Showing posts with label Priesthood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Priesthood. Show all posts
Saturday, July 31, 2010
2:09 PM
Am I the slave they say, Soggarth aroon,
Since you did show the way, Soggarth aroon,
Their slave no more to be While they would work with me
Old Ireland's slavery, Soggarth aroon!
Who, in the winter’s night, Soggarth aroon,
When the cold blast did bite, Soggarth aroon,
Came to my cabin door,
And, on the earthen floor, Knelt by me, sick and poor, Soggarth aroon?
Who, on the marriage day,
Soggarth aroon,
Made the poor cabin gay,
Soggarth aroon,
And did both laugh and sing,
Making our hearts to ring,
At the poor christening,
Soggarth aroon?
Who, as friend only met,
Soggarth aroon,
Never did flout me yet,
Soggarth aroon?
And when my heart was dim
Gave, while his eye did brim—
What should I give to him,
Soggarth aroon?
Och, you and only you,
Soggarth aroon;
And for this I was true to you,
Soggarth aroon;
In love they’ll never shake.
When for Old Ireland’s sake
We a true part did take,
Soggarth aroon! _John Banim
Such was the legacy left behind by the Irish priests of the 19th century. What shall future generations say of those of the 21st? Perhaps such sanctity can only be maintained in an atmosphere of persecution. I shiver for the day when that persecution arrives to cleanse the Church. Let us pray that we all have the strength for it.
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Saturday, January 23, 2010
...and suffer the loss of his own soul?
While to shirk the call of Love may not doom a life, the act does greatly inhibit a soul's capacity for happiness, which is simultaneously, her capacity to fulfill herself. To be unhappy is to have a grudge against something, against some part of reality. Non-being cannot make a soul unhappy. Though deprivation may trouble her a moment, it cannot make her miserable as deprivation in of itself proves that what she needs does exist somewhere.
No morbidly depressed soul can enter the Kingdom of God, because to do so, she must love its Lord. To love its Lord, would be to love reality, for He is Being Itself, Essens, not a particular essentia. Knowing myself as well as I do, and knowing how wretchedly guilty I have been of wretchedness, I can only beat my breast and beg God to give me the Love which will move my gaze outside of my little self to the one who justifies my existence. It is so difficult to participate in His life to the full at this time, though. I have not heard my calling; my earthly vocation is still a mystery.
I do expect my vocation to fulfill my happiness, but not necessarily in the pleasant sense. Happiness is not a reaction to pleasurable, interesting, or charming things. Otherwise we would never see smiles on the face of children fighting cancer, religious working amongst the poor, or married Catholics forced into celibacy by their spouses' abandoning them. Happiness is an exercise in finding traces of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. If we never move beyond the infant, passive happiness, that which is aroused in us by nice things, then we shall be forever stunted in our capacity for joy, and our contment will be the most vulnerable possession we have in this world.
Riches, fame, beauty...all these passing things are inferior to the interior peace and joy that arises from falling God's calling unto Himself. It is not only because these possessions may be snatched by the Fates' fickle hands at a moment's notice, but because they are like tasteless paste spoonfed to a babe, rather than the succulent, nourishing food that require effort on the part of the eater. True happiness--following one's vocation--requires such active, spiritual effort.
We don't often see many examples of this. Some people sneer at the religious and marital vocations as the 'routine' or normal thing to do for someone who cannot excel in a rigorous profession or much admired career (not to say that married and religious people have not excelled in such spheres, but even so, these spheres were/should have been secondary to their vocations). The world admires the talented and ambitious that do not allow themselves to be pinned down by other committments, and it is usually horrified when such persons choose the 'same' route that any obscure villager might have taken.
Already, headlines reading: 'so weird you can't make it up' (http://www.faniq.com/article/Oakland-As-prospect-Grant-Desme-leaving-team-to-become-a-priest-1962246) are popping up. Some accompanied with grotesque comments and petty jibes, these articles concern the decison of Grant Desme to leave a budding career in baseball (the game and pastime honoured very highly in his country) for priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church:
I'm doing well in baseball. But I had to get down to the bottom of things, to what was good in my life, what I wanted to do with my life. Baseball is a good thing, but that felt selfish of me when I felt that God was calling me more. It took awhile to trust that and open up to it and aim full steam toward him ... I love the game, but I'm going to aspire to higher things. (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/A-s-prospect-leaving-baseball-for-call-of-the-pr?urn=mlb,215238)
It's so beautiful, so good, and it is so true! So much so that, yes, one could not have made this up.
No morbidly depressed soul can enter the Kingdom of God, because to do so, she must love its Lord. To love its Lord, would be to love reality, for He is Being Itself, Essens, not a particular essentia. Knowing myself as well as I do, and knowing how wretchedly guilty I have been of wretchedness, I can only beat my breast and beg God to give me the Love which will move my gaze outside of my little self to the one who justifies my existence. It is so difficult to participate in His life to the full at this time, though. I have not heard my calling; my earthly vocation is still a mystery.
I do expect my vocation to fulfill my happiness, but not necessarily in the pleasant sense. Happiness is not a reaction to pleasurable, interesting, or charming things. Otherwise we would never see smiles on the face of children fighting cancer, religious working amongst the poor, or married Catholics forced into celibacy by their spouses' abandoning them. Happiness is an exercise in finding traces of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. If we never move beyond the infant, passive happiness, that which is aroused in us by nice things, then we shall be forever stunted in our capacity for joy, and our contment will be the most vulnerable possession we have in this world.
Riches, fame, beauty...all these passing things are inferior to the interior peace and joy that arises from falling God's calling unto Himself. It is not only because these possessions may be snatched by the Fates' fickle hands at a moment's notice, but because they are like tasteless paste spoonfed to a babe, rather than the succulent, nourishing food that require effort on the part of the eater. True happiness--following one's vocation--requires such active, spiritual effort.
We don't often see many examples of this. Some people sneer at the religious and marital vocations as the 'routine' or normal thing to do for someone who cannot excel in a rigorous profession or much admired career (not to say that married and religious people have not excelled in such spheres, but even so, these spheres were/should have been secondary to their vocations). The world admires the talented and ambitious that do not allow themselves to be pinned down by other committments, and it is usually horrified when such persons choose the 'same' route that any obscure villager might have taken.
Already, headlines reading: 'so weird you can't make it up' (http://www.faniq.com/article/Oakland-As-prospect-Grant-Desme-leaving-team-to-become-a-priest-1962246) are popping up. Some accompanied with grotesque comments and petty jibes, these articles concern the decison of Grant Desme to leave a budding career in baseball (the game and pastime honoured very highly in his country) for priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church:
I'm doing well in baseball. But I had to get down to the bottom of things, to what was good in my life, what I wanted to do with my life. Baseball is a good thing, but that felt selfish of me when I felt that God was calling me more. It took awhile to trust that and open up to it and aim full steam toward him ... I love the game, but I'm going to aspire to higher things. (http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/A-s-prospect-leaving-baseball-for-call-of-the-pr?urn=mlb,215238)
It's so beautiful, so good, and it is so true! So much so that, yes, one could not have made this up.
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About Me
- Jacobitess
- Warsaw, Poland
- Domine, spero quia mundum vicisti. Lord, I trust that Thou hast overcome the world. Panie, ufam, żeś pokonał świat.