The image on top is a religious icon that has been in Mona's family for generations.
The image on the bottom is just some weird thing I stumbled across on the internet that I thought looked familiar.
In both images my favorite thing is the way Jesus is grasping his mother's thumb.
"If one contends, as we do, that the right of every fetus to be born should be protected by civil law and supported by civil consensus, then our moral, political and economic responsibilities do not stop at the moment of birth. Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker. Such a 'quality of life' posture translates into specific political and economic positions on tax policy, employment generation, welfare policy, nutrition and feeding programs, and health care. Consistency means we cannot have it both ways. We cannot urge a compassionate society and vigorous public policy to protect the rights of the unborn and then argue that compassion and significant public programs on behalf of the needy undermine the moral fiber of the society or are beyond the proper scope of government responsibility." ~Cardinal Joseph Bernadin, from a lecture at Fordham University on December 6, 1983
I do not believe that life begins at conception; certainly independent, sentient life does not.
But it's especially galling when conservatives tear up at the thought of the poor little unborn babies, then build a wall to keep out the hungry, the fearful, the desperate. In those cases I think "pro-life" really means "pro-patriarchy"; the point is domination and control, not the preservation of life.
I do not believe Cardinal Bernadin falls into that category. I think he's genuine.
I can respect that, even though I disagree with him.
“When you have grown still on purpose while everything around you is asking for chaos, you will find the doors between every room of the interior castle thrown open, the path home to your true love unobstructed after all.” ~St. Teresa of Avila
She lived in the second half of the 1500s and thought the world was too chaotic. 😐
"For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come." ~Hebrews 13:14
Dorothy Day is said to have taken comfort in that quote when she got older and began to lose friends.
It reminded me of this song:
"Does God have a set way of prayer, a way that he expects each of us to follow? I doubt it. I believe some people-- lots of people-- pray through the witness of their lives, through the work they do, the friendships they have, the love they offer people and receive from people. Since when are words the only acceptable form of prayer?" ~Dorothy Day
"When someone steals another's clothes, we call him a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor. " ~Basil the Great
And that reminded me of this:
Matthew 25: 34-46
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
"Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved." ~Saint Seraphim of Sarov
Chris was caught in a transition in Catholicism between an old-church approach to faith and a newer way of thinking. The old view of spirituality was that life was like climbing a mountain. You have to fight onward and upward, climbing with your spiritual crampons until you reach the top – and that's perfection. You pass the trial and you pass the test and you get so many gold stars in your copybook. Then you come before the heavenly throne for judgment, and maybe you got a couple of indulgences in your back pocket in case your accounting was wrong.
But that kind of faith only gets a person so far. Your spiritual life isn't like climbing a mountain, waiting to find God at the top. It's a journey, full of highs and lows, and God is there with you every step of the way, in the here and now and in the hereafter.The first approach is really a whole lot of smoke and mirrors. It's only the second one that allows a person to grow, but that second view is hard for people to get a hold of unless they get in touch with themselves.
Chris didn't feel that he was worthy of God's love. He felt he had to prove himself. Well, you're never going to get very far in any relationship with that kind of belief. Imagine if you had to prove yourself to your spouse every single day; that's not the way love works. In all of our talks, that was the one thing I really tried to work with him on, adjusting to this different idea of faith, but he never really moved from one to the other. It's hard. It takes a long time to come around to that way of thinking, and Chris just ran out of time.
Catholic Approach To The Bible
Article 37
Sept. 15, 1982
ORDERS 5: THE WAY THINGS ARE
The priest is a man chosen from among men to offer sacrifice and to lead the People of God in the worship of the Lord. Of him, as of the apostles, it can be said: “You have not chosen Me-I have chosen you” (John 15:16). Jesus is the vine; all others are branches on that vine. Without Him, nothing happens; with Him, great things happen, especially in the inner depths where each of us meets God.
The spectacle of religion without a priest is relatively recent. After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., there was no further Jewish priesthood. The morning and evening sacrifices which had been offered there and there alone (Deuteronomy 12) for centuries, suddenly ceased. Synagogues became places for reading of the Law and the Prophets throughout the Diaspora, but these services were conducted without priests. Lay-organizations prayed together and studied the Sacred Writings together, and with the passage of item a set format developed.
Islam is the name peculiar to the religion founded by Mohammed (570-632 A.D.). It is fiercely monotheistic: Allah is the only God, and Mohammed is His prophet. Islam has no real clerical cast, no liturgy (other than prayer five times a day), no church organization, and no monasticism.
Just as the Jews have certain outstanding rabbis who enjoy great prestige (Maimonides, for example), the Moslems have their special interpeters of the Koran. Who has not heard of the Ayatollah Khomeini?
The Catholic Church’s relation and attitude toward all non-Christian religions was spelled out at the Second Vatican Council, in a marvelous document dated October 28, 1965. The scope of this document is much wider than the Jews; it includes also the Hindu religion, Buddhism, Islam, and all others. It recognizes the universal longing of all peoples to understand what life and death are all about, and what meaning is to be attached to life. The Catholic church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions, and seriously urges her children to work with them for mutual understanding through dialogue and collaboration in the areas of social justice, peace, human rights, (and) freedom. “Maintain good fellowship among the nations” we read (1 Peter 2:12), and as Paul advised, “Live in peace with all men” (Romans 12:18). “Be children of the Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:45).
Since the 15th century, most Protestant church services are conducted by ministers or pastors both male and female. Anglican and Lutherans and the Greek churches also have bishops and priests.
The Catholic religion is an organized religion, that is, it presents to the world a unified picture of divided responsibilities towards God and neighbors. The Pope is the Number One man; today he is John Paul II, a fearless crusader for Christ, a man forged in the crucible of Communism. As the gigantic machinery of the Vatican cannot be managed by any one man, the Pope is assisted by a “cabinet” of Cardinals. Cardinals are highly intelligent priests who have amply demonstrated their good judgment and organizational ability, and represent a cross-section of the whole Catholic world. Sometime they are ambassadors or papal nuncios, sometimes they are the head of archdioceses. Archbishops and bishops preside over and direct local provinces.
But it is through the parish priest who is so intimate a part of “grass-roots” Catholicism, that most people meet the church. He is called “Father” because that term describes his loving care a solicitude for his little flock.
Copyright © 1982, Richard T.A. Murphy, O.P.
