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electronickingdomfox · 2 months ago

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"Final Frontier" review

Novel from 1988, by Diane Carey. Not to be confused with the novelization of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier", or Carey's "First Frontier", which is the one with the dinosaur on the cover. There may be no dinosaurs in this one, but it was pretty great nonetheless (and crazy as it may sound, I don't think that dinosaurs would have made it better in this case).

The story focuses on a so far unrecorded period in the Enterprise's life: that of its first mission. And by that I don't mean Kirk's first mission aboard. Not even Pike's. But its very, very first mission under the command of Robert April (from the Animated Series), alongside Kirk's father: George. There's tight action, ideological dilemmas, some funny humor, and Romulans (both good and bad), that borrow heavily from Diane Duane's Rihannsu series. The frame story, on the other hand, has Kirk reading his father's letters during shore leave, in his childhood farm of Iowa. While he reflects upon his life choices in the aftermath of Edith Keeler's death. The brief frame chapters, inserted between the main story, present thus a poignant, quiet counterpart to George Kirk's adventures.

I really liked the development of the new characters in this one, and had the impression of knowing them quite well, despite not appearing in the series (or barely at all). Robert April is the laid-back, gentlemanly and ideallistic Captain, and a clear counterpoint to George, the pragmatic man that sports a more militaristic approach for Starfleet. The narrative tends to side more with George's views, as April's decisions are usually ineffectual once the Enterprise enters hostile territory. Though ultimately, both of them end up understanding and adopting parts of the other's philosophy. In fact, at the story's climax, they're forced to stand up at the opposite side of their initial worldview. Thus, Jim Kirk is presented as the more succesful, balanced combination of both (it's a bit like Spock and McCoy's "reason vs. emotion", but translated to politics). Sarah Poole (April's wife in TAS) also appears as the ship's doctor; she has a lesser role, but was given considerable depth nonetheless. George's pirate-like friend, Drake, usually offers the comic relief. While the staple "noble Romulan" and "devious Romulan" are represented by t'Cael and Ry'iak, respectively.

In many ways, the Enterprise could be considered the main character, though. The story follows her baby steps as a yet-not-finished starship, her coming-of-age after being severely crippled and defeating her enemies against all odds, and finally her official baptism. There are sections in which the ship is even personalized as a sentient being, like a chilling scene where her memory is tampered with. Also, April and George act like two dads that can't agree about their child's true vocation.

I can't think of much to criticize this time, though there's a moment where it's stated that the Federation's constitution is directly based on the USA constitution, as the "prime example to follow". I don't know if this is an original idea of the novel, or if it ever was Roddenberry's intention (which could be, judging by episodes like "The Omega Glory"). But the whole thing was pretty eye-rolling...

Spoilers under the cut:

George Samuel Kirk (Sr.) and his friend Drake Reed are bored security personnel at a starbase. Until one day they're kidnapped by three mysterious individuals, who leave them unconscious. Upon waking up, George and Drake find themselves in the cargo hold of a small ship, and once they break free, George discovers it was his old friend, Captain Robert April, who ordered their abduction. April is gathering his most trusted friends (among them Dr. Sarah Poole, his future wife) for a special rescue mission (well, maybe he could have ASKED them!). A colonist ship has been stranded in the middle of an ion storm, and Starfleet has no means to reach it before hundreds of families die aboard from radiation. Thus, April has been tasked with testing a new, revolutionary ship, much faster and bigger than any other at this time: the first starship (you know which one, right?). This is the only way they could save those colonists in time. And George is introduced to a majestic first view of the Enterprise, still lacking a name, when they approach dry dock. April intends George to be his First Officer, as he values his insights above anybody else's. However, the views of the two men about the role of the starship soon start to clash: April wants it to be perceived exclusively as a tool of peace and exploration; while George argues that its weapon capacities shouldn't be overlooked, in order to defend the Federation.

At the same time, we're introduced in some chapters to Field Primus t'Cael and his Romulan warbird, in another sector of space. T'Cael is dealing with intrigues aboard, instigated by an upstart spy from the Praetorate: Ry'iak. Dispirited by the growing suspicions of his crew, t'Cael has become rather seclusive, though he still counts on the loyalty of Commander Idrys. The Field Primus' moderate views have made him fall out of favor with the Praetorate, as t'Cael doesn't think that the Federation has hostile intentions against the Empire, and disapproves of the stealth attack the Praetor is planning.

For its part, the Enterprise has finished preparations for departure. However, soon after they leave dry dock, there's a catastrophic failure of the sealing elements in the warp nacelles. The only two options seem to be, either ejecting the nacelles (and thus losing warp capacity to rescue the colonists), or let the ship explode. But George doesn't believe in no-win scenarios either, so he pressures one of the engineers to think creatively and find an alternative. Using the energy from the shuttles to seal the leak at the last moment, they manage to salvage the nacelles. Nonetheless, George is suspicious of the failure happening right at the most critical moment, so he asks Drake to investigate the engineers, as chief of security. Drake tries to find a saboteur (not very subtly) among engineers Saffire, Graff and Wood, but finds nothing incriminating. Despite Drake not knowing, the reader does in fact find out who's one of the saboteurs soon thereafter, as Saffire breaks into the starship memory banks and tampers with the systems. The malfunction is delayed until the ship enters the ion storm, at which point there's a massive failure of the warp engines and the artificial gravity. April receives a head injury, while the ship is hurled light years away, into unknown territory. Well, not so unknown: they appear right in the middle of Romulan space, and face to face with t'Cael's warbird.

Confronted with the massive starship, the Romulans start fretting over a possible attack from the Federation. But t'Cael chooses to believe April about their ship being disabled and there out of accident. As a show of good faith, he agrees to meet with the First Officer (as April is too injured), in neutral territory on a nearby planetoid. However, once t'Cael gets off the ship, Ry'iak seizes control of the warbird and kills Idrys (a death that took me by surprise, to be honest). Then, he starts shooting at the planet from orbit, attempting to kill t'Cael too. Since humans and Romulans had never seen each other before, George mistakes t'Cael for a poor Vulcan prisoner. And there's a rather comedic scene, where he "rescues" the Romulan from enemy fire. Once the mistake is cleared, George has to overcome his xenophobic sentiments and cooperate with t'Cael to escape the planetoid. The escape involving alien wolves too.

Eventually, the starship manages to rescue George and t'Cael, using the new transporter technology (well, they accidentally transport an alien wolf too, which creates a bit of a mess). T'Cael agrees to help the Federation against his disloyal swarm of warbirds, as he believes that, if the starship is captured, this will precipitate war between the Empire and the Federation. In the later chapters, there's a pretty intense battle between the Enterprise and the Romulan swarm. While George uses a very Kirk-like bluff to discourage further attacks from the Romulans (which, in turn, explains the eventual development of the cloaking device). With the saboteurs finally captured (and in one case, destroyed in a very grisly way), and the warp repaired, the Enterprise can finally return to home space and rescue those colonists.

Spirk Meter: 4/10*. Spock expresses his grief about Jim's decision to quit Starfleet after Edith's death. And at this moment, McCoy understands how much the ship and Jim mean to the Vulcan: "more than a career, more than a refuge, and certainly more than McCoy had ever guessed". Later, when Kirk regains his confidence and chooses to stay as Captain, Spock looks at him in the bridge and acknowledges his "deeply personal synthesis between himself and Jim Kirk".

However, the relationship between Kirk and McCoy is given far more prevalence throughout the novel, and that's why I'm separating the two dynamics. McCoy won't leave Kirk alone in Iowa at his moment of vulnerability, despite Jim's wishes. At first, he tries to lure him with an invitation to have dinner together. And when this fails, he just pops up in the barn, offering "mouth-to-mouth" resucitation (of all things!) if Jim doesn't answer him (unfortunately for poor McCoy, Kirk doesn't seem too eager to receive a kiss from him). Later, McCoy tries to comfort Kirk about Edith Keeler's death, and share his pain, while Kirk assures McCoy that her death wasn't his fault. He also says that McCoy was worth everything. And once Kirk announces his decision to leave the ship, McCoy gets very emotional and tries to reason with him. Just then, Spock appears in the barn and wonders if he's "interrupting something"; to which both of them answer that yes, he's interrupting. For a novel that doesn't actually deal with the TOS characters, they surely managed to cram as much homoeroticism between Kirk and McCoy as possible...

