INSPIRATION FROM SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

 

Saint John Chrysostom

I have a lovely little red leather bound prayer book that I bought while attending a Ruthenian Byzantine Church, and I haven't looked at it once since I stopped attending that parish, and I wonder why, because it is precious, as in valuable. There are a number of carefully curated prayers, lists of holy things, simple instructions about how to do the different styles of fasting and abstinence, beautiful prayers to our Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos - all sorts of uplifting, and sometimes challenging offerings. I have decided to put it in my stack of favorite books - the books to which I refer daily. It just took me some time to get around to it. It was waiting for me. Kind of like God, I suppose, who waits for us to reach for Him.

While I was perusing it and admiring the beautiful gold-trimmed edges of each page, I found this comment on 2 Corinthians:

"Let no one then, even those who are come to the most
extreme wickedness, despair of himself. For even if you
have passed into the habit, yes and almost into the 
nature of wickedness itself, be not afraid...For he did
not simply say that He would wash us, but that He
would make us 'white as snow and as wool,' in order to
hold out good hopes before us. Great then is the power
of repentance, at least if it makes us as snow, and
whitens us as wool, even if sin has first gotten
possession and dyed out souls. Let us labor earnestly
then to become clean; He has enjoined nothing
burdensome."

I really love this quote because I often feel that I am one step behind everything that requires doing - especially during LENT. The physical pain and my newly acquired ungainly hobble frustrate me so that it is difficult, at times, to stay serene at prayer time. There are occasions when I feel an urgency to get it done NOW because I must put up my feet or I will collapse. It's frustrating, this tension that gets generated so easily. And then I wonder if the way I carry out my daily prayer schedule is as disappointing to Him as it is to me.

But then I read a short reminder like this one and I can breathe a sigh of happy relief because I am re-established in His Truth that He loves us and is not unduly testing us. Like the delighted Father that encourages the baby to walk to Him in its first steps on chubby little baby legs, He is not going to let us fall when we are struggling so earnestly to reach Him! Thank you, Lord, for giving us Saint John Chrysostom and the other holy ones who stand on the sidelines, urging us forward.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose

P.S. As some of you are aware, I am disabled, without family, and in three months, I will be 69 years old.  Social Security is about half of what I need to live, and every year I get further behind while the disabilities increase in number and severity. The car is a junk heap. Credit cards have piled up in a frustrating cycle of robbing Peter to pay Paul. For the last 20 years I have been unable to work (though I have tried various things and continue to slave over the novel and poetries.) Please consider donating to my paypal, above-right, or sending a little food from my Amazon wish list, below.  They have my address and can mail to me directly.

Just click HERE FOR FOOD DONATION

BUYER BEWARE - OR NOT?

Jesus Driving Out the Money Lenders From the Church

Quentin Massys

Even though I have been swindled, lied to, cheated and defrauded many times in my life, I cannot seem to effectively shield myself from being put on the losing end of nearly every business relationship. I should be a bitter and suspicious old lady, but instead I am still poised to give people the benefit of the doubt and to be trusting until someone gives me reason to be otherwise. I have tried to change this about myself, with no success, so far.

The Eye of the Needle Gate in Jerusalem

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of

a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God." 

~ Mark 10:25 ~

Those with the power (the money) in any situation are always the winners here on earth. I say this from the vantage point of a disabled, disadvantaged person for whom the arc of civilization bends toward barbarism, (apologies to dear Martin Luther King Jr. for bastardizing his beautiful quote.)

This week, I was defrauded by a furniture salesman and, after being bamboozled, I did some deeper digging on the internet and found something very interesting. The 'bad' reviews on Google, Yelp and other sites were primarily written by people who'd experienced the very thing I had! They were low income people who responded to the promise of easy financing, only to be switched to a 100% interest rate lease instead!

The "good" reviews for that outfit were mostly written by people who paid cash.

Isn't that always the way? If your life circumstances are good and you have some money to spend, merchants will fall all over themselves to serve you. If you're a disabled old lady on low income, and can least afford high priced items, disreputable merchants will take advantage of your disabilities and the needs that result from them and will try to make EXTRA money off of your misery. It really IS reprehensible.

