Skydiving and Lent

I'll be giving up skydiving for Lent again this year: also mountain climbing, another activity I am profoundly unqualified for, and never attempted. (February 13, 2013)

So, what am I doing for Lent?

Some folks in my circles are going offline for Lent — refraining from socializing online. That's a good idea: but I won't be changing my online habits. Not much, anyway.

It's not that I can't give up my online 'fix:' much of what I do online involves this blog, prayer, or other related activities. In a sense, this is my "work:" and not something I think it's prudent to stop during Lent.

Giving up some optional pleasure for Lent is a good way to unite "... to the mystery of Jesus in the desert." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 540)

It's a sort of penance: "an act of self-mortification or devotion performed voluntarily to show sorrow for a sin or other wrongdoing." (thefreedictionary.com)

Penance

Despite the impression some folks give, "blessed are the miserable" isn't one of the Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:3-12)

It's like I've said: despondency isn't a virtue. That odd notion isn't limited to religious kooks, by the way, and that's another topic. (June 3, 2012; January 8, 2012)

Getting back to penance: it's part of the conversion, penance, and satisfaction process we need when we mess up our relationship with God. (Catechism, 1431-1470, particularly 1432)

That conversion and penance isn't about 'acting sorry.' Doing stuff that others can see might be useful, or not. What matters is what happens inside me, turning my thoughts and desires away from offenses against truth and reason; and toward God. (Catechism, 1430-1432)

This interior penance gets done — mainly — by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. That works on conversion that relates to myself, God, and others. (Catechism, 1434)

Penance is an important part of Lent, but it's not all that's going on this season:

"The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice.³⁶ These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works)."
(Catechism, 1438)

Prayer and Palms

Having access to two millennia of assorted spiritual exercises is a good thing: but a tad overwhelming. The trick isn't finding something: it's finding something that I can understand well enough to do. That's a good sort of problem to have, though: and I've got a few days before Lent starts.

I've found some good resources, and figure that I'll be working at upgrading my prayer life.

Ash Wednesday is this week: which is my deadline for deciding what I'll do for Lent, and getting last year's palms to the church.

And that's yet another topic.

More of my take on Lent:

• "Jesus: Love, Death, and All That"
  (March 16, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Death and Standing Orders
• "Addition, Subtraction, and Lent"
  (March 2, 2014)
• "Still Learning to Pray"
  (February 17, 2013)
• "Giving Up Skydiving for Lent"
  (February 13, 2013)
• "First Sunday in Lent; God is Reclaiming His Broken Creation"
  (February 26, 2012)

New on the Blogroll: Harvesting The Fruits Of Contemplation

There's another entry on the blogroll:

• Harvesting The Fruits Of Contemplation
  • "Since the Church began aiming more at temporal things than at spiritual, things have gone from bad to worse." – St. Catherine of Siena

Michael Seagriff's style is pretty much the opposite of mine: instead of writing a few long posts each week, he does a short one nearly every day. Maybe there's a lesson to learn here.

Don't let the St. Catherine of Siena quote fool you, though: some of those posts are fun.

Vaguely-related posts:

• " 'He Found it Very Good' — And It Gets Better"
  (March 9, 2014)
• "God's Family"
  (June 16, 2013)
• "Humans are Animals: But Not Just Animals"
  (August 31, 2011)
• "Rambling About What 'Spirit' Means"
  (February 22, 2011)
• "Really 'Spiritual' Experiences: Those are Okay"
  (April 22, 2010)

"He Found it Very Good" — And it Gets Better

(From NASA, ESA, D. Lennon and E. Sabbi (ESA/STScI), and other; used w/o permission.)

"¹ In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,

"² the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

"Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light."

"God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness.

---

"God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them."

"God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed - the sixth day. "
(Genesis 1:1-4, 27, 31)

---

"O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! You have set your majesty above the heavens!

"When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place -

"What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them?

"Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor."
(Psalms 8:2-6)

Like I said last week, Lent started on Ash Wednesday, and it's important. (March 2, 2014)

This is the season when "the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 540)

Those 40 days in the desert are when my Lord was tempted: and sent Satan packing. (Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:2-13)

Jesus had beasts and angels for company in the desert. (Mark 1:13)

Beasts and angels are very similar to us: and that gets me started on what kind of creature humans are.

God, Angels, Beasts, and Us

Angels are creatures of pure spirit, with intelligence and will, but no bodies. They are superior to beasts, or any other physical creature. (Catechism, 328-330)

Humans are physical creatures, along with animals, plants, and stuff like rocks and water. We're a particular sort of animal: but we are not just animals. We're designed as creatures with a physical body and a soul. (Catechism, 355-373) (March 28, 2012; August 31, 2011)



I've run into folks who seem to think that God wants us to become angels: purely spiritual beings, without any physical bodies. Maybe that would be very "spiritual," but it doesn't make sense. Not to me.

Heaven isn't, quite, a place, by the way: but it's very real. It's "perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity ... communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed." (Catechism, 1023-1029)

"Spiritual" doesn't necessarily mean "good," though. Satan and the other demons are angels who decided to defy God. Demons are no less spiritual creatures than the unfallen angels, but they are very bad, and that's another topic. (Catechism, 391-395, 414)

And what's physical isn't bad. God didn't blunder by calling the universe we live in "very good."

The Universe: Good and Getting Better

(From NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); used w/o permission.)

God made the physical world, and said that it is very good. (Genesis 1:1-31; Catechism, 31-32, 337-349)

We're starting to realize how awesomely vast and ancient this physical creation is: which doesn't bother me a bit. I might have designed a small-scale universe: but God's God, I'm not, and that's a good thing.

The physical world is good, "very good," as God put it. But it's not perfect, not yet. It's in a "state of journeying" toward ultimate perfection. (Catechism, 302, 1038-1050)

That's where we come in. We're made in the image of God, the only visible creature created for its own sake, "called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life." (Catechism, 36, 327, 355-361)

Our job is "subduing" the physical world: carefully tending its resources, as stewards for God. (Genesis 1:27; Catechism, 373, 2402)

We've also got a mandate to sort out the mess our families, communities, states, nations, and world are in: and have been, every since our first parents lost the lease in Eden. (Catechism, 1928-1942)

And that's yet another topic.


(From NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); used w/o permission.)

(Those images are from the Hubble observatory: the first one shows 30 Doradus, in the Large Magellanic Cloud's Tarantula Nebula; the next two, part of the Carina Nebula. The last image shows a 50-light-year-wide part of the Carina Nebula's central region.)

Related posts:

• "Honoring the Body, Within Reason"
  (April 25, 2012)
• "Earth Day, 2012: This Catholic's View"
  (April 22, 2012)
  Particularly
  • Earth Day, Genesis, and Getting a Grip
• "Gnosticism: Dissing God's Creation"
  (March 5, 2012)
• "God Doesn't Make Junk: Or Mistakes"
  (November 27, 2011)
• "Humans are Animals: But Not Just Animals"
  (August 31, 2011)

---

"¹ For all men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;

"² But either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water, or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.

"Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original source of beauty fashioned them.

"Or if they were struck by their might and energy, let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.

"For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen."
(Wisdom 13:1-5)

---

"God speaks to man through the visible creation. The material cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator.¹⁶ Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness.

"Inasmuch as they are creatures, these perceptible realities can become means of expressing the action of God who sanctifies men, and the action of men who offer worship to God. The same is true of signs and symbols taken from the social life of man: washing and anointing, breaking bread and sharing the cup can express the sanctifying presence of God and man's gratitude toward his Creator."
(Catechism, 1147-1148)

God's Family

We're called brothers and sisters at Mass, which might seem odd, since I'm not related to many of the folks there. Granted, not long ago almost everyone here in Sauk Centre Minnesota belonged to one of two families, and that's another topic.

"That's Cool"

The reason we're 'brothers and sisters' is that we're children of God: by adoption. I ran into that idea in something the archbishop of Washington DC wrote:

"...'Why do you call us brothers and sisters?' a youngster asked ... [Cardinal Wuerl] after Mass. 'You're not my brother.' 'Ah, but I am spiritually. Because we are all members of God's family,' ... [the Cardinal] responded. After ... [the boy] received a nod of affirmation from his mother and father who stood behind him, he said, 'Wow, I didn't know that.' Then he added, 'That's cool,' offering his youthful declaration of approval..."
("The Church, Our Spiritual Home,"¹ Cardinal Wuerl)

Our being children of God isn't the archbishop's own idea. It's what the Catholic Church says. (1 John 3:1-2; Galations 4:4-7; and Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1, 1243, for starters)

Body Parts

We're also the Body of Christ. Again, that's not a new idea. (Colossians 1:18, 24; Catechism, 753)

Like parts of a body, we're not all alike. We've got different jobs to do: not that I'm on the parish payroll. My vocation is being a married member of the laity. (December 11, 2011)

We're issued different abilities, too. Some of them are the high-profile gifts like speaking in tongues, some are anything but glamorous. Administration makes the list, right after healing and assistance. (1 Corinthians 12:28)

I've sometimes wondered if I'm more like a spleen, funny bone, or appendix: and that's yet another topic.

The Right Church, Suit, Country Club - - -

Maybe you've heard folks say that they're spiritual, but not religious.

Something between indifference and dislike of 'organized religion' has been part of American culture for several decades. I took the idea seriously myself, in the '60s.

That was just after the 'good old days,' when going to the right church was as important to an ambitious young company man as wearing the right suit and belonging to the right country club. I do not miss the 'good old days.'

In a way, I'm still not 'spiritual' or 'religious.' I don't walk around with a vaguely blank smile, or think that God has to reward me if I go through some 'religious' routines. And that's yet again another topic: topics.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "The Gospel According to Chicken Man"
  (July 1, 2012)
• "Love, Hate, and Lady Gaga"
  (May 27, 2012)
• "Vocations for Everyone"
  (December 11, 2011)
• " 'In the World, But Not of the World' "
  (December 7, 2011)
• "Humans are Animals: But Not Just Animals"
  (August 31, 2011)

---

¹ Cardinal Wuerl's letter:

• "The Church, Our Spiritual Home"
  A Pastoral Letter on the Church to the Clergy, Religious and Laity of the Archdiocese of Washington
  Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington (September 14, 2012)
  (from http://site.adw.org/pdfs/PAg-1-Pastoral%20letter.pdf  (June 14, 2013))

'In the World, But Not of the World'

I'm a Christian, so I'm supposed to be 'in the world, but not of the world:'

"If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you."
(John 15:19)

---

"Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect."
(Romans 12:2)

I've opined about the sort of 'spirituality' that involves looking vaguely happy, Gnosticism, and other stuff, before.

Cloistered monastic orders are one way of being a Christian. But, like many other folks, I'm taking another approach.

For the last 10 days, 'the world' has been happening quite a bit, so this is all I have time for today.

Related? posts:

• "Talents, 'the Outer Darkness,' and Interest-Bearing Bank Accounts"
  (November 23, 2011)
• "Trade Show Preparation: Is Work Important?"
  (August 1, 2011)
• "Trade Show in Pennsylvania, Ecclesiastes, Software, and Schedules"
  (July 26, 2011)
• "Information Technology, Blogging, and Practicing Patience"
  (May 13, 2011)
• " 'If you must see ghosts ...' Materialism, Being Spiritual, and Uncle Deadly"
  (December 18, 2009)

Humans are Animals: But Not Just Animals

At the end of yesterday's post, I said I'd get back to Genesis 1:22. That's the verse that starts, "God blessed them, saying, 'Be fertile, multiply....' (Genesis 1:22)

Sounds like what God told our first parents to do, doesn't it?

This "be fertile" command, though, was directed at critters:

"God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying, 'Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.' "
(Genesis 1:21-22)

We come a little later, and got the same basic instructions, plus a sort of special assignment:

"God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: 'Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.' "
(Genesis 1:27-28)

Oh! Horrors! I Think Humans are Animals?!

I'm about as sure as I can be, that human beings are animals. When I look in a mirror, I see eyes, nostrils, and a mouth. That means I've got a physical form, one with characteristics of an animal: the hair tells me I'm looking at a mammal; other characteristics peg me as a primate.

That's assuming that the mirror, my body, the room I'm in, and everything else, isn't a figment of my imagination. Which is another topic.

Does my acknowledging that I'm an animal mean that I 'believe in' Godless science, Communism, and fluoridated water?

No.

I'm a Catholic, so I don't have to check my brain at the door when I enter church. I've discussed science, religion, and being Catholic quite a bit.

Bottom line? It's faith and reason.

Human Beings: Animals, but Not Just Animals

As I wrote a couple weeks ago, I like animals. (August 13, 2011) I also noted the basics of what the Catholic Church has to say about what sort of creature a human being is.

Human beings are:

• Animals
  • A special sort of animal
    • Endowed with reason
    • Capable of
      • Understanding
      • Discernment
    (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1951)
• People
  • Rational and therefore like God
    • Made in the image and likeness of God
    (Catechism, 1700-1706)
  • Created with free will
  • Master over our actions
    (Catechism, 1730)

Animals?! Eww! That Sounds so - Beastly

To hear some painfully 'spiritual' Christians talk, a person could get the idea that Jesus came into the world to let us know that His Father had blundered. And that we should shun and despise the physical world. Especially sex.

I don't see things that way. At all. Partly because I like physical things, partly because I think God is competent.

I'll get back to that.

God Made a Mistake?!

I worship the Eternal God who is:

• All-powerful
  • Created everything
  • Rules everything
  • Can do everything
  (Catechism, 268)
• The source of
  • Every good
  • All love
  • All truth
  (Catechism, 1723, 2465)
• The great HE WHO IS
  • From everlasting to everlasting
  • Without origin and without end
    (Catechism, 212-213)
• A "mystery without words"
  • Even after revealing Himself
    • "If you understood him, it would not be God"
      (St. Augustine)
  (Catechism, 230)

If I said that the physical world was bad, I'd be claiming that the great I AM goofed. I do not need that kind of trouble.

