The Best of Merchants

Today is the feast of St. John of God (Portuguese saint!) who died in 1550. I really liked this tidbit from today's Office of Readings - it's from one of his letters:

If we look forward to receiving God's mercy, we can never fail to do good so long as we have the strength. For if we share with the poor, out of love for God, whatever he has given to us, we shall receive according to his promise a hundredfold in eternal happiness. What a fine profit, what a blessed reward! Who would not entrust his possessions to this best of merchants, who handles our affairs so well? With outstretched arms he begs us to turn toward him, to weep for our sins, and to become the servants of love, first for ourselves, then for our neighbors. Just as water extinguishes a fire, so love wipes away sin.

Got Love?

I'm just starting Pope Benedict's Encyclical Caritas in Veritate (I actually started it soon after it came out, but never finished). This paragraph was really a revelation for me!

Truth needs to be sought, found and expressed within the "economy" of charity, but charity in its turn needs to be understood, confirmed and practiced in the light of truth. In this way, not only do we do a service to charity enlightened by truth, but we also help give credibility to truth, demonstrating its persuasive and authenticating power in the practical setting of social living. This is a matter of no small account today, in a social and cultural context which relativizes truth, often paying little heed to it and showing increasing reluctance to acknowledge its existence. (2)

I think what he's basically saying, (and I certainly believe it's true, though I never thought of it in quite this way before) is that our most powerful weapon against relativism is love. Wow.

In Order to Change the World *We* Need to be Better Christians

I've been thinking about this a lot lately in the context of wanting to build a culture of life and thus change the world. I had a lovely chat the other night with a friend of mine (a recent Christendom grad) about politics and life issues and all and the conclusion of the discussion (as I understood it) was basically that if all well-meaning Catholics worked on being better Catholics and being more involved and such (with an emphasis on charity - although the general point could perhaps be better described as "engaging the culture"), we could really make a big difference. The Catholic Church's balance of faith and reason is in the perfect position to provide a bridge between the ideological (and theological) extremes present in our country. Here's a sermon (from today's Office of Readings) that seems to speak across the centuries to that point in a very hard-hitting and challenging way about the necessity of that involvement. This is from a homily on the Acts of the Apostles by Saint John Chrysostom (347-407):

There is nothing colder than a Christian who does not seek to save others.

You cannot plead poverty here; the widow putting in her two small coins will be your accuser. Peter said, Silver and gold I have not. Paul was so poor that he was often hungry and went without necessary food.

You cannot plead humble birth, for they were humbly born, of humble stock. You cannot offer the excuse of lack of education, for they were uneducated. You cannot plead ill-health, for Timothy also had poor health, with frequent illnesses.

Each one can help his neighbor, if only he is willing to do what is in his power. Look at the trees that do not bear fruit: have you not noticed how strong and fine they are, upstanding, smooth, and tall? If we had a garden, we would much prefer trees with fruit—pomegranates and olives—to trees that are for pleasure, not for utility, and any utility these have is small.

Such are those men who think only of their own concerns. In fact, they are even worse: the trees are at least useful for building or for protection, whereas the selfish are fit only for punishment. Such were those foolish virgins who were chaste, comely, and self-controlled, but did nothing for anyone. So they are consumed in the fire. Such are those men who refuse to give Christ food.

Notice that none of them is accused of personal sins. They are not accused of committing fornication or perjury or any such sin at all: only of not helping anybody else. The man who buried the talent was like this. His life was blameless, but he was of no service to others.

How can such a person be a Christian? Tell me, if yeast did not make the whole mass like itself, is it really yeast? Again, if perfume failed to pervade all around it with its fragrance, would we call it perfume?

Do not say, “It is impossible for me to influence others.” If you are a Christian, it is impossible for this not to happen. Things found in nature cannot be denied; so it is here, for it is a question of the nature of a Christian.

Do not insult God. If you say that the sun cannot shine, you have insulted Him. If you say that a Christian cannot help others, you have insulted God and called Him a liar. It is easier for the sun not to give warmth or shine than for the Christian not to shed his light. It is easier for light to be darkness than for this to happen.

Do not say then that it is impossible. The opposite is impossible. Do not insult God. If we have put our affairs in order, these things will certainly come to be and will follow as a natural consequence. The light of a Christian cannot escape notice. So bright a lamp cannot be hidden.

image from Wikipedia

Helping Those in Need

Here are a couple of great projects to check out - and some simple ways to help out some beautiful families who could use a little extra support right now.

Elizabeth Foss is organizing some help for the Curtis Family (a large family of recent converts whose dad is temporarily unable to work):

I know there's more though. I know that someone out there in blogville can box up St. Nicholas day for Barbara's children. Someone else is already thinking about how Catholics decorate for advent and Christmas. And someone else is going to understand the practical needs of a large family when dad is sidelined with a longterm disability. We're talking about mailing Costco cards or Target cards or Walmart cards--those stores are local. And if Barbara needs someone to help her shop with the cards, we've got some local ladies ready to do that, too.

