In the reflection of sadness can one truly detect the depth of beauty in one's soul. When that part of the soul is revealed, the observer is transported to the next dimension, an invisible dimension that touches the love of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the sacred heart of Christ and the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Starting at about 9:15, when Dutch pianist Lucas Jussen started playing the first few notes of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique (Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13)'s second movement [1], I was transported to this next dimension that is surrounded by absolute beauty that cannot be seen or touched, but felt.
While other pianists are also gifted in piano playing, such as and Yundi Li and Lang Lang, both of whom I admire, their respective interpretation of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique just do not compare to Lucas Jussen's in terms of genuineness and depth.
I personally find Li's interpretation [2] somewhat contrived. If Li had intended for the listener to equate his slowness of playing with the depth of emotion written into the piece by Beethoven, he had not succeeded. To put it bluntly, his piece was to me two-dimensional--a flat translation of notes on a music sheet into sounds.
Compared to Li's, Lang Lang's version [3] sounds wonderful. Technically brilliant, Lang Lang's version was not as meditative as sadness requires in order that the full extent of the beauty waiting on the other side can be appreciated. His piece was somewhat rushed and did not reach the emotional depths of the emotionally tormented Ludwig van Beethoven.
Turning to Lucas Jussen's deeply felt version of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique, I find in the second movement a genuine expression of mature sadness that leads the listener to an abundance of exquisite beauty in the next dimension. The reflection of sadness was perhaps not fully Lucas' own for he was still relatively young when he played it, but the composer's.
Lucas Jussen, 21, has come a long way since he was a boy when he played with Lang Lang Franz Schubert's Marches Militaires (3) for piano, 4 hands, D. 733 (Op. 51) No.1 [4].
When God gives gifts of talent, they are not identical. Yundi Li might be able to express near perfectly the soul of Frédéric Chopin's Nocturnes [5] and Lang Lang the soul of Franz Liszt's many compositions [6]. Beethoven might have found the pianist that expresses his soul well overall. Time will tell if Lucas Jussen or his younger brother, Arthur, [7], or some other pianist, will better, or equally, represent the genius that is Beethoven. [8]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndngGMpmFFQ
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6tvFtbSB54
[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnbH9oKUWIQ
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTAO2X1x-3Q
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BZ3IEQQf4s
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e3sL8o28Ls&list=PL0743A1C73CB32545
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slQ5HWs6LaY & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxJ13RYkac4
[8] Poor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who best represents his soul at this time? His music is so delicate and tinged with so many complicated shades of sadness that reveals layers upon layers of beauty in the next dimension that would challenge any pianist who tries to capture his soul. I think Mitsuko Uchida was able to capture it fairly well at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvRE2wIFbW8&list=RDk4BFTaMYZ7E&index=, especially her interpretation of his Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595 beginning at 17:25 to 23:00.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
"Peace in the Midst of the Storm"
The title of this entry is not mine; it belongs to Joel Osteen [1].
As much as I wish my life is always filled with the peace of God, it is not always the case. One cannot have peace when Satan's demons are occupying the souls of those who are a part of one's life, temporarily or permanently. However, as Joel Osteen said, "[P]eace is not the absence of trouble. Peace is knowing that God is right there with you in the midst of the trouble," [2] and having God at one's side every step along the way.
I am able to have peace in a troubling time because I have been given a strong enough will to evict Satan from my core. Evicting Satan from my core does not mean allowing others infected with Satan's demons to trample all over me; it means that my insides are not stressed out by anguish, anxiety and anger (a sure sign that demons are inhabiting the soul) while resolute steps are being taken to resolve matters in a fair, logical and emotionally detached manner, even if one has to anticipate the need to seek legal advice. [3]
For someone who is terribly troubled, I have only one suggestion: pray the rosary, even several times a day, and believe that the prayers will be heard, and will ring in the ears of those who need to hear them, and that in time, goodness will prevail. [4]
[1] http://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/BlogItem.aspx?item=9626a0c5-3374-4c37-9eef-a9a39dbd791f#.U6oq5rHDZyo
[2] Ibid.
[3] Not all attorneys have a client's best interests in mind since there can be a conflict of interest between that of the client and the unethical and immoral lawyer whose goal is to maximize billable hours and minimize the extent of work that ought to be done. Moreover, not all attorneys are as competent and knowledgeable as they would like for a client to believe. Before hiring an attorney, it is important for one to do research on his/her professional qualifications and reputation, to make sure that his/her disposition and approach are in harmony with one's character and personality.
[4] One ought not to take a selfish and vindictive stand when seeking assistance from the Lord for the Lord is not only just but forgiving and loving. Therefore be prepared to be fair, to compromise and to forgive. And if possible, to love like Christ loves.
As much as I wish my life is always filled with the peace of God, it is not always the case. One cannot have peace when Satan's demons are occupying the souls of those who are a part of one's life, temporarily or permanently. However, as Joel Osteen said, "[P]eace is not the absence of trouble. Peace is knowing that God is right there with you in the midst of the trouble," [2] and having God at one's side every step along the way.
I am able to have peace in a troubling time because I have been given a strong enough will to evict Satan from my core. Evicting Satan from my core does not mean allowing others infected with Satan's demons to trample all over me; it means that my insides are not stressed out by anguish, anxiety and anger (a sure sign that demons are inhabiting the soul) while resolute steps are being taken to resolve matters in a fair, logical and emotionally detached manner, even if one has to anticipate the need to seek legal advice. [3]
For someone who is terribly troubled, I have only one suggestion: pray the rosary, even several times a day, and believe that the prayers will be heard, and will ring in the ears of those who need to hear them, and that in time, goodness will prevail. [4]
[1] http://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/BlogItem.aspx?item=9626a0c5-3374-4c37-9eef-a9a39dbd791f#.U6oq5rHDZyo
[2] Ibid.
[3] Not all attorneys have a client's best interests in mind since there can be a conflict of interest between that of the client and the unethical and immoral lawyer whose goal is to maximize billable hours and minimize the extent of work that ought to be done. Moreover, not all attorneys are as competent and knowledgeable as they would like for a client to believe. Before hiring an attorney, it is important for one to do research on his/her professional qualifications and reputation, to make sure that his/her disposition and approach are in harmony with one's character and personality.
[4] One ought not to take a selfish and vindictive stand when seeking assistance from the Lord for the Lord is not only just but forgiving and loving. Therefore be prepared to be fair, to compromise and to forgive. And if possible, to love like Christ loves.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Beautiful Inequality
In order to win over the majority and secure their popularity, many politicians, including the pope, openly despise inequality and advocate economic and social justice without admitting how privileged they are and how unwilling they are to forgo their power and perks. The words these hypocrites speak are music to those who are bitter and envious, hateful and vengeful. They are bitter because they do not have what they truly believe they deserve; they are envious because they cannot afford what they want; they are hateful because they are jealous of others who have more; and they are vengeful because they want to get even with innate inequality.
These bitter, envious, hateful and vengeful people are blind to the beauty of creation and of God's gifts. They refuse to see what they have and focus only on what they do not.
As I write, Portugal and United States are playing each other in the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. The score is 2-2. One of the players on the Portugal team is Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Born Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, a small island off the western coast of the country, Ronaldo is the youngest of four children born to Maria Dolores dos Santos and Jose Dinis Aveiro... .[Cristiano] grew up in a largely working class neighborhood, his home a small tin roofed shack that overlooked the ocean. His early life was shaped by hardship; his father, a gardener, often drank too much, and eventually died from kidney problems in 2005. To help keep the children fed, and maintain some financial stability, [Cristiano's] mother worked as a cook and cleaning person." [1] "The family was staunchly Catholic and [Cristiano] later claimed that he lived in poverty, sharing a room with his brother and sisters." [2] At 15, Cristiano underwent heart surgery for an irregular heart beat. [3] Now, at 29, Cristiano's 2013 salary was $28,600,000 (excluding sponsorships) and his net worth was estimated at $150,000,000. [4]
Cristiano grew up poor but he was endowed with good-looks, an exceptional physique and amazing athleticism. All these are God's gifts to him. Why should anyone be jealous? He is an example of how physically perfect a person in the image of God can be. His creation should be celebrated, and it is, based on how much he is being paid.
