Religion: September 2003 Archives

from my email inbox today

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Would you kindly say a prayer for me as I will be entering a Benedictine monastery in a few months to become a religious brother? Your prayers are most appreciated. Many blessings to you!
In Our Lady,
Ryan
Email Address: rguthrie@e-benedictine.com


From the Sunday Boston Globe. Here is a case where the family wants care continuted, and the hospital is suing to have the ventilator disconnected.

Mass today

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From today's gospel:
And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all”. And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me”. (Mark 9:36-37)
We went to the 8AM Mass today (my husband was singing) and I saw a child who reminded me of a post at M'Lynn's fine blog Scattershot Direct.

Faith 2 Action

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A dear friend of mine sent me a link to Faith 2 Action. She heard Janet Folger speak and was very impressed.

Meat on Friday and Humanae Vitae

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I don't remember quite where I read it, but I have been thinking about a comment that connected the change in discipline (modifying the Friday penance) with the near catastrophic change in practice among the rank and file pew-warmers of ignoring the Church's teaching on family planning. From nearly 2 generations later, we can see how prophetic H.V. really was.

musical liturgical question

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There is a rumor that my parish may be considering changing its 'liturgical resources' with the advent of our new pastor. We have been using the OCP, with lots of supplements of sheet music.
I would like to present our music director (a well-meaning volunteer who had held the job for years if not decades) with some choices other than GIA or JS Paluch (the others in use in this area). I have suggested that Magnificat would work well as a 'worship aid' in general, and I have heard that Adoramus has a decent hymnal.
I am interested in suggestions and also what kinds of cost structures have been encountered. Prayer, also, would be appreciated.
Change, if it happens, is at least a liturgical year away, as we have already been committed to the OCP program for the upcoming year.

Pray for justice and mercy

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Times Against Humanity
contains links to articles from several sources about the fight to save Terri Schiavo from being legally murdered by her adulterous husband. This article includes a link to a specific prayer for Terri - I suggest that you print out several copies. Post one on your computer, one on the refrigerator, and give out others to whomever the Spirit sends you.

Catholics are not Puritans

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I was mulling this over earlier today, as I was thinking about aperitifs and drink recipes. I was also thinking about various heresies, beginning with Gnosticism and continuing to this day. You know the ones I mean - the ones that see the material world, including the human body, as inherently evil and debased. As Catholics, we take literally the words in Genesis that God say what He created and that "It was good". To these heresies, the Incarnation was truly a scandal - that God should be born of a woman, born in blood and sweat and water, born helpless and dependant - and still be God.

tolle lege

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Flos Carmeli has a brief comment from dylan! Please, please, keep praying for him.

Exaltation of the Cross

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Today, our priest said something in the homily that I have been pondering. He told a tale of a buddhist monk who recently visited the USA after a 25 year absence. The comment made was that, 25 years ago, there were crosses in most rooms of most houses he visited. Now, in all the spots where he would expect to see a cross, there is a clock.
Are there more clocks or more crosses in your home?

Testimonies

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From Open Book
Worth the time to read and ponder.

Something to ponder

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Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good.
CCC, section 2288

D*I*V*O*R*C*E

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Myths and facts on domestic violence and divorce from El Camino Real.
My perception from my feminist days is that most divorces stem from unreal expectations and an unwillingness to grow and adapt.

We knew it all along

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Rend your hearts and not your clothing

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Go over to Apologia for some heart rending, soul-searching writing on the crime and execution of Paul Hill.

Ethics and etzev

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I am not a professional ethicist, but in my line of work I encounter various ethical questions. As part of my MS in Nursing studies, I took an elective class on medical ethics, and I have presented talks on "midwifery, ethics, and the law" in a few settings. I have tried to educate myself in the field, because many of the questions I encounter are not well-covered in the standard books.
My initial training in medical ethics was strongly influenced by situation ethics, and it has been only gradually that I have come to realize just how pervasive this misapplication of ethical thinking really is.

Weekly Roundup

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Times Against Humanity
has published its weekly roundup of the St.Blog's community. If you scroll down, you can also read an extended piece about the fight for Terri Schiavo's life.
Something that has always disturbed me about this case is that I have yet to read a detailed description of just how Terri sustained the 'anoxic insult' that led to her current condition.

pain and suffering

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One of the things that being Catholic gives me is a unified concept of what suffering is good for. As I age, I find this extremely comforting.
I have always considered myself to have a high tolerance for pain. I mean, I gave birth 6 times and only had drugs once (and that was not by my choice, nor did they help me in any way to cope!). Granted, if I could get general anesthesia for teeth cleaning I would take it......
But as I age, I find that I am in more or less chronic pain. I wake up feeling like a stale pretzel, usually an hour before I really need to get up, and I know where every muscle in my body is without checking. Once I get moving, and get busy, I usually will limber up to that I can do what I am called to do.
I have also fought depression much of my life. I consider myself a survivor - of what I am a survivor I choose not to speak - but I was not exactly born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
I recently read an excellent book. Amazing Grace for those who suffer is a collection of true stories about pain, suffering, survival, and faith. I found it to be much more helpful than the book When Bad things happen to good people, which is actually quite fatalistic and deistic. C.S. Lewis's book The Problem of Pain is supposed to also be quite good, but I must confess that I haven't read it.
(I have a very good friend who happened to be in the midst of reading The Problem of Pain when her appendix burst, requiring emergency surgery. As soon as she came out of anesthesia, her thoughtful husband brought in the book that she had been reading, much to the consternation of the nursing staff!)
Where was I? Oh, yes, on pain.
When I was younger, I did not understand a comment made by my mother-in-law to "offer it up" when pain was encountered. As I have studied and learned more about my adopted faith, I have come to see that pain and suffering are not necessarily evil, nor are they punishments for sin on the part of the individual. Rather, they are consequences of original sin, and they are also an opportunity to unite ourselves with Christ, who though sinless, experienced one of the more painful and shameful deaths possible, to redeem us from sin.
So this morning, even as I grabbed a few ibuprofen to make it possible to get through a tough day at work, I also offered up the pain I was feeling, for the souls of the unborn and their parents.

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About this Archive

This page is a archive of entries in the Religion category from September 2003.

Religion: August 2003 is the previous archive.

Religion: October 2003 is the next archive.

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