Translating a World on the Edge

Love is the greatest virtue. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.–Colossians 3:14

Too often, we get down on ourselves and those we profess to love. We feel less than we are, and treat them less than we should. We may even get tired of our everyday lives—always so much of the same thing, we can’t even call it love.

And so, we long for something different, something more alive, fresh, and vibrant. But how do we go about finding or creating this kind of love in our lives?

The answer to that question lies in the answer to this one: What is love, really? What should we expect from it?

Love is not a fairy tale–don’t we all know that! Yet, it truly is meant to bring delight. It is a story that’s meant to have something like a prince and princess; a knight who would die for his lady if he had to, and vice versa.

Our Love is meant to change the other person in such a way that they are better than they would have been without us. If it doesn’t do this, if it makes the other worse, we ought to question what sort of relationship we actually have–because it’s probably not love.

Love’s expression is tied with the virtue of kindness. In our own love story, are we kind to the other person? Many times we’re much kinder to strangers than those we say we love. Is this because we take their love for granted? Taking someone for granted is another way to ruin a relationship.

You may be surprised to hear that love and suffering go together. When we truly love another person we can expect to suffer. That’s because people are fallible and can hurt us, yet true love continues to love.

Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all.–G.K. Chesterton

In some situations, things are said by another that might bother us, or even go against our deep beliefs, but we let them go, and keep our thoughts to ourselves. Is it because we’d rather not create a fight, or do we just plain lack the courage to address an issue out loud?

There times when we ought to have courage enough to draw the line on what we know is wrong. Times when we just have to say, “Whoa–I can’t go for that!”

Courage, or fortitude, is another of the virtues. It takes courage to stand up for what you believe in. It takes courage to face the ridicule of others. It takes courage not to hide within the skirts of the crowd, but to put yourself on center stage if that is needed. BUT..it does not take much courage when one’s only intention is to simply be obnoxious.

Today I need to draw the line, and ask a question.

As many of you know, I’m a Catholic, but this blog is not intended only for Catholics. It is intended to address God’s children from any religion. And since, I have many wonderfully faith-filled Protestant friends and family, as well as followers of this blog, I joined a social media site for Catholics and Protestants, a group with the purpose of—well, I don’t know what it’s purpose really is, although I did ask the question after I saw what was going on. But I got no answer because the participants were just too busy snipping at each other like unruly second graders. Several participants in the conversation were so full of venom for the other’s religion that I was really amazed.

And I ask why? Why now? Why in a time when people of faith need to bond–and when we have so much in common–do some delight in maligning the other’s faith (which is never going to change anyhow) with the same old hard-shelled, antique arguments. Why? Why? Why–when we have the capability to accomplish miracles together as a unified people of God.

THE ACQUIRED VIRTUE OF PATIENCE

The word “patience” is derived from the Latin word pati, which means to suffer, to endure, to bear. Already that tells us much about the nature, meaning and necessity of the virtue of patience.

Patience helps us encounter frustrations, disappointments, contradictions, privations, sickness, hardships, etc. (all of which cause pain) without losing serenity, without becoming irritated or despondent. It helps us not to be upset by trivial incidents however unpleasant in our daily lives and thus not lose peace of soul. And no doubt, it is a virtue that everyone is called upon to exercise frequently.

“If we reflect upon the number of times each day that we are confronted with situations, persons and things that displease us and make us sad, we can see how often patience is needed …. It is important because it prepares the way for the practice of all the other virtues. Virtuous action is usually difficult and likely to cause sorrow on the sense level. Patience, by moderating the emotion of sorrow, removes one of the serious obstacles to the practice of the other virtues. All virtues owe something to patience, and no one can long follow the path of virtue without it.” (The Christian Life, Francis Cunningham, O.P., p.697)

Patience is the ability to keep control over the impulse that rises suddenly when something disagreeable happens. It is not just disregard of or indifference to life’s daily irritations or upsetting incidents, but a real control of self, of one’s feelings and impulses. On the contrary, impatience is the lack of self-control, and leads to other and greater faults. It can easily grow into anger, irritability, harsh words, unpleasantness towards others, etc. Many a serious quarrel starts with impatience over little annoyances or inconveniences. Fr. Walter Farrell, O.P. gives the reason for this:

“Patience is one of the humble, workaday virtues; but it is, in a real sense, the root and guardian of all virtues, not causing them, but removing obstacles to their operation. Do away with patience and the gates are open for a flood of discontent and sin.” (Comp. to Summa, III, 394)

Patience is an important virtue, and much needed in daily life, but it is not an easy virtue. After all, it’s often hard to keep watchfulness over our emotions and impulses. Patience is acquired by slow continual repetition of patient control – in spite of many failures. But it’s greatest value is that a patient person is a person at peace, and not at the mercy of every chance happening.

