#That your faith or whatever can become stronger through deprivation

[docholligay]

I changed my mind, Autor is the greatest character in this anime, no notes.

Please note I have never seen this and am watching spoiler-free! Please don’t confirm, deny, or explain anything, even if it’s historical or cultural! Thank you!

[5t4r5-4nd-5t1tch35]

Horoscopes for today

These were all taken from the app Daily Horoscope, but I have slightly edited them

Aries ♈️

The reassurance you need about a relationship may begin to unfold for you today. It is good news. You do sometimes have an issue with trust, and you usually approach it in a very pragmatic way, but this time, you will see that you have nothing to worry about. Allow that knowledge to show you that your faith was well placed and that you can trust in yourself to make good choices in this regard. Let this build your confidence in the good and positive things that happen in your life.

Taurus ♉️

Finding your purpose in life is not "one and done." You may have recently completed something that had to do with the reasons you believe you are here on this earth for, and naturally there may be a feeling of resignation, as though your quest is over now. But it's not. We all walk through our lives having many purposes. You should begin searching for your next mission - the next reason you are here. If you remain upbeat and open to it, you will soon see another part of the big picture of your life and your purpose.

Gemini ♊️

Information and factual knowledge are very important, and almost anyone can search for information on the internet, but wisdom is something that is much, much harder to come by. You have to earn wisdom - not just by seeking out answers but also through your experiences, including your mistakes. You may think you can find your way out of a dilemma now simply by looking up a few things or asking someone what they think. But you may need to dig in deeper for this. Use your current quest as a way to become stronger and wiser in an important area of your life, and don't worry too much about making mistakes.

Cancer ♋️

If you were to cut a rose to place in a vase by your bed, you would have to be careful not to be injured by a thorn. If you handle the rose properly, you will have a lovely and fragrant flower for your bedside table - one that you can enjoy. The same thing applies to our relationships. No matter how wonderful and beautiful a person may be, we all have our "thorns." That means you too. You may now be angry at yourself for one of your flaws, but your beauty is so much greater than that, and anyone who truly loves you understands this. Forgive yourself for your thorns.

Leo ♌️

You have had enough of someone. They have gotten on your last nerve. They have once again upset you. Maybe it's time to call it quits. Or at least that may be what you are thinking at the moment. But you have persisted in your relationship with this person, and maybe that's what you need to do again. Don't speak up without thinking it through. Relationships are living things that need to be nurtured and constantly restored. There may be a way to make things better, and that's what you should focus on first.

Virgo ♍️

There was someone in your life in the past that you did not appreciate as much as you should have. Now you can see it clearly, and naturally, there is a lot of regret. Now, you can imagine how wonderful it could have been to continue the relationship and what it could have brought to your life. But you may soon get a second chance - either with this individual or someone else who could bring you joy. With your earned wisdom about this, you can transform this relationship into the best it can be. Be sure to recognize this as the gift that it is.

Libra ♎️

You may believe that self-deprivation will be the only way to reach a goal of yours. That's often the way of thinking that people employ when they want to attain something of value. It's widely believed that to gain something, you have to give something up. But that's all in your mindset. For example, losing weight usually involves depriving yourself of the things you love to eat. But you could also design a diet that is both scrumptious and doable for your tastes. Whatever you are hoping to do now, you can find a way to do it in a happier, more enjoyable way.

Scorpio ♏️

You may be a bit more emotional today than usual. You are someone who holds it in and holds your emotions back, mostly because you don't like the idea of others knowing what you're thinking or feeling. But that's not always a bad thing, even for you. Today, if you feel overwhelmed by a feeling about someone or something, then let it out. You may find that the timing is right to draw in someone or something that could be deeply meaningful for you.

Sagittarius ♐️

It may seem as though you are slowly waving goodbye to the way your life once was. In a way, you are right. Life is always changing. But one particular change might be causing you to grieve in a way for something that you think will never come back. But in reality, it can come back, and it should, but in a better, brighter, and more enjoyable way. Sometimes, you have to say goodbye and part with things to make room for something even better to enter your life. Don't lose hope.

Capricorn ♑️

You may be doing something in a more difficult way than you have to, simply because you want to prove something to someone. But that goes against who you are. You don't believe in frittering away your energy or your resources, and that's exactly what you're doing. You know that you can streamline a process to make it faster and easier, but perhaps someone challenged you or implied that you weren't as strong or proficient as you are. But you know that you are, and efforts to prove otherwise are pointless. Have confidence in yourself, and don't worry about what other people think.

Aquarius ♒️

What you have to bring to a role at work or to a relationship is entirely unique. You can offer what no one else can because you are truly one of a kind. Don't dismiss the importance you bring to the mission you are now beginning. You may be underestimating the power you have and the good you can do. And while you will do your very best anyway, it is important to see your own value. Celebrate who you are today, and don't undervalue yourself.

Pisces ♓️

You are doing everything you can think of to avoid concentrating on an issue you really need to deal with. This is a deeply emotional issue, and it may involve a reconciliation - or at least the hopes of having one. But you may think, deep down, that things have already gone too far, and even thinking about it being any other way is a difficult thing to do. but there is hope, and that's what you have to focus on today. Don't let distractions get in your way. Come up with a plan.

[flickeringart]

Neptune in aspect with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto and Chiron

(Read my other posts 1: Neptune aspecting Sun & Moon, 2: Neptune aspecting Mercury & Venus, 3: Neptune aspecting Mars)

It is always difficult to interpret aspects of generational planets to other generational planets because they are such big forces and encompasses such broad complexity that it would take a genius to accurately convey their impact through the Mercurial function; verbal and written communication. The social and collective planets are describing the bigger picture of what is going on a societal and global scale – but they do matter in the personal natal chart because they indicate the overall collective climate that one was born into and will inevitably color the personal life experience. When I refer to “collective tendencies” in describing these aspects I’m therefore also referring to “personal tendencies”.

Neptune in aspect with Jupiter

With the harmonious aspects this would translate into a time of deep collective faith and belief in the transience of the world as well as a faith in the ability to be redeemed through the correct attitude and positive expectations. This is a typical aspect of “follow your heart and your dreams” which is often considered extremely naïve by more “realistic” people. With this aspect forming at a point in time, there’s a greater collective tendency to take chances and put one’s luck in the hands of the universe. This aspect lends itself to big dreams and visions, a freedom to pursue spirituality and let go of inhibitions, to pursue freedom with complete abandon of boundaries, to enjoy culture and contribute to it in order to feel closer to the divine. In case of the hard aspects, belief systems may be dissolving and reconstructed, the future might seem obscure; the erosion of culture and lost sense purpose might cause people to pursue religion or spiritual doctrine more vigorously than ever. People could attempt to escape from it all through distraction and dissociation, to cling to illusions in order to cope, or take to drugs in order to numb the sense of meaninglessness and desperation that permeates the social-societal fabric. The hard aspects could indicate disillusionment and disappointment in religious doctrine, an abandonment of belief and collective spirit. People could feel betrayed and deceived by thought leaders and visionaries leading them astray instead of enriching their lives. In any case, these two planets together combine the yearning for something sacred and transcendent with the symbolic expressions of meaning in culture and social life.

