Some thoughts of a pilgrim...

Dinner Party

2010-06-06T07:59:00.000-04:00

Dinner party last night. Yet again the "New Age" talk about how the Church repressed and hid books that should have been in the Bible and that those books were the best ones....Gospel of Thomas and all that....

I bit my lip and remained silent.... finally.....

Then this am reread the Canons of the Council of Orange.... I wish they had been in the Canon of Scripture.... But the very ones that would take The Gospel of Mary would be determined not to accept the Council of the Church.... Heck, they really do not want to accept the Creed of Nicaea much less its canons. What is the fascination with Gnosticism?????

It's like condemning edition 1961 Britannica because it does not mention the walk on the Moon or George W. Bush.

The original Mother's Day Proclamation, Julia Ward Howe, 1870:

2010-05-09T07:16:00.000-04:00

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Power? Powerlessness?

2010-05-05T08:03:00.002-04:00

"Not by power, not by might, but by my Spirit," says the LORD.

Birthday of Coretta Scott King (1929 - 2006) - Grateful Living Calendar

2010-04-27T08:33:00.000-04:00

Birthday of Coretta Scott King (1929 - 2006) - Grateful Living Calendar

Echoes of the mind....

2010-04-26T14:16:00.000-04:00

It occurred to me during the reading/hearing of the Epistle (Efesios 4:7-8, 11-16) yesterday at the Hispanic Mass that the Holy Scriptures of the Universal [to use the Latin because everyone in the US freaks if one uses the Greek "katholicos"] Church are the Bath-qol [the "daughter of the Voice" or as translated in the Greek [to English] scriptures, the "echo" of of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Thus, it is when in the hearing of the words, the logoi, the Qol, the audible Voice the Spirit within us speaks to oneself and says "AMEN! This is true, the Voice of God."

Another stolen from http://anamchara.com/

2010-04-20T16:24:00.001-04:00

It is common for those who argue for and against the existence of God to assume that the word God is used by believers to refer to something that we can point toward, distance ourselves from, and dispassionately reflect upon. However, one can reject this idea of God as nothing but a form of idolatry . . . This approach questions any expression that would reduce God to the realm of objects. Here no theistic rendering of God is allowed to lay claim to God, for God dwells above and beyond all names. God is rather approached as the ineffable source that is received but never conceived. God is thus not approached as an object, but rather encountered as an absolute subject who transforms our relationship with all objects. Just as the light in the room cannot be seen but rather allows us to see, so God is not directly experienced but rather is the name we give to a whole new way of experiencing . . . Hence, religious experience is not really experience as such but the opening into a different way of experiencing.

— Peter Rollins, The Orthodox Heretic and
Other Impossible Tales http://anamchara.com/

Stolen from http://anamchara.com/

2010-04-20T16:23:00.000-04:00

He who begins by loving Christianity better than Truth, will proceed by loving his own Sect or Church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all. — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Aids to Reflection

2010-04-03T09:26:00.002-04:00

I alone am real, Arjuna, looking out, amused, from deep within the eyes of every creature. I am the object of all knowledge, father and mother of the world, the source of all things. I am the goal, the root, the witness, home and refuge, dearest friend, creation and annihilation, everlasting seed and treasure.

I am the radiance of the sun, I open or withhold the rain clouds, I am immortality and death, am being and non being.

I am the Self, Arjuna, seated in the heart of every creature. I am the origin, the middle, and the end that all must come to.

I am always with all beings; I abandon no one. And however great your inner darkness, you are never separate from me. Let your thoughts flow past you calmly; keep me near at every moment; trust me with your life, because I am you, more than you yourself are. ---Bhagavad-gita

Unum sunt, qui invicem sunt.

2010-03-13T11:01:00.000-05:00

Unum sunt, qui invicem sunt. --St. Hilary “They are one, who are wholly for each other.”

May God grant us the grace to love each other, support each other and live wholly for each other in Jesus Christ... --Archbishop Chaput

Thus it is that thy joy in me is so...

2009-03-28T21:20:00.000-04:00

Thus it is that thy joy in me is so full.
Thus it is that thou hast come down to me.
O thou lord of all heavens,
where would be thy love if I were not?

