The world is passing away

Wow. I thought I was interpreting a passage from today's New Testament reading out of context ... but when I searched for the passage, I found it duplicated in another context that sums up exactly what I originally interpreted anyway! Probably most fundamental truths are like that - they are so pervasive that they cut straight thru context. Here's the passage from today's New Testament reading ...

... For the world in its present form is passing away.

Paul mentions this, almost in passing, in the middle of his advice to virgins - to remain as they are - anxious to please God and not worried about pleasing a spouse.

But, today's message - in all the readings and in Fr. Joe's homily - was, for me, to deny worldly things altogether. In the story of Jonah, the people of Nineveh repent by fasting and wearing sackcloth - they deny themselves even food and clothing. Paul admonishes the virgins in the Corinthian church to deny the "worldly" anxieties of marriage. Simon, Andrew, James, and John all leave their worldly lives to follow Jesus when he calls them.

So when I searched for the bit I remembered from 1 Corinthians - "the world is passing away" - I was surprised to find the top result is 1 John 2:17 ...

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Whoa. That's exactly the message I received from the 3 other "un-related" passages.

I think it sorta hit me strongly yesterday because I've been keeping myself busy - never good for spiritual growth. And a few times recently now, people have tried to engage me in some spiritual conversation and I've been unusually inarticulate and dumbfounded. I think I'm consuming myself with worldly things.

So, I'm going to (re-)commit to a few practices that will hopefully help me move my attention back towards God in the world, rather than the world itself. I'm going to resume my daily devotional - been slacking on it recently. I'm also going to start attending Wednesday morning Mass and pray the Rosary afterwords. And I'm going to continuously read something by C.S. Lewis - I think the exposure to his metaphors and analogies really help me relate spiritual Truth to this world, which is what I feel like I've been missing.

I've been too consumed with the passing of "this world" and I've been ignoring the presence of God within it.

organi[zation|sm]

Another regular-expression post title. This blog might also accidentally teach readers computer programming! hah!

I realized today that I've written some about my spiritual/emotional/whatever experiences, but haven't really mentioned some of the ordinary organizational stuff. Maybe today I'm just feeling guilty because I haven't actually been to an RCIA class for 4 weeks, though 3 of those weeks were simply because there weren't classes. Still, I pretty much skipped a class this last week without a very good reason. :(

Anyway, to join the Catholic Church in an official sense, adults typically go thru RCIA - Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. It's a series of weekly classes and some "extra-curricular" events for catechumens (un-baptized) and candidates (baptized Christians) to learn and experience the Christian - specifically Roman Catholic - faith. It's also possible (though I'm not sure how common it is) for a person to receive personal, individual catechism.

My official journey started Thursday, Nov 6th, when I met with Father Joe from Saint Benedict, and signed my paperwork to join the RCIA course there. Fr. Joe and Peggy, the RCIA coordinator, had told me that Saturday was going to be the official Rite of Welcome which would "seal-the-deal" for people seeking to enter full communion with the Catholic Church.

I remember standing in Peggy's office still feeling a little trepidation about it, but I knew this was where God was telling me to go and that making it official was one of those outward signs I had to make. So I signed on the dotted line, asked my sister-in-law Laura to sponsor me thru it all, and prepared for the Saturday retreat, which was awesome. I started going to the RCIA classes that next Tuesday.

My RCIA classes are every Tuesday night, from 7pm to 9pm. The format is generally opening prayer, then a review of Sunday's liturgy, small-group discussion of the review, then a lesson on a Catholic doctrine or topic, then a closing prayer service in the church sanctuary - my favorite part.

In addition to the Tuesday night classes, the RCIA candidates and catechumens are dismissed from Sunday liturgy after the Scripture readings and homily. We go to the chapel to discuss what was presented. Sometimes there's great provocative or profound conversation in there - right up there with Agora. Other times there's only a shallow interest and sparse discussion - which sometimes happens at Agora too. ;)

Another official/organizational aspect of the Church is Holy Days (holidays) - especially of the "obligatory" type. From the outside I thought of it as a way to guilt people into coming to church more often. From the inside, every single Holy Day Mass has really helped me appreciate the depth of the sacred mysteries. Just to spend that extra hour contemplating the Communion of Saints, or the Immaculate Conception ... really strikes home the wonder of God's interaction with us.

I think that's about as much of the organizational aspect of catechism that I've encountered so far. Each official event shows me more and more the overlap between the organizational and the mystical elements of the Church and of our Faith.

Epiphany

It's high-time for another blog post, but I need some inspiration, so I'm going to follow Terry's lead; he was also the first person who helped me find some of the rich meaning in Christian Tradition stretching back to the ancient church. Speaking of which ...

In the early church, it was a time when new converts were admitted to the church after a period of preparation.

This obviously resonates with me, as I will be admitted into full communion with the Roman church this coming Easter season. The Liturgical seasons of the Church is one of those things I never experienced as a Protestant, and the emphasis on them in the more Traditional church is really cool, in my opinion. I resolved to develop my faith in the Roman tradition right around the end of October, so Advent was my first season. I really got into the way all the Scriptures, homilies, daily readings and prayers revolved around preparing ourselves in anticipation of Christ.

Until this season of epiphany, and our first Sunday discussion of it, I had never really considered the flow of the Christmas story continuing out past the point of incarnation. But it does - the incarnation is just the beginning. Matthew's account of the magi's gifts symbolically point to Jesus's death, and also to his glory - celebrated during the Easter season. Even there is not the end; the Emerging movement does a great job in emphasizing our call to continually live the restorative mission of Jesus. I love what Terry said about it ...

