The Importance of Being

The Moment of Conception
 
Take a moment and think of when God conceived you in his heart of Great Love.

It happened, You were conceived in God's love.  He 'knew you before you were born.'

Now consider a conceived child in the womb. Now the embryonic cells form the different parts to make a whole. Now the heart, mind, muscles, limbs form.  Now the mouth, eyes, ears, hands form.

Think of a human person conceived with an act of love moving and growing in the womb.  Now the child is born, straining to breath and cry and longing for love.

If I was conceived in God's love for me, before the beginning of time, it would make sense that God had also planned for me a soul at the moment of my conception. It is logical to assume that all persons conceived as embryonic stem-cells, whether through a loving or hateful or ambivalent acts, were conceived in the beginning by The Creator.  Thus, they have souls at the formation of DNA combining and developing to create a new person.

The Present Rational
 
Therefore, it is not rational for a nation of any people to serve themselves by denying the conceived person.

If the conceived person is recognized physically, then we must apply as a nation our national standard given by the constitution. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The general welfare would logically include the health of the unborn.

Then, if the conceived person is recognized as a creation of God and as one known before time, we must see that a conceived person falls under the domain of God before man. Humanae Vitae states: "Those who enjoy the gift of conjugal love, while respecting the laws of the generative process show that they acknowledge themselves to be not the masters of the sources of human life, but rather the ministers of the design established by the Creator."

The key portion, 'respecting the laws of the generative process.'

If we deny the conceived person physically and spiritually we harm not only that conceived person, but the many that surround him also.

The Modern Approach

The current discussions are a model of a state of disagreement. Take this portion of Plato's Republic and place it in the mouths of any rational politician.

"Is there anything worse for a state than to be split and fragmented, or anything better than cohesion and unity?" 
'No'
"And is not cohesion the result of the common feelings of pleasure and pain which you get when all members of a society are glad or sorry at the same successes and failures?"
'Certainly.'
"But cohesion is dissolved when feelings differ between individuals, and the same events, whether of public or individual concern, delight some and dismay others."
'Of course.' 
"And doesn't this happen when the members of society no longer agree in their use of the words "mine" and "not mine", "somebody else's" and "not somebody else's"?"
'That is very true.'
"So the best-ordered state is one in which as many people as possible use the words "mine" and "not mine" in the same sense of the same things."
'Much the best.'


Now, take a moment and think of when God conceived you in his heart of Great Love.

It happened, You were conceived in God's love.  He 'knew you before you were born.'

Now consider a conceived child in the womb. Now the embryonic cells form the different parts to make a whole. Now the heart, mind, muscles, limbs form.  Now the mouth, eyes, ears, hands form.

Think of a human person conceived with an act of love moving and growing in the womb.  Now the child is born, straining to breath and cry and longing for love.

Can you say, "Not Mine."  "Somebody Else's."


 

The Great Humility of the Manger

"When it is all over you will not regret having suffered; rather you will regret having suffered so little, and suffered that little so badly."
-- St. Sebastian Valfre

I may have written of it before, but I have had many Christmas Eve's where I was alone.

One in particular I remember, in search of Christ, I drove to the stables nearby. I knew there was a donkey that the owners were always mean too, but when I visited he always let me rub his forehead.

I thought that if I spent some time with him in the cold stable, I might be that much closer to Christ and die to my desires to be with family for Christmas Eve.

I don't know the donkey's name, but there he was and what a triumphant joy it brought to me to share some time with him. He was very smelly, as was everything at this stable, but I could always see in his eyes that he loved the love.

Christ looks with those infant eyes upon us from his crib of straw and invites all who suffer and are sorrowful to love. It is up to us to pray for those we love and join our suffering with Christ's as a small token of our gratitude for salvation through his living.

The Most Divine Dessert

The last lecture my professor in Fundamental Theology gave us was on doctrine.  I have this great metaphor for apples and apple pie, apple tart, baked apples, well you get the idea.
The apples are the principles, always staying the same, the doctrine always developing into something wonderful for the people, with the right guidance of course!  I didn't get to share my theory, professor was a football fan as soon as class let out.

From Dei Verbum
"This tradition which comes from the Apostles develops in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, and through the preaching of those who have received through Episcopal succession the sure gift of truth. For as the centuries succeed one another, the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her.

This is Why I Love Jesuit Spirituality

Yes!  A New Jesuit Review disseminates what Ignatius intended.  This comes via WDTPRS, and I am so glad to have read it.

Please read the following article in it's full found on the New Jesuit Review.




Ignatian Spirituality and the Apostleship of Prayer by James Kubicki, S.J.

                 Saint Ignatius Loyola was not a monk who withdrew from the world in order to find God. Rather, he marked out a path by which active priests, religious, and lay people would find God in the midst of the world. Two phrases capture the essence of his approach....

The Celebration of Love in Advent

“Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.” 1 Corinthians 13:4

I am laughing now at this last seen of one of my favorite movies.  The ladies are patient and the gentlemen always admit their foolishness.  I am thinking of the amazing way that Love trumps all things. It takes over every thought, almost making one a puppet to ones own desires.

It is funny and wonderful at the same time, because if you ever have the case to fall in love, then you might know Christ’s love.  The first time I fell in love, when I equated it with Christ’s love for us, wow! is all I can say.

So this consuming crazy feeling and thing with a mind of its own is only a small portion of the power of emotion Christ has for us.  Love is amazing too, because it cannot be turned off during hard times or even when you try.  Because God is Love, He can never turn off His love. 

Try to fall in love at least once, first it helps one to die to self, and second, one may be able to understand in a very small way the Love that God has for his people.  And whether you are watching Elizabeth Gaskell’s romances or Resident Evil:Extinction(my other favorite currently!) then you may see a trend for love no matter the circumstances.

Have a wonderful Advent.

The Wonders in the Night Sky

Wow!  I just looked for the first time through a telescope at the moon.  It is sooooo amazing!  It's easy to look at the moon in pictures, but when you experience looking at it yourself it is beautiful!

 It is a great analogy for my experience learning about basic principles of theology this semester.  I found I have read a great number of things but I realized that I did not see it the way a theological thinker would see.  I have seen pictures and maps of the moon's craters but never have looked for myself.

  Another excellent consequence of my class is that I started to listen more closely to the priest's homilies.  I am still lacking the full background that I need, but that will come in time.  If I continue the analogy of my first site of the moon, I remember that currently there is research showing vast amounts of the elements that may have brought forth some types of living organisms.  I hope my further study of theology shows such spiritual life and connections for me.

One other realization I have had, among so many, is that I think my friends who have studied theology before me seem to have a greater understanding of human nature.  Some of them are priests, some are DREs, some campus ministers and some teachers.  I see it takes all kinds of theologians just as it takes many types of scientists and sciences to bring together a full knowledge of one idea.  I trust I will continue to look to my friends for their advice as I study theology and learn more of God's divine plan for man.

It is so exciting for me to know that as I have taken my first look at the moon, so shall I grow in theological knowledge (hopefully) to see the inner workings that give spiritual life to man.  The more I study and seek, the more I will see the elements necessary for my own spiritual life.

The Authentic Thanksgiving List

I like this idea of thank yous and thank you lists.  I have been forgetting to be thankful lately I must admit.

I am thankful for...

1. Having a work break and a thinking break.  I don't know how people with electronics around them all the time survive.  I NEED wilderness.

2. Visiting mom and dad in the country.  Can't wait for Mom's home cooked meal Thursday.

3. Visiting my mom's friendly rescued kitty.  He is so sweet. Although I jhnm (<---he jumped on the keyboard!)  Although I am very allergic, I miss having a kitty cat.  They are really nice, but I love my little boston terrier the most!

4. Finishing my first real class in theology.  Though I have taken some classes before religious in nature, they weren't high end academic type classes.  Definitely was challenged, hope I passed!!

5. Living in a country, where as of now, I still have options about my life, religion, freedoms, health, job.

The Truth Was Always in the Research

Oh Snap!.  This is from Zenit:

Science Proves Adult Stem Cells More Promising than Embryonic, Says Vatican Official

Rome, Italy, Nov 22, 2009 (CNA).- The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, said this week that the work by two scientists has shown adult stem cells to be much more promising for medical treatment than embryonic stem cells. The use of adult stem cells poses no ethical difficulties and has already contributed to advancing treatments for degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

In an article published by L’Osservatore Romano, the archbishop cited the work of two scientists, James Thomson of the United States and Shinya Yamanaka of Japan. Yamanaka was able to create adult stem cells in rats and later using human skin, which he called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, constituting a significant scientific development.

Read on at the link in the title...

What are Embryonic Stem-cells?

The Greatest Inspiration Getters

There are many types of people who can inspire you for various reasons. Sometimes you are inspired for a moment, and sometimes for a lifetime of duty and ambition. Inspiration can be defined as coming from within or without. Inspiration can be recognized as coming from the supernatural or the natural. In the Catholic Church the Saints inspire in their words passed on and their actions lived and recorded by someone, sometimes themselves. But always they act and write out of a desire to do God's will.

In this life sometimes we come across Saints and sometimes we come across those men and women who act Saintly. Either way the acts that they do show God and His loving nature.

When man is able to express God's loving nature well, we are all closer to the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why marriage is so important so that the two people can inspire the love of God in each other and exude that love outward to their children and others.

Thank goodness for inspiration from others and from the Holy Spirit. I can say I have been inspired by many people, especially those that I have and do love, like family and friends. The hope and joy that come from their simple acts of love for God have a much greater power to inspire than they will ever know.

Sometimes when I feel fear or doubt, I rush mentally to look to the saints. St. Louis de Montfort always inspires me because he had a temper and unfilled missionary dreams. St. Therese of Lisieux inspires me in her youth and vitality in daily prayer and thankfulness. St. Francis de Borgia inspires me in his fasting and piety. And they all always lead me back to the Cross of Christ and the knowledge that one drop of His blood is salvation of man for all time.

It is important though to see Christ in those you love so that you are daily, hourly inspired to be better and exude that love of Christ that compels man to act on God's will for their lives.

The Apostolic Exhortation

"I think immediately of the great possibilities offered by the means of social communication and the means of group communication: television, radio, the press, records, tape recordings - the whole series of audio-visual means. The achievements in these spheres are such as to encourage the greatest hope. Experience shows, for example, the effect had by instruction given on radio or television, when it combines a high aesthetic level and rigorous fidelity to the magisterium." from Catechesis in Our Time

John Paul II specifies the many electronic means we have to advocate Christ toward those who need him most. It is also our duty as faithful Catholics to disseminate the teachings of the Church to the faithful. The reprinted Novus Ordo is an exciting event that will lead to varied interpretation, but the faithful will be depended upon to decipher truth in words.

In Baton Rouge, the current annointing is a desire for 24/7 Catholic radio. The cable stations have bumped out local Catholic channels on the television, so this means of media is a great opportunity to reach many souls. Baton Rouge Catholic Radio is located at this website: http://blog.brcatholicradio.com/

This opportunity cannot pass us by. With the message of Christ in one city, it can be passed throughout the world on the internet and podcast into the hands and thus the hearts of men. The opportunity to support any means that will uphold the rightful teaching of Christ's established Church, is an opportunity worth supporting.

The Biblical Theologian to Read

Cool, just found this via facebook via Jeff Miller/Splendor of Truth via The Sacred Page.

http://www.thesacredpage.com/2009/10/scott-hahns-new-book-on-pope-benedicts.html

New Book by Scott Hahn

The Super Scientist

Super Scientists are about one in a million, but they most likely run in families. Like Dean Venture of the Venture Brothers on adultswim.net, I sometimes need a wet wipe.  Handy dandy little lemony things.

I don't have a speed suit like the ultra 'cool' Rusty Venture, but if I did boy would I be struttin it.  Just think if we could all invent cool things and be attacked by the guild of calamitous intent, life might lead us all closer to Christ.

I would like to admit here: that I watch a cartoon on the internet.  If it helps, my brother got me into it, but it is not for people who are offended by any little ole blasphemas thing.  It has it's interesting points.  My favorite episode so far is when they try to raise money by having a kids camp and one of the kids gets torn up by an experimental ape man that hasn't seen the light of day for 30 years.  They send a juicy clone home with the parents.

Okay, maybe your thinking my sense of humor is a little morbid. Well, it is.  But I am a true optimist in seeing the joy of the super scientist is not the scary robots or the mutilated humanoids, but it is the knowledge that God created Science-Fiction.  And thank goodness for that.  Dr. Venture lovingly offers a wet wipe to his son,(the 17th clone I believe) to wipe away the fear he has thrown up on his polyester speed suit.  Pretty close to the prodigal son, because now the super scientist son can enter his profession with knowledge that there is someone loving who really gets him.

I used to think my dad was like superman, then I became a certain age and started to understand life a little better.  Now I think he is totally a super scientist and I hope it runs in the family.

The Prayers of a Mother

I always doubt my own prayers when it comes to something I want.  I know my prayers for others, even around the world, work excellently. But when it comes to me, I rarely get the things I most desire.

So I asked my Mom to pray for me.  She said, "I pray for God's blessings on you every day."  And then today, she called me just to tell me she prayed for something specific for me that I want.  I think this is the first step to get in good with Jesus, because how can he refuse a mother?

When my parents were Brasil for several years working, I was in college and I missed my Mother's hugs the most.  I worked one job until very late at night.  Sometimes at midnight I would get to the perpetual adoration chapel in Kenner and just sit by the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.  One night, I just needed a hug from my mom and I hugged the statue.  Our Lady hugged me right back and it felt like my Mom's hugs! The best!

Our Lady always watches over us all and even though I ask her to pray for me for many things, she knows what is best just as well as Christ.  I pray that she continues to draw people to Christ and maybe one day I'll get to receive a hug from Her in Heaven!

The Waking Vision

"Every little star, it starts somewhere"  a line from one of my current favorite songs by Marry a Thief.  You may have noticed a change on my site if you read it at all.  I recently am having a waking image repeated in my head of being surrounded by a brilliant blue and in front of me stands Our Lady in the image of Our Lady of Medjugorje. Pretty cool eh?

The Demographic Catholic

Just found a cool new website called Argent by the Tiber.  The link is located in the Web Nebulas section of this site.  Hope I get a chance to read it more extensively soon.

Also, my home parish has just placed in a small alcove a number of 1st class relics.  St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Pio of Pietralina, St. Faustina, A True Relic of the Cross, St Therese of the Infant Jesus and some other awesome saints I can't recall now.  I asked all of them to pray for me so that I might not repeat the many faults I have!

It is nice to see so many faces from so many places in my parish, which is what originally led me to the Tiber site.  I came across this interesting image.  I know some may have seen it before, but I hadn't and I am a sucker for any kind of map.

I am one who can't wait to see the new demographics for Louisiana in 2010 as a reflection of hurricane Katrina.  But I came across this map because I like to dream about moving to some other state, but I can never bring myself to endure too much cold. Besides, who would want to live anywhere beyond 100 miles of New Orleans anyway?

The Genuine Baby Killers

It's not even funny what is going down right now.

Have any of these people read the Bill of Rights? Or do they all interpret Freedom as relative only to their determinations?

Find out about what health care bills are up in CON-gress.

The Affect of Time Changing

I am affected by time changing, but not in all the ways I want. Duty and work never cease, and love is hard to forget. The first chimney fire of winter lights the dark areas of weariness and poetry emotes warmth for the soul.





by Emily Dickinson
On Nature...


Like mighty footlights burned the red
At bases of the trees-
The far theatricals of day
Exhibiting to these.

'Twas universe that did applaud
While chiefest of the crowd,
Enabled by his royal dress,
Myself distinguished God.

On Love...


It's all I have to bring today,
This, and my heart beside,
This, and my heart, and all the fields,
And all the meadows wide.
Be sure you count, should I forget-
Some one the sum could tell,-
This, and my heart, and all the bees
Which in the clover dwell.



I held a jewel in my fingers
And went to sleep.
The day was warm, and winds were prosy;
I said: "Twill keep."

I woke and chid my honest fingers,-
The gem was gone;
And now an amethyst remembrance
Is all I own.

The Lady dressed in Stars

Our Lady of Guadalupe, I believe, drew me back toward the Holy Catholic Church. So I treated myself to her portrait for my birthday, and doesn't she look smart on my newly painted wall.

The fascinating facts behind the constellations on her cloak tell a continuing tale of God's divine inclination to let humans participate in a world that has the thrill of perseverance, courage and freedom of will. Our Lady lived these virtues.

To model her is my highest goal. To be loved by her is my greatest gift second to only Christ, Our Lord.

"Live in the world as if only God and your soul were alone in it. Then your heart will never be made captive by anything earthly thing."

-- St. John of the Cross

The Winter Wonderland in Louisiana (I hope it comes again!)

The Fall Cometh

     I have to place a note about how excited I am about fall weather.  The first wind has started to ring my new wind chime and my puppies were especially excited playing with me outside this afternoon.

   I hope it snows again for Louisiana.  Even though I have seen snow several times, I was never in a place where I could listen to it fall over an extended period.  It was so peaceful.  Fall and early winter are my favorite times of year because first, I get to wear sweaters and second, all the best feast days happen. 

   One more note, and one of the inspirations for this blog, the constellation Orion.  I can always find it in fall and winter, and it always shines out of the sky when I need a sign of God's loving omnipotence.   

   So as the moon is waxing at this time, and I am savoring my hot pots of tea, I watch with excitement the changes Earth brings.  The seasons are healing.