tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77855762024-03-07T16:44:33.612-06:00Credo et AccipioA Mix of Catholic Thought and PoetryJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.comBlogger300125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-3641369713590429022015-04-05T17:00:00.000-05:002015-04-05T17:00:02.063-05:00Rejoice! Alleluia! Rejoice!Every Easter Vigil is different because of the indelible mark left by those who have entered the Church, renewing Her like the waters of life-giving Baptism. It is also the same year after year because Christ is the same year after year—tearing asunder the veil of darkness and death, uniting hearts under His banner, renewing His Bride for service and love in this world. Such is the beauty of Christ—we see it in the face of the newly Baptized believer or the one who has returned to the font of every blessing... It is Christ who has risen from the dead, and it is He who continues His work through us!<br />
<br />
It is a welcoming, a blessing, and ultimately an espousal that culminates in a wedding feast of God and His Church—of Heaven and earth. Happy Easter!<br />
<br />
Beauty shines forth in the darkness...<br />
<br />
<blockquote><em>"The God of gods, the LORD,<br />
has spoken and summoned the earth<br />
from the rising of the sun to its setting.<br />
<br />
From Zion, the perfection of beauty,<br />
God shines forth.<br />
<br />
Our God comes and will not be silent!<br />
Devouring fire precedes him,<br />
it rages strongly around him.<br />
<br />
He calls to the heavens above<br />
and to the earth to judge his people:<br />
<br />
“Gather my loyal ones to me,<br />
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”<br />
<br />
The heavens proclaim his righteousness,<br />
for God himself is the judge...<br />
<br />
“...Those who offer praise as a sacrifice honor me;<br />
I will let him whose way is steadfast<br />
look upon the salvation of God.”"</em> - Psalm 50:1-6, 23</blockquote><br />
May He be ever praised!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5YUXcmuH9vUmENdDryqq9-VYyLLkqo4DheWsjxkNv0DoL0_OfPT3itDV4yseNf6qO1hsWpLlidMNjwUdhwkJgB5yMma8QlSLnPDJWSpz06hUHr0i0G5qoghe5JHfpD0wsM-8/s1600/St-Marys-Easter-Vigil-EdRhodes-March30-2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5YUXcmuH9vUmENdDryqq9-VYyLLkqo4DheWsjxkNv0DoL0_OfPT3itDV4yseNf6qO1hsWpLlidMNjwUdhwkJgB5yMma8QlSLnPDJWSpz06hUHr0i0G5qoghe5JHfpD0wsM-8/s1600/St-Marys-Easter-Vigil-EdRhodes-March30-2013.jpg" width="530" height="350" /></a></div><div style="font-size:x-small;"><em>St. Mary's Catholic Church, College Station, TX, Easter Vigil Mass, March 30, 2013. Photo by Ed Rhodes.</em></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-39930947256662727382015-02-14T22:15:00.000-06:002015-02-16T09:04:16.033-06:00Contemplating Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbayfbXUoSpmjzVal7yTi3nbRlrLC9Jti1L2XauQacJKMI2expFlnPZu1hVWNIwVRUSxABRZmMkqyvyPp2nCs0eCwtt0_AXo5tF-ulCUBDE4myFa_hw837Bv2vNzjDcsn3rdFj/s1600/blogger-image-455160905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbayfbXUoSpmjzVal7yTi3nbRlrLC9Jti1L2XauQacJKMI2expFlnPZu1hVWNIwVRUSxABRZmMkqyvyPp2nCs0eCwtt0_AXo5tF-ulCUBDE4myFa_hw837Bv2vNzjDcsn3rdFj/s400/blogger-image-455160905.jpg" /></a></div><br />
There must first be a dedication to profound and deep reflection and, thus, prayer before a contemplation of love may occur and even be possible. For in this time of love, we must be ready to go without, not particularly for our sake but for the sake of the Other.<br />
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Love is not always a close communion; often it is a waiting upon the Other and their return. We know not when nor how but for the reality of the return of Love. It has been promised, and He will do it.<br />
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On this day, we must first be dedicated not to one but to all, to the service of the Other. It may not produce the romantic feelings of cards or letters, but it is a profound reality of love. We must give of ourselves in totality exactly because that totality has been given to us. We must love because He first loved us.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-25869954492454643522015-02-12T22:00:00.000-06:002015-02-16T08:55:04.871-06:00Serving in the Divine Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SXq5p3MEQdg2MYMG0HiLPaN1t4XWNByzyTpAj7OWtXyc02VgyCmhKMHlgYlz1UKslUcF2T4RS4eHjZV4vi5ww7GbPOw7iAGHlzfND4DMhA0WEJ0-vUsFrKprNpb__GtZWi9t/s1600/ClaudeMonet+-+Towing+a+Boat+-+Honfleur+-+1864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_SXq5p3MEQdg2MYMG0HiLPaN1t4XWNByzyTpAj7OWtXyc02VgyCmhKMHlgYlz1UKslUcF2T4RS4eHjZV4vi5ww7GbPOw7iAGHlzfND4DMhA0WEJ0-vUsFrKprNpb__GtZWi9t/s1600/ClaudeMonet+-+Towing+a+Boat+-+Honfleur+-+1864.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<blockquote><em>"Your word, O Lord, is truth: consecrate us in the truth." - John 17:17b,17a</em></blockquote><br />
Are there not days we wonder, "Does the Lord trust me too much?" Well, can He trust too much? No, for with trust, there is grace, and with grace there is much mercy, and with mercy there is much love—with much love, there truth rests.<br />
<br />
Monday had startled me, immediately being thrust into an ongoing anxiety. Yet, it is the Lord who trusts imperfect instruments that we are. We can desire to delve deeper, to write more, and to share more, putting to paper with broad strokes of the pen the welling, the throbbing of our hearts. Within these lofty reflections, by God's grace, dwell His love and thus His truth. Yet, we are broken instruments, or, at least, flawed ones. Still, love must win out. We have been told this—no, SHOWN it!<br />
<br />
Yes, it is so. He has shown it. Love has shown the Way. What other desirous act or thought should supplant it or surpass it? What human endeavor would increase the worth of life or existence if it was not first imbued with such grace? And these words today, "Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh!" What searing words! We must let these words sink into our depths. It is not a competition with the Other. No, we are in competition in service to the Other!<br />
<br />
We are a people called to service, to thinking of others more deserving the honor, the glory, the joy. Yet, He does fill our hearts with great joy, if we but let Him in.<br />
<br />
We must let this golden light stream in each day, especially at the close. With our hearts open to this light, how can we not ourselves radiate this same joy to and for others? We are called to do it, and He himself has done it. He has promised it, if we but enter faithfully into this work.<br />
<br />
Tuesday began a series of deepening introspection which gave even greater depth to this continuing gift of prayer and presence of the Beloved. He still trusts though imperfection. Through this imperfect response of ours, He trusts. This he does in a manifold series of ways, some more perceptible to our human eye or ear and others more sublimely.<br />
<br />
One for me, as of late, are the dreamlike notes of the second movement of Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto. They continue to resonate with me like a dream and, yet, here I am. It is no dream.<br />
<br />
Like the Impressionist pieces by Claude Monet, such as the one above, <em>Towing a Boat, Honfleur</em> (1864), things focus at a distance and lose clarity up close. It is the paradox of the long distance view of joy. Pain seeps in as though points and sharp strokes of paint, yet the joyous picture is completed at a harmonious distance.<br />
<br />
That is what I dwell upon recalling this week and the amber-lit evenings, as the sun drenched the church in those beautifully warm hues. I could not leave the place where I first beheld the beauty of the week nor the reminder of the Beloved as evening fell each day before the Presence of the Lord.<br />
