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Lenten Reflection 1: Truth
The following is the first part in a series of Lenten reflections by Rev. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy. The introduction is his words.
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Friends,
Lent is a time the Church specifically sets aside for a prolonged examination of conscience and for repentance of those matters in our lives that are not in conformity with the will of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. It is a time for recognizing infidelity to Christ-God and to our fellow human beings. It is not primarily about making a laundry list of one’s traditional sins and garnering internally a firm resolve not to commit them again—although it does include this. It is primarily metanoia, a change of mind and heart, with which to walk into the remainder of one’s life’s time. A change from what to what? It is a change from untruth, in which we have an investment of our time, mind and/or money and on which we have bestowed the name “truth,” to the truth taught by Jesus in the Gospels. It is a change from incarnational allegiance to the will of God, to a standard of good and evil, as proclaimed by corporate mass media and the 501c3 religious and educational institutions that serve as its religious legitimators to the will of God as revealed in the person and teaching of the Jesus of the Gospels—the only Jesus there is, was or ever will be and the only teaching of Jesus there is, was or ever will be.
To assist in this examination of conscience I will be forwarding to you on each Wednesday and Friday of Lent a short (10 minutes or less) Lenten video reflection to help wash out the corroding and corrupting stain of untruth being passed off as Gospel truth, of evil being masquerading as good. The few days between each video is intended to allow time to personalize the content of the most recent presentation and to integrate it with previous presentations. There is a logical order to the sequence of reflections. The series was professionally produced in studio in Birmingham, England.
Peace, “but not as the world gives peace,” is the fruit of repentance, metanoia.
Charlie
Go and Sin No More
Welcome, Doug!
We are excited to welcome a new blogger, Doug, to our site! Let us introduce you…
Doug Fuda was raised as a Catholic, but left the Church as a young man in the late sixties. He returned to the Faith nearly 40 years later, largely as a result of reading Catholic blogs and websites, particularly those which featured writers who condemned the unjust U.S. war on Iraq that began in 2003. Doug is a member of Come Home America and the Boston New Oxford Review Club. He lives in Roslindale, MA.
We are so excited that he got in touch with us and expressed interest in helping with our blog. Pray for us as we continue to combat militarism in the Church.
Moral Heroes
What an awesome website. This word “hero” is being stolen and abused. They’re taking it back and giving it a better definition at MoralHeroes.org
Life, Babies, Mothers, Machine Guns
The annual March for Life is happening today in Washington D.C. Thinking about the issue of abortion and pro-life causes, these images come to mind. The first one is from a Time magazine article on breastfeeding called: “Are you mom enough?”
The only thing stranger than the conflation of militarism and Christianity is the conflation of militarism and motherhood, as if becoming a “defender” (read: taker) of life is only a natural extension of being a bearer and giver of life. We need only look at this image to see just how incongruous these two symbols really are.
I’m a bit at a loss for words on this one, so I’ll just include the “Mother’s Pledge to and Covenant with Every Other Mother,” which is applicable, I think, on this day when we think about the sanctity of life. I hope the pro-life movement will soon expand to embrace the protection of life both in the womb and out, both in America and outside its borders:
I will not raise my precious child to kill your precious child.
And if it is within my power, I will not hand over my beloved child
to another to kill your beloved child or to learn how to kill the one you cherish.
The “Mother’s Day Proclamation” by Julia Ward Howe was one of the early calls to celebrate Mother’s Day in the United States. Written in 1870, Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation was a pacifist reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War.
| Arise then…women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts! Whether your baptism be of water or of tears! Say firmly: “We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies, Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, For caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, Will be too tender of those of another country To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.” Blood does not wipe out dishonor, Nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil At the summons of war, Let women now leave all that may be left of home For a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means Whereby the great human family can live in peace… Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, But of God – In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask That a general congress of women without limit of nationality, May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient And the earliest period consistent with its objects, To promote the alliance of the different nationalities, The amicable settlement of international questions, The great and general interests of peace. |
World vs. Gospel
Or Malcolm X versus Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I don’t think of love in this case as emotional bosh. I don’t think of it as a weakness. But I think of love as something strong.” — MLK
Shrek the Sheep
This has been floating around the Internet. I saw it on Facebook. I’m sorry, I don’t know who originally wrote it but it’s a beautiful reflection,
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This is Shrek the sheep. He became famous several years ago when he was found after hiding out in caves for six years. Of course, during this time his fleece grew without anyone there to shorn (shave) it. When he was finally found and shaved, his fleece weighed an amazing sixty pounds. Most sheep have a fleece weighing just under ten pounds, with the exception usually reaching fifteen pounds, maximum. For six years, Shrek carried six times the regular weight of his fleece. Simply because he was away from his shepherd.
