THE POPE''S COMMENTS ABOUT BEING SAVED THROUGH OTHER RELIGIONS

 

Pope Francis in a crowd

Photographer: Clemens Van Lay

Royalty free photo on Unsplash

In our fractious times in which certain groups of people seem to enjoy reacting with outrage and telling everyone else about it, our poor Papa is being criticized for his poor wordsmanship once again.

This time it is because he said that "all religions are paths to God," during a trip to East Asia and Oceania.

Apparently, he went on to say, "they are like different languages that express the Divine," and the outrage gang promptly lost their minds.

Mostly, I think that our Pope tries to paraphrase the Catechism, and it gets lost in the translation. It seems to me that he appears to be trying to express a nuanced, complex thought in more simple language.

Author Tom Hoopes points out something similar in his September 19th article, Did Pope Francis Just Say That all Religions are Equally True? in a Media & Culture Newsletter of Benedictine College in Atkinson, KS,  and his recent book What Pope Francis Really Said. [See: ARTICLE LINK]

If you read the short article, he talks about the process he uses to analyze the Pope's comments. He deconstructs the comment, and figures it out, but especially with the latest comment, it is clear that our Pope is not deviating from the Catechism:

"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 as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation."

This topic immediately brings to mind my own conversion from Hinduism to Catholicism.

I am today a committed Catholic BECAUSE of a Hindu group that introduced me to the Catholic mystics. I was a nun, living very comfortably in a Hindu-based convent, where I was led to read extensively about the Catholic contemplative saints, such as Teresa of Avilla, Jane de Chantal, Francis de Sales, Brother Lawrence, Thomas Merton, and others. I had a massive conversion experience and left the convent to get Baptized and become Catholic.  It was VERY difficult for me to leave that place because I LOVED the life. I was very comfortable there. Although it was a group monastic experience, we all had a certain amount of private time to ourselves and, for me, the balance was just right, especially because of the 4 to 5 hours a day that was available for meditation, which I loved.

Through that Hindu-based group, and especially through Swami Swahananda, I was also able to attend a small meeting between Pope John Paul II and religious leaders from other religions in 1987, in which my Hindu teacher, the Pope, a Zen monk and a Jewish rabbi all delivered remarks about ecumenism and related topics. I had been invited to the meeting by my Hindu Swami, since he was one of the speakers on the dais, even though I had left the Hindu convent. He knew I was leaving to become Catholic.

I was GOBSMACKED by the suffering evidenced so exquisitely by the obviously saintly pope, who appeared to be a walking sacrifice to the Lord. God definitely introduced me to some of the finer points of the mystical life and the magnitude of the Catholic mysteries through that Hindu faith and my Bengali teacher.

Another interesting feature of this situation is that, when this group set up the convent rules and routines, they copied the Catholic convents, using them as their model for the new Hindu convent, which was established sometime around 1950, in Hollywood, I believe.

Based on my experiences, my personal view on this topic is that our great Lord is elegant in his expressions of allurements to Him. It makes perfect sense to me that He can and DOES use the vehicle of other religions to carry some of His truth. After all, is there any place in which God is not allowed to reside? Indeed, can one keep Him away?

He has certainly spoken to me through other religions. I left my religion-hating home when I was 17 and immediately began my spiritual search, going first into Scientology, then Nicheren Shoshu and Zen Buddhism, then Vedanta style Hinduism, and now, for many years, Catholicism. I have read about other religions, such as Tibetan Buddhism, without setting foot on those paths, as well.

Sometimes the Lord has "spoken" to me by discouraging me from avenues that were clearly going in the opposite direction of where He intended me to go. But sometimes He makes me work very hard for something, just to impress upon my mind how very much it means to me. For example, my road into the Catholic Church was EXTREMELY difficult because there is a tendency among some members to treat it as if it is an exclusive country club meant only for "cradle Catholics" of a certain background.

It is easy for me to believe that, for those people whose desire for the True Lord is sincere, He takes them from where they are and leads them. I do not see why those people who yearn for God would be ignored by our Blessed Lord. Surely, He loves us too much for anyone to be lost simply because they took the wrong train to their desired destination (their "desired destination" being the One True God.)

After being raised by religion-hating, immoral and unloving people, it would have been easy for me to have been tripped up by any one of a number of religions I studied or practiced. 

The outrage police would be astonished at how many similarities in thought and spiritual practice many religions share among them. Truth is, indeed, "seeded" throughout.  

So, I do hope that our dear Pope's detractors will soon find some peace of soul within themselves and stop this constant fault-finding.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose

FRA ANGELICO AND THE SPIRITUALITY OF ART - FEBRUARY 18

 

The Dormition of the Virgin

by

Fra Angelico

(born Guido di Pietro, aka Giovanni da Fiesole)

Painter and Dominican Friar

Fra Angelico, one of my favorite painters, was declared the patron saint of Catholic painters in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. He had a lifestyle that may be the envy of most religious painters, as his was a blessed balance between traditional conventual religious life and the spirituality of fine art!

He was called the "Angelic Friar" (which, in Italian, is "Fra Angelico") and of the several names by which he was known, this is the one that "stuck."  He was given this name because his paintings were angelic and depicted calm, illuminated religious subjects, while he himself was exceedingly pious.

The History of Saint Nicholas

by 

Fra Angelico

I have met and read about a number of spiritual personalities who were also deeply spiritual and talented artists. There is something about the enclosed life of contemplation that attracts the heart of the artist with a mystical bent. I was also attracted to it, but came too late to the Catholic faith to be of any use to a convent. Instead, this is exactly the lifestyle I have adopted at home, as a disabled lady, though I can't pretend to come anywhere close to this artist's talent!  Obviously, I am not dead yet, so we will see how I proceed with my novels and my paintings.                                                                              

The Deposition of Christ

by

Fra Angelico

Fra Angelico is obviously very famous and there is quite a lot written about him. His frescoes still contribute to the holy atmosphere of the monastery, and many paintings can be viewed in museums. The largest collection is at the San Marco Museum in Florence, Italy.

