What wave is this? This that shoals the ship upon that bar of disbelief? What is this, that snuffs light from its presence?
Return to that which strengthens and to that which binds... "That I may be humble when face to face with you, but brave toward you when absent."
Are not the words of then, so also now? And what of this indescribable gift to which, ascribed to God and not to man, is not now once made live and present? Speak, O Incarnate Word!
We do not boast beyond measure, in or of the works of others that have so labor'd. But in that which increases what has already been given and takes from whom much already has been taken.
And so what foolishness would it be, that search for Truth and that search for Wisdom, if it were one led by darkness to darkness. Rather, it is Light.
What we battle is not according to the flesh; our weapons for "our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful." No, not a fortress could stand, nor an army could fight.
What has been written cannot be unwritten, and what has been given cannot be taken back. The Word has already spoken.
No, as He said: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness."
Cf. 2 Corinthians 9-12
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Sunday, August 05, 2012
The Active and the Contemplative
I rest on the active in the contemplative and the contemplative in the active. O, this state of melancholy! The rest one gains in this state is one of exhaustion of day and not the release of it. I know not if to figure it to be grace or vice—only that both the active and the contemplative verily exists and are present within this state throughout.
Moving to to the active in the contemplative, is it to be a combustion, an undying fire of devotion? How can the active, that thing which is pent up as bound energy, be expected to remain as full as it was when it was first received and then given as it is meant to be have been now?
How can we not have some loss of this fervor? It must be then with a Eucharistic Heart that we press on in both the contemplative and the active! It must be through a completely thankful heart, a heart full of thanksgiving that we can be both active and contemplative. It is with a heart full of thanksgiving that we can respond to, even stave off, the unpurposed sadness of melancholy and turn it into something more.
What next then? What do we do with this knowledge? We serve. How do we serve? With thanksgiving for His Love, for His Gift—timeless and unrepeatable—yet present in the Eucharist. It is here that the nexus of the active and the contemplative rests. It is the crossing of the two, and it is the stage of our lives. We live out the Eucharist by living out His Love.
And so His Love is this: selfless in its pursuit, relentless in its opportunities, shameless in its multitude of gifts, endless in its joy and fulfillment it brings.
Let us be One with this dynamic love. Let us live out His Love. Let us be One.
Moving to to the active in the contemplative, is it to be a combustion, an undying fire of devotion? How can the active, that thing which is pent up as bound energy, be expected to remain as full as it was when it was first received and then given as it is meant to be have been now?
How can we not have some loss of this fervor? It must be then with a Eucharistic Heart that we press on in both the contemplative and the active! It must be through a completely thankful heart, a heart full of thanksgiving that we can be both active and contemplative. It is with a heart full of thanksgiving that we can respond to, even stave off, the unpurposed sadness of melancholy and turn it into something more.
What next then? What do we do with this knowledge? We serve. How do we serve? With thanksgiving for His Love, for His Gift—timeless and unrepeatable—yet present in the Eucharist. It is here that the nexus of the active and the contemplative rests. It is the crossing of the two, and it is the stage of our lives. We live out the Eucharist by living out His Love.
And so His Love is this: selfless in its pursuit, relentless in its opportunities, shameless in its multitude of gifts, endless in its joy and fulfillment it brings.
Let us be One with this dynamic love. Let us live out His Love. Let us be One.
Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name give glory because of your mercy and faithfulness.
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Our God is in heaven and does whatever he wills.
...
May you be blessed by the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.
The heavens belong to the Lord, but he has given the earth to the children of Adam.
The dead do not praise the Lord, not all those go down into silence.
It is we who bless the Lord, both now and forever.
Hallelujah! - Psalm 115:1-3, 15-18
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Building Upon Grace
Continuing our last conversation on being Rooted in Love...
Within all the clamor of the desire for action and movement of grace is need for the heart to first contemplate it. There one stands amid one's larger journey of faith and of love. One cannot grow disappointed in its timing—the action—if one doesn't first rest in the contemplation of Christ and His love. The remainder outside of this is dross and complete loss if not for the contemplation of Christ.
This clamor becomes a business that is not close to peace if it is not first peace in Christ. So it is with one's daily interaction and with one's daily work. There is no sanctification of the Ordinary without the Extraordinary nor process of growth without first growth and sanctification in Christ.
It is here in this very point that one's work takes meaning and one's work takes concrete shape. Life is worth living precisely because there is distinct purpose. If we are to see beyond the temporal of the here and now, we are to search out for the Truth that is not far away, yet it is that very Truth that remains ever the more in our midst.
This uncommon sense is not all that uncommon; more so, it is sense that is rarely seen for what it is—grace. The promptings of the Spirit fall into this column of distinction, and so it all deserves one's attention and prompt response in kind.
So then all we are left with then to respond to these glorious promptings of grace on Our Lord's part is to do the very thing I have opened upon and thus rested upon—to act with grace and to follow the promptings of the Risen Lord to completion.
It is not the velocity of the movement in response to this grace we should concern ourselves with, but rather it should be the resting on the place in which Our Lord has placed us to act on His love! Deo Gratias!
Within all the clamor of the desire for action and movement of grace is need for the heart to first contemplate it. There one stands amid one's larger journey of faith and of love. One cannot grow disappointed in its timing—the action—if one doesn't first rest in the contemplation of Christ and His love. The remainder outside of this is dross and complete loss if not for the contemplation of Christ.
This clamor becomes a business that is not close to peace if it is not first peace in Christ. So it is with one's daily interaction and with one's daily work. There is no sanctification of the Ordinary without the Extraordinary nor process of growth without first growth and sanctification in Christ.
It is here in this very point that one's work takes meaning and one's work takes concrete shape. Life is worth living precisely because there is distinct purpose. If we are to see beyond the temporal of the here and now, we are to search out for the Truth that is not far away, yet it is that very Truth that remains ever the more in our midst.
