Friday, December 31
A Dream
Satan had a fantasy; Satan dreamt that he was greater than Almighty God. Satan is now bitter - why? Because he knew, he knows that his fantasy is not real, but cannot let go of it.
Monday, December 27
Saturday, December 18
FOR AN INCREASE OF FAITH
Lord Jesus, increase my faith.
I want so much to have the kind of faith that moves mountains.
I want to believe with such intensity that only a thin veil separates me from seeing You Face to Face.
I want to see the Father’s Will and providence in everything that happens.
You had such a serene confidence in the Father’s guiding hand as it manifested His Will in the circumstances of life.
Give me that gift, Lord and Master, that I too may have the joy of beholding the Divine Presence in everything that happens to me.
I want so much to have the kind of faith that moves mountains.
I want to believe with such intensity that only a thin veil separates me from seeing You Face to Face.
I want to see the Father’s Will and providence in everything that happens.
You had such a serene confidence in the Father’s guiding hand as it manifested His Will in the circumstances of life.
Give me that gift, Lord and Master, that I too may have the joy of beholding the Divine Presence in everything that happens to me.
- Mother Angelica
Friday, December 17
The Violin and the Orchestra
Consider the violin: its song is beautiful and good and pleasant to listen to, but it lacks the qualities and unity of the whole orchestra. The violin is marvelous on its own, but the orchestra can paint pictures that the violin never dreamed of; it can reach the heart in so many ways, while the violin can only reach it with its own way.
Tuesday, December 7
The End
Are you troubled? Remember that we are but a breath away from Eternity; remember that we are but one step away from Home; remember that the breath of time will blow all trials away.
Friday, December 3
But, But....
"Then when concupiscence hat conceived, it bringeth forth sin: But sin, when it is completed, begetteth death."
Can anyone tell me how this is possible?
Can anyone tell me how this is possible?
Sunday, November 28
A Follow-Up
I meant to write a follow-up to the previous post awhile ago, but I guess I kept procrastinating about it. Sorry about that.
Obviously, liberal and conservative are the left and right. One can be closer or farther left or right, and one can have one foot in the boat and the other dangling either left or right. In other words, one may be liberal or conservative but have one leg in the boat of Catholic thinking; this gives us a nice assortment, eh?
Inside the Church itself, it would seem that there are four factions.
1: The liberals.
2: The conservatives.
3: The in-betweens.
4: The Traditionalists.
Liberals
Liberals are those who..... I don't know why they're in the Church. I guess there are nice things that they get from it, but they want the pleasures of the world at the same time.
Conservatives
The conservatives seem to be in the Church so that they can be right; the only problem is that they often are right. However, they miss an awful lot.
In-betweens
Now this is an interesting group! This seems to be the group that recognizes that both liberals and conservatives have their good points. So what do they do? They try to mix them both together and say that the Church is really about this mix. Are they right? There is the mix of "liberal" and "conservative", but this is all that they seem to see. The recent surge of Catholicism seems to have produced many Catholics of this group. What is it? A reaction against the strive between the liberals and conservatives.
Traditionalist
So, who is this weird bunch? Who are these Medieval monks and peasants? They are those who try to operate the way the Church has been ever since its founding. The words "liberal" and "conservative" are no more than labels to individual aspects of the Church to him. Are they open to addition and new discovery? Of course. Man does not know everything about God; he knows very little in fact. So, man chooses to accept whatever God reveals to him, whether it be directly or indirectly; always building and never tearing down that which has weathered the tests of time.
Before I cease my typing, I would like to add a final thought. Although the Extraordinary Rite of the Mass is definitely a Traditionalist element, attending it does not automatically make one a "Traditionalist". In fact, accepting all of the old teachings of the Church doesn't make on a Traditionalist either. What makes one a Traditionalist is his use of the Church, and that is to bring him to the Beatific Vision.
Obviously, liberal and conservative are the left and right. One can be closer or farther left or right, and one can have one foot in the boat and the other dangling either left or right. In other words, one may be liberal or conservative but have one leg in the boat of Catholic thinking; this gives us a nice assortment, eh?
Inside the Church itself, it would seem that there are four factions.
1: The liberals.
2: The conservatives.
3: The in-betweens.
4: The Traditionalists.