Neptune in aspect with Saturn

With the harmonious aspects this combination of planets, the collective might try to create a system of protection for the less fortunate, to provide a container for the unformed and passive souls that are helpless in the face of existence. It might also lend itself to collective fantasies of the ideal state with an ideal structure. Hard work and duty might be glorified and seen as the height of goodness. There could even be a great sense of bliss in restricting and depriving in order to chip away at a distant goal. It could also mean that there’s romanticizing and mythologizing of authority, a deep need to idealize paternal figureheads and put faith in tradition. This aspect forming at a specific point in time could generate a tendency to expect to be taken care of by society, for the powers that be to provide and coddle its citizens. There could be an expectancy to be redeemed through putting noses to the grindstone and get rewarded in this (or the next) life for doing the right thing, for believing in the system. With the harmonious aspects this might not be such a disastrous preconception to live by but with the harder aspect it becomes another story. With the hard aspects, Neptune-Saturn might express ad deep guilt and regret in not pursuing worldly goals or becoming successful – there could likewise be a sadness of not being receptive enough to have dreams and longings because of too much realism. There might be great defensiveness collectively against chaos as to make people paranoid to not loose control. Counter to what is desired; this fear might cause more disorder and a collapse of defense systems through the very effort of keeping them intact. Saturn has to do with boundaries and Neptune has to do with dissolution, which might indicate collective experiences of trying to keep things in but being unable to. Avoiding the “swamp” whatever form it comes in, would be the dilemma of these people’s lives and for the greater collective at this specific point in time. Escaping responsibility causes guilt and disorder and taking responsibility will cause guilt and disorder, whether it’s mental or physical or both. There’s dysfunction present at both ends. There would possibly be an undermining of authority taking place and simultaneously a stronger defensiveness around authority in order to not fall prey to the temptation of chaos.

Neptune in aspect with Uranus

With the harmonious aspects, this set of planets will combine themselves to create a common experience of looking to the future for redemption. That which is new is idealized and welcomed with open arms – change might seem like an appealing concept. Dreams of a utopian society where every individual is accepted and harmoniously coexisting without the necessity of rigid rules and structure might be prevalent. Faith in humanity and its capacity for genius to solve all its problems might come with this planetary contact. In fact, Neptune is sextile Uranus at this point in time, pointing to a longing for change and the opportunity to create something new that saves humanity from the “dark” past and elevates it to new heights of spiritual and scientific excellence. This is a highly idealistic combo that can produce genius solutions that are in line with the yearnings of the collective. The hard aspects can create tremendous despair and incapacity to pursue progress, without feeling like there’s an abandonment of the potential for redemption. These are the aspects that will sabotage any new endeavor and model in favor of remaining in a state of nebulous undifferentiated potential. New discoveries and insights made during the time of the hard aspects might produce great hurt and disillusionment in the collective. The new discoveries will seem to threaten that which is perceived as pure and sacred, the romantic ideals of humanity will be crushed in favor of breaking free from the limits of the status quo. The collective might polarize into people who want to jump on the band wagon of more advanced thought and the people who can’t abandon the “way things are” because of sentimentality and feeling ties. Either way, with the hard aspects there will be a conflict of the glamorous, timeless and bittersweet and the push to break out of the confines of old society. Neptune often symbolizes the urge to regress or transcend to reach a state of unity; Uranus symbolizes radical rebellion and revolution. With the hard aspects, there’s no way to have both. Uranus is too aggressive and might push people into emotional chaos, Neptune is too receptive and might consume and confuse people as to what is really going on in terms of thought advancement to ever come outside of their current mental framework.

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Neptune in aspect with Pluto

With the harmonious aspects, the Neptune-Pluto dynamic expresses itself through experience of unity through crisis. This might sound scary, but Pluto is after all representative of destruction and rebirth. With this aspect the collective longing for redemption stimulates the impulse to protect something that is necessary for survival. At this point in time Neptune is sextile Pluto, which makes sense considering the state of the world we’re in at the moment. There’s a sense of a need for survival in order to be able to guarantee a blissful destiny of humanity. The collective feeling tone is certainly categorized by fear and paranoia at this time, but also of greater oneness because the whole world is going through this pandemic. With the Neptune-Pluto sextile there’s a need for drastic measures in order to survive the pressure that is felt. The way to Eden is through the darkness. Pluto is in Capricorn, which suggests the desire to protect and control the structure of society at all costs – hard work and endurance is necessary for survival on a collective level. To ensure integrity of the building blocks of society becomes more important than anything else.

With the hard aspects between these planets, the picture becomes less appealing. The urge to merge and retreat into the world of pre/post existence to find healing and peace inevitably causes chaos and violent destruction. The collective would find that the fear and pressure that is experienced is too much to handle. Taking control and exercising power destroys all the hope of beauty and love in the world. This aspect could indicate a time of heart-breaking vulnerability and a lot of fear and need to escape into a dream of how things could be. People born around the years of 1814-1822 seem to have Neptune square Pluto in their charts if you look it up on astrotheme.com. These people would’ve been born into a collective climate of hopelessness and despair to some extent, of power wielded over the weak. There would’ve been a necessity to surrender to the threat of death, to accept the unacceptable and either give up power or use it at the expense of sensitivity and compassion. Karl Marx is a good example of an individual with the square aspect because it falls across two angular houses, Pluto in the 1st  house of self and Neptune in the 10thhouse of public image. The conflict between Neptune-Pluto is consequently evident in his persona. Publicly he’s known for his ideas about how the ideal society should be run (Neptune conjunct Uranus in the 10th). He argued that class tension and antagonism that developed under capitalism was unsustainable – the ruling classes controlling the means of production and the working class offering their labor in exchange for wages would not work in the long run in his opinion. The working class would eventually develop class-consciousness and conquer political power to establish a classless communist society. In this case, Neptune symbolizes the working class and Pluto the ruling class - in Marx’s experience these were at odds with each other (as reflected in his chart). His opinions certainly came from his inner personal tension of needing to identify as powerful (Pluto 1st house) and to offer a recipe of redemption as a part of his life’s work (Neptune in the 10th). I’m sure he felt powerful in himself, yet despairingly at loss when having to contribute to society. Undoubtedly, he felt like he had to give up his power to serve at the feet of the ruling class, to “give himself up”, like Neptune often nudges us to.

Neptune in aspect with Chiron

The harmonious aspects would translate into a peak experience through suffering, a sense of being touched by the sublime through the unintended infliction of pain, whether it’s physical or psychological. Redemption is inextricably linked with the misfortunes and wounding that can’t be cured with current scientific method. Suffering is somehow a vehicle for finding a sense of unity with the remainder of life, it makes for a transcendent experiences that allows for ecstatic bliss in conjunction with permanent damage and disability. At the point in time of the aspect’s formation there might be an unusual acceptance and romanticizing of disability, even to the point of elevating it to something divine and sacred. Knowledge and methods of healing are pursued as a means of redemption, a means of returning to Eden. Technique and skill to remedy the wounds of the collective are sought with a deeper emotional hunger. Compassion and unconditional love might be seen as the key component to healing. Artistry, creativity, music, drug use, alcohol, meditation, hypnosis and emotional surrender might be sought in the name of healing. There could be an effort to collectively spread as much knowledge and insight as possible in order to cure a little bit of the ignorance that causes so much trouble in society. Living with a permanent wound unites people, it connects the souls of the world in mutual longing to go “home”, to return to oneness. The wound stimulates a longing for fusion, which might express itself through a deep understanding of people’s suffering. Princess Diana is a perfect example of someone with the trine; she saw the universality of suffering and wasn’t hesitant to shower “love” on people with severe sickness or disability. She saw herself in people’s pain.

