Mary: most noble resting place of the Holy Trinity

The following bit of meditative history on the I.C. is from the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy:

8^th December

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Citations:

Gen 3,9-15.20: http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9avumlc.htm

Ep 1,3-6.11-12: http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9abtzyc.htm

Lc 1,26-38: http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9bih1oa.htm

‘Hail Mary, full of grace’. For thousands of centuries, millions of times per day the Virgin Mary is greeted by the faithful with the greeting of the Archangel, that we hear resonating a new in today’s Gospel. The sons of the Church learn from the words of the Archangel Gabriel that the fullness of the mystery of God’s grace was realised in Holy Mary. St Paul, the Apostle teaches us that the Father made all fullness dwell in His Incarnate Son (c.f. Col 1:12-20), which overflows from Christ’s head and spills out on His Mystical Body that is the Church. Before descending in Body, Christ’s fullness was spread in a unique and unrepeatable way on Mary, predestined from eternity to be the Mother of God.

Significantly in the first reading, the liturgy recalls the figure of Eve, the mother of all the living. The Father’s of the Church saw in Mary, the new Eve that unties the knot bound by the first woman. The knot of disobedience tied by Eve, was untied by the obedience of Mary. As Eve was created in purity and integrity, also the new Eve was miraculously preserved from the contamination of original sin because she had to give humanity the Word, who was incarnated for our ransom.

Saint Irenaeus compares the virginity of the pure earth from which Adam was drawn to the virginity of the immaculate humanity of Mary from which the Second Adam was drawn. ‘And as the protoplast himself Adam, had his substance from untilled and as yet virgin soil (for God had not yet sent rain, and man had not tilled the ground (Genesis2:5)) so did He who is the Word, recapitulating Adam in Himself, rightly receive a birth, enabling Him to gather up Adam [into Himself], from Mary, who was as yet a virgin’. (Adversus hereses III, 21:10 http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/index3.htm)

Blessed Pope Pius IX on the 8^th December 1854 proclaimed the Dogma of the faith revealed by God that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin" (Denz. – Schonm, 2083). If the official proclamation of the dogma is relatively recent, the profession of faith by Christians and the liturgy is very ancient in this regard. Furthermore, four years later the same Virgin Mary, appearing in Lourdes to St Bernadette, confirmed the truth of the doctrine by presenting herself with the title ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’.

Mary’s predestination to this singular grace – consistent with the suspension of the universal degree by which every man, from the moment of his conception is contaminated with original sin – leads us to ponder in the deepest depths the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity’s salvific plan. God, One and Triune had foreseen from the very beginning the future incarnation of the Word cumulating in the redemption of human nature that had fallen into sin. He therefore predestined pure Mary, so that He could draw from her uncontaminated humanity, which the Son could adopt in order to re-establish in Himself the original purity of creation and reorientate it to eternal glory.

For this reason, in the second reading of today’s liturgy, St Paul reminds us that God wants to see us holy and immaculate before Him. The purity of our origins seamed to be irredeemably lost. However, in Immaculate Mary, God found the perfect solution to reverse the disaster made from the misuse of our liberty, and returned humanity to the original purity that seamed hopelessly lost.

Mary’s Immaculate Conception is a direct consequence of her Divine Maternity. St Anslem of Aosla wrote: ‘Assuredly, it was fitting that the Virgin be beautified with a purity than which a greater cannot be conceived, except for God's. For, toward her, God the Father was so disposed to give His only Son was naturally one and the same common Son of God the Father and of the Virgin.’ (De conceptu virginali et originali peccato, XVIII)

This link between the privilege of Divine Maternity and Mary’s Immaculate Conception results also in her superiority with respect to us. She is a perfect image of the Church in heaven, the new triumphant Jerusalem, that won’t have any marks nor will there be pain and death. This is why today’s preface recites: …she was to be a worthy mother of your Son, your sign of favour to the church at its beginning, and the promise of its perfection as the bride of Christ, radiant in beauty’. Also in heaven Mary isn’t or will ever be only a disciple, but her Son’s most exalted. She is and will always be the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, the Queen of the Angels and Saints. Therefore, the preface of the Mass adds: ‘…You chose her from all creatures to be our advocate with you and our pattern of holiness.’

Mary was Immaculate because she had to be the Mother of God. She, herself has received the original grace of purity and the final state of the blessed life that we also, by collaborating with Divine Grace, hope one day to receive.

Immaculate Mary is full of grace. She is not only Christ’s disciple, that with the help of grace has overcome the chains of sin, but she is totius Trinitatis nobile triclinium, the noble resting place of the Holy Trinity (St Thomas Acuinas, Exposito Salutatioris Angelicae, I). The Immaculate, full of grace will always be Mother and Queen for that elect part of the Church that we hope one day to join, that will one day will joyfully sing in front of the Almighty.

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Everything you've always wanted to know about the forensics of Zombie Headshots.  

Was Lincoln a tyrant?

BXVI:  Western democracy deeply rooted in Christian thought.

Life imitating art:  man is decapitated at a chicken factory. . .this was an episode of Bones a few years back.

Tolerant, freedom-loving leftists in Spain pitch a hissy fit b/c a Cardinal of the Church is invited to speak at a university in Madrid.  Apparently, "dialogue" and "free expression" are only available to those who agree with these petulant adolescents.

Science vs. religion. . .someone doesn't know their history.  Science gave us nuclear weapons.  Religion gave us Mother Theresa.

Sometimes "science" makes ya stupid.  Or rather, the ideological usurpation of science makes you stupid.

Best headline of the day:  "No Country for Burly Men"

Survival Guide:  tracks you need to know

Understanding the engineer in your life 

"The easiest way is always mined."  Army quotes for everyday life

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Because of you they will be healed

2nd Week of Advent (M)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss. Domenico e Sisto, Roma

A paralyzed man is brought to Jesus for healing. The man's friends, unable to get through the crowd surrounding Jesus, lower him from the roof through the ceiling. Seeing an opportunity to not only reconcile a sinner to God but to teach the Pharisees a lesson, Jesus does what no one but God Himself can do: he forgives the poor man's sins. Predictably, the Pharisees start murmuring among themselves and quietly accusing Jesus of blasphemy. In answer to these accusations, Jesus says to the man, “I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” And he does. Just like that. His sins are forgiven and his disability is healed. Luke reports that those who witness this miracle are seized with astonishment and glorify God, saying, “We have seen incredible things today.” Now, this event may not seem so incredible to us b/c we've been reading about it for some 2,000 years. That Jesus healed the sick as part of his ministry is hardly astonishing to us. That sin is part and parcel of physical illness is not really all that shocking anymore either. What might get missed in the telling of this miraculous story is the fact that Jesus forgives the man's sin not b/c the man himself has faith sufficient to justify absolution but b/c the man's friends show their faith in the authority of the Son of Man to forgive. When Jesus sees the faith of the man's friends, he says, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.” 

