I was just reading from St. Augustine’s City of God (quickly becoming one of my favorite books) for my class on the Early Church (without a doubt my favorite class this semester), and came across this beautiful passage (context: Augustine is dealing with the Platonists’ view that the beings we call angels should be worshipped as gods – Augustine refers to them here as “immortal and blessed beings”):
[I]f the Platonists … had acquaintance with God, had glorified him as God and given thanks to him and had not ‘dwindled into futility in their thinking’ (Rom 1:21), and had not sometimes sponsored the errors of the people in general, and sometimes failed in courage to resist them, then they would straightway have admitted that there was one object of worship both for the immortal and blessed beings, and for us, in our mortal and wretched condition, so that we may attain to immortality and bliss. Both alike must worship the one God of gods, who is the angels’ God, as he is ours.
To this God we owe our service – what in Greek is called latreia – whether in the various sacraments or in ourselves. For we are his temple, collectively, and as individuals. For he condescends to dwell in the union of all and in each person. He is as great in the individual as he is in the whole body of his worshippers, for he cannot be increased in bulk or diminished by partition. When we lift up our hearts to him, our heart is his altar. We propitiate him by our priest, his only-begotten Son. We sacrifice blood-stained victims to him when we fight for truth ‘as far as shedding our blood’ (cf. Hebr. 12:4). We burn the sweetest incense for him, when we are in his sight on fire with devout and holy love. We vow to him and offer to him the gifts he has given us, and the gift of ourselves. And we have annual festivals and fixed days appointed and consecrated for the remembrance of his benefits, lest ingratitude and forgetfulness should creep in as the years roll by. We offer to him, on the altar of the heart, the sacrifice of humility and praise, and the flame on the altar is the burning fire of charity. To see him as he can be seen and to cleave to him, we purify ourselves from every stain of sin and evil desire and we consecrate ourselves in his name. For he himself is the source of our bliss, he himself is the goal of all our striving. By our election of him as our goal – or rather by our re-election (for we had lost him by our neglect); by our re-election (and we are told that the world ‘religion’ comes from relegere, ‘to re-elect’), we direct our course towards him with love (dilectio), so that in reaching him we may find our rest, and attain our happiness because we have achieved our fulfilment in him. For our Good, that Final Good about which the philosophers dispute, is nothing else but to cleave to him whose spiritual embrace, if one may so express it, fills the intellectual soul and makes it fertile with true virtues.
We are commanded to love this Good with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength; and to this Good we must be led by those who love us, and to it we must lead those whom we love. Thus are fulfilled those two commands on which ‘all the Law and the prophets depend’: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind’, and, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’ (Matt. 22:37f). For in order that a man may know how to love himself an end has been established for him to which is to refer all his action, so that hey may attain to bliss. For if a man loves himself, his one wish is to achieve blessedness. Now this end is ‘to cling to God.’ Thus, if a man knows how to love himself, the commandment to love his neighbour bids him to do all he can to bring his neighbour to love God. This is the worship of God; this is true religion; this is the right kind of devotion; this is the service which is owed to God alone.
Therefore every immortal Power, however great its importance, will have no other wish, if it loves us as itself, than that we, for our happiness, should be subjected to God, seeing that it is such subjection that gives that Power its blessedness. If it does not worship God, it is wretched, because deprived of God; if it worships God, it will not wish itself to be worshipped in the place of God. Far from that, it will subscribe to the statement in Scripture, ‘He who sacrifices to gods, and not to the Lord alone, will be extirpated’ (Exod. 22:20). This saying it will approve with all the strength of its love.
- City of God, Book X, Chapter 3
Wow. Needless to say, this whole chapter was highlighted.
General intention: That all the men and women in the world, especially those who have responsibilities in the field of politics and economics, may never fail in their commitment to safeguard creation.
Missionary intention: That believers in the different religions, through the testimony of their lives and fraternal dialogue, may clearly demonstrate that the name of God is a bearer of peace.