The hard aspects are more gruesome, as always. Personal wounds conflict with the need for fusion and a sense of oneness with existence. At the specific point in time of this aspect there might’ve been feelings in the collective of being fundamentally flawed and damaged to ever be redeemed and brought into the light of the eternal. There would’ve been great struggle to save people from irretrievable damage, yet the longing itself could cause more damage and additional feelings of insufficiency. There could’ve been a tendency to cover up the wound, numb it out and avoid looking at it in order to have a chance at something beautiful, pure and elevated. However, the escape and dissociation from it would only make it worse. The resistance to hope would potentially make the healing journey difficult. Great sympathy could be present yet it would be frequently cancelled out by stone cold realism. Chiron is the wounded healer archetype. He uses the mind and his practical skills to cope. When he’s in hard aspect with Neptune there’s going to be tension in the face of the possibility of redemption. It might only be an illusion after all, and the dark abyss of disillusionment is nothing to gamble with– consequently people would stick to the difficult but nonetheless, real, experience of pain in front of them. However when the pain of life becomes too much and one succumbs to the sweet escape through drugs, alcohol, food, tv, spiritual practices or any other method, it might backfire terribly and cause total disintegration and victimization. A good example of someone with the square is Oprah Winfrey with Chiron in the 1sthouse and Neptune in the 10th house. She’s widely known as a person of great compassion and insight – on a public level she embodies the role of the redeemer to some extent. Her identity however is that of someone who’s been wounded yet has come to terms with the burden and has learnt to live with it. She’s generally perceived to be very wise, similar to Chiron in myth. However, in her need to heal people she makes it into a show and molds the narrative to her liking or preference sometimes. She’s deeply compassionate, yet she can also expect people to live with the permanent burden of certain pains. Her Neptune draws the public in – promises redemption, but in person, she expects people to be realistic and strip their issues down without glamorizing or mythologizing.

[aadeguzman]

SERMON XIV. QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY – DELUSIONS OF SINNERS ~ St Alphonsus

Delusions Of Sinners

“Lord, that I may see.” LUKE xviii. 41

1. THE Devil brings sinners to hell by closing their eyes to the dangers of perdition. He first blinds them, and then leads them with himself to eternal torments. If, then, we wish to be saved, we must continually pray to God in the words of the blind man in the gospel of this day, “Lord, that I may see.” Give me light: make me see the way in which I must walk in order to save my soul, and to escape the deceits of the enemy of salvation. I shall, brethren, this day place before your eyes the delusion by which the devil tempts men to sin and to persevere in sin, that you may know how to guard yourselves against his deceitful artifices.

2. To understand these delusions better, let us imagine the case of a young man who, seized by some passion, lives in sin, the slave of Satan, and never thinks of his eternal salvation. My son, I say to him, what sort of life do you lead? If you continue to live in this manner, how will you be able to save your soul? But, behold! the devil, on the other hand, says to him: Why should you be afraid of being lost? Indulge your passions for the present: you will afterwards confess your sins, and thus all shall be remedied. Behold the net by which the devil drags so many souls into hell. “Indulge your passions: you will hereafter make a good confession.” But, in reply, I say, that in the meantime you lose your soul. Tell me: if you had a jewel worth a thousand pounds, would you throw it into a river with the hope of afterwards finding it again? What if all your efforts to find it were fruitless? God! you hold in your hand the invaluable jewel of your soul, which Jesus Christ has purchased with his own blood, and you cast it into hell! Yes; you cast it into hell; because according to the present order of providence, for every mortal sin you commit, your name is written among the number of the damned. But you say. “I hope to recover God’s grace by making a good confession.” And if you should not recover it, what shall be the consequences? To make a good confession, a true sorrow for sin is necessary, and this sorrow is the gift of God: if he does not give it, will you not be lost for ever?

3. You rejoin: “I am young; God compassionates my youth; I will hereafter give myself to God.” Behold another delusion! You are young; but do you not know that God counts, not the years, but the sins of each individual? You are young; but how many sins have you committed? Perhaps there are many persons of a very advanced age, who have not been guilty of the fourth part of the sins which you have committed. And do you not know that God has fixed for each of us the number of sins which he will pardon?” The Lord patiently expecteth, that, when the day of judgment shall come, he may punish them in the fulness of their sins.” (2 Mach. vi. 14.) God has patience, and waits for a while; but, when the measure of the sins which he has determined to pardon is tilled up, he pardons no more, but chastises the sinner, by suddenly depriving him of life in the miserable state of sin, or by abandoning him in his sin, and executing that threat which he made by the prophet Isaias” I shall take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be wasted.” (Isa. v. 5.) If a person has cultivated land for many years, has encompassed it with a hedge for its protection, and expended a large sum of money on it, but finds that, after all, it produces no fruit, what will he do with it? He will pluck up the hedge, and abandon it to all men and beasts that may wish to enter. Tremble, then, lest God should treat you in a similar manner. If you do not give up sin, your remorse of conscience and your fear of divine chastisement shall daily increase. Behold the hedge taken away, and your soul abandoned by God a punishment worse than death itself.

4. You say: “I cannot at present resist this passion.” Behold the third delusion of the devil, by which he makes you believe that at present you have not strength to overcome certain temptations. But St. Paul tells us that God is faithful, and that he never permits us to be tempted above our strength. “And God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted above that which you are able.” (1 Cor. x. 13.) I ask, if you are not now able to resist the temptation, how can you expect to resist it hereafter? If you yield to it, the Devil will become stronger, and you shall become weaker; and if you be not now able to extinguish this flame of passion, how can you hope to be able to extinguish it when it shall have grown more violent? You say: “God will give me his aid.” But this aid God is ready to give at present if you ask it. Why then do you not implore his assistance? Perhaps you expect that, without now taking the trouble of invoking his aid, you will receive from him increased helps and graces, after you shall have multiplied the number of your sins? Perhaps you doubt the veracity of God, who has promised to give whatever we ask of him? “Ask,” he says, “and it shall be given you.” (Matt. vii. 7.) God cannot violate his promises. ”God is not as man, that he should lie, nor as the son of man, that he should be changed. Hath he said, then, and will he not do?” (Num. xxiii. 19.) Have recourse to him, and he will give you the strength necessary to resist the temptation. God commands you to resist it, and you say: “I have not strength.” Does God, then, command impossibilities? No; the Council of Trent has declared that “God does not command impossibilities; but, by his commands, he admonishes you to do what you can, and to ask what you cannot do; and he assists, that you may be able to do it.” (Sess. 6. c. xiii.) When you see that you have not sufficient strength to resist temptation with the ordinary assistance of God, ask of him the additional help which you require, and he will give it to you; and thus you shall be able to conquer all temptations, however violent they may be.