Separated by time, another boy, also born in Portugal, was named Francisco Marto. "Francisco was born 11 June 1908, the sixth of seven children of Manuel and Olimpia Marto. He was a handsome boy, with light hair and dark eyes. He loved games and other children, yet without the spirit of competition. He would not complain when treated unfairly, and gave up a treasured possession (a handkerchief stamped with the image of Our Lady) rather than contend for it. He was a peacemaker but courageous." [5] Nobody was jealous of Francisco. He had no wealth, no bitterness, no hate and no envy but he had love. He was perfect in ways different from Cristiano and his creation should be celebrated too.
Not as well-known, talented or as ambitious as Cristiano, but equally loved by God, Francisco was one of the three visionaries at Fatima, Portugal. "After the apparitions ended, Francisco was enrolled in school but played truant as often as possible. He preferred to spend time praying to the 'Hidden Jesus' in the Tabernacle. His great concern was to console His sorrowing Lord and the Heart of His Mother. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Francisco answered, 'I don't want to be anything. I want to die and go to heaven.'" [6] [Emphasis added.]
In April of 1919, "Francisco, knowing his time was short, asked to receive the Hidden Jesus for the first time in Holy Communion. The next morning, April 4th, at ten o'clock, he died with a glow on his shrunken face. He was buried the next day in a little cemetery in Fatima, across from the parish church." [7]
Francisco Marto loved the Hidden Jesus and His Mother, and I suppose Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro loves Them no less, and I am certain that both Christ and His Blessed Mother love both Francisco and Cristiano. One is already in Heaven, and the other a living gift from Heaven.
God gave them both the gift of life but the other innate gifts or lack thereof (depending on one's perspective) were unequal. Had Francisco been a contemporary of Cristiano, he would not have been jealous of the good-looking, popular and talented athlete. [8] He already had made up his mind at a young age that he did not want to be anything when he grew up for all he wanted was to die and go to Heaven. "Soon Jesus will come and take me to heaven with Him and then I shall always be able to comfort Him;" it happened as he said it would "two months short of his eleventh birthday." [9]
The lives of Francisco and Cristiano stand forever in contrast and their inherent, God-given inequality cannot be more beautiful. The photograph on the left is Francisco [10], the one on the right is Cristiano [11].
I wish that before anyone speaks of economic and social justice, they think of these two boys from Portugal and their inequalities, and that God's scale of justice is skewed toward love, whereas those bitter, envious, hateful and vengeful creatures' scale of justice is based on jealousy. It is no coincidence that Lucifer's fall from Heaven was due to jealousy.
[1] http://www.biography.com/people/cristiano-ronaldo-555730#synopsis&awesm=~oHXMlkBIbi0VAs
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo
[3] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1131424/Ronaldo-heart-surgery-age-15-save-career-mother-reveals.html
[4] http://www.therichest.com/celebnetworth/athletes/footballer/cristiano-ronaldo-net-worth/
[5] https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/children/francisco.htm
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Not that Cristiano had dreamed of and asked for all that he has been given, but he possesses what he possesses. Likewise, Francisco had what he had and whatever he had was enough for him.
[9] http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2010/03/blessed-francisco-marto-of-fatima.html
[10] http://www.the13thday.com/the-facts/the-children/francisco.htm
[11] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1131424/Ronaldo-heart-surgery-age-15-save-career-mother-reveals.html
These bitter, envious, hateful and vengeful people are blind to the beauty of creation and of God's gifts. They refuse to see what they have and focus only on what they do not.
As I write, Portugal and United States are playing each other in the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. The score is 2-2. One of the players on the Portugal team is Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Born Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro on February 5, 1985, in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, a small island off the western coast of the country, Ronaldo is the youngest of four children born to Maria Dolores dos Santos and Jose Dinis Aveiro... .[Cristiano] grew up in a largely working class neighborhood, his home a small tin roofed shack that overlooked the ocean. His early life was shaped by hardship; his father, a gardener, often drank too much, and eventually died from kidney problems in 2005. To help keep the children fed, and maintain some financial stability, [Cristiano's] mother worked as a cook and cleaning person." [1] "The family was staunchly Catholic and [Cristiano] later claimed that he lived in poverty, sharing a room with his brother and sisters." [2] At 15, Cristiano underwent heart surgery for an irregular heart beat. [3] Now, at 29, Cristiano's 2013 salary was $28,600,000 (excluding sponsorships) and his net worth was estimated at $150,000,000. [4]
Cristiano grew up poor but he was endowed with good-looks, an exceptional physique and amazing athleticism. All these are God's gifts to him. Why should anyone be jealous? He is an example of how physically perfect a person in the image of God can be. His creation should be celebrated, and it is, based on how much he is being paid.
Separated by time, another boy, also born in Portugal, was named Francisco Marto. "Francisco was born 11 June 1908, the sixth of seven children of Manuel and Olimpia Marto. He was a handsome boy, with light hair and dark eyes. He loved games and other children, yet without the spirit of competition. He would not complain when treated unfairly, and gave up a treasured possession (a handkerchief stamped with the image of Our Lady) rather than contend for it. He was a peacemaker but courageous." [5] Nobody was jealous of Francisco. He had no wealth, no bitterness, no hate and no envy but he had love. He was perfect in ways different from Cristiano and his creation should be celebrated too.
Not as well-known, talented or as ambitious as Cristiano, but equally loved by God, Francisco was one of the three visionaries at Fatima, Portugal. "After the apparitions ended, Francisco was enrolled in school but played truant as often as possible. He preferred to spend time praying to the 'Hidden Jesus' in the Tabernacle. His great concern was to console His sorrowing Lord and the Heart of His Mother. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Francisco answered, 'I don't want to be anything. I want to die and go to heaven.'" [6] [Emphasis added.]
In April of 1919, "Francisco, knowing his time was short, asked to receive the Hidden Jesus for the first time in Holy Communion. The next morning, April 4th, at ten o'clock, he died with a glow on his shrunken face. He was buried the next day in a little cemetery in Fatima, across from the parish church." [7]
Francisco Marto loved the Hidden Jesus and His Mother, and I suppose Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro loves Them no less, and I am certain that both Christ and His Blessed Mother love both Francisco and Cristiano. One is already in Heaven, and the other a living gift from Heaven.
God gave them both the gift of life but the other innate gifts or lack thereof (depending on one's perspective) were unequal. Had Francisco been a contemporary of Cristiano, he would not have been jealous of the good-looking, popular and talented athlete. [8] He already had made up his mind at a young age that he did not want to be anything when he grew up for all he wanted was to die and go to Heaven. "Soon Jesus will come and take me to heaven with Him and then I shall always be able to comfort Him;" it happened as he said it would "two months short of his eleventh birthday." [9]
The lives of Francisco and Cristiano stand forever in contrast and their inherent, God-given inequality cannot be more beautiful. The photograph on the left is Francisco [10], the one on the right is Cristiano [11].
I wish that before anyone speaks of economic and social justice, they think of these two boys from Portugal and their inequalities, and that God's scale of justice is skewed toward love, whereas those bitter, envious, hateful and vengeful creatures' scale of justice is based on jealousy. It is no coincidence that Lucifer's fall from Heaven was due to jealousy.
[1] http://www.biography.com/people/cristiano-ronaldo-555730#synopsis&awesm=~oHXMlkBIbi0VAs
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristiano_Ronaldo
[3] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1131424/Ronaldo-heart-surgery-age-15-save-career-mother-reveals.html
[4] http://www.therichest.com/celebnetworth/athletes/footballer/cristiano-ronaldo-net-worth/
[5] https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/children/francisco.htm
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Not that Cristiano had dreamed of and asked for all that he has been given, but he possesses what he possesses. Likewise, Francisco had what he had and whatever he had was enough for him.
[9] http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2010/03/blessed-francisco-marto-of-fatima.html
[10] http://www.the13thday.com/the-facts/the-children/francisco.htm
[11] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1131424/Ronaldo-heart-surgery-age-15-save-career-mother-reveals.html
Charity
People see charity in terms of economic justice; God sees charity in
terms of love.
