Today was one of those days when I had dreams of lofty contemplation and sacred silence. Typically Sunday is the day I get to read or write or just rest in the Lord. We got to 11 am Mass, which is the most reverent Mass I've attended in this valley. The music is heavenly and the preaching is everything I hope it will be, and the time with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is blissful.
But, alas, today took a left turn as we started Esther's 86 Chevy and realized that it was not feeling well today and there was a strong possibility that getting to Mass was going to be challenging. We had a rather lovely rain last night and apparently something gummed up her fuel injector and old Goldie was coughing and choking like a heavy smoker with asthma.
We ended up stopping about a mile down the street and she conked out completely in the parking lot of a shopping mass. Not exactly the heavenly bliss I had been anticipating. But then it was what it was and it presented us with the challenge of responding to difficulties with God's grace.
Well, at least we had the opportunity to respond correctly. I won't go into how well we did at that though.
I'm used to cars that don't function too well, and especially this old car which has been in the family for several years now and has presented us with several challenges along the way. I've learned to listen to it and pretty much diagnose what's out of whack.
So I babied it and coaxed it and got the thing home. I have some work to do to try to get it ready for Esther to go to work tomorrow, but hopefully, it will cooperate. Meanwhile, we will go to Mass this evening with Kim's car after she finishes her errands. Life is full of these ups and downs that come from all directions and can keep us in a dither if we let them.
Being a consecrated lay person, I do my best to devote time to prayer and study in order to pursue the vocation I've been called to. While my heart would love to be in a Monastery somewhere, where prayer is the structure of the day and everything else must find it's place in the gaps between prayers, I live my vocation in my own home, with two of my adult children and two of my Grandchildren. We are compressed into an 1100 square foot apartment with my cats and 2 million tiny cars, trucks, dinosaurs, farm animals, Teddy bears and other assorted toys. My prayer is often squished into a moment at lunch, the few moments before I fall asleep or even a moment while getting ready for work. (I do have two Holy Hours built into my week which is definitely my source of strength.) My works of mercy include diaper changing and rescuing the tennis ball from behind the television. Some of the sweetest prayer I know is over my Grandson, Isaac, as I rock him to sleep. I find myself being refined by community life as I struggle to learn to be the parent of adult children. (Not as easy as it sounds.) I strive to be a good steward of my finances while assisting my children, Grandchildren, and coping with yet another 5% wage cut from the State of Arizona. (How to do more with less, and less and less.)
I used to be discouraged by how "uncloistered" my life is. I felt like I was missing out of serving God with my time and talents. But then Little Saint Therese taught me that everything I do during the day is prayer and service to God. Every time I do something with love I am being His hands and His feet in service to the people He put in my life. Even the things that seem to have no eternal purpose, like picking up the toys for the ten thousandth time, are recognized by God as acts of love.
It all depends on my attitude. When I devote an evening to caring for little boys and washing little pizza covered faces, I'm one with Christ in the service of others. I pray for that little face as I wash it and ask the Lord to guard and guide him into holiness; to keep him from sin; to help him find his calling when he gets older. As I change his diaper, I pray for his chastity, that he will look to God for self-control and purity and will learn to love rather than lust. As I tuck him in at night, I sing the Hail Mary, Jesus Loves Me, and the Our Father and pray that he comes to know and love God with all his heart and soul; that the grace of his baptism will spring forth in him and cause him to seek God about all else.
I work full time in between these fun filled evenings. I'm actually away from the house ten hours a day. I work for the State of Arizona and we have lost so many people because the State is basically imploding because of budgetary shortfalls. The picture looks more bleak every time we get an update. It's hard to live day after day with the realization that your job is in jeopardy. It's hard to know that even though you are having to work twice as hard, you are about to see a lot less in your paycheck. But my job is a service job. I work for the Behavioral Health Division. I work with a group of folks who are completely devoted to serving the people of Arizona who need mental health services. All this rot you hear about civil servants doesn't ring true in my agency. These folks do their very best every day and are committed to the mission of the agency. My job is to serve those that serve the people. I make sure they have what they need to do their jobs. I take care of the most practical, basic needs of all the employees in the division. I love what I do, not only because it allows me to work with technology and mechanical devices, but because it keeps me forever in a position of service. I'm not in charge of anyone; I'm actually the servant of everyone.
