Thursday, 13 March 2014
On Hearing God
People ask me how I "hear" God. As a Catholic, God speaks to me through the Catholic Church's wonderful teaching, and, of course, through the Mass.
God speaks to all of us through the Scriptures, the daily readings, the Divine Office.
God speaks to us through the meditations of the rosary.
God speaks to us through the events of our lives, and through other people we meet.
The gift of listening must be developed in prayer and in the daily events of our lives.
But, rarely, God speaks to us directly. And, this is rare. I can count on one hand the times I have "heard" God directly. And, the reasons He did this was to get my attention and to emphasize a point. Some of us suffer from self-doubt when we think we are perceiving God in prayer. But, on those rare occasions when God "speaks" and one "hears", one cannot doubt the Voice of God.
We must not compare ourselves with other people either in prayer or in the events of our daily lives. To compare is a useless endeavor, as each one of us is unique and God deals with us all uniquely.
A spiritual director would help, of course, but many cannot find one. Good friends who are solid, orthodox Catholics can also help us discern the Voice of God. Sometimes, someone holy will tell us the same thing we think we heard from God.
Pray for clarity.
Praying for those away from the Church
Like so many other families, my immediate family has three members who are fallen-away Catholics. They are "practical atheists".
Thinking about them and praying daily for their re-version on the rosary brings up feelings of grief. Yet, one must trust in Divine Providence, to provide grace for these persons.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux ends his treatise on the steps of humility with a meditation on St. Martha at the tomb of her brother, St. Lazarus. Bernard remarks that she had faith, but perhaps we do not understand how to ask God for things or for persons. In his effort to teach us humility, Bernard notes that the humble do not demand answers to prayers, but request, politely, with trust.
In addition, Bernard writes that those who have died spiritually, such as our family members who are living in sin, separated from God and His Church, not attending Mass, not going to confession or receiving Christ in the Eucharist, are like the monk who has been cast out of the monastery for not only grievous sins, but for a spirit of rebellion, as well as hardness of heart.
Bernard reminds us that on Good Friday, we do not pray for the "excommunicated". But, pray we must as long as there is hope for repentance, for change. Lay people are excommunicated for some serious reasons.
But God forbid that we should cease to pray in
our hearts for such even as these though we do
not venture to do so openly, as Paul also mourned
for those whom he knew to have died impenitent.
For although they shut themselves out from our united prayers,
they cannot altogether do so from
their effects. They should nevertheless realize
the great danger which those incur whom the
Church, which prays confidently for Jews, heretics
and heathen, dares not to mention in her worship.
For when on Good Friday prayer is expressly
offered for certain wicked persons, no mention is
made of those who are excommunicated.
Late postings today
Sorry for late posting today. Horrid asthma attacks keeping me from sleeping...
And, I am teaching Greek drama and poetry in the morning in private tutoring. So see you all later today.
And, I am teaching Greek drama and poetry in the morning in private tutoring. So see you all later today.
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Spring?
A neighbor on the outskirts had a possum in their hen house this past weekend.
I did not know possums ate eggs. But, the animals are out again here in Iowa-muskrats, skunks, coyotes, rabbits, mice, etc.
Spring seems to be coming...
Oh my goodness-it is snowing
Again, we were suppose to miss the big snow, but we are getting flurries. Many people in northwest Illinois, and in Chicago are without power, with more snow.
What a long winter....
What a long winter....
Tuesday, 11 March 2014
A sad note, as I am teaching Sophocles again
The lost work of Sophocles is said to include Water-Carriers, Judgment, Assembly of the Achaeans, Banquet of the Achaeans, Ethiopians, Scyrians, Larissaeans, Iberians, Phaeacians, Mysians, Phrygians, Muses, Captive Women, Phthian Women, Scythian Women, Camicians, Colchian Women, Lemnian Women (two versions), Laconian Women, Lovers of Achilles, Momus, Image Bearers, Shepherds, Root-Cutters, Theseus, Atreus, Iphigenia, Odysseus, Madness of Odysseus, Andromache, Daedalus, Meleager, Pandora, Minos, Tantalus, Eris, Cerberus, Laocoon, Ion, Ixion, Sisyphus, Andromeda, Niobe, Voyage of Nauplius , Troilus, Phaedra, Triptolemus, Helen Claimed, Marriage of Helen, Helen Seized, Philoctetes at Troy, Clytemnestra, Tyro (two), the Fire-Kindler, Acrisius, Alexander, Priam,Amphiaraus, Euryalus, Danae, Hermione, Iobates, Aletes, Dionysiskos, Pelias, Epigoni, Amphitryon, Athamas (two), Heracles, Heracles at Taenarum, Tyndareus, Akanthoplex, Tympanists, Thyestes (three), Admetus, Phoenix, Aegisthus, Ajax of Locris, Cedalion, Chryses, Creusa, Nausicaa, Eriphyle, Erigone, Eumelus, Sinon, Oeneus, Aegeus, Eurypylus, Polyxena, Palamedes, Memnon, Thamyras, Inachus, Teucer, Hippodamia, Tereus, Nauplius, , Salmoneus, Procris, Oenomaus, Amycus, Eurysaces, , Peleus, Iocles, Hipponous, Alcmaeon, Herakleiskos, Phrixus, Polyides, Phineus (two versions), Iambe, Hybris, Dolopes, Antenoridae, Aleadae.
