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| Photo from Stuart Broad, Magic Bowler pic.twitter.com/WKVJKAI2P1 |
Monday, 12 August 2013
It's about time....
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dumbing-down-fears-lead-to-ban-on-eulogies-29491151.html
Years ago, and I mean years, my home diocese made it clear that eulogies, which was an abuse in the NO funeral service, were not to be done.
Eulogies do not belong at funeral Masses, nor do shrines to the dead at the altar, as I have seen in Canada. The funeral Mass is for committing the body and the soul to God and for reflections on death and purgatory, as well as the Resurrection from the dead.
I am glad this is finally being addressed here.
Many Catholics sanctify their dead instead of realizing they must pray for them.
How many souls are left in purgatory for this lack?
Years ago, and I mean years, my home diocese made it clear that eulogies, which was an abuse in the NO funeral service, were not to be done.
Eulogies do not belong at funeral Masses, nor do shrines to the dead at the altar, as I have seen in Canada. The funeral Mass is for committing the body and the soul to God and for reflections on death and purgatory, as well as the Resurrection from the dead.
I am glad this is finally being addressed here.
Many Catholics sanctify their dead instead of realizing they must pray for them.
How many souls are left in purgatory for this lack?
On Sainthood, Again
Some on blogs do not understand what it means to be a saint or canonized as a saint. This confusion has come about because of false preaching, which I have heard many, many times from the pulpit both in America and in England. Too many priests refer to the members congregations as saints. Not only does this cause confusion, but stops people from pursuing real holiness, which is a hard road and takes both grace and persistence. To call people saints like this is dangerous.
It is simply not true that we are saints. I have heard priests and laity wishing each other happy feast day on November First.
This is not only silly, but wrong.
We are the Church Militant.
To be a saint, one must be in the unitive state before death. This means that one has been purged of sin and the tendencies of sin, one rarely sins, and is living the life of virtues. This means that one has gone through the purification of the senses and spirit. Some young saints were spared from sin and needed little if any purification. Some saints were purified quickly and some over long periods of time.
To be a saint, one must be in union with God constantly, not necessarily with mystic experiences, which do happen to some, but in the closeness of love, sharing that love with others.
The life of the virtues would be habitual to the saint.
Saints skip purgatory because they have allowed God to lead them through purgatory on earth.
Look at the chart again by Garrigou-Lagrange for clarification if you are still having trouble with this.
Are their saints walking around on earth? Yes, but you may only meet one or two in your lifetime. Or, you may not know of them as they are hidden.
A priest gave a talk that he met a saint in a hospital. A Catholic woman was dying and the peace and love in the room where she was could be felt by all. She was an ordinary widow. But, she was in union with God. This priest said he could hardly wait to bring her Communion, as it was such an experience for him to be in her presence.
To reach this state of holiness involves cooperating and even asking for grace.
As I have mentioned so many times, one must first of all be orthodox. The Church cannot canonize protestants as they are living in heresy. Can some go straight to heaven? I do not know that, but this would mean that a person has suffered through some particular grace and would desire to become a Catholic even though they could not for some reason. All souls in heaven are Catholic, as they have seen and perhaps suffered for their lack of orthodoxy, which is sin. Only the perfect are in heaven.
I personally have known two saints for sure. One is my sister who died at one in innocence and stands before the throne of God with all the baptised, innocent ones, who shine like pearls in heaven.
The second is a woman I knew who died suddenly. I have written about her on this blog. Her stubborn and recalcitrant husband who refused to become a Catholic did so the day before her funeral and made his First Holy Communion at her funeral. She died early on Wednesday morning, and her husband converted on Thursday, and her funeral was on the Friday.
