Faith, Reason, and the Theology of Beauty.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Beauty of the Mass
I have decided that if I were able (by the grace of God) to hold in the forefront of my mind the realities that I know to be true and active during a single mass, I would have no choice but to weep for the entire duration, from opening to closing hymn.
Fourth Dimension Human
These images reminded me of what the human body might look like separated briefly from a linear timeline of experience. If one is not into that sort of thing, well, they are also pretty darn cool.
Art by Peter Janson
http://mocoloco.com/art/archives/005433.php
Interior Kingdom
Lord,
you created me for a purpose. I’m a customized piece made to fit in a special gap in the construction of Your Divine Castle. Your Kingdom is being built up and Your Castle stands on the mountaintop broadcasting its radiance to all of time and creation. Those able to see and willing to cast aside their blindfolds are drawn into the center of Your Kingdom to Your Castle. They abandon themselves to Your love and wish to end the estrangement by throwing themselves into the arms of the Creator. The Divine Artist has created me, but out of love set me free to choose my own way by my own will. He let me go and called out loving suggestions as I stumbled about. Love for He who formed me drew me back. Out of love I have come back to Him. I present myself to Him so that He may set me to the purpose for which He so lovingly hand crafted me. With all my heart I embrace my God and weep in His arms.
My Lord God, take me and set me upon the path that You intended, from the beginning of the world, for me to travel. I feel You calling me to devote my entire life and being to You. I hand myself fully into Your beautiful hands. As your Mother as my sponsor and director, lead me in the ways that You desire. I am Your creature. Instruct me. Lead me. Guide me. Teach me. Let me do only what You instruct. There are no words to express my desire for You to direct me in everything.
My Lord, my Love, I am Yours.
Amen
you created me for a purpose. I’m a customized piece made to fit in a special gap in the construction of Your Divine Castle. Your Kingdom is being built up and Your Castle stands on the mountaintop broadcasting its radiance to all of time and creation. Those able to see and willing to cast aside their blindfolds are drawn into the center of Your Kingdom to Your Castle. They abandon themselves to Your love and wish to end the estrangement by throwing themselves into the arms of the Creator. The Divine Artist has created me, but out of love set me free to choose my own way by my own will. He let me go and called out loving suggestions as I stumbled about. Love for He who formed me drew me back. Out of love I have come back to Him. I present myself to Him so that He may set me to the purpose for which He so lovingly hand crafted me. With all my heart I embrace my God and weep in His arms.
My Lord God, take me and set me upon the path that You intended, from the beginning of the world, for me to travel. I feel You calling me to devote my entire life and being to You. I hand myself fully into Your beautiful hands. As your Mother as my sponsor and director, lead me in the ways that You desire. I am Your creature. Instruct me. Lead me. Guide me. Teach me. Let me do only what You instruct. There are no words to express my desire for You to direct me in everything.
My Lord, my Love, I am Yours.
Amen
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Eucharistic Jesus, Time and the Communion of Saints
Sometimes I wonder at the uniqueness of the Last Supper and it's affect on human history.
That first mass, cleaving time to make Jesus doubly or rather fully, and transcendentally present. I imagine Jesus both present and timeless in the bread and wine.
Time creates the illusion of a fragmented soul, the past self, the present self and the future self. However the soul is a single entity. Christ became present fully; his whole self.
His future crucified and resurrected self, his past infant and child self, this whole divine man was there in that first Eucharist. But as a soul cannot be divided by the progression of time, perhaps time itself must part for the God-man. I think about how for 2000 years we have been taught that the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ.
He has been present at every mass in every corner of the globe since the Last Supper.
The miracle, the wonder of the undivided Christ is staggering. Perhaps there is only ONE Mass perpetually ringing out through time. Perhaps when the words of consecration are spoken, we welcome heaven, timeless as it is, to flood our sanctuaries. We enter a mystical cathedral in which the church militant from all of time pray as one. The power of every mass ever offered throughout the whole of time becomes manifest and unified with the presence of Jesus on our altars. If we listen closely can our hearts hear the murmured prayers of multitudes of souls at mass? Is that Peter I hear? Is that Michelangelo, Tolkien, or Mother Teresa praying there beside me in that eternal moment? Is that Joan of Arc's battle standard we hear snapping in the wind? Are we attuned enough to hear the dripping of blood off of Love's cross on the hillside at the center of time?