Fra Angelico began as an illustrator of missals and religious books sometime around 1418 when he entered a Dominican convent in Fiesole, Italy. After some time, Pope Eugenius IV summoned him to paint some frescoes for the Chapel of the Sacrament at the Vatican that is now, unfortunately, destroyed. Other frescoes were painted at the behest of one Pope or another, usually by his assistants, copying or filling-in his original designs.  

For about three years, he served as the administrative head ("Prior") of the Convent in Fiesole - a job I imagine he would not have enjoyed. Artists are typically uninterested in business and the organization of life. Their souls are usually occupied with The Divine. I don't know why it was such a short time, but perhaps that was the practice at that convent - to keep the duration of office short for the sake of the soul and to keep the person humble. If I can find the time, I will dig into it and learn more about that time period (1449-1452.) (By the way, "convents" are usually insitutions peopled by women in the modern West, and Monasteires are usually for men. Different times and countries used those terms in different fashion.)

Much is written about Fra Agenlico on the internet and elsewhere.  I am willing to bet there are some stunning "coffee table books" of his work, so I won't reinvent the wheel and go into too much more of his life.  I would just like to say a little about the place of the artist and art, in general, with respect to religious life.

In 2012, the DIAKONIA OF BEAUTY was founded to encourage an "exchange between artists and the Church."  It offers education,  prayer, and spiritual and economic support to members. Membership consists of musicians, poets, singers, painters, architects, sculptors, actors and dancers."

"Artistic creation completes, in a certain sense,

the beauty of creation..."

Pope Francis

Divine love is the origin of the artistic gift - that impulse to bring into the world a thing of beauty, in imitation of and perhaps in concert with The Divine, and "authentic art" can "speak eloquently of the beauty and goodness of God." (Pope Francis.)

With Pople John Paul II, Pope Francis said that art must "make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God."

The Ascension

I have found a couple articles about the Diakonia, and I offer them, below, for anyone who has interest:

VATICAN NEWS - FEBRUARY 2022

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER - FEB 2022

ALETEIA ARTICLE - MARCH, 2018

My personal theory is that when a person is born with a natural creative talent, this is not only a gift from God, but a message to the person. That gift is meant to be used for the Glory of God and His people. For me, art is a type of bridge of communication between the soul and the Divine that can be witnessed, appreciated and admired by onlookers.  It is communication in solid form.

As a creative person, I have seen what happens when I try to take as vocation a different path than ART. It does not work very well, Certainly, I was able to take various office jobs to support myself, but I would not say that I was terribly successful in it. It was what I needed to do to support myself, i.e., put a roof over my head and food on the table.  But it did nothing for my soul or anyone else's!

However, it occurs to me now as I write this that God's timing is perfect because, when I was younger, I doubt I had much of anything inspiring to contribute to the world, with either my paintings or my writing. 

The Annunciation

I was born into an anti-religious family of poor moral character, except for my beloved Grandmother who wasn't a saint, but was a very good woman, as far as I was concerned. She was opposed to organized religion, however, and she always used to say that "all you need is the golden rule."  The golden rule is fine, for as much as it speaks about our treatment of others, but it is missing a great deal as the sum total of one's personal philosophy of life. My mother, with whom I lived, absolutely hated Catholics. She eventually became a Jehovah's Witness.

My parents were hostile to religion and I was prohibited from continuing my communication with some Carmelite nuns I had discovered in the town where we were living for a while.  After leaving home during the "hippie era," it took me a long time to "catch up" with the cradle Catholics, having cycled through other religions before taking it up again.  

I have long ago forgiven my parents for the awful childhood they gave me, so there are no worries on that score, but, coming from this family, it was natural that, upon leaving home at age 17, I would start making a lot of mistakes, wandering here and there. I did not know how to "do" life. I did not have a clear picture of what I wanted because, rather than running toward something, I was running away from those people.

Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven

by

Fra Angelico

My journey to Catholicism took a circuitous route, the details of which are not terribly interesting, except that it is important to note that, by the time I became disabled and had to retire on my small Social Security pension, I had seen a lot of the world, had many experiences, spent a lot of time in prayer and reflection, and was finally prepared to contribute art worthy of its Divine purpose, inspired by and infused with The Holy Spirit. Perfect timing.

There is no guarantee that the result will be a masterpiece. I can only pray for The Lord's assistance and apply myself the best I can.

Art is more than something pretty to look at. In 2018, Pope Francis met with a group of two dozen or so artists from around the world, leaders from the Diakonia of Beauty, and he told them, "the gifts that you have received are, for each of you, a responsibility and a mission." In this meeting, his aim was to ask them to help communicate the beauty of transcendence through their artistic language.

Everyone has a vocation, and those of us who are artists have a role as mediators between heaven and earth. Instead of searching for "vainglory or easy popularity, or the "petty calculus of personal profit," we must be dominated by the Divine consciousness.

Coronation of the Virgin

by

Fra Angelico

I hope that this post inspires you to remain true to your Divine Mission and vocation, whatever that is, in artistic or other realms, because it is through this world that we express our gifts and return them as tribute to our Maker.

God bless us all!

Silver Rose

P.S. I have gone mostly blind in the left eye, with unreliable vision in the right, so if you happen to see a typo here and there, please do not hold it against me, but I WILL appreciate it if you would shoot me a message when you find a typo and tell me about it so I can go in and change it.  I will be SO grateful if you would!  Thanks so much.

Also, please do not forget that I am working very hard to finish my novel, and I need some research materials, mostly consisting of prize-winning books published last year that give me a picture of what is happening with modern literature at the moment. In addition, inflation has hit me hard when it comes to putting groceries in the cupboards, so if you could donate to my Paypal link, above right, I would be most grateful.

