Overprivatizations

I seem to think that the world revolves around me. I give humility a bad name. Somehow, I stay tightly focused on how things affect me and mine. Only rarely do I detach enough to transcend the temporal.

You folks may not have had this experience, but I have to work to stay out of self-pity some days. I think it's easier to do if I just run from those things that are either sinful or questionable. It's too easy to proclaim that "I can handle it". Then I take that long fall from the heights of my own ego.I really don't handle temptation well. To stand and negotiate with it is stupid. Example: Television. Gluttony.

I have no hope beyond Jesus and my relationship with Him. I can skip prayer. Never quite make it to confession. Bypass a Rosary. Skip Mass. Leave Mass early. Not be able to remember the last time I read Scripture. Bad mouth a priest. Complain about a tradition. And somehow pretend I'm Holy.

Or I can kneel broken by the idea that God loves me. And I have no idea why He does.

It's a whole lot easier to talk about how you should humble yourselves than it is for me to actually humble myself. But I have little grounds to criticize you until I get things right with the almighty.

Overgeneralizations

It is so easy to decide that everyone over fifty who forgets something is falling headlong into some variety of dementia. Now many have, some are, and several will be. But we must be careful of always generalizing others' situations. Mostly, we see ourselves and our situations as explainable and we see others as clinically significant.

Roughly, that translates into I'm OK, and You're not OK.

I'm reminded of all our politicians. We quickly justify the behaviors of all of those who happen to share the same opinion as we have on a specific issue. And just as quickly damn all those who have opinions we might not share.

For example, I tend to criticize everything that a politician says who is pro-abortion. I also tend to accept everything that a politician says who is pro-life. It has been brought to my attention that I might be wiser to read and study what each politician says about a specific issue. If a politician in my state is pro-abort, I will, vote against him (or her) in a general election for that very issue, but I might approve of him voting for a particular tax cut proposal.

I sometimes have chosen to contact such politicians and tell them how I approve of one of their positions but that my support does not go as far as wanting them to stay in office.

This is an effort to construct positions that are situationally specific. I could even imagine the existence of a President who was a phenomenal public speaker and apparently good father. Those are important characteristics for me. But I could imagine myself frightened about the continued existence of our country as a result of his actions.

An over-generalization would be to dislike everything he said or did or to like everything he said or did based on speaking skills or parenting style.

Prudence would be to respect the office the individual held and to develop opinions about the positions the official presented. And get him out of office as soon as possible.

As a Franciscan, I want to pray for my president or congressman. I want to love him with the love of God, but I don't want to agree with everything he does just because he is president.

Is there some similarity here when considering one's priest? How about husband? Supervisor at work? Bishop?

I'm not always certain how to do this without slipping into calumny or detraction. How do you do it?

pray 4 me

I literally just got caught with my hand in the candy sack. The shoe hasn't fallen, but I am in trouble. No place to hide.

Trust your day is going well,
------------


question=="Are you Dun Scotus?"
answer====="As much as I'll ever be".

I wonder what the title meant?

Cranky told me he posted the poem. He took it from Bob McCray. I don't get the title. I wonder if it's really about donuts?

It may be poetical,
but I think it's pathetical

THE SEARCH FOR NOUMENA IN FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY IN LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICA

Mounting sieges,
rescuing damsels,
and slaying dragons
as just part of another day's work,
her characters fought Borg to the death,
then ate a hearty breakfast.

My characters
slipped in and out of traffic,
looking to stop for gas,
and wondering where Borg bought spare parts.
She lived a life of withering self-discipline
while I pondered
whether she had
counted the donuts
before she went out to get the mail.
And if she hadn't,
could I get one out of the box and wrapper,
eat it,
swallow it,
throw away the wrapper,
and get my innocence going again before she returned?
And was it worth the risk of getting caught?

Probably.

WORD ON FIRE

Fr. Robert Barron preaches phenomenal homilies. I do his podcasts on iTunes. That got me 522 homilies to listen to.

So far, they all really speak to me. He don't come across as trying to impress me with his erudition, though it's considerable. He doesn't come across as trying to entertain, though he can do that. But he does come across as seriously wanting to lead me to the Father's House. To show me how I can live in sweet surrender. To show me the Lord loves me. And I can live in oneness with Him.

Listen to His Church. Hear It speak. Hold Hope Close. It's hard to listen to Fr. Barron regularly and not find ones self being a better Catholic. So far, I listen an hour less each evening of national news on how the world is collapsing.

I also am sleeping better.

While the testosterone types watch tv.

While Tommy watches some football game between two teams he's relatively clueless about, I t h ought I'd write something on his blog. I may have to do more of this because I'm way more interesting than he is.

The boy really doesn't have much of a life. He studies a lot, talks with Bob McCray about poetry a lot, whines about the absolute stupidity of most Washington politicians, and prays toward the Reagan Presidential Library a couple of times a day.

I could assimilate him as his resistance would be futile, but I think he would get boring.

Football games are grinding to a close. That will leave j ust basketball. Y ou know I could give up some tv and read more spiritual literature. For example, I could read Francis.

If I'm really interested in spiritual growth, that is. I find that Francis makes me think. He's like one of those monks in that Into Great Silence film. I mean, he and they are really serious about the Gospel. Really serious. He and Clare probably never went to lunch with each other after Mass. He spent time in the Scriptures rather than sneaking peeks at the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. And I wonder if there would have been a discussion about whether or not R rated movies were okay to watch.

I have another line of thought boring ol' Tommy would miss. It's the Women's beach volley ball team. Have you seen a game? I asked Tommy his opinion once. He blushed. But then I rented a Shania Twain video. I watched it three times before somebody told me it has music on it. Gave me something to repent. My oh my oh my!! That woman...that woman...that woman can sing.


RE: Formation

I suppose if people get serious with DEEP FORMATION if we will actually want to read the assignments for the meetings. Benedict XVI is easier to follow than JPII, but both men are among the smartest men who have ever been on Rome's side in quite a while.. I can get lost attempting to understand their subtleties. But then as a male, I am brain damaged.

Some told me that they didn't always read in the past didn't read what they are supposed to read. Surely not. I probably misunderstood. That doesn't sound like a Franciscan. That sounds like a Benedictine or a Trappist. Maybe a Domenican. Franciscans are too Hooooooly for that. Aren't we? Well, I know I'm hooly. Only my humility is further developed than my holiness.

Don't tell Tommy I wrote you all. He'll get his feelings hurt. "FEELINGS SMEELINGS" I get tired of him whining at times. I've decided to grow up some, right after he does.

Postponing maturity is a real art form. But I think I'm getting it down. How about you?

Cranky

2011 - Happy New Year

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.  What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1-5