Apart from this, George Kirk has several things in common with his son. Not just being an absent father... but also having very "intense" relationships with his male friends. There's a bit of it with Drake, that April brings along, not because he has much use for him, but because he can't separate him from George. Drake also waltzes into George's quarters and plops into his bed as if nothing. But most of all, George and t'Cael develop a very, veeeery close relationship (for good or bad), and have all these tense stares at each other, and this desire to protect each other. Just so you get an idea of what I'm talking about:

"Like me, George admitted to himself, unable to bury the color that rose in his cheeks and forced him to look away from t’Cael for a moment. When he looked back again, there was a touch of melancholy on t’Cael’s face. [.......]

George moved closer, hoping his eyes conveyed the depth of his promise. Solemnly he said, “Whatever it takes, however long it takes, I’ll personally make sure you have a place in the Federation. I owe you that,” he added, moving still closer. “In fact, I owe you more.”

A sudden, unexpected warmth came over t’Cael’s face, and he broke his communion with the monitor to look affably at George. “That’s kind of you. It will be difficult.” [............]

Allowing their intimacy to linger, George returned the grin,"

Huh, George, didn't you have a wife and kids back at home???

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

#star trek tos #star trek novels #novel review #mckirk #spirk #k/s

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cruger2984 · 9 months ago

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THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT PAUL MIKI AND 26 COMPANIONS Feast Day: February 6

"I am not from the Philippines. I am a Japanese and a Jesuit Brother… Having arrived at this moment of my existence, I believe that no one of you thinks I want to hide the truth. That is why I have to declare to you that there is no other way of salvation than the one followed by Christians. Since this way teaches me to forgive my enemies and all who have offended me. I willingly forgive the king and all those who have desired my death. And I pray that they will obtain the desire of Christian baptism." -St. Paul Miki

The first martyr of Japan, Paul Miki was born to a wealthy Japanese family circa 1562 in Settsu, Osaka Prefecture in Kansai region. At a young age, he entered the Society of Jesus and preached the Gospel successfully.

The church had been implanted in Japan fifty years earlier, and counted over 200,000 Christians. In 1588, the Emperor claimed that he was 'God,' and ordered all Christian missionaries to leave the country within six months. Some of them obeyed, but Paul and many others remained secretly behind.

In 1597, Paul was discovered and arrested along with twenty-five companions. They endured tortures and derision through several towns, with their left ears cut off, before being taken to Nagasaki. After making their confession, they were fastened to their crosses, with iron collars around their necks.

Their valor and bravery were wonderful to behold. They gave thanks to God by singing Psalms 25 and repeating: 'Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my life.'

Standing in the noblest pulpit of the cross, Paul said to the people: 'I am a Japanese by birth, and a Jesuit by vocation. I am dying for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I do gladly pardon the Emperor, and all who have sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves.'

Then, four executioners unsheathed their spears and killed all of them in a short time. Their faces were serene, while they kept repeating: 'Jesus, Mary!'

On June 8, 1862, Pope Pius IX canonized him and his twenty-five companions.

#random stuff #catholic #catholic saints #jesuits #society of jesus #paul miki #paulo miki #pablo miki #peter bautista #pedro bautista #twenty-six martyrs of japan

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iamfitzwilliamdarcy · 6 months ago

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i was gonna write a longer post and i still might but i'm gonna be late to work so i guess a finally kind of sum up of my thoughts is that i think Butker's greatest error is being imprecise and sloppy in over-generalizations. he's not wrong that society has lied to women about motherhood and marriage and careerism (although it has lied to men about these things too) but the assumption that every woman's vocation is a homemaker is not actually catholic or even trad and women have value inherently, as humans made in the image and likeness of God and sisters in Baptism and Eucharist, not based on what they do or don't do. I don't think he was trying to imply that women don't, but the way he phrased his speech in push-back against modern society was, again, sloppy. The placement of this in his speech too also leads one to think that unmarried, career-driven women are the root of of all society's evils, which is simply untrue, and I don't think what he meant, but we've been using women as scapegoats for society's evils since Eve sinned, and if we're pushing back against modern society then we also have to be aware of how we speak to and around modern society

also I think it's pretty clear he loves his wife and wasn't degrading her but talking about how great she is

i really don't think this whole thing is worth the outrage from everyone

#i have more thoughts but alas i must go work for my career

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echos-of-swords-and-fire · 1 year ago

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NEUVAINE A SAINTE JEANNE D'ARC

NOVENA TO SAINT JOAN OF ARC

My English translations are not the best I am sorry.

╰┈➤ Premier jour (first day)

Jeanne, le Seigneur a chargé l’Archange saint Michel de t’apparaître et de t’annoncer ta mission de sauver le royaume de France.

Jeanne, the Lord has instructed the Archangel Saint Michael to appear to you and announce your mission to save the kingdom of France.

Jeanne, ton grand désir de servir Dieu et de tout faire pour lui plaire, Te font prononcer le « fiat » malgré tes craintes de ne pas être digne et capable d’accomplir cette mission.

Jeanne, your great desire to serve God and to do everything to please him, makes you pronounce the “fiat” despite your fears of not being worthy and capable of accomplishing this mission.

Le ciel t’a donné une épée pour combattre, et les voix de sainte Catherine et de Sainte Marguerite pour te guider.

Heaven has given you a sword to fight, and the voices of Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret to guide you.

Intercède pour que nous puissions toujours répondre à notre vocation.

Intercede so that we may always respond to our vocation.

╰┈➤ Deuxième jour (second day)

Jeanne, tu rends visite au Dauphin de France

Jeanne, you visit the Dauphin of France.

Tu lui révèles qu’il est le véritable héritier de France, et fils de roi, Qu’il sera couronné à Reims et que tu es venue pour l’aider à accomplir ce désir du Ciel.

You reveal to him that he is the true heir of France, and son of a king, that he will be crowned in Reims and that you have come to help him fulfill this desire of Heaven.

Tu livres ensuite de nombreuses batailles contre les Anglais, et tu en sors toujours victorieuse.

You then fought many battles against the English, and you always emerged victorious.

Tu livres également bataille au péché dans ton propre camp et tu demandes à tes soldats de retrouver l’état de grâce.

You also give battle to sin in your own camp and you ask your soldiers to regain the state of grace.

Intercède maintenant pour que notre pays se souvienne de son baptême Et retrouve le chemin des sacrements.

Intercede now so that our country remembers its baptism And finds the way to the sacraments.

╰┈➤ Troisième jour (third day)

La semaine de Pâques de cette année 1430, alors que tu te trouves dans un fossé de Melun, les voix de saintes Catherine et Marguerite t’annoncent que tu seras faite prisonnière avant la fête de la saint Jean et que Dieu te viendra en aide durant cette épreuve.

Easter week of this year 1430, while you are in a ditch in Melun, the voices of Saints Catherine and Marguerite announce to you that you will be taken prisoner before the feast of Saint John and that God will come to you help during this test.

Tu es alors envahie d’angoisse et tentée de ne pas te soumettre à la volonté divine afin de sauver ta vie.

You are then overwhelmed with anguish and tempted not to submit to the divine will in order to save your life.

Prie pour nous, afin que nous fassions toujours la volonté de Dieu, et non la nôtre.

Pray for us, that we always do God's will, not our own.

╰┈➤ Quatrième jour (fourth day)

C’est le 26 Mai, après une rude bataille, que tu es prise par un archer du camp adverse.