Fallen, But Basically Good

The world as it is today, human beings included, isn't in ideal shape. Our first parents made a choice: and we've been living with the consequences ever since. (Catechism, 390, 391, 402-406, particularly 405)

But God made a creation that's basically good.

God, by the way, after finally getting the descendants of Abraham and Isaac to acknowledge that there was one God: let us know that there are three of him. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit aren't three gods. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 659, 689) (July 2, 2011) Yet another topic.

'Darkness and Light, Locked in Combat' - Nifty Slogan, and Wrong

I'm a bit of a nerd. More than a bit, according to #3 daughter. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (April 15, 2011))

My interest in matters of the mind could lead me into Gnosticism: the notion that what matters is knowing the 'inside secrets.'

That would be a very bad idea. The Church has been affirming that Jesus is Man and God since the 3rd century. (Catechism, 465)

Where was I? Creation. The physical world. God doesn't make junk. Right.

"Utter Pessimism" - Not For Me

Gnostics thought (and think) that knowledge is important. That, I don't have a problem with.

But they took that truth, and ran with it straight off the edge of sanity's map:

"...The Gnostics, it is true, borrowed their terminology almost entirely from existing religions, but they only used it to illustrate their great idea of the essential evil of this present existence and the duty to escape it by the help of magic spells and a superhuman Saviour....

"...This utter pessimism, bemoaning the existence of the whole universe as a corruption and a calamity, with a feverish craving to be freed from the body of this death and a mad hope that, if we only knew, we could by some mystic words undo the cursed spell of this existence — this is the foundation of all Gnostic thought...."
(Catholic Encyclopedia)

Sounds like some radio preachers - who inspired me to take a long, hard look at Christianity and other major religions. Which led me to become a Catholic. Yet another topic again.

Dualism and Weekend Grilling

For full-bore dualism you'd have to go to Manichaeism. I've put links to background resources under, what else? "Background," near the end of this post.

There are different sorts of dualism. There's the idea that there's a good god and an evil god in opposition to each other, or light and darkness, or some other pair of equally-powerful principles. Then, there's the notion that matter and spirit, body and mind, are radically different - and that one's inherently good, and the other evil.

It doesn't take a degree in theology to guess whether terribly 'spiritual' folks decided which of those pairs was evil. Matter and the body, 'obviously,' are basically icky.

Again, I can't see it that way. God made the physical world, and God doesn't make junk.

That's not just my opinion:

"Because God creates through wisdom, his creation is ordered: 'You have arranged all things by measure and number and weight.'¹⁵¹ The universe, created in and by the eternal Word, the 'image of the invisible God', is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the 'image of God' and called to a personal relationship with God.¹⁵² Our human understanding, which shares in the light of the divine intellect, can understand what God tells us by means of his creation, though not without great effort and only in a spirit of humility and respect before the Creator and his work.¹⁵³ Because creation comes forth from God's goodness, it shares in that goodness - 'And God saw that it was good. . . very good'¹⁵⁴ - for God willed creation as a gift addressed to man, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him. On many occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of creation, including that of the physical world.¹⁵⁵"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 299) [emphasis mine]

Looks like I don't need to writhe in agony because I enjoy grilling burgers on weekends. As God was creating the physical world, He "saw that it was good. . . very good."

Spiritual People: There Ain't No Other Kind

Ever hear someone talk about 'spiritual' people? In contrast with not-spiritual people, I suppose.

Turns out, I'm a 'spiritual' person. So are you. So is everybody. It's how we're designed.

Spirit is 'built in' to the human person. (Catechism, 363) And because it's animated by a spiritual soul, the human body "shares in the dignity of 'the image of God': it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul...." (Catechism, 364)

And, 'spiritual' or not, I'm still an animal. It's the way God made me: so I'm not going to complain.

Related posts:

• "Hippies, Prudes, Catholics, and Sex"
  (August 30, 2011)
  • "Or, sex isn't a four-letter word."
• "Hummingbirds, Deuteronomy, Morality, and Getting a Grip"
  (August 13, 2011)
• "God, Genesis, the Catholic Church, and Getting a Grip"
  (June 22, 2011)
• "Archaeology Paleontology, Science, and Wishful Thinking"
  (October 12, 2010)
• "Animals: Yeah, the Catholic Church has Rules About Them, Too"
  (August 17, 2009)

Background:

• "Letter of His Holiness John Paul II to All the Priests on the Occasion of Holy Thursday 1979"
  (April 8, 1979)
• "Saint Augustine of Hippo (1)"
  Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience (January 9, 2008)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)
  • Light and darkness in Dualism and Manichaeism, 285
  • God creates a good an ordered world (299)
  • God could have created a world that was perfect, and stayed that way
    • He didn't
    • "...God freely willed to create a world 'in a state of journeying' toward its ultimate perfection....," 310
• "Dualism"
  Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)
• "Gnosticism"
  Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)
• "Manichæism"
  Catholic Encyclopedia (1910)

---

¹ Don't get me wrong: 'spirituality' is okay. I've gone over sense, nonsense, common sense, and spirituality before:

• "Rambling About What 'Spirit' Means"
  (February 22, 2011)
• "Faith With a Cold"
  (October 18, 2010)
• "Asceticism: Seeing Past Some Skinny Guy Screaming on a Pillar"
  (August 21, 2010)
• "Visits From Dead People, Cultural Assumptions, and Twitter"
  (April 24, 2010)
• " 'If you must see ghosts ...' Materialism, Being Spiritual, and Uncle Deadly"
  (December 18, 2009)

Information Technology, Blogging, and Practicing Patience

I try to post once a day on this blog, partly as a way to make sure I keep learning about what it is to be Catholic.

This blog had no post for yesterday, May 12, 2011. And still doesn't, for that matter.

It's not that I stopped being Catholic yesterday. A "dark night of the soul" wasn't involved, either - not even an overcast afternoon.

Well, literally, yesterday afternoon was overcast yesterday afternoon, and drizzling. Which was frustrating, since I'd blocked out time to sit in the back yard and listen to birds.

The [only] Big Blogger Crash of 2011 - I Hope

I'd just finished a post for another blog yesterday, when Blogger went down. Not entirely. Most of my blogs, the ones I hadn't worked on that day, were online. But this blog and Apathetic Lemming of the North (there's an explanation for that blog's odd name), were simply not there.

Good news: Blogger's techs knew about the problem, were doing something about it - and were posting the occasional update on Blogger's status.

Bad news: I couldn't edit existing posts, or make new ones on Blogger, for more than a day.

I just hope that this mid-May crash is the first and last big SNAFU in Blogger's service this year.

I wrote about my experience in another blog:

• "Blogger's Back - So is Most of This Blog"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (May 13, 2011)

Blogger's been down before, by the way - but not for too long: and not much at all recently. From another blogger's experience, about five years ago:

• "Blogger down"
  The Hermeneutic of Continuity (June 8, 2006)

Knowing Virtue, Good: Practicing Virtue, Better

I think it's a good idea to know about Christian virtues. I also think it's better to practice virtues - applying knowledge and will in a practical way. Remember, though: I've got the teaching authority of "some guy with a blog."

