Just a thought...

I was listening to a blogpost on Sin and the Vocations Crisis and something profound jumped out at me. There was a statement made along the lines of Christ receiving US into HIS heart. Now I never even thought of this before. It has always been the idea of receiving Him in my heart. Come to think of it, I would much rather be received into His sacred heart (such a pure and holy place indeed!) than simply to receive Him into mine, full of cobwebs and undiscovered territory (while at the same time acknowledging that I must, in fact allow Him into this dusty old mansion!). A lot of this could simply be semantics. Just as the ball is in both courts of two lovers. A giving and receiving of love. This might lead to a deeper meditation on the heart of our Lord. To be able to dwell there, rest there, to allow His holy fire of love to consume all that is impure. Not much more to say about this but the idea is powerful. May it be more than just an idea!

The Father and the Son making music.

Growing up, I didn't appreciate classical music. I thought Beethoven was a kids movie involving a Saint Bernard. Classical was either for old people or for one who flew over the cuckoo's nest. I vaguely remember my dad telling me about Arthur Fiedler and how great of a conductor he was. Yeah dad, sure. Whatever you say (rolling my eyes, making sure he didn't see me for fear of the whap). It wasnt until the military, being stationed in Germany, that I heard Toccata and Fugue being played live in an old cathedral in Darmstadt. If I remember correctly, my eyes actually watered from the beauty of the sound. "Oh, THIS is music!" As opposed to all the rubbish I've been listening to my whole life (well, except Skynyrd!). My ears were opened to a whole new experience. Since that day, I never turned my back on classical music. Bach and me were buddies for life.
Going back a few years before that experience, I remember picking up a violin and trying to run the bow over it's strings. After all, it couldn't be that difficult making a sound that at least didn't shatter glass. Well, after sweeping up what used to be my mom's glass vase, I quickly realized that this was no easy task. To this day I greatly admire those who can play ANY musical instrument. All I can play is my CD player!
Anyway, what got me thinking, is that in order to make Toccata and Fugue sound like a work of art, one must follow a conductor and only then, after years and years of labor intensive practice and discipline, can one be ready to play in the Pops. Another thing that comes to mind is no matter how beautiful the individual instruments sound, there is nothing like listening to them in a symphony. So it is with the church. It takes years of practicing God's presence, reading His Word and living out what you learn with discipline as a child of the Father, the great Composer. As we mature, we find our "place", our "instrument" and we join those in following Christ the Conductor of this beautiful symphony called life. Imagine what our Father hears when his musicians are in symphony with one another. I'll bet His eyes get watery too!

The love of Niagara

A friend of mine recently told me that the love of God is like Niagara Falls. His love flowing, rushing, pouring over us almost overwhelmingly. Yes, it is indeed overwhelming. What if I am holding an umbrella to stay dry? To stay "safe"? Of course his reply to that was one of common sense. "The umbrella simply collapses under the strength of the water." Duh!
But why is this so hard to grasp? How could a perfect Shepherd love such weak and distracted sheep? A bigger question would be, how could I doubt this love? Maybe it is fear. Afraid to be a reservoir that feeds love to others only because of the love that feeds it. It is much more "safe" to be an undisturbed pond, which left to itself will become a swamp. A place for bugs and critters. OK, not to safe there!
So, how does one allow the love of God to change oneself. Surely, change will happen. First, by receiving His Holy Eucharist. Allowing Christ to enter into us in a way that is real, that is tangible. This is more than just a figurative analogy, one of His parables. This is indeed real. Second, by going to confession regularly. "Cleaning house" quite frequently creats a sactuary for our Lord...and for ourselves. Thirdly, the tough part, by serving Him in the ordinary. I must allow myself to be "disturbed" from quiet times of reading and prayer to help with the daily household tasks, be it loading the dishes in the dishwasher, putting a bandaid on Molly's knee or picking up the dog's poop (after I stepped in it of course!). After all, isn't this what our Lord calls us to? To be what we are called to be. A father, a husband, a priest or religious. Most of all, His child. And if I love my children, how much more, infinitely more He loves this child?!

Look not on our sins but on the Faith of Your Church

One of the phrases said each week at Mass, after the Our Father is, "Look not on our sins but the faith of Your Church." As these words leave the priest's mouth, I feel like I can hear a pin drop...even over the coughs and crys from the wee ones at Mass. I am caught off guard. I think to myself, "Wait. What did he just say? Petitioning our God not to look on OUR sins but on the faith of HIS Church!"

