I'm psyched. Today I talked to two representatives of different businesses on the phone. One was named Betty. The other was named Gladys. Betty and Gladys. It could have been Betty and Veronica, and I could not have been any more thrilled. I imagined them standing in their kitchens with Olive green Linoleum floors and sparkly Formica counter tops -- one whipping up a batch of strawberry shortcake after putting up some rhubarb preserves, the other taking a break from a soap opera after putting a jello fruit salad in the fridge to set and a Velveeta-tuna macaroni casserole in the oven to bake. How cool is that!
Sexist? Get a life! Bake a cake or pie from scratch. Learn how to can something. It's way cooler than TV dinners, let alone those nefarious pop tarts, twinkies, ho-hos, moon pies, ding-dongs and zebra cakes whose first ingredient is always sugar --the dietary equivalent of crack cocaine. And if I can do it, so can you.
We have progressed?
ReplyDeleteR
Depends. Could be that I'm just getting old. As each generation matures, it complains about how things have degenerated. You see this even in Plato's writings.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, few people have sit-down family meals together anymore, and when they do eat, it's often prepared, processed foods. Few people -- men or women -- have the skills that Laura Ingalls Wilder describes in her books about the Midwestern frontier that would enable them to survive without a shopping center nearby.
Have we progressed? In many ways, yes: at least that's the sense that our contemporary conveniences -- computers, TVs, cell phones, SUV's, etc. -- give us. In many ways, no: we've forgotten many of the more important things about being human: taking time over dinner to really talk together as families, to write substantial letters to friends, to savor good reading and music and discuss them -- not to mention more mundane things like taking time to fix and repair clothes and other things....
I am blessed with a wife who values family dinners, and who happens to be an excellent cook. She doesn't turn off the soap opera (in part) because the television no longer receives signal. She's also far too busy doing something we call Homeschooling. I'm justly proud of the results, so far.
ReplyDeleteOh, and she takes the boys to serve at daily Mass.
Maybe you should start a thread on attributes in our wives which contribute to strong families, and which we appreciate (not well enough or often enough, but we try).
As to making progress, we seem to be intent, as a society, on progess in the same sense that the mudslide is evidence of the "progress" of the soil, or Louisiana is the "progress" of Katrina.
I think (and someone else can confirm, since it was in the NOR) that the University of Louvain, the once proud university of which Abp Fulton Sheen was a graduate, is now "reimagining" itself, to celebrate the smallness of the number of students studying there.
(Small, in this case, refers to numbers, not stature or mind capacity.)
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ReplyDeleteGod created Mary as the New Eve, without original sin through the merit of Christ preserving her by his passion on the cross, and through her obedience was born the savior of the world. The first Eve was disobedient along with Adam, the first man, hence the fall of man. Mary was the new creation predestined by God to bear the God-man Jesus the Christ. Mary believes that with God all things are possible and through her faith as the first disciple she is also the first
ReplyDeleteThe Garden of Gethsemane
to missionary to the world bringing the gospel, the good news, when she visits Elizabeth.
It should be obvious to us that Mary's Magnificat, her praise and thanksgiving to God, that God looked with favor on Mary and blessed her. Jesus Christ grew in wisdom and knowledge with a mother who loved from the depths of her being, especially those who were less fortunate and marginalized. It was with her example that Jesus experienced love for the weakest of humanity, especially children, and with this example through word and deed he preached and acted with favor to the least among us. Mary is the model of discipleship and missionary to all.
"And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; because he has looked upon the humiliation of his servant. Yes, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name, and his faithful love extends age after age to those who fear him. He has used the power of his arm, he has routed the arrogant of heart. He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty. He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his faithful love -according to the promise he made to our ancestors -- of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
Mary is the perfect symbol of the Church through her receiving the word of God in her womb. The Church also receives and proclaims the word of God in its very mission and is like a mother for believers who are born anew in Christ through baptism. The church is pure in faith as Mary is the virgin Mother of God. Mary
Following God / The Person Jesus Christ
is the model of virtue by her faith in God. She gave her life to God to become the Mother of God facing real threat from her community. If she was found to be pregnant out of wedlock may have meant for her to be stoned to death as a sinner, yet she humbled herself and submitted to God's will. She humbly accepted her calling from God denying herself and giving herself to God as total gift. Mary was a perfect sign of love and model for us to imitate.
Some may say that if Mary didn't have original or actual sin and was raised both body and soul to heaven then she must have been free of suffering. Without getting into a discourse here on sin first answer the question, what is suffering? All suffering is not merely physical pain. However, physical pain can definitely be associated with mental suffering. Did Mary suffer at the foot of the cross? I believe we should all be able to answer this with a resounding yes. If you love, give ones self as total gift to the other, for the sake of the other, through the loss of life of the beloved there is a deep sense of loss experienced by the lover that is suffering like no other. To those who would question if Mary suffered I would say, pray with all your might that you don't experience this type of suffering and if you do, remember the hope and pray, that you will one day be relieved and in company with your beloved in eternity. Mary is our model of strength and virtue.
God bless,
R
Well-written, Pertinacious Papist, I completely agree. In honor of the blessed Mother of God, remembering August 15th, I thought of sharing with you an excerpt from an unfinished book I'm writing. I hope it does justice to Mary it is my intention.
ReplyDeleteThe life of Jesus Christ is a witness to God's love for us all. While he was with us he shared his life by word and deed enlightening us of the one true merciful and loving God. He also gave us the command to love others as he loves us. He broke bread with his disciples and told them to remember him in the breaking of bread, because he is the bread of life and whoever eats his body and drinks his blood shall have eternal life. In hearing these words many left him and Jesus asked the twelve disciples who were still with him if they would leave. Simon Peter answered Jesus,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."
To be a disciple of Jesus Christ you must believe in him and to believe in him you must know at least some things about who he is. You must be willing to say yes to God. The next question should then be obvious. How do I follow Jesus Christ? To answer this question would be to look at what Jesus said he would require of his followers and also look at his disciples and how they followed him. Who were the first ones to follow Jesus? The answer might not be so obvious. When we read the gospel it appears the first were Simon Peter and his brother Andrew,
"As he was walking by the Lake of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast into the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Come after me and I will make you fishers of
Following God / The Person Jesus Christ
people.' And at once they left their nets and followed him."
However if we backup a bit we can read about the first true and perfect disciple in the gospel of Luke, Mary, Mother of God is the first true and perfect disciple. It was by her fiat, her yes to God, "let it happen to me" and her belief in the one who is to come as the savior of the world, Jesus the Christ. Mary listened to the word of God and believed. Mary is the first true and perfect disciple.
"Mary said, 'You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.' And the angel left her." "Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled."
Sorry, two posts are necessary.
But I like ho-hos.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just my color monitor, but that looks like "Avocado green" from the 1970s in the background to me??
ReplyDeleteColors that I remember from the 1950s were more likely to have been Cherry Red, Egg Yolk Yellow of Flag Blue...
Agree, the green reminds me of the toothpaste green as offered to most little kiddies of the 1970s at school where the decor was largely gratis the US military surplus in barrels of paint. Ohhh, I can still smell it. Memories...
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, "Avocado"! I stand corrected. Have you noticed that once we move beyond the primary color group, everything turns into edible names: "avacado," "olive," "peach," etc.? I was never as good with the nuances of color as I pride myself on being with the nuances of beer. Oh, well.
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