Haloween Party at the Duckworth's 2
And so just to have a little fun and some good food we celebrated with a kid/fun filled Halloween party at my daughter's house. My little grandson Juanito kept crying at every turn as he hated one and all of the kids costumes. I swoop him up into my arms and told him that those were all his ugly cousin and he told me "I know who they are but they are still scary". It was just too cute and funny to watch, of course I black mailed him with first pick at the candy bucket and that was not scary for him at all. Ha, ha, I imagined that was more scary for his mom. Can you say sugar rush?The came from everywhere, ghosts, ghouls, Spartans, wolves, lions, comic book heroes, fairy tale princesses, pirates, rock starts, movie characters, and even a mariachi gordo, they were all there. I swear if any of those kids can sleep tonight it will be a miracle, there were no tricks because we certainly put a bunch of treats on the table and the only goal they had in their mind was to sneak up to it grab candy after candy and run away before a parental unit caught them.
For food we had a very delicious chicken pozole, bean tostadas, potato salad, and the oh so good chips and salsa (my special batch), and to wash this all down sodas and the always popular H20. Kudos to one and all the great cooks and chefs that always contribute their culinary talents and make these feasts possible.
Being around the family is always a treat and this time it was sweeter as Alexis our little first year college girl was here from NAU in Flagstaff. Have a very safe and happy Halloween and remember we celebrate that good will always prevail over evil.
Freddy and I, then morty, princess Lena, and I terrified on both pictures. And Gene Simmons whom I kept calling Richard Simmons and Juan.
My father has gone home
Brethren, peace and good to you in the name of Jesus our Lord. I regret to inform you of the recent passing of my father, which has required my precipitous departure from Afghanistan to attend his funeral and memorial service. I ask for your forbearance in the next few days as I recover from all this, as well as for your prayers.I am my father's firstborn son and of the brood, the only one who has produced male children and grandchildren. My feelings, as you can imagine, are sharply conflicted. I mourn him, and also mourn with his passing many could've-beens and now never wills.
Of my father I can say many things, but they will be colored by our many conflicts and reconciliations, as it is so often true between fathers and sons. The fact that he wasn't a Catholic added an additional layer of difficulty to our communications, a subject that we both knew to avoid. Yet, nothing can stop me from praying for him, for an explosion of God's grace through faith in Jesus his Son, true God from true God, made flesh for our salvation.
Regardless, all things having been said and done, I am proud to have been his son. Now, it is our turn to carry on, in Jesus' Name, Amen.
Dia de los Muertos
Next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mark one of my favorite periods in the liturgical year. After the reminder of evil and our own mortality on Halloween and the glorious triumph of good over evil in the lives of those who have conformed themselves to Christ on All Saints Day, we arrive where we always must in this vale of tears: at solidarity with our fellow Christians—in this case, the faithful departed, who are gone from this life but not from our memory. ~ Scott P. RichertWhen I was a kid it never failed, once a year we would go and visit my grandmother's grave, had it cleaned, fresh flowers were taken and placed in the flower pots, and we all prayed for her eternal rest. Yet as packed as the cemetery was on "Dia de los Muertos" it was always sort of an eerie feeling. If you,ve never seen a Mexican cemetery trust me it's nothing like the American ones which look like nice manicured parks and have neighborhoods built around them.
But at least once a year we paid respect to our dead by visiting. Then at our house my tia would build an altar where food offerings for our departed would be placed. At the mercados thousands of sugar skulls and coffins were sold which are used to decorate these altars.
It is a dying tradition just as many other traditions have been forgotten as we moved on and adapted to our American way of life and now celebrate Thanksgiving, which to my knowledge is not celebrated in Mexico instead.
But to some diehards such as ourselves certain traditions are always in our minds and in our own way we will still celebrate, so for this coming "Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the dead) we will get together and honor all of our dear departed by offering and eating some home made tamales, maybe some arroz con leche, water, and other essential goodies. It should be a nice celebration that will take us back to our roots and traditions.
Dead should never mean forgotten, so this coming Tuesday take a moment to honor and remember those loved ones that have gone to that better place now.
*Images in this post borrowed from the Internet.
Praying the Divine Office: Try It, You'll Like It
Author: Father Eugene Hemrick | Source: Catholic News Service
Are you looking for a better way to pray or a way to improve your prayer life? Then consider praying the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours. It may surprise you to learn that it is not restricted to priests and is used by numerous laypersons.
What is the Divine Office, and what are its benefits?
The Divine Office is also referred to as the breviary, meaning the book containing a shortened version of prayers, biblical readings and writings of saints. Instead of having us recite all the psalms at once, the breviary selects certain ones that have a similar theme to recite throughout the day. Instead of reading the book of Job, an episode from it is chosen, with a prayer that helps us reflect on its meaning. When a saint's feast is celebrated, often the Divine Office contains original writings of the saint.
