"And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest. "
Luke 10:2
Thought of the Day
Monday, 31 January 2011
St. Therese...farmer?
I wondered what the name Therese means. It is from the Greek 'Theresa', meaning 'harvester.' How utterly appropriate...!
"And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest. "
Luke 10:2
"And he said to them: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest. "
Luke 10:2
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Suffering is not...
Suffering is not God's desire for us, but occurs in the process of life.
Suffering is not given to teach us something, but we do learn through it.
Suffering is not given to us to teach othes something, but they, too, may learn through it.
Suffering is not given to punish us, but it is sometimes the consequence of poor judgement or sin.
Suffering does not occur because our faith is weak, but through it our faith may be strengthened.
Suffering is not God's way to achieve the divine purposes, but through suffering God's purposes are sometimes achieved.
Suffering is not always to be avoided at all costs, but is sometimes chosen.
Suffering can either destroy us or add meaning to life.
The will of God has more to do with how we respond to life than how life deals with us.
by Cornelius Remple
Suffering is not given to teach us something, but we do learn through it.
Suffering is not given to us to teach othes something, but they, too, may learn through it.
Suffering is not given to punish us, but it is sometimes the consequence of poor judgement or sin.
Suffering does not occur because our faith is weak, but through it our faith may be strengthened.
Suffering is not God's way to achieve the divine purposes, but through suffering God's purposes are sometimes achieved.
Suffering is not always to be avoided at all costs, but is sometimes chosen.
Suffering can either destroy us or add meaning to life.
The will of God has more to do with how we respond to life than how life deals with us.
by Cornelius Remple
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Response to pornography as a 'right'
From this site:
http://forum.catholic.org/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=61910&p=799717#p799717
There is no right to pornography and it should be repressed mercilessly as particularly contrary to the common good, which must be protected by public authorities. Besides, there is the slavery aspect of it. like with prostitution, not many realize that the life of most pornographic actors, and especially actresses, is hell on earth, with violence, drug-addiction, all sorts of STDs and very frequent suicides. These people depend on their "masters" like slaves of ages past. The web is full of horror stories that reveal the reality of that truly satanic industry, often connected with organized crime, just like prostitution.
It is a lie - or the result of ignorance - to say that pornography is a private matter. There is a terrible social impact of pornography, equally well documented, absolutely devastating. It kills not only purity, but even the ability to have normal relationships. It changes the way we look at the other sex forever. It dehumanizes men and women and inflicts wounds that are never completely healed. I had thought of creating a repository of links in our M&F Library but never got around doing it. I hope to be able to do it in the future.
Because it is contrary to human dignity and it has a direct and widespread negative social impact, it should be repressed with the toughest penalties of law possible. As said about religious liberty by CCC 2108 and a number of other teachings, there is no "right to error" and there is no alleged "freedom" that should be protected to the point of endangering the common good. Repressing pornography does not endanger freedom of expression because sexual acts are neither an opinion nor a legitimate form of expression, for the social reasons mentioned above. Therefore there is no right to pornography. Of course there should be a proportionte effort to create a widespread cultural hostility towards adultery and fornication, and a general support for marriage as the only legitimate condition for sexual activity worthy of human beings and not beasts. So there is no hoping that we can do anything about it if we do not re-evangelize our countries and institutions, or at least manage to advance a culture and a policy based on natural law and the rejection of the relativist agenda.
That said, given the world we find ourselves in these days, there are indeed potential dangers in anti-pornography legislation. The risks for authentic freedom of expression are to be expected precisely from those forces, politicians and parties who are relativist and anti-family to the core, and cry wolf every time someone proposes legitimate and necessary action against immorality. But when it fits their agenda in a given circumstance the usual suspects will adopt the language of their "intolerant" and "divisive" adversaries just to sound reliable and "centrist". So, if and when they propose measures against pornography we should be able to smell a rat and expect strings attached to the apparently well-intentioned measure that will be big enough to strangle real liberties. Measures against pornography and such are necessary and urgent, but we should be careful to evaluate what it is that is actually being proposed, what is the real target hidden behind a smokescreen of feel-good/do-good rhetoric. It is unlikely that people who have dedicated their life to uprooting the foundations of society based on family and marriage and to restrict real liberties deriving from natural law all of a sudden feel the urge to protect the very targets of their ideology.
