As a child, I can remember looking at National Geographic Magazine.  I was fascinated by the fact that the women in the pictures were all topless.  I know that some boys have looked at these pictures inappropriately, but even at that young age I sensed there was something “right” about the pictures.  The women were not “posing”. They weren’t wearing makeup.  Usually they had very serious faces.  Often they had a child perched on their hip.  If there were men in the pictures, they seemed oblivious to the women standing around half naked.

So what did they know, that we didn’t?  I suppose that cultural circumstances dictated a much more practical approach to sexuality.  We speak of “total giving”, but they live it.  To hold anything back would be to jeopardize the entire social unit.  I doubt these women even heard of birth control.  We would call them backward.  But perhaps, they are not so much “backward” as simply in the “right” place.  Maybe they are so backward, that they have gone all the way back to Eden.

I’m not trying to claim that we should all be going around topless.  Nor am I saying that these tribes have everything right.  Earlier this week, I posted on one such tribe that buried their own children alive for breaking the social laws.

But on the subject of the body as it pertains to sexuality, I think they might have something.  They are not ashamed of their bodies, because in their culture, their bodies are not viewed as separate from their souls.

Our bodies are not meant to be separate from our souls.  We are not a body on the right side and a soul on the left.  Just as Jesus was not half man and half God.  He was FULLY man.  And FULLY God. We are FULLY Body and FULLY Soul.

continue reading "BOOK CLUB MONDAY ~~~ January 5th, 2009"

“Creatures, I give you yourselves,” said the strong, happy voice of Aslan. “I give to you forever this land of Narnia. I give you the woods, the fruits, the rivers. I give you the stars and I give you myself”. C.S.Lewis/The Magicians Nephew

I have been reading The Everlasting Man by Chesterton this week. I’ve only read the first 18 pages, but already I have so many things I wish to share.

In the first chapter, Chesterton tells us that in order to understand something rightly, that we have become familiar with, we need to look at it in a novel way. In Narnia, God/Jesus comes in the form of a lion, not a human. This is because in that world, animals and humans are all considered persons. Coming as an animal, would be perfectly natural to the inhabitants of Narnia. But here in our world, it is a novelty. This is what makes it so intriguing. It is precisely this oddity, which makes us look at God and humans in a whole new light. We are human, not because of our DNA, not because we walk on two legs, not because we have opposable thumbs. We are human, because we have something inside of us, something of God, something that “images” God, which makes us persons. We are different than animals, and we can see this clearly, when in a fantasy world, animals become persons.

The story of Narnia is delightful because a “person” is inside of a lion. How different the story would have been if a “lion” were inside of a person.

Were we to walk into a room, where 15 monkeys were sitting around, we would be shocked to hear one of them speak. Even more shocked if one of them said something of note. This is because we know, contrary to what some people claim, that animals are different from humans, and humans are different from animals. Human beings are not just higher forms in the animal kingdom. They are singular. Unique. And we would know right off,
if a lion were to burst into Broadway revelry, or begin playing Mozart on a baby grand, or drawing up blueprints for a skyscraper, that something was up. No one would have to point out that this particular lion was behaving in a very           un-lionlike manner.

continue reading "BOOK CLUB MONDAY ~~ DECEMBER 29, 2008"

I’ve been reading Peter Kreefts “How to Win the Culture Wars” this week.  In one of the chapters, Kreeft imitates C.S.Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters” and writes from satans point of view.  In this particular excerpt, he is talking about Pope John Paul II and the war on the body that is taking place today.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  Anyone that loves John Paul will have to smile…

“Meanwhile, somebody get that big bear off Peter’s throne.  He fights!  And that’s our fourth problem:  He knows he’s at war, and he dares to call our empire “the culture of death”.  Evangelium Vitae is a dangerously passionate call to action, to reevangelize the world.  I think he really thinks it can be done!  Of course it can’t, of course he’s a fool, of course…But what the heaven has he got up his sleeve?