Bactrian Camels in the Snow

The only thing that mollifies me somewhat is knowing that I am in good company. Many of the saints were not suspicious enough of other people to be truly adept at business. In fact, yesterday's saint of the day, Gregory of Nyssa, was said to be "easy-going, tactless, and inefficient in monetary matters" and he was cheated and deceived to the point that Demosthenes accused him of stealing church property and had him imprisoned! Somehow, the innocent party in business is usually the one who loses his shirt, so to speak.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa

Granted, Saint Gregory was not a saint because he was lousy at business, but sometimes the spiritual inclination of a soul will certainly present itself in this manner.

I am also reminded of Saint Therese of Lisieux, who found joy in thinking well of others.

"Nothing is sweeter than to think well of others."

~ Saint Therese of Lisieux ~

I have also noticed that suspicious attitudes toward other persons are very often lessened during those times when I am praying the most, such as now, during Lent, when the soul hovers more closely to the Lord through his suffering. Thus, there is something about my prayer life that is not serving me well in my negotiations through the day-to-day logistics of life on this planet.

It is not clear to me what I am supposed to glean from this state of affairs. Do I deliberately develop a more calculating and suspicious world view?

Or, do I do the more challenging thing? Do I stop trying to address the needs of my broken down old body, reduce my possessions (as recommended by our Lord) and follow Him without sleep or comforts for the pain-wracked old carcass which I blame for my inability to devote myself more forcefully to spiritual disciplines?

When I figure it out, I will let you know.

In the meantime, God bless us all.

Silver Rose Parnell

What are you doing for Lent?

I have cut back on writing this blog, so that I have more time for the book, but I will write a little something every now and then when I feel particularly inspired or I want to touch base with you.

What are you doing for Lent? Many people I know are doing some thoughtful and creative Lenten disciplines. I find it inspiring to hear about the different methods that some are adopting in order to get closer to the Lord.

Those of us over the age of 59, and others who are ill, are not required to adhere to the acetic discipline of fasting from types of food. Personally, I do tighten my diet during this time and, at the least, stay very mindful about how much and how often I am eating. The participation of the mind AND the body are an important aspect of the spiritual self-governance that we practice as religious people because, contrary to the beliefs of many in the Western world, we are not spirits stuck inside a skin sack. That is heresy. Human beings are both body and soul, therefore the physical acts we commit are every bit as important at the spiritual drills. One of the hosts of a Catholic radio program I heard today emphasized the necessity of including at least some physical mortification in our Lenten routine.

I find it interesting that most religious traditions in the world have some concept of the need for physical self-denial, to one extent or another. Evidently, this practice is basic to the life of the soul. The Hindu-based Vedanta monastics, with whom I spent a few years, are much more keenly aware of the need for this sort of discipline than the Catholics I know. In India, there are a lot of independent sadhus on the road to enlightenment, and we would be hard pressed to live as they do, many of whom beg every meal from the side of the road, wear little more than a loin cloth, and never see a doctor or a shopping mall.

This year, I am going mostly vegetarian, with the occasional anchovy or canned kipper for the sake of the omega III's. I try to treat food as medicine as a general rule anyway, for the spiritual benefit as well as the physical. My little nods in the direction of asceticism are really just tokens, since my body is already forcing a great deal of discomfort upon me every hour of every day.

Other practices include a more purposeful application of disciplines I try to do throughout the year anyway. "Fasting" from impatience is one of those practices that is a challenge for me. Deliberately practicing kindness to as many people every day as possible is a bit easier.

Keeping quiet about the particular things I may do out of the practice of kindness is absolutely required. My efforts to restrain myself from snapping at the stupid and the lazy are not exactly a credit to me, as I would hope that, by this age, I would have gotten a handle on that by now. So let's none of us get too chatty with our little "inspiring" stories about how practicing kindness has made us so great. We're just trying to catch up to where we SHOULD be already established, dontcha think?

Sometimes it is all I can do to smile at the rude and disinterested customer service person whose job it is to help me but who clearly has no interest in doing so. "Breathe and smile," I remind myself. Breathe and smile.

After I breathe and smile, which is fairly passive, I gift the person with a kind or friendly few words, even if my smile has disgusted them, which it appears to do, half the time. The rude and stupid are often fairly immune to kindness for some reason. It's not my job to understand it. I just breathe and smile.

