Stay In Touch -Have I not proven to you that I Am in the saving sinners business? -Jesus
Now you know. The next time you go into the basement wear a helmet. ~Eve
"In extremity, states of mind become objective, metaphors tend to actualize, the word becomes flesh.(1977,205) -Terence Des Pres, 'The Survivor'
“I decided to go in search of the shaking woman.” Siri Hustvedt
A hundred times a day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. ~Albert Einstein
"I, Sister Faustina, by the order of God, have visited the abysses of hell so that I might tell souls about it and testify to its existence...But I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell." -Saint Faustina
Do you hear what I hear? A child, a child crying in the night.
Why would someone who looked God in the face ever suppose that there could be something better? ~Matthew Likona
We cannot know what we would do in order to survive unless we are tested. For those of us tested to the extremes the answer is succinct: anything
…”The Stoics throned Fate, the Epicureans Chance, while the Skeptics left a vacant space where the gods had been –[nihilism]—but all agreed in the confession of despair;...and...Oriental schemes of thought contributed a share to the deepening gloom..." ~Gwatkin
"...notes to the committee...why do you invite cows to analyze the milk?" -Peter de Vries
"I run because it gives Him pleasure." ~Eric, Chariots of Fire
“God’s truth is life,” as Patrick Kavanagh says, “even the grotesque shapes of its foulest fire.” What is the difference between a cry of pain that is also a cry of praise and a cry of pain that is merely an articulation of despair? Faith? The cry of a believer, even if it is a cry against God, moves toward God, has its meaning in God, as in the cries of Job. ~Christian Wiman
"Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage." - Ray Bradbury
As for what concerns our relations with our fellow men, the anguish in our neighbor's soul must break all precept. All that we do is an end in itself, because God is Love. ~Edith Stein, St. Benedicta of the Cross.
“Lastly, and most of all. Who turns his back upon the fallen and disfigured of his kind; abandons them as vile…; does wrong to Heaven and man, to time and to eternity. And you have done that wrong!” ~Dickens, The Chimes, 1844Dieu me pardonnera. C'est son métier . ~Heinrich Heine.
Remember the 'toe-pick' and you won't get swallowed by the whale or eaten by the polar bear.
Someone else needs to become the bad example in our group
But you wear shame so well ~James Goldman, Eve [Or, tired of being the scapegoat yet? ~Sue]
There is a point where the unfortunate and the infamous unite and are confounded in a single word, miserable; whose fault is this? And then should not the charity be all the more profound, in proportion as the fall is great? -[Jesus Christ said so.] -- Br. Humbert Kilanowski, O.P.
The lamps are going out all over
We are still fighting to use the tools we have to grapple with the unknown.
“We are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not.” ~Joan Didion"
When I fall into the abyss, I go straight into it, head down and heels up, and I'm even pleased that I'm falling in just such a humiliating position, and for me I find it beautiful. And so in that very shame I suddenly begin a hymn.
—Fyodor Dostoevsky
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”― Maya Angelou
'Have you ever noticed that the meanest, most misogynist, and dangerous people tend to be activists who claim to be for freedom and love?'
"For others of us, the most loving thing we can do for our abusers is to keep them from having opportunity to abuse ever again." (Dawn Eden) My Peace I Give You, Ch. 1)
No child is ever responsible for abuse perpetrated on them by ANYONE. I understand that others may not "get it" and that's fine. Blaming the victim is never right or just under any circumstances.
Prescription #1: Give God the greatest possible glory and honor Him with your whole soul. If you have a sin on your conscience, remove it as soon as possible by means of a good Confession. ~St. John Bosco
Prescription #2: In thankful tenderness offer Reparation for the horrible mockery and blasphemies constantly uttered against the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; against the Blessed Virgin Mary; the saints and angels; His Church; His priests and religious; His children; and His loving Heart by reciting the Golden Arrow which delightfully wounds Him:
'May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable and ineffable Name of God be forever praised, blessed, loved, and honored by all the creatures of God in heaven, on earth and in the hells through the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Amen.