I was going to write about practicing the virtue of patience. Just one problem with that idea: Patience isn't one of the four cardinal virtues. Those are

• Prudence
• Justice
• Fortitude
• Temperance
  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1805)

Then there are the three theological virtues:

• Faith
• Hope
• Charity
  (Catechism, 1813)

Technically, patience isn't a virtue at all: it's one of the 12 fruits of the Spirit:

• Charity
• Joy
• Peace
• Patience
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Generosity
• Gentleness
• Faithfulness
• Modesty
• Self-control
• Chastity
  (Catechism, 1832)

So it looks like I was practicing a fruit yesterday and much of today. Which sounds downright odd.

Practicing Patience, Taking My Meds

Whatever working at being patient would be called, that's part of what I was doing yesterday.

I am not a particularly patient man. Some of my kids laugh - snort, actually - when I make that observation.

No, I am not one of those calm, composed, easy-going, even-tempered, forbearing, imperturbable, meek, mild, mild-tempered, fellows who seem to invest a particular sort of 'uplifting' story.

I like to think that decades of trying to act reasonably when frustrated is paying off. I'm pretty sure that diligently taking my prescribed medications has helped. (November 11, 2010) Taking meds and trusting God? I've written about that before. (March 4, 2010)

Particularly when compared to previous performance, I think I did okay, staying calm during the Blogger shutdown. There's still room for improvement, of course.

Pursuing Good, Anyway

I don't have anything against 'feeling spiritual.' I've had deeply-moving experiences: and I've written about that before. (April 22, 2010)

I think it's a mistake, though, to assume that if the buzz is gone, it's time to switch religions. The Catechism has a few words about fortitude, including these:

"Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. 'The Lord is my strength and my song.'⁷⁰ 'In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.'⁷¹"
(Catechism, 1808)

I think it's noteworthy that 1808 uses words like "firmness," "resolve," "resist," "overcome," and "conquer."

Emotion is mentioned: fear. But that's what we're supposed to conquer.

There's nothing I can see in 1808 that says we have to 'feel good' about following our faith. Just that we're supposed to do it. Sometimes, I think, the emotional high comes as a sort of side-effect: sometimes it doesn't.

And sometimes folks have gone days, months, years, without feeling 'uplift.' But they kept practicing their faith, anyway. Then there's Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who seems to have gone through much of her life in a 'dark night of the soul.' And that's another topic.

• Blogging:
  • "Blogging, the Vatican, and Getting a Grip"
    (April 9, 2011)
  • "Assumptions, Making Sense, and Politics"
    (March 22, 2011)
  • "Why I Write Posts on A Catholic Citizen in America"
    (March 6, 2011)
  • "Social Media Guidelines from American Bishops"
    (July 21, 2010)
  • "Giving the Internet a 'Soul?!' No, Really: This Makes Sense"
    (May 8, 2010)
• Dark night of the soul:
  
  • "Dark Night of the Soul? No, More Like a Dim Monday Morning"
    (July 19, 2010)
  • "Really 'Spiritual' Experiences: Those are Okay"
    (April 22, 2010)
    Particularly
    • Getting High on Jesus, Rousing Revivals and the Dark Night of the Soul
  • "Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Born August 26, 1910"
    (August 26, 2009)
    Particularly
    • Mother Teresa's Letters and the Dark Night of the Soul
  • "Mother Teresa of Calcutta: She's No Princess Di"
    (May 8, 2009)
    Particularly
    • Dark Night of the Soul
  • "Mother Teresa of Calcutta"
    Apathetic Lemming of the North (August 31, 2007)Particularly
    • Back to those letters

Daily Devotional Reading: I'm Caught Up

For some folks, those 'daily devotional' books are an important part of their faith life.

I'm not one of them.

It's not that I don't like booklets with daily readings, or think there's something wrong with them. I think they're fine.

I just don't find it easy to 'get into' them. Or keep to a regular reading schedule. That could have something to my being ADHD-inattentive. I'm on medication, now, that's doing a pretty good job of controlling that glitch in my neural circuitry. And that's another topic. (November 11, 2010)

This Lenten season, some folks made an excellent little booklet available - and Father Statz said we should read it. No problem with that, like I said, in principle.

It's actually reading that sort of thing that's been a problem.

I've discussed the - possibly-unconventional - way I'm trying this year, in another post. (March 24, 2011)

I got off to a late start, but the new system's working. Today, taking care of a necessary bodily function in the lavatory, I got caught up.

It may not seem all that 'spiritual,' doing devotional reading the way some fellows read the sports section: but at least this way I'm getting The Magnificat® Lenten Companion (www.magnificat.com) readings done.

I Read It Where?!

The Magnificat_® Lenten Companion (www.magnificat.com) is a good resource for Lent, in my opinion. Hats off to the folks who made this available at Our Lady of the Angels church in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

A sort of introduction in the booklet makes some good points:

"The directions on the packet of flower seeds read: 'Seeds need darkness to germinate.' It makes me think of myself. I want to grow. I want to become more than I am. Yet, so often my self-guided efforts leave me feeling empty.... The 'germination,' the better life that I seek, must start in darkness. Lent is that darkness. It is not something dreadful or depressing. Rather, Lent takes us back to what really matters in life...."
(Father Peter John Cameron, O.P.)

There's almost a hundred more pages.

Don't worry: I'm not going to copy the whole booklet. There's the matter of intellectual property rights, and besides - transcribing all those words, and then proofing them, would be a really big chore. Just one more thing, a point that jumped out at me:

"...There is a temptation to see Lent as a time of self-improvement, during which my focus is on myself. However, my sin shows me that my hope can never be in myself. My only hope is that someone save me. St. Paul said:..."
(Father Richard Veras)

Father Veras goes on to quote St. Paul:

"For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. ... Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin."
(Romans 7:19, 24-25)

-And I am not going to start discussing Gnosticism. Bottom line, about that: God made this creation: and God doesn't make junk. There are more erudite ways of putting that idea, of course. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 285; Benedict XVI, General Audience, 28 March 2007 | Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, St Peter's Square, (March 28, 2007))

Lent, Reading, and a Lavatory

I've noticed, over the years, that I'm not all that good at keeping up a 'one page a day' reading schedule. With Lent, 2011, I think I've got a solution.

Each day, I spend a certain amount of time in the bathroom (or lavatory, or whatever you call it). It's one of those unavoidable routines that comes with being a living, breathing human being.

In American culture, quite a few men take the sports section of the newspaper with them. During Lent, I've been taking The Magnificat_® Lenten Companion along: and generally get a page or two read.