City of God
St. Augustine
We’ve just started reading this for my Introduction to the Early Church class. I’m pretty excited about it – the first half of the semester was spent on Origen’s Contra Celsum, and the second half will be spent on City of God. I think I read somewhere that my professor is somewhat of an expert on Augustine, so it will be really cool to study this with him.
The World Series started yesterday. Now, baseball isn’t my favorite sport, but I like it more than I used to, and it’s certainly entertaining. Here’s my issue with this year’s World Series though: I really couldn’t care less who wins. It’s the Philadelphia Phillies vs. the New York Yankees, and I just don’t care. I root for the Dodgers. I really don’t like the Yankees, and the Phillies beat the Dodgers in the NLCS, so I can’t pull for either team. However, there are a couple of archbishops who are much more interested in the outcome:
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, have placed a friendly wager on the outcome of the 2009 World Series.
These two long-time friends spoke on Tuesday evening to settle the terms of the bet. If the Phillies win, Archbishop Dolan will ship a dozen bagels to the City of Brotherly Love; if the Yankees prevail, Cardinal Rigali will send a box of Tastykakes to the Big Apple. Archbishop Dolan said, “Cardinal Rigali is one of my closest and dearest friends; for several years he even served as my Archbishop so I feel a particular loyalty to him. I know he has exquisite taste in most matters. I just wish he had better taste in baseball teams.”
Cardinal Rigali said, “I have great esteem for Archbishop Dolan. He is a gifted spiritual leader who has been a true friend for many years. That is why I am so sorry he will be disappointed when the Phillies successfully defend their World Championship. We have the cream cheese ready for the bagels that I know will be arriving shortly after the Repeat in the City of Brotherly and Sisterly love.”
h/t: The Deacon’s Bench
When I’m older and have a house of my own, I’m doing this to the stairs:
The Death of a Pope
Piers Paul Read
I’m currently home for fall break, and you know what that means… sweet tea!!!
And free time.
So I decided that besides watching TV on the internet and writing my 8-10 page paper on Origen’s Contra Celsum (just go ahead and guess whether or not I’ve started that yet), I’m going to read. And I’ve heard that this is a good book, both from friends, such as Karlo (OK, OK, he just says that he read it, not that it was good - that doesn’t mean he didn’t like it though!) and from the reviews on the back cover. One of them calls it a “faith-driven theological thriller.” Sounds just about perfect for a fall break read, don’t you think?
I had a long drive yesterday coming home for fall break, so I had the opportunity to listen to a lot of really good music (and some not-so-good music – somehow Juli found a Kenny Chesney song in there, thanks to Michele’s ND Vision Mix. Makin’ me look bad, Michele). We listened to…
Eric Clapton
Unplugged
Unplugged
If you’ve never heard this album, you’re missing out. I first heard it I think in the 8th grade, my lone homeschool year (I actually discovered a lot of good music that year), and have liked it ever since. I don’t listen to a lot of Clapton generally, so I can’t really say if most of the songs on here are “unplugged” versions of his hits (although I know a couple of them are – “Layla,” for example), or if most of them are new for this record. Whatever the case may be, the whole album is great.
Carbon Leaf
Nothing Rhymes With Woman
Nothing Rhymes With Woman
I saw Carbon Leaf in concert about a month ago up at school, and they were just awesome. I liked the band before, but after seeing them live, my opinion of them skyrocketed. They played mostly songs from this record, their most recent (the concert at Notre Dame was actually the first stop on their tour promoting this album). Favorites include “Indecision,” “Miss Hollywood,” “Lake of Silver Bells,” and “X-Ray.”
U2
Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum
I think this is technically the soundtrack to U2’s feature-length movie, Rattle and Hum (which I also recommend if you haven’t seen it). There are a few songs from other U2 albums included on this record, as well as a bunch of cool live tracks, including a cover of the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” and a new take on “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” I guess this album didn’t get great reviews when it came out, and it doesn’t really function as an album like albums normally do, but nonetheless, it’s got a bunch of great music on it so I’d say it’s worth a listen.