<br />
It felt as though the sunset of Creation, that dusk to darkness before the next day, the Renewal of our hearts before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. As every sunset shines, whether painted or seen, it shines back to the deathless sunset of the One who is our Light. We are called to reflect it.<br />
<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/gu2fi3Tvhe0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-19162498323362961112015-01-06T07:00:00.000-06:002015-01-06T07:00:02.258-06:00The Epiphany: "Your Heart Shall Throb and Overflow..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpT_q23yds-gjSLujBbHl_q2iAUmbvnHhL1oS32U_NnfjCV-RVy5nw4DN0_A8O4PO_8GumKtTWzI_HIuezuBbp-SHESca8qnnA2aQVwoDQm2wzuhK5FKGyaBaKVDxw6nmySQY/s1600/OLW+-+Three+Kings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimpT_q23yds-gjSLujBbHl_q2iAUmbvnHhL1oS32U_NnfjCV-RVy5nw4DN0_A8O4PO_8GumKtTWzI_HIuezuBbp-SHESca8qnnA2aQVwoDQm2wzuhK5FKGyaBaKVDxw6nmySQY/s400/OLW+-+Three+Kings.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align:center;"><em>"Then you shall be radiant at what you see,<br />
your heart shall throb and overflow..."</em> - Isaiah 60:5a</div><br />
My mind recalls that piercing glance of the young families this last week. They were all about in my travels; their presence was at once a blessing and—if turned inward—a blow against my own thought of timing and gift, as though there is no gift for me to give this Epiphany. And, yet, this was all very well enough for the Lord of me. And, yet, these words come through that time...<br />
<br />
Oh, how my heart overflows, deep within what the Lord prepares. Where the passing material value is placed under the subject of the spiritual and every glance becomes a sign of love. This happens every day in the family... every day! ...And yet we miss it as clear as the sun at Noon.<br />
<br />
In the family, we forgive passing blows and stored grievances... why? Because the value isn't in the passing... it is in the girded strength of the Eternal that gives the family its worth. No, it's not blood or water that is the end but the Spirit of the one who dwells in each of us to empower us to be ones who say "Yes" as Mary continues to say "Yes."<br />
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Simeon foretold the sword that should pierce her heart, and yet we think the road to family life is to be peaceful. It was not peaceful for the Holy Family! Yet they had peace.<br />
<br />
We think that family life should be perfect and without any messes. It wasn't pristine for the Holy Family! Yet they had perfection.<br />
<br />
We think that family life should be without trial. It was not so for the Holy Family. Yet they had joy and love, and peace. Why? Because of the Christ Child. Even when He could not speak, He spoke. Even when we cannot speak now, we speak by our own presence. Let us not delay our presence for one another but be materially and spiritually present to one another, for the sake of the Other and in the example of the One that did it all for love of His Holy Family.<br />
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<blockquote><em>"Then you shall be radiant at what you see,<br />
your heart shall throb and overflow,<br />
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,<br />
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.<br />
Caravans of camels shall fill you,<br />
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;<br />
all from Sheba shall come<br />
bearing gold and frankincense,<br />
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD."</em> - Isaiah 60:5-6</blockquote>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-5694208381087521402014-12-13T23:35:00.000-06:002014-12-14T01:00:31.297-06:00Through the Labor Pains of the Heart<em>"I desire mercy, not sacrifice." (cf. Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13)</em><br />
<br />
These words of our Lord speak volumes. We may, especially when beset by deep sorrow and even depression, dwell on our unlovable nature and see how detestable our state is. We may even be tempted to grave sin, to abdicate the grace we have been given, or to be even reminded of the grave sin of the past already reconciled. Even so, there is this tumultuous experience that places us upon the parapet and tempts us to despair... Yet, we must remember those words of mercy—especially first for ourselves—that our souls may not be tortured but shining in the light of Christ. We must be light from His light, not that the fire is our own. He desires mercy over sacrifice in such a way that we are placed within His own sacrifice, we experience within His suffering our suffering, and we grow through such pitiable suffering out of love, not for ourselves, but for Him and, through Him, for the Other. Indeed, we cannot love the Other until we love ourselves, deep within our souls, in the way God loves each of us. Such as it is, we are able to begin anew, to love, to breathe, to live.<br />
<br />
It is here that mercy is full realized and the original phrase becomes most profitable in a fruitful grace begotten by Him. It bears Him completely through the labor pains of the heart.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopd_Fw6lOZpcJRrh_DgXI6ZTLp-eKKm7gy3s_uTBSUHVrcOcm3sZPmwIuMmhGRexWU1Q-o8S4V7DkKHn4nVfbvT1BpCGlhds71xwBJmwm-Yc-aLVpgiFUhAqrgwFwKXoM7hmD/s1600/Jesus-St.+Paul+Outside+the+Walls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjopd_Fw6lOZpcJRrh_DgXI6ZTLp-eKKm7gy3s_uTBSUHVrcOcm3sZPmwIuMmhGRexWU1Q-o8S4V7DkKHn4nVfbvT1BpCGlhds71xwBJmwm-Yc-aLVpgiFUhAqrgwFwKXoM7hmD/s400/Jesus-St.+Paul+Outside+the+Walls.JPG" /></a></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-59880063379958094232014-11-30T23:55:00.000-06:002014-12-01T00:00:03.373-06:00Traveling Our Way HomeThere are a few things I dwell upon as we begin the Season of Advent. Much is still coming into focus, but on the trip back home this evening from visiting my family, I could sense the twilight of the past and the promise of future to come. It has made me very expectant for this December, and the reminders of the past—long trips to Texas to visit my extended family—a great joy from childhood. It was all triggered, oddly enough, from a faint familiar smell of driving through the Texas countryside... it was almost an earthy smell that within the instant connected me back to those childhood trips in the dead of night, traveling the way "home"... and family is always "home."<br />
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I have felt as though the explanation and the gift of remaining in Texas has come into distinct focus. There can be a false sense of nostalgia, distinct as one ages, but this shouldn't be confused with the cherishing of the past. No, the recollection of the past is for the benefit of the future, and even if everything cannot be recalled—nor should it in serious cases—the joy of the present is a future infused in the past, in tradition, and above all in a living with the past for the benefit of the future generations, such that, come what may, we may be able to pass on the joy of the Faith, of the truth, and ultimately the joy of life, replete with the everyday blessings we receive when traveling along the road of life with a song in our heart on our way to the town of Bethlehem and the infant child that awaits us.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdzv4e0lX-qmRSp50X7dIQIXTAZK8aAxvjloxaEjK1zyXAnNraLr_ClJPGhyphenhyphen9uHJuX0ViafS_HyZ59oxYntjQxIYgMcx40Onthlh_M9YeKPZWW1AuPN66pgHbIWuMynmUeFEH/s1600/lambofchristmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdzv4e0lX-qmRSp50X7dIQIXTAZK8aAxvjloxaEjK1zyXAnNraLr_ClJPGhyphenhyphen9uHJuX0ViafS_HyZ59oxYntjQxIYgMcx40Onthlh_M9YeKPZWW1AuPN66pgHbIWuMynmUeFEH/s400/lambofchristmas.jpg" /></a></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-44779761989931741562014-11-29T23:11:00.000-06:002014-12-04T21:33:03.965-06:00Our ThanksgivingIf we are to eradicate loneliness, we must be willing to subject ourselves to the possibility that we will be lonely ourselves and to be better from the knowledge of it. This is obliquely fear of the Lord. It is not that we should seek out loneliness for ourselves but that we accept the lot laid out for us as our task. Eternal damnation is but eternal separation from a God who loves us deeper than we could comprehend. It is a casting of ourselves into the cold that we have found ourselves, not that God first willed damnation but communion first. Actions have consequences. The anecdote for us in the world fighting the pernicious disease of loneliness is in the Sacraments, and chief among them is the Holy Eucharist, which bears visible an invisible truth that all humans desire—Communion with one another and ultimately with God.<div>
