True for the academy, the corporation, the religious order, etc: ". . .there is a gay mafia. I think if you cross them, you do get whacked."
WaPo finally notices something fishy about the IRS. . .a year later. That is, a year and more after the 2012 election.
Some intriguing quotes from V.I. Lenin. I bet the Brownshirts at Mozilla would applaud most of these.
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Lenin link seems to be bugged...
ReplyDeleteWorks for me.
DeleteI enjoyed the essay on Christian mysticism, and do think it is valid (can anyone say "personal relationship with Jesus"?) I do have some issues with Thomas Merton, or maybe with what people have done with his writings . . .
ReplyDeleteMerton was good in the 50's. He went goofy in the 60's, including Buddhist/Hindu stuff in his writing.
DeleteI agree with the jest of the article on Christian Mysticism. Christianity is a very mystical religion and I think that most of our woes are due to our losing this intimate, very personal relationship and adoration of the Man and God Jesus Christ. Everything the Church says and does is about this heart-to-heart encounter with the Living God in the person of Jesus Christ.
DeleteIf this perspective is lost, and it was, in general, the effects are obvious: irreverent liturgy, sloppy catechesis, watering down of the Faith. Those striving to restore these things from the outside, especially those in favor of rigorism, are in for a great disappointment in a generation. If they neglect deepening their own prayer life in adoration of Our Lord, they will have nothing of the sort to pass on to others. And whatever they set up will have no foundation to continue on once they are gone.
Without the Church contemplating the One we know loves us there is no Christianity. It's then merely an empty shell with rules on the outside.
My concern with mysticism is that it too often leads the gullible into error and heresy. I'm all in favor of poetic theology or theological poetry, but we have to be very careful and not allow the vagaries of personal experience overcome the Truth.
DeleteConcern you not; we are in good hands: St. Teresa of Avila's and St. John of the Cross'. Doctors of the Church FTW !
DeleteUnfortunately, Fr. Thomas Dubay was the only one translating these Doctors' teachings to a large number of people. Though he wasn't for everyone, he passed away without leaving anyone to continue this most important work.
I do think we need to be careful in how mysticism is defined/described or it can so easily become a subjective experience of my own truth - which is one of my problems with the big push I see in the New Evangelization's call for a personal relationship with Jesus. I agree this is a necessary and needed component, however I have yet to see this PRWJ adequately defined. It appears to me that it is almost entirely subjective - and of course it is on a great many levels - but there has to be a base on which to build, a background on which to paint, and many of the great mystic traditions do seem to be a place from which to start building, again.
DeleteI live out here in spiritual but not religious land - I have never seen a more lost and searching bunch of people. And a great many of my fellow parishioners fall into this category (aka "Buddhist-Catholics"). It is a complex problem, with no easy solution - but this article gave me some ideas to try.
I can't recommend Merton to people since I don't know the cutoff years, and most people are not discerning readers. I have one book of his I found helpful - but I also have one deMello book which brought me back lack-stock-and-barrel into the Church, and I would never recommend his