Eric Bibb
Diamond Days
Diamond Days
I think I’ve talked about Eric Bibb enough before, so I’ll spare you. If you haven’t heard of him or if you’re not familiar with his music, this album is a good place to start.
An interesting post from Matthew Archbold, at Creative Minority Report, on the effect President Obama’s visit to Notre Dame last May has had on the president himself. Around here, whenever the topic is still discussed, no one really looks at it from this point of view – still mostly from the standpoint of the effect on Notre Dame, or even American Catholicism. Definitely interesting to think about this new perspective. Perhaps some good is starting to come from the disappointing Commencement decision last spring.
[Notre Dame's honoring of Obama] was intended to have consquences. It was seen by the White House as an inroads to the Catholic vote. And yes, to gain support by the bishops for Obama’s legislative agenda … But something happened on the way to Notre Dame. Barack Obama wakened something with his trip to Notre Dame. Something he would much rather have stayed dormant. By his trip to Notre Dame he forced many Catholic (including clergy) to reassess what it means to be Catholic. He roused many priests and bishops who had not been rallied before.
Especially now with his health care bill on the table, this seems to be becoming much more relevant. Catholics are being more outspoken about the bill, about how it should not include any sort of federal funding of abortions. Specifically, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has said that not only can they not support a bill that mandates coverage for abortions, but that, while recognizing that health care reform is needed, if “acceptable language in these areas cannot be found, [the bishops] will have to oppose the health care bill vigorously” (here’s the full letter from the USCCB to Congress). Some would say (for example, Matthew Archbold at Creative Minority Report) that this new outspokenness of Catholics is at least partly because of the recent widespread reevaluation of the meaning of being Catholic in today’s world, stemming from the controversy surrounding President Obama’s visit to and honorary degree from ND. You can find the rest of Archbold’s post here.
During this midterms week here at ND (and anywhere else), a prayer before study, from St. Thomas Aquinas:
Grant, O merciful God, for the praise and glory of your name, that I may ardently desire, prudently investigate, truly recognize and perfectly fulfill those things which are pleasing to you. O God, you who are the true source of light and wisdom, shine upon the darkness of my intellect a ray of your bright light and clear me of the twofold darkness of sin and ignorance in which I was born. Give me keenness of understanding, capacity of retaining, method and ease in learning, accuracy in interpreting, and eloquence in speech. Instruct my beginning, direct my progress and make perfect the finished task. I ask you this through Christ Our Lord.
And a prayer for students:
Under thy patronage, dear Mother, and calling on the mystery of thine Immaculate Conception, I desire to pursue my studies and my literary labors: I hereby solemnly declare that I am giving myself to these studies chiefly to the following end: that I may the better contribute to the glory of God and to the promotion of thy veneration among men. I pray thee, therefore, most loving Mother, who art the Seat of Wisdom, to bless my labors in thy loving-kindness. Moreover I promise with true affection and a willing spirit, as it is right that I should do, to ascribe all the good that shall come to me therefrom, wholly to thine intercession for me in God’s holy presence.
Amen.
St. Thomas Aquinas, patron saint of students, St. Joseph of Cupertino, patron saint of test-takers, and St. Ambrose, patron saint of learning, pray for us!
Carlo Crivelli, St. Thomas Aquinas, Demidoff Altarpiece, 1476
Artist unknown (at least to me), St Joseph of Cupertino
Pierre Subleyras, "St Ambrose Converting Theodosius", 1745
At Four:7 this week, our speaker was Fr. Michael Heintz, pastor of a parish here in South Bend. I had heard his name several times before, but had never met him or even seen him before. He was great though – possibly my favorite speaker so far this year, and we’ve had some really good ones. He spoke about prayer, and about the importance of silence, spiritual reading, Mass, etc. He even had prepared handouts for us to take home. I thought that was a cool idea, and was excited to read the handout, since I had enjoyed his talk so much. When I finally got around to reading it today (it’s been a busy week), I was not disappointed. Here’s what the handout said:
Ten Principles for Living in Communion with Christ
1. “Spirituality” of being “spiritual” means nothing more (but also nothing less) than being animated and guided by the Spirit of the Lord which is received at Baptism. This is what St Paul means by “living according to the Spirit” or being “spiritual.” It does not necessarily mean some intense or idiosyncratic interiority.
