Humility

“Humility is the acknowledgement of truth”

During his presentation at our Chapter meeting on Saturday, Mike Turner OPL threw out this definition of humility. He attributed it to St. Theresa of Avila.

We all have a partially formed idea of what “humility” is; that it is a good, and what it looks like when we encounter it. However, this definition, with its remarkable brevity, brings it into stark clarity; it removes the focus on self as the sum and source of humility. What I mean by this is that since Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the acknowledgement of Truth is a signal act of humility whereby we submit to God; a submission which grows as we grow in our relationship with the Living Lord.

I think most of us intuit that to be humble is to acknowledge the truth of who we are, but how can we do this if we do not acknowledge the One in Whose Image we have been made? In order to acknowledge the truth of who we are, we must obtain this knowledge. Psychiatry, psychology, and the brainwashers have all learned that to search for this knowledge by entering into the self, results in finding nothing, and that nothing can be readily replaced by anything (the inherent danger in these "techniques" of manipulation). The path to self knowledge (and thus humility) does not lie this way. St. Thomas Aquinas said it well, as we read in the Liturgy of the Hours (and I paraphrase from memory): “Lord, help me to know as I am known.”

hat tip to Mike Turner!

Bloodmoney - The Inconvient Truth About Abortion

The trailer for the movie "Bloodmoney" explains why politician's talk of "working to reduce abortion" is such a cold, cynical deception.



http://www.bloodmoneyfilm.com/

Truth Be Told issue #6 - Newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

The 6th issue of "Truth Be Told," the newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus has been posted to the web here.

St. Peter Damian

The following is from Robert Moynihan, editor of Inside the Vatican

Before leaving St. Peter Damian, I thought it might be useful to all of us to read about what Damian had to say to a friend, the abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino, Desiderius, in the year 1061 -- about 950 years ago. It is his Letter 86.

I choose this letter because it sheds light on our own time.

Damian begins by telling Desiderius that he and his monks should be grateful that they are out of touch with the "craziness" of the "modern world" (for their world, almost 1,000 years ago, was "modern" to them).

"You who are not unaware of the crimes that occur in this mad age would be wise to consider that, having left the world, you should be deeply grateful to God for having rescued you," Damian begins.

"Decency and right living have all but disappeared and, as vigorous Church discipline gradually collapses, a pestilential flood of vice and depravity of every kind grows deeper day by day...

"For just as the shepherd rescues an only sheep from the ravenous jaws of the attacking beast if it has sunk its teeth into one of the weaklings in the flock, so too has Christ rescued you from the mouth of the cruel plunderer who sought to have you serve him as the world was falling apart."

The Holy Father's Wednesday general audience on St. Peter Damian:
"Jesus Must Truly Be at the Center of Our Life"




St. Peter Damian's Letter 31, unmentioned in the Holy Father's catechesis, deals with the reform of the clergy which was the notable passion of St. Peter Damian.

Post-passage commentary on the illustrious

“A meeting of mind and heart is anatomically difficult when there is a spine”
Saint Thomas Moore
'nuff said

Farewell dinner for Mike Lee and family

Dear Friends of the Mike Lee Family,

You are invited to the Farewell Dinner and Auction for the Lees before they return to Austia for the final two years of Mike's theological education.

Enjoy a great dinner with fun people. Super silent auction prizes and desserts. Chat with Mike and Deb Lee.
There are only *100* tickets are available for this fundraising and well-wishing event.

Saturday, September 12, 2009
Louie's Italian Restaurant, 2500 E. Fairview Avenue, Meridian, Idaho
6:30 p.m. -- Social
7:00 p.m. -- Dinner
8:00 - 9:00 pm -- Dessert auction, silent auction, slide presentation by the Lees
Tickets: $20 per person, no-host bar

The final count for dinner needs to be submitted by Tuesday evening, so please reserve your place now:

By email: friendsofmikelee@gmail.com
(or just reply to this note)
By phone: Carol @ 208-658-4491

*Thanks for being a Friend of the Mike Lee Family*

Fr. Mullady O.P. visit

Just a reminder that we will be blessed to have Fr. Brian Mullady O.P. in Boise September 24-27. He is here for a mass of investiture into the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, which will be at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 3PM on Sunday, September 27. I do hope you can come out in support of Father.

The Lay Chapter will be hosting an evening gathering for Father on Thursday, September 24. Other events will be planned in the next week or so. Please stay tuned!

Prayer request

Dear Friends,

The leukemia which took my wife Gwen, which has always been fatal, is now becoming one of the diseases which can be cured by adult stem-cells. Max, of New York, has this same rare and aggressive leukemia (T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, T-PLL) will receive a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor on this Thursday. Monday he received chemo to all but kill his own bone marrow. If the transplant is successful, he will be cured. Without it he will not survive. Its another incipient victory for morally acceptable stem cell research vs the oft-promoted immoral use of fetal cells from killed kids.

