tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post1311875021989000613..comments2024-02-26T09:30:54.111-06:00Comments on Domine, da mihi hanc aquam!: Five Hard TruthsFr. Philip Powell, OPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14970857401221305221noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-68388956778731430332009-11-14T02:25:43.751-06:002009-11-14T02:25:43.751-06:00Mark, if we are important in any way it is in the ...Mark, if we are important in any way it is in the fact that we are the light of the world...that Light however is not us as we are in ourselves, but how we are in Christ.<br /><br />Once we are "in Christ" we are part of the Body...not as individuals striving for holiness, but as members working together for the whole. <br /><br />Both Msgr and I are playing on the idea that being individuals entire makes us important. Not so.Fr. Philip Powell, OPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14970857401221305221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-7881069920482255802009-11-14T01:37:22.927-06:002009-11-14T01:37:22.927-06:00Father,
How do you square our being "not tha...Father,<br /><br />How do you square our being "not that important" with Jesus' statement, "You are the light of the world," and God's assertion that we were created in his image? <br /><br />Of course we must be humble. But I believe telling people they are not "<i>important</i>" to God's plan gives them an excuse not to seek out and do what God intended for them. How can every life be sacred, yet not important?<br /><br />As for the idea that our minds alone can improve our reality, it is not new. From Milton's Paradise Lost:<br /><br />The mind is its own place, and in it self<br />Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.<br /><br />The lines are spoken by Satan, suggesting we might think ourselves to happiness. In contrast, the Archangel Michael states that if we do good deeds and live virtuously and lovingly, happiness will follow from that:<br /><br />Only add<br />Deeds to thy knowledge answerable; add faith,<br />Add virtue, patience, temperance; add love,<br />By name to come called charity, the soul<br />Of all the rest: then wilt thou not be loth<br />To leave this Paradise, but shalt possess<br />A Paradise within thee, happier far.<br /><br />MarkUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04958744262106858620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-21873774154494222102009-11-13T14:20:27.375-06:002009-11-13T14:20:27.375-06:00Anon., forgive me for being a philosopher here, bu...Anon., forgive me for being a philosopher here, but I'd need to know what you mean by "manifest reality." In one sense this can be true. More often than we know we control our emotional responses to events. If you always choose to see the bright side of every event, then you can "manifest the reality" of being positive and probably save yourself a lot of anxiety.<br /><br />However, if "manifest reality" means "making stuff inside my head happen outside my head," then I think that's New Age garbage. <br /><br />Thoughts do matter. We can easily talk ourselves into worry, and we can usually talk ourselves out of it. It's a matter of being rational.Fr. Philip Powell, OPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14970857401221305221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18842286.post-52898544495115575812009-11-13T10:59:45.128-06:002009-11-13T10:59:45.128-06:00Father,
Regarding the "You are not in contro...Father,<br /><br />Regarding the "You are not in control" section:<br />How does this stack up with the current idea that you "Manifest your reality"? In other words, if things aren't going well, it is because of your THOUGHTS.<br /><br />I think this has a hint of truth but is not the whole picture. Could you elucidate? <br /><br />Btw, I know your piece had a different tenor, but it brought this New Age idea to mind...<br /><br />Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com