-Anna
That first mass, cleaving time to make Jesus doubly or rather fully, and transcendentally present. I imagine Jesus both present and timeless in the bread and wine.
Time creates the illusion of a fragmented soul, the past self, the present self and the future self. However the soul is a single entity. Christ became present fully; his whole self.
His future crucified and resurrected self, his past infant and child self, this whole divine man was there in that first Eucharist. But as a soul cannot be divided by the progression of time, perhaps time itself must part for the God-man. I think about how for 2000 years we have been taught that the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ.
He has been present at every mass in every corner of the globe since the Last Supper.
The miracle, the wonder of the undivided Christ is staggering. Perhaps there is only ONE Mass perpetually ringing out through time. Perhaps when the words of consecration are spoken, we welcome heaven, timeless as it is, to flood our sanctuaries. We enter a mystical cathedral in which the church militant from all of time pray as one. The power of every mass ever offered throughout the whole of time becomes manifest and unified with the presence of Jesus on our altars. If we listen closely can our hearts hear the murmured prayers of multitudes of souls at mass? Is that Peter I hear? Is that Michelangelo, Tolkien, or Mother Teresa praying there beside me in that eternal moment? Is that Joan of Arc's battle standard we hear snapping in the wind? Are we attuned enough to hear the dripping of blood off of Love's cross on the hillside at the center of time?
-Anna
Searching for the True Church
"If I Were Not A Catholic ..."
by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
"If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today,
I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hated. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church that is accused of being behind the times, as our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth.
Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth.
Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men.
Look for the Church which amid the confusions of conflicting opinions,
its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder,
and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly it is other worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine."
Taken from Radio Replies, Vol. 1, p IX, Rumble & Carty, Tan Publishing
by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
"If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today,
I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hated. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church that is accused of being behind the times, as our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth.
Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth.
Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men.
Look for the Church which amid the confusions of conflicting opinions,
its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder,
and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly it is other worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine."
Taken from Radio Replies, Vol. 1, p IX, Rumble & Carty, Tan Publishing
One Important Quality
I saw this line in a book somewhere. I really should document sources better. Eeek! Anyway, it is a beautiful sentiment that I one day hope to voice personally.
"One day I realized, he is the one. Because I felt loved by Jesus through him."
"One day I realized, he is the one. Because I felt loved by Jesus through him."
Stranger
"You who have become a stranger to the world ought to possess a faith, an outlook, and a manner of life which has about it something unusual, something different from that of all worldly people. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. "
- Macarius of Egypt (attributed),
- Macarius of Egypt (attributed),
The Beauty of the Shy
There is something beautiful about shyness, even though in our culture shyness is not considered a virtue. On the contrary, we are encouraged to be direct, look people straight in the eyes, tell them what is on our minds, and share our stories without a blush.
But this unflinching soul-baring, confessional attitude quickly becomes boring. It is like trees without shadows. Shy people have long shadows, where they keep much of their beauty hidden from intruder's’ eyes. Shy people remind us of the mystery of life that cannot be simply explained or expressed. They invite us to reverent and respectful friendships and to a wordless being together in love.
by Henri Nouwen
But this unflinching soul-baring, confessional attitude quickly becomes boring. It is like trees without shadows. Shy people have long shadows, where they keep much of their beauty hidden from intruder's’ eyes. Shy people remind us of the mystery of life that cannot be simply explained or expressed. They invite us to reverent and respectful friendships and to a wordless being together in love.
by Henri Nouwen
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Been a while...
I haven't posted in a while. I intend to get back into it. Soon.
News: My art necklaces are being sold at Firebrick Gallery in downtown Rochester, Michigan!
Woohoo!
News: My art necklaces are being sold at Firebrick Gallery in downtown Rochester, Michigan!
Woohoo!
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