While we are focused on the miraculous healing and the public rebuke of the Pharisees' disbelief, we might miss one of the more theologically significant points in this story: forgiveness of sins can be obtained by someone other than the one forgiven. Unlike the blind man who was healed when he professed his faith in the Lordship of Christ, the paralyzed man never utters a word. We have no indication of his faith, no way of knowing whether or not he believed that Jesus was capable of restoring his legs to good use. All we know is that his friends believed and their belief was strong enough to compel them to go to great lengths to get their disabled friend in front of Jesus. For all we know, the disabled man did not believe. He have may even been actively disbelieving! It makes no difference. Jesus heals him because—that is, in virtue of—the astonishing faith of those who love him. 

This miracle tells us a lot about the nature of faith and the power of intercessory prayer. First, faith is contagious. Its benefits are not immediately limited to believers alone. Second, interceding on behalf of a loved one, even an unbelieving loved one, can work miracles. Third, the authority of the Son of Man to forgive sins extends over all, believers, non-believers, and those who actively disbelieve. And finally, knowing all of this to be true, those of us who follow Christ are charged with putting our faith to work for those who do not believe. Knowing that our faith can merit the forgiveness of another person's sins, how can we fail to intercede on their behalf? How can we fail to share the fruits of the faith we ourselves have been given?

Who in your life is paralyzed by sin? Who needs the healing touch of Christ's forgiveness? Use your faith to intercede for them. Lower them through the ceiling to rest in front of Christ and allow those whom you love to be infected by your divine gift of trusting in God. Christ will see them, and because of you, they will be healed.

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Italian deacon commits suicide after he is denied priestly ordination.  I think the fact that he kills himself is a sure indication that he was emotionally/spiritually unfit for ordination.  Please pray for the repose of this young man's soul!

UN "Global Warming" conference in Cancun opens with a prayer to the Mayan moon goddess.  While these neo-pagan globalists are partying in the tropics, northern Europe is buried under record snowfall. It's 30 degrees in Rome this morning.

Quick!  Someone tell Arnie. . .Skynet is born!

Is America Satanophobic?

WOW.  A rather scathing report on the bishops' conference in England & Wales. 

FCC power grab over the internet.  I'm not really worried about this.  The second these regulations become inconvenient for web surfers there will be a tsunami of protests.   Prepare the lawyers for deployment!

Some very smart, very thought-provoking commentary on the Repeal Amendment. 

A blog of blogs (religion, philosophy, psychology). . .NB.  Some of the blogs linked are not Catholic-friendly.

Were combat troops adequately represented?  Casting serious doubts on the Pentagon's troop survey about repealing DADT. 

Remember when Bush and the GOP were the "enemies of science"? 

Weird family pics

Methinks Kitty sees Zombies sneaking up on you

How to make sure that the seat next to you remains empty

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Dominican Snowball Fight!

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Faith for all the blind to see

St. Francis Xavier

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss. Domenico e Sisto, Roma

In this age of instant celebrity, it seems more than a little strange to us that Jesus would perform a healing miracle and order those whom he healed to keep the event quiet. These days, the miraculous restoration of the sight of two blind men would attract an incredible amount of media attention, skeptical commentary, and calls for scientific verification. We'd watch theologians, philosophers, and physicians endlessly debate the healing, while Jesus fought off attempts by the government to charge him with medical malpractice and fraud. Of course, none of this would have happened in first century Israel. At the most, Jesus could expect some unwanted attention from the religious authorities and a dramatic increase in the size of the crowds that followed him around. Since his ministry among the poor, blind, lame, and possessed was already drawing attention and the crowds growing daily, it seems more than a little strange that Jesus would command the healed men to be silent about their healing. Isn't the whole point of Jesus' healing miracles to provide evidence of the divine nature of his preaching mission? No, that's not the point at all. In fact, the healing miracles have little to do with providing evidence for Jesus' ministry. 

If Jesus' healing of the blind men was meant to provide evidence for the truth of his claims to be the Son of God, then the events of the gospel story this morning would have been very different. The men would have approached Jesus asking for proof of his divine powers. Jesus would have healed them and then asked, “Do you believe that I healed you?” The newly sighted men would have replied, “Yes, we believe!” And then Jesus would have sent them off to spread the news of his healing ministry. Instead, we get just the opposite. First, the men approach Jesus, addressing him as “Son of David,” begging him to show them compassion by curing their blindness. Then Jesus confirms their faith by asking if they they believe he can heal him. They answer, “Yes, Lord.” Yes. Lord. Before Jesus ever touches the men, they acknowledge his identity as the promised Messiah, giving him his due as their Lord. Only after this profession of faith does Jesus lay hands on them, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Faith first, then healing.

Jesus “warns them sternly” to be silent about this miracle. Why? It's possible that our Lord wants to keep his identity a secret for a while longer. He might want a little more time to establish himself as a serious preacher before rumors start flying that he is just another one of the many crank magicians or street prophets clogging the cities of Israel. The more likely explanation is that Jesus understands better than we ever can that the most profound healing that can occur to any sinful creature is the healing of our fallen relationship with the Father. From a righteous relationship with God flows all other forms of “rightness,” including physical health. By definition there can be no evidence that compels faith. Good evidence—miracles, for example—might weaken skepticism about God but trust in God comes entirely from His gift of faith and our conscious decision to practice this virtue. Jesus' order to these men to be silent about their healing is his way of saying to them, to the crowds, and to us that faith must precede righteousness. When we say, “Yes, Lord,” we must say it in the absence of compelling evidence and sometimes despite the evidence. Faith based on experience is not faith at all; it's simply a good bet, a gamble that one good experience will likely lead to another. 

First comes faith, then righteousness. This is the order of salvation in Christ Jesus. Our lives in Christ will be a witness to this proper ordering. And that will be miracle enough to bring all the blind to sight.