This uncommon sense is not all that uncommon; more so, it is sense that is rarely seen for what it is—grace. The promptings of the Spirit fall into this column of distinction, and so it all deserves one's attention and prompt response in kind.
So then all we are left with then to respond to these glorious promptings of grace on Our Lord's part is to do the very thing I have opened upon and thus rested upon—to act with grace and to follow the promptings of the Risen Lord to completion.
It is not the velocity of the movement in response to this grace we should concern ourselves with, but rather it should be the resting on the place in which Our Lord has placed us to act on His love! Deo Gratias!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Rooted in Love
How is the Domestic Church to be built? How are the Living Stones of it to be built? How can we ignore this necessity in the present day? How can we not see its need?
I pray for the clarity of this point, and in this point that I too may make this plunge into the Deep. No, the jump is not soon for myself. The Truth doesn't change with the delay of timing—it remains Truth. Truth remains timeless as does Love because both are one in the same.
It is because both Truth and Love is at its heart Sacrifice, not vain sacrifice, but rather it must be sacrifice with purpose. Dying to oneself and picking up one's cross is senseless without purpose and so it must be there to be seen and experienced. Purpose must reside where sacrifice and, therefore, where Love and Truth exist. Therefore, the day of the Domestic Church and its fruition of its Holy Desire is to be rooted in love to the sacrifice of the glory of the Lord, in His Sacrifice and His Resurrection.
Where He places each one of us is not our own wills in isolation; it is His will anchored in our individual free will to choose His will for the greater good of our individual souls and the multitude of the souls of others.
I pray for my Beloved for these reasons. I must be purified for the glory of this union that prefigures the one to come in Heaven with Christ the Bridegroom and His Bride, the Church.
Anew has this Springtime come. Time has no place for this new springtime; the prefigurement brings the Reality to come to the very Ground we walk upon. We are on Holy Ground because He has made us and, thus, this ground Holy.
Patience in love endures all things. Love endures all things because He is Love. No tribulation extinguishes love because "perfect love casts out fear." We must remember this Truth. Love find its way. Through all things—Love finds a way.
I pray for the Little Ones for these reasons. We must first be purified for the glory of this gift, this glorious gift, of the blessed union to be. Fatherhood flows from the gift of adopted sonship with the Heavenly Father, Motherhood from the gift of the Fiat to Love Himself. The Little Ones are the glorious gift of this blessed union. They are the fruits of Love. They are the fruits on the Vine.
We are the Vine's branches; the Father is the Vinegrower. As Christ is the Vine and we the Branches, we are to transmit the Holy Faith of Ages Past, the Holy Faith in Christ Jesus. We must be the Vine's branches that unites the Little Ones to Christ and His Church.
We are called to grow the Domestic Church in all Her glory for the Love of Christ. For the Love of Christ, we are given to the Other. Love's fate is to fully give Itself: freely, fully, fruitfully, faithfully. Love must be transmitted for Faith and Hope to even branch out and blossom. Love must come first.
This is the Call—to love, know, and serve the Lord. Too often we get caught up in how, but the most important fact is that we must first be rooted in love. Faith and Hope can only supplement this one virtue, and—in the End—Love is all that remains.
This is where my heart and my prayer rests, for my Beloved and the Little Ones: let us first be radically rooted in love, to Love Himself, and all the rest will be added unto this. To be radical is to be rooted in that which you believe, as the 1350-1400 Middle English word came from the Latin radix, root. Let us be rooted in His love. Let us go to the Root of Love.
I pray for the clarity of this point, and in this point that I too may make this plunge into the Deep. No, the jump is not soon for myself. The Truth doesn't change with the delay of timing—it remains Truth. Truth remains timeless as does Love because both are one in the same.
It is because both Truth and Love is at its heart Sacrifice, not vain sacrifice, but rather it must be sacrifice with purpose. Dying to oneself and picking up one's cross is senseless without purpose and so it must be there to be seen and experienced. Purpose must reside where sacrifice and, therefore, where Love and Truth exist. Therefore, the day of the Domestic Church and its fruition of its Holy Desire is to be rooted in love to the sacrifice of the glory of the Lord, in His Sacrifice and His Resurrection.
Where He places each one of us is not our own wills in isolation; it is His will anchored in our individual free will to choose His will for the greater good of our individual souls and the multitude of the souls of others.
I pray for my Beloved for these reasons. I must be purified for the glory of this union that prefigures the one to come in Heaven with Christ the Bridegroom and His Bride, the Church.
My love lifts up his voice, he says to me, "Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come.
For see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone.
Flowers are appearing on the earth. The season of glad songs has come, the cooing of the turtledove is heard in our land.
The fig tree is forming its first figs and the blossoming vines give out their fragrance. Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come." - Song of Songs 2:10-13
Anew has this Springtime come. Time has no place for this new springtime; the prefigurement brings the Reality to come to the very Ground we walk upon. We are on Holy Ground because He has made us and, thus, this ground Holy.
Patience in love endures all things. Love endures all things because He is Love. No tribulation extinguishes love because "perfect love casts out fear." We must remember this Truth. Love find its way. Through all things—Love finds a way.
I pray for the Little Ones for these reasons. We must first be purified for the glory of this gift, this glorious gift, of the blessed union to be. Fatherhood flows from the gift of adopted sonship with the Heavenly Father, Motherhood from the gift of the Fiat to Love Himself. The Little Ones are the glorious gift of this blessed union. They are the fruits of Love. They are the fruits on the Vine.
We are the Vine's branches; the Father is the Vinegrower. As Christ is the Vine and we the Branches, we are to transmit the Holy Faith of Ages Past, the Holy Faith in Christ Jesus. We must be the Vine's branches that unites the Little Ones to Christ and His Church.