Charity is not about what valuables and how much of those valuables one has donated; charity is about how much love one has given and how true and deep that love was that was given.
Charity is not about what valuables and how much of those valuables one has donated; charity is about how much love one has given and how true and deep that love was that was given.
Path To God
The path to God is through suffering, not just any suffering, but suffering with the love for God at the very center, suffering through humility, kindness, forgiveness and unconditional love.
Heavenly Joy
I have not been to Heaven so I do not know what joy there is like but I can imagine it. Sometimes my imagination is based in part on a momentary earthly experience that is extrapolated.
Heavenly joy is a joy that feels totally natural to the entire being, is part of the being and is inseparable from it. It is a joy that fills all the emptiness inside the core and replaces all the anxieties, worries and concerns, all the hate, anger and depression. It is a joy that is serene and constant, and stays with the being.
The being that wishes to recall its past interior pains should know that the memory of the sufferings is at a distance so far away that the being cannot bring any of the pain back to the forefront and experience a relapse. I suppose the reason an entity would want to recall and return to any past pain is to have a comparison between its present and its past, so that its current state of heavenly joy can be appreciated fully. That is not possible in Heaven. In Heaven, an entity can recall the past but not re-live it. If an entity misses and wishes to re-live its painful past, there is a place where that wish can come true: Hell.
Heavenly joy is a joy that feels totally natural to the entire being, is part of the being and is inseparable from it. It is a joy that fills all the emptiness inside the core and replaces all the anxieties, worries and concerns, all the hate, anger and depression. It is a joy that is serene and constant, and stays with the being.
The being that wishes to recall its past interior pains should know that the memory of the sufferings is at a distance so far away that the being cannot bring any of the pain back to the forefront and experience a relapse. I suppose the reason an entity would want to recall and return to any past pain is to have a comparison between its present and its past, so that its current state of heavenly joy can be appreciated fully. That is not possible in Heaven. In Heaven, an entity can recall the past but not re-live it. If an entity misses and wishes to re-live its painful past, there is a place where that wish can come true: Hell.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
On The Legalization Of Recreational Drugs
This shrewd pope made an artful statement on the legalization of recreational drugs: "Let me state this in the clearest terms possible: the problem of drug use is not solved with drugs!" [1] It sounded good but what was the purpose of identifying the self-evident problem when he did not have a solution for it? By telling "delegates to a drug-enforcement conference in Rome that even
limited attempts to legalize recreational drugs 'are not only highly
questionable from a legislative standpoint, but they fail to produce the
desired effects,'" [2] he had done nothing except making make drug lords happy in their respective geographic oligopolies.
While I am not a fan or a consumer of recreational drugs, I believe that they, like alcohol and tobacco, ought not to be restricted but be available to adults to choose with their God-given Free Will to take them or not. But what about addiction? Yes, there are drug addicts and there will be new drug addicts, but there are alcoholics and so will there be new alcoholics. Furthermore, restrictions do nothing to stop consumers from finding the drugs they want; they only protect profits for drug lords, make money for drug dealers [3] and perhaps even those entrusted with enforcing (and advocating [4]) their bans.
[1] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/06/20/pope-recreational-drugs/11035025/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Gun manufacturers and dealers also benefit secondarily.
[4] "'Those who go down the evil path, as the Mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated,'" stated the pope. See http://newsok.com/pope-denounces-mafia-meets-father-of-slain-boy/article/feed/702519 The pope on the one hand spoke against the legalization of recreational drugs, thereby protecting the profits of the drug mafia, and on the other, he condemned those in the mafia who kill. He even meted out punishment for those going down the evil path by excommunicating them. See Pope Donounces Mafia. Maybe the pope should excommunicate drug users for are they not also going down the evil path, albeit a somewhat different evil path, affecting the lives of the drug users themselves and those who care for them, who depend on their care and all those who love them, not to mention those who have died in drug turf wars trying to earn a living by supporting their habits?
While I am not a fan or a consumer of recreational drugs, I believe that they, like alcohol and tobacco, ought not to be restricted but be available to adults to choose with their God-given Free Will to take them or not. But what about addiction? Yes, there are drug addicts and there will be new drug addicts, but there are alcoholics and so will there be new alcoholics. Furthermore, restrictions do nothing to stop consumers from finding the drugs they want; they only protect profits for drug lords, make money for drug dealers [3] and perhaps even those entrusted with enforcing (and advocating [4]) their bans.
[1] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/06/20/pope-recreational-drugs/11035025/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Gun manufacturers and dealers also benefit secondarily.
[4] "'Those who go down the evil path, as the Mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated,'" stated the pope. See http://newsok.com/pope-denounces-mafia-meets-father-of-slain-boy/article/feed/702519 The pope on the one hand spoke against the legalization of recreational drugs, thereby protecting the profits of the drug mafia, and on the other, he condemned those in the mafia who kill. He even meted out punishment for those going down the evil path by excommunicating them. See Pope Donounces Mafia. Maybe the pope should excommunicate drug users for are they not also going down the evil path, albeit a somewhat different evil path, affecting the lives of the drug users themselves and those who care for them, who depend on their care and all those who love them, not to mention those who have died in drug turf wars trying to earn a living by supporting their habits?
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Built-in Trust
Made in the image of God, the appearance of man was based on trust. Had it not been based on trust, man would have eyes around his head.
Over the centuries, nobody has found it necessary to walk around with a rear and side view mirrors [1] or cameras. Why is that? Why do people all over the world trust that they would not be stabbed by someone from behind? Why take the risk when such a risk can be minimized? More and more vehicles are being equipped with rear sensors, why do people not wear them on their backs? Google glasses designed to fit on the face can record what is in front. Why not market a gadget to be worn around the rest of the head that can record what is behind and on the side?
Man apparently trusts that he will not be harmed by what he cannot see.
Is this built-in trust so perfect that man cannot find any fault with it? Man has found faults with creation in so many other aspects of life and is continuously finding ways to prevent, improve, cure, repair, minimize or mask those faults. Pimples and wrinkles are examples, and the list goes on and on. Even trust (in general as opposed to "built-in") itself man finds imperfect and has invented lawsuits to remedy breaches of trust, like deceit and betrayal.
Again, why is man so trusting of what and who maybe behind his back, beside him and in his blind spot?
[1] Since man's peripheral vision is not 20/20, side view mirrors and cameras would bring peripheral images into focus.
Over the centuries, nobody has found it necessary to walk around with a rear and side view mirrors [1] or cameras. Why is that? Why do people all over the world trust that they would not be stabbed by someone from behind? Why take the risk when such a risk can be minimized? More and more vehicles are being equipped with rear sensors, why do people not wear them on their backs? Google glasses designed to fit on the face can record what is in front. Why not market a gadget to be worn around the rest of the head that can record what is behind and on the side?
Man apparently trusts that he will not be harmed by what he cannot see.
Is this built-in trust so perfect that man cannot find any fault with it? Man has found faults with creation in so many other aspects of life and is continuously finding ways to prevent, improve, cure, repair, minimize or mask those faults. Pimples and wrinkles are examples, and the list goes on and on. Even trust (in general as opposed to "built-in") itself man finds imperfect and has invented lawsuits to remedy breaches of trust, like deceit and betrayal.
Again, why is man so trusting of what and who maybe behind his back, beside him and in his blind spot?
[1] Since man's peripheral vision is not 20/20, side view mirrors and cameras would bring peripheral images into focus.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Nuns Sue Neighbor
"A convent of nuns in suburban Chicago has filed a lawsuit against a
neighbor, a strip club they say plays throbbing music while the nuns try
to pray" is the first sentence that begins the article entitled 'Love thy neighbor'? Nuns sue nearby strip club. [1]
Unabashed decadence and debauchery is taking place right next to the convent where nuns are supposedly praying to save those immersed in it. Whether they have been praying for them or not has not been established factually. Even if they have been, their prayers have not been answered fast enough. Ergo, enter the lawyers. Not that legal arguments made in a court of law will hasten and guarantee divine intervention of any kind, rather the lawyers who make them will be able to provide a continually updated estimated date for the final post-appeal adjudication of the dispute, whether or not those addicted to a life decadence and debauchery will actually repent their ways in response to the nuns' prayers to save them.