I was hoping that I might impose on you to offer a prayer intention for Max on Thursday. Although Gwen did not have the opportunity to partake of such a treatment, I give the Lord thanks with a joyful heart that such a treatment is available now.

Thank you and God bless,
Mark

From Honduras

An open letter from the Honduran Foreign Minister

The following open letter was printed in the Honduran newspapers yesterday, in Spanish, of course. It is from Carlos López Contreras, Foreign Minister of Honduras, addressed to the Citizens of World.Happily, a translation to English was also performed. You can read the original letter in Spanish in the newspapers [I haven't been able to find it online yet], or the English translation here. I'm including the letter in full here because I want everyone to read it and I know that some won't click links or don't have the ability to open PDF files.

SECRETARIA DE RELACIONES EXTERIORESDE LA REPUBLICA DE HONDURAS

An Open Letter to the Citizens of the World

from Carlos López Contreras, Foreign Minister of Honduras

As citizens of an increasingly smaller and interconnected global community, we are all responsible for respecting one other and for creating a better world together. Our diverse cultures, religions, and forms of government must continually search for ways to understand one another and work together.

In Honduras, we have always worked diligently to uphold this responsibility as inhabitants of a global village. We have always remained steadfast in our commitment, and this past month is no exception. In fact, it is an example of what we must all vow to do from time to time: hold true to the principals of democracy and the rule of law while protecting the human and civil rights of our fellow citizens in the face of criticism and misunderstanding by certain sectors of the international community.

Let me be clear about what we as Hondurans believe. We believe in the rights of every person to freely express themselves and their beliefs so long as it is done in accordance with the rule of law. We encourage full and equal participation in political discourse and believe that a free and unfettered press is a valuable part of that discourse. We believe that the Honduran government must act in accordance with the Constitution that establishes and limits its power to govern.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I am charged with representing the Honduran government and its people before the world. Now more than ever, my job is to bring an understanding to our shared global community of our dedication to uphold these beliefs, and ask each of you to consider our views as we consider yours.

Yes, Manuel Zelaya was democratically elected as the Honduran President. We cherish democracy.

Yes, as President, he did abuse his power and violate the Constitution. We respect our Constitution.

Yes, his powers as President were automatically forfeited after our Attorney General investigated the violation and our Supreme Court ruled that the violation had occurred. We respect the rule of law.

Yes, the military was ordered to arrest him as part of their Constitutional duty. We know this appearance might seem troubling to some, but it is clearly written in our Constitution -and has always been a part of our Constitution.

Yes, it was a mistake to remove Manuel Zelaya, a Honduran national, from the country. We admit the error and are aware that there are consequences.

Those consequences are that the Constitution and rule of law must be upheld. And so, the Attorney General opened an investigation into the expatriation of Manuel Zelaya on July 4th, and we await the findings of this investigation.

We, the Honduran people, firmly believe that those consequences are not any of the following:

• The restitution of the Presidential powers of Manuel Zelaya. This is not an option the Honduran Constitution grants to the government. In fact, it is clear that the exact opposite must take place. No powers under any circumstances.

• The granting of amnesty to Manuel Zelaya by the executive branch. This is a proscribed duty of the Congress. and the Congress alone. This is their power, and theirs alone.

• The unilateral decision to negotiate breaking articles of the Constitution in order to satisfy some members of the international community. Popular opinion by powerful nations does not rule our nation, and should not rule any country.

Please consider what is being asked of our country: Break the Constitution. Ignore the rule of law.

We simply can not do this because of a mistake in expatriating a Honduran national who had been Constitutionally stripped of the powers that democracy provided to him only to have him abuse them.

We would never ask another nation to ignore its Constitution and trample on the rule of law much less purposely violate its Constitution to please our opinion.

Each day, our citizens wake up and hope that through our insistence and dedication that we can bring understanding to others. We are thankful to friends who have courageously spoken up on our behalf. We are grateful for their support, and are humbled that they have chosen to work selflessly alongside us to bring other nations to understanding our commitment to democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law.

We are a little country among the community of nations but our nation's larger mission is to protect human rights, democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law. We are confident that these are values worth standing firmly in order to uphold. We invite the world to examine our true intentions and decide for themselves. As we prepare to hold free and fair elections this coming November, our faith in these principles could not be more clear.

---

and this is interesting:

These 10 questions were prepared by the UCD for the OAS (Organization of American States). Unión Cívica Democrática is a large group of Honduran civic groups working to ensure the truth about what happened in Honduras gets published.

I do not believe that you can read these questions without seeing the glaring hypocrisy of the OAS.


Ten questions for the foreign ministers’ commission that visits Honduras on behalf of the Organization of American States

Why is the OAS.......?

REJECTING constitutional succession in Honduras,
but VOUCHING for the electoral fraud in Nicaragua and for the indefinite reelection of Hugo Chávez?