It is on May 26, after a hard battle, that you are taken by an archer from the opposing camp.

Tu es ainsi arrêtée et accusée par l’Inquisition d’hérésie et d’idolâtrie.

You are thus arrested and accused by the Inquisition of heresy and idolatry.

Malgré tes craintes et tes peurs, tu te laisses emprisonner.

Despite your fears and fears, you allow yourself to be imprisoned.

Tu gardes confiance en tes voix, et tu demandes leur intercession afin de répondre aux questions qui te sont posées.

You keep trust in your voices, and you ask for their intercession in order to answer the questions that are put to you.

Demande à Dieu, pour nous, le courage et l’audace d’affirmer notre foi.

Ask God, for us, the courage and audacity to affirm our faith.

╰┈➤ Cinquième jour (fifth day)

Tu es torturée moralement, assaillie par de nombreux et interminables interrogatoires, abandonnée et trahie de tous, y compris du Roi, traitée comme une prisonnière de guerre, menacée corporellement par les gardiens de ta cellule, accusée de nombreuses fautes que tu n’as pas commises, sans avocat.

You are morally tortured, beset by numerous and interminable interrogations, abandoned and betrayed by everyone, including the King, treated like a prisoner of war, bodily threatened by the guards of your cell, accused of numerous faults that you do not have not committed, without a lawyer.

Toujours docile aux conseils de tes voix, tu réponds sans crainte à tout ce que l’on te demande.

Always docile to the advice of your voices, you respond without fear to everything that is asked of you.

Intercède pour que nous ayons toujours recours à la prière dans nos difficultés.

Intercede that we always have recourse to prayer in our difficulties.

╰┈➤ Sixième jour (sixth day)

Tous tes accusateurs s’acharnent pour te faire faillir, pour te faire contredire les faits que tu relates;

All your accusers work hard to make you fail, to make you contradict the facts you relate;

ils t’accusent, te menacent de tortures physiques, te harcèlent sans cesse durant des heures;

they accuse you, threaten you with physical torture, harass you constantly for hours;

en vain, tu as toujours réponse à toutes les questions, jusqu’au jour, où, n’en pouvant plus, effrayée par la mort, tu renies tout.

in vain, you always have the answer to all the questions, until the day when, unable to take it any longer, frightened by death, you deny everything.

Puis, par la grâce de Dieu, tu acceptes avec courage le martyre et reviens sur tes reniements.

Then, by the grace of God, you courageously accept martyrdom and reconsider your denials.

Malgré la reconnaissance de certains de tes juges de l’intervention divine dans ta conduite, tu es condamnée à mort par le supplice du feu.

Despite the recognition of some of your judges of divine intervention in your conduct, you are condemned to death by torture by fire.

Prie pour que la France relève la face et se souvienne de ses promesses faites à Dieu.

Pray for France to raise its face and remember its promises made to God.

╰┈➤ Septième jour (seventh day)

Jeanne, tu es surnaturellement soutenue par le Ciel, mais tu n’échappes pas aux angoisses provoquées par la sentence.

Jeanne, you are supernaturally supported by Heaven, but you cannot escape the anguish caused by the sentence.

Tu aurais préféré « être décapitée sept fois plutôt que brûlée et réduite en cendres. »

You would have rather "be beheaded seven times than burnt and reduced to ashes."

Sur le bûcher, une fois liée, tu demandes pardon aux anglais et à tous tes ennemis, pour les batailles livrées contre eux, et, d’une voix haute et claire, tu pardonnes à tous ceux qui t’ont condamnée.

At the stake, once bound, you ask pardon of the English and of all your enemies, for the battles waged against them, and, in a loud and clear voice, you forgive all those who have condemned you .

« Mes saintes ne m’ont pas trompée, ma mission était de Dieu. Saint Michel, sainte Marguerite et sainte Catherine, vous tous, mes frères et sœurs du Paradis, venez à mon aide… »

“My saints did not deceive me, my mission was from God. Saint Michael, Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine, all of you, my brothers and sisters in Paradise, come to my aid…”

Au milieu des flammes, tu regardes la croix qui t’est présentée, et tu prononces le Nom de Jésus avant de mourir.

In the midst of the flames, you look at the cross presented to you, and you pronounce the Name of Jesus before dying.

Sois notre modèle dans l’obéissance, dans la confiance en Dieu, et la persévérance dans notre mission

Be our model in obedience, in trust in God, and perseverance in our mission

╰┈➤ Huitième jour (eighth day)

Alors que le bourreau éteint le brasier afin que tous voient le cadavre défiguré de celle qui les a fait trembler, il écarte les cendres et le miracle apparaît devant leurs yeux effrayés :

As the executioner puts out the fire so that everyone can see the disfigured corpse of the one who made them tremble, he pushes aside the ashes and the miracle appears before their frightened eyes:

Ton cœur est là, rempli d’un sang vermeil et semblant vivre encore !

Your heart is there, filled with vermilion blood and seeming live again!

Du soufre et de h’huile sont alors répandus dessus, le feu reprend puis s’éteint à nouveau, le laissant toujours intact.

Sulfur and oil are then sprinkled on it, the fire resumes and then goes out again, leaving it still intact.

Inquiet de ce miracle et craignant l’émotion du peuple, le cardinal d’Angleterre ordonne que tes os, tes cendres et surtout ton cœur soient jetés immédiatement dans la Seine.

Worried about this miracle and fearing the emotion of the people, the cardinal of England orders that your bones, your ashes and especially your heart be thrown immediately into the Seine.

Le bourreau dit alors : « J’ai grand peur d’être damné pour avoir brûlé une sainte »

The executioner then said: "I am very afraid of being damned for having burned a saint".

Des cris s’élèvent dans la foule : « Nous sommes tous perdus car une sainte a été brûlée ! »

Cries rise in the crowd: “We are all lost because a saint has been burned! »

Aide-nous à servir Dieu et à ne chercher que la gloire du Ciel.

Help us to serve God and seek only the glory of Heaven.

╰┈➤ Neuvième Jour (ninth day)

Après ta mort, mourut la prospérité des anglais en France. Depuis le bûcher de Rouen, ils ne connurent que déceptions et défaites.

After your death, the prosperity of the English in France died. From the stake in Rouen, they knew only disappointments and defeats.

A leur grande honte et confusion, ils furent rejetés de tous les pays qu’ils avaient conquis.

To their great shame and confusion, they were thrown out of all the countries they had conquered.

Tous ceux qui avaient jugé avec mauvaise foi la Pucelle trouvèrent la mort peu de temps après la sienne.

All those who had judged the Maid in bad faith died shortly after hers.

L’évêque Cauchon, enrichi par le Roi d’Angleterre, mourut subitement ; il fut excommunié par le Pape et ses os furent jetés aux bêtes féroces.

Bishop Cauchon, enriched by the King of England, died suddenly; he was excommunicated by the Pope and his bones were thrown to wild beasts.

Ainsi s’accomplit la prédiction faite à Jeanne, en sa prison, par ses voix:

Thus is fulfilled the prediction made to Jeanne, in her prison, by her voices:

« Tu auras secours. Tu seras délivrée par une grande victoire. Prends tout en gré. Ne te soucie pas de ton martyre. Tu viendras enfin au Royaume du Paradis. »

"You will have help. You will be delivered with a great victory. Take it all in stride. Don't worry about your martyrdom. You will finally come to the Kingdom of Heaven."

Que la résurrection soit le seul but de notre vie.

Let the resurrection be the only goal of our life.

Sois présente à nos côtés et contribue encore à la sanctification de notre pays.

Be present at our side and still contribute to the sanctification of our country.

TO BE RECITED AFTER EACH DAILY PRAYER:

Prions. Sainte Jeanne d’Arc, ton martyre est la grande victoire de Dieu sur nos ennemis .

Intercède, du Royaume des Cieux, pour que nous soyons préservés des guerres contre notre pays et des assauts contre notre foi.

