Busy Day = Short Post on Knowledge of Divine Things Twenty-Nine Caritas in Veritate Four

Today, I worked with a maintenance person who was taking out old skirting boards and putting in new ones; then, I cleaned the entire house after he left. After that, I showed the house to someone who was interested.

Also, I did some spiritual direction and finish cleaning the patio, which I stated yesterday by raking leaves and pruning the rose bush. I also did my regular prayers and ordered groceries, as a reader sent me a gift card to buy food, (thankyou, R.).

In other words, I did not have time to work on Caritas in Vertitate, but I shall tomorrow. Let me just quote this section, showing the great need for Catholics to regain a foothold in the larger society, a foothold which they have removed in order to pursue either American values, which are not those of the saint necessarily or the values of certain "isms". The problem is that Catholics do not know how to love, or to think or to believe in an objective manner. Truth must be approached in faithfulness and with rigor.

9. Love in truth — caritas in veritate — is a great challenge for the Church in a world that is becoming progressively and pervasively globalized. The risk for our time is that the de facto interdependence of people and nations is not matched by ethical interaction of consciences and minds that would give rise to truly human development. Only in charity, illumined by the light of reason and faith, is it possible to pursue development goals that possess a more humane and humanizing value. The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of consciences and liberties.

The Church does not have technical solutions to offer[10] and does not claim “to interfere in any way in the politics of States.”[11]She does, however, have a mission of truth to accomplish, in every time and circumstance, for a society that is attuned to man, to his dignity, to his vocation. Without truth, it is easy to fall into an empiricist and sceptical view of life, incapable of rising to the level of praxis because of a lack of interest in grasping the values — sometimes even the meanings — with which to judge and direct it. Fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom (cf. Jn 8:32) and of the possibility of integral human development. For this reason the Church searches for truth, proclaims it tirelessly and recognizes it wherever it is manifested. This mission of truth is something that the Church can never renounce. Her social doctrine is a particular dimension of this proclamation: it is a service to the truth which sets us free. Open to the truth, from whichever branch of knowledge it comes, the Church's social doctrine receives it, assembles into a unity the fragments in which it is often found, and mediates it within the constantly changing life-patterns of the society of peoples and nations[12].

Very Special Intention

Please pray for a very special intention for a young reader. This is a turning point in his life and he needs prayer.

Thanks, STM

Chapel Update

I have not received any offers for altar linens, but I am getting some statues and more icons. The person who own the property is very pleased with a chapel in his house and has given me permission to add kneelers, benches and eventually a proper altar. I shall also need some type of proper light, as the candelabra will not work out as the owner and I have discussed.

At this time, I am the only one using it but I trust that if God want His Presence in the Eucharist here under authority of the local bishop, this will happen.

The house has been empty for a year and on the market but not selling. I, of course, do not have the money to buy this, but am grateful for its use and the support of prayer for the owner, until it sells.

Anything which is bought or donated can be moved to another location, if this is God's Will.

In the meantime, I am encouraged by several people who have prayed for me but cannot afford to help.

If you think you want to do so, and if there is another woman interested in a fairly strict and simple life of adoration, let me know. I go on.

Again, if anyone feels called to help furnish this room for Jesus, let me know in the combox.

It is a real joy for me to have this "sacred place"

The entire name for this little chapel is "St.Mary of the Angels and Martyrs, in Ephesus. Of course, benefactors will be on the daily prayer list.

STM

Sad

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/germanwings-co-pilot-andreas-lubitz-called-5405143

Another Video To Watch

Video on the persecution of Christians in Iraq and other Middle East nations.

You must watch this baby in the womb

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/baby-claps-during-ultrasound-video/979809/

My son when in the womb kicked more when I played Mozart. I was never sure whether that meant he liked the composer or not! I assumed "like".

There can be no doubt of a fetus being a "real person". Please watch this.

Entering the Holiest Week of The Year

As a child, growing up in pre-Vatican II, pre-Novus Ordo Catholic culture, this coming week was clearly special. Even in the home, things began to be "different".

Of course, we had all fasted and abstained during Lent-even those under age-a good habit which should be done in all Catholic families.

But, beginning the Saturday before Palm Sunday, new and exciting preparations for Holy Week and Easter began.

First of all, we went to confession on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, but then we went as a family once a month.