<br>
Our Thanksgiving begins by thanking the King who has given of Himself to tear down the walls of loneliness and despair and raise up a Kingdom that is in Communion with Him. We are charged to do the same for the least among us, for He is in them, and we must see Him in the Other and give of ourselves to be present to them. Our fate lies in the balance; we must recognize Him in the Other to avoid missing the slightest chance to serve the King. This disguise is subtle but the results are huge; we cannot expect Him to see us as part of His love if we do not offer every agony or pain experienced with the Other as a gift back to Him in the sublime solidarity of love. There isn't a chance for delay, and the world is in need of it.<br>
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Life is the fullest and the most beautiful not when we ask "What if?" to a world of endless possibilities and of failures of the past now made present. Rather, we should boldly ask: "Where are you, Lord?" We are then surprised by His immediacy, even in the failed attempts to find Him in everything we experience. Our God is not a god of the history books as though a mythological fable; He has written every word of it. Our God is not a god who remains in the past; He is a god who is very much alive. He is a god of the present, of the evolving, of the "what is to come." He is ultimately the God of the Apocalypse—the God of the Unveiling. He is with us now, guiding us to a future bright animated through and in and with Him!<br>
<br>
God has placed in our hearts a greater joy than one we could possibly imagine or think of in our own dim view, but He does reveal this great joy to us in the Ordinary. These are the Sacraments. When we accept in our lives this animating joy given when we live a life for Him through those outward signs of the inner grace, we participate in the Divine Master's very existence, His work for the good of His people. These are the Sacraments of Service—Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony. Through these the life of the Church are renewed and strengthened. We, no matter our state or impediments, should not run from the Lord's desire to elevate these from the universal priesthood given through our Baptism in Christ Jesus. They are Sacraments for building up the Baptized and confirming them in the apostolic zeal that continues be handed down through that Missionary Mandate. They are critical in the same Mandate, and ever the more needed critical in a world that has forgotten the Sacraments.<br>
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In this light, we should run to Him, as He runs towards us and give thanks. For when I see this reality in its fullness of truth and its overwhelming catholicity, I see all that our Lord has promised—if not its timing—and my soul is overwhelmed with sincere joy. This is a Faith unshaken and a Hope secure in a Love that satisfies. May He be praised.<br>
<br>
In all things, graciousness. When finding fault in another, find the reason which excuses the fault—silence of friendship. If you cannot find the gracious word, offer a silence befitting the joy you have been given which points toward all grace. Healing isn't about what is said; rather, it is about what isn't. Healing is chiefly about presence.<br>
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Credo et Accipio.<br>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpS0dN4B-VYrJTQsIhrW_fHbjb-tZNbMmmnsHEVq8O4GPVk6USi6PkIRvjymiCRwpbVjStJd7AKfKbHiB5uC6jVCGzCvLtHuskBc1ac_o_2hGPh70rQuaR4GvOUbnli_JJfcm/s1600/Mother+Teresa+-+National++Basilica.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEpS0dN4B-VYrJTQsIhrW_fHbjb-tZNbMmmnsHEVq8O4GPVk6USi6PkIRvjymiCRwpbVjStJd7AKfKbHiB5uC6jVCGzCvLtHuskBc1ac_o_2hGPh70rQuaR4GvOUbnli_JJfcm/s400/Mother+Teresa+-+National++Basilica.JPG"></a></div></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-53311851172228657122014-10-29T07:00:00.000-05:002014-10-29T07:00:01.596-05:00O Fragile CrossYou have given me, Beloved,<br />
A cross I have borne and carried;<br />
It has now traveled with me<br />
With tears like Peter's.<br />
<br />
He had his own cross to carry<br />
In this ancient city,<br />
But mine has broken,<br />
Shards of porcelain now scattered.<br />
<br />
I have traveled the streets;<br />
I have walked the hills.<br />
I have found the Savior's sorrow<br />
That He felt as He carried His up His hill.<br />
<br />
Those blessed shards of porcelain, red and white,<br />
Form a heart in love on a frame of Divine Mercy.<br />
At once pressed together, <br />
They create a reminder of God's great love:<br />
to lay one's life down for one's friends.<br />
<br />
O fragile cross now laid to rest,<br />
If I must let go, let me let go<br />
Now at the tomb a lover, a new Peter, a saint blest.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojAj7q2JCV_Q-v-iLM0orAptxJU-7-FNpMIjx62WcPg9bWgCSyPjWd3Fff0qV_Rd6fTQRtx6vfmQyBmh8Nr-AJokvK7bUygOkp7LKTpvMGPWAwzzkALIKUtn3LK46laHKCYSl/s1600/Tomb+of+John+Paul+II+-+John+Book.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tomb of St.John Paul II, St. Peter's Basilica" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojAj7q2JCV_Q-v-iLM0orAptxJU-7-FNpMIjx62WcPg9bWgCSyPjWd3Fff0qV_Rd6fTQRtx6vfmQyBmh8Nr-AJokvK7bUygOkp7LKTpvMGPWAwzzkALIKUtn3LK46laHKCYSl/s400/Tomb+of+John+Paul+II+-+John+Book.JPG" height="300" title="" width="453" /></a></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-76009083968421003072014-10-05T23:48:00.001-05:002014-10-06T00:16:00.640-05:00"Rejoice in the Lord Always!"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWL-Nr_vygH8OAxh4iLFBCY35_vpbKH0_gYI_hqq8mGZBXFxcOvxrHjbjv8yDFru0t5ZtY6GSSI7rhcmmwT3A2H2YFOtGE7g-lmAZi_2INNhXFn78yZZld_M2EjPZw6o0Sq-az/s1600/Vatican+Museum+-+Eucharist.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWL-Nr_vygH8OAxh4iLFBCY35_vpbKH0_gYI_hqq8mGZBXFxcOvxrHjbjv8yDFru0t5ZtY6GSSI7rhcmmwT3A2H2YFOtGE7g-lmAZi_2INNhXFn78yZZld_M2EjPZw6o0Sq-az/s400/Vatican+Museum+-+Eucharist.JPG" alt="The Vatican Museum - Mural of the Eucharist"/></a></div><br />
I found great joy in the Agnus Dei today, the Mass setting from the <em>Mass of the Morning Star</em>... The music remains for me a motif, a scent of a profound underlying beauty of the Faith made intensely personal. The very familiar notes remain with me and bind, in a way, my sorrow with His at the Mass. He is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. We do not make ourselves clean; "by His stripes we are healed." (cf. Isaiah 53:5)<br />
<br />
And so this causes me to respond as St. Paul enjoins on us even until today: <em>"Rejoice in the Lord always! Rejoice!"</em> (cf. Philippians 5:4)<br />
<br />
