Soloman, David, truth and religion

My son and I have been discusssing some of the daily Mass readings from the Old Testament, concerning the reigns of King David and King Soloman. The general conclusion was that man, poor sinner that he is (and we all are, to varying degrees), can know the truth of right religion and still, in his sinful humanity, manage to do many things contrary to this truth. We marvelled at King David's heartfelt desire, at the end of his life, to exhort his son, Soloman, to goodness. We were astonished, like the Queen of Sheba, at Soloman's Kingdom, his wisdom and his justice. Since we now live in the full knowledge of God's Revealation to man through His Son, Christ Jesus, this -- often maddening -- reality still fills the pages of history.

In an interesting parallel, this afternoon, JB, J and I were talking about various English and U.S. histories and again this topic comes up. How so? First, I was trying to sort out for Jay why the father and the mother of the "Pilgrim boy" in his ABEKA (a Protestant educational company)reader had left Stuart England, as "Separatists," to journey to Holland then to what would become the American colonies. Later, in our school day, we were discussing the heresy of Islam and the unification of Europe under Charlesmagne.

Let's take the Tudor and Stuart Kings and Queens and make some sweeping generalizations. Everyone, in the main, is trying really hard to be good. But, what a bloody mess! To this day, Americans (of the US of A) and people, in general, are very confused about which history of England speaks the "...truth, the whole truth, so help me God..." It is hard to navigate through these people and events and really know, without a shadow of doubt, the deeper, and absolute, truth that shines beyond the events. I am speaking of Mother Church as the star of history, if I may. She is eternally resplendant, perfect and pure, no matter what her adherents think, speak or do. It confuses the Catholic student of history when persons and events outside of our holy religion appear concurrently to Catholic persons and events who are, in some way, less than noble, right and beautiful. At the same time, the history of humanity from the beginning to the present, is filled with the lives of Catholic saints. (Just because there were those outside Mother Church who did -- and still do -- live saintly lives, we must not assume the Catholic Church to be untrue.) As we research and study, we must work hard to look at what was going on in the world from the eyes of faith. Some would murmur that faith is always subjective -- for example, I am a Catholic, so I will look to rationalize ("ration-a-lies") my version of persons and events in a way that makes my religion the one, true religion. This is often the human view and, in my opinion, why we are bogged down in the relativistic, "multicultural" cultural quagmire of today.

Well, I have bitten off more than I can chew, so here is my imperfect wrap up: we came to the conclusion that just because people are not true to their religion does not mean that their religion is not true. We think this phrase is a bit catchy and worthy of our attention. We, as Catholic evangelists, must work harder, especially with all the blessings given to the citizens of the US of A, to prove the authenticity of the authority of the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic church. Or, and I do fear this....or, we will end up throwing our inheritance in the garbage. I know God wants us all to clean up our acts, study harder, invite each other to meaningful dialogues and live as free and worthy subjects of Christ the King. God made his creation to be good, to think good thoughts and to be eternally inspired to actions that give glory to the one Son who was begotten and born of the Virgin Mother of God, she who is Queen of the Universe. God is one, but in His infinite mystery, God is three persons. In my opinion, there is no way to even come close to understanding the mystery of the Blessed Trinity without all seven Sacraments of holy Mother Church, as instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

I'll take Shakespeare over Freud any day!

A couple of years ago, I watched the wonderful video series by Michael Wood called "In Search of Shakespeare." While some of the commentary reflects a very heterodox approach to Christianity, there is a pursuit of truth that is quite refreshing. So, anyway, I had watched this on the small screen of my laptop tucked away in the corner of our kitchen in Roswell. At the time, I had ordered, and was impatiently awaiting Joseph Pearce's book on Shakespeare. Back to the PBS series -- I was amazed to see a secular production also making the case for Shakespeare being not just an "ethnic Catholic" but one who was actively, if not secretly, involved in the "old faith". Last night, I watched the series again on our large-screen television. It was very moving.

