General

From the Gospel reading today, Mark 4:35-41, we get the wonderful image of the Calming of the Storm.

Yon Galilee

The Sea of Galillee is known as Lake Kinneret around and about Israel. Kinneret means ‘harp’; the lake is harp shaped, though the name is taken from an ancient town which was located on the northwest shore. Galilee means “circle” and it’s the name of the lake and the region where it is located.

It’s below sea level, about 695 feet below at that, making it the lowest freshwater lake in the world. Because it is so low, air from the nearby mountains or deserts can settle in and cause rapid shifts in weather patterns, creating huge storms over the sea. It’s one such storm that the Gospel brings to life.

I visited the Sea of Galilee several years ago and was struck by it’s beauty. No picture I have ever seen does it justice, or prepares one for the rich abundance of the area. It’s no wonder God chose to live in that area for several years.

One of the most popular images of the calming of the storm on the internet is a picture of that name done by Rembrandt, The Calming of the Storm . It’s currently on the list of the FBI’s Top Ten Art Crimes! Who knew! (Great images of Biblical themes can also be explored via the Biblical Art Site.)

man of gentleness, man of peace, with words of life

Exploring and meditating on the life of Jesus Christ, which of course is what a Christian does, we note he’s a man of great gentleness, a man of peace; his words are life giving.

That description has been with me for several months now, and I keep going back to it, dwelling upon it to model my own life. In the calming of the storm we often look at the metaphorical level: Jesus calms the storms of our often troubled lives.

That’s great. Obviously.

But we should also look to the fact that we are called to be Christ-like, and that we are called to be people of peace in a world which is often troubled.

A must see.

There’s a movie made in 2002 about John XXIII, his life, his election as Pontiff, his pontificate and ultimate calling of Vatican II. It’s a must see.

In it, he says of the Pope to be elected, that he must be a man who has peace in his heart. Because if a man has peace in his heart, then all else will work out well.

And of course peace in our heart comes from submission to the rules of right living, which is what a submission to Christ is. A true submission in humility, patient endurance, in love… It’s not about an idle or fearful subservience, rather it’s a submission to the rules of right living, a recipe for greatness, and a call to nobility of character.

Right living produces right results.

St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians reminds us today about love. The Corinthians were the recipients of a fantastic reminder of the greatest gift, the gift of love, in Paul’s first letter to them (1Cor13 ) Of course being all too human they needed a second letter from Paul to stay on course. (I mention that because I can relate to so well to being human.)

Through love, a loving personal relationship with Jesus Christ, through faith in him, we are transformed and made mysteriously new. All things are renewed by Christ’s redemptive work. It’s mysterious; no one expects that everyone will believe or accept that fact.

But it’s also true, and will transform the lives of those who believe. Immersed in Jesus Christ we are made new; we become a new creation in a mysterious, yet very real, way. We become oriented to understanding the mysteries of Faith, of Scripture, religion, of spirituality.

People of Peace

Becoming an instrument of peace in the world today is probably one of the greatest things that one can do with one’s life. We need to have healing hearts. We need to all become men and women of peace, men and women of gentleness, whose words are life giving.

Thomas Merton wrote of peace:

To adopt a way of life that is essentially nonassertive, non- violent, a life of humility and peace is in itself a statement of oneís position. But each one in such a life can, by the personal modality of his position, give his whole life a special orientation.

It is my intention to make my entire life a rejection of, a protest against the crimes and in- justices of war and political tyranny which threaten to destroy the whole race of man and the world with him. By my monastic life and vows I am saying no to all the concentration camps, the aerial bombardments, the staged political trials, the judicial murders, the racial injustices, the economic tyrannies, and the whole socioeconomic apparatus, which seems geared for nothing but global destruction in spite of all its fair words in favor of peace.

I make monastic silence a protest against the lies of politicians, propagandists, and agitators, and when I speak it is to deny that my faith and my church can ever be aligned with these forces of injustices and destruction. But it is true, nevertheless, that the faith in which I believe is also invoked by many who believe in war, believe in racial injustices, believe in selfrighteous and lying forms of tyranny. My life must, then, be a protest against these also, and perhaps against these most of all.

Our lives are a witness to peace.