PREACHING non-intervention in the internal affairs of nations,
while INTERFERING in the constitutional and democratic processes of Honduras?

CRITICIZING Honduran law-enforcement efforts,
but IGNORING fierce repression of the Venezuelan opposition’s protesters?

PRETENDING to be a champion of the rule of law,
but IGNORING the Honduran Constitution, which was repeatedly violated by Zelaya?

CRITICIZING the alleged repression of news media in Honduras,
but KEEPING QUIET in light of the arbitrary closing of dozens of radio stations in Venezuela?
And KEEPING QUIET in light of the government in Ecuador threatening to do the same?

PREACHING about the defense of democracy,
while ALLOWING governments that are allegedly democratic to support the drug trade, which is so harmful for true democracies?

CONDEMNING Operation Phoenix, which was carried out by the Colombian government against a terrorist organization,
but FAILING TO CONDEMN the fact that rocket launchers sold to Venezuela landed in the hands of the FARC guerrillas?

PRETENDING to support a mediated solution to the Honduran crisis,
but PRESSURING for the acceptance of imposed, rather than negotiated, terms?

QUESTIONING the security measures taken by the Honduran government,
but IGNORING repeated calls by Zelaya for mobs to rise up and engage in the kind of violence that has already resulted in the loss of life?

PROCLAIMING solidarity with the Honduran people,
but REFUSING TO HEAR OUT the overwhelming number of members of Honduran society who categorically reject a corrupt and failed leader, who repeatedly demonstrated that he values his personal interests above those of his people?

On behalf of Honduran civil society, UNION CIVICA DEMOCRATICA requests that the honorable foreign ministers who visit us tomorrow give the Honduran people a public answer for each of these questions.

May these answers enable the citizens of the entire American continent to understand the motivations of the organization that represents them.

Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Centroamérica, August 23, 2009.

hat tip to La Gringa's Blogicito, an excellent place to keep up with events in Honduras.

Four marks of the Church

the following is extracted from "The Awakening" by James Kent Stone. it is a redaction of his earlier work "The Invitation Heeded", from which I've quoted previously. He writes about the Anglican error of starting with a presumed apostolicity, and ending with an invisible unity. The faith of the church enabled him to see that the four marks of the church are intended for all to see infallibly and without fail. Its a brilliant bit of work.

Chapter XII

The Church at the Council of Constantinople declared concerning herself that she is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. These are not only her essential qualities, but her outward and visible signs, the marks whereby she may always be infallibly recognized.
…
I. The church is, first, ONE. Unity is its prime characteristic. Whatever else the Church may be, it is one – visibly one, unmistakably one, incontrovertibly one.
…
II. The Church is Holy. Holiness is of the essence of the Church. The Church, therefore, cannot cease to be holy without ceasing to exist. As the unity of the Church implies its indivisibility, so the sanctity of the Church implies its incorruptibility. But the Reformation can be justified only by the assertion that the Church had become corrupted. Protestantism, therefore, is founded upon and absurdity.
…
III. The true Church is catholic: Catholicity is the third note of the Church. I have already spoken of the error of those who make it the first or the second. No one can rightly apprehend the Church’s universality who does not fully understand the nature of the Church’s unity. Unitas Catholica, quae toto orbe diffusa est (St. Augustine). The formula which is to guide us in our work of identification is not, The Catholic Church, is somehow or other One, but The Church which is one and undivided, is also Catholic. And, read thus, the mark of Catholicity is so plain that “the wayfaring man, though a fool,” cannot err by it.
…
IV. Finally, the Church, One, Holy, and Catholic, is also Apostolic. We shall now have no difficulty in ascertaining the sense in which Apostolicity is, and was intended to be, a note of the Church. Evidently it cannot be meant that the Church is to be recognized by the fact that its doctrine is Apostolic. This would be saying that the true Church is that which teaches the Truth – which would be an indeterminate proposition. We cannot know what the truth is until we have first found the true Church. And to discover the true Church, we must have some external and visible mark to guide us. The sign we are seeking can conceivably be no other than that of which all the ancient Fathers speak, and by which they identified the Church of their creed. It is found in the fact of Apostolic Succession.

The Anglican error, of course, differs from the Orthodox error, in that the apostolicity of the Orthodox is actual rather than presumed, but the end point is the same, multiple bodies without a common head.

Thank you Mary Meade OPL and David Javidian OPL!

for a delightful presentation!

Mary first spoke about the natural law, what it is, and how it is a guide to life, regardless of the faith or lack thereof in a person, being truly universal; built into us.



David did a nice review of the Holy Father's new encyclical Caritas in veritate in the light of the Holy Father's use of the natural law to undergird his positions in various parts of the encyclical.



A lively discussion followed in the best of Dominican tradition! Come to Our Lady of the Valley Saturday at 1PM where the discussion will continue!



