Tag: featured

Group Pilgrimage

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I thought I would do a follow-up to yesterday’s post about friendship…

Since the earliest times, as pilgrims traveled towards some holy site, they would travel together in groups. They would band together for support, encouragement and safety as they journeyed towards their pilgrimage destination. Likewise, in our pilgrimage towards Heaven, good friends along the way can offer us all kinds of support.

Given my personality type, I benefit greatly from time by myself, but in recent years I’ve come to understand how much I need friends. Good, virtuous friends support and encourage, but also tell us the cold, hard truth about ourselves when we really need it.

A while ago I was praying The Office of Readings and read about the beautiful friendship between St. Basil and St. Gregory of Nazianzen. These were two of the three “Cappadocian Fathers” who were Early Church Fathers in Fourth Century Turkey. On Wednesday, in the Eastern calendar, it will be their feast day, the “Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs“, I thought I’d share an extract from one of Gregory’s sermons where he describes his relationship with Basil.

the-three-holy-hierarchs

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Qur’an Cover-to-Cover: Day 25 (“Luqman” and “Sheba”)

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wise

It’s another long one today, one hundred and eighty-two verses.

Surah 31 – “Luqman” (Luqman)
The opening is fairly standard stuff…

  • Muhammad is told to warn those who lead other away from the Qur’an and Allah
  • “…those who believe and do righteous deeds  – for them are the Gardens of Pleasure”
  • Allah’s work of creation is extolled.

The title of this chapter refers to a person, “Luqman, the Wise”, an Abyssinian or Nubian slave who lived around Madyan, who was known to pre-Islamic Arabs. Muhammad is told to remind the people of when Luqman told his son “do not associate [anything] with Allah”. There then follow two ayat which comment on the two subjects raised here: care of parents and shirk. We then return to Luqman. He tells his son that Allah reveals all wrongdoings. He exhorts him to prayer, right action, patience and humility.

We turn to the subject of unbelievers, who chose to reject prophets who come with revelation and instead to follow the religious practices of their ancestors.

Muhammad is told to “not let…disbelief [of others] grieve you” since they will ultimately return to Allah: “We grant them enjoyment for a little; then We will force them to a massive punishment”. This seems rather vindictive.

The chapter ends by emphasizing that man doesn’t know the future, but Allah is all-knowing (“[Allah] knows what is in the wombs”).

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Restless Heart: 4 – “Is there life before marriage?” (Part I)

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Bridget

This past week, I gave at talk to the Goretti Group entitled “Is there life before marriage?” In today’s episode, Nessa and talk about some of the issues I raised in that talk. Do some people derive their self-worth from their Facebook “Relationship Status”? What are some common misunderstandings concerning marriage? We then look at the subject friendships, the first area which I suggest deserves careful investment during your single years.

Episode 4: Is there life before marriage? (Download)

 

— Show Notes —

* If you would like to listen to my original talk I gave to the Goretti Group, it is available here.

* The Bible passage I quote at the end of the episode is this section from Sirach:

Let your acquaintances be many, but one in a thousand your confidant.
When you gain a friend, first test him, and be not too ready to trust him.
For one sort is a friend when it suits him, but he will not be with you in time of distress.
…
A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself.

– Sirach 6:6-17

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Why stop now?

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For the last six weeks Catholics have been abstaining from meat on Fridays as part of their Lenten observance. Lent is over!…Easter is here!…does that mean that we can stop now?

In centuries past

Christians have historically done penance on Fridays to remember our Lord’s Passion, as well as on Wednesdays to recall Judas’ betrayal:

…fast on [Wednesday] and [Friday] – The Didache (1st Century), Chapter 8

What about now?

There has been some confusion over this subject in recent years, but Canon Law states:

The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent – Canon 1250

So, it’s clear that every Friday is a penitential day. But what kind of penance is required?

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A Little thought: Dangers of being literalistic…

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For the last few weeks, for one reason or another, I haven’t been able to attend the Divine Liturgy at my parish, meaning that I’ve had to go to a Roman Mass instead. The Readings for the last couple of weeks in the Roman Lectionary have been rather interesting. Over the next couple of days I wanted to share a few extremely brief thoughts…

The First Reading on 27th July caught my attention. We heard of Solomon’s encounter with the Lord, and God’s gift to him of divine wisdom. At the end of the passage, God says to Solomon the following:

“I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.” – 1 Kings 3:12

It struck me that this is a perfect example as to why we have to be careful when we interpret the Bible. If we were to take this passage literalistically*, we would have to conclude that Solomon is absolutely, categorically, the wisest man ever. However, from the Christian point of view, that’s not true, is it? What about Jesus? Wasn’t Jesus wiser than Solomon?

“Well, obviously, Jesus is the exception!” some might say. Now, that’s true, but it does at least demonstrate the point that words like “never” and phrases like “no one” aren’t always quite as absolute as they may first appear.

Prophet-Solomon1

* This is in contrast to interpreting a passage literally, which is where we look to the meaning intended by the Author. The phrase “It’s raining cats and dogs”, when literally interpreted, means that it’s raining heavily. To interpret “It’s raining cats and dogs” literalistically means that family pets are falling form the sky.

Qur’an Cover-to-Cover: Day 12 (“Ta-ha”)

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golden-calf

Today’s chapter of the Qur’an focuses on the life of Moses…

Surah 20 – “Ta-ha” (Taha)
We start with the origin story of Moses, starting with the Burning Bush. Unlike the Biblical account, Moses has his family with him at the time he encounters the bush. Allah calls to Moses and tells him to worship Him alone, to “establish prayer” and then warns him of Judgement Day. Allah instructs Moses in transforming his staff and hand, then tells him he’s going to go to Pharaoh who “has transgressed [i.e. tyrannized]”. Moses asks Allah to “untie the knot from my tongue” and to grant his brother Aaron as a minister. Allah grants his request.

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Sunday Lectionary: Are you listening to the words coming out of my mouth?

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Once again, in the spirit of regaining more of my free time to engage in other projects, these notes will be fairly terse and to the point…

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: August 19th, 2012

The Readings this week continue on a similar trajectory to those of recent weeks. In Proverbs we hear how Lady Wisdom has “dressed her meat [and] mixed her wine” and sent out an invitation to all to come eat and drink at her table. In our Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist invites us once again to “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord”.  St. Paul continues his moral exhortation to the Ephesians in the Second Reading , commending them to be “filled with the Spirit” rather than wine. Finally, in our Gospel extract, the Lord again affirms that He is “the living bread that came down from heaven” and He promises that “whoever eats this bread will live forever”.

Benedict Eucharist

For the last few weeks the Readings have all been about food and drink. Are you hungry yet? Are you spiritually salivating? Are you hungry for holiness? Do you long for the flesh of Christ?

I have no delight in corruptible food, nor in the pleasures of this life. I desire the Bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was of the seed of David; and I desire the drink of God, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life. – St. Ignatius to the Romans, Chapter 7

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