How the world doesn't understand what holiness truly is
Like many people, I looked forward to the showing of the film "Therese," a low budget movie about the life of Saint Therese of Lisieux. I was gravely disappointed. I had expected many shortcomings, but not the one that most glared out at me.
The actress played St. Therese as if she were a psych patient dosed heavily on Valium.
Unfortunately, this condition is all too common in sacred drama, though usually not as pronounced as in the film about St.Therese. I wrote this today thinking of a rare good example in ETWN's profile about St. Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Divine Mercy. Nearly all the actors who play Jesus do so as if he were on something (I'm inclined to think weed in Jesus Christ Superstar, my least favorite film about Christ). The same is true during much(though not all) of the film about Joan of Arc.
Apparently, "spaced out" seems otherworldly to them.
As a sufferer of withdrawn type ADD, I can tell you that 'spaced out' is about as far from God as you can be, for God the creator of reality, and to know God is to be fully aware of creation.
What is of God is joy, peace, kindness, but above all a sense of humble reality, what we ironically term "down to earth."
See? Even my usual friend the English language is against me on this one. I would argue for you that what we call "being down to earth" is truly "looking up to heaven."
To know God is to know more fully what we as human beings were meant to be. It is to know all real things in their fullest sense, before the taint of sin that accompanied the original fall. Whatever my soul suffers I offer joyfully that I was made for the true reality of paradise.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Belated, but I must post this.
I was sad to find that I allowed the feast day of St. Paul Miki and his companions(February 6th) to pass me by.
I first learned of St. Paul Miki from a hobby of mine which often seems rather incongruous with my love of religion: anime. In truth, not all anime is something a Christian should watch, but it has its high points.
One of them has the telling of the Christian martyrs of Japan. A sad story.
When St. Francis Xavier came to Japan, he found many converts to the Christian faith. The Japanese have a culture rich in loyalty, honor, and love of the community. There is little to be found among the traditional mores that conflicts with Christian virtue, excepting a sad lack of Mercy. Most do not know that practice of Seppuku is not suicide in the Christian sense (where a person despairs of life), but rather an ultimate act of obedience in which a person carries out their own execution.
Unfortunately, the government of Japan was long founded on the concept that its emperor
was descended from a deity. The Christian converts, naturally rejecting this belief (though still loyal to their country) were seen as traitors by a nation already leery of foreign imperialism.
Christians were lined up and ordered to stomp on or otherwise desecrate crossed and images of the Blessed Mother. Those who refused were crucified, among them the Jesuit priest and convert Paul Miki and his twenty-five companions. They died singing psalms and calling out the names of Jesus and Mary.
Today, Japanese continually exhibit a strange fascination with Christianity, a religion which is largely mysterious to them and misunderstood. Secualr Christian weddings are more popular than the traditional Buddhist or Shinto ones. Unfortunately, there are only a few Christians in living in Japan today, most of which are westerners. For the sake of the holy martyrs, and for the souls of the people of Japan, I pray that this will change.
St. Paul Miki, pray for us.
I first learned of St. Paul Miki from a hobby of mine which often seems rather incongruous with my love of religion: anime. In truth, not all anime is something a Christian should watch, but it has its high points.
One of them has the telling of the Christian martyrs of Japan. A sad story.
When St. Francis Xavier came to Japan, he found many converts to the Christian faith. The Japanese have a culture rich in loyalty, honor, and love of the community. There is little to be found among the traditional mores that conflicts with Christian virtue, excepting a sad lack of Mercy. Most do not know that practice of Seppuku is not suicide in the Christian sense (where a person despairs of life), but rather an ultimate act of obedience in which a person carries out their own execution.
Unfortunately, the government of Japan was long founded on the concept that its emperor
was descended from a deity. The Christian converts, naturally rejecting this belief (though still loyal to their country) were seen as traitors by a nation already leery of foreign imperialism.
Christians were lined up and ordered to stomp on or otherwise desecrate crossed and images of the Blessed Mother. Those who refused were crucified, among them the Jesuit priest and convert Paul Miki and his twenty-five companions. They died singing psalms and calling out the names of Jesus and Mary.
Today, Japanese continually exhibit a strange fascination with Christianity, a religion which is largely mysterious to them and misunderstood. Secualr Christian weddings are more popular than the traditional Buddhist or Shinto ones. Unfortunately, there are only a few Christians in living in Japan today, most of which are westerners. For the sake of the holy martyrs, and for the souls of the people of Japan, I pray that this will change.
St. Paul Miki, pray for us.
Got 20 minutes? Time to get out your rosary...
Or if you don't have one, your fingers will do nicely. (I pray the rosary in class before tests using my fingers because teachers have complained the rosary itself is distracting).
Why? Well, it's time I did something relating to the theme of this blog.
For those (like me) who have some difficulty concentrating, videos like this can be quite helpful for contemplation. I suggest starting and immediately pausing the second video, so it can load early and there won't be as much of an interruption to break your frame of mind.
"Oi, matte!" "Wait! I hear some of you saying. "It's pretty, but what does it all mean?!"
The Divine Mercy is the miracle of Jesus Christ, "Who humbled himself to share in our humanity." The Divine Mercy prayers glorify this fact, that Jesus came down to be one with us, to embrace our brokenness and our sorrow, that we might be whole. It is for this that he willingly suffered and rose from the dead. In rising, He did more than triumph over death--He raised us to new life. He calls out to us: that we might accept creation of our new life with Him. We plead: Help us Lord, "for the sake of His sorrowful passion" send forth Your Spirit, give us the Grace we need to accept our crosses so that we may yet rise to new life with Him--our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Glory of God the Father.
