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[Why does] a culture that loves 'Footprints in the Sand' not understand the dryness that characterized much of Bl. Teresa of Calcutta's life? I suggested the difference was the industrial grade sentimentalism of 'Footprints' and the utter lack of sentimentalism in a decades-long dark night of the soul... The dark night of soul (to the extent I understand it) seems not only to be an utterly un-sentimental experience, but also to be a disinfectant against sentimentalism. Disconsolation neither supports nor can be supported by mushy-heartedness. I think it's no accident that 'Footprints' is written from the perspective of one looking back. The happy ending is, not merely assured, but already attained. The suffering is over; all that's left is an academic curiosity, a question that seems not to have occurred to the narrator until he asks it...To the extent someone is governed by sentimentalism, purgation will seem like folly (or possibly scandal). Sentimentalism is a contradiction in which pat answers generate feelings of satisfaction, and 'Who can know God's counsel, or who can conceive what the LORD intends?' is an answer too pat to satisfy those with real needs. It's not for nothing, though, that the book it comes from is called Wisdom. - Tom of Disputations
On a recent EWTN show on marriage one of the guests commented that in Herzagovie that the marriage custom is that the bride and groom both put their hands on a cross and kiss it instead of each other after saying their vows. The priest reminds them that they have not found the perfect partner but rather their cross. If they let go of each other, they let go of the cross. The divorce rate is among the lowest in the world. - commenter on Disputations
...The increasing, detailed, intrusive regulation of life, the national desire for control, control, control. Everything is the business of some form of government. Want to paint your shutters? The condo association won’t let you. Let dogs in your bar? Never. Decide who to sell your house to? Racial matter. Own a dog? Shot card, pooper-scooper, leash, gotta be spayed, etc. Have a bar for men only, women only, whites or blacks only? Here come the federal marshals. What isn’t controlled by government is controlled by the crypto-vindictive mob rule of political correctness. This wasn’t always in the American character. Add the continuing presence of police in the schools, the arrest in handcuffs of children of seven, the expulsions for drawing a picture of a soldier with a gun. Something very twisted is going on. -- Fred Reed via Jeff Culbreath's 'Stony Creek Digest'
I blog drunk. Does that count? - -- the Crescat's response to Eric Scheske's request for Catholic beer blogs
A man asked a priest, 'is it ok if I smoke while I pray?' The priest said no - that would be disrespectful. A bit later he asked, 'can I pray while I smoke?' the priest said yes, pray all the time. - Fred of 'Deep Furrows' on priorities
Is there such a thing as Catholic fiction?...The consensus we finally reached was that Catholic fiction is fiction which takes place in a universe in which Catholicism is objectively true... It need not overtly proclaim the author's religious beliefs, though they will be implicit in the work. And only the poorest specimens of Catholic fiction will be thinly fictionalized apologetics... It's a book in which Catholicism is the underlying physics of the world so baptism has a real effect on a person's identity and prayer can be surprisingly efficacious. - Catholic Bibliophagist
I've always thought that if the Church wanted to be useful on [healthcare], She should organize a national, non-profit health insurance program run by one of the religious orders who now run hospitals...In Italy, there is an insurance cooperative originally organized by Catholics, Cattolica Assicurazioni. It would also have the benefit of offering insurance that is in line with Catholic teaching, so that I don't have to worry if my premiums are going to fund certain drugs that don't correspond well with my faith...Many of the formerly not-for-profit insurance companies changed in the past decade to for-profits. They claimed that by attracting investment they would lower costs for their customers, but that doesn't appear to have panned out. - commenter Jack on 'Flos Carmeli'
For better or worse, September 11, 2001 marked a watershed--a determined advance by a small group of highly active and motivated insurgents into the heartland. For a brief time we awoke and we responded as was just and proper--we sought out the root of the problem and attempted to destroy it. We have not been successful, not for lack of trying but because there is no root. Rather there is a mycelium--a network--small and invisible--that at any time can give rise to yet another fungal bloom. A dandelion is relatively easy to confront, mushrooms much less so. September 11 does not justify any and all actions, but whenever we pause to question what we are doing and whether it is right, the memory of it should add weight to the reflection. September 11 was a declaration on the part of a very small part of the world that they have no intention of tolerating or respecting anything outside of the range of their political and religious philosophy...We do an injustice to those innocent people who died that day if we ever forget the truths that made this country great. - Steven Riddle, on the 6th anniversary of 9/11
The world of science lives fairly comfortably with paradox. We know that light is a wave, and also that light is a particle. The discoveries made in the infinitely small world of particle physics indicate randomness and chance, and I do not find it any more difficult to live with the paradox of a universe of randomness and chance and a universe of pattern and purpose than I do with light as a wave and light as a particle. Living with contradiction is nothing new to the human being. - Madeline L'Engle (1918-2007), via Therese of Exultet
As depressing the modern culture's view on marriage is it does make me reflect on how strong the role of grace is. Looking at the cultural indicators I think it is much more amazing that the divorce rate isn't much higher, but Jesus did promise that where sin abounds that grace abounds even more. The grace bandwidth is measured by Laud rate since we should certainly give praise and glorify God for it. Grace is what keeps me from being a pessimistic cynic since I know from experience He can touch even the most hardheaded individual. - Jeff of 'Curt Jester'
I'd never found Revelation particularly interesting reading. However, on further thought, it occurred to me that perhaps the fact that I found the book so uninteresting would be a good reason to go to the bible study. After all, it's part of the bible. I assumed that there must be something I was missing... So I've been going. It's still not my favorite book of the bible, but I think I'm beginning to 'get it' more than before...As the lamb opens the seals on the scroll, terrors are released upon the world to tear down the established order. In the context of last first/early second century, what is being discussed here is the chaos that doubtless must take place before the old pagan order of the ancient world can be remade according to the Christian faith...Those who have given their lives for the faith and ascended to the heavenly kingdom are saying 'faster please' -- asking when the reign of God on earth will begin. The answer is that they must wait until the suffering of the Church on Earth has reached its conclusion. Taken imminently, that might be taken to mean until a Christian society is established...On the one hand, we believe that through Christ's Word we've come to understand how humans are meant to live their lives, and believing that we know that there's a natural desire to want to re-order the world to function more according to that truth. On the other hand, Christian teaching pertains to how each one of us ought to lead our lives in order to one day be united with God in heaven; it does not describe a specific end state for earthly society. As such, attempts to perfect earthly society have distinct limitations. The question of how much one should strive to perfect earthly society (and in what areas and by what means) versus how much one should hunker down and focus on one's own progress towards God remains a fertile ground for argument between Christians. - Darwin Catholic"
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