To call something the active life or the contemplative life indicates the means to an end. The end is the same-oneness with God in heaven.
To be in the active life, one is in the world and doing things. Nuns and monks in the contemplative life do things as well. In fact, some monasteries are very, very busy with guests, book-stores, gift-shops, retreats, seminaries, tours, classes etc. Some are, frankly, too active and the contemplative life suffers.
In the real contemplative orders, silence is a necessity for spiritual growth. This would be found in the extreme with the Carthusians and in a lesser, but still pronounced form in the Cistercians. Silence has been written about by many authors and one can look at the rich group of books concerning the importance of silence and the interior life.
In the active life, such as that of the lay person or the active orders which teach, nurse or whatever, the action they do purifies them and makes them perfect. That is the call. Martha is a saint, just as Mary is.
Works of mercy and hospitality in the Benedictine orders sometimes take over the contemplative side. Benedictine orders with schools have had a particular challenge, or, as in America and England, where the Benedictines by necessity had to go into parishes for centuries to help bishops by request, the need to be active is obvious. I have met at least one monk who did not want to take over a Benedictine parish, but was asked to by his abbot, as the bishop needed a monk-priest there. He suffered being outside the community.
On the other hand, I also know a monk-priest, who on retiring after many years in a parish, missed his people and had a hard time adjusting back to community life in the monastery. Such as the dangers of the active life for the monk-priest.
Nuns can experience similar trials if they have guest houses. Part of the problem is that the orders have shrunk in numbers. Imagine, some of the Cistercian houses in the Middle Ages had 700 monks and lay brothers. Amazing. What kind of ministries these orders fulfilled is the stuff of history.
I believe that there are contemplatives in the lay life. I consider myself one. I spend hours in silence daily, with a rhythm of prayer and work. This is what I see is my vocation. Does not bring in the money, however, but writing, researching, praying, do manual labour forms my day. The overlap of work and prayer needs to be protected by a stability I have not yet found. God willing.
The stability of the orders is not merely to perfect the Rule of Benedict but to form a stable, secure background for the intensity of the monastic life. It is intense.
The orders which are suffering from low numbers have a great challenge of meeting all the needs of the community and the ministries.
But, Suarez points out that this blanket separation of active and contemplative is not the best. He refers to Jesus, who spent His nights in prayer and was very active healing, preaching, teaching in the daytime.
Laity can enter into this type of life and I believe many of us are called to perfect our souls, hearts, and minds in such a balance.
How? Suarez is brilliant in his understanding of Christ's rebuke of Martha. Suarez states this: Mary represents the better PART of the life which is both active and contemplative. WOW!
It is not an either/or but a both/and...Martha and Mary represent people who loved Christ because they knew how to both be active and contemplative. Both are saints. Mary's part in the scene is the higher role, but we must DO BOTH. Martha need not complain, as she has access to both worlds, as does Mary and the point is there is time and place for both. With Christ in the room, sit down, and listen, and absorb the love. Be with the Bridegroom and do not let anxiety take away the peace of contemplation. I have seen this in women who do not stop to enjoy the love of their husbands and must be too busy, instead of just being.
Before I read Suarez, I did not think of this, nor have I heard a sermon on such. This idea make Garrigou-Lagrange's call of perfection for the laity all the more understandable.
To be continued....
Tuesday 27 November 2012
900 years of the recognition of the Knights Hospitallers
Posted by
Supertradmum
Next year, 2013, is the 900th year of the Founding of the Knights of Malta, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, known as the Hospitallers. This order was formally recognized with the Bull of 15 February 1113 Papal Bull, Pie postulatio voluntatis by Pope Pascal II.
I shall do a mini-series on the order soon.
I shall do a mini-series on the order soon.
Dear St. Joseph
Posted by
Supertradmum
I found this page on line which lists all the things, places and people for which St. Joseph is patron. Here is the link. http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-joseph/
I am highlighting him today because a person who is angelic in my life suggested I pray to him, which I did, in the form of a novena.
Joseph is the type of man who is a Protector. May St. Jospeh answer my prayers soon and yours as well. I shall share with you when this good man, this humble saint, answers my plea.
Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.
Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls - Pray for me.
This prayer was found in the fiftieth year of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In 1505 it was sent from the Pope to Emperor Charles when he was going into battle. Whoever shall read this prayer or hear it or keep it about themselves, shall never die a sudden death, or be drowned, not shall poison take effect of them; neither shall they fall into the hands of the enemy; or shall be burned in any fire, or shall be overpowered in battle.
Say for nine mornings for anything you may desire. It has never been known to fail, so be sure you really want what you ask.
The End of Catholic Eire--Front Page of Irish Times for Abortion
Posted by
Supertradmum
And, update http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1127/breaking3.html
selling out to the EU...
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/1127/1224327143609.html
and check out yesterday's articles as well
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/1126/1224327096742.html
Fine Gael members and the Labour Party in Eire will push abortion through as the law of the land very soon. This could happen in weeks, not months. Eire had lost its soul, and anyone who thinks otherwise is merely living in deceit.