This morning I have had some quiet time to pause and reflect on what it is to be a parent in these crazy times...what it is to be a crazy homeschooling parent in these lazy times....what it is for me to be such a "lazy daisy" in these hardworking times....

I love the LovetoLearn website and read this review with much interest. Turns out Freud was wrong about siblings! Big surprise!!! I need to drink some more coffee before I try to write more, or maybe I'll just throw all this out there as a challenge to myself and others to live a life full of common sense and right religion. It is not about being "right" the way moderns tend to think of it. It is about being right in the sense of being as good as we possibly can be. It is hard to be as good as we possibly can be without the priesthood and all seven sacraments of Mother Church. There is no getting around this. I am not "right" because I adhere to Mother Church. I adhere to the Magisterial teachings of the Church because I am acutely aware of how weak I am as a human being, and how generous God is in His Love for me. There are many errors of modernism, but the one that I have seen and experienced, time and time again in my own life, is the error that we humans are in charge of our destinies. The result of this error is always the worship of the State.

I could really go off on a tangent about modernism and think it a topic that is really brewing in this great country. If we --including me-- would stop watching and listening so much, and really engage our fellow man, then we would shake the trappings of modernism off and move forward as a truly courageous America, washed of its errors and tempatations. I do not think America has a chance as long as her Christians are divided.

Back down to earth, I am working on re-integrating art and music back into our curriculum. The hybrid school overall is just what the doctor ordered for this family. The competition is healthy and the schedule leaves lots of time for us to be together and learn together. I want to go over here to one of Elizabeth Foss's beautiful unit studies on music.

To close on a musical and hopeful note, one lesson I worked on with our young son this past Friday was a lovely story in his Abeka reader about the story behind the writing of "America the Beautiful," which as corn-ball as it sounds, is one of my favorite songs (If I get hit by a bus tomorrow, please play this at my funeral.). So, in the spirit of this song, may God truly mend our every flaw!

America the Beautiful

Years ago, when I was very sick, I had the time and the inclination to read a good amount of Catholic prophecy. Many of the Church's canonized saints have, through various forms of private revelation, communicated directly with God as to His Will for themselves as "saints in the making," for the Church and the world. Recently, I am back reading and praying prophecy. I am marvelling at the stories I know-- like those blessed little children in Fatima, Portugal; and also I am discovering saints and events that I had never heard of before this summer. It is important to note that the principle meaning of prophecy is not to foretell the future, rather it is knowing God's Will.

As fallen humanity, we struggle mightily against the three enemies of the soul: the world, the flesh and the devil. Discerning God's will for our lives --much less for our country or our world-- demands heroic virtue. Some might posit that this virtue is unobtainable. Well, it is not something we get on our own, that is for sure. Only by God's grace may we obtain the grace and strength that we need to discern His Holy Will. Frustration, anxiety, bouts of ill temper -- these really should be part and parcel of the life of a saint. As a stay-at-home mom, it certainly is part of life in my family. We pray alot, we play alot, but we sure do struggle alot with our various human weaknesses and the external temptations that assail us from the world and the bad angels. I think I've gotten off the point. I wanted to post a link to the true story of Our Lady of America. Read it and pray. Read it and be amazed. Read it and live redeemed and help redeem this poor country of ours.

The prophetic writings of John Senior

I still want to learn Latin, and, truthfully, haven't gotten very far. This past week I finished The Death of Christian Culture by John Senior and plan to go back and re-read The Restoration of Christian Culture, which I bought and read first. Senior's writings kindle the fires of Love. Go to IHS Press and learn more.

We've often heard it said that "there is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time". This summer 2009, I am finding this true in a particular way.

We are having blinds installed on all our windows, so I am signing off...

White winter sky here in Georgia...