I have found it is easy to make my work a prayer. I do my very best to do a good job, but I also have contact with every person on the floor and can pray for them and even pray specifically for their needs. I know who is struggling and who is in need of spiritual help. I even have people stop by my cube and ask for prayer, ask questions about the Catholic Church, or just come and unburden themselves because they know I will keep their stories in confidence and I'll take them to God.
It doesn't matter what your life is like. You can either devote your abundant free time to prayer and contemplation, or you can make your hectic life an act of prayer and service. Either way, give every day to God and ask Him to help you see ways you can show Him your love by pouring His love out on others.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Handicapped newborn suffering in China (OneNewsNow.com)
Apparently in China, it is a capital offense to be imperfect. I just wrote the Chinese Embassy here in the states and voiced my opinion and told them to send her to me or any of many American families who know the value of a human being. You can email them at chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn Read this article and pray for baby Mai. Handicapped newborn suffering in China (OneNewsNow.com)
Therapy Teaches That Incest Is Never Consensual
I've been following the story of Mackenzie Phillips since her revelation recently on Oprah. I just want to make it clear that I'm not an Oprah watcher nor am I necessarily a Mackenzie Phillips fan, but this story has brought this subject to light and I'm glad to see that she is educating the public in ways that are helping others get help.
This article is very useful. I've said many times that psychology is awesome in diagnosing a problem but severely lacking in knowing how to heal a crushed heart and mind. You will notice that this article talks about it taking years and years to recover from something like this. I think you will find that even after all those years of expensive therapy, the victim still feels the pain any time the subject comes up. The thing I want to offer those who have known this kind of pain is that God can take that pain away in a much shorter time if you're ready to handle it His way.
While I am still finding areas of my life that are not what they should be or what they could have been because of what I suffered, the pain of what I suffered was gone in a matter of weeks in working with Diane and has never returned. With God's help, I continue to rebuild my life, but I do so in joy - not in pain.
If you would like to read my journey to healing, please read the entire "Out of Darkness" series noted in the subject index of this page. If you would like to know more, you can contact me at abbaslittlegirl@ymail.com or through my profile on this blog.
Therapy teaches that incest is never consensual
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Therapy typically lasts 5 to 7 years for adult who has experienced incest
Trauma victims' drug usage is treated as related problem, not separate one
Therapist helps draw link between negative behaviors and source of avoidance
Prominent people going public about experiences often sparks more calls to RAINN hot line
RELATED TOPICS
John Phillips
Mackenzie Phillips
Psychology
(CNN) -- In her memoir, "High on Arrival," actress Mackenzie Phillips revealed details of her incestuous relationship with her father, which she called "consensual."
Now, she's taking that word back. She told HLN's Joy Behar this week that she would not necessarily call the relationship with musician John Phillips consensual at this time.
"As I was writing the book, I thought, this word, it kept sitting wrong with me, but I used it for lack of a better word, and since then I've been schooled by thousands of incest survivors all across the world that there really is no such thing as consensual incest due to the inherent power a parent has over a child," she said.
Realizing that incest is not the victim's fault is a difficult process that happens through therapy and can take many years.
"They carry this kind of belief that they may have flirted, that they may have worn a bikini, all this stuff makes them feel, 'I'm not really innocent,' " said Joanne Zucchetto, psychotherapist at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington's post-traumatic disorders program.
By definition, incest is never consensual, although often the perpetrator will convince the victim otherwise, experts say. The power dynamics of the relationship between a parent and child are such that it's always the parent's responsibility to maintain normal boundaries, even if it's the son or daughter who makes some kind of initial gesture, said Debra Borys, psychologist in Los Angeles, California.
Realizing that they are not to blame for the incident or incidents is necessary for recovery, but it is also anxiety-provoking, forcing them to confront the sadness surrounding the incestuous relationship, Zucchetto said.
"Part of therapy is to stop victimization by changing your perception of being somebody who is OK to be the slave for somebody else," said Michael Salamon, psychologist and director of the Adult Development Center in Hewlett, New York.