Que la France se souvienne qu’elle est la Fille Aînée de l’Eglise. Seigneur, nous te rendons grâce car Tu as béni notre pays en nous donnant Jeanne d’ARC.

Suscite encore de nombreuses vocations pour garder intacte la mission apostolique de la France. Amen.

Let us pray. Saint Joan of Arc, your martyrdom is God's great victory over our enemies. Intercede, from the Kingdom of Heaven, that we may be preserved from wars against our country and attacks against our faith. May France remember that she is the Eldest Daughter of the Church. Lord, we give you thanks because you blessed our country by giving us Joan of Arc. Still arouses many vocations to keep intact the apostolic mission of France. Amen.

+ Pater, Ave, Gloria

#altar #spellwork #folk witch #queer witch #folk practitioner #folk witchcraft #folk magic #french words #catholic #folk practice #folk catholicism #jeanne d’arc #saint joan of arc #joan of arc #novena #saint veneration #spell work #ancestors

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haggishlyhagging · 2 years ago

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In the light of cultural anthropology, it appears to be no accident that those churches which have a sacramental priesthood resist most strongly the ordination of women to the priesthood. The Christian sacraments are all rites which convey life. Baptism is a rebirth to a new everlasting life, the eucharist is the "bread of life," catechesis and proclamation are compared to "mothermilk and solid food." The sacrament of reconciliation restores life to its fullness. The sacrament of marriage protects and sanctifies the source of natural life. The sacraments, as rituals of birthing and nurturing, appear to imitate the female power of giving birth and of nurturing the growth of life. One would think that, therefore, women would be the ideal administrators of the sacrament. Yet there appears to exist a deep fear in men that women's powers would become so overwhelming if they were admitted to the priesthood and the sacramental ritual, that men would be relegated to insignificance. The demand of women to be admitted to the sacramental priesthood is, therefore, often not perceived as a genuine desire of women to live their Christian vocation and to serve the people of God, but as an attempt completely to "overtake" the church. What men are often afraid of is that the change in role and position will not mean a mere shift in the relationship between men and women but a complete destruction of any relationship or a fatal reversal of the patriarchal relationship.

-Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Feminist Spirituality, Christian Identity, and Catholic Vision

#Christianity and women #feminist theology #patriarchal religion #female oppression #womanspirit rising

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roman-catholic-mass-readings · 16 days ago

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25th October >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Friday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time.

(Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II))

First Reading Ephesians 4:1-6 One Body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.

I, the prisoner in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 23(24):1-6

R/ Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm.

R/ Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things.

R/ Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.

R/ Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation Psalm 94:8

Alleluia, alleluia! Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord. Alleluia!

Or: Matthew 11:25

Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to mere children. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 12:54-59 Do you not know how to interpret these times?

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times? ‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you. Lord Jesus Christ.

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buggie-hagen · 2 months ago

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[God] creates new life through the vocation of parents, gives daily bread through farmers, and works similarly in all the vocations as people love and serve their neighbors. And in Baptism, God loves and serves us. ~Gene Edward Veith, Jr., "Baptism and the Christian Life" in Luther's Large Catechism with Annotations and Contemporary Applications, 635.

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congregamus · 2 months ago

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The other part-time person at Jesus Factory #2 was offered a gig out-of-state. They will be greatly missed. We'll keep in touch and all that, but it will be different. That's fine, of course. But they were such a good colleague. You can't imagine how refreshing it is for a Christian rectory/office to have someone who is completely, unapologetically a person of faith, but undeniably non-Abrahamic. And brilliant, too.

While it is a very sad turn of vocational events, one would think that they would consolidate two part-time positions into a more robust job description for me, as the work still has to get done but...not yet at least. They're going to pile it on my full-time colleague, who is already over-taxed. He still thinks that I am on path towards a career track there, but I'm not sure. Not because I don't want to work with Christians. (I don't mind. It's not my favorite, but I do happen to be good at it and fluent in the language.)

I have had a change of perspective lately — in this heat no less — that I have a lot more options than I pretend to have. I continue to learn the lesson of the pentacles (element: earth; materiality, also wealth). I'm not sure why it's such a hard lesson for me, but it is. I do value the embodied experience, but I acknowledge that in my rush to disocciate, I squander that value, too. That it's a trauma response and not technically "my fault" doesn't really matter much. I've been a grown person making bad decisions for my ownself for a long time now, and if there is anyone to blame — (Is there? Is there indeed anyone at all?) — then I carry much of it.

In what might seem an abrupt change of subject, I report that the baptism homily is shaping up in my imaginary draft, though I've only composed about 300 actual words so far. I will remind the congregation that we like to pretend we understand more about baptism than the baby undergoing it, but if we are honest, we don't really understand it anymore than the infant (though we have come up with very clever ways to talk around not understanding it). And that because we don't really understand the mystery of baptism, we are in many ways more like the children in Sunday school who pretend to baptize each other than we are like initiators of spiritual maturity.

#minutiae

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majorbaby · 2 years ago

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Can you elaborate on your personal gripes for how mulcahy is used in the narrative? I have seen people talking about not liking him but I think it was more disliking him as a guy, so I would like to hear your thoughts

okay well, first i'd just like to say that nobody is a bad person for liking mulcahy and i have less of an issue with HIM as a guy (his thoughts, feelings, wishes, his favourite colour, his favourite food, his relationships with others) as i have with how he is positioned by the narrative. you seem to get this, but i still want to make it clear. if anything i'm all for mulcahy getting it on with whoever because it would undermine his vocation as a celibate priest.

long explanation under the cut but TL;DR: mulcahy is positioned as being a morally upright person. this is dangerous because apart from his being a character on the show, he is also representative of the catholic church. moreover, positioning the church this way severely undermines the show's central, anti-establishment, anti-war messaging.

there's lots to love about MASH, but the way it deals with religion and the church is a major weakness. the show wants me to accept that patriarchy, militarism, imperialism, social conservatism are bad, but draws the line at critiquing religion, by positioning its chief representative in positive light. it's a big oversight.

let me try this a new way compared to how i've done it in the past and start with the military:

fuck the military, right? we agree that it is bad? and we agree that MASH came out swinging against the army and that that is part of the central messaging of the show? and we agree that one of the best things about MASH is that it took such a hard line against the military? cool.

why do we hate the military? it's violent, it's paternalistic, it eats up public money that could otherwise be spent on making peoples lives better, it influences public policy in a negative way, it's hostile to equity-seeking people (racialized people, lgbtq+ people, women, people with mental and physical disabilities), it is also hostile to even the most privileged in our society. MASH specifically took aim at the draft, which still functionally exists in US law.

basically, it is overwhelmingly oppressive and does far more harm than good, if you can even make a case for what good it does.

the catholic church is bad for all the same reasons. most catholics are born into the church, assigned catholic at baptism, which occurs when you are a baby and which cannot consent to. its ranks are overwhelmingly male and priests are literally called "Fathers".

your mileage may vary when it comes to the separation of church and state but...

where i live, the catholic school system is funded by tax dollars - technically any child can attend a catholic school even if they aren't catholic, but say, idk, want some free indoctrination. but you must be catholic to teach in catholic schools, so half of all these 'public service jobs' which are unionized, pay well and difficult to secure are only available to catholics. you can go to catholic school yet grow up and be unable to teach in one, like, currently, in 2023, in Canada which has some fucking nerve to be still upholding this archaic system. people aren't born pro-life or homophobic or believing that sex should be between a man and a woman and purely for procreation, or that masturbation is a sin... these are all things we see in policy, in education, in medicine, in media, as a result of the influence of christianity. what flavour of christanity varies based on where you live but in many instances, it's catholicism. you could extend some of these critiques to organized religion in general but i'm not doing that right now because mulcahy is catholic specifically.

like... purity culture didn't just pop out of nowhere. you may not be christian but sex shaming and the elevated ideal of marriage and the gender binary and the idea that we need to be 'civilized' in a certain way are all christian values that were spread violently across the globe, often hand-in-hand with military exploits. not only are the military and the church similar, they're often indistinguishable and they very much need one another.