The Divine Office breaks the day into the Office of Readings (which contains a hymn, three psalms, a reading from Scripture and a reading from a saint or other church writers), morning prayer, mid-morning, mid-day, mid-afternoon prayer and evening prayer.
Allow me to point you to some of my favorite hymns and readings so you can experience its beauty firsthand.
On Wednesday of the first week, we start the day singing: "Morning has broken like the first morning. Blackbird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word."
As a child I often awoke on a fresh summer morning to the happy sounds of birds outside my window. It was an absolute blessing to start the morning in this manner. Later when I began reciting the breviary, the last verse of this hymn best expressed my gratitude for a new morning: "Praise with elation, praise every morning, God's re-creation of the new day!"
Another hymn I particularly love for its spirit is found in mid-morning prayer: "Breath on me, breath of God, fill me with life anew that I may love the things you love and do what you would do.... Breathe on me, breath of God, my soul with grace refine until this earthly part of me glows with your fire divine."
On the feast of St. Anthony of Padua June 13, Anthony advised us: "The man who is filled with the Holy Spirit speaks in different languages. These different languages are different ways of witnessing to Christ, such as humility, poverty, patience and obedience; we speak in those languages when we reveal in ourselves those virtues to others. Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.... Happy the man whose words issue from the Holy Spirit and not from himself."
What is found in the Divine Office is a spirit that is uplifting and so true to the real self we desire to be.
Imagine being inspired throughout the day with this spirit. This is the power of the breviary. It speaks to the godly spirit implanted in us.
When we are happy the Divine Office helps us to celebrate; when we are sorrowful it teaches us how to turn sorrow into joy.
Purchase the Divine Office and pray it. It will be the wisest investment of your life.
Is the Bible true?
Source: Glory to God on All Things
There is a fundamentalist anxiety that I hold in great sympathy. My sympathy is driven by the fact that I lived for many years under the burden of that very anxiety. It is the hidden fear that possibly, despite all faith exercised in the opposite direction, the Bible may not, in fact, be true. A great deal of energy is spent in maintaining the integrity of the dike that withstands this anxiety.
I grew in the shadow of Bob Jones University, one of the most prominent bastions of American fundamentalism. The ideas of that university permeate not only the students who study there, but in many ways the surrounding culture of Christianity in the area. The fear is pointed towards Darwin and any possibility of his evolutionary theory. It drives biology students at the university to reach strange conclusions, regardless of the science. I was taught at age ten by a biology student from Bob Jones, in a Baptist summer camp, that blacks were simply biological inferior to whites based on false information that he shared with a group of young, impressionable kids. Perhaps his biology was not the product of his university classes. But it was as baseless as much of the science that was done there.
The same fear drives the concern for the Flood of Noah and the age of the planet (not to mention any possible hint of evolutionary science). Thus the earth must be young, the flood must be literal (with perhaps a still existing Ark on Mt. Ararat). Science has an answer that it must prove, rather than a question to be answered. The agenda of such fundamentalist science is set by the need to refute anything that possibly undermines a peculiar view of Scripture. One flaw and the entire house of cards comes tumbling down.
It makes for bad science and even worse Biblical interpretation...
Continue reading at Glory to God on All Things
There is a fundamentalist anxiety that I hold in great sympathy. My sympathy is driven by the fact that I lived for many years under the burden of that very anxiety. It is the hidden fear that possibly, despite all faith exercised in the opposite direction, the Bible may not, in fact, be true. A great deal of energy is spent in maintaining the integrity of the dike that withstands this anxiety.I grew in the shadow of Bob Jones University, one of the most prominent bastions of American fundamentalism. The ideas of that university permeate not only the students who study there, but in many ways the surrounding culture of Christianity in the area. The fear is pointed towards Darwin and any possibility of his evolutionary theory. It drives biology students at the university to reach strange conclusions, regardless of the science. I was taught at age ten by a biology student from Bob Jones, in a Baptist summer camp, that blacks were simply biological inferior to whites based on false information that he shared with a group of young, impressionable kids. Perhaps his biology was not the product of his university classes. But it was as baseless as much of the science that was done there.
The same fear drives the concern for the Flood of Noah and the age of the planet (not to mention any possible hint of evolutionary science). Thus the earth must be young, the flood must be literal (with perhaps a still existing Ark on Mt. Ararat). Science has an answer that it must prove, rather than a question to be answered. The agenda of such fundamentalist science is set by the need to refute anything that possibly undermines a peculiar view of Scripture. One flaw and the entire house of cards comes tumbling down.
It makes for bad science and even worse Biblical interpretation...
Continue reading at Glory to God on All Things
Did God Accept Punishment from Man for the Ills of Creation Through Christ's Passion?