Of the 60,000 sexual assault cases reported in 12 states in 2000, about 25 percent were committed by family members, according to a U.S. Bureau of Justice report. Family members were involved in about half of the sexual assault cases with victims younger than 11. More recent statistics are not available because the U.S. Census Bureau does not provide information about incest in its statistics on child abuse, sexual abuse and assault.
Zucchetto, who treats adult victims of incest, said therapy typically lasts five to seven years. Still, the time frame varies widely from person to person, much as a physical injury, said Virginia Revere, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
"Some people have better systems of rejuvenating than others," Revere said. Some people who have had an incestuous relationship will become promiscuous or avoid sex altogether, Revere said. They often have trust issues, feeling that they have been betrayed by a close relative.
"The notion that this is in the past is very hard to really grasp, because they may still be very frightened," she said.
Treating an adult survivor of incest is not necessarily different from dealing with a child, but an adult may be better equipped to understand some of the complex and conflicted feelings that might have made them vulnerable to a situation that was not necessarily physically forced upon them, Borys said.
Vulnerability does not refer to responsibility but rather to factors such as "circumstances growing up that made them feel like they have rights about their body and who touches their body, or that they did not learn that it's OK to speak up and say no to things that are uncomfortable or if the parent was extremely authoritarian," she said.
It is common for survivors of any trauma to turn to avoidance behaviors such as substance abuse, gambling, promiscuity and other ways that "people distract from their feelings," Zucchetto said.
Phillips, 49, who played Julie Cooper on CBS' hit sitcom "One Day at a Time" as a teenager, has also had a well-publicized addiction to cocaine, as well as drug arrests and stints in rehab. She's currently on a reality show, VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky."
Although therapists want victims to realize that the incest was not their own fault, they also hold their clients accountable for destructive behaviors, Zucchetto said. Drug usage, for example, is treated as a related problem, not a separate one. The therapist helps the client see the link between the negative behaviors and the source of avoidance, she said. The victim begins to see that the drugs are a way of numbing.
"You work with them but not in a punitive way, but absolutely holding them accountable because they cannot get better unless they stop," she said.
Prominent people going public about incest experiences often sparks more calls to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, which calls itself the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization.
After Phillips spoke with Oprah Winfrey in September, RAINN saw an 83 percent increase in activity on its online hot line and a 26 percent increase on its telephone hot line, said Jennifer Wilson, the organization's National Sexual Assault hot line director.
There may also be an uptick as a result of Phillips' recent revelation, she said. Wilson has heard reports of a few people who sought help online, referring to Phillips' comments about the relations with her father not being consensual and really questioning their own experiences based on that, she said.
After these news-related spikes, hot line activity tends to go back down after the press fades, spokeswoman Elizabeth Crothers said. "At least when these stories come out, it does compel people to get help, oftentimes for the first time, because first of all, they feel as though they're not alone, and secondly because they see there are resources out there," she said.
For sexual assault support, visit the RAINN online hot line or call 1-800-656-HOPE.
Links referenced within this article RAINN hot linehttp://www.rainn.org/get-help/national-sexual-assault-online-hotlineJohn Phillipshttp://topics.cnn.com/topics/John_PhillipsMackenzie Phillipshttp://topics.cnn.com/topics/Mackenzie_PhillipsPsychologyhttp://topics.cnn.com/topics/PsychologyPhillipshttp://topics.cnn.com/topics/Mackenzie_PhillipsRape, Abuse & Incest National Networkhttp://www.rainn.org/RAINN online hot linehttp://www.rainn.org/get-help/national-sexual-assault-online-hotline
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/05/incest.therapy.phillips/index.html?hpt=Sbin
This article is very useful. I've said many times that psychology is awesome in diagnosing a problem but severely lacking in knowing how to heal a crushed heart and mind. You will notice that this article talks about it taking years and years to recover from something like this. I think you will find that even after all those years of expensive therapy, the victim still feels the pain any time the subject comes up. The thing I want to offer those who have known this kind of pain is that God can take that pain away in a much shorter time if you're ready to handle it His way.
