A Man Fully Alive

 I can't even find the words...

Eros

"Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you have heard it, and remain alive?" Deuteronomy 4:33

I see the all-consuming love of God all over this passage from Deuteronomy.

"Batter my heart, three-personed God . . .
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me." - John Donne

http://www.bibliacatolica.com.br/new-jerusalem-bible/deuteronomy/4/#.UZzZ9KKsiSo

He May Have Been the Dragon Slayer, but Her Beauty and Heroic Virtue Slays ME.

Saint George was a young soldier, who caught the emperor Diocletian's attention with his derring-do. Diocletian offered him a commission in his army. All was good until Diocletian started persecuting and killing Christians. Saint George rebuked him in a defiantly cheerful manner, ripping up his commission in the process. Although he was the big emperor and stuff, Diocletian didn't like being criticized. So...Diocletian did the noble thing. He had George tormented, and eventually beheaded. George was 23 at the time of his death in 304AD. His feast day is April 23rd.

A year earlier, that big man on campus, Diocletian, tried to woo a rich young girl of only 13 years to be his wife, therefore making her the Empress of Rome. She, however, had already pledged herself, body and soul, wholly to God. Her parents begged her to marry D. She said no. So, again, D did the manly thing. He threw her in prison, loaded her with chains. How dreamy! He thought so too, cuz he let her out and thought he could woo her now. She stayed steadfast, so he decided to strip her naked in public and have her lashed. Well, the soldiers agreed to the lashing, but they didn't feel comfortable ripping off her clothes (that's nice). I guess she was sort of dressed, in that she was covered with blood, so now, they sent her back to prison to die. She didn't. Two angels came and ministered to her. Diocletian saw that she looked really good, so he told her that it was the god Jupiter who healed her. And the healing was a sign from Jupiter that she should indeed be the Empress. He really wanted her now. Guys love when a girl plays hard to get! Again, she'd have none of it. So he had her thrown in the river with a heavy anchor. Oops, a couple more angels came along, and released the anchor. Philomena emerged from the water, completely dry. The people on the shore saw this, and they cried out, many embracing Christianity immediately. Diocletian was sure this was a magic trick, so...he had Philomena dragged through the street and showered with arrows. Then he threw her back in the dungeon to die. Nope. Didn't happen. She went to sleep and woke up cured. So he decided to shower her with darts again, but gosh, the darts just wouldn't hit the target. They ended up turning around and killing the people that fired them (six in all). Well, that was that. Heck yeah, there were massive conversions during all of this spectacle! And finally, off with her head. Saint Philomena was born in 290 and died in 303. (Her Feast Day is August 11)

These saints are special to me, as I have a third-class relic of Saint Philomena, a cord touched to her tomb (discovered in the 1800s). Surely, George knew of or knew Philomena. That makes me feel close to the famous saint, who was the legendary slayer of the dragon. That story is legend, but the young man was real.

Pray for us, you crazy kids!

Mama

I Would Like to Introduce You To My New Friend, Saint Athanasius

To believe in some patchwork feel-good religion might be fine for some, but it's not for me. I suppose we have the luxury to do that in a country where the material needs of most are generally met. Many are calling for the abolition of religion. With that in mind, I would like to introduce today's saint, St. Athanasius. Generally, the saint is honored, not on their birthday, but, if known, on the day they died. Athanasius died May 2, 373. So...

Athanasius was born in the year 296 in Alexandria, Egypt, to Christian parents. He learned the Christian faith as he grew up and spent some time in the desert, on retreat, with the first monastic church father, St. Anthony. I don't want to get into a big biographical thing on him, but I want to say that what Athanasius is chiefly known for is his argument against a very prominent priest in Alexandria named Arius. Arius was proclaiming that Jesus was not a Divine Being. He said that God the Father existed first and at some point created Jesus the Son, Jesus the Son being an inferior being. Arius, I guess, must have had a lot of sway, and he was causing division. So a church council was called in Nicaea to really hammer out what was actually true about the man Jesus of Nazareth. The council was convened in the year 325.

You see, these early Christians were Christians (Christ followers) because they believed that God, the creator of all things, sent His Son, Jesus, to the earth. And this fact changed the world. In the Council, they proclaimed the following, each in their own voice: "I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end."

Do you see? They believed this was historical fact. Eternal TRUTH. They bring in all that stuff about him being born and suffering, dying and rising again, because NO ONE has ever done that before or since! If the resurrection is not true, then why believe this stuff? Saint Paul says as much in his letter to the Corinthians, that same book with the beautiful reflection on Love. He says, "If Christ has not been raised, then empty [too] is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all." (I Corinthians 15:14-19, NAB) Not an opinion. Not something to put on a shelf. This is something for which they would give their lives, and many did. In self-offering and love. These truths were professed even before there was a canon of Scripture. In other words, the Bible wasn't done yet. The Bible was done around 75 years later, when the Bishops, in Council again, proclaimed which books were inspired texts.