... because in the Christian faith everything is present, here and now. Our Lord Jesus Christ is with us here and now, our inseparable Companion and Comforter. The historical event is just a motive and remembrance, because the Person of Christ is ever present ...

Kiva

This isn't particularly Catholic, except that maybe I'm beginning to understand our Christian obligations more. In any case, Kiva.org is a remarkable organization in at least a couple ways - they employ micro-finance principles to aid entrepreneurs in developing countries, and they make excellent use of online technology to do so. We highlighted them in my International Aid and Development class in college.

One of our good friends gave us a $25 gift certificate to Kiva and I think it's one of the best gifts we've ever received. I've admired Kiva for a while but have never spent the time or effort to get involved with it; this small amount is really inspiring me to do more.

UPDATE: Wow. When I picked Margaret (above), she had 0% of her requested loan. In the 1-2 hours it took to get this blog post up, she received 100% of it. Go Kiva! Go Margaret!

Mosteiro de São Bento de São Paulo

When I went to Brazil over Thanksgiving week, I was a little worried about what I would do for Mass, since I would be in São Paulo on Sunday. In my typical geek fashion, I though I'd just look up a parish near the hotel and go there.

Luckily for me, one of the other international speakers at the conference, Chris, and his wife Bernadine, had plans to go to Mosteiro de São Bento de São Paulo on Sunday morning. Bernadine said she had been raised Catholic but was not a practicing Catholic; they were going because they had heard the opening hymnals are quite a spectacle.

They were so right. I wish I had the courage to snap a photo or two, because the whole experience of sights, sounds, and smells felt overwhelmingly sacred. I don't understand any Portuguese (except enough to ask for the bathroom, etc.), but there was no denying the sincerity and passion of the Monks' praise and worship offerings to God.

This video does hardly any justice at all - in fact, I think it may be a different São Bento Monastery/Church than the one in São Paulo. But at least it represents the style of the sanctuary and of the music, though the quality is not good. :(



The experience really nailed home a virtue I've known of the Catholic Mass, but had never experienced before ...

I don't understand Portuguese, but I could follow the Mass and participate in it. I spoke the prayers in English while the rest of the congregation spoke them in Portuguese. The Sign of Peace cut straight thru our cultural and language barriers. And while I'm still not completely fluent in Mass even at home, this experience really helped to further personalize it all for me.

There's something MORE about Mary

Jeff made such a great comment on my previous post about Mary that I absolutely have to follow-up with another post. I had wanted to blog something about Joseph before Xmas, but we'll see. His comment deserves full repetition so here it is:

Yeah, I'm okay with my Catholic brothers and sisters believing in Mary's perfection. But for me, it screws with my head in terms of my acceptance God's grace. Do I have to be perfect first to be imputed with His grace?

For me, a mere mortal Mary gives me hope that I can "carry" Christ in an imperfect vessel albeit one filled with imputed grace.

And it doesn't diminish Mary's faith or sacrifice. In fact, what kind of faith does a flawless human need? I'm perhaps too simple. I only have room for one spotless One.

As for me, I am hopelessly flawed. I'm probably one of those vessels used for "ignoble purposes." (2 Tim. 2:20) Paul may have had me in mind when he made reference to such household items. For example, I think I rank along side the chamber pot. Useful but stinky most of the time.

You're so right!! Seriously, check this out ... the issue became much easier for me when I realized I was projecting my own hopelessly flawed vessel onto Mary. But here we've confused cause and effect ...

Mary was not perfect and then imputed with God's full grace - she is, from conception, imputed with God's full grace so that she can be perfect. Likewise, she is not flawless and searching for faith - she is flawless because the fullness of God's grace in her gave her perfect faith.

Personally, I find it inspiring and encouraging that there is a fellow creature with such capacity for God's grace and such total faithful submission to His will. Jesus was a fully spotless man (formed from this fully spotless woman), but Jesus was also fully God - something none of us creatures will ever experience. And creation has been replete with other variously-spotted saints with whom we can easily relate our flaws. In all of the world, Mary is the only mere mortal to be purely spotless.

That's why I'm starting to really revere Mary - she is, by God's design, a restoration of the un-cracked eikon, as perfect as any of us mere creatures can be; she is the second Eve. Not by her own merit, but by God's grace, with which she carried, firstly, Christ's merit into the world. And yet she's one of us on a very personal level. So much so that I can relate her to my own grandmother.

So now I indulge in the opportunity to ask this Blessed Woman to pray to her son for me.

Full -> Pure -> Immaculate

Yesterday was the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

I'll readily admit that the Marian doctrines are probably the largest mental hurdles for my developing Catholic faith. But the more I experience them, the more I find that the difficulties were largely of my own making. Last night's Mass centered on her Immaculate Conception - the 3rd of the 4 Marian Dogmas.

From the inside, it's hard to have any problem with what was revered last night. I think Deacon Yarbrough used a great metaphor - Mary, in her Immaculate Conception, was a blank slate, an empty cup; the only creature with the proper capacity to receive Christ's full merit. She was purposefully made by God as a perfect creature so that he could use her to send His Son to redeem all of His creation.

It made me think of my grandmother. I've jokingly referred to her as St. Daphne, but I now seriously and sincerely believe that she is indeed the person closest to Mary whom I will ever meet in this life; thinking about Daphne's devotion to God is overwhelming. I can't even imagine the kind of Godly life Mary must have lived to even surpass Daphne.

After all was said and done, I left with, surprisingly for me, a deeper praise for God's grace and Christ's merit, and an appreciation of how completely they were expressed and carried by the Holy Mother.

My grandmother constantly prays for me and for my entire family. So I have absolutely no more mental hurdles to clear in asking Mary to pray for us too.