Often I am not successful in maintaining this kind disposition of soul, and I walk away grumbling (or worse.) Lent is my opportunity to get a better grip on this sort of interaction with my fellow human beings and to end up with fewer episodes of snappishness than I would typically have at the end of each day. It is amazing how hard won are these few and paltry accomplishments.

In any case, I am interested in the sort of fasting that each of you has decided to practice during this time and I hope you will gift us all with a discussion of your methods and their intended outcomes in the comments below.

God bless us all!

Silver Rose

SAINT OLGA AND SECOND CHANCES

Jesus is the Lord of second chances, and third chances and on and on and forever. The most unlikely people have become saints - not because they never did anything wrong, but because they repented and intentionally moved toward the Lord. My 34th great grandmother, for instance, is a stark example.

Saint Olga, "Equal to the Apostles"

879-969

My 34th great grandmother

Saint Olga (called "Equal to the Apostles" by the Orthodox Church) killed an entire ethnic minority of people in her land, in retaliation for their having killed her husband. She was devious and deliberate, and murdered them all. The same force, intention and will that was brought to bear on those awful deeds, was later directed to God and carried her to sainthood.

We can redirect our energies to that which is all good, and join the Lord, or we can direct them to that which is evil and go elsewhere. If we walk toward Him, Jesus opens the gates for us. If we deliberately choose evil, thinking that God will forgive us for doing so, we will be on another road, going to that other place, and, even though Jesus is standing at the gates, waiting for us, we will not be there. We have taken another road.

Indeed, Jesus even comes out onto the road to meet us, if we have chosen Him by doing His will. He and God the Father reside with us, when we demonstrate our love by 'keeping his word, i.e., obeying His commandments.

Jesus answered him, 'if anyone love me, he will keep

my word, and my father will love him, and we will

come to him and make our abode with him'

~ John 14:23 ~

All the major religious traditions are concerned with methods by which we may join the good and leave evil behind. This is a highly simplistic rendering, but true nonetheless.

Goodness is inclusive and generous, warm and embracing. Even if a person does not know Jesus but embraces goodness, he is already part of the body of Christ by doing so. The Catholic Church recognizes that God is goodness, itself, and welcomes that goodness in persons.

Some people, ignorant of the heart of the faith, choose the Good and travel the road toward God, keeping the commandments without knowing they are doing so, and find themselves being met by Christ and His Father on the road. Many have gotten a wonderful surprise after death, I would guess! Thus, there is no salvation outside of The Church, but The Church is an awful lot bigger than most people realize.

I once knew a woman who became enraged when I explained this doctrine of The Catholic Church. In the middle of a restaurant, she stood up and shrieked at me, "There is no salvation without Christ!" I tried to explain to her that she was right, but not in the way she believed she was right. Her legalism would exclude many good people who, through no fault of their own, did not know Christ but lived a life in keeping with Christ's commandments. She wasn't having any of it. She belonged to a legalistic, narrow church with a poor understanding of Christian theology.

The fact is that no one will ever be "good enough" to deserve Jesus, and, once you start inventing reasons to exclude people from heaven, there is no end to it.

"Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel

of Christ or his Church but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere

heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will and

they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may

achieve eternal salvation."

~ The Catechism of the Catholic Church~

The most important thing seems to be that we try to do His will. We will fail, of course, some of us many times, over and over again, but our Lord is the Lord of second chances, the Lord of Divine Love. He sees our hearts and knows our intentions.

The thing to examine during this time of Lent is whether or not we really ARE trying to do His will. Are we being obedient to everything, or have we rejected certain teachings because we don't agree with them? In this case, we have to ask ourselves why we think we are a better authority on the teachings of Jesus than His Church. What are our bona fides, our credentials? If we are honest with ourselves, we aren't the experts.

Our Lord is the Lord of second chances. Lent is the chance to take advantage of it. I pray you all make good use of it, and ask you to pray for me, as I pray for you.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose Parnell
(c) copyright 2018
All rights reserved.

CONTROL FREAK

My Command Post - 2018

When you are young and energetic, and you have time on your side, options and possibilities are seemingly endless. There are so many conceivable life tracks and end results that it resembles a good science fiction novel. Only the Divine Writer knows the end of your story.

At the end of your life, however, very little is under one's control. Mastery has flowed through your fingers, when once it was held solidly in your palm.