Liberals
Liberals are those who..... I don't know why they're in the Church. I guess there are nice things that they get from it, but they want the pleasures of the world at the same time.
Conservatives
The conservatives seem to be in the Church so that they can be right; the only problem is that they often are right. However, they miss an awful lot.
In-betweens
Now this is an interesting group! This seems to be the group that recognizes that both liberals and conservatives have their good points. So what do they do? They try to mix them both together and say that the Church is really about this mix. Are they right? There is the mix of "liberal" and "conservative", but this is all that they seem to see. The recent surge of Catholicism seems to have produced many Catholics of this group. What is it? A reaction against the strive between the liberals and conservatives.
Traditionalist
So, who is this weird bunch? Who are these Medieval monks and peasants? They are those who try to operate the way the Church has been ever since its founding. The words "liberal" and "conservative" are no more than labels to individual aspects of the Church to him. Are they open to addition and new discovery? Of course. Man does not know everything about God; he knows very little in fact. So, man chooses to accept whatever God reveals to him, whether it be directly or indirectly; always building and never tearing down that which has weathered the tests of time.
Before I cease my typing, I would like to add a final thought. Although the Extraordinary Rite of the Mass is definitely a Traditionalist element, attending it does not automatically make one a "Traditionalist". In fact, accepting all of the old teachings of the Church doesn't make on a Traditionalist either. What makes one a Traditionalist is his use of the Church, and that is to bring him to the Beatific Vision.
Sunday, November 14
Who's Our God?
Christian or Christian? Does one worship God or does God worship oneself? These are questions everyone who calls themselves Christian should ask. This is so, because one might notice this about the world:
Liberals -
Those who desire that they should be gods.
Conservatives -
Those who desire that God should be like them.
Both of these are different approaches to the same thing: a desire to be like God. What causes this? Pride. Pride is the ugly sin in which we are all guilty of to different degrees. Pride decrees oneself to be infallible; pride tells oneself that they are the judges, even if only of themselves - it is certainly a terrible thing for one to not realize that they are, in fact, proud. We are all proud, and need to beg God for humility. And so, I will add a third category:
Catholicism -
Those who realize that humanity is weak and need the guidance of God's Church.
And some are on the way.
Liberals -
Those who desire that they should be gods.
Conservatives -
Those who desire that God should be like them.
Both of these are different approaches to the same thing: a desire to be like God. What causes this? Pride. Pride is the ugly sin in which we are all guilty of to different degrees. Pride decrees oneself to be infallible; pride tells oneself that they are the judges, even if only of themselves - it is certainly a terrible thing for one to not realize that they are, in fact, proud. We are all proud, and need to beg God for humility. And so, I will add a third category:
Catholicism -
Those who realize that humanity is weak and need the guidance of God's Church.
And some are on the way.
The Vehicle is Still a Vehicle
I have just discovered a revolutionary concept! We no longer need starters in vehicles. We can have a car without the hassle of a starter! Why should starters have a monopoly on the operation of a vehicle? Why can't a car run by itself? Why does it have to rely on a key in a switch, or on the switch at all? We must all campaign to remove starters in vehicles! No more tyrants telling us how to operate our car! Cars without starters!
Let me know what you think of this.
Let me know what you think of this.
Friday, October 29
A Little Humility
"Did you hear about what he did?!? It was terrible! I can't believe he did something like that!"
Have you ever talked like that about someone? Have you ever seen someone do something sinful, and then swear never to commit that sin because you're so abhorred by the sight of the sin? After all, we're better than that, right?
This is a very easy thing to do. If we know what's right, it's hard not to get disgusted when presented with something wrong. My dear brothers and sisters, I am guilty of this. But I shall tell you what happens to me every time I do this.
Every time I see a fault commited, I occasionally let my emotions get the better of me. I get disgusted with the sin I see, and often report it to others. I share my disgust with them in one way or another, and they often react with disgust. Should we be disgusted with sin? Yes! But, keep reading.
After I perform the above course of action, I often end up falling into the same sin to a certain degree. For awhile, I usually wonder what's wrong with me, or how I came about to doing this. And then I remember how I reacted to the sinner I witnessed performing the sin. At this point, I forget my pride; it's hard not to when it happens to you, because you see things in a different perspective.