Second, mother and one grandmother took us to the clothing stores for new Easter outfits, to wear for the first time on Easter day and keep for Sundays. This was a yearly event-buying new Easter clothes, when was an old custom in the family. I would be given a new hat, new dress, new spring coat, new socks with little lace at the top, new shoes and so on. My brothers would get a new shirt, new trousers, and a new jacket. As children grow, they need new clothes and this was the time for the spring buy.

Third, cooking would begin for Easter Sunday. Breads and cookies would be baked and set aside. Later in Holy Week, more food would be prepared and saved for the Pasch. Holy Saturday, kept in low key, almost silent observance, would be the day we colored eggs, but I get ahead of myself.

My mother's great gift, among many, was cake decorating and the baking of cakes "from scratch". She still does this, at 87 and last week she told me on the phone that she made a coffee cake for Dad.

Fourth, we would clean the house from top to bottom. Lent was coming to an end, and the winter clothes were packed, (except for a few in case of a late snowstorm), curtains and rugs washed, windows cleaned, and so on. Easter day would find a house clean and bright.

Fifth, the garden would be put in order. March is the time for pruning rose bushes, especially before the cold weather broke, and we did that. Leaves were cleaned away. Lilies appeared in the house on the dining room and kitchen tables. but only on Holy Saturday.

Sixth, Palm Sunday saw special visits to the grandmothers and the talk of more Easter food prep.
(For me, no more perogies!!!!!!!!!)

As the week progressed, the house fell into a quiet mode of preparation so that all could attend the Triduum. Simple foods for dinner meant that Mom could go as well. When I was much older, many of us in our thirties would get together for a great meal on Holy Thursday, more solemn than Easter, but a gathering of friends to celebrate Holy Thursday before the Triduum began. We would not have a feast such as on Easter, but it was a symbol of the gathering of the apostles in the Upper Room with Christ, and then we would go to Holy Thursday Mass together.

Seventh, when I grew up, Catholic schools let out on Wednesday afternoon and we had Thursday, Friday, and Easter Monday off. I am not sure what the school systems do now. But, this meant we could help Mom get the house ready and be in a proper attitude for the Triduum.

Eighth, Good Friday was a serious day. Mother made us go to our rooms before we went to Church and be quiet. We could not play music, but were encourage to pray or sit and think of the Passion. Even as a young child, I was encouraged to do this We never, never shopped on Good Friday.

Ninth, Saturday was also a quiet day, preparing the Easter dinner with the dishes we could do ahead of time. When I was married, our dinner was, of course, lamb, with Greek dishes, as I love to cook.
Our typical Easter meal was lamb, spanakopita, dolmathes, baklava, some amazing lemon muffins I would make which were a family favorite, and  blueberry cheese cake for desert or a bunny cake.

In my family, we had special wines set aside for different feast days or holidays. For example, Gewurztraminer is and was always our Thanksgiving wine at dinner, port and burgundy for Christmas, along with whiskey for Dad, and for Easter, a Spatlese, Auslese, and Eiswien for desert.

Tenth, visiting the grandmothers was an absolute on Easter Sunday, if one did not come for dinner, which she usually did with one uncle, who lived in the same city. (My family tends to spread out across the entire USA). She would bring something for us all as well, little gifts, usually religious. We would look for our Easter baskets before Mass, (our family went to two Masses after the babies grew up, as Mom and Dad were in the choir), which were hidden around the house in rather obvious places. If we found someone elses, we were not allowed to share the secret.

Eleventh, we attended all the Triduum, especially after the Easter changes of Pope Pius XII.

I have more memories, but these are shared to encourage families to start seeing this week coming up as different, solemn, special.

Calendars in the Church

I have four possible calendars to follow on this blog. The first is the one most of us follow daily, and from where I get my daily readings for meditation for you. That is the Novus Ordo calendar. Home schoolers could buy the liturgical calendar poster I did for my son for years and have it on the home school wall.

The second calendar is that of the 1962 Missal, that of the Extraordinary Form.

The third is the Byzantine Catholic calendar, with the Eastern saints honored, and which has different holydays of obligation.

The fourth is the Benedictine calendar, which I follow daily in my breviary, which is the order of the Monastic Diurnal.