Brethren: Peace and Good to you in Jesus the Messiah, Lord, God and Redeemer. The renowned Jewish author Mr. Shalom Auslander (that's a clever pseudonym) wrote an article in The Table Magazine for this year's Yom Kippur, titled, Sorry God in which he makes some tough questions. This is an excerpt:
Mr. Auslander raises a significant issue that Judaism, in my humble opinion, is ill-equipped to handle and that most Christians would also find shocking, if not blasphemous: arguably, the world sucks and God is not off-the-hook for it, nor should he be.
I think that Christianity does provide an answer, one formulated in an unconventional book by Jack Miles titled Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God
One of the arguments Mr. Miles makes - and I hope I understood it correctly - is that reconciliation and forgiveness is a two-way street and that in Christ, God doesn't only forgive us but also, that He asks to forgive him for all those ills the author of this piece ennumerates.
In fact, Miles submits that by undergoing the Passion - along with the Incarnation, an allegation that most Jews find scandalous and nonsensical - humanity discharged upon God the full fury of our indignation for creation being the way it is, in a sense "punishing" God for its shortcomings. God, by becoming human, experiences directly the consequences of creation and the frustration of humans with it, achieving mutual reconciliation and forgiveness.
The radical questions posed in this piece may require a radical answer from God of the sort that Mr. Miles proposed. Miles' answer may be worth of some intellectual consideration and his book, a reading.
I also want to state that the idea of "forgiving God" is not totally foreign to Catholic thought, for it appears in a different form in Dr. Peter Kreeft's book Back to Virtue: Traditional Moral Wisdom for Modern Moral Confusion
.
I think that a variant, more theologically sound restatement of Miles' thesis can be pursued in light of modern questions about - and directed to - God, and also from the viewpoint of "kenosis" or "self-abasement" or "emptying" of God in Christ as described in the Christological hym found in Phillipians 2: 5-8. I think that through His kenosis God took human nature not only to share the travails of our existence, but also to confront our anger and frustration at it, to the point that He allowed himself to suffer the fury of our indignation in His Passion and death, laying the ground for the profoundest reconciliation between Creator and creature. The answers to Mr. Auslander's angry questions lie, in my view, in the central Christian tenet of a suffering God.
Of course, all these thoughts are my own, are very preliminary, and whatever conclusions I may reach I submit to the Church for ultimate correction.
Your thoughts?
To get the whole picture, read the whole thing here.And so we arrive, once again, at that hallowed time of the year when man bows his head to the Lord, trembling in fear, pounding his chest in regret and sorrow while tearfully begging absolution and mercy from the Creator of the Universe. This is a time for admission, for contrition. A time for swinging a chicken—or cock, as the English say—around your head. (No other hook-nosed creature, not even Jews, has suffered as much throughout history as have chickens.) It is a time for an honest taking stock of oneself—one’s failings, one’s sins, one’s mistakes, one’s errors. With one notable exception:
God.
God murders, God kills, God takes revenge, God, by his own admission, is a jealous God. God turns his head. But God doesn’t apologize. Not for war, not for disease, not for Ashton Kutcher, not for anything. We’ve been apologizing to him for years, and—nothing. Not a peep. Not a whoops, not a sorry, not a “My Bad on the whole Hitler thing.” So, seriously: No more apologies. I’m not apologizing for anything (and I say this over a breakfast of a bacon-and-egg sandwich), not for one more goddamn thing until he does, and I think all Jews, all over the world, ought to unite at last and join me: No apologies. No sorrows. Not this year.
It’s God’s turn:
O Mankind, son of your fathers and your fathers’ fathers, let My prayers come before you, and do not hide yourself from My supplication. O Mankind, I am not so arrogant nor so hardened to say, “I am righteous and have not sinned.” For truly I have sinned. I have turned away from you, and I have done evil in your sight.
(God should bend forward at the waist here and upon reciting each sin pound his chest with his fist.)
For the sins I committed against you with diseases of the body, and for the sins I committed against you with diseases of the mind.
For the sins committed by murdering your parents, and for the sins I committed by murdering your children.
For cancer and for AIDS and for heart disease and for emphysema and for Alzheimer’s and for Parkinson’s. For regular leukemia, and for childhood leukemia.
For the commandments I gave you that I don’t even adhere to myself.
For hangovers...
Mr. Auslander raises a significant issue that Judaism, in my humble opinion, is ill-equipped to handle and that most Christians would also find shocking, if not blasphemous: arguably, the world sucks and God is not off-the-hook for it, nor should he be.
I think that Christianity does provide an answer, one formulated in an unconventional book by Jack Miles titled Christ: A Crisis in the Life of GodOne of the arguments Mr. Miles makes - and I hope I understood it correctly - is that reconciliation and forgiveness is a two-way street and that in Christ, God doesn't only forgive us but also, that He asks to forgive him for all those ills the author of this piece ennumerates.