Then again, it seems Dominicans cant ge't together without food & drink and informal discussion...



...which sometimes ends up even less formal (and less food, but no less drink!)



During the Q/A session, this delightful fellow wanted to know where Jesus was in all this "natural law" stuff; an excellent question! I hope he comes Saturday; he left before I could invite him, I hope someone who knows him will pass along the invitation!.



Made in the image of God, we follow Jesus when we seek "the Way, the Truth, and Life"; as St. Louis de Montfort pointed out, the alternative is people who "wander, in error and falsehood, and death" - without Jesus as their guide.

Marriage Recovery presentation venue set!

The presentation by Mary Meade O.P.L. will be at 7PM Wed, Aug 12, at St. Mark's Church in Boise!

Here's a find!

Manual of the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order of Penance of St. Dominic

found on the links page of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church - a lot of good Dominican books are linked there!

Now I have the original rule, the 1937 rule, and the current rule to compare; wahoo!

The act of love

The following is a meditation from Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen O.C.D.

The Act of Love

O Lord, grant that I may love You for Yourself and not seek my own consolation, and that in loving You, I may always seek Your will, not mine.

To love a person is to desire his well-being. We understand, therefore, that the essence of love is in the act of the will by which we wish good. This does not take away from the fact that the act may often be accompanied by sensible affection, making our love both and act of the will and of the sensibility. Nevertheless, it is clear that the substance of real love is not to be found in the emotions but in the act of the will. Charity does not change our manner of loving but penetrates it, supernaturalizes it, making the will and the sensibility capable of loving God. Yes, even sensible affection can be engaged in the act of supernatural love; God does not despise this humbler and less lofty manifestation of our love for Him, because He has commanded us to love Him not only with our whole mind and our whole soul, but also with our whole heart. All our powers – intellectual, volitive, and affective – are engaged in the act of love, and yet the substance of this act is not found in the feelings but in the will. Therefore, when our emotions are cold in our love of God, and we “feel” nothing, there is no reason for us to be disturbed; we will find less satisfaction in our love – for it is much more pleasant for us to feel that we are loving – but our act of love will be equally true and perfect. Even more, lacking the impetus and pleasure which come from our feelings, we will be obliged to apply ourself more resolutely to the act of the will and this, far from harming it, will make it more voluntary, and therefore, more meritorious. Precisely because the substance of love is in the act of the will that wishes good to God, in order to make our love purer and more intense, Our Lord will often deprive us of all consoling feelings; we will no longer feel that we love God – and this will give us pain – but in reality, we will love Him in the measure that we will with determination what He wills, and want His good pleasure and delight above all things. Besides, it is not in our power to feel love but it is always in our power to wish good to God, striving with all our strength to live for Him and to please Him.

St John of the Cross says: “It is by an act of the will that the soul is united to God; this act is love. Union with God is never wrought by feelings or exertions of the desire, for these remain in the soul as aims and ends.” The operation of the will is the act of love by means of which we wish good to God and conform our will to His. This operation properly ends in God, and is the true means of united us to Him. The feeling of love, on the contrary, is only a subjective impression sometimes produced in our sensibility by the act of love. It ends in the soul which experiences it and is a source of consolation, but we can clearly see that of itself it has no power to unite the soul to God. However, the soul can and should make use of it to give itself to God with more generosity, and in this sense, the feeling of love intensifies the operation of the will. Unfortunately, as we are so eager to seek satisfaction even in the most sacred things, the soul may easily stop at the sweetness of these feelings, and then it ceases to tend toward God with all its strength.

If we learned, as children, what love really is and how it operates, as explained above, there would be far fewer children raised by divorced parents.

Did you learn this as a child? I certainly didn't, and paid the price:

the substance of this act is not found in the feelings but in the will

The feeling of love, on the contrary, is only a subjective impression sometimes produced in our sensibility by the act of love. It ends in the soul which experiences it

Union [] is never wrought by feelings or exertions of the desire, for these remain in the soul as aims and ends

The only place I have seen this taught is Marriage Encounter; a good but insufficient offering against the cultural Moloch to which real love is sacrificed.



It appears that the presentation by Mary Meade will be moved to Friday, Aug 14. We don't have a confirmed venue yet but will post it when it is known.

Yard sale fund raiser for Mike Lee family

This just in:

3rd Annual Friends of Mike Lee Fundraising YARD SALE EXTRAVAGANZA!

August 14 & 15, 2009.
Friday & Saturday. 7:00am - 5:00pm
Newkirk Family Home: 1327 N. Rutledge, Meridian (near corner of Cherry Ln & Ten Mile)
Sponsored by LIFTID (Ladies in Faith Together - Idaho) and FOTMLF (Friends of the Mike Lee Family)

How can I help??