The nuns' lawsuit is for them, to foster religious life in peace and quite, not for God or for the salvation of souls. While I agree that the nuns ought to be able to pray and seek heavenly peace in quietude, suing the strip club may or may not result in the remedy they seek. Perhaps kneeling in prayer near the entrance of the strip club may be more effective in reaching the conscience of those attending, perhaps in time they will patronize the establishment less and less, resulting in the decision of the strip club owner(s) to relocate on the one hand, and in turning one or more souls away from the salacious temptations of the flesh toward a more holy life that has God at the center on the other. [2]
[1] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/love-thy-neighbor-nuns-sue-nearby-strip-club
[2] By praying on their knees night after night, the nuns might even change the mind(s) of the owner(s) with God's help so that the strip club business would be converted to a restaurant that purchases fresh vegetables and herbs from the convent's garden to serve its diners. Watch a video of a nun watering the vegetable garden at about 0:42 seconds at: http://kdvr.com/2014/06/17/chicago-nuns-sue-strip-club-say-its-too-close-to-convent/
Unabashed decadence and debauchery is taking place right next to the convent where nuns are supposedly praying to save those immersed in it. Whether they have been praying for them or not has not been established factually. Even if they have been, their prayers have not been answered fast enough. Ergo, enter the lawyers. Not that legal arguments made in a court of law will hasten and guarantee divine intervention of any kind, rather the lawyers who make them will be able to provide a continually updated estimated date for the final post-appeal adjudication of the dispute, whether or not those addicted to a life decadence and debauchery will actually repent their ways in response to the nuns' prayers to save them.
The nuns' lawsuit is for them, to foster religious life in peace and quite, not for God or for the salvation of souls. While I agree that the nuns ought to be able to pray and seek heavenly peace in quietude, suing the strip club may or may not result in the remedy they seek. Perhaps kneeling in prayer near the entrance of the strip club may be more effective in reaching the conscience of those attending, perhaps in time they will patronize the establishment less and less, resulting in the decision of the strip club owner(s) to relocate on the one hand, and in turning one or more souls away from the salacious temptations of the flesh toward a more holy life that has God at the center on the other. [2]
[1] http://bigstory.ap.org/article/love-thy-neighbor-nuns-sue-nearby-strip-club
[2] By praying on their knees night after night, the nuns might even change the mind(s) of the owner(s) with God's help so that the strip club business would be converted to a restaurant that purchases fresh vegetables and herbs from the convent's garden to serve its diners. Watch a video of a nun watering the vegetable garden at about 0:42 seconds at: http://kdvr.com/2014/06/17/chicago-nuns-sue-strip-club-say-its-too-close-to-convent/
Father's Day Thought By Father Illo
I have been reading Father's Illo's blog recently. On Father's Day, he recorded this thought:
[1] The quoted paragraph is excerpted from From the Chaplain's Laptop: Trinity Sunday in Tanzania at http://www.frilloblog.com/
On this Father’s Day, I bless my own father for staying with my mother for 60 years, and my mother with staying with my father. May God grant us all to imitate His own communion of love by never giving up on each other. Even should we have to be separated, may we be faithful to our very natures by continuing to love those God has put in our lives. [Emphasis added.] [1]I love his last sentence. Like many of Mozart's compositions, it is as beautiful as it is perfect in that whatever tinge of sadness that may underlie it, it is delicately veiled by divinely-inspired beauty.
[1] The quoted paragraph is excerpted from From the Chaplain's Laptop: Trinity Sunday in Tanzania at http://www.frilloblog.com/
The Rosary In Latin On Youtube
Too often I say the rosary in a perfunctory manner but say it I do, twice a day. I say it while driving or walking or glancing at the television, or while I am on the stationary bike at gym and in the bathtub, and I say the decades not at one time but in parts sometimes, separated by the worldly things I do. To think that I would spend time twice a day doing something meaningless to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary is hard to admit. It is a conduct that is reprehensible but that is not the worst of it--sometimes my mind would drift and extraneous thoughts would enter into it as prayers are being recited.
As a sinner who continuously sin by taking advantage of the kindness, forgiveness and love of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Christ, I can only hope for Their pardon as I pardon others who take advantage of me.
To cure my wandering mind while saying prayers of the rosary, I have resorted to uploads in Latin by Catholic Devotions on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc9g9dCZ_sc (Joyful Mysteries), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iggyjGAw5I (Sorrowful Mysteries), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WByWc3nFQT4 (Luminous Mysteries) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnypyBaRQmk (Glorious Mysteries). Listening to Shubert's Ave Maria playing in the background, reflecting on the mysteries with the help of changing paintings and reading the words of the prayers help me focus.
Whoever you are, Catholic Devotions, thank you.
As a sinner who continuously sin by taking advantage of the kindness, forgiveness and love of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Christ, I can only hope for Their pardon as I pardon others who take advantage of me.
To cure my wandering mind while saying prayers of the rosary, I have resorted to uploads in Latin by Catholic Devotions on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc9g9dCZ_sc (Joyful Mysteries), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iggyjGAw5I (Sorrowful Mysteries), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WByWc3nFQT4 (Luminous Mysteries) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnypyBaRQmk (Glorious Mysteries). Listening to Shubert's Ave Maria playing in the background, reflecting on the mysteries with the help of changing paintings and reading the words of the prayers help me focus.
Whoever you are, Catholic Devotions, thank you.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Father's Day
My father lives half a world away and in that part of the world it is already Sunday, Father's Day. I have never been close to my father and he has not been the kind, supportive and loving father that I would have liked to have but he did work hard to raise me, pay for my education and feed me with a silver spoon even when I was able to take care of myself. Certainly, I have not been the perfect son that he expected me to become. Despite our differences, I have learned to love him, and I love him dearly especially now that he is in his old age, but where my love is short of what love is, I make it up with prayers, the only way I know how to compensate for my shortcomings and failures.
From deep in my heart, I say in silence: "Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you!"
From deep in my heart, I say in silence: "Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you!"
The Inner Voice
Joel Osteen calls the inner voice "inner promptings." He is right because there is no voice that I occasionally hear but every time I "hear" it the message is crystal clear: it is not open for interpretation.
Each prompt calls for an action and it is never repeated. Every such premonition I have had, has in hindsight never been wrong, even though I was always wrong not to heed it. One would think that I would learn to listen to this inner voice over time, but no, I am still stubborn and like to insist on doing things my way and ignore the advice of God's angels. To support my stubbornness, I would argue in my mind against the inner voice and rationalize that I am right. All of this takes place in a matter of seconds and once the decision has been made, the message vanishes and is immediately forgotten until something has gone wrong.
Joel Osteen tells a story of a young man who did not listen to his inner voice [1]:
Of the times that I have listened to and acted upon the inner prompts, events would flow seamlessly, ordinarily, as if that is the way everything ought to be, as always, as if a smooth ride through life is deserved and can be taken for granted. Because every piece of the puzzle has fit together so well, forgetting about having acted on the inner voice is easy, and thanking God for the divine prompting is far removed from the mind.
[1] http://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/BlogItem.aspx?item=c9094f47-7d8d-4912-8d59-596cb76ab165#.U5xLpSiQ2es
[2] In my experiences with these promptings, I would say that God not only knows where but when the pitfalls would occur for I was the one who chose the location of where I would be at.
Each prompt calls for an action and it is never repeated. Every such premonition I have had, has in hindsight never been wrong, even though I was always wrong not to heed it. One would think that I would learn to listen to this inner voice over time, but no, I am still stubborn and like to insist on doing things my way and ignore the advice of God's angels. To support my stubbornness, I would argue in my mind against the inner voice and rationalize that I am right. All of this takes place in a matter of seconds and once the decision has been made, the message vanishes and is immediately forgotten until something has gone wrong.
