Thursday, June 24, 2010
Religious Life
One of my good friends and sisters from Totus Tuus Maria is entering this convent today. I think it's amazing how all these women dedicate their life to God. The struggle for me to have this obedience is always difficult. I truly believe what the sister says at the end, "You have to be in here for a supernatural reason. Any reason apart from the supernatural is not going to work. You'll be fighting against a human part of yourself every step of the way." I think it must be beautiful to have a life so devoted. I can only hope that in my callings, I can in a small way follow what God desires.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Parenting
I was watching Bones last Thursday. Cam, a character who recently took in her niece as her daughter when the niece's parents died, was struggling with the dilemma of letting the girl go to Hawaii for Christmas instead of spending it with her. At the end of the episode, Cam says to her niece/adopted daughter that she can't go to Hawaii and needs to stay in DC so they can have their first Christmas together as a family. The girl is outraged and Cam's response is, "Look, it is my job to make sure you are loved in this world and if that makes you furious, then so be it... I cannot let you go off to Hawaii to spend Christmas away and have you think it doesn't affect me."
I wish every child could hear words similar to that. Obviously the situation wouldn't be the same, but I think every child should know that a) they are loved in this world and that b) love doesn't necessarily mean always getting what you want, but rather getting what is best for you. Working with students this past semester has shown me that a lot of parents have the tendency to give in to their kids. Not only have I found it frustrating, but also really sad. Our goal in life should be to help each other and influence others for the common good, and we have no greater chance of accomplishing this than to be leaders for children. In St. Catherine's (of Siena) Dialogues, God explains that we do a secret sin by withholding grace from other people by not helping them grow spiritually in prayer and deed.
I don't know what kind of parent I'm going to be. On some level, it really scares me because I can see how things can turn out negatively. On the other hand, I want the shot to do my best to help a child grow. I guess for now, I have to settle with those that I guide at work and church. I think I will also work on practicing how to practice tough love with others in my life to seek what is best for others and not just what will please them. God help me. God help all of us.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
On the Concept of Truth, Morality, Good, and Evil
In class on Ash Wednesday, I made the comment that if Americans wanted a libertarian society or a society in which the government did not interfere with people's lives, then we must begin to take responsibility for our actions, realize they have consequences, and therefore act in ways that are good. The immediate response from my teacher was, "But whose good and whose truth? Who gets to dictate whether what we do is moral?" To be honest, I could not think fast enough to answer this question, and perhaps that was for the best. Since then, however, I have done some more thinking about the question, especially as it is something I know I will need to answer again in the future, not only in this class, but in others as well.
I have come to the conclusion that we cannot have concepts of "good," "evil," "morality," "justice," and "injustice" without acknowledging that there is a truth that is out there that is greater than ourselves. And that truth, must be an objective truth, meaning that it is, and therefore, it must have authority because of its existence independently of anything else. In addition to this, I have come to the conclusion that everyone has the responsibility to get to know this truth, react with it and bring it more to the forefront.
People need to act in ways that reflect truth and that their actions begin and originate from the things they do to themselves. People may respond to this, "Well, I don't believe there is such a thing and so good, evil, morality--it's all relative." To this response, I say that if it is indeed all relative, then how can we even begin to dream up concepts of rights, laws, and all the rest? If we have no responsibility to ourselves, to hold ourselves accountable, how can we say things like "the government needs to do this for its people" or "society has the responsibility to care for these things?" The fact is, we can't. The government is only made up of people, and if they have no accountability to themselves, then they cannot have accountability for others. The same with society. It does not follow reason that we can demand responsibility and consequences from entities that have no will, that cannot act of their own accord.
To go back to my teacher's question of 'whose' to choose, my ultimate answer is, we cannot choose the truth of a person. If we acknowledge that the truth is something greater than ourselves, then no one person has "the truth." For a single person to have the truth, that person would need to be God, completely one with God. But if that person is God, then why would that person choose to be human, to be involved in all this pettiness, to live a life detached from truth? But then the only other option is that God never mingled with humans and never understood its suffering, then that would make it cruel and therefore the truth would be a cruelty and so it wouldn't be good. So how to answer these questions?
Well, the answer would be that because God is the truth and the truth is good, it chooses to come down of its own accord to provide truth to people. In short, God loves. Because God loves, he comes to reveal truth and therefore hope to the human that indeed, there is something more than what is seen as petty existence here. And here is the beauty of the answer of Jesus Christ and the answer of the Holy Trinity. Christ reveals the truth of what love is to humans, by bringing it to our level. He shows that love isn't circling in onto one's self, but to be continually outpouring and outstretched. By doing this, he not only fulfills the law, but then abolishes the need for it, for, if we could only follow his example and give ourselves totally to and for love, then we would indeed be fulfilling the law and be fulfilling what is good.