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Misbehavin' in the college classroom

Professor Bainbridge has an interesting post up about how profs should manage classroom misbehavior in a college setting.

I remember one philosophy prof of mine flinging an eraser at a frat boy when he popped open a copy of the newspaper (ca. 1983).  And I remember another philosophy prof demanding that all the guys in class remove their caps.  

I started teaching undergrad English in 1987, long before laptops and wireless internet access became university entitlements.  The daily campus newspaper often made an appearance on desktops (the non-cyber kind), but my classes were always heavy on reading and discussion.  Also, I was rather free and eager in calling on students to answer questions.  

During summer sessions at U.D., facebooking, etc. became a problem, so I started calling on the miscreants to read aloud and explicate passages from the assigned readings.  After being called on for the third time in a row, the offenders usually got the point and stopped the nonsense.  

Any war stories from profs/students on bad classroom behavior?

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An assessment of the WikiLeaks leaks.  A German friar here told me yesterday that the leaks--especially the frank descriptions of E.U. leaders--are embarrassing precisely b/c they are true!  Ah, the truth shall set you free.

And here are just a few of the more frank assessments. . .wouldn't we all love to read what world leaders think of our national leadership?

As a classical political liberal, this sort of thing doesn't bother me at all.  As a Catholic and a Dominican, my response is:  "Celebrate Faith & Reason.  The Best God Has To Offer!"  When atheists argue that religious belief is "irrational," what they mean is that religious belief fails to satisfy the methodological demands of materialist science. 

Americans want and expect ObamaCare to be repealed. 

A new website for all your Catholic punditry needs:  The Pulpit.

Classical Rhetoric 101. . ."rhetoric" means something very different in the postmodern world.  Generally, when you read or hear someone use the word "rhetoric" they mean "the way in which an idea is framed using language to disguise their intent." 

The retard with the flamethrower. . .

Who shot the couch?  Bad 70's fashions

Redneck home improvement ideas

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Good News/Great News: a new preaching project

The student friars of St Dominic's Priory in St. Louis, MO are launching a website dedicated to preaching!

Preaching Friars

Several of the more recent General Chapters of the Order have urged the friars to make better use of the internet to spread the Good News. 

Please, take a few minutes to visit the brothers and express your support for this fledgling project.  As I have noted many, many times:  Catholic preaching will only get better if Catholics demand better preaching.

Also, check out this article on the new building that will house the joint studium* of the Central and Southern Provinces. 

* "Studium" is Dominicanese for "seminary."

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Excellent vid of E.U. Parliament member, Nigel Farage blasting the E.U.'s power-grabbing impulses.  British politicians are some of the best debaters and public speakers in the world!

Teenage girl is arrested in the U.K. for allegedly burning a copy of the Koran.  You have to wonder if she would have been arrested for burning the Bible. 

DHS seizes domain names. . .yes, these sites were promoting illegal activities but my guess is that this all thing is really about getting us used to the idea that gov't agencies can use police powers to shut down dissenting websites.  Paranoid much, Father?  Hey. . .just 'cause I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get me!  :-)

"Human rights" commission in Mexico uses its investigative powers to intimidate those who dare express Wrong-Thought during an "ex-gay" conference. 

Great story about the transformation of a moribund parish in Brooklyn.

NFL player drops the ball, loses the game, and blames God.  Methinks he needs a theology class or two.

Update on the Repeal Amendment. . .I still that this is an excellent idea.  Imagine a Congress where legislation is thought through with an eye toward the possibility that any power-grabbing by the federal gov't could be voided by a supermajority of the states!

Wikileaks completes B.O.'s transformation into Jimmy Carter.  I disagree.  Carter was weak and incompetent in the Oval Office.  B.O. makes Carter look like Reagan.

This kid must be visiting Rome.  Pick a piazza.  Any piazza.

Months later. . .and this is STILL hilarious.  

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Cell Phone Recommendations

Since I will be in the U.S. for almost a year and half of that in parish ministry, I will need a cell phone. . .

Any suggestions for a phone using the following criteria:

Inexpensive flip phone (I am clumsy!)

No contract with a provider

Pay as you go

No data/no frills

Just a simple phone.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

12 Myths Every Catholic Should Be Able to Answer. . .these are more misconceptions about Catholicism than they are myths.

Secret meeting of a secret group of theologians giving the Holy Father secret advice!  The Rector of the Angelicum, Fr. Charles Morerod OP serves as the general secretary for the ITC.

Palin gets dumped on for an on-air gaffe. . .but she gets her revenge!

Yet another reason to hope for the quick demise of the E.U. . .I mean, other than this one.  Some in the U.K. want my fav European country of the E.U.

One of the nations largest unions will drop health care insurance for the children of low-wage members.  Why?  Drum-roll, please!  ObamaCare!  NB.  this union enthusiastically supported B.O.'s gov't run boondoggle.

Poor Edna. . .she opened the wrong can.

The god of cake. . .

Pope approved birth control!

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Hurry up and wait

34th Week OT (F)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss. Domenico e Sisto, Roma

Here we are at the end of November in Rome. It's cold and raining. Has been for weeks now. We see the sun for maybe 30 minutes a day. All signs that winter is not far off. This morning Jesus tells us that the budding fig tree will be a sign that the long winter is ending and that summer is near. We also have John telling us that in his vision of the last judgment, “the former heaven and former earth had passed away.” The old order of the universe is replaced by “a new heaven and a new earth.” Winter turns to summer; the old gives way to the new. This isn't the Cycle of Life our pagan ancestors revered and celebrated; rather, it's the drama of human conversion from sin to salvation, the salvific action of Christ on the cross and our graced reaction to his sacrifice. Having died and risen again once for our sins, Christ continues to lure us away from disobedience and destruction and into a renewed life, an eternal life among all his redeemed in heaven. It is no accident that these readings come on the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent.

In the Church's liturgical year, Friday's are always marked as the dark day of the crucifixion, a day for penitential reflection and fasting. It is entirely fitting that we are called to repentance on this Friday, the Friday before we begin our long wait during Advent for the coming of the Christ Child. For four weeks we will watch for the signs of his coming. For four weeks we will pray, fast, study, do our work all the while waiting and waiting for the first signs of his coming. Even knowing that his coming is inevitable, even knowing that he has already arrived once for all, we will wait and wait. This generation—those who faithfully anticipate his arrival—this generation will not pass before he finally comes among us. Are you ready? Fully prepared? Ready to receive all the graces and all the tribulations he has to give you? 