5. But you will not pray; and you say that at present you will commit this sin, and will afterwards confess it. But, I ask, how do you know that God will give you time to confess it? You say: “I will go to confession before the lapse of a week.” And who has promised you this week? Well, then you say: ” I will go to confession tomorrow.” And who promises you tomorrow? “Crastinum Deus non promisit,” says St. Augustine, “fortasse dabit, et fortasse non dabit.” God has not promised you to-morrow. Perhaps he will give it, and perhaps he will refuse it to you, as he has to so many others. How many have gone to bed in good health, and have been found dead in the morning! How many, in the very act of sin, has the Lord struck dead and sent to hell! Should this happen to you, how will you repair your eternal ruin?”Commit this sin, and confess it afterwards.” Behold the deceitful artifice by which the devil has brought so many thousands of Christians to hell. We scarcely ever find a Christian so sunk in despair as to intend to damn himself. All the wicked sin with the hope of afterwards going to confession. But, by this illusion, how many have brought themselves to perdition! For them there is now no time for confession, no remedy for their damnation.

6. ”But God is merciful.” Behold another common delusion by which the devil encourages sinners to persevere in a life of sin! A certain author has said, that more souls have been sent to hell by the mercy of God than by his justice. This is indeed the case; for men are induced by the deceits of the devil to persevere in sin, through confidence in Gods mercy; and thus they are lost. “God is merciful.” Who denies it? But, great as his mercy, how many does he every day send to hell? God is merciful, but he is also just, and is, therefore, obliged to punish those who offend him. ”And his mercy,” says the divine mother, ”to them that fear him.” (Luke i. 50.) But with regard to those who abuse his mercy and despise him, he exercises justice. The Lord pardons sins, but he cannot pardon the determination to commit sin. St. Augustine says, that he who sins with the intention of repenting after his sins, is not a penitent but a scoffer. ”Irrisor est non poenitens.” But the Apostle tells us that God will not be mocked. ”Be not deceived; God is not mocked.” (Gal. vi. 7.) It would be a mockery of God to insult him as often and as much as you pleased, and afterwards to expect eternal glory.

7. “But”; you say, “as God has shown me so many mercies hitherto, I hope he will continue to do so for the future.” Behold another delusion! Then, because God has not as yet chastised your sins, he will never punish them! On the contrary, the greater have been his mercies, the more you should tremble, lest, if you offend him again, he should pardon you no more, and should take vengeance on your sins. Behold the advice of the Holy Ghost: ”Say not: I have sinned, and what harm hath befallen me? for the Most High is a patient rewarder.” (Eccles. v. 4.) Do not say: “I have sinned, and no chastisement has fallen upon me.” God bears for a time, but not for ever. He waits for a certain time; but when that arrives, he then chastises the sinner for all his past iniquities: and the longer he has waited for repentance, the more severe the chastisement. ”Quos diutius expectat,” says St. Gregory, ”durius damnat.” Then, my brother, since you know that you have frequently offended God, and that he has not sent you to hell, you should exclaim: ”The mercies of the Lord, that we are not consumed.” (Thren. iii. 22.) Lord, I thank you for not having sent me to hell, which I have so often deserved. And therefore you ought to give yourself entirely to God, at least through gratitude, and should consider that, for less sins than you have committed, many are now in that pit of fire, without the smallest hope of being ever released from it. The patience of God in bearing with you, should teach you not to despise him still more, but to love and serve him with greater fervour, and to atone, by penitential austerities and by other holy works, for the insults you have offered to him. You know that he has shown mercies to you, which he has not shown to others. ”He hath not done in like manner to every nation.” (Ps. cxlvii. 20.) Hence you should tremble, lest, if you commit a single additional mortal sin, God should abandon you, and cast you into hell.

8. Let us come to the next illusion. “It is true that, by this sin, I lose the grace of God; but, even after committing this sin, I may be saved.” You may, indeed, be saved: but it cannot be denied that if, after having committed so many sins, and after having received so many graces from God, you again offend him, there is great reason to fear that you shall be lost. Attend to the words of the sacred Scripture: “A hard heart shall fare evil at the last.” (Eccles. iii. 27.) The obstinate sinner shall die an unhappy death. Evil doers shall be cut off.” (Ps. xxxvi. 9.) The wicked shall be cut off by the divine justice. “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap.” (Gal. vi. 8.) He that sows in sin, shall reap eternal torments. “Because I called and you refused, I also will laugh in your destruction and will mock when that shall come to you which you feared.” (Prov. i. 24, 26.) I called, says the Lord, and you mocked me; but I will mock you at the hour of death. “Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time.” (Deut. xxxii. 35.) The chastisement of sins belongs to me, and I will execute vengeance on them when the time of vengeance shall arrive. “The man that with a stiff neck despiseth him that reproveth him, shall suddenly be destroyed, and health shall not follow him.” (Prov. xxix. 1.) The man who obstinately despises those who correct him, shall be punished with a sudden death, and for him there shall be no hope of salvation.

9. Now, brethren, what think you of these divine threats against sinners? Is it easy, or is it not very difficult, to save your souls, if, after so many divine calls, and after so many mercies, you continue to offend God? You say: “But after all, it may happen that I will save my soul.” I answer: “What folly is it to trust your salvation to a perhaps? How many with this “perhaps I may be saved,” are now in hell? Do you wish to be one of their unhappy companions? Dearly beloved Christians, enter into yourselves, and tremble; for this sermon may be the last of Gods mercies to you.

[rutilation]

You hear that subtle creaking noise?  That is the sound of the Sword of Damocles, its single thread fraying as it prepares to come crashing down on Gormie’s head.  Poor kid’s going to incur Ichikawa’s wrath if they keep tempting fate like this.  

One minute you’re having the time of your life visiting moon-disneyland while trashing your ex, but before you know it your author is going to dump some nasty plot twist on you like: “Actually, Aechmea was lying about your eyes,” “Actually, you’re just Ghost’s split-personality,” “Actually, Aechmea is using you as a science experiment.”  (in case you couldn’t tell, I’m dreading eagerly anticipating the payoff to all this buildup.)

So to start off, Aechmea was being quite ominous this chapter, and everything that came out of his mouth seemed like it had a double meaning that we poor readers don’t have enough information to decipher yet.  This line also seemed like a veiled way of suggesting that he has ulterior motives regarding Cairn beyond simply acquiring a trophy wife.

I’ve been thinking for a long time that whatever extenuating circumstances are keeping Kongou from praying must be pretty dire, because otherwise he has no reason to keep this carousel of misery going.  Every piece of humanity is suffering because of his inaction, and I don’t think he’d abide by that if there wasn’t something grave stopping him from taking action.  I also think it’s likely that Aechmea knows what this reason is, and is keeping that information from the gems.  So, now that Phos has cooled their head enough that they’re willing to try and talk things out, is Aechmea going to do something about that?  Do his cryptic words from this chapter allude to this?  Hmmmm…

Anyway, on to Phos.

What a good rock.

It’s good that Phos is more cognizant of the impact they have on others and that they’re trying to be less callous.  Keeping Alex from going through with that idea was definitely the right decision.  At the same time, I don’t think the answer to the conundrum of getting other people caught up in your problems is to take the weight of the world onto your shoulders and try to do everything by yourself. That’s essentially what Kongou has been doing the whole story, and look how that turned out.  Furthermore, one important aspect of Phos early in their character arc was how the other characters’ unwillingness to let Phos take responsibility for their own mistakes really ate away at their self-esteem.  The narrative seems to posit that taking away the consequences of someone’s actions and the responsibility of making decisions is tantamount to depriving another of their full personhood, even when the desire to do so comes from a place of compassion.