While I am still finding areas of my life that are not what they should be or what they could have been because of what I suffered, the pain of what I suffered was gone in a matter of weeks in working with Diane and has never returned. With God's help, I continue to rebuild my life, but I do so in joy - not in pain.
If you would like to read my journey to healing, please read the entire "Out of Darkness" series noted in the subject index of this page. If you would like to know more, you can contact me at abbaslittlegirl@ymail.com or through my profile on this blog.
Therapy teaches that incest is never consensual
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Therapy typically lasts 5 to 7 years for adult who has experienced incest
Trauma victims' drug usage is treated as related problem, not separate one
Therapist helps draw link between negative behaviors and source of avoidance
Prominent people going public about experiences often sparks more calls to RAINN hot line
RELATED TOPICS
John Phillips
Mackenzie Phillips
Psychology
(CNN) -- In her memoir, "High on Arrival," actress Mackenzie Phillips revealed details of her incestuous relationship with her father, which she called "consensual."
Now, she's taking that word back. She told HLN's Joy Behar this week that she would not necessarily call the relationship with musician John Phillips consensual at this time.
"As I was writing the book, I thought, this word, it kept sitting wrong with me, but I used it for lack of a better word, and since then I've been schooled by thousands of incest survivors all across the world that there really is no such thing as consensual incest due to the inherent power a parent has over a child," she said.
Realizing that incest is not the victim's fault is a difficult process that happens through therapy and can take many years.
"They carry this kind of belief that they may have flirted, that they may have worn a bikini, all this stuff makes them feel, 'I'm not really innocent,' " said Joanne Zucchetto, psychotherapist at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington's post-traumatic disorders program.
By definition, incest is never consensual, although often the perpetrator will convince the victim otherwise, experts say. The power dynamics of the relationship between a parent and child are such that it's always the parent's responsibility to maintain normal boundaries, even if it's the son or daughter who makes some kind of initial gesture, said Debra Borys, psychologist in Los Angeles, California.
Realizing that they are not to blame for the incident or incidents is necessary for recovery, but it is also anxiety-provoking, forcing them to confront the sadness surrounding the incestuous relationship, Zucchetto said.
"Part of therapy is to stop victimization by changing your perception of being somebody who is OK to be the slave for somebody else," said Michael Salamon, psychologist and director of the Adult Development Center in Hewlett, New York.
Of the 60,000 sexual assault cases reported in 12 states in 2000, about 25 percent were committed by family members, according to a U.S. Bureau of Justice report. Family members were involved in about half of the sexual assault cases with victims younger than 11. More recent statistics are not available because the U.S. Census Bureau does not provide information about incest in its statistics on child abuse, sexual abuse and assault.
Zucchetto, who treats adult victims of incest, said therapy typically lasts five to seven years. Still, the time frame varies widely from person to person, much as a physical injury, said Virginia Revere, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
"Some people have better systems of rejuvenating than others," Revere said. Some people who have had an incestuous relationship will become promiscuous or avoid sex altogether, Revere said. They often have trust issues, feeling that they have been betrayed by a close relative.
"The notion that this is in the past is very hard to really grasp, because they may still be very frightened," she said.
Treating an adult survivor of incest is not necessarily different from dealing with a child, but an adult may be better equipped to understand some of the complex and conflicted feelings that might have made them vulnerable to a situation that was not necessarily physically forced upon them, Borys said.
Vulnerability does not refer to responsibility but rather to factors such as "circumstances growing up that made them feel like they have rights about their body and who touches their body, or that they did not learn that it's OK to speak up and say no to things that are uncomfortable or if the parent was extremely authoritarian," she said.
It is common for survivors of any trauma to turn to avoidance behaviors such as substance abuse, gambling, promiscuity and other ways that "people distract from their feelings," Zucchetto said.
Phillips, 49, who played Julie Cooper on CBS' hit sitcom "One Day at a Time" as a teenager, has also had a well-publicized addiction to cocaine, as well as drug arrests and stints in rehab. She's currently on a reality show, VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky."