You can probably tell from my blog background that I'd really like to see some snow, an infrequent guest here in Georgia. I do not think it will happen today, as it is 50 degrees. Still, I find the bare trees, the visible contours of the hills around us, and the general paleness of everything so very lovely. This week I got to see what all the hype is regarding the Wii game, "Guitar Hero". All three of my children love it and play and play and play. Not all the music is good, some is very bad and some of it is very good. The fashion and "decor" are, for the most, perfectly awful, but it all leads to lots of rousing discussion.

You are what you read: Yesterday, as I was poking around the Internet, I found this site, and dream of magazine writing. I used to be very athletic and writing is alot like a sport. The more you work at it, the more supple and skillful you become. Godspy's e-zine is, for me, an excellent example of how pertinent, creative and provoking an online medium can be when it comes to using the Internet to bring on JPII's "new springtime of evangelization". I also really like The American Spectator. I have to go now because I am very absorbed in book number two of the Twilight series. I hope my husband survives it -- I want to bite your nehhck!

Ideas Matter

What with the election just behind us, I have been blessed to have so many fruitful discussions with friends and family regarding the challenges and opportunities in this country. A couple of years ago I read Mother Angelica's biography, written by journalist Raymond Arroyo. This is an inspiring story, if ever there was one. Mother loved Sacred Scripture and was devoted to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. She saw the power of our Savior, through the sacramental life of Mother Church, to strengthen lives and bring peace, holiness and joy. Morever, she saw the potential for an enlivened Church to transform society. The idea of the Incarnation is the most powerful idea ever formed and it was, of course, formed in the mind of our Maker. Mother Angelica had an "Ideas Matter" bumper sticker made in the 1970's. I'd love to have one of the originals. I heard someone has recently made a bumper sticker, "Think first, talk later." I'd add, "Pray first, act just thereafter." My friend Rachel and I were discussing the fact that too many Americans have very nebulous beliefs. For belief to really do good it must come from a pure heart. Here are some ideas that recur in my thoughts and prayers:

I believe, help my unbelief. If our lives and our prayers begin with humility, then, possibly, they will end so. We are not nearly troubled enough by assaults on human dignity. We are not nearly troubled enough to go on our knees, in public, and pray to our Lord for His intervention. This intervention starts first in our own hearts. We (including me) are so prone to idolatry. For centuries, Mother Church has held up the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience as the weapons against pride, the root of all idolatry. The cry for help is a cry for sanctifying grace. Unfortunately many do not acknowledge that we must avail ourselves to the fullness of Christian religion, all seven sacraments. The sacraments are instituted by God, not by man. Weak and fallible man is called to participate in the sacramental life of the Church. When sin creeps in, as it always does during this earthly pilgrimmage, all manner of revolt, disobedience and heresy result. The Church raises up great saints who relied (and still rely today) on the Holy Mass, the greatest prayer, to combat revolt, disobedience and heresy.

The devil doesn't bother someone he already has. In other words, if you are not experiencing a great deal of turmoil, which is the reality of those working to spread the Kingdom of God, you are probably off track. I tell myself this often as I am very prone to seek my own pleasure and comfort over the quiet whisper of my conscience. Turmoil and Peace run together. Like Jesus, we must be tender with others and hard on ourselves, spending much time fasting and praying. Fasting, praying and giving alms are the actions of the life bound to the three abovementioned counsels. Over these good works, the bad angels swarm, seeking to derail such potent efforts. As is seen in numerous lives of the saints (Padre Pio comes to mind in recent times.), Mary and Jesus never leave their children alone, even during the worst spiritual warfare. Our suffering is redemptive. We should seek it out.

"Be who you are and you will set the world ablaze!" St. Catherine of Sienna. Matthew Kelly, more recently, has preached this timeless idea. He exhorts people to be the best version of themselves, to be the person who God created them to be, what he calls our "authentic self". We need others to help us be the person we ought to be. The first person we need is Jesus, as He is present in the Eucharist. If we allow Him into every corner of our being, He will give us His Cross. It is true that "they will know they our Christians by their love." This love will often be unappealing to persons steeped in worldly pleasures. If we want this country to be a place where creativity, beauty and truth flourish, then we have to be willing to set most of our own desires aside.