Worse, he seems to know something else, something the saintly but sad but sad popes Pius XII and Paul VI didn’t know.  Why does he keep talking about the third millennium as if it’s going to be theirs?  I have just proved that it will be ours.  Yet he speaks as if he knows it will not.  It must be false bravado, whistling in the dark.  Where does that old man’s smile come from?  Has has no right to it!  It infuriates me!  Wipe it away, somebody!  How dare he laugh at me?  And how dare he write an optimistic encyclical about OUR Millennium?

continue reading "BOOK CLUB MONDAY ~~~ DECEMBER 15th, 2008"

So often, I think the Catholic Church is perceived as looking at “sex” as a taboo.  For centuries, she has harped on the dangers, the sin, the negatives.

John Paul II attempted to correct that.  Rather than presenting what we shouldn’t do, he focused on what we should.

He begins by talking about the universal longing of all human beings.  The most basic of desires.  To love, and to be loved.  To share ourselves. 

To truly love someone, however, you must be willing to form bonds.  The stronger the bond, the stronger the love.  Today, I got an email from a friend.  She told me that she had a really hard time at Mass yesterday, because she is angry with God.  She almost didn’t go. 

How many relationships are just like this?  When everything is going well, we stick around, but at the first sign of trouble, we book.  Marriages dissolve, children leave home, friendships end…and in the most drastic demonstration of deserting a relationship when it’s tough…we kill our own children in the womb.

When we commit to someone, whether it is as a friend, a marriage partner or a parent, the relationship is only as good as the bond.  Loose bonds created fragile relationships.  Strong bonds create lasting relationships.

My friend went to Mass, in spite of her anger.  Her bond with God is strong enough to weather even negative feelings.  Kudos to her for living up to her end of the relationship. 

The bond with God is unique, in that He will never abandon the relationship.  Most relationships do not have a partner where one member will stick it out no matter what.  This, however is what we must strive for.  A bond that resembles God’s commitment to us.  We are imaged after Him.  Our relationships must also reflect the relationship of the Trinity.  No bailing.  Just continuing on, in spite of obstacles.  In good times and in bad.

continue reading "BOOK CLUB MONDAY ~~~ December 8th, 2008"

THE BODY AND THE SPIRITUAL BATTLE

“If we want to know what’s most sacred in this world, all we need do is look for what is most violently profaned.”

page 13

Wow!  What a line!  We know that Catholics are the last group of people that it is still acceptable to ridicule.  This should tell you something about the Catholic Faith.  If satan can’t discredit the Catholic Church, then he will resort to mocking her.  Homosexuality, atheism, Islam,  the color of your skin…all of these things are taboo.  Say something negative about them, and expect to see your face on the front page, labeled a bigot or a racist.   Catholicism, however, is fair game.  

Why?  Because it’s the Truth, and the Truth must not be let out.  It must be squelched, by any means.  It is sacred, and as such, it is a danger to satan and his minions.

The same thing is true of the Eucharist.  There has  been a rash of videos of late, where a young man has been defiling the Eucharist on youtube.  The professor of a university threw Our Lord in a garbage can and poured coffee grounds all over Him. 

Why?  Because the Eucharist is Truth, and the Truth must not be let out.  The Eucharist is sacred, and therefore, it is a danger to satan, and must be attacked.

Now if the body, and most especially, the union of the bodies of a man and wife, are meant to “image” God and His love for us, in the Trinity and for His church, then this too must be stopped.  This too, must be profaned.

Thus, we have abortion, pornography, Illicit sex, contraception and the objectification of the body itself.

Abortion kills the fruits of this union.

Pornography kills the sacredness of this union.

Illicit sex negates this union.

Contraception gives the illusion of the union, but it is a lie.

“Men and women must be kept from recognizing the mystery of God in their bodies.”

This is from “What is the Theology of the Body and Why is it Changing so Many Lives?”, also by Christopher West.

A New Context for Understanding Sexual Morality

The Church’s sexual ethic begins to make sense when viewed through this lens. It’s not a prudish list of prohibitions. It’s a call to embrace our own “greatness,” our own God-like dignity. It’s a call to live the love we’re created for.