Prescription #3: So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. ~Heb.13:13
Pages
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Happy Catholic*: Well Said: Napoleon and the Cardinal
Excerpt:
Here's a final story from H.V. Morton's 1957 book A Traveller in Rome, one so true and also amusing that I just had to share it. M...
the attitude which exasperated Napoleon. He might kidnap and bully a Pope, but he could not browbeat the Church.
'Do you know that I am capable of destroying your Church?' he once shouted at Cardinal Consalvi, the Secretary of State.
'Sire,' replied Consalvi, 'not even we priests have achieved that in eighteen centuries!"...
...
Happy Catholic*: Well Said: Masks and what is behind them
Happy Catholic*: Well Said: Meaning for Your Life
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Crimea to Kiev...Bloodlands Revisited: We Must Pray
Crimea to Kiev, "the conflict is a military phase"
[Crimée : pour Kiev, "le conflit passe à une phase militaire"]
The prime minister said Tuesday that Russian troops had "started shooting" at the Ukrainian soldiers and described their actions as "war crimes."
Monday, March 17, 2014
Bend Sinister
posted by D.G. Meyers...Excerpt:
The University president appeals to Krug’s fond memories of school days with the dictator. “You are the victim of a sentimental delusion,” the philosopher answers. Krug remembers the dictator as the Toad. That’s what all the boys called him at school. “What I and the Toad hoard en fait souvenirs d’enfance [in terms of childhood memories] is the habit I had of sitting upon his face.”
The funniest parts of the book are the first chapters, in which Krug resists the petty tyranny (and stupidity) of Ekwilist soldiers by means of a voluble individualism. One band of soldiers permits him to cross a bridge, but the soldiers on the other side force him back across to obtain a signature on his pass. When he returns, the first band fails to recognize him:
“Do you live on the bridge?” asked the fat soldier.
“No,” said Krug. “Do try to understand. C’est simple comme boujour, as Pietro would say. They sent me back because they had no evidence that you let me pass. From a formal point of view I am not on the bridge at all.”
“He may have climbed up from a barge,” said a dubious voice.
“No, no,” said Krug. “I not bargee-bargee. You still do not understand. I am going to put it as simply as possible. They of the solar side saw heliocentrically what you tellurians saw geocentrically, and unless these two aspects are somehow combined, I, the visualized object, must keep shuttling in the universal night.”
The comedy does not last long, although it gives out before Krug’s resistance. The Ekwilists increase the pressure on the philosopher, arresting his friends and colleagues. The dictator himself summons him to an interview. Krug demands to know why his friends have been arrested:
Thus the State, “bloated and dangerously divine,” must get him to capitulate, or destroy him.
he continues, the tragedy has not changed “the relationship, the bond, the agreement” which Krug has entered into. “Individual lives are insecure,” he says; “but we guarantee the immortality of the State.” In response, Krug plunges into insanity. His freedom of thought is taken away... ~Vladimir Nabakov
of one hundred thousand, to gain three thousand rubles more by stealing a forest from a whole community of cold and famished peasants, to spend it, in two or three weeks in the saloons of Moscow, Petersburg, or Paris…’
'The train I met on the 9th of September going with soldiers, guns, cartridges, and rods, to confirm the rich landowner in the possession of a small forest which he had taken from the starving peasants, which they were in the direst need of, and he was in no need of at all, was a striking proof of how men are capable of doing deeds directly opposed to their principles and their conscience without perceiving it.
