bundled up
the dog and I
sunset walk
the bitter cold
seeps through our layers
can't stop here!
Friday, March 3, 2006
Virtues and Vices for Lent
Since it is Lent, I thought I'd blog about the never-cheery but ever-pertenent subject of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Whitestone Journal has a lot of very good information about the Seven Deadly Sins and the virtues that oppose them.
Vice.............Virtue
(1)Pride..........Humility
Seeing ourselves as we are and not comparing ourselves to others is humility. Pride and vanity are competitive. If someone else's pride really bothers you, you have a lot of pride.
(2) Envy..........Love
"Love is patient, love is kind…" Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times.
(3) Wrath/Anger..........Kindness
Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others. Impatience with the faults of others is related to this.
(4) Sloth..........Zeal
Zeal is the energetic response of the heart to God's commands. The other sins work together to deaden the spiritual senses so we first become slow to respond to God and then drift completely into the sleep of complacency.
(5) Avarice/Greed..........Generosity
This is about more than money. Generosity means letting others get the credit or praise. It is giving without having expectations of the other person. Greed wants to get its "fair share" or a bit more.
(6)Gluttony..........Faith and Temperance
Temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and preserves this natural balance. This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods, and even the company of others.
(7)Lust..........Self control
Self control and self mastery prevent pleasure from killing the soul by suffocation. Legitimate pleasures are controlled in the same way an athlete's muscles are: for maximum efficiency without damage. Lust is the self-destructive drive for pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well, but they tend to go out of control.
This reminds me of something I once read: If something consistently bothers you about another person, pray for that person, and for yourself, practice the opposite virtue.
Vice.............Virtue
(1)Pride..........Humility
Seeing ourselves as we are and not comparing ourselves to others is humility. Pride and vanity are competitive. If someone else's pride really bothers you, you have a lot of pride.
(2) Envy..........Love
"Love is patient, love is kind…" Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times.
(3) Wrath/Anger..........Kindness
Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others. Impatience with the faults of others is related to this.
(4) Sloth..........Zeal
Zeal is the energetic response of the heart to God's commands. The other sins work together to deaden the spiritual senses so we first become slow to respond to God and then drift completely into the sleep of complacency.
(5) Avarice/Greed..........Generosity
This is about more than money. Generosity means letting others get the credit or praise. It is giving without having expectations of the other person. Greed wants to get its "fair share" or a bit more.
(6)Gluttony..........Faith and Temperance
Temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and preserves this natural balance. This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods, and even the company of others.
(7)Lust..........Self control
Self control and self mastery prevent pleasure from killing the soul by suffocation. Legitimate pleasures are controlled in the same way an athlete's muscles are: for maximum efficiency without damage. Lust is the self-destructive drive for pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well, but they tend to go out of control.
This reminds me of something I once read: If something consistently bothers you about another person, pray for that person, and for yourself, practice the opposite virtue.
Virtues and Vices for Lent
Since it is Lent, I thought I'd blog about the never-cheery but ever-pertenent subject of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Whitestone Journal has a lot of very good information about the Seven Deadly Sins and the virtues that oppose them.
Vice.............Virtue
(1)Pride..........Humility
Seeing ourselves as we are and not comparing ourselves to others is humility. Pride and vanity are competitive. If someone else's pride really bothers you, you have a lot of pride.
(2) Envy..........Love
"Love is patient, love is kind…" Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times.
(3) Wrath/Anger..........Kindness
Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others. Impatience with the faults of others is related to this.
(4) Sloth..........Zeal
Zeal is the energetic response of the heart to God's commands. The other sins work together to deaden the spiritual senses so we first become slow to respond to God and then drift completely into the sleep of complacency.
(5) Avarice/Greed..........Generosity
This is about more than money. Generosity means letting others get the credit or praise. It is giving without having expectations of the other person. Greed wants to get its "fair share" or a bit more.
(6)Gluttony..........Faith and Temperance
Temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and preserves this natural balance. This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods, and even the company of others.
(7)Lust..........Self control
Self control and self mastery prevent pleasure from killing the soul by suffocation. Legitimate pleasures are controlled in the same way an athlete's muscles are: for maximum efficiency without damage. Lust is the self-destructive drive for pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well, but they tend to go out of control.
This reminds me of something I once read: If something consistently bothers you about another person, pray for that person, and for yourself, practice the opposite virtue.
Vice.............Virtue
(1)Pride..........Humility
Seeing ourselves as we are and not comparing ourselves to others is humility. Pride and vanity are competitive. If someone else's pride really bothers you, you have a lot of pride.
(2) Envy..........Love
"Love is patient, love is kind…" Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times.
(3) Wrath/Anger..........Kindness
Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others. Impatience with the faults of others is related to this.
(4) Sloth..........Zeal
Zeal is the energetic response of the heart to God's commands. The other sins work together to deaden the spiritual senses so we first become slow to respond to God and then drift completely into the sleep of complacency.
(5) Avarice/Greed..........Generosity
This is about more than money. Generosity means letting others get the credit or praise. It is giving without having expectations of the other person. Greed wants to get its "fair share" or a bit more.
(6)Gluttony..........Faith and Temperance
Temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and preserves this natural balance. This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods, and even the company of others.
(7)Lust..........Self control
Self control and self mastery prevent pleasure from killing the soul by suffocation. Legitimate pleasures are controlled in the same way an athlete's muscles are: for maximum efficiency without damage. Lust is the self-destructive drive for pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well, but they tend to go out of control.