In fact, Miles submits that by undergoing the Passion - along with the Incarnation, an allegation that most Jews find scandalous and nonsensical - humanity discharged upon God the full fury of our indignation for creation being the way it is, in a sense "punishing" God for its shortcomings. God, by becoming human, experiences directly the consequences of creation and the frustration of humans with it, achieving mutual reconciliation and forgiveness.
The radical questions posed in this piece may require a radical answer from God of the sort that Mr. Miles proposed. Miles' answer may be worth of some intellectual consideration and his book, a reading.
I also want to state that the idea of "forgiving God" is not totally foreign to Catholic thought, for it appears in a different form in Dr. Peter Kreeft's book Back to Virtue: Traditional Moral Wisdom for Modern Moral Confusion
.I think that a variant, more theologically sound restatement of Miles' thesis can be pursued in light of modern questions about - and directed to - God, and also from the viewpoint of "kenosis" or "self-abasement" or "emptying" of God in Christ as described in the Christological hym found in Phillipians 2: 5-8. I think that through His kenosis God took human nature not only to share the travails of our existence, but also to confront our anger and frustration at it, to the point that He allowed himself to suffer the fury of our indignation in His Passion and death, laying the ground for the profoundest reconciliation between Creator and creature. The answers to Mr. Auslander's angry questions lie, in my view, in the central Christian tenet of a suffering God.
Of course, all these thoughts are my own, are very preliminary, and whatever conclusions I may reach I submit to the Church for ultimate correction.
Your thoughts?
Blessed indeed is the man!
Brethren, I am back in the Outremer to finish my assignment. I had a great time home and I am looking forward to work again. Now, I share with you the First Psalm, which has been in mind lately. Please, ponder it.
2 but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.3 He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.4 Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they, like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.5 When the wicked are judged they shall not rise,
nor shall sinners in the councils of the just;6 for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Family Dialogue
Fr. Nicolás Schwizer
1. Today, a great deal is said about dialogue in all circles of life. But that does not mean to say that there is a great deal of dialoguing, because to talk is easy, to teach is easy, but to dialogue is difficult. Also, in the family, true dialogue is rare. This is also true in families where it appears that everything is OK, where nobody ever raises his/her voice.
2. What counts and what is necessary is true dialogue. A sort of tolerance related to the children’s points of view is not dialogue. Putting oneself in their place – as an understanding friend – is still not dialogue. Dialogue assumes a profound inner attitude, the virtue of humility. Not believing that one is the holder of all truth, perfect, unchanging, but knowing the limits, the need to improve, to change…..this humility is the assumption for dialogue.
3. What occurs is that authentic dialogue takes place between truthful persons, and it belongs to humility to recognize the other person, also the child as a truthful person. It is smaller, weaker, less prepared for life, but a person…..an original person, aware, capable of assuming the responsibility for its own decisions. Dialogue is a mysterious bridge between free persons: not necessarily of the same age, with the same preparation, not necessarily the same; but definitely necessarily aware and free.
True dialogue does not exclude the authority which one may have over the other person. On the other hand, it excludes whatever form of contempt, lack of self-esteem or respect, of paternalism (fatherliness). The parents who dialogue with their children will see their authority increase. It is the same as God not fearing to lose authority for dialoguing with mankind; He even became man in order to facilitate dialogue.
4. To dialogue means to talk, but also to listen. Dialogue between parents and children is difficult because there are parents – and sometimes also children – who do not know how to listen. On the one hand, it is a problem of the times: the mother, at times, finds herself absorbed with household chores which are certainly very important
But is is not less important to listen to the child when he/she comes home from school. It is true that the father has much to do, but the father should always have time for what is more important; and for a father, there is nothing more important than to attend to, take care of and educate the child.
It could be said that the parents are disposed to listen, but that the children are not disposed to talking. But, fundamentally, whose fault is it? Perhaps the children tried and they were not given sufficient attention. So, they have become silent. Their sensitivity in relation to the attention from their parents is enormous, it can even seem exaggerated.
What the youth has to say is very important to him/her. He/she has thought it and re-thought it over and over and has even suffered through it. And if he/she does not find at home who will want to listen to him/her, he/she will seek attention – more or less real – outside of the home.
5. To know how to listen – more than a problem of time – is a fact regarding attention and inner readiness (availability). Therefore, it is so difficult. It is about having in oneself some space for the other person and for what they have to say. It is about not being full of oneself and having space for others. If we do not know how to listen to the other person with joyful love, he/she will know it and will not speak again.
True dialogue presupposes attention: attention to the lives of the children, to their words, to their problems. Therefore, to love the children, it is indispensable to know how to look at them. It has to do with an attentive gaze where the soul can empty itself of self in order to be able to receive the person being contemplated…..as he/she is…..in all their truth and richness.
6. Dear brothers and sisters, let us ask the Blessed Virgin to grant us – to our parents and to our children – the grace of fruitful and permanent family dialogue, and that thus our families can grow daily in more love, in surrender and in mutual understanding.
