Purgatory: Lesson 1

Requiescant in pace.

There is no need to offer this prayer for the saints in heaven, except by way of congratulation, of joy at the thought of their happiness. Their period of suffering is past; they rest in eternal peace, in perfect possession of Him for whom they were created, and apart from whom man is ever restless and dissatisfied. To have peace with God – this is the joy of heaven, and this alone can give us joy on earth.

This countless multitude stand before the throne of God, and in sight of the Lamb. These are the two fountains of their joy. They are never weary of admiring the justice of God, His wisdom, power, majesty. They also drink in, as they behold the Sacred Humanity of the Lamb, and inexhaustible draught of love and gratitude. He is their King, their Saviour, their Lord, their Love. To gaze on His perfect beauty is in itself paradise. No wonder then that they rest in peace.

How can the saints endure the sight of the divine glory? Are they not sinners all? Yes, all – save God’s holy Mother. Or rather they were sinners all, but now they have washed their robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. This is the secret of true peace; sin forgiven, and a conscience pure and clean. We need not fear our past sins if we have by heartfelt contrition washed them away in Jesus’ Blood, but even here we may rest in peace.

Rev. R.F. Clarke, S.J.

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Stuck

Stuck.

That’s probably the main word I would use to describe my life lately. And I mean all aspects. Prayer, sin, work, future, living arrangements, finances, everything.

But being here in Utah has taught me a few things. First is that to be blunt, North Dakota is ugly. When I drove my car onto the interstate in Salt Lake City and saw these huge mountains on the edge of the city it took my breath away. Few things, if any, in North Dakota neither elicit nor deserve such a response. Second is that after talking to advisors from other schools, my institution is pretty stellar, works well, and truly cares about students. With that said, the third thing I learned is that if you’re not truly happy in your job it may be time to examine things. I know I say this all the time, but this job is not my passion, no matter how well I may or may not do it. Lately I feel like my superiors are turning me towards a path of making this a lifelong career. I don’t want it. Yet I feel guilty to resign. I look at the time and opportunities that have been afforded to me. How could I take these skills and investments they are making in me and take them elsewhere? It seems selfish.

Stuck.

But I think it’s time. Time to truly start moving on and looking for a job I love not a job I like.

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Articles

Has anyone else noticed the strange inconsistency in the English language in regard to articles? Particularly in sentences like:

I am going to school.

I am going to the hospital.

Why do we not use ‘the’ before school? Or why don’t we remove it from before hospital?

I am going to church.

I am going to the park.

Is there a reason or rule as to why we use it in certain cases? Is it so obvious and I’m just so dumb?

Anyway tomorrow I’m going to the Mass in Salt Lake City and I might go to zoo before that.

Categories: Miscellanea | 2 Comments

For the Conversion of Scandinavia

Good Jesus, prostrate at Thy feet,
we humbly implore Thee,
by Thy most sacred wounds
and by the Precious Blood
which Thou didst shed for the salvation of the whole world,
that Thou wouldst deign to cast a look of pity on the peoples of Scandinavia,
seduced from the Faith for so many centuries,
and plunged in the darkness of heresy,
separated from thy Church,
deprived of the participation of the adorable Sacrament of Thy Body and Blood,
and of the other Sacraments instituted by Thee,
as the refuge of souls in life and in death.

Remember, O Redeemer of the world,
that for these souls too Thou didst suffer bitter death,
with the loss of all Thy blood.

Bring back, O good Shepherd,
these wandering sheep of Thine to the one fold
and to the healthy pastures of Thy Church,
so that they may form with us one flock,
tended by Thee,
and by thy Vicar on earth, the supreme Pontiff,
whom, in the person of the Apostle St. Peter,
Thou didst commission to feed Thy sheep and Thy lambs.
Graciously hear, O good Jesus,
the prayers which we offer Thee with the most lively trust
in the love of Thy Sacred Heart,
and to Thy most holy Name be praise, glory, honour,
world without end.

Amen.

Pope Leo XIII, April 18, 1885 (300 days indulgence, once a day)

Categories: Catholicism, Evangelization | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Catechism 1.1.2: Article 1-The Revelation of God

God, in his infinite love has chosen to reveal himself to us, so that we may understand the Father’s will, and through Jesus Christ, partake in the divine. From the beginning he has revealed himself through the realities of creation, and even manifested himself to our parents, Adam and Eve, allowing them into intimate communion with him. Despite their sin, he has never taken away that revelation, but has promised redemption. Through covenants with Noah and with Abraham, he has formed himself a nation, giving them the gift of the prophets and the patriarchs, forming them into a promise of salvation. Through Jesus Christ, the Son, God in the flesh, all public revelation has been made complete and has ended. That is not to say, however, that the task of understanding the significance of the revelation is complete. Throughout time, certain individuals have claimed private revelation, but that is not to be added to the deposit of faith. It’s purpose is to aid people in a certain place and time to live the life worthy of our calling, to bring sinners to repentance, and to form a more holy Church. The Church cannot take hold of revelations that aim to overturn or correct revelations of Christianity. Therefore non-Christian religions and even sects that build them off of such revelations hold no true bearing on the deposit of faith.

In conclusion, God has met man, through his creation, through his covenants, through his one and only Son, Jesus Christ. All of this is done through his love, so that we may partake in Christ to partake in the divinity of God. This revelation has been made complete at the Ascension of Christ, yet it continues to be understood more deeply throughout the ages.