When you are 63, and you are going blind in an excruciatingly slow manner, your screaming bones won't take you further than a block or two from your car, and your relatives have stolen your inheritance, leaving you a pauper, options, life tracks and end results are frustratingly limited.

EXCEPT, when one is talking about the spiritual realm. THEN, the options are very big indeed. The picture is broad, expansive, fabulously transcendent. No matter how much suffering one endures on this earth, no matter how low people force you down the totem pole of estimation, no matter if you are so discounted that even Walmart wouldn't take you, Heaven is waiting for you on the other side - provided, of course, that you have not succumbed to the temptation for evil that Satan places before you at every opportunity he can find.

That woman who stole your husband? Do you wish that disaster befall her? Say goodbye to heaven. All those little lies you told because you have decided they do not matter? Say goodbye to heaven.
The overdose of sleeping pills you gave to your demented old relative because you are just sure that "he would not want to live like that." Say goodbye to heaven.

Say goodbye to heaven if you lie, cheat, steal, give false witness, commit adultery, or gossip with the girls over drinks at brunch, without remorse and without confession and absolution. Say goodbye to the Pearly Gates.

It is Lent, people. Time to repent, confess, and be shriven - or the end of your life won't be something to look forward to.

Amen.

Silver Rose Parnell

SIMPLIFY FOR LENT

The Resurrection of Christ

by

Pietro Perugino

The season of Lent presents us with a perfect opportunity to examine our lives and do a course correction in whatever way is needed. There ARE specific rules about fasting and abstinence from meat during Lent for Latin Catholics, of course, but this is a bare minimum requirement that establishes a foundation for a more comprehensive program, in a well developed spiritual life.

"On the Fridays of Lent, we remember the sacrifice of Christ...

and unite ourselves with that sacrifice through

abstinence and prayer."

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

We have all heard about the fasting and abstinence required of Latin Catholics in the 48 days or so that lead up to Easter. There are limits to its usefulness for the sick, the elderly and the poor, for various reasons, which I'll enumerate below, but first I would like to talk about keeping the spirit of the Lenten season.

Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemene

When you live as a solitary, accidental or otherwise, the ways in which one is NOT wholly in tune with God on a regular basis is fairly obvious to the intellect of those who are honest with themselves.

All I have to do is look around my apartment to see what is standing in the way of a more robust prayer life, and a more continual meditative mood. I have too much stuff, and I bet you do too! When you have STUFF, you have to maintain it, clean it and store it. Occasionally, you use it, but do you use everything that you have?

Every few years, I really need to do a major overhaul when I find myself moving STUFF from one spot to another and obsessing over storage needs. I have developed a program of simplification to address it.

The process is (1) eliminate (2) organize/store; and (3) Allot the extra time you've saved to prayer and meditation time.

Jesus knocking at the door of your heart

Areas of clutterbug infestation include:

Clothing and shoes
Somehow, I accumulated a lot of clothes. Now, almost none of them fit because I've lost quite a bit of weight. Boxing them up and giving them away is a blessed relief. I am going to return to wearing a monastic uniform, of sorts - not an obvious habit, mind you, but I will simply return to wearing only the gerua color peculiar to the vows I took many years ago that set me on the path of devotion to God alone. (Gerua is a range of peach to orange or orange-brown that Hindu and Buddhist swamis wear and which was worn by Father Bede Griffiths after he established his Catholic ashram in India.)

I have created a pattern for a long dress that I like to wear, and I will get some fabric and make a few for myself.

Me - on the day I took my religious vows

Many years ago and many pounds ago!

What happens when you limit the number of colors that you wear is that, first of all, matching your tops and skirts becomes easy. Fewer clothes are needed. All you have to do is figure out how many changes of clothing you need between wash days, and get rid of the extra stuff.

If you can't bear the idea of just wearing one color, pick 2 or 3 colors that appeal to you and do not keep anything that is not in that color range. The colors you choose should be complementary with one another, so that you can mix and match, if you so choose. You won't waste time trying to find a blouse that matches the skirt you want to wear that day because all your clothes "go" with one another.

A current picture

After getting rid of the excess clothes and shoes, I would cast an eye over the rest of the laundry and see if there is anything you are not using. How many sets of bedding do you have? Do you have extra towels you never use? Is there a pile of laundry in the hamper or on the floor that has been there for more than a month? If the answer is "yes," then you don't really need anything that is in that pile. Give it or throw it away.