However, several of us know she is in heaven, but we also know that after she died she did not go straight to heaven This fact was revealed to two women independently who knew her, but who lived many miles apart. These two women knew they were called to pray for her soul for 24 hours. She was in purgatory for 24 hours for one sin, which some people would not think is a sin. So, she was not in the unitive state before she died, but very quickly entered heaven, and her life-long prayers for her husband were answered. All who knew her when she was alive saw that she transcended suffering to intercede for her husband before the throne of God, and the proof was in his immediate conversion. She was a quiet, humble person, unnoticed by the world. She was a stay-at-home mom until her children were grown-up, and she home schooled for awhile. Her life as a wife was difficult. She had no major illnesses, and died of a sudden brain haemorrhage. I pray to her. This is a mystery of grace, and those who went to her funeral, which I could not, as I was in Europe, sensed the holiness of the moment; a husband who for 25 years refused Catholicity, peacefully receiving Christ for the first time next to the coffin of his wife.
I have met some people on the road to saintliness, some in the Illuminative State. Some are very young people. One can see the fruit in their lives and one can listen to how they speak of Jesus Christ. They have broken away from mortal sin and are trying to break away from venial sin. They fast and do penance.
Most likely, these Millenials and youngest Gen-Xers will be called to do heroic deeds before death, perhaps even martyrdom.
Some will experience purgatory on earth.
So, do not call others saints. Do not assume most people are saints, as the life of virtues is not being lived by many, many Catholics, and many Catholics are not orthodox. Only the perfect see God, and this movement to heaven is our journey.
I remind readers that canonization is an infallible act, but being made a Servant of God, a Venerable, or Blessed is not.
On Sharing Aloneness
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| The Hestons-65 years of love |
St. John of the Cross expresses perfectly what the soul wants to experience with the Bridegroom. He writes,
"Strange it is, this property of lovers, that they like to enjoy each other's companionship alone, apart from every creature and all company."
This tendency to want to get away from society and be with the other alone is a sign of true love. The love must grow, of course, and reach out to others eventually, but at first, one cannot wait to be with the other, alone.
Love which grows in this exclusivity will be strong enough to face the hardships of life and the challenges which come after marriage. This special love is so precious that one of my favourite memories is of a friend of mine whose husband phoned her daily at exactly the same time from his office as a doctor, or within the hour, after 25 years of marriage. The special love never died and was fed by the sharing of a life together and six children. It was so touching to see this type of care for the moment when the two were just alone, even for a few moments on the phone, in a busy, busy day.
Dr. H. valued his time with his wife, and Mrs. H., his. Three of their children who have grown and left, as two are still at home, have made good marriages. Another one is still at university. The love of that couple formed the centre of the family and will stay a centre in the hearts of their children.
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| From Into Great Silence |
John of the Cross explains that, "The reason they desire to commune with each other alone is that love is a union between two alone."
He understands this in normal, human relationships and in the soul's relationship with God. One must meet God alone.
Time alone, time sacred and defined, becomes the centre of one's life in God.
To be continued....
And see also http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/08/people-ask-why-suffering.html
And...http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/08/on-constant-quiet-yes-and-constant.html
People Ask, "Why Suffering?"
People ask, "Why, why does one have to suffer to find God in the silence?"
Because one is full of idols, there is not enough room in the heart, the intellect, the soul for God.
Imagine if you fell in love with someone. Imagine if you wanted this person to love you. Then, imagine that the only time you saw this person was when you were both with other people; at parties, at meetings, in groups. You would suffer the pain of not being able to speak with that person alone, or just be, or better yet, listen to him speak to you.
All the distractions of the dinners, or parties, or groupings would take away from getting to know that person more intimately. Yes, one would still be in love, but a love thwarted, delayed, perhaps thought unrequited.
So, too, God waits as one talks with other people, as one engages in laughing, eating, moving about the gathering full of self and other people. He waits. God may even remove Himself from the room, and one may wonder where He has gone, and feel the pain of absence.
Sometimes, one has to go and seek Him, looking around the corner of a room, or a quiet place. One might have to wait for the Beloved.
Then, when the room is empty, or in a small corner outside, in a garden, or by a bench apart from others, or even in the darkness of the night outside, God returns. Then, in the emptiness and darkness, one finally hears His voice. The distractions, the idols are gone.
This is why one suffers-to be emptied of idols, sin, imperfections and finally, God comes into the emptiness in order to fill one with love.
