There be dragons
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed”
– G. K. Chesterton
Month: July 2012
“Restless Heart” Movie
The life of St. Augustine is being turned into a movie! They’d better not mess this up…
Sunday Lectionary: Travelling Light
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: July 15th, 2012
In our Lectionary this week we learn about the calling of the Prophet Amos, a regular blue-collar worker who was called by God to be a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, away from his home in the Kingdom of Judah.
The notion of a “calling” is also found in our Second Reading. St. Paul says “In [Christ] we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things”. In our baptism we too have been chosen and sent out as prophets into the world, to preach a life-giving message which is so often received with nothing but hostility.
Finally, in our Gospel Reading, Jesus sends out His Twelve Apostles to preach and to heal, to advance the Kingdom of Heaven.
A man of prayer is capable of everything. Hence it is very important that missioners dedicate themselves to this practice with great affection, because without it they will accomplish little or nothing, whereas through it, more than by letters or persuasive speech, they will be capable of touching hearts and winning souls to their Creator. -St. Vincent de Paul
Our Lord instructs the Apostles to “travel light”, taking only the simplest of supplies and to trust in the providence of God. Good advice for us all…
Dealing with thorns
In the Second Reading at Mass this weekend we had my favourite passage from Paul:
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
The question of suffering is one that everyone has to struggle with at some point. For a good treatment on the subject I would invite you to head over to Canterbury Tales to read Taylor’s article Why do we suffer? The theological answer of St. Paul:
Nearly every religion seeks to make sense of the problem of pain. If God is both omnibenificent {all-loving} and omnipotent {all-powerful}, why then does He allow us to suffer?
The Eastern traditions such as Buddhism dismiss pain and suffering as “unreal.” This solution is difficult to explain to a child with cancer.
Other religious traditions attempt to accrue “good karma” in order to ensure that good times will come with a future reincarnated life. For these traditions, the origin of suffering is past sins, even sins committed in previous lives.
Still other religions, such as Islam, seem to place the origin of suffering in the capricious “will of Allah.”
The Catholic Faith offers an entirely different account of suffering… Continue Reading
Are you saved?
The most common question I’ve heard from non-Catholics is probably “Are you saved?”
The majority of Protestants view salvation as a one-time event when they accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour which guarantees them entry into Heaven. This is not the Catholic conception of Salvation. Here’s the Catholic answer to that question:
Thanks to All You Can Eat Catholics for this
Time Out
Last week my friend Anh at Mod31 posted an article entitled Doing Nothing and True Silence. It really resonated in me:
“Really, who has time to waste these days, in the hustle and bustle of work, projects, and various activities? In fact, I don’t think I know how to NOT multi-task anymore. At work I tend to have 5-10 windows and who knows how many tabs are open simultaneously, allowing me to jump from one task to the next, with a quick Facebook breather in between. I work through my lunches, text coworkers my latte order while driving…, call my friends and family while walking from one place to another, mentally going over my weekly schedule while at the gym, and omigosh when can I squeeze in that much needed haircut? You get the idea. Instead of being present at one event, I am already planning my next hour/day’s activities. Heck, I’m reading three different books right now and am not more than halfway through each one”
This describes me to an absolute tee! Recently Anh has been trying to change her behaviour:
“I’ve been trying to set aside a couple of hours every now and then to be truly alone and to just be present. I mean turning my phone off to go for a walk around my neighborhood, enjoying the Farmer’s Market, making a Holy Hour (time set out solely for prayer), and allowing myself to reflect on various aspects of my life, without the anxiousness of feeling lonely or as though precious time is being wasted“
On my way back from work earlier this week, inspired by her example, I pulled off the freeway by Mission Bay and took a long walk:
It’s quite crazy that I’ve lived in San Diego for over two years and have driven past Mission Bay every day…and this is the first time I’ve stopped off on my way home to simply drink in the view.
Winning
