First Principle and Foundation
Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.
The other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he is created.
Hence, man is to make use of them in as far as they help him in the attainment of his end, and he must rid himself of them in as far as they prove a hindrance to him.
Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition. Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short life. The same holds for all other things.
Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
If the Church is a Field Hospital
From my good friend, Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP:
21 October 2014
If the Church is a Field Hospital. . .
1. A severely wounded solider is brought to the Field Hospital. The doctor pokes his injuries with a stick and declares, "These wounds are self-inflicted. You can't be admitted to this hospital until you are completely healed."
2. Another severely wounded solider is brought to the Field Hospital. The doctor begins life-saving treatment. The solider blurts out, "STOP! I don't want to be healed! I want to be affirmed in my woundedness. Just accept my injuries and welcome me as I am!"
3. Yet another solider is rushed to the Field Hospital. The doctor and the soldier agree that he is OK in his woundedness and let him stay in the hospital just as he is. . .wounds and all.
4. One last wounded soldier is carried into the Field Hospital. The doctor immediately begins treating his wounds. The solider says, "Thanks, doc. I can't heal up w/o your help."
Monday, October 20, 2014
Faith Formation, Commandments 2 & 3
October 20,
2014 St Francis Parish Faith Formation
Group
V: O
God, come to my assistance
R:
Lord, make haste to help me.
V:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
R: As
it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Alleluia.
AH 461 Holy
God We Praise Thy Name
Psalm 123 (124)
Our help is in the name of the Lord |
V: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
If
the Lord had not been with us
(so
let Israel sing),
If
the Lord had not been with us
when
men rose up against us,
they
might have skinned us alive,
such
was their anger.
The
waters could have drowned us,
the
torrent poured over us,
the
foaming waters poured over us.
Blessed
be the Lord, who saved us
from
being torn to pieces by their teeth.
We
have escaped, like a bird
from
the snare of the fowler.
The
snare was broken,
and
we escaped.
Our
help is in the name of the Lord,
who
made heaven and earth.
(Together) Glory be to the Father and
to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and
ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
V: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
The Second Commandment
Exodus 20:7 - forbids irreverent use of the Divine Name,
especially in legal contexts (oaths); also, to inject the divine name into
foul, hateful, or blasphemous speech is to abuse it and to offend the lord who
bears it.
1.
Why is a
name so important that God devoted one of the 10 Commandments to it?
2.
What is the
meaning of vain?
3.
How is God’s
name taken in vain?
a.
Blasphemy
b.
Oaths (false
and foolish)
c.
Perjury
d.
Cursing
4.
How do we take God’s name justly?
a.
Oaths
b.
To sanctify
c.
To expel our adversary
d.
To confess God’s name
e.
To defend ourselves
To
make our works complete
The Third Commandment
Exodus
20:8-11 – requires a Sabbath (also applies to Holy Days of Obligation) rest for
households and herds; as a memorial of
the world’s creation and of Israel’s redemption. So important, that it is repeated 6 times
throughout Exodus.
1. Why the shift from Sabbath to Sunday?
2. What
are the reasons for this commandment?
3. What
is meant by the “Sunday Obligation?”
4. How
do we keep the Sabbath holy? (what does “holy”
mean?)
a. What should we avoid?
1)
Servile work
2)
Sin
3)
Idleness
b. What
should we do?
1)
Offer sacrifice
2)
Hear God’s word
3)
Contemplate divine things
4)
Eternal rest
5)
Sunday is traditionally dedicated by Christian
piety to good works (CCC 2186)
Friday, October 10, 2014
Excellent Homily
A homily by Lawrence Lew, OP:
HOMILY for 27th Fri per annum (II)
Gal 3:7-14 ; Ps 110 ; Luke 11:15-26
Does all this talk of demons and Satan and unclean spirits trouble you? Whenever I have given talks about angels, people seem more fascinated by demons, and the last time I gave a talk about the Devil, I think the group of young working professionals in Oxford became quite worried – it was all they could talk about at the pub afterwards! And yet, we have nothing to fear or worry about if we just recall Christ’s words to us in yesterday’s Gospel. It ended with this promise: “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11:13) It is this promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, he who is called in today’s Gospel “the finger of God” (Lk 11:20) and “One Stronger than he” (Lk 11:22), that leads us into today’s Gospel passage. And so, we can read it without worry or fear if we recall Jesus’ promise.