Anyway, Amazon has my address and can mail the items direct to me from my wish list. Help me to help myself, won't you, even if it is just a book or two from the list?  Here is the link:

AMAZON WISH LIST - HELP ME TO HELP MYSELF

MUSINGS ON SAINT LIBERATA AND VOWS OF CELIBACY

Saint Wilgefortis, 

also known as Saint Liberata

Sometimes conflated with one other "Liberata"

of a similar time period

I love to pick out the names of the obscure female saints about which most people know little to nothing, including ME! When I run across an interesting female saint on a day when searching for them, I spend some hours researching them.

With Saint Liberata, also called Wilgefortis, Librada and other derivations, and sometimes confused with another Liberata who also died as a martyr, we have again a woman who, when faced by an angry father determined to give her in marriage when she definitely did not WANT marriage, is saved by some circumstance.

In this case, Liberata is rescued by the sudden appearance of a beard on her chin! The beard disgusts her would-be husband, and he abandons his suit. She goes on to become a nun, etc.

Is this a myth? Did this person actually exist? Does it matter?

In some cases, the saints appear to answer the needs of the spiritual heart. Those of us with leanings toward the contemplative life, who yearn to be with God alone and for whom earthly romance pales in comparison, are encouraged by stories of brave young female saints who eschewed the married state from the very beginning and pursued God alone.

There appear to be fewer male saints who specifically cite aversion to the married state as a reason for adopting a life of celibacy, likely because women were pretty much at the mercy of their family and society as to the form their life would take, in many instances. Men were also expected to marry, but their work and duties of station were  considered important, whereas the purpose of women's lives was, for centuries, limited to childbearing and rearing within a family. That was their sole contribution to society in the eyes of that society, and I can well imagine chafing at THAT particular bit, as it were.

In the case of Liberata, legend has it that she was eventually martyred at the insistence of her father, who was incensed that she chose religious life instead of the Muslim husband he had picked out for her. Because she was killed for choosing faith instead of family, she is officially considered a martyr for the faith. The backstory on this isn't given in any of the sources, and we are left to wonder why the extreme of crucifixion was imposed on her in the middle ages. Was her father just mad because she disobeyed the orders of this petty king? Was he tired of supporting her, as was his duty until she married? Was it a religious thing because he was a pagan and he objected to her faith? I don't know.

I look upon her story as one of many in the general theme of preferring God to man, and an example for all the vowed and secular women who have given themselves to this life. In my 17 years as an "accidental hermit," I have relied upon the examples of female saints like these.

Currently, there is a minor kerfuffle in the Catholic blogosphere about a book to which Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI may or may not have intended to have his name attached. In it, he supposedly makes the case for continuing the norm of celibacy for priests, in contradiction to some exception that Pope Francis may be making for the priests in the Amazon, where priests are few and far between. Humans like a good controversy, and there are plenty of Francis-haters who have traded in their Catholic faith for a Republican worldview that is cruel and punishing. Pope Francis has made it clear that Trump's wall is unChristian, and he certainly objects to ripping children away from their parents at our borders as punishment for daring to apply for sanctuary in our prosperous and promising country. Francis-haters became so because of these contradictions, for obvious reasons.

In any case, it amuses me that so many people take for granted that celibacy is some horrible, arcane punishment and that it "should" be dispensed with, just as we have dispensed with archaic practices like putting naughty people into stocks in the middle of town so that citizens can throw rotten vegetables at them. I have lived as a celibate person for more than 17 years, and I find it not at all inconvenient.

Saint Liberata relic

Don't get me wrong. Being married is wonderful. It is a lovely state of life, but it isn't for everyone, and it is damn hard to both have a family AND live entirely for God. In fact, it seems an oxymoron to me!

As I have mentioned before, there is some historical proof for people adopting a celibate life after they've been married and seen to the raising of a few children. Husband and wife both take up the life of a hermit or a sannyasi or a Buddhist monk. All the major religious traditions on earth have precedent for this. In fact, it seems natural that, after one has moved through the child-rearing stages, that the elderly would try to move closer to the God to whom one will 'return home' before long. There is absolutely no provision for continuing one's sex life after embarking on this stage, and I think it is terribly funny that Americans are so obsessed with sex that they get all up in arms about this issue about whether or not the Catholic Church should only accept married priests.

I keep reading from these people about what a TRIAL it is to go without sex, and what a horrible thing it is to ask of someone. It's hysterically funny, to me!

As with all rules, there will always be exceptions. In isolated regions, there is no possibility for the kind of day-to-day support that is generally given priests in developed countries. In the Amazon, it really IS a lot to ask of someone that they serve that community entirely alone, without the assistance or support of the church's institutions. Few people would be able to carry on like that, and I think it is smart of our Pope Francis to recognize this and to make provision for the only type of support that is feasible under this circumstance - a WIFE. To do otherwise might be considered cruel.

But, generally speaking, having a wife and children is a full time job in itself, and being a priest on top of those duties isn't practical. Without question, it would draw the church into a responsibility for the costs of raising such a family. Parishioners would be saddled with this obligation that has monetary and social implications, I would think. Providing separate housing for each priest and their families would be onerous. Disregarding the financial entanglements, there are very real burdens on a person's time, when it comes to children, especially. All of this has practical connotations, which can be substantial, if you give it some thought.

I am not saying that these pedestrian considerations are the reasons the Catholic Church proposes for just why celibacy should remain the preferred state for most Catholic priests. I WOULD point out, however, that many of the other religious traditions consider celibacy essential to the aim of the mystically inclined. When I was studying with the Hindus, and then in the Vedanta Convent, there was a lot of information about how necessary celibacy was to the "realization of God." Buddhists also have celibate monastics, for similar reasons. Those who have a dog in this fight and who feel compelled to opine about this controversy, should research the celibacy issue in various religious traditions in order to broaden their understanding of this topic. There is more to this topic than meets the casual eye!