Military men and women often describe their work as “hurrying up to wait.” Rush, rush, rush to get ready. . .and then a long, anxious wait for action. If John's apocalypse tells us anything, it tells us that now is the time to hurry up and wait. Hurry to repentance. Hurry to conversion. Hurry up and get your spiritual house in order. And then wait. Christ has come. Christ is coming. And he will come again. There's a new heaven and a new earth to anticipate. Be sure that you are ready!

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The first Thanksgiving Day menu?

Every American knows the proper menu for Thanksgiving Day:  turkey, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, and pumpkin pie.  But did you know what the first Thanksgiving Day menu included?

Foods Included in the Original Thanksgiving Feast

In addition to the wild fowl, pumpkin and squash mentioned above, the following foods were certainly abundant and most likely were included in the “harvest” celebration:

• Fish
• Lobsters
• Eel
• Mussels
• Oysters
• Corn
• Parsnips
• Collards
• Turnips
• Spinach
• Onions
• Dried Beans
• Dried Blueberries
• Grapes
• Nuts

The whole article is worth a read.

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In praise of Americans and not giving a @#$%!

As an American living in Europe, I am often subjected to veiled and not-so-veiled remarks from Europeans about the cultural/political backwardness of our great nation.  From snickering comments about cowboys to outright falsehoods about the Tea Party, Europeans feel free to think out loud when it comes to taking elitist swipes at the American eagle.  Normally, I smile, say something self-deprecating, and move on.  

When I first arrived in Rome in 2008, a friar from an eastern European country acidly remarked on the U.S.'s military presence on the European continent.  Maybe it was just my mood that day, or maybe it was the strain of being one of the few Americans in the priory who didn't want to add Obama to the Holy Trinity; regardless, I replied, "Well, brother, I'd be happy to see us pull all of our troops out of Europe.  But then you guys who have to take up the slack and spend some of our state welfare money on keeping Putin out of your backyard.  It's the U.S.'s willingness to defend you that allows you to spend so much on government welfare."  Needless to say, he turned purple and the conversation ended.  

I'm reminded of this failure to keep my cool by this article from Inside Higher Ed, "In Praise of the Americans."  The piece ends with this observation: 

“All the world criticizes them and they don’t give a damn….Moralists cry over them, criminologists dissect them, writers shoot epigrams at them, prophets foretell the end of them, and they never move. Seventeen brilliant books analyze them every month; they don’t read them .… But that’s all right. The Americans don’t give a damn; don’t need to; never did need to. That is their salvation.”

This astute observation was written in 1932 by Canadian political scientist, Stephen Leacock.  His take on Americans still applies to 99.9% of us, I think.  However, it could be argued that we  are currently ruled by the .1% who do give a damn what Europeans think of us.  Maybe that's the Great Divide we're seeing in U.S. politics these days. . .

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WOW. . .apparently, North Korea has lost its mind.

More on the amateurism of our current Betters:  rep from the Taliban in peace talks is an impostor.

This sounds like a good idea. . .frankly, anything that curbs the power of D.C. seems good right now.

"Catholics" in Belgium become Protestants while pretending to still be Catholics.  Only the NYT would think that this sort of thing is new. 

Anti-bullying law for NJ.  When responsible parenting fails, Nanny is always ready and willing to step in. 

Canonist Ed Peters is just a little bit peeved with L'Observatore over its premature publication of the Holy Father's comments on condom use.  Let the purge begin!

Upon hearing a weird combo of words, I always say, "That sounds like the name of a new band."

Um, no thanks. . .I'll wait for the next rest area.

When computer geeks get in trouble at school.

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A new assignment (UPDATED)

This just in. . .

My provincial has assigned me to help out at St. Joseph's parish in Ponchatula, LA from Jan to June 2011. 

I'll be assisting Fr. John Dominic Sims, OP.  This will be my first parochial assignment as a priest.

UPDATE:  Sorry, I didn't make this clear!  I will be returning to Rome in Oct 2011 to continue studies toward the PhD in philosophy.  I've done all I can here in Rome on the license until next Oct.

 

St. Joseph's

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All in or not at all

St Cecilia

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss. Domenico e Sisto, Roma

Anyone who lives in Rome understands what it means to take a risk. If the careening taxis don't mow you down at a crosswalk, the uneven cobblestones will break your ankles. If the herds of tourists on the 64 bus don't crush you to death, the summer heat will suck the life out of you. We all take risks just by walking out the door every morning. We calculate the costs of leaving home against the benefits of staying in bed, weighing all the options, teasing out the advantages, appraising the disadvantages, and then we choose. Most of the time, we get the equations right and manage to live another day. If this sort of cost/benefit analysis works for mere survival, can we use it in making choices about how we live our lives in Christ? That is, when it comes to deciding whether or not and to what degree we will follow after Christ, can we coolly, logically process all the available evidence before making a choice? Jesus' tale of the widow's mite says, no, we can't. We're all in or not at all.

Living with Christ is not a contest of minimizing risks, planning strategies, or prudently calculating cost/benefit. Living with Christ is a recklessly generous, open-handed, open-hearted, full-tilt run; a sanctifying contest of perseverance and strength, a contest played with everything you've got and all that you are. If we pick and choose which portions of ourselves we will and won't give to Christ, then we cannot claim a prize even if we finish the race. If all that you are, if all of who you are didn't compete, then who exactly crossed the finish line? The widow knows who she is—a child of God the Father. She sacrifices her entire livelihood; she gives wholly, fully everything she has: two mites, two small coins. The wealthy gave of their surplus, what was left over after the cost/benefit calculations had been made. She gave out of her poverty, out of what she didn't have to give. Of her sacrifice, Jesus says, “. . .this poor widow put in more than all the rest.” The “more” that she gives is not calculable by weight or by an exchange value. How can trust in God be measured? How do we weigh hope? By giving all that she has and all that she is, the widow throws herself recklessly—ignorant of risk, despite the threat of failure—she throws herself into the hands of God and trusts Him to provide. 

The moment you and I are equal to this sacrifice, we are well and fully committed to living our lives following after Christ. We are either all in or not at all. Christ himself did nothing less for us.

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OMG! The Pope says condoms are OK!!!