Questions for reflection
1. Do I pay enough attention when the other one is speaking?
2. Do I help the children with their homework?
3. Do I place my efforts for the education of my children into the hands of God?
“Jesus Ween” Unnecessary; Just Celebrate the Original Feast
Brethren, Peace and Good to you in Jesus Christ. A Protestant Christian association is organizing a “Jesus Ween” festivity to provide an alternative to “Halloween”. In their own words:
October 31st is fast approaching and God has inspired us to encourage Christians all over the world to do it differently this year. We introduce to you the JesusWeen Christian gift giving festival which we hope will be an alternative for those who don’t celebrate or believe in Halloween. The dictionary meaning of Ween is to expect, believe or think. We therefore see October 31st as a day to expect a salvation gift or re-think receiving Jesus.
We strongly believe this initiative will be beneficial to all Christians, Churches and Christian Bookstores as well. It will have a positive effect and provide an alternative to millions of people. JesusWeen (October 31st) is expected to become the most effective Christian outreach day ever and that’s why we also call it “World Evangelism Day”. It’s a day to give out Christian gifts, just as God gave us Jesus.
No more hiding on October 31st...You can participate in a positive way. JESUSWEEN is all about spreading the gospel on October 31st. We are not supporting or endorsing the celebration of Halloween but we have chosen to use the only day in most countries that individuals are allowed to solicit, interact and exchange gifts without breaking the law.
Of course, Our Lord must be celebrated every day and setting aside another day to honor him publicly – aside from Sundays and Feast Days – is OK by me, particularly for those Christianities that lack liturgical holidays.
However, I must point out that Halloween is a Christian feast already, the Eve of All Saints, in Protestant parlance, the feast of all those who are saved. That the feast has been hijacked by occultists and others doesn’t make it less of a Christian feast by all those of us who still care about the original meaning of the feast: a day in which the Lord’s salvation actualized in his saints is solemnly celebrated.
Let’s stick to celebrating the original feast and you’ll see how it will be a blessing for all of us.
“A reading from the second letter of St. Paul to the Thalosians”
Yesterday at Mass the reader announced the second reading as coming from “the second letter of St. Paul to the Thalosians”. I looked at my wife and my son and had to chuckle, although my wife didn’t get it at first.
You see, the Thalosians (pictured right) are from a planet visited by Captains Pike and Kirk and the Enterprise crew in the classic series – Thalos IV.
Our hapless reader mispronounced “Thessalonians” at Mass and made it look like the Thalosians not only were visited by the legendary Starfleet captains, but also rated a letter from St. Paul!
Today we remember St.Ignatius of Antioch
Second Reading from today’s Office of Readings
A letter to the Romans by St Ignatius of Antioch
I am God's wheat and shall be ground by the teeth of wild animals
I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.
No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire.
The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I wish. You will sympathise with me because you will know what urges me on.
The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbour envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you, if then I should beg you to intervene on my behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you, still my real desire is to die. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, which is love that cannot perish.
I am no longer willing to live a merely human life, and you can bring about my wish if you will. Please, then, do me this favour, so that you in turn may meet with equal kindness. Put briefly, this is my request: believe what I am saying to you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth. Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man would, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer, I will take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed, I can only think that you wish me harm.
Source: Universalis.com
The nightmare of Jova
It took a while, but today we heard from a friend living in Barra de Navidad in the State of Jalisco, about the impact of Hurricane Jova this week. We're especially fond of Barra and have sailed there many times over the past ten years, dropping the hook in the popular anchorage. Just before Jova made landfall, I saw a hurricane map that showed Barra squarely in the storm's path and I had wondered all week about my friends there, and my favorite hangouts, like the Sands Hotel where I swam for free in the pool on hot afternoons. Fred sent links to photos and a couple of videos taken by Salvador Cobian during the height of the storm.
Also heavily damaged was Cihuatlan, a small city inland from Barra, on the road to Manzanillo.
My friend Steve posted first-hand reports from Melaque, across the Bahia de Navidad from Barra. His neighbors suffered severe flooding, but even though he lives very close to the beach, Steve stayed more or less dry.
From what I can see, the damage to Barra was at least as bad as what we experienced here in San Carlos when Jimena roared through two years ago. Fred, a British fellow sailor we've known more than a dozen years, tends toward hyperbole, but in this case when he described Jova as "a nightmare," we had no trouble believing him.
Also heavily damaged was Cihuatlan, a small city inland from Barra, on the road to Manzanillo.
My friend Steve posted first-hand reports from Melaque, across the Bahia de Navidad from Barra. His neighbors suffered severe flooding, but even though he lives very close to the beach, Steve stayed more or less dry.