This reminds me of John 10 when Jesus compares Himself to a shepherd, and His followers are His sheep. Maybe it’s a stretch, but I think Shrek is much like a person who knows Jesus Christ but has wandered. If we avoid Christ’s constant refining of our character, we’re going to accumulate extra weight in this world—a weight we don’t have to bear.
When Shrek was found, a professional sheep shearer took care of Shrek’s fleece in twenty-eight minutes. Shrek’s sixty pound fleece was finally removed. All it took was coming home to his shepherd.
I believe Christ can lift the burdens we carry, if only we stop hiding. He can shave off our ‘fleece’—that is, our self-imposed burdens brought about by wandering from our Good Shepherd.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
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This reflection on Shrek reminds me of the beginning of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried: 
“The things they carried were largely determined by necessity. Among the necessities or near-necessities were P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wristwatches, dog tags, mosquito repellant, chewing gum, candy, cigarettes, salt tablets, packets of Kool-Aid, lighters, matches, sewing kits, Military Payment certificates, C rations, and to or three canteens of water. Together, these items weighed between 15 and 20 pounds, depending upon a man’s habits or rate of metabolism.
…What they carried was partly a function of rank, partly of field specialty. As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carried a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol that weighed 2.9 pounds fully loaded. He carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men.
As an RTO, Mitchell Sanders carried the PRC-25 radio, a killer, 26 pounds with its battery.
As a medic, Rat Kiley carried a canvas satchel filled with morphine and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape and comic books and all the things a medic must carry, including M&M’s for especially bad wounds, for a total weight of nearly 20 pounds.
As a big man, therefore a machine gunner, Henry Dobbins carried the M-60, which weight 23 pounds unloaded, but which was almost always loaded. In addition, Dobbins carried between 10 and 15 pounds of ammunition draped in belts across his chest and shoulders.
As PFCs or Spec 4s, most of them were common grunts and carried the standard M-16 gas-operated assault rifle. The weapon weighed 7.5 pounds unloaded, 8.2 pounds with its full 20-round magazine. Depending on numerous factors, such as topography and psychology, the riflemen carried anywhere from 12 to 20 magazines, usually in cloth bandoliers, adding on another 8.4 pounds at minimum, 14 pounds at maximum. When it was available, they also carried M-16 maintenance gear– rods and steel brushes and swabs and tubes of LSA oil — all of which weighed about a pound. Among the grunts, some carried the M-79 grenade launcher, 5.9 pounds unloaded, a reasonably light weapon except for the ammunition, which was heavy. A single round weighted 10 ounces. The typical load was 25 rounds.
…In addition to the three standard weapons — the M-60, the M-16, and M-79– they carried whatever presented itself, or whatever seemed appropriate as a means of killing or staying alive.”
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“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
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Suicide Bombers Need Hugs, Too
I don’t mean to be cheeky here. I am simply amazed (and yes, heartened) by this heroic and impulsive act of self-sacrifice. On December 18, 2013, Ayyub Khalaf, a 34-year-old policeman in Iraq, wrapped himself around a suicide bomber to shield people from the blast, thereby saving dozens of innocent lives.
There is no greater love than this! May Ayyub Khalaf rest in peace.
Over 8,000 people have died in Iraq this year (Iraq Body Count) making it the bloodiest year for the country since 2008. In November alone, 948 people were killed as a result of violence in the country.
“Despair of Humanity: Iraq War,” by visual artist Erin Genia, made from images found on independent and foreign news sites
Never forget: “With the Holy See and bishops from the Middle East and around the world, we fear that resort to war, under present circumstances and in light of current public information, would not meet the strict conditions in Catholic teaching for overriding the strong presumption against the use of military force.” — United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 2002
Pray for peace in Iraq.
This is a poem someone wrote on the Internet. I believe the poet’s name is Will Manning?
Ayyub Khalaf
I heard of your valor, those that you saved
Arms outstretched, willingly embracing hate as it came
Did you know those who came, for them all you gave
Between righteous, pious and afraid, you staid
Hugging evils vested demon who came, secured in your arms it stayed
For you many have prayed, I pray, there are more like you
For in your actions, freedoms liberty is stayed
WAM
Paul Mayer, Rest in Peace
Paul Mayer, 1969
Paul Mayer, 82, Ex-Priest and Peace Activist, Dies, The New York Times, Nov. 29, 2013
“In the 1960s and ’70s, Mr. Mayer helped the Berrigan brothers plan some of their highly publicized antiwar sorties, including the 1968 raid on a draft board office in Catonsville, Md., to remove and burn draft files in the parking lot outside. He also coordinated underground support for the Berrigans when they went into hiding, hunted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as among its 10 most wanted fugitives.”