Joel Osteen tells a story of a young man who did not listen to his inner voice [1]:
There's a young man I know who used to do landscaping in our neighborhood. I saw him one day. His face was a mess. He had a black eye, and his lips were swollen. It looked like he had been in an accident. I asked him what had happened. He explained that on his way home from work, he had gotten carjacked. He was sitting at a light when these guys came up, pulled him out of the car, beat him up and took his wallet and a lot of his equipment. Then he said something interesting, "Joel, the funny thing is that something told me not to go home that way."
Very clearly on the inside, God was trying to protect him. He said, "You need to take another route." The man wasn't very religious, wasn't raised in church, yet he heard it so strongly that he even answered it back in his mind. He thought, "Why do I need to go another way? This is the way I always go. That doesn't make sense." There was this debate taking place on the inside, but he ignored it. He finally said, "I realize now that was God trying to protect me from danger. The next time, I'm going to listen."Joel is right: "We need to pay attention to these promptings, [3]" but because they are always gentle (they do not scream at you or shout in your ear), they are easy to override, unlike orders or demands from the workplace boss that come with implied threats.
See, God knows where the pitfalls are. [2] He knows where the danger is. All through the day, we need to be sensitive to what He's telling us on the inside. We need to pay attention to these promptings. I've learned that God won't allow us to make a major mistake without first giving us warnings. The Scripture says, "God will always provide a way of escape." Could it be that God is providing a way out, giving you wisdom, direction, protection and trying to keep you from danger, but like my friend, you're overriding it?
Of the times that I have listened to and acted upon the inner prompts, events would flow seamlessly, ordinarily, as if that is the way everything ought to be, as always, as if a smooth ride through life is deserved and can be taken for granted. Because every piece of the puzzle has fit together so well, forgetting about having acted on the inner voice is easy, and thanking God for the divine prompting is far removed from the mind.
[1] http://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/BlogItem.aspx?item=c9094f47-7d8d-4912-8d59-596cb76ab165#.U5xLpSiQ2es
[2] In my experiences with these promptings, I would say that God not only knows where but when the pitfalls would occur for I was the one who chose the location of where I would be at.
Sons And Husbands
Sons who grow up to become fathers are husbands first. In their minds, sons who have not a perfect mother could be looking for a perfect mother for their children. Those who are Catholic may think of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the model for the perfect spouse and the perfect mother. Indeed, She is both. As the spouse of God, the Virgin Mary was perfectly obedient and as the Mother of Jesus, She was unconditionally loving. While no woman was and will ever be like the Virgin Mary, no man should ever expect his spouse to be perfectly obedient for he is not God and no son should expect unconditional love from his mother for he is not Christ.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Vatican To Cannonize Six New Saints
The news is not that six new saints will be named on the Feast of Christ the King (which in 2014 will fall on November 23 [1]) but none of the six will be Theresa of Calcutta [2]. I feel bad for her followers and fans even though I have always maintained that the Albanian [3] was truly an inspirational woman but who, in my opinion, fell short of sainthood. [4]
[1] http://catholicism.about.com/od/2014calendar/f/When-Is-The-Feast-Of-Christ-The-King-2014.htm
[2] http://www.news.va/en/news/six-news-saints-to-be-created-on-feast-of-christ-t
[3] http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_madre-teresa_en.html
[4] There were people who, in my opinion, did not qualify as saints had become saints nonetheless. The most recent one was JP2.
[1] http://catholicism.about.com/od/2014calendar/f/When-Is-The-Feast-Of-Christ-The-King-2014.htm
[2] http://www.news.va/en/news/six-news-saints-to-be-created-on-feast-of-christ-t
[3] http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_madre-teresa_en.html
[4] There were people who, in my opinion, did not qualify as saints had become saints nonetheless. The most recent one was JP2.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Evil Is Everywhere
The killing of priests do not take place only in the Mideast and Africa [1], [2]--it also takes place in America [3]where such heinousness is not supposed to happen, but evil is not geographically confined: it travels far and wide to find those nearest and dearest to God.
[1] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/04/dutch-priest-shot-dead-syrian-city-homs-201447133539183775.html
[2] http://www.caritas.org/2014/04/good-friday-killing-of-priest-in-central-african-republic/
[3] http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/06/12/two-priests-stabbed-phoenix/10359901/http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/06/12/two-priests-stabbed-phoenix/10359901/
[1] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/04/dutch-priest-shot-dead-syrian-city-homs-201447133539183775.html
[2] http://www.caritas.org/2014/04/good-friday-killing-of-priest-in-central-african-republic/
[3] http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/06/12/two-priests-stabbed-phoenix/10359901/http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/06/12/two-priests-stabbed-phoenix/10359901/
An Unjustified Gay Marriage Assumption
The quoted paragraphs are an interesting read because the guest invited to speak at the 2014 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in New Orleans put gay marriage in a positive light, even though the empirical data he relied on for his conclusion was "really preliminary" [1] and in my opinion, completely lacking and therefore premature and unjustified. He did admit that his conclusion was an assumption (at least that was what I thought I heard on EWTN) upon cross-examination by Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, Washington. His admission, if it had been uttered on live television, was omitted from the article at http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/bishops-receive-stark-image-state-american-society:
[1] http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/bishops-receive-stark-image-state-american-society
[2] Ibid.
[3] Note: I agree with these two statements on the condition that marriage is defined by natural law as a union between a man and a woman.
[W. Bradford] Wilcox's talk, dedicated to the topic of "marriage and the economy," likewise focused on the benefits of marriage. The sociologist, who is an associate professor of at the University of Virginia and directs the university's National Marriage Project, argued that there is a two-way correlation between marriage and poverty.
Citing sociological data that over the past few decades the poorest Americans have become the least likely to marry, Wilcox said, "There is a growing class divide in marriage in America."
"The United States is increasingly separate and unequal when it comes to marriage today," he said. Continuing to cite studies that say children who come from unmarried households are less likely to attend college or find economic success, Wilcox made a two-point argument.
"If you care about bridging the marriage divide, you should care about economic justice, cultural change, and the renewal of civil society," he said. "If you care about poverty, if you care about economic opportunity in America, you should care about marriage."
Wilcox, who was raised by a single mother, said sociological data indicate that children from single-parent families "are less likely to flourish."
"Boys who grow up in a home with their married parents are much less likely to go to jail," he said. "Marriage matters for daughters. When dad is around ... her odds of becoming pregnant as a teenager are remarkably lower."
Wilcox also argued that unmarried cohabitation by parents leads to instability for children.
"The most risky place for our kids in this country is ... a single parent with an unrelated partner in the household," he said. "The safest place for our children when it comes to physical abuse, sexual abuse, is an intact, married family."
Earlier in the week, Wilcox became the center of controversy because of a Washington Post op-ed he co-authored that argued that the risk of physical abuse is less for women and children within a married home.
Critics of the column accused Wilcox and co-author Robin Fretwell Wilson of misusing data and ignoring studies that show violence rates drop alongside those for marriage. Wilcox told NCR in an interview Thursday that selection could play a role in the disparity: Women in good relationships advance toward marriage while those in bad marriages seek separation and divorce.
As for economic inequality, he said he didn't think marriage is "necessarily the primary factor" involved, citing other variables like taxation, technological advances and education, but the marriage divide is "one piece of the growing economic inequality story in America."
Following his talk, Wilcox took a number of questions from bishops on the floor of the meeting. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput asked why, if marriage is so valuable for economic success, same-sex marriage is being legalized in so many states.
"Most of the scientists would say that there's no difference ... between a stable same-sex family and a stable heterosexual family," replied Wilcox, noting that those scientists might consider stability the "key factor, not other issues that might relate to a child's well-being."
Yakima, Wash., Bishop Joseph Tyson asked why same-sex marriage is not considered by the studies Wilcox cited to be as dangerous as cohabitation.
"I think that the assumption ... is that when same-sex marriage is legalized and it is given cultural support, it will be as stable as heterosexual marriage," Wilcox replied.
"Is there data to back that?" Tyson asked.
"The data suggest that same-sex couples -- and this is really preliminary -- are more likely to have stable relationships when the legal regime is more supportive of their relationships," Wilcox replied.I do, however, agree with the rest of Professor W. Bradford Wilcox's presentation, in particular, his statements on social justice: "If you care about bridging the marriage divide, you should care about economic justice, cultural change, and the renewal of civil society," and "If you care about poverty, if you care about economic opportunity in America, you should care about marriage." [2], [3]
[1] http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/bishops-receive-stark-image-state-american-society
[2] Ibid.