Even so, can joy be mixed with sorrow? <strong>YES!</strong> Because joy does not depend on us. It is a grace, as all good things are, from above. His joy is made complete with our participation; that is why we must participate both in the joy and recall it even when we face sorrow. The Cross did not eliminate sorrow or suffering... His sacrifice has given us a clarion call, a mustering point to which we have a duty and honor to observe—out of pure love of Him. When we make it about us, piousness grows hollow. When we search for joy without service, we become empty tombs of faltering, passing happiness. Love of Him in the Other cannot be ignored; if distraction appears it is an opportunity to deepen our commitment to the radical love of Christ—to go to the root of that love—that bears fruit that remains. Then we become the servants worthy of praise by the Father, for we have not divided against the Son. Rather, we have thus joined with Him in the work of the Vineyard. The Vineyard is the People of God, and we must labor no matter our state with Him if we are to share in His inheritance. Out of love for Him, we serve, and out of this love comes the everlasting joy that gives us hope in the present for a future secure in His love. May He ever deepen this gift to us for the good benefit of others.<br />
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Deo gratias!Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-72435646363721794782014-10-04T23:30:00.000-05:002014-10-05T01:18:09.318-05:00Of the Brightness—ReflectionI have grown over the past decade to love morning Mass, especially in a church that fills with the morning light as it shimmers through the trees and has cast within it light and shadow in the kaleidoscopic variation that changes with the breeze. All of this coupled with the Presence—I cannot ask for anything more. He is greater than I, and my heart belongs to Him and those who love Him.<br />
<br />
The sun may shine, but shadows do exist. Although they do, the light shines ever brighter... It's warmth on a Saturday is a consolation on the Way—of chill mixed with warmth.<br />
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What can I say that He doesn't already know? I sit on that bench in prayer. Waiting, yes, waiting... For my beloved whom I do not know. I wait because of the light—that sure light. Can I do anything else? Where else can I run? To whom should I go?<br />
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Can there be anything to add or to give? He has given everything. I can give my presence, my thought, my accedence, yes. But can I give my love?<br />
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I do not move because of the light; within it there is no darkness.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzHFUbLEv0d2tZOd4Sw3xTn1ix6lpBhUdzoOeooo6L941dijjMPu9J2E5VpUDWS_UvzKoS-BUXRnLazghPz-9jF0tQdRwMW7mtBBjMXQWTJtr8xddJnc5hL1PP6U1qRq0xiZQ/s1600/St+Mary's+Rose+-+October+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzHFUbLEv0d2tZOd4Sw3xTn1ix6lpBhUdzoOeooo6L941dijjMPu9J2E5VpUDWS_UvzKoS-BUXRnLazghPz-9jF0tQdRwMW7mtBBjMXQWTJtr8xddJnc5hL1PP6U1qRq0xiZQ/s400/St+Mary's+Rose+-+October+2014.jpg" /></a></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-78184186858138008582014-10-02T19:00:00.000-05:002015-01-04T23:43:42.797-06:00The Church as One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ZshYKkvz8UQBi3TE61FFtag1gPVJHNVcuFm4VzRnm5cxPOGUCKFMPcFTq9TeOpGOeYjAm9J4_8gpY3p6vBXN7lyPvpVluivdpxOK8XyxL1i6vsvvY-ubM0_MxbRnNWHw6ObO/s1600/IMG_4835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: .5em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ZshYKkvz8UQBi3TE61FFtag1gPVJHNVcuFm4VzRnm5cxPOGUCKFMPcFTq9TeOpGOeYjAm9J4_8gpY3p6vBXN7lyPvpVluivdpxOK8XyxL1i6vsvvY-ubM0_MxbRnNWHw6ObO/s400/IMG_4835.JPG"></a></div>My heart burns... it yearns. I wish every day was the eve in anticipation towards a Sunday morning. It is not that every Sunday has its note be the sweetest... though we must do our part. No, it is the anticipation of something even greater, greater than even the Mass present before us in our hearts of the day. That is why we are called forth, the Mass is a sending into the Vineyard. So must we... and to not grumble when we see gifts greater than our own. Even that morning, the arresting breath! A turn of the corner, a flash of light, a peace not my own. The Eucharist is our highest joy on this earth.<br />
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My heart returns to these successive weeks... for me, they're enveloped within the consciousness of the Domestic Church. At Mass a few weeks ago, again and again at that early morning offering—the young families present. We mustn't grow weary of their participation—of the coos, the noise, the shaking of the Church. It is a good and necessary thing! It reminds us of our vitality, of our love for one another. They do not belong behind, away, or shuttered. They belong in front.<br />
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I wish to take the latter of this into my arms... and ultimately into my prayers. My prayers are for those who deal with such deep loss within the Domestic Church. There is good in desires and better in their purification. We are not a Church at rest! We are a Church active, a Church Militant. A Church in Love is a Church active, not doing Her own will but the One who sent Her, who Baptized Her, who Commissioned Her for the great good She does because She is empowered by Jesus Christ himself and the same Spirit that fills us as believers in the true Faith of Jesus Christ. We are the Church, but not in our isolation... in dissident, fractious belief or in our vanity, our impatience, our own self-centeredness... We are the Church in Communion, called to be One, called to be Holy, called to be Apostolic... called to be Catholic.<br />
<blockquote><em>Lord, repair what I have undone, what I have done poorly. Fix what I have broken, heal where I have made division, speak where I have remained silent. Make known Your love to us. Take us back into Your own heart, a people set apart. Let us see You in the Other.<br />
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Guide us into the Way of Peace, into the Way of Truth, into the Way of Love together as One. Amen.</em></blockquote>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-18423650502092624442014-10-01T23:42:00.000-05:002014-10-02T08:51:45.396-05:00The Little FlowerWhat shall I say? Let us make a return to the Lord, for He is good and forgiving, slow to anger and rich in kindness. To the hungry He brings good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Let us pour ourselves out as the Little Flower did, be rich in word and deed for others, and sacrificial in our service—no matter or place in life. We are called to do good and to be love for one another. Let us seek out the good, for our time is short. Let us seek out the good and think better of others and trust in the Lord. Let us share that goodwill and be present to those in our midst and count not the cost of love.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ8uYgUvSuF5WZKj6tu3UeboYH4wIgp6RCaDZTwKFeXIoCImidWpovtogjjrE_CDdlQPSIUW04oSZ-_DeUkrUdaWPUejYZ0P1eP-3hWISRcSrDCBdEgqMRjc3SQrP0ntfhs6v/s1600/therese+by+celine-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ8uYgUvSuF5WZKj6tu3UeboYH4wIgp6RCaDZTwKFeXIoCImidWpovtogjjrE_CDdlQPSIUW04oSZ-_DeUkrUdaWPUejYZ0P1eP-3hWISRcSrDCBdEgqMRjc3SQrP0ntfhs6v/s400/therese+by+celine-crop.jpg" /></a></div><blockquote><em>"O little martyr of Love, you know now even better than in the days of your pilgrimage that Love embraces all vocations; that it is Love alone which counts, which unites us perfectly to God and conforms our will with His. All you sought on earth was love; to love Jesus as He had never yet been loved. Use your power in heaven to make us love Him. If only we love Him we shall desire to make Him loved by others; we shall pray much for souls. We shall no longer fear death, for it will unite us to Him forever. Obtain for us the grace to do all for the love of God, to give Him pleasure, to love Him so well that He may be pleased with us as He was with you.<br />