1. Pray for the success of this great event.

2. Donate your gently used furniture, tools, appliances, toys, housewares, clothes (very good condition only), and other sellable items. Clear out the garage! Liberate the closet! Tackle that "I wonder what is in there? box! Bring your items to the above address and leave in the driveway beginning Saturday, August 1. No appt. necessary. All items will be quickly stored and sorted.

3. Volunteer to help sort, price, set-up, and take-down.
Available shifts include: Mon-Thur between 9am-2pm. Friday (Sale Day) from 7am-noon or noon - 5pm. Saturday (Sale Day) 7am-noon or noon - 5pm or after 5pm for clean up.
Contact Lori Newkirk at 888-7006 or lori_newkirk@myfam.com to sign up for a shift. Any time given is absolutely appreciated. Family friendly!!

4. Shop the sale. Find that bargain that you were hoping for. Find treasures you didn't know you needed. Come encourage the volunteers. Sale starts bright and early at 7am!

5. TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES. Encourage them to donate goods and to shop the sale.

Contact Lori Newkirk (info above) or Hope Ryan (hopeinidaho@cableone.net ph: 475-4594) with questions. Thank you!! Forward this to all interested!

Honduras - the rest of the story...

This is an interesting explanation of "Why Honduras?"

The Fall of Chavez Has Begun


What Hugo Chávez lost in Honduras was "the most important DRUG ROUTE in the Americas" with earnings of more than $100 million monthly.

This flow of drugs is the financial arm of ALBA. So, at this time, Chavez has no source of income to finance ALBA. It's that simple, and thus his BRUTAL ATTACK on Honduras.

May the world know.

Excellent blogs commenting on the Honduran situation:

La Gringa's Blogicito
World 4 Houduras

Jesus Shock

I just finished reading this little book, and would recommend it:



From St. Augustin Press:

Jesus Shock is the second in a series of short works on seminal concerns of the impact that Jesus Christ made in the world. The first work, The Philosophy of Jesus (St. Augustine’s Press, 2007), explored philosophy in light of Jesus, rather than the other way around. The present work investigates the reception Jesus received both in His lifetime and continuously to the present time, not only from His enemies, but from His friends, a reception of shock, astonishment, even disgust. Perhaps a few remarks from the book best explains it:

The point of the title: Imagine a storm has downed a telephone wire so that everyone who touches it is shocked in every cell of his body. Well, the storm of God’s crazy love has “downed” (incarnated) Jesus, and everyone who touches this “live wire” is shocked in every cell of his soul.

The question of the book: Why is “Jesus” the most non-neutral, the most controversial, the most embarrassing name in the world? Why is talking about Jesus like talking about sex?

This whole book is really about a single movie line, the greatest line in the greatest movie in history. Bet you know what it is. . . .

What was the bitterest controversy of the Protestant Reformation, both between Protestants and Catholics and between different Protestant denominations, the one that had both sides calling the other not just heretics but devils?

Answer: It was not Justification by Faith, the hallmark of the Reformation, even though that question is about nothing less momentous than how to be saved, how to get to Heaven. It was not the relation between religion and politics, even though that was a matter of life or death (literally, on battlefields and at guillotines and hangings) and not just a matter of truth or falsity, or of good or evil. It was not about the sufficiency of the Bible, or the corruption in the Church, or the relation between the Bible and the Church. It was not about the Pope, and the governance of the Church. It was not about Mary or saints or angels or Purgatory. It was not about the Incarnation or the Trinity or the Atonement.

It was about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Jesus-Shock, in addressing this controversy forcefully and faithfully, shows the reasons why to this day the name of “Jesus” stirs up controversy, even revulsion, in polite society. In the true spirit of ecumenism, it also points the way toward a true rapprochement among His modern-day disciples.

Peter Kreeft is the author of many works in philosophy and theology, among them Socratic Logic, The Philosophy of Jesus, and The Sea Within, all from St. Augustine’s Press. He teaches philosophy at Boston College.
order here

I'm currently reading The Philosophy of Jesus (OK, I'm reading the titles backwards) and came across this little gem (speaking of the Holy Trinity):

In chapter 1, section 4. The Moral Consequences of Metaphysics, Kreeft writes: "We can see faint but definite indications of this even in our faint loves, if only they are definite. the lover finds his unity, his identity, his self, his "I," more in his beloved than in himself*.
---
*Were I a woman, I would say "her" unity and "herself." I will not say "his or her self" or "themselves" because abusing grammer is not reparation for the sin of abusing grandmas.

Although there are particular parts that I would definitely depart from Kreeft's judgments and conclusions (ie: he has an odd notion of Anglican belief regarding the real presence and his treatment of the mystical body of Christ is ... well it isn't, that's the problem I had with the book), I found "Jesus Shock" for the most part shockingly compelling, and would recommend a read. It's worth it just to take a test and fail miserably! So I better not go back to school and mea culpa on the grammer, gramma!

That's Major!