The special train consisted of one first-class carriage for the governor, the officials, and officers, and several luggage vans crammed full of soldiers. The latter, smart young fellows in their clean new uniforms, were standing about in groups or sitting swinging their legs in the wide open doorways of the luggage vans. Some were smoking, nudging each other, joking, grinning, and laughing, others were munching sunflower seeds and spitting out the husks with an air of dignity. Some of them ran along the platform to drink some water from a tub there, and when they met the officers they slackened their pace, made their stupid gesture of salutation, raising their hands to their heads with serious faces as though they were doing something of the greatest importance. They kept their eyes on them till they had passed by them, and then set off running still more merrily, stamping their heels on the platform, laughing and chattering after the manner of healthy, good-natured young fellows, traveling in lively company.
They were going to assist at the murder of their fathers or grandfathers just as if they were going on a party of pleasure, or at any rate on some quite ordinary business.
The same impression was produced by the well-dressed functionaries and officers who were scattered about the platform and in the first-class carriage. At a table covered with bottles was sitting the governor, who was responsible for the whole expedition, dressed in his half-military uniform and eating something while he chatted tranquilly about the weather with some acquaintances he had met, as though the business he was upon was of so simple and ordinary a character that it could not disturb his serenity and his interest in the change of weather.
At a little distance from the table sat the general of the police. He was not taking any refreshment, and had an impenetrable bored expression, as though he were weary of the formalities to be gone through. On all sides officers were bustling noisily about in their red uniforms trimmed with gold; one sat at a table finishing his bottle of beer, another stood at the buffet eating a cake, and brushing the crumbs off his uniform, threw down his money with a self-confident air; another was sauntering before the carriages of our train, staring at the faces of the women.
All these men who were going to murder or to torture the famishing and defenseless creatures who provide them their sustenance had the air of men who knew very well that they were doing their duty, and some were even proud, were “glorying” in what they were doing.
What is the meaning of it?
All these people are within half an hour of reaching the place where, in order to provide a wealthy young man with three thousand rubles stolen from a whole community of famishing peasants, they may be forced to commit the most horrible acts one can conceive, to murder or torture, as was done in
beings, their brothers. And they see the place and time approaching with untroubled serenity.
To say that all these government officials, officers, and soldiers do not know what is before them is impossible, for they are prepared for it. The governor must have given directions about the rods, the officials must have sent an order for them, purchased them, and entered the item in their accounts. The military officers have given and received orders about cartridges. They all know that they are going to torture, perhaps to kill, their famishing fellow-creatures, and that they must set to work within an hour.
To say, as is usually said, and as they would themselves repeat, that they are acting from conviction of the necessity for supporting the state organization, would be a mistake. For in the first place, these men have probably never even thought about state organization and the necessity of it; in the second place, they cannot possibly be convinced that the act in which they are taking part will tend to support rather than to ruin the state; and thirdly, in reality the majority, if not all, of these men, far from ever sacrificing their own pleasure or tranquillity to support the state, never let slip an opportunity of profiting at the expense of the state in every way they can increase their own pleasure and ease. So that they are not acting thus for the sake of the abstract principle of the state.
What is the meaning of it?
Yet I know all these men. If I don’t know all of them personally, I know their characters pretty nearly, their past, and their way of thinking. They certainly all have mothers, some of them wives and children. They are certainly for the most part good, kind, even tender-hearted fellows, who hate every sort of cruelty, not to speak of murder; many of them would not kill or hurt an animal.
Moreover, they are all professed Christians and regard all violence directed against the defenseless as base and disgraceful.
Certainly not one of them would be capable in everyday life, for his own personal profit, of doing a hundredth part of what the Governor of Orel did.
Every one of them would be insulted at the supposition that he was capable of doing anything of the kind in private life.
And yet they are within half an hour of reaching the place where they may be reduced to the inevitable necessity of committing this crime.
What is the meaning of it?’
published in German in 1894; translated here from the Russian by Constance Garnett)
"I stared at the beast's hands...the left bloody and filled ...the right bloody and filled...as its engorging turned sickening and brutal..."
"The Deer's Cry", or St. Patrick's Breastplate, sung by Angelina, (EWTN)
St. Patrick Ora Pro Nobis! Save the Irish!