The Pelvic Obsessed Media are going bat crazy over the Pope's "changing his mind" on the morality of condom use.  No such change has occurred.  The use of artificial contraception within the bonds of marriage for the prevention of procreation is always intrinsically morally evil.  Sex outside the bonds of marriage is always intrinsically morally evil, so the Church has never felt it necessary to say anything about the use of contraception when it comes to adultery, pre-martial sex, same-sex sexual activity, etc.  

What the Church has said about condom use to prevent disease is this:  it is not a fool-proof means for preventing the spread of STD's.  Only sexual abstinence is 100% guaranteed to prevent the transmission of diseases contracted through sexual activity.  The only "change" here is that BXVI is saying out loud what common sense and logic dictates.  In cases where one sexual partner is infected with an STD, it might be morally permissible to use a condom in order to protect the uninfected partner.  

When it comes to making moral choices intention is vital.  If you are married and you use condoms with the intention of preventing pregnancy, you are intending a morally evil act.  If you aren't married and you use condoms. . .well, you are already engaging in a morally evil act--sex outside the bonds of marriage.  The Church has never addressed the issue of whether or not artificial contraception is permissible outside of marriage.  Why?  Because sex outside of marriage is always morally evil.  For the Church to say, "Yea, it's OK (or not) to use condoms if you're gonna fornicate or commit adultery" would be strange.  

What about a case where a husband or wife commits adultery and contracts an STD? Is it morally permissible for them to use a condom?  If the intention is to prevent the uninfected partner from disease, I'd say yes.  We might even go so far as to say that not using a condom would be morally evil.  Under the circumstances, the best option for them would be sexual abstinence, especially if there is a chance that a child might be irreparably damaged by the disease.

The example that BXVI uses to illustrate his point is telling:  a male prostitute who uses condoms to prevent STD's.  The Pope says the guy is showing some moral awareness by using condoms. He is already engaged in a morally evil business, so taking steps to lessen the evil consequences of his chosen occupation demonstrates that there is a spark of conscience at work. 

Bottom-line:  nothing has changed.  The whole "Pope shifts his position on condoms" meme sells papers.  Nothing more. 

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Getting us used to the idea of shutting down websites by going after "copyright infringement."  How long before some gov't agency decides that criticism of the governing party violates "intellectual property rights"?

The train of Eric Holder's DoJ is just starting to wreck with the recent Gitmo detainee verdict.

I would rather be sent to the Sudan as a door-to-door Bible salesman than work for the TSA.  I feel sorry for the screeners.  They are doing the job they've been given.  It's Big Sis who needs to be encouraged to explore alternative career options.

Remember this if you're flying over the holidays:  it's the dumb TSA rules that are causing the problems NOT the screeners.

Case in point:  Muslim women may be exempted from airport body searches.  Yea, that'll work.

A solution to the sex abuse crisis:  "Fidelity, fidelity, fidelity."  When the scandal reached its peak in 2002, self-appointed Prophets of Church Reform didn't want the crisis to go to waste.  Calls for radical restructuring of Church governance rang throughout the land.  But here's the problem:  had the priests and bishops who caused the scandal actually followed Church teaching there would have been no abuse, no cover-ups, no crisis.

How to fix US airport security. . .unfortunately, we would never follow these suggestions b/c someone might sue.  We can't allow anyone to feel singled out.

Redneck wedding chaos. . .um, those cops need some training on how to deescalate a potentially violent situation.  Screaming hysterically "CALM DOWN!!!" just doesn't work.  

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No thieves in the temple

33rd Week OT (Fri)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss. Domenico e Sisto, Roma

Jesus enters the holy city and delivers what has come to be called the Lament for Jerusalem, “For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will. . .smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation." God's people—busy with the business of the world—fail time and again to heed the prophets, leaving themselves unprepared for divine judgment. Evidence of their lack of readiness, the sign of their inattention is the thriving marketplace that has overwhelmed the temple courtyard. Quoting the prophet Malachi, Jesus shouts, “'My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'” He then drives the merchants out of the temple so that he might teach without distraction. This surprising scene raises an intriguing question: in what ways do we steal from God? 

Mixing religion and money always brings with it the temptation to abuse one or the other if not both. Pastors steal from the collection plate. Bishops overlook sexual misconduct in fear of expensive lawsuits. Otherwise good Christians cheat on their taxes or allow money to threaten their marriages and friendships. Even Catholic religious living under vows of poverty manage to find temptation in the accumulation of things. The problem that Jesus recognizes in the temple courtyard however is not the doing of business per se. Buying and selling are not sinful in themselves. The problem is that those who buy and sell in the temple are principally motivated by buying and selling. Consumed with the daily business of acquiring money, they allow their attention to wander away from doing the business of God. God's house of prayer becomes a den of thieves when we turn our attention away from the works of righteousness and toward working in the world for the world. Our job description—as baptized followers of Christ—is simple: witness to the mercy of God by preaching His word in season and out.

Jesus wrecks the businesses in the temple because they steal from God. They steal the worship due His name. They steal the time and treasure due His work. They steal the talent better used in His service. God's people in Jerusalem are unprepared for the divine visitation. Quite literally, they don't see it coming. If we want to be prepared for judgment, we will carefully, diligently remain on watch, living each moment knowing that we live in God's creation, living as His creatures, wholly possessed by our promise to be His faithful workers.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Professional cheaters:  custom essay writing companies do a booming business.  I was once offered $300 in grad school to write a paper for a fellow student in our critical theory seminar.  I turned it down.  Even Marxist-feminists can have a conscience!

Using the internet to plagiarize is all too common.  One problem for professors is the huge amount of relevant material available to students on the internet.  There's simply no way for profs to keep up with everything available in their respective fields.  One solution is to assign highly specific topics on a limited range of material.  This is where U.D.'s penchant for asking "what does the text say?" comes in very handy.

Great American Spirit at work!  The kid who was told he couldn't fly an American flag on his bike gets the support of hundreds. . .all with flags on their bikes. 

Finger-pointing is not a sign of leadership.

Parish surveys instead of a homily?  NO.  Nothing should take the place of the homily at Mass.  Not capital fund appeals.  Not announcements.  Not lay-led meditations.  Nothing.  If the bishop is asking the pastor to read a fundraising letter, then it can be read before Mass begins.  Annoying, I know.  But replacing the homily with mundane parish business diminishes preaching by presenting the homily as dispensable.

Rainbow Sash Movement endorses Bishop Kicanas for USCCB president.  I doubt the good bishop sought this endorsement, but the fact that this dissident group thinks the bishop would make a good president of our nation's episcopal conference should cause the voting bishops pause.