[3] Note: I agree with these two statements on the condition that marriage is defined by natural law as a union between a man and a woman.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
A Moment Of Sweetness
Happiness fills the heart at the moment one experiences the sweetness of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nothing else matters during that time--not envy, not anger, not injustice and certainly, most certainly, not Satan. Satan is small and distant, appearing merely as a bystander that is no longer relevant.
Satan, assuming its inferior status in the presence of the Mother of God, would not approach and remains crouching at a safe distance from the outermost energy and light periphery of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What a beautiful sight! What a memorable sight!
Satan, assuming its inferior status in the presence of the Mother of God, would not approach and remains crouching at a safe distance from the outermost energy and light periphery of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What a beautiful sight! What a memorable sight!
Sunday, June 8, 2014
A Peace Agitated
This blog is named Place de la Paix because I would like it to be a place of peace but at the moment I am quite agitated and whatever peace I hope to attain or convey is absent because my mind is thinking about a group of people who are captivated by JP2 and this pope for one reason or another, probably the same group of people who have never liked Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and have written him off and banished him to oblivion in their minds--the intellectually gifted and exceptionally erudite pope, the deeply spiritual pope and in my opinion, a holy pope who is not always perfect but for some reason I feel special to be breathing in the same air as Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI and alive together on this earth even though our paths are not likely to ever cross.
Pray for me, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and for the souls that are being tormented and for those still living who are attempting to dumb down, trivialize and secularize the teachings of Christ by robbing their spiritual depth with shallow soundbites and diluting the love inherent in them with hypocrisy.
Pray for me, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and for the souls that are being tormented and for those still living who are attempting to dumb down, trivialize and secularize the teachings of Christ by robbing their spiritual depth with shallow soundbites and diluting the love inherent in them with hypocrisy.
The Modern Catholic Amnesia
A good number of Catholics who teach and preach seem to suffer from some strain of memory virus that make them forget about many of the holy saints of the past so much so that they seem to only direct their attention to the current pope and a new contemporary saint, namely, JP2, whose saintliness I have always doubted.
To all who find JP2 to be saintly, especially those who have prayed to him for his intercession, I would like to ask, what was so saintly about him in life so that he was placed on the fast track to sainthood? Was it that he was so forgiving of the pedophiliac priests who thrived under his papacy? Was it his writings that I surmise were written by someone else and attributed to him? Was it the bullet that did not kill him? Was it the total absence of miracles that he performed during his lifetime that made him so humanly acceptable to these forgetful Catholics?
To them I would like to pose additional questions: what was so ordinary about San Francesco d'Assisi that he is no longer in the forefront of your consciousness, or what was so extraordinary about him that frightens you so much that you dare not mention his name? Was it his close relationship with Christ Whose footsteps he walked in? Was it the numerous miracles he performed during his lifetime? Was it the stigmata he received? Was it his humility and holy poverty that reflect your underlying hypocrisy? And in what ways was JP2 so holy that as a man he deserves your praises and as a saint he deserves your prayers for intercession when your Mother in Heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the to be praised for her constant love and unceasing intercession for all?
I write this entry because I came across an article where high school students were asked to reflect on the words of Theresa of Calcutta, JP2 and the current pope on a number of issue. My thought was, how about reflecting on the words of Francis of Assisi, or the words of Christ Himself, why reflect on the words of three individuals who cannot reasonably be considered as truly holy? I also write this entry because I cringe every time a new priest on the scene says that he was inspired by JP2. Perhaps I am spiritually blind because nothing about JP2 inspires me.
In comparison, I also do not consider Theresa of Calcutta to be saintly, but at least I respect her for what she did, even though her motives and the manner in which she executed them might not have been all that holy from what I have read and personally concluded. She, too, was slated to be on the fast track to sainthood, but for one reason or another, be it political, economic, discriminatory or otherwise, she was abandoned a wait list by the current pope whose popularity seems to befit a manipulative politician and whose "closet" remains buried under Argentinian shadows that has yet to be exhumed, opened and examined for cleanliness.
That will likely not come to pass, nor will much of what has occurred and continues to occur behind the Vatican walls see the light of day anytime soon because the artificial bright lights of the media, savvy staging and talking heads of priests who fear their boss's retribution (possibly banishing them to South Sudan) has drowned out the Truth and covered up the stains of sin, and will likely continue to do so, so that the general population of Catholics who teach and preach can continue to live with their amnesia and feed the virus of forgetfulness with selective and purposeful denials.
To all who find JP2 to be saintly, especially those who have prayed to him for his intercession, I would like to ask, what was so saintly about him in life so that he was placed on the fast track to sainthood? Was it that he was so forgiving of the pedophiliac priests who thrived under his papacy? Was it his writings that I surmise were written by someone else and attributed to him? Was it the bullet that did not kill him? Was it the total absence of miracles that he performed during his lifetime that made him so humanly acceptable to these forgetful Catholics?
To them I would like to pose additional questions: what was so ordinary about San Francesco d'Assisi that he is no longer in the forefront of your consciousness, or what was so extraordinary about him that frightens you so much that you dare not mention his name? Was it his close relationship with Christ Whose footsteps he walked in? Was it the numerous miracles he performed during his lifetime? Was it the stigmata he received? Was it his humility and holy poverty that reflect your underlying hypocrisy? And in what ways was JP2 so holy that as a man he deserves your praises and as a saint he deserves your prayers for intercession when your Mother in Heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the to be praised for her constant love and unceasing intercession for all?
I write this entry because I came across an article where high school students were asked to reflect on the words of Theresa of Calcutta, JP2 and the current pope on a number of issue. My thought was, how about reflecting on the words of Francis of Assisi, or the words of Christ Himself, why reflect on the words of three individuals who cannot reasonably be considered as truly holy? I also write this entry because I cringe every time a new priest on the scene says that he was inspired by JP2. Perhaps I am spiritually blind because nothing about JP2 inspires me.
In comparison, I also do not consider Theresa of Calcutta to be saintly, but at least I respect her for what she did, even though her motives and the manner in which she executed them might not have been all that holy from what I have read and personally concluded. She, too, was slated to be on the fast track to sainthood, but for one reason or another, be it political, economic, discriminatory or otherwise, she was abandoned a wait list by the current pope whose popularity seems to befit a manipulative politician and whose "closet" remains buried under Argentinian shadows that has yet to be exhumed, opened and examined for cleanliness.
That will likely not come to pass, nor will much of what has occurred and continues to occur behind the Vatican walls see the light of day anytime soon because the artificial bright lights of the media, savvy staging and talking heads of priests who fear their boss's retribution (possibly banishing them to South Sudan) has drowned out the Truth and covered up the stains of sin, and will likely continue to do so, so that the general population of Catholics who teach and preach can continue to live with their amnesia and feed the virus of forgetfulness with selective and purposeful denials.
Satan's Diet
Satan's Diet not an entry to sell a new fat-loss, vanity-chasing exercise and nutrition program with a name that conjures up all the hidden desires of man, leading with his most libidinous, for Satan was once Lucifer, the most beautiful angel in every way imaginable, the kind of beauty that is desired by all, that would awaken the most repressed urges of even the holiest of saints past whose predisposition to salacious temptations can be attributed to the common denominator that humanity shares.
At the forefront of humanity's desire for unbridled, immediate self-gratifying wantoness is not so much the exposed flesh that is Satan's diet [1] but more the rawness of man's soul that Satan seeks to devour. The longer the carnivorous Satan gnaws at man's raw soul, the more heightened man's need is to fill his soul to complete his being. Whatever man's libidinous desires may be, man hungers for them and he will resort to all kinds of malevolence to usurp the happiness of others so as to have company in misery.
In misery, man's constant hunger spreads from one miserable soul to another, arising from unrequited love and unattained lust, so that each man is incomplete. His hunger for completeness is the fuel that propels man through life. This hunger originates from Satan and is also Satan's hunger. Man believes that this hunger can be cured but he is wrong.