Bl. Margaret of Castello Chapter's Maj. Paul O'Leary O.P.L., that is...



Helping keep the flame of faith alive in Europe!

Be Prepared

This picture is one of my favorite humorous looks at life:



Its such a metaphor for how we fail to prepare properly for things in life; most important of which is our preparation for eternal life; for most of us, it isn't even this good.

The opposite is to over-prepare for the things that are not likely to happen; this can happen in our personal life, it can happen in the life of a nation. Our entire nation can devote a significant amount of its resources, even neglecting the poor and marginalized, in order to prevent an expected and threatened man-made global catastrophe of biblical proportions, thought by some to be tantamount to the end of the world as we know it; thought by others to be silly and a waste of resources. You thought I was talking about "Global Warming"? No, I was talking about the cold war and the arms race. Does sort of sound familiar, though.

"Marriage Recovery" at next chapter meeting

Our next chapter meeting will feature Mary Meade, OPL who is a member of the Immaculate Conception Chapter in DC. Mary operates a marriage recovery nonprofit in local diocese. Her website is marriagerecovery.com.
The following is from her web site:

Welcome to The Marriage and Family Recovery Programs
The challenge is a simple one...

Try a radically different program of Transformative Mediation to resolve your differences.

Postpone any pending divorce or other legal action for six months to give mediation a chance.

Avoid costly litigation and court battles where no one wins but the lawyers and experts.

Find the ways to protect any children from the discord, and to model to them solid conflict resolution skills.

Save your marriage and family life, or negotiate a saner solution than letting a judge decide what is best for your family.

Revolutionize the way in which you communicate with others and handle disputes.

Discover the practices which can help you transcend differences and discern your real priorities.

Discern the innate values and truths that can transform the chaos into stability and contentment.

Learn how to use conflict to transform your life and to set attainable and healthy goals.

Consider not only legal rights and obligations, but also the totality of who you are as a human being.

Determine how you can live an intentional life and how to choose wisely.

Join a systematic recovery program that helps you discern the meaning of your life.

You have nothing to lose.You have everything to gain.

DIVINE PROVIDENCE

The following excerpt is worth reading many times:

DIVINE PROVIDENCE

From Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, O.C.D.

If certain situations seem to us incomprehensible, if we cannot see the reason why particular circumstances and creatures make us suffer, it is because we do not see the place they occupy in the plan of divine Providence in which everything is ordered for our ultimate good. Yes, even suffering itself is ordered for our good, and God, who is infinite goodness, neither wills nor permits it except for this purpose. We believe all this in theory but we easily forget it in practice, so much so, that when we find ourselves in obscure, painful situations which upset or interfere with our plans and wishes, we are disturbed and our lips formulate the anguished question: “Why does God permit this?” However, the answer, as universal and infallible as divine Providence itself, is always the same: God permits it solely for our good. We need to be firmly convinced of this so that we may not be scandalized by the trials of life. “All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after His covenant and His testimonies” (Ps 24:10); we can mistrust ourselves, our goodness and our faithfulness, but we cannot mistrust God who is infinite goodness and faithfulness.

At our retreat Mike read from Mystici Corporis, and one item which came up for discussion was the error of "Quietism." I hadn't read about Quietism in perhaps a decace, and my understanding of it (at the time of the retreat discussion) was abbreviated, and it was clear that we all groped for that which we did not quite grasp; and not quietly!

When I read the above meditation, it immediately touched me in how it relates to the trials we all are undergoing. If we consider for a moment, our days in school; the teacher at his whim subjects us to homework and tests. The homework we grudgingly work through, and the tests we almost universally dread! Yet, the teacher does this not to make our life miserable, but that we may grow in knowledge and wisdom (in theory, anyway). Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Wisdom of God, has also ordered things so that we have "homework" and "tests" - we haven't chosen these assignments, He has arranged them in our lives for our benefit.

So if we look at these events as "attacks from Satan" or simply as events which we do not want, we have missed their value in our life. We are responding in an all too human understanding of events. If we look at them in "the light of heaven" and see God's hand in it, we can find a remarkable degree of peace, even as we did the one time we were confronted with a pop quiz for which we were unprepared, and accepted our failure instead of fighting what we could not change.

The meditation also brought to mind that to focus in exclusion on the acceptance of the trials in our live, and the peace which we can attain therein, could lead us to a place where we simply failed to "work out our salvation in fear and trembling" My thought was immediately the error of Quietism, which a quick read (Catholic Encyclopedia article Quietism, at New Advent) indicated that I had this in part, although the whole is far greater than I remembered. I heartily recommend a read.

St. Teresa of Avila, borrowing from St. Augustine, said that we should "pray as though everything depended on God, and work as though everything depended on us." this balance, so evident in the genius of Christ's institution of the Church, when tilted to one side at the exclusion of the other, takes us off the Way. this thought is captured well by the famous serenity prayer:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

---

Since mid-December, I have been on a special assignment which has precluded me from much posting on this blog. As of today that assignment has changed and entered a new phase which has allowed me to decamp my temporary living situation of the last seven months. God willing, may this parting of company be of mutual benefit as intended.