See also http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.ie/2013/08/on-constant-quiet-yes-and-constant.html
To be continued....
Sunday, 11 August 2013
On The Constant, Quiet Yes, And The Constant, Silent Love
Someone was talking to me about little acts of humility. Saying yes to God when things come up. I like this idea. But, my life is a constant Yes to God. I cannot see any other way to find His Love but in the Yes. Now, the Yes is the great No as well, which is hard to parse, unless one reads and understands John of the Cross.
For example, he states one must live in silent love of God. Most people, especially Americans, would not understand a love which is not seen, not doing, not action.
But, silent loving is the goal of all Catholics in the life of perfection. This type of love is loving without seeing, love totally in faith and hope.
Solitary love is the call of the contemplatives, like the nuns at Tyburn and those few of us in the world who are called to a contemplative lifestyle. The Church in the past 40 years has done violence to those who choose this way, the way of Mary at the feet of Christ. But, we are all eventually called to contemplation as part of the Illuminative State of Perfection (see graph again). In this state, prayer and times outside of prayer merge into one state of being; but one must either be in actual silence, or create silence in the mind and heart.
The saying yes then becomes automatic, as one can hear God above the noise of the world.
The saying no is denial of self. One can give up things and desires as well.
For years I struggled with being a failure. As those around me reminded me, I should have my doctorate and be making tons of money. I should be successful with all the gifts God had given me. But, finally, I heard God instead of people. Here is what John of the Cross writes, "...she failed all that is not God, that is, herself and all other creatures, losing all these for the love of God."
The "she" is the soul, and, sadly, the world does not judge by the things of the spirit, but by the things of the world. Some of us have to let God take all things and people away. He takes us into the desert, even if we do not want to go.
The silent love lies in the failures, which carve out the heart for God alone.
The constant yes becomes a way of life, a focus. Only God and His Will, wherever He leads, matters.
And no one notices, which is the beautiful protection one has. I walk about Dublin completely invisible to all around me. This is good, very good, because in that bubble of quiet, I can be with God everywhere, even in the horrible din which is Grafton Street. Even there, silence can be found but only in the cell of one's mind and the calm trust in one's soul.
What ruins this calm is vanity, the desire to be noticed or praised or loved. What ruins this calm is impatience with self, people, things, which is really pride. The mind must be conformed to Christ constantly, not one small idea can go unnoticed and unchecked. Sin lurks in the psyche until one allows the Holy Spirit to enter in with pain and suffering into every nook and cranny of the soul, mind, heart.
For some people, this happens quickly, for others, it takes many, many years to come to this type of existence in purity.
One begins to move in darkness, without the use of the imagination. In fact, one may think one is wasting time in interior rest and quiet. The seemingly waste of time is the silent love.
Now, I have never had the gift of human love developing into the quiet love which people experience after years of marriage. They just sit in the same room, without speaking, but living in silent love. They have died to their own selves so many times in sacrificial love, that there is nothing left of the self. Only love remains, love for the other, and through that person, for God.
That must be a wonderful experience. Those who know this type of love will recognize what God wants to do in the soul; being in love without activity.
To be continued.....
Prejudice, Disobedience, Heresy, Culpable Ignorance, Complicity in Persecution
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| St. Oliver Plunkett, Last Catholic Martyr in England |
Many, if not most, Catholics, have not read the major encyclicals. Many, if not most, have not studied the Mass, or basic doctrines of the Church, despite so many excellent blogs and articles, as well as talks on line for free.
The spirit of disobedience involves anti-intellectualism, as we come to God through our intellect as well as the heart. If a Catholic is not studying his faith, he is not obedient to the Church's expectation that he live out his baptismal promises. One cannot share what one does not know.
Heresy is, of course, false dogma or false doctrine. But, how can one discern truth from falsity without knowing the Faith?
All Catholic adults are responsible for learning the Faith. All Catholic adults are culpable for ignorance. I am not talking about those, who through no fault of their own, have never heard of or seen Catholic teaching. But, here in Europe and in America, I would think invincible ignorance is rare.
