A Small Thought from Catherine of Siena: Never Stop Doing Good

Raphael Tapestry: Stoning of St. Stephen. See Paul with Cloaks

Please, especially new readers, check out St. Catherine of Siena and all the Doctors of the Church in that series on this blog. Follow the tags.

A brief section from Catherine's Dialogues seems appropriate today. Remembrance is also a theme today. Christ spoke to Catherine about the stages of repentance and holiness. Here is one part; my boldface for emphasis. Note hat St. Stephen prayed for those who were stoning him. St. Stephen's prayers for St. Paul were answered.

Of the fruit of worldly men’s tears.

“It remains for Me to tell you of the fruit produced by tears shed with desire, and received into the soul. But first will I speak to you of that first class of men whom I mentioned at the beginning of this My discourse; those, that is, who live miserably in the world, making a god of created things and of their own sensuality, from which comes damage to their body and soul. I said to you that every tear proceeded from the heart, and this is the truth, for the heart grieves in proportion to the love it feels. So worldly men weep when their heart feels pain, that is, when they are deprived of something which they loved.

“But many and diverse are their complainings. Do you know how many? There are as many as there exist different loves. And inasmuch as the root of self-love is corrupt, everything that grows from it is corrupt also. Self-love is a tree on which grow nothing but fruits of death, putrid flowers, stained leaves, branches bowed down, and struck by various winds. This is the tree of the soul. For you are all trees of love, and without love you cannot live, for you have been made by Me for love. The soul who lives virtuously, places the root of her tree in the valley of true humility; but those who live thus miserably are planted on the mountain of pride, whence it follows that since the root of the tree is badly planted, the tree can bear no fruits of life but only of death. Their fruits are their actions, which are all poisoned by many and diverse kinds of sin, and if they should produce some good fruit among their actions, even it will be spoiled by the foulness of its root, for no good actions done by a soul in mortal sin are of value for eternal life, for they are not done in grace. Let not, however, such a soul abandon on this account its good works, for every good deed is rewarded, and every evil deed punished. A good action performed out of a state of grace is not sufficient to merit eternal life, as has been said, but My Justice, My Divine Goodness, grants an incomplete reward, imperfect as the action which obtains it. Often such a man is rewarded in temporal matters; sometimes I give him more time in which to repent, as I have already said to you in another place. This also will I sometimes do, I grant him the life of grace by means of My servants who are pleasing and acceptable to Me. I acted in this way with My glorious apostle Paul, who abandoned his infidelity, and the persecutions he directed against the Christians, at the prayer of St. Stephen. See truly, therefore, that, in whatever state a man may be, he should never stop doing good. Link here.

No Anonymous

Note instruction on side.

Remembrance, Two

For fear is nothing else but a yielding up of the succours from thought. Wisdom 17:11 DR

Like the popular words, from The Song of Music, remembering what our favourite things are can chase away fear.

Maria sings, 

When the dog bites

When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don't feel so bad

But, for those pursuing God, the favourite things are the words of Scripture.

The Psalms are full of remembrances.

and my God. My soul is troubled within myself : therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan and Hermoniim, from the little hill. Ps. 42:6 DR

If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in the morning...Ps. 63:6 DR

One understands that one no longer loves someone once loved if that person is forgotten in memory.

Those one loves, one remembers, again, and again, and again. 

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten. Ps. 136:5 DR

St. David is the man who had the heart of God. He is a type of Christ; prophet, king, priest.

His words resound in remembrance of his great love for God. Here is more of Psalm 136, some say written by David as a prophecy for Jeremiah.

[1] Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion: [2] On the willows in the midst thereof we hung up our instruments. [3] For there they that led us into captivity required of us the words of songs. And they that carried us away, said: Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion. [4] How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land? [5] If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten. [6] Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee: If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy.

To be grateful, is to remember.

To be continued...

The Remembrance of Things Past

[11] For they were examined for the remembrance of thy words, and were quickly healed, lest falling into deep forgetfulness, they might not be able to use thy help. [12] For it was neither herb, nor mollifying plaster that healed them, but thy word, O Lord, which healeth all things. [13] For it is thou, O Lord, that hast power of life and death, and leadest down to the gates of death, and bringest back again: [14] A man indeed killeth through malice, and when the spirit is gone forth, it shall not return, neither shall he call back the soul that is received: [15] But it is impossible to escape thy hand. Wisdom 19, DR

Remembrance of the past makes us the People of the Book, the Bible. Remembrance forms the soul of the Holy Mass. In remembrance, the reality of the Blood and Wine becomes the Body and Blood of Christ.

