesus, You proclaimed Yourself the Truth,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From a false understanding of Christopher Columbus,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From the belief that the Catholic Church is anti-democratic,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From the belief that the United States was not founded on Christian principles,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From the belief that traditional Christians cannot be loyal citizens,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From the scourge of revisionist historians,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From the attack on religious freedom,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From violent anti-intellectualism,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From the attack on Western Civilization,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From the materialistic philosophy,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From heretical theologians,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From historical illiteracy,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From racism, real and imagined,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From cowardly Cardinals, Archbishops, & Bishops,	deliver us, Oh God of Truth.
From the human sacrifice of the unborn,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From the human sacrifice of the newly born,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From the human sacrifice of the feeble,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From the human sacrifice of the sick and elderly,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From sexual immorality and child trafficking,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From heterodox Catholic politicians,	deliver us, O God of Truth.
From corrupt politicians,	deliver us, O God of Truth.

 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus, the God who is Truth.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. 

Jesus, You came to bring deliverance to the captive.	Deliver us, O Lord.
From our national demonic infestation,	deliver us, O Lord.
From spirits of victimhood,	deliver us, O Lord.
From spirits of socialism,	deliver us, O Lord.
From spirits of violence,	deliver us, O Lord.
From spirits of anarchy,	deliver us, O Lord.
From spirits of atheism,	deliver us, O Lord.
From spirits of irreligion,	deliver us, O Lord.
From spirits of impurity,	deliver us, O Lord.
From spirits of Radical Islam,	deliver us, O Lord
From all spirits who would personally torment us,	deliver us, O Lord.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus, our Deliverer.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. 

 

Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,	spare us O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,	graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,	have mercy on us.

Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Christ hear us.

Christ graciously hear us.

 

St. Michael, the Archangel….

Our Father . . . .
Hail Mary . . . .

 

Copyright 2020 Mr Louis Pizzuti, OP
All rights reserved
This may be freely copied, along with this notice.
Not to be sold.

They're Listening.

                    Facebook image from Toni Vercillo & Dennis Sr Vercillo.

This is too close to the truth.  Here's the situation.  I'm sitting with a 94 year-old friend for lunch.  She bemoaned, "I came here for a flu vaccine, but I guess they aren't doing that."

      Well, flu vaccines were being offered 9-1.  I told her to leave her lunch and let's go upstairs, where the vaccines were being given.  

       Once upstairs, she didn't know for sure which vaccines she needed, she didn't know her insurance company, never mind the policy number.

        I called her daughter and received the information she needed.  Immediately, after that call, I started getting advertising for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

        Note I wasn't browsing for information.  I made a cell phone call.

He Deserved It

 Today at lunch, we at the table, were telling "war" stories, about elementary school.  One particularly bad boy, (he's matured, greatly) told the following.

"Sister was giving us a test.  She had to leave the room and told us she would be back.  His friend saw that the Teacher's Edition was on the teacher's desk.  He and his friend got up and took it back to their desks.  They found their test with the answers.  They wrote down the answers.  One of the answers stated, 'answers will vary.'  He didn't know what the word 'vary,' meant so he wrote the entire sentence, i.e., answers will vary.

Of course, Sister knew what happened.  He was sent to the principal, and his mother was called.  

This same Sister taught religion.  She happened to mention that Jesus died for us.  He blurted out, 'He deserved it.' Sister marched down to his desk and slapped his face!

And his mother was called."

Reading the Bible

 Where do I start?  To start at the beginning is too intimidating--all those books and thousands of pages!

You can't just start reading. Well, of course you can--but you can't do it by approaching the Bible as a narrative story, because it's a lot more than that. You have to approach with an open heart, first.  Even if you are starting to read on your own, or in a group, you need dedicated time, second.  Time to reflect, pray, and journal your journey.

Here is a workbook that will help.  All 73 books are summarized.  When my eyes glazed over in Leviticus, I looked at the Workbook's summary and the reflection questions and suddenly Leviticus was more understandable.  Sometimes I drew pictures and even charted genealogy charts in the spaces at the end of each book.

I also liked the short prayers at the close.  They kick started my own prayer or used the words I would have used.  This is a good beginner's tool.

Our Memorial

 Hubby and I are trying to make it easier for our loved ones, when we die. We are thinking of how to make the bereavement process easier for them.  We are trying to take away the stress, uncertainty, unknown, questions, and family, finance, and decisions, alleviated--at least, as much as we can.

Many years ago, we wrote a will.  Two years ago, we bought a cemetery plot. Last year, we had this engraved memorial stone made.  It depicts one of our favorite memories.  The lighthouse is Nobska Light in Woods Hole, MA.  For over twenty years, we had a sailboat (22 ft. red hull, O'Day).  We loved that boat. To include our favorite memories, we have Hubby and I sitting on a bench, on Nobska Beach, looking at a sailboat.

I love this.  Dare I say, I can't wait to die.