Read more and see what you can do to help by clicking here.

Also, Margot Davidson of Hillside Education is starting a special "bake sale" corner to help support a particular family each month:

This month, (from now until Christmas) the proceeds go to help the Quigley family in Lancaster, PA who have 2 children recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (see picture above). Because of a mistake in processing their claim and bureaucratic red tape to correct the problem, the insurance company will not be covering the insulin needed by the children for at least a month. The family is unable to cover the cost of the insulin, yet it is essential to keeping the children alive.

Please consider purchasing an item from this page, perhaps as a Christmas gift, and help this family in need. Items will be added daily, so keep checking back. You may also simply make a donation. If you'd like to donate something to the sale, we'd welcome your contributions. Please contact us at sales@hillsideeducation.com.

Check out the "bake sale" items and read about this month's family by clicking here and clicking through to the "Helping Those in Need" page.

Strangely Appropriate

We studied the Book of Tobit for our teen catechism study group tonight. A few minutes before class I stumbled upon an audience by Pope John Paul II on the Canticle of Tobit which I read aloud to the group during class. It was beautiful and moving and seemed, to me at least, strangely appropriate at this difficult time. The book itself is traditionally held up to emphasize the need for almsgiving along with prayer and fasting and for praising God even in the midst of suffering. It is altogether a beautiful and hopeful story. Unfortunately, it is one of the Books of the Bible rejected by Protestants and so the story is not well known. Here is a tidbit from the beautiful Canticle itself:

Blessed is God who lives for ever,
and blessed is his kingdom.
For he afflicts, and he shows mercy;
he leads down to Hades, and brings up again,
and there is no one who can escape his hand.
Acknowledge him before the nations, O sons of Israel;
for he has scattered us among them.
Make his greatness known there,
and exalt him in the presence of all the living;
because he is our Lord and God, he is our Father for ever.
He will afflict us for our iniquities;
and again he will show mercy,
and will gather us from all the nations
among whom you have been scattered.
If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul,
to do what is true before him,
then he will turn to you and will not hide his face from you.
But see what he will do with you;
give thanks to him with your full voice.

Here is part of what Pope John Paul II had to say about this Canticle:

2. With this premise, the words of our hymn can make a strong point. They invite us to lift up our eyes on high to "God who lives forever", to his kingdom which "lasts for all ages". From this contemplation of God, the sacred author can offer a short sketch of a theology of history in which he tries to respond to the question which the dispersed and tried People of God are raising: why does God treat us like this? The response turns both to divine justice and mercy: "He chastises you for your injustices, but he will show mercy towards all of you" (v. 5). The chastisement appears thus to be a kind of divine pedagogy, in which the last word is reserved to mercy: "He scourges and then shows mercy, casts down to the depths of the nether world, and he brings up from the great abyss" (v. 2). Suffering, even the Cross, has a positive meaning if lived in accord with God's plan One can have absolute confidence in God who never abandons his creature. Moreover, the words of the hymn lead to another perspective, which attributes a salvific meaning to the situation of suffering, turning the exile into an occasion to praise the works of God: "Praise him, you Israelites, before the Gentiles for though he has scattered you among them, he has shown his greatness even there" (vv. 3-4).

3. From this invitation to read the exile in a providential way, our meditation can be extended to consider the mysteriously positive meaning which suffering assumes when it is lived in abandonment to God's plan. Already in the OT several passages delineate such a theme. Think of the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis (cf. Gn 37,2-36) who was sold by his brothers and destined to be their future saviour. How can we forget the book of Job? Here the innocent man suffers, and doesn't know how to explain his drama in any way except by surrendering to the greatness and wisdom of God (cf. Jb 42,1-16). For us who read these OT passages from a Christian perspective, the point of reference can only be the Cross of Christ which offers a profound response to the mystery of suffering in the world.

Read the rest of Pope John Paul II's General Audience on the Canticle of Tobit here.

Building a Culture of Life - Part 6

6. Faith and Reason.

I have this vision in my head that Catholics are actually in a position to be the bridge builders between various political extremes. I think it's partly about that faith-and-reason thing that we believe needs to be kept in balance. It seems to me that at this point in time one side tends to be off-balance in a reason-without-faith direction while the other side is inclined to embrace faith without reason.

So what does this Faith-and-Reason balance entail, anyway?

Man can touch the eternal only in sensible realities, but the things of this world are also intrinsically designed to mediate contact with God. (Cardinal Ratzinger, Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism)

A lot of people misunderstand this concept of Faith and Reason and assume that the "reason" part has something to do with an in-depth intellectual background.

Nope.

Intellectual studies are a good thing and have always been valued by the Church, but are not absolutely required for what we're talking about here. It's much more about using the gifts God has given us - including our reason and our common sense (I'm also thinking of the two-boats-and-a-helicopter joke here) - to make the best decisions we can. It's certainly about prudence, too.