MASH was trying very hard to say, originally at least, that there are no good military brass. even henry gets the piss taken out of him whenever he tries to be a 'colonel' to hawkeye and trapper. so why henry, and not mulcahy? (also why not potter but like, that was a different era and potter is a character i actually do proper hate)

if there can be no good army officers, then there can be no good priests. and mulcahy was both.

#mash #mulcahy meta #re: mash #replies

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ynhart · 11 months ago

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Hello fellow sister in Christ! I have a story and question for you.

On the day that I was baptized and received into the Catholic Church, the confirmation saint that I chose was Saint Rose of Lima. The reason I chose her was because I thought her name was pretty and I wanted her name as my confirmation name. Afterwards, I felt like I regretted my choice because I felt like she just didn't "fit" my circumstances. I started to wish that I had chosen Saint Kateri Tekakwitha or Saint Joan of Arc to be my confirmation saint... But then, I started to reflect on my decision to choose Saint Rose of Lima and I came to the realization that God probably had me pick her specifically for a reason. Not just for the name, but because she dealt with family problems as well.

She was also a very kind and caring soul who ended up joining a Third Order after not being allowed to join a convent. I'm someone who has wanted to join the religious life myself, but in all honesty, I'd probably need to join a Third Order as my option due to certain health conditions I live with. And as for being kind and caring, those are qualities I hope to embody to the best of my ability as a social worker. So, in the end, I think I made the correct decision of choosing Saint Rose of Lima as my confirmation saint.

With all of that being said, my question to you is: Who is your confirmation saint, and why did you choose him or her?

Sincerely,

@ramen-chan-27 (Asking on anon since this is my sideblog)

Hi! Thanks for sharing your story <33 I actually didn't know much about St. Rose of Lima so thanks for letting me know! I'll definitely read more about her. All I can say is that all vocations are wonderful and I'm glad you were able to find which one's best for you :D

About my confirmation saints, I don't have one actually. I don't think we have that tradition of choosing a patron saint for our baptism/confirmation.

But if I were to choose one it would be St. Michael Archangel. As you know, my name is Micaela, which is like the female version of Michael, and I have this vague memory, from when I was little, of my parents teaching me about him and saying that we have the same name. I love that our names mean "who is like God?" it's awesome lol. So I like to think that he's my patron Saint!

And another friend Saint I have is St. Josemaría Escriva de Balaguer! He's a modern Saint so he kind of feels very close to us and can relate deeply to his emphasis on sanctifying through our jobs and ordinary lives.

How beautiful and different are all the saints, right?

#ask

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 6 months ago

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12th May >> Fr. Martin's Homilies / Reflections on Today's Mass Readings (Inc. Mark 16:15-20) for the Solemnity of The Ascension of the Lord: ‘Proclaim the good news to all creation’.

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Gospel (Except USA) Mark 16:15-20 Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.

Jesus showed himself to the Eleven and said to them: ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’ And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

Gospel (USA) Mark 16:15–20 The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Homilies (8)

(i) The Ascension of the Lord

As we know, our climate here in Ireland is very changeable. It has been said that we sometimes have the four seasons in one day. As a result, the sky is always changing; it rarely stays the same for long. I like looking up at the sky and seeing the changes that are constantly happening there, with the coming and going of clouds in various shapes and patterns. Today’s first reading tells us that as Jesus was lifted up, his disciples stared into the sky for some time afterwards. Two men in white standing near them said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there’.

The message to the disciples seems to be that if you want to see Jesus, you won’t see him by looking into the sky, as if the risen Lord had disappeared somewhere above the earth. That is not the meaning of his ascension. If Jesus is not somewhere above us, we might ask, ‘Then, where is he?’ According to the gospel reading, the same risen Lord who was taken up into heaven was working with his disciples as they preached the gospel, confirming their word by the signs that accompanied it. The feast of the Ascension is not about the departure of Jesus somewhere above us, but, rather, about the ways that the Lord is present among us, helping us to share in his work of proclaiming the gospel everywhere. How do we proclaim the gospel? We do so not so much by our words but by our lives. The risen Lord is among us to empower us to live the gospel. In today’s second reading, Saint Paul suggests what living the gospel looks like. He reminds us of our vocation that is rooted in our baptism. He calls on us to live lives that are worthy of our baptismal vocation by bearing ‘with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience’, doing all that we can to ‘preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together’, and thereby ‘building up the body of Christ’, the church. This is what living the gospel looks like. Today’s feast celebrates the good news that the risen Lord is working among us and within us today to help us to proclaim the gospel by living lives that are marked by charity, selflessness, gentleness, patience and a readiness to bring people together in unity. Paul goes on to say, that when we live in his way we become ‘fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself’.

It is through the Holy Spirit that the risen Lord works among us and within us to enable us to become fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself. Today’s feast is very closely related to next Sunday’s feast, the feast of Pentecost, the feast of the Holy Spirit. The period after the resurrection when the risen Lord was present to his first disciples in visible, bodily, form had to come to an end before he could be present to disciples of every generation, to us today, in and through the Holy Spirit. The appearances of the risen Lord to his disciples was a source of great joy and consolation to them after the horrors of Jesus’ passion and death. Yet, they had to let go of this very precious and privileged time so that future generations of disciples could benefit from the presence of the Lord through the Holy Spirit. The disciples staring into the sky showed an understandable reluctance to let go of this special time, a period of forty days, according to our first reading. Yet, just as Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness prepared him for his public ministry, this period of forty days when the Lord appeared visibly to his disciples was also a period of preparation. It was preparation for a much, much, longer period of time that would last until the end of time itself. This is the time of the church, during which the Lord would be powerfully at work in the lives of his followers, enabling them to proclaim the gospel of God’s love for the world by lives shaped by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the risen Lord. The disciples had to let go of something good in itself for something even better to emerge. It is often the way in our own lives that we have to let go of something good for the Lord to work even more fully in and through us.

Today’s feast is the celebration of the many ways that the Lord graces us through the Holy Spirit to continue his work in our world today. In the words of today’s second reading, ‘Each one of us has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ has allotted it’. The Lord has graced each one of us, without exception, to further his work of bringing the gospel alive today. We all have our own mission in life, our own part to play in the Lord’s work, which only we can do. Today’s feast of the Ascension celebrates the unique way the Lord can be present in our world through each one of us.

And/Or

(ii) The Ascension of the Lord

The word ‘process’ has been very much in vogue in recent times. In Ireland we associate the word in particular with the phrase, ‘the peace process’. The word ‘process’ in that connection suggests that the attainment of a lasting peace will only happen in stages, and that one stage needs to finish before another stage can begin. A process that has many stages calls for patience, for perseverance and for a hopeful stance. People who like instant success, who want it all to happen now, will be impatient with talk of a process. Yet, so much of life is the experience of process, of moving from one stage in a project onto another. Our own individual lives can be understood as a process. As we go through life we find ourselves moving through a series of stages or seasons. The transition from one stage to another always involves some element of letting go and moving on. Part of the challenge of life is to address and deal with the various moments of letting go and moving on that the process of living entails.

The life of Jesus was a unique life because he was a unique person, being, as he was, God in human form. Yet, his life, like every human life, was a process that involved a succession of stages. His hidden years in Nazareth might be understood as one stage in his life, his public ministry as another stage. His baptism was the transition moment between these two stages. His death on the cross was another transition moment between his public ministry and the short period during which he appeared in bodily form in his glorified state to his disciples. St. Paul understood himself as having witnessed the very end of that short period, ‘last of all he appeared also to me’. The ascension that we celebrate today is another transition moment between that short period and the much longer period that endures to this day, during which he is no longer present in bodily form to his disciples. Like the time of baptism and crucifixion, the ascension was a moment when Jesus moved on in some way, and when those closest to him had to let him go. The struggle that his disciples had to let him go at that moment is captured very well by St. John in his gospel when, outside the empty tomb, the risen Lord meets with Mary Magdalene and says to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father’.

