It is frigid here in Virginia! After a week or so of milder weather, we are back down into brutally cold temperatures. It didn’t help that on Wednesday night we lost power at my house, but happily it was restored by late Thursday morning.
Update #1: Congratulations to the Diocese of Harrisburg (where the Elysburg Carmel is located) on receiving a new ordinary: Bishop Ronald William Gainer, currently of the Diocese of Lexington (Kentucky). Among other things, it looks like at one point in his priestly ministry he served as chaplain to a community of O.Carms.
Update #2: Today is the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, the great Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church who defended the Faith against the Protestant Revolution and won thousands of souls back for Holy Mother Church. He is the patron of spiritual directors, and articulated and promoted the “universal call to holiness” some three and a half centuries before the Second Vatican Council. His idea that everyone, regardless of one’s state in life, has a particular vocation that is geared towards bringing them into a state of holiness, was quite far ahead of its time. In St. Francis de Sales’s day, the general understanding was that if one desired to live a holy life, it was necessary for one to become a priest or enter a religious order. We know today, as St. Francis did then, that this is not the case.
Today’s Office of Readings has a selection from his seminal work, Introduction to the Devout Life, that wonderfully addresses one of the key concerns that many of us feel today as we attempt to answer this universal call to holiness.
When God the Creator made all things, he commanded the plants to bring forth fruit each according to its own kind; he has likewise commanded Christians, who are the living plants of his Church, to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each one in accord with his character, his station and his calling.I say that devotion must be practised in different ways by the nobleman and by the working man, by the servant and by the prince, by the widow, by the unmarried girl and by the married woman. But even this distinction is not sufficient; for the practice of devotion must be adapted to the strength, to the occupation and to the duties of each one in particular.Tell me, please, my Philothea, whether it is proper for a bishop to want to lead a solitary life like a Carthusian; or for married people to be no more concerned than a Capuchin about increasing their income; or for a working man to spend his whole day in church like a religious; or on the other hand for a religious to be constantly exposed like a bishop to all the events and circumstances that bear on the needs of our neighbour. Is not this sort of devotion ridiculous, unorganised and intolerable? Yet this absurd error occurs very frequently, but in no way does true devotion, my Philothea, destroy anything at all. On the contrary, it perfects and fulfils all things. In fact if it ever works against, or is inimical to, anyone’s legitimate station and calling, then it is very definitely false devotion.The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them. True devotion does still better. Not only does it not injure any sort of calling or occupation, it even embellishes and enhances it.Moreover, just as every sort of gem, cast in honey, becomes brighter and more sparkling, each according to its colour, so each person becomes more acceptable and fitting in his own vocation when he sets his vocation in the context of devotion. Through devotion your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince becomes more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable.It is therefore an error and even a heresy to wish to exclude the exercise of devotion from military divisions, from the artisans’ shops, from the courts of princes, from family households. I acknowledge, my dear Philothea, that the type of devotion which is purely contemplative, monastic and religious can certainly not be exercised in these sorts of stations and occupations, but besides this threefold type of devotion, there are many others fit for perfecting those who live in a secular state.Therefore, in whatever situations we happen to be, we can and we must aspire to the life of perfection.
The March For Life was held this past week in Washington, DC. Unlike last year, I was unable to make it, but I did spend the day following the March online and doing some new media coverage, including talking about the March For Life on a segment of the PocketCast of Liberty, which has recently moved to its new home over at FTR Radio! Currently you can listen to us live on Wednesdays at 9 PM (I’m on every other week due to our alternating hosting panel). It’s a more politicky show, but we have fun and you can listen to me dicker about the issues of the day with a couple of libertarian gals.
I saw Frozen last weekend with my little sister and I loved it! Here’s my brief, spoiler-free review:
Strong points: The third act of the movie was exceptionally strong and finished powerfully. At the climactic moment there may have been a tear or two in my eyes, and I thought it sent a really beautiful message (and one that is atypical of “princess” movies). The two princesses, Elsa and Anna, both have distinctive and well-rendered personalities, Elsa carrying herself with a quiet grace and maturity, while Anna is bubbly and awkwardly adorable dreamer. I also really enjoyed how the film played with a number of classic tropes from the princess/fairytale genre, only to ultimately subvert them or twist them in an unexpected way. And an delight unlooked for was the talking snowman Olaf! I cringed a little when I saw him come on screen, thinking that he would inevitably drag the movie down, but actually he proved to be quite likable and genuinely funny. Oh, and during the coronation scene, I couldn’t help but notice that the castle chapel only had a high altar. Ad orientum FTW!
AND THEN THERE WAS THIS SONG
.
Weak points: unlike Tangled, which I felt was a strong movie from beginning to end, Frozen felt a little rushed to me in places, like the plot and the characters could have stood to be fleshed out a little more. It came across as almost minimalistic at times. Furthermore, while songs like the one above and “Let It Go” were phenomenal, I wasn’t blown away by all the musical numbers. Most of the others were good, but didn’t especially move me. That said, all were skillfully executed and there were none that I did not enjoy.
Verdict: a sweet story with some awesome songs and a lovely moral. Well-worth going to see.
If you’re wondering why I am such a Carmelite fanboy (BTW, I’ve started reading The Ascent of Mt. Carmel and I’m loving it), the sacred poetry of St. John of the Cross is huge part of the reason. For example, this is an excerpt from his Spiritual Canticle:
In the inner wine cellar
I drank of my Beloved and, when I went abroad, through all the valley,
I no longer knew anything,
and lost the herd I was following.There he gave me his breast;
there he taught me a sweet and living knowledge;
and I gave myself to him,
keeping nothing back;
there I promised to be his bride.Now I occupy my soul
and all my energy in his service;
I no longer tend the herd,
nor have I any other work
now that my every act is love.If, then, I am no longer
seen or found in the common,
you will say that I am lost;
that, stricken by love,
I lost myself, and was found.
Isn’t that incredible stuff? Who wouldn’t want a spirituality and relationship with God like that?!
BTW, if you are curious about learning more about the basics of Carmelite spirituality, I can recommend two books. The first is Carmelite Spirituality in the Teresian Tradition, by Fr. Paul-Marie of the Cross, OCD. It’s only about 80 pages but provides a marvelous overview of the history of Carmel and what that tradition entails. The second is an introduction to the life and spirituality of St. John of the Cross titled The Impact of God by Fr. Ian Matthews, OCD. It is utterly fantastic and a terrific way to cut your teeth into the Mystical Doctor.
Can anyone recommend a good, simple yet attractive RSS reader from the Mac App Store? This would be for my laptop (I don’t own an iPad). There are a number of blogs that I would like to keep up with regularly, but it’s hard for me to do so without having them organized centrally in some way.
My reaction to the Team USA opening ceremony outfits for the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Cracker Barrel Chic. RT @NBCOlympics: Here are those #TeamUSA #OpeningCeremony uniforms. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/WRCwicgmpV
— Mike Gannon (@MikeCGannon) January 23, 2014
Seriously, though, it looks like they were designed by an Amish seamstress and the guys from American Pickers. I wouldn’t be surprised if “I get my kicks off Route 66″ isn’t embroidered somewhere on the inside. #fail
If you like podcasts, I highly recommend you check out SQPN’s GeekPriest hosted by Fr. Fr. Roderick Vonhögen. Really excellent weekly show dealing with geeky pop culture and technology stuff. It began as a “spillover” podcast from his other long-running show, The Break, so that he’d have more time to talk about some of the geek culture things about which he is passionate, and honestly I’ve found that I like this show even better!
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