Thou hast taken me as thy partner
of all this wealth.
In my heart is the endless play of thy delight.
In my life thy will is ever taking shape.

And for this, thou who art the King of kings
hast decked thyself in beauty
to captivate my heart.
And for this thy love loses itself
in the love of thy lover,
and there art thou seen
in the perfect union of two.

---Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) , no title, from Gitanjali, no. 56, published 1912

Actress Natasha Richardson laid to rest in upstate New York...

2009-03-23T12:08:00.000-04:00

read the headline in the New York Daily News "Gossip" page for today, The Lord's Day, Sunday, March 22.

I grieve for the family, I really do, but I grieve more for the Church, especially for the Episcopal Church who again has sold their own Good News. Until recently, a funeral was never, never on the Day of the Resurrection, a sign to the world that not even death could take away the joy of the resurrection. Nothing like a good funeral, especially of a celebrity to kill that Good News for the Church, the World, and definitely for the family who will always remember Sundays as the day they buried their daughter, mother, wife, niece, a day of mourning that not even the Day of the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead has made a bit of difference. Poor Church, rest in Peace. Nevertheless, Christ is Risen and Trampled Down Death by Death! Even at the javascript:void(0)grave we make our song, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Die

2009-02-09T10:41:00.002-05:00

The [excellent]speaker at the Adult Forum at Church Sunday said, If you want St. Mark's to die, just become an observer. Though it could be said as observing everything going on in the Parish, he was talking specifically about the Liturgy.

Why is it so difficult for the person in the pew to choose to watch the rest of the Church instead of take responsibility for their own part and part-icipate?

If one of my eyes removed itself from my body, it might observe me for a moment, not connected with my head, but it would soon die, alone; and if other parts of my body did the same, eventually my whole I would die. I grieve.

Pascal's Wager by C. S. Lewis

2009-01-29T13:40:00.001-05:00

C.S. Lewis rephrased Pascal’s wager to say: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, is of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

christmas tradition(s)

2008-12-06T14:39:00.003-05:00

So what has the traditions(s) got to do with Paradosis?

Tradition

2008-12-06T14:35:00.002-05:00

What has all the "traditional" stuff of American Christmas got to do with
The Tradition of the Incarnation? Check it out: Paradosis

The Caustic Cynic, OK, at least I know what I have become and can work from there...

2008-11-09T07:58:00.002-05:00

Stolen from Margaret's page:

As democracy is perfected, the office [of president] represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)
Source: Baltimore Evening Sun, 26 July 1920

Found this today:

"The caustic cynic. Rather than lashing out at others, these people sit along the sidelines of life and throw darts of sarcasm and negativity at anything that shows vitality and possibility. To an innocent listener, the advice may seem well-meaning, but in truth caustic cynics want all attempts at health and wholeness to fail so they can say, 'I told you so.'"

I realized that this describes me to a "T," And why I am so sad. When "The People" of Israel clamored for a king, "like all the other nations of the world" rather than to accept the providence of the LORD, God allowed ("suffered" in Anglo-Saxon)them to choose Bush, Saul. After that disaster, God suggested that if they yet insisted on a King, at least take the littlest and least of their brethren so that God could still be seen as the true provider. What they had not accounted for was the "s" word, and David, the beloved of God, became just like the rest, yet in term of good/bad, though a murderer and adulterer etc., etc., he was a "good" king.

"The People" have again spoken. The Emperor, though perhaps a nice guy, is still naked, and the color of his clothes, is no more black than white. Too bad we do not see in color rather than black and white.

If the LORD does not build the house.... If the LORD does not keep the city....

2008-11-07T16:04:00.003-05:00

For there shall arise false messiahs, and false prophets, and they shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. --Matthew 24:24

Amen!

2008-10-22T10:02:00.001-04:00

It is not the Cross that is God's will but the Resurrection of the Faithful One and his glorification at God's right hand that is God's final and triumphant will - the triumph of love, compassion, justice and mercy in the face of the worst mankind can do - inflict suffering and death on its victims. from a comment by Isomers, on a blog re the Myth of Redemptive Violence

And the greatest sin of all....