Those who read my blog know I use a mix of these, so do not get confused, go with the flow, and enjoy the riches of the liturgical heritage of our beautiful Church.

Re-posts for the feast of St. John Damascene, Doctor of the Church

Etheldredasplace: A Doctor of the Church Series Especially ...

04 Dec 2013

As readers know, I am putting the series on again with different numbering. As today is the Feast of St. John Damascene, I am putting his entries on the blog. I hope this helps for people still confused about invincible ignorance ...

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Etheldredasplace: DoC held off until Monday--but then!

10 Mar 2013

I shall look at Basil, Peter Chrysologus, Gregory Nazianzus, Hilary of Poitiers Athanasius, the two Cyrils, and John Damascene, John Chrysostom, and Isidore of Seville before moving on to others closer to our own time.

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Etheldredasplace: Wishful Thinking

25 Sep 2013

IX. St. Anselm's Proof of the Existence of God. X. The Cosmological Argument of St. John Damascene. XI. The Argument from Intuition. XII. Aspects of Modern Pantheism. XIII. Christian Idealism. XIV. Malebranche and Fénelon.

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Etheldredasplace: Perfection Series II: xxxi

19 Feb 2014

So the soul must strike out toward the open sea, into the infinite ocean of being, says St. John Damascene, borne up by the divine will as made known there and then and abandoning itself to that divine will upon which all ...

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Etheldredasplace: Traditional Art of Lovely Lady Mary Plus....

17 Aug 2014

... tabernacles.... It was fitting that she who saw her Son die on the cross, and received in her heart the sword of pain which she had not felt in childbirth, should gaze upon Him seated next to the Father." John Damascene ...

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The Emotions Part Two--The Dark Night Again

04 Aug 2014

THE PASSIONS FROM THE PSYCHOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW St. Thomas, who follows Aristotle and St. John Damascene, defines passion thus: "A movement of the sensitive appetite when we imagine good or evil.

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Etheldredasplace: The Real Deal Two

03 Jan 2015

He gives to each, says St. Thomas, [1456] more than strict justice requires. It is thus that St. Thomas harmonizes God's antecedent will, of which St. John Damascene speaks, with God's omnipotence. The Supreme Principles.

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Etheldredasplace: From A Pope--On Mary--For This Day

21 Nov 2014

357-358; Hesychius of Jerusalem, Homilia de sancta Maria Deipara: PG 93, 1464; Chrysippus of Jerusalem, Oratio in sanctam Mariam Deiparam, 2 PO 19, p. 338: St Andrew of Crete, Oratio V: PG 97, 896: St John Damascene ...

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Etheldredasplace: Re-post on Grace

06 Mar 2014

of St. Augustine but of St. John Chrysostom, of Origen, of St. Gregory the Great, and of St. John Damascene,. since they say that Peter was deprived of help, a statement which cannot apply to sufficient grace, for without this ...

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Catch-up List on the Doctors of the Church Series

16 Mar 2013

Albert the Great Ephraim the Syrian Gregory the Great John of Avila Lawrence of Brindisi Anthony of Padua Bernard of Clairvaux Thomas Aquinas Basil the Great Francis de Sales Bede the Venerable John of Damascus

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What A Day

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/u-s-caves-to-key-iranian-demands-as-nuke-deal-comes-together/

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/5435/obama-war-israel?anid=7

Oh no...things are happening fast

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/immigration/item/20531-congress-pushes-obama-backed-national-biometric-id-for-americans

After largely failing to prod state governments into developing a national identification system known as “REAL ID,” Republican lawmakers in Congress are once again pushing an Obama-backed scheme that would force every American to have a national ID card containing sensitive biometric data. The controversial plan, embedded in an immigration-enforcement bill, has been in the works for years, but has consistently been met with stiff opposition from liberty-minded grassroots organizations and activists. While the plan has failed in previous Congresses thanks to a groundswell of opposition, critics of the measure say that without prompt action, the unconstitutional scheme could soon become a reality.

The legislation, officially dubbed the "Legal Workforce Act" (H.R. 1147), is ostensibly aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining jobs in the United States. Among the most troubling elements highlighted by critics, though, is that the bill would purport to mandate a national ID card for every American as a condition of working. It would also force every employer in America to purchase and use so-called “E-Verify technology” to check with Washington, D.C., as to whether potential employees have government permission to work. Finally, it would create a massive federal database containing sensitive data on virtually every person in the country — a database that could easily be expanded to include even more information.