Love is....
I ARISE TODAY
I arise today, through the strength of heaven;
light of sun, radiance of moon,
splendor of fire, speed of lightning,
swiftness of wind, depth of the sea,
stability of earth, firmness of rock.
I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s eye to look before me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
from all who shall wish me ill, afar and a-near
alone and in a multitude.
Against every cruel merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise, Christ to shield me.
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
I arise today.
Addendum:
“Nous avons tous assez de force pour supporter les maux d’autrui.”
But do 'I' choose to do so? This is the real question,non?
"If you see your brother sick, or ill, or.............and you care for him/her/'them/...then that is done to ME...
~Jesus Christ
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Friday, March 14, 2014
Sometimes Fathers.....'Do You Forgive Me?'...
Easing the burden
“This man beside us also has a hard fight with an unfavouring world, with strong temptations, with doubts and fears, with wounds of the past which have skinned over, but which smart when they are touched. It is a fact, however surprising. And when this occurs to us we are moved to deal kindly with him, to bid him be of good cheer, to let him understand that we are also fighting a battle; we are bound not to irritate him, nor press hardly upon him nor help his lower self.”
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Abbey-Roads: St. John of God ... a troubled life.
...His crazy period is interesting - reminding me of the Russian 'fool for Christ' vocation. Mental instability isn't always that unusual in the lives of the saints and others who may go through intense conversion experiences...
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Pray for Ukraine. Pray for Russia.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Feast of the Holy Face
Monday, March 3, 2014
Holy Face Novena: Day 9
Psalm 51,18-21.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
In your goodness, show favour to
rebuild the walls of
Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,
holocausts offered on your altar.
Sacred Face of our Lord and our God, what words can
we do to express our gratitude? How can we speak of our
joy? That you have deigned to hear us, that you have chosen
to answer us in our hour of need. We say this because we
know that our prayers will be granted. We know that you,
in your loving kindness, listened to our pleading hearts, and
will give, out of your fullness, the answer to our problems.
Mary, our Mother, thank you for your intercession on our
behalf.
Through the merits of your precious blood and your Holy
Face, O Jesus, grant us our petition.................. Pardon
and mercy.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity
Most Holy Trinity, Godhead indivisible, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, our first beginning and our last end. Since you
have made us after your own image and likeness, grant that
all the thoughts of our minds, all the words of our tongues,
all the affections of our hearts and all our actions may be
always conformed to your most Holy Will, so that after
having seen you here on earth in appearances and in a dark
manner by the means of faith, we may come at last to con-
template you face to face, in the perfect possession of you
forever in paradise. Amen.
Pray one (1) Our Father, three (3) Hail Mary's, one (1)
Glory Be.
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine.
(Three times)
Recite Act of Consecration on the following page.
You. You are the Eternal Son of God and the Son Incarnate
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You are the Lord and Absolute
Ruler of all creation. We acknowledge You, therefore, as
the Universal Sovereign of all creatures. You are the Lord
and Supreme Ruler of all mankind, and we, in acknowledging
this Your dominion, consecrate ourselves to You now and
forever. Loving Jesus, we place our family under the protec-
tion of Your Holy Face, and of Your Virgin Mother, Mary
most sorrowful. We promise to be faithful to You for the
rest of our lives and to observe with fidelity Your Holy
Commandments. We will never deny before men, You and
Your Divine rights over us and all mankind. Grant us the
grace to never sin again; nevertheless, should we fail, 0
Divine Saviour, have mercy on us and restore us to Your
grace. Radiate Your Divine Countenance upon us and bless
us now and forever. Embrace us at the hour of death in Your
Kingdom for all eternity, through the intercession of Your
Blessed Mother, of all Your Saints who behold You in
Heaven, and the just who glorify You on earth. O Jesus, be
mindful of us forever and never forsake us; protect our family.