2008-10-06T11:49:00.001-04:00

Oh how we hate one another for the love of God.
--John Henry Cardinal Newman

Perfect Joy for St. Francis Day

2008-10-04T20:05:00.002-04:00

Well, downloaded and ran a Microsoft Program and Service Pack. Crashed the computer and I lost most everything. Perfect Joy. But it is the last time I get anything from Microsoft; period. We learn the meaning of what is necessary, and if it can be put on a computer, it is not necessary.

St. Francis of Assisi, October 4

2008-10-04T08:28:00.002-04:00

Later God gave me and still gives me such faith in priests who live according to the form of the Holy Roman Church that even if they persecuted me I would still run back to them, because of their posit ion. And if I had all the wisdom of Solomon and came upon some poor little priests in their parishes, I would preach there only if they wished me to do so. And I want to fear, love and honor these and all others as my lords. And I do not even want to think about there being any sin in them, because I see the son of God in them and they are my lords. ---from The Testament of St. Francis, 1226

From an English Newspaper: 29/09/2008:

The biggest break-through in improved employment conditions for ministers in the Church of England since the Reformation nearly 500 years ago is on the cards, says Unite.

Unite, the UK’s largest trade union, said that the Church of England has conceded for the first time that its ministers are employed by the Church – and not by God.

Sigh, Kyrie eleison.

Francis died on October 3, 1226. Just before, he dictated what came to be known as his "Testament." It is the work of a man who, in his final days, was anxious about the future of his order and wanted to state his position one more time as forcefully as possible. It was, in fact, a bit too forceful. By 1226 the order was growing rapidly both in size and in popularity. As its membership climbed, its bureaucratic network expanded; and as its duties to the church multiplied, the order found Francis' testament an embarrassment because of the limitations it imposed. How could Franciscans carry out their preaching and teaching mission without papal protection? How could they interpret the rule to an army of new recruits unless learned theologians were allowed to determine what the rule meant? In 1230 the leaders of the order asked Pope Gregory IX whether the testament was binding and were told it was not. Many Franciscans were less sure of the matter, however, and the testament became an important document for those who later wanted to reform the order according to Francis' original intention.

This is how the Lord gave me, brother Francis, the power to do penance. When I was in sin the sight of lepers was too bitter for me. And the Lord himself led me among them, and I pitied and helped them. And when I left them I discovered that what had seemed bitter to m e was changed into sweetness in my soul and body. And shortly afterward I rose and left the world.

And the Lord gave me such faith in churches that I prayed simply, saying, "I adore you, Lord Jesus Christ, with all your churches throughout the world, and we bless you because you redeemed the world through your holy cross. Later God gave me and still gives me such faith in priests who live according to the form of the Holy Roman Church that even if they persecuted me I would still run back to them, because of their posit ion. And if I had all the wisdom of Solomon and came upon some poor little priests in their parishes, I would preach there only if they wished me to do so. And I want to fear, love and honor these and all others as my lords. And I do not even want to think about there being any sin in them, because I see the son of God in them and they are my lords. And I do this because in this world I physically see the most high Son of God only in his most holy body and blood, which they receive and they alone administer to others. And I want this holy mystery to be honored above all things, venerated, and kept in costly containers. Whenever I find his holy names or words in improper places I pick them up and ask that they be collected and stored in a proper place. And we ought to honor and venerate all theologians and those who administer the holy divine word, for they administer to us spirit and life.

And when God gave me brothers, no one showed me what I should do, but the Most high revealed to me that I should live according to the form of the holy gospel. I had it written in few words and simply, and the lord pope confirmed it for me. And those who came to receive life gave all that they had to the poor and were content with one tunic patched inside and out, with a cord and trousers. And we did not wish to have more.

We who were clerics said the office life other clerics, and the laymen said the "Our Father," and we gladly stayed in churches. And we were ignorant and subject to all. And I worked with my hands, and want to do so still. And I definitely want all the other brothers to work at some honest job. Those who don't know how should learn, not because they want to receive wages but as an example and to avoid idleness. And when our wages are withheld from us, let us return to the Lord's table, begging alms from door to door. The Lord revealed what greeting we should use: "The Lord give you peace."