–From Theology for the Laity, by Father Paul A. Duffner, O.P.

We don’t often think of our leaders, or others who hold power, as being humble—because, frankly, most of them are not. Instead, they seem to constantly be pointing to the crowns on their heads.

But when offered a ride in limo after becoming Pope, Associated Press reports that Pope Francis replied, “I’ll just go with the guys on the bus.”

That’s another of the seven virtues. It’s called Humility. A big, big word–not easy to accomplish.

When we talk about being humble, many people picture sort of a slumped and wimpy individual with eyes and head down. But that isn’t humility.

Humility is a virtue, in contrast to narcissism, hubris and other forms of pride. And it is often the most disregarded teaching–indeed, commandment– of Jesus, because it’s so hard to let go of an over abundance of “love of self.”

I remember a song from many years ago–a fun song my girl friends and I loved to parody. It began: “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way!”

Of course, we knew we weren’t perfect, but maybe that’s why we tried to act a if we were. Because of an immature pride, we wanted everyone to perceive us as more, as better, as greater than we were. We did not realize that real greatness is always found in the service of others, rather than the service of ourselves.

C.S. Lewis writes, in Mere Christianity, that pride is the “anti-god” state, the position in which the ego and the self is directly opposed to God: “Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

In contrast, Lewis states that, in Christian moral teaching, the opposite of pride is humility and, in his famous phrase, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.”

How much more could we become in our short lives on Earth if we thought less of ourselves—less about how we look, about what others think of us, about how we can best a situation to our own advantage? Just think of the serious stress that we could remove from our everyday worry about Me. Me. Me. And the serious joy we could receive through a genuine concern about You. You. You.

I think our own image when we look in the mirror would be greatly enhanced.

After all, we may look great in our skin-tight jeans, with our perfect hair, and money in our pocket—but I don’t think that’s the ticket to eternal life. Do you?

How much do we really need? How much food, drink, drugs?

How big a house, or car? How much power?

How much flattery? How much time for ‘just us?’

When we consider only ourselves, often no amount is too much.

So here’s another virtue to consider–Temperance.

Temperance is, in short, moderation. Moderation not only in eating and drinking, but in our other habits–in fact in everything we do as human beings.

A Fable from Aesop tells about what can happens when we are greedy for too much.

A GREEDY HUNTER one day shot a fine Deer, and ere he could dress it, a pretty Fawn came that way, and an arrow brought it to the ground. A Boar now chanced to be passing, and the Hunter wounded it so that it lay on the ground as if dead. Not satisfied with this game, he must need pursue a Partridge that came fluttering near, and while he was doing so the wounded Boar regained enough strength to spring upon him and kill him. A Wolf came that way, and seeing the four dead bodies, said: “Here is food for a month; but I will save the best, and be content today with the bow-string. But when he seized the string, it loosened the fixed arrow, which shot him through the heart.”

Moral: The greedy man and the miser cannot enjoy their gains.

Today, one of the most obvious ways a person can lack temperance is through his/her own vanity.

So, how much is too much when we continue to stand in front of the mirror, obsessing over our looks??

For Catholics, Ash Wednesday (the day after Mardi Gras) is the beginning of Lent, which lasts for forty days. For every Catholic, it is a day to confront the inevitability of his or her death, and for that day, we wear the sign of that inevitability on our foreheads in ashes.

The ashes we receive on our forehead in the shape of a cross serve as an outward sign of our sinfulness and need for penance. The ashes also symbolize our mortality, a reminder that one day we will die and our bodies will return to dust. Traditional words when we receive the ashes are: Remember that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.

So, Ash Wednesday is a time of self-examination, and of our faith in the promise of eternal life. Can we turn down the noise in our lives for forty days and listen to what God wants to tell us? Because if we don’t listen, we won’t hear him call us by name–our name. We won’t hear that we should not be afraid. We won’t hear that God is madly in love with each one of us. We won’t hear what we can do to change ourselves.