We are called to grow the Domestic Church in all Her glory for the Love of Christ. For the Love of Christ, we are given to the Other. Love's fate is to fully give Itself: freely, fully, fruitfully, faithfully. Love must be transmitted for Faith and Hope to even branch out and blossom. Love must come first.
This is the Call—to love, know, and serve the Lord. Too often we get caught up in how, but the most important fact is that we must first be rooted in love. Faith and Hope can only supplement this one virtue, and—in the End—Love is all that remains.
This is where my heart and my prayer rests, for my Beloved and the Little Ones: let us first be radically rooted in love, to Love Himself, and all the rest will be added unto this. To be radical is to be rooted in that which you believe, as the 1350-1400 Middle English word came from the Latin radix, root. Let us be rooted in His love. Let us go to the Root of Love.
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another." - John 15:1-17
Monday, July 16, 2012
Being Animated by the Holy Spirit
The greater the gift of self and the desire to give it, the more one wants to be out of the time and space of the moment. We are finite creatures in an infinite universe. Why shouldn't we yearn for this completion?
The trick then turns out to be making the present moment a result of that very desire to give that gift to the fullest. It is here that the motion from the first moment to the subsequent takes place and all is animated. As it is, to be animated is, by its very root, to be indwelled with the Holy Spirit. What more can we pray for? This indwelling lifts the moment from the static page and makes it a motion picture of grace. The moment multiplies. Time now takes shape and even starts to fly. The dimension which was static to the total gift of self becomes a movement along a divinely-willed plane. As it is, our Creator did not want us to be static but rather dynamic.
So when we forget why we are where we are, let us remember that this is only a stage, a place on the dimensional plane, that spans from the finite to the infinite. Our gifts are not wasted if they are being stored as they ought to be for the appointed time and place. Grace can never be wasted, so as long as we cooperate not just in one moment but the trail of moments that follow until the Spirit that dwells within these enfleshed temples of the same Holy Spirit parts with the souls who strive toward that holy desire of greater gift of self. For in the end, that desire that was put on the heart of the soul indwelled at conception will finally see the fullness of the desire complete; it shall see that restless heart's desire consummated. It shall see God face-to-face.
The trick then turns out to be making the present moment a result of that very desire to give that gift to the fullest. It is here that the motion from the first moment to the subsequent takes place and all is animated. As it is, to be animated is, by its very root, to be indwelled with the Holy Spirit. What more can we pray for? This indwelling lifts the moment from the static page and makes it a motion picture of grace. The moment multiplies. Time now takes shape and even starts to fly. The dimension which was static to the total gift of self becomes a movement along a divinely-willed plane. As it is, our Creator did not want us to be static but rather dynamic.
So when we forget why we are where we are, let us remember that this is only a stage, a place on the dimensional plane, that spans from the finite to the infinite. Our gifts are not wasted if they are being stored as they ought to be for the appointed time and place. Grace can never be wasted, so as long as we cooperate not just in one moment but the trail of moments that follow until the Spirit that dwells within these enfleshed temples of the same Holy Spirit parts with the souls who strive toward that holy desire of greater gift of self. For in the end, that desire that was put on the heart of the soul indwelled at conception will finally see the fullness of the desire complete; it shall see that restless heart's desire consummated. It shall see God face-to-face.
Monday, March 19, 2012
A Letter to One's Beloved
Beloved,
If there were a way to explain myself, my heart, my actions, my feelings, and my thoughts as a man—even then I wouldn't find the love that I long to not only give but also receive. As it were, it would be a love that satisfies.
And yet, I lack ready models—least of all ready human, in-the-flesh models to make it down this vocational road that I have decided to go down. Divorce does that even to the most graced souls.
What I do know, my dear, is that life isn't made to remain in questions and in books. Life isn't theory—it's action. And so the Lord has moved me to act here and now.
First, as a man, I cannot help but to apologize with all my heart and soul for the transgressions of my fellow man to you, dear daughter of God. So quickly do we men forget your royal claim to grace and protection. And still we take advantage of a moment. My dear, I am sorry for the pain caused. You are worth it all.
In all things you are worth the dignity and unconditional love and compassion from me and every man through our words, thoughts, and deeds. And so I'll say it again: you are worth it all.
And so the Lord has moved me to act, not out of lust for my inner most desires and hopes for the future, but rather out of a blind hope in love. I am convinced that is how love starts. No, not the emotion—the action. If love is to exist, a chance of failure must also exist. Not an unrequited attraction, that is separate.
Love must take that chance to exist and so not die out. And so love the action is not tied together with love the emotion. And so I must act.
This all is not to say that I am independent of the need of reassuring affection. I am wholly dependent upon that. It's our Achilles' heel, as it were. But I cannot remain affixed to the consolation for I would forget the Giver of the Gift. It is you; it is of God. It is similar for both.
At the same time the Gift is also a burden—a Cross. The beloved may not love in return. What then would be unconditional love? It cannot have strings attached. It cannot be manipulative. It cannot be lust.
And so I do love you. I love you not because it is easy. No, I love you in spite of the difficulties. I love you not because of the ease of the road but because of its resistance. I love you as He calls me to, because you are His daughter, a woman all-deserving of love and protection.
What shall I do with this infant love then? I have tried to bury it. Out of supposed convenience I've buried it. Out of sickness I buried it. Out of fear I buried it. Nothing should be done out of fear. And so I must act.
This is not how I imagined love. But confidence does not equate to love. No, love must be a gift. And this gift is never wasted.
The infancy of love is something I wish not to unwillingly burden you with. I beg for mercy in learning how to fully love in my vocational path. Forgive my words if they cease in elegance.
I wish and pray only for your understanding and your continued witness to hope. No matter its direction from here, the future depends on love.
"Belief and faith are proved by works, not by simply saying that one believes, but by real actions and a HEART burning with love." - St. John Chrysostom
If there were a way to explain myself, my heart, my actions, my feelings, and my thoughts as a man—even then I wouldn't find the love that I long to not only give but also receive. As it were, it would be a love that satisfies.
