Monthly Archives: February 2023

Fully present, within the Post-Post Modern World

After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.”

He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Mori’ah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together.

And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!”

And he said, “Here am I, my son.”

He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham,

Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.”

He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.

Genesis chapter 22

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid’ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here am I.”

Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Exodus chapter 3

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down within the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.

Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, `Speak, LORD, for thy servant hears.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And the LORD came and stood forth, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for thy servant hears.”

1 Samuel chapter 3

In the year that King Uzzi’ah died I (Isaiah) saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Isaiah chapter 6

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Anani’as. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Anani’as.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying, and he has seen a man named Anani’as come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

But Anani’as answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

So Anani’as departed and entered Saul’s house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized, and took food and was strengthened.

For several days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And in the synagogues immediately he proclaimed Jesus, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Acts of the Apostles

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Proper Authority

This authority is not there to crush us: on the contrary, it is authority brought to bear against evil, against our enemies, against the Accuser. It is authority in our favor, for our edification and consolation. It is indispensable for us to learn to rely on this authority of the Word of God, which contains a strength not possessed by any human word.  —‘Thirsting for Prayer’ by Father Jacques Philippe

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St Ignatius’ rejection of Erasmus

As seen already, the piety of Inigo (St Ignatius of Loyola) from childhood was imbued with a deep and tender devotion to the Mother of God. Even in his wild days, he would turn to her at critical times, as when he was about to fight a duel. A vision of her during the first stage of his conversion at Loyola confirmed him in his good resolutions and filled him with loathing for his past sins against purity. Then he copied her words from the Gospels into his notebook, writing them as beautifully as he could, and all in distinctive blue. On his feet again, his first business was to visit her shrine at Aránzazu. To her he made his vow of chastity on the road to Montserrat, and for her honor he strove with the Moor. On the holy mountain, he kept his vigil before her altar, and surrendered to her there his sword, as token of his undying loyalty. At Manresa, he said her Office daily and prayed at every altar to her that he could find. In storms at sea, we may be very sure that no one sang Salve Regina with fuller heart than he did, and that on his journeyings by land in Spain and Italy her wayside shrines were the only milestones he reckoned with at all. Hercules, Hector, Achilles, Socrates, Plato, Horace, and the rest of them are given liberal mention in the Manual of Erasmus, but the name of Holy Mary occurs in 287 pages only once and that in an equivocal context. No wonder that the humble and loving heart of Inigo felt frozen. –Saint Ignatius of Loyola: The Pilgrim Years 1491-1538 by James Broderick S.J.

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Little Sufferings

The embracing of suffering, I am convinced, must be reduced to the simple. The daily little sufferings. Suffering is not only the tragic events of loss, death, and disease. The little sufferings are holding our tongue and thoughts when we receive unpleasant words. Disciplining our thoughts, uniting them with the Cross, when we observe the world horribly conflicting with our beliefs. When others do not recognize our discernment, nor care to hear our opinions, we remain at peace. When others are convinced we are inferior, it causes no harm. When God infuses consolations of wisdom, we do not use them as a means of drawing attention. We can worship hidden amongst the crowd. We are content to remain quiet—no festering or harboring bitter resentful thoughts when others seek control. We cease arguing in our head, suffering the reality that we are small, mediocre in a world of highly intelligent people. Faith is not about being a superior individual. We are at peace with ourselves, comprehending multitudes possess higher IQs, competently able to do things we are unable to do. We lose the need to see ourselves as something special. Comparing and contrasting are eliminated. It is enough to recede into the love and mercy of God, grateful for the opportunity of life.

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For this reason the apostle Paul said of Christ: In him are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God. The soul cannot enter into these treasures, nor attain them, unless it first crosses into and enters the thicket of suffering, enduring interior and exterior labors, and unless it first receives from God very many blessings in the intellect and in the senses, and has undergone long spiritual training.

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Would that men might come at last to see that it is quite impossible to reach the thicket of the riches and wisdom of God except by first entering the thicket of much suffering, in such a way that the soul finds there its consolation and desire. The soul that longs for divine wisdom chooses first, and in truth, to enter the thicket of the cross.

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The gate that gives entry into these riches of his wisdom is the cross; because it is a narrow gate, while many seek the joys that can be gained through it, it is given to few to desire to pass through it.

St John of the Cross

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Ultimate Wisdom: Creation

All wisdom comes from the LORD
and with him it remains forever, and is before all time
The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain,
the days of eternity: who can number these?
Heaven’s height, earth’s breadth,
the depths of the abyss: who can explore these?
Before all things else wisdom was created;
and prudent understanding, from eternity.
The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom
and her ways are everlasting.
To whom has wisdom’s root been revealed?
Who knows her subtleties?
To whom has the discipline of wisdom been revealed?
And who has understood the multiplicity of her ways?
There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring,
seated upon his throne:
There is but one, Most High
all-powerful creator-king and truly awe-inspiring one,
seated upon his throne and he is the God of dominion.
It is the LORD; he created her through the Holy Spirit,
has seen her and taken note of her.
He has poured her forth upon all his works,
upon every living thing according to his bounty;
he has lavished her upon his friends.

Book of Sirach

James Webb Telescope

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Praying the Rosary on the A Train

By Matthew Kirby

The night takes back her rest, having grown warm,
but I remembered you, bound as I am
by this lovely and unexpected chain.
One thing is necessary, one my aim.
I leaped the terrible leap of having been born
and ever since have sought peace between darknesses.
The world knows many things and man preaches gain,
but one thing is necessary, one my aim.
The night sets up her kingdom; it’s a science
of emigrants, best learned by osmosis,
on the train to the Rockaways in warm rain.
God I remember you, bound as I am.

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