Which is why, today, I am grieving over my protestant brothers and sisters, as well as Catholics who are for all purposes, protestant. I have come to the conclusion that three things keep them from coming into the fullness of truth about Christianity, which is only found in the Catholic Church.
The first is the simplest reason, and that is learned prejudice. And, even in 2013, prejudice rears its ugly head in conversations with protestants, who have been raised to hate things, even people, which and who are Catholic.
The second is disobedience, which is connected to heresy. One of the biggest problems in the protestant world has been the widespread acceptance of the sin of contraception. Disobedience also lies in not following the very words of Christ regarding the Eucharist.
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. John 6:24. DR
One simple line in John which is denied and not considered by millions of protestants reveals a disobedience which is not only learned, but treasured.
The third problem is culpable ignorance. There cannot be more than a handful of protestants in Europe or America who have not bumped into the truths of the Catholic Church in some way or another.
Recently, the Church has been in the media more than ever.
Heresy, prejudice, disobedience, culpable ignorance are all serious sins. One hopes and prays that our brothers and sisters in Christ will have a moment of epiphany, of real grace, when they see the obstacles keeping them from truth.
In the hard times to come, disobedience, heresy and culpable ignorance will lead many, many people astray, into worse sins, such as complicity in the coming persecution of the Catholic Church.
It has all happened before and it will happen again.
Changing Malta and Boycott Willow Tree
Speaking with a friend from Malta on the phone, I learned that ssm legislation would be passed by December this year. The push by the lgtb groups for the acceptance of such has created a tension in the country. The problem is a huge generation gap of voters. Most of the older, Catholic Maltese people are against ssm and abortion, the next fight.
The huge influx of 30-somethings from other EU nations, and the changing views of the "nones" of the Gen-Xers and Millenials create a wedge in the culture. However, the younger, less religious Maltese will get their way on this vote.
Some references:
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Civil-partnership-bill-expected-after-summer-20130605
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130517/local/malta-should-introduce-civil-unions-not-gay-marriage-tppi.470103
Catholics should be concerned about the hate crime legislation which is being put forward as well. Will the country be like Canada, where it is illegal for ministers and priests to use the word "sodomy"? Poor, poor Malta. But, this anti-Catholic agenda is one being pushed throughout the EU. Will their be any safe-havens?
The huge influx of 30-somethings from other EU nations, and the changing views of the "nones" of the Gen-Xers and Millenials create a wedge in the culture. However, the younger, less religious Maltese will get their way on this vote.
Some references:
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Civil-partnership-bill-expected-after-summer-20130605
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130517/local/malta-should-introduce-civil-unions-not-gay-marriage-tppi.470103
Catholics should be concerned about the hate crime legislation which is being put forward as well. Will the country be like Canada, where it is illegal for ministers and priests to use the word "sodomy"? Poor, poor Malta. But, this anti-Catholic agenda is one being pushed throughout the EU. Will their be any safe-havens?
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| Willow Tree SSM Topper |
Interesting article on anti-NSA efforts in Germany
http://rt.com/news/german-email-encryption-nsa-312/
My blog use to be backed-up to a server in Germany, but was moved to one in California. Maybe I should try and get it changed back again.
My blog use to be backed-up to a server in Germany, but was moved to one in California. Maybe I should try and get it changed back again.
On Entertaining
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| Some Have Entertained Angels Unawares by Edward Clifford |
Did you know, dear readers, that I have done catering for parties? I can cook for hundreds and enjoy every minute of it. I love entertaining. I also know a lot about wine.
I do Greek, Indian, Tex-Mex, Mexican, English, American, Czech, Ukrainian, Japanese, Chinese.
I learned from many room-mates from those areas of the world. I miss entertaining and now, rarely have the opportunity to do so.
I love having everything, as my Grandma said, "just so".
But, sometimes, we have to "make do" instead of doing everything "just so". The key is detachment.
My Doulton china is in a box 4,000 miles away, with my Great-Grandmá's linen tablecloths and napkins.
My good silverware is packed in storage, but tonight I had a wonderful time with two saints, the new generation of holy young men and women who know the times and choose God daily.