As always, I encourage other women who are living the solitary life to contact me and say "hello." It is always good to hear from you, as it is to hear from all my readers, but I especially send a message of solidarity and support to my sisters in this life.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose
Sannyasini Kaliprana

THE POPE SHOULD MEET WITH THE VICTIMS

Social media is abuzz with ideas about what should be done about the Catholic hierarchy, specifically the Bishops, after the just-released report of the pedophile ring in the Pennsylvania Catholic churches.

Many people are loudly advocating that ALL American bishops should resign. Apparently, the Venezuelan bishops made the gesture, but not all of the resignations were accepted by the Pope.

We do not need grand empty gestures. I am quite sure that the victims need more than "thoughts and prayers" and gestures and more words. Words words words.

Our Jesus was a hands-on kind of guy. People loved Jesus because he turned his face upon them and accepted them personally and individually, despite their low position in society.

If the Pope really is on the side of the victims, he should come to America and meet with each victim individually because that is what Jesus would do. 

It is the institutional hierarchy that allowed these horrors to occur, therefore, the ultimate authority in that hierarchy must submit itself to those injured by it.

The Pope must come to America and humble himself before each and every victim that wishes to speak with him. That is where we must start - with the personal, individual healing of each and every victim.

I urge every Catholic to petition Rome for the Pope to come here, meet with the victims, and begin the healing.

God save us.

Silver Rose

TRUMP IS THE ANTI-CHRIST

I tried to talk to someone about our immigration policies yesterday, and she immediately began talking about the tiny minority of that minority who are criminal. Why was it her first thought? Why is it always her first thought when the topic arises? This happens continually, in real life, on the internet, on Facebook. Why are "Christians" obsessed with the criminal minorities among the poor, the disabled, the ill, the elderly and the stranger among us?

NOTHING in Christian theology or tradition, the Bible or the words of Jesus suggests that Christians ought to focus on the tiny percentage of people who are criminals. NOTHING.

Some time ago, our Pope made it clear that Donald Trump is not a Christian, based upon Trump's plan to build a wall along the border between Mexico and the United States and not building bridges.  There are many other positions that Trump has taken that are the antithesis of Christian principles, and his actions have certainly violated Christian ideals, yet people who call themselves Christian form a large part of his base, and they trumpet his crude and cruel ideas, as if he was the second coming!

"Love the stranger among you, for once

you were strangers in Egypt"

Deuteronomy 10:19

Trump is not known to have ever been a Church going man. Citizen Trump never demonstrated any interest in religion. Now that he is in the oval office, he has not changed in this regard. There is NO evidence of any sudden conversion to the faith. He is not keeping the Sabbath holy. He does not spend his Sundays in church. He spends them on the golf course, as he always has. His hate-filled rhetoric has not stopped. He still maligns the poor, the sick, the stranger,  and the disabled. He has become even more anti-Christian in his policies, no doubt due, in part, to pressure from the "Alt. Right" movement that is strong within the Republican Party these days.

He even supported American Nazis who marched through Charlottesville, chanting well rehearsed anti-Jewish slogans, saying that there were "good people" marching with the Nazis.

Despite all this, some Catholics continue to defend his indefensible positions and behavior. Instead of heeding the advice of our ultimate authority on faith and morals, i.e., the Pope, these Catholics are publicly saying demeaning and, at the least, dismissive things about our Holy Father. Then, they ride their Republican hobby horses roughshod over all our needy populations.

These people have traded in their religion for Republican ideology. When I saw this happening a few years ago, I coined the term RepubliCatholic.

By focusing attention on a tiny, questionably criminal minority of a minority, RepubliCatholics encourage a mean dialogue and support cruel policies.

As a Christian, one would expect that, when the subject of a vulnerable population comes up, the very first thing we would do is express a kind thought. When someone asks us what we should do about the poor, one would expect that a Christian would talk about how to improve their financial well being, but that isn't what happens these days. No. Instead, the RepubliCatholics talk about how to give LESS money to the poor, how to take food out of the mouths of their children and how the poor aren't really poor, that they are actually criminals who should be punished. The next thing you know, we will be opening poor houses again.

Donald Trump has labeled Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and "murderers" and says they "bring drugs." His speeches about the Mexicans are famous by now, but those of us who believe in the Christian message have become so overwhelmed by all the stupid, horrific things he has said and tweeted, that we cannot carry it all at once. Like a load of concrete that needs to be moved from one stinking pile to another, we can only carry bits of it at one time. He is so awful, so shocking, so extreme, that the burden on the psyches of those who adhere to Christian principles is huge. Every day, he dumps a new load of concrete on us. What do we do with the load we are carrying from 6 months ago, last week, yesterday?

RepubliCatholics are big supporters of Trump. To my everlasting shock, several of them have said that he's the best thing that has ever happened for the Christian Church. Considering that his policies are in direct opposition to the words of Jesus, I find it incomprehensible that they would say such a thing, but this is what happens when you subsume a religion into a political ideology. You begin to think that the political ideology IS your religion.

(To be accurate, I do know that Trump has claimed to be against abortion. He also wrote a 25 page memo pledging to bolster religious rights. It's all a bunch of hot air. Trump has pledged to do a lot of things that haven't materialized.  See relevant article HERE.)

RepubliCatholics have no dedicated space in their minds for the vast number of immigrants who come here to escape brutal regimes, the ones who come here to protect their daughters from the gangs that rape them, the immigrants who refused to work for the drug cartels and are targeted for death. They are entirely focused on all those "bad" immigrants. That tiny little minority of a minority has all of their attention when the subject of minorities comes up. I can't remember ever hearing any kind words of sympathy or love for the plight of the stranger among us, the poor, or the sick from these RepubliCatholics.

When I try to advocate for poor people, RepubliCatholics immediately talk about all those bad poor people who are "gaming the system." Again, if it is even true, it is a tiny minority of a minority, but RepubliCatholics are focused on that tiny minority of the minority with laser-like precision.