On a related note, I’ve noticed that both of the important people in Phos’s life are in a rather precarious position thanks to Phos’s actions, and additionally, nothing Phos does going forward is going to bail them out of it.  They both stand to gain something in the short term if Phos keeps failing at their task of getting Kongou to pray.  Cinnabar’s newfound acceptance is contingent on Phos trying (and failing) to assault Kongou.  The longer that keeps up, the longer they’ll be accepted by the other gems; Phos’s success would end that in an instant.  However, even if this were to become the new status quo, it wouldn’t make Cinnabar happy in the long run.  After all, one of the very first things we learn about them is that they hate fighting.  So once the novelty of their peers’ acceptance begins to wear off, they’re going to find themselves dissatisfied. 

Similarly, Cairn also stands to benefit in the short term if Phos keeps failing.  The longer Kongou doesn’t pray for the Lunarians, the more time they have with Aechmea.  But as chapter 71 showed, he’s the controlling type, which is pretty antithetical to Cairn’s desire to find freedom.  Aechmea’s behavior is probably just going to get worse and worse once the honeymoon-phase of the relationship is over, at which point Cairn’s life is going to be hell for every moment that Aechmea continues to stink up the mortal plane with his existence.

Before Phos got their grubby little paws on Cinnabar and Cairngorm, neither of them were living happy lives.  But they also didn’t hope for anything better, and were more or less resigned to their respective fates.  But now that they’ve ridden the wave of Phos’s change, both of them now have something to lose.  Whether Phos succeeds or fails in their quest, it seems to me that the two of them are going to have to save themselves if they don’t want to get badly burned (or worse) by the end of this debacle.

In this interview, Ichikawa alluded to the conundrum of whether or not it’s possible to save someone from themselves, and the way she talked about it makes it seem like a central conceit of the text.  Not to be totally predictable by referencing Utena once again in my essays, but that theme is one of the central conflicts in Utena as well.  The answer that series comes to is that people can really only save themselves, and that the most the people around them can do is give that person the tools and opportunity to do so.  It also posits that trying to do otherwise creates a toxic relationship wherein the savior has ultimate power over the one being saved, thus tainting the altruism that might have inspired one to save another in the first place.  I wonder if HnK will come to a similar conclusion.

Going back to Cinnabar for a minute, while I’m taking it as a given that the rest of the earth gems will drop them like a bad habit the second they stop being useful, I do have a bit of faith that Bort will stick up for them.  Let’s talk about Bort.

Unlike most of the other gems still on earth, Bort has grown since the start of the manga.  They can say that change is for weaklings all they want, but the Bort we were introduced to is quite different from Bort as we know them now.  Their establishing scene in the manga has them scoffing at the idea of helping someone who they saw as a burden, someone who’s unwilling to help themselves.  But whatever scorn they had towards Phos early in the manga—by their own logic—they would have had for Cinnabar twice over. Where Phos was merely useless, Cinnabar was an actual liability.  Where Phos was haphazard and lazy in their efforts, Cinnabar is almost pathologically passive and self-defeating.

But by the time they actually met Cinnabar, they had changed.  And nowadays, it seems they’re trying to act as the Shinsha Whisperer.  Because of a series of gradual changes catalyzed by Phos and Dia, they’ve come to realize that:

A.     People can have potential that isn’t immediately apparent

B.     They themselves can have a more enriching role in their society than that of a surly guard dog

Plenty of people have written about how Bort is more thoughtful and sensitive than they initially appeared to be, but it’s usually couched in terms of the reader pulling back the veil of gruffness to reveal sweet, jellyfish-loving soul underneath.  While I don’t think that’s inaccurate per se, the way I see it is that certain events in the story have nurtured their growth as a character, causing them to slowly become less of an asshole.  I find that to be a more fruitful framework to work with than simply: “We the readers didn’t understand Bort at first because of incomplete information and now we do.”

What I’m getting at is that since they were willing to set aside a bit of their pride and step outside of their comfort zone in order to change, I have more faith in them to do the right thing than the people surrounding them.  Most of the gems are polite, agreeable, charming, etc…but the way the outcasts of their society have been treated throughout the narrative speaks volumes, much more than a veil of civility ever could.  What other read am I supposed to get from chapter five?  Not to trash on two-thirds of the cast or anything, but I think most of these characters are just going along to get along, and aren’t terribly concerned about anything or anyone that doesn’t directly affect them.

Speaking of earth gems that I don’t trust:

Ichikawa keeps repeating the image of Euclase looming over Phos.  This is the third time now.

Anyway, Cairn is once again happening.  And, umm...

Hate to break it to you buddy, but I’m pretty sure the call’s coming from inside the house.  What episode of The Twilight Zone have we entered in which Cairngorm needs Ghost’s help in order to look disgusted with everything?

There’s not much I can say about Cairn in this chapter that I didn’t already say in my Cairn essay.  While it’s certainly upsetting to learn that they were suicidal while Phos was in a coma, it’s also not exactly shocking.  That said, I do have one additional observation.  This has been on my mind for a while, but I’ve never really brought it up because it’s existed in the realm of subtext, and sometimes I am a timid little bean who doesn’t want to risk putting my foot in my mouth.

Cairngorm is pretty good at reading people, aren’t they?  In this scene in chapter 50 they seem to have a much stronger grasp on Kongou’s state of mind than Phos ever has, they can always tell when Phos is lying or otherwise putting up a front, and I’m fairly certain they’re basing their current affectation on what they have inferred that Aechmea wants.  I bring this up because of this moment from the chapter:

While we the audience have the benefit of hindsight, tone, and framing to indicate that Aechmea is up to something duplicitous in this scene, Cairn doesn’t.  But they still immediately pick up on the fact that he’s being shady.  They phrase this observation as if it’s a joke rather than a source of genuine unease, but the fact that the composition of the page lingers on this line is rather telling, leading me to think Cairn is trying to laugh off something that is in actuality causing them anxiety.

The only other thing that caught my attention is that Cairn called Aechmea by his name.  I guess whatever reason he has for not liking his name, it’s not because he considers it an insult?

Finally, just as a reminder, I’ve started cross-posting my essays to ao3 in case tumblr dies or whatever.  So, if that does happen, you can find me there.

[loveofyhwh]

September 22: Ecclesiastes 4–6; Philemon 4–7; Psalm 77; Proverbs 24:7

New Post has been published on https://loveofyhwh.com/september-22-ecclesiastes-4-6-philemon-4-7-psalm-77-proverbs-247/

September 22: Ecclesiastes 4–6; Philemon 4–7; Psalm 77; Proverbs 24:7

Old Testament:

Ecclesiastes 4–6

Ecclesiastes 4–6 (Listen)

Evil Under the Sun

4 Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. 2 And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. 3 But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

4 Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanityThe Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 7, 8, 16 (see note on 1:2)‘>1 and a striving after wind.