Jewelry
You can only wear so many pieces of jewelry at one time. Keep the family heirlooms (or pass them on to your progeny NOW, if they're old enough), pick a few things you wear all the time. Give away what has no resale value, then take your silver and your gold to a local company that buys and sells precious metals by weight. You can find them in the yellow pages. Whatever they give you goes into the donation box or your parish envelope (in addition to what you customarily give.) Giving alms is another valuable Lenten tradition.

Jesus feeding the 5,000

Gifts
Things that others have given me sometimes clutter the house. I have felt obligated to keep them, out of loyalty to my generous friends but, on the other hand, if I am not using them and they are just occupying space and gathering dust, isn't there another person who may have need of these items? Several mugs are going into a box with some other housewares. Do you have a lot of knick knacks you've kept for sentimental reasons? Perhaps someone else in the family would like to store them for you? If the rest of your family won't scream, you could even donate them to the Salvation Army or a similar group, as I am doing.

Housewares
Take a look through your supply of china and housewares that are meant for use with visitors. How many visitors do you typically entertain? How often? How many sets of dishes do you really need? Keep what you like and use. Donate the rest. Do you ever use that waffle iron? What about the griddle? The bread maker? Be realistic about what you will use and what will continue to gather dust.

Mental Baggage
As usual, I have "buried the lead." Getting rid of mental baggage may be the most important Lenten practice that I do. I renew my vows of forgiveness to all those who have hurt me. Mind you, when I do that, it is considerable. I have been violated in every way imaginable during my life. Relatives have stolen from me, lied about me and abused me. A husband has abused and tortured and tried to kill me. Even nuns in the Hindu convent spread mean, untrue stories about me. Worst of all, I was gang raped at 14. I have experienced a lot. It is no wonder that forgiveness is an ongoing process that I have to decide to do every day.

Jesus crucified

When you are cleaning house and eliminating things you do not need, things that are occupying your mind when it could better be spent praying and meditating, remember to put down the heavy burdens of resentment and grudges because holding a grudge is like "drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die."

Jesus endured far worse, yet he forgave all.

Try to see all the sins committed against you as an education that enables you to put yourself in the shoes of other sufferers and to feel the most compassion a human can feel. The greater the assaults against you, the kinder a person you have the chance to become. Don't waste the opportunity!

After you have completed the elimination of all unnecessary items in your mental space and your personal living space, it is time to address the subject of storage.

Storage
Throwing a pile of junk into a box and sticking it in the garage does not qualify as proper "storage" because it is unusable. It will simply sit there, waiting for you to handle it the next time Lent rolls around. You haven't simplified your life when you do this. You've just hidden the evidence of chaos.

This part of the process may cost you money or some physical effort, or both. Modern people do have to keep some things. At the very end of the process of elimination, you should be left with considerably less STUFF than that with which you started. Now, it needs to be stored in a manner in which it is able to be used.

I have a particular problem with filing papers. I never get around to it. If you are like me, I recommend having your bills converted into electronic copies that get stored in the internet cloud somewhere. You can't do that with valuable documents, of course. You'll need to save actual car titles, receipts and warranties and things of that nature. In fact, you may have to copy them to the cloud, but whatever bills can be converted to an electronic format, I recommend you do that.

Every person's STUFF is peculiarly their own, and I can't really say what will work for you. Because I am disabled and mobility challenged, I do not get out very often to do any shopping, but I have great luck on Amazon, which delivers even furniture. If you pay careful attention to the reviews for each item, you probably won't have to return very many things, if any at all. You can look up "office furniture" or "storage." It even accommodates an individual sense of style. Look up "shabby chic" or "French Provincial," and you'll see what I mean.

"A place for everything, and everything in its place" is a cliche for a reason. It WORKS.

Once you have finished the simplification process, and everything is in its place, you'll find yourself with a lot more time on your hands because you won't be juggling STUFF to the degree you were before. Not only that, but the tidiness of your living space may also inspire you and have an edifying affect on your mood! Lenten prayers and meditation may be more fruitful.

Christ's descent into Hades

At the same time that you are working on the simplification program, Latin Catholics have obligations to fulfill with regard to abstinence and fasting.