Okay: so that doesn't seem very 'spiritual.' The way I see it:

• God knows how the human body works
  • I don't think He's offended by His own work
• I'm going to take several minutes each day taking care of some biological needs
  • During that time I can
    • Put my mind in 'neutral'
    • Read part of the Lenten Companion

Maybe I'm missing something - but I'm getting that Companion read during this Lent, which is more than I've managed some other years.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "Fasting, Penance, and the 'Fun' Miracle: Many Faces of Spirituality"
  (December 14, 2010)
• "My Chaplet, Magic, Prayer and Catholic Beliefs"
  (March 4, 2010)
• "Laughing at Lucifer: Link"
  (February 17, 2010)
• "Holy Father on Lent, 2010: Link"
  (February 16, 2010)
• "Happy Lent?! What Kind of a Nut am I?"
  (March 3, 2009)

Rambling About What "Spirit" Means

I wrote about "spiritual" beings over the weekend:

• "Demons: The Other Angels"
  (February 20, 2011)
• "Angels: Wings, Violins, and Swords"
  (February 20, 2011)

After I'd posted those, I realized that I hadn't nailed down just what "spirit" and "spiritual" mean.

Here's what a dictionary says "spirit" means:

• Noun
  1. The vital principle or animating force within living things
  2. The general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people
  3. A fundamental emotional and activating principle determining one's character
  4. Any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings
  5. The state of a person's emotions
  6. The intended meaning of a communication
  7. Animation and energy in action or expression
  8. An inclination or tendency of a certain kind
• Verb
  
  1. Infuse with spirit
  (Princeton's WordNnet)

Offhand, it seems to me that the definitions of "spirit" as noun, numbers 1 and 4, are fairly close to how I've seen "spirit" used in a Catholic context.

Emotions are Okay

As for the emotional angle, I've discussed emotion before. (August 5, 2010, November 24, 2009, March 17, 2009, for starters)

Briefly, in my view there's nothing intrinsically wrong with emotions: they come standard-equipment with our human nature. Emotions can be useful warnings that we ought to pay attention to something.

But I prefer to think with my central nervous system, and feel with the endocrine system - not the other way around.

Which is another topic. Topics.

The Soul, the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Life

I took a quick look in the Catechism, and didn't find "spirit" in the Glossary. I did find these related concepts:

"HOLY SPIRIT: The third divine Person of the Blessed Trinity, the personal love of Father and Son for each other. Also called the Paraclete (Advocate) and Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit is at work with the Father and the Son from the beginning to the completion of the divine plan for our salvation (685; cf. 152, 243)."

"SOUL: The spiritual principle of human beings. The soul is the subject of human consciousness and freedom; soul and body together form one unique human nature. Each human soul is individual and immortal, immediately created by God. The soul does not die with the body, from which it is separated by death, and with which it will be reunited in the final resurrection (363, 366; cf. 1703)."
(Glossary, Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Which brings up another point. In a way, I can't die. Not permanently. Which is a sort of good news/bad news thing. (Catechism 988-1014) The Resurrection isn't the same thing as reincarnation, by the way. At all. I've got one shot at this earthly life, and that's it. (Catechism, 1013)

And those are more topics.

By the way, as I've said before: my opinions carry the full weight of "some guy with a blog." Which is why I've got so many links to more authoritative sources.

"Spirit," Catholic Style?

It still looks to me like "spirit" in the Catholic sense means pretty much what the numbers 1 and 4 definitions of "spirit" as a noun say: "The vital principle or animating force within living things," and "Any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings."

As a child, I had a very hard time wrapping my mind around the idea that angels, and two persons in the Holy Trinity, had no physical bodies. At all. I still have a hard time imagining that: it's 'way too easy to start thinking of them as a sort of gas. Or energy - which we're now pretty sure is the flip side of matter. Sort of. That E=mc² thing. And I've gotten into yet more topics.

Back to "spirit" and "spiritual," Catholic style.

"Spiritual Life"

Because of some of my personal history, I tend to cringe when "spiritual experiences" and that sort of thing come up. But never mind that. Here's a little of what the Catechism has to say about the Catholic spiritual life:

"There is an organic connection between our spiritual life and the dogmas. Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.⁵⁰"
(Catechism, 89)

Preferring almost two millennia of accumulated wisdom and learning to what each of us cobbles together hasn't been fashionable in America's 'better' circles.

I became a Catholic anyway: and that's yet again another topic.

Related posts:

• "Fasting, Penance, and the 'Fun' Miracle: Many Faces of Spirituality"
  (December 14, 2010)
• "Studying the Bible: Carefully"
  (November 16, 2010)
• "Asceticism: Seeing Past Some Skinny Guy Screaming on a Pillar"
  (August 21, 2010)
• "Really 'Spiritual' Experiences: Those are Okay"
  (April 22, 2010)
• "'If you must see ghosts ...' Materialism, Being Spiritual, and Uncle Deadly"
  (December 18, 2009)

Fasting, Penance, and the 'Fun' Miracle: Many Faces of Spirituality

You wouldn't know it, with all the fasting and penance and 40 days of Lent: but the Catholic Church isn't the sort of sour party pooper that H. L. Mencken said Puritans were. Good grief, my Lord's first miracle was when his mother had him get drinks for a wedding party.

Maybe you've read about it. The account's in John 2:1-10. There's 'deep spiritual meaning' involved, too: Which, for Catholics, in large part is that marriage is okay.

"On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign-at his mother's request-during a wedding feast.¹⁰⁵ The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church (1613)

"Efficacious," by the way, doesn't mean "anemic, washed-out and wimpy:" Conditions which some folks seem to associate with being really 'spiritual.' Here's a dictionary's definition:

• Efficacious
  • ...(marked by qualities giving the power to produce an intended effect) "written propaganda is less efficacious than the habits and prejudices...of the readers"-Aldous Huxley; "the medicine is efficacious in stopping a cough"
  • ...(producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect) "an air-cooled motor was more effective than a witch's broomstick for rapid long-distance transportation"-LewisMumford; "effective teaching methods"; "effective steps toward peace"; "made an effective entrance"; "his complaint proved to be effectual in bringing action"; "an efficacious law"

I've discussed my take on notions about "being spiritual" in the English-speaking world before, and probably will again. Bottom line? I think spirituality is "efficacious." And doesn't have to be wimpy.

There are lots of ways people can be "spiritual." Or live "a life of exemplary fidelity to the Lord," anyway. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2156) (February 14, 2010) Take these Saints, for example:

• St. Claire of Assisi
  • Founded the order of Poor Claires
• St. Albert the Great
  • Scientist
  • Philosopher
  • Theologian
    (See St. Albertus Magnus," Catholic Encyclopedia, NewAdvent.org)
• St. Joan of Arc
  • Led an army to remove English troops from France
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux
  • AKA
    • Thérèse of the Child Jesus
    • "The little flower"
  • Taught by example, a way of
    • Simplicity
    • Abandonment in God's service
    • The perfect accomplishment of small duties
    (See St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Catholic Encyclopedia, NewAdvent.org)
• St. Lawrence of Rome
  • Patron of cooks
    • Because he was grilled to death
      • Making, I'm told, a wisecrack during the process

Briefly, there are lots of ways to be 'spiritual.' And men don't have to become Victorian-era women to be 'spiritual.'