This is why I believe what I believe because it follows reason, and I can really see it no other way. And I think that is the beauty of all religions in general, the fact that there is the search for a truth greater than ourselves and to find a love more complete and real than any that could be experienced here. What is even better is the fact that God would not limit himself just to Christ, and forget about other religions, but that he would in fact speak to people using whatever means necessary. That is the extent of God's love, and Christ is the means of that communication, no matter what religion a person belongs to. It is for this reason that we can say, "There is no slave nor free, no Jew nor Greek," because ultimately humanity is reunified and restored to what it once was.
I know for my own part, that I am not to the point of totally giving myself to and for love. There are times when I don't even partially give of myself. I still can be petty and selfish. I still say sometimes that I don't care about the truth, that I am free to do whatever I want. It doesn't take long to be reminded that this is not the case and that I cannot live without the truth and that acting selfishly doesn't make me free. This is the Season of Lent in the Church, my hope is that this year, after reflecting on these things, I may grow closer to the point where I can totally give myself to and for love.
I have come to the conclusion that we cannot have concepts of "good," "evil," "morality," "justice," and "injustice" without acknowledging that there is a truth that is out there that is greater than ourselves. And that truth, must be an objective truth, meaning that it is, and therefore, it must have authority because of its existence independently of anything else. In addition to this, I have come to the conclusion that everyone has the responsibility to get to know this truth, react with it and bring it more to the forefront.
People need to act in ways that reflect truth and that their actions begin and originate from the things they do to themselves. People may respond to this, "Well, I don't believe there is such a thing and so good, evil, morality--it's all relative." To this response, I say that if it is indeed all relative, then how can we even begin to dream up concepts of rights, laws, and all the rest? If we have no responsibility to ourselves, to hold ourselves accountable, how can we say things like "the government needs to do this for its people" or "society has the responsibility to care for these things?" The fact is, we can't. The government is only made up of people, and if they have no accountability to themselves, then they cannot have accountability for others. The same with society. It does not follow reason that we can demand responsibility and consequences from entities that have no will, that cannot act of their own accord.
To go back to my teacher's question of 'whose' to choose, my ultimate answer is, we cannot choose the truth of a person. If we acknowledge that the truth is something greater than ourselves, then no one person has "the truth." For a single person to have the truth, that person would need to be God, completely one with God. But if that person is God, then why would that person choose to be human, to be involved in all this pettiness, to live a life detached from truth? But then the only other option is that God never mingled with humans and never understood its suffering, then that would make it cruel and therefore the truth would be a cruelty and so it wouldn't be good. So how to answer these questions?
Well, the answer would be that because God is the truth and the truth is good, it chooses to come down of its own accord to provide truth to people. In short, God loves. Because God loves, he comes to reveal truth and therefore hope to the human that indeed, there is something more than what is seen as petty existence here. And here is the beauty of the answer of Jesus Christ and the answer of the Holy Trinity. Christ reveals the truth of what love is to humans, by bringing it to our level. He shows that love isn't circling in onto one's self, but to be continually outpouring and outstretched. By doing this, he not only fulfills the law, but then abolishes the need for it, for, if we could only follow his example and give ourselves totally to and for love, then we would indeed be fulfilling the law and be fulfilling what is good.
This is why I believe what I believe because it follows reason, and I can really see it no other way. And I think that is the beauty of all religions in general, the fact that there is the search for a truth greater than ourselves and to find a love more complete and real than any that could be experienced here. What is even better is the fact that God would not limit himself just to Christ, and forget about other religions, but that he would in fact speak to people using whatever means necessary. That is the extent of God's love, and Christ is the means of that communication, no matter what religion a person belongs to. It is for this reason that we can say, "There is no slave nor free, no Jew nor Greek," because ultimately humanity is reunified and restored to what it once was.
I know for my own part, that I am not to the point of totally giving myself to and for love. There are times when I don't even partially give of myself. I still can be petty and selfish. I still say sometimes that I don't care about the truth, that I am free to do whatever I want. It doesn't take long to be reminded that this is not the case and that I cannot live without the truth and that acting selfishly doesn't make me free. This is the Season of Lent in the Church, my hope is that this year, after reflecting on these things, I may grow closer to the point where I can totally give myself to and for love.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
God Does Provide...a Miracle Story
So this experience actually happened back in February during the school year, but I need to write it as a reminder to myself of trusting in God and thus trusting in the people God puts in my life.
In February, I was going through a really rough break with my boyfriend. I had been struggling since the end of January and things were just not going my way. I started praying this chaplet to St. Therese of the Little Flower:
St. Therese, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love; ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore and tell Him I will love Him each day more and more. Amen.