From what I can see, the damage to Barra was at least as bad as what we experienced here in San Carlos when Jimena roared through two years ago. Fred, a British fellow sailor we've known more than a dozen years, tends toward hyperbole, but in this case when he described Jova as "a nightmare," we had no trouble believing him.
Today we remember St. Teresa de Jesús of Avila
Today's is the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila. She's another of my saints. Here's today second reading from the Office of Readings:
Source: Universalis.comIf Christ Jesus dwells in a man as his friend and noble leader, that man can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us. He is a true friend. And I clearly see that if we expect to please him and receive an abundance of his graces, God desires that these graces must come to us from the hands of Christ, through his most sacred humanity, in which God takes delight.
Many, many times I have perceived this through experience. The Lord has told it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if we wish his Sovereign Majesty to reveal to us great and hidden mysteries. A person should desire no other path, even if he is at the summit of contemplation; on this road he walks safely. All blessings come to us through our Lord. He will teach us, for in beholding his life we find that he is the best example.
What more do we desire from such a good friend at our side? Unlike our friends in the world, he will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near. Let us consider the glorious Saint Paul: it seems that no other name fell from his lips than that of Jesus, because the name of Jesus was fixed and embedded in his heart. Once I had come to understand this truth, I carefully considered the lives of some of the saints, the great contemplatives, and found that they took no other path: Francis, Anthony of Padua, Bernard, Catherine of Siena. A person must walk along this path in freedom, placing himself in God’s hands. If God should desire to raise us to the position of one who is an intimate and shares his secrets, we ought to accept this gladly.
Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to bestow on us so many graces and favours, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For if at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly and without effort.
The New Missal Translation: Renewing Awe and Wonder
Bishop Vasa explains how it will help the Church grow in faith.
by SUE ELLEN BROWDER10/12/2011 Comment
Bishop Robert Vasa is the bishop of Santa Rosa, Calif. Like all bishops throughout the country, he is planning to implement the new English translation of the Mass on the First Sunday of Advent.
Liturgy, the prayer of the Church, reveals our faith and our life. Liturgy is that timeless place in time where man encounters God in a communion of love. How we pray forms the foundation for how we believe.
Bishop Vasa spoke about what the Church is trying to show us with the new translation of the Roman Missal.
What is liturgy?
The liturgy is the work of Jesus. It is the work of God in our midst. There has been a great emphasis since the 1960s on what we are doing for God as opposed to what Christ is doing for us. Liturgy lifts up the mind and heart to God; it puts us in contact with Jesus’ saving works and deeds. Liturgy takes us out of where we are and lifts us up into that place where we are not yet.
And what do these changes in liturgical language tell us?
When we study the language in the new translation, we see that it consistently shifts us into an acknowledgement of the otherness of God, the God who is not us. It emphasizes the centrality of God and his grace, as opposed to the anthropocentric, man-centered approach, where we make it so much about us and what we’re doing. The elevation of language — the increased richness of the language — tells us this is not an ordinary, daily, routine event.
There’s a lot of fear about this new translation.
I would say this: In terms of the laity, there is precious little cause for any concern or anxiety because everything that affects the laity directly is found on one two-sided, 8½- by-11-inch sheet.
Now, the priest has about a thousand pages of text that is absolutely brand-new to him. It will be important for the priest to take a few moments before Mass to sit down and study the texts to make sure that there’s not some twist in the language that’s going to cause him to stumble.
Some people say the new Gloria is too complicated.
Well, most people have to pick up the Gloria and read it anyway. Most of the Glorias we have sung in the Church in the last 20 years have been some sort of artistic rendition of the Gloria. To have a new standard translation and a mandate that this translation is to be used exclusively in written and in sung versions will actually make the “Glory to God” less complicated, because it’s going to insist on this translation and not something “equivalent to it,” especially when sung.
When we study the language in the new translation, what should we be looking for?
The new translation affords us an opportunity to look at the words in the Mass and ask, “How and why is this different?” I think if people do this, they will find that the new translation offers a great opportunity for deeper prayer and reflection. Sometimes that new translation will challenge our accustomed thought and behavior patterns and hopefully lead us to a deeper intimacy with Christ…
Please, continue reading here.
The Firehouse Open House
The little neighborhood event that we seem to catch year after year. Once a year the Avondale Fire Department has it's open house and it's ususally a blast. From the singing fire man to the free hot dogs and ice cream, kids and grownups enjoy this event.
The firestation is withing walking distance from my house so at around ten in the morning we headed that way, I made sure to take my appetite with me.
After food we went out and admired those always very clean fire trucks. Some more picture taking took place.
Something about those ladder trucks that just captivate me specially when they have the ladders extended in a way that it almost seem they can reach the sky.
Then I asked if I could take Diego and Ducky to the movies and Junior asked which movie was I taking them to, I said "Real Steel" looked like a fun movie for them and it turned out he wanted to watch it too so we asked Loyiel if he wanted to join and he said yes. So we all headed to the 2:00 p.m. show.