And yet, I lack ready models—least of all ready human, in-the-flesh models to make it down this vocational road that I have decided to go down. Divorce does that even to the most graced souls.
What I do know, my dear, is that life isn't made to remain in questions and in books. Life isn't theory—it's action. And so the Lord has moved me to act here and now.
First, as a man, I cannot help but to apologize with all my heart and soul for the transgressions of my fellow man to you, dear daughter of God. So quickly do we men forget your royal claim to grace and protection. And still we take advantage of a moment. My dear, I am sorry for the pain caused. You are worth it all.
In all things you are worth the dignity and unconditional love and compassion from me and every man through our words, thoughts, and deeds. And so I'll say it again: you are worth it all.
And so the Lord has moved me to act, not out of lust for my inner most desires and hopes for the future, but rather out of a blind hope in love. I am convinced that is how love starts. No, not the emotion—the action. If love is to exist, a chance of failure must also exist. Not an unrequited attraction, that is separate.
Love must take that chance to exist and so not die out. And so love the action is not tied together with love the emotion. And so I must act.
This all is not to say that I am independent of the need of reassuring affection. I am wholly dependent upon that. It's our Achilles' heel, as it were. But I cannot remain affixed to the consolation for I would forget the Giver of the Gift. It is you; it is of God. It is similar for both.
At the same time the Gift is also a burden—a Cross. The beloved may not love in return. What then would be unconditional love? It cannot have strings attached. It cannot be manipulative. It cannot be lust.
And so I do love you. I love you not because it is easy. No, I love you in spite of the difficulties. I love you not because of the ease of the road but because of its resistance. I love you as He calls me to, because you are His daughter, a woman all-deserving of love and protection.
What shall I do with this infant love then? I have tried to bury it. Out of supposed convenience I've buried it. Out of sickness I buried it. Out of fear I buried it. Nothing should be done out of fear. And so I must act.
This is not how I imagined love. But confidence does not equate to love. No, love must be a gift. And this gift is never wasted.
The infancy of love is something I wish not to unwillingly burden you with. I beg for mercy in learning how to fully love in my vocational path. Forgive my words if they cease in elegance.
I wish and pray only for your understanding and your continued witness to hope. No matter its direction from here, the future depends on love.
"Belief and faith are proved by works, not by simply saying that one believes, but by real actions and a HEART burning with love." - St. John Chrysostom
Monday, February 13, 2012
Shards of Zion
O Love, what shall I speak of you?
A distant dream as sleep enters,
what night holds even in darkness.
Light is your watchword and gift your residing joy.
O Divine Fire, Pillar in the Night,
guide us to your Word, to your morning bright.
Beneath the shade tree, the Sycamore, clings one for the longing of the Lord.
The Road to Zion passes beneath it.
Will a good word go unsaid, a fragrant flower not bloom,
this the Road to Zion?
Climb the mount, dear one, yes, through the Bitter Springs.
Autumn rains await.
Little one, be not afraid for the demands of Faith—Love,
Tranquility Blessed.
The Roads of Zion call to you: Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Autumn rains shall come, to wash the blemishes away.
Faithfulness shall spring in our land.
Justice shall gaze from Heaven with love for the little one.
At the gates to the Kingdom, the many Roads of Zion enter through.
Happy is the man who stands at the gateway, his quiver full,
like the warrior and his arrows, with sons of youth.
The Lord builds the house, His house, not in vain.
His quiver is full of sons ready to serve.
His foes will be put to shame, at the gateways of the Lord.
His love will not be put to shame. His love will endure forever.
The gates of Zion call out, O city of God! What glorious things are to come,
at these, the gates of Zion.
Let the voice ring out of the righteous:
"In you, all find their home!"
There David's stock will flower, a light to reveal to the nations,
the glory of the Lord!
There will His glory be known, manifold grace from age to age,
for love covers a multitude of sins.
A distant dream as sleep enters,
what night holds even in darkness.
Light is your watchword and gift your residing joy.
O Divine Fire, Pillar in the Night,
guide us to your Word, to your morning bright.
Beneath the shade tree, the Sycamore, clings one for the longing of the Lord.
The Road to Zion passes beneath it.
Will a good word go unsaid, a fragrant flower not bloom,
this the Road to Zion?
Climb the mount, dear one, yes, through the Bitter Springs.
Autumn rains await.
Little one, be not afraid for the demands of Faith—Love,
Tranquility Blessed.
The Roads of Zion call to you: Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and peace have embraced.
Autumn rains shall come, to wash the blemishes away.
Faithfulness shall spring in our land.
Justice shall gaze from Heaven with love for the little one.
At the gates to the Kingdom, the many Roads of Zion enter through.
Happy is the man who stands at the gateway, his quiver full,
like the warrior and his arrows, with sons of youth.
The Lord builds the house, His house, not in vain.
His quiver is full of sons ready to serve.
His foes will be put to shame, at the gateways of the Lord.
His love will not be put to shame. His love will endure forever.
The gates of Zion call out, O city of God! What glorious things are to come,
at these, the gates of Zion.
Let the voice ring out of the righteous:
"In you, all find their home!"
There David's stock will flower, a light to reveal to the nations,
the glory of the Lord!
There will His glory be known, manifold grace from age to age,
for love covers a multitude of sins.
Friday, January 06, 2012
Inspiration
There are a few ways to view writing and the composition of writing within and, by intimate association, inspiration. Chief among the defining is how to term its creation and placement. One is to term it is a blank slate, where it is all new, nothing to taint the total picture and message within. The second school would be to see it all connected, as life is, with what comes from before it and the influences of the writer. Both are correct in many respects.
First, inspiration isn't simply out of the blue. It is out a multicolored experience that we reach a moment of "Aha!" Secondly, there isn't a time that something else from our past that colors our display, our words, our choices. Life is colored in the past, but the future isn't the past.