Qhote: 2354 Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials
From the document Pornography and violence in the media:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/ponti ... hy_en.html
20. A number of more immediate causes also contribute to the escalation of pornography and violence in the media. Among them are these:
- the profit motive: Pornography is a lucrative industry. Some segments of the communications industry have tragically succumbed to the temptation of exploiting human weakness, including the weakness of young and impressionable minds, in order to make money from productions of pornography and violence. In some societies, the pornography industry is so lucrative that it has been linked to organized crime.
- bad libertarian arguments: Freedom of expression is said by some to require the toleration of pornography, even at the cost of the moral welfare of the young and of the right of all members of society to privacy and to an atmosphere of public decency. Some even falsely say that the best way to combat pornography is to legalize it. Faulty libertarian arguments are sometimes espoused by small groups who do not represent the moral values of the majority and who fail to recognize that every right carries with it a corresponding responsibility. The right to freedom of expression does not exist in a vacuum. Public responsibility for promoting the welfare of the young, for fostering respect for women and for the protection of privacy and public decency indicates that liberty cannot be equated with license.
- the lack of carefully prepared laws or the ineffective enforcement of laws which already exist to protect the common good, especially the morals of the young.
-confusion and apathy on the part of many persons, including members of the religious community, who erroneously consider themselves either as unaffected by pornography or violence in the media or as powerless to contribute to a solution to the problem.
http://forum.catholic.org/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=61910&p=799717#p799717
There is no right to pornography and it should be repressed mercilessly as particularly contrary to the common good, which must be protected by public authorities. Besides, there is the slavery aspect of it. like with prostitution, not many realize that the life of most pornographic actors, and especially actresses, is hell on earth, with violence, drug-addiction, all sorts of STDs and very frequent suicides. These people depend on their "masters" like slaves of ages past. The web is full of horror stories that reveal the reality of that truly satanic industry, often connected with organized crime, just like prostitution.
It is a lie - or the result of ignorance - to say that pornography is a private matter. There is a terrible social impact of pornography, equally well documented, absolutely devastating. It kills not only purity, but even the ability to have normal relationships. It changes the way we look at the other sex forever. It dehumanizes men and women and inflicts wounds that are never completely healed. I had thought of creating a repository of links in our M&F Library but never got around doing it. I hope to be able to do it in the future.
Because it is contrary to human dignity and it has a direct and widespread negative social impact, it should be repressed with the toughest penalties of law possible. As said about religious liberty by CCC 2108 and a number of other teachings, there is no "right to error" and there is no alleged "freedom" that should be protected to the point of endangering the common good. Repressing pornography does not endanger freedom of expression because sexual acts are neither an opinion nor a legitimate form of expression, for the social reasons mentioned above. Therefore there is no right to pornography. Of course there should be a proportionte effort to create a widespread cultural hostility towards adultery and fornication, and a general support for marriage as the only legitimate condition for sexual activity worthy of human beings and not beasts. So there is no hoping that we can do anything about it if we do not re-evangelize our countries and institutions, or at least manage to advance a culture and a policy based on natural law and the rejection of the relativist agenda.
That said, given the world we find ourselves in these days, there are indeed potential dangers in anti-pornography legislation. The risks for authentic freedom of expression are to be expected precisely from those forces, politicians and parties who are relativist and anti-family to the core, and cry wolf every time someone proposes legitimate and necessary action against immorality. But when it fits their agenda in a given circumstance the usual suspects will adopt the language of their "intolerant" and "divisive" adversaries just to sound reliable and "centrist". So, if and when they propose measures against pornography we should be able to smell a rat and expect strings attached to the apparently well-intentioned measure that will be big enough to strangle real liberties. Measures against pornography and such are necessary and urgent, but we should be careful to evaluate what it is that is actually being proposed, what is the real target hidden behind a smokescreen of feel-good/do-good rhetoric. It is unlikely that people who have dedicated their life to uprooting the foundations of society based on family and marriage and to restrict real liberties deriving from natural law all of a sudden feel the urge to protect the very targets of their ideology.