• " 'Only Say the Word ...' - Impressive Faith"
  (November 29, 2010)
• "Celebrating Mass, Flossing My Teeth"
  (October 20, 2010)
• "Gargling at the Stream of Wisdom"
  (October 11, 2010)
• "Providence, God's Tender Kindness, and Training a Mule"
  (September 24, 2010)
• "Jesus, Men, and a Marketing Campaign Gone Wrong"
  (February 15, 2010)

---

A tip of the hat to Christomicro, on Twitter, for his post on the "fun miracle" at Cana.

"Only Say the Word ..." - Impressive Faith

Last Sunday, I wrote about the penitent thief: " 'Jesus, Remember Me, When You Come Into Your Kingdom' " (November 21, 2010). Not "if" - "when you come into your kingdom." Now that's faith.

Today's Gospel reading includes part of another of my favorite accounts in the Bible: and this one involves faith, too. You'll probably recognize this:

"⁴ When he entered Capernaum, ⁵ a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.' He said to him, 'I will come and cure him.' The centurion said in reply, ⁶ 'Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, "Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come here," and he comes; and to my slave, "Do this," and he does it.' When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, 'Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel ⁷ have I found such faith. I say to you, ⁸ many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' And Jesus said to the centurion, 'You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.' And at that very hour (his) servant was healed."
(Matthew 8:5-13)

There's a stereotype I've run into, that folks who are 'religious' are just simply dripping with faith and spirituality. That's okay, as far as it goes.

Faith, and Wandering in a Daze

A problem, I think, is that symptoms of what many folks in America think is 'being religious' are nearly indistinguishable from those of being stoned.

I don't think cheap religious art helped any. There's this one particularly egregious example - probably intended to be a copy of Giuseppe Ghedine's "Assumption of the Virgin" - that set a sort of low-water mark.

This made-for-mass-production drawing was on a prayer card - a quite nice little aid for personal devotions. That picture, though! The Virgin Mary looked like she'd just been sapped, but hadn't fallen down yet. It was the eyes, chiefly. Mary's eyes were rolled up - and she was walleyed. I've written about that before. (August 9, 2010)

Don't get me wrong: Prayer cards can be a fine way to stay reminded of a particular prayer. I've used the things.

And there's nothing wrong with being a vague, dreamy, 'spiritual' person. If that's what the person actually is like. But it doesn't look like we're all supposed to 'spiritual' like that. I've written about unity, diversity, and being Catholic before. (August 26, 2010)

The dreamy types, who don't seem too well attached to the space-time continuum? They can be fine people. Although I think they do better if there's someone around to make sure they eat and sleep.

But, and this is important: religious faith isn't just for vague, dreamy types.

A Vague, Dreamy - Centurion?!

We don't hear about centurions much, these days, apart from a few Bible passages. A Wikipedia article says that a centurion in the Roman imperial army was an officer whose rank was roughly between today's captains and colonels. (Centurions, "Roman Legion," Wikipedia) Although I don't necessarily take assertions in Wikipedia articles at face value, this is one of the articles with citations. And the 'captain to colonel' assessment agrees approximately with what I've run into elsewhere.

Like Footnote 5 in that bit from Matthew:

"[5] A centurion: a military officer commanding a hundred men. He was probably in the service of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee; see the note on Matthew 14:1."

Bottom line? A Roman centurion was an officer in one of the best armies around at the time. He certainly didn't gain and hold his rank - and his life - by living in a vague 'spiritual' haze.

Look at the sort of faith he had. The centurion understood authority - and its implications. What's more, he recognized Jesus as someone with the sort of authority it takes to say 'be healed,' and have it be done: even if the person to be healed wasn't nearby.

Dreamy? No. Faith? Yes.

Not-entirely-unrelated posts:

• " 'Jesus, Remember Me, When You Come Into Your Kingdom' "
  (November 21, 2010)
• "Kids Don't Learn Faith: They Catch It"
  (September 15, 2010)
• "Unity, Diversity, and Being Catholic"
  (August 26, 2010)
• "Art, Catholic Teachings, and This Catholic"
  (August 9, 2010)
  Particularly
  • Religious Art: From Jesus Junk to the Sistine Chapel

Studying the Bible: Carefully

Between growing up in a virulently anti-Catholic area and then earning two bachelor's degrees, plus part of another in computer science and some post-graduate work: I've run into at least my fair share of crackpots.

Well, "crackpots" in my opinion. It's remotely possible that we really did all die in the food riots - or somehow missed all the Raptures that were predicted - and that this blog and everything else is some sort of mass postmortem hallucination.

Very, very remotely possible. A little less likely, in my opinion, than the odds that the world is run by space-alien shape-shifting lizard people.

Which leads me into the subject of blogs, bloggers, studying the Bible, and paying attention to what the Pope says.

("Crackpots" leads me into Bible study?! As I told one of my kids recently: "I don't do 'conventional.' " And that's another topic.)

The Bible, Three Professors, and What Gandhi Said

With my background, reading that The Sacred Page was written by "three Catholic professors of Scripture and Theology" was bad enough.

I've done time in American academia - and wasn't particularly impressed by what I saw. Particularly in the eighties. Which is yet another topic, almost.

Then, skimming through the article/post, I ran into this sort of thing:

"...A Biblical Renewal...

"...Making Bible Study the Priority..."

"...Just look around at the Catholic blogosphere for posts examining the meaning of Bible passages. Some of course do an excellent job of covering the Bible. Yet many never or hardly ever do...."

"...Fellow Catholic bloggers: Let us offer biblical reflections. Let us talk about how we hear the Lord speaking to us in Scripture. Let us highlight lessons in the Sunday readings. Let us mention priests and bishops who do an outstanding job expounding Scripture, offering links to excellent homilies...."

I'll repeat phrases that jumped out at me:

• A Biblical Renewal
• Bible Study
• Bible passages
• Biblical reflections

"Biblical" can mean a lot of things. For me, the word doesn't stir up altogether-pleasant memories. Maybe because:

• I'm a convert to Catholicism
• Anti-Catholicism was endemic to the area I grew up in
• Some Americans have really weird ideas
  • In my opinion

I've written about my conversion before.

Actually, the Bible-thumpers who infested some radio stations where I grew up are indirectly responsible for my conversion to Catholicism. They also drove me to listening to the rock stations - and that's definitely another topic.

Some of these 'Bible Christians' seemed to hate the Catholic Church even more than they hated commies and rock music. Which is saying something.

But my goodness, were they ever "Biblical."

Running through a transcript of their rants, it'd be 'Bible quotes to right / Bible quotes to left / Bible quotes in front...' And I am not going to get sidetracked into a discussion of Tennyson.

Listening to those 'Bible-believing' folks, I learned some really - interesting things. Remember, there's a difference between "interesting" and "true."

One chap had studied the Bible and discovered detailed descriptions of some then-current item in the Soviet arsenal. Now that's interesting.