Yet, there is something to be said about a "fresh" view. Yet, that view must come from something before it, and if so... purified to its essence, a message required to be proclaimed. Inspiration must be tested but not denied. A gift must be identified before it is known how to be used. So too must inspiration be handled.
First, inspiration isn't simply out of the blue. It is out a multicolored experience that we reach a moment of "Aha!" Secondly, there isn't a time that something else from our past that colors our display, our words, our choices. Life is colored in the past, but the future isn't the past.
Yet, there is something to be said about a "fresh" view. Yet, that view must come from something before it, and if so... purified to its essence, a message required to be proclaimed. Inspiration must be tested but not denied. A gift must be identified before it is known how to be used. So too must inspiration be handled.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Sweet Melancholy
O melancholy, sweet and bitter friend,
why have you returned again?
Speak, speak again, O dear friend...
What does it take for love's quiver
to be taken again from me?
What does it take for love's sad state to be neutralized again?
I have no need of love's arrows; they have hit their mark.
I have been hit in the heart.
Love's sad state is a blessing and a curse, but this way isn't meant to be.
Its purpose and goal must center itself on the Sacrifice.
It must be Love that it always sees.
O melancholy, sweet and bitter friend,
show me the Christ child... and your sweet and bitter end.
why have you returned again?
Speak, speak again, O dear friend...
What does it take for love's quiver
to be taken again from me?
What does it take for love's sad state to be neutralized again?
I have no need of love's arrows; they have hit their mark.
I have been hit in the heart.
Love's sad state is a blessing and a curse, but this way isn't meant to be.
Its purpose and goal must center itself on the Sacrifice.
It must be Love that it always sees.
O melancholy, sweet and bitter friend,
show me the Christ child... and your sweet and bitter end.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Archetypes and Models of Sexual Differences
The need for the Marian and Christ archetypes in modern times is ever the more present. It wouldn't be purely out of the sheer sociological necessity rationalized away by Joseph Campbell in his seminal work The Hero with a Thousand Faces, but there is a ring of truth in that purview into the human consciousness no matter the society or time.
The schools of thought as to how to explain the truth found in such works stretches back as far as the arguments of how to explain Faith either from a purely spiritual, religious standpoint to the notion that science can explain Faith away in a purely empirical way. This debate results in the classic chicken and the egg conundrum. What matters, however, is that such a correlation can be made and be accepted for what it is.
So the need is present for both Christ-like and Marian persons in our everyday life because they are underlying models for masculinity and femininity. What modern thought and design has gotten wrong in this arena is to assume that this is somehow "typecasting" the players on the stage, so to speak. I daresay, it would be dangerous to otherwise not assume these roles!
The hyper-roles of either masculine or feminine models and the perversions within, bespeak to the danger of Man to take either the testosterone-packed or estrogen-soaked emotional roller coaster of living by hormones alone, as if they were both merely just animals and not rational animals. Both are prominently present in modern day as any quick view of the cable lineup or a simple Internet search can testify. Both can be intermingled between the sexes and assigned to either at seemingly sheer will by the social scientist. This is the underlying mistake of living by and acting through hormones alone: no act of will exists and certainly no rationality to it whatsoever.
This then all leads to the response that is begged in light of the present-day situation. The framework on how to respond for such situations where hormones and biological tendencies cut one way and the prevailing social winds cut the other can very well leave a person stranded without any paddle, wind for the sails, or compass to guide. In short, the framework is no framework at all except to base itself off the fact that there is no structure to a response. The actors act simply because of sheer observations of their actions and declaration that this is indeed the new "normal," whatever that might mean to the observer upon circumspection.
In light of this new "normal," however, the archetypes come in to play for good to unsnarl the precarious mess before the precipice of so-called progress. If one knew and understood that "monomythic" truth to not be simply an observation of the societal underpinning but an overarching design, how would the approach to the given roles change? Would you question the reasons as to why such promptings and cultural refrains repeat without ceasing? Could it very well be that such prompts of the will are, dare we say in poetic form, written on the hearts of all? And, of course, the answer is an emphatic and strong yes.
With the two archetypes in place, the vocations are brought into focus and made clearer. The clarity that results lasers in the sight of both male and female to the beauty of the other and catapults the other into that image of the Divine, which is Love. Love, not out of our incompatibility or sheer difference, exists and even thrives in the sameness that can be found in an equality that does not equate the notion of equality of the physiological with the equality of freedom and God-given dignity before all. One exists to help the other, not to dominate the other. "Love conquers all" does not mean it dominates. Rather, Love allows the other to coexist even when the Lover consumes the Beloved. The Other does not cease to exist in the union of love, but rather it lives in union or completion of that end love. That is why martial love begs for a consummation—or, in other words, a completion. The union, and therefore the two sexes, are incomplete without it.
All of this funnels into the reality of the two models of Christ as the New Adam and Mary as the New Eve and the necessity of both. For if the two sexes are incomplete without total and complete union, then how will the imperfect union of Love ever suffice the Eternal? How does Love conquer death? Given such a model in Jesus and Mary, it does.
Both exist in the supernatural sense to help point the natural inclinations to the Eternal and to relate from the Eternal to the temporal. If we take their models into our everyday existence and experience, then when we do we naturally rise to lofty heights of both esteem and understanding that is the reality of the Eternal. Christ as the natural and perfect Bridegroom and Mary as the first member of Church, which is the Bride of Christ, shines the way to the Eternal and to the fulfillment of life itself, whether in marriage or in religious life.
Thus, in this present reality, the vocational "crisis" is made clear. It is not that we do not have enough priests, enough religious, or even enough faithful marriages that we must resort to some how "redefine" their definitions or somehow erase the original image of their definitions. It is that we do not have enough Christ-like or Marian examples living out their God-given natures fearlessly today.