Yet, today’s gospel reading makes clear that the moving on of Jesus as a result of his ascension did not entail his absence from his disciples. At the end of today’s gospel reading we read, ‘the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven’. Yet, the very next sentence states, ‘the Lord was working with the disciples and was confirming the word (they preached) by the signs that accompanied it’. The Lord was taken up, he was taken away, and yet he was working with them. The Lord did not ascend to distance himself from the church, but to be closer to the church. Again, St. Paul understood this very clearly as a result of his meeting with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. After persecuting the church with great zeal, the risen Lord appeared to him and asked him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ In persecuting the church, Saul came to realize that he was persecuting the Lord because, as today’s gospel says, the Lord was working with those who were witnessing to him. Today’s feast then is more about presence than about absence. We celebrate the Lord’s presence in the church. His Spirit has been poured into our hearts and, together, we are his body. As the second reading reminds us today, the Lord ascended in order to give gifts to his followers, ‘for building up the body of Christ’. Today’s feast directs our gaze to the body of Christ her on earth in.

That is why the question was put to the disciples in today’s first reading, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky?’ We don’t need to look into the sky to see the Lord. We only have to look into the eyes of the person sitting next to us. In these times which have been difficult for the church it is good to renew our faith in the Lord’s presence with the church. We believe that the Lord does not cease to work with us, even though we are not yet all that he is calling us to be. In the words of today’s second reading, the church is not yet ‘fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself’. Those of us who are the church are not yet fully mature in Christ. But that does not make us any less the body of Christ. We, the church, are in process; we are on a journey towards that state of being fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself. That is our goal, and the Lord works with us to reach that gaol. The second reading tells us how to reach that goal. We are to live lives worthy of our vocation, bearing with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. In this way we proclaim the good news with our lives. This is the task today’s feast puts before us, and as we engage in that task the Lord will work with us. As that second reading puts it, we have each been given our own share of grace for the doing of that task. We pray on this feast of the Ascension that we would be faithful to the task that the Lord has given us, and that we would come to recognise the ways the Lord is working with us as we seek to do that task.

And/Or

(iii) The Ascension of the Lord

You often hear people say, ‘I don’t like good byes’. Many of us can easily identify with that sentiment. We know from our own experience that good byes can be painful. We go on a journey to visit a family member or a friend. When we first meet up there is great joy all round. You often see such joyful scenes at airports. Yet, when we have to take our leave of each other again, there is often great sadness. We may not like good byes, but we cannot avoid them. The most traumatic good bye is certainly around the death of a loved one. We would do anything to avoid having to face into that particular good bye. When someone we love is moving on from us, we would dearly love to be able to reverse what is happening. Yet, it is so often the case that we are helpless before what is happening, and we have to learn to face into the good bye that we had hoped to put off. Most people manage to do just that; they somehow find it possible to let go, even though it can take time. Eventually they may go on to discover that letting go of someone in death does not mean the end of their relationship with that person. They begin to relate to their loved one in a different way; they may begin to understand the person in a way they had never done so before.

The ascension of Jesus involved for his disciples some element of letting go of him. When Jesus was put to death on a cross, his disciples must have felt that they would never see him again. Then, to their amazement, he began to appear to them, and they realized that he had been raised from the dead. He may have appeared to many of his disciples more than once. The time came when even those very reassuring appearances of the risen Lord came to an end, and he was no longer present to his followers in a visible form. We like people who are significant for us to be visible to us. Seeing the face of someone we love can mean more than all the phone calls and emails put together. That is why at the departure lounges of airports we long to keep our loved ones in view for as long as possible. We stare after our loved ones who are leaving us.

The first reading states that the disciples were staring into the sky. Yet, the question was immediately put to them: ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky?’ Somehow, such looking skywards was not appropriate. It was not appropriate, because in returning to the Father, the risen Lord had not really left them at all; he was present to them in a new way. That is why today’s feast is much more a celebration of the Lord’s presence than a lament for the Lord’s absence. Today’s gospel reading expresses that very well. While stating that the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven, it immediately declares that the Lord was working with the disciples as they proclaimed the gospel. He was taken from them and at the same time he was working with them. The emphasis of today’s feast is on the second element, the Lord working with them – with all of us.

We often use the phrase ‘eternal rest’ to refer to that life into which we pass beyond death. The New Testament strongly suggests that when Jesus returned to the Father, he did not enter into eternal rest. On the contrary, as risen Lord he was working with the disciples. He works with us today. The prospect of eternal rest may be more appealing to many of us than the prospect of eternal work. Yet, it is very much at the heart of the church’s faith that the risen Lord is eternally at work. God is at work through the risen Lord, as Jesus states in John’s gospel: ‘My Father is still working, and I also am working’. What is that work? The Lord’s work today is in keeping with his work in Galilee, Judea and Samaria two thousand years ago. The Lord is at work bringing life where there is death, healing where there is brokenness, hope where there is despair. He is working to liberate people from all that diminishes and dehumanizes them. He is working to bring together those who are at enmity with each other. He is at work lifting people beyond the blindness and prejudice that leads to discrimination and much worse.

We need to remind ourselves today more than ever that the Lord is at work, that he returned to his Father precisely to do his work on a scale that was not possible when he walked the hills of Galilee and the streets of Jerusalem. It is reassuring to know that, but it can never leave us complacent, because the Lord looks to all of us to get involved in his work. The gospel reading presents the Lord working with his disciples; he needs disciples today to work with and through as much as he did in the first century. According to our second reading today, the first thing the Lord did when he returned to his Father was to distribute gifts to his followers so that they could involve themselves in his work. We can be sure that he is not sparing with his gifts today. The feast of the Ascension is a good opportunity for each of us to ask ourselves how the Lord might be gifting us, with a view to our sharing in his work.

And/Or

(iv) The of the Ascension of the Lord

When people take their leave of us, we often look towards them until they are out of sight. This is especially the case when those who are leaving are people we have a very close relationship with, and when such people are going on a long journey and will be away from us for some time. Seeing them and knowing that they see us important to us at such moments of departure. When we no longer see them, when they have passed through the departure doors at the airport and are heading towards the security check, we feel that, yes, they have left us, at least for the time being. Unless we have Skype, we won’t see them until they return; the phone call, the letter, the email, will have to suffice in the meantime.

In the first reading this morning, it is said that the risen Lord was lifted up while the disciples looked on, and after he was lifted up, they were ‘staring into the sky’. It is as if they did not want the visual connection between themselves and the Lord to end. They peered after him, anxious to see him and to know that he saw them. After the crucifixion they thought they would never see him again; then he appeared to them in bodily form, although in a transformed state. Now, that period of his visible risen presence to them was coming to an end, as he took his leave of them again. They looked into the sky, wanting to prolong this time when the risen Lord was visible to them. According to that first reading, while they were staring into the sky, two men in white put the question to them, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky?’

The question that the two men ask on our first reading today suggests that the disciples are looking in the wrong direction if they want to see the Lord. They won’t see him by standing there, looking into the sky. They will have to look elsewhere to see the Lord. The Lord remains visibly present to his disciples, although in a different way to how he was visibly present immediately after his resurrection. The second reading suggests where the disciples need to look to continue seeing the Lord. That reading makes reference to the Body of Christ, the church. According to that reading, when the Lord ascended, he gave gifts to his followers. ‘Each of us’ - in the words of Paul - ‘has been given his or her own share of grace, given as Christ has allotted it’. Because of the Lord’s return to God, we have each been greatly graced and gifted through the sending of the Spirit. The sending of the Spirit and the gifts that accompanied the Spirit’s sending brought into being the Body of Christ, of which we are all members through faith and baptism. It is above all in and through his Body, the Church, that the risen Lord is present and visible in the world. Rather than looking up into the sky to see and meet the risen Lord, we are invited to look towards the members of Christ’s body. We, the baptized, are all called to be the sacrament of Christ, the place where Christ is powerfully present in the world.