But do we ask our loving Father to give us the Spirit? Or maybe, more than our fear for the unclean spirits, we fear the disruption to our lives that the Holy Spirit might bring? It’s stiking, isn’t it, that the palace guarded by the strong man, that is, the devil, has its “goods [ ] in peace”. And again, the unclean spirit returns to a house “swept and put in order” (Lk 11:25). But the peace and order that Jesus refers to here is not a good kind – it is complacency. Here, Jesus depicts a soul that is comfortable but also, it would seem, uninhabited. It is possible that through life we acquire certain habits and ways of thinking; we become comfortable with our behaviour and our attitudes so that we barely question them; we are at peace with our venial sins and content with a sinful world. We may not be bad people, but we’ve just become quite comfortable with being mediocre, lukewarm. “We’re only human”, we say and we’re quite satisfied with that excuse. And yet, in the book of the Apocalypse, the Spirit says to those who are “lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth”! (3:16) The Holy Spirit will not dwell in lukewarm souls; unclean spirits do. So, let us ask our heavenly Father to give us the Holy Spirit!
However, a warning: If we ask God to send the Holy Spirit into our lives and we mean this, then we are asking for our lives to become a lot less comfortable. There will be some disturbance, a struggle against our sinful habits, a fight against our former ways of behaving, a rebellion against the popular assumptions of our contemporary secular society. For the Holy Spirit brings the flaming ardour of God’s love to heat us up and change our lives, and the Holy Spirit comes as a rushing wind to stir things up and to disturb our sleeping consciences. But the Holy Spirit also comes to dwell in us as our Counsellor so that we begin to see things as God does and love what he loves. But his voice is ever so quiet and can only be heart in stillness and silent prayer. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us as our Advocate so that he defends us against the attacks of the Devil and keeps the unclean spirits evicted. But we have to co-operate with him and be vigilant, examining our consciences daily and going to Confession regularly. And the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us as our Helper. So we need not fear, but let us ask for his help, ask for God’s grace by praying to our heavenly Father and saying: “Lord, send your Holy Spirit into our hearts”. Amen.
- See more at: http://lawrenceop.tumblr.com/#sthash.eQZIUldk.dpuf
HOMILY for 27th Fri per annum (II)
Gal 3:7-14 ; Ps 110 ; Luke 11:15-26
Does all this talk of demons and Satan and unclean spirits trouble you? Whenever I have given talks about angels, people seem more fascinated by demons, and the last time I gave a talk about the Devil, I think the group of young working professionals in Oxford became quite worried – it was all they could talk about at the pub afterwards! And yet, we have nothing to fear or worry about if we just recall Christ’s words to us in yesterday’s Gospel. It ended with this promise: “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11:13) It is this promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit, he who is called in today’s Gospel “the finger of God” (Lk 11:20) and “One Stronger than he” (Lk 11:22), that leads us into today’s Gospel passage. And so, we can read it without worry or fear if we recall Jesus’ promise.
But do we ask our loving Father to give us the Spirit? Or maybe, more than our fear for the unclean spirits, we fear the disruption to our lives that the Holy Spirit might bring? It’s stiking, isn’t it, that the palace guarded by the strong man, that is, the devil, has its “goods [ ] in peace”. And again, the unclean spirit returns to a house “swept and put in order” (Lk 11:25). But the peace and order that Jesus refers to here is not a good kind – it is complacency. Here, Jesus depicts a soul that is comfortable but also, it would seem, uninhabited. It is possible that through life we acquire certain habits and ways of thinking; we become comfortable with our behaviour and our attitudes so that we barely question them; we are at peace with our venial sins and content with a sinful world. We may not be bad people, but we’ve just become quite comfortable with being mediocre, lukewarm. “We’re only human”, we say and we’re quite satisfied with that excuse. And yet, in the book of the Apocalypse, the Spirit says to those who are “lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth”! (3:16) The Holy Spirit will not dwell in lukewarm souls; unclean spirits do. So, let us ask our heavenly Father to give us the Holy Spirit!
However, a warning: If we ask God to send the Holy Spirit into our lives and we mean this, then we are asking for our lives to become a lot less comfortable. There will be some disturbance, a struggle against our sinful habits, a fight against our former ways of behaving, a rebellion against the popular assumptions of our contemporary secular society. For the Holy Spirit brings the flaming ardour of God’s love to heat us up and change our lives, and the Holy Spirit comes as a rushing wind to stir things up and to disturb our sleeping consciences. But the Holy Spirit also comes to dwell in us as our Counsellor so that we begin to see things as God does and love what he loves. But his voice is ever so quiet and can only be heart in stillness and silent prayer. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us as our Advocate so that he defends us against the attacks of the Devil and keeps the unclean spirits evicted. But we have to co-operate with him and be vigilant, examining our consciences daily and going to Confession regularly. And the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us as our Helper. So we need not fear, but let us ask for his help, ask for God’s grace by praying to our heavenly Father and saying: “Lord, send your Holy Spirit into our hearts”. Amen.
- See more at: http://lawrenceop.tumblr.com/#sthash.eQZIUldk.dpuf
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