We, too, can dare to live faithfully, fruitfully, fearlessly, and freely as New Adams and New Eves if we only accept that call. It is a call into the Darkness, but the Call still remains.
The schools of thought as to how to explain the truth found in such works stretches back as far as the arguments of how to explain Faith either from a purely spiritual, religious standpoint to the notion that science can explain Faith away in a purely empirical way. This debate results in the classic chicken and the egg conundrum. What matters, however, is that such a correlation can be made and be accepted for what it is.
So the need is present for both Christ-like and Marian persons in our everyday life because they are underlying models for masculinity and femininity. What modern thought and design has gotten wrong in this arena is to assume that this is somehow "typecasting" the players on the stage, so to speak. I daresay, it would be dangerous to otherwise not assume these roles!
The hyper-roles of either masculine or feminine models and the perversions within, bespeak to the danger of Man to take either the testosterone-packed or estrogen-soaked emotional roller coaster of living by hormones alone, as if they were both merely just animals and not rational animals. Both are prominently present in modern day as any quick view of the cable lineup or a simple Internet search can testify. Both can be intermingled between the sexes and assigned to either at seemingly sheer will by the social scientist. This is the underlying mistake of living by and acting through hormones alone: no act of will exists and certainly no rationality to it whatsoever.
This then all leads to the response that is begged in light of the present-day situation. The framework on how to respond for such situations where hormones and biological tendencies cut one way and the prevailing social winds cut the other can very well leave a person stranded without any paddle, wind for the sails, or compass to guide. In short, the framework is no framework at all except to base itself off the fact that there is no structure to a response. The actors act simply because of sheer observations of their actions and declaration that this is indeed the new "normal," whatever that might mean to the observer upon circumspection.
In light of this new "normal," however, the archetypes come in to play for good to unsnarl the precarious mess before the precipice of so-called progress. If one knew and understood that "monomythic" truth to not be simply an observation of the societal underpinning but an overarching design, how would the approach to the given roles change? Would you question the reasons as to why such promptings and cultural refrains repeat without ceasing? Could it very well be that such prompts of the will are, dare we say in poetic form, written on the hearts of all? And, of course, the answer is an emphatic and strong yes.
With the two archetypes in place, the vocations are brought into focus and made clearer. The clarity that results lasers in the sight of both male and female to the beauty of the other and catapults the other into that image of the Divine, which is Love. Love, not out of our incompatibility or sheer difference, exists and even thrives in the sameness that can be found in an equality that does not equate the notion of equality of the physiological with the equality of freedom and God-given dignity before all. One exists to help the other, not to dominate the other. "Love conquers all" does not mean it dominates. Rather, Love allows the other to coexist even when the Lover consumes the Beloved. The Other does not cease to exist in the union of love, but rather it lives in union or completion of that end love. That is why martial love begs for a consummation—or, in other words, a completion. The union, and therefore the two sexes, are incomplete without it.
All of this funnels into the reality of the two models of Christ as the New Adam and Mary as the New Eve and the necessity of both. For if the two sexes are incomplete without total and complete union, then how will the imperfect union of Love ever suffice the Eternal? How does Love conquer death? Given such a model in Jesus and Mary, it does.
Both exist in the supernatural sense to help point the natural inclinations to the Eternal and to relate from the Eternal to the temporal. If we take their models into our everyday existence and experience, then when we do we naturally rise to lofty heights of both esteem and understanding that is the reality of the Eternal. Christ as the natural and perfect Bridegroom and Mary as the first member of Church, which is the Bride of Christ, shines the way to the Eternal and to the fulfillment of life itself, whether in marriage or in religious life.
Thus, in this present reality, the vocational "crisis" is made clear. It is not that we do not have enough priests, enough religious, or even enough faithful marriages that we must resort to some how "redefine" their definitions or somehow erase the original image of their definitions. It is that we do not have enough Christ-like or Marian examples living out their God-given natures fearlessly today.
We, too, can dare to live faithfully, fruitfully, fearlessly, and freely as New Adams and New Eves if we only accept that call. It is a call into the Darkness, but the Call still remains.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
What Love Is... And What It Is Not...
Love is not happiness. Love is joy.
Joy has an interesting quality to it. It doesn't just have a simple relational aspect, like emotions such as happiness. Joy lives outside of both the emotional and rational spheres. It speaks to heart and head simply because it can. It speaks because true joy has Hope wrapped in it. Yet, "Hope that sees is not hope at all," so, it must also has Faith contained therein. Even more, if Faith has not works—works of charity—then Faith is dead. Therefore, too, Joy has Love, True Love contained therein.
However, the interesting thing about Love is that it requires the depths of sacrifice and self-giving with purpose. It must have an ordered purpose, or else it flies off the tracks of life into ruin. It becomes a fiery chariot racing towards the Sun, only to make its fiery crash to the depths of the earth, a fiery demise. This demise is seen everyday as "normal" and acceptable. Nothing could be further from the Truth.
If there is anything that I can learn from this experience of witnessing fiery demises on a personal level, of being a product of a fiery demise, I would stress the need for authenticity of hearts. I pray for those entering the marital arena. How much do we need the Domestic Church!
And what about Marriage? Why should we be worried on how we define it?
Because our very existence as a People depend on it. We do not exist without it.
Love does not seek quick fixes, does not quit at the first at bat, does not throw in the towel when it gets uncomfortable. Love does not fail the Other. Authentic Love requires a vow. It cannot exist outside a vow. It must subsist in a vow because, without it, love is merely a shadow of its meaning. It is icing without the cake.
This is what is strange about our society today, from our secular to church society. It demands all these things: quick fixes, no-fault verdicts, dissoluble definitions, dissoluble unions, dissoluble meanings of what a vow is. It is not quick fix. Love is not a quick fix.