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Intercede for us all the days of our life, but especially during this Novena and obtain for us from God the graces and favors we ask through your intercession. Amen."<br />
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"Thought for the day: Love of God. I will love God alone and will not have the misfortune of attaching myself to creatures, now that my heart perceive what He has in store for those who love Him.<br />
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What attracts me to the kingdom of Heaven is the call of our Lord, the hope of loving Him as I have so desired and the thought that I shall be able to make Him loved by a great number of souls who will bless Him forever.<br />
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When Christ said, "Give Me a Drink," it was the love of His poor creatures that He, the Creator of all things, desired. He thirsted for love.<br />
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Remember that the dear Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you, for you alone. Remember that He is consumed with a desire to come into your heart."</em> <strong>- <a href="https://www.ewtn.com/therese/novena.htm#7" target="_blank">EWTN's "Little Flower Novena"</a></strong></blockquote>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-65276651287324981452014-09-13T22:16:00.000-05:002014-09-13T22:16:09.647-05:00Seeking After Gratitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nSOH5k2HWWWd_wgXiSjnUigTLP1n9dI6mzUoLUb9NfHCyfQ5C4CqTxGt7WLOq54ILm_VoCtHZtTHTCWBgWVQZ5sviIoJO01vFuvaXGgY05uO-u6GHk8m6-ecxxfSQdDDN7cQ/s1600/Virgin-Mary-St-Marys-College-StationTX.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nSOH5k2HWWWd_wgXiSjnUigTLP1n9dI6mzUoLUb9NfHCyfQ5C4CqTxGt7WLOq54ILm_VoCtHZtTHTCWBgWVQZ5sviIoJO01vFuvaXGgY05uO-u6GHk8m6-ecxxfSQdDDN7cQ/s1600/Virgin-Mary-St-Marys-College-StationTX.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><br />Now I crash again against the beachhead, a wave of compassion washing ashore. The dash to Mass was one that had me come up short so many days of the past weeks. I recall one day, especially, where I didn't hear the Gospel that day, but I did experience it. I grew bitter and uncharitable, all of it bitter fruit and without much mental or spiritual acuity. Again this happened today. The interesting truth about this?<br /><br />God works with even that brokenness and lack of self worth and hardness of heart in the moment. He allows the hardness so that He can break our stony hearts and expand them for a greater capacity to love.<br /><br />I knew once I came tumbling into the church one weekday evening, that, in spite of these setbacks of getting to Mass, I had made the right decision to press on. I recall those sonorous words of Fr. Trahan on 1 John 4:19. God does not love us for some sort of response. He loves us because we are lovable, and we should do the same.<br /><br />I'm still working on this... but it makes each day worth living.</span><br />
<blockquote>
<i><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">"The
saints do not contemplate to know, but to love. They do not love for the
sake of loving but for the love of Him whom they love. It is for the
love of their first beloved, God, that they aspire to that very union
with God that love demands whilst they love themselves only for Him. For
them, the end of ends is not to bring exul<span class="text_exposed_show">tation
to their intellect and nature and thus stop at themselves. It is to do
the will of Another, to contribute to the good of the Good. They do not
seek their own soul. They lose it; they no longer possess it. If in
entering into the mystery of Divine filiation and becoming something of
God, they gain a transcendent personality, an independence and a liberty
which nothing in the world approaches, it is by forgetting all else so
that they do not live, but the Beloved lives in them."</span></span></i><br />
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"> — Jacques Maritain</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-60748310847930935062014-08-18T23:50:00.000-05:002014-08-19T00:10:08.082-05:00A Great Boon in the Tide of Love<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><i>"We become what we love, and who we love shapes what we become."</i></span><div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><i>- St. Clare of Assisi</i></span><i></i></div>
</blockquote>
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<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
</span><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-UoPiZwpCo982EuMtWU7vHnhdX7Ol8sP7RRgBWf0XAeZJJdJL7w1n64ZhG6-sLPqLLoZWsaRvs9Rdf4xZbHhbLxmB09DrWCf70A1RATsBI7Mai_YCjv62VuksJaeX9sM4XMu/s1600/Vergine+in+Adorazione,+1406-1469.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF-UoPiZwpCo982EuMtWU7vHnhdX7Ol8sP7RRgBWf0XAeZJJdJL7w1n64ZhG6-sLPqLLoZWsaRvs9Rdf4xZbHhbLxmB09DrWCf70A1RATsBI7Mai_YCjv62VuksJaeX9sM4XMu/s1600/Vergine+in+Adorazione,+1406-1469.jpg" /></a>This is an epigraph that encompasses the great boons of a love grounded
in this heavenly courtship of the Other. First, because the Other is
worth that price of sacrifice. Secondly, because, even if one discounted
the <span class="text_exposed_show">intrinsic value of that person and
therefore also that love between, its value is too much to be rendered
inconsequential. No! It, rather, gains more day by day in dividends.
This movement of dying to self and to every expectation opens for
oneself a great boon in the tide of love.<br /> <br /> As it is our
passions, rightly or wrongly, push the waves ashore, crashing upon the
beachhead, but it is always that great gift of love which raises the
tides of the whole sea. Love in proximity itself increases the level for
those further along. Every attack on love affects the members of this
vast body. Likewise, the more pure the act in opposite, for the Banner
of Love, wins a great salve for the ones adrift in this body. It brings
hope, like a life raft in a sea churning within a storm... which informs
us further despite the tempest: "Be not afraid!"<br /> <br /> And so it is, "We become what we love, and who we love shapes what we become."</span></span>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-29109760016078869592014-08-01T23:35:00.000-05:002014-08-02T02:09:27.223-05:00Dwelling in the Desert of LoveGod gave me a garden of love, and what I found was Gethsemane.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYM3fNrXkzC6vrIpGJNPry6NAr0L1dVHPvtLhHWcMzs0zqeL3gVANbJOch3vcmVhIPIxX5wMEyW7UDICcae0eR7Q1iQTIeWmISboOA7NAjsdaSSJbcZw7NmNRnPtmXF0fjdDb/s1600/Adoration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYM3fNrXkzC6vrIpGJNPry6NAr0L1dVHPvtLhHWcMzs0zqeL3gVANbJOch3vcmVhIPIxX5wMEyW7UDICcae0eR7Q1iQTIeWmISboOA7NAjsdaSSJbcZw7NmNRnPtmXF0fjdDb/s320/Adoration.jpg" /></a></div>Even in absence of every good thing, He is there, and my heart hopes. In love it hopes, and though it is far off—further than any other night—I see the brightest star through this dark–this Dark Night. Love abounds even where there is thirst and exhaustion. This desert is but a delay, a damper, but not a death. Love finds its way, and it is the choice—the free choice—to love or not. Even if it is far off, Love comes to us and travels the distance. Love bounds toward the brokenhearted because it is in breaking we grow wider than we could alone. Love always goes the distance.<br />