Although therapists want victims to realize that the incest was not their own fault, they also hold their clients accountable for destructive behaviors, Zucchetto said. Drug usage, for example, is treated as a related problem, not a separate one. The therapist helps the client see the link between the negative behaviors and the source of avoidance, she said. The victim begins to see that the drugs are a way of numbing.
"You work with them but not in a punitive way, but absolutely holding them accountable because they cannot get better unless they stop," she said.
Prominent people going public about incest experiences often sparks more calls to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, which calls itself the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization.
After Phillips spoke with Oprah Winfrey in September, RAINN saw an 83 percent increase in activity on its online hot line and a 26 percent increase on its telephone hot line, said Jennifer Wilson, the organization's National Sexual Assault hot line director.
There may also be an uptick as a result of Phillips' recent revelation, she said. Wilson has heard reports of a few people who sought help online, referring to Phillips' comments about the relations with her father not being consensual and really questioning their own experiences based on that, she said.
After these news-related spikes, hot line activity tends to go back down after the press fades, spokeswoman Elizabeth Crothers said. "At least when these stories come out, it does compel people to get help, oftentimes for the first time, because first of all, they feel as though they're not alone, and secondly because they see there are resources out there," she said.
For sexual assault support, visit the RAINN online hot line or call 1-800-656-HOPE.
Links referenced within this article RAINN hot linehttp://www.rainn.org/get-help/national-sexual-assault-online-hotlineJohn Phillipshttp://topics.cnn.com/topics/John_PhillipsMackenzie Phillipshttp://topics.cnn.com/topics/Mackenzie_PhillipsPsychologyhttp://topics.cnn.com/topics/PsychologyPhillipshttp://topics.cnn.com/topics/Mackenzie_PhillipsRape, Abuse & Incest National Networkhttp://www.rainn.org/RAINN online hot linehttp://www.rainn.org/get-help/national-sexual-assault-online-hotline
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/05/incest.therapy.phillips/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Spouse of the Eternal Emperor
"“Just think! The soul who falls in love with God—she who is a servant and a slave ransomed by the blood of God’s Son—gains such dignity that she can no longer be called a ‘servant,’ but an ‘empress,’ the spouse of the Eternal Emperor.” Catherine of Siena
Carmen Acevedo Butcher
A Little Daily Wisdom, Paraclete Press"
Carmen Acevedo Butcher
A Little Daily Wisdom, Paraclete Press"
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Longing For God
"“We must become a longing for God. The Fathers of the Church say that prayer, properly understood, is nothing other than becoming a longing for God. In Mary this petition has been granted: she is, as it were, the open vessel of longing, in which life becomes prayer and prayer becomes life.”
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI, Magnificat"
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI, Magnificat"
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Beauty of Confession and Phoenix' Own Fr. Steve
My Spiritual Director, Fr. Steve, was featured in the East Valley Tribune recently. Fr. Steve designed and oversaw the construction of the St. Pereguine Chapel in Mesa over the past year or two. I have the blog from the construction of the chapel in my margin. I thank God constantly for Fr. Steve. Keep him and all our Priests in your prayers.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A Powerful Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas
"Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give me an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give me an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow on me also, O Lord my God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and faithfulness that may finally embrace you, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas
The Godless Go Postal Over Mother Teresa Stamp
Patrick Madrid read my mind and beat me to the press on this. I saw it a few minutes ago and just rolled my eyes at the hypocrisy of atheists who want to suppress everyone elses views so that don't have to be tolerant of their fellow man. The amazing thing is that you don't HAVE to buy this stamp. You can mail your letter with any old stamp you choose. So why aren't good people allowed to honor someone who spent their lives doing good for others? Are you afraid that if you lick this stamp there might be some chemical concoction on the back that will turn you into a religious fanatic? Go ahead, make an atheist stamp! I'll buy the ones I like and you can buy the ones you like! Our mail will get there just the same. Get a life, people. Really.Wednesday, January 27, 2010
As A Child Would
"“St. Therese’s Little Way might be summed up in this way: the love of God and others is the primary vocation of every Christian; we need to rely on God to become holy as a child would rely on her parents; and we can use the ordinary circumstances of everyday life as opportunities to offer God our love.”