The brothers must be careful not to accept any churches, poor dwellings, or anything else constructed for them unless these buildings reflect the holy poverty promised by us in the rule. We should always live in these places as strangers and pilgrims. I firmly command all the brothers, by the obedience they owe me, that wherever they are they should not dare to ask either directly or through an intermediary for any letter from the Roman court to secure a church or any other place, to protect their preaching, or to prevent persecution of their bodies; but wherever they are not received, they should flee into another land and do penance with God's blessing.

And I firmly wish to obey the minister general of this brotherhood, and any other guardian the minister should want to give me. And I want to be such a captive in his hands that I cannot go anywhere or do anything without his desire and command, because he is my lord. And although I am simple and ill, I always want to have a cleric who can perform the office for me, as the rule states. And all the other brothers are thus bound to obey their guardians and perform the office according to the rule. And whenever some are found who do not wish to perform the office according to the rule and want to change it, or who are not Catholic in their beliefs, then all the brothers wherever they may be are bound by obedience to turn such people over to the custodian nearest the place where they found them. The custodian in turn is bound by obedience to guard him strongly life a man in chains, day and night, so that he cannot possibly escape from his hands until he personally places him in the hands of his minister. And the minister is bound by obedience to place him in the care of brothers who will guard him night and day like a man in chains until they turn him over to our lord bishop of Ostia, who is the lord protector and corrector of the whole brotherhood.

And the brothers must not say, "This is another rule," for it is a recollection, admonition, exhortation and my testament which I, poor brother Francis, make for you my brothers, so that we may observe the rule we have promised to God in a more Catholic manner. And the general minister and all other ministers and custodians are bound by obedience not to add or subtract from these words. And they must always have this writing with them in addition to the rule. And in all chapter meetings held by them, when they read the rule, they must also read these words.

And I firmly f or bid m y brothers, both clerics and laymen, to place glasses on the rule or say, "This is what it means." But just as the Lord gave me the power to compose and write both the rule and these words simply and purely, so you must understand them simply and without gloss and observe them by holy act ion until the end.

And whoever observes them will be filled in heaven with a blessing of the most high Father and on earth he will be filled with the blessing of his beloved Son, with the Holy . Spirit the Comforter and all the powers of heaven and all the saints. And, I brother Francis, your servant insofar as I can be, internally and externally confirm for you this holy blessing.

Translation by David Burr [olivi@mail.vt.edu]. See his home page. He indicated that the translations are available for educational use.

Ya gotta see this--

2008-09-27T08:34:00.001-04:00

Get your $$$@#%!*$$$ hand off our Bible!

2008-09-26T10:27:00.055-04:00

It is time to end the nonsense of presidents swearing "oaths" on the Bible, Koran, Tanak, Gita or Bugs Bunny Comic Book and put the presidential-elect hand on the US Constitution and Bill of Rights which theoretically the president elect is swearing to uphold.

The Presidential oath of office is described in Article II, section 1 of the Constitution:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

"Nothing in this section requires that the oath of office be taken on the Bible. Neither do the words "so help me God" appear in the oath. While Presidents often include this phrase in their inauguration ceremonies, the words are customary; they are not required by the Constitution and have no legal significance.

If the framers wanted Presidents to invoke God when taking the oath of office they could have worded the oath to accomplish that objective. Instead, the constitutional oath of office contains no reference to God, need not be administered on the Bible, and need not even be considered an oath. Contrary to the accommodationist argument, Article II, section 1 is evidence that the framers intended the federal government to be secular in its operation.

Oaths of office for other federal and state officials are described in Article VI of the Constitution:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

The above in quotation marks is taken from SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE HOME PAGE

Besides, in these times that consider religion "superstition" it belittles the Church to allow the use of it's holy scriptures as a prop for any saecular power!

The "founding fathers," and all lawy;ers, and school teachers and clergy, had all taken "oaths" and sworn before the Christian God to keep and defend the government of which they were participants. Such "Patriots" had no problem breaking those oaths and later used force, or fear to require others to break theirs as well.And then, rather than being honest that oaths were merely theater, they begin to require new oaths to be sworn to do things their way. See the oath to the left.