Happy Earthly Birthday
Álvaro del Portillo y Diez de Sollano, pray for us and especially for my immigration needs.
(March 11, 1914 - March 23, 1994)
Letter Writing
I have letters over 120 years old written in old Czech from my great-grandfather to his then fiance, my great-grandmother. These are in a file in storage in Illinois. They are love letters.
My mother kept the letters my dad sent her from the "front" in WWII. Bits are cut out, of course, as all the letters were read by authorities and locations removed.
Letter writing has passed into the realms of "lost art". Letter writing kept families together for centuries, even millenia. In fact, the art of letter writing was prized and children were taught how to write informal and formal letters.
Without letter writing, we would not have the epistles in the New Testament.
Some novels were written in the "letter format". And, many famous plays contain letters.
One thinks of the letters in Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion, for two examples, and how important these are to the plots.
We now write short tweets, comprised of abbreviations and odd combinations. We write on Skype in chat acronyms. One must learn these in order to communicate even in text messaging.
But, the beautiful idea of sitting down and composing excellent sentences for a family member or a friend, even that "special friend" has become an ideal of the past.
I hope letter writing does not completely disappear. It is interesting that the postal services of both Ireland and America have fallen into disarray. In my childhood, one could expect mail twice a day, delivered to one's home. Now, the postal services find bags of unopened letters in mail carriers' houses, or even in the River Liffey. I lost an entire $1,000 dollars worth of books, including rare editions of Thomas Aquinas, sent through the post to my new address. These were deemed as "stolen".
Also, a Christmas package of goodies was not delivered to my apartment in Ireland, but sent back after one try, when I was out at Mass.
However, the English postal system seems good to this day. I hope it stays that way. American mail service is considering not delivering on Saturdays in this area.
How sad. The passing of an era of communication which was more genteel and kind....
I wrote a letter to the Pope almost four months ago. I do not know if His Holiness received it. It was in Spanish. You may all take a minute to pray that he did read it and may respond.
Some of my older readers may remember this popular song from the pre-twitter, pre-email and fb days....
Give me a ticket for an aeroplane
Ain't got time to take a fast train
Lonely days are gone, I'ma goin' home
My baby just wrote me a letter
I don't care how much money I gotta spend
Got to get back to my baby again
Lonely days are gone, I'ma goin' home
My baby just wrote me a letter
Well she wrote me a letter
Said she couldn't live without me no more
Listen mister can't you see
I gotta get back to my baby once more, anyway
Followed
Every time, and I mean, every time, I put a link on this blog related to JihadWatch or news concerning the Middle East, I get "readers" from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. This is no accident.
It is not only NSA which is following us. Automatic trips of some sort....or people wasting time on a small, very small blogger.
How glad I am to be a Catholic, free of tyranny and living in the love of Christ, rather than in the fear of losing power. I have never cared about gaining power, or status, or fame.
To be small and humble should be the goal of every Christian. Christ humbled Himself. From Philippians 2.
1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charity, if any society of the spirit, if any bowels of commiseration:
2 Fulfill ye my joy, that you may be of one mind, having the same charity, being of one accord, agreeing in sentiment.
3 Let nothing be done through contention, neither by vain glory: but in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves:
4 Each one not considering the things that are his own, but those that are other men's.
5 For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man.
8 He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.
9 For which cause God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names:
10 That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth:
11 And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
Those who follow Christ become like Him. We become like those we love.
I repeat; we become like those we love. We become like Christ if we love Him.
Christ is the Incarnate One, the God Who became Man. He is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, and the Trinity is my God.
The reasons why idolatry is so horrible a sin are twofold. One, we do not give God true worship, the worship He deserves as God. And, two, we become like the gods we adore.
Have you ever noticed that people who love power more than God become tyrants, even in families? Or, that people who love money become miserly, unloving, turned in on themselves?
If we love Christ, we become like Him.
He is my God. Who is your God?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)