I entertained angels, even though I had ordinary plates from Dunne's, everyday cutlery, and mismatched glassware.
What a treat.
On The Limits of Language
When we listen intently, we think of the words which are being spoken to us.
A friend of mine today expressed that another friend sends his regards.
How interesting. What does it mean to send regards?
What does it mean to send kind regards, which was not said?
To regard in older days meant to esteem, or to give respect. Now, we use it for everyday greetings.
This phrase reminds me of the famous discussion about Edward Farrars in Sense and Sensibility.
When I take those on line which character of Jane Austen are you tests, I come out as Elinor Dashwood, and because my other favourite character, Anne Elliot in Persuasion, is rarely a choice. I am convinced both would be INTJs....
Elinor Dashwood: I do not attempt to deny that I think very highly of him, that I... greatly esteem him... I like him.
Marianne: "Esteem him?" "Like him?" Use those insipid words again and I shall leave the room this instant.
We have lost so much subtlety in today's extravagant use of language.
I love the older subtleties of the English language.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
On Colour
A fascinating little thread in my life has been the colour of flowers those who give me flowers choose.
As most of my readers know, my favourite rose is the blue rose. However, I can say that most of the time I am given flowers, as on this past day, those flowers have been yellow and flaming oranges roses.
I think this is very interesting. Yellow is the symbol of friendship and orange represents fascination, desire and enthusiasm.
I suppose I am an enthusiastic person and when I was teaching, one of the compliments give to me what that I was always enthusiastic about my subjects and passed that enthusiasm on to my students.
Bright orange provides a daring statement of interest and passion. But, in my case, this passion is for and in the Lord.
Babies' Breath always reminds me of my sister in heaven, because my mother planted that sweet flower when Beth Ann died. She was one.
All of these things are part of memory and understanding. We are called to God in our memory and understanding.
May God bless the bearers of this striking bouquet. May I always thank God when I think of you.
In case you missed this: Irish gov't will force hospital to do abortions
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/mater-hospital-s-principled-position-on-abortion-defines-the-cultural-divide-1.1488471
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/mater-board-priest-says-hospital-can-t-carry-out-abortions-1.1486634
Doctors who are real Catholics will say no to this, of course, as in British Columbia many years ago,when that Canadian province passed legislation making all doctors do abortions. Literally hundreds went to the States for freedom of conscience reasons.
Ireland may end up with no Catholic hospitals and no Catholic doctors in those hospitals. And, what about medical students? Will they be forced to learn how to do abortions, as in some med schools in America?
I know one who will not comply to that, but only one.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/mater-board-priest-says-hospital-can-t-carry-out-abortions-1.1486634
Doctors who are real Catholics will say no to this, of course, as in British Columbia many years ago,when that Canadian province passed legislation making all doctors do abortions. Literally hundreds went to the States for freedom of conscience reasons.
Ireland may end up with no Catholic hospitals and no Catholic doctors in those hospitals. And, what about medical students? Will they be forced to learn how to do abortions, as in some med schools in America?
I know one who will not comply to that, but only one.
Taking Pride in Sin
One of the curious questions which always comes up when one is discussing or in a class on Dante's Divine Comedy is why Dante reacts to certain sinners with awe and respect.
The examples are too many for this posting, but one sees the character of Dante changing as he moves through hell. Yet, one is puzzled by his honouring of some of the gross sinners who are forever damned. Now, one can say that there is nobility is all people, and even though that nobility is ruined by sin, one could stand back and admire a person for their former greatness.
However, I think the problem is in the character of Dante, a personification of the author, but also fictionalized, as the poem is allegorical. The living Dante walks through hell and can respond to those in eternal punishment in several ways. But, it is Dante's own sin, his own imperfections, which cause him to pity were one should not do so.
And, this thought leads me to another, which is that some of those in hell in the poem take pride in the very sins which sent them to horrible separation from God.