The movie was violent in a non violent way, after all the fights were fought by machines and somehow it feels like it doesn't count. The kids and enjoyed it and so did I.
1946 travel advisory
We finally started doing some recording tonight, and here's the tune we've been using to start off our shows at the Fiesta Hotel palapa bar—Bobby Troup's "Route 66." It's unclear why the photo is so fuzzy (pun intended).
More to follow...
Blogpause in effect
Brethren, peace be with you all. I’ve returned home from the Outremer for 15 days of R&R. I will keep blogging down to a minimum while I enjoy a well-deserved rest along with my family. Please enjoy the contents already online.
Flying by the seat of our pants
"[Y]ou can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
-- Steve Jobs (1955-2011) from his Stanford University commencement address, June 2005.
Last night we did a very scary thing, and it went off without a hitch. The Capt and I performed a song we learned only yesterday, even though neither of us had ever heard it before, and certainly hadn't had time to memorize it. It was Michael Frank's song for Antonio Carlos Jobim, "Antonio's Song." One of the coolest things about this song is that the Capt and I sing together on the chorus, a first! We felt we were...um...given permission to have our sheet music onstage when my mentor Leslie announced that she was relenting on the issue. "After all," she said, "if Barbra Streisand uses a Teleprompter now, who are we to have a problem with it?"
I was seriously stressed before we did the song, and afterward I was asking myself why I made such a big deal of it. We will have a regular gig every Wednesday at the Fiesta Hotel (last night we had a full house!) and plan to do some recording too, so I need to lighten up and get some perspective. I am, after all, one of the world's latest bloomers and it's almost ludicrous that I'd even attempt to begin performing at my age (a number which I'll keep to myself, thank you).
Hmmm, where did that obit remark come from? Well, the Capt's favorite uncle, who introduced us to sailing when he took us out in his boat in Santa Barbara, and probably was a major influence in our moving to Mexico (a good place for boat people), died a couple of days ago of a brain tumor at 87. His obit arrived today (thanks, Jane). The last time we saw Uncle Dave, he and his wife Annie visited us for a day while they were on a Mexican coastal cruise and since we were docked in Mazatlan we met their ship and took them to the beach. Dave was like a little boy playing in the sand. A wonderful way to remember him. Adios y vaya con Díos, Tio David.
Another SSPX official expresses pessimism against reconciliation with the Holy See
Brethren, Peace and Good to all of you. This according to CNA:
Rome, Italy, Oct 4, 2011 / 03:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A senior figure in the breakaway traditionalist group, the Society of St. Pius X, says it could be “very, very difficult” for the Vatican and the Society to agree on terms for reconciliation.
“Assisi III and even more the unfortunate beatification of John Paul II but also many other examples make it clear that the leadership of the Church now as before is not ready to give up the false principles of Vatican II and their consequences,” said the Society’s First Assistant, Father Niklaus Pfluger, in an interview posted on the Society’s website Oct. 2.
“Therefore,” Fr. Pfluger said, “any ‘offer’ made to Tradition must guarantee us the freedom to be able to continue our work and our critique of ‘modernist Rome.’ And to be honest, this seems to be very, very difficult. Again, any false or dangerous compromise must be ruled out.”
“Assisi III” refers to a planned meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and other religious leaders in the Italian town later this month.
Fr. Pfluger’s comments come only weeks after the Vatican presented the Society with a “doctrinal preamble” which outlines points of doctrine that Rome needs clarified before the decades-long rift between the two sides can be healed. If they agree, it is thought the Society could be offered a personal prelature status within the Church - a jurisdiction without geographical boundaries designed to carry out particular pastoral initiatives
Fr. Pfluger revealed that the superiors of the Society of St. Pius X will meet next week in the Albano Laziale suburb of Rome to discuss the offer. He stressed that they will not compromise on their criticism of the Second Vatican Council “and other ways of doing things for the sake of ‘pluralism.’”
“For how can we avoid giving the impression that this amounts after all to a tacit acceptance, so to speak, that would in fact lead to this parallel diversity and relativize the one truth,” he asked, adding, “that is indeed precisely the basis of Modernism.”
The Society of St. Pius X has had a strained relationship with the Vatican since its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebrve, consecrated four bishops against the orders of Pope John Paul II in 1988. Archbishop Lefebrve founded the Society in 1970 as a response to what he described as errors that had crept into the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council.
Fr. Pfluger also suggested that the Society of St. Pius X is in a stronger bargaining position in relation to the Vatican than in 1988.
“We have four bishops and meanwhile 550 priests worldwide. And the structures of the official Church are breaking down faster and faster. Rome can no longer confront the Society as it did more than twenty years ago,” he said.
“For forty-one years the Society has grown steadily, even in spite of being beaten with the ‘excommunication’ stick.”