Every Sunday when I go to worship, I say the exact same words given to me way back in 325 listed in the quotation above. These words are what I proclaim as true about Jesus Christ as part of the entire Nicene Creed. The creed also has parts about the Father and the Spirit. These words are proclaimed after the pastor preaches. Partly why is to make sure that Father's words line up with the truths passed on to us by our forefathers. This is what is called Catholic tradition, or, as GK Chesterton calls it, "the democracy of the dead." To be Catholic is to affirm those truth passed on to me as the truth. AND to live them, knowing they are the true paths to freedom and happiness.
My aim is to daily try to conform my life to that which I profess and believe as true. But I don't. For example, let's say I gossip. At the time, it feels fun, but afterwards, I feel as if I've done something ugly. And I remember that my Master, the God Man who did something no one else did, He rose from the dead, said, "Honey, gossiping won't really truly make you happy." And I say, "You're right. I'm sorry. Can I try again?" And He says, "Of course! And by the way, I want you to pray for and do some good thing for that person you were talking about, because I love them as much as I love you, little miss!”

And every day is new, and I continue to either make progress or regress (I'm good at the regress part!) I have a real relationship with this Jesus. And so did Athanasias, so much so that he was willing to suffer exile, persecution and torments because of it. In his case, he had a lot of people angry with him for standing up for the truth. His life was difficult. Standing up for truth, as mysterious as that truth seemed to him, meant suffering. He wrote so honestly, "My writing has caused me great pain. For the more I desired to write, and endeavored to force myself to understand the divinity of Christ, so much the more, it seemed, the understanding of this great mystery escaped me. Moreover, I was unable to express in writing even what I seemed to grasp, so that what I wrote fell short even of the imperfect shadow of truth in my mind. Although often tempted to quit, I constrained myself to keep writing so as not to disappoint you and those who depend on me.”

Athanasius, I thank you for not being afraid to stand up for what you believed. I look forward to joining you and all the saints in Heaven this Sunday as we, with one voice, proclaim the beautiful Nicene Creed. YOUR legacy, sir (stop blushing!)! Enjoyed getting to know you better today, and I feel you with me even now. I hope this little reflection might bring encouragement to you, friends. God bless!

Saint Athanasius, pray for us!

Christ Speaks to the Soul on Living HIS Life

If you would be holy, surrender yourself to Me. Trust Me. Abandon yourself to Me completely, without reserve, grasping eagerly whatever I send you, pleasant or bitter. It is My gift to you, part of My plan for your happiness. It is not merely good; you have only to make proper use of it and it is best.

Try to realize that I see all your thoughts and emotions, all your troubles and desires. I know you far more intimately than you know yourself. I know you not only as you are, but as you have been, and as you will be; and I know all of this NOW. There is no past or future with Me; there is only the eternal now.

Do you find it hard to realize these truths? Can you comprehend how I can be intimately interested in you along with billions of men, women, and children, past, present, and future?

It is not necessary for you to comprehend. Only believe.

I look on you not only with intimate knowledge but with limitless love. That should touch you keenly: My love for My creatures, for you as an individual. How can you deny Me your love and your trust in return?

I am near you, beholding you, guiding you, protecting you. I am within you. I am, in a sense, nearer to you than you are to yourself.

Why then do you not trust Me? Do you not realize My power? I made you out of nothing. Having made you out of nothing, I hold you in existence, recreating you every instant. You exist by a continuing act of My creative love. If at any moment I should withdraw My will, you would again become nothing. You would simply cease, utterly. This is true of all things: the earth, the sun and moon, the whole universe. It is true of all created beings: angels, devils, saints, sinners, even My own human nature.

If, then, I hold you and all things in existence by My will, not one thing can happen without My permission. The sun cannot shine, the earth turn, a bird sing, a seed grow, the lightning strike, a stone be dislodged, unless I allow it. No man can harm you, no breath of wind disturb a hair of your head.

You cannot move, talk, listen, feel, see or think without My concurrence. You have life from Me, and I must sustain that life at every moment or it will fail. You have strength from Me, and I must renew it at every instant or it will be nothing.

Of yourself you cannot raise your finger, blink your eye; your heart cannot beat, your lungs expand. You cannot think a single thought without My doing much more of the work than you do yourself. I have a far greater part in your actions than does the parent who guides a baby in its first steps or leads his little son's hand as he draws with a pencil.

Even your will is my gift to you, and I influence it at every moment by My grace.

Literally you can do nothing, neither good nor evil, without Me. I am in all that you do; all that you do, you can do only in, with, and through My power.

When you sin, in a sense you force Me to co-operate in the physical aspect of your offense, because you sin by the freedom and strength I give you.

Have confidence in Me. You know that God is goodness, but you must meditate more on this attribute of Mine. I am goodness without limit; there is no evil in Me. I can do no evil. I can will no evil. Whatever I will must be not only good but best in every way. I cannot even permit evil, except for a greater good. Since all My acts flow from infinite goodness and infinite power, all that I do is equally perfect, equally good.

Whatever I do is perfect. Whatever I send you or permit to happen to you is, under the circumstances, the best that could be. You may not recognize My will at this particular moment as perfect; just as a child may fail to see the wisdom of a surgeon who is trying to save its life by applying perfect medical treatment.

Yet, for those who love Me, all things work together for good. They must. I will have it no other way.

This is My power. Realize it. Ponder it. Meditate, and understand how foolhardy it is not to trust in Me. How foolish to resist My will, when no one can alter My decrees. I am your refuge and your strength. Abandon yourself to Me.

--- from Chapter 2 of Clarence Enzler's book, My Other Self

Why I Am Catholic

Fr. Dwight Longenecker's very moving response to this question...