Is there something in our lives that might prevent eternal life? If there is, we have an opportunity to change it. We know who we are. We know we’ve done. Shouldn’t we examine ourselves and work on the problems we may have?

Forgive those things we have done
which have caused you sadness,
and those things we should have done
that would have brought you joy.
In both we have failed
ourselves,
and you.
Bring us back to that place
where our journey began,
when we said that we would follow
the way that you first trod.
Lead us to the Cross
and meet
us there.

http://www.faithandworship.com/prayers_Lent

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It’s Mardi Gras day, and time to party!!!
But why do we party? What’s Mardi Gras all about?

Americancatholic.org says that Mardi Gras has grown in popularity in recent years as a raucous, sometimes hedonistic event. But its roots lie in the Christian calendar, as the “last hurrah” before the Catholic season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. That’s why the enormous party in New Orleans, for example, ends abruptly at midnight on Tuesday, with battalions of street sweepers pushing the crowds out of the French Quarter towards home.

Mardi Gras literally means “Fat Tuesday” in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from “to shrive,” or hear confessions).

But do you know that Mardi Gras is related to the Christmas season, through the ordinary-time interlude known in many Catholic cultures as Carnival? (Ordinary time, in the Christian calendar, refers to the normal “ordering” of time outside of the Advent/Christmas or Lent/Easter seasons.)

Carnival comes from the Latin words carne vale, meaning “farewell to the flesh.” Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely has its roots in pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring. As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking.

The Carnival season kicks off with the Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings’ Day and, in the Eastern churches, Theophany. Epiphany, which falls on January 6, 12 days after Christmas, celebrates the visit of the Wise Men bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. In cultures that celebrate Carnival, Epiphany kicks off a series of parties leading up to Mardi Gras.

Epiphany is also the traditional time to serve King’s Cake, a custom that began in France in the 12th century. Legend has it that the cakes were made in a circle to represent the circular routes that the Wise Men took to find Jesus, in order to confuse King Herod and foil his plans of killing the Christ Child. In the early days, a coin or bean was hidden inside the cake, and whoever found the item was said to have good luck in the coming year. In New Orleans Louisiana, and in Mobile, Alabama, bakers now put a small baby, representing the Christ Child, in the cake; the recipient is then expected to host the next King Cake party.

The official colors of Mardi Gras, with their roots in Catholicism, are: purple, a symbol of justice; green, representing faith; and gold, to signify power.

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To worry is to have concern about something that threatens to bring bad news or results. Worrying often makes a person feel anxious, unhappy, or afraid. But we all do it. It’s part of our human nature.

Except none of us wants to feel anxious, unhappy, or afraid. So what do we do to keep from worrying?

We can scramble around trying to solve our problems, with finances, love, health, our future. And sometimes we do solve them, at least temporarily. I say temporarily because each of the things we’re worrying about is temporary. In our lives on Earth, not one of them will last forever. Not one.

Each day on Earth brings change to us in some way. A positive change or a negative change. We can say that the kind of change that happens is up to us. And more times than not, this is true. But there is one huge change that will occur for all of us. A change we have no control over: Death.

Each of us will die. The most successful, the most famous, the most loving, and the most hateful–all of us. If we’re going to worry about anything, it ought to be that–who will we be at the moment of our death?

For a moment, let’s draw an imaginary chart. On one side of the chart, put the temporary concerns of our present day lives. On the other side, inevitable fact of our death.

If we are honest, we will see that what happens within ourselves during our lives here, is more important than what happens outside ourselves.

If we focus on this, our worries become less. If we focus on being the best person we can be, the most loving person we can be despite our outward circumstances, then we actually have nothing to worry about. Because we will be trusting in God’s word. And he will lead us through the present moment.

If we believe in His Love, His Redemption, His Resurrection, His Spirit and His Providence, why do we rebel, question and doubt? Why do we live in a state of confusion and fear? Why don’t we let God take all the debris of our yesterdays, bury them in His Heart and watch them resurrect to give us joy, merit, peace and humility? Let us be content with the realization that He brings good out of everything because He loves us. –from Spiritual Hangovers, Eternal Word Television Network.