Even the Europeans are starting to see the error of Big Gov't.

Charlie "I Don't Come Cheap" Rangel (D-NY) convicted of 11 ethical violations. 

"Why Marxism Always Fails". . .socialism requires a culturally homogeneous society whose citizens are willing and able to become wards of the State.  Inevitably, socialist societies quash natural human instincts like the desire to better oneself, a longing for the transcendent, and the need to individualize--all b/c these traits fail to reinforce dependency on the State.

Mark Shea on being an orthodox Catholic opponent of torture.  I join The Church's Yeti of the Northwest in his crusade against torture; or rather, he and I join the Church's crusade against torture.  Say it with me now:  "Utilitarianism is NOT and will NEVER be part of Catholic orthodoxy."

Take the Zombie Survival Quiz.  I got an "A."  Was there any doubt?

For all those able-bodied people who park in handicap spaces.

Ahhhh, romance isn't dead!

Physics via Calvin & Hobbes. 

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US Bishops break with tradition

The voting bishops of the USCCB dodged a huge P.R. bullet today.  They elected Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York as president of their conference.

It is customary for the bishops to elect the previous term's vice-president to the office of president.  However, the presumptive heir to the office, Bishop Gerard Kicanas of Tuscon hit the major stumbling block when it was reported that while rector of a seminary he knew about the sexual proclivities and activities of a seminarian he later approved for ordination to the priesthood.  That priest went on to molest a dozen boys and is serving time for his crimes.

Bishop Kicanas' election bid probably wasn't helped by the fact that the "Catholic" special interest group the "Rainbow Sash Movement" endorsed the bishop, praising his "evolving views" and his close ties to Cardinal Bernadin of Chicago, his mentor.  RSM's website is claiming that the USCCB is taking a turn to the right. 

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Sr. Mary Joseph of the Five Wounds gets frisked

 

Drudge Report caption:  "The Terrorists Have Won!"

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Believing is seeing

St Albert the Great

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss Domenico e Sisto, Roma

As students and professors learning and teaching in a Catholic university, the idea that we must believe in order to understand is not all that controversial. Understanding is not limited to the accumulation, dissection, and explanation of facts about the material world. Central to the humane project of reasoning about the world is our right and duty to make ethical judgments and good moral choices. We cannot call ourselves human beings (much less Christians) if we begin our investigations of the world with the idea that all we need to do is observe, collect, and explain in purely empirical terms. How do you chronicle the genocides of Rwanda w/o reaching a moral judgment? How do you explain the holocaust of legalized abortion w/o challenging the ethics of medical science? “Seeing” for Christians cannot be a cold, clinical exercise in objective observation. Because we first believe, we understand. We first believe that we are loved creatures of a loving God, then we understand what it means to slaughter innocents, to experiment on the physically disabled and mentally challenged, to subject others to state persecution, torture, and exile b/c of their race, religion, or ethnicity. Our belief is not a political ideology nor is it a philosophical position. Our belief is the same belief embodied in the blind man who cries out to the Lord, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me. . .please let me see!” Our hope comes in Christ's answer to the man, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” 

We need to pay attention to the ordering of events in this gospel story. The blind man hears that Jesus is coming. He cries out. The man is brought to Jesus. Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” Believing that Jesus can heal his blindness, the man pleads for pity from one whom he trusts will show him the compassion necessary to open his eyes, so pleads to see. Jesus tells him 1) “have sight,” then 2) “your faith has saved you.” Faith comes first, then sight. Had the blind man wanted to wait until his sight was restored before he believed, he would still be blind. But b/c he first believed, his world is illuminated by faith and now he “sees as” a follower of Christ. 

As students and professors learning and teaching at a Catholic university, we follow along behind the great Christian minds of our tradition. We “see as” followers of Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas who were themselves followers of Christ, and by submitting to the truths of the faith and right reason, we mold not only our intellects but our hearts as well into Christ-shaped instruments for doing the work of divine love in the world. Therefore, our most profound prayer is the plea of a blind man, “Lord, please let me see!”

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Excellent idea:  outlaw lame duck sessions of Congress.

Holy Father rattles the liturgical cages of Italy's bishops.  Of all the bishops' conferences in the Church, the Italian conference has been the most stubborn about accepting BXVI's liturgical vision.

Church of England clergy turn to Mother Church. . .that sound you hear is Henry VIII spinning in his grave.

B.O. allows 110 companies to opt-out of ObamaCare, including a health-care reform group that supported his "reform."  Check out the list on the link.  NB. the number of unions that received waivers. 

On wearing the Roman collar. . .if you want to start an argument among religious, ask:  when should the habit be worn in public?  Answers will most likely divide along generational lines.  The younger the religious, the more likely he/she will say, "All the time."

Rocky the Squirrel rehearses his role as Sampson in the school's Christmas play

Ready! Aim! Fire!

A bumper sticker for all you physics geeks. . .you know who you are.

Folding furniture for those tiny apartments. 

Men vs. Women jokes.  NB.  only men may click this link.

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Let it go now. . .

Most appropriate for today. . .



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Why we need more exorcists. . .

 

QUICK!  Someone call the Monkey Exorcist!!

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Bishop Kicanas responds. . .

The bishops of the US conference (USCCB) will be electing their president next week.  The custom of the conference is to elect the vice-president in the previous term as president.  In this case, following custom, they would elect Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tuscon.

The media (Catholic and secular) are reporting that Bishop Kicanas defended the ordination of a man later convicted of child molestation.  Various Catholic blogs have drawn attention to these reports and have asked the USCCB to seriously consider whether or not Bishop Kicanas is fit for the post of president.

The Register has given Bishop Kicanas the chance to respond to these media reports. 

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Where the body is, there is death

St. Josaphat

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss Domenico e Sisto, Roma

Around the highways and streets of the US, you will occasionally see a bumper-sticker that reads: “CAUTION: In case of Rapture, this car will be empty!” Most cradle Catholics have never heard of the Rapture. Those of us who are converts from Protestantism know the term all too well. The Rapture is an end-times event where those who are “saved” will be jerked into heaven, leaving behind empty cars, offices, airplanes, and churches. This event is a sign that the God's judgment on the world has begun and those remaining must endure the Tribulation—the reign of the Beast, the anti-Christ, and the Battle of Armageddon. Exactly how all of these events play out—which comes first, who must suffer what—is the subject of intense debate among believers in the Rapture. Whole Protestant denominations have been founded on one or another interpretation of these prophesied events. Catholics have been more or less spared all this speculation b/c the Church has always taught that events described in the Book of Revelation are best understood as a form of Jewish literary apocalypticism used by John to narrate historical events that took place in the first century of the Church. John used the highly symbolic images of Daniel, Ezekiel, and others to encrypt the history of Rome's persecutions of the early Church in order to protect and encourage Christians. If all of this is true, how do we understand this morning's gospel? Jesus seems to be saying that when judgment day arrives, some will be taken and others will be left behind. Is he describing the Rapture?