O Mother of Sorrows, by the eternal glory which you enjoy
in Heaven, through the merits of your bitter anguish in the
Sacred Passion of your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
obtain for us the grace that the Precious Blood shed by Jesus
for the redemption of our souls, be not shed for us in vain.
We love you, O Mary. Embrace us and bless us, O Mother.
Protect us in life and in death. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Amen.
Most Incomprehensible and Ineffable Name of God
Be always Praised, Blessed, Loved, Adored and Glorified,
In Heaven, on Earth and under the Earth,
By all the Creatures of God,
And by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
In the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Amen.
“Evil takes root when one man starts to think that he is better than another.” -Joseph Brodsky
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Holy Face Novena: Eighth Day
of Holy Mary, whose soul was pierced through by a sword
of sorrow at the sight of the passion of her Divine Son, we
ask your help in making a perfect Novena of reparation with
Jesus, united with all His sorrows, love and total abandon-
ment.
We now implore all the Angels and Saints to intercede
for us as we pray this Holy Novena to the Most Holy Face
of Jesus and for the glory of the most Holy Trinity, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. (Start novena)
HOLY FACE OF JESUS
countenance, shall receive, by virtue of my humanity, a
brilliant and vivid impression of my divinity. This splendour
shall enlighten the depths of their souls, so that in eternal
glory the celestial court shall marvel at the marked likeness
of their features with my divine countenance." (Our Lord
Jesus Christ to St. Gertrude)
O rescue me, God my helper,
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
Most merciful Face of Jesus, who in this vale of tears was
so moved by our misfortunes to call yourself the healer of
the sick, and the good Shepherd of the souls gone astray,
allow not Satan to draw us away from you, but keep us
always under your loving protection, together with all souls
who endeavour to console you. Mary, our Mother, intercede
for us.
Through the merits of your precious blood and your Holy
Face, O Jesus, grant us our petition.................. Pardon
and mercy.
O glorious Saint Peter, who in return for thy lively and
burning love, was honoured by Jesus Christ with singular
privileges, and in particular, with the leadership of the other
apostles and the primacy of the whole church, of which thou
was made the foundation stone, do thou obtain for us the
grace of a lively faith, that shall not fear to profess itself
openly in its entirety and in all of its manifestations, even
to the shedding of blood, if occasion should demand it, and
to the sacrifice of life itself in preference to surrender. Obtain
for us likewise a sincere loyalty to our Holy Mother the
Church. Grant that we may ever remain most closely and
sincerely united to the Holy Father, who is the heir of thy
faith and of thy authority, the one true visible head of the
Catholic Church. Grant, moreover, that we may follow, in
all humility and meekness, the Church's teaching and coun-
sels and may be obedient to all her precepts, in order to be
able here on earth to enjoy a peace that is sure and undis-
turbed, and to attain one day in heaven to everlasting happi-
ness. Amen.
Pray one (1) Our Father, three (3) Hail Mary's, one (1)
Glory Be.
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine.
(Three times)
Saturday, March 1, 2014
A Poem A Day from the George Hail Library ~ Selected by Maria Horvath: You’re Here
( The Great Gate of Kiev by Wassily Kandinsky, 1866- 1944, Russian painter)
Sometimes a poet will choose an unusual metaphor...
You’re here. We breathe the self same air.
Your presence here is like the city,
like quiet Kiev wrapped in sultry
sunbeams there outside the window.
It hasn’t slept its sleep yet,
but struggles in its dream, unconquered.
It tears the bricks from off its neck
like a sweaty Shantung collar.
In it, perspiring in their leaves
from obstacles they’ve just got over,
the poplars gather in a crowd
wearily on the conquered pavement.
You make me think of the Dnieper there,
in its green skin of creeks and ditches,
the center-of-the-earth’s complaint book
for us to write our daily notes in.
Your presence here is like a call
to sit down hastily at midday,
to read through it from A to Z
and then to write your nearness in it.
~ Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), 'You're Here'