More bad news...

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Covert-warfare-comming-to-Texas-6157685.php#photo-7713764

More privacy issues

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/26/leave-facebook-snooped-on-warns-eu-safe-harbour-privacy-us

Traitorous?.......

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193175#.VRSCjfmsVLY

Are you ready for Easter?

Update from a great reader:  peepal conclave...
see link in comments...

Horrid New Law Down-Under

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/senate-passes-controversial-metadata-laws-20150326-1m8q3v.html

The Great I Am Passages

Those of you who read and study Scripture know about the great "I Am" passages in the New Testament which riled the feathers of the Sanhedrin. There are eight, a number of completion after the holy number of seven, of these in John's Gospel and today we see Christ claiming, rightly, to be God. Here these verses are for your reference:

John 6: 35, 48 I am the bread of life John 8: 12, 9:5 I am the light of the world John 8: 58 Before Abraham was, I am John 10:9 I am the door John 10:11 I am the good shepherd John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life John 15:1 I am the true vine 

Today, Christ tells us unequivocally, that He is God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God. Those religions which deny that Christ is God, do not accept this passage, obviously.

Christ is either a liar, or a madman or really God, states C. S. Lewis, and I paraphrase.

We are faced with a choice today. Do we really believe in Christ as God, and take all His actions and words seriously, or, like some of the Jews of His day, reject the "I Am" statements?

The Jews wanted to kill Christ as they knew He was referring to the great epiphany to Moses--I Am.

Those who wanted to stone Christ for blasphemy were closed to the great I AM.

Exodus 3 Douay-Rheims 

3 Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

2 And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt.

3 And Moses said: I will go and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said: Moses, Moses. And he answered: Here I am.

5 And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 And he said: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face: for he durst not look at God.

7 And the Lord said to him: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigour of them that are over the works:

8 And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey, to the places of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite.

9 For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have seen their affliction, wherewith they are oppressed by the Egyptians.

10 But come, and I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayst bring forth my people, the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11 And Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to Pharao, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12 And he said to him: I will be with thee: and this thou shalt have for a sign, that I have sent thee: When thou shalt have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this mountain.

13 Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers hath sent me to you. If they should say to me: What is his name? what shall I say to them?

14 God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you.

15 And God said again to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me to you: This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Christ reveals Himself as the Everlasting God, pointing to the Trinity, and referring back to the freeing of the Hebrews from slavery. Christ is getting His listeners ready for the real freedom from the slavery of satan, the rule of Original Sin, the life of sin, and everlasting death.

But, these people were not open to hearing these words of truth from The Word of God. A long time ago, a rabbi told me in London, that the Jewish unspoken word for the Name of God means this, "I Am Who Am and shut up and stop asking me."

The point is that God gives us absolute knowledge of Him through the Revelation of the Old Testament and for us Christians, the New Testament. We have been told Who Christ Is.

We accept Christ as our Lord, Saviour, King, or we reject Him.

John 8:51-59Douay-Rheims 

51 Amen, amen I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever.

52 The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever.

53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself?

54 Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God.

55 And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him, and do keep his word.

56 Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad.

57 The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58 Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am.

59 They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.

Time to re-read a series

Begging for a book as well--http://www.amazon.co.uk/ELIZABETHAN-RECUSANT-COMPRISING-VISCOUNTESS-1538-1608/dp/B0028U134W

To those who will be recusants in some countries in our lifetime,,,

You are the remnant...re-read the tagged posts on the remnant. Here are some of those posts.

Etheldredasplace: Repost on recusants and remnants

20 Jan 2015

Recusancy. After 1581, recusancy became an indictable offence, so recusants often appear in quarter sessions records and the fines levied were recorded in the pipe rolls. After 1592 a separate series of rolls, the recusant ...

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Etheldredasplace: Nuns in Persecution Part Four

01 Mar 2014

The first of two of the reasons why I am posting this series on recusant nuns rest in my conviction that unless there are relationships among Catholics, some type of Catholic community, the Faith will die in many areas.

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Etheldredasplace: The Evil of National Identity and Religion ...