I see this in others around me. There is a perverse pleasure taken when people share their sins, as if bragging about weaknesses in order either to make excuses for sin, or to invoke pity, or to simply gloat, is acceptable. Those Christians who have come to know salvation through Christ's Passion and Death, remain ashamed of those sins, and those very sins aid one in coming to a real humility. Humility, being self-knowledge, the knowledge of one's sins, brings one to the honest appraisal of who one is before God.
But, to share those sins does not necessarily bring glory to God, or bring others to a desire for Christ's love.
Dante's own imperfections, which gradually are purified through his journey through hell, purgatory and heaven, present the reader with a clear understanding of the scandal of sin.
He reacts sometimes in pity, empathy, and horror, depending on the situation.
It is interesting that newer critics deny that Dante's descent into the seventh circle includes meeting homosexuals, a revision which is most deceitful. In that circle are the blasphemers and the usurers, as well, those who have sinned against God directly, which is why the homosexuals are not in the lesser punishment of the lustful.
Those who sin against God directly, that is against natural law and the transcendence of God, are doomed to dance in one place on the hot sands forever, in the circle designated for the Violent. Violence against God and against nature cause this incessant movement, as the sodomites were seen as having a disturbed, constantly moving, unsteady, and unstable existence.
Dante honours a poet he meets there, by lowering his head in respect,as he admired and copied this poet in life. But, the soul reaches out to him, as if to ask for acceptance. That type of empathy is no longer possible for those condemned to hell.
Sadly, I have noticed more and more people desiring acceptance in their sins. Those who identify with their sins want those who believe in objective truth to blur the distinctions between sin and personhood. Such is the desire of those caught up in the gay lifestyle. Acceptance of sin is a type of consent, and those who brag of their sins have lost not only the sense of sin, but the sense of shame.
In fact, another sin is added, which is that of rationalization. A man bragging to me about how much he drinks on the weekend is rationalizing his sins of intemperance and drunkeness. Bravado can be a form of deceit, rationalizing a weakness. Lying is another name for this type of rationalizing.
In a landslide movement of false tolerance of sin, almost every country of the West is or will be accepting homosexual relations, as well as cohabitation of heterosexuals without marriage, as normal and even as a good. Sin is added to sin in pretending that an evil is a good.
This has led more and more to people discussing their sins in public and encouraging others to do so.
What is evil has been accepted by many, even some Catholics, as a good. So too, are those who are living in heterosexual, non-married relationships talking about their lives as if nothing was really wrong. What merely a few decades ago was unmentionable is now part of bragging and pride.
To take pride in sinful behaviour must be one of the worst sins of all-the complete inversion of truth.
I caution Catholics to not discuss sin, either their own or others, of course, as this glorifies the Evil One.
And, discussing specific sins adds to the degradation of human dignity. If one is trying to help a person out of sin, and that person needs advice, that may be done privately in love and in great humility. But, if one is merely touting personal sins as an excuse for behaviour, or as an example of wilful confusion or loss, one is simply falling into pride.
The popular songs of Mexico provide examples of the glorifying of sin, but even here, in Ireland and across the sea in England, a growing tendency to publicize one's sins is gaining acceptance and even a prurient popularity. If you are engaged in conversations with someone who keeps bringing up their sins, stop them and encourage them to go to Confession. If the sin is a lifestyle, help that person truly convert. To emphasize the sin over grace is just plain self-deceit, as grace is always stronger than sin.
Do not enable sinners to continue in their sinful lifestyles.
One more example may help in understanding the problem. Someone was telling me how much they were in debt on credit cards. They were bragging about all the things they have, and the things they do with credit. I could not help them understand that this debt was sinful, and that their carelessness and lack of good stewardship was not something about which to speak in a cavalier fashion. I stop discussing such things with people if they are not willing to listen. Continual discussion encourages rationalization.
I have said to people. "Stop, I do not want to hear any more of this. You know what you need to do."
One cannot go on year after year discussing sin. Conversion is always possible as grace is freely given to all.
Part of the problem is that the Millenials, and even the Gen-Xers, lack boundaries. Do we really need to know everything about a person? Decorum and appropriateness in speech have disappeared.
Pride, the primal sin, pushes people into these public confessions. Pride, not humility....
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