In remembrance, we are healed, helped through the Word of God, through Christ Himself.

We are living in a time of forgetfulness  The young have never been taught the past. They no longer know or understand the history of their family, their tribe, their civilization. In remembrance is life, but in forgetfulness is death.

When one forgets to eat and drink, one dies. When one does not study, one's mind dies. When one forgets to pray, the soul dies.

The yearly remembering of the Passover enkindled love and identity for the Jews. Identity is not only found in one's own person, but in one's DNA, one's ancestors, one's own history and the history passed down.

Life is passed down from history. One forgets that the name of Moses' Pharaoh is usually not remembered, but the great prophet is. Moses is alive to us, and in fact, at the Transfiguation, Moses and Elijah appeared with the Christ, all three very much alive. Christ overcame death, and we recall the Resurrection, as well as the Passion, daily.

Death is only overcome by the remembrance of the Church's Teaching and sacramental life. Death is overcome by love. There is only one Man, Who is God, Who has power over death and give life. That Person is Jesus Christ, a God-Man who entered into history and became part of our remembrance, our history. 

Remembrance allows for reflection, the daily Lectio Divina we all should do. Remembrance allows for gratitude and, therefore, for humility. Remembrance is part of who we are and who we shall be.

To be continued....

Thoughts on Martha and Mary

 
I don't think it's a contradiction to say that marriage is a vocation in
the same terms as a religious vocation AND to say that the grace of a
married vocation is a substantively different grace.

I know it's not a popular thing to say in the culture-of-life era, but I think it's
important if we are to understand the fundamental differences between
marriage and holy orders, why most receive the former, and why few
receive both.

On the other hand, I do admit that there is something of this styling
of the married vocation found in the secular clergy, as in teaching,
in active religious orders, or indeed, missionary work. Not all
vocations to the priesthood and religious life are contemplative
vocations. Christ's words to Martha and Mary were a sign of the grace
of that moment, not necessarily a command about their lives or their
fundamental nature. I don't think Christ in this passage is giving a
"calling". The analogy to vocation is just that; an analogy pointing
to a species of grace which requires a life condition in order to live
it to the full.

I am reminded of a discussion I had with another friend once; he was
critiquing the lifestyle of priests and pointing out that the model of
priesthood, John Vianney, lived as an ascetic and essentially worked
himself to death. I suggested that this was indeed *a* model of
priesthood but not necessarily an ideal. 

Our path to sainthood lies in our vocation but also in our character,
our environment, and our free will. 

I think it would be an unfair generalization to say that all
priests should be like John Vianney, in the same token that all laymen should be
like Thomas More, etc. That's precisely why there is such a beautiful
panoply of religious orders, rules, and charisms.
I do think, however, that when finding one's vocation one needs to
simplify rather than complicate - especially in the present age in the
West where we are flooded with "career paths" and "options". 

That's why I think traditional understanding of vocation and the "grace of a
calling" need to be rediscovered. Sometimes we see fundamental truth
only in the most basic and childlike interpretations.

This applies to some attitudes in the States right now....watch and think

Thanks to New Sister for the links. Thinking of making heroes out of the anti-heroes....


If you cannot make the connections, think a bit more...There are two more on this subject on YouTube.

England Won Again, And How!

Rajneesh Gupta ‏@m

Australia's biggest Test defeats: by 675 runs (v Eng, Brisbane, 1928) by 408 runs (v WI, Adelaide, 1980) by 347 runs (v Eng today)#Ashes

How not to express yourselves

I like to twitter and read blogs, but one thing I have noticed in the past few weeks are the number of Catholic and Christian under 40s who think nothing of using all the four letter words.

They seem not to be shocked by the use of s..t, f.., d..n, bl...y, and many other words.

How did this happen? Because I am an ex-teacher of youth, I have thought about this phenomenon and have come up with several answers to the question of why the decay of expression-and this is a phenomenon in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and America.