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Saint Olive of Palermo

St. Olive was actually a character of legend, who gained a large following. Nevertheless, her story can still give us hope and inspiration. In the 9th century she was an extremely beautiful 13 year old girl when she was captured at Palermo and deported to Tunis. There she began performing miracles, converting Muslims to Catholicism. Her captors feared her powers, but wanted to get rid of her, so they abandoned her in a forest, hoping she would be found by wild beasts. Hunters found her instead and took her as a slave, but she converted them to the faith. Muslim authorities eventually arrested, tortured and beheaded her. It is said that at her moment of death, her soul was seen to fly to heaven in the form of a dove.

Even today, the great mosque in Tunis is called the Mosque of Olivia, and the Tunisian Muslims say that those who speak ill of her, are always punished by God.

Categories: Life in Christ | Tags: , , ,

Church of the Week

13. Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mexico City, Mexico

Our Lady of Guadalupe is probably my favorite Marian apparition and is responsible for the conversion of Mexico to Christianity and continues, to this day, to transform the culture.

The story of Juan Diego and the Virgin is amazing and the scientific evidence for the legitimacy of the image is astounding.

Two small shrines and two Basilicas have been built to house the image for veneration near the site where the apparition occurred. The original basilica was completed in 1709. It was in this basilica that the image survived a bomb in 1921 that was planted by an anticlerical activist. The basilica began sinking due to the fact that Mexico City is built on an old lake. In 1976 a new basilica was completed to seat 10,000.

I won’t lie, the basilica is not very aesthetically pleasing, however, it was constructed so that virtually all vantage points within the basilica have a good view of the image. The old basilica was closed for a long time, but after renovations, it is now reopened and has perpetual adoration.

If I had to choose, one church, though, to visit anywhere in the world, Guadalupe would be my choice.

800px-ANTIGUA_CATEDRAL

Outside the old basilica.

800px-Basilica_of_Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe_(interior)

Inside the current basilica.

Basilica_of_Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe_(new)View of the basilica from the plaza.

Virgen_de_guadalupe1Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!

Categories: 52 Churches | Tags: , ,

New Life

All of today’s readings  (1 Kings 17:1-24; Gal 1:11-19; Lk 7:11-17) show the power of God to breathe new life into creation. Whether it is literally raising the physically dead back to life, or transforming a life of sin into a new life of grace, God transforms lives.

Yesterday, I went to Confession, I won’t say what for, but the priest gave me a little catechesis about the Sacrament and suggested that perhaps I wasn’t taken the Sacrament seriously and was using it too often and as a way to sin presumptiously. Anyway, he reminded me that in Confession, Jesus Christ uses the priest to give us the gift of the Spirit, the grace of forgiveness, and the power to walk away changed and renewed. He asked me to remember that this grace is mine and that I need to cooperate with that grace in order to be transformed.

Let’s all pray to cooperate with the life changing grace of Jesus Christ.

And if you’ve been away from Confession for awhile, consider returning and receiving the grace of Christ’s forgiveness.

Categories: Life in Christ

The Catechism: The Profession of Faith

A long long time ago I started posting a series on the catechism. This is a repost of the first of the series. I’m hoping beyond hope that I’ll start blogging regularly again and can make sharing the catechism a part of that.

Through an email conversation with a friend, I got the idea of going through the different parts of the Catechism here on the good old blog. The first part of the Catechism elaborates on the Apostle’s and Nicene Creeds and really emphasizes the nature of God. It is a good starting point, I think for dialogue with non-Catholics, because it can be easier to agree on the nature of God before we’ll agree on the nature of the Church. If that sounds silly it kind of is, because the Church is going to be a lot less difficult to grasp than the infinite God of the universe. At the same time, though, the Church’s identity is rolled up in Christ, the Eternal Lord, so it should really be just as difficult to grasp.

That aside, the first part of the catechism is the longest of four, and is about one-third of the entire document. The very beginning of this section acknowledges that the Church needs a creed to define who we are and what we believe, that is our faith response to God’s revelation to us.

CHAPTER 1: MAN’S CAPACITY FOR GOD

This first chapter of the the profession describes our affinity for God. Essentially the human heart is made by God and for God. In the depths of our heart, the name of God is written and so we desire him and search for him. This is evident within all of the world’s religions. No matter what theistic religion one belongs to, the rites, beliefs, ceremonies, and morals are an expression of our thirst for the God who created us. At the same time, it is possible and evident that men can forget God or even actively deny the existence of God. Sometimes this is because of the allure of the riches of the world or the bad example of the religious around him. Nevertheless God never ceases to call man towards him. In order for one to come to search for God, he must make every effort with his intellect, have a sound will, an upright heart, and the witness of others who teach him.

Man comes to know God in two fundamental ways, first being the world, or creation. The beauty and the complexities, the serenity and the chaos, the grand and the microscopic are all testimonies to the existence of and the glory of God. The second way is through man himself. His openness to truth and beauty, his moral compass, his longings for something greater are all beginnings of faith in God. It opens man up to the possibility of knowing God. The Church teaches that God can be known through reason, that right and wrong can be known naturally from man’s conscience. God can be known from his works and from the light shed by human reason.

Of course, no matter how deeply God has revealed himself to us, our language is limited in describing a limitless God. Yet, since all things resemble their Creator in a certain sense, we can begin to look at the perfections of certain natural things and apply them to God, though we know that they are incomplete at describing the nature of God.

In conclusion, man desires God for he was created by God. Man can know that God exists through his works and from reason. And although we can hardly describe the majesty of God with our words, we can begin to fathom certain attributes of God by looking at the perfections that exist in the world surrounding us.

Categories: Catechism

Seek and Knock

Seek in reading and you will find in meditating; Knock in mental prayer and it will be opened to you by contemplating.

Guigo the Carthusian

Categories: Prayers | Tags:

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