Scandalous fraud by removed Honduran President? - Pray for Honduras II

Fr. Powell's blog reports:

a Catalan language newspaper in Spain is reporting that police in Honduras have seized 45 computers from Zelaya's Presidential House that contain pre-programmed referendum results. The computers were programmed to indicate that by an 80-20 percent margin, Hondurans favored calling a convention to amend their constitution to allow Zelaya a second term as President.

here's the item:

Several computers containing the results of the referendum Zelaya wanted to conduct are seized at the Presidential Palace

A page out of the Chavez (leftist, in other words) Playbook
By Alberto de la Cruz, on July 18, 2009

The National Directors of Criminal Investigation seized various computers from the Presidential Palace that had recorded the supposed results of the referendum to reform the constitution that the deposed leader, Manuel Zelaya, was planning to conduct on July 28, the day he was removed from office.

The official investigation now deals with the possible crime of fraud and falsification of documents due to the fact that some of the certified voting results had been filled with the personal information of individuals that supposedly participated in the failed referendum that did not take place because of the coup.

One of the district attorneys that participated in the operation that took place this Friday showed reporters an official voting result from the Technical Institute Luis Bogran, of Tegucigalpa, in which the specific number of people that participated in table 345, where there were 550 ballots, 450 of which were votes in favor of Zelaya's proposal and 30 were against, in addition to 20 blank ballots and 30 ballots, which were nullified.

The seizure took place on the third floor of the building attached to the Ministry of the Presidency that had been rented to the ex-minister of the Interior, Enrique Flores Lanza. The deputy district attorney, Roberto Ramirez, declared this area as a "crime scene" and, although he did not want to provide further details, said that further evidence had been found that could be categorized as crimes of fraud, embezzlement of funds, falsification of documents, and abuse of authority.

credit: Babalú

So far it appears only USA Today has picked this up in the US press, but one wonders why a near world-wide news blackout on this?

Honduras: computers seized with 'election results' pre-loaded Tegucigalpa -- The National Direction of Criminal Investigation confiscated computers in the Presidential House in which were registered the supposed results of the referendum on the reform of the Constitution that was planned by former President

Here's more English information:

More corruption: The ballot counts are in! (La Gringa's Blogicito)

Computers that already collected and tallied the votes
Photo: La Prensa, Honduras

"You won't be surprised to learn that Zelaya's proposal won heartily with approximately 80% affirmative votes."

BTW, there is an excellent tag run at the blog La Gringa's Blogicito, the best I've seen so far; nice work; you rock, girl! this is an excellent find:

I enjoyed this comment on a liberal forum and asked the author to let me share it with you:


How did defending Zelaya become an important aspect of being on the American left? None of us had ever heard of Zelaya last week. Does a couple days of defending Zelaya mean a left person must defend Zelaya forever? irregardless of the emerging evidence of his guilt? Are you guys so threatened, so fragile, so insecure, that you cannot change an opinion you just formed on Monday? Can you not be flexible as damning evidence appears? Are you that brittle? that fixated? that much in denial? Come ON! COME ON! Think like a shrewd human being, and not like a petulant child. The evidence of Zeyala’s guilt is plain to see, for those who have eyes. Come ON!

And, for goodness sake: think, for once, of the Honduran people. Do you want the people living under the thumb of Zelaya? as the Venezuelan people live under the thumb of Chavez? Standing up for the Honduran Government is standing up for the rule of law, for human rights, for freedom and democracy for the Honduran people. Come ON! Are you more interested in pounding the American right with false charges about spin; or are you more interested in standing for what is right, and in standing for human beings in Honduras whose freedom is imperiled?

Greg Cotharn
The End Zone

-Chavez marionetas-

further links to the constitional events unfolding are here: Pray for Honduras

"Honduras is an example for the world.
We don't have oil nor dollars,
but we have balls!

Mike Lee presentations

The following came today; looks like a great opportunity

Dear Friends of the Mike Lee Family,

A bonus for us this summer is that Mike Lee is back in town! He has another year of intense learning behind him, which means another year of insight to share.
This leads up to a great opportunity at Nazareth Retreat Center to wrap up your summer!

If you have not heard Mike speak, plan to make time to go. You will not be disappointed. Mike will present a five-week Gospel Study and you are invited to attend any or all...

Please note that there will be two sessions each Wednesday: morning 9:00-10:30am and evening 7:00-8:30pm.



A Study of the Gospel of John

When: Wednesdays starting July 29th ending August 26th. Morning session 9:00-10:30am, Evening session 7:00-8:30pm.


