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Showing posts with the label Truth

Humility: Accepting Reality

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A man trying to organize a men's choir said I had a fine voice. Given a choice, he asked, wouldn't someone prefer a beautiful voice to a powerful mind or athletic body? I agreed, but was a bit embarrassed: since I've got two out of the three. My wife's opined that if bad hips hadn't kept me from excelling at sports: I'd be insufferable. She's probably right. Self-Esteem Run Amok Since pride is a sin, is it wrong to be proud of my voice? Yes — and no. It depends on what sort of "pride" is involved. When "pride" is self-esteem run amok, it's one of the seven capital sins: along with avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866 ) Ancient Greeks called it hubris . It's a bad idea in stories, from " Oedipus Rex ," to Milton's " Paradise Lost " and Paul Ryder's " Cosmic Monsters ." Most of us don't get the sort of reality check

The Dead Files

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Someone was very adamant that I should watch "The Dead Files".  I will be honest, I used to have an interest in these types of shows, but not anymore.  My eyes have been opened, but eyes being opened to the truth do not good unless we speak that truth. ... .CLICK HERE FOR MORE!

Kapteyn b, Habitable Zones, and Using Our Brains

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Some scientists say that a star's habitable zone may be wider than we thought. Others found a planet that's only a few times more massive than Earth, nearby: and about 11,500,000,000 years old.... ...As I said two weeks ago, I don't think that we're alone in the universe: or that we are not alone. Right now, we don't know.... ...Using Our Brains Whatever, and perhaps whoever, we find: I'm not concerned that we will learn 'things which man was not supposed to know.' More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Science, Faith, and Leaving the 19th Century Behind

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(From Peter Kennett, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (M31, the Great Andromeda Galaxy, one of 54 galaxies in the Local Group , photographed in 2005.) Folks can see the Andromeda Galaxy from Earth's northern hemisphere: on a clear night with no moon, anyway. Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi gets credit for 'discovering' it: but I'm pretty sure that quite a few folks had seen it before he mentioned "A Little Cloud" in " Book of Fixed Stars, " somewhere around 964. Knowledge and Change In 1764, Charles Messier, another astronomer, put the galaxy in his catalog as a nebula: object M31. By the 19th century, astronomers realized that some light from the Andromeda "nebula" resembled light from stars. In 1925, Edwin Hubble used observations of Cepheid variable stars to demonstrate that the Andromeda Galaxy was another " island universe :" far outside our Milky Way Galaxy. Light from the Andromeda Galaxy passing Earth toda

Pope Francis' Beautiful New Prayer for Families

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On the Feast of the Holy Family, December 29, 2013, Pope Francis invited all Catholics to pray for families as the Church prepares for an Extraordinary Synod to examine the troubling disconnect between Church teaching and the reality of modern family life. In his  Angelus address  given to the crowds in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis recited for the first time his new Prayer to the Holy Family. (Full text available  here .) The prayer seeks the help of the Holy Family while at the same time revealing Pope Francis' vision of the family as it is and as it could be. It paints an ideal portrait of family life and yet acknowledges the severe difficulties faced by many. It concludes with a heart-felt petition for the renewal of the sacredness and inviolability of the family. Pope Francis' prayer is a short primer on the theology of the family and deserves careful contemplation. Let's see what he says. The Splendor of True Love Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we cont

An Arrow of Light Pierced Through the Lie

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An image which described my struggle to surrender control to God, was a wagon wheel suspended over a deep chasm. My large family of 10 stood on the rim of a wagon wheel,while I crouched on the hub,frantically turning this way and that,grabbing all the broken spokes,desperate to hold the crumbling structured together. I realized that I had to let go of this futile sense of responsibility and control but I was afraid to stop,afraid that one moment of inattention would cause my entire family to tumble down into the abyss. I was trapped. Yet, I realized that my tension prevented natural, organic growth and healing.My control acted like a wall, shutting out all divine intervention and grace.My sincere concern and earnest self-sacrifice actually magnified everyone’s brokenness by freezing everyone and everything. Suddenly an arrow of light pierced through my confusion.It was as if a sharp pin burst a huge, black balloon of deception.Suddenly the image was gone,like a mountain done

Letter to an Atheist Whom I Love

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The Way, The Truth and the Life. Dear ______ The reason I am writing you is because I hope that by my witness you would come to know the truth. My dear friend, I have experienced God personally.  If God is love for each of us individually, there will be no “evidence” or “proof” of that love, the love of God is a personal experience and when a soul experiences it, it is for that soul alone, not to be proven.   If God must “prove” his love, doesn't that cheapen it?  We have loved men in our life, how it would hurt us, if in loving someone they turn to us and say,  “Prove it!” .  No.  God provides no proof for what He gives a soul in love, because it IS love, the purest love of all.    There is no greater intimacy than the love of God that He pours out on a soul that He loves.  I have felt this love.  During prayer, I felt the love of God fill me to the brim.  I was given the knowledge that it was only a small part of the love He has for me, yet I knew that if he ga

Jacob and Esau contemplative homeschool unit

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I have been blogging lately about my method of contemplative homeschooling. Here is an example of a unit I did a few years ago with my boys on Jacob and Esau. The best way to start these units is for you (the parent) to meditate on the Scripture passage you will study with your kids. In this case, prayerfully read Genesis 25:29-24, 27:1-40. Since this passage is long, you could spread your meditation over 2-3 days or choose a smaller portion of the text to meditate on.  Identify the main elements or themes of the story that speak to you and use them as part of your studies. The themes I chose for this unit were twins, telling the truth, and comparing and contrasting. (I created this before I began starting each unit with my prayer time.) Narration: Read "Esau and Jacob" from The Golden Children's Bible aloud. If you have a different Bible, use only the parts of the story that correspond to the sections of Genesis noted above. Have your kids narr

3 reasons I love Catholicism: Truth, goodness, and beauty

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 Micaela at California to Korea is hosting a link-up called "3 Reasons I love Catholicism." You can submit your link all month. There are lots of good submissions, so check them out and join up. My reasons (in this post, anyway) are the triumvirate of truth, goodness, and beauty. I will show you how truth, goodness, and beauty are essential to the Contemplative Homeschool and to seeking God. Fr. Benedict Groeschel, in Spiritual Passages: The Psychology of Spiritual Development "for those who seek" , uses the categories of truth, beauty, goodness, and oneness in a similar way to learning styles or temperaments. They signify to him four ways of relating to God. We can use these categories to help ourselves and our students/children grow spiritually. Truth satisfies the intellect     The Catholic Church speaks the truth, no matter how few listen. She does not shy away from controversy. Countless Catholics have been martyrs for the truth. Unlike our relati