The abortion center of Marie Stopes opened a month ago in Belfast and all is ready here for the same type of abortion mills. Malta will be the only country holding out, and that country is also under pressure to change the law. Catholics have only themselves to blame. Only 25% of Catholics in this country go to Sunday Mass and of those, some support contraception. 89% of the Irish claim to be Catholic, but the immigrant population is huge and mostly, except for the Polish people, not Catholic.
The Catholics are responsible for this horrible turn of events. The nation should be in mourning.
From LifeSiteNews on line:http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/government-will-act-speedily-to-legalize-abortion-irish-labour-party
selling out to the EU...
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/1127/1224327143609.html
ANALYSIS: The commitment by Taoiseach Enda Kenny that Fine Gael will impose the whip to ensure the passage of legislation covering abortion in limited circumstances is a clear signal that there will not be any serious conflict between the Coalition parties on the issue.
Kenny’s comments yesterday reflect the broad consensus in both Government parties about the need to deal clearly and decisively with the abortion issue in the light of the European Court of Human Rights judgment and the death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway University Hospital.
The vast majority of TDs from both parties have been guarded in their comments since the Savita case. They were determined not to say anything to inflame the situation as they feared being dragged back into the kind of bitterness that characterised debate on the abortion issue in previous decades.
While a number of Fine Gael TDs had expressed reservations at a parliamentary party meeting last October about legislating for abortion, the mood in the party has been tempered by the tragic event in Galway and by the emerging shape of the Government response to the European Court judgment.
The party’s TDs have been reassured by the indications that the legislation is likely to provide a legal framework for existing medical practice in situations where a mother’s life is in danger rather than providing for a wider abortion regime.
and check out yesterday's articles as well
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/1126/1224327096742.html
Fine Gael members and the Labour Party in Eire will push abortion through as the law of the land very soon. This could happen in weeks, not months. Eire had lost its soul, and anyone who thinks otherwise is merely living in deceit.
The abortion center of Marie Stopes opened a month ago in Belfast and all is ready here for the same type of abortion mills. Malta will be the only country holding out, and that country is also under pressure to change the law. Catholics have only themselves to blame. Only 25% of Catholics in this country go to Sunday Mass and of those, some support contraception. 89% of the Irish claim to be Catholic, but the immigrant population is huge and mostly, except for the Polish people, not Catholic.
The Catholics are responsible for this horrible turn of events. The nation should be in mourning.
From LifeSiteNews on line:http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/government-will-act-speedily-to-legalize-abortion-irish-labour-party
The Irish Times reports that Labour party backbenchers will be “under pressure” from the party to vote for former Socialist TD Clare Daly’s revamped abortion Bill this Wednesday. The Times quoted Labour Senator Ivana Bacik saying, “It will be difficult to oppose Clare Daly’s Bill without some statement of intent to legislate.”
Minister Howlin told the state broadcaster RTE, “We have an expert group now to tell us in very considered detail how [to legislate on abortion] and I have no doubt that this Government will act very speedily in a measured, calm way to provide for that instruction from Supreme Court.”
The report by the government-appointed expert group on abortion will be brought to Cabinet tomorrow and is set to be made officially public next week. In sections that have already been leaked, however, the report presents several options for dealing with the legal situation on abortion, while prioritizing legislation that would legalize “limited abortion.” It recommends an appeal process for women who have been refused abortions and that the minister of health create centers for “terminations” to be committed.
and also http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/irish-bishops-lives-of-mother-and-child-are-both-sacred
and also http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/irish-bishops-lives-of-mother-and-child-are-both-sacred
Blogging in an unreal world--Advent calendars for dogs
Posted by
Supertradmum
cute dog |
Yes, Advent calendars for dogs, presumably because people are not having children. My cats could not understand God, or Advent or fasting and all four of them, even Vladimir, were more intelligent than any dog, especially Gillie, Puddy, and Miho. What is the point?
It is very strange being in a large urban area in the centre of Dublin when the streets are full of Christmas decorations and the stores are advertising the usual for presents. It is odd that all the people on the street in Grafton Street, or St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre are part of this culture where less than 25% of those 89% who call themselves Catholic go to Sunday Mass. Most of the people I see daily are not Irish, by the way. I do not have statistics on minorities in Ireland as to religious observance. The vast majority of the youth I see are from Poland, China, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, and other places.
To me, Christmas, as described by Dickens, is in the heart, not in the presents. For those who are not Catholic, nor Christian, Christmas is a time for gathering, having dinner, celebrating something, maybe or maybe nothing. I find it perplexing and disturbing that an entire 75% or more of the Catholic population are living a life separated from God and that the others who are not Catholic or Christian shop anyway. It strikes me as odd that the decorations and sales are there merely for mammon and not for the Babe in the Manger. I have not seen one religious decoration, although I saw an Advent Calendar for sale in a shop with a Hello Kitty theme and chocolate for everyday, which is in opposition to what we had, which were little doors with Scriptural references. No chocolate in Advent in my house.