Yes and no. Yes, he is certainly describing events that correspond to what some believe to be the Rapture. But he is not describing a one-time event that occurs at the end of the world. What Jesus is describing is the one event that happens to us all—death. We will all die and face judgment. Being prepared for that inevitable event is the point of Jesus' teaching. Worrying about End Time disasters and fanciful apocalyptic mysteries is pointless. The purpose—the only reason—for living a Christian life is to become more and more like Christ. At the moment of death, the moment of judgment, God will recognize those who have embodied the spirit of Christ and welcome them to His kingdom. Or He will honor the free choice of some to reject His love and allow them an eternity set apart from His presence. This process of death and judgment happens quite literally thousands of times a day. Every time someone dies. Speculation about some future end-time snatching of believers from their daily lives misses the whole thrust of Jesus' teaching here. Even the disciples seem to miss the point. They want to know where these events will take place. What does Jesus say? “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.” And where is that exactly? Jerusalem? Rome? Peoria? In so far as people living in these cities die everyday, yes. But death comes to us all regardless of where we live. Wherever there is a body, death will come and judgment follows; therefore, Jesus urges us: be ready, always ready to account for your life in Christ, being sure that you have lived as close to him as your gifts allow.

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Wards of the Brit Nanny State throw a fit in the delusional belief that breaking things in the streets of London will magically make money spring from the ground. . .

Gov't panel charged with eliminating waste, fraud, etc. in the Porkulus. . .errrr. . .I mean, Stimulus Plan meets over the Thanksgiving holiday at the Ritz Carlton.  I believe this is what P.R. people call "bad optics," i.e. it looks bad.

More politicization of the DoJ. . .not only is this sort of thing probably illegal, it is certainly politically stupid.  Doesn't it occur to these folks that one day. . .probably real soon. . .they aren't going to be in charge anymore and then it's going to be the other side's turn to shine the light on their foibles?

A little history of Holder's DoJ

Potential problems for the USCCB in the upcoming election for that body's president.  Here's a chance for the bishops to show the Church and the world that they have learned something since 2002.

Is Marco Rubio Catholic or not?  Haven't seen anything about this in the US media.

Vatican publishes the Holy Father's exhortation from the recent bishops' synod on scripture, Verbum Domini.  NB.  this is a 208 page pdf document!

Eeeewwwww. . .I'll take a bourbon instead, thanks.

Decision flow-chart:  Should I have a cookie?  Sounds about right to me!

On postmodern doctoral dissertations.  Um, this sounds about right too.

Beware the poetic justice of the sanitation men

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Logic for the Facially Haired

 

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Coffee Bowl Browsing (Mildly Grumpy Edition)

N.B.  Since I will be in the U.S. from Dec 2010 to Oct 2011, I've changed the shipping address on the WISH LIST.

Moon Bat Alert!  Why are these dinosaurs allowed to spread their nonsense at a Catholic parish?  Would Call to Action or the Women's Ordination Conference invite Archbishops Chaput or Burke to one of their conferences?  

Bishop Morlino is doing is job in Wisconsin. . .

Texas may adopt an "Arizona-style" anti-illegal immigration law.  What they mean is that Texas is considering adopting the Federal immigration law that's been around since the 1940's. . .that's all Arizona did.

Here's one reason CA is having to borrow $40 million a day just to keep up with the state payroll:  a list of state agencies.  Check out the comments too for a list of MA state agencies! 

Also, No Bailout for California!  Working in a rehab facility taught me two important behavioral truths:  1). past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior; 2). bad behavior that never results in bad consequences will always be repeated.

Speaking of bad acts with consequences. . .AARP is raising the medical insurance rates of its employees.  Why?  To avoid new taxes imposed by ObamaCare.  Irony:  AARP endorsed B.O.'s boondoggle.

NPR's board dominated by the Left.  I'm shocked.  Not.

CCHD's self reform seems to be failing even as it gets started.  Is this incompetence or cluelessness?

"What do I do if Father asks the congregation to raise their right hand and bless the newly baptized?"  Easy.  Don't.  I've worked with a few priests who did this and it always smacked of "Look at How Enlightened I Am" theater.  Don't make a big deal about it.  Just don't participate.

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How strong is your faith?

32rd Week OT (M)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss. Domenico e Sisto, Roma

As is painfully obvious, I'm an American and not only an American but an American from the deep south of the U.S., specifically, Mississippi and Texas. This means that my already distinctly American tendency to live life in a big way is intensified by that distinctly southern tradition of exaggeration, making that which is already too much even bigger. Big cars, big houses, big swimming pools, and, of course, big meals! Even our lives in Christ way down in the American south tend to be exaggerated. Megachurches, Hollywood-style Sunday services, Christian theme parks, and the occasional pentecostal tent revival. We enjoy a large faith, an all-consuming preoccupation with all things biblical and apocalyptic. But like the super-sized meals we love, a super-sized faith can be dangerous, especially when that faith is measured in terms of quantity. You can hear preachers—Protestant and Catholic—telling the sick that they will be healed if only they have “enough faith.” Or that a new job or a real estate deal will come if you just “believe enough.” This idea that our faith is about quantity seems to be reinforced by this morning's gospel. Jesus tells the apostles that they must forgive an offending brother as many times as he might ask for forgiveness. They say to Jesus, “Lord, increase our faith.” Jesus' response to this plea tells us that when it comes to faith, to trusting in the Father's promises, size doesn't matter.

Now, you might say here, “Well, if faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot a tree and replant it in the sea, then faith the size of a mountain could stop the planet from orbiting the sun!” You could say that. . .but you would be missing the point entirely. The apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith so that they can accomplish a seemingly impossible task, i.e. forgiving an offending brother every time he asks to be forgiven. Jesus' answer to this request tells us plainly that it is not the size or amount of our faith that matters, but the intensity, the integrity with which we exercise it. A big hammer is not a good tool if it is improperly used. A smaller hammer expertly used can be an excellent tool. So, the question is not “how big is your faith?” but rather “with what degree of strength and skill do you wield your faith?” 