It may be helpful to keep in mind that as much as it is a scandal for Christians to be confronted with those who believe God should be driven out from public view, it is *also* a scandal to those with secular-leanings to be told that they have to throw out even good science and common sense in order to embrace Christianity. (I think it's similar to the conflict between St. Peter and St. Paul in the early Church. St. Peter was tempted to side with those who argued that Gentiles, in order to become Christians, needed to embrace all the tenets of the Jewish faith. I think it's fairly easy to see now both why that would be a tempting position and why that was so controversial!) The truth is that neither view is complete or accurate. God is reasonable, He created our world and we can actually learn about God through science and reason.

Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth. Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made then what they are. (The Catechism of the Catholic Church #198)

and also...

In studying nature we have not to inquire how God the Creator may, as He freely wills, use His creatures to work miracles and thereby show forth His power: we have rather to inquire what Nature with its immanent causes can naturally bring to pass. (St. Albert the Great, circa 1200 AD)

This brings me to a corollary to this part of our discussion.

Study Church Teaching.

What the Catholic Church has to say about our social obligations and how societies should function is truly beautiful and sensible. It has great possibilities for bridging that gap between Faith and Reason that our society constantly struggles with. If only people would familiarize themselves with these principles!

First of all, Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum should be required reading for every Catholic high school student and every serious Catholic armchair politician. Also required reading should be Pope Benedict XVI's important encyclical Deus Caritas Est, which has very helpful things to say about social justice and works of charity. I've heard that the Holy Father has an encyclical on social justice in the works as well.

Here's a small sampling:

Christian charitable activity must be independent of parties and ideologies. It is not a means of changing the world ideologically, and it is not at the service of worldly stratagems, but it is a way of making present here and now the love which man always needs. The modern age, particularly from the nineteenth century on, has been dominated by various versions of a philosophy of progress whose most radical form is Marxism. Part of Marxist strategy is the theory of impoverishment: in a situation of unjust power, it is claimed, anyone who engages in charitable initiatives is actually serving that unjust system, making it appear at least to some extent tolerable. This in turn slows down a potential revolution and thus blocks the struggle for a better world. Seen in this way, charity is rejected and attacked as a means of preserving the status quo. What we have here, though, is really an inhuman philosophy. People of the present are sacrificed to the moloch of the future - a future whose effective realization is at best doubtful. One does not make the world more human by refusing to act humanely here and now. We contribute to a better world only by personally doing good now, with full commitment and wherever we have the opportunity, independently of partisan strategies and programs. (Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est)

At the very least, understanding these principles should help keep us from getting overly wrapped up in party politics. Catholics by their nature should be independent anyway, weighing each candidate as best they can with a clear understanding of the various issues at stake. There certainly isn't a major political party out there that entirely represents our beliefs. I've always liked this quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

True followers of Christ were meant to be at odds with the world: The pure of heart will be laughed at by the Freudians; the meek will be scorned by the Marxists; the humble will be walked on by the go-getters; the liberal Sadducees will call them reactionaries; the reactionary Pharisees will call them liberals.

Building a Culture of Life - Part 5

5. Solidarity

I think there might be a better word for this one, but I can't think of it. Whatever it's called, it has a number of different aspects and has something to do with being witnesses for Life *as* the Body of Christ.

a. Solidarity with other Catholics and pro-Lifers around the world. Did you know that there are terrible persecutions going on in India and that a Catholic University in Spain was bombed last week? The point here isn't to burden you with more evils to pray for, but to remember to not be over-focused on just the problems of our own country. Also, there are many reasons to be grateful for the freedoms we have here in the U.S.

b. Sacrifice and Solidarity. No matter what the election outcome tomorrow may be, we still have a lot of work to do in putting an end to abortion. I'd like to propose an idea for a sacrifice with a financial aspect. I think it would be a wonderful idea for those who are able to give up something as a semi-permanent sacrifice (like cable TV or some sort of food luxury) to offer up for the intention of ending abortion AND use the money saved to assist those in need who may choose abortion. I mentioned pregnancy help centers in a previous post, but there are many fine organizations that could be considered.

Though this is perhaps only obliquely related, I'd like to put a plug in for food pantries. I have a special attachment to these organizations as John and I benefited from their services once upon a time - when Ria was a small toddler, in fact. When we were first married, John still had a few semesters of engineering school left (which he alternated with semesters of working co-op jobs at minimum wage). I worked for almost a year as a teacher (at extremely minimal pay). We were extremely frugal, but really needed a little extra help. We decided to turn to the food pantry which happened to be directly across the street from our apartment (a good thing since we only had one car and it was only open while John was away at work or school). They were a lovely organization willing to help anyone who needed it without a lot of forms or fuss. A few days before Thanksgiving (the year was 1994), they sent us home with complete fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner. A kind man from the pantry carried the box all the way up to my apartment for me since my arms were full carrying Ria. I was completely blown away by this unexpected gift. Perhaps it wasn't exactly *needed* as we had family to spend Thanksgiving with, but I cried tears of gratitude for the lovely generosity of those who were willing to give us a helping hand.