5 The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.

6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

7 Again, I saw vanity under the sun: 8 one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

13 Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. 14 For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. 15 I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with thatHebrew the second‘>2 youth who was to stand in the king’sHebrew his‘>3 place. 16 There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Fear God

5 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead youHebrew your flesh‘>4 into sin, and do not say before the messengerOr angel‘>5 that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity;The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2)‘>6 butOr For when dreams and vanities increase, words also grow many; but‘>7 God is the one you must fear.

The Vanity of Wealth and Honor

8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain‘>8

10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

13 There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, 14 and those riches were lost in a bad venture. And he is father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. 16 This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind? 17 Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.

18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoymentOr and see good‘>9 in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity;The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 4, 9, 11 (see note on 1:2)‘>10 it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoyOr see‘>11 no good—do not all go to the one place?

7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied.Hebrew filled‘>12 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. 11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vainThe Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)‘>13 life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?

Footnotes

[1] 4:4 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 7, 8, 16 (see note on 1:2) [2] 4:15 Hebrew the second [3] 4:15 Hebrew his [4] 5:6 Hebrew your flesh [5] 5:6 Or angel [6] 5:7 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2) [7] 5:7 Or For when dreams and vanities increase, words also grow many; but [8] 5:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain [9] 5:18 Or and see good [10] 6:2 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verses 4, 9, 11 (see note on 1:2) [11] 6:6 Or see [12] 6:7 Hebrew filled [13] 6:12 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)

(ESV)

New Testament:

Philemon 4–7

Philemon 4–7 (Listen)

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.Or for Christ’s service“>1 7 For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.

Footnotes

[1] 1:6 Or for Christ’s service

(ESV)

Psalm:

Psalm 77

Psalm 77 (Listen)

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

77   I cry aloud to God,     aloud to God, and he will hear me. 2   In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;     in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;     my soul refuses to be comforted. 3   When I remember God, I moan;     when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah 4   You hold my eyelids open;     I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5   I consider the days of old,     the years long ago. 6   I said,Hebrew lacks I said‘>1 “Let me remember my song in the night;     let me meditate in my heart.”     Then my spirit made a diligent search: 7   “Will the Lord spurn forever,     and never again be favorable? 8   Has his steadfast love forever ceased?     Are his promises at an end for all time? 9   Has God forgotten to be gracious?     Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah 10   Then I said, “I will appeal to this,     to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed‘>2 11   I will remember the deeds of the LORD;     yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12   I will ponder all your work,     and meditate on your mighty deeds. 13   Your way, O God, is holy.     What god is great like our God? 14   You are the God who works wonders;     you have made known your might among the peoples. 15   You with your arm redeemed your people,     the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah 16   When the waters saw you, O God,     when the waters saw you, they were afraid;     indeed, the deep trembled. 17   The clouds poured out water;     the skies gave forth thunder;     your arrows flashed on every side. 18   The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;     your lightnings lighted up the world;     the earth trembled and shook. 19   Your way was through the sea,     your path through the great waters;     yet your footprints were unseen.Hebrew unknown‘>3 20   You led your people like a flock     by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes

[1] 77:6 Hebrew lacks I said [2] 77:10 Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed [3] 77:19 Hebrew unknown

(ESV)

Proverb:

Proverbs 24:7

Proverbs 24:7 (Listen)

7   Wisdom is too high for a fool;     in the gate he does not open his mouth.

(ESV)

[catholiccom-blog]

What Was Christ’s Resurrected Body Made Of?

The third day after his death, Christ rose gloriously from the dead. But did you ever wonder what Christ’s resurrected body was made of? This is not a question of incredulity, but one of unflinching, child-like trust that Christ’s resurrected body was real, not a figment of imagination, not an aberration, not a ghost, but actually there, walking, talking, eating, appearing, and vanishing among the disciples in exactly the way Christ intended it. The saints and Church have provided us with guidance that is just as relevant in terms of modern science as it was in antiquity.

The resurrected body is real

The reality of the resurrected body is a fundamental truth of Christianity. The Eleventh Synod of Toledo (A.D. 675) held that Christ experienced “a real death in the flesh” (veram carnis mortem) and was restored to life by his own power (57).

Some argued that because Christ appeared through shut doors to his disciples (John 20:26), and vanished before their eyes (Luke 24:31), and appeared in different shapes (Mark 16:12), that his body was only an image. However, Christ himself addressed these objections. When Christ appeared to the disciples and they thought they were seeing a spirit, he told them to “handle and see” his body (Luke 24:37-40). He was not just observable to the disciples, but also touchable and living. Scientifically speaking, there is no stronger proof that someone exists than to be able to touch the person and observe him living.

Hence the reason theologian Ludwig Ott notes that the resurrection of Christ is considered the strongest proof of the truth of Christ’s teaching (Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma). As St. Paul put it, “If Christ be not risen again, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Cor. 15:10). Christianity is not true if the resurrection of Christ’s body was only apparent.

The resurrected body is glorified

St. Thomas Aquinas examines this idea in the Summa Theologiae (part III, question 54). Christ’s body, though real, was “glorified” (i.e. in a glorified condition). St. Thomas cites St. Gregory saying that "Christ's body is shown to be of the same nature, but of different glory, after the Resurrection” (III, 54, article 2). What does that mean? It means that a glorified body is still a body, but it is not subject to corruption.

As we would say in modern scientific terminology, the glorified body is not subject to the forces and laws of physics and chemistry. Human bodies, made of the elements on the periodic table, belong to rational souls. Although our powers of intellect and will give us control over what our bodies do—we can smile, wave, wear our favorite color, or read a book—our bodies are still subject to the natural order. For example, all the wishing in the world cannot take away our wrinkles or un-grow our babies. Neither can the unglorified body avoid death. Bodies are highly organized physical systems, and like all physical systems they follow the laws of enthalpy and entropy. They need energy to remain alive, otherwise they will decompose, marching with the rest of the universe towards disorder.

This is not so with glorified bodies. While we cannot take samples of a glorified body into the lab to run a set of elemental analyses, we can reason through the question. St. Thomas maintains that all glorified bodies are still made of the elements (sup, 82). This was of course in the pre-periodic table days, but nevertheless element refers to matter and energy. St. Thomas asks whether the elements composing a body stay the same? Do they act the same? How can they really remain the same substance if they do not act according to their nature? St. Thomas concludes that matter does persist, does retain its properties, but becomes more perfected.

For they say that the elements will remain, then, as to substance, yet that they will be deprived of their active and passive qualities. But this does not seem to be true: because the active and passive qualities belong to the perfection of the elements, so that if the elements were restored without them in the body of the man that rises again, they would be less perfect than now. (sup, 82, 1)

The same principle that creates elements and forms bodies is the same principle that prefects them—that is, God. It makes sense that if real bodies are made of elements, then so are glorified bodies. It is possible that the electrons and all the other subatomic particles in glorified bodies are no longer governed by free energy, the energy that a thermodynamic system has available to do work, the driving force for stability that explains why atoms and molecules organize the way they do. In Christ’s resurrected body, the elements would be subject to the power of Christ, “that of the Word, which must be referred to the essence of God alone” (Synod of Toledo, 43). This fits with St. John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word. . . . All things were made by him. . . . In him was life” (John 1:1-4).