One, the decline of education, the dumbing down of standards has led to a lack of understanding of language, literature, and poetry.

Two, the decline/dumbing down has meant that vocabulary is no longer taught in the schools, which is sad.

Three, few love the English language and see the beauty of such a large vocabulary.

Four, laziness.

Five, spoiled brat syndrome-Mum or Dad never corrected mouthy kids. No discipline.

Six, a false idea of tolerance.

Seven, parents not teaching children manners or appropriate behaviour. No character formation.

Eight, the loss of the idea that coarseness is actually a sin-yes, a sin against charity.

Nine, spoiled brat syndrome reason two-no one can tell me how to talk.

Ten, the effect of entertainment on the culture.

Eleven, wanting to be IN.

Twelve, obvious disrespect for authority, elders, hierarchies.

I am so tired of blocking spoiled brats on twitter. Language does not seem to matter to them-so why tweet?

Using four letter words is also a sign of idiocy, not sophistication.

Blocking away....

Excellent Sermon and Excellent Ladies

The sermon this morning give at the TLM at St. Kevin's encouraged all of us. Father William Richardson used both the Old and New Testament readings in his movement from sorrow to encouragement.

Father noted that we are living in dark times, and that things will get worse. He expects ssm to be passed in Ireland as well (see my blog on the EU meeting on this two years ago). Reminding us that it is easy to be a Christian when the entire society is Christian, that God is calling all of us Catholics to be lights in the darkness, and hold fast to our faith despite the culture. The priest said loud and clear that things will get worse now that Ireland is an arm of the EU. Nice to hear truth...

Father pointed out that Christ wept over Jerusalem because the leaders of the Jews and the people would not listen, would not recognize Him. But, Christ did not stay weeping over Jerusalem, and despite His real sorrow, He moved on, preaching the Gospel and doing the works of God.

This is what we must do. With our eyes open, and without, as Father said, the support of the establishment, we continue in faith.

After Mass, I have coffee with four lively ladies my age, who told me horrific stories of the Church here-liturgical abuses, bad catechesis, bad priests, bad bishops, the same old stories as in England and America.

What I did not know was that the government penalizes home schoolers by not giving those families the child credit given to every family in Ireland.

This is persecution of orthodox Catholics. Also, I did not know that women who worked were openly praised by this government, while women who stayed at home are ignored. Shades of Marxist Russia...

The ladies, however, represent the dying breed of Catholics who were raised in an orthodox manner. However, two said that in the 1970s, the bishops instructed, and the nuns complied, that parents were to be discouraged in teaching religion in the home. WOW! Out and out undermining of the family...communism in the Church.

The enemies are within the gates...

Hold fast, be perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect. We encouraged each other to pray and hold fast.

Repeat post on manner and character formation

Thursday, 6 December 2012

My dance card is full and young people will not believe this

Posted by Supertradmum

Talk about generation gaps. The construction of my society growing up is gone, gone, gone. From education to social manners, to identity as a Catholic sub-culture, we had a security in knowing who we were and where we were going.

Talking with Generation Millennials, I have realized over the past few years that what I had for coursework in 7th and 8th grade they had in high school and what I had in high school they have in college or university. What I had in college or university, they get in graduate school.

Depressing. When I was in high school, schools were divided into "terminal degree" high schools and "college preparatory schools". In the second grouping, the high schools were run on three tracks, and students were placed in this tracking according to their interests and abilities. Terminal degree high schools actually taught a skill, such as welding, accounting or business skills, and things where a student could walk out the door and get a job immediately.

In those days, we knew that people were not created the same. I do not have my high school curriculum in front of me, but it would be similar to this. This would be the top layer, or third track of the college prep school. All girls, by the way----

First year-freshman year
Logic
Civics (general and American)
World History first semester; European History second semester
Geography
Algebra I and possibly II
Latin I
English Literature-first semester general; second Shakespeare
English Grammar
Religion-Old Testament first semester; New Testament Second
General Science
Extra-Curricular Studies, such as journalism, choir, art
Sport and Gym Class

Second year-sophomore
Ethics (wow)
Latin II
American History first adn second semester; America Government in more detail second as option
English Literature-Essays-including 18th century ones; second semester Poetry including Shakespeare's sonnets and Mystical Poets
Composition first semester; speech and debate second
Biology all year
Geometry I and II
Religion-Church History, both semesters, but staring with a sacraments section
Extra-Curricular studies, such as choir, drama, art or journalism or all
Sport and Gym Class