That is true, even though the church, all of us, can sometimes hide Christ as well as reveal him. The church is both sinful and holy. We are the body of Christ, and, yet, we don’t always live as the body of Christ; we are not yet, in the words of our second reading, ‘fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself’. That is why at the beginning of that reading Paul says, ‘I implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation’. He was aware that believers do not always live lives worthy of their vocation. We are the body of Christ and our vocation is to live as members of his body. In the words of our second reading, we are to ‘bear with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience’. In so far as we are faithful to that vocation, we will be fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself, as individuals and as a community of believers, as a church, and Christ will be visible through us.

Even though the church does not always live her vocation to the full, it remains the body of Christ; it remains the place where the risen Lord is powerfully present. It is in and through the church, the community of flawed disciples, that we meet the Lord. The feast of the Ascension invites us to look towards the church with new eyes in the expectation of seeing the Lord there. In the gospel reading, Mark says, in almost the same breath, ‘the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven’, and ‘the Lord was working with the disciples and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it’. The moment of the Lord’s ascension was also the moment when he began to work powerfully in and through his disciples. Today’s feast is not a celebration of the Lord’s absence, but a celebration of the Lord’s presence. Like the first disciples to whom the risen Lord appeared, we too can say, ‘I have seen the Lord’. We see him in and through his body, the church.

And/Or

(v) The Ascension of the Lord

As we go through life there are times when we can be tempted to think that this is as good as it can get. We feel content and at peace, perhaps after a long period when we were very troubled and unsettled. When that happens, it is natural to try and keep things as they are. We don’t really want change; we just want the present to continue. Yet, we know from our experience that change comes along. Something happens that unsettles us again and we have to let go of the way things have been and of the contentment and peace that it brought us. We find ourselves having to make adjustments we might have preferred not to have to make. A new struggle comes ourway; we have to work through some unexpected challenge until eventually we reach a new level of equilibrium and contentment. Life seems to have that pattern to it. It doesn’t allow us to become too comfortable for too long. Just when we reach a certain plateau of calm and peace, we find ourselves being stretched again in some new way. We always seem to be on a journey towards a destination that is beyond us.

When Jesus called his first disciples in Galilee, he was inviting them to set out on a journey with him. The darkest moment on that journey was undoubtedly Jesus’ passion and crucifixion. The disciples had to deal not only with Jesus’ tragic death but with their own failure to be faithful to him. Then to the disciples’ amazement, Jesus’ tomb was discovered to be empty on the third day after his crucifixion and he started appearing to them in his risen state. The disciples must have felt that this was the end of their journey. They were filled with joy, peace and consolation. Their experience of the tangible, bodily, presence of the risen Lord could not be surpassed. Here was all they could possible hope for. They wanted to hold on to these experiences, to hold on to the risen Lord. Yet, this was not the end of their journey. They had to learn to let go of these experiences. There came a time when Jesus was no longer present to them in visible, bodily form. That is what we mean by the Ascension of Jesus. The death of Jesus entailed a painful letting go for the disciples. This was another moment of letting go, but it was not as painful. Before the risen Lord took his leave of his disciples in this tangible, bodily form, he promised to send them the Holy Spirit. Jesus would be powerfully present to his disciples in and through the Holy Spirit. Just as the disciples might have felt that they could finally settle down and enjoy the Lord’s visible presence to them, a new phase in their journey as disciples was opening up. It was a phase of mission, when they were to go out and witness to the Lord in the power of the Spirit. In the words of Jesus in today’s first reading, ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses’.

When we try to be open to the Lord’s call, to respond to his invitation to be in a living relationship with him, we will find that the Lord does not let us settle easily. He is always calling us beyond where we are. No sooner had the disciples began to relax in the presence of the risen Lord than he said to them, in the words of today’s gospel reading, ‘go out to the whole world; proclaim the good news to all creation’. Go, and I will be with you in and through the Holy Spirit. There will always be some element of that challenging call to move on, in the way the Lord relates to us. With the challenging call to take some new path in the direction of other people, there is also the Lord’s promise that we will not be travelling that path alone. The Lord will be journeying with us. The end of the gospel reading this morning declares that the Lord ‘was taken up into heaven’, and also that he ‘was working with’ the disciples. In prompting us to take some new path, the Lord equips us for the path he asks us to take. The second reading declares that when the Lord ascended to the heights, he immediately gave gifts to men and women. The Lord continues to gift us for whatever path he calls us to take.

The Lord’s horizon for us is always greater, more adventurous, than the horizon we create for ourselves. That is the mystery and challenge of this feast of the Ascension. No matter how much joy, insight, freedom and delight there is of the Lord in our lives, we must let go and not cling to it, because with the Lord there is always more. The Lord continues to work in the hearts and consciences of us all, no matter where we are on life’s journey, and if we are open to that ongoing work of the Lord we will have to live with a kind of holy unrest, a restlessness that is the restlessness of the Spirit. It is a restlessness that will only be fully resolved when we see the Lord face to face.

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(vi) The Ascension of the Lord

We have all had the experience of leaving some place that has been very significant for us and moving on to another place. At a certain age, young people feel the need to leave home, a place that has been hugely significant for them, where they have received love and have been nurtured in various ways. Leaving home is often a difficult experience emotionally for young people and, yet, there it also holds the promise of something new. Many of us will also have had the experience of having to let go of those who have been dear to us and who move on from us. In the case of young people moving on from home, it can be more difficult for the parents than for the young person involved. Yet, painful as it is for parents, they too can have a sense that there is something promising about their son or daughter moving on and leaving home. It is a pattern that is deeply rooted in life; those we love move on from us in some way. The pain of moving on for both those doing the moving on and those who struggle to let go can ultimately be very life-giving for everyone involved. The leave-taking can open up a whole new horizon which can be full of promise for all. A young person leaves home, falls in love, gets married and returns to the home of the parents on a regular basis with children in tow. The beginning of a new life for the young person, which leaving made possible, can be the beginning of a new life for parents as well. The experience of loss, with all its heartbreak, can give way to an experience of receiving something new and wonderful that would not have been possible without the initial loss. Our faith teaches us that this is also true of the most traumatic experience of loss of all, the loss involved in death. We are letting go of our loved one to a new and fuller life, which we hope one day to share with them.

We celebrate today the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. The Lord’s ascension marked the end of that period during which the risen Lord was visibly present to his disciples. This entailed an experience of loss for the first disciples. It was not as painful as the loss they had experienced when Jesus was crucified. On the third day after the crucifixion, the risen Lord appeared to them. He spoke to his disciples, as he had spoken to them before his death; he ate with them, as he had eaten with them before his death. Their sorrow gave way to joy, their despair to hope, their fear to courage. Yet, even this wonderful period during which they saw the risen Lord also had to come to an end. They had to learn to let Jesus go again. The struggle to do that is captured in today’s first reading. As the risen Lord takes his leave of them, they were staring into the sky. It calls to mind the experience of people at an airport seeing off their loved ones. They keep their loved ones in view until it becomes impossible to see them any longer. Yet, the disciples’ experience of loss at the time of the ascension of the Lord was very different in quality to their experience of loss at the time of his crucifixion. Jesus was no longer dead; he was alive with a new life, and he promised that he would come back to them in and through the Holy Spirit. In this morning’s first reading he tells them, ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you’. The Lord would be with them in and through the Holy Spirit. Yes, he was leaving them, but it was a leaving that would make possible a new presence. Today’s gospel reading says that after the Lord was taken up from his disciples into heaven, the same Lord was working with the disciples as they proclaimed the gospel.