2. Perhaps the most helpful way we can understand the spiritual life is to see our goal as the reformation by grace (particularly by the Holy Spirit, often called “uncreated” Grace) of the image of God within us, wounded by original and actual sin. Grace purifies our intellect in knowing the truth and rectifies our will in loving the good.
3. Essential to spiritual health – maintaining the health and vigor of the Holy Spirit’s life within us – are prayer, silence, and nourishment through reading. All of these require dedication, discipline, and the development of habit.
4. Prayer, according to Clement of Alexandria (+212) is “conversation with God” or, according to St John of Damascus (+749), “the lifting of the heart and mind to God,” or, according to St Teresa of Avila (+1582), “nothing else than a close sharing between friends…taking time to be alone with Him who loves us.” All prayer begins with God’s initiative: it is never merely the product of our efforts, but fruitful prayer does require our effort.
5. There are three “expressions” or types of prayer: vocal or verbal, meditative, and contemplative. Verbal prayer uses words (e.g., form prayers, prayers in one’s own words, the “Jesus prayer”); meditation engages the imagination as it ponders and considers the mysteries of the faith of the words of Sacred Scripture (e.g., the rosary or lectio divina); contemplative prayer is the prayer of union, often wordless, achieved in silence and the gift of God to the soul, involving an intense experience of God’s presence to the soul.
6. Silence is an essential prerequisite to prayer and the spiritual life. It is imperative to cultivate times of silence within our daily life. Silence helps us to grow in self-awareness, which is essential to genuine growth (since pride is the absence of self-perspective induced by self-absorption). As we grow in self awareness, two things happen: (a) we recognize our real poverty and (b) come to see our true identity in Christ.
7. Nourishment through solid spiritual reading is also essential. Pride of place belongs to the inspired text of Sacred Scriptures. Scripture must be read Christologically: Christ is the key to unlocking the meaning of the Scriptures as a whole – including the Old Testament. He is the Word mediated through words. He is the lens through which all of the Scriptures are to be read. If you plan on reading the Scriptures, always start with the Gospels, which create the “lens” for the rest of the Bible. Small bits of Scripture each day over which we can mull or meditate are the basis. Also helpful is to read the Scriptures along with the whole Church: following the Lectionary cycle, we can follow the daily Mass readings and make them a source of real nourishment.
Another source of nourishment is the Liturgy of the Hours: the official prayer of the Universal Church. Comprised of psalms, canticles and passages from the Scriptures, it is designed to become the “hinge” or “pivot” of our daily prayer life. The cycle of Morning Prayer (called Lauds) and Evening Prayer (called Vespers) can structure and mold our day-to-day existence.
The lives and writings of the saints are also another excellent source of spiritual nourishment. The more we see ourselves as part of a living Tradition of spiritual practice, the more we can appropriate the best of it for ourselves.
8. All of these practices are predicated upon self-discipline: the ability to shut off the TV, computer, the cell phone, and the iPod and set time aside every day for God. The secret is to start small and let it grow. All of these practices have to be in accord with one’s state in life. A mother of seven cannot be expected to live like a Trappist; one has to discover what works for oneself, based upon the formula outlined above. Like everything else in life, balance is important.
9. These practices will be helpful only if you are striving to live fully the sacramental life of the Church, in particular through faithful and regular celebration of the Eucharist (which the Church teaches is the most effective thing we can do) and the regular celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession).
10. In the end, it is all about habit (not simply as repetitive behavior, but as a firm and reliable disposition of the will): inculcating good habits and rooting out bad habits, assisted all the while by grace. This is why regularity is more important than volume. It is more than mere willpower or self-discipline – that alone is insufficient because it means we are relying primarily upon our own efforts and not upon the grace of God.
Start small – Be faithful – Let God do the rest
Fr. Michael Heintz
