A Word on Wednesday, Wednesday, December 12, 2012, Fulton J. Sheen

“It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God. Without God people only succeed in bringing out the worst in one another. Lovers who have nothing else to do but love each other soon find there is nothing else. Without a central loyalty life is unfinished.” ― Fulton J. Sheen, Seven Words of Jesus and Mary: Lessons from Cana and Calvary

Early Church Fathers, Sunday, December 9, 2012, St. Irenaeus of Lyons

“Error, indeed is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced more true than truth itself.”

7 Quick Takes on Friday

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Finally, it’s been a quiet week.  I think our biggest challenge of the week will be attending the Vigil Mass tonight for the Immaculate Conception.  My understanding is that this is one of two Holy Days of obligation that is never abrogated.  I ain’t a night person, but tomorrow, with things that must be done taking up the weekend, there’s nothing for it, we must attend the Vigil Mass this evening.  One thing that concerns me is that it means driving in the dark, on the I-25 corridor both to church and back; as I get a little older, driving at night is more of a challenge.  Wish us luck.

 

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All the news this week is about the Holy Father getting a Twitter account.  I have mixed feelings about that, but if he thinks it’s a wise thing to do, who am I to argue?

 

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I began my Advent reading with the introduction Volume 1 of Guerric of Igny’s Liturgical Sermon.  Normally, I question the value of scholarly introductions to the works of ancient works; too often, more insight is to be gained by just reading what the original author wrote without being prejudiced to some professor’s point of view which may really miss the point entirely.  Yet, there was a point made that was, so to speak, a real eye opener.  It seems, and this is borne out by reading him, that Guerric wrote from the tradition of God as light, and Advent as the season of the coming of the Light.  I think I’ve been too much influenced by John of the Cross and others who view our growth in God as a kind of darkness.  I realized I need to shake that off and am much more comfortable with Guerric’s (and John’s Gospel) idea that to seek God is, in truth, to seek enlightenment, not darkness.

 

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Toying with the idea again, of trying to write a mystery series of books based on a group of characters I dreamed up over the last several years.  I’ll keep you updated on the progress of that.

 

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Pet Peeve Alert!  I notice more and more often that things published on the internet, even news stories and columns from major professional writers, contain spelling errors and/or typos.  I have long been of the opinion that such things should happen, at worst, infrequently, at best, never.  I know for many of us who grew up writing drafts of papers longhand, and typing (on a typewriter!) the finished product, it’s a great temptation to write something quickly on a computer and get it out the door, and very difficult to try to proof read the thing on the screen.  But I wish more people, especially those who get paid to do such things, would try a little harder.  I worry what damage is being done to an already suffering language.

 

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A post on the American Conservative blog, titled “Why Catholics Can’t Speak English,” covers the question of the lack of availability of a really nice Catholic Bible translation, and, for that matter, edition.  The author likes the Knox transition, newly released by Baronius Press, because it was done in the context of making the language more accessible to the English reader.  Msgr Knox used the vernacular as a prominent feature of his translation.  The AC author is arguing for a new edition that makes the Bible more understandable to the Catholic in the pew.

 

I’ve always taken a different tack toward Holy Scripture.  I believe any translation, and edition, of the Bible should be beautiful; the language should be somewhat elevated and majestice.  I don’t think we read the Bible only for understanding, I think we read it to open ourselves to God’s self-revelation and allow His Word, which is His, wholly Other, to enlighten us; it’s not a teaching tool but something much more.  I tend to think that making the language of the Bible more pedestrian is very often an effort to bring God down to our level, which is, of course, an impossible task.

 

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It’s Friday!  Thanks again to Jennifer for hosting 7 Quick Takes.

Friday Florilegia, Friday, December 7, 2012

The first reading for the Third Sunday of Advent

 

Third Sunday of Advent

Reading 1 Zep 3:14-18a

 

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you
he has turned away your enemies;
the King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
he will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

 

A Word on Wednesday, Wednesday, December 5, 2012, Romano Guardini

For the greatest things are accomplished in silence—not in the clamor and display of superficial eventfulness, but in the deep clarity of inner vision; in the almost imperceptible start of decision, in quiet overcoming and hidden sacrifice.  The Lord

We Are Not Responsible!

The shooting on Saturday involving the Chief's Jovan Belcher is a terrible trajedy for all of those involved and I would be among many who are urging prayers for the deceased and their families. 

It is such a personal trajedy, that I have a difficult time with those who would turn this into an opportunity for political grandstanding.  Jim Geherty of the National Review has an important reminder about this for all of us.

On the telecast of Sunday night's Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles game, NBC Sports anchor Bob Costas got up on his soapbox and quoted a column from Jason Whitlock, declaring, "Our current gun culture simply ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience-store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead. . . . Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it."

Now that we know that Bob Costas and Jason Whitlock believe that guns emit some sort of magic mood-altering or mind-controlling wave that make people more confrontational and flawed, we can all hope that neither Costas or Whitlock get their hands on a gun. (One wonders if they're secretly Carl Rowan-style gun-control advocates.)

Stephen Kruiser: "Sanctimony has always been a Bob Costas hallmark, it's just creepier now that it's coming from his Madame Tussauds face."

There's a famous bumper sticker that says, quite correctly,  "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."  Each of us is created by God in His image, which means, He has endowed us will free will.  Each of us who has all of our normal faculties, is fully capable of making a free choice between good and evil, and we are free to act in accordance with those choices.  Blaming society is a denial of that gift of free will and a delusion. 

As for guns, G.K. Chesterton made the point about not giving toy guns to little boys, that St. Stephen could be killed by stones while St. Sebastian will never be killed by toy arrows.  A firearm is a tool, not an end. 

The Desert Fathers, Sunday, December 2, 2012

One day Saint Epiphanius sent someone to Abba Hilarion with this request, ‘Come, and let us see one another before we depart from the body.’ When he came, they rejoiced in each other's company. During their meal, they were brought a fowl; Epiphanius took it and gave it to Hilarion. Then the old man said to him, ‘Forgive me, but since I received the habit I have not eaten meat that has been killed.’ Then the bishop answered, ‘Since I took the habit, I have not allowed anyone to go to sleep with a complaint against me and I have not gone to rest with a complaint against anyone.’ The old man replied, ‘Forgive me, your way of life is better than mine.'

From The Sayings of the Desert Father, Sr Benedicta Ward