Another area to consider is to donate goods to those in need.

Do good, and evil will not overtake you. Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. (Tobit 12:7-9)

Quote of the Day

To have Christian hope means to know about evil and yet to go to meet the future with confidence. The core of faith rests upon accepting being loved by God, and therefore to believe is to say Yes, not only to him, but to creation, to creatures, above all, to men, to try to see the image of God in each person and thereby to become a lover. That’s not easy, but the basic Yes, the conviction that God has created men, that he stands behind them, that they aren’t simply negative, gives love a reference point that enables it to ground hope on the basis of faith (Cardinal Ratzinger, Salt of the Earth).

Building a Culture of Life - Part 2

2. Support the Disabled. It seems to me that a certain reverence is owed to the disabled because they're sort of like veterans of abortion - they've survived "to tell the tale" and serve as a reminder, too, of those who didn't.

I married into a family that understands the day-to-day reality of living with the disabled. But that's partly why the subject is so poignant to me. (In a way, I wish that I could share more on this topic, but not everything is appropriate to the public eye.) You can see the beauty and value in their lives and at the same time be faced with the reality that many are denied that chance to live.

But this isn't an evil that weighs only on the doctors and parents involved in aborting such lives. We need to consider what *we* can do to make a difference. Being pro-Life is about so much more than voting! We have many opportunities in our lives to support the disabled - and families of the disabled. This involves patience, understanding and sometimes even a little imagination.

For some reason what comes to mind for me is the old Jimmy Durante song that goes: "It's so important to make someone happy, just one someone happy..." I know it's about romantic love, but somehow it works beyond that too. Having the opportunity to share unconditional love with others - without necessarily getting anything in return - is a beautiful and powerful thing.

I'm always pleased when the dignity of disabled people is presented in a beautiful way on television (one particular episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition comes to mind in which the team re-built a camp for severely disabled children - and fell in love with them!) especially in this aspect of love. The disabled can be such a powerful witness of love in their families and communities that these stories are well-worth sharing. Our society needs to see this sort of example!

We also need to strike from our hearts attitudes that lean toward questioning the intrinsic value of those who might not earn an income or be able to live independently. This can be very difficult in a society that tends to value people according to how much money they make.

I really love what Pope Benedict XVI said in his encyclical on hope about being willing to share in the sufferings of others. His use of the words "com-passion"(literally suffering-with) and "con-solation" (or "being with the other in solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude.") were particularly striking to me. Although this is partially a repudiation of modern culture, it should also serve as a reminder of the charity we owe to those who suffer.

A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through "com-passion" is a cruel and inhuman society. Yet society cannot accept its suffering members and support them in their trials unless individuals are capable of doing so themselves; moreover, the individual cannot accept another's suffering unless he personally is able to find meaning in suffering, a path of purification and growth in maturity, a journey of hope. Indeed, to accept the "other" who suffers, means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, though, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love. The Latin word con-solation, "consolation," expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with the other in his solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude. Furthermore, the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth, and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life itself becomes a lie. In the end, even the "yes" to love is a source of suffering, because love always requires expropriations of my "I," in which I allow myself to be pruned and wounded. Love simply cannot exist without this painful renunciation of myself, for otherwise it becomes pure selfishness and thereby ceases to be love.

I think Thomas Vander Woude, who gave his own life to save the life of his disabled son, is a perfect hero for us to emulate, even in the small ways that we can do good for the "least" of our brothers. The opportunities we come across to show our love and support to the disabled (and, by extension, the sick and the elderly too) don't generally involve giving our lives and probably the most difficult part will be to learn to be comfortable treating them as a person with needs, desires and dignity. Prayer and practice will help us see Christ in them.

One more thought on the value of suffering (from Pope Benedict XVI on St. Paul - General Audience, November 8, 2006):

...although faith unites us closely to Christ, it emphasizes the distinction between us and him; but according to Paul, Christian life also has an element that we might describe as "mystical", since it entails an identification of ourselves with Christ and of Christ with us. In this sense, the Apostle even went so far as to describe our suffering as "the suffering of Christ" in us (II Cor 1: 5), so that we might "always [carry] in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies"

I've done my share of griping about the amount of parking spots reserved for the handicapped. So maybe the government has gotten a little carried away in places, but honestly, it's nice to see them overdo it on behalf of (and even out of respect for the dignity of) those in need. In the future I'll try to remember to offer my frustrations up for those less fortunate than me.