The nature of Satan's hunger is not to seek satiation but to propagate more of itself by infecting every new soul and to grow the void in every infected soul. Satan diet, is therefore, not to curb an appetite but to expand a void that grows in hunger for more of what can never be satisfied. That, in essence, is Hell within man soul, and Hell on earth.
Satan's diet is repulsive, as with all that Satan is and does. The more man chases after the "food" of Satan's Diet to satisfy his hunger, the hungrier he gets. To be satiated, and even more beautiful that Lucifer once was, man need to fill his soul with Christ, the love Christ showed to all, at His betrayal, during the scourge, when he was humiliated with a crown of thorns and on the cross of Resurrection.
[1] Although Satan does not literally take a bite out of man's flesh as part of Its diet, but one can reasonably assume that Satan desires man's flesh because It is envious of man which was the cause of Lucifer's fall from Heaven and because man's flesh, in particular the flesh of those who have in their bodies the Eucharist, the living body and the purifying blood of Christ, whether having literally eaten the flesh and drunk the blood of Christ or having the flesh and blood of Christ infused into the bodies of those who have not actually eaten the flesh or drunk the blood of Christ (see footnote [5] in the entry entitled The Eucharist at http://lemomentdepaix.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-eucharist.html). Satan has a special desire for those whose flesh and blood had been infused with the flesh and blood of Christ because that is the only way Satan can taste Christ--indirectly. What envious warrior does not wish to consume his enemy in one way or another? Satan is no different. With Christ as Its nemesis, Satan can only taste the perfection Christ through the flesh and blood of man who has the living Christ in him. Imagine Its envy and fury whenever It does, imagine Its eternal hunger for that perfection that It can never have, imagine Its void that is uncontainable and perpetual, the same kind of void Satan has spread to man so that man has to suffer alongside It.
At the forefront of humanity's desire for unbridled, immediate self-gratifying wantoness is not so much the exposed flesh that is Satan's diet [1] but more the rawness of man's soul that Satan seeks to devour. The longer the carnivorous Satan gnaws at man's raw soul, the more heightened man's need is to fill his soul to complete his being. Whatever man's libidinous desires may be, man hungers for them and he will resort to all kinds of malevolence to usurp the happiness of others so as to have company in misery.
In misery, man's constant hunger spreads from one miserable soul to another, arising from unrequited love and unattained lust, so that each man is incomplete. His hunger for completeness is the fuel that propels man through life. This hunger originates from Satan and is also Satan's hunger. Man believes that this hunger can be cured but he is wrong.
The nature of Satan's hunger is not to seek satiation but to propagate more of itself by infecting every new soul and to grow the void in every infected soul. Satan diet, is therefore, not to curb an appetite but to expand a void that grows in hunger for more of what can never be satisfied. That, in essence, is Hell within man soul, and Hell on earth.
Satan's diet is repulsive, as with all that Satan is and does. The more man chases after the "food" of Satan's Diet to satisfy his hunger, the hungrier he gets. To be satiated, and even more beautiful that Lucifer once was, man need to fill his soul with Christ, the love Christ showed to all, at His betrayal, during the scourge, when he was humiliated with a crown of thorns and on the cross of Resurrection.
[1] Although Satan does not literally take a bite out of man's flesh as part of Its diet, but one can reasonably assume that Satan desires man's flesh because It is envious of man which was the cause of Lucifer's fall from Heaven and because man's flesh, in particular the flesh of those who have in their bodies the Eucharist, the living body and the purifying blood of Christ, whether having literally eaten the flesh and drunk the blood of Christ or having the flesh and blood of Christ infused into the bodies of those who have not actually eaten the flesh or drunk the blood of Christ (see footnote [5] in the entry entitled The Eucharist at http://lemomentdepaix.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-eucharist.html). Satan has a special desire for those whose flesh and blood had been infused with the flesh and blood of Christ because that is the only way Satan can taste Christ--indirectly. What envious warrior does not wish to consume his enemy in one way or another? Satan is no different. With Christ as Its nemesis, Satan can only taste the perfection Christ through the flesh and blood of man who has the living Christ in him. Imagine Its envy and fury whenever It does, imagine Its eternal hunger for that perfection that It can never have, imagine Its void that is uncontainable and perpetual, the same kind of void Satan has spread to man so that man has to suffer alongside It.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
The Eucharist
"The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice. In the Holy Eucharist, under the
appearances of bread and wine, the Lord Christ is contained, offered, and received." [1] "The change of the entire substance of the bread and wine into the body and blood of
Christ is called Transubstantiation." [2] "'What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes
report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that THE
BREAD IS THE BODY OF CHRIST AND THE CHALICE [WINE] THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.'
(Sermons 272 [By St. Augustine.])" [3] (EMPHASIS original.)
It takes absolute to believe what the eyes see and the tongue tastes, bread and wine, are not what they are but the actual body and the blood of Christ after consecration. I personally do not think it ends there. After receiving Holy Communion and at some Masses the chance to partake in imbibing the blood of Christ, one needs to return to the pew and contemplate on one's knees the significance of what is actually taking place after the body and blood of Christ are inside one's body: the flesh of Christ is joined with and becomes one's flesh and the blood of Christ is infused into one's blood stream that goes straight into the heart. The absorption of Christ into one's being is the holiest time at a Mass, and that time lasts long after the Holy Communion music has ended. Indeed, it only ends when one does not think about the momentous event when absorption turns into retention, when Christ's body is living within one's own body and Christ's blood is coursing through one's arteries with one's own blood.
"Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them." [4], [5]
[1] http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/eucha1a.htm
[2] Ibid.
[3] http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/father/fathers.htm
[4] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A53-56&version=NIV
[5] The operative word at the end of the quote is "remains". "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them." That word "remains" does not mean remaining just for the time being but forever. The middle part of the quote, "[w]hoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood" does not require one to constantly eat transubstantiated bread and drink transubstantiated wine, but means that whoever believes without a single doubt in the transubstantiation actually eats the flesh of Christ and drinks His Blood and whoever does so faithfully, whether once in a lifetime, once in a blue moon, once a year or at every Mass every Sunday, every day or several times daily, will have eternal life. It is also important to note that one who has never actually eaten the body of Christ or drunk His blood is not specifically denied eternal life in Christ, notwithstanding the first part of the quote that clearly says "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you," for whoever one is, wherever one is, however one is raised is a child of God and as such, is loved dearly by God and whoever is loved by God and loves God dearly in return has in a way as mysterious as transubstantiation eaten "the flesh of the Son of Man and [drunk] his blood" and therefore has "life" which would then lead to "eternal life."
It takes absolute to believe what the eyes see and the tongue tastes, bread and wine, are not what they are but the actual body and the blood of Christ after consecration. I personally do not think it ends there. After receiving Holy Communion and at some Masses the chance to partake in imbibing the blood of Christ, one needs to return to the pew and contemplate on one's knees the significance of what is actually taking place after the body and blood of Christ are inside one's body: the flesh of Christ is joined with and becomes one's flesh and the blood of Christ is infused into one's blood stream that goes straight into the heart. The absorption of Christ into one's being is the holiest time at a Mass, and that time lasts long after the Holy Communion music has ended. Indeed, it only ends when one does not think about the momentous event when absorption turns into retention, when Christ's body is living within one's own body and Christ's blood is coursing through one's arteries with one's own blood.
"Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them." [4], [5]
[1] http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/eucha1a.htm
[2] Ibid.
[3] http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/father/fathers.htm
[4] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A53-56&version=NIV
[5] The operative word at the end of the quote is "remains". "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them." That word "remains" does not mean remaining just for the time being but forever. The middle part of the quote, "[w]hoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood" does not require one to constantly eat transubstantiated bread and drink transubstantiated wine, but means that whoever believes without a single doubt in the transubstantiation actually eats the flesh of Christ and drinks His Blood and whoever does so faithfully, whether once in a lifetime, once in a blue moon, once a year or at every Mass every Sunday, every day or several times daily, will have eternal life. It is also important to note that one who has never actually eaten the body of Christ or drunk His blood is not specifically denied eternal life in Christ, notwithstanding the first part of the quote that clearly says "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you," for whoever one is, wherever one is, however one is raised is a child of God and as such, is loved dearly by God and whoever is loved by God and loves God dearly in return has in a way as mysterious as transubstantiation eaten "the flesh of the Son of Man and [drunk] his blood" and therefore has "life" which would then lead to "eternal life."