Since a prophet is one who proclaims God’s love, John Paul II describes the body and sexual union as “prophetic.” But, he adds, we must be careful to distinguish between true and false prophets. If we can speak the truth with our bodies, we can also speak lies. Ultimately all questions of sexual morality come down to one simple question: Does this truly image God’s free, total, faithful, fruitful love or does it not?

In practical terms, how healthy would a marriage be if spouses were regularly unfaithful to their wedding vows? On the other hand, how healthy would a marriage be if spouses regularly renewed their vows, expressing an ever-increasing commitment to them? This is what’s at stake in the Church’s teaching on sexual morality.

Masturbation, fornication, adultery, intentionally sterilized sex, homosexual acts, etc. none of these image God’s free, total, faithful, and fruitful love. None of these behaviors express and renew wedding vows. They aren’t marital. Does this mean people who behave in such ways are “inherently evil?” No. They’re just confused about how to satisfy their genuine desires for love.

If I offered you a million dollar bill and a counterfeit million dollar bill, which would you prefer? Dumb question, I know. But what if you were raised in a culture that incessantly bombarded you with propaganda convincing you that counterfeit was the real thing and the real thing was a counterfeit? Might you be a little confused?

Attack the body, and you attack the very core of what it means to be human.  What it means to be made in the  image of God.  When you attack the body, you attack marriage, the family, and ultimately, life itself.

Free, Total, Faithful and Fruitful.  Giving.  Not Taking.  “This is my Body, GIVEN UP  for you.”

In the apparitions of Fatima, Mary told the children:

“More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.”

“Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much.”

“The Mother of God wants more virgin souls bound by the vow of chastity.”

“Woe to women wanting in modesty.”

“Many marriages are not of God and do not please Our Lord.”

Make no mistake.  The attack against the body is a spiritual one.  Defending the body, is defending humanity itself.   To defend and protect the body is to defend and protect our relationship, not only with one another, but with God Himself.

How do you see satan attacking the body? 

THE DIVINE MYSTERY

Okay.  So far we have discussed that while we cannot directly see God, or touch God, or hear God, we can still “experience” God through our physical senses.  We can hear His voice in a robins song, see His face in our neighbors face, touch His body in a rose petal…Now we are going to talk about knowing God through our relationships.

I have often said that love is not a noun.  It is a verb.  But I think it is also something more.  It is a thing unto itself.  It is alive.  It breathes.  If God is Love, then loving produces “God”.

To understand this, we need to look at the most perfect expression of this love.  The trinity.

The Father loves the Son.  The Son loves the Father.  This love produces something “new”.  It produces a “third”.  It produces the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is the tangible result of the Love between the Father and the Son.  He proceeds “from” the Father and the Son.

Chesterton speaks of bottles of beads.  If you have a bottle of blue beads, and a bottle of yellow beads, and you mix them in a third bottle, you will have a bottle of blue and yellow beads.  But that is not what happens with Love.  With Love, you get a bottle of green beads.  You get something “new”.   Love produces a whole new “thing”.

We, who are made in His image, can also Love, and in loving, produce something new.  When a man and woman love one another, in the context of marriage, the result is something other than the two.  A new life is created, out of that love.  Just as the Holy Spirit is created out of the Love of the Father and the Son, a child is created out of the Love of the Mother and the Father.  The “UNION” itself, produces something that did not exist before.  The couple is united, so totally, so completely, that they actually become “one” flesh. 

I’ve always love the “Wedding Song” by Paul Stookey.  I know it fell out of favor in the church, but I think Mr. Stookey understood Theology of the Body better than we thought.

He is now to be among you at the calling of your hearts
Rest assured this troubadour is acting on His part.
The union of your spirits, here, has caused Him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name
There is Love,
there is Love.

A man shall leave his mother and a woman leave her home
And they shall travel on to where the two shall be as one.
As it was in the beginning is now and til the end
Woman draws her life from man and gives it back again.
And there is Love,
there is Love.