Commentary. I told you so on this previous post. It appears that the SSPX is intent on dictating conditions to the Church about reintegration and regularization. Their hubris knows no bounds. These sad men still presume to dictate terms as this quote shows:
“We have four bishops and meanwhile 550 priests worldwide. And the structures of the official Church are breaking down faster and faster. Rome can no longer confront the Society as it did more than twenty years ago,”
Excuse me? What a stupid thing for an über-Katholik to say.
I’ll say no more for charity’s sake. Let’s keep up praying for the SSPX’s conversion and healing.
Today We Remember Saint Francis of Assisi
We know more of St. Francis than of any other medieval saint. Not only have we his own words, his Rule, Testament, letters, poems, and liturgical writings, but also the intimate accounts of several of his disciples, written down within twenty years after his death. These first biographies, by Brothers Thomas of Celano, Leo, Angelo, and Rufino, were soon revised and added to by other friars who wanted to call attention to one phase or another of Francis' work and teachings. From this great store of authentic material a clear picture of the man emerges. St. Francis is one saint whom both Catholics and non-Catholics have united in honoring. Certainly no other has so appealed to Protestants and even to non-Christians. And the appeal is timeless: Francis captured the imagination of his contemporaries as well as that of modern men by his unique simplicity and a pure grace of spirit. A classic collection of popular legends, the Francis was born in the stony hill-town of Assisi in Umbria, in the year 1181 or 1182. His father, Peter Bernadone, was a wealthy merchant. His mother, Pica, by some accounts was gently born and of Provencal blood. Much of Bernadone's trade was with France, and his son was born while he was absent in that country. Perhaps for this reason the child was called Francesco, "the French man," though his baptismal name was John. As a youth he was ardent in his amusements and seemed carried away by the mere joy of living, taking no interest at all in his father's business or in formal learning. Bernadone, proud to have his son finely dressed and associating with young noblemen, gave him plenty of money, which Francis spent carelessly. Though Francis was high-spirited, he was too fastidious to lead a dissolute life. It was the age of chivalry, and he was thrilled by the songs of the troubadours and the deeds of knights. At the age of twenty or thereabouts, during a petty war between the towns of Assisi and Perugia, he was taken prisoner. During a year of captivity he remained cheerful and kept up the spirits of his companions. Soon after his release he suffered a long illness. This he bore with patience.
After his recovery Francis joined the troop of a knight of Assisi who was riding south to fight under Walter de Brienne for the Pope against the Germans. Having equipped himself with sumptuous apparel and fine armor, he fared forth. On the way he met a knight shabbily clad, and was so touched with compassion that he exchanged clothes with him. That night he dreamed he saw his father's house transformed into a castle, its walls hung with armor, all marked with the sign of the cross; and he heard a voice saying that the armor belonged to Francis and his soldiers. Confident now that he would win glory as a knight, he set out again, but on the first day fell ill. While lying helpless, a voice seemed to tell him to turn back, and "to serve the Master rather than the man." Francis obeyed. At home he began to take long rambles in the country and to spend many hours by himself; he felt contempt for a life wasted on trivial and transitory things. It was a time of spiritual crisis during which he was quietly searching for something worthy of his complete devotion. A deep compassion was growing within him. Riding one day in the plains below Assisi, he met a leper whose loathsome sores filled Francis with horror. Overcoming his revulsion, he leapt from his horse and pressed into the leper's hand all the money he had with him, then kissed the hand. This was a turning point in his life. He started visiting hospitals, especially the refuge for lepers, which most persons avoided. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he emptied his purse at St. Peter's tomb, then went out to the swarm of beggars at the door, gave his clothes to the one that looked poorest, dressed himself in the fellow's rags, and stood there all day with hand outstretched. The rich young man would experience for himself the bitterness and humiliation of poverty.
Please, continue reading at EWTN.
- Visit The Internet Guide to St. Francis of Assisi
Now What?
I was always told "God know best, and He know why He does it" so with that in mind I accept what comes my way weather it's good or bad, understanding that there needs to be a balance sometimes is not easy but it is definitely necessary.
I definitely think it's a blessing to wake up in the morning and to be able to thank Him for the chance of another day, for a chance to better yourself, for a chance to right your wrongs, for a change to struggle through the day, and just plain for the one more chance. It's up to us to accept the challenge and to go after it, He did his part, now we must do ours.
I find myself in one of those moments in time where faith, acceptance, and lots of planning is in my immediate future, and yet I feel so up to the challenge and I accept it with open arms. Looking back God has been nothing but good to me so I know that He has no intention of changing things for me, but once in a while He does mixes it up just to give us a wake up call and to remind us that life should never be a routine, and that each day is a new challenge and a new opportunity.
I am definitely excited and looking forward to see what He has in store for me, but I know He does not want me to sit and wait for it, but to go out and look for it. So with that in mind, I say future, here I come.
Just another random thought.
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