John XXIII left us great advice:

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” John XXIII

For future reference, check out the Catholic Peace Fellowship.

Called to greatness, called to noble lives, we are instruments of God’s peace in our time on Earth.

Men and women of peace, men and women of life, of gentleness, with words that are life giving for all.

So let it be written. So let it be done.

I cannot imagine a better way to spend Corpus Christi Sunday than with the Mass, a wonderful lunch with friends, a liesurely walk and a relaxing evening. Add to that a great time visiting over breakfast and it was a lovely day all around.

The image here is the Lamb of God; I’m liking it a lot. And this image of the Holy Face, below, is in the archives too. Maybe they’ll end up in the design concept of the weblog because as anyone can clearly see, the design concept of this blog could use a little work!

All things in their time! Rome wasn’t built in a day! God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change… etc. etc. I can though, work on changing that in or by January.

Great Corpus Christi article by Rick Salbato here, and of course from the Catholic blogs aggregator here and here.

“Two of the pubs near Oxford which C.S. Lewis frequented were The Trout and The Six Bells.

Some of Lewis’s American readers had written him to inquire about his views on drinking alcoholic beverages. His response to them was in no uncertain terms:

‘I have always in my books been concerned simply to put forward mere Christianity, and am no guide on these (most regrettable) interdenominational questions. I do however most strongly object to the tyrannic and unscriptural insolence of anything that calls itself a Church and makes teetotalism a condition of membership.

Apart from the more serious objection (that Our Lord Himself turned water into wine and made wine the medium of the only rite He imposed on all His followers), it is so provincial (what I believe you people call small town). Don’t they realize that Christianity arose in the Mediterranean world where, then as now, wine was as much a part of the normal diet as bread?”

C. S. Lewis: Images of His World by Douglas Gilbert & Clyde S. Kilby

Courtesy of The Six Bells Blog.

Can you wait? Can you stand the excitement!? Neither can I…. It’s the Year for Priests

“Here I am everyone! Come unto me!”

I have the feeling I’m a bit cynical going into this. I truly want to be prayerful about it.

As we shortly commemorate the “150th anniversary of the pious departure to Heaven of St John Mary Vianney, the Curé d’Ars”, the Year for Priests will commence.

The Year for Priests, announced by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, is drawing near. It will be inaugurated by the Holy Father on the 19th June, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. The announcement of the Year for Priests has been very warmly received, especially amongst priests themselves[oops.]. Everyone wants to commit themselves with determination, sincerity and fervour so that it may be a year amply celebrated in the whole world – in the Dioceses, parishes and in every local community – with the warm participation of our Catholic people who undoubtedly love their priests and want to see them happy, holy and joyous in their daily apostolic labours.

Well it’s certainly a good opportunity to get in the spirit of things. There are special indulgences attached:

A. Truly repentant priests who, on any day, devoutly recite at least morning Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed for public adoration or retained in the tabernacle, and who, after the example of St John Mary Vianney, offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the sacraments, especially Confession, are mercifully granted in God the Plenary Indulgence, which they may also apply in suffrage to their deceased brethren, if, in conformity with the current norms, they receive sacramental confession, participate in the Eucharistic banquet and pray for the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions.

Furthermore the Partial Indulgence is granted to priests, who may likewise apply it to their deceased confreres, every time that they devoutly recite the prayers duly approved so as to lead a holy life and to carry out in a holy manner the offices entrusted to them.

B. The Plenary Indulgence is granted to all the faithful who are truly repentant who, in a church or in a chapel, devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, and any other good work which they have done on that day, so that he may sanctify them and form them in accordance with His Heart, as long as they have made expiation for their sins through sacramental confession and prayed in accordance with the Supreme Pontiff’s intentions: on the days in which the Year for Priests begins and ends, on the day of the 150th anniversary of the pious passing of St John Mary Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month or on any other day established by the local Ordinaries for the benefit of the faithful.

It will be most appropriate, in cathedral and parish churches, for the same priests who are in charge of pastoral care to publicly direct these exercises of devotion, to celebrate Holy Mass and to hear the confession of the faithful.

I am going to pray for the grace to be open to the upcoming Year for Priests.