"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
“Life is not just a succession of events or experiences. It is a search for the true, the good, and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy”
– Pope Benedict XVI, “New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue, and Friendship”
I awoke this morning to discover two things.
The first thing was confirmation that Donald Trump is going to be the next President of the United States.
The second thing I found was my Facebook Newsfeed in a state of practical hysteria.
To lay my cards on the table, while I have not supported Hillary Clinton, I have also not been much of a fan of Donald Trump either. I was more than a little suspicious of his claim to being pro-life and, like many people, I was rather disturbed by some of the words which came out of his mouth on a range of subjects.
But what can I say? That’s democracy! Whether you like it or not, the American people have spoken and, despite the many celebrity endourcements of Hillary Clinton, the American people have chosen Donald Trump.
It’ll be a little while until I start having substantial posts again, but in the meantime, here’s an exhortation from Pope Emeritus Benedict:
I’m a Pope Benedict XVI fan. I wasn’t always. In fact, I was dead set against Cardinal Ratzinger becoming Pope. However, when I started to read the writings of the man I discovered a loving, shy academic who never wanted to be Pope.
There’s a lot I love about Pope Francis too, not least of which is his connection to the Eastern Church. However, I have to admit I get really irritated when I hear Pope Benedict negatively contrasted to his successor. Pope Francis is an extrovert, Benedict is not, so it’s inevitable that their styles will be different. However, where it counts…
Yesterday was the feast day of one of my favourite Early Church Fathers, St. John Chrysostom . I’ve said for a while now that I’ve wanted to work to produce something which introduces Pope St. John-Paul II’s “Theology Of The Body” using the writings of St. John Chrysostom, to use this revered eastern father as a gateway for Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians who haven’t really been exposed to the Catholic Church’s former pontiff’s magnum opus.
Below is a short video from the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology which speaks a little bit about St. John Chrysostom’s beautiful theology surrounding marriage:
I’ve mentioned before about being rather mystified about how people talk contrast Pope Francis with Pope Benedict as though Pope Francis is doing something utterly different from his predecessors…