Open to Correction

Many thanks to Amy Welborn for writing a great blog post about an important topic - defensiveness regarding critique and criticism. This defensiveness she writes about makes it really hard for me as a reviewer because often even the littlest points or even clarifications can be taken for serious criticism or even condemnation - which makes me second guess whether I should mention this little thing, whether it will be taken too seriously, etc. I should mention that it's not just authors who can be sensitive, but readers don't necessarily make a big distinction between, say, some ideas for improving future editions of a particular book and grave reservations regarding the overall point of view of the author.

Ideally, a book review should be open and honest about various sorts of criticism. I know that I very much appreciate positive reviews that aren't afraid to give the potentially negative side of things as well (another fine line here, though - you certainly can get too nit-picky). When I read this sort of review it helps me in a number of ways.

1) The willingness to critique - as long as it's fair and reasonable - often gives the reviewer more credibility in my mind - because the review tends to be (or at least seems to be) more well-thought-out, balanced and objective. Somehow it gives more weight to the positive points made when the reviewer is willing to explore the negatives too - I get a stronger sense that they really mean what they say.

2) I have a better idea of the details of the resource I'm looking into - after all, I could just go to a book catalog to find the general, glowing details.

3) Finally, I think that a reasonable willingness to correct is more charitable to the author and even to the book itself than either ignoring the material or simply giving up on the details and condemning it. If someone is willing to take the time and bother to sort through the ins and outs, recognizing what is good and correcting the errors simply makes more of these books more usable, more worthwhile. And it doesn't tend to hurt the reviewer (sames goes for the reader, later on) to go through the process of making such distinctions.

I suppose the medium of the Internet makes this harder since, without the tone of voice, it's hard to get the sense of "Well, there's just this little thing I think I should mention..."

On the other hand, it takes a certain amount of gumption to stand up to the ideas in a book and not just write catalog overviews when there are other issues to be addressed. I have to admit that I'm not always up to the task myself.

Anyway, here's Amy's blogpost that I was referring to...

One of the most irritating thing about discourse, something that gets exaggerated, it seems, on the Internet (like anything else) is hyper-defensiveness. That is to say that to critique any aspect of any phenomenon amounts to a full-scale attack on that phenomenon.

For some, it seems, it is all or nothing.

Or perhaps there is just a fear that if one aspect of a phenomenon can be critiqued, that means that the whole enterprise is called into question.

Read the rest here

By the way this post isn't meant to be a rant about reviewing books, more a thinking through of some aspects and the challenge of keeping things in balance. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Extremely Random Thoughts on Thinking and Communication

Some thoughts swirling around in my head - nothing resembling a "train of thought" here, I think! ;)

Just because someone makes a point about something we agree with doesn't mean it's a good point.

Just because "an argument can be made" doesn't mean the argument is true.

We lose an awful lot of important "battles" by losing sight of what really matters.

It's strange how discussions sometimes unravel because two people who aren't really very far off from being "on the same page" go on rants about things that drive them crazy (not aimed at each other at all) and they each think the other person is mad at them.

It's amazing how often we will fully accept, without question, a rumor as truth simply because it's something negative about someone/something we don't like or we don't approve of. When we do this, not only have we brushed aside charity and lost credibility, but we have become hypocrites.

Thought for the Day

from Fr. Thomas Dubay, Authenticity...

We may distinguish two types of knowing: one is particular, specific, thing-centered, while the other is fundamental, deep, ultimate, person-centered. Examples of the first are the molecular structure of water, the sum of the angles of a triangle equaling 180 degrees, the location of Chile in South America and the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. Examples of the second are moral decisions, the ultimate purpose in life, the thirst of men for happiness and the quest for God.

The research-study model for the attainment of truth is effective for the first level of knowing. A proud, avaricious, lustful person can through sheer study reach an extensive knowledge of things. He can learn precious little about persons, nothing about God - nothing, that is, that transcends the mere data level of books and lectures.

Deep, ultimate, person-centered knowledge is achieved through love, genuine love. And love is achieved only through conversion from an opacity resulting from the original fall.

Risk and Friendship

I've been thinking a bit lately about how making a step toward friendship with someone or even *being* friends with someone makes you vulnerable in many ways and can, at times be a frightening thing. Or at least something where fear can get in the way and prevent you from making that step. My mind, at least, tries to put these road blocks in my way - "Ugh. Maybe they'll think I'm stupid or presumptuous. Maybe I shouldn't say anything at all." Friendship does sometimes cause extremely painful misunderstandings. There's a significant risk there, especially to someone who is sensitive about such things as relationships.

Of course the rewards of friendship are much greater and entirely "worth it", but not everyone can make it past that first big hurdle and I know, for me, that first hurdle can be very difficult. There is also a significant sense of relief when my offer of friendship is accepted by the other.

Discussions on the Internet can be like that too. If I really share my opinion, which may not be fully formed, will I sound stupid? will some people misunderstand me or dislike me?