Here are the basic rules:

(1) Abstinence is the refraining of eating meat of any kind, except for fish. It is required of everyone of any age on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and every Friday during Lent.

(2) Fasting is required for Latin Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. During the fast:

"a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two

smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal."

~ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ~

[Read about the Lenten fast in detail HERE]

(3) Sundays, since they are days of celebration and feasting, are not included in Lenten acetic practices, but individuals may choose to include those days, if they wish.

Exceptions are made for illness

The Church appears to presume a middle class existence when it makes some rules, which is odd, because there are more than 40 million poor people in our country today. Poor people are often not in control of the type of food that is available to them on any given day, and their lives are a continual exercise of privation when it comes to food. Abstaining from meat, since it is a very expensive dietary component, is often something one is forced to do all the time, unless one is willing to eat the dreadful meat mockeries that are sold through various drive-through restaurants.

"Substituting" meat with fish is also nonsensical for some, since it is considered even more luxurious than meat and is more expensive, even in the drive-through restaurants. You can get a small hamburger for as little as a dollar, but fish sandwiches are rarely as inexpensive as that. Habitual poverty turns these fasting rules upside down.

Trout

by Silver S. Parnell

Many of us, in addition, are continually dieting as a means of weight control. Ever since I was a child, I have had a terrible time keeping my weight down. Seemingly, when I am not looking, it balloons up and I have to take hold of the situation and push the pounds back down the scale.  I have managed to take off about half of my excess weight over the years. This continual diet constitutes a perennial fast, and it makes no sense to pretend that abstinence and fasting are a special, added penance.

Poor people eating at a shelter

I am poor because I am chronically ill and unable to work, so my lack of participation is officially excused, but I hope the other 40 million poor people realize that The Church is compassionate and won't fault them for being unable to follow Lenten prescriptions to the letter.

If you are able to adhere to the letter AND the spirit of the law, I say, "do it!" If not, just remember that the point of Lent is to participate in the sacrifice of Christ through some variety of penances during the time leading up to Easter, when our Lord rose from the grave in glory.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose Parnell
(c) 2018 Copyright
All rights reserved.

MEDITATION FOR LENT - THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

Carmelite nun, praying in her cell

When I was young and writing for television, I used to see a lot of movies. It was part of the job to stay abreast of what was being made, and it was a good method of keeping the writing chops honed. I used to love French films because they didn't usually have a convenient sweet ending that tied up all the loose ends. The boy didn't always get the girl. The business venture did not always work out. Sometimes the hero ended up poor and disheveled at the fag end of his life. Most of the actors and actresses also looked like real people, rather than genetic marvels. The films were, in my estimation, more real, more authentic, than American films and television.

For the most part, we have a formula for American films in which there is usually a feel good "happy ending." There are a few remarkable exceptions to this rule, such as THELMA AND LOUISE and GRAN TORINO, both of which are examples of really fine films that have a considerable edge to them. Even at that, however, the protagonists in both these films "win" in the end, leaving us with a  satisfying feeling, albeit tinged with a bit of sadness. Bittersweet.

The American formula for films and television reflects the American ideal of the "right" to pursue happiness. It is what our country was founded upon. While happiness is a good thing, it is a pathetic goal, when you think about it. There is nothing grand in it. On the face of it, it is a narcissistic goal, but it is a goal that many people I've encountered in life have swallowed.

When I was in the Hindu convent, the purpose of life was to get oneself to a state of "realization of God." Taking anyone else along with you wasn't a focus and, although the occasional feeding of the poor was practiced, the goal was a solitary one. It was selfish at its heart, and this is what disenchanted me about the Vedanta philosophy, in the end.

A Mormon relative once said to me that "the purpose of life is to have as many fun experiences as possible," to which I replied that the purpose of life is get yourself, your family and your neighbor to heaven. It just popped out of my mouth, but I now realize that this is the profound difference between Catholicism and many other religions and philosophies.

The Catholic faith is like those French films I enjoyed when young. It is real. It is authentic. It doesn't promote the rainbows and bubble gum Jesus to whom so many people cling. It doesn't promise a happy life or wealth or "prosperity" because Jesus didn't promise those things. He promised the cross and the sword. Later, we enjoy the bliss of living with our heavenly father for eternity, provided that we follow his commandments, especially the two that he most emphasized.

"Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy

God, with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and

with all thy mind. This is the first and great

commandment. And the second is like unto it,

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On

these two commandments hang all the law and

the prophets."

~ Matthew 22:37-40 ~

These greatest of commandments points away from oneself and toward God and neighbor, going so far as to decree that we love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. In an era when conservative Catholics are promoting the idea that we all have the right to pursue success but the poor do not have the right to live as well as others, it is clear that we have lost our way, but what can I do about that, aside from mentioning it in my blog?

My meditation for this Lent will concentrate on what Jesus said are the two most important commandments. I plan to put this scripture passage before my eyes every day during the lectio divina portion of my prayers, and I will endeavor to listen to what the Lord has to say to me about these greatest of all commandments and how I may better practice them in my life.

What will YOU do for lent?

Silver Rose Parnell
Copyright (c) 2017
All rights reserved.

CHECKING OUT FOR LENT

This year, I would like to try to withdraw a bit for Lent. Recent news has had me jangled, alarmed and shouting warnings from the rooftops. Now it is time to cuddle up with God and see if I can purify and calm myself. It may be more difficult this year, with all the giant machinery tearing up the roads outside my window, but I will just have to regard it as another penance.

Friends are giving up various things for Lent. One friend tells me she is giving up desert. Another is giving up music in the car, which is interesting because, for me, music in the car would be torture. It is too much stimulation for an activity that, for me, requires all my concentration.

Catholics are actually required to do specific things during Lent, unless they are under age 14 or are sick with something that will be affected adversely by fasting. There is an upper age limit also. I think it is 62, but I am not sure. I AM one of those people that fall into the illness category. I'm also too poor to have much control over what kind of food comes into the house, but I will do my best to get as close as possible to the rules.

Those wishing to refresh themselves on the rules, can read this handy ARTICLE.

One thing we are told to do is pray more. I plan to do that. Consequently, another reason not to write my blog during the Lenten fast. Instead of blabbing, I am going to spend time listening...to the Lord.

Lent doesn't start until March 1st, but I want to get ready for it: stock the pantry with the appropriate foods, find my Lenten reading materials, etc.

I hope you have a beautiful and fruitful Lent.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose Parnell
Copyright (c) 2017

GOD BRINGS ALL THINGS TO THE GOOD

February snow in my garden

There are times when something will happen that completely throws all plans to the wind in an unexpected and unpleasant way, and we have to discern God's will amid the mess.   It is like a large snowfall in a city that doesn't customarily get much, if any, snow at all.  Everyone scrambles to accommodate the slippery roads.  Time tables are drastically altered, and some planned-for destinations have to be scrapped entirely.

Last Saturday, I went to confession, as I always try to do during Lent, and, for the first time, I walked away feeling relief, hopefulness, and peace.  So, there I was, all shiny and freshly washed and feeling good, and for the next two days I was assaulted by some harassment at church that finally got so bad I had to leave.  The harassment was completely undeserved and, looking back on it now, I see Satan's hand in it.  He hates it when you make a good confession, you see, and he wanted to force me to lose my temper and take the shine off my soul.  Thanks be to God, I did not lose my temper, though I did feel a tremendous amount of stress.

Sadly, I have to find another church community, since no one is going to rectify the situation at my now-former church, and my post traumatic stress has been aggravated to a degree that makes it impossible for me to continue on as I have been

Confidence in Jesus gives me great comfort at the moment. I know that he brings everything to the good for those that love him, for those that believe in him.  I look forward to discovering what is his will for me and where I will end up.

In the meantime, I am renewing my zeal for community life and investigating membership in the Lay Dominicans.  I had previously considered the Carmelites, but could not drum up the requisite enthusiasm for their programs.  Two of my very favorite people were lay Dominicans: St. Rose of Lima and Blessed Margaret of Castello, and I would be grateful to be in their company.

The dream of a convent for disabled and elderly women is still alive, though somewhat dimmed by recent events and lack of resources.  I give my will to the Lord in this matter and in all things, to the best of my ability, and wait for his instruction.

In the meantime, I am recuperating from a nasty fall on melted snow in my garage.  I landed hard on the cold, wet concrete and injured quite a few body parts.  As previously mentioned, plans have suddenly changed as a result of the snow storm.  I wait for the snow to melt and for my body to heal.

Please pray for me as I pray for you.

Silver Rose Parnell