Desiring holiness is desiring true love; it is the one desire to honor. We are to run the race for this. We are to beg God to change us; we must go at least once a week to quiet ourselves in front of Him in the Blessed Sacrament. We are to ask our Lady to pray for us. Devotion to her will lead us to frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) more often, in order for God to change us. We are to bless each other tenderly. Love is not always painful, yet love is always holy, giving glory to the One who made us. Praise Him from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

Election Day -- Lord, hear our prayer!

Our pastor entertained a question-and-answer-stump-the-pastor format during his homily this past Sunday. One comment he made hit me hard. He said that prayer is not our changing God; but, rather, God changing us. So, we petition. We should repeat our petitions. It reminds us that we need to constantly turn, and return, to God to focus on what is important. I hope to put this blog on my right sidebar. The Acton Institute is a space filled with prayerful, common-sense people. I want to do more to make this country the country it ought to be. The children and I are off to Noon Mass. I am confident that grace will change this country, one heart at a time.

So lovely here...

The weather here is glorious. I just took our dogs out because a tree hit our fence in the back, and I cannot just open the back door as I so often do. As I sat for a moment out front, I thought how glad I am that my husband and I are aging. Growing old together is sweet stuff. I have a personal history of being very high maintanence. I think my husband would agree that I have melted into him and acquired some amount of his ideal, low-maintanence approach to life, especially things material. The house we are "building" up in Cumming is coming along. Jerry snapped this photo yesterday and sent it to me via email.

I would love to just write and write, because my heart is so full of delight. I really need to go organize some things for our week...okay, maybe just a little...the homily today at Mass was all about love being in every little thing. Because of the many good things said, I felt deeply how much our Lord loves us. I often feel so inadequate in my love for Him, so distracted and prone to fault. This holy, Vietnamese father expressed so simply that it is really not so much about our love for Him, which will consistently fail to be adequate. If we are so proud to think we love God well, we often lie to ourselves and to Him, who is perfect in His Love. I am not doing the homily justice, but it is something to which I have given alot of thought, since I was 33 when I made my first Confession and Eucharist.

Possibly unlike some "cradle Catholics," I am acutely aware of how bad life can be with so little access to sanctifying grace. As I heard Christopher West put it, a person gets used to "eating from the garbage dump" and garbage begins to taste good. This, of course, is a deception, and is the spiritual poverty for which so many Americans have fallen. When we signed the contract on the Cumming house in July, I begged our Lord and His Mother to help keep my natural inclination to comfort and luxury in check. Funny thing, marriage -- what grace flows from this Sacrament. My prayer is answered in my husband and his good common sense. All's I have to do is listen. Lord, help us hear your words of life: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind..."

OMAMA!

Thank you, Sarah Palin, for giving me hope! I love this country, and my heart swelled when I watched her acceptance speech on U-Tube last week with my husband. I was just over at Amy Welborn's blog and linked to "The Anchoress," which I used to read, and good reading it is.

My children are torturing each other....

I was going to call this post, "America the Beautiful" and describe how our virtual cross-country drive was going, how we began some good books, made some drawings, wrote some good notebook pages, studied our saint and loved our country by loving our family. But, I thought I'd show the "other side" of the homeschool bubble. (In general, I like our bubble, but there are days and there are days...Really each day, even the best among them, has its fair share of vicissitudes.) It is 5:14 p.m. and everyone is ready for dinner, ready for dad to get home and ready to jab and jeer at whoever is easy prey. At present, J and M are torturing JB. Everyone is taking turns melting down.

Homeschooling allows for a highly vicissitudinous (did I spell that right?) life, which, in the main, is a very good thing. Why? Because it is real. It teaches us tools to cope with crises. I'd argue that living the high and lows, the ins and outs, the down and outs, everyday with your family equips you for...

family life! What a concept!

I am hopeful that truth, goodness and beauty will prevail. In this home. In this country.

God mend thine every flaw. Amen