Mike Aquilina
The Resilient Church, The Word Among Us Press"
Mike Aquilina
The Resilient Church, The Word Among Us Press"
Monday, January 25, 2010
Jacob's 3D Picture
They recommend that you do these pictures at about 30 weeks and she is 36 weeks right now. So the little guy is a bit scrunched, but he is adorable! I can't wait to kiss that little nose! He is already 6lbs 4oz, so pray this little guy makes an entrance a wee bit early for Sarah's sake!Sunday, January 24, 2010
It Is Well With My Soul
The past few weeks have been a difficult time. The passing of my mother and stress with my family have been difficult. For reasons that will be obvious, this old hymn has come to my mind several times lately. My friend, Marie, posted this on her facebook wall, and I thought I would share it with you all.
Catholic Is As Catholic Does
Fr. John did it again this morning. If you're one of those people who calls yourself Catholic but haven't been to Mass in ages, or who have decided to disregard Catholic teaching and become your own Pope, you were not comfortable at St. Thomas the Apostle this morning. Check our his sermon in the right margin.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
I Have The Strangest Cat!
My cat, Katrina, has more personality than any cat I have ever known. She's . . . quirky. She has a thing for sitting on my shoulders. In fact, she sleeps on my arm at night. She's about as warm as a down comforter. As I was working at my computer, she pulled this trick and I happened to capture it.
Sarah's Baby Shower
We had Sarah's baby shower today. It went real well. Sarah is absolutely the most beautiful little mama I've ever seen. I can't say that about my first daughter because her pregnancies were both so high risk and she was so ill that it was painful to look at the poor thing. But Sarah has been fortunate thus far and she looks like a healthy, happy mama. 
We didn't have a babysitter for the two boys, so they had to come along. We were so worried that the party would be disturbed by two rambunctious boys. Apparently we had nothing to fear. Before all the guests arrived, they both succumbed to nap time fatigue and were soon sleeping on the couch. Gabriel slept through the whole thing and Isaac only woke up minutes before we were done. Thank you, Lord!
We didn't have a babysitter for the two boys, so they had to come along. We were so worried that the party would be disturbed by two rambunctious boys. Apparently we had nothing to fear. Before all the guests arrived, they both succumbed to nap time fatigue and were soon sleeping on the couch. Gabriel slept through the whole thing and Isaac only woke up minutes before we were done. Thank you, Lord!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Gospel: It's Not All In Your Head
"“God created us in His image as a marvelous unity of spirit, soul, and body. Our intellect is only one component in our decision-making process. Apostles who have all the answers but do not love often just drive their hearers away from the Church.”
Patrick Madrid
Search and Rescue, Sophia Institute Press"
Patrick Madrid
Search and Rescue, Sophia Institute Press"
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Singing, Praying Survivors Pulled From Haiti Rubble Week After Quake - The Americas - FOXNews.com
Singing, Praying Survivors Pulled From Haiti Rubble Week After Quake - The Americas - FOXNews.com
To my "no peace in the Catholic Church" friend: get a load of this lady! See, my dear, I've been Protestant and now I'm Catholic and I've never known the joy and peace I know now. I was not a nominal Protestant either. It was my desire for Christ that brought me out of the Protestant world and deep into the Catholic Church.
I have a challenge for you! Read the writings of the Early Church Fathers and ask yourself one question: Does my faith tradition believe and practice what these Early Christians did? Dig in and learn what faith and practice was in the first three or four centuries. I guarantee you, it's not what you think it was. I also guarantee you that you won't regret taking an honest look at Church history.
To my "no peace in the Catholic Church" friend: get a load of this lady! See, my dear, I've been Protestant and now I'm Catholic and I've never known the joy and peace I know now. I was not a nominal Protestant either. It was my desire for Christ that brought me out of the Protestant world and deep into the Catholic Church.