Third Year-juniors
Advanced Math I and II; either Trig or another option independent studies; Algebra II; some in Pre-Calculus
French I
Religion- great Catholic thinkers; world religions
Contemporary History (usually from WWI to present)
Chemistry
Extra-curricular choices again including Drama class, choir or above
Sport and Gym Class
English Literature of the Modern Age-novels and poetry
(Optional Typing)
(Optional Driver Training)


One also took college entrance tests in junior year for applying for scholarships. We had up to four hours of homework per night. Ask my dad.

Fourth Year-seniors
Independent studies in History
Advanced Math-Calculus
Religion-marriage prep; modern issues such as Vat. II
Physics, optional
French II
English Literature-drama and world drama; debate as advanced options
Extra-curricullar again like drama or choir or aboves
Free time to take college courses for credit
Research skills
Intro to Philosophy
Sport and Gym

We had some choices for sport.

I may be forgetting something. The mathematics classes varied after Geometry. I took Algebra II and my brothers went way ahead of me in Trig, Pre-Calc and Calc. etc. We had options. I was the feature editor of the newspaper and teen editor for the local city newspaper. I did almost everything-choir, drama, etc.  Yes, we had uniforms very similar to those below except we had to wear black or brown shoes--- and no, I was not a cheerleader.

We were allowed to seek excellence.

Ah, social skills. For our first dances, we had little booklets on which to write who was dancing which dance with us. They had little ribbons so that we could wear them around our wrist and there is a photo of a young girl with one. We called them dance cards. In my Grandmothers' days, these were silver and gold. 

This custom is where the phrases, "pencil me in" comes from....and "my dance card is full."

We had formal and informal dances. We had teas. We had picnics which were planned. We did not have much fast-food. Pizza Hut opened in my home town when I was 16. That was where I went on my first date, with the neighbour boy and his friend who tagged along. I remember exactly what I wore-a white top with large black polka dots and a black skirt;  and the date: January 1, 1965. I turned 16 two days later. My parents had known the parents of that boy since before I was born, and we played together even as toddlers. Still, permission had to be sought and granted. That was how the culture was disciplined and set. It was all very comforting. There was no stress as most people in those stratifications has so much in common to make such socializing relaxed. And, we had no idea about sex. We could just be ourselves, and learn to use our manners, and wait.

Manners helped us, as well as the truly Christian character of the culture at the time. 

The list, taken from the website below, is what we learned naturally in all of these events. We even learned sports etiquette. We went roller skating and ice skating. We played foursomes in tennis. We did not go shopping for fun. That was not done then. One shopped with one's mom. Two of my girls friends had to go shopping with their dad, as he had to approve their clothes. He was an Italian dad. My dad would not be caught dead in a ladies' shop. Good thing, too.

EVERYDAY MANNERS
First impressions Introductions Greeting and shaking hands Paying and receiving compliments Correspondence Telephone manners Family dining Table manners Polite conversation When to rise Doors and coats Sports etiquette
FORMAL MANNERS
Formal dining Party courtesies Hosting a party Receiving lines Eating unusual foods Instructional dinners
CHARACTER EDUCATION
Honesty Integrity Promise keeping Fidelity Caring Respect Citizenship Excellence Accountability Handling peer pressure

All the dances had adults present: the nuns and our parents were chaperones. Sometimes the priests came for a short while. All the parents knew all the other parents in your track, mostly. Dating was strictly controlled by parents. Boys were very polite. My dad reminds me of the Friday night I had one young man at the front day, one at the back door, and one on the phone. I was not that popular. I had a pink Princess phone and a turquoise blue transistor radio with a matching leather case--trendy.  We had plays, concerts, football, basketball, track, wrestling, and all kinds of things. We had cotillions to go to and strict rules on dating regarding times and frequency. We did things in groups. We sang when we went out in groups. We dated in order to find a mate. Mom and Dad were part of the process of dating.