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And for this it is worth everything, even death... Death on a Cross.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-26530439218240417522014-06-15T23:37:00.000-05:002014-06-15T23:37:43.271-05:00Recalling the Father's LoveToday I am reminded again of the gifts, the insights He has given me. I recall those discreet moments where I have witnessed both father and son in prayer, at Mass, in active religious activity, and in the world. There were moments, special to me, in Rome at the General Audience across the vehicle path, another outside St. Paul Outside the Walls in the park area, and then recently one evening in Bastrop going to Mass at Ascension Parish. They gave me pause for prayer, joy, and hope. The Lord knows all good timing and of the things suitable and needed for such a vocation.<br />
<br />
The importance of a father is not that he should be perfect but that He aims for perfection—that is goodness and selflessness of the One who is his Father—and, when that father falls short of this task, to run to Him so that He may remain in Him and his son may remain also in Him, as the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father and both dwelling in the ones here below in their mirroring image. We may not be able to do this under our own volition, but, with God, all things are possible.<br />
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I continue to have the opportunity, the grace, to be able to approach the altar of our Lord each early Sunday morning and offer my desires, however ennobled, to Him. Today especially.<br />
<br />
Today we celebrate Father's Day in the United States. In the Church we also celebrate Trinity Sunday, the Sunday following Pentecost. The beauty of this linked connection is that the Trinity is the sign of the life-giving example of God, in the three-persons which gives us glimpse into His triune love and His nature. We follow His example and love, and we have our beloved... and from so great a love the love that is between the two itself lives in the Holy Spirit.<br />
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This past month and from Rome, my heart has continued to contemplate these weighty thoughts and to have refined my desires through them. As it is, we rise to that which we aspire to in example. And my heart burns... What grace it is to have a hope in something unseen but promised. It is the hope given to Abraham and his descendants, even to his servant David.<br />
<br />
...And, still, how great it is to call God "Abba! Father!"<br />
<br />
To those earthly fathers amongst us, thank you. May God continue to strengthen you as holy men after His own heart and His example. To our spiritual fathers, may God bless you in the nourishment you hand on. And, from me, you who are young fathers, know that you give us great hope in the promise of Our Father in Heaven.<br />
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As we know from the words of St. Paul, "hope does not disappoint." Thanks be to God.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxoO7PYeeWxGlJK_LV3x8gzzTuhiYUsINtv55BQsDisztC3UWa5bAKQEdxS9_4a7Su-8eW8Ed3zFaAzt8W1QRVQl6FtTx1aNyhvmV0IyT8XvEouDaIOe_TgAfSh7n83kIEKrCl/s1600/Rome+107-Cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxoO7PYeeWxGlJK_LV3x8gzzTuhiYUsINtv55BQsDisztC3UWa5bAKQEdxS9_4a7Su-8eW8Ed3zFaAzt8W1QRVQl6FtTx1aNyhvmV0IyT8XvEouDaIOe_TgAfSh7n83kIEKrCl/s320/Rome+107-Cropped.jpg" /></a></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-72155750426624509582014-06-09T23:30:00.000-05:002014-06-09T23:37:03.970-05:00Prayer of the FamilyHow do I foolishly desire to be rid of the darkness of trial and temptation, insofar as my dimmed understanding permits me even to express now. It is not a matter of temptation to love something more than God that ones striving towards the Holy One should be most concerned about, though proper ordering of love is a prudent necessity. No, it is the temptation to doubt the gift given to one who experiences great trial and doubt in response. This darkness in question is the poisonous fumes of doubt that question the gifts because of oneself. They wrongly question the giver's sanity and not the standard of the gifted that one visits review upon and to whom the talents have been given.<br />
<br />
A lack of response to prayer is not a lack of prayer. A lack of receptivity in so-called prayer is itself the absence of true prayer, not the feeling of emptiness or fullness. We are earthen vessels who are prone to seeping that which we are filled with; neither can we fill without first being open to receiving. Love must be the act of will present in prayer to be open to the blinding fires of Love before us if we are ready to be refined in and proved through this refining fire of Love.<br />
<br />
O Act of Love... in thee I stand. With thee I pray, those indescribable words in exaltation to Him Who Is... May I too be bound by the Holy Family through which all instruction took form and place from of youth and until His Bloody Passion as the Paschal Lamb.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FTJhAhQOKNeesBgo2xubf7SpeNPSJ9VDpjyWctggkqhYMeUub1Ucsps9e3EbSRWezCQOa6l1uVPB0wXsStRwRkEFmtYEhtxAN0BDAqCb2hME6kB47vInbiC9n6rRgV9v2ALX/s1600/StJoseph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FTJhAhQOKNeesBgo2xubf7SpeNPSJ9VDpjyWctggkqhYMeUub1Ucsps9e3EbSRWezCQOa6l1uVPB0wXsStRwRkEFmtYEhtxAN0BDAqCb2hME6kB47vInbiC9n6rRgV9v2ALX/s400/StJoseph.jpg" /></a></div>O St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church and patron saint of families... I choose thee in this same love for my family to be. Dear St. Joseph, pray for all of our families in all their states and dispositions, that they may mirror the Trinity in love. St. Joseph, especially pray for my family and spouse to be. May I mirror your love in chastity to give myself to her in fruitful and unyielding love. May your prayers usher God's grace in me to be patient in its timing and form, that I may not grow hasty or worried over any outward appearance of failure but trust in the Heralds of God who announce the Good News. May God grant the peace necessary to answer this prayer in the silence as well as in the active. Patron Saint of the Family, guide me with your prayer to the works God has prepared within me, those works of great love He wills for me.<br />
<br />
Lord God, Eternal Father, grant this prayer and petition in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns forever with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.<br />
<br />
St. Joseph, Patron Saint of the Universal Church and of all families, pray for us!Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-22267080630374965022014-05-31T23:30:00.000-05:002014-06-01T01:04:46.642-05:00Beauty MagnifiedBeauty without sacrifice isn't beauty. It's a cheap illusion. The beauty of a rose comes with thorns, with little pains and sorrows. Beauty isn't diminished with the thorns—it's magnified.<br />
<br />
Beauty uncrucified is a love that is missing its crown of thorns. A love without thorns is a love without service. Without service, love is empty words reserved for a dust heap, branches to be pruned, and blossoms withered.<br />
<br />