There's a certain degree to which the practice of humility is necessary in making such steps (at least in an act against pride which is uncomfortable with vulnerability). It also reminds me of the charity and openness and understanding I should have to others .

So I was interested to understand in a new way, in a portion of Pope Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth, how God models for us a participation in such risks. God came down and made Himself vulnerable to us. Wow!

This is from the Holy Father's commentary on the Our Father, in the segment entitled "Hallowed Be Thy Name". I'll try to summarize here along with a few choice quotes:

First, he brings up the obvious connection of "Hallowed be thy Name" with "Thou shalt not speak the name of the Lord thy God in vain."

This leads to a detailed discussion of God revealing Himself to Moses in the burning bush.

In one sense God doesn't give himself a name "among other gods" as if he's one of many.

God's answer to Moses is thus at once a refusal and a pledge. He says of himself simply, "I am who I am" - he is without any qualification. This pledge is a name and a non-name at one and the same time.

He also points out that God didn't actually refuse Moses' request. He gave him something very significant which establishes a relationship with mankind.

God establishes a relationship between himself and us. He puts himself within reach of our invocation. He enters into relationship with us and enables us to be in relationship with him. Yet this means that in some sense he hands himself over to our human world. He has made himself accessible and, therefore, vulnerable as well. He assumes the risk of relationship, of communion, with us.

The process that was brought to completion in the Incarnation had begun with the giving of the divine name.... God has now truly made himself accessible in his incarnate Son. He has become a part of our world: he has, as it were, put himself into our hands.

This enables us to understand what the petition for the sanctification of the divine name means. The name of God can now be misused and so God himself can be sullied. The name of God can be co-opted for our purposes and so the image of God can also be distorted. The more he gives himself into our hands, the more we can obscure his light; the closer he is, the more our misuse can disfigure him. Martin Buber once said that when we consider all the ways in which God's name has been so shamefully misused, we almost despair of uttering it ourselves. But to keep it silent would be an outright refusal of the love with which God comes to us. Buber says that our only recourse is to try as reverently as possible to pick up and purify the polluted fragments of the divine name. But there is no way we can do that alone. All we can do is plead with him not to allow the light of his name to be destroyed in the world.

And so God is our true model for friendship and charity (and much more!). He comes to us in love despite fallen man's tendency to manhandling. I love the beautiful commentary on God's name too!

And Speaking of Easy Ways to be Nice...

Suzanne at Blessed Among Men is hosting a "Christmas Cheer Challenge" to support a special family in need this Christmas. Check it out here.

Lots and lots to blog about from this weekend - but I can't do that until I get some more love2learn moments recorded today. Please say a quick prayer for me for guidance and inspiration in this important task.

Slightly Incoherent Ramblings on Homeschooling and "The World"

There's something that's been bouncing around in my head in regards to not sheltering my kids too much, though it's a little hard to explain. Bear with me, please. :) Civilized discussion and even disagreement is welcome. I suspect there are some worthwhile things to think about here (particularly in the quotations!), even if I can't quite connect the dots I'm trying to connect.

I think bits from the reading we happened to discuss last week from the Holy Father's Jesus of Nazareth might be a good place to start (although it's somewhat tangentially related). In his section on "Deliver Us from Evil" in a chapter reflecting on the Our Father, the Pope has this to say:

So long as the dragon cannot wrest God from you, your deepest being remains unharmed, even in the midst of all the evils that threaten you. Our translation is thus correct to say: "Deliver us from evil," with evil in the singular. Evils (plural) can be necessary for our purification, but evil (singular) destroys. This, then, is why we pray from the depths of our soul not to be robbed of our faith, which enables us to see God, which binds us with Christ. This is why we pray that, in our concern for goods, we may not lose the Good itself; that even faced with the loss of goods, we may not also lose the Good, which is God; that we ourselves may not be lost: Deliver us from evil!

Although there is a certain degree of looking inward that is necessary to families at times, it seems to me that homeschooling can lead to a unique danger of looking inward too much in a way that can stir up pettiness and concerns growing way out of proportion with their reality.

I think it's a little like protecting our babies and young children from illness. It is natural and good to take certain precautions to keep them healthy, and yet (somewhat paradoxically, I think) it turns out that a certain amount of exposure is good for them and makes them stronger while too much "sheltering" (so to speak) has negative consequences for their long-term health.