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Catholic Faith And Ailments
Ailments can be physical and mental. The following quoted paragraph is from a handout written by Dr. Aaron Kheriaty [1]:
If Thérèse di Lisieux did suffer from OCD, then Dr. Kheriaty's conclusion is correct, that even those with abiding faith in God is not immune to mental afflictions. I believe to be correct also that pain and suffering can sometimes lead one to God, as ironic as that may seem.
Francesco d'Assisi is an example. Born to wealthy parents in 1182, he was able to live a life of decadence as a young man. Although he had been sick before, he suffered another illness when he was 23. It was during this bout of sickness that he had a vision that put him on the road to conversion. [3]
Francesco's physical ailments, however, did not end with his conversion. He contracted an eye disease in 1220 at the age of 38 and suffered much pain. A doctor resorted to "cautery of the temple from the ear to the eybrow" [4], a searing procedure that was painless to him. Therefore, having complete faith in God and living in lockstep with Christ are not parts of a formula that immunizes one from contracting painful physical conditions. That does not mean, however, that a psychologist can automatically deduce that visions seen by people who are holy, including those seen by people not particularly holy, are hallucinations that can be diagnosed scientifically. A vision is a gift from God, contrary to what a psychologist had concluded, that when Thérèse di Lisieux saw “our Lady’s statue smile at her [that it was the result of] a natural psychological cause” [5].
Faith does not prevent a person from having physical or mental ailments but heals the soul that suffers under such ailments. Sometimes those very ailments are healed where both treatments and medications have failed--those are miracles, and miracles require absolute faith. I wonder what the same psychologist who concluded that Thérèse di Lisieux was hallucinating when she saw the Virgin Mary smile at her would have concluded and when Francesco d'Assisi saw a seraphim with six wings before he received his very real stigmata. [6]
[1] http://www.faithandreason.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Kheriaty-handout.pdf
[2] http://depressedandcatholic.com/post/6398276552/st-therese-of-lisieux and http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=197
[3] http://www.shrinesf.org/life-of-st-francis.html
[4] http://www.franciscanarchive.org.uk/1996jan-hill.html
[5] http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=197
[6] http://www.shrinesf.org/life-of-st-francis.html
Throughout history, many saints and people of heroic virtue suffered from mental illness of one sort or another. If we do not recognize this fact, we run the risk of uncharitably and unjustly stigmatizing those who suffer from depression. If the saints, the men and women closest to God who were exemplary in their faith and good works, experienced profound sorrow and even periods of depression, then it certainly follows that faith alone does not inoculate the believer against this affliction.I defer to the mental disorder professionals in their evaluations of dead people's psychological makeup and will not comment on the validity of their conclusions, in particular, whether certain saints suffered from one form of mental illness or another even though there seems to be a consensus that Thérèse di Lisieux suffered from an obsessive-compulsive disorder ("OCD"), a form of neurosis. [2]
If Thérèse di Lisieux did suffer from OCD, then Dr. Kheriaty's conclusion is correct, that even those with abiding faith in God is not immune to mental afflictions. I believe to be correct also that pain and suffering can sometimes lead one to God, as ironic as that may seem.
Francesco d'Assisi is an example. Born to wealthy parents in 1182, he was able to live a life of decadence as a young man. Although he had been sick before, he suffered another illness when he was 23. It was during this bout of sickness that he had a vision that put him on the road to conversion. [3]
Francesco's physical ailments, however, did not end with his conversion. He contracted an eye disease in 1220 at the age of 38 and suffered much pain. A doctor resorted to "cautery of the temple from the ear to the eybrow" [4], a searing procedure that was painless to him. Therefore, having complete faith in God and living in lockstep with Christ are not parts of a formula that immunizes one from contracting painful physical conditions. That does not mean, however, that a psychologist can automatically deduce that visions seen by people who are holy, including those seen by people not particularly holy, are hallucinations that can be diagnosed scientifically. A vision is a gift from God, contrary to what a psychologist had concluded, that when Thérèse di Lisieux saw “our Lady’s statue smile at her [that it was the result of] a natural psychological cause” [5].
Faith does not prevent a person from having physical or mental ailments but heals the soul that suffers under such ailments. Sometimes those very ailments are healed where both treatments and medications have failed--those are miracles, and miracles require absolute faith. I wonder what the same psychologist who concluded that Thérèse di Lisieux was hallucinating when she saw the Virgin Mary smile at her would have concluded and when Francesco d'Assisi saw a seraphim with six wings before he received his very real stigmata. [6]
[1] http://www.faithandreason.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Kheriaty-handout.pdf
[2] http://depressedandcatholic.com/post/6398276552/st-therese-of-lisieux and http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=197
[3] http://www.shrinesf.org/life-of-st-francis.html
[4] http://www.franciscanarchive.org.uk/1996jan-hill.html
[5] http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=197
[6] http://www.shrinesf.org/life-of-st-francis.html
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Prayer For Holiness
Dear Mother, allow Your holiness to permeate my mind, my heart and my soul, to be followed by Your Son's holiness, equally permeating my mind, my heart and my soul, so that I am able to experience for a moment the Love joining Mother and Child, and to realize that I want nothing more, caring about none of the things that trouble me, leaving behind all my demons and rising above them, so that the moment of holiness can grow to an eternity united to the Love that unites Mother and Child, that perfect abiding Love. Amen.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Occasions For Prayer
When one is under pressure, stressed out, impatient or upset and wants to berate, or when a family member has done something wrong or has broken something inadvertently and one is about to castigate, or when one is being yelled at and wishes to yell back, these are all occasions for prayer, along with countless other occasions that can drive us to anger.
When one is so blinded by rage that one seems to have lost control and the faculty to reason, the prayers that are helpful are prayers of the rosary. Say the Hail Mary, for instance [1]. Start with one, then another, and another, until one can breathe calmly and feel one's blood pressure returning to normal, then imagine oneself standing firm at the entrance of one's being, as if one's being is a house with steps that lead to the front door that opens up to the insides of one's mind, body and soul, and direct these or similar words of sternness toward the Enemy that is walking up the last few steps in order to enter: Stay away, Satan! You are not welcomed here.
I find this to be a good strategy to prevent explosive episodes which are always unnecessary and unproductive, which always need mending afterward. I believe that the peace that is never broken is far more secure than the peace that was once shattered and put back together.
[1] Sometimes the wrath can be so overwhelming, so much so that the mind is entirely consumed by it, even saying the entire rosary is not enough to expel the demons within. In that case, pick up the Bible and start reading, and meditate on the actions and words of Christ, to distract the mind so consumed to switch its focus from pure evil to pure good, so that a wedge can go into the darkness and replace it gradually but completely with light.
When one is so blinded by rage that one seems to have lost control and the faculty to reason, the prayers that are helpful are prayers of the rosary. Say the Hail Mary, for instance [1]. Start with one, then another, and another, until one can breathe calmly and feel one's blood pressure returning to normal, then imagine oneself standing firm at the entrance of one's being, as if one's being is a house with steps that lead to the front door that opens up to the insides of one's mind, body and soul, and direct these or similar words of sternness toward the Enemy that is walking up the last few steps in order to enter: Stay away, Satan! You are not welcomed here.
I find this to be a good strategy to prevent explosive episodes which are always unnecessary and unproductive, which always need mending afterward. I believe that the peace that is never broken is far more secure than the peace that was once shattered and put back together.
[1] Sometimes the wrath can be so overwhelming, so much so that the mind is entirely consumed by it, even saying the entire rosary is not enough to expel the demons within. In that case, pick up the Bible and start reading, and meditate on the actions and words of Christ, to distract the mind so consumed to switch its focus from pure evil to pure good, so that a wedge can go into the darkness and replace it gradually but completely with light.
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