That is the real meaning of the feast of the Ascension. We celebrate today the many ways that the Lord works with us. It is not so much a feast of the Lord’s departure but a feast of his active and life-giving presence among us. As people of faith, we can get discouraged by the decline in faith today, which finds expression in so many ways. Yet, today’s feast reminds us that the Lord never stops working among us. When it comes to the work that flows from faith, we may get tired and discouraged, but the Lord never tires. As Saint Paul reminds us in today’s second reading, the risen Lord has given us a share in his own grace. He keeps on bestowing his gifts upon us, different gifts to different people, so that, as individuals and as a church, we can become fully mature with his own fullness. Today’s feast calls on us to keep on receiving from the Lord who is always giving to us and is always working among us so that his vision for human living continues to be proclaimed.

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(vii) The Ascension of the Lord

Today is World Communications Day. It is appropriate that World Communications Day falls on the feast of the Ascension. The Ascension marks the transition from the short time the risen Lord remained visible to his disciples to the era of the church’s mission to communicate the truth of the Easter gospel. After the passion and death of Jesus, his disciples were in no mood to communicate anything. The mood of the disciples after the crucifixion of Jesus is well captured in the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. As they walked along they had no desire to communicate with anyone other than with each other. They reluctantly shared their sad story with the stranger who joined them. When he began to speak to them and tell them another story from the Scriptures their mood began to lift. At table at Emmaus, in the breaking of bread, they recognized the stranger as their Lord, risen from the dead. They now knew they had something really important to communicate to others. They set off immediately to communicate the good news of Easter.

The disciples were so bruised and battered after what happened on Calvary, that the risen Lord needed to spent a little time with them to renew them in heart and spirit, to strengthen them for the task of communicating the good news of God’s unconditional love for all. The primary way the risen Lord strengthened those disciples was by communicating his own Spirit to them, the Holy Spirit. In the first reading, the risen Lord calls on his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for what the Father has promised, the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is in the power of the Spirit that they would be able to respond to the commission of the risen Lord in today’s gospel reading, ‘Go out to the whole world, proclaim the good news to all creation’. From being a dispirited group, the disciples were to be the Lord’s world-wide ambassadors. Such a radical transformation in their lives could not have happened if the risen Lord had not appeared to them, spent time with them and communicated his own Spirit to them.

The word ‘Ascension’ might suggest departure, the opposite of communication. However, this feast celebrates the risen Lord’s communication with his disciples in a very visible, tangible, manner over a short period of time, and, then, his communication of the Holy Spirit to them to empower them to communicate the truth of the Easter gospel to the world. Saint Paul, in the second reading, refers implicitly to the Holy Spirit when he says that after the Lord ascended he gave ‘his own share of grace’ to his followers. Today’s feast reminds us that through the Lord’s Ascension and his sending of the Spirit we have all been given our own share of the Lord’s grace. In the words of that second reading, we have all been gifted ‘for the work of service, building up the body of Christ’. The Lord keeps communicating his Spirit to us so that we can keep communicating the truth of the gospel to our world.

In his message for World Communications Day, Pope Francis says that because we are made in the image and likeness of our Creator, we are able to communicate all that is true, good, and beautiful. The risen Lord and his gospel is the embodiment of all that is true, good and beautiful. He is the one who is ‘fully mature’, in the words of today’s second reading. In his message the Pope also remarks that the capacity to twist the truth is also symptomatic of our condition, both as individuals and communities. This is what has come to be called ‘fake news’. Pope Francis calls for a shared commitment to stemming the spread of fake news and, in particular, to rediscovering the dignity of journalism and the personal responsibility of journalists to communicate the truth. The Pope reminds us that even a seemingly slight distortion of the truth can have dangerous effects. At the end of his message he declares that the best antidotes to falsehoods are not strategies, but people, people who are ready to listen, people who make the effort to engage in sincere dialogue so that the truth can emerge; people who take responsibility for how they use language.

As we approach the vote on whether to repeal the 8th amendment to the Constitution, as Christians, we are all engaged in the search for truth in relation to this crucial issue, and we are trying find ways of communicating our understanding of this truth in a loving, compassionate manner. A fundamental truth of the Christian vision of life is the sacredness of human life from conception until natural death. This truth is the basis of the church’s conviction that the unborn child has the same right to life as every other human being, including, of course the child’s mother. It has always been church teaching that when a seriously ill pregnant woman needs medical treatment which may, as a secondary effect, result in the death of her child, such treatment is always ethically permissible. According to today’s second reading, we are all called to become ‘fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself’. We might pray in the coming weeks for the wisdom to make a decision on Friday week that is in keeping with that baptismal calling.

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(viii) The Ascension of the Lord

As parents know better than me, children have a way of asking questions that can leave us floundering for an answer. One day a child was in a church with her parent and there was an image of the Ascension of Jesus in the ceiling of the church over the altar. The child looked up at it carefully and asked her parent, ‘What is Jesus doing up in the air?’ The word ‘ascension’ normally means going up. When balloons are released they ascend into the sky. Even though the Acts and the Apostles and the gospels use that kind of spatial language to speak of the ascension of Jesus, we cannot take that language too literally. It is a case of human language struggling with a reality that is too mysterious to be adequately expressed in human language. The language of ‘ascension’ was the inspired writers’ way of referring to the ending of that period during which Jesus appeared in his risen body to his disciples. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, there was a privileged time when the disciples encountered the risen Lord in a very visible and tangible way. All of the gospels refer to the appearances of the risen Lord to his disciples. Saint Paul is the earliest witness to these appearances of Jesus. He says in his first letter to the Corinthians, written about twenty five years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, ‘He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me’. Paul considers himself to be the last of that privileged group to whom the risen Lord appeared in a very visible, tangible, bodily, audible way.

After that short period was over, the risen Lord would be present to his disciples in another way, in and through the Holy Spirit. As Jesus says to his disciples in today’s first reading, ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth’. This is also the message of Paul in today’s second reading. He says there that when Christ ascended he gave gifts to all, and these various gifts were given so that believers could ‘together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ’. These gifts were all various manifestations of the Holy Spirit. The word ‘ascension’ can suggest departure. When a balloon ascends to the heavens, we don’t expect to see it again. However, the ascension of Jesus is not primarily his departure. Rather, today’s feast celebrates the many ways that the risen Lord is present to ‘all creation’, in every generation, rather than just to a select number over a very limited period of time. Today’s feast celebrates the good news that the risen Lord was not just present to those privileged witnesses that Saint Paul refers to, but is present to us all today. I am often struck by the ending of today’s gospel reading. Having stated that the Lord was taken up into heaven, the evangelist immediately declares, ‘the Lord was working with them’, with his disciples. What is true of those disciples is true of us today. The risen Lord is always working with us. In one sense, the Lord is beyond us, just as heaven is beyond us, but in another sense the Lord is among us, and, indeed, he is within us. In virtue of our baptism, our faith, we can say with Saint Paul in his letter to the Galatians, ‘it is no longer live but Christ who lives in me’. Through the Holy Spirit, the risen Lord lives within us and among us. That is the good news which this feast celebrates.

No crisis in society, in the world or in the church will ever impede the working of the risen Lord within and among us. The Lord is not hampered by any crisis; he continues to work in the hearts, minds and consciences of his children. He is always creatively at work both within and outside the church. Our calling is to align ourselves with the Lord’s working within and among us, to allow the Lord to work through us for the present and ultimate well-being of all humanity. The risen and ascended Lord is ready to shower his gifts, the gifts on the Holy Spirit, upon us to equip us to share in his work in the world. In today’s first reading, two men in white ask Jesus’ disciples, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking up into the sky?’ It is as if they were saying to the disciples, ‘This is a time to stand firmly on the earth, to wait for the coming of the Spirit, so that you can continue the Lord’s life-giving work not just in Jerusalem but to the ends of the earth’. The Lord is with us, enabling us to play our own unique part in his work today. In the words of today’s second reading, ‘Each one of us has been given our own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it’.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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