Love is not merely a promise, and therefore marriage is not just a promise. It is a lifetime choice. A vow gives the love its permanence, its value as a currency. "I love you until death do us part," has a lot more permanence than "I love you until I no longer feel love for you." That, my friends, is crackle of Confederate money, a false currency. It cannot subsist on itself. It dies a ignoble death in the dark, cold and alone. Love does not burn out. It sets the world afire.
The difference between a vow and a promise is just that, promises are made to broken. Vows, on the other hand, cannot. They are the bonds, the marks of the One who gives breath to us all. We cannot escape our vows when the going gets rough. We cannot escape True Love.
Why then do priests who are given strong crosses to bear become Black Sheep Dogs or abusive priests muddy the waters of the Priesthood? Why do men and women forsake their avowed Vocations? Why do husbands cheat on their wives? Because they know not the depth of the vows to which they previously assented to. They do not mean the Yes that they spoke at the Beginning.
We are told by Christ: "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37) "Anything more" is what we have today. It is not love; it is an excuse for love.
It's saddening, but it is not the final answer. It is not the end.
The Domestic Church and the Priesthood both require a sacrifice that the World today doesn't recognize. The World would rather redefine both to a temporary nature, ones that live on whims. Whims do not last; they have no continence. They die.
True Love never dies.
Both marriage and the priesthood require sacrifice. Both require the Other in inseparable ways, one for the Witness of earthly union and the other of Divine. Neither can be divorced from the other. Both require True Love. Both require the Cross.
That is the meaning of "I do."
Joy has an interesting quality to it. It doesn't just have a simple relational aspect, like emotions such as happiness. Joy lives outside of both the emotional and rational spheres. It speaks to heart and head simply because it can. It speaks because true joy has Hope wrapped in it. Yet, "Hope that sees is not hope at all," so, it must also has Faith contained therein. Even more, if Faith has not works—works of charity—then Faith is dead. Therefore, too, Joy has Love, True Love contained therein.
However, the interesting thing about Love is that it requires the depths of sacrifice and self-giving with purpose. It must have an ordered purpose, or else it flies off the tracks of life into ruin. It becomes a fiery chariot racing towards the Sun, only to make its fiery crash to the depths of the earth, a fiery demise. This demise is seen everyday as "normal" and acceptable. Nothing could be further from the Truth.
If there is anything that I can learn from this experience of witnessing fiery demises on a personal level, of being a product of a fiery demise, I would stress the need for authenticity of hearts. I pray for those entering the marital arena. How much do we need the Domestic Church!
And what about Marriage? Why should we be worried on how we define it?
Because our very existence as a People depend on it. We do not exist without it.
Love does not seek quick fixes, does not quit at the first at bat, does not throw in the towel when it gets uncomfortable. Love does not fail the Other. Authentic Love requires a vow. It cannot exist outside a vow. It must subsist in a vow because, without it, love is merely a shadow of its meaning. It is icing without the cake.
This is what is strange about our society today, from our secular to church society. It demands all these things: quick fixes, no-fault verdicts, dissoluble definitions, dissoluble unions, dissoluble meanings of what a vow is. It is not quick fix. Love is not a quick fix.
Love is not merely a promise, and therefore marriage is not just a promise. It is a lifetime choice. A vow gives the love its permanence, its value as a currency. "I love you until death do us part," has a lot more permanence than "I love you until I no longer feel love for you." That, my friends, is crackle of Confederate money, a false currency. It cannot subsist on itself. It dies a ignoble death in the dark, cold and alone. Love does not burn out. It sets the world afire.
The difference between a vow and a promise is just that, promises are made to broken. Vows, on the other hand, cannot. They are the bonds, the marks of the One who gives breath to us all. We cannot escape our vows when the going gets rough. We cannot escape True Love.
Why then do priests who are given strong crosses to bear become Black Sheep Dogs or abusive priests muddy the waters of the Priesthood? Why do men and women forsake their avowed Vocations? Why do husbands cheat on their wives? Because they know not the depth of the vows to which they previously assented to. They do not mean the Yes that they spoke at the Beginning.
We are told by Christ: "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." (Matthew 5:37) "Anything more" is what we have today. It is not love; it is an excuse for love.
It's saddening, but it is not the final answer. It is not the end.
The Domestic Church and the Priesthood both require a sacrifice that the World today doesn't recognize. The World would rather redefine both to a temporary nature, ones that live on whims. Whims do not last; they have no continence. They die.
True Love never dies.
Both marriage and the priesthood require sacrifice. Both require the Other in inseparable ways, one for the Witness of earthly union and the other of Divine. Neither can be divorced from the other. Both require True Love. Both require the Cross.
That is the meaning of "I do."
Friday, June 24, 2011
A Reflection on the Eternal
Something caught my attention one Sunday morning at Mass, and I found myself seeing a little more into a moment, as I am wont to do. My sightline during the consecration passed through two friends praying together as a couple. And I cannot stress how significant I say "as a couple."
As the Mass is the representation of His Sacrifice at Calvary, I have seen before St. John and the Blessed Mother at the Cross before as in a historical flash of vision. However, here, I had seen something unique to this graced view to extrapolate it to something equally relevant: to seeing it in our times. All of this, as though it is dramatizing the Word given to us and giving us a dramatization of Gospel through the representation of the Mass.
As I mentioned, "as a couple" for me brings a significance to this grace I was given to see. For in this grace, they were an unwitting witness to hope. And, though they might not have understood the personal significance of this to me, my gratitude for this moment is present even until now.
Furthermore, the scene even now speaks of something greater being intertwined in a synergy I cannot even fathom to fully describe on earth. Yet, this has a great significance, because even as the priest is in persona Christi, we are inasmuch "in persona" to others as well, and this is certainly very good.
