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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

If not us, then who?

Listening recently to the song with that first lne in its Chorus, it occurred to me that a deeper question needs asking. Perhaps because I was recently listening to the excellent debate between the late Christopher Hitchens and William Craig at Biola University back, the question raised in my mind was this: if the good fight to right wrongs falls on whomever is so enlightened and inclined to it, there remain the crucial details of what exactly is the right thing to do in particular situations. Did God throw us into the fray to work out whatever system of ethics we wish to live by? What if we have serious and sincere disagreements about them? Is abortion wrong or not? Should the elderly and disabled be encouraged and aided in taking their own lives? Are these matters unnecessary to clarify and nail down? Even well-meaning people come from different, opposite sides in these and other important matters. Did God not intend any guidance that everyone can follow, even within their immediate communities?

The line from Elijah after he showed up the prophets of Baal struck me as apt and challenging: "How long will you go limping along with two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. (1 Kings 18:16-40)"

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Seeking pardon is a positive

Scott Hahn posted this quote from St. Augustine n Facebook recently:

"Let us never assume that if we live good lives that we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon."

My immediate reaction was "Oh, how negative!" But that's Man's thinking, not God's, because, come to think of it (by God's grace), such thinking is most positive indeed. How so? Well if one would instead say "when we continue to consult our life coach" or "accountant" or "fitness coach" and so on, we can see that such recourse makes sense if we admit our limitations while seeking help and pushing ourselves as far as we can go. Begging for pardon throughout our lives is seeking a remedy to what we know to be a constant in our lives: bad choices, rash judgments, selfishness, excess, neglect of our loved ones, shirking responsibilities, sloth, pride, a bit of this and that throughout our days and months and years. This brings to mind something that I am only recently learning to appreciate: God's mercy goes far beyond his pardon. His love is so gracious that, when he pardons, he moreover heals and makes more resilient. In bringing our weaknesses to him, he grants us strength.

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Now reading: Dark Night of the Soul

As with my previous reading, this one hits me unexpectedly, where I had no idea I needed attention. For example, what St. John of the Cross calls "spiritual gluttony", i.e., (as I understand it, seeking emotional consolations). And once again I get the same message as in other sources, of recent reading or experience: smaller bites, slower pace, patience, please.