I have a challenge for you! Read the writings of the Early Church Fathers and ask yourself one question: Does my faith tradition believe and practice what these Early Christians did? Dig in and learn what faith and practice was in the first three or four centuries. I guarantee you, it's not what you think it was. I also guarantee you that you won't regret taking an honest look at Church history.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Justin and Sarah
These two precious people renew my faith every time I am with them. Their marriage is a constant picture of Christ and His Church. Their baby is due next month, and if Nana's hunch is correct, it will be sooner than we are thinking. Please pray for them as they anticipate their first birth experience. My Thoughts on "The Promise"
Way back a while ago I was going to write a commentary on Fr. Jonathan Morris' book, "The Promise." There were many things that made this book a good experience for me. But the one thing that meant the most to me was how it challenged my thinking on God's role in disasters or tragedies. The woman who did so much for me when I was recovering from sexual abuse, was in the process of writing a study about God's role in evil when I began to study the Catholic Church. (Those two things have nothing to do with each other, it was just a matter of a point in time.) She was teaching that God was the one that sent every disaster, not by his action, but by his inaction. In other words, since he didn't prevent the disaster in Haiti, he wanted it to happen. That fit in perfectly with the Calvinist view of God and salvation. God could be as capricious as he wanted to be, but since he is God, he can't commit evil. That was how I saw his role in my own painful childhood. He could stand by and "allow" this to happen because he took pleasure in seeing me suffer, yet he was still holy because he was God.
The was one of the views of God in Fr. Morris' book, but there were others. Many people see him as a great Genie in the heavens that we go to when we need a favor, but who doesn't really figure into our everyday lives.
Then there is the very distant God that sets the natural laws of the universe in motion and then goes on vacation. He stands a long way off and just checks in now and then to see how big a mess we have made. This version reminds me of Bette Midler's song "From A Distance."
Then there is the "Cop" God who takes great pleasure in catching us being frail human beings and throwing us in the brig whenever we mess up.
Satan loves to mess with our image of God. After all, what was the first thing he said to Eve? "Did God say....?" He was casting doubt on God's goodness by questioning his motives in outlawing the fruit from one tree. He was suggesting that if God were really interested in their well being, he would have given them free reign of the garden and not kept anything from them. That's always his approach. Get those humans to see God as something other than love.
In fact, the debate about who God is has repeated itself in an infinite number of ways for centuries. It is at the heart of the centuries old debate between Calvinists and Arminians. The beautiful thing is that moderation is the key to truth. Getting off in the weeds too far in any direction gets us into trouble. And the Catholic Church has carefully guarded the middle of the road since her inception.
So all that to say that I truly appreciated all the many aspects of Fr. Morris' book, but for me personally, I appreciated his middle of the road view of God that helped me and folks I work with see God as the loving, holy God he is rather than the capricious, legalistic God that I grew up with.
The was one of the views of God in Fr. Morris' book, but there were others. Many people see him as a great Genie in the heavens that we go to when we need a favor, but who doesn't really figure into our everyday lives.
Then there is the very distant God that sets the natural laws of the universe in motion and then goes on vacation. He stands a long way off and just checks in now and then to see how big a mess we have made. This version reminds me of Bette Midler's song "From A Distance."
Then there is the "Cop" God who takes great pleasure in catching us being frail human beings and throwing us in the brig whenever we mess up.
Satan loves to mess with our image of God. After all, what was the first thing he said to Eve? "Did God say....?" He was casting doubt on God's goodness by questioning his motives in outlawing the fruit from one tree. He was suggesting that if God were really interested in their well being, he would have given them free reign of the garden and not kept anything from them. That's always his approach. Get those humans to see God as something other than love.
In fact, the debate about who God is has repeated itself in an infinite number of ways for centuries. It is at the heart of the centuries old debate between Calvinists and Arminians. The beautiful thing is that moderation is the key to truth. Getting off in the weeds too far in any direction gets us into trouble. And the Catholic Church has carefully guarded the middle of the road since her inception.
So all that to say that I truly appreciated all the many aspects of Fr. Morris' book, but for me personally, I appreciated his middle of the road view of God that helped me and folks I work with see God as the loving, holy God he is rather than the capricious, legalistic God that I grew up with.
The Devil Writes A Letter To Pat Robertson
As I am frequently guilty of doing, I snatched this article right off one of my favorite blogs. Patrick Madrid posted this little ditty and I thought it was right on.
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