Scottish, Catholic (Roman), vegetarian, mystic, occasional poet. Preferred future pronouns: Venerable, Blessed and (ultimately) Saint.
𝕏, Devon, United Kingdom
Joined December 2012
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'On The Harmony of Law and Cosmos'
A reflection on, among other things, why the line-
"The heavens declare the glory of God"
rightly belongs to the same Psalm as the line-
"The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul"
thoughtfullycatholic.wordpre…
Worth noting that the National Day of Prayer was followed by a National Day of Thanksgiving. Both are equally unthinkable today, not just because of a loss of faith but also because society puts a low priority on encouraging a sense of gratitude for blessings received,
May 1940: a third of a million Allied soldiers were trapped on the Channel coast. The King called a National Day of Prayer, and the churches overflowed. How would Britain respond to such an existential crisis to day? Could it? gerrylynch.co.uk/2024/11/10/…
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G.K. Chesterton once wrote-
“Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.”
One way of proving it is by watching the news.
Some days more than others.
It is certainly arguable that the loss of faith in Christianity amongst the general population is an effect of a prior loss of faith among the elites and that, therefore, a finding of faith by the elites will lead to that same faith then percolating throughout wider society.
Anecdata for the quiet revival.
Now people will say "one chapel - at a traditionally conservative college - in a university with over thirty of them in a very atypical city" etc etc and there is of course something to that but also, elite convictions do matter for wider change.
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Today if you shall hear His voice,
Harden not your hearts.
(Psalm 94:8, Douay-Rheims)
He speaks to you every day but you don't always hear Him for one reason or another. If today you do hear Him then allow Him to refresh your soul.
It's easier to hear if you make time to listen
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After a conversion experience it is easier, but still difficult, to repudiate one's past than it is to fully come to terms with that past, and with the impact it still has on the lives of other people.
Which is why it is best to think of conversion more as process than event.
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In the beginning, O Lord, Thou foundedst the earth:
And the heavens are the works of Thy hands.
They shall perish but Thou remainest:
And all of them shall grow old like a garment:
And as a vesture Thou shalt change them
And they shall be changed
But Thou art always the selfsame.
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"..get in there and pray. Talk to God..prayer is active engagement.."
Certainly 'get in there and pray' bear in mind though that it is not all about talking and acting. Prayer is also about listening and waiting.
The passive virtues are real virtues and we should practice them
Peretti’s ultimate goal was straightforward: “All I really wanted to convey was: get in there and pray. Talk to God.”
seenandunseen.com/what-frank… seenandunseen.com/what-frank…
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During His last agony Jesus found space in His mind and heart and on His lips for thought of His mother Mary. In imitation of Him we should do the same. We are more likely to remember her in the hour of our death if we do so in every other hour. In this too we will imitate Jesus.
Two things that the Church really needs to prioritise are-
Catechisation, and,
Teaching people to pray well.
If people knew how to pray well, and got into the habit of doing so, then they would be less likely to succumb to temptations, and be more quick to stand up again after a fall. But who, nowadays, teaches people how to pray well?
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In Case You Missed It-
'On the Harmony of Law and Cosmos'
'On The Harmony of Law and Cosmos'
A reflection on, among other things, why the line-
"The heavens declare the glory of God"
rightly belongs to the same Psalm as the line-
"The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul"
thoughtfullycatholic.wordpre…
54
Though we can attain union with the Divine we cannot do so in such a way as to allow us to say "I am God". God is always God by nature, and Man (male and female) is always Man by nature. By grace we can be enabled to participate in His life but not to *be* that life.
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We can only be conquered by evil if we choose to submit to it. If we refuse submission evil may kill us but it cannot conquer us. Evil killed Christ thinking that it had thereby conquered Him. It had not, and because He rose again we can rise with Him through faith.
#Halloween
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Today is October 31 and that means only one thing.
Yes, this is the final day of the Month of the Holy Rosary. But if you want to keep practising the devotion into another month then try the method in my post 'On The Most Holy Rosary of the Virgin Mary'
thoughtfullycatholic.wordpre…
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If you believe that Jesus is *a* way and *a* truth and *a* life then you have no real incentive to convert anyone from another way to this particular one.
However, whether you believe it or not, Jesus is *the* Way and *the* Truth and *the* Life. So conversion really matters.
Well, another Cardinal has come out with a, shall we say, puzzling take on evangelization.
A few years ago, Cardinal Américo Aguiar, at the time auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, said that he and the other organizers of World Youth Day in his hometown had no interest in converting anyone to Christ.
Now Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algeria has opined that “the Church is not there to convert” and “Christians should approach other religions through fraternity rather than seeking conversions.”
Excuse me, but…what?
Last time I checked, the Founder said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Sure sounds like conversion to me.
When St. Paul came to Corinth or Athens or Thessalonica, his purpose was not to listen or to form a discussion group but rather to declare an unnerving message: the euangelion (glad tidings) that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
So impassioned is he for this work that he says, “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:22); and “If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16)!
Moreover, the entire thrust of the Second Vatican Council was toward bringing the Light of Christ to the peoples of the world (Lumen Gentium). And this missionary élan has given rise in the last few decades to the idea of a “new evangelization,” which is to say, a fresh declaration of the Lordship of Christ.
Quite obviously, no one thinks that this work of evangelization should be done in a brow-beating, overbearing, or disrespectful manner (proselytization), but for God’s sake, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
If I really thought that the Church does not exist to bring people to Christ, then I would resign and get an honest job.
Man does not create himself. He is intellect and will, but he is also nature, and his will is rightly ordered if he respects his nature, listens to it and accepts himself for who he is, as one who did not create himself. In this way..is true human freedom fulfilled.
Benedict XVI
This is it-
"The planets do not change their orbits because their lived experience tells them they should, the sun does not rise in the West because it has an inner conviction that it was made that way. They obey the unalterable facts which are a given"
thoughtfullycatholic.wordpre…
On the Harmony of Law and Cosmos
In which I argue that the Spiritual Law is every bit as universal, and universally binding, as the Laws inscribed in Nature and in the Heavens.
thoughtfullycatholic.wordpre…
Update-
I am currently working on a blogpost 'On the Harmony of Law and Cosmos' about Psalm 19, Professor Robert Alter, Baruch 3:33-37 and Colossians 1:15-20.
If some of you pray for me I may even be able to finish it and publish it for the World and for the Church.
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It is probably fair to say that the purposes of the institutional Church of England in 2026 do not bear a close resemblance to the purposes of St Augustine of Canterbury in 597. Whereas the purposes of the institution which first commissioned Augustine's mission remain the same.