If I advocate for disabled people, RepubliCatholics shoot straight to the claim that there is "massive fraud" in the system and that, supposedly, millions of people are "faking" illness.  This is just a big fat lie. RepubliCatholics behave as if they have Superman's x-ray vision that can immediately diagnose whether or not a person is disabled, even if the disability is invisible to the rest of us.

I know, first hand, how very difficult it is to get any help as a disabled person. I, myself, was denied Social Security benefits the first time I applied, and I spent the next 10 years falling from one job into another because my illnesses kept me home for so many work days, I kept getting laid off. 15 jobs in a 10 year period that included at least 2 years of complete unemployment, before I finally got my Social Security. By that time, I was completely bankrupt and virtually friendless.

Long term need is enough to chase friends and relatives into the hills. Afraid that you'll ask them for help, they invent a reason to be mad at you and then dump your sorry ass. It is a humiliating, de-humanizing process, thanks to people like the RepubliCatholics who treat you like a criminal because you are sick and poor.

Once you DO obtain assistance, people who help you often treat you like an idiot that needs to be told what to do because, in their mind, if you are poor, even if as a result of inability to work, it means that you are doing something wrong and you need to be fixed.

Donald Trump reinforced the ridiculous idea that the poor are poor because they don't have the right kind of thinking when he recently justified creating the wealthiest cabinet in American history. He said "I just don't want a poor person" [to be in those positions] and he wants wealthy people "because that's the kind of thinking we want."

See video HERE

See article and video HERE

See another article HERE

History will record that Trump is the worst president we have ever had. In the meantime, those of us who haven't lost our minds or abandoned our faith to a political agenda, can only scream, cry, wring our hands and pray to the Lord that this anti-Christ is a short-lived blip in the historical narrative of American pseudo religiosity.

Those people who have aided and abetted Trump's hateful policies will have to find a way to live with themselves. Fortunately, our God is a loving God and, if the RepubliCatholics repent and recant their hatred of vulnerable populations, the Lord will probably forgive them. Judging from what I have seen so far, however, the RepubliCatholics will go down with Trump, loudly proclaiming him to be the best thing that's happened to Christianity EVER. That is why he is the anti-Christ.

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

THE JOY OF ABANDONING THE EGO

The older I get, the more I aspire to becoming humble. JUST as I have become accustomed to the idea that it is a great joy to bow my head to the inspirations and instructions of my Bible and my Church, I find that American society is going in the opposite direction!

Recently I watched a short talk by an expert of some sort. I am sorry, but I have forgotten what it is he does and his bona fides. I was impressed by them, but mostly I was riveted by what he had to say, the manner in which he said it, and his demeanor. He was discussing how Americans have come to discount, and in some instances almost despise, the advice of experts in their field. I sensed a tinge of wistfulness in his delivery, or perhaps sadness, for what this means for America and how it will affect us all, if appreciation for truth dies.

He said something to the effect that Americans think they are as smart as the experts, they know as much as the experts, and that their opinions are MORE valuable than the advice of the experts who have the education, the wisdom, the experience, and the specialized training in their field. To a great extent, these folks who consider themselves the ultimate experts on everything are responsible for the election of Donald Trump to the presidency. Donald Trump, who has no experience whatsoever in government, has no education in it, and no training, has strong opinions about government, nonetheless.

I have to ask myself, "from whence did these opinions arise?" From what I have seen so far, everything that he has sought to do has been in service to his personal agenda, i.e., those things which will benefit him, his family, and his billionaire friends and acquaintances. He was elected as a representative, in a bizarre sense, of "the common man," but the only thing he has in common with the common man is that the common man does not have expertise in governing, and that is where the similarity ends.

I see this trend in Catholicism where people feel it is their right to demand of the Pope that he adhere to a political orientation that these individuals think he ought to bow. Instead of opening their minds to the wisdom and guidance of the Pope, who is an expert in Catholicism and whose choosing has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, I am saddened to read criticisms of him by those who consider themselves his superiors and the arbiters of all his behaviors and guidance. This type of arrogance is the hard-heartedness discussed in the Bible at great length and with frequency, throughout the Old and New Testament.

I keep telling people that unless the Pope gets all liquored up and goes careening through Rome in a convertible with three ladies of the evening and sells indulgences so he can hire troupes of tango dancers to entertain him and his friends, we need to shut up and listen. Just shut up and listen. It is his role to guide, and it is our role to be led. While we would, perhaps have a right to comment on obvious mortal sins, we have no right to criticize his guidance. He is our shepherd, after all. Even I have the occasional befuddlement over something he has said. Sometimes his meaning is incomprehensible to me, but it isn't an occasion for criticism. I just wait for the Lord to inspire my understanding, and hope that understanding comes. If it does not, I endeavor to say nothing.

So, as usual, I am out of step with my culture. Ever the outsider, I now find myself in the weirdly surreal position of encouraging people to heed the words of experts.

Many people are terribly uncomfortable with truths that are not pretty, that do not entertain. This avoidance of unpleasant truth bespeaks a lack of emotional maturity. Everything must be bubble gum, unicorns and rainbows. Many people have turned Jesus into a vending machine covered with glitter. It's too bad, really. What He said about Himself is nothing like sweet candy man Jesus that dispenses gum drops on demand. Just insert one prayer. He said:

"Do not think I came to send peace upon earth; 

I came not to send peace but the sword. For I 

came to set a man at variance against his father, 

and the daughter against her mother, and the 

daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 

And a man's enemies shall be they of his 

own household."

Matthew 10:34-36

Becoming Christian, standing up for the truth, standing up for what is right, is not popular in an evil family, for instance. The aspiration to goodness is a slap in the face of selfish narcissistic family members, and you will be the black sheep for it. This is common, and Jesus promised this. Hearing this unattractive scenario is not popular, particularly among those Christians who do not stand up for Christian values in their families, but go along to get along.