With each day let us give thanks for beauty crowned with sacrifice and find joy within beauty that is tested and found worthy of Him. We are loved.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7uvEZXyfnEoYLMRyGKGmy5FEPDr47F4Q5wdOwrsfQcqYo4ycb63GV9n6T4jfVFg0T2E3hEOzqvSDcyTiT8kGFw2A09WTvoUFrTcqVzGzETW25rIpu4iPPZxKKJqMVRG-f9rs/s1600/St.+Marys+Rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7uvEZXyfnEoYLMRyGKGmy5FEPDr47F4Q5wdOwrsfQcqYo4ycb63GV9n6T4jfVFg0T2E3hEOzqvSDcyTiT8kGFw2A09WTvoUFrTcqVzGzETW25rIpu4iPPZxKKJqMVRG-f9rs/s400/St.+Marys+Rose.jpg" /></a></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-53567607165109191132014-05-29T23:19:00.000-05:002014-06-01T01:05:18.677-05:00Novelty: "Do It Again!"<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Novelty eventually wears off. Why? The reasons are plentiful, but the response required is a rather simple one: renewal. We as people require renewal because it is hard-coded into our being; we may like routines—those comfortable grooves—if everything goes well. At the slightest setback we declare them ruts. There is a middle way—a <i>Catholic</i> way—that unites the two in a symbiotic relationship as two<span class="text_exposed_show"> sides of the same coin of existence.<br />
<br />
It is to treat everything as novelty and everything with a sense of wonderment and with a desire for renewal. G.K. Chesterton, whose birthday is today, speaks of it when he describes children and their exclamation "Do it again!" until the grown-up is nearly dead.<br />
<br />
I think this very much God's approach to us and our days, never tiring. We too must rise and say to the morning "Do it again!" We may not always have the vigor in this life to make all things novelties, but God has made all things new. Therefore, we are called to renew and be renewed. This is our view into Eternity.<br />
</span></span><br />
<blockquote><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"> <i>"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."</i> - G.K. Chesterton, <i><b>Orthodoxy</b></i></span></span></blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUvx9OXlm6O1Jq4Ki66bjpkkNO4Y0zuz2DIjlTTIK8oeFqCkcPhlyT4mnFYH725DE2e_IDUp9w0bTfEy2Ugq1GnmI4DRUZKfxpr0CIEN8UuRuiuVHFAztCTfBuwiOSsIuRdfq/s1600/Texas_Sunrise_John_Book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAUvx9OXlm6O1Jq4Ki66bjpkkNO4Y0zuz2DIjlTTIK8oeFqCkcPhlyT4mnFYH725DE2e_IDUp9w0bTfEy2Ugq1GnmI4DRUZKfxpr0CIEN8UuRuiuVHFAztCTfBuwiOSsIuRdfq/s1600/Texas_Sunrise_John_Book.jpg" height="350" width="450" /></a></div>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-63580038968725129442014-05-22T23:50:00.000-05:002014-05-23T00:05:50.529-05:00Vocation: Moving from Despair into Mercy<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Coming
to dwell upon a momentary despair, one of the minor ones that
precipitate a temptation to fall into a selfish burst, a moment turned
inward—the following comes to mind, as though inspiration breathed in
and a cool answer to a heated breath of dismay:<br /> <br /> If one is
tempted to self or unpurposed love of self, make an act of love in
opposite, a small sacrifice of love—a prayer, a thought, a physi<span class="text_exposed_show">cal
act (if possible) according to the state in life and relation,
especially for those in the budding of vocation. Make it a point to cut
against the grain, to rouse the senses to cooperation under the same
mission as the intellect that ascends to and accepts in word a faith
towards such a state, that begins in proto-form the desire to say "I do"
or be consecrated towards the Kingdom at hand but needs a small act or,
if you will, "a kiss to build a dream on." Make an act of love in this
direction and in such a concrete way, even if the Beloved sees not. Do
this, and you will have placed a brick upon the structure, the abode of
love that you are building for the Other. Brick by brick, even if the
Beloved does not accept such a gift, builds the home in which the Father
bestows and desires each to dwell within. It is then a structure, an
abode of love. Festooned with the flowers that burst into bloom and then
fade as youth does, this abode will not later fade. Rather, it will be
strengthened by each sweet act of charity. The investment being made
will then pay dividends, not for oneself alone but—as one holding
everything in common—for the community of believers. In this end, that
immutable crown of glory will be yours and, with it, a Communion given
by the One who has given it all, even His dearly beloved Son.<br /> <br /> This is why it is right to say: "Conversion is where obedience turns into love."<br /> <br />
So it is in pursuit, in the Courtship of the Daughter of the King... So
must a "yes" be in preparation, for love requires a soil prepared in
due time if the fruits of love are to be those that remain. Without Him,
we can do nothing.</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">"And i<span class="text_exposed_show">f I go and prepare a place for you,</span></span><br /><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"> I will come back again and take you to myself,</span></span><br /><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"> so that where I am you also may be.</span></span></i><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"><i> Where I am going you know the way." </i>- John 14:3-4</span></span></blockquote>
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show">
These words strike me... they hold me in a great peace. What has He
prepared? Much! And yet Thomas questions. It is enough to be with Him
along the Way, peaceful with the great good given each in their own way.
This is gratitude.<br /> <br /> I am reminded of last Sunday morning, in preparation for Mass and entering into and serving in the Mass. Looking beyond my
place towards the Altar—and this among other reasons is why I love 8 AM
Mass so much—the light pierced through the east-facing windows before me
with its light resting upon the chalice and purificator spent. It was
for me, a profound and yet sublime example of love. It was <em>love in the
hidden</em>—in the invisible made visible. That is what the Blessed Sacrament
is. It is love spent for the good of the people, multiplied, and
distributed. It is the wedding banquet, and my heart was glad.<br /> <br />
It is in these moments I find great solace and remembrance of His love,
"for his mercy endures forever." Not only this, I remember those whom I
am so bound in prayer and affection that tears of joy are recalled. I
pray even now not out of a desire of being seen—this is the warning of
Christ about the locked room of prayer—but out of deep reverence for the
love He has placed for me that I am called to give in turn in specific,
tender ways. These are like wounds that are opened and then re-heal,
only to open again. This is the nature of compassion and of self-gift
and love.<br /> <br /> It is an honor to serve in lectoring at Mass,
especially regarding last Sunday's reading and the rejoinder by St. Peter to be like "living
stones." The greater gift received is the mere opportunity to see the
work of God at work in us and through us that the light shines through
and shows through the darkness of our own hearts His marvelous love.
Namely, it is itself the receiving of Him in the Eucharist. There can
be no greater, no further complete union of God and Man other than on
Judgement Day. We must avail of it often and never grow weary to our
need for conversion before approaching. Yet, through it all, we remember
that "his mercy endures forever."<br /> <br /> Amen.</span></span><br />
<br />
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Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-8974977451702478452014-05-18T23:50:00.000-05:002014-05-18T23:51:56.678-05:00Let Us Give Thanks...<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">Conversion is a day by day experience, as I was reminded to me in a homily a week ago, and day by day I know more why I continue to return...
With the eyes of faith I recall the words of Peter: "Master, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68-69)<br /> <br /> But <span class="text_exposed_show">this
isn't a begrudging answer or a return based on fear or weariness, even
when I fail... It isn't as though it is a crutch. Why go to Mass then?