Well then what’s to be the reason for becoming man and wife?
Is it love that brings you here or love that brings you life?
For if loving is the answer, then who’s the giving for?
Do you believe in something that you’ve never seen before?
Oh there is Love,
there is Love.

Oh the marriage of your spirits here has caused Him to remain
For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name
There is Love,
there is Love.

We image Him in all of our relationships.  Mother and daughter, Father and son, friend and friend…and each of these also produces something ‘new”.  The relationship itself is “other”.  How strong the “other” is, depends on the parties of course, but still, a bond is formed, and that bond is separate from either member of the relationship.  But nowhere is this shown more clearly, than with a man and wife. 

God desired to share this Divine Mystery with us.  And thus, relationships, all types of relationships, are possible.

God with us, us with each other…

We also see this in the Mass.  When Jesus unites with His bride, the Church, something new is also produced.  Jesus in the flesh, the Eucharist.  And then we, as the Church and as individuals, unite with Jesus in the Eucharist.  It ceases to be a purely mystical relationship, and becomes flesh to flesh.  When Mary said yes to the Angel, she was really saying yes to uniting physically with God.  In a way, that was the first Eucharist.  Mary, united with God, producing new life.  Producing flesh.  We are like Mary when we receive the Eucharist.  Like her, we are uniting with God in a “spousal” relationship.  We come full circle.  Spirit, to flesh, to Spirit.  Mystical, to physical, back to mystical.

The fruits of the Eucharist?  You tell me.  What “other” is produced when we receive/unite with Jesus in this totally unique way?

Hey all…the book club is up and running.  I need your input.                         

I was originally going to put up a new post everyday, but there aren’t many comments.  I have no way of knowing if people have read the post and chosen not to comment, or just not read the post.

Soon, and I hope VERY soon, all of the posts and the ability to comment, will be under the heading “BOOK CLUB” at the top of the page.

We are also working on sending an email to you all, whenever a new post goes up.  Until then,  I’ll leave a post up until I think everyone has had a chance to see it, and there are some comments.  If that takes a day, fine.  If it takes a week, that’s fine too.

I’ll just have to wing it.

If you have any better ideas let me know, because this can only work if we all participate.

I certainly don’t want this to become a chore for anyone.  But I also don’t want it to stagnate.

Also, just because there is a new post, it doesn’t mean that you can’t continue the conversations on an old one. 

I’m loving discussing this, but I’m not quite sure how to proceed as I don’t want anyone to miss anything.

If you think alerting you when new posts go up, then let me know.  I haven’t wanted to bother you, so I’ve just been putting up the posts and waiting. 

Either way is fine.  Just let me know what you think…

Thanks,

MK

“Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”   Antoine de Saint Exupéry,

THE SACRAMENTALITY of the BODY

“The Catholic faith, if you haven’t already noticed, is a very fleshy, sensual religion…”

page 4

I love this line.  At first glance it almost makes you uncomfortable.  After thinking about it for a while I began to realize how very much we use our bodies at Mass.   I adore the smell of incense.  Just  writing about it almost conjures up the smell.  And the feel of Holy Water.  If I miss my forehead I just don’t feel right.  I do it again until I can actually feel the cool water touching my skin.  And the bells at the consecration!  Oh how I wish they ALWAYS did that!   I love receiving under both species, because the taste of the wine lingers long after I’ve left the church.  The music, the readings, the babies crying, even the sound of the kneelers going up and down…

All of these things evoke a feeling of being “somewhere” else.  I can’t see God, but I can see His reflection.  I can’t hear Him, but I can hear His echo.  

The sacraments themselves are physical expressions of spiritual realities.  We can’t see baptism, but we can see the water, the oil…we can hear the words.  We can’t see the mystical change that takes place, but we are comforted by the outward signs.  We can’t see confirmation, but we can smell the Chrism, we can hear our confirmation name.  We can’t see marriage, but we can see the ring, hear the vows, …

“In the sacraments, spirit and matter “kiss”.  Heaven and earth embrace in a union that will never end”

Isn’t that image absolutely awesome? 

