Everything has a supernatural quality, something divine about it that can lead us onward to holiness. Everything is part of that completeness which is Jesus Christ
Once again, let me emphasize that the natural law is not a specifically Catholic thing. Astonishingly, each time I have mentioned the natural law, some have insisted that it is unfair to expect others to conform to Catholic doctrine! Truly, the mind boggles, for the whole point of the natural law is that it is universal and, well, natural. The critic’s very appeal to lack of fairness is in fact an appeal to the natural law. All rational moral argument appeals to the natural law, even when it erroneously uses one part of the natural law against another. Confusion, passion and self-interest may at times cause us to make mistakes in interpreting and applying the natural law, but the inescapable fact remains that the natural law is the only way we have of knowing when the positive law is immoral. Without it, there can be no concept of “right” apart from the concept of “power”.
Lord, Thou knowest better than I myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.** in some versions, I have seen this phrase added: “I do not want to be a saint - some of them are so hard to live with” . I’ve never agreed with that, because I don’t think most saints are unpleasant. Truly holy people I’ve met are gracious and charming!
Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all; but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains; they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet**, for a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people; and give, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen.
Is This Ironic or All too Appropriate for the Internets?
From St. Therese of Lisieux:
We have only short moments of this life to work for God’s glory. The devil knows this and this is why he tries to make us waste time in useless things. O, let us not waste our time! Let us save souls!
And somewhere along the line, what seems to slip away is time—the time to have time for losing yourself in such things as baseball seasons played out with dice rolls. The world intrudes, the boy grows, and the games prove less enthralling. Still, the lessons of Strat-O-Matic were real and vital, in their day. A realization of the interplay of order and randomness, for instance. A grasp of the sheer reality of the past, the truth that others lived before us. The civilizing of boys by appealing to their impulses to forget themselves in the mathematics of the world and the inner secrets of a game like baseball.
One of my favourite quotes is from the fictional detective Nero Wolfe: “To me the relationship between the host and guest is sacred. The guest is a jewel resting on a cushion of hospitality”. I think that’s the golden rule of entertaining. Whether you style is barbecue or dinner at eight, you’ll never go wrong if you keep it in mind.
“Sometimes it may seem to us that there is no purpose in our lives, that going day after day for years to this office or that school or factory is nothing else but waste and weariness. But it may be that God has sent us there because but for us Christ would not be there. If our being there means that Christ is there, that alone makes it worthwhile.”For those of us with jobs as opposed to "careers", this is a consoling thought.
— Caryll Houselander, Reed of God, Page 60
From the days when people really knew how to pray!
The holy Body of Christ Jesu be my salvation of body and soul. Amen. The Glorious blood of Christ Jesu bring my soul and body into the everlasting bliss. Amen. I cry God mercy; I cry God mercy; I cry God mercy; welcome my maker; welcome my redeemer; welcome my Saviour; I cry thee mercy with heart contrite of my great unkindness that I have had unto thee.
What can I do so that... my presence brings more of this kind of thing into the world?Which got me thinking...when I was about 25 years old, I was busy taking myself super-seriously. I'd left Kenrick Seminary a year or so earlier, and was struglling with what I should do with my life. Having been so recently in school, most of my thoughts were on things like philosophy, theology, psychology--some kind of academic pursuit--as being the really important work in the world. What would I do with my life. What wonderful work would I accomplish for God? (I wonder if God realized back then houw much He needed my help?)
I wish that as I was growing up, the role of wife and mother had been more fully present as a respectable and important option that also needs time and training, not just an afterthought that automatically tacks on to a career. Much of the skill set I acquired in university is not very useful in the home. Although I know how to write legal briefs, I wish I knew how to sew, play family songs on the piano and cook without a cookbook, and even that I was more familiar with caring for little ones and for a busy household. All the chores I was protected from in order to enable me to study as I was growing up – maybe I should have done them after all,
including some babysitting. I want to give these experiences to my daughter, so that she will be better equipped not just for a career, but also for motherhood.