01 Mar 2014

Again, one sees the pattern of relationships among the recusant families, which did not necessarily live in proximity to one another but which made a point of networking, as we would say today. May I add this from the Tudor ...

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Etheldredasplace: Catholic Families and Holiness

28 Feb 2012

What struck me about the narration, and also the history of recusancy in England, was the heritage of stubborn loyalty to the Church in the face of fines, imprisonment and even death It was as if the charism “in the blood” was ...

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Etheldredasplace: Remnant Thinking

17 Mar 2015

Remnant mentality sees the potential for conversion, but also realizes that the Faith must be preserved intact. These young ones have no time for heresies and simply, are not interested in the same dicsussions older Catholics ...

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Perfection Series VIII Part V Word to the Pressed Remnant!

20 Nov 2014

Perfection Series VIII Part V Word to the Pressed Remnant! Posted by Supertradmum. Raissa Maritain employed two types of contemplative prayer, titles of which Jacques decided to leave in the French rather than try to ...

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Reposting Day for The Sake of The Remnant

27 Oct 2014

I do. Garrigou-Lagrange has these three in his section on the Illuminative State, which I think will be helpful for all of us. Garrigou-Lagrange's next chapter highlight St. Catherine and Bl. Henry, and here are some of his ...

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Etheldredasplace: How small is the remnant? Perfection II:viii

30 Jan 2014

Second, the remnant is saved by grace, by election, that is chosen by God, and are those who have kept the Ten Commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is baptism. Third, the remnant is those who ...

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Etheldredasplace: Responding to The Remnant

16 Jul 2014

Responding to The Remnant. Posted by Supertradmum. This is a bit late, but better late than never. In the May 20th, 2014 issue of The Remnant, Father Celatus has. a list of issues, comments and events which he claims are ...

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Goodbye to Ireland; Praying for The Remnant

30 Sep 2013

I am sad to leave the TLM and the beautiful Carmelite churches which I have attended. There are still many excellent priests in Ireland. Pray for them and pray for the remnant. If I ever return, it will not be to this exact place.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Knowledge of Divine Things Twenty-Eight Caritas in Veritate Three

For those who have not read the long series on grace and free will, please do so. Such basic teachings are necessary for understanding some of the encyclicals.

As I have noted, knowledge leads to praxis. And, we are responsible for cooperating with the graces given to us daily in order to learn, to know.

Here is the Pope Emeritus again:

5. Charity is love received and given. It is “grace” (cháris). Its source is the wellspring of the Father's love for the Son, in the Holy Spirit. Love comes down to us from the Son. It is creative love, through which we have our being; it is redemptive love, through which we are recreated. Love is revealed and made present by Christ (cf. Jn 13:1) and “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5). As the objects of God's love, men and women become subjects of charity, they are called to make themselves instruments of grace, so as to pour forth God's charity and to weave networks of charity.

All baptized persons are given the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity in baptism. These virtues need to be cultivated through the other virtues, prayer and study. (See my posts on virtues and virtue training). The above phrase approves us and condemns us, "As the objects of God's love, men and women become subjects of charity, they are called to make themselves instruments of grace, so as to pour forth God's charity and to weave networks of charity."

God has loved us first, we respond, and make ourselves, through free will, into "instruments of grace" for others. The weakness of the Church, (see other posts as well on this subject), is that the laity and clergy alike for the most part, indeed, the majority, do not cooperate with charity and fall into self-seeking egotism.

This dynamic of charity received and given is what gives rise to the Church's social teaching, which is caritas in veritate in re sociali: the proclamation of the truth of Christ's love in society. This doctrine is a service to charity, but its locus is truth. Truth preserves and expresses charity's power to liberate in the ever-changing events of history. It is at the same time the truth of faith and of reason, both in the distinction and also in the convergence of those two cognitive fields. 

All isms, all ideologies have a philosophy behind the actions seen in history, If you remember the Gramsci posts, you will see how his view of history clashed with the Catholic view. We, as Catholics, have an anti-socialist view of history and society. We believe in the individual love of each person reaching out to other persons and individuals.

Faith and reason must move towards both the renewal of the person and the renewal of society through love, not isms.

Development, social well-being, the search for a satisfactory solution to the grave socio-economic problems besetting humanity, all need this truth. What they need even more is that this truth should be loved and demonstrated. Without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power, resulting in social fragmentation, especially in a globalized society at difficult times like the present.