To this day, when I hear words like "Biblical" - particularly in an exhortation to get 'back to the Bible' - I think of my youth: and the learned crackpots who inspired the phrase, "kill a commie for Christ." Their gospel of hate for things they neither liked nor - apparently - understood still has the power to stir. Not my heart: more my lower gastrointestinal tract.

Like I wrote before:

"I've run into too many folks who live up - or down - to what Gandhi is supposed to have said:

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

"There are people who say that they're Christians, who also seem convinced that God will punish everybody who likes the kinds of music they don't, wears their hair the 'wrong' way, or breaks some other cultural convention."
(October 16, 2010)

Back to the Bible - Anyway

Here's what The Sacred Page said, near the end of that article:

"It's high time for Catholics to make the 'supreme and fundamental priority' of the Pope, their 'supreme and fundamental priority'. Let us all work together with the Pope as he calls for a renewal of Catholic biblical studies.

"As Jerome said, if the Eucharist were to fall to the ground we would be 'troubled'. Let us also be troubled by the way the words of Christ in Scripture are poured out and ignored, recognizing the 'great peril' we are place ourselves in when we fail to listen to God’s Word carefully.

"Fellow Catholic bloggers: Let us offer biblical reflections. Let us talk about how we hear the Lord speaking to us in Scripture. Let us highlight lessons in the Sunday readings. Let us mention priests and bishops who do an outstanding job expounding Scripture, offering links to excellent homilies...."
("Catholic Bloggers Ignoring the Pope's "Fundamental Priority"?," The Sacred Page (November 12, 2010))

I'm fairly sure that what the three professors do not have in mind is having Catholics in America start spewing hate for commies, boys with long hair, and rock music - with Bible references.

I'm also aware that I've got the full authority of "some guy with a blog." I'm not convinced that all bloggers have that awareness - which is not a different topic.

I've experienced the sort of weird blend of cultural biases, wishful thinking, Bible quotes, numerology and misdirected 'spirituality' that can happen when 'Bible Christians' take a running leap over a pile of Holy Writ.

The numerology kick may have run its course - but I don't think folks are any less likely to get convinced that God agrees with them now, than back in the 'good old days' of the fifties and sixties.

That said, I'm not going to stop mentioning the Bible in this blog, or shying away from what insights I've picked up. I'll also continue to distinguish, to the best of my ability, between my preferences, assumptions I encounter, and verifiable facts. Which is why I provide citations and links, where possible.

The Sacred Page article mentions a new document from His Holiness, Benedict XVI: Verbum Domini. I've mentioned that in another post. Two, actually. ("ADHD, an Apostolic Exhortation, Another Document, and V8," Meditating on the Word of God: New How-2 From the Holy See," both (November 11, 2010))

Looking at them now, almost a week later, I see they're not all that 'Biblical.' Not in one sense, anyway: Nary a "thee," "thy" or "thou." As for random "hallelujahs?" Well, I don't do that.

I don't try to correlate numbers from Revelation; the Washington, DC, zip code; and Stalin's shoe size either. Or get 'inspired' to write about the IRS 1040 form, Elijah, 2 Kings 1:10, 1 Kings 18:40, Revelation 11:5 and flamethrowers. (November 14, 2010)

For one thing, I take that Matthew 24:36 thing seriously.

Roll-Your-Own Theology: 'Be Careful What You Wish For

As for 'Bible studies?' I think the old 'be careful what you wish for' saying may apply here. I've run into enough roll-you-own theology - all of it very "Biblical" - to satisfy my interest in that facet of abnormal psychology and cultural anthropology.

Which is why I quote from official Church documents - including the Catechism of the Catholic Church - so much. I'm a convert, remember? One reason I became a Catholic is that I learned about Tradition and the Magisterium. (October 2, 2008) The odds of, say, the Catechism teaching some screwball idea - and backing it up with a Bible verse - is, well, very small.

Then there's the way that empires rose and fell, while the Church kept marching through time. And that is definitely another topic.

Somewhat-related posts:

• "God Knows, I Don't: And That's Okay"
  (November 14, 2010)
  Particularly
  • The Last Judgment, Human Nature, and Marketing
• "ADHD, an Apostolic Exhortation, Another Document, and V8"
  (November 11, 2010)
• "Meditating on the Word of God: New How-2 From the Holy See"
  (November 11, 2010)
• "If Catholics aren't Supposed to Read the Bible, How Come We're Told to Read the Bible?"
  (May 31, 2010)
• "Well, That's Interesting: Benedict XVI and the Bible"
  (April 27, 2010)
• "Well, That's Interesting: Understanding the Scriptures"
  (February 2, 2010)

Views:

• "Catholic Bloggers Ignoring the Pope's 'Fundamental Priority'?"
  The Sacred Page (November 12, 2010)
  (a blog written by three Catholic professors of Scripture and theology)

Background:

• "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church Concerning the Remission of the Excommunication of the Four Bishops Consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre"
  Pope Benedict XVI (March 10, 2009)
  • cited in "Catholic Bloggers Ignoring the Pope's "Fundamental Priority"? "
• "Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to H. E. Mr. Félix Kodjo Sagbo, Ambassador of the Togolese Republic to the Holy See"
  Benedict XVI (December 1, 2005)
• "Angelus"
  Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo (August 28, 2005)
• "Apostolic Journey to Cologne on teh Occasion of the XX World Youth Day | Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI"
  Benedict XVI, Cologne - Archbishop's House (August 19, 2005)
  Friday, 19 August 2005()
• "Missa Pro Ecclesia | First Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI at the End of the Eucharistic Concelebration with the Members of the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel"
  Benedict XVI (April 20, 2005)
• "Benedict XVI"
  The Holy See (Vatican.va)

---

A tip of the hat to newadvent, and NCRegister, on Twitter, for the heads-up on "Catholic Bloggers Ignoring the Pope's 'Fundamental Priority'?"

God, America, Mid-Term Elections, a Small Town, and Doing My Job

One of the advantages to living in a small town for over two decades is that folks know me. Or recognize me, at any rate.

I went to City Hall this afternoon, waited for a parking spot to open up - there was a fair amount of traffic - and discovered a slightly new arrangement. People, tables and paperwork involved with voting had spilled into the basement hallway, by the door to the council chamber where we vote.

I slowed down and was reading the signs about voter registration, when someone waved me through: telling me that registered voters start in there.

Like I said, there are advantages to living in a small town for over two decades.


Another election, another sticker. November 2, 2010.

As usual, I had my three by five card with a list of candidates that my wife had prepared. As I explained, back in the primary elections:

"...We're on the same page in most things. Music is an exception: she's more country, I'm more rock and classical. But on who to vote for, I'm quite willing to let her do the research and give me the results...."
(August 9, 2010)

Over the years, I've read about voter enthusiasm. I can't say that I was very enthusiastic about this election, or the candidates. (Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 2, 2010))

My understanding is that 'voter enthusiasm' correlates with how many folks show up at the polls. They're probably right about that. Me? I don't have to be enthused to vote. Or, for that matter, to wash dishes or clean the toilet. Things that need doing, need to get done.