"Amen" we say, meaning, "We believe!"
For there is nothing greater that we can offer than the holy sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
For this I say: We are saved by Grace and Mercy alone.
"Jesus, We Trust in You!"
Part 1
Part 2
Why? Well, it's time I did something relating to the theme of this blog.
For those (like me) who have some difficulty concentrating, videos like this can be quite helpful for contemplation. I suggest starting and immediately pausing the second video, so it can load early and there won't be as much of an interruption to break your frame of mind.
"Oi, matte!" "Wait! I hear some of you saying. "It's pretty, but what does it all mean?!"
The Divine Mercy is the miracle of Jesus Christ, "Who humbled himself to share in our humanity." The Divine Mercy prayers glorify this fact, that Jesus came down to be one with us, to embrace our brokenness and our sorrow, that we might be whole. It is for this that he willingly suffered and rose from the dead. In rising, He did more than triumph over death--He raised us to new life. He calls out to us: that we might accept creation of our new life with Him. We plead: Help us Lord, "for the sake of His sorrowful passion" send forth Your Spirit, give us the Grace we need to accept our crosses so that we may yet rise to new life with Him--our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Glory of God the Father.
"Amen" we say, meaning, "We believe!"
For there is nothing greater that we can offer than the holy sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
For this I say: We are saved by Grace and Mercy alone.
"Jesus, We Trust in You!"
Part 1
Part 2
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Musings
When I was a child, my favorite movie was "The Sound of Music."
Funny that now I want to be a nun. Though even now, I identify with a particular scene in the film.
I wonder if Maria really has ADD? I've nearly every line of the song said about me at one point or another...
I pray that I will not be too much of an opportunity for others to be granted the gift of patience.
Funny that now I want to be a nun. Though even now, I identify with a particular scene in the film.
I wonder if Maria really has ADD? I've nearly every line of the song said about me at one point or another...
I pray that I will not be too much of an opportunity for others to be granted the gift of patience.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Yes, I'm going to talk about LOVE... And it's not even St. Valentine's yet!!!
Well not me really... But, these words ought to be passed on from time to time. ^_^
The Bible is much more romantic. It even says "Husbands, listen to your wives."(Ephes. 5:25)
Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, It is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
(1 Cor 12:31—13:13)
The Bible is much more romantic. It even says "Husbands, listen to your wives."(Ephes. 5:25)
Answering the call... Introduction, history, and purpose of this blog
Madames, Monsiuers, au revoir!
No, no, I am not French, I've just been watching too much Gankutsuou(The Count of Monte Cristo).
So, here it is, I've finally started blogging. I resisted at first, content with my small myspace blog, but that was before reading the wonders of the curt jester and ironic catholic.
If one wishes to comment with any regularity of course an account is in order, and so I acquired one to communicate my appreciation to IC. She responded in her ever so wry way(though I am not quite sure how she manages to put forth so much of that subtle emotion online) that the natural next step is to start blogging myself.
"Alas, no!" I thought. "I won't be able to think of anything!" Of course, I then proceeded to be bombarded regularly with ideas...
That got me to thinking. I'm a person with an unfortunate adversity to change, and callings tend to as often as not dash me across the head. (Other things do so as well, but that's more my poor eyesight or as a side effect of trying to finish that last page of a book while walking). God tends to be rather mercifully blunt with me much of the time.
So I took the calling seriously.
I am no one of any importance. I am a college student. If there is anything to which I might lay claim, it's that I try honestly to be a good Catholic. I am small, like St. Therese, though not so holy as she.
It is my own hope that my small musings might benefit someone in the 'who knows where' that comprises the diverse internet community.
As you may have guessed, this blog is dedicated to the Divine Mercy, to which I owe my life and sanity. I plan to expound much on the meaning of this Mercy, of which all worldly mercy is a shadow or an afterimage.
I direct you for now to the Divine Mercy Chaplet
I would also like to encourage the power of prayer through this blog. Should there be a need, post any prayer requests and they shall be included in my next blog. Post them anywhere in my recent posts. I will be checking(and praying).
Thank you for reading.
No, no, I am not French, I've just been watching too much Gankutsuou(The Count of Monte Cristo).
So, here it is, I've finally started blogging. I resisted at first, content with my small myspace blog, but that was before reading the wonders of the curt jester and ironic catholic.
If one wishes to comment with any regularity of course an account is in order, and so I acquired one to communicate my appreciation to IC. She responded in her ever so wry way(though I am not quite sure how she manages to put forth so much of that subtle emotion online) that the natural next step is to start blogging myself.
"Alas, no!" I thought. "I won't be able to think of anything!" Of course, I then proceeded to be bombarded regularly with ideas...
That got me to thinking. I'm a person with an unfortunate adversity to change, and callings tend to as often as not dash me across the head. (Other things do so as well, but that's more my poor eyesight or as a side effect of trying to finish that last page of a book while walking). God tends to be rather mercifully blunt with me much of the time.
So I took the calling seriously.
I am no one of any importance. I am a college student. If there is anything to which I might lay claim, it's that I try honestly to be a good Catholic. I am small, like St. Therese, though not so holy as she.
It is my own hope that my small musings might benefit someone in the 'who knows where' that comprises the diverse internet community.
As you may have guessed, this blog is dedicated to the Divine Mercy, to which I owe my life and sanity. I plan to expound much on the meaning of this Mercy, of which all worldly mercy is a shadow or an afterimage.
I direct you for now to the Divine Mercy Chaplet
I would also like to encourage the power of prayer through this blog. Should there be a need, post any prayer requests and they shall be included in my next blog. Post them anywhere in my recent posts. I will be checking(and praying).
Thank you for reading.
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