Ordinary Old Catholic Me

Not the first time I have considered the subject, but of late, the quick passage of time, and losses has brought me back to it. And probably again in the future!

This entry was orginally intended for Lent, but it applies always. We don't want to end up lamenting  wrong choice and miss the point of the Act of Redemption, and Resurrection. God constantly offers wake up calls, and too many of us continue to snooze. 

Why is it that some people want power even if it means destroying an entire civilization to get it? Over and over it has happened. It is positively bibilical.

It is the illogic of sin overcome only by accepting and participating in the Cross. Not an easy task. But that is logic. And Salvation.

With the evil all around us, it is time for us happily to take on the label of what is usually an aspersion, God Botherers. The murders and all manner of vile behavior around us is not an act of God, but the act of us, sinners. We brought the chaos into the world at the beginning. We keep on keeping on, though clearly we are destroying ourselves, and our souls. So pick up the standard, for GOD, not for the devil. 

When Catholics lament about their sufferings (just like everyone else) they are kid of missing the point of the faith to which they purportedly adhere. We Christians were Baptized into the Suffering of Christ, and with that Baptism, we are supposed to see that Suffering is transformed. It's a big thing to miss, and one we need to truly give our real assent to in order to travel the narrow road. 

You get older. There is no avoiding that there is more past than future for you. That's a struggle for the non-believer, and even the believer. The losses around you and the losses in your own life make it something that you can't just push aside. Some imperfect thoughts from one Catholic's perspective.

I have lived in Los Angeles over 40 years. I have seen all sorts of natural and man made disasters, most from afar. This one has been right up close and it has been a challenge both practically and spiritually. Some thoughts from this ever struggling Catholic. 

I guess it's just a reality of age, but yes, I have been thinking of the past, yet again. But I know that well, obviously the past is passing and what is eternal is what I must aim at. 

The coincidence of the Gospel for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time and a little scene in the pews and my reaction. 

Alas, sometimes when I meditate I tie myself into knots. Some thoughts about that in this episode and how to get untied. 

It was, as I will report, a busy June and July and so a little of what's been going on in my spiritual life. . . .trying to become a woman of prayer.

Thoughts about the things that jar me in the ordinary moments of being a Catholic, that might be or might not be connected. Is my real problem or yours a resistance to the demands of the love of God? 

Today I had an adventure. I almost got to where I wanted to, to venerate the Relic of St. Jude. But there were obstacles. Still, there was spiritual success of a kind.

Newman said "To be steeped in history is to cease to be Protestant." That's another way of saying that to be steeped in history is to be Catholic. But maybe more than that to be steeped in history is to cease to be an unbeliever of any stripe. But to become steeped in history means diverging from pre-conceptions and taking the leap to inquiry. There is a lot to look at and to absorb.

We just celebrated the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Our Lord? What changed because of His action? Often does not seem like anything has. But look closer.

Things look so dark in the times in which we find ourselves. It has ever been thus, but God is there, the Word is there having been crucified and risen and ascended and will not leave us adrift---we are not forsaken, ever. 

It's been about two months since the last new podcast episode. Today offering thoughts about pain, suffering and eternal life. The usual!