Qhote: 2354 Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials
From the document Pornography and violence in the media:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/ponti ... hy_en.html
20. A number of more immediate causes also contribute to the escalation of pornography and violence in the media. Among them are these:
- the profit motive: Pornography is a lucrative industry. Some segments of the communications industry have tragically succumbed to the temptation of exploiting human weakness, including the weakness of young and impressionable minds, in order to make money from productions of pornography and violence. In some societies, the pornography industry is so lucrative that it has been linked to organized crime.
- bad libertarian arguments: Freedom of expression is said by some to require the toleration of pornography, even at the cost of the moral welfare of the young and of the right of all members of society to privacy and to an atmosphere of public decency. Some even falsely say that the best way to combat pornography is to legalize it. Faulty libertarian arguments are sometimes espoused by small groups who do not represent the moral values of the majority and who fail to recognize that every right carries with it a corresponding responsibility. The right to freedom of expression does not exist in a vacuum. Public responsibility for promoting the welfare of the young, for fostering respect for women and for the protection of privacy and public decency indicates that liberty cannot be equated with license.
- the lack of carefully prepared laws or the ineffective enforcement of laws which already exist to protect the common good, especially the morals of the young.
-confusion and apathy on the part of many persons, including members of the religious community, who erroneously consider themselves either as unaffected by pornography or violence in the media or as powerless to contribute to a solution to the problem.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Sweet Jesus
It is sweet to think of Jesus;
but it is sweeter to do His will.
Bl. Mary of Jesus Crucified (Mariam Baouardy)
1846 - 1878
+++
Thursday, 20 January 2011
A little prayer
My God, accept my heart this day
And make it always Thine,
That I from Thee no more may stray,
No more from Thee decline.
Anoint me with Thy heavenly grace,
Adopt me for Thine own,
That I may see Thy glorious face
And worship at Thy throne.
Let every thought and work and word
To Thee be ever given;
Then life shall be Thy service, Lord,
And death the gate of heaven. Amen
+++
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Simple
Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity.
– St. Therese of Lisieux
– St. Therese of Lisieux
+++
Monday, 10 January 2011
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Why did Jesus need to be baptized?
From the study guide for Joseph Ratzinger's (Pope Benedict XVI) "Jesus of Nazareth" addressing the Baptism of Jesus:
John baptized Jesus "to fulfil all righteousness" (Mt 3:15). Jesus, being sinless, has no need for baptism himself. However, his baptism follows the pattern his ministry will take. In other words, in order for Jesus to take upon himself the sins of all men, he "takes their place" in his submersion into and ascent out of the waters. Jesus' baptism is therefore a sign that he takes the place of sinners, substituting himself for them. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus already points to the Cross, where his definitive act of substituting himself for sinners takes place.
Jesus had no sin but he demonstrated his obedience to God by being baptized. He placed himself in solidarity with sinners.
John baptized Jesus "to fulfil all righteousness" (Mt 3:15). Jesus, being sinless, has no need for baptism himself. However, his baptism follows the pattern his ministry will take. In other words, in order for Jesus to take upon himself the sins of all men, he "takes their place" in his submersion into and ascent out of the waters. Jesus' baptism is therefore a sign that he takes the place of sinners, substituting himself for them. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus already points to the Cross, where his definitive act of substituting himself for sinners takes place.
Jesus had no sin but he demonstrated his obedience to God by being baptized. He placed himself in solidarity with sinners.
+++
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Sunday, 2 January 2011
On being little
+++
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Resolution
Our lives for the most part are made up of little things, and by these our character is to be tested... Little duties carefully discharged; little temptations earnestly resisted with the strength that God supplies; little sins crucified; these all together help to form that character which is to be described not as popular or glamorous, but as moral and noble.
by Fulton J. Sheen
by Fulton J. Sheen
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