I didn't get my response until 3 days after I had finished the chaplet that I got a response, and it was well worth the wait. That day, I decided I needed a complete cleansing of self. I went to daily Mass at St. Anne's and ran into my TTM sister Jenny. She wished me well on my quest and I had her good feelings to usher me to the Basilica. At the Basilica, I spent my time in deep prayer. I prayed the rosary in front our Lady of Peace, which made me feel a lot more open to having a calm conversation with God and quieted a lot of my troubles. I then talked to God in the main chapel, and got the song "Lord, You Have My Heart" stuck in my head. That song made me remember the words of St. Augustine "My heart is at rest only when it rests in the Lord." It made me realize that I have to align myself with God's heart and trust that his plans include my hearts desires. As I sat talking to God, I also realized how much I worry by focusing too much on the future. God is the God of the present. He is in the here and now, and that is where I need to be to be with his heart and live in his peace.
After making these realizations, my friend was going to be arriving soon, so I decided to wait in front of our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. I sat in the side chapel without taking note of my surroundings, but once I was settled I saw God was pleased with our talk. On the altar were 3 roses, 3 roses for 3 days after the chaplet, and on the wall was a line about being a rose of Jericho growing strong and producing much fruit.
Seeing that was an affirmation of my realizations as well as God's love which I really needed. It was the message I needed to see when I needed to see it. Now that I'm home for the summer, I will have to remember God's providence in the midst of my own struggles of being separated from my TTM sisters and constant Church events and the troubles that come from being away and returning home. May God bless us in all times of uncertainty.
In February, I was going through a really rough break with my boyfriend. I had been struggling since the end of January and things were just not going my way. I started praying this chaplet to St. Therese of the Little Flower:
St. Therese, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love; ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore and tell Him I will love Him each day more and more. Amen.
I didn't get my response until 3 days after I had finished the chaplet that I got a response, and it was well worth the wait. That day, I decided I needed a complete cleansing of self. I went to daily Mass at St. Anne's and ran into my TTM sister Jenny. She wished me well on my quest and I had her good feelings to usher me to the Basilica. At the Basilica, I spent my time in deep prayer. I prayed the rosary in front our Lady of Peace, which made me feel a lot more open to having a calm conversation with God and quieted a lot of my troubles. I then talked to God in the main chapel, and got the song "Lord, You Have My Heart" stuck in my head. That song made me remember the words of St. Augustine "My heart is at rest only when it rests in the Lord." It made me realize that I have to align myself with God's heart and trust that his plans include my hearts desires. As I sat talking to God, I also realized how much I worry by focusing too much on the future. God is the God of the present. He is in the here and now, and that is where I need to be to be with his heart and live in his peace.
After making these realizations, my friend was going to be arriving soon, so I decided to wait in front of our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. I sat in the side chapel without taking note of my surroundings, but once I was settled I saw God was pleased with our talk. On the altar were 3 roses, 3 roses for 3 days after the chaplet, and on the wall was a line about being a rose of Jericho growing strong and producing much fruit.
Seeing that was an affirmation of my realizations as well as God's love which I really needed. It was the message I needed to see when I needed to see it. Now that I'm home for the summer, I will have to remember God's providence in the midst of my own struggles of being separated from my TTM sisters and constant Church events and the troubles that come from being away and returning home. May God bless us in all times of uncertainty.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Living in Community 1
"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God"- The Sermon on the Mount
One continuously recurring theme of this semester has been the importance of community. My friend and TTM sister, Jenny, knew I've been struggling with a little bit of depression and feelings of detachment since coming back to AU. In between Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, she showed me this booklet her mother gave her with little reflections on little snippets of readings. It said that those who are poor in spirit understand their need for God and their need for others. If we were rich, we would be completely self-sufficient and be able to do everything on our own. But when we know our need for others and for God, we have the ability to call upon that and to extend past our weak selves into something greater. Hearing that from Jenny made me realize how much my pride gets in the way of reaching out to others, especially God, to help me with life. God wants only the best for us and to make us truly happy. That's where the kingdom of heaven comes in-- if I could learn to realize my own failings and weaknesses and how much greater God is and is able to help me, and if I could put away my pride, then I would be able to live in happiness and have heaven on earth. I pray that for all of the world today that we may recognize our own poverty, only to gain in the richness of trusting God.
One continuously recurring theme of this semester has been the importance of community. My friend and TTM sister, Jenny, knew I've been struggling with a little bit of depression and feelings of detachment since coming back to AU. In between Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, she showed me this booklet her mother gave her with little reflections on little snippets of readings. It said that those who are poor in spirit understand their need for God and their need for others. If we were rich, we would be completely self-sufficient and be able to do everything on our own. But when we know our need for others and for God, we have the ability to call upon that and to extend past our weak selves into something greater. Hearing that from Jenny made me realize how much my pride gets in the way of reaching out to others, especially God, to help me with life. God wants only the best for us and to make us truly happy. That's where the kingdom of heaven comes in-- if I could learn to realize my own failings and weaknesses and how much greater God is and is able to help me, and if I could put away my pride, then I would be able to live in happiness and have heaven on earth. I pray that for all of the world today that we may recognize our own poverty, only to gain in the richness of trusting God.
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