Here's a somewhat random quote I found on the Internet on the topic:

The age-old question of how far to go to protect a child from germs doesn't have one right answer. Repeated minor infections do build immunity to similar types of germs, but who wants young children to be constantly sick? Parents run the gamut on this one from not worrying at all to bringing Lysol to the supermarket and wiping down the shopping cart before their child is wheeled around.I think the practical solution is to recognize that many, many exposures are unavoidable. Toddlers are by nature into everything around them, dirt and germs included, and many viruses can be spread before the contagious person even comes down with any symptoms. So, I see those inevitable exposures as the immunity-building ones. Your best bet is to wash your child's hands frequently, and avoid obviously sick individuals whenever possible. Source

For our family, homeschooling makes it easier to "look outward" because we're doing it as a family and helping our children begin to understand how to live out their faith in charity to others and to begin to see that the Church has the answers to what troubles people in the world. How does one look outward? Sometimes it involves allowing the book-learning to be less-than-perfect in order to spend time on other important things - community involvement, Church activities, works of charity, etc. Many of these will provide opportunities to gain that wonderful thing called Perspective. Another aspect of this is books and movies that make us think and grow - especially those that require some sorting out and making distinctions... together. A side note on this: Most of the great literature deals to some extent with the consequences of sin and thus will, to some extent, have evil and offensive things in it.

There is little point in keeping children out of Hell if you don't afford them the means of getting into Heaven. So give them solid catechetics, strong preaching, good example, healthy exercise, supervision in a general and determinant way but not in each particular and by all means permitting them the freedom of the good, dangerous books as well as the dangerous games such as football, or mountain climbing. Given the state of man, some will break their necks and sin; but in good Catholic families with common sense, the falls should be few and the bodies and souls recoverable. (John Senior, The Restoration of Christian Culture)

This is a balance I'm aware of and seeking to achieve, but it's not always "there". The biggest pitfall for me is getting caught up in the little things that aren't really that important, but that can seem overwhelming at times. Funny how they seem so huge and overwhelming at the time and looking back (especially over time) they can often seem petty and silly... especially after a healthy dose of perspective.

And speaking of perspective, a little birdie told me that my friend Katrina is going to start blogging soon, hurray! Stay tuned.

Here are some quotes that seem to me related to the thoughts swirling around in my head:

The Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25: 14-30

Let me confess, however, that I have never read any of Father Brown except for a brief short story or two. I dislike mystery stories, however noble the art. To be sure, I have cited time without number Chesterton's remark that we should commit our murders all the time, but by writing about them, in mystery stories. This, after all, Plato's point: that knowledge of evil is not evil, but good. Chesterton was quite sure that one of the great arguments for being a Christian was that it enabled us to understand the real nature and depths of evil in ourselves and in the world. (Another Sort of Learning by Fr. James Schall).

And this brings me back to Chesterton - to the idea that before we are twenty we have learned the important things. We have learned them right or wrong, and we have learned them alone. "The tremendous examination of existence", as Chesterton called it, will not be based on whether we have been to college, but on whether we seriously, yet in good humor, confronted in our lives the highest things. St. Paul intimated, in a famous passage, that learning could easily deflect us into "foolishness", even if we be, perhaps especially if we be, professional philosophers (I Cor. 1:18-24) (Another Sort of Learning by Fr. James Schall)

With the petition "thy Kingdom come" (not "our kingdom"), the Lord wants to show us how to pray and order our action in just this way: The first and essential thing is a listening heart, so that God, not we, may reign. The Kingdom of God comes by way of a listening heart. That is its path. And that is what we must pray for again and again.

The encounter with Christ makes this petition even deeper and more concrete. We have seen that Jesus is the Kingdom of God in person. The Kingdom of God is present wherever he is present. By the same token, the request for a listening heart becomes a request for communion with Jesus Christ, the petition that we increasingly become "one" with him (Gal 3:28). What is requested in this petition is the true following of Christ, which becomes communion with him and makes us one body with him. Reinhold Schneider has expressed this powerfully: "The life of this Kingdom is Christ's continuing life in those who are his own. In the heart that is no longer nourished by the vital power of Christ, the Kingdom ends; in the heart that is touched and transformed by it, the Kingdom begins... The roots of the indestructible tree seek to penetrate into each heart. The Kingdom is one. It exists solely through the Lord who is its life, its strength, and its center" (Das Vaternunser, pp. 31f). To pray for the Kingdom of God is to say to Jesus: Let us be yours, Lord! Pervade us, live in us; gather scattered humanity in your body, so that in you everything may be subordinated to God and you can then hand over the universe to the Father, in order that "God may be all in all" (1 Cor 15:28) (Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth

Related link:

"A Christian Approach to Purity" by Mark Shea

With All the Bad Press about Illegal Immigrants...

*everyone* ought to see this story. Wow.

It's only fair.

Issues of Charity

I've seen a number of troubling offenses against charity by Christians against Christians around the Internet lately (I'm thinking of at least three particular instances I've seen quite recently, completely unrelated to each other). Rather than pointing these out and adding to the chaos, I thought it would be a good time to consider what the Church teaches about charity, judgment and protecting the reputation of others:

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2477-2478):

2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. He becomes guilty:

-of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;

-of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them,

-of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.

2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:

Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved. (St. Ignatius Loyola - Spiritual Exercises)

Making a moral judgment about someone based on whether they like or don't like a particular book or movie or style of educating their children can be really dangerous territory. There are certainly reasonable cases where someone's tastes in movies and books might make you cautious about them influencing your children, but what I'm talking about is more along the lines of publicly accusing people of being bad Christians or Catholics based on such things.