Very interesting post on guilds

http://godefroidkurth.blogspot.ie/

thanks to @cjyurkanin 

Apparently, the Pope's Favourite Crucifixion Painting

I love Marc Chagall as well. Thanks to @hambisela  

Thinking and Acting Like Catholics-Encouragement

One little word shows me a person who is on the way to holiness, separating the sheep from the goats-encouragement. Those who encourage understand the Heart of Christ. Encouraging people find solutions and do not dwell in miseries. I have been surrounded by whiners lately. They only think of themselves.

Meaning: To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten. 

St. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:

1 But of the times and moments, brethren, you need not, that we should write to you: 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord shall so come as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say: Peace and security; then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief. 5 For all you are the children of light and children of the day: we are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do: but let us watch, and be sober. 7 For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunk, are drunk in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, having on the breast plate of faith and charity and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us unto wrath: but unto the purchasing of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us: that, whether we watch or sleep, we may live together with him. 11 For which cause comfort one another and edify one another, as you also do.12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them who labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you:

13 That you esteem them more abundantly in charity, for their work's sake. Have peace with them.

14 And we beseech you, brethren, rebuke the unquiet, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient towards all men.

15 See that none render evil for evil to any man; but ever follow that which is good towards each other, and towards all men.

16 Always rejoice.

17 Pray without ceasing.

18 In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all.

I am avoiding people who are negative all the time. If I must be in their presence, I try and introduce encouragement or edifying words. That does not mean that I avoid unpleasant subjects. But, there is a difference between critiquing evil and being negative. I am not talking about being a Pollyanna, either. There is false encouragement and encouragement based on the Gospel. Admonishing the sinner could be encouragement, if one is kind and is being a true friend.

Look at the word-it means to bring courage back to a person who has lost hope.

thanks to wikipaintings.org

The prophets look forward to the Day of the Lord. St. John the Baptist called for repentance, but his message was one of hope.

There is a malaise among some people which is the absorption of their own problems in conversation. Most of those who I know who are complainers are, ironically, wealthy and comfortable. They look for negativity, and lack grateful hearts.

Most of my very poor friends find contentment is suffering and in God. They do not complain.

Gross negativity can be a sign of mental illness. But, even God can overcome depression and sadness, and lead those who need medication to help.

Pray without ceasing. Encourage one another, for the days will come when we shall be grateful for basic necessities. Get into good habits now. Think and act like Catholics, not like the pagans, who are in love with the things of this world and who lack gratitude.

Pray for Our Persecuted Brothers and Sister in Nigeris

http://morningstarnews.org/2013/07/dozens-of-christians-killed-in-plateau-state-nigeria/

No Little House on the Jordan

Do not forget...that Christ, His Mother and Foster Father created a peaceful, holy home under a tyrannical, violent government. At this time, it would do all of us some good to meditate on what it means to maintain faith, hope and love in extremely difficult times.

Judea was a Roman province under a procurator and a puppet king. Both Herod the Great and Herod Antipas were ruthless. Remember Caesar Augustus' famous statement: "I would rather be Herod's pig than Herod's son" as Herod had killed his wife and two of his sons.

Do not think that Joseph, Mary and Jesus lived in a happy, idyllic Little House on the Jordan type of existence. Judea was not the Oklahoma Territories, or Minnesota, or Iowa.

The Roman government was, as you know, highly organized and efficient. That type of government is a two-edged sword, as the same organization and efficiency may be used against the people as well as for the people. The Jews were considered to be low subjects by the Romans.

Pray for the graces this Holy Family had. Pray that Christ is the centre of your family life.

We Are All Called To Be Brides of Christ

Thanks to Wiki for Wedding at Cana by Veronese

Advice on Adoration

Thanks to wiki for the Melozzi da Forli angel

Some of you picked up on the line in my meeting with angels post regarding Adoration.

I shall pass on what the Sister Angel said to me and showed me.

Firstly, she said to remember that Adoration is like being in an X-Ray machine. God will show one all one's sins and tendencies towards sin. But, one must also remember that one builds up to "radiation", and does not over-do Adoration. She warned me against going for more than a few hours a day, for example, and to ease into being in the Presence of God. The Tyburn nuns usually do not do more than two complete hours per day, although the Divine Office is said in the Presence of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

And hour a day to start with and even broken up into two half hours at a time form a good beginning.