Not only will your own family shun you, but Christians in name only will also shun you because your devotion to truth will convict them in their falsities. Jesus puts the sword in your hand, and life is a battle from then on, because it seems that everyone will fight you, even some of those who call themselves your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Despite the constant battle, we must learn to love truth because God is pure. There is no falseness in him. There are no lies. Satan is the father of lies, not God.

Climate change is an area of discussion in which a lot of people refuse to heed the warnings of the experts. 99.99% of climatologists say that global warming is mainly accelerated by the activities of man and that the situation is almost at the tipping point where, even if we DO stop our bad habits and invest ourselves completely in reversing the damage, we may still experience permanent damages. There are a large number of climate change deniers who tout the opinions of the tiny tiny percentage of "scientists" or pseudo-scientists in order to bolster their nutty idea that man has no or very little impact on the environment. It is ridiculous. It is dangerous.

Republicatholics quickly turned against the Pope when he wrote Laudato Si because it included an admonishment about heeding the advice of the climatology experts about global warming. Doing something about global warming will decimate the Republican agenda that caters to the oil companies and their billionaires. The Pope applies spiritual principles to weighty issues such as whether or not to destroy the planet that the good Lord gave us. He doesn't think it is a good idea.

Another aspect of that teaching was that the poor have been relegated to the world of cement, glass, asphalt and dirt, while only the wealthy have any ownership of the beauty of nature. Wealthy Republicatholics and their minions weren't happy about that, despite the clear Catholic teaching that the world has been given to every human being and was not meant for all its resources to be hoarded by a tiny percentage of people while everyone else drinks water with lead in it.

Ever since Laudato Si, social media has been ablaze with Republicatholic derision of the Pope. Some of the talk is extreme. A somewhat smaller faction is claiming that he is not the authentic Pope. It is all nonsense - just like the birther nonsense about our last president - just like the Holocaust deniers (who also deny they are white supremacists.)

I watched a program the other day about a sculptural artist who has created large sculptures of 5 of the birds that have become extinct in modern times. The carrier pigeon is one. I can't remember the others out of the hundreds of birds that man has killed. Another program that told the story of Audubon, the great painter/naturalist, showed a painting of a Carolina parrot that was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. They're all gone - hunted to extinction. The dodo is famous, of course.

There was a particularly touching story of the last grouse of some type in America. There was just one male left. Just before he died, he flew to the top of the highest tree in his valley and called out over his territory, loudly, almost desperately. He had spent almost his entire life completely alone. Then, one day, he died.  And that was IT for this type of bird.

Of course, most Americans are familiar with the paroxysm of blood lust that decimated the buffalo, leaving entire herds on the plains, their heads chopped off for trophies, their corpses rotting in the sun.

There is a tendency in the heart of man that is called concupiscence. It is the desire for MORE, always MORE. Without restraint, a small number of people can bring to bear huge consequences on the delicate balance of the natural world. They've done it over and over again in our history. This gluttony is like the fuel in the engine of a car. Every car needs a driver, a controlling force - a regulator; otherwise, it is chaos. The car runs off the road, over the cliff, and into the ditch at the bottom of the canyon, a total wreck.

Intensive farming geared toward producing crops that travel well has hidden an incredible diversity of fruits and vegetables with which people used to be familiar. Lovers of the earth have begun to seek out heirloom varieties, as they are now called, and are furiously cultivating and collecting seed, and making these seeds available, so that the wonderful diversity of nature with which we have been gifted does not disappear entirely.

When I was in the convent, I walked through the kitchen after working in the garden and picked up a nice black plum from the basket on the counter. When I bit into it, I found it was very rich, creamy, and green. I had bitten into an heirloom variety of avocado that only grows in certain areas of Southern California and Mexico. The smooth black skin is edible. A light went off in my head after that. I began to understand this subject.

Fruits and vegetables, birds, Donald Trump, Catholicism and the Pope - What do these topics have in common with one another? History has proven that failing to heed the advice of experts results in disastrous losses for humanity.

So, here I am, writing a blog. Am I one of these people that elevates my opinion above all others? I hope I am not. Wherever I have wandered from the guidance of the experts, it is by accident and not by design. My intention is faithfulness. Even when I write an opinion piece, I am endeavoring always to keep it within the bounds of factual content. My aim is to always conform opinion to the best advice of experts in whatever field I am dancing.

Why write a blog at all? Writing is in my blood. I cannot stay away from it. It compels me. I would rather give it up, but I can not. I have tried several times, but always come back to it.

Sometimes writing is my art. Sometimes it is the expression of my religion. Sometimes it is the diary entry of a hermit seeking the ear of an understanding human being. Sometimes it is just my DNA speaking. I come from a long line of writers. It is an Irish thing.

A favorite writer of mine - Teresa of Avila

I strive to speak within the heart of humanity, to join with all people of good will in this process of writing and reading. I hope to speak with you, to spark our common light and join it together in a conflagration of understanding and joyous inspiration. Even a frustrated rant has this purpose at its core. I may fail in my intention, but I offer the best I can do on that day.

What I want to convey today is the great joy, the bliss even, of bowing one's head to the guidance of the Lord and the church, first of all. As guidance we have the Bible, the catechism, the Popes and the saints. Please join me in a mutual prayer that we may never become so educated that we consider ourselves superior to these. If we do not adopt this stance, disastrous events will occur.

Secondly, to remain faithful to all words of truth, to become more enamored of the pursuit of truth in all things, and to, most of all, always endeavor to speak Truth. It is better to say nothing at all than to spew an uninformed opinion. After all, there is nowhere in the Bible that says we should all keep our lips flapping with egotistical opinions. On the contrary, if we do not restrain our tongues, we run the risk of spreading lies, which is an invitation to Satan to pull up a chair and sit down in the kitchen.

Keeping this kind of restraint is not easy for some of us who gaily prattle on, as if leaving a moment of silence were a sin, but we can learn together that if a matter is not worth investigating fully, it is not worth discussing at all.