While I always hate sinning in any degree, I am grateful for the lesson I learn through this. I should always be disgusted with sin, but not with the sinner. At any point in time, all of us are capable of sinning. The question is, what do we do when we see a sinner? What do we encourage others to do? Do we stand back and make emotional judgments? or do we help the sinner, and encourage others to do the same?
This all comes down to the first temptation: "You will be like gods" (I forget if it's God, or gods. A little moment of humility). We all want to decide everything for ourselves. Deny it? Just think about it. When we get up in the morning and it's 30 degrees out with a 20mph wind blowing (probably 35km or so for those that use metric), wouldn't we love to be able to decide to make it a balmy 80 with a gentle breeze (don't ask for Celsius, because you won't get it)? When we get stuck on the highway behind a slow car, wouldn't we love to be able to make them speed up? Finally, when someone upsets us, wouldn't we love to condemn them to Hell? Naturally, we're adverse to believe that we would do that. But with all honestly, this is how we feel. We want to be able to judge others and ourselves as we wish, and this naturally means putting others down and raising ourselves up. In short, we want to be like God.
The first sin was pride. This was the first sin in the universe, and it is also the first sin in each one of us. Think about it. If we didn't have pride, then we wouldn't think that anything is ours to take. If we have humility, then we will recognize that everything comes from God, and that we have to be given the thing in question. I learned and am still learning this the hard way.
When you see a sinner, what will you do?
Have you ever talked like that about someone? Have you ever seen someone do something sinful, and then swear never to commit that sin because you're so abhorred by the sight of the sin? After all, we're better than that, right?
This is a very easy thing to do. If we know what's right, it's hard not to get disgusted when presented with something wrong. My dear brothers and sisters, I am guilty of this. But I shall tell you what happens to me every time I do this.
Every time I see a fault commited, I occasionally let my emotions get the better of me. I get disgusted with the sin I see, and often report it to others. I share my disgust with them in one way or another, and they often react with disgust. Should we be disgusted with sin? Yes! But, keep reading.
After I perform the above course of action, I often end up falling into the same sin to a certain degree. For awhile, I usually wonder what's wrong with me, or how I came about to doing this. And then I remember how I reacted to the sinner I witnessed performing the sin. At this point, I forget my pride; it's hard not to when it happens to you, because you see things in a different perspective.
While I always hate sinning in any degree, I am grateful for the lesson I learn through this. I should always be disgusted with sin, but not with the sinner. At any point in time, all of us are capable of sinning. The question is, what do we do when we see a sinner? What do we encourage others to do? Do we stand back and make emotional judgments? or do we help the sinner, and encourage others to do the same?
This all comes down to the first temptation: "You will be like gods" (I forget if it's God, or gods. A little moment of humility). We all want to decide everything for ourselves. Deny it? Just think about it. When we get up in the morning and it's 30 degrees out with a 20mph wind blowing (probably 35km or so for those that use metric), wouldn't we love to be able to decide to make it a balmy 80 with a gentle breeze (don't ask for Celsius, because you won't get it)? When we get stuck on the highway behind a slow car, wouldn't we love to be able to make them speed up? Finally, when someone upsets us, wouldn't we love to condemn them to Hell? Naturally, we're adverse to believe that we would do that. But with all honestly, this is how we feel. We want to be able to judge others and ourselves as we wish, and this naturally means putting others down and raising ourselves up. In short, we want to be like God.
The first sin was pride. This was the first sin in the universe, and it is also the first sin in each one of us. Think about it. If we didn't have pride, then we wouldn't think that anything is ours to take. If we have humility, then we will recognize that everything comes from God, and that we have to be given the thing in question. I learned and am still learning this the hard way.
When you see a sinner, what will you do?
Wednesday, October 20
Surprising Finds by the Modern World
I used to be rather oblivious to the modern world. Now, as I observe it, I am somewhat amused when they tell us this thing is good, or make the perfectly astonishing discovery that this is a better way to live. What they fail to realize is that the Catholic Church has known all of these things for quite some time now, and trying to discover them on their own won't change that.
Freedom!!!
Well, it all goes that I just wanted to start this blog so I could be Catholic somewhere!! I have precious few Catholic friends, and am not in a Catholic environment very frequently, especially on cyberspace. So, this is where I don't have to worry about being PC (not that I ever would worry about being totally PC, but...)!!!
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