"Two Traps for the Pious"

I found this post at Robert Gotcher's Classic Catholic (with a number of thoughts from a book by Fr. Groeschel) both interesting and enlightening.

Unfortunately piety has a bad name, primarily because there are a lot of people in the world who try to conform their lives to the manifest will of God in a way that simply kills charity in their souls. We've come to call them pharisees and we are fools if we presume the proper pronoun is "them" rather than "us."

I also thought it was fascinating that Fr. Groeschel recommends great literature as one of the potential antidotes to a lack of charity (I think because it both gives us an opportunity to "walk in someone else's shoes" for a time and tends to help us better understand human nature). This makes sense to me, but I had never thought about it in quite this way before.

This is almost an accidental, automatic fault. It can be overcome, as Fr. Groeschel points out, by reading good literature and opening your eyes to the plight of the poor and intentionally entering into solidarity with the poor by divesting one's self of some of the incidental benefits of a devout life.

Read the whole post here

This also reminds me that I've read and not-yet-reviewed an excellent book of Fr. Groeschel's called The Virtue-Driven Life. He covers each of the theological virtues (faith, hope and charity) and cardinal virtues (prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice) in detail of a very practical and understandable sort. I particularly appreciated his distinctions between each virtue regarded naturally and supernaturally.

The DanielleBean.com Charity Raffle

Danielle Bean is hosting an amazing raffle/fundraiser for the St. Gianna Maternity Home in Warsaw, North Dakota. This is a real blog-spread effort with fabulous prizes (including lots of educational materials) donated by numerous Catholic authors and organizations.

Every $5 donation offers a chance to win a prize.

Check out all the details here

A few highlights from the end of Sacramentum Caritatis

Here it is important to consider what the Synod Fathers described as eucharistic consistency, a quality which our lives are objectively called to embody. Worship pleasing to God can never be a purely private matter, without consequences for our relationships with others: it demands a public witness to our faith. Evidently, this is true for all the baptized, yet it is especially incumbent upon those who, by virtue of their social or political position, must make decisions regarding fundamental values, such as respect for human life, its defence from conception to natural death, the family built upon marriage between a man and a woman, the freedom to educate one's children and the promotion of the common good in all its forms. Those values are not negotiable. Consequently, Catholic politicians and legislators, conscious of their grave responsibility before society, must feel particularly bound, on the basis of a properly formed conscience, to introduce and support laws inspired by values grounded in human nature. There is an objective connection here with the Eucharist. Bishops are bound to reaffirm constantly these values as part of their responsibility to the flock entrusted to them.

The first and fundamental mission that we receive from the sacred mysteries we celebrate is that of bearing witness by our lives. The wonder we experience at the gift God has made to us in Christ gives new impulse to our lives and commits us to becoming witnesses of his love. We become witnesses when, through our actions, words and way of being, Another makes himself present.

In the memorial of his sacrifice, the Lord strengthens our fraternal communion and, in a particular way, urges those in conflict to hasten their reconciliation by opening themselves to dialogue and a commitment to justice. Certainly, the restoration of justice, reconciliation and forgiveness are the conditions for true peace. The recognition of this fact leads to the determination to transform unjust structures and to restore respect for the dignity of all men and women, created in God's image and likeness. Through the concrete fulfilment of this responsibility, the Eucharist becomes in life what is signifies in its celebration. As I have had occasion to say, it is not the proper task of the Church to engage in the political work of bringing about the most just society possible; nonetheless she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the struggle for justice. The Church "has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper."

We must denounce those who squander the earth's riches, provoking inequalities that cry out to heaven. For example, it is impossible to remain silent before the "distressing images of huge camps throughout the world of displaced persons and refugees, who are living in makeshift conditions in order to escape a worse fate, yet are still in dire need. Are these human beings not our brothers and sisters? Do their children not come into the world with the same legitimate expectations of happiness as other children?" The Lord Jesus, the bread of eternal life, spurs us to be mindful of the situations of extreme poverty in which a great part of humanity still lives: these are situations for which human beings bear a clear and disquieting responsibility. Indeed, "on the basis of available statistical data, it can be said that less than half of the huge sums spent worldwide on armaments would be more than sufficient to liberate the immense masses of the poor from destitution. This challenges humanity's conscience.

Finally, to develop a profound eucharistic spirituality that is also capable of significantly affecting the fabric of society, the Christian people, in giving thanks to God through the Eucharist, should be conscious that they do so in the name of all creation, aspiring to the sanctification of the world and working intensely to that end. The Eucharist itself powerfully illuminates human history and the whole cosmos. In this sacramental perspective we learn, day by day, that ever ecclesial event is a kind of sign by which God makes himself known and challenges us. The eucharistic form of life can thus help foster a real change in the way we approach history and the world.