Which brings us to the greatest physical expression of God.  The human body. Not a sacrament in the sense that Baptism or Holy Orders are sacraments.  But a sacrament in the sense that our bodies are an outward sign, of an inner truth.  Not only is the body a magnificent piece of machinery, able to produce song, and love, and dance, but it is also a mirror of God.

“The body, in fact, and it alone,” Pope John Paul II says, “is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine.  It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden since time immemorial in God, and thus to be a sign of it”  In other words, somehow the body enables us to “see” spiritual realities, even the eternal mystery “hidden” in God”

                                                                 page5                                                                                                                                     

We can’t see God, but we can see each other, and in doing so we can begin to understand who God is.  If we want to know Him better, we need to know each other better.  If we want to know each other better, we need to look to the way God relates to us, but also to Himself in the three persons of the trinity. 

Which things remind you of God?  Which outward signs?  In what ways do you see God reflected in the physical world?

BOOK CLUB/DAY ONE

Welcome to the book club!  I never thought we’d get here.  I hope everyone has read chapter one.  If not, get movin’!

I think the first thing that struck me was this paragraph:

Tragically, many Christians grow up thinking of their bodies (especially their sexuality) as inherent obstacles to the spiritual life.  Many think Christian teaching considers their spirits to be “good” and their bodies to be “bad”.  Such thinking couldn’t be further from an authentic Christian perspective! The idea that the human body is “bad” is actually a heresy (a blatant error explicitly condemned by the Church) known as Manichaeism.

How true is that.  From toilet training to puberty we’re told that “those parts” are private.  We’re not supposed to touch them or talk about them in public.  While I think  the real reason this happens is that we are protecting something very special, what actually happens is that we get the message that our bodies are “icky”.

What a shame, since this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  If only  we could get the message across that we don’t parade our bodies in public, NOT because they are bad, but because they are so precious, so priceless, that we must protect their dignity at all costs. 

The problem with our sex saturated culture then, is not that it overvalues the body and sex.  The problem is that it has failed to see just how valuable the body and sex really are. 

We see God in so many physical ways.  Sunsets, babies, dragonflies…but the body, the human body, remains the greatest example of God expressed in a physical way.  I remember the first time I read this book, I stopped and looked at my hand.  For whatever reason, it fascinated me.  I’d never really thought about it before.  What a tremendous thing, this 5 fingered “thing”.   Just by “thinking”, I can pick up a coin, snap my fingers, stroke my son’s forehead.   I desire it, and my body accommodates that desire.  It’s like a mini miracle.  Or maybe not so mini. 

Or how about our eyes?  Incredible.  There is a whole physical world out there, and I can see it because of two round orbs sitting in my face.  Or my ears.  Strange looking sea shells on the side of my head that allow me to hear the baby cry in the middle of the night, the kettle boiling for tea, or the owl at midnight…

So now, I’d like you to tell me the parts of your body that fascinate you, and why.

And feel free to tell me any experiences that you have had, either positive or negative, that have colored you view of the body.

If you haven’t yet gotten your book, you can order it here:  

Ninth Day:
O Blessed Margaret of Castello,
Through your suffering and misfortune,
You became sensitive
To the sufferings of others.
Your heart reached out
To everyone in trouble –
The sick, the hungry, the dying prisoners.
Obtain for me the grace
To recognize Jesus in everyone
With whom I come into contact,
Especially in the poor,
The wretched, the unwanted!
Obtain for me also
The special favor which I now ask
Through your intercession with God.

Let us pray…
O God by whose Will
The blessed virgin, Margaret,
Was blind from birth,
That the eyes of her mind
Being inwardly enlightened
She might think without ceasing
On You alone;
Be the light of our eyes,

That we may be able
To flee the shadows in this world,
And reach the home
Of never-ending light.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 
Jesus, Mary, Joseph,
Glorify your servant blessed Margaret,
By granting the favor
We so ardently desire.
This we ask in humble submission
To God’s Will,
For His Honor and Glory
And the salvation of souls.

Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…    

continue reading "NOVENA of BLESSED MARGARET ~~~~~~~~~ DAY NINE"