Indeed, we can say "Lord, it is very good to be here"... and say we ought to set a tent here and never leave. Yet, we do leave... not out of lack of love but because of an even deeper love! And again, I rest on those words "as a couple" because it is important to see it not as a degradation of a better gift, but a unique one in itself to reflect His love "in persona" in other, but no less valuable, ways—through, with and in His Sacred Heart.
That grace given me is, in part, a prayer for both of them on their journey ahead. I pray that His grace remains present ahead, even in the struggle as much as the strength of building together a new life as one.
As iron sharpens iron, I pray for unceasingly for the blessed race ahead. It makes an unspoken "Yes" more present through a witness that is a reflection of the Eternal. Deo gratias.
As the Mass is the representation of His Sacrifice at Calvary, I have seen before St. John and the Blessed Mother at the Cross before as in a historical flash of vision. However, here, I had seen something unique to this graced view to extrapolate it to something equally relevant: to seeing it in our times. All of this, as though it is dramatizing the Word given to us and giving us a dramatization of Gospel through the representation of the Mass.
As I mentioned, "as a couple" for me brings a significance to this grace I was given to see. For in this grace, they were an unwitting witness to hope. And, though they might not have understood the personal significance of this to me, my gratitude for this moment is present even until now.
Furthermore, the scene even now speaks of something greater being intertwined in a synergy I cannot even fathom to fully describe on earth. Yet, this has a great significance, because even as the priest is in persona Christi, we are inasmuch "in persona" to others as well, and this is certainly very good.
Indeed, we can say "Lord, it is very good to be here"... and say we ought to set a tent here and never leave. Yet, we do leave... not out of lack of love but because of an even deeper love! And again, I rest on those words "as a couple" because it is important to see it not as a degradation of a better gift, but a unique one in itself to reflect His love "in persona" in other, but no less valuable, ways—through, with and in His Sacred Heart.
That grace given me is, in part, a prayer for both of them on their journey ahead. I pray that His grace remains present ahead, even in the struggle as much as the strength of building together a new life as one.
As iron sharpens iron, I pray for unceasingly for the blessed race ahead. It makes an unspoken "Yes" more present through a witness that is a reflection of the Eternal. Deo gratias.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
L'Angelus: Lac Bijou
I am wholly convinced if the world listened to and lived by this song, all of the world's problems would melt away. Then again, I am quite possibly a perennial optimist... or a melancholic who is a lazy perfectionist, a morning person if it weren't for morning. You see, since this song is, by definition, in music form I, a lazy perfectionist, would strive to put it simply to words alone, and still I would be up until morning (coffee-fueled jitters an all) trying to place each musical movement to words. Yet, this is the beauty of music... it means another whole world from one person to the next. It is the universal language.
And the strange thing is... I still try.
L'Angelus - Lac Bijou
And the strange thing is... I still try.
L'Angelus - Lac Bijou
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Rush Upon Me
O distant dream, O rushing current,
Spirit of the Lord rush upon me...
That each of us do see the gifts given,
The Love in opening our eyes to see
The Vocation given to each of us to be.
We shared a dance or two that night before
With music of angels, of joy, of life below...
Awakening our hearts a joy from before,
Opening our hearts to wisdom, to joy, to love bestowed.
O distant dream, O rushing current,
Spirit of the Lord, rush upon me...
Let me see the Vocation to be given to me.
Spirit of the Lord, rush upon me.
Give me the strength to be;
Give me the strength I need.
Spirit of the Lord, rush upon me.
Spirit of the Lord rush upon me...
That each of us do see the gifts given,
The Love in opening our eyes to see
The Vocation given to each of us to be.
We shared a dance or two that night before
With music of angels, of joy, of life below...
Awakening our hearts a joy from before,
Opening our hearts to wisdom, to joy, to love bestowed.
O distant dream, O rushing current,
Spirit of the Lord, rush upon me...
Let me see the Vocation to be given to me.
Spirit of the Lord, rush upon me.
Give me the strength to be;
Give me the strength I need.
Spirit of the Lord, rush upon me.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
An Easter Joy
At every step He has given, to each of us a gift, a passion to share. We need only to uncover it, discover it, and recover what has been given to each of us. It is love, it is love, my dear friend, it is love. Indeed, we are an Easter people, one without fear if we do not take it to be. And how do we at times take it to be only darkness! It is not!
How then are we to care? If not with passion after the Sacred Heart of Jesus? He has risen! He has risen—for us He has risen! It is Easter morn, and all is as it should be! Find him on the Roadside, the Inn, the one in your midst! He is there among your brothers and sisters. He is there!
The Son has broached the Horizon; He has met the horizontal with the vertical. The Eternal He has given us. He has crossed the chasm we as a People have caused between God and Man. What joy, the Cross, the Holy Cross of Christ! The fault so happy as to result in receiving such a sweet Saviour as He! What cannot then impassion us with true love!
I implore you, dear friend, now is the time to let Love reign! He is King, King forever! True Love has come to reign, in hearts and homes. He has come to reign. What sweet words to come off of a pair of weary lips: "He has come; He has risen!"
Let us rejoice with the Angels and the Saints this day. He has risen!
Happy Easter!
How then are we to care? If not with passion after the Sacred Heart of Jesus? He has risen! He has risen—for us He has risen! It is Easter morn, and all is as it should be! Find him on the Roadside, the Inn, the one in your midst! He is there among your brothers and sisters. He is there!
The Son has broached the Horizon; He has met the horizontal with the vertical. The Eternal He has given us. He has crossed the chasm we as a People have caused between God and Man. What joy, the Cross, the Holy Cross of Christ! The fault so happy as to result in receiving such a sweet Saviour as He! What cannot then impassion us with true love!
I implore you, dear friend, now is the time to let Love reign! He is King, King forever! True Love has come to reign, in hearts and homes. He has come to reign. What sweet words to come off of a pair of weary lips: "He has come; He has risen!"
Let us rejoice with the Angels and the Saints this day. He has risen!
Happy Easter!
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