In the same way that good tools must be sharpened, oiled, cleaned, and properly stored, so our faith must be expertly honed and maintained. We have on hand the expertise of the Church Fathers, the saints, the sacraments, the magisterium, and we have one another. All of these are specifically designed to assist us in keeping our trust in the Father's promises brightly polished, razor sharp, and squeaky clean. When we make full use of them, use them regularly, sincerely, and with an eye toward our ultimate end, our faith can only be strengthen. The tallest tower can collapse with time. The biggest monument can erode away. But our faith—even faith the size of a mustard seed—is invincible, indestructible if take care to use every godly gift we have been given.

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Ridiculous?  B.O. gets an above ground, air-conditioned, bomb-proof, kilometer long above ground tunnel so he can visit a museum in India!!!  Not to mention 34 aircraft, 40 naval vessels, 3,000 staff, and some 800 hotel rooms. . .

Not so fast!  Are these numbers correct?  Maybe not all of them.  The denial seems entirely plausible.

This week's mid-term election put a stake in the left's internet power grab.  

Dems discover a bag of "uncounted ballots" in CT.  I hear Church Lady's voice, "How convenient!"

The "creative class" got spanked on Tuesday.  Well, you can't keep calling 80% of the voting population rednecks, hillbillies, racists, lizard brains, and rubes and expect to get a lollipop.

Yet again. . .the U.N. demonstrates its irrelevance to the real world.

BXVI slams socialist Spain for its anti-Catholic bigotry

On The Madness of King Barney. . .Barn will be 72 in 2012; his likely opponent, Sean Bielat will be all of 40.   Maybe Barn will just retire rather than put himself through the indignity of actually having to be re-elected.

The bio-evolutionary theory of why you feel smarter after a few beers.

Packing like a pro!  My mom is always amazed at how much stuff I can pack in my suitcase.  Two hints:  1) fold clothes in the bag, stuffing as your go; 2) leave grooming products at home and buy travel size versions when you arrive at your destination. 

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Kindle version of 1st prayer book

Just discovered this morning that my first prayer book, Treasures Old and New:  Traditional Prayers for Today's Catholic is available in a Kindle edition!

 Santa Claus is bringing me a Kindle for Christmas. . .so,  it's a little weird that I'm a Kindle author before I was ever a Kindle reader. . .

On coddling moral monsters regardless of party

Despite the fact that I go to bed every night praying the Novena for Protection Against Red Bearded Crypto-Protestants, I always find Mark Shea to be a good read. 

The Rubber Hose Right quite naturally evolves into the Assassination Right. This zeal for Salvation through Leviathan by Any Means Necessary is why, in the middle of all the fulmination about Obama as the Hitler/Stalin/Atheist/Muslim monster who is just about to murder 25 million Americans with his Bill Ayers Kommando secret death squads, nobody on the Talk Radio Right has uttered a peep about his actual (and incredibly dangerous) usurpation of power by which he has granted himself the authority (in the name of Keeping Us Safe from Terror, of course) to murder anybody in the world (including American citizens) without evidence, arrest or trial simply because he declares them to be, on his say-so alone, an "enemy combatant". 

[. . .]

Go read the whole thing b/c, ya know, he's right. 

P.S.  Shea, what's up with the Euro-punctuation?  American style-books aren't good enough for ya?

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On being honest stewards

31st Week OT (F)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss. Domenico e Sisto, Roma

Few of us are surprised when we hear that wealthy, powerful people often abuse their power and wealth. In fact, many of us expect money and influence to be corrupting. When the overriding goal of one's life is material gain and personal glory, it follows that the means of achieving these goals will often make use of less than reputable methods. And why not? If there is little chance of being punished in this world for taking a darker route, and you aren't really all that worried about what happens after you depart this world, then getting what you can now—by any means necessary—seems not only desirable but prudent as well. Why hesitate to take what I want when the consequences of doing so aren't all that bad? Obviously, this is not an attitude that Christians can adopt with impunity! Our goals as followers of Christ do not include material gain and personal glory. Nor do we subscribe to the notion that every means available justifies any possible end. All of this may be obvious as it is, but is it obvious why we cannot live this way? Beyond our sure belief that taking what we want when we want it is a slippery slide into hell, do we as Christians understand our relationship to this world, and why we cannot serve God as dishonest stewards?

Christians are presented daily with a difficult problem: we must live as embodied souls in the world, but we cannot see ourselves as beings created by the world. We have to work, pay bills, do laundry, cook, clean, go to the doctor—just like everyone else. We have to get up in the morning, go to bed at night, and live day to day with others, all of whom are doing exactly the same sorts of things we are. The temptation to assimilate, to lose ourselves in the push and pull of just getting by is tremendous. The temptation to accumulate stuff and seek after personal glory is no less compelling. But “just getting by” is not the work we have been given to do. Nor have we been charged with storing up gold and influence. 

Being in the world but not of it means that our sights are firmly set on traveling through this world to the Father's kingdom beyond. Is this travel plan enough to make us into honest stewards? No, it isn't. Though we travel through the world to the kingdom, resisting as we go the temptations of wealth and glory, we do ourselves great damage if we ignore this fundamental truth: the world belongs to God. We are His stewards. Whatever wealth we possess, whatever talents we exercise, whatever time we spend, all are given to us to use in His service for His glory. Good, honest stewards use what they have been given to increase the wealth and glory of their Master. Being in the world means that we use what we have been given to bring creation as close to His perfection as we can. However, not being of the world means that we know our only hope of perfection lies outside the world we live in. The dishonest steward steals from both the world and his master for personal gain. The honest steward uses his master's wealth wisely and benefits both his master and the world. 

As children of the light our work is funded by the inexhaustible treasury of the Father's mercy and love. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we have been given all of God's creation to spend for His glory. If we choose to spend His wealth for our own satisfaction, then we join the ranks of stewards who find themselves out of work. However, if we do the job we have been given to do, our reward comes now and forever.

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So, how much did it cost to evacuate Saigon?

And first prize for best post mid-term election commentary goes to. . .

Caption:  "Except I don’t think that evacuating Saigon cost $200 million a day. "

H/T:  Instapundit

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