Would that every cardinal, bishop and priest truly believed this. We have so many Marxists and socialists in the Church, such condemned societal philosophies spoken even from the pulpit, that people no longer believe in charity.

The one world government to come, and any totalitarian state feeds on the destruction of individual charity. Social fragmentation allows tyrants to take over.

Benedict is clear on these points.

 “Caritas in veritate” is the principle around which the Church's social doctrine turns, a principle that takes on practical form in the criteria that govern moral action. I would like to consider two of these in particular, of special relevance to the commitment to development in an increasingly globalized society: justice and the common good.

Shades of Leo XIII! Charity goes beyond justice. None of this Victorian "deserving poor" mythology, or the ideology that all people should have the same things and wealth. There is a hatred of the poor in the States but also a hatred of the rich....an attitude ripe for tyrannical government. This envy of the rich and despising of the poor are both contrary to the Gospel.

First of all, justice. Ubi societas, ibi ius: every society draws up its own system of justice. Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give, to offer what is “mine” to the other; but it never lacks justice, which prompts us to give the other what is “his”, what is due to him by reason of his being or his acting. I cannot “give” what is mine to the other, without first giving him what pertains to him in justice. If we love others with charity, then first of all we are just towards them. Not only is justice not extraneous to charity, not only is it not an alternative or parallel path to charity: justice is inseparable from charity[1], and intrinsic to it. Justice is the primary way of charity or, in Paul VI's words, “the minimum measure” of it[2], an integral part of the love “in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18), to which Saint John exhorts us. On the one hand, charity demands justice: recognition and respect for the legitimate rights of individuals and peoples. It strives to build the earthly city according to law and justice. 

Would that Catholics were so holy as to transform the City of Man into the City of God.

On the other hand, charity transcends justice and completes it in the logic of giving and forgiving[3]. The earthly city is promoted not merely by relationships of rights and duties, but to an even greater and more fundamental extent by relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion. Charity always manifests God's love in human relationships as well, it gives theological and salvific value to all commitment for justice in the world.

Just a warning to those fuzzy Catholics in the Church--Revelation and Tradition, as backed up by philosophy and theology, must be part of the implementation of both justice and charity.

to be continued....

Thanks, New Sister et al

Well, I have always wondered why I lose so much weight and feel so heathly in Europe compared to the States. I thought is was only that I walked everywhere, to the shops, church, friends, and so on, but now, New Sister has brought to my mind the fact that most EU nations do not allow genetically modified foods. Great Britain announced they would start selling chickens fed with GMO feed in 2013. Now, there is more pressure to do so.

Since coming back to the States, within weeks, I have felt more ill than my entire time in the EU.

Interesting that GMOs can make us feel so ill.

Coming from Iowa, I know that Monsanto "owns" both State universities, which do research and develope GMOs.

I had my students in 2010 do long research projects on this in the classroom, in a class learning critical thinking skills and they were shocked at the results.

I shall have to think about what to do as I am on a very low budget and eat lots of what I call "poor food"; mac and cheese, Ramens, cheap spags, and canned stuff.

I shall absolutely need to review what I can do to change this, if anything, as I have become ill since being over the now almost three months. But, I cannot daily feel this bad.

Simple-greed created this problem and graft in politicians. Why does America have to spread bad ideas around the world? FACTA is a bully-boy rule, which I wrote about last year here. And, this is bullying as well,

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/05/eu-gm-food-imports-us-canada

Britain and other European Union member states are under increasing pressure from North American business groups to open their borders to imports of genetically modified food as part of negotiations for a new Transatlantic trade deal, environmental campaigners have warned.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is being negotiated among European governments, the US and Canada, with the active participation of dozens of large businesses. It has already attracted strong criticism from democracy campaigners, who say it could mean the UK could have to open theNational Health Service further to private companies, and complaints against large companies could be treated in secret without proper legal recourse.

Also, thanks to a good nurse who wrote about carbs and sugar....I need to learn more about these things. Of course, I have to deal with my allergy to the Cuburbitaceae family as well. Sigh, Back to my Bible Diet...I think, if I can afford it. Thanks a lot, Jody, as I had no idea carbs and sugars affected the lungs.

http://www.cropsforthefuture.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucurbitaceae