The Earth in Miniature

I am working on my ESOL certification classes tonight. We had to watch this youtube video. It's very cool and very relevant to the problems of today.

The Time for Graces

Time has taken its toll on my heart and soul.  I find as I get older I need to seek more ways to obtain grace.  Also, I see that there is nothing I can do to reach God without His help.

There are many obstacles along the way.  There is hurt, deceit, violence and cruelty in the world. Among these there is also the sin that we are inclined to commit that keeps us from truly knowing how to love in Jesus Christ’s name.  All of these make it hard to love and see past the actions and hurt of others close to home.

I have been praying for a long time for my family to seek and know the most Sacred Heart of Christ and to be embraced by his love.  I pray for it, but I have no control over their hearts and they don’t really want to listen to things I have to say.  

I mention it, because though it hurts me enough, the effect of some of their actions hurts the ones I love the most.  I cannot move their hearts by my actions or words.  They have to choose the right path toward Christ themselves.

It would be nice to go back in a time machine with the knowledge I have now so that maybe I could have prayed more before, but such a thing does not exist.  I think that prayer transcends time though.

It is hard too, to see a light in the darkness when there are individuals striving to keep families apart.  I suppose I must keep praying and maybe like St. Augustine, there will be a realization of the love of Christ and the grace of God will prevail in their lives as well as mine.

Unfortunately, I am called to be a peacemaker.  I say unfortunately, because usually the peacemaker must go where the bombs have been and are being thrown.  It's not an easy job.

St. Joseph, Patron of families,  pray for us.

The Mother of Spirituality

Spirituality starts with our first answer to the Holy Spirit’s call.  The Holy Spirit will lead us on the most appropriate path toward fulfillment of God’s will in our lives. Mary, the Mother of God, was and is an easy path to understanding what spirituality is and how to seek the Lord continuously.

Before I knew Jesus Christ, I knew Mary the Mother of God.  My spirituality developed by her loving embrace always pointing toward the Savior.  It was easy then to trust her son because she had introduced him to me herself.

Our Lady is more than an example of physical proof that Christ was born. 

“Mary is the believing other whom God calls. As such, she represents the creation, which is called to respond to God, and the freedom of the creature, which does not lose its integrity in love but attains completion therein.” Pg 31 Mary: The Church at the Source

Some people think that spirituality is the action one takes to ‘show’ love of Christ.  Pope Benedict in his words from Mary: The Church at the Source, takes the complexity of the fiat and simplifies in words the fact that to gain spirituality is to lose self.  Our Lady did just this as she contemplated all things thrust upon her with Christ at the forefront of her mind.

Intimate relationship with Jesus

[Mary] To be soil for the Word means that the soil must allow itself to be absorbed by the seed, to be assimilated by the seed, to surrender itself for the sake of transforming the seed into life. Pg 15 Mary: The Church at the Source

I have met more than a few Christians who deny Mary as a way to knowing Christ.  They are very mistaken because her very nature was centered on Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes in 2014: “Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ.” and “God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all.”

Mary is the first of us to truly know God in His Son.  Who better to spiritually guide us?  If spirituality is not many spoken and outward signs, while those are good and have their place, the internalization and contemplation of Christ is a true spiritual path.  Our Lady takes this path in a dedicated manner throughout the gospels.

A witness and participant to our Salvation

Mary, the Mother of God, knows Christ.  Our natural reason leads us to know a greater good and to seek the maker of our souls.  Mary, having been born Immaculate, had a greater supernatural revelation of Christ.  Her experience of His life makes her the bearer of His pain, having known Him.  “Marian piety is thus necessarily a Passion-centered piety.” Pg35  Mary: The Church at the Source

Our Lady, Queen of Angels and Queen of the Universe is the perfect example of an Earthly life lived for Christ.  Blessed Pope John Paul II states in Redemptoris Mater,  

“But she was in the Upper Room, where the Apostles were preparing to take up this mission with the coming of the Spirit of Truth; she was present with them. In their midst Mary was “devoted to prayer” as the “mother of Jesus”, of the Crucified and Risen Christ.  And that first group of those who in faith looked “upon Jesus as the author of salvation,” knew that Jesus was the Son of Mary, and that she was his Mother, and that as such she was from the moment of his conception and birth a unique witness to the mystery of Jesus.” Pg. 39

She remains the most important witness to Jesus Christ on Earth.  Her fiat along with the embodiment of the theotokos grants Mary the depth of spirituality that we can only one day hope to experience a small part of in Heaven.   She has had and does have the most intimate of relationships with Jesus Christ and therefore is the first witness that we should entrust with our petition for more knowledge of Him.  Her actions were never obnoxious, showy or over the top.  Her loving and contemplative way was the way of the Cross along side her Son. 

Our witness and cross

I was inspired to write this because I read a blog called Catholic American Eyes in Korea.  The Maryknoll fathers wrote recently about a lack of spirituality amidst the prevalent materialism in the Asian society in which they live.  It made me think about how I first sought Christ, and that was through Our Lady. 

I want to tell all those who think they cannot know Christ out of fear or ignorance, seek His mother.  She is our first witness to his life and passion.  She can lead you if you need a way to reach the full love and completion of knowing Jesus Christ.

The Reality of Sheep

I heard a lady once say, " I always feel insulted when Jesus refers to us as sheep."  She had owned sheep at one time and adamantly admitted how stupid they were. 

It is good to know though, that Christ is so forgiving and loving that he watches closely over the most stupid creatures.  Sheep have it better though, they don't get angry and intentionally hurt others like people do.  So we all have a long way to go. 

Listen for the voice of Christ and seek the narrow gate.

The Jesus in Jazz

Sunday was a great opportunity to rejoice in the Divine Mercy and John Paul the Great's beatification.   My small celebration consisted of finding a coffee shop to crack open a book or two for enjoyment.  I brought with me Tanqueray's Spiritual Life and Who's Who in Jazz by Chilton.

I covered a little of both and the awesomeness of the musician always amazes me and shows me the glory of God.  Just like Tanqueray's Spiritual Life reads as a guide to follow the righteous path, the Who's Who reads like an encyclopedia of persons of Jazz desiring to attain in their lifetime a type of peace and righteousness with the desire to create beautiful jazz.  The musician is an isolated figure struggling to make his music, but always sees the fruition of playing with other musicians, each one adding in his own specialty for the glory of it all.

After studying the names and paths of individuals and understanding the importance of the band leader calling everyone together to New York or Chicago, I switched over to Tanqueray's opinion of it all.  Here is where my comparison lies in the path we take and the limitations that this human method has.
In the chapter on perfection in the Christian life, Tanqueray states "we cannot on Earth love God with a constant, nor yet habitual love which is at the same time perfectly pure and disinterested."348  This habitual love is also unperfect like the improvisation of the jazz musician's weaving across the country to play for food, work and soul. 

I like these type of random comparisons because I see God in the talents he has given these musicians that strove to survive in the early 1900s.  There is such a joy in music and the style of jazz is also a creation of God the Father.  The Creator weaved a world that we could find joy in.  The jazz musician developed as a response to a cry in the wind from the beats and rhythms of Africa, the Caribbean and the sounds of Europe.  The growth of the medium is still in development as the hearts of men still turn one by one and all in unison to the Great Band Leader of this universe.

It was all a matter of getting the music out there for these guys, and playing, playing, playing until it killed you.  Which is the case of many of the small autobiographical references in Chilton's encyclopedia.The Sugar Cane Orchestra and the Young Olympia Band developed in a time of hardship.  Experimentation of a different kind took place in the sound laboratory of Fred Van Epps. From the 1900s to the 1960s, these mostly self-taught artists played for the heart of it and left a legacy of beautiful music.

Can we say that we try to play the way God has intended for us?  Or are we creatures of poor habit that will never try to create music of the soul in striving for  good habits? 

I think we are only improvisors on this path that God leads us on and he is the great conductor that brings us all together from different places, calling out of the blue one summer to come and add your piece to the music of life.

The Unbitten Path

A long hike in the wilds of Florida has a wonderful affect on the conscience.  Spiritually, it makes one wonder about the habits that lead away from God's love.  Physically, you are molested by a plague of bugs that want to suck your blood to remind you that you are a sinner.

It was a beautiful walk though and I am the better for it.  The wooded trail with many palmettos and wildflowers reminded me of my childhood walks in the early morning in the swamp near my home.  I did not see the random wild spider lily, but the baby cotton mouth and shallow dark canals were similar to the weaving canals that criss-crossed my neighborhood growing up.

And because I have experienced my own personal plague of that one damn horsefly that wouldn't go away, it reminds me of a sin that I confess repeatedly just like the horsefly.  You think it goes away, but really, it lands smack on your forehead and bites the hell out of you.  Grace is kinda like bug spray, I gotta get some.

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida:Little Manatee River State Park

God is in the details.

The Right Left Turn

In my small downtown neighborhood the brick buildings butt up against the main highway that stretches straight through at the super speed of 30 mph.  When it comes to making a left turn, you have to be very careful to see around the edges and in most cases you can't see what is coming.  Still, it is a leap to go ahead and make that turn because your trying to get somewhere.

Easter is very much a reminder of left turns and sightless hope because the Resurrection is the promise of difficult tasks that will be accomplished with faith.  A few years back you may have read the story about the United Postal Service planning their routes in America to have more right turns, and thus less idle time using gas and valuable service time.  The opposite is true for the person who longs to know Christ.  The outcome for the UPS was to increase revenue which could easily be seen in dollars and cents.  The outcome for the faithful in the Holy Church is far greater than dollars and cents and depends upon that same sightless hope which we may use to make left turns when the view seems blocked. 

The easy way is not always the best way.  You have probably heard this saying before.  It is hard to see it as true when pride tells you otherwise.  Physically, making an endless amount of easy right turns will only lead you in a circle, whereas life is a series of multi-directional turns that lead you on the path of the will of God.  Left turns are a leap of faith.  They are scary sometimes and can be downright dangerous at other times.  These metaphorical turns in life have much more fruit than an easy way out or in or through.  The difficult decisions that our interactions with others create are the masters of our character and soul.  Would it be so great to explain to the maker that you were so crafty as to only make easy right turns in your life?  The soul and character would be made of mush at that point because of the folly of the easy road. 

Left turns in life are usually about people.  The turn starts with someone else but always ends up with you.  In the end, the turn depends on you.  The sightless leap of faith around a blind corner happens if you chose to go that way.  New opportunities are more likely to arise on that path not taken.  Forward is the only way that a hard task leaves one to take.  Would it be so great to explain to the maker that you were so scared but you took that leap of faith anyway?  The soul and character would be made of the very strong stone that you once believed blocked your path.

The Resurrection is a New way of thinking.  A new path has been lit by the Christ and the Father above waits for your arrival on that weaving way of hardships and renewal. 

If your right turns are pride and vanity, let humility and poverty be your left turn.  If your right turns are hatred and anger, let forgiveness and peace be your left turn. If your right turns aim you right at yourself, let Jesus Christ be your left turn and turn to Him again and again.

Alleluia! He is Risen!

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida

Is it Friday yet?  Copyright Galactic Catholic

The Catholic Dreamer

Sometimes the clarity in a dream is striking and can hold the key to a peaceful submission to God's will.  Often I find myself having dreamed of an event or discussion to heal a relationship.  These are different dreams from the regular random ones.

I can sense that God has a purpose to bring peace and healing in my life from a dream of a warmfelt hug or a spoken apology from myself or another person. 

At other times, I have dreamed being in a car wreck over and over.  I have learned to correct my thoughts and actions in the dream until I get out of danger.  The reason for these dreams is that the exact events occur, but because I have learned from my repeated dreams I am, and was able to save myself and the people driving behind me. Praise God!

God the Father used voices and dreams often in scripture to call the prophets.  But I think Our Lord calls us in this way to protect and bring peace also when a heart can only take so much more struggle or stress.  The love of the Lord is endless and there is no one who can stop Him from fulfilling the destiny He has for you in His great design.

Sleep well and I hope you have the type of dreams that bring peacefulness and preparedness for the mission the God has for you today.

The State of Pride

It's Lent again and once again I am failing to pray the Way of Cross.  I am freely admitting this so that the www. will hold me accountable.  The fact is, that I love to meditate on the Cross.  But my pride has gotten in the way of a good and Holy devotion exhibited in reflective prayer.

Please pray the Way of the Cross with me this Lent in order to have a well-formed conscience in preparation for the trials of this world.



Meditations for the Way of the Cross Fr. Frank Pavone

Save the Blue Fin Tuna????

I am all for the ecosystem but when it comes to Tuna or Babies, it seems some people are missing the boat.

If you don't know, or you've been hiding under the proverbial rock, then please let me explain again that abortion is Murder of human babies.

Once a child is conceived within the womb of a woman it is a living entity that inhabits all of the essence of a human being.  The child forms organs within days.

Abortion takes place by Killing a child in the womb with drugs, chemicals or foreign objects thrust in the person of the child in the womb.

Partial birth abortion is always Murder of a child by killing in the womb or as the child is being born.

Yet people still do these things and admit to it freely.  So when it comes down to supporting Tuna, Wolves, Penguins or Human Babies, I am going to stick with the living breathing children that die each day to moral relativism and indifference to Life.

Abortion Methods
Beginning of a Child's Life

The Gradual Change

I wish sometimes that we could all just get where we are going.  In the spiritual sense though.  

But as I reflect on the scripture and the path of the disciples this Lent, I realize that they too, took baby steps in order to become leaders and healers in Jesus' name.  Only a few such as Andrew and John seemed to really 'get it' at first.  But then we have our very real friends in scripture, Peter and Paul and the rest of the crew that didn't really 'get it' at first that all things lead to the Messiah Christ.

It would probably help us in this life to hang around Jesus as much as possible. Thank goodness for Adoration!  But at the same time, there is not the sense of urgency that there may have been at the time of Christ.  In this world things are changing rapidly and it seems like when we make advances against embryonic stem cell research and partial birth abortion, we are just hit back down the hill to push against a very real boulder blocking many people's salvation.

The political fight for Life issues is only a metaphor for the inner struggle to battle sin in our everyday lives.  Like the very real sins of abortion and not natural genetic manipulation, the battle against every day sins rages for most of us like Peter in the scripture who make the same stupid mistakes over and over.  And that is the spiritual journey happening in tandem with the physical life on this Earth. 

Hakuin 

 

I read an internet article recently about living life in an experiential way. Before that I happened upon the work of a Zen Buddhist master named Hakuin in an art museum who suggested making activity your meditation rather than just doing meditation for its own self.  Both of these have merit and experiencing Christ in the sacraments, adoration and in personal prayer is the only method for tackling that spiritual hill where we must face our boulder each day in order to reach the Light.

One thing I choose to do is hope and pray for hope.  It is a grace of God to hope in the one who saved us and in all that salvation entails.  There is an 'Act of Hope' prayer for a reason.  If you truly desire to make a path on your spiritual journey no matter what is happening in the world then it will be.

Just as Peter was led to the cross, we must all bear our cross and eventually master our sin upon it.

The Famous Ones

It's really cool to hear and read about Christians in the world that are living their faith even though they are famous or what not.  Like I have said before, I have been watching these cute 'kdrama' shows out of Korea.  Watching to much tv is a bad habit, but it led me to read about a few nice Christian leaders in various Asian countries.

My first interest in Asia started when I had an awesome Catholic geography professor at LSU freshman year that had lived and researched in China.  He shared the most amazing pictures and excitement about the beauty of the country.  Being a history teacher myself, I would love to learn more about the culture and history and geography.  But my first love is Christ, and their are so many people in Asia that I fear have not heard the true message of Jesus Christ. 

I would love to go there if God will's it one day and maybe do a little missionary work.  In the mean time, I will pray for Christian leaders like Kim Hyun Joong to seek the Sacred Heart of Christ and be a true witness to Him.

Saint Anna Pak Agi pray for us!

The Feast of the Annunciation

I was driving my way back to Florida yesterday and couldn't attend mass like I wanted too for this feast.  I really miss the reverence in the Catholic Churches in Louisiana.  There is reverence here in Florida, but you can tell sometimes that it doesn't seem very deeply rooted.  Here is a photo of the Children with Our Lady of Fatima at my church in Louisiana that I used to attend.  The flowers are always rotated and kept up so well.

My 100 Things...

Inspired by the pictures down the 2nd grade hallway and the possible onset of a midlife crisis or just plain insanity.  These are 100 things I might like to be when I grow up starting with the least desirable, but possible occupations.

My 100 things I want to be when I grow up…

100. Tarantula caretaker

99. Bill O’Reilly intern

98. Gum scraper

97. Kindergarten teacher

96. Mail person

95. Foot massager

94. Obama intern

93. Cocaine inspector

92. Moral Relativist

91. Wedding Planner

90. Outhouse Checker

89. Mariana Trench diver

88. School counselor

87. School principal

86. Nun

85. Mel Gibson”s ticket writer

84. Explosion videographer

83. Volcano Explorer

82. Circus cannon projectile

81. Slum investigator

80. Hurricane Scientist

79. Envelope licker

78. Britney Speer’s back-up dancer

77. IRS Agent

76. Clay pigeon retriever

75. Conspiracy theorist

74. Pig slop processor

73. Cow mucker

72. Coffin maker

71. Phone book deliverer

70. Herpetologist

69. Purple People Eater

68. Incan Sacrifice

67. Daycare poop wiper

66. Malaria vaccine tester

65. Skywriter at a Rifle Festival

64. Construction manager

63. 1980s Historian

62. 1970s Historian

61. Bowling Ball Shiner

60. M&M color separator

59.Glue sniffer

58. Paper inspector

57. West Coast Rap Star

56. Dental spit vacuumer

55. Butter churner

54. Astronaut

53. Comic Con Door welcomer

52. Karaoke singer

51. Drunk Saints football fan

50. Stephen Colbert intern

49. Drunk Premier League fan

48. Crash test dummy

47. Photographer

46. Restaurant critic

45. South Park illustrator

44. Bulgarian Gypsy

43. Divet replacer

42. Shakespearian actor

41. Crawfish peeler

40. Graphic designer

39. Regular Bum

38. Danube River boat operator

37. Neoclassical Architect

36. Beach Bum

35. Cat Groomer

34. Golfer with an awesome handicap

33. Irish bartender

32. Sunglasses examiner

31. Printer

30. Dog Groomer

29. Theologian

28. Manga artist

27. Restoration painter

26. Book Publisher

25. Modern Historian

24. Marine biologist

23. Retro Furniture restorer

22. Beer taster

21. Oceanographer

20. Wine critic

19. Professional Tennis player

18. Muscle Car repair person

17. Copy Editor

16. Museum Director

15. Horse caretaker

14. Nonprofit PR manager

13. Coffee sniffer/taster

12. Software programmer

11. Teacher

10. Baker of any sort

9. Patisserie baker

8. Coffee Barista

7. Philanthropist

6. Stage actress

5. Painter

4. Full-time missionary

3. Poet

2. Musician

1. Full-time writer

Galactic Catholic Universe Photo of the Day: Florida State Fair

The Changing World

The world seems to be changing so fast for me to catch up with.  I am very much the type of person that could live happily without a cell phone or television.  I do love the internet though and it has helped me to have a more global view.  If you read my blog, you know I am interested in going to South Korea.  It seems that country is booming with different types of industry.  It would be even cooler to visit or work there and try to bring more of the Gospel of Christ. 

I have always had an interest in different countries and their people.  There are many saints I have read about and their countries.  I wish we had more American saints.  Many saints are those that have died as white martyrs or red martyrs.  Maybe one day I will get to visit South Korea and Asia, but for the mean time I will listen to the fun kpop and pray for those suffering from the earthquake and tsunami.

Prayer for Suffering in Japan

Dear Blessed Virgin Mary,

You told countless saints, "Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am you Mother?"

Virgin gentle in mercy, Health of the sick, Morning Star, shine the light of your loving view upon those who are struggling with despair around the world.  Comforter of the troubled and Refuge of Christians embrace the survivors of the tsunami in Japan and wrap them in your arms as you would hold the child Jesus.

Help all of us turn to you now.  Intercede for those souls whose time it was to meet the face of Christ.  Through your motherly intercession heal our hearts and guide us into the fullness of God's Love and Mercy. In Jesus' Name. Amen

The Litany of Loreto

The Will of God

 

Saints are amazing in our Catholic history because somehow, no matter what sinful, crazy stuff is happening in the world, they do the will of God.  The Gospel of Matthew urges us to also do the will of God.  I understand the sincerity of following through with the will of God, but I fall short when it comes to applying it and knowing what it is.

I don't think the Saints really knew if they were completely fulfilling the will of God.  If they are any type of human who loves the Lord, most of the time they were probably chastising themselves for raising their voice in a poor tone and worried about the mandate for loving thy neighbor in all ways.
 

God teaches us vain and selfish creatures to mainly love Him and love our neighbors.  There are detailed aspects to this in the scripture but the overriding theme of life seems to be, "What am I supposed to be doing for our Lord?"  This is the question that is just a daily question. 

For myself, it is a frustrating question.  All of the little things matter and they matter to God.  It is His will to be concerned with the details and love, love, love.  The frustrating part comes in for all the things that we have no control over.  The world in my view today, is disgusting.  I am 33 and even though I know many disgusting things have gone on for centuries, it has disgusted me as a history teacher and it disgusts me as a participant in this present time.

I thought for a minute today that, 'Wouldn't it be nice to have lived in the 1950s?'  Not that the things happening now would be any different but just in secret.  So I am charged with living in this time period and I am called by the will of God to live with joy and a shining Light of Christ for all to see.  Seems pretty darn impossible and I have very little knowledge as how to move past the enumerable barriers that want to break the spirit.  (I admit I have been discouraged by persecutors)

This is where one of the most important phrases that Christians can know comes into play for me.  "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matt 6:26  Last week's Sunday reading is a reminder and a connection to the life that God the Father calls us to live no matter the conditions.  It's not the value that God puts on our beings so much as the distance He will go to provide for our every spiritual and physical need.  


Therefore, I can only assume that the small duties that Christ calls me to do, to know the Father are those that are God's will.  As for the limitations of my sin and the call to sainthood, I try to remember that God the Creator will try infinite ways to help me make right decisions and by the Holy Spirit, do His will. The world of deceit will always crumble before the righteousness of truth that is Jesus Christ the Savior.