Living in such an individualized time and place, this goes aginst my gut. "But MY sins aren't the 'little' ones Lord!" Lust, greed, pride, the misuse of my Irish temper(for there is even a proper place for that..somewhere, hence my soapbox!). I could go on but that is not where the focus is right now. The focus (thank God) is on the faith of His Church. I find balance here. As I said before, the problem with the church is that it is full of people. Broken people. There is an acknowledgement of OUR sins as individuals and as a community. But the gaze of God is on the faith of His church. Oh, this is why I am called to participate at Mass. Because, I can't go it alone. Otherwise, I am back to the whole "our sins" part of the equasion. Left to my own devices, there's no tellin' where I'll end up. Of course going to church every Sunday won't do it alone either but that's no excuse not to go. Not to mention the fact that not going is a motal sin. Ahhh, mortal sin and venial sin. That's another blog post for another day!

The faith of His Church. Infant baptism makes sense here. Why would we not want our babies to be brought into this faith? Sure, there is a time when they must acknowledge it for their own but why would we deny the little ones such a gift? Our faith, our salvation isn't a one-time thing but an on going process that started at Calvary and continues on in our sanctification. "God ain't done with me yet!"

Not much more to say here but I am sure glad to be in HIS church. And as the old saying goes, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." Our Lord is the beholder.

Religion: A source of division?

The following was an article I read online. These aren't my words (as if I could write like this!). I just thought it was a great article!


"I was taken aback recently when an old friend of mine argued the position that religion is a major divisive force in the world. In light of recent events, he argues that religion is virtually the only thing that is dividing people in Kashmir and the Middle East, just as it was religion that divided Ireland, not to mention Iran and Iraq."

To read more from this article, go to
www.lifeissues.net/writers/mcm/mcm_43religiondivision.html

The Passive/Agressive Evil

"The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid "dens of crime" that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see the final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved, seconded, carried, and minuted) in clear, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice."

— from the Preface to The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

Nice quote. Is the "greatest evil" done by the passive/aggressive? By the subtle? Or is evil itself subtle? Does it always look like "nine - eleven" terrorism? Surely those were evil acts! Nowadays we are afraid to even mention the word. The word offends, even judges. But unfortunately, it is real...it is very real. We find it in politics/government, schools, businesses,marriages, even churches. Yes, we find it within ourselves. Maybe that's why these institutions appear corrupt. From what Merton calles the "false self". That's a whole other blog entry!

1 John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

So, there is good news here and bad news. Bad news, we are in fact sinners...which means we must wrestle with evil within ourselves, to work on removing the log in our own eye. This is a lifelong process. I doubt we will have much time to be concerned with the splinter in our brother's eye. Turns out, his splinter is his own log also. But ahh, the good news, He is faithful and just and will forgive us if we but only ask. Vs. 9 says He will "purify us from all unrighteousness."

When I was on the Applachian Trail, I remember the bliss of a hot shower after being out on the trail for a week, smelling like roadkill. Nothing to bathe in but rain and a pond here and there. Sweet purgatory. After all that is what it is isn't it? The difference, being a "purging", a purifying "yet so as by fire". (1 Cor 3 :15). My guess, a painful process. Unfortunately, purgatory appears misunderstood by Protestants and Catholics alike. Purgatory...this too is another blog entry!

Ok Murph, off your soapbox. All of this to say sin can appear neat and clean, even attractive. If we would only ask for God's Irish Spring and become "clean as a whistle"!

Pax Christi,
Murph

Show Me The Money!!!

This is just what we need people! Hey, I'm not complaining in terms of getting more dough back from Uncle Sam, BUT...

We all need to tighten our belts. From the feds to little Jimmy who makes 25 bucks a week on his paper route. Let's face it, times are tough! I think part of the problem today is that we have such high standards of living. We need to head in a direction that will allow the grampas out there to stop sayin, "When I was your age..."

After all, they have a point. They were lucky to have ONE car in the driveway. Steak was a luxury. And your own bedroom...much less with an Xbox 360, home entertainment center, your own phone line...no, wait I forgot, kids have their own cell phones today.

Will we, as Americans step down from such "royalty"? Not to be a skeptic but I doubt it. But I think most would agree--we NEED to. I admit, I feel the pull of the Joneses. But then I come back to reality and realize that there is not enough Prozac in the world to keep the Joneses happy. "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?" And gaining the whole world? That's to heavy anyway!