Secondly, we must remember that we have bodies and that we are not pure spirits. Therefore, if we are becoming closer to God in prayer and in Adoration, we must not tire ourselves out, but be aware of human limitations. Most of the time I was in Adoration, Sister Angel was as well. She went more than I did.  She obviously had more stamina for Adoration than I did. She said that deep intense prayer needed guidance and she was giving that.

Thirdly,  one must remember that silence is best, not reading anything, not singing, nor the rosary, but complete silence. She showed me this by example, and this was confirmed by what another person said to me about the same time. If one needs to say the Divine Office in front of the Blessed Sacrament, fine, but it is better to come to Christ without any distractions. Sister Angel just sat in front of the Blessed Sacrament or knelt. Of course, she said the Divine Office when the nuns did. But, to learn to contemplate Christ is best. He wants to work healing and repentance in us. He wants to speak to us, and this cannot happen when we are reading prayers. She did remind me to do Lectio Divina, which is a hour of meditation on a Scripture passage a day, and which I did as part of the Benedictine Rule. It is interesting that the week I met her, I was reading and meditating on Tobit. Remember, at that monastery, there was twelve hours of Adoration a day available. She was in the chapel most of the day.

Fourthly, we take back out into the world what we become in adoring Christ. She was keen on this aspect of prayer and meditation-to go out and serve those in the world. I think of another great servant of God.

Mother Theresa had a famous saying on Adoration-"I look at Christ and He looks at me."

One must be prepared for the shock of seeing one's sins and imperfections and be grateful for that knowledge. I am glad that Sister Angel reminded me of my physical as well as mental limitations. Being present to Pure Love is purifying and one must cooperate with the purification of the senses and spirit.

BTW, I mentioned that I never saw her eat. In fact, she would give me some of her food daily, which was very sweet, as her food, as a guest, was better than mine, as being closer to what the nuns ate. She thought I needed it.

For new readers, use the tags or labels at the side and follow the purification series, by putting perfection, perfection again, and coctors of the Church in the search bar; or use the labels and click. There are over 400 posts on this subject.

Quick Post

Later, I shall answer the questions of several commentators. But, I just got back from the Prayer Vigil for Atonement for the passing of the abortion law here in Ireland. About 150 of us, including three priests, Fr. Michael Ross being one of Priests for Life, people from HLI, and John Pridmore prayed the chaplet and the rosary.

Only a few people passing by said nasty things, otherwise it was quiet, but very hot.

This was outside the Dail. Tomorrow, there is another atonement prayer service at Knock at 7:30 pm in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Maybe some of you can make it.

The Purification of A Generation of Children

One of my readers asked me why God did these two things: one, cause the Hebrews to wander in the Sinai wilderness for forty years. She thought that the adoration of the golden calf was dealt with at the foot of the mountain.

Two, she could not understand why the army of  St. Joshua had to kill Canaanites. (Also connected to this, would be the slaughter of the Philistines by St. David.)

Good questions.

Yes, God did punish many of those who built the golden calf by death immediately when Moses came down from the mountain. However, the problem of the interior lives of the Hebrews required that there souls be purified. Of what? As I heard in a sermon long ago, the bodies of the Hebrews were freed from slavery in the Exodus, but their souls had to be freed from the slavery of sin and idolatry in the Wandering.

The hardest thing for some of the Israelites was that they had to adore the Unseen God. Although God spoke to Moses, His Voice was not heard by all. There was too much sin and corruption in the souls of the Hebrews blocking the Voice of God.

One can see that 40 years is a generation. All of those who came out of Egypt, barring a few, like Joshua and Caleb, were not allowed entrance into Canaan, not merely because of punishment for idolatry, but because they simply were not strong enough to conquer evil.

One cannot conquer evil outwardly if one has not conquered it inwardly. This is what purification is all about. As in the purification series here on this blog, the process of allowing God to get rid of all sin, the proclivity to sin and to be filled with the Holy Spirit is necessary not only for personal holiness, but for making the Church and the society holy.

Without personal holiness, the Church is weak. God had to purify His People. They were purified to the point where their children were being formed in God's ways from little on.

This is what we need to do now. Form our children from little on to be pure so that they can overcome evil. Evil will thrive and grow without the purity of St. Joshua.