Oaths are a joke in the United States today. You can see the Presidential Oath signed (already) by presumptive "President" John McCain by clicking the accompanying photo! In the First (1768) edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, "Oath" took up eight pages! Today at Britannica Online it is 528 words! I don't expect honesty from politicians, but I do expect that they they at least keep up the theater with some sort of "factual" consistency.

Let's demand an end to such bull.

O, want to buy one with five presidential signatures? Here's one here:

Oh, and for the record, here's Mugabe swearing his Presidential Oath on the Bible.

The Death of Evelyn and the Failure of the Church

2008-09-24T19:17:00.009-04:00

I stole this first part from JesusManifesto.com to get you started reading this. Please do, and Give thanks for the Life and Witness of Evelyn, and of Hugh who wrote the article and all who live on the street and those who worth-ship them.
Written by Hugh Hollowell: September 24, 2008:

A heavy girl, perhaps 250 pounds, Evelyn’s greasy, stringy hair only served to accentuate her poor skin. Her weight made her shuffle rather than walk and her head was always bowed, seeking not to offend, avoiding eye contact. At 23, most people her age are very conscious of their appearance, but Evelyn’s wardrobe consisted of thrift store finds and cast offs, leaning heavily toward stretch pants and sweatshirts that advertised events she had never seen and places she would never visit.... Please continue at http://www.jesusmanifesto.com/2008/09/24/evelyn/

Also, please so visit Hugh's site at: Love Wins

Image “To Be Homeless” by PaysImaginaire

The Kingdom of God is upon us...

2008-09-23T20:38:00.002-04:00

I am reading "The Presence of the Kingdom" by Jacques Ellul. I just finished the first chapter and it is the best chapter I have read of any book in decades. If you seek the reign of god here and now, this is the book for you. If you are in love with religion or the world, you shouldn't waste your time you would not understand it in the first place. You can check out some of Ellul's thoughts (in pdf) at Free Jacques at JesusManifesto.

Dumbfounded....

2008-09-18T16:15:00.005-04:00

Extreme Waterfoul... and the river turned to blood
This is parked around the corner from us. I am so grieved that I have to acknowledge such products come from the mind of a creature of god that my stomach heaves each time I turn the corner. Painted on the side of a ship in Viet Nam, on the side of buildings there. Who are we? I don't have words to use to say what I feel....

Don't cha just luv it

2008-09-15T08:35:00.003-04:00

A Senate amendment added to the FY 2009 Defense Authorization bill would require secondary schools to include JROTC within their curriculum or be cut off from federal funds at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense. This amendment was introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). (1)

JROTC violates the spirit of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict which was ratified by the United States in January of 2003. This protocol prevents children from being recruited or trained for war. The absolute minimum age at which a child can be recruited, as set forth by this Protocol, is 16, which the U.S. voluntarily raised to the minimum age to 17. This was after the U.S lobbied against the United Nations proposed absolute minimum age of 18. (2)

JROTC is solely a secondary school program for children in grades 9-12. JROTC was originally designated as a recruitment tool, although the enabling statute of JROTC now calls JROTC a "citizenship" program. Interestingly, a 1-year participant in JROTC can enlist in the military as an E-2, while a 3-year participant in JROTC can enlist as an E-3, thus enlisting a higher rank with greater pay. Clearly, this is one of many examples that JROTC is about recruitment.

This amendment would also allow for the federal government to override the welfare of a community and the decision making power of school administrators, teachers, parents, and children.

The Center on Conscience & War is asking all supporters to immediately e-mail your name, organization, and address to: j_e@centeronconscience.org as well as contact their Senator to ensure that this amendment is removed from the FY 2009 Defense Authorization bill. Your support is needed.