Why return in community to the Eucharist?<br /> <br /> Indeed, the Eucharist is having eyes for forever. It is the
onward look towards Eternity, wrapped in a love deeper than the depths
of the human heart. It is a Thanksgiving, rightly called so, because we
do not earn it, but we are given it in our feebleness. It strengthens;
it fortifies. It gives us new life... All because of HIS words... "I am
the Bread of Life."<i><br /></i></span></span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"><i> Let us "give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever!" -Psalm 107:1</i></span></span></span><br />
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span class="userContent"><span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="text_exposed_show"></span></span>Today I give thanks "for his mercy endures
forever" (Psalm 107:1), and His beauty is ever before me, whether before
me at home or in Rome.<br /> <br /> The beauty I seek, that I yearn most deeply for, is before me always. It is his mercy that endures f<span class="text_exposed_show">orever
and my heart is glad, glad for a shepherd whose voice I hear from the
ends of the earth to home. My heart is glad for Him Who Is and for the
gifts of Him. <br /> <br /> My heart is glad for the gift of love for ones
that are His, and I pray I may recall this even when that love is tested
and purified, most especially when all that I desire is before me at
the Altar of Salvation, at the Table of His Great Love, at the Banquet
of the Great Communion of His Love. May I place it all upon the altar
with the unblemished gifts and the works of our hands—all of it!<br /> <br /> He purifies because He loves, and He loves because He wants us, all of us, to have life more abundantly.<br /> <br /> Let us love through Him. Though Him, With Him, In Him... Now and Forever. Amen.</span></span><br />
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<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"> <i>—Sunrise from the Coast of Italy, May 2, 2014</i></span></span>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-392520320003080972014-04-22T15:00:00.000-05:002014-04-23T06:46:48.981-05:00"They Were Cut to the Heart"This phrase from the first reading today should strike us: “they were cut to the heart.” The phrase elicits a great deal of dramatic imagery, but it is no greater than the preceding imagery of “this Jesus whom you crucified.”<br />
<br />
We all do share this need for forgiveness; we share a guilt in our turning to sin in our weakest moments. This forgiveness doesn’t come without a cost, nor does He force it without our participation in it. We are called to repent, often weeping in sorrow. We may believe all is lost—but there is great promise in the Resurrection, first of Christ and then for us through His Resurrection to our newness of life. We might not immediately recognize Him on the Way, but He will indeed call us by name. Then that once clouded visage will become clear in our midst. This is not simply a principle or an ideal. It is a person: Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom and in whom forgiveness and mercy is made manifest.<br />
<br />
His mercy endures forever. Pray that the Holy Spirit may help our unbelief and that our Heavenly Father may forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others theirs on the Way.<br />
<br />
<ul><li>How do I handle my need for forgiveness?</li>
<li>How do I choose to forgive others? Where can I find more opportunities to share my forgiveness of others and the hope that the Resurrection of Christ provides?</li>
</ul><br />
<em>Originally published in:</em><br />
<strong><a href="http://marysaggies.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><em>Aggie Catholic: Year of Faith Lenten Reflections 2014</em></a><br />
St. Mary's Catholic Center<br />
<a href="http://www.aggiecatholic.org/" target="_blank">aggiecatholic.org</a></strong>Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-2652136839748407962014-04-19T19:00:00.000-05:002014-04-22T23:53:28.778-05:00Keeping Company with the Lord<blockquote><em>"I keep up the Holy Hour to grow more and more into his likeness. As Paul puts it: "We are transfigured into his likeness, from splendor to splendor." We become like that which we gaze upon. Looking into a sunset, the face takes on a golden glow. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way as the face of Moses was transformed after his companionship with God on the mountain. Something happens to us similar to that which happened to the disciples at Emmaus. On Easter Sunday afternoon when the Lord met them, he asked why they were so gloomy. After spending some time in his presence, and hearing again the secret of spirituality - "The Son of Man must suffer to enter into his Glory" - their time with him ended and their "hearts were on fire."</em> - Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Treasure in Clay)</blockquote>This reminds me again of the Polish proverb I've shared elsewhere previously, which is translated loosely: "You become like the company you keep."<br />
<br />
Indeed, it is holding a Lover's gaze. And to be in that Gaze! We all desire love! We all wish to be loved! To be forgiven! To have all of our sins washed away!<br />
<br />
His presence is enough.<br />
<br />
Indeed, if we would recall this important reminder, we would so readily run to the Blessed Sacrament.<br />
<br />
We would not run to it because of its semblance of bread and wine. It would be in spite of it. We would go despite our disbelief, others' disdain, even mockery of it. We would go because of His very Word: <strong>"THIS IS MY BODY GIVEN UP FOR YOU."</strong><br />
<br />
Today as we did at the close of Good Friday, we stand watch at the Tomb. We are inconsolable, but we have knowledge that the first disciples knew not... Easter is on its way.<br />
<br />
"They have taken His body!" we think in sadness as the third day draws near and horror sets in on Easter morning of the empty tomb. But what is horror at first blush is rejoicing with the morning. For when He calls our name, we hear him. When He casts His gaze upon us, He sees us. And when He draws near to us, we remain in Him (cf. John 15).<br />
<br />
His Presence never fades. Love wins.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-52446598563324851392014-03-29T23:44:00.000-05:002014-08-03T21:37:48.189-05:00The Banner of LoveThere is great profundity in this thought: one's life is either spent day by day commiserating that it was another day lost OR another day growing towards one's Beloved—another day closer to being with one's Beloved.<br />
<br />
Framing everything in this orientation leaves with it a perfume of profound grace, whether one is buried beneath the weightier concerns or rising above the fray to see the day of Communion, of Love, of Eternal Life. It is all work towards that daily wage; we must only realize we are on the Way.<br />
<br />
Every desire must see this telos, and every movement of the heart towards the Other must have the Giver of all good gifts in mind and first beneath the Banner of Love. The quickest route is not the Banner of Success but rather the Banner of Love, which is where faithfulness and compassion reside.<br />
<br />
One of the hardest things to avoid is that of envy, for at its heart is bitterness—the pride of being left out. Bitterness itself is the result of unripened fruit. It is fruit without the proper timing of maturation, of the rains and seasons in due time to produce the sweetness in life desired by all. This is why it is said, "one sows and another reaps" (cf. John 4:37).<br />
<br />
It is also a process. Comparison of self can be a process of improvement—but never is this done by oneself alone. We are social beings. We are called to Communion. When one part suffers, all suffer. When one part rejoices, all rejoice. When one is exalted, all are exalted.<br />
<br />
Let us rejoice with those in joy and endure with those who are suffering, so that all in the end, by God's good grace, may be exalted "for His mercy endures forever" (cf. Psalm 136).<br />
<br />
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<em>"He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love."</em> - Song of Songs 2:4Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785576.post-81348470488355998342014-03-16T23:30:00.000-05:002014-03-17T00:37:30.752-05:00The Resounding NoteSaturday was like peering deep into a wishing well and faintly seeing a reflection of the future despite the ripples of distortion. I found much to be comforted with, much to be concerned with, but all to be overjoyed with as timing, even for that day, was exactly to the point and circumscribed within God's blessed design. There were little hints everywhere; if we but only search for these joyful notes in spite of the cacophony surrounding, we would find our dwelling place secure.<br />
<br />
I feel somewhat exiled from a past mixed with a delayed longing for a complex future, a restructured bond that hasn't quite reset. Some is but a deep nostalgia misplaced. However, so much remains fluid and in flux, except my desire to return in earnest and concerted steps through faith.The city of my birth, the city I returned to, is not whitewashed or even clean. It has its bruises, its diversions, and its divisions, but it is found lived in and experienced. Even so, there was cause for great joy that day: weddings! Weddings can be messy affairs, the mixing of two parts not quite similar. In the case of the one I stumbled across at the Cathedral played to the contrasts of the City... Outside the Cathedral in front of Jackson Square, there was a woman playing a full-size piano moved into the midst of the fortune tellers at the steps of the Cathedral. The other side of the Cathedral contrasted greatly with a parade for St. Patrick's Day with much useless noise that overpowered much in the Square, from the people streaming in for the wedding, to the more subtle sights and sounds... but for a moment all melted away and the silence of her piece amid the hustle and bustle of a tourist-filled space was all that could be heard... Much like prayer in a tempest. Like a decisive stroke of a master artist's brush completing a masterpiece, this flashed before me in silhouette.<br />
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Communication doesn't win by being the loudest but, rather, by being the most heartfelt, the most direct. All the garishness passes away at once, and one sees clearly the outline of a city and of the soul itself. Let us not forget to nourish our souls through earnest prayer and moments of silence throughout the day to mark the gifts and the struggles the Lord gives us to complete through Him.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06710665895850753685noreply@blogger.com0