Where: Nazareth Retreat Center - 4450 N. Five Mile Road, Boise, ID 83713

Who: Facilitated by Michael Lee

What to Bring: Bible, notebook, pen

Description: The study will look at the major themes within the Gospel of John, important Johannine images, important words and concepts in order to open up the Gospel for further study.


Cost: no cost – donations appreciated.

More information: Please call Mike or Deb at 253-370-1291

Also, Mike and Debbie Lee are leading a mini day retreat at Nazareth Saturday, August 22. More details on that to come. Small faith communities might consider doing this for the next month.

5th annual retreat

For Janette, Jim, and Gwen - De Profundis

Infinite Justice

From Divine Intimacy, Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene O.C.D.

INFINITE JUSTICE

Mercy is the effusion of the sovereign Good who communicates His goodness to creatures; justice is zeal defending the rights of that sovereign Good who ought to be loved above all things. In this sense, justice intervenes when the creature tramples on God’s rights and offends Him instead of loving and honoring Him. The punishment of the sinner is the fruit of justice, but at the same time it is the fruit of mercy, for “whom the Lord loves, He chastises” (Prov 3:12). God does not punish a sinner in order to destroy him but to convert him. In this life the means used by divine justice are always directed by mercy, insofar as their purpose is always to put the sinner in such conditions as to profit by the divine mercy. Therefore, God is always merciful even when He punishes; His chastisements are not merely punishments, but they are also, and above all, remedies to cure our souls from sin, except in the case of those who refuse to be converted.

In our spiritual life, mercy and justice are continually alternating and intertwining. God’s mercy offers us His divine friendship’ but, in justice, He cannot receive as an intimate friend anyone who retains the slightest attachment to sin and imperfection. Therefore He subjects us to purifying trials for a twofold purpose: to make us atone for our faults – which is the aim of justice – and to destroy in us the last roots of sin that we may be disposed for union with God – and this is the aim of mercy. Hence, we must accept our trials humbly, realizing that we deserve them. We must accept them with zeal and a love of justice, wishing to avenge in ourselves God’s rights, rights which we too often forget and ignore. We ought to accept them too with love, for every trial is a great mercy on the part of God, who wants to make us advance in the way of sanctity.

Jesus, whom God the Father loves above all creation, received the greatest suffering.

Woman speaks like a junk yard dog

From the NYT:

The Place of Women on the Court

(page 4)
JUSTICE GINSBURG: Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. [Harris v. McRae - in 1980 the court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of Medicaid for abortions.] Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion.

"She is a junkist not a jurist."

prayer request

The following came by email:

Dear Friends,

Some of you may know Fr. Dick Tomasek, SJ; other may not (yet). But I am begging your prayers for his recovery. This dear man-of-God and very special personal friend of many of us, has spent his Jesuit life, in large measure, helping others through his spiritual direction both at the Pontifical College of the Josephinum and also at the North American College in Rome. A couple weeks ago, upon his return from Rome, he underwent a physical and was immediately sent to the hospital for open-heart surgery whereupon a tumor, larger than a golf ball, was removed and a valve replaced. Sadly, the medical reports have shown the tumor to be, in Father’s words, “a not pretty cancer” – and, though he sounds his usual peacefilled and FAITHfilled self, I am asking all of you to STORM HEAVEN and God’s mercy to heal this marvelous priest in this Year of the Priests!! Beg our Heavenly Mother and our saintly John Paul II – perhaps the Divine FATHER wishes to allow this son to be JPII’s ‘miracle’ for canonization!! In any case, we simply want Father well as we NEED him and love him. He is with his Jesuit Community in WI. Please pray and ask others to as well. Thank you….I know you will!!

Gratefully and prayerfully in Mary, Mother of the Eucharist and, thus, Mother of Priests,
Sister Joseph Andrew, OP

From Uganda

"Truth Be Told" reader Fr. Jerome Agelu, Soroti, Uganda, sends the following pictures:


Under this tree...


...this woman found...


...this 3 week old abandoned baby!


The mother had run away after leaving her baby!

Fr. Agelu gave the baby to this foster mother for care:


And here is Father and Peter, a seminarian, with the baby and a group of women:


And here is the mass for baptism...


...and here are the women with their babies, including the little foundling with his foster mother, presented for baptism this Sunday (July 12), and baptized with the name "Jerome".


God is good!

Just ordered...

From St. Augustine's Press:

click picture for publisher's description

Sub lumine aeternitatis

How often St. Dominic is presented under a star, or under a great light. When we live with the eyes of our heart fixed on our own will, we are torn and tossed between desires which are constantly changing, never satisfying. We are made for eternity, and when we fix our eyes on eternity, and unite our wills to the Eternal Will of God, the peace we desire but which escapes us when we live according to our own will, becomes accessible to us. We are instructed to pray like this "...thy will be done..." so let us retire with our agony to our interior Garden of Getshemane and pray "Not my will, but thine be done."