And for USAmerica's younger children not to feel left out--

Through a licensing deal signed with the U.S. Army, Sears, Roebuck & Co. will begin selling clothing from All American Army Brand's First Infantry Division collection. The clothing, for men, woman, and BOYS, will be available in October. This is a first, as the U.S. Army has never before officially licensed its marks and insignias. (1)
J.E. McNeil, executive director of the Center on Conscience & War, views this first as yet another sign that our government is looking to recruit children under the age of 17. "We see yet again the military targeting younger and younger children, particularly young boys, as they aggressively seek to ensure more bodies for our current military conflicts and conflicts of the future. This is an illegal tool in the recruiting arsenal. This is unacceptable for our country, and it is in violation of international law. We signed the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and we should honor that. We can pretend that marketing isn't recruiting, but the reality is that recruiting is marketing, and marketing is recruiting." McNeil said.
The Center on Conscience & War (CCW) calls upon all supporters to boycott Sears, Roebuck & Co until they stop marketing the military to children. As an organization dedicated to extending and defending the rights of conscientious objectors, it is the Center's position that children should be free to develop their consciences without the military bombarding them through targeted marketing campaigns.
Please help us stop the illegal recruitment of children by boycotting Sears and signing our online petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/No_to_illegal_recruitment/
Also, please contact Sears' headquarters directly at 847-286-2500. Let them know you are opposed to a boy's clothing line illegally recruiting children into the military.

Amen! I Agree with The Bishop of Rome

2008-09-12T22:17:00.003-04:00

Scripture requires exegesis, and it requires the context of the community in which it came to birth and in which it is lived. This is where its unity is to be found, and here too its unifying meaning is opened up. To put it yet another way: there are dimensions of meaning in the word and in words which only come to light within the living community of this history-generating word. Through the growing realisation of the different layers of meaning, the word is not devalued, but in fact appears in its full grandeur and dignity. ... This particular structure of the Bible issues a constantly new challenge to every generation. It excludes by its nature everything that today is known as fundamentalism. In effect, the word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text.

--Pope Benedict XVI, speaking in Paris September 12, 2008

Stolen from "Jim" commenting on Preludium

Where am I?

2008-09-12T08:11:00.002-04:00

I fear for these emerging churches, or The Emerging Church. I think of my father saying, I don't know what it is, but that ain't it. Do they or do they not believe in the Incarnation.

Jesus Christ, Friend and Saviour, help me to be where you are today. I say this prayer in the company of the ____ community and our friends, and with them I say..... may it be so.

Lex orandi, lex credendi. Here we find Christ Jesus praying to Christ to be where Christ is, claiming to not be in Christ but that Christ may be in Christ. It sounds religious and "personal" etc., etc., but is denying the very fact of what is already true.

It would be like Jesus praying,

Myself my friend, help me be me today. I am not me but I am someone else asking to be me and I agree with that someone else, amen.

We old, not with it church-people, especially clergy types proclaim as the Gospel that the Church IS the Resurrected Body of Christ [soma tou christou]and so all prayer as Church IS "by Him and with Him and In Him in the union [union-ity] of the Holy Spirit" addressed to Our Father, putting us at the living center of the heart of God; in the living center of the the Life of the Trinity, heaven itself! What more could one desire? Did Jesus ever once pray to Himself or to the Second Person of the Trinity "in heaven"?
I know I am criticizing, and criticizing something good, but I am powerless to change anything and it is my nature is to criticize. OK, your turn to criticize me.

Calling all theologs

2008-09-01T08:43:00.002-04:00

At the Mass yesterday, I heard the words of the Anaphora for the first time. This is not what was said, but what I heard:

May we never forget our redemption, O Father, in
this his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death,
resurrection, and ascension, we offer you these gifts.

Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your People, the
Flesh and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of the resurrection Life we share together in him. So sanctified may we faithfully
receive this holy Sacrament, and faithfully serve you in the unity, constancy,
and peace we share; and at the last day bring us with all your saints
into the joy of your eternal kingdom.

All this we ask through your Son Jesus Christ, By him, and
with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor
and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

Well, it's close, but no cigar.

Help me out here.

Who is Sarah Palin?

2008-08-31T13:31:00.003-04:00

Do see a friend in Alaska's thoughts on the "Woman Who Would Be King" if anything ever happened to the Son of (that's the meaning of "Mc")Cain after he becomes president of USAmerica. See Voice in the Wilderness.

Stewardship

2008-08-31T08:19:00.002-04:00

Stewardship. I hate the word in the context of the Christian life. It has gone the way of "ministry," sharing, love, justice and even "mass." We have redefined these concepts to work in the Humpty-Dumpty looking-glass world-- "a word means what I say that it means, nothing more, nothing less."