All creation is held in existence by God. Suffice it to say that a glorified body has living powers that an unglorified body does not have. Glorified bodies are incorruptible (incapable of decay) and impassible (incapable of suffering). They are stronger. In the hierarchy of creation, St. Thomas says, the “stronger is not passive to the weaker” (sup, 82, 1). We can, with St. Thomas, conclude that the elements retain their qualities but are perfected to a higher law. Glorified bodies, and all they contain, will be “perfectly subject to the rational soul, even as the soul will be perfectly subject to God” (sup, 82, 1).

Faith, science, and hope are united

Notice that when we affirm the resurrection of the Lord, we unite faith, science, and hope. The natural and the supernatural realms come from God, and everything is subject to divine providence. Miracles, glorification, and resurrection violate no laws of physics. These events have the same formal cause that makes rocks fall to the earth, but they are beyond physics.

The resurrection completed the work of redemption, and the glorified body of Christ is a model of the glorified bodies of the saints. Whatever we suffer, fear, or endure during our lives, the promise of Easter is hope for unity with Christ in heaven.

St. Paul is explicit about this hope. He tells the Romans that we are joint heirs with Christ.

Yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him. For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us. (Rom. 8:18-19, Douay-Rheims Bible)

He tells the Colossians that Christ is our life: “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4).

He assures the Corinthians of the promise: “That which is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now he that maketh us for this very thing, is God, who hath given us the pledge of the Spirit” (2 Cor. 5:4-5, Douay-Rheims Bible).

And he is telling us. Christ is our life beyond suffering and death. When creation is redeemed, free from the tyranny of corruption down to every particle comprising the periodic table, we can hope to become who we were made to be. Alleluia, He is risen.

[romancatholicreflections]

1st February 2017, >> 'Tragedy Of Rejection' ~ Daily Reflection on Today's Mass Readings for Roman Catholics on Wednesday, Fourth Week, Ordinary Time

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ HEB 12:4-15; PS 102:1-2,13-14,17-18; MARK 6:1-6 ] In the gospel, we read the shock Jesus received upon returning to His hometown. “Most of them were astonished when they heard him.” From being astonished, it led to disbelief and rejection. They said, “What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?” In a terse and heartbreaking remark, the evangelist wrote, “And they would not accept him.” Indeed, this is often the reality of life. We should not be surprised as Jesus said, “A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house.” Those supposedly closest to us, whether they are family members or colleagues, are often our greatest enemies and wet blankets. They cannot see the good in us but only our faults. Instead of supporting us, they are always putting us down for whatever initiatives we take. They oppose us in whatever good we try to do. We receive nothing but discouragement and sometimes even slander. This explains why many children lose confidence in their studies because no matter how hard they try, their parents would criticize them and ridule their efforts, destroying their confidence and self-esteem. So too in the office as well! Instead of affirming our fellow colleagues, we pass disparaging remarks, make them feel small or inadequate. Isn’t this the way the relatives of Jesus said as well? “Where did the man get all this?” The tragedy is that often those rejected by us are happily welcomed by others. That is why we prefer to be with those who love us and support us. When husbands and wives keep putting each other down, they do not realize that they are killing the love between them and indirectly forcing the other partner to seek consolation and support elsewhere. Children too, when they do not find acceptance at home, would prefer to hang out with their friends instead of being at home in a hostile environment. Indeed, if you find someone who does not like to be at home, most likely there is no real home but simply a house. A home is where you expect support, encouragement, understanding, compassion, consolation and love. Likewise in our parishes, how often have we had good laity who are professionals and doing well in life offering to devote their time to serving God, only to find discouragement and rejection? In so doing, the Church ends up losing valuable resources to other organisations and institutions, including NGOs and non-Catholic or non-Christian entities, that appreciate them more. We have lost the services of many talented Catholics in our churches because we fail to appreciate them and value their services. The irony is that many of them are now doing very well in the world, serving the poor. What is the reason? Clearly, most of the time when we find ourselves unable to welcome the prophets in our lives, it has to do with insecurity and self-interest. The relatives of Jesus were jealous of Him. They could not accept that someone who was living with them and once under their authority could now speak in such an authoritative manner. The scribes and Pharisees also opposed Jesus later in His ministry because they found Jesus a threat to their status quo, their position in society and most of all, they did not like what Jesus said because they felt embarrassed by the truth of His words. They were all out to remove Jesus as He was a nuisance and an obstacle to their comfort and interests. We too behave exactly the same way. This explains why most people have difficulty with those in authority. They are too proud to obey. They want things to be done their way, and according to their whims and fancies. They do not want to be told what to do. When their vested interests are compromised, they will fight back to retain their status quo. This is what Pope Francis often warns us; that worldliness has crept into the Church as well. Even within the Church, there is an unconscious ambition for fame, power, attention, security and comfort. The zeal for the spread of the gospel is often lacking so much so that it is in danger of becoming just another institution that affords security with all the material and emotional benefits. So if we do not want to lose the assistance and services of our fellow Catholics, we must welcome them. We must not see others who have talent or fresh ideas as working against us. More often than not, we react out of our insecurity. The bottom line is that we do not like our cheese moved. We want things to remain the same. We are routine people and we do not like changes. But without the sacrifices and pain of change, no organization or church can grow. When we are set in our own ways, just like the relatives of Jesus, we will remain stagnant, unable to receive the blessings of God. This was what the evangelist said, “He could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.” By rejecting such talented people and their sincere good will, we are the ones to suffer in the end. Then we should not be complaining and lamenting why we do not have enough volunteers in the Church. The answer is simple. They are not welcome and their professional advice and skills are not appreciated. Conversely, when we welcome the initiatives of people, we empower them and help them to become better each day. What people need is our confidence and trust. When we are receptive, open and docile to their plans and visions, they will be more willing to share and to listen to us and to work collaboratively to bring their ideas to greater heights. When they see us sincerely wanting to better their proposals and not sabotaging them, they will be more forthcoming and eager to contribute to our interests. By placing our confidence in them, we help them to become more confident in themselves and more courageous in thinking out of the box and taking risks. For those of us who are rejected, we should not fall into despair. As the author in the first reading reminds us, we are sons of God. “My son, do not scorn correction from the Lord, do not resent his training, for the Lord trains those he loves, and chastises every son he accepts. Perseverance is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons.” We are the children of God but we need to be purified and grow in grace, in humility and faith. “Our human fathers were training us for a short life and according to their own lights; but he does it all for our own good, so that we may share his own holiness.” Jesus learned obedience through suffering. It was through the rejection of His own relatives that He could be prepared to accept a wider rejection from the community. His rejection by His own relatives and townsfolk prepared Him for the final betrayal and rejection of the apostles and those who whom He has helped. Most of all, the author warns us not to fall into resentment and bitterness. “Seek peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one can ever see the Lord. Be careful that no one is deprived of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a large number.” We must learn to forgive like Jesus and use such rejection to grow in compassion for our enemies and trust in the Lord. Indeed, if we accept the trials of life positively, they can make us better, not bitter. We must be brave and courageous and see everything not through our wounded eyes and bruised ego but through the mercy and compassion of God. So let us heed the exhortation of the author of Hebrews, “any discipline is at the time a matter for grief, not joy; but later, in those who have undergone it, it bears fruit in peace and uprightness. So steady all weary hands and trembling knees and make your crooked paths straight; then the injured limb will not be maimed, it will get better instead.” With a stronger prayer life, a deeper relationship with the Lord, with greater openness and perseverance in establishing dialogue with those who see us as our enemies, and by building bridges instead of walls, we will one day not just transcend our opponents but we will make them our friends. We will use their taunts for our growth so that we can become better and more purified in love and service. Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart. Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord. It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.