Secondly, the Canaanites were bad news. I have studied their culture.They sacrificed babies, usually the first-born, to Moloch, and archaeologists have found clay jars with the skeletons of infants in them. They would roll these jars into the mouth of the furnaces of Moloch. They also put the bodies of sacrificed children under the foundations of houses. By the way, an old missionary priest friend of mine told me the Maoris did the same thing with the bodies of their slain enemies. His church was built over a Maori home and the remains were found under every one of the main four posts. The idea that the dead gave strength to a house and protected it is not confined to the Canaanites.

Joshua's name is the same as that of Jesus. The name means Saviour. and Joshua, like many other leaders in the Old Testament, is a type of Christ. He tell us something about Christ and points to Christ's winning the battle over evil and death. He is a type of Christ for leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, as Christ leads us to Heaven. But, not without spiritual warfare.

And Joshua had to fight against cannibals.  I recommend reading the Book of Joshua.
But, the Book of Wisdom also refers to these bloody rituals.

1] O how good and sweet is thy spirit, O Lord, in all things! [2] And therefore thou chastisest them that err, by little and little: and admonishest them, and speakest to them, concerning the things wherein they offend: that leaving their wickedness, they may believe in thee, O Lord. [3] For those ancient inhabitants of thy holy land, whom thou didst abhor, [4] Because they did works hateful to thee by their sorceries, and wicked sacrifices, [5] And those merciless murderers of their own children, and eaters of men' s bowels, and devourers of blood from the midst of thy consecration, DR

The woman who asked the question could not understand offensive warfare dictated by God in the Old Testament.

For a context, many in 2013 have lost the idea of defense; that is, that in Catholic teaching, one may defend one's family, one's nation, and even one's property.

However, the offensive wars of the Old Testament, like the destruction of the five cities by God, two of which were Sodom and Gomorrah, are hard for modern Catholics to understand.

God called His People to a holiness and He called them to the Promised Land. His Will was to cleanse those lands of evil so that His People would thrive in holiness.

Christ does not call us to offensive war, except in prayer. Spiritual warfare needs spiritual weapons. However, we have a right to defend ourselves and a duty to defend those who are weak-children, women, the elderly.

As in The Mission, there are two ways to withstand evil. One is fighting, and one is witnessing peace. Both groups were right, but all but a few died.

Make pursuing the path to purification a priority in your lives. Teach your children and form them from the cradle. They shall see the age of the Canaanites. It is already upon us in some places.

Jesus and the Woes

I think that many Catholics forget the list of woes stated by Christ. Two points can be made. One, Christ was addressing those who were the leaders of His People; and two, there are consequences for living a life of hypocrisy.

How can a Catholic avoid being a hypocrite? By thinking like a Catholic and being obedient in all things, great and small, to the Catholic Church. I told my seminarian students years ago that the Catholic Church had become too respectable, too middle-class, too accommodating the the culture. Thankfully, God is changing the culture so that we all shall have to make hard choices. We shall be forced to choose Christ or comfort. That simple. Some Catholics ignore the harsh words of Christ and only want the lollipop words.

Matthew 23, DR

13 But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men, for you yourselves do not enter in; and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter.

14 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because you devour the houses of widows, praying long prayers. For this you shall receive the greater judgment.

15 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him the child of hell twofold more than yourselves.

16 Woe to you blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but he that shall swear by the gold of the temple, is a debtor.

17 Ye foolish and blind; for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

18 And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, is a debtor.

19 Ye blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

20 He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things that are upon it:

21 And whosoever shall swear by temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth in it:

22 And he that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

23 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you tithe mint, and anise, and cummin, and have left the weightier things of the law; judgment, and mercy, and faith. These things you ought to have done, and not to leave those undone.

24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel.

25 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within you are full of rapine and uncleanness.

26 Thou blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside may become clean.

27 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all filthiness.

28 So you also outwardly indeed appear to men just; but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; that build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the just,

30 And say: If we had been in the days of our Fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 Wherefore you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of them that killed the prophets.

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33 You serpents, generation of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of hell?

34 Therefore behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:

35 That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.

36 Amen I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.

37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not?

38 Behold, you house shall be left to you, desolate.

39 For I say to you, you shall not see me henceforth till you say: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Read the perfection series and the Doctors of the Church series. All positive steps to avoid hypocrisy.