This coming Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent. I intend to do the Byzantine Fast, which is not hard to do in my situation, but demands attention. That is, no meat on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and no dairy on Tuesday and Thursday. Saturday and Sunday would not be fast days. Part of my fast will be for the thousands I see daily on Johnson Court or Clarendon Street or Duke Street, which remind me so much of the lines of T. S. Eliot: the words applying to London can apply to Dublin.
Unreal City, | 60 |
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn, | |
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, | |
I had not thought death had undone so many. | |
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled, | |
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet. | 65 |
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street, | |
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours | |
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine. | |
There I saw one I knew, and stopped him, crying “Stetson! | |
You who were with me in the ships at Mylae! | 70 |
That corpse you planted last year in your garden, | |
Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year? | |
Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed? | |
Oh keep the Dog far hence, that’s friend to men, | |
Or with his nails he’ll dig it up again! | 75 |
You! hypocrite lecteur!—mon semblable,—mon frère!” |
Thanks to EWTN for this--stirring the pot
Posted by
Supertradmum
|
Well... Christ never said apostles would be rich
Posted by
Supertradmum
From an article on the eight worst degrees for return of investment on the education received....Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? Matthew 19:27
...and if you can get a job in the first place.
And Jesus said to them: Amen, I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:28
Religious Studies/Theology
Talk about finding your calling. While devoting your life to the church and dedicating your life to the service of others is laudable, it's not going to leave you with a lot of profit after you earn your degree. Here are three commonly held jobs theological jobs:
RELIGIOUS EDUCATOR
Median Salary: $47,957
30-Year Earnings: $2,828,502
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 75%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 22%
CHAPLAIN -- HEALTHCARE
Median Salary: $51,127
30-Year Earnings: $3,015,174
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 80%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 24%
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Median Salary: $61,811
30-Year Earnings: $3,645,610
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 96%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 29%
RELIGIOUS EDUCATOR
Median Salary: $47,957
30-Year Earnings: $2,828,502
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 75%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 22%
CHAPLAIN -- HEALTHCARE
Median Salary: $51,127
30-Year Earnings: $3,015,174
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 80%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 24%
ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Median Salary: $61,811
30-Year Earnings: $3,645,610
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Public College: 96%
ROI of Degree Earner Attending Private College: 29%
The wind and the rain in Eire
Posted by
Supertradmum
I am a rational creature. I am not superstitious or sentimental. I do not believe in most popular private revelations which are not approved by the Church. However, being in Ireland has brought something to my attention.
There is something odd about the weather. I noticed it when I flew into Ireland a year ago almost exactly a year ago to the date I shall be leaving.
Now, I grew up in tornado alley, going into the basement because of tornadoes at least seven times in my life in that area. I lived in a town where people died of tornadoes.
I never felt about the winds and gales in America or England as I do here.
Twice, I wanted to go to a rugby game here in Dublin, but the weather was horrid.
In Cobh, the wind and rain comes in almost daily. The fog is so thick there are fog horns and ships frequently have to line up and wait to go out into the Atlantic, waiting for the fog to lift.
I realize that the Green Isle is green because of the rain. But, the daily onslaught of wind and gales in certain areas is said to add to the suicide rate here. There is a connection between mental health and weather, or climate.
But, this is almost as if the constant onslaught of wind and rain is determined to create an atmosphere of sadness and dread.
Also, the weather keeps people inside and interferes with the growth of community. There is a reason why the southern countries seem to have more community than those in the north.
And, this is extreme.
No winter sports here, as in Minnesota or Wisconsin or Alaska or Alberta. No snow, no ice, just wind and rain.
Just wind and rain. Just wondering.
There is something odd about the weather. I noticed it when I flew into Ireland a year ago almost exactly a year ago to the date I shall be leaving.
Now, I grew up in tornado alley, going into the basement because of tornadoes at least seven times in my life in that area. I lived in a town where people died of tornadoes.
I never felt about the winds and gales in America or England as I do here.
Twice, I wanted to go to a rugby game here in Dublin, but the weather was horrid.
In Cobh, the wind and rain comes in almost daily. The fog is so thick there are fog horns and ships frequently have to line up and wait to go out into the Atlantic, waiting for the fog to lift.
I realize that the Green Isle is green because of the rain. But, the daily onslaught of wind and gales in certain areas is said to add to the suicide rate here. There is a connection between mental health and weather, or climate.
But, this is almost as if the constant onslaught of wind and rain is determined to create an atmosphere of sadness and dread.
Also, the weather keeps people inside and interferes with the growth of community. There is a reason why the southern countries seem to have more community than those in the north.
And, this is extreme.
No winter sports here, as in Minnesota or Wisconsin or Alaska or Alberta. No snow, no ice, just wind and rain.
Just wind and rain. Just wondering.
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