This reminds me of something I once read: If something consistently bothers you about another person, pray for that person, and for yourself, practice the opposite virtue.
Thursday, March 2, 2006
Spiritual Cross-training
Slate has a great article on Protestants rediscovering Catholic Spirituality in such things as Lent and the Ecumenical Rosary.
The article, Get Lent--Protestants do the sober season by Andrew Santella says that things like fasting, ashes, penance, the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday, and versions of the Rosary are increasingly finding their way into various Protestant denominations, mainly as a result of the increasing cross-migration of people between denominations.
It cites the practice in some Catholic parishes of holding hands during the Our Father, as well as the more "modern" pop music at many Masses as an influence from evangelical Protestantism.
It is good to see that spirituality which has been seen by so many as Catholic-and-therefore-wrong is beginning to be appreciated by our protestant brethren. Catholicism has a richness that even many cradle Catholics do not appreciate.
The article, Get Lent--Protestants do the sober season by Andrew Santella says that things like fasting, ashes, penance, the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday, and versions of the Rosary are increasingly finding their way into various Protestant denominations, mainly as a result of the increasing cross-migration of people between denominations.
It cites the practice in some Catholic parishes of holding hands during the Our Father, as well as the more "modern" pop music at many Masses as an influence from evangelical Protestantism.
It is good to see that spirituality which has been seen by so many as Catholic-and-therefore-wrong is beginning to be appreciated by our protestant brethren. Catholicism has a richness that even many cradle Catholics do not appreciate.
Spiritual Cross-training
Slate has a great article on Protestants rediscovering Catholic Spirituality in such things as Lent and the Ecumenical Rosary.
The article, Get Lent--Protestants do the sober season by Andrew Santella says that things like fasting, ashes, penance, the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday, and versions of the Rosary are increasingly finding their way into various Protestant denominations, mainly as a result of the increasing cross-migration of people between denominations.
It cites the practice in some Catholic parishes of holding hands during the Our Father, as well as the more "modern" pop music at many Masses as an influence from evangelical Protestantism.
It is good to see that spirituality which has been seen by so many as Catholic-and-therefore-wrong is beginning to be appreciated by our protestant brethren. Catholicism has a richness that even many cradle Catholics do not appreciate.
The article, Get Lent--Protestants do the sober season by Andrew Santella says that things like fasting, ashes, penance, the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday, and versions of the Rosary are increasingly finding their way into various Protestant denominations, mainly as a result of the increasing cross-migration of people between denominations.
It cites the practice in some Catholic parishes of holding hands during the Our Father, as well as the more "modern" pop music at many Masses as an influence from evangelical Protestantism.
It is good to see that spirituality which has been seen by so many as Catholic-and-therefore-wrong is beginning to be appreciated by our protestant brethren. Catholicism has a richness that even many cradle Catholics do not appreciate.
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Ashes
Yesterday on approaching the Most Blessed Sacrament, I felt myself burning and I had to withdraw. I am astounded that so many who receive Jesus are not reduced to ashes.
St. Gemma Galgani
Today is Ash Wednesday which begins the 40 day preparation for the holiest Christian feast--Easter. Catholics go to Mass and the priest makes a sign of the cross with blessed ashes made from burnt palms from the previous Palm Sunday on their foreheads. The priest then says,
Remember man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.
or,
Repent and believe in the Gospel.
We will all die and "turn to ashes." Therefore, we must look inward during this penitential season and repent of our sins before God.
Ashes have long been a symbol of penitence. In the Old Testament,
all the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord. (Jdt 4:11; see also 4:15 and 9:1).
Jesus mentions sackcloth and ashes as a sign of repentance as well.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. (Mt 11:21, Lk 10:13)
Our culture does not put much credence in such things as sin and repentance, or even death, although they are all around us. Well, humankind still sins and will die; Therefore, we all need the grace that repentance brings--perhaps now more than ever.
Lent is a reminder to us that we, as human beings, are not the be-all and the end-all of the universe. There is a Greater Good--much greater than we can ever conceive of. Let us turn to Him in our prayers daily during this Lent, asking for the grace to do His will.
Ashes
Yesterday on approaching the Most Blessed Sacrament, I felt myself burning and I had to withdraw. I am astounded that so many who receive Jesus are not reduced to ashes.
St. Gemma Galgani
Today is Ash Wednesday which begins the 40 day preparation for the holiest Christian feast--Easter. Catholics go to Mass and the priest makes a sign of the cross with blessed ashes made from burnt palms from the previous Palm Sunday on their foreheads. The priest then says,
Remember man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.
or,
Repent and believe in the Gospel.
We will all die and "turn to ashes." Therefore, we must look inward during this penitential season and repent of our sins before God.
Ashes have long been a symbol of penitence. In the Old Testament,
all the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord. (Jdt 4:11; see also 4:15 and 9:1).
Jesus mentions sackcloth and ashes as a sign of repentance as well.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. (Mt 11:21, Lk 10:13)
Our culture does not put much credence in such things as sin and repentance, or even death, although they are all around us. Well, humankind still sins and will die; Therefore, we all need the grace that repentance brings--perhaps now more than ever.
Lent is a reminder to us that we, as human beings, are not the be-all and the end-all of the universe. There is a Greater Good--much greater than we can ever conceive of. Let us turn to Him in our prayers daily during this Lent, asking for the grace to do His will.
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