Like you, I am a work in progress in this matter, as in all others. I hope to get the hang of it before I'm dead. That's the best I can do. I hope you'll join me.

God bless us all!

Silver Rose

A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Saint Luke

Feast day: October 18

Typically, I write a blog about an obscure saint of the day, but Luke overshadows the calendar.  I couldn't find much about the other saints that share this feast day with him. Much is already written about Luke by great theologians and writers far more gifted than me, and I decided not to bring coals to Newcastle, as they say, but to make a comment about something that is happening in our "modern" Catholic Church.

It has come to my attention that certain priests and lay persons are publishing dissent against the faith and criticism of Pope Francis. Rather than humbly consenting to be led by the pontiff, these persons have, instead, decided to broadcast their disapproval of his approach in blogs, on television, in newspapers, and wherever else their opinion can find a foothold.

No one ever became a saint by publishing complaints about the Pope and The Holy Catholic Church. They became protestant. Remember Martin Luther. He published his condemnation by hammering it onto the door of the church. His role in separating thousands of people from the church that Jesus founded was not rewarded in heaven, I can assure you. I am not presuming to know whether or not Luther is in heaven. He may be in heaven despite his break with the faith, but certainly not because of it.

Like most of you, I absolutely love Holy Mother Church. There are some things that bug me about the modern church in America, but it isn't helpful for me to air my grievances. I will not become a saint by doing that.

Our whole mission in life is to become saints so that we can spend eternity in heaven, gazing upon the Lord, being with Him, experiencing Him. It isn't a question of "earning" it, because no one can deserve union with God. We have to prepare ourselves to be with God by becoming more like God, so that we can be in harmony with Him.

As I study the saints throughout the years, I have yet to find one that became a saint because they publicly dissented with the Pope and the church and tried to get others involved in their dissatisfaction.

Prayer, fasting, alms giving, performing spiritual and corporeal works of mercy, forgiving our enemies and doing good toward those who harm us, loving our neighbor as much as ourselves. We know these things. They involve an emptying of ourselves and our petty egos and opinions so that we can be filled with and led by God.

If the Pope was having a mistress or stealing from the coffers or committing mortal sins, we would have to admonish the sinner, at least someone would have to be doing that, but this is not the case in the current instance. Some people, apparently, do not like his style of leadership and they are fomenting fear among the laity that Pope Francis will destroy the church by his mode of leadership.

Jesus promised us that His Church would last until the end of time and that He would be with us until the end of time. Even the "gates of hell" can not withstand the Holy Catholic Church. We have assurances from Christ Himself that no one can destroy His Church.

All of this controversy about the Pope, the current Synod, and the various factions that are trying to change the unchangeable...all of it...is a distraction and a detour away from what we have been told to do by Christ Himself.

Please join me in praying for The Church and everyone in it. Pray for Pope Francis, as he has many times asked us to do, and refrain from engaging in or encouraging this useless chatter that is exploding all around us. Continue your devotions and increase your prayers if you can. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said to remove the beam from our own eye before we try to remove the speck from our neighbor's!

Have confidence in the promises of Jesus. He will not fail.

Silver Rose Parnell
(c) copyright 2015
All rights reserved.

WALKING WITH THE POOR AND THE DISABLED

Pope Francis and the poor, victims of a typhoon,

in the Phillipines

Americans tend to live in their own bubble and not venture too far out of it. Our concept of "family" is typically very narrow, consisting mostly of what is termed "the nuclear family" of mom, pop, kids, and maybe grandparents or grandchildren.  Everyone else is a distant relative, living in their own bubble and, while we may be interested in receiving a card from them at Christmas, their lives are irrelevant to us, especially if they are in a different socio-economic bubble.

Pope Francis challenges us to pop that bubble and embrace the human race of which we are a part but the majority of which we keep at a distance, based largely on the artificial pretext that they are not "one of us," not related to us, "foreigners" and, in the extreme cases, an "enemy."  When fellow Americans are thought of in this way, it is no wonder there is such animosity against the refugees who come to this country trying to escape death and torture in their own country, or the simple migrant seeking food and housing for a hungry family.

If we stay in our bubbles, ignorant of the actual condition of the needy, we can invent whatever fanciful opinion we would like to have about them without letting the facts get in the way. There is a strong tendency to blame the poor for their own condition and to demonize millions of people, based upon the unethical actions of a few, when, in fact, most of the poor are grandma, grandpa, the disabled, and "the working poor." Less than 1% of the poor population are criminals 'working the system,' yet the rest of us are tarred with that same old, tired, brush. The worst lie of all is that "the government" supplies all our needs.

I used to know a wealthy woman who had inherited her money and never had to work to survive. She was under the impression that "the government" had to pay my moving costs when I was stranded in an apartment at the top of stairs I could no longer climb. The smaller the bubble, the more outlandish the ideas.

As a senior, disabled person in America, I receive Social Security and a small discount on my rent from the City of Albuquerque, and that is IT.  I am expected to pay for medical and prescription insurance, dental appointments, eyeglasses, orthopedic shoes, service dog training, adaptations to my apartment to address physical needs, a scooter to address mobility issues, the mechanism that fits on the back of the car for the scooter, a car that can handle the weight of that extra equipment, and special modifications to the steering column so that I can drive with my hands, rather than my feet.  Being disabled is extremely expensive. Out of all those needs, I can only manage to pay the medical insurance and prescriptions. This leaves me stranded, except for very short drives to local stores for a quick pick-up of essential needs.

As it happens, I have grown into the monastic vocation of a hermit, and I have become used to the poverty to which one would voluntarily commit. In my case, it is a concomitant condition with my disabilities. As such, however, I become the perfect witness to the typical lot of the American senior struggling to live on Social Security alone, and I can speak with authority born of experience in addition to the research that I do on the topic of American economics and the poor. My poverty is a blessing from God and an aid to my vocation, and I am grateful for it.