According to The Episcopal Church the "Working Definition" of Christian Stewardship is
the "grateful and responsible use of God's gifts in the light of God's purpose as revealed in Jesus Christ....This definition comes from the Standing Rules of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center.

An ancestor of mine was Theobald FitzWalter, who accompanied Henry II into Ireland,and was created hereditary Chief Butler of Ireland 1177, He took his family took their surname from this office, it was the Butler who, in large medieval households, was the person in charge of the wine. Centuries later, James Butler Ormond succeeded as 12th earl in 1633. After being defeated by Cromwell in 1649, Butler fled abroad to join Charles II. On the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy, he was made Lord High Steward of the Household and regained his stewardship of Ireland.

The Steward of the Household was in charge of the affairs of runnning the household of the sovereign. The "stuff" was NOT his to use as he pleased, but use in the Name of the Sovereign. The movie Vatel is a wonderfilled true story of the steward of Prince de Conde of France.

"May God help us not to spoil His work" (Bl. Mother Theresa)

Ghosts from the Past-- Coventry Patmore

2008-08-30T22:13:00.001-04:00

And he is writing of me...

Holy indignation is a proof that we should do the same thing ourselves, and easy tears are a certain sign of a hard heart.

Coventry Patmore: The Rod, the Root, and the Flower

Go as Poor Among the Poor

2008-08-30T22:11:00.001-04:00

Please go over to Jesus Manifesto and read Go As Poor Among the Poor! Please.

I think that perhaps there is hope.

Lost Friend Found

2008-08-30T22:09:00.002-04:00

Quite by accident, reading the blog of my spouse and reading the blog of one of those who left a comment on that blog and reading the list of those blogs that that writer reads, I discovered Voice in the Wilderness. Please check out her blog. I also quite accidentally found the blog of a 23 year old who is something else. He should be listened to! His page is at YouTube: Theoretical Bullshit. I think he's great.

Obama aka McCain

2008-08-29T09:44:00.003-04:00

[W]e listen to all the new political speeches and new political options given the electorate and we know nothing will really change. Yet we participate in it anyway, because in essence subconsciously this is what we really want: we wish to protect our own specific pieces of the economic social pie yet feel good about doing it (there’s the classic Freudian split in the subjective consciousness). Zizek suggests that political ideology serves a cynical function now, giving us a Big Other to believe in, making us feel better about ourselves (morally), all the while we hope for keeping the status quo in place protecting our own personal pieces of the pie.

Please read Zizek, and the danger of Obama for the American church by David Fitch at a new favorite of mine: the church and postmodern culture: conversation "contemporary philosophy...for the church...in the vernacular, "conversations hosted by Baker

Some thoughts on NOT voting...

2008-08-29T08:47:00.006-04:00

I found that I am not alone in my choice not to vote. See Mark Van Steenwyk's Ten Reasons for Not Voting at Jesus Manifesto and "Not Voting" as an Act of Christian Discernment : Calling the Emerging Church Into a Different Kind of Faithfulness. The first and last time that I tried to vote was in the election of John Kennedy to the presidency of the USAmerica. It was in the election hall of Greenpoint, Brooklyn which just happened to be the parish hall of the parish church at which I was stationed as a Franciscan Brother.

I was not allowed to vote because I could not prove that I was a citizen. My family first arrived at Jamestown in what was then known as Ajacan or Axacan by the native born of the region on the thirteenth of May 1607. The family of the man running for president was the son of an immigrant, and the people that denied me my "right" to vote were Polish born. And I was the only person there who had to prove that I was a citizen.

Perhaps that was the beginning of my seeing that I was not a part of the system in which I was a pilgrim, when I realized that I am an expatriate here in Ajacan.

I do not vote because I am baptized; I pledged my allegiance, my life, my treasure, my future and my hope to my liege Lord, Jesus Christ, then, there, in this life and the life to come. I could never again share that life with any other Power in the universe, especially any Power that held control over not only my life but limb, in that the final proof the that Power's authority over its subjects is the judgment of whether or not one lives or dies.

And as a sign of that allegience, of that citizenship, I do not vote in any election of any nation in which I might be living at the time.

Jesus is Lord; God reigns. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.