So, where's the gooey spirituality? This isn't that kind of 'religious' blog, and I'm not that kind of 'religious' man. And that's another topic.

Obsessed With Abortion?

I've gotten the impression that Catholics are supposed to be overly-concerned about 'women's reproductive right' or 'women's health issues,' or whatever we're supposed to call a boyfriend's right to have his sex machine fixed.

It's true, sort of: Catholics who pay attention to what our Church teaches give a rip about human life. Even if the particular human life in question doesn't belong to a celebrity - or at least someone who looks good.

There's more to Catholicism, though. For one thing, we're also picky about who we're supposed to marry. Specifically, it has to be a member of our species, but someone of the opposite sex. There are other criteria involved, but that'll do for now.

As you can see, we're terribly restrictive when it comes to marriage. Anyone who wants to marry a goat has stepped outside our rules. As for pillows? I wish I was joking about this sort of thing. (June 23, 2010, August 7, 2010)

It Ain't Over Til It's Over

Right now, the 'Dewey Defeats Truman' set are projecting an outcome for this midterm election that's not as bad as it could be, from my point of view. But those 'experts' have been wrong before.

Besides, after the all-too-recent debacles in Florida and Minnesota, I've sometimes felt that the election results won't be final until some judge decides how they should have come out - if the 'right' ballots had been counted the 'right' way, according to the judge's preferences.

Is it any wonder that I don't 'trust my feelings' about exercising my right to vote? Or compare the privilege to cleaning the toilet?

I've decided that there's a point to voting. This country has a pretty good track record for - eventually - doing the right thing. Including cleaning up disgusting election practices. Yet another topic.

Finally, Some 'Spiritual' Stuff

I've voted. I've prayed. There isn't much else I can do now, but wait to see if we've gotten past hanging chads and dubious recounts.

Whatever happens, I have to assume that God is large and in charge - and that my job is doing my job.

During these last few months, part of that job was getting informed on the issues and candidates, and voting intelligently.

Also praying.

Related posts:

• "American Midterm Elections, Reuters, the AP, and Me"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 2, 2010)
• "Primary Elections, Voting, and Being Catholic"
  (August 10, 2010)
• "Minnesota Primary Elections: My Wife Told Me How to Vote"
  (August 9, 2010)
• "I Prayed, I Voted: Now We See What Happens"
  (November 4, 2008)
• "Conservative? Liberal? Democrat? Republican? No, I'm Catholic"
  (November 3, 2008)
• "Elections, Abortion, Voting, Conscience, and Other Troublesome Topics"
  (November 1, 2008)

Faith With a Cold

Comic strips like Garfield have fun with the idea of Monday: playing with the contrast of a carefree, relaxed weekend and, well, Monday. That dull day when office drones descend once more into their cubicles, factory functionaries fill their post on the assembly line, and managers merge with managerial routines.

Monday.

Then there was my Monday.

My wife's got a cold. I heard her say that I'm getting over mine. She's generally right about that sort of thing. I don't feel sick. I don't feel well, either. Or tired. That's okay, though.

They say that couples should do things together - but I used that gag in another post, in another blog. I'd been doing some creative work. Make that trying to do some creative work. After realizing that 'writer's block' was more of a 'writer's fog,' and not having a deadline - I fell back to looking up facts for a time when more of my neurons were cooperating with my will. (See "Exoplanets, MIT, Mathematics, and Thinking With a Cold ," Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 18, 2010))

About two hours ago I saw "Bank of America to Redo Foreclosures" and perceived "Bank of America to Radio Foreclosures" - and decided to take a break.

Garfield? Monday? Creativity? Radio Foreclosures?! Where's the Spirituality?

It's been an overcast, gray Monday here in central Minnesota, I've got a cold, and I haven't been able to get much done today. It's been one of 'those' days.

Decisions, Decisions

I could decide that my lack of pep and uplift was the fault of the repressive, authoritarian, male-dominated Catholic Church. If I was loud and obnoxious enough about it, I might get a reputation for being very "intelligent" in some circles.

How I'd explain a decision like that in the particular judgment, I don't know. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't pass it off as 'being funny:' telling the Lamb of God that He should be able to take a joke.

No, I do not need that kind of trouble.

I could blame my wife, the biannual psychological freak show we Americans call "national elections," my parents, society - and the list goes on. Or I could blame myself, for not feeling all full of uplift and spiritual gifts.

Not gonna happen.

The point is, I have free will. I can decide what I think: that's a whole lot easier, now that my brain chemistry is a trifle better-regulated. ("Original Sin, Free Will, ADD, and There Goes the Air Conditioner" (October 15, 2010))

Which reminds me of one of my favorite slogans: "I'm not as crazy as you think I moose."

I had free will when I was expending a lot of my energy on just making my mental machinery work, of course. And I'm wandering off-topic.

That's been happening a lot today.

'Feeling Spiritual' - It's Nice When It Happens

I have nothing against those big, emotional, 'uplifting,' 'spiritual' moments. They're nice. And they don't last. I've discussed "spiritual" experiences and my faith before. (April 22, 2010)

Bottom line? Days like this happen. It's not a "dark night of the soul" - not even close. I've used the phrase "dim Monday morning" before. (July 19, 2010)

The trick, for me anyway, is to remember that I live in a world where God is large and in charge - but where we're all working with the after-effects of a really bad decision. I've written about original sin before. (October 15, 2010) More than once, recently. (October 12, 2010)

Then there was that "Firebase Earth" post. (April 5, 2009)

Two Quotes, and Introducing Another Blogger's Post

First, the quotes:

"On Earth, there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it."
-Jules Renard

"The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground"
-G. K. Chesterton

They're what introduced a post in another blog:

"How to Cultivate Your Garden"
Christopher's Apologies (October 18, 2010)

"Terry Veling wrote in his book Practical Theology: On Earth as It Is in Heaven that there are 'two fundamentally interpretive acts that are central to theological activity – "searching the scriptures" and "reading the signs of the times." ' Later on he suggests the art of interpretation 'is intimately tied to the art of creativity, and this is as it should be, for the creativity of a work necessarily calls forth the creativity of the interpreter.'

"After I read Voltaire's Candide for a theology class a couple of years ago, I put together a list of 10 ways to 'cultivate your garden.' Candide offers the enigmatic phrase...."

I recommend reading the rest of that post. That 10-point list might be useful. Like "10. Life has an ebb and flow to it; roll with it."

Good advice, in another person's blog:

• "How to Cultivate Your Garden"
  Christopher's Apologies (October 18, 2010)

Not-completely-unrelated posts:

• "Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell, and Warm Fuzzies"
  (August 8, 2010)
• "Becoming Catholic for Reasons, Leaving Because of Feelings"
  (August 5, 2010)
• "Dark Night of the Soul? No, More Like a Dim Monday Morning"
  (July 19, 2010)
• "Really 'Spiritual' Experiences: Those are Okay"
  (April 22, 2010)
• "Being Counter-Cultural in 21st Century America"
  (March 17, 2009)

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A tip of the hat to crsmith89, on Twitter, for the Christopher's Apologies post.