Many people around the world have it much worse than I do.  At least I have food and shelter and clothing.  I am not among "the poorest of the poor," but I was getting close to having to go barefoot. Let me explain:

I was born with oddly shaped feet, which have only grown more odd with time. There isn't a single manufacturer of women's shoes that make any shoe in my width. There are a few men's shoes that are made in my width but do not fit my narrow heels and are, therefore, dangerous to wear, since the heels flop around like crazy and trip me up, what to speak of being downright ugly, especially on a woman who wears only dresses and skirts.  I might as well wear clown shoes.

I am told by every specialty shoe store that shoes must be custom made for me and that these will cost between $500 and $1,000 for each pair.  Even the plastic shoes made by Crocs will no longer fit me, since that manufacturer has narrowed their footbed and hardened the material they use to produce their shoes. My old Crocs have worn through so that there is but a fraction of an inch of rubber between me and the road. I can feel the gravel poking into my skin when I walk the dog. Already I have slipped and fallen on the wet cement in the garage because of the slick, worn soles.

Like many senior American women, I have are no immediate relatives in my life, or at least in the same town.  My only son died a couple years ago.  I have an aunt and numerous cousins, but they are all in another bubble. A wealthy relative tells me how much she loves me and that she hopes I get my needs met. This relative speaks disparagingly about other poor relations.  I know where I stand.

I have a wonderful, faith-filled and faithful Catholic friend who has taken me under her wing and has been helping me get some of my needs me.  Lately, she has been tirelessly pursuing a solution for the shoes, hoping that my research, to date, had missed something.

"Seeking the face of God in everything,

everyone, all the time, and His hand in

every happening; This is what it means

to be contemplative in the heart of the

world.  Seeing and adoring the presence

of Jesus, especially in the lowly appear-

ance of bread, and in the distressing

disguise of the poor."

~ Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta ~

Getting up to speed on the resources (or, rather, the lack thereof) has been frustrating for her, I imagine, and I thank God for every day she hangs in there with me, enduring the disappointments with me. She lives her faith, no matter how inconvenient and frustrating it is. Walking into the bubble of the poor and the disabled can be a depressing venture for anyone. It has taken me 12 years to slowly accustom myself to it, since I had been a lower middle class working woman most of my adult life and had not had to struggle to pay rent and food costs since my late teens.

Birkenstock "Boston" clogs

European size 41, wide (called "regular")

Recently, I received one of those catalogs that come with their own pay-as-you-go plan, like a credit card, but it had a Birkenstock clog featured.  It was $149.00 - including shipping and handling fees, and I ordered it.  The shoe almost fits me and, after getting them professionally stretched by a local shoe salesman, I am able to walk without as much pain. The shoes flop about on my feet a bit, but if I wear some thick socks, will be better.

I can't get any shoes that actually fit me because of the expense, but I am grateful to have shoes that don't HURT me, at the very least.

Medicare does not pay for orthopedic shoes, except for diabetics. I do not have diabetes.

Mother Teresa did not bother to get her needs met when it came to her feet. I've written about this before. She simply picked the most pathetic and run-down pair of sandals from the donation box and wore those. If her feet were not deformed before this process, they were certainly deformed after wearing this footwear for so many years. I don't understand how she endured the pain!  In any case, I can't afford to follow her example, since I am barely able to walk as it is.

Mother Teresa's feet.  They look a bit like

mine, only hers were not as wide.

Sometimes I feel like a bottomless pit. Once one issue is addressed, another pops up to take its place. If I did not have the assurances of my faith and the hope of heaven before me, I can't imagine how I would keep up my spirits.  Particularly helpful are the examples of the saints who lived among the poor, such as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. For those needs that I cannot get met, I can do as she did and turn to embrace them as a means to salvation. I have no doubt she did a lot less complaining than I do, if she complained at all. That's why she is a saint and I am not.

These experiences of mine have given me a deeper compassion for the problems of the poor in the world. The thing that tugs on my heartstrings the most is the degrading attitudes about the poor that I see all around me. It isn't enough that the poor have to struggle to get their needs met, but they also have to endure the disdain of the rest of the world.

This is why I write this blog. In addition to educating others about the saints and The mystical heart of the Church, I primarily want to bring the Truth to the forefront and combat these urban myths about the poor that have multiplied exponentially, thanks to the media. My struggles to get my needs met are common to at least three quarters of the poor population, yet I practice none of the unacceptable social vices that it is assumed I practice, based upon those myths. I am the ordinary standard that represents the poor, not the drug addled, alcoholic, thieving, dishonest characters that are pushed into the media as prime examples. This is why I bring my pedestrian life problems into public view. Showing how the grinding logistical nightmares can wear down a person, and how many blockades there are to survival, has to shatter these preconceived notions about how the poor are too lazy to work and that they just want everything handed to them. Work was never this difficult.

When I left the Hindu convent, I wanted to become a Catholic nun, but numerous blockades came before me, and then chronic health issues multiplied and worsened over the years, so much that I am now unable to be of any use to a community. I knit a few hats for the homeless in winter, crochet some baby blankets for poor mothers, pray for the world, and write this blog. The Lord has placed me in this condition, and I must practice some obedience and say "yes" to his wishes. Keeping the example of our Blessed Mother before me is crucial to my ability to do that. She said "yes" to God in all things, and especially to the most fantastical of requests of His, so I keep my eye on her and ask her to remain with me as a constant reminder of receptivity to the will of the Lord.

In my own fashion, I live as a hermitess here in my city apartment.  I have my own little "convent," of sorts, and I work toward a state in which I am praying always. I beg for your prayers, that my monastic life becomes more true, regardless of where I find myself. Mostly, however, I ask that you please pray for the poor and be kind to them. Don't support the urban myths about them. Love them instead. Pop whatever bubble in which you live and go out among the poor so beloved by Christ.

God bless you all.

Silver Rose Parnell
copyright (c) 2015
All rights reserved.