[forgottenbones]

In receiving the distinction with which your free Academy has so generously honoured me, my gratitude has been profound, particularly when I consider the extent to which this recompense has surpassed my personal merits. Every man, and for stronger reasons, every artist, wants to be recognized. So do I. But I have not been able to learn of your decision without comparing its repercussions to what I really am. A man almost young, rich only in his doubts and with his work still in progress, accustomed to living in the solitude of work or in the retreats of friendship: how would he not feel a kind of panic at hearing the decree that transports him all of a sudden, alone and reduced to himself, to the centre of a glaring light? And with what feelings could he accept this honour at a time when other writers in Europe, among them the very greatest, are condemned to silence, and even at a time when the country of his birth is going through unending misery?

I felt that shock and inner turmoil. In order to regain peace I have had, in short, to come to terms with a too generous fortune. And since I cannot live up to it by merely resting on my achievement, I have found nothing to support me but what has supported me through all my life, even in the most contrary circumstances: the idea that I have of my art and of the role of the writer. Let me only tell you, in a spirit of gratitude and friendship, as simply as I can, what this idea is.

For myself, I cannot live without my art. But I have never placed it above everything. If, on the other hand, I need it, it is because it cannot be separated from my fellow men, and it allows me to live, such as I am, on one level with them. It is a means of stirring the greatest number of people by offering them a privileged picture of common joys and sufferings. It obliges the artist not to keep himself apart; it subjects him to the most humble and the most universal truth. And often he who has chosen the fate of the artist because he felt himself to be different soon realizes that he can maintain neither his art nor his difference unless he admits that he is like the others. The artist forges himself to the others, midway between the beauty he cannot do without and the community he cannot tear himself away from. That is why true artists scorn nothing: they are obliged to understand rather than to judge. And if they have to take sides in this world, they can perhaps side only with that society in which, according to Nietzsche’s great words, not the judge but the creator will rule, whether he be a worker or an intellectual.

By the same token, the writer’s role is not free from difficult duties. By definition he cannot put himself today in the service of those who make history; he is at the service of those who suffer it. Otherwise, he will be alone and deprived of his art. Not all the armies of tyranny with their millions of men will free him from his isolation, even and particularly if he falls into step with them. But the silence of an unknown prisoner, abandoned to humiliations at the other end of the world, is enough to draw the writer out of his exile, at least whenever, in the midst of the privileges of freedom, he manages not to forget that silence, and to transmit it in order to make it resound by means of his art.

None of us is great enough for such a task. But in all circumstances of life, in obscurity or temporary fame, cast in the irons of tyranny or for a time free to express himself, the writer can win the heart of a living community that will justify him, on the one condition that he will accept to the limit of his abilities the two tasks that constitute the greatness of his craft: the service of truth and the service of liberty. Because his task is to unite the greatest possible number of people, his art must not compromise with lies and servitude which, wherever they rule, breed solitude. Whatever our personal weaknesses may be, the nobility of our craft will always be rooted in two commitments, difficult to maintain: the refusal to lie about what one knows and the resistance to oppression.

For more than twenty years of an insane history, hopelessly lost like all the men of my generation in the convulsions of time, I have been supported by one thing: by the hidden feeling that to write today was an honour because this activity was a commitment – and a commitment not only to write. Specifically, in view of my powers and my state of being, it was a commitment to bear, together with all those who were living through the same history, the misery and the hope we shared. These men, who were born at the beginning of the First World War, who were twenty when Hitler came to power and the first revolutionary trials were beginning, who were then confronted as a completion of their education with the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, the world of concentration camps, a Europe of torture and prisons – these men must today rear their sons and create their works in a world threatened by nuclear destruction. Nobody, I think, can ask them to be optimists. And I even think that we should understand – without ceasing to fight it – the error of those who in an excess of despair have asserted their right to dishonour and have rushed into the nihilism of the era. But the fact remains that most of us, in my country and in Europe, have refused this nihilism and have engaged upon a quest for legitimacy. They have had to forge for themselves an art of living in times of catastrophe in order to be born a second time and to fight openly against the instinct of death at work in our history.

Each generation doubtless feels called upon to reform the world. Mine knows that it will not reform it, but its task is perhaps even greater. It consists in preventing the world from destroying itself. Heir to a corrupt history, in which are mingled fallen revolutions, technology gone mad, dead gods, and worn-out ideologies, where mediocre powers can destroy all yet no longer know how to convince, where intelligence has debased itself to become the servant of hatred and oppression, this generation starting from its own negations has had to re-establish, both within and without, a little of that which constitutes the dignity of life and death. In a world threatened by disintegration, in which our grand inquisitors run the risk of establishing forever the kingdom of death, it knows that it should, in an insane race against the clock, restore among the nations a peace that is not servitude, reconcile anew labour and culture, and remake with all men the Ark of the Covenant. It is not certain that this generation will ever be able to accomplish this immense task, but already it is rising everywhere in the world to the double challenge of truth and liberty and, if necessary, knows how to die for it without hate. Wherever it is found, it deserves to be saluted and encouraged, particularly where it is sacrificing itself. In any event, certain of your complete approval, it is to this generation that I should like to pass on the honour that you have just given me.

At the same time, after having outlined the nobility of the writer’s craft, I should have put him in his proper place. He has no other claims but those which he shares with his comrades in arms: vulnerable but obstinate, unjust but impassioned for justice, doing his work without shame or pride in view of everybody, not ceasing to be divided between sorrow and beauty, and devoted finally to drawing from his double existence the creations that he obstinately tries to erect in the destructive movement of history. Who after all this can expect from him complete solutions and high morals? Truth is mysterious, elusive, always to be conquered. Liberty is dangerous, as hard to live with as it is elating. We must march toward these two goals, painfully but resolutely, certain in advance of our failings on so long a road. What writer would from now on in good conscience dare set himself up as a preacher of virtue? For myself, I must state once more that I am not of this kind. I have never been able to renounce the light, the pleasure of being, and the freedom in which I grew up. But although this nostalgia explains many of my errors and my faults, it has doubtless helped me toward a better understanding of my craft. It is helping me still to support unquestioningly all those silent men who sustain the life made for them in the world only through memory of the return of brief and free happiness.

Thus reduced to what I really am, to my limits and debts as well as to my difficult creed, I feel freer, in concluding, to comment upon the extent and the generosity of the honour you have just bestowed upon me, freer also to tell you that I would receive it as an homage rendered to all those who, sharing in the same fight, have not received any privilege, but have on the contrary known misery and persecution. It remains for me to thank you from the bottom of my heart and to make before you publicly, as a personal sign of my gratitude, the same and ancient promise of faithfulness which every true artist repeats to himself in silence every day.

Albert Camus, Noble Prize Banquet Speech